#i know he has reverse technique but i feel like he has scars left from toji

[isolabellz]

two pretty best friends

[meiieiri]

𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 [geto suguru]

synopsis: suguru geto upped and left that day without a moment’s notice and he took everything with him — your heart, your soul — but as you look at the positive pregnancy test in your hand, you realize that he did in fact leave one thing behind.

warnings: unplanned pregnancy, angst, explicit sex.

a/n: i know, i know. i should be writing WE but this concept has been in my head far longer than WE and i just need to get it out there or else, i think i’m gonna go insane. if anyone wants to know the plot of this would have been fic, feel free to let me know lmao, of course it still involves gojo bc i can’t choose between the two of them since they’re both so baby girl—! also happy birthday to the loml, my pookie-wookie, honeybunch, suguru geto!!

It’s been a year since the happy side trip to Okinawa became a living nightmare that culminated in you, Suguru Geto, and Satoru Gojo on the brink of death and with many more scars than you could have ever imagined. The three of you had very different ideas on how to cope. Satoru spends the past year perfecting his cursed technique, often at the expense of his emotional well-being and energy but then again, after what Toji Fushiguro did to him leaving him with the trauma of being slaughtered without regard, it was only natural.

You and Suguru on the other hand retreated into yourselves; it was hard to believe that just a year before the two of you were a normal teenage couple who enjoyed walking the trendy streets of Shibuya in the weekend sunshine without a care in the world, whose only real problem is to decide where the two of you were gonna have your weekly dates.

Now, things were different. Rainclouds have gathered effectively blocking out the sun. As you sat on the desk reading through your textbook on reverse cursed technique, you glance at Suguru from time to time and you aren’t the least bit surprised to see him sitting by the dorm room’s windowsill, staring at the garden with an empty gaze.

You’ve had enough of this. This eternal state of limbo was tearing you and Suguru apart.

Slowly, you stand up from the desk, softly padding across the wooden floor to where your boyfriend is. It was the middle of the night, last you checked, it’s already nine in the evening. You should be heading back to the women’s dorms now but you couldn’t, not when things were like this, not when Suguru’s losing himself day after day, you can’t help him, you know that, but you could be there for him seeing that’s all you can do.

But even then, it’s never enough.

Your relationship with Suguru is like a lit dynamite stick, you know that it’s only a matter of time before it also explodes in your faces. So, Suguru takes the lead, like he always does, he’s so much wiser and stronger than you in every way though he doesn’t care to admit it, though he pretends he doesn’t know why you’re so dependent on him.

“I think we should break up.”

He says that while holding your hand. You saw this coming but just how long did you anticipate that the love of your life would eventually up and leave you? You squeeze his hand with every ounce of the grief you are feeling hoping it would transcend the confines of your skin and it would reach his heart. “Is that what you really want?”

“No.”

He stands up to meet your gaze, the throw blanket falling to the floor as he does. He leans in closer, his hand cupping your cheek with such tenderness and heartache that you feel your heart rise to your throat. Suguru is normally so gentle like a shower of midnight rain, but he kisses you like this is the last — it probably is. Lost in him, your hands trail over his chest, and he deepens the kiss hoping that you’d also understand that he doesn’t really want to leave but he has to. He can’t bear to drag you into his mess.

He could never do that to you.

You respond with a soft moan when Suguru slowly lifts your shirt over your head. He stares at your plump breasts for a moment, covered only by a thin lace-like material, before deciding that looking at you wasn’t enough. He has to take you, ravish you, fondle you, kiss you. Anything to let you know that he’s not doing this because he’s fallen out of love with you.

“Don’t leave,” you plead in between his soft kisses to your breasts, tears slipping from your eyes as he removes your bra, letting it slip from your shoulders which he was now kissing up to the crook of your neck. How could your hearts be so full yet so empty at the same time?

None of what happened should have caused this much heartache between the two of you. In fact, it should have made you rely on each more, right? It should have strengthened you not destroy everything you had: each other, the future you planned together.

Suguru doesn’t answer as he nips at your neck, sucking on the delicate flesh, as your forms gracefully fall on the bed, he stares at you with such love, such devotion, and you wonder why this should be the last time. His gaze falls to your vulnerable form, his cock hardening at the sight of your clothed pussy getting wet just from that. He grinds against you, sighing at the way you buck your hips to meet his wanting more of him. If this was to be the last time, then, you want to make it count.

“Suguru, I’m yours.” That’s all he needs to hear and he removes your underwear, kissing down your leg as he slips it off of you. He tosses it onto his nightstand, and he leans towards it to grab a condom from his drawer. You catch his hand. “Don’t. I want to feel you.”

Suguru’s eyes widen at your request, his lips eliciting short huffs of breath. He’s never fucked you raw before. “Are you sure?”

You nod against his forehead. “Please. Please fuck me, Su.”

Slowly, his hand guiding his tip up and down your slit, smearing your wetness along the base of his cock before slowly pushing into you savoring the sensation of your cunt squeezing around him as he stretches you with his girth. A deep groan betrays him and his mouth hangs open as your tight walls envelop him as he bottoms out. He takes a moment to collect himself, not wanting to cum right then and there.

“S-shit. Ah, you’re so fucking tight.” He allows himself a small thrust, the tip of his cock already nudging your sensitive spot, having memorized you after many desperate nights of lovemaking. His fingers grip the soft skin of your hips as he pulls out momentarily before pushing back in again more forcefully this time.

“S-su! Mngh—please fuck me—I love you, I love you, I love you,” you beg.

A tear slips from Suguru’s eyes, it was becoming more real now — this final goodbye. He presses a gentle kiss to your forehead, his thumb brushing against your cheek as he slowly builds up the pace of his thrusts, his cock bullying your cunt, driving himself in and out of your pussy, again and again. He brings your leg to his waist, holding it so he could angle himself better. “I love you too.”

You mewl as he pistons in and out of you, his balls slapping hard against your skin. “Sugu—ah! More—n-need more of you—“ You’re crying now, and he is too as he continues to ravage your pussy, his hand finds your other leg and he pushes your knees close to your chest, folding you into a deep mating press, slamming into your cunt.

“I’m yours. Always,” Suguru looks into your eyes amidst your desperate cries, your thighs trembling under his passionate gaze. He grunts when he feels the familiar tightening of your walls. “You’re close—fuck,” he takes this as an incentive to go faster, harder, and he fucks you in a way he never has before.

“So good—oh—“ you fall silent as he suddenly brings your hands to your clit, letting you touch yourself. You looked so beautiful like this, under him, your head thrown back against the pillows, your mouth primed in a silent ‘o’. He pants as he feels his balls tighten when your hips involuntarily buck into him as you climax. “Suguru!”

“Ah, baby…” He groans, the hot breath from his lips tickling your forehead as he rides out his high, spilling his seed into you not caring what the consequences may be. You did want this after all, and he did too. You feel full just from the sensation of his thick cum, he thrusts into you one last time, further smearing his release in your walls.

You sighed as he stays there, your weak and trembling arms coming up to embrace him. He strokes your hair, memorizing each lock, pulling out after a while. Suguru pulls you flush against his chest, the remnants of his and your release sliding down your thighs. “It’ll be okay,” Suguru catches his breath, kissing your temple. “Even without me. You’ll be okay.”

“I won’t…you know I won’t.”

“You will.” He says firmly. “I promise. You know me, baby, I never break my promises.” You feel tears well up in your eyes again and he tenderly wipes it away. “I love you, (Y/N).”

“I love you too.”

By the next morning, you already knew with the way the AC’s cold air nips at your skin without Suguru, your Suguru, there to embrace you that he’s already left.

Without a note, without a goodbye. Typical of Suguru who doesn’t want to stick around to see you cry.

You curl into yourself as sobs wrack your body, the promise ring Suguru gave you gleaming under the rays of morning sunlight.

A few years later, just as Suguru said, things did get better. You smiled as you arranged the last of the tempura into the bento box filled with soba noodles with nori and small containers of mentsuyu and wasabi. It’s amazing how much she takes after him. You look at the clock and your face pales. You’re running late, so, you head upstairs to speed things up a little. You creak open the door to see the little blessing of your life, the last gift Suguru ever gave you. She’s looking at the picture of you and Suguru which you placed in her room, and since you know it was highly unlikely she’ll ever meet your lover in this lifetime, you’ve decided you want her to know him if by his appearance alone and the stories you tell her.

“Riko? We’re gonna be late,” you gently reminded your four-year-old daughter. You shoot her a funny look when you see the haphazard way she placed her hair in a bun. She pouts as she tries to get it right again, looking at her father’s picture intently. “Sweetheart, are you trying to look like—?”

“Like papa,” she huffs cutely and you chuckle, moving to pick her up and sit her down on your lap. Kissing her cheek, you also gaze at the picture depicting a candid you and Suguru during your first year at Tokyo Jujutsu Technical College. He has his arm wrapped around your shoulder, winking at the camera as he kisses your cheek, a silent gleeful laugh on your face.

You look at her, a little confused, you gently smooth her hair before planting a kiss between her eyebrows. “And why do you want to look like papa?” Riko shyly looks away, her ears turning a little red as she blushes, a trait she inherited from you. You flick her nose, giggling. “Well?” Riko laughs at the playful gesture.

“…So you don’t cry anymore, mama.” Your heart seems to have stopped beating for a moment and a warm, tearful smile appears on your face, wrapping Riko in a bone-crushingly tender hug. “Love you…” she sinks into the warmth of your hug and you kiss the top of her head.

“I love you, Riko. So…so…much.”

At that, your little girl sighs in relief. “School?” she tilts her head and you suddenly remembered the reason you went upstairs. You had to get moving. Your eyes widened and you carry her downstairs, being careful not to jostle her too much. “My hair, mama!” she giggles at her still unruly hair and you grimace in embarrassment. Suddenly, the front door opens and Riko sees who it is, before you could grab the spare brush from your bag, she suddenly jumps out of your arms and makes a beeline for the door.

“Papa, papa!”

You turn around and though the sight pains you to this day, somehow, you’re starting to learn to live with the fact that things are always bound to change with time and that this is what Suguru would have wanted: a loving and complete family for his little girl. You wrap Riko’s bento and place it in her lunchbox before going to greet the visitor.

“Hi, babe.” He turns to meet your lips for a sweet kiss, balancing Riko in his strong arms.

“Good morning, Satoru.”

[voxofthevoid]

Shibuya Swap Wednesday #4. A surprisingly tame bit this time—Gojou blowing a double-dong, with some emotions thrown in. I wanted to post belly mouth rimming, but I didn't get that far in time.

The fic is now over 38k, and while I'm on the last Section A (alt!Yuuji/canon!Gojou) chapter, it's also Chapter 6. This will...probably end with less than 10 chapters?

Satoru’s well aware that Fushiguro Toji left him with an appreciation for pure physical power that reflects in his own body and his tastes in other people’s bodies. His Yuuji is no slouch in that department, but this one’s clearly added well over ten kilos of pure muscle to that.

There are so many things you could do to a body like that, with a body like that.

The scars keep drawing his eyes, not just the gutting curve across the belly that still makes Satoru’s throat grow tight and hot in memory, but also the ones on Yuuji’s face, fascinating and more since the moment Satoru first saw them. They’re not curse scars like the three on his torso, just mundane lines of thick tissue. They’d be normal if not for the implications of why those alone remain on Yuuji’s body when he has a powerful reverse cursed technique. Satoru’s skin ate even old, worn scars after the first time he beat death. He can think of a thing or two that’d make a body like Yuuji’s cling to old marks, and none of them are pleasant.

They add a little something to Yuuji’s face though—a harshness that his Yuuji lacks, even when his genial expression hardens into unflinching determination. It’s also simply age; his cheeks have hollowed, and the lines of his face are sharper, from the cutting curve of his jaw to the deep set of his forehead. The kind of face you could cut your lips on.

Satoru does just that, leaning all the way over Yuuji to wake him with a kiss—chaste and sweet, his lips dragging from his cheek to his jaw. Light stubble scrapes his mouth.

Yuuji makes a low noise and doesn’t wake.

“You shouldn’t trust me so much,” Satoru murmurs, already withdrawing. “Who knows what guys like me would do to a pretty man like you?”

Said pretty man continues to sleep peacefully.

Satoru finds himself in a bit of a dilemma. There’s a lot of Yuuji and limited time. Sure, that kiss didn’t wake him, but Satoru’s sure Yuuji won’t sleep through everything he wants. He’s got to prioritize.

And in the end, it’s a tough choice between the strong stomach with that leering scar in its middle and the two flaccid cocks a little further down, and Satoru opts for the poison he’s yet to taste.

They look deceptively harmless like this, as if they didn’t tear Satoru open in a dozen different ways yesterday.

He cups them, keeping an eye on Yuuji’s face to see if he wakes. There’s nothing, though his breath stutters when Satoru starts fondling his cocks in earnest. They’re a hefty handful. Strange too, the shape a disconcerting blend of familiar and not. Satoru’s used to this Yuuji on the whole evoking that feeling, but this is a little different. His hand knows how a cock should feel in its grasp, and this isn’t that; there’s a disconnect between what his mind knows and what his flesh expects. It’s a novel feeling, not unpleasant—certainly kinder on his body than being impaled on these things.

Satoru replaces his hand with his lips when the cocks start to stir, wrapping his hand just under the head so he can guide both into his mouth. He’s greedy too, and he wants them like this, their soft lengths nestled together on his tongue. And it’s there again, that peculiar dissonance. Satoru holds it in his mouth as delicately as he’s holding Yuuji’s flesh.

Said flesh starts to thicken on his tongue, filling with blood.

And Yuuji’s stirring too, his brows furrowing and lips quivering. He makes a noise, some throaty thing that might have been a word. He turns his head to the side with another quiet noise, and Satoru sucks him a little harder, his lips sealed around the base of the cocks. It’s a notable stretch even now, what with Yuuji’s cocks connecting to his groin in a shape that’s nothing like anything Satoru’s swallowed down, but for now, he can keep both sheathed in his mouth. He devotes himself to enjoying that while he can, thrusting his tongue between the hardening lengths and pulling back to suckle wetly on both heads, and then takes them in deep, again, working his tongue and hollowing his cheeks as they get bigger and bigger, threatening to do a lot worse than just choke him.

Fingers find his hair, their grip surprisingly gentle.

He realizes why when Yuuji speaks, voice husky with sleep: “Satoru, what time…” A thick swallow, a hazy blink. Then a four-eyed gaze, bright and wide. “Ah, Satoru.”

There’s a difference, Satoru realizes. It’s the same name that Yuuji said. His name. And it’s not the first time either that Yuuji spoke of his Satoru, even while addressing Satoru himself, but there in that moment, when Yuuji thought he was talking to that kid waiting for him in his own world, he said Satoru’s name with an indescribable something in his voice—something beyond sound, beyond cadence.

Something that makes Satoru shiver, deep in his bones.

He lets Yuuji’s cocks pop out of his mouth, licking his lips and letting them curve when he catches all four of Yuuji’s eyes drop to them. “Four in the afternoon, almost. Why, you got somewhere to be?”

“Huh?” It visibly takes Yuuji a moment to realize which question Satoru’s answering. “Oh. No, nowhere. Keep going.”

“How magnanimous of you,” Satoru drawls before lapping at the twin heads, dragging it along one slit before dipping it into the other. They don’t quite taste the same. It’s not a difference Satoru can put into words, but it’s there, haunting his tongue.

Yuuji’s hand stays in his hair, idle pressure. His cocks are all the way hard now, as if Yuuji waking was the catalyst. Satoru likes how their girth strains his fist, but he’s still left grappling with the mechanics of how to blow them without poking a hole in his cheek—or throat.

“One at a time,” Yuuji suggests like he can read Satoru’s mind. “I’m patient.”

“Are you?” Satoru asks, scanning all of Yuuji. He is remarkably relaxed, and he was pretty patient earlier, taking his sweet time ruining Satoru. And that’s just it—patient and violent aren’t mutually exclusive when it comes to this man.

“Very,” Yuuji murmurs, the word pitched like a promise. His hand drifts down to briefly cup Satoru’s face, thumb swiping over his damp lips. “You have a pretty mouth, Satoru. Use it.”

Heat bites into Satoru’s spine, serrated and seductive.

He uses his pretty mouth.

And he does intend to take Yuuji’s advice, but then he catches sight of how the heads look poking out of his fist, red and a little wet, and he can’t help it, the greed flaring as he takes them both into his mouth. There’s an exasperated noise from above, and Satoru stares up at Yuuji as his lips are forced to stretch achingly around the combined girth of those cocks. They weigh down his tongue and fill his mouth, and this time, the sensation isn’t just dissonant, it’s oddly distressing, like his mouth wants them out. Satoru doesn’t indulge that impulse, but he takes a moment to study it, prodding at Yuuji’s cocks absently with his tongue and letting them dig into his cheeks at different angles. The effect is the same, mostly—a sense of wrongness, like he’s overly full.

“Having fun?” Yuuji asks, a gratifying note of strain in his voice.

Satoru hums his assent, letting the cocks slide out. He works his jaw, which pops lightly. Yuuji tugs at his hair, and Satoru’s not sure whether that’s meant as encouragement or admonishment, but he’s diving back in anyway, and he does stick to just one cock this time, cupping the other against his cheek out of some nagging sense of fairness. It’s an interesting sensation, one cock filling his mouth while the other slides against his cheek, and then the cockhead is prodding at the back of his throat, making him swallow convulsively, and Satoru suppresses his gag reflex with the ease of long practice, swallowing Yuuji all the way to the base.

The cock pressed against his face seems to throb. Satoru grips it tighter, strangling the urge to stroke it. Not yet, maybe not at all. He wants that in his mouth too.

Blowing Yuuji is pretty straightforward after that, a typical affair of tongue and throat and a hint of teeth. Yuuji’s calm for most of it, only his heavy breathing giving away how affected he is. The teeth earn a noise, more surprise than displeasure, and he groans when Satoru laps at the spot he touched his teeth to, little kitten licks that earn him a gaze hot enough to scorch his skin. Satoru reacts the only way he can, making a show of sucking on the head, wet and sloppy, till spit slicks his chin and precome coats his tongue, and he knows, from the fingers flexing in his hair and the cock throbbing in his fist and the eyes flaying him open, that Yuuji wants to shove him down and make him choke, but he doesn’t, playing at patience as promised.

