#this is technically a spoiler but it’s a small one and from early chapters so eeeh

[felix-krain]

I am very sane and normal :D

[felonytaxevasion]

Arc 1 - Bonds

My assorted commentary on the first chapter of Pact for my mutuals who were interested in my thoughts. Testing out formatting this might be mess thank you for your patience.

As always no spoilers please thank you <333

This is technically my second time reading this but I wasn't paying attention the first time so I wanted to start over

1.1

“My children are useless,” she said. She was so dismissive and casual about it.

First of all. Icon. I absolutely love wretched old women and I love having the foresight of knowing practitioners cant lie meaning that this is presumably an objective evaluation of her children's capabilities. I'm also gonna watch out for Blake's mom and Aunt Stephanie though. They aren't included in that statement so maybe we can have an evil magic milf era. Like in Umineko. I love Umineko.

If anything I’d said had an impact, it was that. I could see the faint amusement drop away from her. “Are you accusing me of being a liar, Master Blake?”

aHA BECAUSE PRACTITIONER RULES

It was well after dark when someone stepped outside to talk to me. I closed out of the puzzle game I was playing on my phone. The brightness of the screen made for a dark patch that lingered in my vision as I looked up. Eleven-fifty at night.

This is an interesting writing choice because it's clear that a lot of time has passed but not exactly how much. Which adds mystery to the question of "was Rose planned all along or did Rose Sr. make an impulse choice after talking with Blake.

Also I really wanna know. When Rose met Ivy did her parents bring her in and talk or did they just set the baby on the bed and leave.

“Molly! Don’t be rash!” Aunt Irene admonished her. “I don’t want it,” Molly said, again. She grabbed the footboard of the bed. “No.“ “Molly, don’t be silly.”

Molly is one of the biggest reasons I don't want spoilers. Everything about her is so interesting. She was the first choice but she died very quickly. But not THAT quickly. Was Rose 2 always the plan and Molly was the sacrificial lamb to pave the way or was Molly just genuinely the best choice to become heiress. She survived for four months which is, if Pact is paced similarly to Worm, long enough to survive Leviathan, The Slaughterhouse Nine, Coil, and Echidna or whatever their equivalent in Pact land is. And that is no small feat. Like obviously I'm assuming here but I can't imagine the combined forces of Jacobs Bell were just letting her chill. I have so many questions about her and I want answers to none of them.

The blonde woman opposite him folded her hands in front of her. “That was… noteworthy in scale. Kind of her to point the way, but she was never crude. We’ll need to know what she did before we move on.”

THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE. Noteworthy in scale. Rose is not a small feat. Why are she and Blake positioned as the backup plan. Thinking so hard

“Funny thing, Maggie,” Padraic said, and when he smiled, the expression extended further than it should have. The smile too wide, the eyes too long and narrow. “When something momentous occurs, it can be the equivalent of lighting up the night sky, scattering fog and clouds to the horizons. You can see more clearly… but when you look, they can look back, too.”

Maggie and Padraic are some of my favorite characters based on vibes alone. I just know they're going to die so horribly so early on. At least Maggie.

“Mm,” the man in the throne said. “‘Lo, stranger. Listen, I don’t think you should believe what any of them say about me. If you need help, I can offer it.” “For a price,” the dog added.

Now see Johannes I would love to give you the benefit of the doubt however I know for a fact (a pact fact!) I have not seen any fanart of you making out sloppy style with Blake Thorburn and as such I find it hard to believe you are his ally. The wildbow ecosystem is too yaoi deprived to not jump on that pairing unless you're some type of fucked up.

“Run,” she said. “Get to the house, now.” “Which house? Who-” “Molly’s dead,” she said. “You’re next.”

HAI ROSE

1.2

I actually don't have much commentary on this chapter other than RIP to BlakeRose but I would happily take the deal to become a creepy bird monster. That's the ideal living situation actually.

1.3

The first sheet had only a simple message, penned in a curling script I almost envied. ‘Birth date’. I tried the year I’d been born. It didn’t work. Day, month? One-eight-oh-one.

...

“Molly!” I hollered, loud enough I should have been audible throughout the house. “Anyone!?” No response. Somewhere, in my general confusion and the mess of stuff I didn’t know or understand, I’d hoped that Molly being alive would be one of those things that caught me off guard.

Not to needle at his grieving process but I'm pretty sure the fact that it was His Birthday Not Molly's that opened the door was a pretty clear sign

I shook my head. “No clue. Something to keep in mind. After stipulations, there’s a section on stipend, with a regular allowance, notes on how often the lawyers can be called without incurring a debt. Oh, right here. A mention of the bird-skull monsters.” “What?” I could see Rose move, standing from her seat. “I’m joking,” I said, with zero humor in my voice.

I think Wildbow should do what visual novels franchises do and make a non canon crossover beach themed spinoff episode with all his characters. I want to see Blake and Lisa be cunty together

My friends were artists and artistic types. I had the unfortunate distinction of being a less than stellar artist. But I’d owed them for the help and support they’d given me, and in helping them with their jobs, I’d stumbled onto a bit of work. Setting up their work, installations, as well as all the other grunt jobs. Sure, they could go to a carpenter to get something put together in the way of a display stand, but that carpenter wouldn’t necessarily know what was at play with the art. Along the way, I’d settled into being a go-to handyman and delivery guy in the local art community. I knew the gallery owners, I knew who was who, and if I couldn’t do a job myself, I knew who to call. Not so glamorous or fancy, not exactly stellar pay, but I had stupid little skills that I could use here. In a pinch, I could use my stride or my arm length to help me figure out measurements, thirty three and a half and thirty-two and a half inches, respectively.

So fun fact I was a gallery tech assistant for about three or four years in high school and I would just like the record to state. A. Wildbow you captured the gallery tech mentality exactly. Tired, sassy, and overall filled with peculiar useful skills. 100% accuracy rate.

Also Blake please call your friends sooner rather than later. The blond gallery tech who works for cheap going suddenly missing is going to DEVASTATE that community. Blake you are a protected species under the wildlife conservation act and the human equivalent of catnip for bisexuals with an art history degree you are the foundation of that community and they are going to be CONCERNED

1.4

She looked a little agitated, nervous. “I think we can go this route. Avoid getting into the ugliest stuff, the books on demons and whatever else. If witch hunters and inquisitors can survive this sort of thing, maybe we can too.” “Borrowing power instead of using it?”

I'm trying to figure out if Rose II is in on it. Because like. She should be right? But then she says things like this that make it sound like she really is just as lost as Blake

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of attached to you, metaphysically. You die, I’m going to be a goner too.” “You think. Either way, I’m the one who got injured,” I said. “I’m the one who has stitches in my hand and a cut on my face.” “At least you’re alive,” she retorted.

They've so immediately become siblings.

Which by the way. If Blake and Rose are fucked up twins of a sort. I have questions about Paige and Peter. Especially seeing as Paige is considered a non starter for Rose Senior

“In this scenario, we’ve got a situation involving a number of countries. If you will, there’s America. I’m rather interested in America for the purpose of this discussion, but that’s just me. Powerful, perhaps overly proud, large, keepers of the peace.” I glanced at his uniform. “Sure.”

Close enough. Welcome Back Victoria Dallon!!

1.5

“It smells like a rose,” a man announced, “It’s as beautiful as a rose. I dare say it’s as fragile as a rose, once you get past the thorns. But is it really our Rose?” I turned. Three twenty-somethings, if I went by appearances, were approaching me from behind. I might have been off. Each had alcohol in brown bags.

I want to be one of them so bad. I want to join the fucked up Fairie gang.

“No,” I said. I grabbed one of the books from the coffee table. “Anger is good.” “Good?” “It keeps us moving. You read the book on implements, I’ll read up on familiars when I’m done Essentials.”

True gallery tech mindset <3

1.6

“Blake!” Rose’s voice, from the living room. “You have to help him!”

This is one of those passages that makes me think Rosie is in on it. You've read more than Blake how has this being an other trap not occurred to you

1.7

Should another practitioner need to bait him again, know that this author used: a pile of festering boar carcasses, six feet high, each carved with his name when well into their state of decay, the decay timed using refrigeration to be roughly parallel; seven jars of burning hair, resupplied keep the flames perpetually alight

Yea who hasn't been here at one point

“To everyone and everything that’s listening,” I said. I heard Rose start speaking behind me, but my words drowned hers out. “To me, and to nobody in particular, I’ve gotta say, I didn’t choose this. I’m doing this for family, to respect them as they were in the past, when my cousins were also my friends, so the others don’t face what Molly did. I’m doing it to respect stuff in the present, because even if I dislike my cousins, I don’t want them to have to face this situation and get killed off. I’m doing this for the family that comes in the future, so my kids and all our descendants don’t have this debt hanging over our heads. Above all, I think I’m doing this for my real family. For the friends I made who gave me support when I needed it most, so I can demonstrate what they taught me. Past, present, future, and… more abstract.”

Guy who can only hate his family this much because of how much he loves them Augh Augh

I could hear Rose behind me, still talking, as if she were very distant. “-than a vestige.”

SUSPICIOUS

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, quiet, “because it’s not blood. I’m not offering anything worth taking, and there aren’t any spirits here to listen and obey, are there?” “There are other options, maybe?” “It doesn’t matter,” she said, again. “I don’t care anymore.”

But then this is the opposite of suspicious because she can't lie but she's saying it didn't work and she wants to give up hhhhhhh Rose you are so slippery to understand

Gathered Pages

I didn't highlight any particular passages but Rose Senior I love youuuuuuuu

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Every Little Thing *He* Does is Magic, Chapter 2

Pairing: Platonic Steven Grant x Reader (for now)

Rating: T

Word count: ~800

Story Summary: The events of Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, retold from Reader's perspective after the fact to her best friend.

Tags/Warnings: Companion fic, canon Divergent since Steven still works for the British Museum post-canon, No Jake Lockley, developing friendship, spoilers for ELTSDiM

A/N: Double update since this one is so short! Proceed to chapter 3. 😉

“...So how did the rest of your first week go?”

Y/N smiled as she FaceTimed with Amy while making herself dinner the following Friday night. “It went well! Most of it was reading paperwork and meeting various benefactors and trustees, but my meeting with the Curatorial staff today was really productive. The Egyptian exhibit should only be closed for a few days at most to install the new artifacts.”

She paused to take a sip of water. “Steven made a great suggestion to bring some vases up from storage to spruce up the Ancient Greek collection, which can literally be done overnight, so we'll be updating that area as well.”

Amy grinned. “ Steven did, huh?”

Y/N nodded, ignoring Amy’s suggestive tone. “He also had a lot of really great, out-of-the-box ideas on how to improve the tours and said he could have a sample tour based on those ideas to show me by Monday morning.” 

“Oh that's great! I know you were hoping to have the tours redone before those new artifacts are in place.”

Y/N nodded. “Yeah, but I felt bad because I probably shouldn't have had Steven do any VES-related tasks until he officially started on Monday even though he signed the paperwork today. After he and I wrapped up our solo meeting he mentioned needing to get back down to the gift shop since he was technically still employed as a clerk until Sunday.”

Amy winced. “Oh oof, yeah, I'm sure that's an entirely different pay grade, although from what you’ve said it seemed like he didn’t actually mind doing tasks for his new position early.”

Y/N shook her head. “That’s what I thought too, but then he clarified that it was only because he knew I was busy and he didn't want to bother me by… how did he put it? Oh yeah, ‘hovering’.”

“Oh, okay, good. That was really considerate of him.”

Y/N nodded, a small smile forming on her face at the memory. “Yeah, he definitely seems like he's a really caring person. I told him he wasn't bothering me and that after staring at a mountain of paperwork and meeting a bunch of people with tangential connection to the museum it was nice to be able to actually talk to someone on staff.”

Amy winked. “Specifically him though, right?”

Y/N huffed out a laugh. “I have to admit, it definitely didn't hurt that it was him. Anyway, he asked me how I was settling in and I said that the staff had all been really welcoming for the most part and that I wasn't sure how I was going to be received since I'm not British, and then he said that it didn't matter where I was from, that my qualifications spoke for themselves.”

Amy raised an eyebrow, her lips turning up in a smile. “So basically everything I said when you were freaking out about everyone hating you.”

Y/N huffed out a breath, a smile on her own face. “Yeah, yeah, you were right. He really did have to get back downstairs after that though because I had a phone call I had to take.”

“So do you think everything is going to work out?”

Y/N nodded. “Everyone seems on board with the changes I'm making so far, and I really do think Steven’ll make a great Visitor Engagement Specialist -- he’s incredibly knowledgeable and observant.”

“And hot,” Amy added with a smirk. “And exactly your type.” 

Y/N’s face heated. As much as she’d tried over the past week, she couldn't completely ignore her attraction to Steven. “Maybe, but that has nothing to do with my belief in his ability to do his job or why I promoted him in the first place.” 

Amy let out a light laugh. “I know, I'm just teasing you.”

“Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing his ideas for the new tours in action.” Y/N paused. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, in addition to the Egyptian artifacts on loan from Cairo, we just had a donation of first editions of several classic British novels come in.”

Amy’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, now you're speaking my language.”

Y/N grinned. “I thought you'd be interested in that. I'll send you some pics once we get them authenticated and the display is set up.”

“Please do.”

Y/N nodded as she turned off her stove. “I should run, my dinner is ready. I'll talk to you later though, ‘kay?”

Amy nodded. “Okay, talk to you later.”

“‘Night, Ames.”

“‘Night!”

Y/N ended the call then plated her food.

As she sat down to eat, her mind drifted to Steven. His ideas for revamping the tours really were great and Y/N was excited to see them in practice.  I can't wait until Monday.

[chameleonspell]

HTDC commentary - 4: falling

[Looking back at HTDC after nearly ten years: comments on lore, character notes, influences, art, whatever. May contain spoilers for later chapters.]

chapter text: 4: falling

These early chapters tend to be short and jump forward in time lot, because I was just skipping to the next turning point, and Iriel isn't spending enough time with other people for there to be much interesting going on between. Especially now, because he's gonna be unconscious for a lot of it.

Much later, certain people would gravely refer to this period of Iriel’s life as one during which he “lost himself”

I had no idea who was supposed to have told Iriel this, later, and I still can't think who would be a plausible candidate. I said this purely for rhetorical effect. I feel like this makes me an unreliable narrator of my own story, though I'm not sure that's technically possible.

His conscious mind, cast adrift on an overwhelming ocean of sensation, became reduced to scattered thoughts and isolated impressions.

