#that their journey and revelations are satisfying

[mpregtales]

Wade

9 months pregnant, 18 years old, from Birmingham, Alabama, expecting his first children, twin boys

Wade has always been a bit of a mystery to those around him—charismatic, unapologetically confident, and possessing a natural charm that draws people in. Growing up in the South, he quickly learned that his good looks and athletic build set him apart. But it wasn’t just his muscles or his sharp features that caught people’s attention. Wade’s plump, round glutes were a showstopper. Even as a teen, he couldn’t go anywhere without someone commenting on how "blessed" he was in that department.

Now, at just 18 years old, Wade finds himself in a situation that’s both surprising and oddly satisfying. Nine months ago, a series of steamy nights with different partners, who had used his ripe and fertile bubble butt to their heart's desire, left him unsure who the father of his babies is. But truth be told, Wade doesn’t care. For him, the thrill of those nights—being desired, being bred, and giving in to his deepest instincts—was worth it. The result? Two big, healthy boys growing inside him, and a body that has blossomed to accommodate them.

Wade’s pregnancy has been nothing short of remarkable. His belly, round and enormous, stretches out in front of him like a proud testament to the life he’s creating. But it’s his glutes that have truly transformed. Once big, they’ve now grown into massive, pregnancy-thickened mounds that bounce and jiggle with every step. His bubble butt has become legendary in his small town, with people sneaking glances and whispering about how his body seems to defy the laws of nature. Wade loves the attention—whether it’s from men who can’t take their eyes off him or from older women offering unsolicited advice about child-bearing.

Despite his young age, Wade has fully embraced his pregnancy. Feeling his boys kick and roll inside him fills him with pride and a sense of purpose he never expected. The physical sensations are intense—his belly feels heavy, his pelvis is under constant pressure, and his cheeks have developed a tingling sensation as they prepare for the birth. He rubs his belly absentmindedly throughout the day, marveling at how big his body has grown.

Wade’s hormones have also been running wild. His libido is through the roof, and the men in his life have been more than happy to satisfy his cravings. Whether it’s rubbing cream on his stretch marks or spending intimate nights together, Wade has no shortage of admirers willing to help him through this journey. Secretly, some of them hope to be the next to impregnate him once he’s delivered. Wade knows it, and part of him loves the idea.

As his due date approaches, Wade is preparing for the moment he’ll bring his boys into the world. He’s been told that his delivery will be intense, given his size and the fact that he’s carrying twins. But Wade is ready. He can already imagine himself in the birthing position, his massive cheeks spread as he pushes his sons into the world. For Wade, pregnancy has been a revelation. He’s already thinking about doing it again—sooner rather than later. After all, he’s got the body for it, and there’s no shortage of men eager to see him grow even bigger.

From the Paternity Studios Collection

[velvetjune]

incredible to think that Alan Wake 2’s existence itself implies that maybe it’ll be about Alan finally leaving the dark place, directly solving the cliffhanger of Alan Wake 1, but instead now Saga, Casey, Rose, Tim, Alice, and (still) Alan are in the Dark Place. Genius subversion of expectations

[almondes]

ENDWALKER

Me and the bois are finally here!! :D

[motherismotheringggg]

Omg pleasure dom Nicky. His whining above you as his thrust get sloppier but god he just wants to please you. Won’t cum until you do 😫

completely unraveled 🖤

summary: see the request above, anon you ATE with this one!!

type: pleasure dom! nicholas x sub! female reader

tags/warnings: 18+, hella smutty, cock worship, ice play, oral (f! receiving), orgasm restraint, cream pie, slight blood drawn, cream pie, cock warning, aftercare

author’s note: i need a cold cigarette after this is 😮‍💨

word count: 2771

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

For Nicholas, your pleasure was everything—it consumed him, drove him, defined every touch, every kiss, and every movement of his body against yours. It wasn’t just about the act itself; it was about the journey he took you on every time you were together. He reveled in discovering the things that made you gasp, made your breath hitch, and sent shivers cascading down your spine.

Nicholas had an uncanny ability to read you, to anticipate your needs as if your body spoke a language only he understood. He could sense the smallest shifts in your reactions—the way your fingers gripped the sheets or the way your voice wavered when you whispered his name. He knew when to push, when to slow, and when to draw you to the brink and hold you there, teetering on the edge of ecstasy until you were begging for release.

For him, the ultimate reward wasn’t just your climax—it was the way your body melted into his afterward, utterly spent, and the glazed, euphoric fucked look in your eyes that made his heart swell with pride. His mission wasn’t just to make you cum; it was to take you to places you’d never dreamed of, over and over again, until every nerve in your body sang with satisfaction. When he was with you, his sole purpose was clear: to utterly and completely worship you, leaving you breathless, trembling, and blissfully undone in his arms.

————

Now, here you were back in your shared loft apartment with your boyfriend, sitting on the edge of the bed, your skin still humming from the aftershocks of the last round. The soft glow of the city lights filtered through the window, casting shadows across the room as you caught your breath. Nicholas came back from the kitchen, he had something in his hand but you couldn’t quite see it.

He stood in front of you, completely exposed. His cock, still red and throbbing, you went to fill your mouth with him. You loved the way he felt in your mouth, the perfectly rounded tip, and the perfect vainness of his shaft, you loved to worship his body.

To kiss down his body, planting soft kisses on each of his abs before taking him in your mouth. To kiss and bite on his thighs, tracing small circles on them until he slowly guided you to his member.

But he stopped you, he wanted to look at you. He took a moment to appreciate you, his eyes tracing the curve of your neck and the way your breath hitched in between each exhale. His gaze softened, the lust in his eyes replaced by something deeper, more intimate. You felt it too—the unspoken connection that tethered you both.

“Are you okay?” he murmured, his voice low and tender, just the slightest hint of concern mixed with the satisfied edge of a man who knew exactly what he’d just done to you. He wasn’t asking for reassurance; he wanted to know how deep he’d taken you, how far he could push you the next time.

You nodded, turning slightly to face him, your lips curving into a satisfied smile. "Thank you, Nicholas," you whispered, the words thick with affection and desire. He liked when you thanked him; when you made him feel as special as he made you. He reached down to cup your face, letting his thumb grace your bottom lip. “You’re so beautiful when you look at me like this…like need me”, he said as he glared at you, his eyes were dark with lust.

He leaned down to kiss you, grabbing your face in his hand as he had full control. The kiss started slow but grew into something deeper. Your tongues wrestled each other, before his slipped of your mouth and licked you. Licked your lips, licked your cheek, licked wherever he pleased. You were wrapped up in the euphoria of the kiss that you hadn’t see what he had in his hand from before.

It wasn’t until you felt the cold burn of an ice cube on your back, still covered in sweat and radiating heat from before. You let out a deep long hiss, falling into Nicholas as he continued to kiss on you. You were breathless, barely able to call out his name but still needing to let him know how good he felt,

“mmm Nicholas, that feels so good…”

“Is that right baby?”

“Yes Nicholas, I need you so bad”

“Tell me where you want me baby”

“Nicholas I --” you were cut short by Nicholas dropping to his knees, taking that same ice cube from your back, which had melted down some, and putting it in his mouth.

“Don't stop baby, tell me what you want”, he said, muffled with the ice cube slightly muffling him.

Nicholas leaned in, his cool lips with the ice cube brushing your clit, your back arched with sheer pleasure. Your pelvis instinctively shot backward, but Nicholas quickly wrapped his hands around you pulling you closer, as he continued.

The coolness was intoxicating, heightening every sensation, every nerve ending sparking to life under his touch. Your body trembled, shivers of pleasure wracking you as you grasped at his shoulders for stability.

You tried to pull away, but Nicholas wasn’t having it. His strong hands were on you, pulling you closer, keeping you in place as his lips continued to work you, the ice teasing and torturing you in the most delicious way.

"Tell me what you want, baby," he muttered, his breath warm against your skin as he kept you pressed against him, determined to make you beg for more.

The weight of his presence, the passion in his touch, was almost too much to bear. The ice and his lips worked in perfect harmony, sending you spiraling towards something that felt dangerously close to madness.

You couldn’t hold back any longer. "I want you, Nicholas," you gasped, barely able to form coherent words through the waves of pleasure flooding you. "I need your dick baby”, you whined and pouted, letting him know bad you craved him.

He kept going, he could tell you were close, the way your core squirmed under him, the way you thrashed about, the whimpering you tried to contain but failed miserably at. He knew you were right on the edge ready to to unravel and he wanted you to cum right there on his face.

“Nicholas … Nicholas please baby, please fuck me”, you whined out more, thighs clenched as your hips rode in rhythm with him. He didn’t let up once, when the ice cube completely melted, he worked at you with his tongue. The way he lapped at your wetness drove you crazy, every flick of his tongue had an individual hand in undoing you. When he sucked on your bud, you shuttered as your eyes rolled back into your head.

You knew Nicholas wanted you to hold out as long as possible. He reveled in it—how you could push yourself to the very edge, fighting the overwhelming wave of pleasure just to stay in control, just to tease him. He loved it. The way your body trembled, the way your breath hitched in anticipation, it drove him wild. He knew exactly when you were on the brink, when you couldn’t take it anymore, but you fought to keep from falling apart. The anticipation in your eyes, the way your muscles clenched—he lived for that moment.

And when you finally did let go, when you couldn’t hold it in any longer, when you surrendered completely to the pleasure, that’s when he felt it. The pride, the triumph of having taken you to that place, completely fucking you to your limit turned him on. The way you clung to him, your nails digging into his skin as you came undone, made him feel like the king of your world.

Your body quivered with the first wave of release, but Nicholas wasn’t done. He was relentless, his lips, his hands, his body all pushing you further, coaxing out every drop of pleasure, bringing you right back to the edge again and again. He wasn’t just content with one, not when he knew you could handle more.

You tried to hold on, but with each touch, each movement of his hands, it became impossible. The way he worked you, with such precision and care, the way he knew your body better than you did—it was overwhelming.

“I’ve got you, baby,” he murmured, his voice low, as if he knew you were on the brink of breaking. And he was right. He always knew. “Don’t fight it.”

The heat between you two was undeniable, and as the second orgasm hit, more intense than the first, your body gave in completely, trembling uncontrollably against him. Nicholas held you close, steadying you as you went through the motions, his hands gentle but firm, the pride in his eyes showing just how much he loved every second of it.

As you came down from the high, his lips brushed over your thighs, soft and tender, contrasting the intensity of what had just happened. "You’re perfect," he whispered looking up at you with a dark lusty look. His eyes were huge and dilated., He moved up to you to hold you as you caught your breath. You had shifted up on the bed while he lay next to you, rubbing you and making sure you were okay. You had caught your breath enough to pull him in for a kiss, another deep and passionate one. You moaned into each other’s mouths as the kiss grew deeper.

Your hands roamed over his chest, feeling the hard planes of his muscles beneath your fingertips. Nicholas, sensing the shift in the air, took the initiative. His hands moved to your sides, pulling you beneath him as he gently but firmly positioned himself on top of you.

He paused for a brief moment, pulling away slightly, his eyes dark with desire but also a hint of concern. "Are you sure?" he asked, his voice low, rough with barely-contained lust, his hand sliding down to massage your clit. He knew you wanted him, he just wanted to hear you whimper to say it.

You met his gaze, your chest rising and falling with deep breaths, your brows furrowing as you nodded. "Yes," you breathed out. "I need you so bad."

Nicholas didn’t need any more encouragement. He sat up, positioning himself above you as he adjusted to your entrance. With a slow, deliberate movement, he slipped inside, the feeling of your wetness guiding him in with ease.

The moment he entered you, you couldn’t contain the moan that escaped your lips. It was like an instinctual reaction to the depth and warmth of him filling you, your body instinctively arching toward him as your nails dug into his back.

Nicholas’s breath caught in his throat, his eyes closing briefly as he savored the feeling of being buried inside you. It wasn’t just about the act for him—it was about the way you responded, how you opened up to him in ways that made his heart race with a mixture of lust and tenderness. Your pleasure was his fuel, his every move driven by the need to make you feel as good as possible.

"God, you feel so good," he whispered, his voice rough and low. “So fucking wet and tight for me”, he continued, staying still for a moment, letting you adjust to the fullness of him inside you, his hands resting on either side of your body, holding himself up. The connection between you two was electric, both of you feeling the intensity of the moment, but Nicholas was waiting for you. He wanted to feel you tremble, wanted to see the pleasure flood your face.

He gave you a moment, but it wasn’t long before he couldn’t hold back any longer. Slowly, he started to grind, pulling back just enough before thrusting forward, the rhythm building as he sought out that perfect angle, the one that made your back arch and your breath hitch, knowing he was touching your cervix from how big he was.

His eyes locked with yours, watching every shift of your body, the way you reacted to each stroke. Every thrust of his hips was calculated to bring you closer to that peak, and with each movement, your moans grew louder, more desperate. The tension between you both was almost unbearable as he pushed you closer to the edge, but you were holding out for him—just like you always did.

Knowing what he wanted, you were holding out for him. Your body belonged to Nicholas, for him to play with and orchestrate an orgasm from you that almost brought you to tears.

Nicholas could see it in your eyes. You were so close, so close to breaking, but you held on. Your body quivered beneath him, straining against the delicious pressure building inside you. He knew you well enough to understand that you enjoyed the struggle—the way it felt to be pushed to your absolute limit, to be on the edge of complete surrender, all for him.

Your lip was swollen from how hard you were biting it, the ache in your chest growing with each thrust. Your nails had drawn blood from Nicholas’s back as you dug into him, the sting of your pleasure matching the heat coursing through your veins.

"Let me know when you're ready to cum, baby," Nicholas whispered hoarsely, his voice strained with his own restraint. His hair was floppy and slightly saturated with sweat, hanging messily over his face as he held himself above you, never once breaking the rhythm of his thrusts. The sight of him—wild and consumed by you—was almost too much to handle.

You tried to hold on a little longer, wanting to make him wait, but his relentless pace was beginning to unravel you, each stroke pushing you closer to the edge. You could feel yourself tightening around him, the warmth pooling in your stomach as you fought to stay just a little longer.

Nicholas’s hands gripped your hips tighter, his breaths growing shallow, each one a little more ragged as he became more desperate. He could tell you were close—he always could—but the need to hear you fall apart before he did had him on the edge of his own control.

"Baby, please..." His voice was softer now, almost whiny, as his hips faltered for a split second. "Let go for me... I need to see you cum. Please." The desperation in his words only spurred you on, pushing you to the brink.

His thrusts started to get sloppier, less controlled, as if he was teetering on the edge himself. The wet sound of his cock slamming in and out of your wetness grew louder, the intensity in his eyes matching the frenzy in his movements. "I can’t... I can't wait, baby," he muttered, voice broken as he pulled you closer, pressing into you deeper, harder. His cock slid into you with an urgency that matched the mounting tension, his pace erratic but still aimed at pushing you toward your climax.

You couldn’t hold back any longer. With a sharp gasp, your body finally surrendered, the pleasure bursting through you in waves. Your back arched off the bed, your nails dragging down his back even more as the orgasm hit you, intense and overwhelming.

Nicholas's eyes locked on you, his jaw tightening as he felt you clench around him, riding out your release. He gave one last desperate thrust, whining as the pressure finally broke inside him. "Fuck," he groaned, his movements sloppy and erratic as he spilled into you, his body shuddering with his own orgasm.

He collapsed on top of you, his body trembling as he held you close, both of you still panting for air. His head rested on your chest as he tried to catch his breath, and you could feel the thumping of his heart against your skin, while he was still throbbing inside of you.

"You’re so perfect for me baby” he murmured between breaths, pressing a soft kiss to your collarbone. "You were made for me"

You ran your fingers through his damp hair, gently soothing him as he slowly regained his composure. The bond between you two, unspoken but felt, lingered in the air, heavy and undeniable. Nicholas had given everything to make sure you were satisfied, and in that moment, as you both lay tangled in each other’s arms, you knew he wouldn’t have it any other way.

[assriels]

here i go again

pairing: cassian x reader x azriel

summary: your half of the bond snaps and you’re faced with a choice.

word count: 4.7k

warnings: more of cass’s inner monologue speckled with az and reader’s thoughts as well, some brief mentions of sexual content!, angst angst angst

a/n: i truly was not planning on writing a part two but the love that everyone has shown me on the first part has inspired me :’) ty everyone for making my first fic posting so memorable; ALSO because i’m a sucker for happy endings, i will be writing an alternate ending for this story that is not as angsty i promise

(banners by @/cafekitsune!)

part one

When the bond first snapped, Cassian had initially tried to continue on as normal, engaging in his usual banter and friendly affection that your relationship ordinarily dictated. But as the days stretched into weeks and then months, he wasn’t sure he could keep a lid on his emotions for any longer.

Six months, normally a small blip of time in a near-immortal’s life, felt like an eternity. Six months of picking up the scraps of his broken heart was torture of the purest kind. Six months of clinging to every ounce of affection you offered him, playing it over and over in his mind to placate the urges the mating bond so desperately wanted satisfied.

Occasionally, he’d gently tug on that golden string tethering him to you, but he’d be met with an endless, empty void; the bond hadn’t snapped for you. And maybe it never would, Cassian caught himself thinking more times than he’d like. Maybe your love for Azriel was so powerful it overshadowed anything that the mating bond could offer you.

Azriel was your chosen mate and maybe no Cauldron-born matchmaking could override your unyielding loyalty and dedication to the male you spent the last twelve years loving.

Maybe Cassian was destined for loneliness in perpetuity, forced to watch his mate – the one person he loved more than life itself – live in immortality with someone who was not him.

The night of Starfall, Cassian had taken your advice and met Feyre’s friend, a beautiful high fae female who had become a regular at Feyre’s studio. They’d hit it off that night, and eventually spent the night tangled beneath the sheets of Cassian’s massive bed.

And while Cassian couldn’t deny the charming allure and beauty of this female, she wasn’t you. He wanted her, absolutely he did, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t slept with others in the past while his heart belonged truly to you. But it was like the mating bond had imprisoned his desire, reserving it for the one person who could satiate it.

He couldn’t even finish that night, and an ugly mix of humiliation, guilt, and disappointment swirled in his gut for the next few days, even as his one time lover graciously accepted his onslaught of apologies and assured him it was alright, that it happens, that she wasn’t offended. Through it all the bond was screaming at him.

Wrong, wrong, this was all wrong.

Cassian quickly disposed of the notion that he could just ignore the bond after that night. If sex and distraction were going to do nothing to keep his desperate need for you at bay, Cassian was forced to find alternative means for managing this newfound revelation.

And so, despite the brief moments of hope the snapping of the mating bond sparked in him, Cassian resolved to continue his journey of getting over you. Admittedly, though, it was becoming increasingly more difficult, as if the bond was becoming impatient and was spurring him to make bolder and bolder moves towards you.

But Cassian was nothing if not respectful and he couldn’t ever imagine telling you of the bond and forcing your hand to choose between him and his brother. So, he slowly titrated his daily dosage of you, gradually spending less time with and around you in an effort to relieve himself of the aching pain of his longing. He was mindful of his words and actions, not wanting to clue you in to the raging conflict between his mind and his heart; he disguised his purposeful avoidance of you with excuses that he had suddenly become overwhelmingly busy.

It was a tactic he knew wouldn’t last for long, but it might give him enough time to figure out what he should do next.

But ever the keen observer – having picked up a thing or two from spending so much time with the Spymaster of the Night Court – you noticed the change, however slight, in Cassian’s behavior. At first, you had fallen for his ploy; with newborn fatherhood forcing Rhys to be partially out of commission, it made sense that Azriel and Cassian had been busier than usual.

As Nyx grew, however, and both Feyre and Rhys were more adjusted to life with a child, Rhys had resumed his usual duties – but Cassian was still busy as ever.

It only took one passing comment from Azriel for you to begin perseverating on the idea that maybe Cassian was avoiding you. Az had confided in you once about Cassian’s constant denial of his invitations to spend some time together despite the arsenal of ideas that Azriel threw at him.

Drinks at Rita’s? No... A flight around Velaris? No. Lunch with Rhys? No. Training? No.

Azriel lamented that every conversation ended with Cassian hastily making an excuse to exit; it wasn’t like him, and it was beginning to get concerning.

So, you decided to test the theory yourself.