And that just means Satoru has to take matters into his own hands, driving his mouth down roughly enough that the violence of the intrusion makes him choke, his throat a burning constriction. It feels molded to Yuuji’s cock, carving Satoru open in its shape.

“Satoru,” Yuuji gasps, approval and demand and everything in between packed into that one word.

Satoru gives him what he wants, keeping Yuuji deep in his throat, still and sacred until the lack of oxygen does the work for him, making his throat shudder and convulse around the flesh denying it air. Nails dig into his scalp, pinpricks of pleasant pain that smooth over into something sweeter and gentler as Yuuji eases his grip with an effort Satoru can feel in the air.

It’s disappointing, the sustained control.

[h3rmess]

WHERE OUR BLUE IS

Written by @h3rmess ✰

Masterlist

S2 : Chapter 2 - New Home ☆☆

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He laid on his bed, his eyes began to close again. He let out a grunt as he changed his position, laying fully on his back. Our eyes locked, fitting perfectly with each other. It felt as if we were destined to be together. He smiled softly as my heart melted.

"You know you don't have to do this, right?" He looked away as he spoke.

"Yeah, but I want to. I can't help but feel like it was my fault. I was there. I could have saved you." Guilt flooded my veins as I looked down in shame.

"There's no point focusing on what could have been. What's done is done, so don't feel bad about it." He consoled me as I nodded.

I had been taking care of him for the past day. I brought him food, helped him get up when he needed to, and stayed by his side. It gets lonely when you're all alone during recovery. I didn't want him to feel the way I did.

He insisted that I didn't need to help him, but I decided that if I could at least help one person, that would make me happy.

"Are you hungry?" I asked him as he turned to look at me.

"A little... yeah." He replied.

"Anything in particular you want to eat?"

"Pizza would be nice."

"Got it! I'll order some right now." I picked up my phone, searching for a website to order pizza from.

I placed an order as I went to go and sit with Fushiguro once more.

I sat at the edge of the bed awkwardly. He patted the spot next to me, imploring me to sit with him. I stood and moved my weight, placing myself gently next to him on the bed. Our proximity made me nervous, our shoulders almost touching.

"Can I ask you something?" He said suddenly, startling me.

I nodded as he proceeded. "Why were you...so insistent too stay with me to keep me company? I would have been fine on my own."

I let out a deep breath before formulating my words. "When I was young." I began, placing a pillow on my lap and fiddling with it. " I had a terrible accident."

Fushiguro's expression softened as he listened attentively.

"I'm not sure that it was an accident, actually. A boy from the Zenin clan who my family adored visited us in England. They thought that it would be a good idea if I, as a ten-year-old, and him, a little older, fought each other in a showdown with spectators." I explained, his eyes never leaving me.

"What happened?" He probed.

I lifted the hem of my skirt slightly, revealing a scar that ran across both of my thighs.

"I was about to beat him. He had somehow got hold of a special grade cursed tool. He had no idea how to use it, and long story short, he ended up cutting my legs off." I traced the lines of my scars, reluctantly remembering the traumatic event.

Fushiguro gasped quietly, his hand reaching out to mine as he rubbed his thumb along the back of my hand.

"You are so strong. Much stronger than any of us here." My eyes pricked with tears as he spoke. I stopped them from moving, using my reversed cursed technique to get rid of them.

"Thanks to my cursed technique, I was able to regain my strength, though my legs had to be sewn back on. My parents said I brought shame to our family. They left me alone in the hospital throughout the entirety of my recovery. I was so alone. I never want anyone to feel the way I felt. That's why I wanted to help you. The solitude I felt left an empty hole in my heart." The atmosphere became solemn, all the joy and previously positive emotions I felt draining from my manner.

"I'm sorry I asked. I didn't mean to bring back bad memories." Fushiguro muttered remorsefully.

"It's alright. You didn't know. And plus, you can't live life without a little sadness, right? There's always a trough before a peak." My voice was but a whisper. My cheerful tone returned as I tried to lighten the mood.

"I guess this has made us closer now, huh. You got to see me in a vulnerable state already!" I chuckled as he removed his hand from mine with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm happy about that."

"Me too."

We sat, motionless. The silence surrounding us was comfortable and warm. I felt at home when I was with him. I felt as if I could pour my heart, my thoughts, everything out to him without the fear of being exposed or judged. All at once, thoughts of spending the rest of my life with him invaded my mind, almost as if it were an insight into the future. It was vivid. I saw Yuuji and Kugisaki on the couch as we all sat there, enjoying each others company. I denied the possibility of these thoughts being true. I looked into his eyes once more, the everlasting void of Azure sucking me into him. A pleased look graced his perfect face. Maybe I could stay with him a little longer.

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TAGS ~

@nyxlai @inlovewithlondonn @sad-darksoul @eternalalmondd @httpstoyosi @vivi-loves-penguins @samutoru @lysaray

[quinnyundertow]

Picking up the Pieces

Choso x Reader, Strangers to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy ending.

Masterlist

Manga spoilers below the break

Chapter 4

A Time to Grieve

Choso is stunned as he stares at Shoko in confusion. “.. I can feel.” His voice is scratchy and hoarse; throat stinging with the words. His sentences purposefully truncated to try not to damage his vocal cords further.

Shoko’s face is grim, “It’s called phantom limb. Your body doesn’t understand the trauma it went through and it still attempts to send signals to the areas that are no longer there or functioning.”

“Need to see.” Choso doesn’t feel like he’s really present at this moment. It’s like it’s happening to someone else.

Yuji is standing near the vase of flowers he had brought by earlier. He chose to stay when Shoko asked to talk with Choso. He wanted to be moral support but he doesn’t know if anything he could say would be worthwhile.

Shoko exchanges a glance with Yuji before she lets out a long drawn out sigh and reaches for the sheet laying over Choso. When she pulls away the sheet to reveal the carnage underneath Choso just blinks in bewilderment. Just as Shoko had said, below his knees are gone and above are twisting scars up his thighs. His left arm is absent. His right arm is there but he’s missing the last two digits. It’s quiet for a long time. Eventually Yuji breaks the silence with the title Choso adores, “Big Bro?”

Choso jerks up to look at Yuji as if awakening from a dream. Yuji is crying and Choso can’t fathom why. Is it pity? When he tries to speak, only a hacking cough that sounds painfully deep escapes. He has questions he needs answered and after a moment tries again, “I regenerate-“

Before the seeds of false hope can be planted Shoko interrupts, “No, you can’t. The flesh there isn’t an open wound any longer, it's been fully healed by reverse curse technique. It had to be done so you didn’t bleed out on the battlefield. Even if we damaged the end of the limb it would only heal back to what it was last healed as. Unless you have a technique like that patchwork fuck we aren’t aware of.”

Choso flinches at the mention of Mahito. That curse had the ability to change the shape of his soul, and in turn, his own body's shape. The deep scar near Yuji’s mouth twists with his grim expression. Tongue feeling the fresh skin that comes from the damage he endured.

Choso think’s he’s going to be ill. Shoko can see it in his eyes and quickly grabs a trash bag that the curse promptly throws up in. There’s yellow bile with blood mixed in. His body retches several more times but there isn’t anything left inside him to throw up. He’s been only on fluids and liquid broths the last week. He tries to speak after a moment but it feels like nails are clawing down his throat. Shoko takes the trash bag of refuse away and heals the wounds he just reopened.

There’s a long silence in the room and Choso’s voice doesn’t really even sound his own when finally speaks, “Leave.” He needs time to absorb this new reality and he doesn’t want Yuji to be a party to his weakness.

“Big bro wha-“ Yuji starts to object but is cut off when Shoko clears her throat.

“We’ll send someone by in a few hours. Let me cover you up.”

She replaces the sheet and the two visitors leave. Yuji, reluctant to go, adds, “I’ll come by again tonight, okay big bro?”

Choso doesn’t respond. His gaze now out the window of his hospital room. When he’s finally alone he takes a few tries to snatch the blanket over him with his remaining digits and pulls it off him again.

~~

You can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. This time next week you should be in a new apartment helping Choso get acclimated rather than trapped in the tokyo school's stuffy medical ward. God you can’t wait to get a decent night's sleep. To lay in a bed with clean sheets after a long scalding shower sounds like heaven. At Shoko’s recommendation you had stepped out for a few hours. Despite the break Choso never really left your thoughts. When you get yourself dinner at a nice little ramen shop you order something for the half curse as well.

Choso should be just fine to take in regular food again and the on campus food wasn’t anything to write home about. The paper bag you are holding is heavy with separate containers for the miso broth and noodles. You’re hoping it will be delicious and easy for him to digest. Nothing like comfort food to raise the spirits.

The medical ward is silent when you return. Only the soft beeping sounds of life saving machinery is the background soundtrack. It’s almost dinner time now and the rooms are growing darker from the overcast sky. When you near Choso’s room the light is off. Your first thought is he must be asleep. You enter quietly, going to set the bag of food on a nearby counter.

Navigating around his privacy curtain you go to check his vitals. You can’t help but jump with a hand over your chest when he’s staring at you the moment you enter. “Oh dear God, you scared me.” You laugh at your foolishness. “I knew you were there but it’s so dark in here. I assumed you were asleep.”

He doesn’t attempt to speak, he’s just watching you, his expression blank. His countenance may be blank but his features tell a different story. His eyes are bloodshot and the purple tired areas around them are so much darker. You’re surprised to see the blanket usually covering him is lying on the floor. Shoko must have broken the news of his condition already.

You aren’t sure what you should say, so you settle for treating him the same way you had earlier this morning. “I don’t know about you Choso but I am starving.” He watches as you busy yourself with his machine to ensure everything is functioning properly then come to stand next to him. You’re worried he’s cold. He’s only wearing a thin hospital gown and the chilliness from outside has been seeping into the building all day. You reach over to feel for his temperature. Your heart constricts when he flinches at your touch. “No fever!” You happily chirp in response to his cold forehead, “If anything you’re chilled.”

He doesn’t respond but you weren’t exactly expecting him too. “Let me clean up for a second and then maybe you’ll have dinner with me? It’s lonely to eat alone.” You give him a small smile that he doesn’t manage to return. His eyes are drifting back to the window.

You lean down and pick up the discarded sheet taking it to the laundry room a few doors away. You grab a clean one and put it in the dryer for a few minutes to get it nice and warm then make him a cup of hot tea.

~~

When you return to Choso’s room you’re a flurry of activity. He’s watching you with those ebony eyes as you prepare some sort of soup. He wants to protest and reject the offering but the way you said, it’s lonely to eat alone, struck a chord with him. The smell of pork belly and miso hits his nose and his mouth starts to water. He supposes he could try and eat something. He wants to know more about you. Why you are here and where you came from. Why you are so kind to someone, no something, like him.

You pull a warm blanket around him and tuck it so it can’t easily fall. He hadn’t realized how cold he was until this feeling of warmth surrounds him. He lets out a long sigh in contentment, his eyes closing. “Thank..” his voice cracks and fails but you understand him just from the look of peace on his face now.

“Please, it was nothing.” You're sitting down next to him pulling a rolling wooden tray up that has two bowls of piping hot ramen on it. He’s surprised when your hand goes and holds his gently. Being touched so casually is so foreign to him. He doesn’t hate it. “So you don’t have to talk.” You explain. “I’m sure it’s frustrating but you’ll be back to talking like you used to in a few days.” You glance up at him with an inquisitive look. “Though I guess I don’t really know what you used to talk like.” You look away, a light blush on your cheeks. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you better Choso..”

He feels the same way. His hand is holding you back and he’s not sure when it reflexively moved to do that. He gives you a light squeeze in affirmation and it has your head turning to lock eyes with him. That bright smile on your lips makes his chest ache a little. He’s not sure why.

His dexterity is only just starting to return to his right arm and hand. He wants to feed himself. The idea of you doing it makes him feel embarrassed, even ashamed. You don’t seem to mind though. There’s this playful air about you right now that’s intoxicating. “Fair warning, I can’t usually get through a meal without spilling something on myself.” You're picking up a little of each ingredient on your chopsticks before holding it up for him to eat. The first mouthful is the hardest one for him to take. There’s that feeling of shame coursing in his veins; but the way you are looking at him right now isn’t filled with pity. With every mouthful you look pleased. A spoon full of broth has him closing his eyes in pleasure. You laugh under your breath, “It’s good right? When I first came to Tokyo to help prepare for the fight against Sukuna I had to find a good noodle place.”

At your question he gives a light squeeze. It is good. He hasn’t paid much attention to food since he was incarnated. It was just something he had to do to keep his new body functioning. You're going to give him another mouthful but he is squeezing no. You haven’t taken a bite since you sat down to eat with him. You look confused for a moment, your head tilting slightly. “Wha..?” Choso simply looks between you and your bowl a few times and you manage to get the message. “Oh! Yes, I suppose it isn’t having dinner together if I don’t eat some as well.” You trade his chopsticks for a set of your own. For some reason your face grows a touch red. You manage a bite or two holding your hand up to cover your mouth. “It’s a little embarrassing to eat in front of someone else.”

If he could, he would feed you right now. You look so cute and flustered and it’s easy to forget his own uncomfortable feelings when all he wants to do is relieve your own. As much as he doesn’t want to he lets his gaze shift to the window to let you have some privacy. Only the sound of the chopsticks moving signifies you are eating.

He realizes he still doesn’t know your name and frowns, “Name?” The question is quiet and airy sounding from vocal strain.

“Mm, sorry. That was rude of me, it's Y/n, L/n.”

Choso’s frown tips a little further down at your self disparagement. He likes the way your name sounds. “L/n” He tests it on his tongue. The syllables rolling around awkwardly at first. He tries it a few more times and the final one sounds right.

When he turns to look at you, you pause the chopsticks halfway to your mouth. Face flushed and expression surprised. At the eye contact you laugh awkwardly before moving back to feeding him his bowl. “That’s me.” You can’t help but softly talk to fill the silence while he eats a few more bites. He likes the sound of your voice. It’s relaxing. He’s full fast, his stomach not used to the sensation after a week of only fluids. His eyes are creeping closed as waves of exhaustion catch up to him. After a moment you are silent seeing his eyes close but a moment later he lightly rubs the back of your hand to encourage you to continue. He likes the sound of your voice filling the background as he falls asleep it reminds him that he’s not alone.

~~

He’s so damn pretty. You find yourself staring once you feel him fully fall asleep. His fingers falling loose around your own. You don’t immediately move to leave though. His full dark lashes are resting on his cheekbones. Raven hair falling free around his shoulders. You reach your empty hand up to lightly stroke any stray hair out of his face. You toy with the idea of just watching him for a while but sigh and stand giving a long stretch.

You want to check on Yuji while Choso is still asleep. There is the object of Choso’s sponge bath to think about. You had done the previous ones while he was in the coma. Just as you had emptied his urine bag and changed his soiled bandages. There is nothing even remotely sexual about the process. It’s methodical and purposeful. As the caregiver you are focused on the wounds and looking for any anomalies (bed sores, infections, rashes). Making sure that dirt, blood, sweat and grime isn’t left to fester in any areas.

That said, Choso may feel humiliated to have you do the process now that he’s awake. It was clear he struggled to accept you feeding him, the bathing process would be a thousand times worse. Almost to Megumi’s room you run into Yuji in the hall. He gives you a tired smile, “Hey, I was just heading over to check on Cho.”

You nod, filling in the gaps of Yuji’s absence. “He ate pretty good for me. He even managed a few words. I actually wanted to talk to you about something if you have a moment.”

“Yeah, sure, of course.” Yuji watches you closely before moving to sit on a nearby counter. His legs kicking slightly midair. “What’s up?”

Might as well just say what you need to. “Are you able to give Choso a sponge bath either later tonight or tomorrow. I was doing it originally and I don’t mind continuing but I’d rather spare him from any embarrassment. At least until he leaves the hospital.”

Yuji’s legs freeze mid kick as he pauses to think, “How could I forget that’s something that needs to be done. I should have been doing it from the start.” He bows his head low in apology.

You blink for a moment, “Don’t be ridiculous. I didn’t mind at all, it's just part of the job. I just want him to be comfortable while he acclimates to all these changes.”

Yuji stares at his shoes, his head still prostrated. He’s mumbling in such a low voice you don’t register what he’s saying. At your quizzical look he repeats finally meeting your gaze. “I always knew I was kinda dumb but it’s only the last week or so that it’s really sinking in how dumb I am.”

Your mouth hangs open in surprise and confusion, “Forgetting something mundane like showers doesn’t make you dumb Yuji.”

He laughs scratching his orange pink locks. “It’s not just that. I- It’s just. Every person, no, every adult I felt like I could rely on is gone.” He looks down the hall to where Megumi’s room is. A look of concern plastered on his face. “Shoko just asked me about picking out housing for Cho, and like, I have no idea how to do that. And it’s stupid because the first thing my brain jumped to was to ask Nanamin for help.” Yuji’s voice catches but he muscles through and keeps talking. “He was so detail oriented and methodical. And even though he’d say things like, “Use moderate effort where moderate effort will suffice” he went above and beyond when it came to helping me.” A tear rolls down his cheek but he ignores it for the moment. “Then I thought I’d talk to Gojo. P-people always gave him crap for being goofy but he was always looking out for all of us kids. If I ever needed anything I’d text him and within a minute my phone would start ringing. He’d tease me for needing help or asking something dumb but he was always patient when he answered. Hell he even called me back in the middle of a fight against a special grade before.”

The boy laughs, the trail of tears down his face obvious now. He sniffles a moment and you move to get him a tissue at a nearby reception type desk. He accepts it gratefully before blowing his nose. “You wanna know the worst part?” His voice sounds sarcastic around the sobs. “It’s all my stupid fault, if I hadn’t of eaten that finger-“

You move forward and awkwardly hug him even as he sits on the counter. Interrupting him you finish his sentence, “If you hadn’t eaten that finger Kenjaku would have still organized the curses that killed Nanami; and Megumi would be dead from the curse at your school.” Yuji leans into you, sniffling into your shoulder as you stroke his back. “Satoru Gojo was the strongest sorcerer alive other than Ryoumen Sukuna. You can’t blame yourself for his death. Gojo would laugh you out of the room if you said it was your fault he died.” You give Yuji a moment to cry before you back up a step. Meeting his eyes your hands come up to his face and you wipe the last of his tears away. “But you know what? All of Nanami and Gojo’s students survived an all out attack by the strongest curse user and sorcerer history has ever seen.” You give him a comforting smile before stroking back his pink hair. “And I don’t know about you but as a teacher or a mentor. I’d feel pretty damn proud to die doing that.”