Seems like Ire was tripping on nature, before he was even tripping on sugar. I probably should have been less dreamily effusive, here, and saved it for the on-drugs bit, but I just really love the Bitter Cost! You don't need drugs to appreciate the Swamp! Despite the apparent similarities of the Pit being Iriel's shame and depression, Iriel being in the swamp was never at all the same metaphor, though it took until chapter 153 for me to really explicate this properly. Being in the swamp is mostly positive, if soggy. The swamp is comforting and accepting. The swamp doesn't judge.

The spongey texture of the luminous mushrooms he collected obsessively, and the ssschlucking sound they made when he yanked them out of the damp soil to lay them out in order of size and colour on the moss.

I got really into mushrooms (as organism, not drug!) after I wrote Iriel an obsession with them. Be very careful what interests you give fictional characters, because if you identify with them too hard, it's very easy to catch it off them.

All Ire knew was that he had found two small cloth bags of crystalline white powder underneath a crate on a small jetty, and that when he put a finger in and licked it, everything got better.

The story started with a concept and a shape, but no detail - that mostly came out of gameplay, at the start. The moon sugar was a happy accident, finding the bags in a random smuggler loot sack, and realising...  why wouldn't he?

Moon sugar is described as a numbing and euphoria-inducing drug, similar to an opiate. It's also the soft option, compared to its more refined form, skooma, so Iriel's still in the narcotics kiddie-pool, really. That said, we also know these drugs affect TES races differently, with men and mer being affected far more strongly than Khajiit. And we know that Altmer specifically are more sensitive to magic (for better and worse) than other races. Thus, Iriel is having quite an extreme reaction.

he found himself falling: into the glowing colours, into the soft, yielding swamp, and not caring, because when he spat mud and rolled over onto his back, he found himself falling into the sky.

The whole "sad elves falling in swamps" thing is, I admit, a private joke. Because someone once (somehow, unaccountably) found my website by googling for the string "sexy women falling in swamps", and when I saw it in the search referrals, I laughed about it for days.

The night skies of Morrowind are stunningly beautiful, viewed sober. Moon sugar rendered them a religious experience.

Morrowind skies being best skies is just facts. @valtheimm illustrated this scene beautifully:

If I say that he spent long hours lying in the mud, staring at the fractal patterns at the end of fern fronds, I’m sure you can fill in the rest for yourselves. Let’s skip to the end.

I guess I wasn't too consistent with the first person narration, but the narrator was there from the start! It just fell into the background, when other things were happening, or the scene didn't want that sort of external comment, only to re-emerge later, and make people question me about where it came from.

Who is the narrator? Me, just me, the author. Nothing complicated. I was used to books where that kind of thing is common, as a random interjection. I was reading a George Eliot book at the time, and she's always interrupting the action to discuss her characters in first person. It creates a sense of ironic distance, so you don't want to have it all the time, usually you want to be right there in the characters emotions. Other times, you want to add that distance, and deliberately get out of the character's head.

Here, we are watching Iriel flopping about the swamp from a distance, because he's out of his mind, so we are, too. We can go back closer when he returns to himself, try and feel the shock of that with him as much as we can.

Where he came from, the gods were not thought to actively involve themselves in the lives of their worshippers. This was part of what made them so admirable.

TES sets up a whole lot of metaphysical binaries, but the key one is Anu and Padomay, which for our purposes means stasis and change. This comes in a lot more later, but that bog body metaphor is already looking a bit prescient, innit? Here, we can just note that Iriel's home gods are the Aedra, which are Anuic, and therefore both unchanging and incapable of intervening or causing change themselves. Iriel thinks that in Morrowind, where other gods apply, things might be different.

Lying back down and dying was tempting, but Ire hadn’t survived this long by letting that part of his brain have its way.

Iriel is physically unimposing, cries easily and doesn't exactly tick many boxes on the socially-mandated "ideal masculinity" chart. He's scared of everything, because many things have hurt him, and life hasn't equipped him with many tools to defend himself. Does that make him "a weak person", as he himself believes? Or is he strong, for surviving, despite the odds stacked against him, for persisting regardless? What does it mean to be weak or strong, and is weakness even a bad thing? Questions I kept on coming back to, throughout the story.

Iriel is far from morally perfect, and sometimes does selfish things, especially while he's addicted to drugs. There wouldn't be much of a story, if he didn't make a total mess of his life, and have to try and clean it up. But he is strong, in lots of ways, and he will manage to be a hero, in lots of ways. Making him "an effeminate gay stereotype" was very deliberate. Because sure, that's a stereotype, but not for the hero. It's for villains and cheap-laugh side characters, where it gets laced with a lot of other homophobic tropes. Queer heroes, where they exist, tend to be indistinguishable from straight characters, beyond their sexuality - and that's nothing like the real people I know, it's nothing like me or my friends! Femme gay men exist, and are wonderful and diverse and incredibly powerful, actually.

Real-life queer people can't be stereotypes by definition, instead they have to constantly live with how their personal expression is interpreted and policed and refracted into cheap stereotypes by the dominant culture, stereotypes which are then used against them. I wanted to write a character going through that experience, that negotation of an imposed stereotype that has some truth to it, albeit in ways that the people using it against you don't understand. To be up-front about this: I'm queer, but I'm not a gay man, so I was always aware of the danger that I might misjudge something, and screw up. I tried to keep Iriel's specifically gay aspects as grounded as I could in non-fictional people I knew, or had read things by. In the case of real-life friends, I pray I changed enough details on any embarrassing anecdotes I stole that they can't recognise themselves here, and get mad at me.

Iriel set out in search of structure.

The moon sugar was extremely useful, narratively speaking. See, the wonderful thing about an addiction to hard drugs -- this sounds like I'm being facetious, but I've heard heroin addicts say exactly this -- is that it gives you something to do, when your life has no meaning. It forces action. You can't just lie face-down in the swamp forever. You have to go out, and get money, and get drugs. Which forces you, especially if the money part is challenging, into situations.

Playlist pick: Sparklehorse - Spirit Ditch. This is a song to lie in a swamp and get high to. By Mark Linkous, another junkie. Died by suicide in 2010. You always hope when someone writes songs that sad, that it means they have some kind of… answer. A different one, I mean.

next: 5: slide & 6: trap previous: 3: breathe

[canonical-transformation]

Genshin ships: stock market update (Fontaine Act 3–4)

(Warning: May contain spoilers for character appearances and dynamics in [Chapter 4 Act 3–4] To the Stars Shining in the Depths and Cataclysm's Quickening. Previously: Act 1)

The Fontainian market is gaining liquidity as of early v4.1. Volatility has settled for Fontainian blue-chips Neuvechi and Clorivia(*), with the expectation of steady returns. Our recommendation: BUY/HOLD

Wriothesley/Neuvillette is expected to join the blue-chips, though the market is yet to come to a consensus here. BUY

Wriothesley/Traveller is, like most Traveller ships, a safe bet. HOLD

Unexpected reports of shy Lyney moments have caused modest gains in Lyney/Traveller. BUY OR HOLD

Likewise, Lynette/Traveller is having a very delayed boom thanks to additional solo interaction. ("Almost half a minute's worth," claimed one report.) HOLD OR BUY

Arlecchino/Furina is in the prototype phase. The extremely imbalanced power dynamic makes this somewhat contentious. Our analysts' conclusions include: "The Knave totally would" and "The Knave totally wouldn't" and "You're both wrong". Analysts all agree that Furina's opinion is irrelevant here. BUY OR SELL OR HOLD we have no idea, consult your financial advisor.

Rarepairs

The small-cap market, aka "rarepairs", is hard to predict as always.

Marette/Madeleine — SELL OR HOLD. Our analysts want it to be a thing but note that Marette really is 100% idgaf about everything.

Cuistot/Laverune — BUY OR HOLD duh.

Jurieu/Lourvine — unconvincing. If anything, they're exes, with a full lovers-to-enemies offscreen. SELL. Well, unless you specifically mean smut, in which case BUY.

Wriothesley/Clorinde has good camaraderie but market testing warns it lacks sufficient chemistry. HOLD.

(If going long anyway, make sure to hedge with some platonic content involving "dorky colleagues" and "tea parties". Include Siegwinne where applicable.)

Wriothesley/Ningguang — a weak BUY, appropriately diversified.

This one has legs. Two pairs, even. Our analysts note that "nobody, repeat, nobody, is going to write an epistolary macroeconomics treatise + romance fic for those two. Yes, it's technically possible, but no way." Our analysts are cowards.

(Also, I'm calling it, those two are bait for the Glowfic community, don't @ me)

Furina/Lynette — oh, because they both find stray cats heartwarming? Sure, why not. HOLD

simultaneous Lyney/Traveller + Traveller/Lynette — SELL, good fundamentals but overvalued at current prices.

Returns contingent on suspending disbelief of the twins risking their relationship over a shared crush. Not to mention Traveller spent most of Act 3 half-expecting those two to stab them in the back :(

Charlotte/truth — abstract concept ships are inherently crackships, and rarely meet revenue projections. Still, this one is absolutely true, and continually supported every time she appears on screen, so HOLD

Arlelumi — Latest reports suggest something major is in the works, but what exactly remains to be seen. HOLD OR BUY

Siegwinne/gun — !??!?!??!??!? BUY BUY BUY but in moderation BUY BUY BUY

no but seriously I'd give even odds she beats Clorinde in a pistol duel

-----

And, unrelated to the AQ:

Chevreuse — Who?

Jakob/Alain and Jakob/Rene — BUY. May take years to find a target audience but the essentials are there.

Lyris/Egeria — YOU DO YOU. wait was that a pun

(*) Clorivia paid out a small but unexpected dividend. Our analysts remind readers not to expect any serious focus on the pairing in Act 5.

Future returns may differ from past returns. This column is not financial advice. Consult a financial shipping advisor about what ships are appropriate for your situation.

[miztrixx]

KIMI GA SHINE - THE MASTER ANALYSIS - Chapter 1-1: Prologue (SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE GAME)

So, after some deliberation, I’ve decided to do a daily blog thing where I play through the entirety of YTTD, go through every route and scene and also watch through the minisodes before then doing an analysis of everything within it…

What better place to start than the beginning, eh?

We begin the game off with an ominous silhouette asking us one simple question. “Do you know what a majority vote is?”. At the beginning of the game when there is barely any context, this scene serves as a helpful way to introduce the core concept of majority votes to us. Our friend, Shadow the Beaniehog over here gives us a simple demo of a majority vote with two options that are, ironically, positions regarding majority votes. There is not much to say about the dichotomy between Mr. Blue and Ms. Red in this scene other that they represent compliance and defiance to majority votes. Whoever we choose, the other one dies which foreshadows the concept of the Main Game very early on. A majority vote to choose who is killed. Compliance and defiance to majority votes are things we will discuss in other scenes, because they are themes that become important.

Beyond the apparent stuff we can glean from this scene, we can also analyse it from our present point of view in hindsight. This scene at the very beginning is meant to make you distrust the character we come to know as “Sou Hiyori” (the name taken on by the body of Shin Tsukimi) it makes you suspicious and wary of him from the get go and makes you primed for his betrayal and “nice persona” to fall. When in reality, this scene is being conveyed to Shin himself. Beyond this scene being just an introduction, we are literally seeing how the fear of death was being injected into Shin like poison, forcing him to take the “Sou Hiyori” persona and becoming the catalyst for 2/3 of the game’s conflict. This is also, technically, the first time we get to see Midori (or atleast a warped yet accurate perception of him, I’ll elaborate more when we actually get to Shin reflecting on this in 2-2). The shadow teasing and mocking the player is also such a good use of subverting expectations. It makes us think that Shin/Sou is going to be a prick (which he is, don’t get me wrong) but also, the reality is that Shin is the one that the shadow is mocking in a malicious tone, cornering him into a situation he can’t get out of.

It’s interesting how the first scene of the game we see ends up being about Shin when he’s not even protagonist. I’d say that our actual protagonist, Sara and Shin are both equally important and crucial to the story. But speaking of Sara…

Our next scene (or less of a scene, more of a 10 second moment) features the main girl, Sara Chidouin! This scene is another one meant to sow suspicion and distrust within us (even though it’s not aimed at anyone in particular) as two long arms reach out seemingly about to grab Sara. You can make various assumptions from this, that these arms belong to the kidnappers and this is the scene where Sara is being kidnapped to the Death Game, but it’s be wrong. With the benefit of hindsight, we know that this is Keiji reuniting with Sara during the Banquet after Ranmaru locked him in the lockers. It’s a small sliver of content that hints at the dynamic between Sara and Keiji, one of the most important dynamics in the game coming just before Sara and Joe’s dynamic and Sara and Shin/Sou’s dynamic. Again, a scene that comes off as frightening ends up being a moment of reunion and confidence.

These two scenes do help illustrate one of (what I see as) the themes of the game. Of trusting those who are in the same situation as you, as trying to connect with your fellow human beings. These scenes try to sow distrust but end up being subvertations from the truth (Shin’s real persona being masked by a defence of malice, Keiji being a supportive person to Sara despite what he does at the beginning of the game)

Let me know if you have any criticisms, or disagree with what I’m saying!

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Cuties on scooties can only mean one thing. I’ve finally finished Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. Like it matters but I feel like it’s relevant because I started it at the suggestion of a fellow Kiku fan who rightly identified it as something that fits well within that Tsuru’s Teahouse/Bagdad Cafe vibe. Let me set the stage though, and people familiar will get right away why this resonates so much.

Around 2004, I was 14 growing up in a rural town in the States. A rocky adolescence, a town that was growing in the aftermath of a big natural disaster five years prior, and a legitimately rapidly changing world. Really big time for me, and it was the first time I was seeking out anime to help me cope with issues it was hard to talk about. Because of local law, I was also now legally able to operate a small scooter with a new learner’s permit. Being a trustworthy, charming young lady people knew because of my dad...I spent a lot of time either watching obscure anime or cruising around country highways and parts of town I never knew of. All while an old world quietly gave it’s last bow. If you play a classic song like Dream a Little Dream of Me or Girl from Ipanema this is actually the time period I think back to. Because there was a little mini-renaissance of that era as it’s names finally faded away.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou bottled those complex emotions into 140 chapters and reflected them back to me in one of the most compelling and unique stories I’ve ever consumed. I cried as much as I have at anything but walked away from an apocalyptic series oddly hopeful for the future. Living “after the fall” doesn’t have to be all bad. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an artist better understand the idea less is more. Spoilers ahead, not that they really matter for a story like this.

This is from the finale, and I love that we never really say what it’s about before then. You get the idea roughly and that’s a big point. We never really explain a lot of elements. This is deliberate. Humanity faced some kind of disaster and is slowly fading out as the climate shifts. It doesn’t have the heavy-handed or grim outlook on this a lot of 90s Japanese works reflecting growing environmental consciousness have. It’s...melancholic. There’s this motif of changes in plant life to mirror remnants of humanity. Love it. 