It was a lot more difficult getting Cassian alone than you thought it would be, which was strange in and of itself. Your past with him had lent itself to many occasions where you’d find yourself alone with Cassian on an errand, training, eating meals. But lately, it was like Cassian was a ghost, disappearing as soon as you had your sights on him, seemingly vanishing out of existence before you could even mutter a greeting. It seemed like everywhere you were, Cassian had pressing business elsewhere.

(Once you had walked into the kitchen, and Cassian had left in the middle of making himself a meal, mumbling something about Rhys needing his help, his half cut vegetables abandoned on the counter.)

You had every intention of cornering him with Azriel’s help, but before you could execute your sneaky plan to ambush him during training, you quite literally bumped into him on your way from the library to the dining room; clearly, he hadn’t anticipated that you’d interrupt your usual perusal of the House’s libraries to make yourself a snack.

Cassian fumbled for words, flustered and taken aback at the suddenness of your presence, still unused to the heightened feeling of his emotions around you.

You were about to interrupt his awkward stumbling, but a feeling so visceral, so outrageously all-consuming flooded every nerve in your body and you felt like you would collapse onto the floor. It was like the world had suddenly decided to start spinning in the other direction, scrambling your sensibilities, and the only thing tethering you to your reality was a thin golden string that led you directly to Cassian.

Cassian was your mate? And by the feel of it, the bond had already snapped for him who knows how long ago. Why did he not say anything? How long had he known? What the fuck?

The questions repeated themselves incessantly in your mind before you had the wherewithal to erect the strongest mental shields you could as you made flimsy excuses for why you needed to leave. Funny how, as soon as you had the opportunity to speak to Cassian alone, you were the one spinning white lies to explain your sudden departure.

If Cassian had felt your awareness on his side of the bond, he didn’t let on, only stared bemused after your retreating figure.

You wound through the maze of hallways in the House with such precision that you had to have set a record for how quickly you made your way from the dining room to Azriel’s study; you hadn’t even meant to go there, body habitually routing its way to your lover in moments of distress.

Azriel.

Your heart twisted painfully at the thought of him, and you contemplated not telling him or Cassian that you had felt a bond whip into place. But you knew that would be a disservice to all parties involved in this sadistic twist of events.

You would talk to Cassian, have a discussion, figure out what this meant for your friendship and his and Azriel’s brotherhood, but you needed to collect yourself and unscramble the tangled web of thoughts knotted in your mind before you did any of that. You needed to talk to Azriel.

You stood outside his study with your forehead pressed to the door, not yet having the courage to open it.

In the past twelve years you’d been in a relationship with the Shadowsinger, you had many conversations exploring the what if’s of your future. The notion of the mating bond snapping between you and someone else – or him and someone else – had been something you both considered. Neither of you were naive enough to assume that it would be as simple as just choosing each other – what with the intensity of the mating bond – but neither of you really thought that it would happen either, often just assuming that it would snap between the two of you in due time.

You had been so incredibly enamored with each other since the day you met; everything had fallen so beautifully into place that it had been easy to throw all caution to the wind and fall helplessly in love. Mating bond be damned.

You knew that if a bond had snapped between you and anyone else, the choice would be simple. You and Azriel prepared for something like this — the swirling lines of complementary ink on both of your torsos had been proof of that — but never did either of you consider that it would involve the one other person that you both loved almost as much as you loved each other.

You had a long history with Cassian, and though nothing romantic had ever occurred between you, somehow the choice was now infinitely more impossible. It wasn’t difficult to admit that you loved Cassian, you knew him and cherished him for as long as you could remember. But could you love him in the way that the mating bond demanded? Could you love him in the way that he deserved?

Those were questions that you couldn’t answer, too confused as you contemplated the implications of your mate being someone you loved in an entirely different way than you loved Azriel.

So you opened the door to Azriel’s study, seeking safety and refuge with the one person who could help you make sense of this impossible predicament.

One look at you standing in the doorway told Azriel all he needed to know. The time he prayed would never come was finally here. The knit of your eyebrows and the quiver in your lip shattered his usually calm countenance as he tried to ignore the overwhelming feeling of dark uncertainty settling in his chest.

The sad, resigned smile that he gave you as he sat at his desk made tears well up in your eyes. You felt guilty and confused and so, so horrible, wondering what must be running through his mind as he looked at you, understanding intuitively that you had found your mate.

And that it wasn’t him.

You wanted to soothe the fears that were so clearly written all over his face, but you couldn’t find the words, afraid that if you opened your mouth nothing but nonsensical blubbering would come out. But you needed to say something, to explain the overly complicated cocktail of emotions roiling in your gut.

However, before you could even begin to string together a coherent sentence, he crossed the room in three long strides, resting his palm against your cheek as his thumb ran a soothing path back and forth across your skin. Azriel leaned down to kiss away the tears that had escaped before pulling your head into his chest.

The comforting warmth of the body you knew so well worked wonders on your nerves, your mind already clearing itself enough to tame some of the turmoil that had overtaken your consciousness. You allowed yourself to focus only on the feel of the strong planes of his body against yours, losing yourself in the luxury of his embrace.

“It’s Cassian,” you said after a few long minutes.

Though your words were muffled into the fabric of his shirt, Azriel had heard them loud and clear. He almost laughed at the sheer atrocity of it all; how could the Cauldron be so spiteful? You — the greatest love he’s ever known — and Cassian — his brother in all but blood — were mates.

He felt as though the Mother had taken Truthteller and carved a path through his chest, leaving him to piece together the vestiges of his heart after she had stolen you from it. But he wouldn’t let himself fall apart, not when you were so clearly in need of his unwavering stability.

“Does he know?” Azriel cursed the way his voice betrayed him; it sounded so small as it broke over each syllable of his question.

You tightened your arms around his waist, anchoring yourself to the steady thrum of his familiar heartbeat, “Sort of. It’s snapped for him, but I don’t think he’s realized that I know yet.”

Your words hung in the air, heavy and somber. Neither of you said anything, only holding each other as a gentle breeze wafted through Azriel’s open windows. You wondered again what must have been going through his mind, wondered if he was as scared and sad and torn as you were. By the way his fingers trembled almost imperceptibly as his hand ran up and down the length of your spine, you concluded that he was.

Azriel wanted to stay like this forever, savor the moments before either of you had to make a decision. Infinite possibilities raced through his mind, and his heart warred with itself.

He loved you — gods, did he love you — but he also loved Cassian. Knew that Cassian was an honorable male, had a suspicion for years that Cassian loved you the same way that he did. But even then, Azriel wanted to be selfish. Wanted to beg you to choose him because if you didn’t he wasn’t sure what would happen to him.

You had been his lifeline since the day he met you; he didn’t think it was possible to love and be loved the way you had shown him, and he greedily didn’t want to live a life without it.

But he loved you so fiercely that your happiness was paramount, your decision to choose for yourself was of utmost importance and, arguably, was the only thing that mattered in this moment. Azriel couldn’t help but think, though, that you deserved the love and connection of a mate, deserved the love he’d seen blossom beautifully between Rhys and Feyre, and if that meant you’d leave him, then he was glad it would be for Cassian.

“I don’t know what to do,” came your small, rasped confession. You pulled your head away from his chest to look up at him, eyes glassy with unshed tears, “Tell me what to do, Az.”

He gave you that sad smile again (and you quickly decided you hated that you were the cause of this forlorn look of his), his scarred hand coming up to tame the wisps of hair that had clung to your forehead, “I can’t, love.”

After a beat he added, “I think you should tell him, though. Soon. He deserves to know, and you both deserve the chance to…talk about it.”

You knew what he was dancing around saying, knew that he meant he would let you go if you decided that you wanted this mateship with Cassian rather than what you had with him. That it was all in your hands, and entirely your decision. Your heart twisted painfully as you were confronted with the bottomless depth of Azriel’s love for you; he would sacrifice his love and happiness for yours without contest.

“Az…”

“You have me,” he started again, his hazel eyes burning into yours with such unwavering loving conviction you were glad his arms were around you to keep your knees from buckling. “No matter what you choose, you have me. Mating bond or not, I’m yours. If you want to see where things go with Cassian, you should. I’d wait for you…even if you decided you’d never come back to me, I'd wait.”

His heartfelt confession made another round of tears burn your eyes as you nodded. You cradled his neck, pulling him down to kiss him. Both of you savored the familiar feel of your lips moving together in a practiced dance.

“I love you.”

Azriel knew you meant it; even if you chose to explore your newfound mating bond, knew that nothing could ever take from him the parts of yourself you allowed him the privilege of loving. And so he said it back, insistently ignoring the gnawing worry that it would be the last time.

It wasn’t that much of a shock when Cassian felt you tug oh-so-tentatively on the bond the week after he ran into you in the dining room. He had immediately noticed your shift in demeanor, the heat creeping up your cheeks as you made a beeline out of the room despite having just entered. He had felt something change on his end of the bond the moment your skirts brushed past him in your rush to exit. The bond had finally snapped for you, but he couldn’t reach you, your consciousness locked behind steel-reinforced shields.

A rush of conflicting emotion had erupted in Cassian’s chest at the realization, and it took every ounce of self discipline he had to not chase you down. He knew you would need time, would probably want to tell Azriel before anything else, so he waited and ignored the incessant nagging of the bond to seek you out. He would do this right, would leave the decision entirely up to you despite his overwhelming desire for you to choose him.

Truthfully, Cassian didn’t think that you’d open up on your end so soon after it had snapped, and he tried not to read too much into what that could mean. Instead, when he felt that gentle pulse from you beneath his ribcage, he tugged back in acknowledgement.

Cass…?

Your voice flooded every inch of his head and it was sheer bliss to feel you so intimately intertwined with his mind.

Hey, you.

He replied, heart thundering so loudly he worried that you’d hear it.

Can we talk? Meet on the balcony near the library? Maybe in an hour?

Cassian had never been so anxious, had never been so uncertain and nervous and excited in his life. Regardless of what happened — of what you said — he just wanted to see you. His avoidance of you these past few months was nothing short of torture, and just the thought of being near you again in a way that meant something sent Cassian’s entire being into a new plane of happiness.

Wouldn’t miss it, sweetheart.

You didn’t reply, but he felt you send a wave of fondness and appreciation towards him; Cassian felt like a starved man who had just been offered a loaf of bread.

He had intended on getting at least a little bit of work done in the hour before he was set to meet you, but Cassian found his mind drifting to thoughts of you as he flew around the perimeter of Velaris, running through scenario after scenario that could happen. His excitement was overshadowed by the looming possibility that you would reject the bond, and just the thought of it sent bile churning in his gut.

Cassian knew how much love existed between you and Azriel, had seen firsthand how much you both had committed yourselves to each other. Part of him felt guilty; Azriel was his brother and he didn’t want to be the thing that stood in Az’s way of keeping the love that everyone knew he deserved and that you so willingly provided. Cassian’s mind was twisting circles around itself as he thought about how this would end. Because while Azriel loved you, so did Cassian. And he would be a fool to give up so easily on the opportunity to show you just how much you meant to him, how much he adored you.

Before Cassian could make any headway in finding a solution for this impossible situation, it was time for him to meet you. So, Cassian fluttered his wings and made his way towards the House.

You were already standing on the balcony when he landed, pacing as you alternated between worrying your bottom lip with your teeth and biting your nails. Even with confusion marring your features, the golden hour light of the sun encased you in such warmth, that you glowed luminescent, and he wanted to freeze this moment and remember it forever.

Cassian tamed the urge to kiss the worry away from your raw, swollen lips and massage the crease out from between your brows, and instead said, “Hey.”

You looked up at him and stole the breath straight from his lungs with the radiance of your smile, though dimmed no doubt by the anxiety that plagued you.

“Cass,” you started, soft and the slightest bit hesitant. “Hi.”

An awkward silence that never existed between you two settled in the air now, neither of you wanting to be the one to broach the subject you knew tormented you both day and night. You had almost backed out of having this conversation three times within the past hour, but you knew that it needed to be done. For all of your sakes.

“We’re mates,” you said, and Cassian didn’t miss the way your statement sounded half like a question, as if you still couldn’t wrap your head around the notion. He nodded, stating more definitively, “We’re mates.”

Again, another silence permeated the too large space between you and Cassian thought he’d hurl himself off the ledge of the balcony to avoid the palpable awkwardness of it all. This certainly wasn’t what he pictured in his mind when you both finally had the conversation about your mateship.

You cleared your throat stiffly, not quite meeting his eyes as a cute blush betrayed your serious countenance, “I’m not really sure what to do, Cass. I’ve been thinking about this nonstop for the past week and…I just don’t– I don’t know what to do. I really just–”

Cassian aptly noted the way your emotions showed so clearly on your face. Maybe it was because he could also feel you unwittingly sending them down the bond, but he could tell that your stuttering and frantic fumbling for words was wrought from a week’s worth of anxiety and spinning your thoughts over and over in your mind, probably similar to the way that he had been doing for the past six months. He hated thinking that you felt even a fraction of the confusion and pain that he had endured for the past half a year.

Slowly, in the face of your pain stricken confusion, Cassian's resolve to fight for your affections was crumbling.

Your eyes finally met his, and the glassy sheen of tears that marred their usual clarity made Cassian’s heart lurch; how he wished you would never look at him with such an anguished expression on your face.

“I care about you, Cassian. I care about you so, so much,” you said, and he knew you meant it. He saw it in the way your brows twisted together in earnest and the way your fists clenched at your sides determinedly. He could feel the conflict storming beneath your ribs and wanted to do everything he could to chase it away, make it so that you never faced uncertainty for the rest of your days. But he let you continue, his pulse thundering so loudly he almost couldn’t hear you over the rush of his own blood.

“I just–” you trailed off then, unable to voice your thoughts as they were a tangled mess roiling around in your head, ricocheting off the walls of your skull.

What were you even going to say? You thought you had made a decision, thought you would tell him that you couldn’t accept the bond, that you could never leave Azriel like this. But one look at Cassian and the hope he so desperately tried to mask in his eyes left you floundering, the mating bond begging you not to sever it, not to hurt Cassian. You didn’t expect to be at such an impasse; how were you supposed to choose between instinct and desire? Love and connection? Weren’t they all one in the same anyway? But if they were, how could they be split between the two most important people in your life? What a cruel, cruel fate you all had been subjected to.

Cassian watched as you puzzled through your thoughts, and his desire to ease your worry spurred him to action. He knew the decision would tear you apart, would obliterate not only your relationship with Azriel, but his too, even though he knew Azriel would never hold something like this against either of you. But Cassian loved you both too much to tip the scales in his favor at the cost of ruining his family, of hurting you, of forcing you to make an impossible decision and living with the regret of hurting them both.

So, he chose for you. Despite the way that his heart screamed at him, begged him not to reject the bond, he did anyway. He used every ounce of self control he had to hold himself together and remind himself over and over again that this was the right decision. The future with you that Cassian so desperately wanted was a hair’s breadth away, and for a few precious seconds he allowed himself to sit in the bliss of the in-between, pretending that his next words would be I love you instead of—

“I don’t think we should do this, Y/N,” he said, forcing his voice not to shake, his eyes not to water with the pain of pushing you away. “Maybe…maybe the Cauldron got it wrong.”

He hoped he sounded more convincing than he felt. Because how could the Cauldron get it wrong when being near you, loving you felt so right?

The look you gave him at his words was a mixture of relief and…something else that he couldn’t place. Was it disappointment? Regret?

Cassian didn’t let himself dwell on it further because if he did, and if he convinced himself that he saw even a glimmer of disappointment at his rejection in your eyes, he’d take everything back and say fuck it, I love you, give me a chance. So he averted his gaze as you took his hand, iron willpower crumbling at the sweet euphoria that filled his chest at your touch.

“Cassian,” you rarely used his full name, but you did now and he looked up at you and into your eyes. When he finally met your gaze again, you pulled him into a wonderfully tight hug, “Thank you. I– thank you.”

Despite the searing sting your words left on his heart, Cassian let himself pretend that you were his for the last time as he reveled in your embrace, holding you so steadily, so delicately that if you didn’t know he loved you before, you must have known now.

You pulled away after a few moments but kept him close, holding his face in your hands as your thumbs brushed the apples of his cheeks, eyes searching his face in earnest, “You know I’ll always love you right, Cass?”

You knew it was a cruel and selfish thing to say to him, especially because you could feel the echo of his true feelings down the bond that was slowly, painfully weakening at Cassian’s unwanted rejection. But you needed him to know, needed him to understand more than anything that your love for him transcended the romantic and was existing in a plane reserved solely for him. You wanted him to know that you couldn’t ever thank him or repay him for his sacrifice born out of pure unadulterated love for you; you only wished you could do the same for him.

Briefly, you concluded that — in an alternate universe, another life — Cassian would have loved you with a ferocity that put the heat of the sun to shame. But in this life, you couldn’t tear your heart away from Azriel; your love for him was built on the foundational elements of trust and choice, and you would pick him time and time again.

In this life, you would be greedy and accept Cassian’s sacrifice of his own love for yours, and you would damn well make sure it was worth it.

As if he could read your thoughts — and maybe he could now — he nodded and pulled you in again with a parting kiss to your forehead.

“I know," he said, closing his eyes and leaning in to your touch, savoring the fleeting moments that you had been so close to being his, telling himself that he was grateful for the love that you would offer him, even if it wasn't in the way he so desperately desired. "I know."

[linkspooky]

If there's a next time, maybe I'll change how I live...

Sukuna's last moment in the manga ends with him accepting that his loss, and showing even the strongest of all time Sukuna, someone powerful enough to do what he wants, when he wants, could not only lose but he could be wrong. This is something considering that you could make an argument that the entire manga, and sorcerer society as a whole is shaped around Sukuna's morality of the pursuit of selfish desire and strength of all else. In fact someone else argues it right here.

What led to this journey of the most irredeemable character in the comics who lived only for selfish pleasure acknowledging the love he rejected in the end? Well, we'll cover that under the cut.

The Cycle

Before analyzing Shinjuku as a whole, I want to start with its conclusion. I'll first break down the final moment in Sukuna's character arc, and then go back to the start and analyze how we got there. That being said, let's get on with it.

Sukuna loss begins with him contradicting his own nature. I'll explain what I mean by this. If you read the thread above, detective_critics observes characters like Sukuna who live for themselves and characters who embody Sukuna's ideals like Gojo are rewarded in the manga whereas characters like Yuji who fight primarily for others are punished relentlessly.

This is well supported by Yuji's continual losses throughout the manga. Yuji swallows Sukuna's fingers in order to permanently execute Sukuna and stop future people from being harmed by curses, but because of Yuji's decision to swallow the finger thousands die in Shibuya. Yuji's desire to save others only seems to backfire and he's continually presented with those he can't save, Junpei, Nanami, Nobara. He's even robbed of his own purpose of being Sukuna's vessel when Sukuna takes Megumi's body instead.

I mostly agree with this idea that the manga rewards people more true to their desires like Sukuna and Gojo, but I'd like to add an addendum that the manga doesn't specifically reward selfishness, but rather self-actualization.

To backtrack slightly, Sukuna observes that many sorcerers in the past have faced him but they didn't truly believe in their ideals the way that Yuji did. Yuji is punished by the narrative yes, but he's not unceremoniously killed off the way that Toji, and Mahito are. Rather, Yuji's durability, his ability to cling to life instead of just dying off like Sukuna suggests weak people should do comes from the fact that his ideal is unshakable.

Let's look at Sukuna's words a little more closely. He says that many sorcerers killed him in the past and they all had different ideals, but none of them truly believed in their ideals. Because Sukuna could so easily point out how their idealism was false he came to think of all ideals as worthless. This is shown in the way that he easily picks apart both Gojo and Hajime, two characters who lose because they ultimately don't believe in their own ideals. Sukuna is very easily able to point out the hypocrisy in both of them.

Sukuna basically points out that Kashimo and Gojo were both happy to bully anyone who came near them, they'll throw around their power all they like and revel in their own superiority and then go back and complain about being lonely. A classic case of wanting to have your cake and eat it too, or as Sukuna said they were being greedy. They were the ones who rejected everyone around them, they were the ones who rejected the love they were shown, and yet they put the blame on everyone else.

Gojo even in death acts like everyone else is a flower, an inferior being incapable of understanding him. Yet, a few panels later he says that the fight with Sukuna the only person who rivaled him in strength and therefore shouldn't be able to understand him didn't satisfy him, and he would only have been satisfied if Geto were there.

