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koalatysleep · 11 months ago

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Kuwameshi: the 'undercover' love story in Yu Yu Hakusho

This Christmas season, I binged watched the entire Yu Yu Hakusho anime series on Netflix (I was hit with a strong yearning for more content after binge watching the live action), and Kuwameshi became my OTP even though I started off shipping Yusuke with Keiko.

I must say the anime is a remarkably progressive work of art given that it was created as a Shonen manga in the 90's. I love love love love the entire series!! Right off the bat, the series subverts gender tropes, heteronormative romance stereotypes, and the sleeping beauty fairytale with Yusuke in the position of sleeping beauty, Keiko in the role of Prince Charming who literally brings him back to life with a kiss, and Kuwabara as the real love interest and knight in shining armor who continually saves and inspires Yusuke throughout the series.

Instead of a sleeping beauty that passively waits to be saved, Yusuke is actively making choices that ultimately helps to save himself, by first deciding to return to life, then by taking on the emotional work of helping Kuwabara study for the test, and saving Keiko by sacrificing his spirit realm egg and his chance to return to life.

The fact that Keiko was saving Yusuke, while Yusuke was saving both Keiko (from the fire) and Kuwabara (from the evil machinations of that despicable teacher), and Kuwabara was also saving Keiko (from thugs and then the fire) and Yusuke (by being one of the reasons Yusuke was moved to choose life over death and then from the fire) was an extremely refreshing change from the stereotypical heteronormative romance where the male character is doing all the saving, while the female love interest is just a passive character without much agency or ability to contribute, and no other character seems to have much of an impact on the romantic pair. Here we have 3 fiercely independent characters who are all actively helping themselves while saving each other in a holy trifecta of character development goodness.

When Yusuke's body was in danger in the burning house, I love the scene where Keiko shook off the bystanders holding her back with a fierce determination that we come to associate with Yusuke in life-or-death fights, sprang into quick-thinking action by dumping a bucket of water over herself, and ran headlong into the fire and mortal peril, all to save Yusuke.

Yusuke and Keiko would have been my ride or die OTP if the series had continued developing her character and the story along these lines, but even during this arc of reviving Yusuke where the main focus was on Yusuke and Keiko as a romantic pair, the seeds for Kuwabara as Yusuke's 'undercover' love interest are already being planted.

In fact, Togashi's authorial intent for Yusuke and Kuwabara as the central love story in the entire YYH series can be seen in their name designs itself!

Yusuke is written in 2 characters - the 1st character means Spirit/Soul, and the 2nd character means Assistance/Help.

Kazuma means True Harmony. So put together, Yusuke and Kazuma means Souls in True Harmony who help each other. And isn't that the very essence of our heroes right there? ❤️🌈

It's only after Yusuke possesses Kuwabara's body in Episode 2 that he got the help he needed to clearly communicate to Keiko to save his body from cremation. When you watch the episode, Yusuke and Kuwabara literally spoke with their 2 voices overlapping as one in multiple scenes! It's especially obvious in the sunset scene when they finally get to tell Keiko to save Yusuke. Yusuke and Kuwabara are literally Two Souls in One Body!

This symbolizes how Kuwabara truly desires for Yusuke to return to life, as much as Yusuke himself, and foreshadows how Kuwabara goes on to stand with Yusuke as One Soul in Two Bodies throughout the rest of the series. I haven't even meta-screamed about the homoerotic subtext of Yusuke possessing Kuwabara's body! 🤣🤣🤣

We further see how Kuwabara is in True Harmony with Yusuke when Kuwa takes it upon himself to look out for Keiko on Yusuke's behalf when he thought Yusuke was permanently dead! Kuwa literally stepped in on spirit Yusuke's behalf to beat off the thugs bothering Keiko, and then puts his own life at risk to save Keiko from the house fire!

No one asked or expected Kuwa to do this, he looks out for Keiko simply because he knows how important Keiko was to Yusuke, and taking care of the people Yusuke loved is how Kuwa keeps a piece of Yusuke alive! Like, it boggles my mind how deeply Kuwa loves & values Yusuke to the extent that people important to Yusuke is by default important to Kuwa even after Yusuke's death! 🥹🥹🥹 If this isn't True Love (True Harmony), what is? Like, I know real-life married couples who do less for each other! I've meta-ed screamed a bit more about how truly, madly, deeply Kuwa is in love with Yusuke even before canon began, link to that other meta is at the end of this one!

And then of course we have the all-important Episode 3 where Botan literally tells us Yusuke and Kuwabara are so emotionally in sync (True Harmony) with each other that Kuwabara can sense Yusuke's feelings even though Yusuke is a spirit! Their connection even this early on literally transcends the boundaries between life and death! And it's only when spirit Yusuke started following Kuwabara around that Yusuke grew as a person, by learning about Okubo's family situation and deciding to help. This is a large reason why Puu's egg absorbed good energy to develop into lovable goofy Puu!

Yusuke is so moved by Kuwabara's honorable character and determination to help Okubo, that we see Yusuke doing the stereotypically 'female' emotional work of helping Kuwabara study for the test even though Yusuke himself hates studying. It's actually such a huge thing that Yusuke not only does this on his own free will without anyone nagging him into it, he actually looks like he's enjoying helping Kuwabara study! Yusuke has such massive character growth just by helping Kuwa! Look at how happy Yusuke looks! I just love how Kuwa is such a positive influence on Yusuke, because Kuwa inspires and emotionally resonates with Yusuke so deeply! Compare this to how Keiko wasn't able to get Yusuke to study despite all her nagging (which actually inadvertently makes Yusuke feel worse about himself, link to another meta post about this at the end of this one), and you see how Kuwa is Yusuke's True Love Interest who's in True Harmony with Yusuke!

And of coz, Their entire study dream-date is so romantic!! The way Yusuke's hand lingers on Kuwabara's shoulder when he first finds Kuwabara asleep over his desk, and the way this shot (Yusuke's gaze) lingers on Kuwabara's bruised and exhausted face clue us into Yusuke's burgeoning romantic feelings for Kuwabara!

The romantic coding of this scene is further confirmed through the soft lighting, the tender background music, Kuwabara's romantic candy colored galaxy in his dreamscape, and how soft and tender Yusuke's voice is when he whispers to Kuwabara back in Kuwa's bedroom. When morning dawns, the romantic background music segues into a scene of two lovebirds on a branch accompanied by birdsong, and this becomes our visual & audio analogy for Kuwameshi romance later throughout the series!

I personally think it's not a coincidence that Yusuke was carrying Puu's egg on him when he possessed Kuwabara's body and when he followed Kuwabara around as a spirit, and that the egg developed into a bird creature Puu who later becomes a majestic phoenix, but you'll have to read my fic The Good Fight to see what I mean! 😜

Then we get the laugh-out-loud hilarity of Yusuke possessing the body of the knocked-out-girl to beat off the thugs who were about to waylay Kuwabara on his way to the test 🤣🤣🤣! i roll on the floor with laughter every time! Apart from the sheer comedic genius, we also see that Yusuke did not hesitate to literally 'become' a girl to help Kuwabara! We see how emotionally invested Yusuke is in Kuwabara's success, because Yusuke is moved by Kuwabara's heart and grit!

I mean honestly this whole episode of Yusuke doing the 'female emotional work' of supporting Kuwabara is really amazing. I would have loved more episodes like this throughout the series where we get to see more of Yusuke developing his emotional muscle without any life-or-death fights!

Immediately after the revival arc is done, the story goes on to subvert heteronormative expectations even further - one of the first things Yusuke does after coming back to life is to save Kuwabara's cat in a really really sweet gesture. Yusuke punching the lights out of the thug holding the cat hostage, and then turning around in slow motion to reveal his identity is a typical hero's entrance when they save their love interest. The way that Yusuke cradles Kuwabara's cat with such gentleness and care while kicking the living shit out of the thug who had grabbed Kuwabara around the waist, and then returning the cat to Kuwabara in the midst of fighting is seriously swoon worthy !

I mean, if Yusuke had done this for a female character or even a 'good-looking' male character, it would have been universally interpreted as a clear romantic narrative, but because Kuwabara is not female and also not conventionally 'good looking', this flies under the radar, which is how the story can clearly depict Kuwabara as Yusuke's romantic love interest from here on out without anyone being the wiser.

I mean!! Throughout the rest of the series, Kuwa-chan literally spurs Yusuke on to greater heights than Yusuke would have attained himself, because Yusuke cares so deeply about what Kuwabara thinks about him, and living up to Kuwabara's faith in him! This is Yusuke we're talking about, he doesn't give a shit what others think if he doesn't respect them, so the fact that he wants Kuwabara to think highly of him speaks volumes about how highly he admires, values and respects Kuwabara in return!

During Genkai's succession arc, our heroes were literally on an Arcade Date!! Look at our boys putting their best selves forward to impress each other! 🤩😆 The way they're drawn so beautifully in such heroic frames tells us just how much they want to impress each other! If this isn't courting behavior, what is?

Look at how impressed Yusuke is at Kuwabara's high score in the punching game, and how he pretends otherwise! 😆

OMG they way they totally ignored all the onlookers as they gleefully try to outdo each other and show off for each other is SO CUTE!!!!!

I personally think Yusuke was in such a bad mood with the bat demon coz Yusuke was in a hurry to get back to Kuwabara! When he finally made it there and explained what took so long, his eyes were on Kuwabara the entire time!!! And look at how Yusuke is peacocking in front of Kuwabara when he explains how he's faster than the bat demon! 🤣

It's also because Kuwabara asked Genkai to wait that Yusuke was selected despite exceeding the time. Kuwa had zero doubt that Yusuke would make it! His belief in Yusuke is absolute! The scene where the boys forgot themselves and hugged each other in their excitement is chef's kiss! Look at Yusuke throwing himself bodily at Kuwabara! OMG I just love how Kuwabara makes Yusuke forget all about pretending not to care or appearing aloof (which is part of Yusuke's emotional armor) and brings out Yusuke's True Self!

Yusuke had so much fun with Kuwabara, he literally forgot all about his mission to find Rando, to the extent that even Koenma remarked on this! 🤣

Seriously the anime puts so much effort into the little details like these unconscious body language tells and non-verbal cues, it's really amazing!!! When Yusuke later tried to get Kuwabara to retire the fight against Rando to protect Kuwabara, Yusuke (who was still shocky from his fights) literally pulled Kuwabara close with a hand on Kuwabara's chest and another nearly on Kuwabara's neck! These are not platonic personal space boundaries, it's Yusuke's unconscious body language cluing us into his romantic feelings for Kuwabara! Look at how close Yusuke is to Kuwabara!