Story focuses on robot girls built to be the observers, the memory of that “festival” winding down. A lot of time passes in this story. About 20-25 years. But it hits you just like it does in reality. The old man at the gas station looks a little older. Then well, he’s gone. My favorite is how we focus on two children we meet at the start. This might be one of the most impactful manga character arcs I’ve encountered and it barely has any substance. It’s just the weird effect YKK has. It’s spellbinding.

The dark-haired girls are mother & daughter early and late series to give you an idea of the scope. The nude lady is the Misago. Technically an earlier-model robot than MC Alpha and her girlfriend Kokone. Functionally a cryptid that only appears to kids. The boy always hoping he could see the Misago one last time resonates so much. Bummed out she didn’t trust him anymore. Never been one to idolize being young, but it makes me think of like...the unfinished project with a childhood friend. That feeling is all around but past a certain point we just can’t interact with it the same way. “You can never go back.” 

I’m going to have to re-read this one in about a year. But I already know it’s a top 10. I’ve never seen anything like it, and the art is just gorgeous. Stuff like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is exactly why I trawl around for obscure anime & manga.

[endless-sketching]

Another Painoko rambling. (Spoilers)

So as I'm rereading this manga, I'm at the part where Ryuji and Makoto are dating now. What I didn't realize that they don't explore the facet of what a gay dude and a pre transition trans girl.

Like they just don't do any of that kind of questioning at all!

The main reason why they broke up was a misunderstanding and a lot of unspoken grudges and implications.

I guess that's why I still chew on this manga's way of telling but at the same time it's kind of infuriating from a trans perspective.

They legitimately have the perfect set up to ask these kinds of questions.

The point I'm at in the story is the Christmas arc, before Ryuji buys a gift for Makoto.

And I remember that Saki (Aoi btw, I found out that Aoi is her last name) got really sad that her dad had to cancel plans and leave early only to find someone resembling her mom as she wanders the street and chases after only to trip and unable to fully process everything, just to find Makoto and cry in her arms. And Ryuji saw.

Which is what I remember is why Ryuji broke up with Makoto later on, but wow what a bullshit way to break them up!

He knows a small semblance of Saki's current situation and he's considered an emotionally intelligent dude, hell he calls out Saki multiple times. Even if she's not a hard case to crack he sees through her facade.

Granted I guess all she did tell him was about a love life where they both fall out of love with Makoto and asks if he's willing to go out with her, as a hypothetical. Which is the only insight he has on Saki's headspace.

So I guesss this kind of assumption isn't too far fetched to see your SO hugging someone that confessed to them and be heartbroken.

And there is Makoto being rather desperate on wanting things to go back, with how her life has been wanting to revert problems that were never there if she had kept a better secret.

And this does significantly matter in a relationship, since it's not really dating if one of you just wants to make amends after accidentally rejecting the other.

So I guess them making up later and the other two actually going out at the end does technically work out.

Though they very well could've made Ryuji a Bi icon by saying he likes both versions of Makoto -3-

But it's just a weird technicality that it doesn't feel satisfying does it?

A panel taken from Senpai wa Otokonoko chapter 43 by Pomu

So yeah it's getting late, I'll come back to report more on Painoko if I got more to talk about :p

[toukatan]

You read every gojohime fic???? That's amazing!!! What are your favourites?

hello anonie! i guess i can say i’ve read at least a good 80% of all the fics, at least. probably. most likely because the fic tag at the start of the year was tiny and now the community’s grown so much there’s almost 600 of them. that’s insane to me. like hello?

i have a lotta fics that come to mind, that i should honestly make a master post on because i love them all. so here are a few many that came to mind immediately as i typed this up.

gojohime fic recommendations!

multichapter

limitations by ohmytheon 

“Parenthood chooses you," her mother used to tell her, but Utahime never understood that saying more than the moment she realized she was pregnant with Gojo Satoru's child. They were never meant to be something serious - never meant to be more than they were - and yet they both suddenly find themselves in a world that doesn't care about their desires - and that brings them closer in a way that no one else can understand. It won't be easy and it won't be kind to either of them, but it appears as if the universe has other plans for them

no one is what they were before by ohmytheon 

The world broke when Gojo Satoru turned on jujutsu society. It's not the hopeful place it was before, but Utahime has never been one to give up. Until she's placed in a dangerous position directly in his path, and she finds herself trapped in a web that doesn't seem intent on ever letting her go.

and touch me like you never by ohmytheon 

In public, Gojo is a special grade bastard, especially to Utahime, and has been all their lives. He knows exactly what insults to throw and what buttons to push to drive her up a wall. In private, however, he's got quite a few other things to tell and show her, which only makes things more confusing. It would be easier if she could avoid him entirely, but for some reason, he won't let her go entirely.

gravity by aerfei

This is Utahime, fierce and indomitable, and this is Satoru, who despite holding the world’s regard, still craves something that Utahime has had all her life. Coming together is sometimes an act of desperation, and sometimes a deliberate choice. Or: An Iori Utahime character study, through the lens of her relationship with Gojo Satoru, starting from the beginning and ending at the Goodwill Event arc. Manga spoilers and (at least 95%) canon-compliant through (at least) chapter 135.

count every single leaf in autumn by florieneofthesea

“I told my family we’re dating.” Utahime’s hand hovers over the door. “What?!” (or: Gojo tells his family that he's dating Utahime to get them off his back, so of course they invite her to the dreaded family dinner™)

favourite colour by otherthingsonhold

At 28, Satoru Gojo's responsibilities only start to multiply. With his clan looking to him to lead the family, and the balance of the universe in his hands, Gojo isn't thinking of much else. But when his mother brings something to his attention, the only thing Gojo can do is follow through. But how is Utahime Iori part of all of this?

gojo catoru by ashittywriter

Utahime is tasked to catsit a suspiciously large Persian dollface cat with pristine white hair, the most boop-able nose, and to top it off the cutest cerulean eyes. Too bad the cat also happens to be her idiotic colleague Gojo Satoru.

at the tail-end of spring by florieneofthesea

Utahime doesn't expect to remember her ex's number off by heart but it comes in handy when she's a little less than sober outside a club in a city she's not familiar with and her battery on three percent. She just wishes things turned out differently for them. (Or, post-break up exploration where outer forces refuse to let them have their happy ending.)

a second chance by onewordmore

In another world, it wasn't Geto who sneered down at humanity, regarding them to be worthless monkeys that deserved to die. In another world, it wasn't Geto who openly defied the Jujutsu Council and brought down terror and fear to all. In another world, it wasn't just Amanai Riko who died that day, amidst the cheers and delighted cries of the insane. And Utahime was going to learn, first hand, the consequences of her own death.

from you to me by onewordmore

A drabble series regarding Gojo and Utahime. From fluff to smut to angst to love. This is going to have it all.

oneshots

oceansize by aerfei

The marriage is arranged by their families, small clans both, with all their hopes and traditions laid gently upon the shoulders of their only heirs -- and yet, this distance is impassable.

under the cover of darkness by ohmytheon

It takes a little alcohol, early morning hours, and a game of truth or dare for Gojo and Utahime to admit some difficult truths to each other.

risk/reward by ohmytheon 

No punishment had ever been more effective in making Gojo do his actual job than receiving praise from his secretary - or more grueling than when Utahime withheld it.

like a good roommate by ohmytheon

Utahime has a problem: her bed wasn't delivered to the new apartment. Her ridiculous roommate, Gojo, has a solution - but he's kind of panicking on the inside.

aware of us by halspur 

“We did alright, didn’t we?” Gojo put his phone down after taking several dozen photos of Tsumiki walking across the stage, his eyes soft. “I mean, we were just kids, too.”

love song by halspur

“Because you’re weak.” Gojo said, muffled into the thin skin of her throat. “I can’t leave you alone.”

tear you apart by halspur

“I don’t want to be mean to you,” Utahime’s cheek was pressed into his spine, her voice muffled. “I like you.”

cuddles are for clean boyfriends by just_trying_my_best_everyday

Utahime finds Gojo Satoru sitting right behind the door, blindfold hanging on his neck, completely soaked in blood and petting her cat with both hands. And he stinks.

honey by florieneofthesea

Gojo Satoru experiences love a decade before he fully realises it.

roots by florieneofthesea 

At the start of winter, Utahime starts to cough up blood. She thinks maybe its just the lingering damage from her last mission, but the coughing persists and it starts to scratch her throat, and itch at her lungs and when she finally makes the trip to Tokyo to ask Shoko for her help, she doesn't even get the first word out. Shoko welcomes her at the entrance to Tokyo Metropolitan Technical School and Utahime hacks up a single, pale blue petal, smattered with blood. She stares down at the flora on the ground and wonders if she's been cursed. Utahime looks up, and Shoko's eyes are wide.

to have and to hold by ashittywriter

“M’sorry," Gojo said his voice slurring at the end. "But please go away, I have a girlfriend." Utahime blinked in confusion. What the fuck? 

souvenir by PrettyKittyLuvsU

“Aha!” Gojo tugged something out of his pocket, his long fingers curled around it as he held his hand behind his back. His other hand waved before him, a cheeky grin splitting his lips. “Ora, ora! Hold out your hand.” Utahime stared flatly. “Ora, ora!” Gojo persisted, continuing to wave his hand as he grinned. “Hold out your hand already!” Utahime scowled at the hand swaying infront of her face. She had half a mind to slap the man instead, but her students were closely watching. Even Gojo’s students, the second years mainly—for Sukuna’s vessel was apologizing profusely as the brown haired girl continued kicking him while the quiet one made no effort to stop her— looked in fascination at whatever ridiculous souvenir Gojo wanted to hand her. Utahime slowly lifted her arm, already planning on throwing the thing back in Gojo’s annoying face. Gojo gets Utahime a very special kind of souvenir. Set during the start of the Goodwill arc.

dayum this exposes me huh? i do be reading a lot but what can i say i love to see it. all these fics are amazing, to the writers y’all are doing fantastically like my goodness you be really putting ya girl in a loop with some of these fics with your plot-lines and doing it flawlessly. can’t thank them enough for them, their hard work and time!

be sure to show the writers some love and support with comments, bookmarks and fight that dayum kudos button when it smiles at you because lemme leave more—

i think they’d really really appreciate it when they hear the bing and be sure to check out all of their stories including the ones in the pairing tag! happy readings 😙✨

[heliopauseentertainments]

3, 4, and 9 for Reforged!

Reblog if you are a fanfiction author and would like your readers to put one of your fic titles in your ask + questions about it

Gave me a hard one to answer right away, lol. I'm going to go with favorite bits, etc. from what is already posted to avoid spoilers. I'm also going to go with bits from relatively recent chapters because it's a massive fic and I haven't reread some of the earlier chapters in a bit.

Fic Context: Reforged

3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

This includes a tiny piece of the attached dialogue for clarity.

“Smoochies,” Rodimus announced, with all the grace of a thrown brick, before pursing his lips expectantly.

Excerpted from chapter 90.

Why is this my favorite? Because it's so damn ridiculous, especially in the broader context in which it occurs.

Looming sense of impending, inescapable pain and/or death

A bright moment of happiness in the midst of that

Not only already wanting affection from Megatron, but also expecting that this absurd demand is the best way to ask for it and the complete and utter expectation that this will have the desired result of a "smoochie."

Unexpected word choices for the comedic value

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

“If you’re about to tell me that the gas ball outside is broken, I am not fixing it.”

Excerpted from chapter 92.

It's hard to pick favorite dialogue when one of your major speaking role characters is Rodimus. His dialogue is some of my favorite to write.

He is talking about a gas giant that Caminus orbits. His general refusal to refer to things in a technically specific ways leads to hilarious, irreverent turns of phrase.

He is 100% certain he might be asked to "fix" a "broken" planet.

He is also talking to a generally well-regarded, high-ranking priestess. The absolute disregard for authority in his word choice is fantastic.

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

Well, there were other versions of trials/trial solutions that I ultimately didn't use, but not necessarily entirely alternate versions.

Unless you count that that when I started writing this, I thought I would be done in 20 chapters tops. You know, like a liar unaware that I was lying.

Spoilers (for earlier trials) below the cut.

The original solution to the third trial was going to be Star Saber appearing just in time to eat all off the scraplets. Hints of that plan are still pretty evident in that arc. The ultimate solution I went with seemed to fit better, but it was definitely a last minute switch.

One of the trials was going to be sending Rodimus out into the wilderness alone on a pilgrimage, something that adherents to the Way of Flame generally do as a rite of passage, to self-reflect and build something (a small, crude lantern) with materials he finds out there. This was scrapped pretty early on, but I kept a few aspects of it.

Originally, Rodimus was going to actually manage something fairly sword-shaped in the second trial and be the one who pulled Star Saber out (and got bitten). But I ultimately decided that wouldn't be failing hard enough and I wanted to better integrate Prowl into the narrative, so I had Prowl do it.

Also, originally, Prowl wasn't going to be in the fic. Neither were the flashback interrupt chapters of Solus, Megatronus, and the others from that time period.

I didn't intend to touch as much on those historical aspects because it was the modern reinterpretation of what the myths meant that mattered more than any factual basis. However, including them ended up being a great help narratively and provided additional clarification for the reader.

As far as Prowl, I... was realizing pretty early on that I needed an additional seemingly antagonistic force and he seemed an excellent person to cast in that role. He was perfectly poised for it. He was also a great window in Autobot weirdness that I couldn't necessarily get in the same way with other cast members (Minimus/Ultra Magnus).

It also gave me an opportunity to spend a lot of time developing a satisfying character arc for Prowl. 100% unintended but I'm glad for it. Also the reader shift in comments from disdain for Prowl as an antagonist to "oh no, is Prowl okay??? Prowl needs to sleep" has been delightful.

[shadowed-dancer]

MHA: Todoroki ages, Touya’s “death” date, and more

With the release of Chapter 302, we have been given some very interesting information that has allowed me to calculate...

Touya and Fuyumi’s age gap

The month Touya's incident occurred

A general time range for that flashback with the ball

Dabi’s current age

Time range for Shoto getting his scar and Rei being taken away

There will be spoilers under the cut.

UPDATE: A recent twitter post revealed an error in this chapter, so I’ve adjusted my theory accordingly.

So before we start, we have to look at the age gaps we knew from before. In order to have a constant understanding, we need to calculate the age gaps between siblings after they have all celebrated their birthdays for the year. Fuyumi’s birthday is last, falling on December 6. We will use the ages they would have been during the time our story takes place

Touya - ? Age Gap ? Fuyumi - 23 Age Gap 4 Natsuo - 19 Age Gap 4 Shoto - 15

Now, using the ages revealed in chapter 302, we can figure out when the ball flashback is taking place (approximately).