These two statements contradict each other. The thing is, Gojo has at this point long surpassed Geto in strength. People often clown Geto on the fact that he never had a domain expansion, and that Kenjaku seemed to use his cursed technique far better than he ever could. Geto is someone who's far behind Gojo in strength, and yet he's the one who could satisfiy Gojo, not Sukuna. Which means Gojo was the one who was wrong. Gojo was betraying his ideals. He believed he was living to be the strongest, that he was satisfied being the strongest while all along wanting something else and it's that contradiction that killed him.

Let me make a brief comparison to another manga. Aizen from Bleach is a character with a god complex to rival Gojo's, and just like Gojo exists on a different level of power than everyone else. He is not only the strongest soul reaper, but one of the smartest, and has been isolated by that strength since he was a child. Aizen then believes that he needs to become god, because it's his right as a naturally superior being, but Aizen is a fraud.

Aizen loses becuase the hogyoku the source of his power rejected him right as he seemed to be at the peak of his power. However, Ichigo reflects that maybe the Hogyoku didn't reject him. The Hogyoku is in plot, a wish granting macguffin, that grants your subconscious desire. Ichigo speculates that maybe Aizen didn't truly want to ascend to godhood, but rather he wanted someone like Ichigo to defeat him. That he wanted an equal like Ichigo so he wouldn't have to be alone on the top anymore. Aizen not being fully aware of this desire and clinging to his sense of superiority instead, the very thing that makes him lonely is what causes him to lose. Aizen is cut down by Ichigo, and instead of becoming a god he becomes just another soul reaper.

Sukuna cuts through Gojo by cutting through the world, bypassing the infinity, and therefore making him just like everyone else. Just as Aizen wished to be just another soul reaper, Gojo becomes just another sorcerer now that his position of the strongest has been taken by Sukuna.

So Gojo's loss came when he betrayed his ideals. His stated ideal of "I am the strongest", but this was contradicted by what he really wanted which was the time of his life when him and Geto together said "We are the Strongest." Strength didn't satisfy him, but rather it was Geto and Gojo's inability to realize the real reason he was fighting leads to his loss.

The manga doesn't reward selfishness, but rather self-actualization. Characters with a strong sense of self are just more likely to be self-actualized, because they possess a deep sense of self awareness.

Sukuna at least is self-aware. He knows you can't be the strongest, to relentlessly bully others with your power and yet want to be close to other people too. He knows that's wanting to have your cake and eat it too, so he rejects love. Sukuna knows you can't have it both ways, so he decides I don't need love, love won't satisfy me, I'll live only to be the strongest.

My main example of a character betraying their ideals is Toji though.

Toji moves to face a newly awakened Gojo. He has not only a solid plan to fight him, curse tools that can penetrate his infinity, but he's also got inside knowledge of the Limitless. Toji believes he can win, and yet at the same time he feels uneasy.

As he died, Toji reflects that the reason he died is because he deviated from his true self. He believed that he was jumping from job to job, just working for money. That he didn't care about the sorcerer world. He killed sorcerers, got paid, and then gambled it all away.

Yet, when he was faced with the pinnacle of Jujutsu his motivation changed from living to fulfill his own selfish desires, to revenge. Toji wasn't as over the way the Zen'in Clan rejected him as he thought he was. He needed to defeat Gojo in order to affirm himself, and the moment he betrayed his own ideals like that he lost.

Now this moment can be directly paralleled back to Sukuna, who feels a similiar unease the entire time that he's fighting Yuji, an unease that makes him more and more irrational over the course of the fight.

Sukuna betrays his ideals in two ways, one that he's never once cared what other sorcerers think and say and lives only for himself and two that he is merely killing time before he dies. The first leads to his breakdown over the fight as he tries to crush Yuji, but finds himself unable to. The second is as I said above the final nail in the coffin.

When faced with a stronger opponent, or rather opponents as the sorcerers of the modern era all work together to trump the sorcerer of the golden age of sorcerery Sukuna doesn't accept his death. In his last moments he's clinging desperately to Megumi, trying to keep living in his body. At which point Megumi remarks that even someone like Sukuna must fear death too.

You could connect this to Mahito too. Many people even said that Sukuna got the Mahito treatment. Both characters lived freely slaughtering everyone else, and yet when they are about to be killed they try and run away from it. This is obviously deliberate as not only do the words "You are Me' parallel "I am you" but Sukuna's last moment in the manga is a conversation with Mahito.

Mahito also betrayed his ideal. Number one curses don't truly die, Jogo and Hanami and Dagan all accept their deaths because they'll be reborn as different curses but they'll always come back. However, Mahito clings to his own existence. Mahito is also not true to his nature, because he longs to be a true curse, but Mahito is also the most human curse. He's the representative of the fear and hate humans have for one another, and he spends his last moments terrified of the human being known as Yuji Itadori.

Which is why Mahito is appropriate to have this final conversation with Sukuna. Mahito calls out the way Sukuna betrayed his ideals. Sukuna always believed he was only living to satisfy himself and he didn't care what others thought, but Mahito points out that he was really living for revenge towards the people who rejected that unlovable wretch. Sukuna wasn't rejecting people because he was a god towering far above others, but because he had been rejected and hated in the past and then decided to hate them in turn.

However, unlike Mahito Sukuna is able to grow up so to speak. Mahito doesn't want to be anything else but Sukuna comes to the realization that you can choose your nature. That the decision to hate and reject everyone was a choice, and that he can choose a different path in another life.

You define who you are, that is the literal definition of self actualization. So we see Sukuna having become enlightened about himself escape the cycle, whereas Mahito who's still a curse is still trapped in that cycle. Something that Mahito complains about, that he's just a child unable to grow up while even Sukuna has changed.

Escaping the Cycle

Now that I've shown you how Sukuna has changed, I'm going to go over all of Shinjuku to describe the events that led to this change. This change is brought about everyone, but most of all by Yuji Itadori someone who unlike Sukuna reached self-realization. Yuji is the one who remains true to himself, whereas Sukuna who has only lived for himself is the one who betrays himsellf in the end.

The first hint that Sukuna may not entirely believe his own words comes in his conversation with Kashimo. Sukuna lives for his own self-satisfaction, other people exist for him to amuse himself until he dies. Since he's a complete being who doesn't need anyone else to satisfy him, since he's satisfied then why did he need to divide himself into twenty parts and keep living after death.

Sukuna doesn't answer this quesiton, but rather just continues on with his monologue. If life to Sukuna is just killing time until he dies then why does he go above and beyond to prolong his life? Why not accept his natural death?

Then after quickly dispatching Higuruma, Sukuna finds himself unsatisfied. Even though he was doing exactly what Kashimo told him, he was tasting an interesting sorcerer and swallowing him whole.

Sukuna doesn't feel satisfied in his victory. At first he thinks it's just because Higuruma lost too early, and then he realizes that his current disatisfaction comes from Yuji. Sukuna doesn't care what others think, he hates the concept of ideals themselves, at yet the same time Yuji holding an unbreakable ideal bothers him. If Sukuna is being true to himself, then he shouldn't care what Yuji believes in.

Yet, Sukuna changes for the first time in a thousand years. He acquires a new ideal and that's killing every sorcerer present and then initating the merger. Something that Kusakabe even notes is out of character for Sukuna. He thought Sukuna wouldn't have a need to start the merger, he doesn't care about big picture things like Kenjaku he just wants to strong opponent.

Sukuna begins to drift further and further from his nature because of Yuji over the course of the fight. As I said Sukuna shouldn't have to fight Yuji to prove that Yuji's ideal is wrong. If he rejects all ideologies then he shouldn't even care. Yet the things that set Sukuna off the most in the fight, the things that motivate him to fight the hardest to crush his enemy are people like Yuji and Maki who challenge his beliefs. Yuji by fighting for others instead of himself, and Maki by rejecting cursed energy entirely and instead having a strong body to fight.

Sukuna who is supposed to be completely satisfied with himself, has something to prove when fighting against these opponents. We learn that Yuji isn't just some boring child like Sukuna suggested. He's actually made from the other half of Sukuna's soul. Rather, Sukuna rejected his twin and ate him in the womb. All of his superiority as a sorcerer, his four arms, the mouth on his stomach comes from this. However, that twin didn't disappear, he reincarnated and mated with Kenjaku to produce Yuji.

So Sukuna is Yuji's uncle technically, but symbolically, Yuji is the other half of his soul. The half that Sukuna rejected. How can Sukuna be someone at peace with all of himself, if he rejects half of himself? It goes along with what Mahito said, Sukuna didn't reject others because he was compeltely satisfied with living alone, but because of revenge. He was born a malformed retch and never shown love so he rejected all forms of love.

Sukuna is not at ease with himself because he's not whole. Yuji represents the love that Sukuna rejectected. Rejecting yourself doesn't work though, because one he tried to reject his twin and his twin's soul reincarnted, and two rejecting yourself is completely at odds with the complete self-acceptance that Sukuna preaches is the source of his strength.

Sukuna's incessant need to reject Yuji, to prove that Yuji is wrong, that he's inferior is what leads to his demise. Not only that, but Sukuna's rejection of Yuji's method of fighting, relying on his allies leaves him blind to several elements of Yuta's strategy. He falls for the copy technique bluff twice, because Sukuna didn't factor that both the original users Angel and Toge could still use their techniques too. He's beaten by the cooperation that Yuta uses in his strategy, because Sukuna rejects that same kind of cooperation and sees it as a weakness.

Sukuna's proven to be wrong. He told Jogo that working with others limits your individual strength and he should have tried fighting on his own, but Sukuna is continually outfoxed by Yuta's strategy which relies entirely on team coordination.

It's also a direct parallel to the way that Gojo lost in Shibuya. Gojo was absolutely infuriated that the curses would work together to fight him and they'd rely on a strategy instead of just overpowering him with brute strength. But Gojo lost, precisely because they made a strategy around Gojo's exact weakness, that he's strongest when he's alone.

If Sukuna didn't feel the need to reject the others, then he wouldn't be so blind to Yuta's way of fighting with strategy and cooperation. If he could accept other ways of thinking other than his own he wouldn't have been hoodwinked multiple times in the fight. Yet, it isn't just Sukuna rejecting them on principle, he has to reject companionship otherwise the curses and hatred churning inside of him would burn him up inside. So Sukuna isn't really choosing his nature as he believes, but rather he's a slave to it.

There's also parts where Sukuna just straight up lies. He says he feels nothing, and yet two panels later he's completely enraged.

You could say that Sukuna is just saying he feels nothing about Yuji's attempts to empathize with him, but that's not the case. He definitely feels something, because that empathy, or rather pity as Sukuna frames it compeltely infuriates him.

if Sukuna lived entirely according to his own desires and didn't care about the opinions of others, as he stated a hundred times above why does Yuji's pity infuriate him? If he was so confident in his godlike superiority to others, why does he feel the need to prove it, by ripping apart all of Yuji's friends right in front of it in a gesture of revenge for being pitied.

This leads to what is the greatest moment of growth for Yuji, and the greatest moment of stagnation for Sukuna. Yuji's moment of growth isn't just in rejecting the cog mentality, but also in accepting Megumi. Specifically, he accepts the fact that Megumi is different than him, that it's alright if Megumi's not strong enough to keep living.

Sukuna is compelled by his own nature, his desire for revenge to reject everything around him, but the conclusion of Yuji's character arc is defined by acceptance. Not only does he accept that Megumi's own feelings are different than his, but he's willing to accept Sukuna back into his soul.

I don't think Yuji empathizes with Sukuna. He still doesn't understand him. However, in spite of that lack of understanding, he's willing to accept Sukuna into his soul and keep living with him, because as I said above Yuji and Sukuna are two halves of the same soul. Sukuna is the embodiment of everything he hates, someone who carelessly disregards life and hurts others with a thought, and yet Yuji is willing to give a second chance to that person.

In that moment Yuji lives true to his ideal of saving people, whereas by clinging to life Sukuna was betraying his ideal. I think it's important that Yuji didn't empathize with Sukuna though because Yuji and Sukuna might be two halves but they're meant to represent opposites.

Sukuna also had to learn to accept that Yuji was different than him. He spent the entire story trying to reject him and step on him like a bug. If Sukuna were truly confident in his ideals he wouldn't care that other people had different thoughts, but no Yuji had to be wrong.

Yuji doesn't empathize with Sukuna but he does change him. He alters Sukuna's fundamental nature "You are me" by showing Sukuna there was a different path he could have taken all along. That Sukuna wasn't the strongest he could be, that someone could have compeltely different ideals and be stronger.

Uraume says that the main characters didn't win because they were stronger, but because Sukuna was in Megumi's body a thousand years later instead of his own original body. Which basically means that Sukuna being a parasite in the modern era, pointlessly extending his life is exactly what led to his defeat because he couldn't accept his own death.

I think it's significant that it's not Yorozu or Yuji who Sukuna finally decides to accept as someone he can love, but Uraume. Sukuna even references there were people who tried to teach him about love in life. Assuming the one on the right in Yorozu, the way both uraume and Yorozu approach their relationship with Sukuna is compelte opposites.

Yorozu in the end seemed to recognize Sukuna's isolation, but she projected her desires onto him entirely like everyone else in the manga. Yorozu, Gojo, Kashimo, they don't seek to understand Sukuna but rather to make him understand then. They're in the end kind of self-serving in their love, making Sukuna into a symbol. Specifically Gojo and Kashimo project their loneliness onto Sukuna when Sukuna never asked for it. I mean if you want an example Gojo says this in his dying dream.

Yet, moments later Sukuna declares that Gojo Satoru cleared his skies. That he would never forget his name. Sukuna was completely satisfied with the fight, Gojo just didn't understand him.

Ironically, the one who Sukuna finally shows love to is the one who never bothered to try teaching love to Sukuna in the first place. Ura Ume spends the entire time at Sukuna's side, and while they seem to have more of a servant master relationship I'd argue that Ura Ume has a better read on Sukuna than anyone else. They can tell when Sukuna is enjoying himself, they can tell when Sukuna is holding back, they don't ever try to make Sukuna into something he's not they just stay by his side and accept them.

Sukuna's final scene in the manga is a deliberate callback to this scene. Jogo begins to cry and Sukuna says he doesn't undertand the reason why Jogo is crying. Immediately afterwards, UraUme appears in front of him.

Then, in their final scene together Sukuna is shown musing on how two people showed him there were different ways of living, Uraume and Yorozu. As he decides to go north, and become someone new as Mei Mei once put it in the going north and going south metaphor, he holds Ura Ume's hand and comforts him as he cries.

There are two people in the manga who showed Sukuna unconditional acceptance, Yuji and Uraume. Through them Sukuna was finally able to accept his own humanity.

So in conclusion: Sukume canon!

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Plot Structures

A Quick Reference to 5 Plot Structures

8-STAGE PLOT STRUCTURE (Nigel Watts)

Stasis: once upon a time

Trigger: something out of the ordinary happens

Quest: causing the protagonist to seek something

Surprise: but things don’t go as expected

Critical Choice: forcing the protagonist to make a difficult decision

Climax: which has consequences

Reversal: the result of which is a change in status

Resolution: and they all lived happily ever after (or didn’t).

HOW TO TELL A STORY (Peter Rubie)

Once upon a time, something happened to someone,

and he decided that he would pursue a goal.

So he devised a plan of action,

and even though there were forces trying to stop him,

he moved forward because there was a lot at stake.

And just as things seemed as bad as they could get,

he learned an important lesson,

and when offered the prize he had sought so strenuously,

he had to decide whether or not to take it,

and in making that decision he satisfied a need

that had been created by something in his past.

MONOMYTH / THE HERO'S JOURNEY (Joseph Campbell)

Separation

The Call to Adventure

The Refusal of the Call

Supernatural Aid

The Crossing of the First Threshold

Belly of the Whale

Initiation

The Road of Trials

Meeting with the Goddess

Woman as Temptress

Atonement with the Father

Apotheosis

The Ultimate Boon

Return

Refusal of the Return

The Magic Flight

Rescue From Without

The Crossing of the Return Threshold

Master of Two Worlds

Freedom to Live

22-STEP STRUCTURE (John Truby)

Self-revelation, need and desire - combination of steps 20, 3 & 5

Ghost and story world - the hero’s counterdesire

Weakness and need* - the hero’s flaws are keeping them from having the life they desire

Inciting event - outside event that spurs the hero to action

Desire* - the hero’s story goal

Ally or allies - the hero gains an ally

Opponent and/or mystery* - an opponent or mystery that keeps the hero from reaching their goal

Fake-ally opponent - a shapeshifter or false friend

First revelation and decision: changed desire and motive - a revelation causes the hero to make a decision that results in a change in direction

Plan* - the hero’s plan to overcome their opponent and reach their goal

Opponent’s plan main counterattack - the opponent’s plan to overcome their opponent and reach their goal

Drive - increasingly desperate (and possibly immoral) series of actions the hero takes to defeat the opponent and reach the goal

Attack by ally - an ally confronts the hero about their increasing desperation and immorality

Apparent defeat - lowest point when the hero believes they’ve lost; for fall arcs, this may be an “Apparent victory” instead

Second revelation & decision: obsessive drive, changed desire and motive - the hero receives a new piece of information that allows them to continue towards their goal

Audience revelation - the audience learns a vital piece of information that’s kept from the hero

Third revelation and decision - the hero learns something about the opponent that will help them win

Gate, gauntlet, visit to death - pressure on the hero grows and they’re forced to face difficult trials

Battle* - a final (violent) conflict that determines who wins

Self-revelation* - the hero learns who they truly are

Moral decision - a decision that proves what the hero has learnt in the self-revelation

New equilibrium* - the need and desire have been fulfilled and the world goes back to normal, though the hero has changed

Stars (*) mark the minimum 7 steps that, according to Truby, are essential to every story.

ONE PAGE NOVEL (Eva Deverell)

Brainstorm 3...

...names:

...wants/goals/needs:

...locations:

...objects:

...obstacles:

...things lost/sacrificed:

...occupations:

...things on your mind:

Plotting Order

Resolution

Stasis

Shift

Trigger

Quest

Power

Bolt

Defeat

Story Order

Stasis: character isn’t living to their full potential - opposite state to Resolution.

Trigger: an internal or external impulse (or both) forces the character to take the first step towards their Resolution state.

Quest: character enters the new world of adventure, meets mentors or allies and makes a (bad) plan to solve the problem the Trigger created.

Bolt: (bad) Quest plan inevitably goes wrong.

Shift: character makes the paradigm shift necessary for them to inhabit their Resolution state.

Defeat: character makes the ultimate sacrifice.

Power: character finds a hidden power within themselves that allows them to seize the prize.

Resolution: character is living up to their full potential in their Resolution state.

NOTES

Choose a plot structure that works best for you.

Deviate from it as needed. It is a guide after all.

Some writers and editors advice you stick with a plot structure you have chosen:

Don’t look for an alternative as soon as you start to become frustrated with your first choice. You’ll only end up wasting time.

As with everything else, there is no single perfect choice.

And it may be the case that different projects need different methods.

Keep experimenting. Keep writing. Keep improving.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References

[horse-girl-anthy]

The City and the Self: Or, the Uses of Lesbianism

someone in my server recently asked why Ikuhara seems so hung up on lesbians. I gave a short answer which in hindsight doesn't satisfy me. even this post won't touch on everything, there's plenty more that could be said, but here's a stab at a more complete answer, drawing from RGU specifically, though I think these points generalize to YKA as well.

a long time ago--around 2017, I believe--I posted in the RGU tag, asking about differences between how the western and Japanese fanbases see the show. the answer I got surprised me: I was told a popular fan theory held that Utena and Anthy were the same person. this is confirmed in the interview Ikuhara did with Mari Kotani:

Kotani: How did you think about relationships between two women, like the relationships between Utena and Anthy, Juri Arisugawa and Shiori Takatsuki, and so on? Sometimes it is thought of as one girl and her alter ego. Ikuhara: Yes, that's true of course.

at the time, this didn't make sense to me. now, though I don't take the "alter ego" concept literally, I certainly see where these theorists were coming from.

the very first impression the audience gets of the show, the opening seconds of the theme song, depict Utena and Anthy as mirror images of one another. I can't find the post now, but I once saw someone do a face swap of Utena and Anthy... and there was almost no difference in the final result aside from their eye color. yes, the show has somewhat same-y character designs (pointy chins, noses, etc.), and yes, Utena and Anthy are differentiated by coloring and height. however, there are differences in the facial features of the other characters, including other female characters like Juri and Nanami, meaning that you wouldn't get the same result from face swapping them that you do from face swapping Utena and Anthy.

visually, the show is trying to tell you something: Utena and Anthy are counterparts; not "the same person," in that there are clear contrasts between them, but perhaps different aspects of a single self. to put it another way, they cannot be separated from one another; what happens to one of them will affect the other, and how they relate to each other tells you a lot about how they relate to themselves.