Chapter 3 ————————————-Chapter 5

[idontknowanametouse]

So... I wrote a fic about Jujutsu Kaisen. Cause I refuse to believe canon. Anyway, here it is. (spoilers for Shibuya arc and a lil bit for the Culling Games arc) (briefly, it will be available in Ao3. probably) (sorry for bad english and probable inaccuracy with canon)

Kugisaki is moved to another room of the infirmary. Shoko knows she’ll have to do a herculean effort to try revert the cursed technique, but it’s worth it. Furthermore, she can see that the body modifications that were made on the girl’s body are less profond than those made on Nanami’s. And maybe, just maybe, the fact that Kugisaki’s technique affects the soul may help her during the execution.

When she finally stops doing the Reversed Curse Technique, Shoko falls on her knees, all vitality leaving her body. She feels like she is about to die after fighting with such effort against the cursed technique. Hana helps her to get up, as she was there after being called to take off Gojo’s seal, and Shoko took advantage of her presence to ask for help and try reverting the curse’s technique. The woman is reliefed they cured the girl’s physical form, but doesn’t know if they did the same to her mind.

_

There are people on the room before Ieiri can stop anyone from entering in. Even though Itadori, Fushiguro and Maki are the only ones to stay in there all the time, the rest of them stays a long time, and it works like this on the following two days until Kugisaki wakes up.

At the first moment, she looks around, confused. One of her eyes is milky and has stretch marks around it, as they couldn’t heal that damage without leaving behind a scar. Kugisaki moans a little because of the pain, squinting her eyes, trying to make the left one see, but in vain. Then, as her gaze falls over those around, her confusion seems to increase with their faces of expectations and tension, and opens her mouth, about to ask what happened, when she remembers she couldn’t speak before.

An avalanche of memories suddenly comes up and burries her under it. Memories from Shibuya and from the week after that.

Then, for the first time in many, many years, Nobara Kugisaki starts crying.

There’s an instant of shock in which everyone can’t do anything except feel their hearts break with the vision of her face getting contorted with pure trauma and pain as tears pour uncontrollably out of her eyes, making clear how broken Nobara is. The following instant, she feels arms squeezing her tightly and continues to cry.

_

It’s been a few hours since Nobara woke up. She is shrunken on the litter, and, even though she no longer has the empty look from before, now, it seems her eyes are the epitome of silent pain. Yuji hasn’t left her side since she woke up, and everyone agreed on making shifts to stay close to her.

Suddenly, the infirmary door opens and Megumi enters in.

“Nobara.”

“Ah, hi, Megumi.”

“Do you want to speak?”

“No.”

“Ok. Then, you just need to turn around to look.”

Without knowing what he means, she turns around and immediatly sits on the litter, exclaiming:

“My cane!!”

She practically rips the metal object out of Megumi’s hands, looking at the pink stars pattern with the trans and lesbian flag stamped on the handle, shocked. She asks:

“How did you get it?!”

“They found it on Shibuya and brought it back here. Yuji wanted it to stay here.”

“...thanks, Yu.”

“You’re welcome!” he smiles, and, for a second, just a second, she seems to almost smile back to him.

_

Now that she can walk through the school again, it’s normal to see Nobara wandering around without saying anything, but it’s even more common to see her alone, at her part of the infirmary, staring at the wall while hugging her knees, her eye looking so, so tired.

Maki is the third one on the shift to visit her. They see the colorful cane propped up on the wall and the eyepatch with a heart on it (it was gift from Itadori) on the girl’s face. Just as she enters, they say:

“Hi.”

“Hey, Maki...”

“How are you doing?”

Nobara doesn’t answer.

“Does it hurt?”

“The eye? No. And... the burn scars?”

“Just when they touch something.”

“I’ve never seen your arms before. They’re beautiful.”

“Ah... thanks.”

She sees a hair strand fall over Nobara’s face. Since they started hanging out, Maki sees that this sometimes happened, and always puts it behind her ear. They tries to do the same now. In an instant, Nobara’s eye gets wide and she almost falls back, covering her face with her hands:

“NO!!!”

Maki immediately stops. A second passes until Nobara looks between her fingers and uncovers her face, now flushed, murmuring:

“Sorry... sorry... I’m really sorry...”

“Hey, hey, it’s ok. Don’t apologize.”

“It’s just... that...” her voice almost disappears as she speaks. “...his... hand...”

Maki doesn’t need any more information. She just approaches without raising their arms and sits by her side on the bed. Nobara hesitates for an instant, then her head falls over their shoulder.

_

The cane hits the ground when Nobara enters the other part of the infirmary. Nanami’s eyes meet her and she backs off, getting off the room. She can’t face him. Not yet.

_

“It’s made to wipe you out.”

“What?” Shoko asks, looking at Kugisaki.

“The needles. They stick you and make you get confused everytime you remember a little bit of yourself. They’re parts of his body that he modified to make it look like this way.

Shoko looks at the girl’s face, so shaken by everything that happened.

“...thank you, Kugisaki.”

_

‘She wakes up, feeling like all of her body was under the effect of anesthesia. There’s a point of her face that hurts. She tries to move, but feels heavy. She can barely open her eyes, such big is her tiredness. Her mind seems to be completely empty and she can barely think. Suddenly, someone raises her eyelid delicately and her gaze falls over two men. One of them smiles and says:

“Ah, you finally woke up! How do you feel, Hime-chan?”

She tries to speak about the mess that her body feels like, but her tongue curls up and shows itself as being useless on saying anything. The man raising her eyelid giggles and says:

“Oh, of course, silly me! You can’t speak. But don’t worry, you won’t need it. Instead, I’ll explain you what’s happening, ok? But, before, I’ll just put this behind your neck!”

And he creates out of the palm of his hand an ensemble of black needles.’

Nobara wakes up suddenly and turns around, gets her cane and walks out of the room. She doesn’t know what she wants to do, all she knows is that she doesn’t want to stay there to ruminate that again and again.

She goes to her room on the dormitory and looks at her stuff. She gets surprised they didn’t put everything away when they thought she was dead. Maybe Yuji stopped it from happening. Suddenly, her gaze falls over a small bottle of brown hair dying product.

She takes it. Her hair is now on its natural color, black, and she hates the fact that it’s this way. It always gave her a fucking horrible disphoria. She goes to the bathroom, but stops walking once she hears someone say:

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t saw there was someone here.”

She turns around and sees a person on pajamas with brown skin, long black hair with a pink strand and piercings on the lip. Nobara asks:

“Who are you?”

“Hoshi Kirara. I came here cause of my boyfriend.”

“Kugisaki Nobara. I... kind of live here.”

“Kugisaki...? Ah.” They seem to notice the bottle in her hand. “You gonna dye your hair? Sleepless tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“I know how. Wanna help?”

Nobara was about to say she was fine, until she realizes that, actually, she wants to do anything, except be alone. Then, she nods and they go to the bathroom.

Occasionally, Kirara makes a few commentaries, but they don’t seem to be expecting an answer from Nobara. Instead, they give her space, seeming to comprehend that the girl does that mostly to have someone by her side, to make those haunting thoughts leave.

“You are so pretty!” Kirara exclaims. The morning is arriving when Nobara’s hair entirely brown.

“...thanks.”

“You welcome.”

(this is the part 3 of a fic I wrote. To get the other parts, research for "the shape of two souls")

[mildlylesbian]

Hermitcraft Headcannons Masterpost 2023

This is a remake of a previous headcanons post I made last year. Since making said post I've not only engaged with the community more but have also learned a lot about the content creators themselves which has changed some headcanons.

All Hermits are not included on this list, either due to me not knowing enough about them to properly headcanon, or because I personally didn't feel comfortable doing so. I'd love to hear your headcanons for everyone though!

PLEASE NOTE: These headcanons are based heavily off of the lore for my upcoming fic 'Of Songbirds and Watchers', if something does not make sense please glance through the posts in the fic tag before telling me it doesn't make sense. /lh

Formatting for this will be short childhood history followed by bullet points of relevant shit.

Grian

Grian was born to two Avian parents. However, the Avian gene skipped over him making him entirely human. He's the oldest child of 4, having one biological sibling named Jimmy and two adopted sisters named Lizzie and Pearl.

Was a successful Admin prior to EVO, with projects such as Wyrnncraft

The Watchers took interest in him because he was able to manipulate code much easier than most

He isn't open about his time with the Watchers. However, it's not a secret

Often dyes his wings or manipulates his code to appear less watcher-like

Wears custom boots that mimic bird talons when flying to assist with landing

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Pearlescentmoon

Pearl's biological parents are unknown. It's not shocking her parents abandoned her due to her 'Black Witch Moth' wing coloring. Luckily she was adopted and now has three siblings, Grian, Lizzie, and Jimmy.

Joined EVO late due to being away on work

Was obsessive over her search for her brothers following their disappearances

Insists on everyone else taking care of themselves despite never taking care of herself

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MumboJumbo

Born a human, Mumbo spent many years improving his redstone technique before joining the Hermitcraft server at 17.

Would meet Grian through servers they both frequented

Turned into a vampire during season 8 and promptly spent the entire season living off of veggies to avoid hurting his friends

Also searched for Grian following EVOs collapse, however was unaware Pearl was also looking

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GoodTimeWithScar

The vex don't typically name their young. However, the name Scar was given to this vex by his brother due to the Scars that littered his body from all the times he was injured. They also typically don't have family units, instead being born and given to an evoker, Scar did not care he gave himself a brother.

Following the loss of his mobility as a teen and his increasing need for mobile support the vex planned to abandon Scar, instead he and Cub ran away

Uses a wheelchair and cane depending on the day

Yes, human flesh is part of his diet. However, so long as he keeps a meat-rich diet he only needs human flesh once or twice a month

Jellie was the first non-hostile mob Scar met outside of the mansion

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Cubfan135

Cub was named by Scar because he reminded the other man of a bear cub. Really scary looking, but actually a cuddle bear. He accidentally acquired Scar as a sibling, and despite acting indifferent to him actually adores him and will commit several crimes to ensure his safety.

He's technically the second-oldest Hermit and a senior. However, a de-aging potion reversed his age to his mid-20s - making him physically younger than his younger brother

Despite having a physical age in the mid-20s he still has a few grey hairs, thanks Scar!

Plump boi (idk how else to phrase this, he's round and gives great hugs)

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Iskall85

Iskall was born a dwarf and raised communally by his server. He picked up an interest in redstone pretty early on and left home in his late teens to pursue his knowledge before joining Hermitcraft.

Lost his left eye to a redstone malfunction

Robotic eye was crafted by Docm77

Often mistake as ImpulseSVs brother

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ImpulseSV

Impulse was born a dwarf on the same server as Iskall. However, the two never interacted before joining Hermitcraft. He left the commune in his early 20s to pursue building and redstone before joining Hermitcraft.

Has difficulty growing a beard and gets upset when his is cut

Often mistaken as Iskall85s brother

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Geminitay

Gem was born a faun and spent the majority of her life alone in the forest, learning how to control her plant magic. In her mid-teens, she discovered other players who stumbled into her world. Through them, she learned about building and began learning herself.

Is able to control plants and make them grow faster at the expense of her energy

Has deer legs and antlers

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Bdouble0

Bdubs was born a human. However, after a bad run-in with a phantom he turned into a phantom-hybrid. This event caused him to have a fear of the dark, leading him to sleep before the sun set every night.

Despite being a phantom-hybrid, Bdubs does not burn in the sun. He does however easily get sunburned

He has wings and nightvision

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Docm77

Doc was born a satyr on an unknown server before being kidnapped and experimented on my players trying to play god. These experiments left him as an amalgamation of satyr and creeper.

Upon escape, he crafted robotics for parts of himself that were now missing, such as his eye and arm

Making these robotics caused him to fall in love with redstone

He wears a labcoat as a way to cope with what scientists did to him

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RentheDog

Ren was born to a large wolf-hybrid pack on a server. He left in his late teens to learn more about other players and still keeps in close touch with his various brothers - so much so that he has invited several to the hermitcraft server at times.

Has separation anxiety due to being a wolf-hybrid

Wears sunglasses due to having sensitive eyes

Has enhanced earing and dislikes constant loud noises

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Ethoslab

Etho is an enderman-hybrid, and much like the mob he is a hybrid of he appeared out of nowhere one day. He is known to be an inspiration for many people due to his personality and redstone skills, however little is known about him.

His red eye is robotic and was created by Doc

There is a lot of nerve damage on the left side of his body, causes unknown

Wears a mask because it makes him feel more comfortable

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FalseSymmetry

False is an eagle avian who was born a twin to a well-respected family on a server. However, she was kidnapped as a child and lost most of her memories. She escaped her kidnappers on her own and later joined Hermitcraft.

Empires!false is her twin, not her clone here

There is no rhyme or reason to this backstory, she just gives off the vibes

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Stressmonster101

Stress was born a flower fey and spent her childhood in a secluded forest. In her late teens, she befriended a witch who taught her about potion making. She would later leave to pursue her own interest and join Hermitcraft.

She has fairy wings because I said so

Can manipulate plants much like Gem

Resident healer due to having a basic knowledge of potions

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ZombieCleo

Cleo was born a human and worked as a teacher on a family server in her early years. However after a respawn gone wrong, she was revived but never healed, causing her to become a zombie. This freaked out her server and she was kicked.

Can withstand the sun for a few hours before burning

Due to having to constantly stitch her own skin back together, Cleo is a master sewer and is the go-to for surgeries and clothing

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JoeHills

Joe claims to be a human, but no one is convinced. He grew up on a normal server, lived a normal life, and joined Hermitcraft. For such a normal backstory he's really fucking weird /pos

Changes his appearance so regularly that people get confused as to who he is

Really likes poetry, will recite it to you without being prompted

Xisuma and Grian are the only ones with evidence of him being human, despite this even they question it

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

iJevin

Jevin was originally just a normal slime, but one unexpected code glitch mid-consuming a skeleton later and now he has sentience. Everyone is confused but accepts this.

Dyes himself blue to avoid being mistaken for a slime mob

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Keralis

Keralis is best described as an eldritch horror. He is made of void, can alter his appearance on a whim, and consume entire servers if he so pleases. Men fear him and fish want him.

Sweetest dude you will ever meet

His eldritch horror status isn't known server-wide due to poor experiences in the past with telling people he's a world-destroying being

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Zedaph

Zed was born a sheep satyr and always took an interest in the world around him. He spent many years studying mobs and hybrids while experimenting with redstone in hopes of making life easier for everyone.

Huge hybrid activist

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

TangoTek

Tango is a blaze-hybrid who wondered out of the end by mistake. Trying to return he learned a lot about the overworld and decided to settle there after telling his family.

He is fire-resistant but cannot stay in the cold long

The flames on his head react to his current emotion, getting bigger and hotter when he's passionate and dimmer when he's unsure or nervous

If his flames go out he gets deathly ill

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Xisumavoid

Xisuma was born a voidwalker, eventually leaving the end to learn more about overworld players following an encounter he had with one.

His suit allows him to breathe in the overworld, without it he will suffocate

Does not know when to take a break

Doesn't have a shadow

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

EvilXisumavoid

Ex was never born, but rather made. Due to a glitch, Xisuma's shadow gained sentience, and would later be given a body. Ex resented his 'brother' as Xisuma referred to them, annoyed with the knowledge that he had spent much of his life living as a reflection of the other.

Ex was not always his name, although his given name has been disowned by him and forgotten by others

Has grown fond of the Hermits over the years, and never intends to harm them in a way they cannot recover from

[tumbleweeddesktop]

JEEZ OKAY FUCK IT SECOND ASK IN A ROW bc theres another idea i wanna talk about regarding just Haruta.

Cause the first time i saw the shit in Shibuya happen i completely misunderstood the way his power works and i got too attached to my version of it so its canon to me now XD. So basically i thought his technique gave him additional lives rather than making him lucky (bc lets be real no amount of luck coulda saved him from getting his ribs obliterated by Nanami in that fight). Sooo in my interpretation, instead of being able to cheat death he does pretty much die, and his technique simply creates a burst of reversed cursed energy whenever he would to restore his body.

I dunno its kinda weird but. To me it makes more sense than just being lucky :P

Also this leads to him having a bad relationship with death/mortality, being incredibly reckless since he's so used to getting hurt and knows he's not gonna die. Oh and thats the reason my redesign of him is absolutely covered in scars - his technique does restore his body but its not perfect.

Im just yapping at this point but one last thing. The Faulty Feline Philosophy by Ferry is literally his song PLEASE listen to it if you haven't yet /nf OKAY BYE

I think his power is interesting on its own bcs the explanation of it being "luck" plays into how limitless the factors into his ability is. Like it changes his circumstances so he can survive fatal blows (from the wiki cs im bad at wording). But does that mean the luck ability he has can see into the future of what Haruta will experience and then transform the circumstances around it before it occurs, basically changing reality to make sure he survives and all.

But your rct part is kinda interesting too ngl, like he doesn't get fatally injured but can still feel the pain so to some extent rct is sorta his ability too if going with this ldjkfjgjdjf

Oh he's horrible with death which probs explain his overall carelessness when fighting but he doesn't know how much luck he has left and probs thinks it's limitless (as evidenced by him not knowing that his luck ran out) ykw in ur prev ask imagine if nanami is the one who figured out how his miracles works and always kept watch of all the miracles haruta have left during battle

ALSO I NEED TO SEE YOUR REDESIGN PLEASE IM BEGGING YOU AAAAAAAAAA and I have listened to faulty feline philosophy and you're so fucking correct THAT IS HIM

[bonnymori]

𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲

Word count: 2760+ (i'll try to keep bigger lengths such as this one!)

Synopsis: You meet a new classmate who's working along Nanami, you think he's fun to be around, it stands the same to him about you. Later, feelings unravel.