During the fight with Rando, it's also because Yusuke was so emotionally impacted by Kuwabara's serious injuries that Yusuke was able to tap into a new level of power! I was honestly surprised by this when I first watched the anime before I clued into the Kuwameshi subtext, given how cool and collected Yusuke was when Hiei almost turned Keiko into a demon!

And the unconscious Kuwabara was still cheering Yusuke on! When Yusuke was on the verge of being eaten alive by the demonic fish, Kuwabara's spirit even left his body to go save Yusuke, and Kuwabara knew just the right words to say to Yusuke to spur him on! Souls in True Harmony who help each other!

Cheering on the male character in spirit is literally what female love interests do in anime, and it's usually a one-sided depiction of the female shouting the male character's name in a paroxysm of emotion without the male character actually hearing or interacting with her, so this trope is again nicely subverted here coz Kuwabara is literally a spirit who can have two-way dialogue with Yusuke, and he's obviously a badass himself, which is why he can reach Yusuke as a spirit to begin with. Genkai approves!

As the series progress, we see more of Yusuke and Kuwabara's body language cluing us into their romantic feelings for each other. During their chocolate shake date, they were mirror images of each other when Keiko crashed their conversation and Yusuke covers up what they're really talking about with the movie excuse. When Yusuke was making his excuses to run out on Keiko, he again places his hand on Kuwabara's chest when he asks Kuwabara to come with him, then Yusuke pulls him along by the wrist 😍😍❤️❤️.

You can see in all these interactions that Kuwabara's attention is on Yusuke almost all the time, especially when Botan's explaining the 4 saints beast situation to them! Kuwa literally did not take his eyes off Yusuke even though Botan's the one speaking! This is despite Kuwabara supposedly having a 'crush' on Botan, but we will have to leave the explanation for this for another meta! ;P

I digress! To me, Yusuke running out on Keiko with Kuwabara and forgetting he left Keiko at the movie theatre clearly signals authorial intent to focus on Kuwabara and Yusuke's relationship, rather than Keiko and Yusuke's. At the end of the 4 saint beasts arc when Yusuke exhausted his lifeforce to defeat Suzaku, it was Kuwabara who brought Yusuke back to life by transferring his remaining life-force to Yusuke despite knowing this is akin to suicide, similar to how Keiko saved Yusuke from the fire despite mortal peril to herself at the start of the series. This time, Yusuke wakes up in Kuwabara's bed after Kuwabara has taken care of Yusuke for 3 days, to the sound of birdsong!!!! And from here on out, Keiko is relegated to a side character without further character development of her own or much contribution to Yusuke's personal growth.

When Toguro wanted to devastate Yusuke into unlocking his true power by killing someone Yusuke loves, he chose Kuwabara above all others, even though Keiko was in the audience. It's very telling that Toguro tried to kill Yusuke's metaphorical heart by ripping out Kuwabara's actual heart!! Kuwabara is Yusuke's heart! The subtext is main text!

Kuwabara chose to meet his death courageously even though he knew he had no chance of surviving, showing Yusuke once again the difference between true strength vs just power. The intensity of Yusuke's resulting grief and utter devastation at Kuwabara's death changed the very essence of Yusuke's reiki. The intensity of Yusuke's emotions is the reason why Yusuke rejected Toguro's "power above all else" motto, it's the reason why Yusuke understood the difference between true strength vs just power.

Some things can only be learnt through experience, and Genkai knew this was a hard lesson Yusuke needed to experience for himself before he could learn the difference. (She also knew Toguro still had some shreds of goodness deep down and wouldn't kill Kuwabara straight out).

Yusuke himself said he used to secretly admire and aspire to Toguro's power even as he was scared shitless, before Yusuke's eyes were opened to the immeasurable worth and value of love and friendship, the things that Toguro gave up in his blind pursuit of power. Yusuke lost his fear of Toguro after that, he stopped admiring Toguro after that, he pitied Toguro instead. Yusuke was able to gain this emotional maturity through the grief & devastation of losing Kuwabara. And because of that, he was able to defeat Toguro. Talk about the Power of Love! Kuwabara really is the Warrior of Love! Even when he's not physically fighting, he inspires Yusuke to new levels of both emotional maturity and physical strength through Love.

I mean honestly, at this point in the story, Kuwabara had clearly taken center stage as the love interest for Yusuke, one who actively plays a role in Yusuke's personal growth and emotional motivation, one who is strong enough that Yusuke can be honest about his spirit realm duties and his full self with.

It's a bit of a shame that the story didn't develop Keiko into a more interesting kickass female character like Botan, who's independent and capable of taking care of herself, and whose contributions to the story is not just restricted to that of a romantic love interest. It would have been nice to see Keiko realizing that she and Yusuke are better suited to be found family and lifelong friends rather than romantic partners. It's a pity especially since Keiko got off to such a strong start by saving Yusuke so courageously from the fire. After this point however, the story relegated Keiko to the stereotypical female 'love interest' who's just passively waiting on the sidelines for Yusuke to return.

But given that Yukina is also a similar stereotypical female 'love interest' for Kuwabara, one who's written out of the narrative almost as soon as she's introduced, and thus I also don't find Kuwabara and Yukina convincing as a romantic couple, I wonder whether the author deliberately chose to under-develop Keiko and Yukina's characters and to protray them as rather helpless, one-note and bland, in order to highlight the real love story he's trying to tell between Yusuke and Kuwabara. (Togashi even said in a Q+A that his least favorite character is Keiko, coz she's a typical manga character.)

If I were trying to tell a non-heteronormative love story aimed at teens in conservative 90's Japan, hiding Kuwabara and Yusuke's love story in plain sight, under the cover of them both having female 'love interests' is probably one of the ways to do it while still getting published in Shonen Jump.

It's clearly contrasting Kuwabara and Yusuke's extremely compelling romantic subtext with the very bland and unconvincing heteronormative pairings. It leaves it up to the audience to notice for themselves which pairings they find more compelling to root for, and perhaps in so doing, the story subverts a conservative audience into unknowingly supporting a non-heteronormative couple of Yusuke and Kuwabara 🤣

Togashi also said in his letter to fans that he ended the manga for three reasons, one of which is that he has exhausted the character directions he can explore within the publication bounds of Shonen Jump.

I wonder whether a sexual romantic relationship between Yusuke and Kuwabara (the sex is hinted at in this bonus canon content) is one of the directions Togashi couldn't explore within the publication bounds of Shonen Jump 🤣. (But that's okay Togashi, thank you so much for giving us the rich Kuwameshi subtext in canon, we'll take it from here to explore these directions for you 🤣🤣).

When I first read part of the manga casually as a kid, all the subtext flew right over my head of coz, but now when I watch it as an adult who understands just how much queer love stories were not allowed any expressions in the 90's, I really love Kuwabara and Yusuke as each other's true love interest.

The development of their relationship can also be read as a natural progression of their characters growing closer together than Yusuke and Keiko can, due to Yusuke having to keep Keiko in the dark about spirit realm activities to protect her from it, and Keiko just being so different from Yusuke that she inadvertently makes Yusuke feel worse about himself. This is apparent in Episode 1 itself, when Keiko inadvertently triggers Yusuke's self-worth issues when she berated Yusuke quite thoroughly to apply himself to school - she immediately assumed he must have done something wrong for Takenaka-sensei to be looking for him (when actually Takenaka just wanted to proactively counsel Yusuke!) and she outright says if he doesn't go soon he'll drag her down and she'll get a scolding as the class monitor as well. This is when Yusuke flips her skirt, not because he is romantically interested in her or is pervy, but because he just wants to stop her words which were quite hurtful for him coz it confirms all his worst fears about himself!

Keiko also can't understand why Yusuke enjoys challenging good fights, whereas Kuwabara can and in fact enjoys those fights himself. So perhaps Keiko and Yusuke drifting apart as a romantic pairing once the revival arc is done is also a natural state of things.

In any case, by the time the dark tournament is over in episode 67, it's Kuwabara that Yusuke seeks out for an early lunch at school, it's Kuwabara who Yusuke riles up by poking him in the ass 🤣🤣, similar to how Yusuke used to flip Keiko's skirt, except Yusuke's jabbing Kuwabara in the ass when he's in a good mood and wants an excuse to be close to Kuwabara! I haven't even screamed about the HILARIOUS homoerotic subtext of Yusuke jabbing Kuwabara in the ass just as Kuwabara's thinking about becoming "a real man" for Yukina! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Look at our boys taking the opportunity to physically be as close as they secretly want to be with each other, under the guise of rough-housing and bickering! Yusuke's full-on hugging Kuwabara in the second frame, and he's got his leg over Kuwabara's shoulder in the third!! 😍😍❤️❤️Once again they totally ignore their audience and focus just on each other, to the extent they didn't even realize the class bell had run and Takenaka-sensei and the entire class is looking at them! 🤣

This scene of Yusuke seeking out Kuwabara for lunch in a good mood and needling him for food is SO CUTE and so sweet! Coz it's Yusuke's way of asking for Kuwabara's attention. It's Yusuke's way of saying he wants to spend time with Kuwabara, he wants Kuwabara to be the one to take care of him (by feeding him), and when Kuwabara reacts with outrage instead (coz he is still in denial about his feelings for Yusuke at this point), Yusuke immediately reacts with hurt defensiveness. Even so, they still have such a great time with each other! It's very relatable and very sweet! Haven't you ever just riled up your crush and teased them mercilessly coz you wanted the excuse to be close to them? I also love that Yusuke is actively seeking out Kuwabara to do normal mundane things like eat lunch together, he must have realized at some subconcious level that Kuwa-chan is his OTP!

We even get Kuwabara's friends and Botan wondering whether Kuwabara and Yusuke were a bickering married couple in a previous life, so the subtext is more or less already the main text by this point.

Then we see Kuwabara catching up with Yusuke after school and Yusuke sharing his feelings of ennui with Kuwabara, who brought Yusuke right out of it with ease 🤣🤣 it's these seemingly little things like Yusuke opening up about his feelings to Kuwabara, Kuwabara keeping Yusuke grounded, and Kuwabara talking about his loss of reiki with total ease with Yusuke and being worried that Yusuke was going through the same that shows the deep emotional connection and deep trust between these two.

Of course, then Yusuke gets abducted and we see Puu flying straight to Kuwabara for help, so again the story subverts the typical heteronormative romance by having both Kuwabara and Yusuke continually inspire, save and rely on each other as true equals in their partnership. No one is the wilting flower, no one is just passively waiting to be saved, and both are simultaneously both the protector and the protectee. Just as Genkai told Yusuke to never forget why he became strong and who he became strong for, they are truly the main reason why the other became so strong!