RGU is not the first story to have this premise. I just watched Ingmar Bergman's Persona, which uses two women to tell the story of one woman, and that came out all the way back in 1966. I think that it's possible to do this kind of story with characters of different genders--however, it's most often done with homosexual/homosocial pairings because two people of the same gender are seen as better mirrors to one another.

when I initially gave my response as to why Ikuhara writes a lot of lesbians, I cited the influence of shoujo manga. however, I didn't detail how homosexuality was featured in those manga.

Ikuhara once said that the core theme of shoujo is "self-revelation." he wanted to capture that in RGU, and it seems to have come across. consider Takemiya Keiko's reading of RGU as "A story about independence, about finding oneself. It feels like a story about a girl defining 'what is myself?'"

this journey of self-discovery must involve encounter with the other. part of romance is other-longing, the desire to meet the unknown; love requires a separate entity which is not merely an extension of the self (this is why I don't believe that Utena and Anthy actually are "the same person"). through encountering the other, one can find one's own self, and further, through this encounter, the selves which meet can be transformed.

while plenty of 20th century shoujo did center heterosexual couples, I believe that homosexual and homosocial relations were so prevalent because they facilitated this romance more effectively. on a visual level, a homosexual pairing can create a clearer parallel, as discussed above. for a more thematic angle, RGU's lead writer Enokido has mused that homosexuality removes the issue of "genetic advantage" from the equation; since there is not a clear "survival and reproduction" benefit to homosexuality, it is easier to see it as "pure love." along the same lines, Ikuhara has said that "as soon as you see the destination point of producing children, sex becomes a social system." that's not to say that homosexual couples exist independently from social systems. the point is that writers who wish to pursue the idea of "self-discovery through the other" may wish to do so in the context where the norms of heterosexuality are not an issue, as they could muddy the water.

as an example, take Kaze to Ki no Uta, an influence on RGU. Gilbert and Serge, the lead couple, are very different people. often in conflict, their love ends tragically. that is precisely the power of the story: Serge, who is left alone after Gilbert's death, will live the rest of his life feeling incomplete, unwhole, because he has lost the "other self" by which he came to be defined. in Ikuhara's words, "It’s a story about that which forms the core of an artist - a starvation that can never be satiated."

when done properly, this kind of romance can be very moving, because it is not only a "love story" but also a story about the self and its relationship to the other. and even more potent are stories which are both about "finding one's other self" and about "the city":

Ikuhara: Out of your works, I particularly like the stories about cities... Stories of cities and “one’s other self” are enchanting aren’t they. There are a lot of shoujo mangaka who write about one’s other self, but there aren’t really any who write about cities. I think a story is weak if it only talks about relatives and neighbours and never about cities. In contrast, I think your stories which are simultaneously about cities really bring out their era. I think that allows you to mark out a line for the story of the other self. Takemiya: Personally, I feel at a basic level that stories without a sense of daily life aren’t very interesting. If one thinks of each person as a single cell, then the city becomes the “body”, and one cannot create a world without both. Based on where they live, some people become more modern or more provincial - the environment really plays a role. For me, it is a necessary component.

I agree with this exchange: the best stories about "one's other self" aren't solely about love between two people, but instead love between two people placed in a particular social context. it is that social context which gives the relationship flavor.

this brings us to the other reason that lesbianism (and homosexuality more broadly) is used in Ikuhara's works. not only does it allow him to tell stories about "one's other self," but also to tell stories about social systems. homosexuality is "deviant" within the social system that is set up to produce children in the nuclear family; thus, homosexual couples will face resistence and prejudice. as Ikuhara discussed in this interview, he is not necessarily trying to capture "the lesbian experience" in his works, but rather using lesbianism as an allegory for the sense of being a minority; a person outcast for standing out from the crowd. homosexuality thus allows for a marriage between the themes of "the self" and "the city" which are central to the telling of a great romance.

bringing it full circle, let's take a look at how this plays out in Utena and Anthy's dynamic, specifically the climax of the first arc. in the build up to it, Utena has been insisting that Anthy behave like a "normal girl," and believes she's succeeding in this venture. however, her illusions are crushed when Touga defeats her in the duel called Conviction. Anthy, now his bride, tells Utena that she likes being the Rose Bride and doesn't mind being alone.

Utena's reaction to this is interesting. suddenly, she is obsessed with being a "normal girl" herself, deftly signaling that all along, she was projecting her own conceptions onto Anthy. though she comes to realize this, Utena ultimately decides to duel again; in the episode 11 preview, she says, "Himemiya, wait! I have to try to get the real you and the real me back!" their selves are linked, tied; Utena cannot be herself without Anthy. what's more, the "false self" that Utena presents is linked to Anthy's "false self"--for, despite her words, it is quite difficult to believe that she "enjoys" being the Rose Bride, any more than Utena "enjoys" wearing girl's clothes. after Utena wins the duel called Self, she and Anthy meet again, paralleling the end of the first episode, but when Anthy tries to impart the rules of the rose crest, Utena tells her, "never mind all that, let's just go home." the two share a moment of authenticity, their "false selves" blown away like petals in the wind. they've drawn closer to each other and to who they truly are, while simultaneously gaining a level of independence from the system which seeks to define them by their gender. the rest of the show will play out in the same manner.

----

side note: I don't think that Ikuhara is more fixated on lesbianism than he is on male homosexuality; however, I'm not sure if he's focused on "mirroring" between homosexual males the same way he has between females, despite the fact that his cited inspiration for the way he wrote relationships between girls in RGU is yaoi.

[writing-with-sophia]

Endings

An ending in a story refers to the conclusion or final part of the narrative. It is the point where the events, conflicts, and character arcs reach a resolution or closure. The ending provides a sense of completion and brings the story to a satisfying or thought-provoking conclusion. The purpose of an ending in a story is to tie up loose ends, answer lingering questions, and bring a sense of resolution to the narrative. It can provide a finality to the conflicts and challenges faced by the characters, offer insights or revelations, or leave room for interpretation and reflection.

Here are some common types of endings:

Resolution: This type of ending provides a sense of closure and ties up loose ends. It offers a clear resolution to the conflicts and questions raised throughout the story.

Twist or Surprise Ending: A twist or surprise ending presents an unexpected turn of events that may challenge the reader's assumptions or provide a shocking revelation.

Open Ending: An open ending leaves some elements unresolved or ambiguous, allowing readers to interpret the conclusion or speculate about what might happen next.

Circular Ending: A circular ending brings the story back to its starting point or echoes the beginning, creating a sense of symmetry or completion.

Epilogue: An epilogue is a section that occurs after the main events of the story and provides additional information about the characters or their future.

Cliffhanger: A cliffhanger ending leaves the reader in suspense or anticipation, usually by ending the story at a critical or unresolved moment, enticing readers to continue to the next installment or chapter.

Bittersweet Ending: A bittersweet ending combines elements of both happiness and sadness, often leaving the reader with a mix of emotions.

Ambiguous Ending: An ambiguous ending leaves the reader with multiple interpretations or unanswered questions, allowing for personal reflection and contemplation.

Catastrophic Ending: A catastrophic ending involves a tragic or disastrous event that dramatically alters the course of the story or leads to significant consequences for the characters.

Reflective Ending: A reflective ending provides a moment of introspection or contemplation, allowing characters to reflect on their experiences and lessons learned.

Happy Ending: A happy ending concludes the story with a positive outcome, where conflicts are resolved, and the characters achieve their goals or find happiness and fulfillment.

Tragic Ending: A tragic ending involves a sorrowful or devastating conclusion, often characterized by the downfall of the protagonist or significant loss.

Moral or Lesson-Based Ending: This type of ending aims to convey a moral or lesson to the reader, providing a clear takeaway or message that aligns with the themes or values explored in the story.

Reconciliation Ending: A reconciliation ending involves the resolution of conflicts and the restoration of harmony between characters or within a community.

Transformational Ending: A transformational ending signifies a significant change or growth in the characters, where they undergo a personal transformation or achieve self-realization.

Metaphorical or Symbolic Ending: This type of ending employs metaphors or symbols to convey a deeper meaning or reinforce the themes of the story, leaving the reader to interpret the symbolism.

Poetic or Lyrical Ending: A poetic or lyrical ending uses language and imagery to create a sense of beauty or evoke emotions, often leaving a lasting impact on the reader.

Reflecting on the Future Ending: This ending provides a glimpse into the characters' future or hints at what may come next, leaving room for imagination and continuation beyond the story's conclusion.

Irony: An ending with irony involves a contrast between what is expected and what actually happens, often resulting in a surprising or unexpected outcome.

Circular Journey Ending: This type of ending brings the story full circle, with the characters returning to a similar situation or place but having undergone significant changes or growth.

These are just a few examples, and endings can often be a combination of different types or unique to each individual story. The choice of ending depends on the author's intention, the genre, and the desired impact on the reader. A well-crafted ending can leave a lasting impact on the reader, leaving them with a sense of fulfillment, emotional resonance, or a desire to contemplate the themes and ideas presented in the story. It may evoke a range of emotions, from satisfaction to surprise, depending on the type of ending and the journey the reader has taken with the characters.

If you want to read more posts about writing, please click here and give me a follow!

[creampuffqueen]

darlin', oh, you see i've never felt this way before

Yangvik Week Day 6: Jealousy

Summary: Yangchen knows that Kavik is handsome. She just didn't expect to feel so possessive when other people notice the same thing.

Word Count: 3811

CW: sex jokes, innuendos, implied/referenced sex, people being very openly thirsty

(will be posted to ao3 later)

~~~~

The Western Air Temple still smells like home. 

Sitting on the edge of one of the large stone platforms that form the temple, Yangchen takes a deep breath in, the thin mountain air settling deep into her lungs, wrapping its way around her heart. It’s still the same as she’s always remembered, the same she’s longed to breathe throughout her journeys across the world.

There’s a holy day coming up, the main reason Yangchen has come. The temple elders reached out to ask her to lead the ceremonies, to provide the blessings and prayers for the temple. 

Yangchen never minds giving blessings. But it’s a special honor to be asked to do so for her home.  

It’s early, but the temple is already full of life. Yangchen herself has just finished with a dawn meditation session, and now everywhere around her is bustling with activity. Brooms sweeping across the floors, nearby bison grumbling for their morning treats, nuns chatting as they carry supplies from one corner of the temple to another. 

And down on the floor below, a sound that brings a grin creeping onto Yangchen’s face: the gasps and giggles of a group of children utterly enthralled by something. She’s pretty sure she might know why.

Pushing herself to standing, Yangchen grabs her glider to pop it open with a satisfying snap. Her hand settles over the worn wood, fingers falling into a practiced grip. Leaping directly into the open air is as thrilling as always, her body naturally knowing which way to turn to catch the familiar air currents. 

She supposes she could just fly down to the next floor, letting her glider and her airbending catch her fall. But where would the fun be in that? She can’t resist making a few extra turns and spins, reveling in all the free space to fly around. It’s so nice to use her glider somewhere that’s designed for it. 

Eventually, though, she lets herself drop from the air until she’s on solid footing once more, landing with soft feet and fluttering robes, glider staff falling closed once more. She wants to see what all the commotion is about. 

The sight she finds brings a broad smile to her lips: a group of young girls, all around the ages of six to eight, stand gathered before a waterbender, fascinated as they watch him weave a complicated pattern of strings between his fingers. 

Kavik, for his part, looks absolutely thrilled to have amassed such an audience. His hands twist, strings looping over his knuckles, until he brings them apart to show off the design he’s created. 

“This shape is called ‘the polecat-wolverine’.” The little girls ooh and ahh, eyes wide. 

Glancing around, she notices that a few more nuns have gathered to watch, likely just as intrigued about the noise. The approaching holy day means that Air Nomads from all over have returned to the temple to help prepare. Rather than just children and the elderly, nuns of all ages are present - some of them that Yangchen even recognizes from her youth. 

It’s rare that outsiders visit for the holy days. Not that they’re particularly discouraged, but because most people from other nations are put off by the idea of hours-long meditation sessions, early hikes to sacred sites around the temple, and chants that seem to go on forever. 

But Kavik wanted to come. Yangchen told him she was headed to the Western Air Temple for a few days, and he’d packed his bags the same night.

“What?” He’d asked when she looked at him curiously, taking care to give her the most punchable expression he could manage, “You thought I wouldn’t come with you?”

Well, clearly he’s been made to feel welcomed. He untangles the string and starts on a new shape, blue eyes focused. The girls lean in, not wanting to miss a single loop. Yangchen remains off to the side, unable to contain her smile at the scene. 

A few more nuns take a pause from their tasks to join in. Though they stand near Yangchen, they don’t seem to take notice of her. 

At the temple, she’s just another airbender. Her orange robes and tattoos make her blend in, not stand out. It’s a rather nice change of pace, to not be the center of attention for once. She’s happy to let that task fall on Kavik’s shoulders for the time being. After all, he seems to be enjoying it. 

“He’s so sweet with the children,” One of the nearby nuns comments.

Kavik finishes with the new shape, presenting it to the gathered girls with an easy smile. “This figure is ‘the two boats’. See how the string forms the two men? Two men, two boats.”

“Another!” A younger girl trills from the crowd. She’s a tiny thing, clinging to the robes of another, taller child. The girls cheer, joining their sister in her request. Kavik looks only too happy to oblige them. 

“He’s good with that string - I bet he’d be good at weaving.” The same nun murmurs to her friend, “Perhaps we should try and get him on the loom while he’s here.”

“Yeah, I bet he’s good with his hands,” Her friend replies, giggling. “Look how fast he can move his fingers; I’d like to see those in action.”

The first nun elbows her, laughing. “Tsewang, you can’t just say that!”

That only makes Tsewang giggle more. “Like you’re any better! Don’t think I didn’t catch you checking out his backside during breakfast!”

Oh. Yangchen realizes with a sudden, uncomfortable clarity, They think that Kavik is attractive.

She can’t blame them, really. It’s one of the first things she noticed about him: that the thief caught red-handed in her room was almost unfairly good-looking. 

Still, she finds herself with a strong desire to move away until she can’t hear the rest of this conversation. She can’t blame them for thinking Kavik is attractive. But that doesn’t mean she wants to hear it said out loud. 

—

By the afternoon, she’s nearly forgotten about the whole event. There’s plenty of work to be done: the temple needs to be cleaned from top to bottom, food needs to be prepared, water needs to be hauled from the mountain spring to perfume it en masse. She may be the Avatar, but while she’s here she’s just Yangchen, and is expected to help out accordingly. 

Not that she minds, of course. She’s happy to help, happy to feel the ache in her arms from hours of hard work. Her heart will always long for the air, but for now she’s happy to feel grounded. 

She hasn’t seen much of Kavik since this morning. Abbess Dagmola put him to work in a different area of the temple, and even the most powerful being in the world is subject to the commands of her temple elder. 

Yangchen and a group of her sisters are cleaning up one of the lower floors of the temple, close enough to the canyon they can catch glimpses of others traveling through it, on their way to complete one chore or another. The floors have been swept, and now they’re up to their elbows in suds, polishing the stone until it shines. 

To pass the long hours, the nuns have been singing. Versions of prayers and chants put to a tune, old fairytale songs they remember from their childhood, even a randy sailor’s ditty one of them picked up from their time on the coast. It’s been distracting enough that Yangchen has been able to ignore the growing ache in her shoulders.

She rocks back onto her heels, wiping the sweat from her forehead and glancing around to observe their work. They’re nearly done, and then it will be on to shaking the dust from the many tapestries hung from the vaulted ceilings. 

A low whisper, punctuated by a muffled snicker, draws her attention from her sponge and bucket. A trio of nuns - slightly younger, judging by their short hair - stand perched at the edge of the floor, tittering between them like a flock of sparrowkeets. 

Yangchen heaves herself to her feet, wincing as her joints pop and groan in complaint. She wanders over to the gathering, trying to figure out just what could leave them so transfixed. One of the girls still has a dripping sponge in her hand, the water steadily soaking the hem of her robes. 

Then she peeks down into the canyon and everything becomes so much clearer.

The abbess must have sent Kavik to help with water-collecting duty. It’s the only explanation that makes sense for why he’s standing below them, knee-deep and shirtless in the mountain spring. His arms move in a smooth, unbroken circle as he bends the water into waiting buckets. Even from this distance, the motion enunciates every muscle in his back and shoulders. 

Warmth spreads through Yangchen’s stomach, face flushing hot. Judging from the expressions of the girls next to her, she’s not the only one feeling that way. The three of them are practically drooling. 

“I think I want him to just… lay on top of me…” One says aloud, eyes wide. The other two laugh and shove her, at least until another speaks up.

“I don’t have any money, but I’d pay to lick the sweat off his biceps.” 

The third girl, the one with the sponge, screws up her face in distaste. “You two are nasty.”

Her sisters glance at her, unimpressed that she isn’t taking part in their game. A moment later, the girl relents with a roll of her eyes.

“His hair is cute, though. I bet it’s really soft.” She squeezes the sponge to her chest, sighing dreamily. “And those eyes…”

For some reason, it’s that statement that brings the same odd feeling back to Yangchen’s chest. She clears her throat softly, watching in amusement as the girls whip around, eyes widening as they realize they’ve just been caught slacking by Avatar Yangchen herself.

“Something interesting to see, girls?”

They scatter like leaves on the wind, dashing back to their buckets with pink-tinged faces. Yangchen can’t help the chuckle that escapes her throat.

She risks a second glance at the spring below the temple. Buckets filled, Kavik has stopped bending. He wipes the back of his hand across his forehead to clear the sweat. His other hand settles against his hip as his head tilts back, chest heaving from exertion. 

Yangchen heads back to her bucket before she can do something stupid. 

—

Dinner comes, and still the feeling remains. Yangchen ponders it as she eats her steamed buns, watching Kavik from across the table. 

As the Avatar and the Avatar’s companion, they both have seats of honor, allowed to eat with the temple elders. Kavik is the star of the conversation, entertaining everyone with the excited, intense way he tells his stories. 

She knows that Kavik is attractive. She doesn’t mind it being pointed out, really. She’s had him use it to their advantage plenty of times in the past, saving several missions just by sending him to flirt until they could sneak away. 

She doesn’t even mind the way the other nuns have been so open about their attraction and desire. It’s simply the way they do things at the temples; desire is a human emotion, nothing to be ashamed of.

Besides, she remembers her own adolescence in the Western Air Temple. Once, when she’d been about fifteen, she’d been granted a few weeks of respite after she mastered waterbending before she traveled to the Earth Kingdom to start the next portion of her training. During that time, a group of monks from the Southern Air Temple came to stay. They’d all been newly tattooed, eager to take on the world as masters.

The other girls her age had instantly declared themselves in love, which soon devolved into a competition of who could make the naughtiest joke about the young men without getting scolded by an abbess for distracting the class. Yangchen, who spent her free time writing fake letters to faker people, had neither the time nor energy to devote to desires of the heart and body. In fact, for many years she wasn’t entirely sure if she had desires of that kind. 

She did, however, manage to get in a joke about how one of the monks ‘handled his glider’ - more out of the wish to see the others laugh than for any real attraction to the man - that brought one of her sisters to tears in pure hysterics. 

So. She gets it. Really, she does. 

But that still doesn’t stop the strange feeling of… possessiveness that she’s been getting every time she spies someone eyeing Kavik up.

Even now, she can see the signs. All around are nuns surreptitiously sneaking peeks, whispering in each others’ ears ‘don’t make it obvious…’, pretending like they’re getting up for second helpings but going out of their way to pass by their table. 

A small part of her wants to just march over to Kavik’s seat and kiss him senseless, right here and right now. That’ll show them. She’s the one who gets to drag her fingers through his hair. She’s the one who gets to feel the way he moves on top of her. She’s the one who gets to experience all the other creative ways he can use his hands. 

Unfortunately, that would be bad etiquette. Not feeling too hungry any more, she settles for resting her head in her hands, listening to Kavik finish up his story between bites of food. He gets an uproarious laughter from a particularly good punchline, and his satisfied smile sends her heart fluttering. 

He catches her eye from across the table, looking to her as if to make sure she heard his clever joke. 

A different idea worms its way into Yangchen’s head. Perhaps if I show that he’s off-limits…

She smiles warmly in Kavik’s direction, crooking her finger at him in a subtle come-hither motion. He’s quick to oblige, standing up and circling the table to get to her seat.

“Do you want me to get you anything else to eat?” Clearly, he’s noticed her half-eaten plate. 

Yangchen leans in, bringing her lips closer to his ear. “No. But I would like you to come to my room tonight.”

Kavik jolts in surprise, blue eyes wide. She’s never made an advance on him in public like this. At least, not a real one.

She leans in again, warming her breath with firebending for good measure. “Midnight. Be there.”

His face turns a shade of red that Fire Nationals would be jealous of. All around, watchful eyes take in the scene: The Avatar, whispering something in her companion’s ear that’s turned him into a blushing fool, stumbling over both his words and his feet. 

Yangchen lets her smirk be seen throughout the room as Kavik makes his way back to his seat, eyes firmly affixed to the floor. The best plans always have a sprinkle of the truth.

The nuns of the Western Air Temple manage to find more interesting things to look at for the rest of dinner. 

—

Yangchen wakes up in shades, consciousness seeping into her bones with each exhale of breath. The pre-dawn light creeps through her window, casting the room in a soft, dreamlike haze. It’s so early that even the lemurs are still asleep. 

The heavy, comforting weight of Kavik’s arm is circling over her, keeping her tucked close to his chest. The bed in her quarters is only really meant for one person, but they’ve made it work. 

Under normal circumstances, she’d be rousing him awake at this time, ignoring his protesting grumbles to give him ample time to sneak back to his own lodgings. Emerging from the same room in the morning usually leads to more complications than they want to to deal with, so they do their best to avoid it. 

But this is her home. If there’s anywhere in the world that she can be seen with him by her side, really by her side, then it’s here. And, of course, there’s the fact that she did orchestrate this whole situation to specifically invite those kinds of speculations, in hopes that it might put a bit of a damper on all the ogling. 

Though she will admit, it’s a lot harder to feel threatened when the object of everyone’s desire in question just spent half the night on his knees for her. And is now tucked beside her in the bed, sleepy and warm and completely naked. 

More awake now, Yangchen lets her eyes roam over Kavik’s sleeping face. His dark hair is mussed and falling to his shoulders, and his lips stay slightly parted, letting each deep breath end with a tiny puff of air from his mouth. Her thumb comes to rest there, gently stroking across his plush lower lip. The slight touch is enough to hitch his breath, eyebrows furrowing as he begins to wake. 

Yangchen’s hand moves to his cheek, cupping his face in her palm. His eyelashes flutter, and then, slowly, his eyes begin to open, revealing those blue irises that steal her breath every time. 

“Hi there,” Kavik’s voice is low and groggy, with a slight rasp that makes Yangchen want to melt into a puddle of goo. 

He stretches, long and languid, yawning so widely that Yangchen can hear his jaw pop. His fingers tangle with those already on his cheek, bringing her hand to his mouth so he can begin to kiss his way up her arm, tracing the pattern of her tattoos. 

When his lips reach her elbow, he pulls away, landing his next kiss on her lips. “Is it time for me to leave?”

Yangchen returns his sleepy kiss with one of her own, pulling herself as close to him as she can manage. His arms wrap around her, just as eager for the closeness. “Not this morning, no.”

“Hm,” Kavik notes, voice still scratchy, “You’ve been acting clingy since yesterday. What’s going on?”

She nuzzles her face against his chest, letting the scent of him settle into her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He just hums, leaning forward to kiss a path along the shaved portion of her hairline. Yangchen sinks into the easy affection, pressing her nose into the hollow of his throat, starting up her own trail of gentle kisses. 

However, when she reaches the opposite side of his neck, something gives her pause. Kavik, feeling her freeze, pulls away to look at her.

“Why are you looking at me with that face?”

Yangchen isn’t sure whether she should start laughing or apologizing. Laughter quickly wins out, so much so that she has to slap her hand over her mouth to muffle her giggles. Kavik’s eyebrows climb up his forehead in confusion. “What? What’s happening?”

She wriggles from his embrace to go search for a mirror. Finding one stashed away in her bag, she returns it to the bed as Kavik sits up, sheets pooling in his lap. 

Her entire body shakes with laughter as she watches his expression go from confused to concerned to horrified in a matter of seconds, eyes nearly bulging out of his head. “Yangchen, what did you do?”

On one side of his neck, an absolutely massive bruise lays, nearly the size of her closed fist. It’s undoubtedly a result of their activities last night, and even more undoubtedly Yangchen’s fault. 

She’d only meant to leave a small mark, maybe two. The kind that could be easily healed or covered up. Admittedly, she’d been a bit excited to leave some kind of physical evidence that proved Kavik was well and truly spoken for.

Okay, so she went a bit overboard.

“I look like I lost a fight to an octopus-leech!”

Yangchen rolls her eyes at that. “Oh, come on, don’t be so dramatic.” She gestures to the nearby washbasin, and the pitcher full of water sitting next to it. “Think of it as an opportunity to get some healing practice in.”

Kavik laughs in disbelief. “How did you even make one that big?”

“I don’t remember you complaining so much when I was giving it to you.”

His face flushes a delightful shade of red at that. “You���re terrible.”

It’s too easy. “Not what you said last night.”

“Can you stop-”

“Not what you were telling me to do last night!”

Rather than fall further into her trap, Kavik shuts her up by tackling her into the bed, making her shriek with laughter when his hands dig into her sides to tickle her mercilessly. 

She lets him get away with it for a few more seconds before tapping out, smacking her hand on the back of his shoulder until he relents. He stays above her, both of their chests still heaving with laughter. 

“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” 

She reaches up to touch the bruise, biting her lip to stifle her giggles. He doesn’t flinch when her fingers rub across it, so it must look a lot worse than it feels.

“I might have.”

Kavik rolls off to the side, settling his head back onto the pillow. “Why?”

“Did you notice everyone staring after you all day?” Yangchen brings her hand to his head, combing her fingers absent-mindedly through his loose hair. 

An amused grin appears on Kavik’s face. “Avatar Yangchen, were you jealous?”

She shakes her head, but can’t find the words to deny it. “I don’t feel like sharing you.”

Kavik’s eyes soften. “You don’t have to. You know that I’m all yours.”

She supposes she does, deep down. Still, his assurance feels like a beam of sun, light and warmth spreading over her heart. 

Cupping his cheek once more, Yangchen leans in to kiss him. Kavik wraps his arms around her, pulling her tight to his chest.

When they part again for air, she holds his gaze in her own, trying to memorize every shade of blue in his eyes. There’s so many things she wants to say, words bubbling in her throat, confusing half-sentences threatening to spill out. 

She settles for what’s easiest. “I’m all yours, too.”

Kavik just smiles, like he’s already known this forever. Of course he already knows. How could he not?

Avatar Yangchen belongs to the world before anything else. Yangchen will always be the Avatar; even in death her spirit will remain to continue the cycle. She holds the world’s biggest blessing and its heaviest burden. It will always have a claim over her. 

But right here, her world is just this: the blue of Kavik’s eyes, the safety of his arms, and the love that she can feel pouring out of his very being. 

Yangchen kisses him again, and knows he can feel the way it pours from her, too.