Touya - 13 Age Gap 1 Fuyumi - 12 Age Gap 4 Natsuo - 8 Age Gap 3 Shoto - 5

The age gap between Shoto and Natsuo is lower, meaning Shoto’s birthday has already passed, but Natsuo's hasn’t. If it had, the gap between Natsuo and Shoto would have been 4, and the Natsuo-Fuyumi gap would have been 3. This means this flashback is taking place somewhere between January and June (Natsuo’s birthday is July 1)

Judging by the clothes the kids are wearing, it seems safe to guess that this is probably Spring or Summer. Sure, they all have bodies that are accustom to the cold, but adult Natsuo and Fuyumi still wear coats, meaning they have some sense of seasonal fashion.

Ok so question 1 answered: This flashback takes place in the Spring or Summer, any time before July!

Since we now know that this is taking place before Natsuo’s birthday, it also means it is taking place before Fuyumi’s. This mean that Fuyumi would turn 13 this year, and shortly afterward Touya would turn 14.

This means that Fuyumi and Touya would be born in the same year, and there would be the slightest overlap in December and early January when they are technically the same age.

Another way of looking at this is that Fuyumi will turn whatever age Touya already was.

Question 2 answered: Fuyumi and Touya were born in the same year, with an age gap of about 11 months

Now, using this information, it allows us to know Dabi’s age. Fuyumi was 22 when we met her in the series, and then turned 23. This means Touya was already 23 when we met him, and has now turned 24

Question 3 answered: Dabi is 24, and was 23 when we met him

Finally, let’s look at Touya’s incident. Chapter 302 gives us a little time jump with this transitional text...

We have now jumped to Winter, but Touya is still 13, which means we have not passed his birthday yet (January 18).

However, a quick google search tells me that Japan considered “Winter” to be December-February, which means Touya’s incident had to have happened either in December, or early January (before his birthday). Not an exact date, but still a pretty small range!

Question 4 answered: Touya’s accident happened in December or early January

Unfortunately for us, we don’t know how long after this it took before Rei’s incident, but this chapter confirms that she left after Touya.

EDIT: Twitter has revealed that this line was actually a mistake, and Fuyumi’s comment in Chapter 250 where Rei left before Touya is the actually true one. Check out this post for more details. I have adjusted my calculations accordingly.

We actually know a little about when she was put in the hospital. Just before the Billboard Charts, Deku mentions that this was happening “as November neared it’s end”. Then, Natsuo mentioned that “it’s been nearly 10 years since [Rei was hospitalized]”.

Assuming this was at the end of November, knowing that they have not reached the official 10-year-mark, and adding the fact that Touya died before his birthday in January, it means Rei was probably taken away in December or early January, and then Touya left for training shortly after that.

This “nearly 10 years” hint also matches up with the current timeline. Shoto would have still been 5 (since it’s before his and Touya’s birthdays), and 10 years later means he’s 15 (his current age at that point in the series).

Question 5 answered: Rei scarred Shoto when he was 5, just about to turn 6, and it was probably in late December or early January.

For my final point, I’d like to do a finalized list of ages at all these times, just incase some fic writer needs a reference.

Current Ages (as of March) Touya - 24 Fuyumi - 23 Natsuo - 19 Shoto - 16

Ages when Touya “died” Touya - 13 Fuyumi - 13 Natsuo - 9 Shoto - 5

Ages when Rei was taken away Touya - 13 Fuyumi - 13 Natsuo - 9 Shoto - 5

Voila! Hope that was educational.

[kiyoominous]

chapter two: the glacial heart

masterlist is here!

blurb: kaeya alberich is a man of charming confidence but nobody really knows about the loneliness that he hides each day. cupid himself, of course, is an exception to his. so he takes it upon himself to find someone to spark something in kaeya's heart. 

pairing: kaeya/reader 

content: fluff, slight angst, spoilers for kaeya’s lore, roman god au (sort of)

author’s note: wahoo, kaeya’s chapter is here! there wasn’t too much of him but i hope there’s enough to keep you kaeya lovers entertained. 

mondstadt, the city of freedom. it may as well be named the city of wine with the profit that dawn winery rakes in each year. angel's share was once the sole home of mondstadt's wine, a place where bards tarry and adventurers take their rest. 

some say that every blue moon, a young bard clad in teal will grace the tavern with songs that last until the early hours of morning. he's entrancing, they say. captivating, mesmerising, hypnotising. so much so that he's been dubbed 'most popular bard in mondstadt' venti takes this title in stride, proudly strolling through the streets with his lyre during his visits to the city. 

other gods may see mister cupid parading around mondstadt to be a show of idleness but he simply begs to differ. perhaps 'clocking off of work' might be a better perspective, he supposes. or even 'creating an immersive experience.' though venti revels in weaving poetry into music, he's also an opportunistic god. it isn't easy to make judgements on love a thousand miles above the ground he works with so why not mingle with the people instead? would it not be more reliable than lounging on fluffy white? and so he flutters down from the clouds once a week to journey through mondstadt city, one foot in front of the other until he reaches the tavern. 

each time he enters angel's share, he takes a moment to simply be. to sit amongst the crowd of drunkards and watch. tonight is no different. as he walks through the door, he spots charles working away at the bar. he sees the small group of adventurers slumped over the table they always sit at. and most importantly, he notices the blue-haired knight slowly drinking the day away. 

kaeya alberich. 

venti is quite familiar with mondstadt's cavalry captain. left with no horses to oversee, the knight of favonius is reduced to running errands for the acting grand master. he's a charismatic man but the loneliness that he masks over is easy to miss. but venti knows. 

he's seen the sleepless nights that haunt kaeya every year towards the end of april, tears streaming down his face silently. 

he's seen kaeya's quick snaps back to his perfect persona when it begins to slip on a bad day. 

he's seen the trips kaeya takes to the tavern when he's grasping for any human interaction, yearning for someone to keep him company. nothing unlike what he's doing with himself tonight. 

how saddening. 

of course this upset cupid himself, how could the son of venus enjoy seeing a human being in this state? so soggy with solitude, so hard-pressed by the truth of his solitary company. though he's technically not working right this moment, there would be no harm in pulling a few strings. venti carefully scans the floor, seeking any individual that would spark kaeya's interest. truth be told, anyone would catch kaeya's eye so that would be a task to complete. 

"when logical reasoning fails, equip your heart to prevail." he whispers in between swigs of apple cider. though venti relies on visible cues and evidence to determine how best to wield his bow, there are times that call for him to rely on a gut feeling.  he closes his eyes and awaits a flicker to arrive in his heart. 

one. 

two. 

three. 

four. 

five. 

five seconds pass and like a flash of lightning, he's found his target. you walk in, dragging your body with your feet and a tired smile adorning your face. mondstadt is a hike and a half from liyue and you were grappling for any establishment where you could deflate and relax. sure, there's nothing too outstanding about the way you dress or how your head rests on your shoulders but there's not much for the young god to do than to trust his gut. 

venti doesn't miss the way your eyes dart left to right to left again, scanning angel's share for a seat no doubt. your eyes point to jack, who is slumped on one of the tables, then to a couple of the knights and then, inevitably, to kaeya. there was no way anyone could miss the cavalry captain, not with his bold uniform and silky navy hair. you take a moment to glance at him, to drink him in and then he notices your stare. 

perfect. 

taking no chances to squander, cupid points two fingers at your figure and readies an invisible arrow with his free hand. being inconspicuous is more his style so he must make do without his bow. 

ready, aim, and fire. 

venti is ever the only witness to his match-making archery and so he watches his arrow whistle through the air before it suddenly strikes your heart. as his role is to guide as opposed to harm, he crafts his arrows to simply arouse a spark of emotion in your heart. though he can see it physically enter into the cavity of your chest, human beings can only feel their heart being stirred. 

returning to his victim in question, there's a sudden flicker in your chest. a gentle 'he's cute' rings in your mind. you feel guilty for almost being stuck in a trance in front of what looks like an established knight but he flashes a toothy grin your way and the embarrassment melts away. a couple of strides to the bar and you're standing in front of the blue-haired man. 

"hi, can i join you?" you ask as your hands ghost over the stool next to him. 

"of course, no need to ask." he answers smoothly. you settle on your seat and turn to face him, meeting an amethyst eye and an eyepatch. why an eye patch, could he perhaps be a pirate? a survivor of a brutal stabbing? questions to relay to him later, you suppose. the knight holds a hand out for you to shake with an expectant look. 

"kaeya, knight of favonius. and you are?" 

"(name)." a gentle hum escapes his lips and so does your name, as if he's testing how it sounds on his tongue. 

"what a lovely name." is his honeyed response. a smooth talker, you note, and you politely smile back. "you're not from around here, are you?" 

"nope, i'm visiting from liyue."

another hum and kaeya leans an inch closer to you. "what brings you to mondstadt of all places?"

"oh, i'm here on a commission! i'm meant to drop something off but i'm not too sure why." you carry on retelling the tale of your trek to mondstadt and one of kaeya's ears are in the conversation. he swears he's trying to listen but why remember the details of your trip when there's a captivating sparkle in your eyes each time you speak? there's also a good cheer in the way you ramble and it feels familiar, almost nostalgic. and don't forget to mention the melody of your voice, how it's chirpy tone could rival the songs performed at the angel's share each night. 

in short, you've more than caught kaeya's eye. you've made his day. and to venti, this was more than a success. 

though the scene in front of him was beautiful, enchanting and pleasing to the eye, he couldn't let the man behind the bar leave his mind. diluc, who he knows to be kaeya's adoptive brother, is watching his brother with an unreadable expression upon his features. one could muse that it was simply the face that he makes everyday but venti knows it's far too complex to label. 

he saw the clash of fire and ice that fateful night, the blood and tears that were shed on diluc's eighteenth birthday. ever since that fight four years ago, venti has had one question linger in his mind. 

why must his mother encompass love in all its forms but he is restricted to linking lovers? 

it wouldn't hurt the gods to let him reconnect broken families, sew the distance between old friends or even strengthen the existing love that blossoms in communities. that would leave him with more to do instead of lazing around on a cloud all day in wait of a potential romantic connection. 

but his purpose is sealed and his duty he must righteously follow. at least in solely creating couples, he can afford time to indulge in dandelion wine. 

[violettelueur]

FUSHIGURO MEGUMI || CHOOSE TO HELP PEOPLE UNEQUALLY

| featuring : fushiguro megumi ft. itadori yuji + kugisaki nobara from jujutsu kaisen

| warnings : grammar errors and spoilers from manga (chapter 55)

| form : imagine

| word count : 3203

| published : 01 january

| synopsis : After being sent back to your old middle school: Saitama Urami East Junior High for a mission, you unexpectedly run into someone who you are all too familiar with.

| barista’s notes : HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE ʕ♡˙ᴥ˙♡ʔ we are staring off 2021 with a fushiguro megumi imagine that i have written and not to proud of to be honest....what an amazing start to the year ʕ ㅇ ᴥ ㅇʔ but i just finished catching up with the kdrama called ‘The Penthouse: War in Life’ and must i say, i hate all the characters in the show...like my mind is collapsing with the many plot twists here and there ʕ – ᴥ – ʔ but other than that, i hope you enjoy this cup of classic black coffee that i have mean. don’t worry, it is on the house ʕ•ᴥ•ʔﾉ♡

Staring up at the view in front of you, you couldn’t help but admire the large building that you once was just nearly a year ago after you had graduated from middle school. To be honest, you couldn’t help but smile at the memories that started to recall themselves in your mind. Back when everything was just normal.

Moving your view from the top of the building to your right hand, you carefully took one more look at your illuminated phone screen to see the message that you received from your current teacher causing your mind to pull itself back into reality on the situation you were in right now.

Idiot Sensei: Make sure you are able to get enough information on what is going on with the cases, remember to go see your middle school first~ much love your favourite sensei ♡

Idiot Sensei: Also I just heard that a few jujutsu sorcerers from Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College have arrived, make sure to not blow your cover.

                                             ꕥ

“This is all the information you need”

Looking up at your teacher, you stretched out your hand to receive the file he was passing before you opened it to see what was inside, only to instantly be greeted with a few sheets informing you about a school called Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College.

“Sensei what is this?” you asked curiously as you scanned through the documents, leading to him walking behind you to then to peek over your shoulder before saying in glee “I don’t know~ I haven’t read through it either Y/N, let’s read it together!” which caused you to roll your eyes in annoyance.

“How did the school get so much information about Jujutsu Tech? How did they get the teachers and professional sorcerers names? Sukuna? What is going on in that school? Wait, they couldn’t find the student’s names?” you began to frantically question as you continue reading the file while turning over the pages to see if there was anything else you could pick up before you stumbled upon a picture of your old middle school, leading you to then read the page that it was attached to.

“So….we suspect that one of Sukuna’s cursed fingers is the reason why there has been a rise in deaths near your old school~ and from what we could gather, a Jujutsu Tech student’s sister is also cursed due to her taking part with the bungee jump at the bridge near there,” your teacher explained, causing you to then look over at him in more annoyance since you knew then he lied to you about not knowing what the file contained.

‘So you have read it….’

“Your mission is to get that finger Y/N,” your teacher then stated, causing you to widen your eyes at him. However, before you could even object to the mission, your teacher began to explain what was lingering in your mind the second you heard what he said. “The reason why you were picked was not only because you have been to that school is also because you are a special grade mage Y/N, I have confidence that you’re going to be fine~” he then explained before following it up by saying “good luck out there favourite student~”

‘But isn’t it the sorcerer’s business to get cursed objects?’

                                          ꕥ

“Ahhh, then why make me go on this investigation on my own?” you rhetorically asked as you placed your phone back in your black blazer pocket before turning your head once again to look at the entrance of Saitama Urami East Junior High, only to suddenly see the sorcerers that your teacher was talking about. 

From what you could observe, there were at least four people from Jujutsu Tech that were in front of you with one being a supervisor while the other three seemed like students that were around the same age as you, leading you to become more irritated at the fact that you had to put in more effort in your acting than you had originally wanted. Taking in a deep breath, you slowly began to breathe out at a slower pace before quickly making your way towards the school building. 

“To be honest, I was expecting someone from a different school to come but- oh, I guess they’re here,” the person mentioned, causing you to look up to find that it was your old principle that was talking to the students leading them to turn to look at you.

“Sorry, Was I late for the meeting? It’s really nice to meet you again sensei,” you gently greeted before bowing in front of him as well as the students he was talking to, only to suddenly be greeted with a familiar pair of eyes that you never forget the second you graduated from the school.

“Fushiguro? Is that really you?” you asked in a surprised tone, before immediately straightening your back to stand upright to take a proper look at the boy in front of you, only for the sudden thought of your eyes tricking you to be false as the person you called out was truly right in front of you.