Speaking of abduction, the tables gets turned later on when Kuwabara is the one who gets abducted and Yusuke goes after Sensui on a bicycle(🤣🤣!) like a man possessed. I mean seriously, even before I clued into Kuwameshi, I thought Yusuke looks like a man who's singlemindedly saving the love of his life! And then of course, Kuwabara experiences the devastation of Yusuke's death, similar to how Yusuke experienced the devastation of Kuwabara's death during the dark tournament, and we get that precious glimpse into Kuwabara's feelings for Yusuke all along! It was never about winning Yusuke in fights, all his challenges were just an excuse to be with Yusuke! His heart gets so excited when he's with Yusuke! He was over the moon when Yusuke called him by name the first time! He did it all - Genkai's succession trials, Rando fight, Byakko fight, yukina rescue mission, Dark Tournament, facing down Toguro - all of it, for Yusuke!!!! Screams! Can it get more romantic than that?!? This not only reveals Kuwabara's heart, it also reveals authorial intent for the Kuwameshi love story from the beginning!

And then of course Kuwabara chooses to avenge Yusuke even if it means his own death and the destruction of the entire human realm! Kuwabara, the warrier for love, truth and justice, protector of the weak, literally chose to burn down the whole world to avenge Yusuke, and follow Yusuke into death! That's how much Yusuke means to Kuwabara! The entire world literally means nothing to Kuwabara if Yusuke isn't there! So for me, I fully believe Yusuke and Kuwabara are the real love story here!

If you love the delicious Kuwameshi subtext as much as me, come scream about it with me in my Kuwameshi meta series on AO3, and my Kuwameshi Alternate Canon Fic The Good Fight on AO3! Most chapters have End Notes with more meta about canon that inspired that chapter! There's just way too much meta to put all into one post here!

If you'd like to read more meta on when Kuwabara fell in love with Yusuke, here's one you may enjoy!

If you'd like to read meta on when Yusuke fell in love with Kuwabara, here's one!

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akirawrites24 · 1 year ago

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Hi!

Could I please get some Yusuke Kitagawa x F!Reader smut? Perhaps where the reader has been trying to drop hints that she wants to fuck but bro is completely oblivious until she literally pins him down and says "I need you to fuck me, Yusuke!"

Feel free to ignore, but thanks for reading my ask! 💙

Ooh boy-

Letting you know that it has been an extremely long while since I've written smut. Hopefully you enjoy it!

Warnings: smut, loss of virginity (Yusuke), minor spoiler for 2nd palace, protection, Vaginal fingering, handjobs, making sure of consent

Pairing: Yusuke Kitagawa x Female!Reader

An edit: I only saw now that you asked to pin him down-Im so sorry I only noticed when this piece was finished. Hope you are still happy with the result though!

Fandom: Persona 5

_______

If there is one thing to describe Yusuke, it would be: not understanding stuff.

Like, really. He never understood that he can't follow people around to ask them to be a model, and a nude model for that matter. He also doesn't understand that his fellow Phantom Thief ally and girlfriend wants to have sex with him unless it is being said.

What was she supposed to do more? It was obvious, but also this is something Yusuke doesn't understand.

One time, she literally send him a text with: I want you. But the only thing he replied with was:

Yusuke: Want me to do what? You want to go to mementos? I can ask our leader if we can go today.

So yeah, that already didn't work. So, what did [Name] think next? She once stood naked in front of him while sitting on the bed.

"Oh, I didn't know you wanted me to paint you nude! I didn't know how to ask you as the last time I did that, it didn't go well", was what Yusuke had said.

Time for attempt number 3! She asked him what he thought about having sex with her. You would think he would finally get it right?

Wrong.

"I don't have any experience in the matter. I don't have an opinion on it. I have been locked away from the world most of the time, remember? Neither did I have any desire to do so. Why did you ask?"

Oh, so THAT is why he never picked up the hints. It makes [Name] even wonder if he ever got educated on the matter. He most likely did, but didn't think much of it. It's like he said, he barely talked to people thanks to Madarame, the bastard who only used him for his art.

"Because I really want to take our relationship to the next level", his girlfriend said. And once again, he still didn't understand where she was going.

"You mean like, moving in together? I must give you my apologies, but I think we are a little bit too young for that? I don't even think we legally-"

He didn't even got to finish his sentence before he was being kissed on the lips. He kissed her back of course, even if he was startled. They sometimes kiss like normal couples do, but never ever kissed with the tongue.

Well, he didn't. [Name] went for the first move as clearly wouldn't get what she would want.

That doesn't mean he didn't enjoy it, but he sure didn't really know what to do after.

"No, my lovely fool. I want to have sex with you, if that is okay with you. I have been dropping hints, but you didn't really understand them", she said while smiling softly at him.

He was confused a bit, still coming down from the surprise of tongue kissing. 5 seconds later is when he finally understood. He even grew red in the face a bit.

"O-Oh…I am sorry that I never noticed! How can I be a good partner for you if I do not know what my muse wants-"

"No, no, no. Don't be like that. You can't blame yourself for something you didn't know", she said while cupping his cheek in her hand. He is such a fool sometimes, but that is one of the things she likes about him.

He then proceeded to hold her own hand, being happy that she didn't mind such a mistake. Mistakes are made, it is fine.

"Then allow me to make it up to you by making love to you", he said, with full confidence. Well, still in that smooth voice of his but there was a confidence in that. Now it was [Name]'s turn to be caught of guard.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel pressured by it purely because I asked you to and you didn't know… Are you sure you want this?", She said, looking him in the eyes.

Yusuke nodded, a hint of pink on his cheeks. It is adorable, really.

"But I'd like to request you helping me out, as I told you earlier, I have no idea of what to do and make it feel good for you", he said.

"Of course, I would love too"

_______

As of right now, they are in the bed, naked. All the necessary equipment is with them. They also have removed all their clothes, except for their underwear that is.

"Let's take it slow okay?", she said, to which he agreed too.

They started to kiss with the tongue for a while, until she went to kiss his neck. Yusuke was moaning softly, figuring out that he should do the same thing with her.

They both enjoyed it for sure, and did so for three minutes.

"Do I have permission to go lower?" , [Name] was clearly caught more off guard when Yusuke was the one that suggested it. She didn't think he would be so straightforward as this would be his first time.

That didn't stop her from answering though. "Yes, you have permission to go lower", she said while looking lovingly at him.

Once he was sure, she went to kiss her breasts, admiring everything about her. He never got to see it up close, only seeing it when she volunteered to do nude paintings.

She held his hair, encouraging him to go further. She had no desire in stopping him, and it would appear that he doesn't have the desire to stop either.

She could feel herself getting more wet every time he asked her for permission to go further and to touch and kiss her there. It made her even think if he really was a virgin.

The truth is, in the time they were preparing everything to do this, he was researching on how to make it feel good for the both of them. And he is happy that he did, now knowing what to expect of it.

"Would it be okay if I would pleasure your clitoris?", He asked her. In that deep voice of his, what can a girl do then only blush? She once again gave her consent to it, and he took her panties off, exposing her vagina.

He added some pressure on it, making her eyes flicker. He took that as a sign to go further, rubbing it gently.

He could feel himself getting hard when she did, and he had the urge to touch himself down there as well.

"Let me, let me return the favor", [Name] said as she pointed at his erection.

"If you want to", was the only thing he said before she took off his boxers and gently started to rub him, being careful. This was his first time after all.

Immediately, he moaned a little. He was aware that this would feel good, but not THIS good. If anything, he already felt like he was losing himself.

The room was filled with soft moans from the two, feeling pleasure from one another. And this went on for a few minutes at best.

"Should I finger you? It's part of intercourse, right?", Yusuke said. He clearly got needy and wanted to go to the next phase already. And who was she to deny it?

She nodded and took her panties off, which were completely drenched already. Yusuke knew this was natural and that it would be easier to access her.

She laid down and stopped rubbing him while spreading her legs, giving him easy access. She nodded, giving permission again.

Slowly but carefully, he put a finger in her. After he had to search for the right hole that is. It was a little funny.

Immediately she moaned and arched her back while gripping the sheets. It would look like she is enjoying herself a lot. He understood that and slowly thrusted his finger in and out of her.

If anything, he gets more turned on by the looks of it. He really should have noticed the signs sooner, he wanted to make her happy after all.

Seeing how good it felt for her, he decided to enter another finger, scissoring them to get her more stretched out. And at her reaction, it looks like she enjoys that a lot.

He kept pumping them in and out, while also paying attention to her clit. He could feel her tighten up a little, what he thinks means she is going to reach her climax soon.

"Wait, stop", she said, making him stop immediately and looking at her.

"Did I do something wrong? I'm so sorry if-"

She just reached up and kissed him while shaking her head.

"You didn't do anything wrong, trust me. I just wanna finish with you", she said while catching her breath.

He tried his best to understand it, and luckily he did.

"Bare with me, I don't have experience in this…", he said as she placed himself between her legs and grabbed a condom together with some lube.

She helped him with everything, as she is more experienced in the matter. She made that very obvious.

After putting the condom on and lubricating both of them, she guided him in her vagina.

He gripped the sheets himself, not used to this at all. "So t-tight..!", He hissed out. Yet he didn't complain about it. How pleasurable that it felt! Now he really wishes he saw her hints sooner.

[Name] herself was arching her back, feeling him pushing into her until he was all the way in. And they stayed like this for a while, having to get used to each other.

If anything, it looked like Yusuke was holding himself back not to thrust. It was obvious that he waited for her sign to move.

"It's okay, you can move now", she whispered, and moaned when he started to move a little. Most likely experimenting with what they both like.

"My muse..I wanna go faster…Please, can I?", He said, trying to hold himself back. If he knew that sex would be this good, he would have wondered about it much earlier.

"Go as fast as she can, I want to feel all of you!", She moaned, completely loving this feeling. She has been craving for this for so long, and now she finally has it.

He didn't had to be told twice as she practically pounded in her, totally forgetting how to make it feel good for her too and is just letting himself go. But she didn't complain, this is what she wanted after all.

"It feels so good..I'm so sorry that I didn't understand it, I wish we could have done this sooner!", he groaned out, losing himself in the pleasure.

If she wanted to say something, she wouldn't have been able to with the amount of pleasure she is getting. For someone who was a virgin 2 minutes ago, he is a natural at this. Hitting her in just the right places.

He knew it too that he was doing things right, especially as he could feel her tighten up. He knew that this meant she was close to her orgasm again.

He was close too, but he wanted to make her feel even more good. He rubbed her clit once more and and it did enough for her to cum on his dick. At the same time, he climaxed in the condom while breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath.

"I'm gonna pull out now..", he said as he then undid the condom and threw it in the garbage.