~~~~

(a/n: idk how but my silly jokey fic ended up becoming a soft confession fic. sometimes i surprise even myself lmao)

[somebodys-nightmare]

Understanding the Romantic Narrative Arcs in Final Fantasy VII

There has been no shortage of discourse surrounding the “Love Triangle Debate”, (a fan-constructed term, I must inform you) of FFVII for a very long time. Most recently, with the release of FFVII Rebirth, this discourse has intensified and led to a wide spectrum of fan conclusions that range from grounded in narrative sense to completely baseless or delusional. Some takes are attached to contemporary relationship issues, personal experience, comparisons to other media or works of fiction, social constructs or societal issues, personal preference, or a lack of full context.

While any piece of media or fiction is subject to some level of interpretation (this is the very nature of humans consuming works of art), most works are created with intentional narrative direction. In fact, many works are formulaic, especially in genres such as fantasy, romance, mystery, etc. While of course there are always exceptions and deviations, as a writer and former English literature teacher I can say that most stories follow a general narrative structure or arc that makes them digestible and satisfying to readers/audiences. Such arcs impact the main, external, internal, and subplots of a story, as well as individual character arcs and character relationship arcs.

Final Fantasy is no different. While there are other cultural influences as FFs are Japanese stories, my experience with the series is the writing generally follows most storytelling conventions that can be found in all forms of archetypal writing, cross-culturally and generationally. FFVII is often accused of being ambiguous or open-ended in many aspects of its story. I tend to disagree with this idea and think that its storytelling is subversive rather than ambiguous, meaning that it requires players to work harder and use more critical thinking in order to reach the author’s intended conclusions. It also relies on false or misleading narratives for a good part of the story (such as red herrings, illusions, or unreliable narrators) as storytelling devices that help the truth in the story unfold in later parts of the narrative arc(s). Like any piece of media using these storytelling methods, this means that there will be controversy or debate as audiences contend with the author’s messages or intentions. However, that does not mean that the intentions are not there and that there is not an intentional outcome on the part of the writers.

Personally, I believe that FFVII has a very clear narrative structure for all of its main plot, sub plots, and character arcs, but that its approach is challenging to many players who have to wrestle with the story as it unfolds to understand it. It is not spoon-fed, and some revelations may betray player attachments that were originally formed. However, in my view, this is what makes FFVII such an exceptional story when compared to many others. That being said, the lack (or refusal) of understanding of FFVII’s narrative arcs has led to discourse that unfortunately mischaracterizes many of the characters and pushes inappropriate perspectives onto the storytelling, mostly surrounding the romantic arcs of the main characters and the so-called “LTD” (the fan construction, remember?). I strongly believe that the best way to understand any story is to follow the narrative arcs in order to arrive at the author’s intended conclusions.

I’m going to attempt to do that for the romantic subplots in FFVII in hopes of bringing some clarity to this issue. This analysis is based on a standard Three-Act Romance narrative writing structure (which aligns with the Hero's Journey structure), as well common romantic archetypes and tropes, both for characters and plot, but applied to the specific context of the story, world, and characters of FFVII. Please note that this is my personal analysis and it is by no means perfect, nor am I saying this is the bible of how FFVII has been written. I just hope it gives some insight into why some storytelling interpretations of FFVII should make more sense than… others. This analysis will draw from bits of the entire compilation, but the primary focus of the structure will be looking at FF7R with the OG as a baseline.

This is a long thread, so please see the outline for discussion below.

Romantic Structure/Trope Analysis

Cloud/Tifa: The Slow Burn/Childhood Friends to Lovers Romance

Aerith/Cloud: The Unrequited Love/Not Meant to Be Romance

Zack/Aerith: The Long Lost Love Romance

Final Thoughts: The "Love Triangle" is a Narrative Illusion

Cloud/Tifa: The Slow Burn/Childhood Friends to Lovers Romance

Act 1: The Beginning

The Hook (Childhood Connection Revealed)

Romance Structure: Introduction / Setup

Purpose: Establish the protagonists in their everyday lives, showing what emotional or psychological issues are holding them back from love. Readers should get a sense of their internal conflicts and motivations, along with the external situations that will challenge them later.

Childhood Friends Layer: Introduce the deep connection between the two characters, showing them as lifelong friends with an established bond. There could be hints of one or both characters secretly harboring feelings for the other, but they haven't acted on it due to fear of losing the friendship.

Example: Cloud and Tifa are childhood friends with a complicated history. Although they were close when they were little, they drifted apart but secretly longed for one another. They shared a romantic promise and then separated for seven years. At the beginning of FFVII, they are reunited, but both characters are contending with serious internal and external conflicts - Cloud’s identity crisis and the Shinra Company’s greed and abuse of the planet.

The Inciting Incident / Call to Adventure / Meet-Cute

Romance Structure: Inciting Incident / The Meet-Cute

Purpose: The main characters meet or are pushed together by external circumstances. This encounter introduces the romantic conflict—whether it’s instant attraction or tension between them.

Childhood Friends Layer: Since they’ve already known each other for years, the “meet-cute” here is more about seeing each other in a new light. Maybe one of them returns to town after time away, or an external event shifts their dynamic, making one or both start to view the other differently.

Example: Cloud and Tifa reunite in Midgar and Tifa recruits Cloud to work for AVALANCHE. She does this primarily to keep him close so she can keep an eye on him as she is worried about him and his mental state. During this time, we see an instant chemistry between Cloud and Tifa as they reconnect after years apart. When conflicts are introduced, we see the strain that it puts on them, but we also see how there’s a lingering desire for closeness, whether it be in their discussion/memory of the promise, their mutual flirting, their skinship, etc.

First Plot Point / Refusal of the Call

Romance Structure: Rejection of the Relationship

Purpose: The characters resist the idea of a romantic relationship, often due to internal or external obstacles. There’s a clear push-pull dynamic as they fight their growing attraction, often rejecting the possibility of being together.

Childhood Friends Layer: The hesitation here comes from their shared history. Both characters are afraid to risk their close friendship for something as uncertain as a romance. This dynamic creates tension as they begin to realize how much they depend on each other emotionally.

Example: This isn’t directly addressed, but the narrative deflects from intentional romantic confrontations at this point because of Cloud’s identity crisis and the pressing issues of the external conflict. Neither character is outwardly pursuing a relationship, but they don’t exactly deny their desire for closeness. We consistently see the push/pull between Cloud and Tifa throughout the early part of their arc. It's also further complicated when Sephiroth starts to sabotage their relationship.

Act 2: The Middle

First Pinch Point / Acceptance of the Quest

Romance Structure: Giving the Relationship a Chance

Purpose: External circumstances push them together, forcing them to interact and face their growing connection. Even if they resist the idea of love, the bond between them deepens as they spend more time together.

Childhood Friends Layer: Their shared history becomes an advantage and a source of conflict. The deeper they dive into new romantic feelings, the more they rely on the comfort of their friendship, but they’re also terrified of crossing the line and ruining everything.

Example: Cloud and Tifa work together both with AVALANCHE and the party at large to combat the threats present in the external conflict. Additionally, they share deep trauma from the Nibelheim Incident that brings them closer together as sources of comfort. They become one another’s rocks, and though they still do not move toward any explicit romantic confirmation, it is clear from their behavior that they both hold deep feelings for each other and care for each other greatly. Cloud in particular holds on to his promise to Tifa, making it a cornerstone of his strength moving forward.

Midpoint Crisis / Trials and Temptations

Romance Structure: Midpoint / I-Need-You-But-Can’t-Have-You

Purpose: This is a major turning point where the characters either experience a "false high" (where they feel like things are going well but something still isn’t quite right) or a "false low" (where they feel like things are falling apart). There’s often a pivotal moment of intimacy that deepens their bond but also introduces new fears.

Childhood Friends Layer: The fear of losing the friendship intensifies. They might experience their first kiss or confession of deeper feelings, but the risk of ruining their long-established bond makes the situation more fraught with anxiety.

Example: This particular point in the arc gets a little tricky for Cloud and Tifa because of Cloud’s identity crisis and Tifa’s reticence around their mismatched issues. However, Rebirth has made it clear that before the end of disc 1, Cloud and Tifa are aware of their feelings for each other and that the narrative is still in the way of it. This arc intersects events that transpire from Kalm to Gongaga, and we see the build-up of tension due to the internal conflict between Cloud and Sephiroth.

Second Pinch Point / The Road Back

Romance Structure: Pulling Back Together

Purpose: The characters are drawn back together by external events, but their internal fears and conflicts still loom large. The romance starts to deepen, but both are still fighting their feelings in some way.

Childhood Friends Layer: They try to go back to being "just friends," but it’s clear that things have changed between them. The emotional and romantic tension keeps building, and they can’t ignore how much they need each other.

Example: We see this dynamic between Cloud and Tifa continue to build throughout disc 1, particularly in Rebirth. We are consistently reminded of the tension between them and the importance of their relationship, regardless of romantic intent. Gongaga and Nibelheim are great examples of this.

Second Plot Point / The Fall

Romance Structure: The Fall

Purpose: The characters are now falling in love, even if they haven’t fully admitted it to each other. There’s often a deeper moment of intimacy—physical or emotional—that makes them realize just how much they mean to each other.

Childhood Friends Layer: One or both characters realize they’ve fallen hard for their best friend, but they are still careful or hold back from telling the other, afraid it might ruin everything. Nonetheless, they give in to their feelings in some capacity, which marks a turning point.

Example: The Gold Saucer date would be the best parallel for this point in the arc for Cloud and Tifa. In the OG Tifa almost confesses to a very interested Cloud, in Rebirth, they confirm feelings and kiss. Either way, it’s clearly meant to signal at this point, the fall has happened.

Act 3: The End

The Crisis / Dark Moment

Romance Structure: Dark Moment / The Break-Up

Purpose: This is the point where everything falls apart. The characters break up or distance themselves, either because of internal or external forces.

Childhood Friends Layer: The weight of their shared history makes this moment even more devastating. The fear of losing the friendship forever becomes real.

Example: For Cloud and Tifa, this moment is really hinged on Cloud’s mental breakdown. After the Gold Saucer Date, Cloud’s mental state progressively worsens due to events that occur within both the internal and external conflicts, and his bond with Tifa is severed completely at the Northern Crater. Cloud and Tifa are separated when Cloud falls into the Lifestream.

The Sacrifice / The Crisis Resolution

Romance Structure: The Sacrifice

Purpose: One or both characters must confront their fears and make a choice. This moment often involves a grand gesture or a realization that love is worth the risk.

Childhood Friends Layer: The realization comes that their friendship has always been the foundation of something more. They understand that risking the friendship for love is not only worth it but that the friendship can only deepen through their romantic connection.

Example: This point comes in Mideel and the Lifestream Scene. Tifa reaches her own realization about her relationship with Cloud and how her reticence has impacted things, and her conviction to save him and be with him is both profound and clearly romantic. Inside the Lifestream, Tifa helps Cloud to find himself, and many revelations about his true feelings for her are brought to light. Of course, we have not reached this point of the story in FF7R, so it will be intriguing to see how it unfolds, given all of the additional context the remake series and ToTP have provided.

The Climax / Declaration

Romance Structure: Declaration

Purpose: The characters finally confess their love for each other, making the leap from friends to lovers. This is the emotional high point where the relationship is solidified.

Childhood Friends Layer: The confession of love is tied to their long history, as they realize that their deep emotional connection as friends is the foundation for a strong romantic relationship.

Example: This moment for Cloud and Tifa is the Highwind Scene in the OG, where they confirm, without words, that their feelings match. Once again, we will see how this event unfolds in Part 3 with all the new and deepened context of Cloud and Tifa’s relationship in 7R.

The Resolution / Denouement

Romance Structure: Denouement / HEA

Purpose: The characters are together and happy, giving the reader a sense of closure.

Childhood Friends Layer: The resolution emphasizes how their strong friendship has transitioned seamlessly into a romantic relationship, giving the sense that they’ll continue to support each other as both friends and lovers.

Example: In the OG, this is seen in the FMV of the game where Cloud and Tifa are together, leading to the resolution of the entire story as Holy and the Lifestream are released. While this scene isn’t particularly direct, it’s enough to show that Cloud and Tifa are together, which leads to ACC where they live and raise a family together. This entire ending segment will likely be greatly expanded in FF7R, and so it'll be interesting to see how these moments are handled, given all of the new context.

Aerith/Cloud: Unrequited Love/Not Meant to Be Arc

Act 1: The Beginning

The Hook (Unrequited Feelings Introduced)

Romance Structure: Introduction / Setup

Purpose: Introduce the protagonist, who falls for the other character. Set up their emotional and psychological conflict, showing how these unrequited feelings shape their interactions with the other character.

Unrequited Love Layer: The character’s love is clearly unreturned, but they hold on to hope. There is a mix of admiration, longing, and pain as they watch the love interest live their life without ever seeing them as a romantic partner.

Example: Aerith’s feelings for Cloud, who she meets first on the streets of Midgar and later inside her church, are inspired by her long-lost love, Zack, whom he reminds her of. We don’t know this immediately, but we find out soon enough, and the story, especially 7R, is full of visual and symbolic cues.