“L/N?” Fushiguro questioned, causing everyone to look at the both of you in confusion due to what seemed to be a sudden reunion happening right in front of their eyes. “How are you? It’s been a while ha?” you quickly asked with a smile, trying to deeply conceal the shock and worry that was slowly manifesting in your stomach.

‘Since when were you a Jujutsu Sorcerer Fushiguro? That just makes my job worst’

“Yeah, it’s nice to see you again,” Fushiguro mentioned with a smile, leading his other two classmates to look at the sight in extreme shock since they never really saw the sorcerer smile before. “Are you still getting into fights?” you then questioned, even though you sort of already knew the answer.

“Not really,” Fushiguro replied, leading you to nod at his answer since you knew it was a white lie but not a complete one but you couldn’t help but hear a few giggles from his classmates that were with him. At least he was being somewhat truthful to you even after this time apart. 

“I’m Itadori Yuji,” one the students behind Fushiguro mentioned as he introduced himself with his index finger pointing towards himself leading to the only female student to then follow by saying, “Kugisaki Nobara,”. Giving them a smile, you then quickly introduced yourself to the two energetic students before turning around back to the principle. You couldn’t help but smile back at the elderly man as you faced him causing small but fond memories to reappear in your head again leading you to the desire of wanting everything to go back to normal again.

                                              ꕥ

“Y/N! You were amazing at the practice match today, we would have never won if you didn’t set the ball like that!”

“What do you mean? All of us won because we worked together and that-oh!”

Suddenly, you felt a small impact on your shoulder, causing the interruption of your speech leading you to turn around to apologies before you were stopped by a pair of emerald eyes. You couldn’t lie to yourself at all, they were the most beautiful eyes you had ever seen and you could stare into them all day if you could. “Sorry,” you quickly apologised before you were caught gawking at the guy in front of you leading him to apologies back before he continued to make his way wherever he was planning to head off to.

“Who was that?” you quietly asked yourself, trying to hide the fact that you were intrigued by the person you suddenly bumped into.

“That’s Fushiguro Megumi, I wouldn’t associate with him if I was you Y/N,” one of your teammates as well as classmates suggested, causing you to look at the girl in confusion as you wondered what was so bad about him - to be honest, it was odd for you to not know the person since you were also part of the school’s student council.

“He’s a delinquent, he beats up people you know, remember when the principal was screaming yesterday? That was because of him. Aw, I feel bad for his sister,” your other classmate muttered, causing you to look back forward at the person’s back who you learnt was named Fushiguro Megumi.

“He doesn’t seem like a bad person”

                                               ꕥ

“So this is what you’re up to?”

Looking up from his hand, Fushiguro came eye to eye with a female standing at the bottom of the pile of bodies. From what he could see, the person was from the same school as him due to the uniform that she was wearing but what made him paid attention to her was that even though she was wearing the classic red armband to represent who she was, she wasn’t yelling at him nor putting him in his place, rather just smiling kindly up at him.

“L/N Y/N, it’s nice to meet Fushiguro”

Now he remembers who you were. You were the student he bumped into the other day, but you were also known for being the setter of the school’s volleyball club, and you were also the person that had an early acceptance at the prestigious Dawn West Wing College. You were someone that had a promising future.

“Do you wanna come down? You have a nasty cut on your cheek,” you shouted, leading him to break out of his daze to once again find you smiling at him. However, what he didn’t expect was for you to then suddenly climb up the tower of bodies to reach up to him causing him to look at you in surprise at your persistence. Finally reaching up to the top, you tried to steadily find a place to sit only for Fushiguro to unexpectantly tightly grab your wrist, trying to ensure that you didn’t fall down.

“Thank you,” you said to the dark-haired student before you continued with, “let’s get down, I sort of need to get you fixed up,”. Once again surprised at your actions towards him, he suddenly felt you pull him down behind the pile of beaten up bodies, before unexpectedly being suddenly pulled up to make a full-on run for it.

“Why are we running?” Fushiguro asked as you continued to pull him to wherever you were taking him. “I don’t know if you had a bad eye, but the Principle was coming so we sort of need to make a run for it,” you explained, before rapidly turning a corner to what seemed to be a building that was connected to the main building.

“This is the sports hall, where the volleyball club practices and there is also a first aid kit there, so you can come in,” you informed Fushiguro before sliding the door open to reveal the nicely kept hall as you then disappeared into the building to find the first aid kit that you had mentioned. Following your movement, Fushiguro slowly took a step into the hall before taking a seat on the floor near it, patiently waiting for you to come back with what you needed to do.

After a few minutes, you finally emerge from the storage room with the first aid box in hand before quickly making your way towards the boy as you then kneeled down in front him while opening the box to pull out a plaster, some bandages, cotton buds as well as a bottle of alcohol to disinfect the wound on his cheek as well as a few cuts that you found on his knuckles.

“What are you going to gain for helping me?” Fushiguro asked you all of a sudden, causing you to look up at him before quickly going back to pouring some of the alcohol on the cotton bud to which then you grabbed his hand to place the substance on his bloody knuckles leading him to hiss at the sudden sting.

“I’m not going to gain anything from this, I just choose to help people unequally you see,” you answered in a quiet but serious tone. “There are both good and bad people in this world Fushiguro, but I choose to help people that I know that are going to do no wrong in the future, that is the type of people I choose to help. Someone like you,” you then explained, as you then began to treat the cut on his cheek after you had bandaged his knuckles.

“Thank you Y/N”

“No problem Megumi”

                                                 ꕥ

“You did really good out there”

Looking up, you found Fushiguro staring down at you with a bottle of water in hand as he stretched out to pass it to you. “Thank you,” you kindly said before taking the bottle from his hand, “I’m surprised you came, you usually don’t come to these sorts of things,” you then mentioned before taking a large gulp of water that you really needed right now.

“I just wanted to come to support you, and I thought you might need some help with those lot,” Fushiguro explained as he tilted his head to the side causing you to look up to find some boys staring down at you from the gym balcony, before looking back at Fushiguro who started to make himself comfortable next to you on the floor.

“Thank you,” you said once again before gently placing your head upon his shoulder to which you felt him tense up slightly, only for him to immediately relax a second later.

 “I’m really glad that I got to know you Megumi.”

Shifting his eyes down at you, all his saw was adoration and truth in your eyes as you looked onto the volleyball court where the other team were preparing to leave for their school after the organised match. Shifting his eyes back onto the court, Fushiguro couldn’t help but remember everything you did during the match, from the way you ran to the way you jumped to set the ball to your other players. Fushiguro couldn’t lie but admit you had talent. That was enough to put a soft smile on his face.

“Yeah, I’m really glad that I got to know you too Y/N”

                                                ꕥ

‘But that’s in the past now, concentrate on the investigation’

“L/N, you wanted to gain information for your project right?” the Principle asked, causing you to snap out of your daze to then quickly put a smile on.

“Yes, my school wants me to do a project about paranormal activity and how it relates to electric waves since that’s now some ghost investigation to prove that ghosts and spirits exist,” you explained as you tried to seem convincing as you could since that was the best explanation you could come up with.

“That’s a really weird project,” Kugisaki and Itadori commented, causing you to laugh slightly since it is something weird for a ‘normal’ school to set their students to work on. “Yeah, but I really can’t complain, I did pick the science courses for my subjects and it sort of relates to physics since we do have to learn about electricity and that stuff. Hella boring in my opinion,” you continued to express, trying to make the lie more convincing.

‘Well….that’s what I get for going to a ‘school’ full of mages, just like how you three go to a ‘school’ full of jujutsu sorcerers’

“What do you need to know dear? it’s the least I can do after all you did for the school as the student council as well as for the volleyball team,” the elderly principle asked, leading you to smile brightly at him as you began to list everything you needed to know.

“Strange rumours, dark rumours, anybody with relationships with bad adults or maybe even karma getting what they had coming?” you began to say, causing the principle to look at you in complete shock to which you then looked at him in confusion, “is there anything wrong sir?”

“Fushiguro said the exact same thing as you, no wonder why you two were best friends back then,” the principle mentioned with a soft laughing leading you to turn to look at the sorcerer, only to come to the view of him looking to the side with a light blush with his two friends looking at you with the same expression that the principle did a few seconds ago.

“There were students that were back like the ones that suddenly past away but they weren’t as bad as Fushiguro,” the principle stated, causing you to scoff slightly at the fact since he wasn’t wrong before the principle then suggested, “you should investigate Yasohachi Bridge, it is well known for this paranormal activities there dear,”.

‘The whole bungee jump mettle test or whatever it was ha?’

“Ah, those people are so stupid,” you muttered to yourself, knowing the reason why the Principle told you about the bridge and due to the fact that the sorcerers were here, they were probably told the same thing as well.

‘This is you sorcerer's fault for letting a special grade object let into the hands of some teenager, now Sukuna’s finger bearers are everywhere’

“Thank you so much for your time principal, It was nice to see you again,” you said with gratitude as you bowed down to your old teacher as you told him ‘goodbye’ before you began to turn around to immediately go to the bridge that was informed to you.

“Please come visit again soon!” the principal exclaimed, leading you to look over your shoulder with a smile on your face as you waved at him before turning to the Jujutsu Tech’s students to give them the same gesture to which then you started to walk away to head off to your next destination.

‘So I got more information than I needed but that’s okay, that means we got more inside information on Jujutsu Tech’

However, before you could even take one more step away from the institutional building, you felt someone suddenly grab your wrist leading you to turn around to look at the hand that held your wrist before quickly looking up to find the green eyes that were so dear to you.

“Is there anything you need Fushiguro?” you asked, as you gave him a smile leading to the noticeable light blush to appear on his face before he then questioned you by asking, “are you planning to go to Yasohachi Bridge?”

“Yeah, I just need to get some results for the project, I won’t be there too long if you are worried,” you answered, trying to end the conversation so you could go investigate the bridge so you could end the mission as quickly as possible. 

“It’s dangerous, you shouldn’t go,” Fushiguro stated, causing you to internally groan in annoyance since you already knew the dangers the second you got the file. “Like I said I won’t be that long,” you mentioned before quickly adding, “ghost ain’t real, I’ll be fine”.

‘I choose the help people unequally, and I’m choosing to help you Fushiguro’

[dimonds456]

Gem Steven’s gem is flipped upside-down. (Theory/Speculation time!)

SPOILERS FOR @spudinacup’s SU AU “Gone Wrong”!

Also WARNING: long post!

So recently, someone pointed out that Steven has a scar on his torso going across his gem’s location, which I found interesting in and of itself. Makes sense, since he wasn’t able to heal it since he DIED and his gem was shoved out of his body before it got the chance to heal him. That slash mark is there now. Wow, neat! Nice detai-

Wait.

Hold on a sec.

Is his gem... flipped upside-down? Well, it’s been like this for a while, maybe it’s just a creative choi-

...oh.

This is VERY intentional.

So I did some digging, and found much more symbolism and possible foreshadowing, and now I want to throw out my theory about Gem Steven here, including his potential arc and character development. I’ll try to keep everything brief while still blowing your minds, and I’ll try to get across what my jumbled mind has come up with.

Spud please notice me.

I will not be uploading photos to go with everything I say (go reread the comic after this and verify for yourself what all I’ve said), but I’ll show visuals when they’re necessary. I do not claim ANY of this art as mine (I wish my art was this good ;u; ), all of it belongs to Spudinacup and their SU AU, which has all kinds of hidden symbolism, foreshadowing, and visual cues we haven’t picked up on yet, as I’ve just learned while researching this theory. This ain’t your run-of-the-mill AU, everything in here is intentional. Scott Spud doesn’t do coincidences. So I’ll point out that stuff in screenshots.

Okay let’s go.

SO! To begin with, let’s talk about why his gem may have flipped, and to realize that, we have to know when. We don’t see the gem much, but we do see it constantly through Chapter 1, where it is normal. The pentagon is pointed upward. However, in Chapter 2, this is where we see it flipped upside down. When did that happen? We didn’t see it. I believe it happened in that first scene in the bathroom, right after we left. The butterflies were swarming angrily, and Steven was very lost in thought.

Notice whenever those butterflies appear. They seem to show up every time he thinks about who he is. Is he still Steven, or is he someone else now? Steven is dead. Everyone is mourning him, trying to heal him, but Gem is still here. So if Steven is dead, but Gem is still alive, that must mean he isn’t Steven then, right? But then that undoes everything we learned in “Change Your Mind.” He IS Steven. He’s always been Steven. But that’s when they were together...

...And so the butterflies swarm.

Notice how the first one shows up when he looks at himself in the mirror. When you look in a mirror, you should see yourself, right? But who IS he? In the show, butterflies represent thoughts and ideas, mostly dark ones, disturbing ones, or ones you don’t want to think about. Well, he already spent WAY too long proving who he was, so now to do it again sucks.

But he isn’t Steven anymore. He’s on the couch being mourned. But he’s already proved he IS Steven before, and it’s this uncertainty that is making his mind swirl. I believe this is why he flipped his gem. Just upside-down, so it’s a small thing no one will notice, while he tries to figure it out. In doing so, he’s separated himself from “Steven”, as they’re not one and the same anymore, and the flipped gem shows this. He’s someone else right now. Maybe. He’s not sure.

So what do we call you for right now? Steven. He already proved he was Steven, so until he’s proved otherwise, Steven it is. Now he just has to figure out what exactly that name means and wether or not he still fits that quota.

Flipped gem/Pink Diamond imagery is EVERYWHERE, mostly hidden in drastic shadows or in panels. It’s things you don’t notice at first, until they’re staring you in the face. See if you can spot them from the 3 screenshots below.

There’s probably more hidden throughout the comic, these are just the ones I’ve found that I feel confident enough to show as hard evidence.

So, what does it all mean? We’ll talk about the screenshots in order, left to right.

First, the Diamond is hidden as the panel in the center. In it, Human Steven lies upside down while the gem-panel is technically upside right. This can be interpreted in a few ways, but what that means to me is that something isn’t right here. If you flip Steven back around so he’s upside right, the gem is now upside down. Notice Gem Steven looking towards his human half on the bottom panel there, clutching his shirt over his gem. It’s a motion we’ve seen Steven do a TON throughout the show, anytime he’s thinking about Rose/Pink, who he is, or complicated gem stuff as a whole. Because early on, his identity was always shrouded in shadow. THAT is Steven, on the couch, without his gem. So for Gem Steven to call himself Steven is inaccurate, but also not at the same time. It’s all swarming in his head, and thus, the gem is flipped.