"I love you, don't forget that", she said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him in the bed, wanting to be close to him.

He chuckled and stroke her hair.

"I love you too"

#yusuke kitawaga #smut warning #yusuke kitagawa x reader #yusuke #yusuke x reader #female reader #readerinsert #persona 5 #persona 5 smut #yusuke smut

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adachimoe · 3 days ago

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PSC V Ep 10 - The Return of "Ah-ha, I SEES it!" (and also the last one (i think?))

Last time: Ep 1 + Explanation, Eps 2 + 4, Ep 5, Eps 6 + 7 (no Q&A), Eps 8 + 9, Eps 10 + 11 (plus PSC Cafe), Eps 12/13/18/19, Eps 20/23/24, Eps 25/26

Persona Stalker Club ended at episode 26, then was reborn as Persona Stalker Club V to cover Persona 5. V went for 10 episodes but the Q&A segment didn't return until episode 10. The guests on this episode where Rina Sato (Makoto's voice actor) and the return of Tomokazu Sugita (Yusuke's voice actor, who last showed up on episode 7).

V Episode 10: (I paraphrased #2's question / answer)

Q: When Makoto trails Joker around, she's shown hiding by reading a shonen manga magazine. Is her Persona the result of her reading shonen instead of shojo? A: Per the Official Design Works, Makoto enjoys reading, regardless of the genre. She reads shojo, sci-fi novels, etc. Q: Do the protagonists all get enhanced physical ability when inside Palaces and Mementos? Or are they their usual selves in Palaces aside from their clothes? A: To get straight to the point, their physical ability gets enhanced thanks to their spirit of rebellion. Q: Yusuke looks great in his yukata during the fireworks part. Did he buy it himself? Also, did he dress himself? A: It's not documented anywhere, but I think he bought it himself. Additionally, since Yusuke majors in Japanese-style painting, I imagine he has painted people wearing Japanese clothing before and is well-versed in the subject, so I think he dressed himself. Q: Why does Yusuke only wear a white shirt with his uniform when Hifumi wears a uniform with a dress shirt and blazer? What about the symbol on his shirt? A: It's his own shirt. The symbol is a lily emblem which is used in Europe to represent royalty. I guess he picked it because he likes it. In Japanese flower language, a black lily communicates "love" and "curses", hinting at how Yusuke develops during the story. Furthermore, the aforementioned flower language originates from a woman in the Sengoku era whose name was Sayuri. There's no connection between this and P5, but I do recall later being surprised by the coincidence when I realized it. Q: What is in Akechi's attaché case? Did he draw that circled "A" himself? Asked by: Adachi's Tie Clip A: Presumably, it contains his laptop and material related to cases he's working on. The "A" is the "A" in "Akechi", and he made it himself. He must want to stand out. At the same time, the "A." (w/emphasis on the period) is an expression of his intellect, as if all the "A"nswers to a case can be found within.

The answer put an emphasis on the period - being that it's used to indicate the end of a sentence, I guess the emphasis is also to symbolize like... a case being over?

The "Design Works" being referred to in some questions is the P5 Official Design Works which has character info and concept art and notes and other things.

Also, clearly, Yusuke has no money because he spent it all on a yukata.

Wew I think that's all of the questions and answers from PSC.

#persona 5 #p5 #makoto niijima #yusuke kitagawa #goro akechi #persona stalker club #Wow PSC really said “Akechi put an 'A' on his attache because he's an 'a'ttention whore”

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immortalmsmoon · 1 year ago

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Hi sorry I hope I can make this make sense I was wondering if you’d be able to write some head cannons on how Yusuke, Ryuji, and Akechi (separately) would react to a reader whose love language is making and giving food. Like the reader doesn’t look like they could even boil water only to find out they not only like to cook but is pretty damn good at it. Making them something like a boxed lunch or some sweets for Valentine’s Day or a small treat just because and always asking to make sure it’s to their liking.The reader will make it a point to find out what food they like to get when they order something from a restaurant and learning how to make it to surprise them and will keep an ear out to see if they ask for anything changed or added when ordered so they’ll know to change it so it’s more suited to their crushes taste, and the reader will probably let their crush know that if there’s something they’d like them to make that they’re more than willing to try. Being willing to learn and will make anything be it different types of drinks (classic sweet tea or whipped ice coffee) to a multitude of different entrees (soups, sandwiches, pasta dishes, etc.) and a boat load of different desserts. And early on making sure to have some extra stuff made so they can say they brought something for everyone if they’re worried about seeming too weird or pushy.

Yum!

Cast Line Up: Ryuji Sakamoto, Yusuke Kitagawa, and Goro Akechi

A/N: This is so sweet!! i absolutely love it! Thank you for the request!

Warnings: None, just lots of fluff!

Let me know if i missed any warnings!

Wordcount: 1069

Ryuji Sakamoto

it means so much to him the you go out of your way to make food for him, and find out exactly what he likes.

when you invite him over for a picnic one evening, only to find that you made all of his favourties, he melts

he knows how to cook very few things, and its just the stuff that helps him with track and is high in protein.

when you guys go on coffee dates, and have his favourites memorized, he feels like he's falling in love all over again.

On white day, when he comes over to your house to visit just to see all his favourite snacks laid out for him, he feels like his stomach is filled with butterflies

It had been a long tiring day for Ryuji. He had been training like crazy, and school had been as draining as ever. of course he loved training but it really did a number on him, especially with his crippled knee.

he slowly made his way to his apartment, not wanting to go home just yet. thankfully he received a call from his favourite person, asking him to come over. He quickly changed course, not even caring that he probably still smelled like sweat. it didn't matter, right? you'd probably just be playing video games or reading manga together anyways.

he reached your house quite quickly, and knocked on the door, hearing you squeak a "come in!" from the other side. he quickly opened the door, a grin on his face.

the grin spread even wider at what he saw once he fully walked into your house.

you were running around the kitchen, a cute little apron tied around your waist. all his favourites are on the table, and soon he's smiling so hard his face hurts.

he wraps his arms around your waist, pressing a kiss to your temple.

"How'd ya know, baby? about all the stuff I liked?" he says, and you can hear the smile in his voice.

"Because. I love you" you say, rubbing his hands with one of yours, the other stirring up some food. "and i may have also asked your mom" you say, blushing slightly. he lets out a laugh, pressing another kiss to your temple.

"love ya baby. More than anything."

Yusuke Kitagawa~

As an acts of service man, there is nothing he appreciates more.

he's never really had anyone take care of him as well as you do. Madarame did, but lets be honest, he was a terrible cook.

It makes him so happy, especially on nights when his art has taken over his life, and its all he can focus on.

he's kind of busy, whether its phantom thieve business, school, or his art, so he never really has time to make himself a good healthy meal.

he really wishes he could return the gesture, but he is no where near as good at cooking as you are.

Everything in Yusuke's dorm except for the painting in front of him had disappeared into a deep blackness, like a black hole had gone through the room and sucked up everything except for himself and the painting.

in the back of his mind he sensed that tonight he would be getting no sleep. it didn't bother him though. he dabbed at his palette, filling up the canvas with colour, sighing every so often when it whatever he was painting didn't come out the way he wanted.

as he continued to paint, he started to hear a voice. he ignored it though, after all he was so close to getting his painting right! just a little longer and it would be perfect-

"Yusuke!" a soft voice called, and then a soft hand appeared out of the abyss that was his room, gently resting on his shoulder. all of a sudden the blackness that had become his surroundings disappeared, and he was in a room, his room. there was a delicious smell, something savory but soft. it smelled amazing. he turned to you, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips when he saw all the food you had prepared. His heart soared; no one had ever put this much effort into taking care of him, not even Madarame. he knew if it hadn't been for you, he probably wouldn't have been eating.

Goro Akechi~

Again, as an acts of service man, it means SO MUCH to him.

he's often very busy with work and school, and it's just so heart warming to come home to you in his apartment, with a cute little apron on, rushing around making him food.

definitely returns the favour, and cooks you all sorts of little goodies. he has a lot of experience due to living alone for so long.

it makes him the happiest if you stop by his work place or school to deliver him food, especially if he's working late or couldn't bring food to school due to being in a rush.

he would eat anything you give him, but will also give you pointers on how to pair flavours and what not.

the moment Akechi saw you at the reception of his work place, his heard skipped a beat. you looked adorable, your small cute face all flushed from the cold weather, a sweet looking bento in your hands.

as soon as Akechi told you he'd be working late you rushed to make him some food. the last thing you wanted was your lovely boyfriend to be stuck at work with no dinner.

to be honest, he had not expected you to come, even when his boss told him someone had come to see him. he figured it would be some unwanted fan girls again, for the 5th time that week. he was pleasantly surprised when he saw you, a little smile on your face.

you quickly walked over to him, setting the bento down on the counter, before reaching up to press a kiss to his cheek. He held your face in his hand, and even though he was usually a stickler about public affection, he was willing to let this slide due to how tired he was. you then handed him the box, giving him one more kiss, before telling to eat all of it, and call you if he was hungry for anything else. he smiled. he was truly so greatfull for you.

#persona 5 #persona 5 x reader #p5 #goro akechi #persona #goro akechi x reader #anime #ryuji #ryuji x reader #yusuke x reader #yusuke

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chosen-hero-inari · 2 months ago

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Whumptober Day 1: Search Party

A/N: Hello! This year I wanted to do something more lowkey for Whumptober so I tried to keep these to 500 words, and even succeeded with some of them! So if you're wondering why my fics are shorter this year that's why.

Anamorphosis

Yusuke is hard to miss.

It’s not just that he literally sticks out a few inches above other people, it’s how he speaks, how he carries himself. It’s attention-grabbing, to say the least.

So of course, when they ask the shopkeepers and other people who hang around the subway, they’ve all seen Yusuke around, but they haven’t noticed he hasn’t been around the last couple of days.

Yusuke’s all but vanished.

Maybe someone else would panic at that, but not Ren. Most things can be solved by taking stock and going back to the fundamentals. Figure out what you know, and work from there.

And Ren knows a lot. He knows that Yusuke is easily distracted and can wander a lot of places. He knows Yusuke sometimes forgets to pay for his phone.

He knows that there are monsters and portals to other worlds that can open up in an instant and make someone disappear.

Possibilities that no one else would consider.

That’s why he and the others all agreed they would get back to Tokyo the first chance they got, because they knew the authorities couldn’t deal with it.

A week after Yusuke last sent a message to the group chat, They’re gathered in Leblanc and taking stock of anyone Yusuke’s been hanging around. The Metaverse proper is gone, of course, but there’s always parallels.

Sojiro and Sae can handle the traditional methods, their search starts with rumors and forums. There’s no thread worth ignoring.