The Inciting Incident / Call to Adventure / Meet-Cute

Romance Structure: Inciting Incident / The Meet-Cute

Purpose: The characters are pushed together by external circumstances, giving the protagonist more time with the love interest. The character sees this as an opportunity to grow closer, but the other character remains unaware or indifferent to their romantic feelings.

Unrequited Love Layer: The character is thrilled to spend more time with the other character and hopes this will bring them closer. However, the love interest still sees the relationship as platonic, creating tension.

Example: While their interaction on Loveless Street is the fated moment for Cloud and Aerith, the meet-cute is their meeting in the church. This is the inciting incident that not only truly triggers Aerith’s latent Zack-longing, but also begins Cloud and Aerith’s friendship as they work together for a common cause. Aerith flirts with Cloud quite a bit at this point, displaying her interest, but Cloud does not reciprocate in any romantic sense. She also refuses to let him leave and follows him around, essentially solidifying Aerith’s place in the player party and cementing her role as the heroine driving the external conflict. From here on out, we are consistently reminded that Cloud reminds Aerith of Zack, the deeper reason for her interest in him.

First Plot Point / Refusal of the Call

Romance Structure: Rejection of the Relationship

Purpose: The protagonist’s feelings remain unrequited. The other character might express interest in someone else or explicitly state that they don’t see the protagonist in a romantic light. This deepens the emotional conflict for the protagonist, who struggles with unspoken feelings.

Unrequited Love Layer: The protagonist is heartbroken but holds onto hope. They keep pushing their emotions down, unwilling to let go just yet.

Example: Aerith meets Tifa and quickly realizes that she is someone deeply important to Cloud. In Remake, she realizes this even before meeting her when Cloud has a headache and calls out Tifa’s name. Her awareness changes her behavior somewhat, but internally, she still is still conflicted because of her internal conflict over Zack.

Act 2: The Middle

First Pinch Point / Acceptance of the Quest

Romance Structure: Giving the Relationship a Chance

Purpose: External circumstances continue to push the characters together, and the protagonist’s feelings deepen. They begin to cling to small moments, hoping that their love might one day be reciprocated.

Unrequited Love Layer: The protagonist interprets friendly gestures as signs of romantic potential. They invest emotionally in every small interaction, hoping it means more than it does. However, deep down, they start to feel the weight of their unreturned affection.

Example: The journey continues with the party leaving Midgar, and Aerith’s feelings for Cloud grow despite her knowledge of his bond with Tifa as the party travels together. In Rebirth this is further complicated by Aerith’s loss of foresight/memories to the Whispers. We are also constantly reminded of Aerith’s lingering feelings for Zack and her grief and sadness over his loss/disappearance. Throughout the journey, she seeks out opportunities to spend time with Cloud - “dates” even though these moments are not reciprocated romantically. A notable example of this is her date with him on the clock tower in Kalm, where she speaks to him about his relationship with Tifa (hinting at her knowledge of their bond and her jealousy over it) and then her public declaration that they were on a date (in front of Tifa). Cloud's reaction to moments like these continue to inform the audience he does not return romantic affections for Aerith.

Midpoint Crisis / Trials and Temptations

Romance Structure: Midpoint / I-Need-You-But-Can’t-Have-You

Purpose: A major turning point occurs where the protagonist either faces the possibility that their love will never be returned or sees a fleeting moment where they think it might be. The emotional stakes are higher, as the protagonist grapples with whether to continue holding on.

Unrequited Love Layer: The character might attempt to make their feelings known, either explicitly or through subtle gestures, but the love interest doesn’t reciprocate. The character is left feeling exposed and vulnerable, yet still holding on to hope that things might change.

Example: For Cloud and Aerith, this continues to be the nature of their relational development throughout most of disc 1, but their interaction on the water tower in Nibelheim is probably the best example of this. Aerith has to grapple with her jealousy over Cloud and Tifa’s bond, which she has been observing for the entire game. Her acknowledgment of her feelings over it is a major turning point as a character. Additionally, this moment really cements that Cloud views his relationship with Aerith as a cherished friendship, as we see the way that he cares about her angry reaction.

Second Pinch Point / The Road Back

Romance Structure: Pulling Back Together

Purpose: Circumstances force the characters to spend more time together, even though the character is starting to feel the emotional strain of unrequited love. There may be a moment of temporary hope, but it’s tinged with the growing realization that their feelings might never be returned.

Unrequited Love Layer: The character becomes more emotionally drained as they begin to sense that their love will remain one-sided. They might try one last time to be closer to the love interest, but the gap between them is becoming clearer.

Example: This moment could best be viewed through Cloud and Aerith’s Gold Saucer date. There, Aerith not only tries to get closer to Cloud but she opens up emotionally and gives Cloud insight into the root of her feelings, which is Zack. Cloud does not reciprocate any of Aerith’s romantic overtures in this date and rather displays discomfort or awkwardness throughout most of it. However, he does allow her a moment of emotional vulnerability, which he has not been willing to do previously. This is further contextualized by how, In Rebirth, Cloud has remembered Zack by this point (albeit incorrectly). Cloud, who cherishes and cares for Aerith greatly as a friend, is considerate of this connection and offers her comfort for the grief and loss she has just admitted to feeling and seeking consolation in him from. Hence "just until the ride's over"; "I didn't do anything" etc...

Second Plot Point / The Fall

Romance Structure: The Fall

Purpose: The character finally realizes that their love will never be returned. This is an emotionally intense moment where they are forced to confront the truth—they will never be more than a friend or confidant to the love interest.

Unrequited Love Layer: The protagonist may be devastated by the final confirmation that their feelings will never be returned. The emotional weight of unrequited love becomes too much, and they start to realize they need to let go, or come to other realizations about their feelings.

Example: The moment that most closely matches with this point in the arc is the dream stroll through Sector 5. Not only does Aerith accept that Cloud doesn’t return her feelings romantically, but she comes to a realization of her own feelings and questions them. This is clearly a reference to Zack, whose internal conflict has been consistently foreshadowed. Aerith also seems to recognize that she can’t help Cloud with his internal conflict - that is Tifa's role.

Act 3: The End

The Crisis / Dark Moment

Romance Structure: Dark Moment / The Break-Up

Purpose: This is the point of emotional reckoning, where they face the reality of unrequited love and move on in their arc.

Unrequited Love Layer: The character experiences grief over their unreturned feelings. They might decide to pull away from the love interest entirely, or they may try to come to terms with remaining friends while letting go of their romantic hopes and moving on.

Example: For Aerith, this moment is marked by her complete transition to her role in the external conflict. At this point, she has let go of her romantic fancy for Cloud and has committed herself to the bigger picture. It is at this point that she leaves the party, and leaves Cloud in the Sleeping Forest, to fulfill her role as a Cetra.

The Sacrifice / The Crisis Resolution

Romance Structure: The Sacrifice

Purpose: The protagonist sacrifices their unrequited love, realizing they need to move on for the sake of their own emotional well-being or greater purposes. This is a bittersweet moment of acceptance and self-growth, where they let go of the hope that kept them holding on for so long.

Unrequited Love Layer: The protagonist may realize that holding on to unrequited love is only hurting them or preventing them from reaching a greater purpose.

Example: For Aerith, this point in the arc is less about Cloud and more about her role in the external conflict. This is the point in which she travels to the Forgotten City, prays, and ultimately is killed. However, it is bittersweet and tragic for her, ultimately, because she dies with unrequited love from Cloud and without ever getting closure on her true love, Zack.

The Climax / Declaration

Romance Structure: Declaration

Purpose: Instead of a declaration of mutual love, this is the protagonist’s internal declaration of acceptance. They start the process of moving on.

Unrequited Love Layer: The protagonist lets go of the love interest in their heart, realizing that they need to focus on their own future. The love interest is likely unaware of this internal shift, but it’s a powerful moment of growth for the protagonist.

Example: For Aerith, this is perhaps best viewed in her complete transition after death to the larger role she plays as the heroine of the planet from within the Lifestream. Her arc has fully transitioned away from her feelings for Cloud into her greater purpose. In FF7R, we can hope to see how Zack, who has been trying to find her, begins to impact this next phase of her arc.

The Resolution / Denouement

Romance Structure: Denouement / HEA

Purpose: Instead of a traditional happy ending, this is a reflective, bittersweet resolution. The character has grown emotionally. There is a sense of closure, though it may come with lingering heartache.

Unrequited Love Layer: The character has let go of the hope that their love would ever be returned. They are stronger for it and have moved on.

Example: For Aerith and Cloud, this moment is best summed up by their brief Lifestream reunion at the end of the game. It will be intriguing to see how this moment is expanded and provides closure for Cloud and Aerith’s relationship, as well as Zack’s role in both.

Zack/Aerith: Long Lost Love/Tragic Love Arc

This arc is a little more complicated to map out since it is not only incomplete but riddled with mysteries at this point. However, I’m going to do my best to make the connections based on the information we have and where we can theorize things may be going.

Act 1: The Beginning

The Hook

Romance Structure: Introduction / Setup

Purpose: Establish the protagonist’s life after the estrangement, showing how unresolved feelings for their lost lover impact their emotional world. There’s a sense of longing and unfinished business that propels the protagonist’s actions.

Long Lost Lovers Layer: The protagonist is haunted by memories of their estranged lover and driven by a deep desire to find them again. This longing is fueled by unresolved emotional wounds, and the protagonist clings to the hope of a reunion.

Example: In Rebirth, from the beginning, Zack is singularly focused on reuniting with Aerith. After his escape from Nibelheim, even as he carries the wounded Cloud, Zack’s thoughts are consumed by Aerith. His love for her pushes him forward despite the dangerous and confusing circumstances he finds himself in. Zack’s motivation intensifies when he discovers, through a newscast, that Aerith is in danger. This revelation shifts Zack from hopeful longing to immediate action, driving home the urgency of his quest. His decision to prioritize Aerith’s safety over everything else, including Cloud, underscores how central Aerith is to his purpose, raising the stakes for his emotional journey.

The Inciting Incident

Romance Structure: The Call to Adventure

Purpose: The inciting incident transitions the protagonist from passive longing to active pursuit of reunion. Some event or revelation forces the protagonist to act, prompting them to seek out their estranged lover. Often, this is triggered by the discovery that the lover may be in danger.

Long Lost Lovers Layer: The protagonist realizes that simply hoping for a reunion isn’t enough—there’s now a tangible reason for urgency. This event serves as a catalyst for the protagonist to fully commit to the journey of reconnecting with their lover, increasing the stakes as they shift from passive longing to active pursuit.

Example: After mysteriously "surviving" his last stand against Shinra (as seen at the end of Crisis Core), Zack rescues Aerith from Shinra’s grasp in Rebirth. However, instead of a triumphant reunion, the moment is clouded with confusion and tragedy. This rescue scene signals Zack’s deep emotions for Aerith and heightens the sense of foreboding in their relationship arc. The player quickly realizes that the reunion isn’t straightforward and that darker forces are at play, casting a shadow over Zack’s determined rescue.

First Plot Point

Romance Structure: Refusal of the Call / First Obstacle

Purpose: The first major obstacle or refusal of the call introduces the initial challenges the protagonist faces in their pursuit of the lost lover. Despite their determination, external forces or internal doubts surface, complicating the journey.

Long Lost Lovers Layer: The protagonist’s optimism about reuniting with their estranged lover is challenged by harsh realities—whether through physical danger, supernatural elements, or emotional barriers. This moment introduces doubts about whether a reunion is possible, raising tension and uncertainty.

Example: Zack eventually brings a comatose Aerith and Cloud to Elmyra’s house. Zack’s devotion to them is evident as he cares for them despite their unresponsive states, but the world around him behaves in strange ways. The eerie sense of something deeply wrong in Sector 5 hints that Zack’s reality—and Aerith’s fate—are far from certain. He’s not just fighting to reunite with Aerith; he’s battling a reality that is becoming increasingly unstable. The player shares in Zack’s growing sense of anxiety and confusion, setting the tone for the more tragic layers of their arc to come.

First Pinch Point / Acceptance of the Quest

Romance Structure: Giving the Relationship a Chance

Purpose: The protagonist resolves to pursue their lost lover, hoping to rekindle what they once had. However, unresolved issues and emotional scars from the past begin to surface, complicating their journey.

Long Lost Lovers Layer: Time and distance have changed both characters, making reconnection difficult. The focus is on how time has altered both individuals and the lingering emotional weight of their separation.

Example: Zack’s attempt to reunite with Aerith is complicated by the metaphysical separation created by the Lifestream. Aerith remains comatose, as does Cloud, and Zack has to contend with both his own internal conflict as he tries to help them as well as the external conflict of his strange and mysterious circumstances within "Sector 5".

Midpoint Crisis / Trials and Temptations

Romance Structure: Midpoint / I-Need-You-But-Can’t-Have-You

Purpose: The protagonist’s need for their lost lover intensifies, but the relationship is far more complicated than expected. Old wounds and emotional or external barriers resurface, making reunion seem out of reach. Despite their determination, the protagonist begins to doubt whether they can ever restore what they once had.

Long Lost Lovers Layer: Time and emotional distance have changed the dynamics of their relationship. While both may care for each other, the past cannot easily be erased, and their attempts to reconnect are fraught with tension.

Example: External forces such as Sephiroth’s manipulations, and Aerith’s internal conflict over Cloud create an emotional barrier between her and Zack. Aerith, “asleep” in Zack’s world, remains unaware of his presence. As Zack learns from Marlene that Aerith’ "likes" Cloud, more tension and conflict is added. Despite these challenges, Zack remains unwavering in his commitment to reconnect with Aerith, determined to overcome the growing emotional distance.

Second Pinch Point / The Road Back

Romance Structure: Pulling Back Together

Purpose: The protagonist makes another push to reconnect with their lost lover despite significant setbacks. Faced with the reality that time is running out, the protagonist must act decisively to restore the relationship. While emotional connections may deepen, unresolved challenges threaten the outcome, leaving uncertainty in the air.

Long Lost Lovers Layer: Despite growing obstacles, the protagonist remains committed to rekindling the relationship. The emotional and physical distance between the lovers may still seem insurmountable, but the protagonist refuses to give up, holding onto the hope that they can salvage what they once had.

Example: Even as Zack’s hope begins to wane, he remains steadfast in his desire to reunite with Aerith. Zack finds himself pulled in multiple directions, creating additional conflicts. External forces and emotional entanglements continue to complicate their relationship, but Zack’s determination to bridge the emotional gap keeps pushing him forward. This section of Rebirth continues to heavily foreshadow both the truth about Zack as well as the future of Zack and Aerith's relationship, despite the conflicts.

Act 3: The End

The Crisis / Dark Moment

Romance Structure: The Break-Up / Darkest Hour

Purpose: The protagonist faces their darkest moment, where it seems that the reunion will never happen. Emotional scars or external forces tear the lovers apart, and the protagonist believes they’ve lost their final chance to reconnect. The relationship nears failure as the protagonist faces the harsh reality of their situation.

Long Lost Lovers Layer: The conflict grows to the point of no return. Previous mistakes or external conflicts surface, causing the relationship to fall apart, and the protagonist is left devastated, feeling that the reunion may never come.

Example: In Rebirth, this moment comes near the ending of the game when Sephiroth's confluence of worlds plays a role in role in further uprooting Zack's existence in the Lifestream. We also know that this is the time that Aerith dies in the real world, further complicating matters and adding new layers of conflict.

The Sacrifice / The Crisis Resolution

Romance Structure: The Sacrifice

Purpose: The protagonist realizes that to win back their lost lover, they must sacrifice their pride, fear, or ego. This emotional climax reflects their willingness to make a grand gesture or display vulnerability, showing they’ll do whatever it takes for a second chance.

Long Lost Lovers Layer: The protagonist makes a final, heartfelt plea to the estranged lover, acknowledging their mistakes and baring their soul. The lover, moved by the sincerity, must decide whether or not to take the risk of rekindling the relationship.

Example: Although we don’t yet know how this will play out in the Remake series, it’s likely that Part 3 will feature a reunion between Zack and Aerith. The conflicts that have built up—including Aerith’s internal struggle regarding Cloud—will need resolution. Advent Children (ACC) shows Zack and Aerith together in the Lifestream, setting the stage for a reunion in the Remake. The exact nature of this reunion remains speculative, but it’s likely Zack will make a significant sacrifice or grand gesture to resolve the emotional conflicts that have kept them apart.

The Climax / Declaration

Romance Structure: Declaration

Purpose: The estranged lover finally decides to take the risk and give the relationship another chance. After much internal struggle, they admit they’ve never stopped loving the protagonist, and they’re ready to move forward together. This is the emotional peak where both characters commit to each other.

Long Lost Lovers Layer: The reconciliation finally happens. After everything they’ve endured, the estranged lover acknowledges their lingering feelings and agrees to rebuild the relationship. Both characters take a leap of faith, trusting that they can overcome the past and move forward.

Example: Though speculative, if the arc follows the long lost lovers trope, Zack and Aerith will likely experience a heartfelt reunion in Part 3. Their lingering feelings would finally be acknowledged, clearing up Aerith’s complicated feelings for Cloud while reaffirming her bond with Zack. This declaration of love would also tie into the larger narrative arc, offering emotional resolution for both characters and allowing their story to move forward, especially in support of Aerith's role in the external conflict of the Planet.

The Resolution / Denouement

Romance Structure: Denouement / HEA

Purpose: The story concludes with a glimpse of the couple in their newly rekindled relationship. The emotional weight of their past has been lifted, and they are now ready to face the future together. Even if circumstances prevent a traditional “happy ending,” there is emotional closure and a sense of peace.

Long Lost Lovers Layer: After the pain, separation, and emotional struggle, the couple is finally together. The audience is left with a sense that their love will endure this time, offering a bittersweet but satisfying conclusion to their long journey.

Example: In Advent Children (ACC), we see Zack and Aerith reunited in the Lifestream, helping Cloud in his final battle. Their reunion suggests that, while they may no longer live in the physical world, their connection endures beyond death. Though bittersweet, their reunion offers emotional closure. The final installment of the Remake series will likely bring full resolution to Zack and Aerith’s arc, providing a satisfying conclusion, even if there are tragic elements along the way.

Final Thoughts: The Love Triangle is a Narrative Illusion

Cloud and Tifa’s Slow-Burn Childhood Friends to Lovers (Canon)

Cloud and Tifa’s relationship in Final Fantasy VII is a carefully crafted slow burn, rooted in a deep bond that extends back to their childhood in Nibelheim. Their connection is not built on superficial or flimsy romantic interactions but on a shared past and the quiet intimacy that grows from years of unspoken longing but is complicated by trauma.

Cloud and Tifa’s natural chemistry is driven by their subconscious desires and the deep, unspoken feelings they have for one another. For Cloud, his buried emotions instinctively reach out to Tifa, even though he isn’t fully aware of them. The narrative hides these true feelings, but subtle moments of affection and protectiveness reveal that, deep down, Cloud’s heart is already tied to hers, laying the groundwork for their eventual emotional connection.

The game’s emotional climax in the Lifestream, where Tifa helps Cloud piece together his shattered memories, is a pivotal moment in which both characters finally confront the depth of their feelings for each other. Their journey isn’t one of dramatic declarations, but rather a gradual, emotional reconnection that allows deeply held, mutual love and longing to blossom—a love that is grounded in shared history, healing, and mutual understanding and compassion.

This slow-burn romance stands as the true heart of Cloud’s emotional journey, dispelling the illusion of a love triangle and making it clear that Cloud’s deepest emotional ties are with Tifa.

Aerith and Cloud’s Unrequited Love / Not Meant to Be Semi-Canon/One-sided) (Fanon - mutual)

The dynamic between Aerith and Cloud, while often misinterpreted as romantic, is better understood through the lens of unrequited love and fate’s intervention. Aerith’s initial attraction to Cloud is undeniably influenced by his resemblance to her first love, Zack Fair.

As time goes on, Aerith tries to see Cloud for who he is, but tragically, this is not possible before her death, and her feelings remain complicated and unreciprocated. Their bond, while significant as friendship, never goes beyond that, reinforcing the fact that Aerith’s feelings for Cloud are more of an echo of her past with Zack.

Cloud's true self being in love with Tifa and Aerith’s tragic death seal the fate of their relationship as one that was never meant to be—a fleeting connection, shaped by circumstance rather than true compatibility.