Next, he’s just broken the rejuvenator. This was probably the hardest to spot of the three, but if you look at the panel where Bismuth asks “feel better?” you will see, in the background, a white line cut through the soft pink hues. Look closer. It’s the outline of the gem, but it’s flipped correctly this time. This is because Bismuth seems to be the only person NOT saying Steven is dead, and treating his gem half one and the same. Is she unnerved? Yeah, but who WOULDN’T be? This is still Steven we’re talking about, as emotionally blocked as he is. He’s aware of why everyone is being weird around him, so to see Bismuth trying her best to treat him with familiarity instead of a completely different, new, dangerous stranger is really calming and helps to calm the storm a bit.

Notice the gem is flipped correctly. This is because he feels like Steven right now. Bismuth has been constant confirmation that he is still Steven, no matter the circumstances. Notice how his eyes dialate back to a larger size. They do that a lot in the comic, articulating his emotions without changing the rest of his face. It’s a clever detail to keep track of. His eyes grow more relaxed, dialating bigger when she pats his shoulder, asking if he feels better after destroying the weapon that killed him. It’s a huge relief for him to hear. So, the gem is correct.

Finally, we see Bismuth telling Greg that his son is dead, which is very contradictory to what Bis was saying earlier (in Steven’s eyes). Where is the gem on that frame? Look at Steven’s shadow. There it is, facets and all. To us, the gem is correct, but think about it this way: if Steven were actually replaced with the gem in that frame, what would it look like, Pink’s or White’s? That’s right. The point is coming from his feet, meaning it would look more like White’s, meaning it is back to being flipped upside down. Again, Bismuth just said Steven is dead, meaning he’s back to questioning his whole entire identity. So it’s back to being flipped upside-down.

It seems that the orientation of the symbolic gems hidden throughout panels show quite clearly where his head is at in terms of who he is. If it’s upside down, he’s separating himself from the cold meatball on the couch, whereas when it’s normal/upside right, he is associating himself WITH the cold meatball on the couch.

Notice he’s been grabbing at his gem a lot recently, too, all things he does while in turmoil over who- or WHAT- he is. He cannot heal right now. He can’t use his powers. Some powers are new and unfamiliar (see the more recent pages where Lapis struck out with water and he blocked with those hexagonal shields/walls). “Steven HEALS people.” He can’t, so who is he?

This is something he’ll need to have an answer to by the time the comic is done, and this is a mission for Gem Steven and Gem Steven alone. If his human half were alive (and content without his gem), he’d probably call himself “Steven” no questions asked, since he GOT his answer already, two years ago. But Gem can’t do that, not when everyone keeps drawing all these lines between the two. He needs to learn what being “Steven” means, and know that he is a part of a greater whole, but on his own, he is STILL Steven. Everyone else needs to realize this, too, and stop separating the two. It’s gonna be rough, since it may feel like replacing what they lost, but is it really? It’s going to be a tough road to trek, and I don’t know what anyone’s answer is gonna be (that’s the big mystery here, after all), but I’m here for it.

Remember, all of this has been speculation on what may happen based on facts and clues Spud has presented us with. I’m not claiming to know how Gem Steven’s arc will end, but I am throwing my hat into the ring on where I THINK it will go. Either way, the foreshadowing, symbolism, and unspoken characterizations here have been excellent, and I’m looking forward to seeing everything play out. Spud, your mind is incredible, and whatever you’ve got planned over there, I’m confident the answer will be satisfactory.

I’ll shut up now. Thank you for reading this huge meta post, and go read Spud’s comic. You can find it at @suaugonewrong or on Spud’s Tumblr, which was linked above. If you think I’m wrong or have a counter argument, bring it. Let’s talk, cause this is genuinely interesting and fun to dissect. I wanna talk about it OwO

Thank you. You may now continue scrolling.

[storiesofsvu]

Serendipitous Secrets & Surprises Ch 8

Warnings: language, SVU canon related issues including attempted suicide. Fluff otherwise. A/N: Sorry not sorry for dragging this mystery out for eight chapters. Also PLEASE!!!! if you’re going to scream about who the partner is, come to my dm’s/my inbox, or do it in the tags. Cause it’s technically a spoiler, and I had a few people come to me/comment about Seeing Red getting spoiled for them by reblog comments. I personally love seeing y’all scream, but for the sake of other readers...scream in the tags or in private lol. Love you. 😘

Y’all were absolutely so wonderful & kind with the well wishes & love today that you treated me well so I am rewarding you with an early drop of the next chapter. My present to you 😉

**

You were honestly surprised when the rest of the day went relatively smoothly. You picked up a tray of gourmet coffee for the squad and Carisi on the way back to the precinct, and you were sure that helped the juju a little bit. Amanda and Fin were catching, taking the next case while you and Kat tried to further you work on the Jenna v Zach case. Which meant mindless hours staring at computer and phone screens as you each searched through various social media accounts and dug into more of the back grounds of both of them. Zach’s to see if he had any other complainants and Jenna’s to see if she’d ever accused before (you knew if the defence got any info like that before you guys did, she’d use it, and you’d have little to no warning).

Kat had spent the first half of the day at the campus security office, making sure she had access to as many of Hudson’s complaints as she could, but especially those involving Zach Thompson or any of his closest circle. She’d texted you the names while you dug through profiles to try and link things together. You’d been lucky enough that your only stop out of the office was to drop off those warrants and question one witness before Fin took off for the hour on his own business. It was just before six p.m that you sighed, shutting your laptop, stretching your body out as you stood.

“You finally done?” Kat teased and you laughed. Before you could reply your phone started to buzz, a phone number that you didn’t recognize on the screen.

“Maybe not..” you grumbled, picking it up, “Special Victims?”

“Sergeant Winters?” You heard the panicked voice on the other end and your body tensed, your hand shooting out to alert Kat to get ready to bolt, “you told me to call if anything happened with Jenna?”

“April? Yeah, yeah I did sweetie, what’s going on?”

“I just got back to the dorms, the people underneath us say the ceiling’s been leaking water and I can’t get into the room, the door’s blocked.”

“Okay, we’ll be right there, don’t worry honey.” You turned the phone away from your mouth, “Kat, let’s go!”

“Please hurry!”

“We will!” Was all you managed to get out before April hung up. As you were racing to the stairwell Olivia nearly stopped you.

“Whoa, Winters, don’t you have somewhere to be?” She reminded you of the anniversary dinner, as if you’d forget at this point.

“Trust me, she’ll understand!”

You tossed the keys to Kat as you reached the street, telling her to throw the lights and sirens on, and hoping she could drive as well as you’d imagined, you knew you needed to get there fast. Meanwhile your hand quickly called your wife, sighing softly as she picked up

“Hey baby…”

“Something came up didn’t it?” She replied, hearing the sound of the siren over your voice.

“Yeah. I just got a distress call from a vic’s roommate, I don’t know how long this is going to take, but I doubt I’ll make it, at least not dressed properly. Baby I am so sorry.”

“I get it. You go do your job.”

“Thank you.” You couldn’t help the small smile, “I love you, so much. Happy anniversary baby. I’ve gotta call a bus though, I’ve got to go.” Again, you couldn’t help the smile at the sound of her laugh, knowing that you probably should’ve done your job first but couldn’t help updating your love first.

“I love you more than life. Happy anniversary sweetheart. I’ll see you at home.” You swiftly repeated the words before calling who you needed repeating the information that you were aware of as Kat swerved around the corner.

“You sure you’re wife’s okay with this? I really could’ve taken someone else.”

“I’ll buy her something pretty.” You waved it off, “besides she’s probably still at the firm. I swear she works more than I do.” You had enough time to comment that before your 9-1-1 call went through and you specified the coordinates and your best memory of the dorm building, saying their were plain clothed detectives on scene.

Jenna’s door had been blocked by a chair, on top of being locked, but between the man power of you and Kat together you’d broken it down. You figured the over running water was coming from the bathroom, not surprised to find her in the tub, though she was surrounded by pill bottles. It was at your instinct and expertise in narcotics that Kat lugged her out of the tub while you swiftly gloved up, checking at what she’d taken as Kat checked for Jenna’s pulse. You swiftly moved her onto the floor before you administered the narcan and she very blearily came to. Since you’d taken first aid action before EMS had arrived you were the one required to ride along, you assured Kat you were fine with a late night, prompting her to stay there and take statements.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long at Mercy, you were known to a couple of the nurses, and they knew you were more than knowledgeable with the subject. You discovered more details of what Jenna had done, and you spoke to her briefly, wanting her to be able to actually get some rest, while Kat got statements from her roommate and the neighbours beneath her and across the hall. It was only after checking in with Kat that you decided it was safe to call it a night. Knowing Jenna herself was alive was all you needed. You didn’t need to pressure her anymore, reminding hospital staff of that, and that she needed to take her meds, and to call you with any issues, before you finally flagged a cab home.

The comfort of your apartment sunk over you the instant you stepped inside, you stepped out of your shoes, groaning at the feeling of bare feet on the floor for the first time all day. Part of you should’ve known better than to wear brand new heels to work, even if you had been promised a day of desk work.

“You finally home?” A voice called and you followed it into the kitchen, tossing your blazer onto an empty chair.

“Yeah.” You let out a heavy sigh, “but that doesn’t mean work’s over quite yet.” You tossed the folded blue paper onto the kitchen island.

“What’s this?” Rita asked softly, her hands opening it to read through the words.

“An OOP for Jenna against the Thompson’s.”

“What the hell happened?” Her face shot up to yours, taking in the dejected expression on your as your shoulders dropped again.

“After whatever meeting you had with them this morning, from what we got from neighbours and a barely conscious Jenna, Mrs Thompson showed up at the dorm. She was beyond angry, yelling and screaming at Jenna about how she was a murderer. She tried to kill herself, she’ll be at Mercy for a few days, but even on her meds she’s unstable, there’s no way you’ll be able to take her trial anytime soon.” You let out a heavy sigh, “it’s just..worse than normal. Jenna will never get her day in court, never get to see her rapist go down, instead she’s suddenly the perp, it’s like she doesn’t get any kind of justice for this.”

“It’s not your fault darling.” Rita’s hand stroked at your arm and you sighed,

“I know.” You gave her a soft smile, leaning in for a quick kiss, “but it is my fault for missing dinner. I’m so sorry baby. I should’ve sent someone else, tonight meant a lot for us, I mean…ten years?”

“Technically only five if you count the married ones.” Rita chuckled softly, pulling you to her as her nose nuzzled against yours.

“Oh and I suppose that makes it any better?” You pecked her gently, “I still owe you one. Besides, we never cancel a night at River Café.”

“Well…” Rita turned away from you, pouring out a second glass of wine for you from the bottle she’d been letting breathe, “when you become regulars at a place like that, they tend to cater to your needs.”

“What’re you talking about?” You smiled.

“When I called to cancel the reservation they knew what day it was. Manager told me to call back whenever you were home or close to home and if they were still open they’d send our regulars over.”

“Rita!” You laughed out, cupping her cheek softly, “that delivery boy better be tipped a hundred percent.”

“Last I heard your Mother was paying for dinner.” She teased and you laughed, swatting at her arm,

“Call the Café, you know where the card is.” You pulled her to you for a gentle kiss, “let me go change. I love you.”

“I love you more.”

“Impossible.” You smirked as you kissed the tip of her nose before darting off to the bedroom. You could hear her on the phone, taking your time to change into pyjamas, removing your makeup, returning to the open apartment when you were ready.

“Less than an hour.” Rita stated and you nuzzled into her shoulder at the island.

“Considering their quality I’d expect nothing less.” She chuckled softly, turning to kiss your cheek. Your hand shifted, curling around her cheek to turn her face to yours, “I am really, really sorry for missing tonight.” You leant in to kiss the tip of her nose softly, “and I know you always say you’re fine cause we work the same kinda shit and both of us have bailed on countless dates over the years but…tonight…I should’ve been there.”

“Hey…sweetheart…” Her hand came up to stroke at your cheek, “all I needed was for you to end up at home with me and safe. Hopefully to have dinner, even if it was a two a.m grilled cheese. Jenna actually needed you, and she certainly needed you right away. You were off saving a life, I’m not going to blame you for shit like that, even if the offence is my client.” Your eyes nearly blurred with tears at the true understanding of Rita’s words, you’d always understood each other’s careers over the decade you’d been together, even if those around you didn’t. Even if you worked on opposite sides of the law, you both got it.

“Thank you.” You leant in, kissing her softly, “but I do still owe you. I mean, aside from this morning’s gifts. Should we reschedule dinner?”

“How about next time we’re both free from work we get the best takeout the city can buy and curl up with a movie marathon of our favourites?” Rita suggested, nuzzling against you before pressing a soft kiss to you lips before giggling. “You gonna make me suffer through Legally Blonde again?” She teased and you punched her arm.

“It’s not that bad! You only hate it cause Raf made you watch it in college.” You grumbled and Rita circled her arm around your waist, pulling you to her as she kissed your temple.

“He has a weird obsession.” She laughed, and you couldn’t help but laugh with her, the love flowing through the apartment as your arms circled around her neck.

“I guess everyone has some weird obsessions.”

“You weirdly obsessed with me?” Rita cocked a brow and you scoffed, hitting her arm.

“Rude! You’d think after vowing to be with you til death, you’d know I was obsessed with you.” You laughed, leaning in to kiss her again.

“Oh, so obsessed is the word you’d use.”

“Oh shut up.” You leant in again, your lips meeting Rita’s, the kiss gentle and much more soft this time. Her tongue had barely snuck past your lips when there was a knock at the door. And as much as you wanted to ignore it, you knew it was dinner, and you wanted to experience that, no matter where you were.

While you busied yourself with paying for the take out Rita flitted through the apartment, managing to find a couple of candles hidden away in the bedroom, lighting them and lowering the overhead lights. You scooped the meals onto actual plates instead of eating out of boxes and made sure the wine glasses were refilled and placed with the appropriate plates on the island. Rita went to sneak around you and your hand roped around her waist, pulling her to you with a quiet giggle of a yelp. Your arms settled around her shoulders and you kissed her with impeccable softness.

“I love you baby. And I always will. You mean the world to me.” You kissed her again, “happy anniversary.”

“I love you too.” She murmured against your lips, pressing another kiss to you, “and you are, without a doubt the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. Happy anniversary.”