“Hey, check this out,” Futaba says, moving her laptop so they all can see. The reddit page for Yusuke’s college dorm has a scattering few posts, but one mentions a creepy painting in the hallway.

I swear I saw someone touch it and disappear.

“As good a place to start as any,” Ren says.

He and Makoto go to the dorm and talk their way in by giving the security guard a version of the truth. Of course she’s noticed the weird art kid hasn’t checked in in awhile.

When they reach the hallway, they don’t find the painting. The plaque describing it is there, saying it was painted by an unknown artist and gifted from the Subaru City museum. It’s several decades old, but not much else is known about it.

Makoto asks a passerby about it, and they just shrug and say someone probably got rid of it.

Then they head up to Yusuke’s room, Ren picking the lock easily.

Yusuke’s new dorm is the same kind of chaos as his old one, but thankfully it’s much bigger and comes with an actual bed.

There are papers and notebooks scattered around, and it seems Yusuke had been very focused on drawing the shadows they encountered in their adventures before, and a couple Ren’s never seen before.

A notepad with the words BUY SIM CARD underlined several times is sitting on the table, along with several names to get in contact with and phone numbers.

One is Katsuya Suou, a private investigator, so Makoto gives him a call and puts it on speaker.

“Katsuya Suou’s office, how can I help you?”

Makoto nearly drops the phone. That’s Yusuke’s voice.

“Yusuke?” Ren yells. “Are you ok, what happened?”

“Ren? Oh boy, I’m very happy to hear your voice.”

“We could say the same,” Makoto says. “What’s going on, where have you been?”

“Wait, how long has it been?”

“A week.”

There’s a muffled groan on the other side of the phone. “I’m so sorry, the person borrowing my body didn’t know what a sim card was.”

At this point Ren’s not even going to question it.

“Do you need help? What does this have to do with the painting?”

“Ok, so that painting was a message,” Yusuke says, “I just can’t find the people it’s meant for.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s… difficult to explain concisely, I don’t understand it myself,” Yusuke says. “Something about that painting… you know what never mind. I wanted to have more concrete information before I called you all on a wild goose chase, but I’m getting concerned. How fast can all of you get to Sumaru City?”

“We can be there by tomorrow, why?” Makoto asks.

“Because I think a cult from the 90s is trying to end the world again.”

#alto writes #whumptober 2024 #day 1 #persona 5 #yusuke kitagawa #persona 2 #sort of?#word count: 500-1000 #oneshots

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starsandauras · 3 months ago

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Prompt 8: Imprint

FFXIV 30 Day Writing Challenge Prompt 8: Imprint (Extra Credit/Free Day) Welcome (or welcome back, technically) to Streamer AU Sunday!

“You didn’t tell me Aymeric was your tattoo artist,” Alisaie mock grumbled as she filled out the intake paperwork.

Aymeric laughed softly, a hand curled just in front of his mouth, and Brigid’s own laugher all but covered it up. “Only one of me artists, darlin’,” she soothed, brushing her hand over Alisaie’s hair. “‘Sides, he’s enjoyin’ the surprise.”

“When people learn the heir to the Borel house has a ‘day job,’ none expect this,” he added, blue eyes twinkling behind reading glasses.

Haurchefant passed behind, collecting Alisaie’s identification and taking it over to the copy machine. “It’s the suits, my friend, they cover up all my hard work!”

Alisaie handed Aymeric her design for the man’s perusal and sighed in thought, looking around the parlor. Flash designs ringed the room, and three convertible chairs were set up, each with plastic covered trays next to them. Thick portfolios sat on Aymeric’s desk, each one bursting with previous work from the three artists in residence.

They had been a recommendation from Brigid, who sported several of her own tattoos, all carefully hidden under her clothes. Most were done by Haurchefant, but the one Alisaie had admired most, the dagger down Brigid’s spine, had been done by the artist she was meeting today.

“Fascinating,” Aymeric murmured, eyes running over the design. It was a stylized rose, leaning against a fencing sabre. Something about Aymeric’s tone caught Haurchefant’s attention, making the man lean over his shoulder.

His eyes widened slightly, taking in the details. “Yes indeed,” he agreed, reaching out for and being handed the design. “It does certainly suit you, my dear. Quite lovely work, but I don’t believe this is your brother’s?”

Alisaie shook her head, settling back into her seat once Haurchefant returned her ID. “Not for my first one,” she replied, looking around the room again. “A friend owed me a favor, and put me in touch with Yusuke Kitagawa.”

Both artists looked up sharply at that, eyes wide, and then as one looked back down at the drawing. Haurchefant lowered it slowly, as though it had suddenly become something of reverence.

“A Kitagawa original,” Haurchefant breathed.

“I was under the impression he wouldn’t do tattoo designs,” Aymeric agreed.

Alisaie huffed softly. “Give that man enough freedom and feed him a few times and he’ll do anything out of gratitude.”

“Who’ll do anything?” came a Doman accented voice, and the group looked over to the door to find the third of the three artists in residence entering the building.

Brigid waved and smiled brightly. “Mornin’ Hien~!” she cheered, and Hien smiled just as brightly.

“Ah, my lady Bri!” he nearly cheered, quickly going over to the others. He took her hand and dropped a gallant kiss to the back of it. “Back so soon?”

She laughed and pulled her hand from his, only to pat his cheek gently. “Oh no darlin’, just bringin’ you a new client.”

Hien chuckled as he turned to face Alisaie. “Miss Alisaie, then!” He bowed, and Alisaie scrambled out of the chair to do the same. “An honor to meet you, I’m Hien Rijin.” They rose at the same time and Hien gestured for Alisaie to sit, then put his things away.

Then he turned, and his eyes fell on Alisaie’s design. He blinked, then looked at her. “Is that a Kitagawa?” he asked, eyes wide. Brigid just laughed softly.

Alisaie nodded, leaning back and crossing her legs, hands hooked on the top knee. “Which suits your art style, judging from the work you’ve done for Brigid.”

Hien nodded, nudging Haurchefant out of the way to get a closer look. Haurchefant breathed a laugh, but moved easily to stand behind Aymeric. “A fair amount of detail, but not so much it would be unrealistic to transfer to skin… you said in the booking you were looking at a shoulder placement?”

Another nod, and Alisaie turned to offer her left shoulder. “I thought my non-dominant one, to make healing easier?”

Hien glanced up and nodded, before looking back down at the artwork. “Should curve nicely, but we’ll have to play with it a bit. Hopefully Kitagawa won’t mind, he’s usually so protective of his art.”

“Overprotective, one might say,” Alisaie grumbled, making Hien laugh.

“You’ll have to tell the tale of how you managed to get your hands on this, then,” he said, standing. “Come, we’ll make the stencil and begin preparations!”

Alisaie looked at Brigid, who nodded with a smile, and the two women stood, Brigid following Hien to his workstation while Alisaie was pointed to a small changing room to get her clothing situated.

#Final Fantasy XIV #FFXIVWrite2024 #FFXIVWrite #Streamer AU #Warrior of Light: Brigid O'Donnell #Alisaie Leveilleur #Aymeric de Borel #Haurchefant Greystone #Hien Rijin #Persona 5 character referenced but not appearing #No I don't know how Alisaie's turned into my link to the Persona universe I just do what the girl tells me #also god this thing was both like pulling teeth and like it wouldn't fucking stop!#I have no idea if I can find the finish point in October

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ecargmura · 4 months ago

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Oshi No Ko Episode 17 Review - Melt's Redemption

This is the power of anime adaptations if given in the right hands. Doga Kobo really took their time and effort to creating an episode that gives both Melt a redemption arc and their studio into the limelight for that spectacular episode. I was so hooked and even shed some tears to see Melt finally getting that redemption he needed. You can say that I melted into the moment too.

Melt’s whole moment is for him to get people to see that he isn’t all looks and that he can take acting seriously! Before he got into acting, Melt was a bit of a conceited guy who knew he was hot and popular, but meeting Aqua and performing in Sweet Today gave him that reality check. It’s not just a battle within himself, but a battle against Sakuya and Yoriko, the two people who underestimated him the most. What I liked is that ever since the Sweet Today arc, Melt has been realizing that acting is serious business and that just because he’s all looks won’t get him anywhere and he won’t survive in the industry. That’s why he worked so hard. Even if he’s not as experienced as the others, he can still have his moment to shine—to have something to engrave into people’s minds. He gains Sakuya and Yoriko’s respect fully and Aqua is proud of him, giving him a genuine smile that he rarely gives others!

What I like is that he’s taking things seriously by taking in his surroundings. He’s listening to Aqua’s advice. He’s listening to his acting instructor’s words on gaining stamina. He was listening to Akane wondering about other characters and this caused him to try and understand his stage play character. He can’t take in everything and expect an instant level up, but he’s doing what he can with his capabilities and it paid off positively. Look at him now compared to his performance in Sweet Today. His line delivery became so good. He’s no longer that cringy actor from the past. Props to his voice actor Seiji Maeda for going above and beyond for this performance too! I am expecting his voice actor to get an influx of roles going forth after putting on that brilliant performance.

It’s not only Melt too, but everyone in this episode showed off their acting from what was shown in the episode and from the voice acting too! Koki Uchiyama shows off that he doesn’t always voice stoic emo boys and can do hot blooded perfectly well. Megumi Han shows off how versatile she is as a voice actress and it applies to Kana too! Yusuke Kobayashi also shows off how different he can sound when Sakuya is acting and his normal self. I feel like this episode was just a harmonious combination of well-animated scenes and well-voiced characters. This is why animation studios and voice actors are so important to elevate a manga adaptation. They’re the ones promoting this story hence why the audience has to be hooked and if things go well, those who basked in that spotlight will get lauded!

I wasn’t the only one who was crying. Mengo, who does the manga art for Oshi no Ko, revealed that they were crying as well! It was clearly a moving episode and it makes me wonder what will Doga Kobo animate for their future works. Were you moved by this episode as I was?

#oshi no ko #melt narushima #aquamarine hoshino #Sakuya kamoshida #yoriko kichijouji #review #anime #anime review #ecargmura #arum journal

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kroosluvr · 3 months ago

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Went to an art museum today! Yusuke takes Sumire to an art museum and she mimics the faces and poses of some of the paintings and sculptures to get him to laugh

VIOLETFOX IN MY INBOX I CAN LIVE ohmyogd.... SOOOO TRUE. i want him to be a LITTLE smooth just once.... meeting sumire at the main exhibition hall and hes a couple mins late so she was browsing the paintings/sculptures and she hears his surprised voice: "i wasn't aware of this magnificent art piece in this exhibit. truly, the rest pales in comparison" while walking up to her. and shes all like "eh?" (looks behind her) (There's nothing there) "HUH?"