The tragedy of this unfulfilled arc serves as a powerful narrative device, but it is clear that Cloud and Aerith were never destined to end up together, further dispelling the notion of a love triangle.

Zack and Aerith’s Long Lost Love / Tragic Love (Canon)

Zack and Aerith’s relationship is the quintessential tragic love story in Final Fantasy VII, defined by separation, longing, and loss. Aerith’s first love, Zack, vanishes from her life without explanation, leaving her with unanswered questions and unresolved feelings. Even as she begins to move forward, her heart never fully lets go of Zack, who is revealed to have fought valiantly to return to her—only to tragically lose his life in the process.

The tragedy of their love lies in the fact that both characters hold onto each other, but fate conspires to keep them apart, making their love story one of the most emotionally poignant elements in the game. Even in death, their connection endures, with Zack and Aerith appearing together in the Lifestream in ACC, symbolizing a love that transcends life itself. This arc, while bittersweet, resolves the narrative of Aerith’s romantic life—Zack was her true love, and Cloud was a reflection of the man she had lost, not a new love interest.

Their tragic love story dispels the myth of a love triangle in Final Fantasy VII, emphasizing that Aerith’s heart always belonged to Zack, even as she developed a bond with Cloud during her journey.

All of the relationships in the game are important. However, Cloud/Tifa & Zack/Aerith are the canon, mutual romantic relationships of Final Fantasy VII. Cloud/Aerith have a cherished friendship, but any romantic subtext of their relationship in the game is used as a vehicle to drive the conflicts and truths of the canon relationships forward. This is accomplished through illusions and subversions in storytelling, as well as creating internal conflict for the characters and canon relationships.

FFVII’s storytelling is deliberately designed to mislead the player through incomplete truths and emotional misdirection, including the use of red herrings, illusions, unreliable narration, and the omission of critical information or context. Cloud’s confused memories and persona, coupled with Aerith’s initial attraction to him based on his similarities to Zack, create the illusion of a romantic triangle, but the deeper truths—Cloud’s unresolved trauma and false identity, Tifa’s role as the keeper of Cloud’s real past and his true feelings, and Aerith’s ultimate fate as the Planet’s protector and her true love being Zack—gradually dismantle this illusionary love triangle.

I cannot stress enough that FFVII is not a love drama or soap opera where the game’s conflict centers on romantic rivalries, betrayal, deception, or morally questionable behaviors.. It’s a complex story that focuses on themes of life, loss, identity, self-discovery, legacy, and on and on.

Love - all kinds of love, including romantic, platonic, and familial - is a theme of FFVII, but truly and holistically, not for the sake of creating meaningless drama between the characters. The relationship dynamics appear messy at times in the earlier parts of the story, but these dynamics are designed to help us reach the proper conclusions about the story and the characters’ arcs, and how true love is a vehicle for reaching resolution for both.

Player’s choice is irrelevant to the plot. You cannot decide or alter the story structure or direction or individual character arcs or relationships. The most you can do is view the game through a slightly different lens by gaining an expanded understanding of character arcs and motivation with new replays.

Shipping is a fandom construct. It’s meant to be fun, and you can ship whatever you like. But shipping doesn’t intersect with the facts of a story or its narrative. Lying about any piece of media to convince yourself or others of its canonicity is bizarre behavior.

Respect the work and its intention, while having your shipping fun within your fandom. Don't embarrass yourself by saying an FF protagonist kissing the girl he’s loved since childhood and joined the army to impress means nothing, or worse, proves he the opposite of a hero.

You can ship your fanon without doing all that.

Last thing: Reunion is a primary theme of Final Fantasy VII. You may have noticed that it is also a primary theme for both of the canon romantic relationships. Personally, I believe that Part Three is going to drive this message home in a way that is unmistakable. I also believe that both lovers' reunions will be instrumental in resolving all of the conflicts of FFVII in the final game.

It’s not a coincidence that both reunions will take place in the Lifestream, or that they've been foreshadowed by the presence of the yellow flower.

I also believe that the dual Rebirth cover arts, described by Tetsuya Nomura as Sephiroth "tearing Cloud and Zack's worlds apart" are heavily foreshadowing the resolution of these relationships along with their connection to the the larger story structures of FFVII/FFVIIR.

Let's wait and see when Part 3 comes along.

[growingstories]

Golf

Once upon a time, in the vibrant world of sports, there was a football player named Andrew Thompson. He possessed immense skill and was admired by fans for his dedication and talent. Unfortunately, fate had a different plan in store for Andrew. During a fateful game, he suffered a severe injury that left him unable to continue his football career.

Devastated by the news, Andrew pondered his uncertain future. He longed for the thrill and camaraderie of the sporting world once more. As he searched for a new direction, he discovered the game of golf. Intrigued by the peacefulness it offered and its potential for success, Andrew decided to give it a shot.

To his surprise, Andrew excelled at golf. With his determination and natural athletic abilities, he quickly rose the ranks through of amateur tournaments. As his skills gained recognition, he found himself competing against some of the sport's greatest players. After each victorious tournament, he indulged in lavish parties, reveling in his newfound success.

Amidst the celebrations, Andrew soon realized that his golf clubs were becoming cumbersome to carry around. He sought a caddy to assist him during his games, and that when's he met Samuel, an experienced caddy with a knack for understanding the game. Samuel diligently carried Andrew's clubs, ensuring he had everything he needed.

However, as time went on, Andrew began to grow lazy. Intoxicated by his achievements and the care Samuel provided, he allowed himself to indulge in luxurious food and leisurely golf cart rides instead of walking the courses. His appetite grew, and so did his waistline.

Unbeknownst to Andrew, tabloids soon caught wind of his weight gain. Headlines ridiculed his physical transformation, and the public became fascinated with his downfall. Andrew's frustration grew, leading him to seek solace in food even more. The agony of his failures was momentarily eased by binge-eating, which only perpetuated his cycle of weight gain.

Through it all, Samuel remained devoted to Andrew, preparing delectable meals to satisfy his insatiable hunger. Unbeknownst to Andrew, Samuel found pleasure in their arrangement, which extended beyond the confines of their golfing routine. Their relationship became complicated, entwined with both physical satisfaction and genuine care.

Days turned into months, and Andrew's weight continued to pile on. His belly grew so large that it began interfering with his swing, rendering his ability to play golf effectively nearly impossible. Frustration consumed him, and he made the heart-wrenching decision to retire from golf altogether.

Despite his attempts to step away from the eating, the weight gain showed signs no of slowing down. Andrew's love for food, coupled with his love for Samuel, fueled his desire to consume more. Samuel, dedicated and unwavering in his support, took care of Andrew's every need, even as their encounters grew more frequent and intense.

Andrew's life gradually revolved around his desires, and his once-athletic physique disappeared beneath layers of fat. The public's interest in him waned, and he became a recluse, secluded within the confines of his extravagant home. While many criticized his choices, Samuel remained steadfast in his care, ensuring Andrew's pleasure and satisfaction were his top priorities.

Days turned into years, and Andrew's weight continued to skyrocket. Yet, despite the physical limitations and societal pressures, their love remained intact. It was a bond that surpassed societal norms, a connection that transcended.

And appearances so, with every bite, every touch, and every encounter, Andrew and Samuel continued their tumultuous journey. In their twisted world, there would be no stopping, no judgment, and no escape from the grips of their desires.

[novlr]

How can I end a chapter without it being too abrupt?

Writing a novel is like any craft. Each element contributes to the whole piece, and each chapter forms a part of your narrative with its own arc. However, creating a seamless transition between chapters can be challenging for even the best writers. The end of a chapter needs to be satisfying, yet also tantalizing to keep readers flipping the page. So, how do you end a chapter without being too abrupt?

End with a cliffhanger

Ending a chapter with an unexpected twist, a sudden revelation, or an unresolved situation that leaves readers hanging in suspense is the essence of a good cliffhanger. The key to a successful cliffhanger is to write it in a way that feels organic to your story. A well-crafted cliffhanger triggers curiosity, keeps the narrative tension high, and ensures that your readers remain invested and eager to read on.

Introduce the next point of action

Introducing the next point of action is a powerful way to maintain the pace of your story and end a chapter. It’s as simple as revealing a new character, event, or conflict that will take centre stage in the forthcoming chapter. For example, your character could receive a mysterious letter, stumble upon a secret door, or meet a stranger with riveting news. This gives your readers a clear idea about the next focus but keeps them intrigued to learn more.

Pose a question

Posing a question is a simple way to end a chapter that feels natural. The question could be literal or metaphorical. It could be a question in a character’s mind or a question about the events unfolding in the story. For instance, your character might wonder, “Who was the mysterious stranger?” or “What’s behind that secret door?” This method leaves your readers curious, sparking their imagination as they try to guess the answer. Remember, a good question doesn’t just ask — it hints at a deeper story.

Develop your characters

Concluding a chapter with character development can provide depth to your story and make your readers feel more connected to them. A character might go through a significant change or realisation. For example, your protagonist could realize they’ve been lied to their entire life, or a side character could decide to leave their past behind and start fresh. These kinds of character moments make your readers more invested in their journey.

Use Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is a narrative device that involves giving hints about what will happen next in the story. You can do this subtly by dropping minor details that hint at future events. For example, you might describe a looming storm cloud on the horizon, foreshadowing a coming conflict or problem. Alternatively, you might make a direct statement about future events. For instance, a character might say something like, “I have a bad feeling about this.” But remember, don’t give away too much. Keeping some level of mystery is important to maintain the reader’s interest.

Reveal something

A revelation at the end of a chapter can make your readers more eager to keep reading. It could involve unveiling a new piece of information about a character, story arc, or mystery that shifts the reader’s perspective. For example, a truth about a character’s past could be revealed, or the discovery of a hidden key could introduce a new mystery. Revealing something important can cause a dramatic turn in your story and can make your readers excited to find out what happens next.

Emotional closure

If you’ve had a lot of fast-paced action, then sometimes you need to give your readers a moment to breathe by letting your characters reflect on their feelings. For instance, you might end a chapter with a character solving an issue, realizing an important truth, or simply having a moment of introspection. This allows readers to connect with them emotionally, to understand their feelings, and to see their growth. Emotional closure provides a moment of calm before your readers dive into the next chapter.

Develop your theme or subtext

Developing your story’s theme or subtext at the end of a chapter might involve reinforcing the central theme of your story or introducing a new idea that adds another layer of depth. For instance, if your story is about the struggle for freedom, you could end a chapter with a character making a decision that signifies their pursuit of liberty. This not only helps readers understand the broader context and message of your story but also leaves them pondering these ideas as they move on to the next chapter.

[maomaopilled]

[tgaa spoilers]

i love all the different ways case 1-1 and case 2-5 of tgaa contrast each other.

in case 1-1 kazuma believes in ryunosuke and wants to defend him in court even if it risks his study trip which is extremely important to him. even though ryu doesn't let him be the defense lawyer he still supports ryu in court and trusts in him. ryu barely has any idea what's even going on and it's a very emotional trial for him bc he could literally be found guilty of a murder he didn't commit. he is so nervous and anxious. so kazuma really is like his rock throughout the trial. kazuma is the one he looks up to and admires, representing such lofty ideals

but then by the time we reach case 2-5 it's like everything has been flipped around.

so many revelations about kazuma come to light, his desire for revenge and his part in the assassination plot and everything else. despite all of that... ryu keeps trusting and believing in him time and time again during the trial. it's a very personal and emotional trial for kazuma and this time ryu is like his rock. ryu isn't anxious anymore he has grown so much. now he is confident and collected and he never stops going after the truth no matter what. he stops kazuma from getting blinded by his own emotions and going too far off track. and where before, ryu was the one admiring kazuma's resolve and following in his footsteps. now it's kazuma who is moved by the resolve of ryunosuke naruhodo and needs to follow in his example of upholding the truth.

and the way that ryu and kazuma were supposed to part ways after case 1-1 with kazuma leaving to go to england but they didn't because ryu went with him. there's an element of codependency there. and i get the sense that part of the reason kazuma wanted him there is because he was afraid (if afraid is the right word?) of what could happen in england and he felt like he could face anything with ryu by his side. but by the end, they part ways willingly, and it is sad but i think they both know it's for the best and it's important for them both to follow their own paths and find themselves. they trust that the distance won't weaken their bond and they will meet again. kazuma isn't afraid anymore, he's ready to face his demons on his own... and ryu is ready to forge his own path.

not just that, i find it so interesting that lord stronghart's plans brought about his own downfall. in the first case, the murder that ryu is falsely accused of is actually one half of the assassination plot. him being falsely accused and defending himself in court is what begins his whole journey of becoming a defense lawyer capable of exposing all of lord stronghart's secrets in the final case. it's that idea that the truth always comes out. stronghart's plan to silence the people who know the truth actually started a young unassuming man on the journey to exposing the entire truth.

and i also love how jigoku is the judge for the first trial and he seems so intimidating and authoritative at first, a symbol of law and order. but by the final trial, ryu is cross examining him, picking apart all his lies, demanding that he can't withhold any information no matter how important his status is. it recontextualises the first trial bc we realise that jigoku knew exactly what was going on and he was okay with ryu being charged with a murder he didn't commit as long as his own secrets were safe and his own status was secure. in the first trial, jigoku was okay with ruining a man's life for his own gain. but by the final case, that same man reveals all his crimes in front of everyone in the court room. it's just so satisfying the way everything comes around, the way the truth always comes out.

[doumadono]

(Sinful Sunday)

Karaku with lactation Kink. Y/n has just recently given birth to his baby and complain about sore chest so Karaku offers to help her by sucking them. Obviously not in front of the baby who happily sleeping

SINFUL SUNDAY

You and Karaku have embarked on a journey of exploration together — venturing into desires mutually shared and fantasies that each of you yearned to try before your paths converged fully. Now, you've discovered a comfort in exploring these facets with each other.

For Karaku, a particular desire lingered in his mind — he harbored a keen interest in tasting breast milk directly from the source. Despite the challenges you faced in conceiving, the two of you found pleasure in dry nursing. The sensations brought forth by his skillful mouth and tongue were almost orgasmic for you, and your moans, in turn, stirred a powerful response from him, making his cock hard within seconds. This intense connection often led to a swift conclusion of the nursing session, yet neither of you voiced any complaints.

Your deep care for him extended into various aspects of your time together, but the act of breastfeeding remained elusive. The moments you shared never seemed enough to satisfy the yearning for the regular, daily suckling that both of you craved.

Then, as if a miracle unfolded, you discovered you were pregnant with Karaku's child. As your pregnancy progressed, a tangible transformation occurred — your breasts grew rounder and more substantial. Karaku, captivated by this change, couldn't divert his gaze from the captivating sight before him.

Following the successful delivery of your child, a process marked by the intricacies of labor that relied solely on the benevolence of Karaku's counterparts, considering you resided with demons outside any human village, your recovery spanned several days.

Upon commencing the nursing of your newborn, a welcome revelation unfolded — luckily, you encountered no impediments with lactation. Your breasts swelled with milk, providing a nourishing source of sustenance for your unique offspring, a blend of demon and human heritage.

One evening, after Karaku gently placed the baby into a meticulously crafted wooden crib, a creation Sekido graciously assisted him in preparing for the child, he found you nestled on a futon, tears streaming down your face. Concern laced his voice as he inquired, "What's troubling you, my love?"

"My chest… I mean, my breasts, they're incredibly swollen, and it's painful," you expressed, revealing the physical discomfort you were grappling with.

In that moment, Karaku swiftly discerned a method to alleviate your discomfort while simultaneously satisfying his deep-seated desire for the nourishing milk. "I can suck them for you, if you don't mind?" he proposed.

Responding with a wry smile, you remarked, "Somehow I knew you'd suggest that; I'm not even surprised. Okay, let's give it a shot."

You gradually unveiled the nightgown that adorned your form — a thoughtful gift from Aizetsu — exposing your breasts to the gaze of your beloved.

Karaku observed them intently before delicately cupping them in his rough, clawed hands, applying a gentle squeeze that evolved into a soothing massage.

Your response was evident — a moan, a blend of pleasure tinged with a hint of pain, escaped your parted lips.

Karaku grinned, continuing his skillful manipulation, while leaning down to trace the tip of his tongue around your aureolas. Each area received the precise amount of attention, heightening the sensations coursing through you.

With your hands finding their way into his hair, you engaged in a gentle massage of his scalp, deepening the connection between you and Karaku.

Karaku shifted his focus to your left nipple, encircling the bud with his lips, creating a subtle suction while simultaneously applying a gentle squeeze to your breast. The sweet, fluid essence spilled over his tongue, eliciting a reaction from him as a low growl of anticipation escaped his lips, and a noticeable twitch in his hakama pants revealed the impact of the intimate encounter.

Karaku continued to suckle, varying the pressure and squeezes on your tender breast, immersing himself in the act as if he were an infant seeking nourishment. The audible pop that followed marked the release of your bud from his mouth. "Damn, baby, your milk is exquisite. Every part of you is delectable, from toe to head!" he exclaimed.

Amused, you giggled and playfully urged him to indulge in your other breast, a request he readily fulfilled. His lips enveloped the bud, initiating another round of sucking. Simultaneously, his hand ventured down into his hakama pants, and you bit your lower lip witnessing him palm his dick within the confines of his clothing. Occasional grunts punctuated the air, and he would intermittently nibble on your nipple, each bite gentle enough not to cause any discomfort.

"Just like that," you encouraged, your fingers gently stroking his nape. "Holy shit, it feels so good, Karaku…"

He persisted until no more milk flowed into his mouth. With a final, fervent suck, a groan escaped him, and with blush covering your cheeks, you observed the formation of a damp stain in the center of his pants — an unmistakable testament to his climax.

A moan escaped your lips as you drew him into a passionate kiss. "You've really eased my discomfort, my love," you whispered, gazing up at him with a grateful smile. "Thank you. My breasts feel so much better now."

Karaku grinned, gently pinning you down onto the futon. "Well then, let me continue having some more fun with you, my sexy mommy."

[memoriesarchived]

Hoshina Soshiro - Archive 2

TW: NSFW, Smut at the very bottom, Creampie, Pet name: "Sweet Heart", Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Ass Slapping

Prequel: Archive Open, Archive 1

Summary: Soshiro was reassured, went on on a date and ended up staying for tea

Author's note: Lowkey did not revise this, so I apologize if there's any mistake. Credit the drawing to the artist! I couldn't find who the artist was, if you know please let me know!

Five hours had passed, and all Soshiro could do was watch the news, his eyes glued to the TV.

Ringgggg Ringgg

Wonder Gorilla was calling.

Soshiro immediately picked up his phone.

“Took ya long enough” he started, not realizing how tense he had been until he felt the invisible weight lift from his chest.

“Did you get home?” he asked, his voice a mix of relief and concern.

“Just now. I was stuck in Osaka,” came the reply.

“Couldn’t ya pick up the phone earlier?” Soshiro asked, a hint of frustration in his voice.

“Ahaha… my phone died.”

Silence hung between them for a moment.

“Aren’t you a lil worried, Coconut?”

“Who wouldn’t be?” Soshiro responded, his tone softening.

“Aww, stop it, you lil’coconut head.”

“Respect your elders, broomstick head” Soshiro teased, leaning back on the bed. His eyes drifted to his reflection in the window.

“YOUR MOM.”

Beep Beep 

Soshiro laughed, picturing Yoko’s face turning bright red, her eyes squinting as she delivered the line. Yoko was the most animated person he knew, always gesticulating wildly while telling stories and pausing for dramatic effect, only to deliver the most anticlimactic lines. She loved all kinds of stories—legends, folklore, fantasy, sci-fi, and history. They had even started their own little book club, sharing interpretations and debating deeper meanings that were hidden within the text.

After being released from the hospital, the first thing Soshiro did was take a shower. There was nothing better than showering at home. Walking out with a towel around his waist, he stopped by the mirror above the sink. Water still dripped down his torso as he bent over, looking at his wet hair and feeling a profound sense of relief and joy of getting out of that damn hospital.

“I need a haircut soon.” He mumbled before grabbing his hair towel and patting his hair dry. 

Now, Soshiro found himself stuck in his room, debating what to wear. After much deliberation, he decided on a slightly oversized white linen short-sleeve button-up, folding the sleeves up a bit for a casual touch. He paired it with a random Calvin Klein boxers and stepped into a pair of khaki slacks, securing them with a matching dark brown belt.