_________ @tbhidkwutimdoing @bisexualcrowley @natasha-danvers @ineedafinghug @veteranwerewolf95 @billiedeannovak @stardust-galaxies @laurenhope13 @randomthingssss @Farahs-faeling @imlike-so-gaydude @wannabe-fic-reader @gaylorrds @infiniteoddball @thatesqcrush @altsvu @disneyfan624 @svulife-rl @svushots @gay-ass-bitch @lesbianspacecowboy @delphineecormierr @venablemayfairgoode @whimsicallymad @mysticfalls01 @oliviaswifey @thatgaygiraffesquirrelgirl @Cloudymd @swimmingstudentchaos891 @1000spices @screenee @nocreditinthestraightworld @beccabarba @redlipstickandplaid @cmmndrwidw @bumblebear30 @enduringalexblake @denpine14 @molllss @wosoimagines @solemnnova @lawandorderimagines @infernumlilith @yourtaletotell @Aprylrxse @australiancarisi @cerberus-spectre @whispered-tear-drops @snowsgay19 @michael-rooker @jj-arms @emskisworld

[nanaminokanojo]

BLOOM | Sukuna X You | Part 2/3

CHARACTERS: Sukuna X You | Gojo Satoru | Geto Suguru | Shoko Ieiri | Maki | Fushiguro Toji | Baby Megumi | Megumi's Mom (OC) CHAPTER COUNT: 2/3 WORD COUNT: 8600+ GENRE: romance | fluff | slight angst | (eventual) smut | ooc sukuna | female reader | modern au CHAPTER TRIGGER WARNING: profanity/strong language | alcohol use | age gap | some mentions of death | mild sexual content SPOILERS: N/A

collection masterlist

one two three | Bloom Masterlist

You got up really early despite staying up late and only getting five hours of sleep max, but once you woke up, you knew you wouldn’t be able to get back to bed so you prepared for the day, waiting for Sukuna’s call. You went to the patio which faced the backyard, carried a small blanket and brought your battered copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s prose collection with you.

A few hour later, you heard stirring in the house and it wasn’t long before Satoru found you. He sat on the lounge chair opposite yours and just stared at you through sleepy eyes. He looked all disheveled, eyes bloodshot and yawning several times. He really couldn’t handle his alcohol and when he wakes up after drinking more than he could take, he always ends up befuddled and unable to make sense of his surroundings, not to mention irritable.

When he just sat there without saying anything and staring at you, you snapped your book close. “What is it?”

He snapped out of a seeming trance. “Oh. You have a guest.”

“Huh?”

“Ieiri said it’s Howard.” He yawned again, stretching his arms.

“Sukuna?”

“Yes, him.”

You scrambled off the lounge chair, nearly knocking it to the side with your weight as you half crawled, half-ran towards the door, suddenly remembering your agreement the previous night. You were mentally slapping yourself as you made your way into the hallway, planning to go up to your room to have a change of clothes. You weren’t sure what he wanted to do because he did not exactly specify that bit.

However, your plans did not come into fruition when you passed by the lattice wood and glass partition between the kitchen and the hallway and saw him.

“Y/N!” Ieiri pretty much yelled your name out, calling your attention and making you jump, startled. “Howard’s here.”

Sukuna glanced at her momentarily, probably catching the name she referred to him with.

The protest died in your throat when you saw Sukuna standing by the counter, looking so out of place in such a domestic setting although he was dressed casually in a black tee with a wide collar that exposed his collarbones for the world to see and faded jeans, similar to the one he wore that time he came to your school.

You grimaced at the realization that you were just standing there like an oaf, checking him out. It was evident in the way his smile morphed into a shy one as he bit his lower lip while Ieiri and Suguru grinned evilly at you. Feigning ignorance to their reactions, you entered the kitchen, brows knit together, shooting Ieiri an inquisitorial look after nodding at Sukuna’s direction. It was a dumb way of greeting people, but that was about what you could manage with the way your brain was being fried at the mere sight of him.

“I didn’t know we received guests in the kitchen now,” you commented, noticing the number of grocery bags on the counter. “You did the shopping?”

“I did,” Sukuna answered you. “I told you I was going to do something for you.”

“'You' being the technical term,” you said with a smirk when you realized what he was planning. “So you’re gonna cook for me?”

“Yes.”

You eyed your two friends who were eyeing Sukuna in anticipation. “Just me?”

“Stingy,” Ieiri commented, pouting.

Woman, you thought, eyeing her sternly in case she had plans to say something embarrassing. You spoke before she could say more, approaching Sukuna who was suddenly just looking at you, your eyes in particular. Out of a sudden, he reached out and touched the spot just under your left eye, making you step back at the sudden contact. He was touchy, you knew that, but you weren’t expecting him to be so candid in front of your friends on such a setting.

“Your eyes are swollen. Is something the matter?”

You smiled at him then, shaking your head. “I didn’t sleep enough last night.” You busied yourself by checking the things he bought. “So…” You looked at his pretty hands then at him. “The Spring God can cook?”

He gave you a funny look at the nickname you gave him. “Watch the Kitchen God work!” He chuckled then turned his attention to Ieiri. “I was just asking Ieiri if I could borrow the kitchen.”

“It’s more Suguru’s kitchen than hers,” you sniped at her who was now sitting on the counter, chin on the heel of her palm as she looked at the pair of you as if she was watching a really cheesy romance drama.

“Then it’s settled. I have to cook for them, too.” He ruffled your hair then. “Mind helping me?”

“I’ll leave you kids then,” she said sounding like a mom, leaving the kitchen and blocking Satoru’s progress when he was about to enter, leading him out into the living room much to the latter’s annoyance.

You shook your head, snickering. You really couldn’t wrap yourself around the fact that Sukuna could cook. “Should I get you an apron, chef?” you asked, meaning to taunt him, but then he took out a rolled-out piece of black cloth from a black case he brought along with the groceries and said, “I brought my own.”

Knowing that you can’t say anything else to annoy him about cooking, you started sorting out the things he brought, taking them out of the bags and fixing them in an organized way on the counter while he proceeded to take the foodstuff to the sink. All the while, you were watching him as he cleaned everything, his dexterous hands moving with precision and unmistakable expertise.

After fixing everything and putting away the bags, you stood beside him on the sink. “You do this a lot?”

“Pretty much.”

It was fascinating to watch him work so you didn’t say anything else until he took the case again and produced a professional-looking set of knives with customized handles. “Okay, now I’m scared.” You arched a brow at him. “Why the hell do you have a knife set?”

“I love to cook,” he answered, laughing slightly without taking his eyes from what he was doing.

“I figured, but I thought, you know just cooking at home, following online recipes and stuff like that.”

At that, he laughed. “Those recipes don’t work half the time.”

“Oh, okay,” you said sarcastically, rolling your eyes at his sentiment but then you saw how he was cutting the ingredients on the chopping board like a pro. “I’ll be damned.”

“What?”

“Now I mind assisting you. I refuse.” You felt a bit miffed about his mad skills in the kitchen, and you knew it would be foolish to even question how his dish, or dishes rather, was going to turn out. It got you thinking about every other thing he can possibly do, and you found yourself falling deeper. “I’m shit in the kitchen. You can have Suguru to help you.”

“But I already asked him for help yesterday to plan all this.”

“Did you now?” Your eyes flicked over to the counter that divided the kitchen and the living room and glared at your friend, remembering your conversation with him. He threw you a rueful smile.

Sukuna pouted. “You can’t take it back. Surely, you can chop onions.”

“I guess.” You took out a knife from the rack and grabbed an onion. “How do you like it?”

“Minced.”

“Okay.” You started chopping the thing rather slowly, trying to be precise, but since you were taking too long, your eyes started watering before you could even get it halfway done. “Ah, shit!” you grumbled, putting the knife down rather harshly.

Sukuna laughed, turning you around so you were facing him. “Are you okay?” he asked in between laughter, wiping your tears away with some paper towels. “You were too slow.”

You screwed your eyes shut, still feeling the sting behind your eyelids. “Well, I don’t cook.” When you opened your eyes, you almost stopped breathing when you saw those dark orbs of his directly in front of you.

“Oh no, sweetheart, you’re crying,” he cooed.

“Onion…” You took the paper towel from him and started wiping your eyes yourself, turning away from him when you saw the teasing beam on his face. “Shut up.”

“You’re cute.”

You rolled your eyes at him. “You’re so annoying.”

“I’m cooking for you, and I’m annoying? Let’s see how that opinion changes once you taste this masterpiece.”

You did not say anything about the matter anymore and instead watched him work, handing him this and that and doing as he tells you. Sukuna was kinda scary to work with since he obviously had a fixed process about how things should be done, but at the same time, you found yourself mesmerized by his fluidity as he moved around as if he had been in the kitchen his whole life.

“What are you making anyway?” you asked as you were putting away the things he didn’t need anymore.

He looked over his shoulder as he stirred whatever he was making. “That’s a secret.”

You shrugged, looking into the pot. “Just tell me already.”

He placed his free arm around your waist, pulling you to his side, seemingly oblivious to the three pairs of eyes which looked towards the direction of the kitchen every so often, spying on the two of you. “Patience, sweetheart. You’re gonna spoil the surprise.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you whined.

He planted a quick kiss on your forehead. “You’ll see.”

By the time Sukuna was done, your dining room looked more like a five-star restaurant than that of one owned by four university students. Well, the table did. You weren’t really familiar with the dishes he prepared since he won’t tell you what they were. You only recognized the lobster thermidor, but all the others were a mystery.

Your friends were thrilled when they saw the table and you were just stunned. You pretty much just watched Sukuna, but he didn’t let you see what he was doing in the dining room, making you promise to sit down in the pantry while he prepared. He went overboard, but you loved it, too.

“I feel like I’m going to pay with all the contents of my bank account after this meal,” Suguru said as he sat down at the edge of the table, making Sukuna laugh.

You sat to his left while the chef sat beside you, explaining the dishes to you and the three other people with you with such technical terms, half of which you didn’t really understand. Suguru did though. Sukuna plated the first dish and offered it to them.

“I hope you would find them to your liking,” he said.

“Y/N’s grandpa would be super impressed if he was here to see this,” Ieiri asked.

You snorted. “Oh my god, Ieri, what are you being such a pain for?” You turned to Sukuna then who looked at you questioningly, but you pretended not to notice. “And you, chill and eat. They can get their own food.” He grinned at you but instead of serving food for himself, he started putting food on your plate. You watched him pointedly. “I can do that myself. Eat!”

“In a bit.” He finished by placing sauce on the lobster then smiled your way before getting food for himself.

“This is phenomenal cooking, man,” Satoru commented delightedly at the first bite, seemingly forgetting about his headache, and Suguru made a sound of approval, eating with gusto. “Will you cook for us every day?”

“Suguru!” you protested.

Sukuna laughed at that. “Maybe not every day.”

You shot him an annoyed look but ate as well. They were right. His cooking was beyond good. “On second thoughts, I don’t mind you cooking for us every day, too. This is totally great!”

“Told you.”

The meal was rather pleasant with your pals engaging Sukuna, obviously taken by him. The deal was sealed where he was concerned. You knew it had nothing to do with the food. They just liked him. He mostly conversed with them while you just pitched in once in a while, too busy eating. Besides, you wanted them to get to know him, too, and you were more than glad that Sukuna was making the effort to be acquainted to them.

After lunch, Suguru and Satoru volunteered to do the dishes, in a very good mood after the magical meal while Ieiri tidied up, leaving you and Sukuna alone. You decided to tour him around the house although there was nothing much to see, leading him into the upstairs hallways. Your house was quite big for only the four of you, but not stately or anything. It was just a normal house with too few inhabitants and too many rooms.

You walked towards the west hall. “Those are all guest rooms and those at the end of the hallway are Satoru and Suguru’s rooms.”

“Where’s yours?” he asked.

You cocked your head towards the east hallway, beckoning him to follow you as you led the way to said room, pointing out the other rooms you passed by, just three of them until you reached the last door. You pushed the door open and gestured for him to enter.

“Huge space,” he commented as he looked appraisingly around, his feet leading him to the large, framed posters of your favorite book-based films and games. “You are a nerd.”

You just watched him, leaning against one of your bookshelves as he ran a finger over your "Harry Potter" movie poster. “Guilty.”

Sukuna then went look at your book collection. “It’s not bad.”

“I’m a literature major. I think it makes sense.”

“Books and more books. How many of these have you actually read?” he asked, taking your volume of "Twelfth Night."

“All of them.”

He eyed you, evidently impressed. “Shakespeare?”

“Yeah. That’s basic in my field.”

“You’re amazing, Y/N.” He reached over and tucked a lock of hair behind your ear. “Beautiful, cultured and smart. I like it.”

You snorted, shaking your head. “Shut up.”

“It’s true.” He returned the book on its place. “So, apart from literature, what else are you interested in?” He glanced at the glass case at the opposite end of the room where your scale-model figures and rows upon rows of console games were. “Well, apart from action figures and video games.”

“Hmm.” You pretended to be brooding over it. “Well, recently, I’ve just been interested in one thing.”

“And what is that?”

“You.”

He chuckled, pulling you towards him, the warmth of his hands burning through the fabric of your shirt, making you all giddy. “Alright, sweetheart. Your brutal frankness is really scaring me.”

“Door’s wide open. You can run.”

“You won’t chase after me?” he asked.

“You’re gonna wanna see me after anyway, so no.”

“Hey, that’s mean!” But then, he seemed to have thought of something. “Why does Ieiri call me ‘Howard’?”

You retreated from him and slumped down one of the beanbags while he sat on your swivel chair, turning it a hundred and eighty degrees repeatedly. “You caught that, huh?” You couldn’t suppress the laughter that bubbled from your throat at his question. “I didn’t know your name the night we met but Satoru told them about you and I kinda just used the name to refer to you. You know, from the book I was reading at Maki’s.”

“The architect.”

“That one.”

“I see. I don’t mind then since you told me you’re in love with the character.” He winked at you. “But yeah, I was wondering if you enjoyed the meal at all. You haven’t said anything.”

“That speaks volumes of how much I enjoyed it.”

“I’m not really good at this whole impressing anybody thing, but I wanted to make the effort for you and your friends.” Sukuna sighed in relief. “I’ve only ever had one girlfriend after all, and I didn’t really do much in the relationship. And I never really went out with other women after that either save for some casual dates.” He smiled sheepishly at you, but he was confused at your reaction.

You just stared at him quizzically and in disbelief. There was no way you will ever believe that he only dated steadily once and didn’t go out that much to paint the town red. It was inconceivable for the obvious fact that he was so beautiful it was inhuman along with that great personality he has. Women will be lining up for him for sure.

“I don’t believe you.”

“It’s true.”

You shook your head, looking dubiously at him. “You’re pulling my leg.”

“Nope.” He shook his head as if to punctuate his statement.

“Everywhere we go, girls look at you and you expect me to believe that crap?” Hell, you wanted to pounce on him more often than not.

His expressions turned smug. “You care enough to notice, I see.”

It was unbelievable but you had to take his word for it. “You don’t sleep around either?”

“No. It just isn’t my thing.”

You just stared at him, your lower lip jutting out, not in disbelief anymore but in wonder. He’s a sensitive soul, you’ve figured that out, but you didn’t know it ran deeper than what you’ve seen so far.