LKASDJKASHDKJSAJKDASKJ this sounds very ooc for him but also i think hes super charming when no one expects it.

#cele answers #Anonymous #violetfox

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kawaii-angelanne · 2 years ago

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TW/CW: nudity of minors (not sexual!), all characters (except the teacher) are in high school

KEY TAGS: spoiler-free/pre-canon, female reader (afab and themes of womanhood), second pov (reader's pov), meet-cute, fluff, strangers to ???

WORD COUNT: 6202

CROSS POST: ao3

OPENING NOTE: thanks for clicking on this! please do not repost, copy, modify, or overall plagiarize this work anywhere else please. plagiarism is never acceptable, both in mla 8 format and in fanfiction! for translations, message me, and we can talk about it! reblogs, comments, and likes are super appreciated :>

SUMMARY: "'So…' you trail off, shutting the door behind you, 'How should I do this? Do you have a certain pose in mind or…?'

The blue-haired painter (painter-in-training?) turns to you, 'Well, in order to start, it would be best if you began taking off your clothes.'

'E-excuse me!?'"

Or where Kitagawa Yusuke needs a nude model, and you unknowingly sign up.

“Why don’t you just get a job?” your friend, Yanai Toshiko, points out the most obvious solution to your money problem while chewing in one side of her mouth, “It’s pretty easy these days. All you have to do is take a magazine from the job stand in Shibuya Station, look for a job that interests you, and call them up.”

“Right, and,” your other friend, Akagawa Yokkako, takes a moment to swallow her food before continuing, “if you tell them you’re a Kosei High student, they will most definitely hire you.”

“But that’s so much work!” you groan loudly, burying your head in your arms on the table and then lifting your head up high enough to be able to see your friends, “Besides, my brother’s birthday is in a week. I wouldn’t get the money in time even if I got the job.”

“That’s your fault for leaving it to the last minute,” Yanai clicks open the next tier in her bento box, “I don’t understand how you’re still at Kosei with all your procrastination.”

You perk up at this, “Uh, just because I don’t do my work weeks ahead of time like everyone else here doesn’t mean I don’t do well, thank you very much.”

“What’re you even getting your brother that costs so much anyways?” Yokkako finishes the last of the bun she bought from the school store, crumpling the transparent wrapper in between her hands.

“Limited-edition action figure set of this anime he watches,” you drag your chopsticks absentmindedly across your school lunch, depressed from just remembering the price tag.

Yanai admires her octopus hotdogs, her chopsticks holding one in midair, before eating it whole, “Can’t you get him, like, crayons or something?”

You stop swiveling your chopsticks across the pile of rice on your tray at her suggestion, “He’s not six. He’s turning twelve!”

“What’s the difference?” Yokkako snickers behind her hand, earning one smack on the shoulder from you.

“Seriously, guys,” you now resort to hopelessly picking up singular grains of rice with your chopstick, “Do any of you know how I can get cash quick and easy?”

“Well—”

“And legally.”

Yokkako wilters at the last part, her eagerness to tell you to be a cam girl or start selling drugs vanishing in a flash. While she isn’t involved in stuff like that, you knew she would suggest such a thing anyways, which would have annoyed you more.

Yanai nimbles on her chopsticks in thought, “Y’know, on my way to the teacher’s office—I had to drop something off—, I overheard one of the art students asking around for a model. He said he was willing to pay in cash.”

“Really!?” you straighten up from your slumped position, eyes sparkling at the prospect of possibly getting enough money for your brother, “Who? Do you know how much he’s paying? Did anyone say yes?”

“Hmm,” Yanai places her chopsticks down, “I only heard his voice, so I don’t know who he is, sorry. I didn’t stick around long enough to hear everything, so...”

“Ask one of the art teachers!” Yokkako chirps up, “They might know who it is. I think their office is on the…third floor?”

You turn to Yanai for an answer, who nods silently as she focuses on packing up her lunch, and, with her confirmation, you immediately stand up from your chair, “I’m going to go now then! Can’t have anyone taking my precious money! I’ll see you guys later!”

Dashing off, you try not to bump into unsuspecting students, spitting sorries when you do. You’re going to find this art student no matter what!

“Oh, right, I heard Kitagawa asking one of my other students to be his model yesterday,” the first art teacher you encountered answers, “She said she was too busy.”

Still catching your breath from sprinting up three flights of stairs, you stare blankly at her. Her answer as to who was asking for a model was hardly an answer. For all you know, there could be tens of Kitagawas in this school (it would be funny if they were all in the same art class too). Also, why did she talk more about the person he asked? She isn’t your main concern.

She returns to her work, so you press the subject further, “Kitagawa…?”

“You don’t know?” she makes the effort to turn her chair to face you completely, “Kitagawa Yusuke? He’s one of Madarame’s students.”

“Who?”

“Madarame, the artist?”

When you shake your head, she gapes at you but immediately pulls herself together, “Never mind. What do you need Kitagawa for anyways?”

“I was hoping to ask him if I could be his model,” you don’t bother to explain all the itty bitty details about how you desperately need the cash; she doesn’t need to know that.

The teacher squints at the grid paper taped on the wall in front of her, “I have him next, so I can ask for you. I’ll email you what he says. What’s your name? Include your first name as well, so I know what email to use.”

After telling her your name, she writes it down on a blank notepad, and you thank her for the help before leaving. At least you don’t have to track down this Kitagawa Yusuke.

You slide the door open and then close. Checking your watch, you yelp at the time. Class on the fifth floor is starting in three minutes, and you don’t even have your bag!

“Crap, crap, crap!” you repeat under your breath and push your legs to move faster, brisk walk accelerating to a full-out run.

As you make an abrupt turn around the corner to the downstairs, you harshly crash into someone. You shut your eyes, groaning when you make contact with the ground. Still reeling from the fall, you see the obstacle you bumped into, who is somehow gracefully sitting upon the linoleum floor.

“Pretty boy…” the words flow out of your mouth without a second thought, and your hand slaps itself over your mouth.

But really, is there anyone who wouldn’t have the same reaction? Navy blue hair framing the boy’s cheeks so perfectly and shining like it belongs in a shampoo commercial. The lack of blazer all students have to wear with their uniform revealing his lissome frame. The longest eyelashes you’ve ever seen. The most luscious lips—.

“Are you okay?”

At his words, you cease your shameless ogling, “Y-yes! S-sorry, are you okay? I should have been watching where I was going!”

“I’m quite alright, thank you,” he gets up from the floor, brushing one stray hair away from his face, “Do be careful though. It would not be safe to bump into anyone else like that.”

Before you can retort, you remember why you were in such a rush earlier and rise to your feet, “Oh god, I’m really going to be late now! Again, sorry, but gotta blast!”

You abandon him and take off at the same speed as before. Screw getting your bag; you can just ask Yukkako for paper and a pencil.

Your mind races back to the slender guy you bumped into as you scurry up the stairs. You’ve never met him before. However, you don’t think your paths will cross any time soon. It’s been a month since school started, but you haven’t seen him in any of your classes. Besides, he’s too…graceful. And pretty! Definitely not your crowd.

The bell rings once you reach the fifth floor, and you frantically scramble to the classroom door. You practically fall through the back door. Somehow, no one but Yukkako notices your tumble in and waves her hand rapidly. The teacher strides in the front door the moment you sit down, and you breathe out a sigh of relief.

The moment you step foot in your dorm room, you toss your bag to a corner of the room and launch yourself into the comfort of your bed. Thank god your roommate isn’t here right now. As always, a day spent at the illustrious Kosei High deserves a nap.

Too exhausted to take off your uniform, you snuggle on the top of your bed (also too exhausted to get inside the blankets). Closing your eyes, you feel yourself hazing out of reality and into the wondrous land of slumber.

Ding!

Your eyes snap open, tranquility gone and irritation kicked in. When you reach down into one of your pockets, you pull out the rectangular device. The brightness burns, and you don’t hesitate to lower it.

When you read the subject, “Art Model Information”, you sit up from your bed like a vampire from their coffin. Unlocking your phone, you hastily scan the message.

“‘I asked Kitagawa…need to go to Madarame’s studio tomorrow…might let you model!?’ I’m not even hired!?”

You almost throw the phone down on the mattress out of frustration, sleep disturbed for this. You have to travel to his place and aren’t even guaranteed the job? What if you travel for nothing? That would be a waste of a good subway fee!

To calm yourself, you take a deep breath and release it with most of your annoyance. There aren’t any better options, so what choice do you have?

Scrolling down the email, you find the address of this “Madarame’s studio”—you still don’t know who Madarame is—and copy it to paste into your navigation app.

Your finger repeatedly jams the doorbell as you cower underneath the veranda too small to properly cover anyone. Even though the forecast reported no rain, it began to downpour mere minutes ago with no relent in sight. Fortunately, you had a jacket to drape over your head, but it’s not going to hold for much longer at this rate.

“Oh, come on, answer the door already!” you whine.

You pressed the button just once when you first arrived, but, the longer you went on without a response, the more fervent your pressing became. Maybe you should be more patient. However, how good would a drenched model be? You need to get in soon, or else.

Before you resort to holding down the buzzer, a voice slices through the heavy rainfall, “Who is it? If it’s Sensei you want, he’s not here.”

You pause briefly at the strange familiarity of the voice before answering, “Hi, I’m from Kosei High! I don’t know her name, but one of your teachers told you about me? It’s raining pretty heavy out here, so, if you could let me in, that’d be great!”

“One moment.”

The transceiver disconnects. Footsteps approach behind the door, and the voice’s speaker unlocks it. You can’t help but gasp when the door opens to reveal who was talking to you.

The pretty boy you bumped into yesterday!

“It’s you!”

“It’s you…”

You’re too stunned to move, despite the rain pouring (partially) on you. So, this is Kitagawa Yusuke? You even said yesterday that your paths wouldn’t cross any time soon! What’re the odds?!

“...Will you be coming inside or…?” Pretty Boy, now identified as Kitagawa Yusuke, raises an elegant brow while stepping to the side to let you through.

“Oh! Yeah, sorry!” you step inside and take off the jacket on your head, “I just didn’t think that you’re Kitagawa! Crazy coincidence, right?”

“Indeed, this truly is a trick of fate…”

“‘Trick?’”

What did he mean by that?

Kitagawa doesn’t answer you and immediately begins to circle around you. He mumbles to himself, too incoherent for you to understand. The longer this goes on, the antsier you get. It’s as if you’re being picked apart with his eyes punctuated by those sharp lashes.

It’s not exactly the most comfortable experience.