Satisfied with his outfit, he took a moment to check his reflection in the mirror. Everything looked just right. He then grabbed his black Uniqlo shoulder bag, which was hanging by the doorway, slipped into his umber brown Birkenstocks, and snatched the Vespa's key before heading out the door.

The ride to Mie was nothing short of enchanting, blessed by perfect weather. Soshiro reveled in the breeze combing through his hair, the fresh scent of nature mingling with each breath as he navigated the winding roads of Nara. As he approached Mie, the distinct aroma of the ocean greeted him, adding a touch of magic to his journey. Then something caught his eyes, Hanako San’s Flower Shop. 

Soshiro held a bouquet of delicate white baby's breath and light pink roses, wrapped in brown paper and tied with an aquamarine bow. Holding his breath, he pressed the button on the white-painted wooden gate. Moments later, he saw a blur of brown hair rushing through the door. As the gate opened, his breath was taken away.

Yoko stood before him in a cream-colored dress with a corset-inspired bodice and an A-line skirt, the shoulder straps tied into delicate bows. Her wavy dark brown hair cascaded freely, and her pink lips glistened.. When she looked up at him with her mesmerizing teal eyes, Soshiro was struck speechless, completely losing himself in the moment and forgetting every word he had planned to say. He watched as her cheeks turned red, her eyes drifting down to the bouquet of flowers he held.

"For ya," he managed to say, his voice barely a whisper, breaking the silence between them.

"T-Thank you, they’re beautiful" she stammered, her face breaking into a smile. Soshiro handed her the flowers, their fingers brushing against each other, leaving a lingering warmth even from the brief contact. "Let me put these away before we leave," she said, turning towards the house. 

As she turned away, Soshiro noticed that the dress was backless, held together by only two strings, showcasing her smooth skin. His heart pounded in his chest, heat rushing to his cheeks. He quickly turned away, covering his mouth with his hand as his ears burned. 

He got ready and mounted the Vespa, its engine purring softly as he waited for Yoko to join him. Yoko soon emerged with the camera strapped across her body. With a gentle smile, he handed her a helmet. After he got on, she wrapped her arms around his waist. The warmth of her arms encircling his waist, her chest and face pressing close against his back, made him wonder if she could feel the rapid rhythm of his heart. 

“You smell nice” Yoko whispered, Soshiro could feel her breath on his back. “You smell like freshly laundered sheets mingled with the earthy, sweet aroma of a summer rain.” 

"Okay, descriptive author," Soshiro teased, his face flushing red from the compliment. Thankfully, Yoko couldn't see it. She responded with a playful smack on his thigh, just hard enough to sting a bit.

"This is why you can't have nice things," she retorted, a small smile playing on her lips. Soshiro caught a glimpse of it in the Vespa’s rearview mirror. 

They wound up at a quaint corner bookstore, where a tiny elderly lady sat behind the counter, her hair neatly tied in a bun. She greeted them with a warm smile as they walked in.

"Welcome in," the elderly lady said. They smiled back and bowed slightly before venturing down the aisle. Yoko was already a few steps ahead of him. She grabbed a random book and opened it.

"Yet love can move people to act in unexpected ways and overcome the most daunting obstacles with startling heroism." Yoko closed the book and glanced at the title. "A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini," she read aloud. Soshiro's gaze remained fixed on her as his fingers trailed along the spines of the books. Suddenly, he stopped, grabbed a book, and opened it.

"I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world." He closed the book and looked at the title. "The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller."

"Oh? How romantic, Mr. Coconut," Yoko chuckled, her eyes locked with Soshiro's.

"Says the one with an endless collection of romance novels," Soshiro teased, lightly smacking Yoko on the head with the book. She whined in response. "Your choice."

"The Song of Achilles, duh... but let's read A Thousand Splendid Suns after." Yoko smiles cheekily and steps closer, their faces inches apart. Soshiro could feel the warmth of her breath against his lips. In one swift motion, she pulled out another copy of The Song of Achilles from the shelf next to his head, then stepped back with a playful grin.

They both walked to the counter where the elderly lady sat. Soshiro noticed Yoko pulling out her wallet and gently blocked her path with his body. He took the novel from her hand and handed it to the elderly lady. 

"A bag, please," he requested with a smile. Yoko stood with her arms crossed and a pout on her face, waiting for Soshiro to finish up. As soon as they stepped out of the store, Soshiro noticed Yoko parting her lips to speak, but before she could say anything, he interrupted, "What kind of man would make the woman pay on a date?" 

That did the trick; Yoko's face turned bright red, her eyes darting away to look at anything but the man in front of her. It was endearing. Soshiro couldn't help but laugh. With his free hand, he found hers and intertwined their fingers. Together, they made their way to the park. 

"Do you think soulmates are real?" Yoko suddenly asked. It wasn't unusual for her to pose such questions. At the hospital, she had once asked Soshiro if he believed in mermaids, reasoning that if Kaiju existed, then surely it wouldn’t be a stretch. 

"Mmh..." Soshiro pondered, realizing he had never really considered it that way. The idea of having someone destined for you was comforting, but it also seemed to undermine the belief that you could choose your own path in life if everything was preordained. Just like how someone would be inherently “evil” or “good”. 

"I don't think so," Soshiro finally answered. "However, I do believe in fate. You're destined to meet certain people, but what you do with those encounters is up to ya."

"That's a good way to put it," Yoko responded thoughtfully. "Well, I hope that in every lifetime, we're destined to meet."

Soshiro's heart melted at her words, and he grinned back at her. "I'll be sure to find ya."

As they entered the park, Yoko slowly let go of Soshiro's hand. Behind the wooden gazebo stood a giant waterfall, its scent filling the air. He turned to look at Yoko, only to find her pointing a camera in his direction.

Click

"The view's good," she said with a smile, a blush spreading across his face. He then ushered her closer and took the camera. They took a selfie together, with him holding the camera since he was the taller one. His arm wrapped around her waist while she held the paper bag of books. Both of them grinned into the camera, the waterfall cascading in the background.

"Not as good as this one," Soshiro added, looking at the picture. “Race ya to the gazebo” 

The camera and the book were abandoned by a tree. 

Soshiro was in the lead, until Yoko decided that she was going to tackle him. The two of them ended up rolling on the grass. Twisting and turning, somehow ended up with Soshiro on top of her. Her face flushed and both of them were laughing breathlessly. His fingers laced with hers as he pinned her down.  

“Didn’t know ya liked playing dirty” 

“Everything is fair in love and war” Yoko retorted, her knee jabbed into Soshiro’s waist as she tried to push him off. 

"Oh? So this is war?" Soshiro grinned, his canine teeth peeking out. In a swift motion, Yoko slipped her wrist out of his grip and pulled him down by his shirt collar, locking their lips together. Soshiro's eyes widened, but he traced his tongue across her bottom lip before slipping it in, deepening the kiss. He felt her legs wrap around his waist as she leaned in, his hands instinctively finding their way to her hips.

Suddenly, he found himself flipped over, with Yoko on top. She grabbed both of his wrists and pinned them to the ground. Her face was flushed, a trail of saliva dripping from the corner of her reddened lips, which curved into a smirk. She reached out to touch the gazebo’s wooden pole.

"I won," Yoko announced. Soshiro stared into the teal eyes and let out a laugh. 

“Ya’d really do anything to win” 

“Perhaps” 

Soshiro had the potential to do much more, but he didn’t want to traumatize anyone who might take a stroll in the park today. They lingered for a while, enjoying the surroundings and engrossing themselves in the book they had just picked up earlier. As the weather began to cool, Soshiro decided it was time to leave before the mosquitoes appeared, likely viewing Yoko’s exposed back as an invitation for a feast.

When they arrived back at Yoko’s house, she hopped off the Vespa with a smile.

"I had fun today," Yoko said, removing her helmet but still clutching it tightly. "D-Do you want t-to stay for tea?" she stammered, her eyes cast down at the ground.

"Yea," Soshiro replied, turning off the Vespa’s engine. He wasn’t one to turn down such an invitation. Yoko handed back the helmet, and Soshiro hung it on the rearview mirror before following her into the house. Taking his shoes off at the doorway. 

The house was just as Soshiro had imagined: warm and inviting. The living room was decorated with two yellow chairs, each adorned with light green pillows, and a blue sofa accented with salmon pillows. A white and light blue carpet lay underfoot. On the shelves were pictures that he assumed were of a younger Yoko and her parents. One showed her in a kimono with her parents at a wedding, another captured her high school graduation, and yet another depicted Yoko from her preschool days.

“You were so cute, what happened?” Soshiro teased, looking back at Yoko who was about to leave the room. 

“Your mom happened” 

“Is that ya’r only comeback? Ya suck” 

“Are you going to swallow?” Yoko grinned as Soshiro’s face went red. She stuck out her tongue at him as she left the room. “I’m going to get the tea” 

Soshiro felt heat rushing down south as he had such a vivid imagination of what Yoko insinuated. He sat down on the blue couch, grabbing the pillow and putting it over his lap. Trying to slap that image out of his head. 

"Someone got comfortable real quick," Yoko teased as she returned to the room, carrying a tray with two teacups. She set the tray down on the side table next to Soshiro before taking a seat on the empty side of the couch. “My parents are overseas right now for business stuff…in case you were wondering” Yoko mumbled, if it wasn’t for the dead quiet room maybe he wouldn’t have heard it. 

Soshiro tilted his head, his eyes scanning Yoko from head to toe. He could tell she was nervous from the way her finger tapped on the edge of the teacup, her eyes fixed on her finger instead of meeting his gaze. The tips of her ears were bright red. He settled his teacup on the side table. “Can ya repeat that? I didn’t catch it,” Soshiro teased, his lips curling into a Cheshire grin.

“Repeat w-what?” Yoko stammered, lifting her eyes to meet his. Soshiro could see she was trying to hide her embarrassment with annoyance, but the flush on her cheeks betrayed her. She set her tea down on the side table and looked away, unable to hold his gaze for long. 

Soshiro gently grasped Yoko's chin, turning her face to meet his. He locked their lips together, his other hand finding its way to her waist. He pulled her into his lap, one hand cupping her face as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, while the other rested on her waist, drawing her closer. Yoko’s hand finding its way to his back. Her fingers clenching down on his linen shirt, crinkling it in her grasps as she moved into the kiss. His canine teeth biting down on her bottom lips as he rolled his hips up against hers. A soft moan escaped her mouth as she rolled her hips down onto his to match his rhythm. Just like how they fight without needing words, it seems like this was also the case here. 

Soshiro pulled away and there was a string of saliva connecting both of their lips. Yoko’s chest was heaving up and down as her face flushed. Soshiro looked down and he could clearly see that she wasn’t wearing a bra. The two little dots that poked through told him that. Her hands found their way to her skirt, lifting the material up to reveal a light purple lace panty the color complimenting her skin. There was already a drenched spot in the middle of the panty. This sent blood rushing down south for Soshiro, making him even more uncomfortable in his pants than before. Soshiro smirked as his lips found their way to Yoko’s bare neck. Biting down onto the skin, sucking onto it at his heart content. One of his hands found its way up Yoko’s thigh. Sending shivers down her spine as she felt the heat creeping in closer and closer. Her lips brush against Soshiro’s ear as she moans out softly. 

Soshiro pressed his thumb against her soaked panty, moving his thumb in a circular motion, groaning against Yoko’s skin as he wanted nothing more but to rip the fabric off her. Stripping her bare of anything in front of him, looking up at him with teary eyes and flushed cheeks. For her to whisper his name over and over again. Yoko's breath began to shorten as pleasure was spreading to her, her fingers finding its way to Soshiro’s chest. Working her hands to unbutton his shirt as fast as she can, only to be distracted by the other’s tongue on her clothed nipple. The hand that was once on her waist was now gone, finding its way to occupy her other nipple. She arched her back wantonly into the touch. Soshiro pressed his tongue flat on her nipple, then he squeezed the other nipple in between his fingers. Soshiro, being a fair man himself, took the other nipple in his mouth and switched his hand so that both sides were equally loved. His eyes never left Yoko’s face, a smirk plastered on his face as he watched her drown the room with her moans. Soshiro’s free hand brushed up against her clit. The pleasure was driving her crazy, each touch was like fueling the fire of lust. By the time Yoko was done unbuttoning all of Soshiro’s buttons, lust clouded her eyes. Moans leaving her lips as she raked up and down Soshiro’s abs and biceps. Reminding her of how the combat suit really didn’t do him justice. Soshiro retracted his lips and hand from her nipples. Leaning backward for Yoko to fully rake in the view, his skin glowed under the warm light of her living room. He himself was no better than her, eyes filled with lust as he raked in the image of the disheveled hair and how her dress’s strap was falling down her shoulders. Her smooth neck now decorated with red marks all over, the two little wet marks on her chest proved the action he did earlier. His eyes trailed down to her legs, his finger trailed up the wet liquid that was seeping down Yoko’s leg. “I swallowed,” Soshiro teased, licking his fingers clean as he stared right into Yoko’s eyes. 

Yoko whimpered at the sight, her fingers finding its way to cup Soshiro's bulge. Making the man buckled his hip. She pulled her dress over herself, revealing the flushed skin that’s begging for Soshiro to mark. Her nipples were all puffy due to the attack it endured earlier. Soshiro's hand found its way up to fondle Yoko’s breast, his thumb brushing past the nipple as he kissed down on her bare skin. His tongue flickering on the nipple as he took it in between his teeth. Raking his teeth over the already sensitive skin. This made Yoko throw her head back, hips coming down on Soshiro’s. Yoko could feel Soshiro's cock pressing up against her panties, just to imagine what it would feel like inside her was already driving her insane. Soshiro moaned as he rolled his hips back up against Yoko’s drenched pussy, his pants and her panties being drenched. He couldn’t tell if it was because of his precum or was it because of her. Perhaps it was the both of them.

“E-Enough with the t-teasing” Yoko stammered out, tugging Soshiro by the hair to pull him away from her nipples. Nevertheless, she’s still grinding down on him. Soshiro chuckled as he grabbed her chin gently, pulling her back in. His lips found its way to her, licking her bottom lips he pushed his tongue into her mouth hungrily before pulling away.

“Patience sweetheart” Soshiro whispered against Yoko’s lips before hooking his fingers around Yoko’s panties, ripping the fabric. Revealing her soaked pussy, aching to be touched. The clit was bright pink showing how well it was cared for earlier.  His other hand went to unzip his own pants, lifting his hips up while tugging down his boxer. Taking his cock into his hand and pulling it out. The tip of his cock was already bright red, precum leaking down on its side.

“The combat suit does hide it '' Yoko mumbled, making Soshiro laugh as he couldn’t help but find it endearing that she still thinks about her random questions even at times like this. “That’s huge.�� Yoko whispered, her finger tip tracing the crown of Soshiro’s cock, making his cock twitching and ripping a moan out of him. Soshiro really couldn’t help himself when he flipped Yoko over on her stomach. Her plump ass right in his face, he let his intrusive thoughts take over when he slapped the skin with his palm. Earning him a loud moan from the other, her back arched as she pushed her ass further up in the air. 

The next thing Yoko knew was that Soshiro’s fingers were prying her mouth open, which she gladly did. Swirling her tongue around his fingers, and sucking onto them like how she’d suck his cock. Only for him to withdraw the fingers a few seconds later. Soshiro himself was so hard to the point where it hurts, but he has self control. 

 Soshiro’s fingers trails down Yoko’s ass cheeks to her pussy. Slipping his index finger in first, the way that her pussy wrapped around him. The warmth, tight and wetness engulfed his finger, causing him to moan. Sending a hot sensation down to his cock at the imagination of it would feel like when he’s finally in her. He added in another finger, curling them as he tried to find the sweet spot. Earning himself a stifled moan from Yoko. Her pussy was so wet that the only sounds he could hear was the squelching of her pussy every single time he thrusted his fingers in and out mixed in with her moans. It was driving him crazy. “S-Sohiro..p-please” Yoko whined as she felt the pleasure being sent through her body. Her legs were already shaking just from his fingers. 

“Please what sweetheart?” Soshiro whispered, his chest touching her bare back as his lips grazed her ears. Without waiting for an answer, Soshiro pushed in another finger until he was knuckles deep. Curling them just at the right spot, the spot where he knew Yoko would moan out the loudest. Just as he expected Yoko sobbed into the pillow, her fingers digging into the couch’s fabric. 

“Your c-cock insid-de” Yoko breathed out shakily as she turned her face to the side. That was more than enough for Soshiro to lose it. He pulled his fingers out, grabbing Yoko by the waist and flipped her over. Grabbing her thighs, he spread her legs apart and put them over his shoulder. One hand was right by her head as the other was holding onto his cock. Rubbing the tip of his cock against her wet pussy. He took in the way her eyes were squinted close as he rubbed the tip of his cock against her clit and down to her pussy. Yoko’s hands latched onto Soshiro’s back, her nails digging into his skin, leaving a stinging feeling but Soshiro doesn’t mind it. Matter of fact, he loved it. “S-Soshiro”. 

That was all it took for Soshiro to push his cock all the way inside of her, even he himself couldn’t hold back his moan as her pussy was wrapped around his cock. “So t-tight” Soshiro moaned as he grinned his hips into her. The warmth and the wetness was overwhelming. Yoko gasped seeing white for a split second, moaning Soshiro’s name like it was a mantra. It took all of his self control to not start ramming into her. 

“How do you feel s-sweetheart?” Soshiro whispered, wanting to make sure that Yoko was comfortable before he continued. Yoko’s hand slipped up into his hair grabbing it and pulled him down into a kiss. Shoving her tongue into his mouth as she pushed her hips upward, causing Soshiro to let out a surprised moan now that they were skin deep. 

“So-o full” Yoko let out as she pulled away from the kiss for a second, before taking Soshiro’s lips back into hers. This was the green light that Soshiro needed, he started rocking his hips slowly. Picking up the tempo as he was engulfed in the pleasure. Yoko turned her face to the side as she felt something tighten in her stomach. Her hand tugged on Soshiro’s hair as her lips parted slightly. Soshiro felt the familiar feeling swelling on the tip of his cock as he slammed into Yoko, letting his moans out. His eyes never left Yoko’s face as he washes how she’s drowned in pleasure because of him. 

“Cum for me” Soshiro whispered into her ears. Yuko’s toes curled up on their own, letting out a whine as white washes over her vision. Wet liquid spraying out of her and onto Soshiro. Soshiro could only groan as his hands found their way to her hips, clenching onto them as he started ramming into her, chasing his high. Small moans left his lips as he pulled out, letting his cum squirt all over Yoko’s pink pussy. Biting onto his lips at the sight, his own chest heaving up and down as he tried to catch his breath. 

Soshiro kissed Yoko’s forehead before stumbling out of the room, trying to find a bathroom. He first cleaned himself up quickly with a wet towel. Wrapping a towel around his waist as he found two more towels, a face towel and a body towel. Soshiro wetted the face towel and twisted the water out of it. Walking back he saw that Yoko was still on the couch, catching her breath. He couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Soshiro carefully wiped her clean, wrapping her with the towel as best as he could before he carried her in his arms. 

“You’re such a gentleman,” Yoko mumbled as Soshiro ascended the stairs. She clung to him, her breath warm against his neck. “My room is the one at the end of the hallway,” she added, leaning further into his arms. “Not only big dick energy but also a big dick,” she whispered with a sly grin.

Soshiro chuckled, shaking his head as he nudged Yoko’s bedroom door open with his foot. He laid her gently on the bed, his eyes glinting with mischief. “You think you can handle it?” he teased, his voice a low, playful growl.

Yoko coughed, opening one of her eyes, and slapped him on the arm. “Never growl again,” she scolded, though a smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

“Fine, fine,” Soshiro conceded, raising his hands in mock surrender. The two broke out into laughter, their voices mingling with the night’s quiet. Yoko grabbed his arm, pulling him down next to her on the bed.

“It’s late…stay the night?” she asked, her voice softening.

“Mmh, first it was stay for tea, now it’s stay the night…if I stay any longer, I feel like ya’r going to ask me to stay forever,” Soshiro replied with his signature grin, but his eyes softened, revealing a hint of vulnerability.

Yoko rolled her eyes playfully. “And if I did? Would that be so bad?”

Soshiro's grin faded into a gentle smile as he brushed a strand of hair from her face. “Maybe not,” he murmured, leaning in closer, the warmth of their shared laughter still lingering in the air.  He pulled her close against his chest, and they both drifted to sleep, intertwined with each other.