Contents/Warnings: (1) Itadori Yuuji x gn!reader (2) FLUFF, TONS OF FLUFF - and some comfort (3) With the small participation of... Ino Takuma!! I really like him too, that's why <33333 (4) This is pretty platonic, but also not? (5) Ending turned sorta cliché... but I liked it u.u

A/N: This boy made me run rampant... to fhe point it's not single attraction anymore I just wish him happiness (smh if only my parents knew...) also next post will be Toji's fic pt. 2! Y'all see the first part is almost reaching 100 kudos????? I'M SO HAPPY EHSODJWKDKSJD- thanks for all the new followers and the support!! <33

Ever since his fake death, Itadori has been training alone with the help of Gojo - and now, he works along a freshly new face, who belongs to a senior, founds out ex-salaryman named Nanami Kento. He's far a thousand times more strict than Gojo. Itadori doesn't really likes the change, because Nanami is a person he can't get along. This whole guy's appearance scream "work 4 life"; he has proved different, now he screams "work is shit - but I gotta do it because others won't".

They've just finished cleansing the outside of a movie theater off a few curses, when Itadori hears shouting from far behind them. Two figures approach, waving excessively. He quickly picks on Nanami's tired sigh beside him.

"Nanami! We figured out you'd be here! Our mission has been finished and we wanted to catch up to have lunch together!" A male clad in a full black outfit shouts, he has brown hair and a beanie on top of his head, looking quite content.

The other person simply trots next to him in silence, approaching with a friendly smile. They notice Itadori faster than the male, smile widening and quickly waving hello, suddenly eager to reach up to them. The gesture makes the pink haired boy perk up, curious to why the other person looked so joyful. His question is easily answered, when they tug on the man's sleeve and motion to him.

"Ino, we have a third buddy!" The dude looks at him with widened eyes. "So nice to meet you, I'm Y/N L/N! It's great to see new faces around!"

Itadori smiles at your energy, knowing already he would click with you very well.

"I'm Ino Takuma, sorry for not noticing you before! Your uniform looks cool." Itadori exchanges a few compliments with Ino, before the man turns to talk with Nanami, leaving him and you together.

"Yes! I'm Sukuna's vessel, Itadori Yuuji-desu! My type of woman is Jenn-"

You turn to him. "So, are you a first year?"

"Geh? Weren't you dead though?!"

"I was!- I am!- Please keep secret."

"Okay!"

"Ahem." Nanami coughs, drawing attention. "I requested you two to not come after me today. Itadori here is the reason why."

"That's no problem, we're very capable of keeping secrets." You threw your arm over Itadori's shoulder, him nodding along with you.

"Oh really, then remember to keep quiet about it. I'll let this slide." The group of students nervously at Nanami's intimidating tone. "But, I'll get to have my break alone."

"Gah!" Ino exclaimed, watching Nanami walk away; he also left the responsability of taking care of Itadori for you two, leaving without a word. "It really had to be today, when Nanami would take us to his favorite bakery..."

"Crybaby." You teased. "Itadori here can't go outside where anyone can see him, he's dead. So, we were to order food either way because he shouldn't be left out."

"Augh okay, it would be unfair."

"So, where are you staying Itadori?"

"At Gojo's state!"

"Whoa, I've never been there before." Ino commented, waiting as you sent a message to Ijichi to pick them up.

"He's my teacher, a very cool one!"

"I imagine! Ooookay, once we get there I'll get the food."

Itadori felt as his chest would burst of excitement, finally there was people around him again, he couldn't be less happy about it.

"Sharing is caring!"

Itadori laughed as you wrestled with Takuma for some fries, netflix long forgotten in the background, as watching the banter was way more entertaining. Most of the time, Ino rambled a lot about Nanami, while he rambled a lot about Gojo. The guy even showed him the cool scar under his beanie. He felt kinda upset after explaining the exchange was just temporary, his stay under Nanami's wing wasn't decisive, and therefore, he was more like a classmate than a partner.

Itadori also learned a lot about you. He was surprised to find out that you, although energetic, was the one to speak the lesser in conversations. His surprisement grew even bigger when you told him you're a exchange student from Kyoto, arriving Tokyo about the same month as him - thankfully, you were to say for good.

Conversations flowed easily in the air, until a voice from the doorway barged in.

"Yuuji-kun! Don't forget about your lessons! Hi kids! Bye kids!" Gojo said playfully, throwing the familiar punching bear to Itadori before leaving.

"What's this thing?" Ino asked.

"It's to help me control my cursed energy. So while I watch the movies, if I don't charge it with cursed energy it punches me square in the face. I thought I had mastered this thing already, but he insist I keep training with it." Itadori grumbles.

"At least it's cute." You commented, taking a sip of your drink.

"Until it punches you in your face without warning!" The pink haired boy barks.

The talks died down, the three of you eating quietly when another movie is played on the screen. Itadori didn't bother reading the title, it was a plain one about a zombie apocalypse that got him extremely bored, yet he kept watching still so the plushie didn't punch him in the face again; he's been keeping a record since all his last cursed energy training lessons were a sucess to this day. When his head started nodding and eyelids dropping Itadori can't remember well, about fourty five minutes of movie perhaps? Make it fifty, the second slumber took over his body completely.

When he awoke once again, it was near midnight, the clock on the wall told him so. He also noticed a soft and warm surface supporting his head, figures, it's your shoulder he's resting into, he feels an arm around his own shoulders and your cheek placed upon his hair.

"Hey, it's late." You immediately notices he's awake, calling out softly. "You should sleep on your room, or something, better to your spine."

He chuckles when you poke his side. "But I'm comfortable here."

"I'm surprised, you just met me today, and now is sleeping on my shoulder."

"I'm not, that happens often to me."

"Sleeping on people's shoulders?"

"No! Making friends quickly." Itadori likes your gentle warmth, your hug, everything makes him feel at home. "I met two more people before you for two weeks, but they can't see me, because I'm dead."

"So I'll keep you company, that's my new mission."

His eyes widen at that, a oh so little blush covering the tip of his ears.

"For how many time I slept anyway?" He asks.

"About two- no, three hours. You missed two movies, and this one is about to end."

"And you stayed here the whole time?" He motions to your shoulder.

"Yep. That reminds me I gotta pee."

Itadori grumbles, but quickly lifts himself off you, respecting your needs. That gives him some time to look around, he notices Ino is gone, and the plushie sits quietly at the other side of the couch, unmoving.

"Y/N! How did you manage to make it quiet down?" He's beyond bafflet.

"...que."

"What!"

"I said!" You arrive quickly at the doorframe, hands still wet from when you washed them. "I used my innate technique."

"Oh! How is it like?"

"It's kinda funny, gimme a moment." You left to wipe off your hands, coming back in a second. "So, just like Shoko, I produce reverse curse energy, but it's quite different than hers, I can't heal people. That's why we often call it positive energy instead. I can use it to soothe off negative energy, so the bear has no cursed energy right now."

"How does it works on people?" He felt very curious about everything, asking away like a kid.

"Since everyone has negative energy, it just makes you sleepy really. But when it comes to curses it's really practical, I can either weaken it or, if the curse is like grade three or four, I can slap them off existence completely by wiping all their energy." You were naturally proud of having a such versatile power, your own energy swirling with pride around you.

"That sounds amazing! Is it why I fell asleep though?"

"Nah, only if I did it on purpose. I guess you were just tired, hope you don't mind I decided to let you rest today."

"No way, it was a good nap."

You nodded. "By the way, Ino left to attend to a drinking party, he paid for our food."

"Drinking? Is he old?"

"Yeah, he's twenty." You chuckled, already expecting that kind of reaction.

"No way! He looks young just like us!"

"That's totally my reaction after I learned he's twenty!"

After that day, you started visiting Itadori weekly to daily, after exchanging numbers he made a little group with you and Ino, naming it the "Nanami trio". But really, he exchanges more texts with you in private, be them memes, cool images he wish to share, etcetera. Although, Ino wasn't left excluded, he ofter brough his xbox to connect to Itadori's tv room and you all would spend hours playing together; he just didn't spend much time with both of you as much. And that was okay.

For a few days, your connection with Itadori died down when he didn't reply to your texts. They would remain unread for some time, the longest being half a day, until he would spam apologies then move on with the topic. That became a routine until one day when you came over to check on Itadori unnanounced, needin to ease off your worries about the boy, only to find him sobbing in the middle of a hallway, staring ahead and beyond, his back to you.

"Ita-?"

"Egh!" Startled, he scrambled to wipe his eyes, turning to you. "H-hey, um, hi."

"What happened?"

"I- he-" His eyes didn't met yours, knuckles white in a death grip. You notice he has a few bandages thrown over his face and arms. The way his shoulders are drawn, as if he wants to shrink into himself is something you've experienced before.

"Something hard to talk about?"

He nods almost immediately, head still facing down.

"It's alright, come with me." You reach for his hands, grimacing slightly when his forceful grip is now on your hand, yet you don't comment on it. He follows you through the state wordlessly.

You two stop on the same tv room, sitting down on the couch. You then guide his head to your shoulder, gently massaging his scalp with the free hand.

"It's alright."

Those two words are chanted like a prayer for the next half hour, at some point, Itadori twisted his body towards yours and unknowingly caged you between him and the sofa arm. He embraced you with a force you didn't have in you, like he didn't want to lose one another. Painful or not, not a muscle moved on your body. He needed a shoulder to cry on.

Thirty minutes passed like seconds, you peered down only to find the boy confortably napping against your bosom; at some point you just became the cold side of the pillow to him. That's alright. It brings you joy to be the mom friend anyways. So you decided to join the sleepland aswell, arms still secured around his shoulders and the back of his head.

It feels like the nap hasn't been long, though, because you can feel Itadori's grip loosening and therefore, you're awake.

"Sorry if I broke any bones, in advance."

"Wow, and you only warn me now."

He laughs at your comeback, hands still secured around your waist.

"I'm surprised you let me uh, cuddle you for comfort - and sleep. I don't understand it? You just make me sleepy." He rambled, keeping eye contact with you while his head still rests on your chest.

"That's a piece of cake when you have younger siblings who seek for you every night they get a nightmare."

"Does that mean I can come to you again if I have a nightmare?" There it is, his togepi-kirby cutesy face.

"Are you four?"

"That's mean!" Itadori blushed, squeezing you on his arms. "I like the contact. It puts me at ease."

"Mm, do you want to talk about it?"

He gulped. "No, not really."

Your peach haired friend remained silent, and so did you. It seems he doesn't intend in letting you go soon, or he just really forgot to mention it. It gives them time to think, your younger sisted used to do that sometimes, back in Kyoto.

"Y/N, wanna watch anything?"

"Sure, have you watched Parasyte before?"

"No, let's give it a try then!" Itadori glances at the remote, then back at you - making you confused over his hesitation to move. He notices you noticed it, chuckling nervously. "To be honest, I don't wanna let go."

"It's hurting my back."

"SORRY I'M SORRY!" He jumped away from you like a cat would jolt away from a cucumber, making you snicker.

"It's okay, I just wanted to change positions."

And to tease you, but he didn't need to know that part.

He glared at you with a small pout, typing the initials of Parasyte on the search bar. Outside his line of vision, you were grinning like a idiot, his sweeteness took a tow on you. All the people of Tokyo you met really held a way different spirit from your classmates in Kyoto, Itadori being the nicest of all. It's surprising him being Sukuna's vessel to begin with; being honest, you felt drawn by it.

"Y/N, it's startiiiiing." He cut your daydreaming short, slumping on your side and propping his head on your shoulder.

"This again?" You throw an arm around his shoulders, very much like the first time he cuddled himself on you.

"Don't blame me, you're the one who wanted to change positions. Guess I'll just make some alterations since I'm awake this time!" One of his arms went behind your back and circled your waist, hand resting at your hip.

"It's definely different, since the other time you drooled on me."

"Hhgh, okay okay! Let me enjoy this." For perhaps the actual first time, you're able to watch without exchanging words with one another.

And this time, it's you who's head loll to the side, nose buried on his soft rose perfumed hair. Itadori doesn't comment on it yet, his free hand moves under your legs to lift your whole body up efortlessly when he senses you have fallen asleep.

"I remember you said it's bad for my spine, I wouldn't mind it... yours however."

The boy makes a beeline to the guest room, he sighs when there is no choice but open the door with his foot. Inside, he places you carefully in the soft bed.

Before he could leave, a hand reaches up for his sleeve.

"Itadori," He turned, looking at you. "Make me company?"

He giggles softly - you think it sounds like a highschool girl. "You should start calling me by my first name!" Itadori rambles as he climbs on the bed, arms wrapping around your waist in a motion you're familiar with.

"Yuuji, I'm tired, let me sleep."

"But I wanna talk more..." He pouts. "Also, are we, um, dating?"

You wriggle around, bringing his head down to peck on his forehead, teasing. "Correction, I want to date you."

"Uh, oh." A blush coats his face so quickly, you'd say someone dumped a bucket of red paint on his face.

"Is that a no?"

"No!"

"So it is a no."

"Christ, will you stop teasing for a second, I'm trying to talk here." He makes an angry version of his togepi-kirby face, you can't help but grin.

"You amuse me, but okay. I'll do it for you."

"Thanks." He blinks, the blush slowly fading away. "You know, I lied, not about the contact, I like the contact nonetheless-"

His hand moves to play with yours, such as tapping his tips against yours, or meassuring the palms.

"-it's you who brings me comfort."

It's also your turn to blush, that line was seriously charming.

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, we're dating now." You respond, a little eagerly. "Can I kiss you?"

"Please."

This is the best person I could ask for, Itadori thinks, keeping his eyes open as yours shut during the kiss, whom I won't change for anything else in this world.

When you both separate, Itadori feels drowsy and sleepy. His face fits perfectly on your shoulder as always.

"Goodnight, my favorite person."

[angry-geese]

Blood Ties - Chapter Thirty Four: Let Fate Toy With You

Soulmate au Choso x Reader

Warnings: canon typical violence. injury mention. overall sfw

Synopsis: a pretty plot heavy chapter. james and mal continue their plot to take over territory in their barrier, when they run into more players

Word count: 3.6k

prev - next

Masterlist

When James finally comes to, the room is spinning, and his throat is dry. He freezes. This is not the room he last remembers being in.

"You're awake. Good. Almost thought she killed you." Mal says. Her voice comes from somewhere to the left. 

James props himself up on his elbows. The action of doing such sends a wave of fatigue rolling over him. His arms wrap around his chest, and he expects the pain of a broken bone, but finds nothing. He lifts his shirt just enough to glance at his chest, and he’s met with the sight of clean skin. Not a single bruise to be seen.

Mallory casts a glare at him. “Could you put your shirt back on please?”

So she can use a reversed cursed technique. And on other people.

“I healed what I could,” she says, between sips of her drink, “but there's only so much I can do. Chances are you're going to feel terrible.”

Well he's alive. That’s about the best he can ask for.

“I've never seen a weapon like that before.” James says.

“It's called a meteor hammer.” Mallory says. “Those things are hospital bills waiting to happen—I only recognized it from a DND campaign I played through. We had one of those in-game. A weapon like that takes too long to master, so generally they weren't mass produced for use by soldiers. Still, certain monks would train with them, as they had the time to dedicate to the craft.” 

“So she was a reincarnated sorcerer?”

Mal seems to think for a moment, before shrugging, and saying “Probably. I haven't really thought about that. I've been trying to plan our route.”

She's drawn a crude map on the back of a menu. It outlines the nearby streets, along with a few of the buildings—shops and whatnot. Certain areas are marked with large X’s. Others are blocked off with what James can only assume means danger.

James sits up, hunching over the map. "I assume you want to avoid the main streets?"

"Yeah." She says with a nod. "Aside from it being more open, another sorcerer has taken over that territory. I don't know her name, but I know she can weaponize her own blood." Mallory pulls down her shirt collar, revealing a long pale scar across her shoulder. “She got me pretty bad a while back.”

A Kamo maybe? A reincarnated one?

"What if we take this alley?" He asks, jabbing his finger into the map.

"That's run by a sorcerer called Talen," she says. "I've only ever interacted with him once. Weird guy. Kind of squirrely. Can't really call him harmless, but I don't think that he'll go after both of us."

James leans back in his seat, arms crossed in front of his chest. "So if you already know all this, then why bother taking over that apartment complex?" He asks.

"Because it's king of the hill, Jimmy." She says. "If we have that building secured, we have an easily defendable high point. We'll be able to see the landscape of this entire barrier. It’d give us a major leg up in this game. Putting it plainly: we aren't the only players trying to secure territory."

He points to the street adjacent to the one he entered on. “Is there a player with territory here?” 

Mal nods. “Name’s Aikawa, I think,” she says. “Last I heard of him, he was hiding out near one of the entry points—there's about nine of those scattered around this place. Some sorcerers will hang around these points, hoping to catch new players while they’re still disoriented.”

Point farming? Smart. “Do you know anything else about him?” Asks James.

“No. Just that he has about eighty points.” She says. “So he must be tough. And I’m not exactly eager to pick a fight with him.”

So a total of three sorcerers to take out. Fifteen points altogether. On his own, it’ll be no easy feat. But with Mal’s help, he may stand a chance. This Talen guy may be the easiest to take out. In order to do such, they need to corner him. Or catch him off guard. The next easiest would be Aikawa. He's definitely not expecting someone to fight back. That woman may prove to be a problem though…

“That leaves these two streets empty,” he says, pointing to a side street. Part residential, part commercial from the looks of it. “It's a longer way around, but there's plenty of cover. Nothing’s too open.”

"I hadn't even thought of that." She says. She leans back in her chair, sighing. Her brows knit in apparent thought. Mal sets her cup down with a soft thud. “If we’re going to be working together, I think it's best we understand each other’s strengths, and weaknesses.” She continues. “So tell me, what does your cursed technique do?” 

Though her question is innocent enough, it leaves James with a bad taste in his mouth. He has the feeling he should choose his next words rather carefully.

“By using a bit of a person’s blood, I can join two people with the string of fate.” James answers. “Some call it Matchmaker, but I don't have a name for it, so that's what I go with.”

Disappointment makes itself known in the crease between her eyebrows. “Really?” She says. “That's lame.”

He whips his head around to glare at her. “What's yours then?”