Before you can ask him if something is wrong, he returns in front of you, done observing you like an abstract work of art, “I suppose you will do for now. Normally, I would try to find a more inspiring subject, but I cannot afford to on such time constraints. Do not worry about taking your shoes off, and, please, follow me.”

Your eye twitches at his slightly objectifying attitude, but you follow him anyway. Before leaving, though, you wring out your soaked jacket directly over the poor excuse of a doormat. Seeing the water permeate fills you with mischievous satisfaction. Seeing how far away he was, you run over to catch up.

It doesn’t take long for you two to enter a small studio room. Towards the backend of the room there’s a window to let natural light in. However, there isn’t exactly a lot of “natural light” shining through due to the storm. The ceiling light seems to provide just enough lighting, some darkness accumulating in the corner.

Various painting and sketching supplies are shelved in the back of the room as well. Three stools are pushed to the side. One stool sits in the middle, and an easel without its canvas in front of it.

Kitagawa goes ahead of you to set up, and you stand awkwardly by the doorway with your jacket over your arms.

“So…” you trail off, shutting the door behind you, “How should I do this? Do you have a certain pose in mind or…?”

The blue-haired painter (painter-in-training?) turns to you, “Well, in order to start, it would be best if you began taking off your clothes.”

“E-excuse me!?” you almost drop the jacket onto the wooden floor from pure shock.

No…is this a nude modeling gig!? Even though themes of nudity happen to make up a majority of famous paintings, you never even considered this would be the case. You’re also a high school student, just like him! Is this even legal?

“Were you unaware that you would be modeling nude?” he strokes his chin, clearly confused, “I made sure to specify that to the teacher though…”

You gulp. Maybe you should have read the email entirely…

“You are more than welcome to leave if you do not wish to do this anymore,” Kitagawa already makes moves to clear up shop, disappointed and…annoyed(?) at this turn of events, “However, if it comforts you, I have absolutely no interest in your naked figure. I am purely doing this for art. I assure you I have no ulterior motives other than painting another piece of work for Sensei.”

“Uh, w-well,” you fidget about, not completely unswayed by his words (even though you should be!), “h-how much will you be paying?”

“Did the teacher not tell you that either?” his brows furrow even more (you really should have read the email entirely), “It might not be much, but, when we finish, I will pay you about one hundred and fifty thousand yen.”

One hundred and fifty thousand!? That would cover your brother’s birthday gift and still leave you some cash to spend! All of that for modeling? Granted, you’ll be naked, but it would totally be worth it!

Wait. Jeez, are you really that desperate for money that you’ll strip for some guy you just met? …No, no, that isn’t the case here! You’re contributing to the art world! So what if you’re in the nude? If this painting is a hit, you’ll be famous, have money, and make your brother happy for this birthday. Well, secretly famous. You don’t want this spreading around, especially to your parents.

“I’ll do it,” you declare despite your heart beating wildly at what you’re committing to, “B-but on one condition! I won’t be officially associated with this. I don’t want people to know that you painted me…naked. So, I don’t want to see my name anywhere near this, got it?!”

“You have my word, thank you,” he softens his curt tone in gratitude, and his lips even curve into a small, pleasant smile.

Your heart stutters for a moment at the unexpected nicety. While Kitagawa hasn’t been outright scornful, you couldn’t help but feel iced out at first.

“Do not mind me as you undress,” his back faces you out of consideration, “I will prepare in the meanwhile. Let me know when you are ready.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Even though his back is already turned to you, you turn your back to him as well for added protection. Well, it would only be your rear side instead of your front side he would see if he turned around (if he does, you’re leaving without a second thought!). When getting ready for today, you opted for a comfortable but still nice outfit rather than your uniform. Had you known you would be modeling naked, you would have just come in sweatpants and a hoodie.

Sitting on the stool, you first remove your shoes. You strip out of your clothes one by one, stacking them into a messy pile on the stool closest to you. Your hands pause at your undergarments. As the room’s chill travels across your skin, goosebumps prickle your skin.

You take a deep breath.

One.

Two.

Three!

You unclasp your bra.

Another deep breath.

One.

Two.

Three!

You push down your underwear.

Adding the two articles to the unorganized mountain of clothes, which had somehow not collapsed yet, you turn around to face Kitagawa. Your hands wrap around your torso, insecurity trickling in like water from a sōzu. Now that you’re actually naked, you don’t feel as confident as you did before when you agreed.

Still, you don’t want to back out now, not after you’ve gone through the process of taking off your clothes. Ugh, you better like that gift, Hanzu!

“Is everything all right?” Kitagawa asks, back still to you.

“Y-yep!” you breathe deeply again to steel your nerves, “I-I’m all ready now!”

He turns around, seeing your naked body for the first time. Despite that, his insouciant expression doesn’t change. He merely clutches his chin between his fingers again; you could almost see the cogwheels turning inside his mind. His ever-observant gaze causes you to cover yourself up even more, your hands sliding up more and legs gradually crossing over each other.

“Stop right there,” he commands with such purpose it freezes you into submission, “This heightened vulnerability and bareness… It perfectly encapsulates both innocence and womanhood at the same time! To think that you would be able to deliver such a concept… Yes, I can work with this. How foolish of me to doubt fate earlier.”

“Th-thanks?” you’re not sure whether you should be pleased or creeped out or if that even sounded like you.

“Please, remain still for now,” he sits at the easel, pencil in hand.

“Sure thing…” you search for an interesting crack in the wall to distract yourself with. With the state of the place, there are plenty of cracks to choose from, which means plenty of story material.

You’re unsure how much time has passed. All has been quiet save for your breathing and Kitagawa’s sketching. Since the session started, you’ve gotten more comfortable. Not completely, but definitely better than before!

However, you now face a new dilemma.

As you learned in psychology class, your brain requires stimulation. When it’s not getting stimulated, like right now, the urge to do something eats away at you like an annoying parasite. And it’s definitely not helping that you’ve been standing the entire time! But Kitagawa told you to stay still. You may have just met him today, but you feel that disobeying an artist’s orders, especially one as passionate as Kitagawa—that’s the impression you get anyway—is just as bad as waking a sleepwalker.

If you can’t move your body, you can at least move something else.

“So, how’s the drawing going?”

His hand falters in the line he was sketching out. With a sigh, he quickly erases it before redrawing. You quietly wince, not intending to irritate him. Maybe you should have realized that talking to him would have snapped him out of his artistic mojo.

He continues to sketch your figure, eyes flickering to you and then the canvas. The silence is even louder, and you’re too ashamed to ask again. Is there perhaps another crack you already didn’t make a story for?

“The sketch is almost finished,” he finally speaks, and you almost relax completely at an answer despite not wearing any clothes, “Sorry, I understand modeling for a painting can be difficult. Would you like to take a short break? I completed the part I was working on and can afford to pause now.”

A break? You thought he would reprimand you for speaking, but that was oddly considerate of him. Well, not like he hasn’t been, but…

“How close are you to finishing? Because, if it’s not too long, then I can handle it.”

He surveys his drawing, “Fifteen minutes should be sufficient enough.”

“Then we can continue, no worries,” you adjust your position to its original state.

“You have my thanks,” he nods and even flashes a gentle smile before resuming the sketch.

After a few more soft pencil scratchings and a few more riveting narratives of the Cracken terrorizing the town with no end in sight, Kitagawa picks up the small, deformed eraser and rubs it strongly against the canvas. His effaces become more and more frequent until he slumps over completely. Despair and hopelessness radiates from him.

“Uh, Kitagawa? Everything all right?” you make it your best effort to not move while also straining to get a better look at him from behind the easel.

“Something’s not right,” he lifts only his head to meet your eyes, “For some unknown reason, I cannot properly draw this last piece. Perhaps it’s the angle of your legs? Or maybe your arms?”

“I swear I didn’t move at all! Not even an inch!” you prepare yourself for a scolding, even though you are one hundred percent certain you didn’t move your legs at all no matter how badly you wanted to.

“I never said you did,” his expression shows no irritation, but his words still cut into you like the crack in the wall, “Allow me to think on this for a moment.”

Mumbling unintelligibly to himself, he pinches his chin between his fingers as his eyes scrutinize you once more like they had in the beginning. You immediately avert your gaze to the other side of the wall. Is it like an artist thing, or does he have this innate ability to pick you apart with his eyes alone?

“That’s it!” he sits up again with such a fervency it almost inspires you to do the same, “Please cross your left leg thirty degrees more inward.”

“D-degrees?”

With hesitant estimation—what exactly is thirty degrees?—you slowly slide your left leg.

“No, apologies, I meant your right leg.”

At his new orders, you, silent and compliant, move your right leg back to where it was originally and repeat what you did earlier to your left leg this time.

“A bit more, please, and point your right foot as well.”

You struggle to maintain your balance at the new position. Praying he doesn't make you do this for much longer, you attempt to keep the shaking to a minimum.

He tuts his disapproval, and your obedience slowly transitions into annoyance.

“Could you curve your foot a little more?”

“Please lower your right leg a little.”

“...Try moving your left leg outward.”

“No, move it back.”

“Why don’t you just do it for me then!?” you practically yell out, frustrated from having to adjust your already-sore limbs every second.

“Good idea, it would save us precious time,” he stands up straight from his seat with such poise and grace, it sends shivers down your spine.

“W-wait a minute, you’re coming over here?” your arms hug you tighter as an unsettling realization crawls on your back.

Not only is Kitagawa going to be extremely up close and personal, but he’s also going to put his hands all over your arms and legs and bend them at impossible angles!

He pauses in his steps with confusion scrawled all over his features, “Yes? Is that not what you asked?”

“W-well, it is, but…but I’m naked!” you state as if it’s the obvious reason (because it is the obvious reason).

“But you have been for the past hour or so,” he raises an eyebrow in even deeper confusion, “What makes now so different?”

“I’m naked,” you strongly emphasize the word “naked” as if Kitagawa somehow did not see an issue in the concept, “I don’t know about you, Kitagawa, but I am not comfortable with you putting your grubby mitts on me as you spread my legs and whatnot. It’s already enough that I’m modeling naked for you!”

“Spread your legs? Why would I ever—?” he stops mid-sentence, finally understanding what you were trying to get at, and his pale cheeks flush red, as if dragged from the center to the red side of the color wheel, “O-oh, I-I see…”

With a clearing of his throat, he continues, “My apologies for being so oblivious to your concerns. However, you currently seem to be incapable of properly executing what I envision for this painting. What to do…?”

Ain’t no way is he touching you! There has to be another way!

“M-maybe!” you interject before he decides that A) you’re not a fit model for him anymore and thus denied the pay you were promised or B) there is no other choice but for him to treat you as if you are nothing more than a wooden lay figure, “Maybe you can…pose like how you want me to? And then I can…mirror it? Yeah? How’s that?”