She stands, pushing her chair back in. Her neatly manicured nails drum against the table. "Do you think you can walk? Or should we rest a bit more before making the trip?” Her gaze turns to the window, and her expression falls. “We’ve got company.”

“How many?” James asks.

“I only see one.”

He lifts his head enough to peek out the window. One person, standing in the middle of the street. A woman. She’s not particularly strong looking, or physically imposing, but the cursed energy he senses from her is immense. This sorcerer has no weapons as far as James can tell. The string of fate loops itself around her ring finger, before disappearing. And if James had to guess, he’d say this woman is a reincarnated sorcerer.

From his belt, James seizes his revolver, cocking it. There's a soft click as the hammer locks in place, and a new round is readied. Mallory grabs him by the shirt collar, yanking him back down.

“What the hell are you doing?!” She hisses. “The noise from that is going to alert half of the people in this barrier! Do you want to bring everyone down on our asses?!”

The bitter taste of cursed energy fills his mouth. It's neither his, nor Mal’s. James senses another, weaker soul.

It stands on four legs like a dog, but it's body is far too big to be any animal he's ever seen. The three heads it has all resemble a different breed of dog: boxer, rottweiler, and german shepherd. Instead of fur, it has wrinkly, leathery skin. It resembles tanned leather far more than it does actual flesh.

A shikigami.

If that thing stands up on two legs I'm going to shit myself, he thinks. Luckily, it doesn't appear to be bipedal.

The hound stops, sniffing at the air, before one of its heads—the German shepherd—whips in James' direction. A cold shudder runs up his spine. Those are the eyes of a human. 

Then it howls. It's a horrible noise; beginning as a dog’s howl, but slowly turning into a more human scream. A metallic taste fills his mouth. It feels as if someone has stuffed his ears with cotton.

“What is that thing?” Mal asks, voice barely a whisper. With the way his ears are ringing, she could be yelling for all he knows.

“A shikigami.” He says. “It's like a cursed spirit, but it's being controlled by a sorcerer.”

“Looks like it's just the two of them.” She says. “Should we run? Or do you want to fight her?”

They need the points. If he's to put that rule into place, he needs all the points he can get. 

“We fight.” He says. “Going in guns blazing when we have no idea what she can do is a death wish, but I doubt there's any sneaking up on her. So… you distract her, I’ll take on her shikigami, then we’ll deal the killing blow when she’s weakened.”

“That sounds like a terrible idea.”

“You have a better plan?”

“Yes,” she says. “Running.” 

James’ brows knit in frustration. “I want those points. Now are you going to help me or not?”

“Fine.” She says. Her head whips towards the left. “I have an idea.” Mal makes a break for the stairwell. A moment later, a crash is heard from the floor above.

She's distracted. Likely deciding whether or not it's worth it to investigate that noise. Cursed energy pours down his arms, into his weapon. Rend isn't particularly complicated: it's the reinforcement of one’s limbs with cursed energy—any sorcerer worth his salt can do that. His finger tightens around the trigger.

He sticks his pointer and middle finger in his mouth, and whistles. In unison, the shikigami’s three heads all turn to look at him.

James reinforces his limbs with cursed energy too late. Sharp teeth make quick work of his flesh, sinking right into it. It takes everything within him not to scream then and there. Its hide is far too tough for any knife to pierce. From his belt, he pulls his knife, driving it into the eye of the shikigami. It sinks down into a hilt with a squelch. The resulting pulse of cursed energy is enough to stun the creature, but not to kill it.

She must recall her shikigami before he can destroy it, because the next thing he knows, he's on his hands and knees. His movements feel much like a scene in a badly shot horror movie; shaky camera and all. One scene he’s standing. Then a cut. Then he’s running. Then another cut. It's all blurry. There’s not much he recognizes, until he’s collapsing in the alley between two buildings.

James can only make out two words: “domain expansion,”

The following blast of cursed energy feels akin to being hit in the chest with a nuke. Like his cells are being torn apart one by one, and pieced back together wrong. James is blown backwards into a wall, the force of which is so strong he cracks the wood panels.

This room is big enough to be a gymnasium. Though it's too dark to make out much else. The sickly sweet smell of decay hangs in the air. It's as if there's a weight on his chest with how difficult he finds it to breathe. James pulls his shirt collar up over his nose, relieved to find it covered in a thin layer of sweat, making the smell slightly more bearable.

A low noise fills the room. Humming. Beating like a heart. He feels it low in his chest. It comes from the black ceiling. What's with the background music? 

It takes James a solid minute to regain his bearings. And in that time, if this sorcerer really wanted to kill him, she certainly could have. Standing takes an immense amount of effort. One of his ears is ringing badly. Something squelches underfoot. It looks like liquified flesh. Smells like it too. The floor is covered in this foul substance. A new wave of nausea rolls over him. James gags, covering his mouth with his hand. He takes in a breath, but the action provides little relief.

Weakly, he looks up. Flies. Hundreds of thousands of them coating the ceiling. Their wings glint black as they flap in unison.

Her hand brushes across his forearm briefly, and it's as if his chest has been pumped with an electrical current strong enough to stop his heart. The muscle beats in an irregular pattern. Thump! Thump-thump, thump-thump-thump! Thump! 

With each step she takes, a squelching noise follows, like boots getting stuck in mud. “You’re pretty strong.” She says. “You're from this era, aren't you? You're a cut above the usual grunts I run into.”

"What the hell did you do to me?" 

“My cursed technique saps a human being of their lifespan.” She continues, “you were supposed to live to the age of fifty-six. Through our brief contact, I have shaved twenty years off your lifespan.”

“Twenty years…?!” James sucks in a breath. Why was his lifespan so short in the first place? Fifty-six certainly isn't young, but it's not particularly old either. Not in the modern age, at least.

If he makes it out of this fight, that leaves him with nine years. Maybe less. Of course, she could be bluffing. Saying such a thing would be a decent fear tactic.

“Don't act so surprised,” she says. “You're a heavy smoker, a borderline alcoholic, and your diet primarily consists of fast food. Combine this with a high stress life-style and you’re a heart attack waiting to happen,

“The thing is… I know you.” She says. “Or I knew your ancestors. You’re the soulmate sorcerer. And I want something from you.”

James aims his revolver at her. Nobody is going to notice the noise in here. “You’re assuming I won't just kill you.”

“If you kill me here, you’re trapped in my domain forever.” She says. “Until you either go insane, someone brings me back and I let you out, or you find some way to off yourself. Either way, I'm certain that's not how you want to go out,

“I want the name of my soulmate. And I want to know if they’re still alive. Give me that, and you’re free to go,

“Of course, I can't let you leave this place without making some sort of binding vow. I'm sorry, but the laws of my cursed technique only allow so much,

“That woman you're with—you’re going to have to kill her,” she continues, “if she is not dead within the next nineteen days, my shikigami will have the remaining nine years of your life span, and you will die.”

A cold sweat breaks out on James’ forehead. “Why do you want her dead specifically?” He asks. “Why not have me kill any other player?”

“This woman has pissed me off, and I want her dead.” She answers, refusing to elaborate further.

James understood that it may come to that eventually. When your very survival is based on the deaths of one another, alliances only last so long. It's basic human nature. He's certain that, if it comes to it, he’ll be able to throw the killing blow. He doesn't want to, but he could do it.

“Now what do you need to find my soulmate?”

James swallows, but the lump in his throat refuses to go down.

“A bit of your blood.” He says, motioning for her to hold out her hand. She complies. He pricks the tip of her finger with his knife, drawing a small bead of blood, smearing it onto his palm. Slowly the string of fate begins to unravel, revealing a name.

“Attention!” Says a kogane, startling the pair near half to death, “a player has added a new rule to the game!”

Its mouth unravels like a scroll, revealing a list, numbered 1 through 10. 

10. Players may transfer a number of points of their choosing to another player

One of them did it. James lets out a sigh he hadn't realized he was holding. They did it.

James watches as the corners of her lips twitch.

“I'm going to give you five of my points,” she says. “Pretend you have killed me. I suppose we’ll meet again, if it comes to that,

“Kogane—I wish to transfer five of my points to this sorcerer.” Her own kogane appears, mouth unraveling like a scroll. She scans the list for a moment, before finding her name. Altogether, she has a little over forty points. So she's been going after sorcerers and humans.

“Why make a deal with Kenjaku?” James asks. “What could he possibly offer that's so great?”

“A chance to start over.” She says matter-of-factly. “Because I had regrets while I was alive. And I left this place with business I needed to finish.”

That's vague, he thinks. “Are you Angel, by any chance?” James asks.

“No,” she answers.

Five points have been added to: Whitford, James

The room seems to swirl into view all at once. James lands on his feet, before falling to his knees, gripping his shirt right where his heart should be. His heart beats in an irregular pattern, and he feels out of breath. A cold bead of sweat rolls down his back.

“Holy shit!” Mal says. “Are you alright?!”

Her hands are planting on his shoulders, roughly shaking him. His meager breakfast threatens to make a reappearance.

“I feel… nauseous.” James says, before gagging.

Mal lets him go, taking a step back. She eyes him warily. “You killed her?” She asks, almost as if she can't believe it. 

As if on cue, a Kogane appears, displaying:

Player name: Whitford, James

Current points: 15

It lingers for a moment, before disappearing as suddenly as it appeared. Fifteen points down. Only eighty-five to go.

"Did you know that sorcerer?" He asks.

"No," she says. "I've never seen her before. She must be a new player."

Somehow James doesn't buy that.

Nearly fifteen minutes pass as they walk in silence. To get into the lobby, they need a key fob. One is easily located on a body outside the main entrance. Someone has shut down the elevator, but the stairwells are unlocked. Wilting plants sit by the windows. Papers are strewn across the floor. It's dark, and the room is lit only by a faint red exit light. 

“Did you see that announcement? We can exchange points between each other now.” James says.

“Yeah. I wonder who put that into place.” She says.

In the dark, James fumbles around for a light switch. Harsh, white light fills the lobby. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light. At least there's power.

“Someone’s been here.” She says.

“How can you tell?” Asks James.

“Look,” she points to a door. “Those shoes over there.”

That could mean anything, he thinks. Must have been civilians. “Someone probably just forgot them.” 

“Don't you think it's a little odd, though?” She asks.

He shrugs. “I think they were in a hurry to leave.”

She props the door open, stepping out into the stairwell. Reluctantly, James follows her, and they begin the task of reaching the top floor. 

It's not until they're nearing the top floor that they find an exit unlocked. Most require keycards, of which they don't have. Others seem to be barred from the other side.

When they finally find an unlocked door, they leave through it, exiting out into the hall. The lights are on in this part of the building. Umbrellas and shoes are left out, as if people are still going to come back for them. The hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Towards the end of the hall, where it takes a sudden left, is a closet. Aside from Mallory, he senses another soul—multiple souls, clustered together.

There's about eight people altogether, all huddled in this broom closet. A man, a woman, and the rest are kids. None look to be older than elementary schoolers; the oldest being about ten, the youngest around six.

The woman has a rifle pointed at James' face. And that's the last James expects to see of his face.

“M-move and I’ll shoot!” She says, her finger tightening around the trigger. "These are my students, and I am willing to defend them with my life."

"Woah, woah," James holds up his hands in defense, "that's not necessary. Nobody needs to defend anybody with their life right now—we're just looking for the roof access of this building."

"Why should we help you?" She spits. "All you shamans do is kill us for sport! You damn savages!"

That seems to strike a nerve with Mallory, who’s face twists into a scowl. James senses the sudden flare of her cursed energy.

"Listen lady, half of us didn't have a say in whether or not we would fight. Same as you, right?" Mal says. "We're all on the same page here."

"Civilians can leave the colony through two allotted exits," James says, " if you help us, we’ll help you. We’ll try to get you guys out of here."

“We will?” Mal asks.

“You can get us out of here?” The woman asks. “We can leave?”

“There's a rule in this game that allows nonplayers to leave.” James says. “In each colony there's at least two exits in which civilians can use. Problem is, we don't know where they are.”

Someone does. They have to. Mallory glares over at him, as if to ask “did you really have to add in that last part?”

The woman raises the rifle back to James’ eye level. “So I just have to take your word? Is that it?”

“Kei-sensei!" Says a girl, about the age of nine. "It's Ryo! He's-” 

"He needs his inhaler." She says. "We left in such a hurry, I hadn't even realized he forgot it." Kei sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. She pauses, mouth pressing into a thin line, before looking up at James. “If you get me his inhaler, we’ll help you. Then you’ll help us leave, right?”

James grimaces at the thought of being sent on another fetch quest. But Mal, showing an uncharacteristic amount of pity, nods and smiles.

"We’ll get you guys out of this place," Mal says. "Pinky promise?"

[katyamorrigan]

‘Hope is the thing with Feathers’ by KatyaMorrigan

For the Grishaverse Reverse Mini-Bang 2021, run by @grishaversebigbang, and with stunning art created by @wqemzz-blog - click here for her incredible illustration of Kaz and Inej!

Captain Inej Ghafa has returned to Ketterdam for the first time in three years. In all that time, The Wraith never docked at Berth 22 for more than an afternoon, and the crew never strayed further than the harbour front.

Could she have stopped by sooner? Absolutely. Did she choose not to for entirely business-related reasons? Absolutely not. She has no idea what her friends will make of seeing her again after so long, least of all Kaz. But there is hope - hope that in that time, he will have grown as much as she has. That he will be the kind of person that she can share a pot of tea with without a thought of how he might feel about her.

Because Inej isn't done with being a pirate yet. But it doesn't mean she wants to be at sea forever.

I had the best time getting to write this fic based on the idea proposed by Emma. So much of a good time, in fact, that I overwrote it by around 4k words in the end... This is the much more civilised 2k word version - the full iteration of the story is on my AO3 ), but this significantly neater version will remain on my Tumblr for good. I really hope that you like it, and check out @wqemzz-blog for all your beautiful art needs!

Link to the fic on AO3: ‘Hope is the thing with Feathers’

And available to read below the cut here:

‘Hope is the thing with Feathers’

It occurred to Inej as she entered Kaz’s office for the first time in three years, that in the past she might have second-guessed the meaning of his offer to have tea together. They had just spent a few hours talking during dinner – mostly talking over Jesper and Wylan, who had hosted the meal and were either polite or forgiving enough to allow them to dominate the conversation with reflections on Inej’s time beyond Ketterdam. Three years was a long time when you had last been teenagers breaking into the Ice Court together, when you were now the owner of a galleon that hunted slaver ships from Fjerda to the Wandering Isle. There was plenty to discuss between them, and it seemed that Kaz had changed enough to ask her to stay with no apprehension, so that they could be in each other’s company a little while longer.

The attic room was identical to her memories of it but her gaze was drawn to Kaz, with ungloved hands, stooping to open the cupboard and bring out two tins. With a tentative look at her, he placed them on the desk and opened them. Inej couldn’t help laughing.

“When did Dirtyhands start keeping cookies in his office?” she teased. “Two kinds, as well.”

He gave a permissive smile. “Nina may have had more influence over me than I would like to admit. She sends them to me from Ravka.”

Feeling a bittersweet rush of longing for her friend, Inej reached over and helped herself to an iced biscuit with a red star on the top as Kaz took the other tin and started to make them tea. The room filled with the smell, quiet clinking noises coming from the cupboard again as Kaz fetched cups and saucers, and Inej watched him from the corner of her eye as she nibbled. He had taken off his jacket, and Inej could see the strong line of his shoulders as he prepared their drinks. Yes, a younger version of herself would have been much more flustered than Captain Ghafa, as she was now. She might have told herself stories about how invested Kaz was, about his tactics and techniques for making her trust him – for making her want to stay. Now she had no such worries. She was in the bedroom of an old friend – an old partner, in many ways – and they were sharing a pot of tea.

Inej smiled as she turned away from sneaking glances at Kaz and looked out of the window instead, at the uncharacteristically beautiful light that was shining in. The fog of the early afternoon had lifted, and Ketterdam seemed to concentrate every scrap of colour on painting the evening sky in crimson and gold. It felt like a personal display from the city, like it was finally welcoming her in. She couldn’t believe that she had been away for so long.

“Can I open the window?” she asked. Kaz chuckled.

“You have never once asked my permission to open a window.” Kaz brought over their cups and placed them on the sill, where Inej was now sitting, and obligingly opened it for her.

A gentle breeze entered the room, tickling Inej’s cheek. She closed her eyes for a second and forgot that she had ever been away. The sensation of being here – in Kaz’s office, on the windowsill, letting the fading sunlight warm her skin – made her feel so young and so old at the same time. It was like slipping into an outfit she hadn’t worn in years, feeling the ways it had always fit her, and the ways that she had grown since. Inej was nothing like the girl that Kaz had once known, but she didn’t feel so different when she was back here, just a little taller and a little more forgiving.

Kaz brought over a plate with more cookies, taking a large one heavily studded with chocolate, and leaned against the wall. It had been three years, but still they were so comfortable existing in a space like this together, breathing in the warm air. She took a sip of her tea, and tasted honey. Just the way she had always liked it.

“You look well,” he said, not breaking the silence but disrupting it, like ripples on a pond. “The sea suits you.”

“Thank you. I rather like it too. Ketterdam has continued to suit you – is that a new scar on your jaw, or have I just never noticed it?”

“It’s new. About a year ago I was very nearly shot in the face by a Razorgull. Fortunately Jesper manipulated the bullet at the last second and I was only burnt.”

She inhaled sharply in sympathy, and Kaz shrugged. “It healed quickly, and that’s all I ask for.”

“Do you ever think you’ll end up more scar than skin?” she said, half in jest and half with sincerity. As the words left her mouth, she thought of how closely her question came to the kind of Suli proverb that she had goaded him with previously. That she had tested him with.  

“Not anymore.”

His reply was unexpectedly thoughtful. Inej turned to him, and he gave a soft smile.

“The Dregs don’t get caught up in the same trouble that they used to. There’s less chance for me to get hurt.”

“I’m glad.”

She took a cookie, a chocolate one like Kaz’s, and bit into it. It crumbled instantly, scattering crumbs all down her chin and the front of her waistcoat. Kaz saw; there was a beat of silence and then laughter, Inej’s giggles muffled by the cookie.

“You pirates make our manners look sophisticated,” he commented. She swatted the air in front of him.

“My manners haven’t suffered at all, I’ll have you know!”

“My poor windowsill. I’ll have to clean it now.”

“It could probably do with a clean if you’re anything like you used to be,” she replied, and Kaz raised an eyebrow at her.

“I always cleaned the windows frequently.”

“Specifically the windows.”

He tilted his shoulder and looked out across the city. The gilded roofs stretched from the harbour all the way to the Barrel. Inej watched him as he absorbed it all, taking a sip of tea, adjusting the cup in his bare hands. He looked exactly the way she had hoped to find him – a little stronger, a little harsher, that new scar dimpling the line of his jaw like a tally on a gun barrel, but unmistakeably the same Kaz that she had left behind. He looked every bit the young man that he was – handsome, clever, mean.

“You loved to sit here and look out. I always made sure you’d be able to.”

“Oh.”

She was glad he kept looking at the view. To lock eyes with him then might have done something to her – made her feel another way. A way she had felt for a long time, that she had stifled. Inej focused her gaze on the broken pieces of cookie in her hand, crumbling it more. Everything felt quietly loud; gentle, but unrelenting.

The familiar click of claws on tiles came from a little further along the roof.

Kaz leaned towards the sound. “They must have recognised you,” he smiled, “The crows have come back.”

Inej made an elated noise and turned herself to look. There they were – a little murder of crows, with sharp eyes and sharp beaks, cawing as politely as crows could.

“I can’t believe it,” she murmured.

“They stopped visiting when you left. They knew you were here.”

“No,” she said, delighted but disbelieving. He nodded.

Inej watched them move, alert and intelligent, talking to her. She remembered Kaz’s decrial of them as mannerless and untrustworthy, but when she scooped up some cookie crumbs and held them out, they arranged themselves neatly to feed from her hand. Her hands were rough now from the years of sailor’s work, but she could still feel the smoothness of their beaks as they pecked and the trace of their feathers on her fingers.

“I missed them too.”

Kaz took another sip. “Were seagulls not friendly enough?”

She laughed. “They were friendly in their own way – they certainly ate up scraps quite well. But I couldn’t feed them like this. They didn’t wait for me like the crows always did.”

“They were always looking for you to come back.” His voice was as gravelly as ever, but Inej felt a hint of longing as he spoke. With the last of the crumbs gone, she brushed off her hands and turned back towards the room, to look at him. The expression he wore was the one that she remembered most vividly, and with the least joy; that inscrutable intensity that made her feel transparent. He was looking inside of her, and she struggled to translate what he had seen from the look he was giving her.

“Do you ever wish you had stayed here instead?” Kaz asked.

Ah. The question that she had expected to be met with – it had been avoided all evening while they were with Jesper and Wylan, but now it emerged while they were alone. It was a question that she knew the answer for. Whether it was the one he wanted or not, it was the one he would get.

“No. I love being on the sea. I love having a purpose that I can enact so clearly. Everything I told you over dinner was true – it has its challenges, but I wouldn’t have done anything differently.”

Kaz nodded, and she saw pride lock into his eyes.

“You’ve become somewhat of a legend to the sailors who come to Ketterdam now,” he said, a grin building. “Men who arrive shaken by what they saw at a distance – of a pirate queen in blue and gold invading slaver ships and leaving them to die. It has certainly damaged West Stave.”

She touched her earring. “It has?”

“Of course. The bulk of working girls in any of the brothels are stolen, and with so few slaver boats succeeding in bringing any ashore…”

Inej grinned back. Her only hope when she finally decided to leave Ketterdam had been to bring justice to those children like her, but to know that her efforts were ruining trafficking from the ground up… It was almost too much. Her face hurt from smiling, and Kaz turned away from her to look out of the window again.

“How long are you staying here for?” he asked.

Another question. So much easier.

“Two weeks. My crew have been given leave in that time, but I’m hoping that they will all want to sign on for the next stint.”

“And you?”

“I have given myself leave, yes, Kaz,” she chuckled. Kaz huffed self-consciously. “I’ll be around, is what I mean. If you wanted to have tea again some time.”

“Yes.”

Their eyes met, and she was a teenager again. Inej hadn’t thought about Kaz in that way for a long time. Hadn’t allowed herself to. She knew that the moment in which she let the thought of anything tender and vulnerable growing between them take root in her mind again was the moment in which she would have to rethink her answer to that tricky question. But Saints, it had always been hard not to.

“I can tell stories about Captain Ghafa while you’re gone, if you’d like.” Kaz’s smile was sharp. “Make sure that everyone in Ketterdam knows the name and fears it.”

Her heart betrayed her so, so quietly.

“You don’t need to,” she said.

“Why’s that, Inej?”

Three years of never letting herself near him, just in case the possibility of a dual life came back into play. Three years in which she only regretted one thing.

“I’ll be back again before too long.”

[ayuuria]

Yashahime Translation: Animage Magazine March 2021 Issue

Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.

For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.

The Two Beast Kings

At his daughters’ crisis, Sesshōmaru makes his satisfied appearance! It appears he has some kind of connection with Kirinmaru but their intentions are still unclear. In what way will the two beast kings be involved in the fate of the Yashahimes?

While chasing Tōtetsu who is the last of the Four Perils, Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha finally confront Kirinmaru. The three of them are overwhelmed by Kirinmaru’s immense power. Saving the girls from a desperate situation was none other Sesshōmaru. The impact of the clash between the two great demons shook the earth and was put to an end in a moment. While Towa and others are left pondering what the relationship between Sesshōmaru and Kirinmaru is, they somehow managed to survive the fierce battle.

The spirit of the Tree of Ages considers Kirinmaru’s existence as one that should be killed. However, looking at his actions, they do not seem to be simply “evil”. Kirinmaru intended to defeat Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha as they were “the half-demons who would take his head”. However, he could’ve buried the three with one strike of his overwhelming strength. It appeared as though he was not taking the battle seriously in episode 18.

On the other end, although Sesshōmaru saved the girls from a crisis, it looked as though he was not truly hostile towards Kirinmaru. The meaning behind Kirinmaru’s words to Sesshōmaru “I will still have you work for me” puts a weight on one’s mind.

The relationship of the two beast kings who bare many mysteries. It might be a little longer before the full picture behind their motives becomes visible.

Character Bios

Sesshōmaru A proud, ruthless greater demon whose father is the Dog General. Towa and Setsuna’s father. (A man of) very few words, he does not show his thoughts for the most part.

Kirinmaru A beast king on par with the Dog General. He was in a long slumber but was awakened by his elder sister, Zero. Apparently, he’s trying to destroy this world to a degenerate state.

Jaken A small demon who serves under Sesshōmaru. Cowardly but helpful, he placed upon himself the role of child rearing and caretaker to Towa and Setsuna who had been taken from their mother not a moment after being born.

Rin Towa and Setsuna’s mother. She accompanied Sesshōmaru for a long time as a child and has faith in him. For some reason, she is currently sleeping within the Tree of Ages.

Higurashi Towa In order to save Setsuna who had her memories and dreams stolen, she searches for the Dream Butterfly. Her explosive power when Setsuna was driven to a corner was enough to leave a scratch on Kirinmaru.

Setsuna Even in the feudal era she sometimes plays the violin she borrowed from Mama Moe. The details on how she came to wield her favorite naginata, Kanemitsu no Tomoe, will become clear?

Moroha Although she is Inuyasha and Kagome’s daughter, in order to escape Kirinmaru, she was placed in the care of the wolf demon tribe in her early childhood. She carries the sword Kurikaramaru, which she received from her master, Yawaragi.

The Mystery Behind Sesshōmaru’s Actions

14 years ago, Sesshōmaru took a newborn Towa and Setsuna from Rin and sheltered them in the forest of the Tree of Ages in order to keep them away from Zero and Kirinmaru. However, 4 years after that when Zero burned the forest, Sesshōmaru tolerated her actions. The intentions behind what he is thinking is unreadable.

The Dream Butterfly and Rin

The Dream Butterfly steals Setsuna’s dreams and takes them to Rin who is sleeping within the Tree of Ages. It seems Kirinmaru has something to do with the actions of that Dream Butterfly. What is Kirinmaru’s “profound plan” regarding the Dream Butterfly that Konton of the Four Perils spoke of? And what is the reason behind Rin’s slumber?

Moroha’s Master

Yawaragi, the wolf demon who trained Moroha who was separated from her parents and raised by the wolf demon tribe. The of two them broke their ties 3 year ago but reunited due to Konton’s trap and fight each other as teacher and student. During that battle, Yawaragi explains to Moroha how to fight without becoming Beniyasha. Putting her life on the line, she bestows upon Moroha the grand technique “Crimson Backlash Wave”.

The One Who Will Defeat the Beast King

The prophecy the Shikon Jewel once told Kirinmaru was “(The one who will destroy Kirinmaru) will be one who is neither human nor demon and can impossibly traverse time”. He seems to think it refers to Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha but the difference in strength between the three of them and Kirinmaru is obvious. Presently, it would probably be difficult for the girls to defeat Kirinmaru.

Inheriting the World of “Inuyasha”, Director Satō Teruo

Following the “Inuyasha” Rule for Shot Divisions and Presentation

— Director Satō, please tell us first the details of how you became involved in this current work.

Satō: “Inuyasha” was the first work I took part in as a freelance producer and it also taught me the fundamentals of production. Afterwards, I was the assistant director for “Inuyasha The Final Act” and because of that, they reached out to me this time asking, “We’re going to make a work that inherits the world of “Inuyasha”. Would you be interested?”.

— As a work that inherits the world of “Inuyasha”, what points do you place importance on?

Satō: Among the viewers of this work, there will of course be those who watched “Inuyasha” but reversely, I think there will be those who come to know of “Inuyasha” through “Hanyō no Yashahime”. I intentionally created the work so that when these people reach the point of wondering “What kind of work is “Inuyasha”?”, they’ll get the same taste (as “Hanyō no Yashahime”).

There’s also a task for “Hanyō no Yashahime” to “Inform the generation that doesn’t know “Inuyasha” that there’s a wonderful work by Takahashi Rumiko-sensei called “Inuyasha”.” Just like “Great Detective Conan” that’s also on Yomiuri TV, families can enjoy (the work) together as parents become nostalgic and the children have a fresh feeling. From there, it would be great if the children are told “There’s a work called “Inuyasha”.”

For that reason, I felt that I wanted to depict the characters that were carried over from “Inuyasha” in a way that didn’t feel off as much as possible. The serialization for the original work “Inuyasha” ran for 12 years and the anime continued for 4½ years, so I think everyone has a complete image of each of the characters within themselves. I’m conscious of trying to stick to that set image people have of “This person was this kind of character.” as much as possible.

— Director Satō, you were directly in charge of the storyboard for episodes 1, 2, 4, and 6. What sort of things are you mindful of as you create the images?

Satō: In “Inuyasha”, there was something like an ““Inuyasha” rule” for shot divisions and presentation. I wanted “Hanyō no Yashahime” to inherit those rules. Episode 1 for the most part depicted “Inuyasha” since then so we couldn’t exactly break away from that rule. However, starting from episode 2, if we suddenly used a different shot division method that feels as though it’s from a different work, the viewers probably wouldn’t be able to follow along. Thus, in order to show that rule from the start, I did as much of the storyboard as I could myself.

— What kind of rule is it exactly?

Satō: For example, how Inuyasha releases the “Wind Scar”. Also, I was frequently asked “Tessaiga is always written with dokkun (translator’s note: pulsing sound effect) but what is the “dokkun disposition”?” or “What is “mokomoko”?”. The pulsing Tessaiga does when it transforms is what we call the “dokkun disposition”. The “mokomoko” refers to the fluff that Sesshōmaru trails behind him. There are people who call the fluffy scarf worn during events like the coming-of-age ceremony “Sesshōmaru’s Mokomoko” and we call it “Mokomoko” at the production site too (laughs). Conversely, there are many people who give Setsuna’s mokomoko the same volume as Sesshomaru’s like in the “Inuyasha” era, and I remember at the beginning (animation character designer) Hishinuma Yoshihito-san was always correcting them like, “Please make hers more subdued than her father’s”.

— How do you do the shot divisions?

Satō: We use a sort of old-fashioned method of shot division that’s different from the current trend. Currently, there’s a lot of finely chopped, speedy shot divisions and while cutting battle scenes short is easier, we purposely make it one continuous shot so that the battle is endless. My thought process is that I want there to be traces of “Inuyasha” in that part of the screen.

Even the Effects Have Traces of the Parent Generation

— You spoke of Setsuna’s mokomoko but does she herself know of her father’s mokomoko?

Satō: I don’t think she knows. The clothes were probably given to her by her caretaker, Jaken, like “Let’s have you wear this” (laughs). Towa and Setsuna were named by Rin in episode 15 but they were babies, so they didn’t know. Probably while Jaken was in charge of educating them, he told them “You’re Towa and you’re Setsuna.”

— We heard that Moroha’s clothes is the same as Inuyasha’s “Robe of the Fire Rat”.

Satō: Yes. Just like the “Armor of the Iron Rat” that appeared in episode 16, it is made of fabric from the fire rat. Inuyasha himself is inside the black pearl and Moroha was left in the care of the wolf demon tribe, so Inuyasha couldn’t give the clothes to Moroha. However, I think the wolf demon tribe probably got their hands on something similar somewhere.

— What is the reason for Towa’s clothes being a school uniform?

Satō: It’s probably Towa’s own uniform for living in the feudal era (translators note: basically, it’s her way of dressing for the times). Her reason for dressing as a boy is because “It’s easier to fight in” after all, and it’s something I discussed with Takahashi Rumiko-sensei and (Series Composition) Sumisawa Katsuyuki-san many times. As to why we made her core like that. First, starting from her being a child that avoids the standard femininity, we came up with all sorts of thoughts like “Why not just give her an appearance with a Kyary Pamyu Pamyu like originality”. From within (those ideas), it was Takahashi Rumiko-sensei who came up with “It’s easier to fight in”. She said, “Rather than having a complex reason, wouldn’t a simple reason like this be easier to for the people watching to understand?”. That’s how Towa’s appearance and character were solidified.

— Towa’s weapon is also a little different. What she thought was the national treasure, Kikujyūmonji, was actually a fake, and she creates a blade with her demonic power at the part where it broke.

Satō: That part is probably also Sumisawa-san’s sense. Turning the broken sword into a demon sword. Even though she once obtained the real thing through Riku, the result was that she continued to wield the fake one. I think that part makes things more entertaining.

In a sense, “Inuyasha” was also a story about a sword’s growth. Inuyasha’s Tessaiga absorbs the demonic energy of demons it cuts and turns many techniques into its own. On the other hand, Sesshōmaru created the weapon, Bakusaiga, from within himself. Whether Setsuna inherited that or not is something to look forward to going ahead.

— How did you create the techniques for the three?

Satō: There are various techniques such as Setsuna’s “Scrouge of Swallows” and “Cyclone Burst” and Moroha’s “Crimson Dragon Wave”. The creation was basically Sumisawa-san coming up with the (kanji) characters and us coming up with how to portray them. We had the photographers match the shade and disposition of the effects to the parent generation and lineage. Towa and Setsuna have the same blue and green as Sesshōmaru and Moroha has the same yellow effect as Inuyasha’s “Wind Scar”.

We Want Towa and Everyone to be Happy

— Of the episodes that have aired thus far, which one in particular left an impression on you?

Satō: Episode 15 where Riku talked about the past. It was an episode that was related to the crux of the story and I think it was a crossroad of the past. The fact that it only appears as flashbacks to the three princesses who are the lead characters is characteristic. It was to the point that I was surprised on the day of the recording like “Oh, they’re not here!”. For this episode, we had Yamaguchi Kappei-san, the role of Inuyasha, do the commentary for the PR spotlight and it had an “Inuyasha” feel to it. Rin has grown-up a little bit but for her acting, we ordered that we “Want you to be conscious of childhood Rin” when addressing “Lord Sesshōmaru”.

— Episode 15 was also the episode that revealed Rin was the mother of Towa and Setsuna. What were you conscious of when depicting Sesshōmaru and Rin?

Satō: Regarding that, it was something I wondered about the most as an Inuyasha fan when my work in “Hanyō no Yashahime” was decided. Since Rumiko-sensei did not depict this, there were probably fans that had complicated feelings with how the relationship between the two is presented… In that sense, I’d say it’s best to make it so that the two can properly live together in happiness. How do I put it, it’d be hard to look at if things stay as they are.

— Director Satō, you yourself want everyone to be happy.

Satō: Correct. The moment “Inuyasha The Final Act” ended, I thought everyone would be happy, but it ended up like this… Based on the actions of the other characters, I would like to shape Sesshōmaru and Rin-chan’s afterwards in a way that everyone can agree to. Regarding Moroha, there’s the matter of when she will meet Inuyasha and Kagome. It would make me happy if you could pay attention to that part going forward.

— This month we published an illustration of Sesshōmaru and Kirinmaru (P. 42~). Director Satō, do you have any situations you would like to see in future copyright illustrations?

Satō: As a fan, I would like to see the parents and children sitting together. “Inuyasha, Kagome, and Moroha would be there and beside them would be Sesshōmaru, Rin, Towa, and Setsuna” like they had a family gathering at New Years. I think that kind of situation would be fun. However, in actuality I think that might be difficult as the dog brothers don’t get along (laughs).

— In episode 18, Sesshōmaru finally appeared before his daughters and that created major movement in the story. Please tell our excited readers some highlights going forward.

Satō: Episode 19 is a story where the demon slayers play an active, albeit not serious, role. You could say it’s a breather episode and it feels as though the tempo is completely different from episode 18. However, please enjoy it while relaxing (laughs). Following with episode 20, Shiori-san, the half-demon who appeared in “Inuyasha”, will make an appearance. It is an episode where she and Setsuna will interact. Sumisawa-san thought that in order to depict half-demons, this was something that couldn’t be left out and Inuyasha walked down this path as well. Then, the final chapter begins in episode 21. Things will move all at once. Zero, who started appearing in episode 14, will especially be a key person going into the final episode. Please pay attention to her relationship between Kirinmaru and Sesshōmaru.

Having Takechiyo Around Is A Big Help!