He stares blankly at you, and, as if a three-second timer went off, he livens back up, “What a splendid idea! Please do your best to imitate me.”

After adjusting his stance to better match yours, he first, as asked of you before, moves his left leg slightly higher to the crux where his legs crossed over. Oh, so that’s what thirty degrees are. Then, with a shift of his torso, he freezes with his eyes intently on you, silently commanding you to imitate him. You immediately follow suit, dumbfounded at how easy it was to copy him when you had failed multiple times.

“Perfect, now please stay like that for just a moment more,” he returns to his stool behind the canvas, pencil already in hand.

You sigh with relief, having successfully escaped any more torment, and focus back on doing what you were hired to do.

This time, instead of continuing to mentally write fanfiction between the crack on the left side of the wall and the crack on the right side of the wall—a true Shakespearean tragedy split by the great schism in the middle—, you find yourself staring at Kitagawa. Since you’re barely a meter away from him, you can see him up close for much longer than yesterday.

He’s so focused. His dark-blue eyes would unblinkingly scan across the canvas as his pencil dragged across the surface. Somehow, a mere glimpse to you can provide enough material to last him minutes of drawing. While his extremely hunched-over posture is left to be desired, his zeal clearly shows with how much he’s leaning in. Any further, and his nose would be touching the canvas!

You also take the time to comment (mentally, of course) on the strange seventy-thirty hair split he has going on. When it comes to parting hair, most go for a twenty-eighty or thirty-seventy split. However, he went the other way and managed to make it look as charming as ever. Even now, side parts aren’t the latest in style, but anyone who saw him would strongly disagree. Somehow, the right side of his hair perfectly frames his cheek. Yes, he has to push a strand or two out of the way every now and then. But, for the majority, it stays perfectly still, coiffed with enough curvature to not appear so limp.

Urgh, he’s a pretty boy in every sense of the word!

After some back and forth from behind the easel to you, the saccades shorter and shorter each time, his eyes then shift to your own. At the sudden eye contact, you flinch, caught red-handed.

“Is something the matter? You’ve been staring at me for quite some time,” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

“O-oh, it’s nothing!” you laugh awkwardly, trying to act as if you weren’t staring at him for the past couple of minutes, “I-I was just zoning out, haha! Don’t mind me!”

He accepts your excuse without a second thought (is he really that gullible?), “Well, I am just about done with the sketch. All that is left is to paint it. I greatly appreciate your service and—.”

“Ooo! Can I see?” you jump up from the wooden stool and bounce over to see what he was drawing for the past hour.

Kitagawa immediately stiffens at your close proximity, but you’re too enraptured with what’s before you.

When people meet you, there are some words that easily come to mind: rambunctious, tomboyish, immature, incorrigible. However, you don’t see any hint of that in Kitagawa's depiction of you. You see exactly what he raved about earlier: vulnerability, innocence, and womanhood. How was he able to illustrate you in such a way so different from how most characterize you despite only formally meeting you today?

You also can’t imagine how striking the painting will be when finished. Will he use pop, bright colors to imply your teenage youth? Or will he use muted mature shades to highlight a sense of coming-of-age?

A stammered yelp of your last name draws you back into reality.

“Sorry, sorry! This is just so amazing!” you practically squeal while covering your mouth with your hands, “I can’t believe someone so talented is my age! Can I take a picture? Whoa, this is so cool!”

“I-I thank you for your kind words,” he avoids your gaze, finding the floor most intriguing, “You can take a picture. Please be sure not to post it anywhere should someone come across it and choose to plagiarize my work.”

“Got it!” you hum all happy, ego also inflated from being drawn so well and so beautifully.

Instead of answering, he fully turns his body away from you. You move to his side to find a faint dusting of pink across his nose and the top of his cheeks.

“Hey, are you feeling okay? Your face is kind of red, and—.”

“I’m f-fine,” he clears his throat and shakes his head, all while still concentrating on the weathered floor, “I-I would greatly appreciate it if you can get dressed, though, so I can pay you for your services.”

You look down at yourself, suddenly remembering that you were indeed not wearing clothes, and feel your body heat up from embarrassment, the slightly-cold draft in the room be damned. Your face is as red as a tomato, and your ears are tipped in a similar shade. Squeaking out an apology, you hastily move to the pile of clothes on the chair and fumble through putting them on, too flustered to do so calmly.

Right as you slip on the last of your shoes, you snatch your phone out of your pocket to take a quick snapshot of Kitagawa’s drawing. Up from his stool but still with his back turned to you, he busies himself with something in the furthest corner.

With the press of a button, his sketch is saved on your phone. You observe it on the digital screen, but, even then, it doesn’t even compare to the actual artwork. Well, digital copies never amount to the original anyways.

Pinching in and out of the photo to pick out the finer details, Kitagawa approaches you with a thick, money envelope in his hand, “Here is one hundred and fifty thousand yen, as previously agreed upon. I once again thank you for being my model. You truly brought the perspective I needed for this painting. Don’t worry, I intend to bring this painting the beauty it wholly deserves.”

“Oh, thanks…” your heart skips a beat at his words, moved at his dedication.

With two hands and a slight bow, you accept the money from Kitagawa, who then moves to clean up his supplies. As you stare at it in your hand, unease settles in your stomach.

Was this really going to be the last time you saw him? You don’t share any classes with him. Hell, you never even knew the guy existed until yesterday!

You can’t place your finger on why, but you want to get to know him more. Was it because of his formal speaking mannerisms? His talent? His creativity? His pretty boy appearance (you most certainly didn’t forget that)?

Clutching the envelope tightly, you stride up to Kitagawa with a surge of unknown need, “H-hey!”

Great start.

He turns around from putting his pencils away with utmost confusion, “...Is something the matter?”

“W-well,” you gulp and spit out your first coherent thought, “I-I wouldn’t mind modeling for you again!”

“...Excuse me?” he looks even more confused, and you panic on how to explain yourself.

“Wh-what I mean is,” you clear your throat to stall for time, “I-I really want to see how you paint this and make sure it’s good! It is a painting of me after all, a-and I can be there as a real-life reference! I can even model again, i-if that’s what you need!”

Stupid, of course it’s going to be good. He already drew you perfectly. Actually painting it shouldn’t prove a problem, especially since he’s taught by Madarame, who you found out last night is actually a super famous artist.

Still, despite your floundering attempts, he appears to strongly consider this proposition, “It would be extremely beneficial if I had my subject with me as I painted… However, I wouldn’t be able to pay you again. Unfortunately, I’m a little low on funds this month.”

“That’s fine!”

“Then, it’s a deal,” he takes out his own phone from his pocket, “Let’s exchange contact information, so I can message you when I begin the painting process. It will most likely be in the next day or so, so please keep your schedule open.”

You mentally do a fist pump, “All righty, do you have LINE or something? I have social media too, if that’s better.”

“I must confess I am not all that interested in what the online world has to offer,” he pulls out his phone from his back pocket, “I also don’t have any messaging apps outside of the one already on your phone, so your phone number would be best.”

Nodding, you exchange phones and open his contacts. You’re astonished at the names that flood his screen. Arita Takemi, Mihara Kurumi, Natsuhiko Nakanohara—wow, both his names start with “N!” That’s kind of cool—, Yoshihisa Haru… The list goes on and on! How does he know this many people? Or keep up with them? You don’t even think you have this many classmates!

Choosing not to ask him about it, you put in your number as a new contact. With the addition of your name, you raise his phone in the air to take a selfie of yourself (with a peace sign, obviously). Handing it back, you take your phone to find his contact only with his full name and phone number.

Well, you didn’t really expect much more than that from him.

“Hmm, it appears the rain has yet to stop,” he checks the time on his phone, “and it’s quite late. My sincere apologies for keeping you here for so long. I would walk you to the station myself, but I need to prepare for Sensei’s return.”

Surely it can’t be that late; you got here around noontime. Checking your phone as well, you quirk a brow at his definition of late.

You jam your phone back into your back pocket, “Um, it’s only a little past 5:30, Kitagawa. I’ll be okay on my own, but I appreciate the thought.”

He doesn’t look convinced and leaves the room, “At least let me get you an umbrella. I won’t be long.”

True to his word, he comes back as quickly as he left with an umbrella too big for only one person.

“Oh, thanks!” you blink at it in your hands, surprised at his offer, before back at him, “Well, I’ll be on my way now, but I’ll return it next time I see you!”

“Farewell,” he waves you off, and you do the same.

Leaving the room and out the front door, you notice how the rain isn’t coming down as hard as before. In fact, it’s such a light drizzle, using an umbrella would be superfluous. Still, you open it up before walking out from underneath the extremely narrow veranda.

Kitagawa Yusuke.

He’s so strange and perhaps a little blunt.

But he’s also far more polite than the rest of your male peers.

You put a little more pep in your step and smile with anticipation for the next time you see him, hopefully sooner rather than later.

ENDING NOTE: i present to you a project months in the making with a huge hiatus in between completion! i thought this would be ready to release to the world a month ago but. i was wrong LOL!

so, for a little context, i have always wanted to play persona 5 ever since it came out six years ago. however, i never got a ps4. THEN! p5royal got announced for switch and other devices, and i pre-ordered it almost immediately. now, it hasn’t been long since it came out, but i just finished up makoto’s palace.

playing this game also reignited my love and worship for the man that is yusuke kitagawa. the amount of screenshots and videos i took during his arc is embarrassing. then, i read a yusuke x reader oneshot at like 2 am (it’s on ao3 titled “Emperor” by deareststars! so good, the friends to lovers in me enjoyed it so much!). i sat up from my bed with such urgency at the lightning strike of inspiration and starting writing this.

this wasn’t written all in one sitting; this took about...3 months, and, with college apps, my progress was quite stifled! i originally wanted to do this sunshine, tomboyish, easygoing reader with a begrudging, “i need you to do my painting (for madarame)” yusuke. so, yes, an enemies to lovers. however, i don’t think it was that enemies. i think it was quite normal LOL. there isn’t a lot of romance in this either. i was rlly struggling on what to tag this because there isn’t romance; this is just like. the start of it all! miniseries? no…probably not LOL. right before i was going to post this, i realized i forgot to include the posing scene. my original thought was for yusuke to actually move your legs to how he desired, but i was like reader wouldn’t like that, and yusuke wouldn’t do it if reader expressed discomfort (and she did so). so. you got that teehee.

tl;dr: this was self-indulgent 101%.

#kitagawa yusuke #kitagawa yusuke x reader #yusuke x reader #yusuke fluff #yusuke oneshot #persona 5 fanfiction #persona 5 #persona 5 royal #《angel writes》#《med shot》

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