“Takechiyo is fun to move. As a therapeutic mascot character, just him being there is a big help and he has room for growth going forward. From the start, Takechiyo was born from “having a character that could be messed with in some way or another like Shippō” but he feels completely different. Also, with Fairouz Ai-san’s tenacious acting, he has grown into a very good character. Apparently, he’s a favorite of Sumisawa-san (laughs).” (Satō)

Sesshomaru’s on A Different Level! The Role of Sesshōmaru, Narita Ken

Episode 18 was his first appearance outside of flashbacks. The impression I got was that it’s as though Sesshōmaru thinks Kirinmaru is “Not an opponent worthy of my time”. That’s why I didn’t even insert a breath and imagined that “he could easily win this” during the scene where they crossed blades. I also checked with sound director Nagura Yasushi-san like “Would you like me to insert a breath?” but he said, “No need”. On the other hand, Kirinmaru was taking breaths so I really think Sesshōmaru is on a different level. Even my impression of Hosoya Yoshimasa-kun was… the level is not the same. Just kidding (laughs). Hosoya is quite adorable so it was fun doing (the scene) with him. What will become of the relationship between Sesshōmaru and Kirinmaru is something to look forward to going ahead.

Today’s Diary

This month we visited Sunrise’s studio #1. The selection begins in the conference room lined with plastic models of Sunrise’s works. Hishinuma-san, what do you think seeing all these works we have collected? **

“We created “Hanyō no Yashahime” with the intention of simply gearing it towards the children of today, but there’s a wide age range of contributors. From elementary schoolers to those in their 50s, I can really feel that the work is loved by everyone. It seems there are many people whose deep-rooted support for us stems back to the “Inuyasha” era.”

Which character is the easiest for you to draw?

“The one who’s easy to approach is Moroha. There’s a part of her that resembles her father (Inuyasha) so at first, I was conscious of copying (him). However, over time, I gained the ability to bring out her uniqueness.”

Who is the most popular on-site? (translator’s note: aka the studio)

“I’d have to say there’s a lot of staff who say, “I want to draw Moroha!”. When the plans were stood up, Towa and Setsuna were the two protagonists but Takahashi Rumiko-sensei’s design of Moroha was so appealing that the 3 of them became the main characters you see now. That’s why I want the on-site staff to love on Towa and Setsuna more! Especially for me, I want to continue to sympathize with Towa and watch over her growth with the emotions of a foster parent. Of course, the parent that gave birth to them is Rumiko-sensei.”

The main story is finally approaching its climax. Please show us your enthusiasm.

“My main job right now is designing and copyright illustrations but the staff are working hard towards the climax that will be at the end of March. The story development is going to be hardcore, but I would be really happy if you continued to support us. Look forward to it!”

 ** Back story: This month’s Animage held an art contest for Yashahime with the judge being animation character designer, Hishinuma Yoshihito. Also, this page has a “One point lesson” on how to draw the 3 girls. However, that one is heavily image reliant so I will not be translating it (I do not post scans as much as possible).

[linkspooky]

Hi! This might be a stupid ask, but do you know why Choso looks sad in the last page of the latest Jujutsu Kaisen chapter?

He’s sad because Yuji won’t call him Onii-chan <3, obviously! Just kidding anon,  your ask is really good actually because it allowed me to think about a deeper point made by this chapter, Choso and Yuji are foils, brothers, but they’re not really getting along despite teaming up. They’re facing opposite directions. More under the cut. 

1. The Cursed Children

Yuji and Choso are foils. They are both curse / human hybrids but they are completely opposite in origin. To clarify Yuji is a curse / human hybrid, by eating the cursed object “Sukuna’s Finger” he gained the properties of a curse and became a vessel for Sukuna’s cursed energy. Yuji isn’t a natural sorcerer, he has no innate technique of his own. 

Getwo gives a pretty good explanation of what Yuji is. There’s three types of beings and they can all channel cursed energy. 

Non-sorcerers / Regular humans create cursed energy with their thoughts but it leaks out. Sorcerers are humans capable of chanelling cursed energy. Cursed spirits are beings made of pure cursed energy. 

Yuji started out (as far as we know) in category one, a person unable to see cursed energy or channel it. Humans that can channel cursed energy from a young age like Miwa or Megumi are category. The divide between Miwa and Megumi is that Miwa is a sorcerer born with the ability to channel cursed energy, but without an innate technique hence why she’s a simple domain user which is a cursed energy usage that doesn’t require an innate technique you’re born with. Megumi was born with the innate technique of ten shadows, so he can use that on top of channeling cursed energy. 

Thirdly, is cursed spirits like Mahito and Jogo, they’re bodies are made out of pure cursed energy, and they can channel it because they were formed from the cursed energy that leaks out of non-sorcerers slash regular humans. 

When Getwo says he wants to create a new kind of sorcerers he divides them into two categories. 

Yuji ingested a cursed object, and became a vessel for that cursed object’s energy. Therefore he is a human, but his whole body is a vessel for Sukuna’s cursed energy. He comes off looking half and half, a hybrid between category one and category three.

The second type is peple like Junpei. They were born with innate technique and the ability to see cursed energy making them like Megumi, but for some reasons their brains aren’t wired to be able to use their technique so their brains needed to be modified. Even in that case, Junpei became more like a sorcerer, able to channel cursed energy, and use his innate technique of the poisoned jellyfish. He became more like Megumi. Whereas Yuji is a vessel for Sukuna’s cursed energy, he becomes more like Sukuna. 

This is all just thoery but I think we’re supposed to take from Geto’s explanation is he’s trying to create two new kinds of sorceers. 

1) Non-Sorcerers with innate technique converted into sorcerers by programming their brains to be able to use the cursed technique they were already born with.

2) Non-Sorcerers with no innate technique, who gained cursed energy by consuming a cursed object. Therefore, he strengthens their body to make them strong enough to hold that cursed energy. 

If we define cursed spirits as a body made of cursed energy, who is also able to use cursed techniques, then the second type resembles cursed spirits yes? Yuji ever since he ate the finger is no longer simply human, he has become the hybrid of both Sukuna and Yuji. He is a hybrid half between normal human, and the curse known as Sukuna. 

Choso is the result of Kamo Noritoshi’s previous attempt to create a hybrid of a “cursed spirit” a being made of pure energy and also “a sorcerer” born with an innate technique. Choso is both a cursed spirit, but also, someone who is carrying the genetically inate technique of the Kamo Clan. Just like Yuji he’s ambiguously both a curse and a human. Howevver his creation process was in reverse. 

Choso started out as a cursed object. 

His fetus as a cursed object was then ingested by a human who was a non-sorcerer with no potential. At that point, Choso began to possess the body of the human, using the human as a host and a vessel. However, it’s flipped around. 

Yuji is the dominant personality even though he is the vessel to Sukuna’s cursed energy. In Choso’s case, Choso becomes the dominant personality even though he’s the cursed object but not the personality of the vessel. The result is, unlike other cursed spirits they’re given physical bodies that don’t disappear when they die. 

I think it’s really ambiguous about whether or not the original personality of the vessel is kept in tact. Kechizu hid the face on his back which was crying out in pain, which might have been the original owner of the body. Choso however seems to have complete control. He doesn’t fight over control with two people in one body like Sukuna and Yuji. 

So, anyway opposites. Yuji decided to eat a cursed object of his own free will and became a hybrid that way.

Choso, Kechizu and Eso had no control. They didn’t choose both how they were born, or how they were force fed into humans. Yuji chose to become Sukuna’s vessel, Choso literally didn’t have a choice. The plot even goes to point out that they don’t really have a paritcular hatred for sorcerer’s or humans. 

They were in essence unborn children before this. 

Kechizu and Eso wake up, and the first thing the people who claim they “rescued them” tell them to do is go on a delivery mission for Sukuna’s fingers. They are suspicious but decide to comply because they “owe them” and because they think the world that the cursed spirits and Geto would make would be more “livable” for them.

So their goal isn’t even specifically to hurt innocent people. It’s to live, and make sure all their brothers can live, and also, it’s to be free. In order to achieve that goal, however, they decided they were okay with hurting innocent people at first. 

It is fair to say that Choso did kill people upon waking up, and he’s responsible for that even if he was only being used by Geto. It’s also fair to say Yuji has every right to feel alienated from Choso because he decided to kill people, especially since that’s the opposite of Yuji’s goal.

Choso’s goal is to choose how to live from now on, and Yuji’s goal is to choose how he’s going to die. However, their goal is kind of the same as well, because Choso’s goal is to be surrounded  family, and Yuji’s goal is to be surrounded by others. 

However, despite the fact that Choso wants to work together now with Yuji after considering him a brother. Yuji finds Choso offputting, which to be fair, he has killed people even unknowingly. On the other side though, I don’t think Yuji’s particularly upset with Choso, he’s just upset that Choso reminds him of hismelf. Choso is a cursed / human hybrid that unknowingly killed people. Yuji is a cursed / human hybrid that was manipulated by others (Sukuna) in order to kill people. 

Yuji is having trouble coping with that. The reality that he hurt people. He can’t accept either of Choso’s feelings, first his sudden loyalty towards him as a brother, or his forgiveness for having unknowingly killed two other brothers. Yuji continues to hold these things against him and push Choso and his attemps to help away because he can’t forgive himself. He also, can’t look at himself.

Yuji’s face is drawn to highlight the unscarred side of his face this chapter. The scars he has were inflcited on him by a curse. Yuji’s face is now almost drawn in half, the unscarred side, andthe scarred side. By, showing only the unscarred side the author is using visual language to tell that Yuji is ignoring his own scars, and also ignoring the parts of him that are more like a curse because he’s so desperate to be seen as human. THat’s why he tunes Choso out. Choso who is a curse. But also he tunes Choso out because Choso is concerned for him and Yuji can’t accept Choso’s positive feelings when he feels so negatively about himself.

Yuji and Choso are drawn as facing away from each other the whole chapter despite being left alone to each other, and talking to one another. I think Choso is sad, because he can sense this distance between them. Not only will his brother not look at him, but Yuji isn’t really ready or in a healthy place to accept his feelings. Which means that Choso can’t help his brother or comfort him the way he wants to. Nor can he get Yuji to understand his feelings, or understand what Yuji’s going through.

I think Choso feels lonely because he expected them to get along as well as him, and Eso and Kechizu did, but Yuji’s more complicated than that and he doesn’t know what to do besides hover around him and be there for him. Choso and Yuji are also reflections in that sense, Choso cares about his brothers above everything else, and prioritizes his brothers over the world. Yuji will always prioritize the whole world over himself, he is always thinking about saving strangers instead. Hence why, they have a hard time understanding each other even if they want to work together.  

[bloodstainsontengensfloor]

JJK Woman Appreciation Post II! ⚠️ Spoilers (duh)⚠️

Shoko Ieiri:

I’m torn between simping for her and begging her to adopt me.

Shoko Ieiri, the ultimate third wheel. She was in the same year as Gojo and Geto, and the three of them became fast friends. Of course, though, Gojo and Geto became even faster friends. The three of them are legit parallels to Nobara/Fushiguro/Itadori in terms of their friendship. She and Utahime also have a good friendship as seen in one of my favorite manga panels. Shoko is extremely special because she can used Reversed Cursed Techniue which allows her to heal people, and based on Volume 0, may be able to REGROW MISSING LIMBS?!

She’s extremely valuable to the story because of this ability and during the Shibuya Incident Arc, Principal Yaga expresses this importance. She is situated away from everything because if the enemy knew where she was, they would kill her first.

Shoko prefers alcohol over sweets, and stopped smoking for five years before starting again during the Shibuya Incident Arc. Because... yea I’d do the same. She is pretty serious and focuses on getting the job done. She is pretty laid back and chill, and presents a blasé attitude. In high school, she always avoided conflict and after seeing Geto after he, you know k!lled a bunch of people, she mocks him almost. I hope we get to see more of her and her character and that maybe the whole thing of her avoiding conflict gets overcomes. Her and Utahime will be the only adult mentors left in the series really, and I want to see how she would react in that role.

Utahime Lori:

Yes I do personally Headcanon these two as girlfriends. I honestly love Utahime because of the fact that she’s like the mother hen of a bunch of juvenile children who project their issues on other people.

When first introduced, she’s pretty calm and reserved. She stops the rival school from their battle of petty insults and gets easily irritated... when Gojo came. She has good intuition and when Gojo asks her to investigate the spy at Kyoto, she reminds him that she could be the spy before being insulted for being ‘weak’. We don’t know her cursed technique but obviously it must be pretty strong if she is the opposing teacher to Gojo. And speaking of the annoying idea of weak and strong in the Jujutsu world, Utahime also has a scar on her face. We don’t know where she got it from but she has it.

Momo talks about how a scar on a woman is a disadvantage for a female Jujutsu Sorcerer. I personally think that her lectur might have been influenced by seeing her teacher be put at a disadvantage due to this. We still don’t know too much about her, sadly, but she shows herself to be an entertaining character. Her attempt an a inspirational speech at the begining of the sister school exchange event displays her to be rather awkward when it comes to being comforting. However, it’s been established that the Kyoto school is like a family and that probably wouldn’t be possible without Utahime. Her caring nature is on display when she notices Miwa passed out in a dangerous zone.

Same thing with Shoko, I’m torn between simping and begging for adoption. Gosh I want Utahime and Shoko to be my moms dkekekek.

The fact that she loves Karaoke and wants Shoko to quit smoking 😭😳💙

Mei Mei

First thing first: her relationship with her brother will always make me uncomfortable-

Mei Mei is a grade one sorcerer who is on the side of money. Mood. I honestly don’t know her character that well, but she is really chill and has good inuition. She notices Maki’s strength and quickly realizes that Fake!Geto is.. well fake.

Okay but her cursed technique?? Allowing herself to control or share senses with animals, specifically crows is so cool and so convienet. Like during the Kyoto event, her skill was very useful and same thing during the Shibuya Incident Arc.

Although I don’t remember much about her character, I do know that she is very chill and laid back, but can be caring in her own special way. Well, by caring I mean complimenting Itadori on his skill, which is something that she didn’t have to do but did.

This reminded me that I need to reread the manga, and not just Gojo’s past arc because I miss Riko Amanai and I’m working on a nice post about Star Plasma Vessel Sus stuff, but Mei Mei is also just like... hot ��.

Yuki Tsukumo:

She’s so cool, but so suspicious. A lot of people have pointed out that she was insturmental in Geto’s decline by introducing the idea of a world without jujutsu to him. Her Aethstic is cool with the motorcycle and the “what kind of woman is your type” question. I love how she is really cheerful but at the same time badass, two traits I feel like aren’t more commonly coexistent within female characters.

In the last or second to last chapter, she exposed herself to be rather... funny? Like funny in the fact that she’s kind of clueless half the time? Like the facial expressions she makes and how when things goes more downhill than she thought they would, she started to freak out a little.

I do think she is really interesting in the fact that she actively researches way to make the world a better place and protect people from curses in the best way possible. But... she’s still so suspicious.

Fun fact: her surname has the Kanji for 99... she got 99 problems-

Riko Amanai:

Missing you 😭

She’s probably one of my favorite characters. She was just a teenager who was lonely and for some reason kept on surviving while others didn’t. She was okay with giving up herself to... basically be the vessel, the puppet, to a powerful entity who’s been alive for over a 1000 years. It’s really bittersweet because the way I saw it, she was okay with being the vessel because of the fact that she believed that because she was the vessel, she had to be lonely in her life leading up to the Merge.

Riko has no cursed technique but was responsible for the Jujutsu world as Master Tengen’s vessel. She was spunky, cheerful, and... confused. Riko thought she had everything figured out but after forming close connections with Geto and Gojo and realizing how important Kuro was to her, she realized that she wanted to make more memories and not lose everything.

I’ll talk more about her in my Star Plasma Vessel post 😉.

Tsumiki Fushiguro:

Omg another one of my favorites because I love characters who are low key plot tools.

Tsumiki is Megumi’s older step sister who took on a very maternal role in his life. Megumi is very protective over her while at the same time very annoyed at what he believed was the hypocrisy of ‘good people’. Tsumiki is shown to be kind, caring, and well... just your normal teenage girl. She threw milk at Megumi after scolding him for getting into another fight. She just wants to see her little bro get the best life he could possibly get.

Tsumiki only did the test of courage because she ‘was worried’ and I feel like that just says so much about her character. And now? Well now she’s a vessel for some unknown vengeful spirit. And... do all vessels just get their hair pulled back??

And That’s all for now folks! Thanks for reading!

I didn’t edit this at all oh well, some times the first draft is all we have the energy to do-

[holyhidan]

come home

Hey guys! Continuing my lil ficlet series of the JJK men. This time we have our sweet winter prince, Fushiguro Megumi/Come Home by Sean Bolton. [part 1 here!]

pairing: Fushiguro Megumi x f!reader

genre: fluff, some angst/sad themes

warnings: none

wc: 1.4k

all underage characters are aged up to 18+ (just in case)

Damn it.

Damn it!

She just had to come along. Gojo had tasked Fushiguro with taking out his first grade 1 curse, alone. Though when she chimed in and offered to accompany him, Gojo eventually relented. His students are precious to him, after all. It didn’t help that she plead to him with the most adorable puppy-dog eyes. “These damn kids,” he thought, sighing deeply before giving her the ok to tag along with Megumi. She raised her fist with excitement—this was her first experience with a grade 1 curse. Gojo placed a hand on Fushiguro’s shoulder and leaned in close to his ear.

“Keep an eye on her, yeah?” he whispers. “She’s strong, but she’s also reckless. Reminds me a lot of a certain sakura-haired boy.”

“I will. Although you wouldn’t have to worry about it if you just said no to her.” Megumi bites, giving Gojo a side-eyed glare.

“Oh, I’m not worried at all!” Gojo exclaims, clapping his hands together. “You’re my most talented student. Think of it as both a learning and a teaching opportunity!”

“Isn’t that your job…” Fushiguro thinks, letting out an exasperated sigh.

Which lead to her current state: beaten and unconscious in the recovery wing of Jujutsu Tech.

She had indeed been reckless. Eagerly jumping into the fight without taking a moment to analyze the curse’s technique thoroughly. She vastly underestimated its strength and speed, taking multiple hits from the curse within seconds. So fast that she didn’t even have time to gather her cursed energy to shield herself. Nue barely made it in time to snatch her up before the curse landed a fatal blow.

It wasn’t long after Nue flew her to safety that Demon Dog Black and Orochi tore the curse to pieces. Megumi personally dealt the final strike to the curse’s head with his bare hands.

Fushiguro wouldn’t leave her side, not even as Shoko healed her.

“Fushiguro, you’re pretty beaten up yourse—” Shoko began, but Megumi interrupted her.

“I’m fine. Focus on her.” He clipped, staring blankly at her mangled body.

Shoko made quick work of healing her. She had a few broken bones, but nothing that Ieri’s reverse curse technique couldn’t fix. She imbued the last of her cursed energy into sealing the various lacerations and bruises that littered her skin. Shoko was meticulous, closing the wounds with such precision that there wouldn’t be a single scar on her body. It took more energy than usual, causing her to stumble backwards a step before catching herself. The throbbing pain in her head and dizziness was nothing compared to the guilt Fushiguro would feel every time he saw her damaged skin.

Shoko wipes her brow and lays a hand on the top of Megumi’s head, ruffling his inky locs.

“She’ll be just fine. You can go back to the dorms now. It will likely be a good 12 hours before she regains consciousness.” She states.

“I won’t leave her.” He mutters.

“Figured as much,” she thinks. She recalls how he stayed by Itadori’s side long after he had died. He had to quite literally be pried away from him by Gojo. Shoko’s heart clenched, reminiscing on the times Gojo would come back from a mission beaten to a pulp, long before he was the untouchable man he is today. Geto would stay with him until he woke, only to tear him a new one for being so irresponsible and stupid as soon as he opened his eyes. Gojo would do the same for Geto, though. How dangerous it is to have something so precious to you.

Shoko retrieves a blanket from the nearby warmer and drapes it over Fushiguro’s shoulders.

“At least try to get some sleep, little raven.” she says with a soft smile, giving his head a final pat for good measure. Normally, Fushiguro would have been irritated by her pet names and doting, but this time he was thankful for it.

“Thank you, Shoko.” he whispers as she leaves the room.

Hesitantly, he reaches out for her hand. Her fingers twitch slightly, causing him to recoil as if he was burned. He vaguely becomes aware of the heavy static in the air—something he knows all too well.

“How long have you been there, Gojo-sensei?” he says, not bothering to glance at the space in the corner of the room where Gojo stood in.

“Yare yare,” Gojo sighs, throwing his hands in the air. “Even though I’m masking most of my cursed energy, you could still sense me. As expected from the blessed Zen’in child, I suppose.”

Megumi shoots him an icy glare before returning his gaze to her.

Gojo shifts his weight from one foot to the other, and there’s a palpable change in the atmosphere. His usual playful and casual aura is replaced to that of deadly seriousness. To call it unsettling would be an understatement.

“Megumi,” he starts, making it to Fushiguro’s side in just a few strides. He places his left hand on the sliding door, the other on Megumi’s shoulder.

“What happened isn’t your fault.” Gojo states, still facing towards the exit. He slides the door open, taking a step forward before pausing.

“It’s mine. I’m sorry, Fushiguro.”

With that, he’s gone, the slider closing behind him without so much as a sound.

For some time, Megumi sits in silence, watching the rise and fall of her chest. A sickening feeling washes over him, reminding him of the times he’s sat for hours in his sister’s room, waiting for her to wake up.

But she never does.

The thought has him reaching for her hand again. He knows she will wake, but he can’t help the irrational part of his mind from thinking that maybe she won’t. Megumi squeezes her hand gently, in awe of the smoothness of her skin. But she’s cold—too cold. Without a thought, he shakes off the blanket Shoko gave him. He drapes it over her, pulling the soft fabric up under her chin. She looked so incredibly peaceful, as if she was in no pain at all. Carefully, he brushes a few stray hairs from her face before returning to her side, hands clasped around hers.

He’s not sure when he started singing softly to her, but he stops when he realizes. Force of habit, he figures. When he visits Tsumiki, he occasionally sings or reads to her. He doesn’t know why, perhaps somewhere deep down he hopes he’ll get some sort of response from her. Something, anything to let him know that she’s still there with him.

But she never does.

Lost in his own anguished thoughts, he almost doesn’t notice how she stirs fitfully the moment he stopped his song. His hands tighten around hers, and he chuckles lightly to himself. When did I become so pathetic?

Several seconds pass. Faintly, he begins to sing again.

“The space where you should be,

Occupied by cold feet

A vacant pillow and empty sheets

Sometimes I need you to hold me”

Her face relaxes into that of a restful slumber at the sound of his deep voice. Megumi smiles softly, his own eyelids feeling heavy.

“You get ready for bed,

I can’t promise I won’t peek

It feels like I’ve been moving in and out of a dream

I stay up all night and watch you while you sleep

I’m so inspired, you don’t even have to speak”

He blinks sluggishly, eyes never leaving her face.

“You wake up and I’m on the floor

Staring at the light underneath the door

You say I love you, but I love you more

I’ve never craved anyone like this before”

He places her hand on his cheek and leans into the warmth of her palm.

“I can’t wait for you to come home,

Come home”

Unable to resist any longer, he allows his eyes to shut. His voice ebbs, the volume of his words lowering to that of a honeyed whisper.

“I can’t wait for you

To come

Home”

Her scent overflows his senses, and he lets himself drown.

“Come…home…”

[bonus]

-the next day, late morning-

“Megu-mi!” Gojo chimes, sliding open the door without so much as a knock. “Didn’t Shoko tell you to go back to the d—”

He’s stopped by the sight in front of him.

Rays of crisp sunlight slip in between the blinds, just enough to illuminate the two. Megumi’s head still rests in her palm, one of his hands loosely gripping her wrist. His other hand is tangled in her hair that’s splayed out on the pillow. They’re both still asleep, and Gojo isn’t sure he’s ever seen Fushiguro so content in his whole life. He chuckles, pulling out his phone and snapping a picture of the pair. He’d tease Megumi about it later.

Gojo takes one last glance at them before leaving the room and shakes his head.

“These damn kids.”

[holicanth]

Joy and Union

Day 2 of Shinoweek 2021 - Winter, Friends/Family

Words: 2.3k

Genre: Fluff, friendship, FRIENDSHIP!!!

Warnings: Self-hate, suicidal thoughts.

Tags: Shinohina, Hinata’s worries and fears. Kiba acts like a clown, Team 8, Team 8 is chaotic and share one braincell. 

Author’s Note: This is a onehsot. Wanted to make something light to counter the absolute shitstorm im about to make tomorrow :”v Hope you like it :D

Summary: A simple task—to tail a group of chuunin-level gangsters who had been extorting money from one of Konoha's poorer regions. The group was interested in the mining industry of the area, but have tried to take the compound with illegitimate force.

An insect user has to be able to adapt to all forms of weather, using chakra to regulate body temperature and balance at all times.

 It takes a while for Shino to master this technique, but now he uses it almost automatically.

 The reason being his persistence to use cloaks and the like in the heat of summer.

 Shino knows that there is nothing wrong with his skin. It isn't scarred, tan, or even rough. The Aburames are all born with extremely regenerartive skin, but Shino fears the disgust reflected on his comrades when they see bugs dig out a hole from inside him

 (He used to be more blatant with it, reveling in their shock. But Shino learns that this has left him more alienated than accepted)

 So in summer months he would cover up with loose robes, with enough ventilation to help his bugs move freely. Of course, Shino prefers the warm embrace of sunlight, but he finds that the winter months can be more comfortable than they seem.

 It was during a reconnaissance mission, dead winter, and Team 8 was assigned to a small village to Konoha's North. 

 A simple task—to tail a group of chuunin-level gangsters who had been extorting money from one of Konoha's poorer regions. The group was interested in the mining industry of the area, but have tried to take the compound with illegitimate force.

 Kiba and Akamaru left to chase after the gang leader, while Shino and Hinata were to guard and uphold the mine from other assailants.

 It was a quiet morning. The villagers were scared (as they should be) and have decided to hide themselves in their homes. Shino's bugs were less effective during winter, but enough to ward unsuspecting intruders.

 Meanwhile Hinata was observing all around with her Byakugan. She has been up for a few long hours. 

 Shino is not a fool. He notices the pattern that Hinata's behavior takes during missions. To do her best. To never give up. To prove that she is worthy of something.  Even if it pushes her over the brink. He’s always hated the way she thinks so poorly of herself, as if she deserved all the discomfort that comes from being a shinobi. He understands the feeling well, though.

 "You know that you can leave this to me, right?" Shino muses next to her, "Rest, Hinata. You'll overwork yourself."

 Hinata deactivates her Byakugan, lightly rubbing her eyes in an attempt to release strain

 "B-But your bugs can't move much during winter, Shino-kun. You need extra chakra to regulate their temperatures." She glances at him, worry apparent on her voice. "You’ve saved me from their attack before. I don’t think you should move much…”

 The aforementioned gang was comprised of a compilation of rouge ninja from all sorts of villages. They have a particularly bad reputation within poorer villages but are in esteemed positions in Sunagakure. They’re particularly dangerous for their rejection of manipulation of Suna politics. Not only that, they have weapon masters, innovators, and a single scientist who aid them in their operation.

 The whole gang have been on the prowl for a long while, keeping themselves low for the last five years. Three months ago they’ve begun to act more hostile. Starting from a robbery in October to in a mining heist in December. An anonymous tip signaled that the whole gang are on the move, and going on extortion operations as a collective. This information went to the Hokage’s office, who then decided that the elite of the Konoha 9 were to deal with the issue. ‘They’re probably pissed that Gaara’s kazekage now’, Tsunade mentions.

 A series of sneezes distracted Shino's thoughts back to Hinata.

 Without thinking, Shino had automatically gave Hinata his coat. Winter is harsh towards insect-users, but Shino thinks he can handle this. Of course he can, after everything Hinata has done for the mission.

 "Aren't you cold Shino-kun?" 

 They had a scuffle before, in which one of them surprised them with a Fire-style jutsu, resulting in the loss of 40% of Shino’s kikaichu. Kiba had been fast enough to dodge, but Hinata had to be shielded by Shino. Luckily, both of them were left unscathed. Leaving Hinata to her guilt and her disappointment.

 "No, I'm fine. I'll be on guard now, you've done enough, Hinata."

 Hinata has always felt lacking. Even if she excelled physically to her teammates, even when she's the de facto taijutsu master in her team. She was always too kind, they'd say. She's too forgiving. From the very beginning, Hinata has left Kiba and Shino to do the dirty work for her. Murdering a team of genins during the Chuunin exams was just the beginning of it.

 And Hinata doesn't reject this. She was truly grateful that she didn't play an active part in these deeds.

 (And all the while she weeps in regret.

She believed that Shinobi are meant to protect those precious to them.

She never thought that a Shinobi would do such immoral things.

But she never grew out of this mindset, either.)

 Years has passed, and they've all grown into more mature, well-adjusted shinobis. She thinks about how to apologize to them. How to reverse the horrible things they've done in her stead. A shinobi is, ultimately, someone who protect those who are important to them. This is what she had trained so hard for. To protect and nurture. The idea of having to harm others in the name of protection—she detests it with her whole being.

 Sometimes she thinks,

That if she dies, the souls of those her team has taken would be put at peace.

 "It will be fine, Hinata. Don't worry, I can handle this amount of cold." Shino says, as he turned his back on her, facing to step outside the cave.

 The Kikaichu were not fully recovered. Should another ambush take place, there was a high chance that Shino would be injured.

 (Something in her urges her to rebel against his words. She didn't want it to continue like this—to have Kiba and Shino go out of their way for her.

 Especially Shino.)

 In a sudden fit, her hands clamped themselves around the boy.

 She has always known that Shino was tall, but now that she's close to him did she realize how different their heights are. Hinata notices too that Shino was not as skinny as she thought he was, but she hadn't noticed rhe boy's confusion.

 "Hinata what-" 

 Her ears were red.

 "I'm sorry, Shi-Shino-kun, I..I was--"

 Panic. She had to find an excuse immediately.

 "I-I just think that you're warm Shino," she blushes, looking to the side "You're good at regulating your body temperarure so..."

 If she could turn back time Hinata wishes that she could pull herself out of this situation. How silly of her. Hinata makes sure that she was always careful in every action--something she learned from her family the hard way--but she's found herself becoming clumsier than ever. 

 A trait she inherited from Kiba she supposed, 

 But this was not time to reminisce. 

 She has yet to release her hold. She thinks that she shouldn't. Her mouth doesn't form the words that she wants, and she's left speechless with the rush of emotions that gobble her. Her heart tears with a feeling of sorrow. Was she going to be left behind? She despises the way that her sincerity gets in the way of her job.

 (Shino Aburame was not someone skittish. Had it been anyone else he'd have felt a bit odd, resistant even, but the fact that it was Hinata eases his mind.)

 He doesn't bother her clutching on to him like this. But he doesn't immediately welcome the hug either. The idea of skinship was something he choose not to familiarize with, as people were always quick to avoid his advances, anyways.

 (Shino had always been isolating himself against his peers. He strives so hard to be level-headed. He tries his best to do well in class. But none of that made him any more likable--with all the bugs and unfriendly demeanor.)

 It started with a slight tap on the back, to one arm wrapped around her, and finally Shino eases himself enough to reciprocate the hug. Their eyes met. Somewhere, somehow, a strong feeling of compassion gripped him. In an instant, he felt an innate understanding rush to his head, as if he was absorbing all of Hinata’s emotions as they hugged.

 (Silence fell still on them—the serenity of the scene filling them with an odd elation. Hinata’s mind was previously occupied with dark thoughts, but now she can think of nothing but the winter and Shino’s warmth.)

  A lucid, fuzzy feeling overtakes Hinata. Her arms hugged tighter and she smiles into Shino's chest. At first, she was afraid that he'd jump out of her grip. Afraid that, like her family, Shino would have downright rejected any affectionate gesture. 

 (And the thought terrified her to death. The idea of being separated from her teammates. Separated from her home.)

 Shino was pleasantly surprised at himself, too. How simple it was to connect with someone—how easy it had been for Hinata to break his walls. For the first time in a while, Shino feels the joy of having a genuine union with someone, and God did he crave for it so badly.

 (Try as he might, but he has always lingered nearby her. Like a moth to a flame.

 It felt so natural for Shino, yet his own insecurities had lead him to stubbornly reject all attempts of friendship)

 They stayed like that for a minute. And that minute soon grew into half an hour. And just like that, Akamaru comes barking while dragging a group of chuunins tied by rope.

 Both of them had known that the gang was strong, feared even. What they didn’t expect was Kiba to be so fast in tracking them down, defeating them single-handedly, and bringing them back to the village. He was always feisty and feral from the beginning, but Kiba really changes when someone hurts his teammates.

 "Gee, look who's getting nice and cozy while I do all the work for us. I am so getting a day off after this..." Kiba mused, hauling the unconscious criminals to be taken by Akamaru to Kurenai.

 "Kiba-kun! I'm... um... It's not like that..."

 "Hinata thinks that I am a heater." Shino says, deadpan. "You can come near if you're cold, too."

 Kiba processes Shino's words as his brain buffers. Shino? Allowing physical contact? It must be raining cats and dogs outside. Kiba was in disbelief but there was also a sense of pride in knowing that his teammate's ice cold facade had began to thaw.

 Kiba had always been wary of Shino (In a good sense). He made sure not to overstep his boundaries after learning from several prank attempts that you can never escape Shino’s bugs, especially when he decides to use centipedes. Regardless, Kiba acknowledges his existence and understands that some people are a little bit more difficult to get by,

 "Hmph. You think I'd need some warming up after all that chasing?" He pouts, looking to the side. 

 "Because you're fucking right!!" He yells as he tackles both of them to the snow, a cheeky grin lit on his face. Kiba’s brashness made both Hinata and Shino tumble into the snow. Now they’re all tired and not warm. Damn Kiba. His big idiot energy did not register the fact that snow is, indeed, cold. 

 "Kiba you stupid--now you've got us all cold!" Shino's remark gained light laughter from his teammates. 

 "That's right,” Kiba replies with a hearty laughter. Because we're going to the hot springs after this mission."

 "Hot springs?" Hinata asked, turning to face Kiba "Where do we get the money for that? All the hot springs in the area are luxurious ones..."

 Konoha’s northern side was known for it’s winter hot springs. A luxurious view of the mountains as you aid your body in the springs. The nearest one was renowned and popular among ninjas, claiming that the water had rejuvenating properties and could make one younger.

 "That. Is something I can deal with." Kiba replies, in his leader-esque voice. 

 "And how would that be?" Shino is suspicious, but he seems to already know what Kiba is up to.

 "You see...These criminals we're after are pretty bad, yeah? Extortion and all that. So when I wrang them up, I happen to find pouches of coins nearby."

There is a lot to be questioned from the word “happen to find”.

 "Their pouches are awfully thick, stealing more profit than the ones they took from this village from God knows where. This is clearly our jackpot."

 "Kiba-kun... I don't think that's allowed..."

 "It is," He replies, sitting up, "We can return most of the money back, take a small fraction of it as added bonus. Don’t underestimate the Inuzuka’s Puppy Eyes Jutsu! Now, if we leave before they wake up, it’ll be in the bag!" 

 The three of them looked at each other. Nodded. And off they went, finishing affairs with the village chief and storming out of the village. This wasn't the first time Team 8 commited petty crimes, but getting away with it is part of a shinobi's skillset. Or so Kiba thinks.

 Shino never thought winter could make him feel so giddy. He should have been freezing to death, especially when Hinata was borrowing his longcoat. But the andrenaline from Kiba's mischief was infectious, and he was unexpectedly more riled up than usual. Hinata too, was under the adrenaline rush. 

 If the old Shino saw him now, he’d berate him for being so loose. For willingly participate in childish mischief, during a mission, nonetheless. Oh, but Shino couldn’t care less for formalities that day! He’d brush the conduct as “misdemeanor due to injury” and sleep it off.

 Shino finds that the winter months are more comfortable than they seem. Warm food, hot springs, and a good night's rest with your comrades. He wishes to meet many more winter months with his precious friends, together.

:)