“Don’t look so sad there.”

“I’m not. I really just don’t see it happening.”

“Should I be flattered?” he asked, but before you could answer, he said, “How about you?”

You swallowed hard, suddenly thinking hard about what you’re going to say to him. You didn’t really have a good track record where dating seriously was concerned. It was just not your cup of tea. “I’ve never had an exclusive relationship...” you began, eyeing him cautiously, “…ever.”

“Never?” He seemed to be having difficulty processing that.

You shook your head, your gaze guarded as you tried to gauge his reaction to your revelation. Somehow, you did not expect him to ask about the matter, and when he did, you didn’t really have a clue as to how you would address it. You realized just how different you were from him on that department. He seemed to value the emotions that come with engaging in physical intimacy while you just didn’t care enough for anyone to notice it.

“Now you’re shitting me.”

“I’m telling you the truth.” You frowned. “I think I mentioned this to you in passing the second time we met. I don’t date, at least not steadily.”

Sukuna obviously couldn’t wrap his head around the thought. “So you haven’t had a steady commitment with anyone?”

Again with the negative response. “Uh-uh.”

“Is it a matter of choice or is it a matter incapability, this I-don’t-date thing?”

“Both?” You shrugged, trying to think of a way to explain it to him. “I don’t for the reason that I don’t want to make a steady commitment. I just don’t see myself being invested with such intensity in anyone in a romantic way.”

“And why can’t you?”

“I get sick of people I’m involved with. In that manner, at least.” You chuckled humorlessly. “So…yeah.”

“But you’ve dated, right?”

You nodded. “Openly, yes, but I don’t stay long enough to really get into the whole relationship thing.” Talking about it was excruciating. It wasn’t something you discussed even with your friends. Suguru thought of it as you playing the field, but really, you had issues with the prospect of staying in an established bond with one person for a long period of time. You didn’t really know what to do with the information although you understood the mechanics.

He frowned then, looking deeply troubled. “So, you don’t date?”

“I did not date.” You made sure to emphasize on the past tense, knowing well what he would be assuming. “'Did not' being the operative term.”

“And now?” he asked, standing up when you did, too.

You stepped towards him. “What do you want it to be? It doesn’t just depend on me.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” he said patiently, coming to meet you halfway and cupping your face as he tilted his head down to look at you squarely in the eyes. “But I do want you for the long run.”

“For now, it’s just that you’re slowly changing my views about it,” you returned. “But I like you, Sukuna. And I care about you. A hell lot. Does that answer your question?”

He nodded.

You reached up, touching his face, running your finger over his jawline. “Can we work with that?”

He pressed his lips onto your forehead, wrapping his arms around you. “Count on it.”

***

"How do I look?" you asked as you walked into the living room in the black, long-sleeved, backless, lace mini cocktail dress that Ieiri chose for you, your pencil heels of the same color clacking on the tiled flooring. You found your three friends lined up on the couch like expectant parents who were sending off their daughter to her first dance, making you laugh.

"Stunning!" Satoru complimented without hesitation, jumping up the couch to make his way to you. "Our daughter's grown up, Suguru."

"Last time I checked, I'm the only one who was raising her," the other male replied.

"You did a good job."

"I did a good job," Ieiri chimed in.

You shook your head, checking the contents of your clutch. It was hopeless trying to get a proper answer from them, but you needed their output since you were new to the whole dressing-up for dinner thing because you never really allowed anyone to wine-and-dine you; never wasted time and resources on anybody you knew you weren’t exactly interested in for the long run. Still, you were more than happy to say yes to Sukuna when he said he'll be taking you to dinner after your exams.

He's been hanging around you almost every day since he cooked lunch at your place, making good on his words to you where the status of your relationship was involved. He would either come see you in the morning before he went to work or meet you at night for a quick drink at Maki's pub. At times, he'd be dropping by at your school during his breaks. And on the previous weekend, he came over, satisfying himself by sitting quietly on the couch with you leaning against his chest while you studied, even going through lengths of helping you out. At some point, you gave up cause he was distracting you, telling you about his plans while playing with your hair.

"You're gonna cook for me," you assumed.

"No. I'm taking you to that fancy restaurant in town."

You agreed without protests even when he refused after you suggested to split the bill knowing how expensive the place could be. You didn’t want him to think you were mooching off him just because he was older and you’re a broke university student. He seemed excited about the whole thing, so you didn't argue further.

Just then, you heard the sound of a car stopping in front of the house, and you made your way to the door despite Ieiri's tirade about you supposedly making the man walk to your door and ringing the bell, probably make him wait, too. Knowing Sukuna, he'll do just that but you didn't want them to pull their antics while that cliché scene by the doorstep unfolded. But she beat you to it, running a lot faster than you to open the door when you were halfway through the short hallway. Just as you were afraid of, Satoru and Suguru were also standing at the other end of the hallway.

"Guys!" you growled.

"We just wanna see you off," Suguru whined just as Ieiri said, "Hi, Howard."

"Hi," Sukuna returned the greeting, even waving at the boys behind you, looking debonair in a smart-casual charcoal grey ensemble over black, collarless button-downs.

Your annoyance died down at the sight of him and you felt yourself melting when your eyes finally met and he beamed brightly as he took in your appearance, looking like he was seeing color for the first time.

"Ready?" he asked and you nodded, stepping around Ieiri. "We're going" you told your friends, shooting them all warning looks before breaking into a nervous smile anyway as Sukuna led you away.

He opened the door to the passenger side of his... "Where's your Jeep?" you asked him, noticing the matte black sports car for the first time.

"At home," he told you. "I thought I'd switch it up for the occasion."

You shook your head as you climbed in, not really expecting him to go to that extent. You appreciated it but you weren't really high maintenance nor did you want the finer things. "So you just happened to have a Porsche 911 lying around?" you asked him when he finally made it to the driver's seat.

He nodded innocently. "I got it on a whim last year, but I decided it's too flashy so I had it stored at an exclusive garage and only took it out whenever I felt like it. I think this is a good time to take it for a spin."

"You didn't have to."

"I wanted to." He reached out to caress your cheek. "You're a vision, by the way."

You felt heat suffuse your cheeks at his gentle touch, but you held his hand in place as you faced him. "I could say the same for you."

"I always wear suits though," he said.

"Well, you're much too impatient with your blazers and you get rid of them when we meet," you began, "And you don't wear those for me."

He flashed you a cheeky grin. "Oh, so you want your men to dress for you?"

"Man, Sukuna. Singular."

It was his turn to blush. "I'm the only one, huh?"

You tilted your head to the side, smirking. "You wanna add someone else into the mix? I didn’t know you were into that."

He was flustered. "No?"

"If you have an exact replica, I wouldn't mind."

Sukuna burst out laughing. "You're crazy."

"It's your fault for hijacking my brain all the time."

Dinner had been great with the both of you pretty much making fun of the numerous silverware before you and making up stories of the haughty guests who came into the same fancy restaurant, some of whom were looking towards your direction.

"That one's a trophy wife," you told him, furtively glancing at the couple that entered. "She's all iced up but look at how her husband is interacting with the waitress."

"You can tell just by that?" he asked.

"I'm guessing they're regulars here and the waitress is one of those he is having an extramarital affair with just judging by the way she looked at him and how she's being all cozy with him." You chuckled. "Ah, now Mrs. X is unhappy. Pretty and bejeweled but very unhappy."

"What about that man there?" He mimicked the way you looked at the couple earlier, this time referring to that one by the glass walls at the corner.

"Oh that one? He's that demanding type who only wants to sit on his usual spot. He's hypochondriac. He's been wiping all the silverware."

Sukuna was obviously amused. "You observe people like this all the time?"

"I aspire to be a novelist if not a literature professor. I watch people to come up with stories, so it doesn't always mean what I'm saying about them is true. I just make it up as I go." You laughed. "But Suguru is a better writer than I am."

"Is he now?"

You nodded, eyes scanning the area. "That old lady is a rich widow who is keeping tradition alive."

He followed your line of vision. "Because she's wearing traditional garb?"

You shook your head. "Because she is alone with that sorrowful look on her face, and she has an extra serving of a meal across her which had been untouched since she ordered in. She's on a date with her dead husband. The empty seat is for him. It's their anniversary." You cocked your head towards the empty chair. "She placed that blazer on the backrest which is obviously not hers, and she just opened a wrapped-up present and made a show of presenting it to whoever should be seated there. Looked like men’s watch to me."

That same old woman stood by your table later in the evening to say, "You are a lovely couple. Cherish each other." And she also paid for a bottle of expensive wine which Sukuna asked to be wrapped for the two of you to take home.

"Looks like you're right about that one," he said as he drove you back to his place.

You nodded, smiling to yourself. "She was right, too," you murmured.

He blinked then looked at you. "Did you say something?"

"Nope."

If you were impressed with the Porsche, his place was even more amazing. The whole place was in scales of black, white and gray but nothing was monotonous about the space. He toured you around the house and it looked uninhabited if it weren't for the signs of life around. But what caught your eye was the shelf full of music, all in vinyl with his gramophone plugged in to a modern sound system. He liked old stuff, his collection ranging from 1903s music to more modern ones here and there.

His living room was strategically placed by the glass walls, providing a view of the cityscape where you found yourself standing, in awe of the sights before you. Just then, the familiar bars of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me" started playing in the background.

You were about to whirl around, but you felt him behind you, wrapping his arm around you as he made you face him. He extended a hand towards you then. You took it without hesitation although you didn't know what he was up to, surprised when he placed your arms on his shoulder while he held onto your waist.

"Dance with me," he said in a low tone as he pulled you closer.

You giggled at that, letting him slowly sway you to the beat while you just looked up at him, drowning in his eyes, his warmth and everything that was him. "I love this song."

He arched a brow at you. "You know Ben E. King?"

"I grew up listening to old music," you told him, nodding as you smiled fondly. "The perks of being a grandpa's girl. You get exposed to great music."

"The movie is my favorite, too."

Your eyes widened. "Really?"

He threw his head back in mock annoyance. "Let me guess. It's your favorite, too?"

"Yes!" you squealed excitedly.

Sukuna clucked his tongue. "You make it hard for me to resist you when you have great music and movie tastes, too."

You looked away, swearing you were beet red now. You playfully smacked him on the chest. "Don't say things like that with a straight face."

His laughter reverberated on his chest when you leaned your forehead against it, hiding your face from him. "Now, you're getting all shy around me?" he teased.

"Shut up," you mumbled, pouting at him but having a hard time as you fought the smile that played at the corners of your mouth.

"Seriously though, Y/N, you don't run out of surprises for me." He leaned his forehead against yours. "Every time, you put something new on the list of things I like about you."

"You have a list?"

He nodded. "It's getting hard to keep up with how long it has become."

"Where does it begin?" you asked out of curiosity.

He raised a hand, his finger tracing the point between your eyebrows. "Your brows furrow just around here when you're concentrating. Just like that time I met you at Maki's."

"Yeah?"

He nodded. "It's impressive how you're caught in a world of your own even in such a busy, crowded place."

"I’m just good at ignoring people. But stopped reading the moment you sat beside me." You snickered. "You make it hard to focus, it's an insult to the author when her characters are all beyond just interesting."

"How was I even distracting you? You weren’t even looking at me."

"That's what you thought." You shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "It's your hair at first, but then you also smelled too good to be true. That did it for me. And before I knew it, every word on the page I was reading became Cyrillic or something."

You didn't even realize that you've both come to a standstill, chuckling as you met his gaze again, only to feel his hand sliding behind your head, his fingers tangling with your hair as he dipped down and seized your lips, tilting his head slightly. It was a gentle kiss, his skilled lips light on yours, introducing his rhythm and flavor of mint mixed with the faint flavor of the wine you've both been drinking as you moved in sync with him.

It drove you crazy how his scent and taste filled every crevice of your being, desensitizing you while also pushing your senses on overdrive at the same time. The feel of his large hands as they secured you to him while his mouth did all the magic made your blood grow hot, the rush you felt inside consuming you. You visibly wobbled when he let go of you, making him look at you in amusement.

"Stay the night?" he asked, breaking into a grin. "I have a copy of our favorite movie. We can finish the wine that kind old lady gave us, and I'll make you pizza."

"You had me at our favorite movie," you said, still a bit dazed and drunk from the taste of him. "I'll stay."

**

Sukuna stood at the foot of his bed as he neatly placed everything you might need on it, running out of his unit to get stuff for you at the nearby convenience store. He glanced over at the door of the adjoining shower, smiling when he heard you humming. Well, he couldn't stop smiling all night seeing how beautiful you were in that black dress. He marveled at how you managed to be even more gorgeous when you were already driving him insane even when you wore sweats to school.

He found beauty in every little thing you did, feeling himself being overwhelmed with amazement even when you were just sitting there reading to how you spoke eloquently about things you were passionate about, the way you told the stories you made up despite how they leaned towards sad things. He found it attractive how you lacked complications and always gave him your honest opinions, how you tell him what was going on inside your mind without bars held.

He loved how kind and loving you are to your friends. It wasn't outward affection but he did notice the small things you did. How one word – "breathe" – would calm Satoru down, how one reassuring squeeze of the hand would pacify Ieiri and how a single look would convey your thoughts to Suguru. He would be jealous of it given any other circumstances, but you did so much more for him by just smiling and cheering him up when you sensed how tired he was from work which was often.

You were sensitive like that, appeared stronger and more resilient than you looked, but he and your friends couldn't help it but dote on you. It was kinda funny how they all referred to you as their daughter at first but when he found out they were doing that because they're the only family you had, he understood why. He understood why you tended to look at things the way you did. It only strengthened his urge to take care of you and protect you at all costs.

“Don’t give me that look,” you’ve told him then when he found out your grandfather, your only guardian and family, passed away three years ago, and you’ve only been living on the small fortune he bequeathed to you upon his death. Your parents were long dead, too, and you were basically alone in life.

He found it amazing that you could talk about the matter without being uncomfortable when he couldn’t even imagine how his life would be if he lost his mother at his age. He understood your independent nature, how you would give him funny looks whenever he volunteered to do something for you and why you were always so insistent on splitting the bill when you went out.

Still, when you said you didn't date steadily, it got him worried. Apart from the possibility that you might not stay with him for as long as he imagined – which made him afraid to breathe at times – he thought you might have issues from being alone too much; that maybe, the reason why you didn’t want to commit was because you didn’t want to open up only to be left alone again when things don’t work out. The way you spoke about the old woman at the restaurant and the way sadness crossed your features as you told him the story you’ve just made up sort of solidified his notions.

That’s exactly the reason why he was happy you weren’t pushing him away or refusing to stay with him. When you said you’ll stay the night, although he found joy in all the times you’ve been around him, he still felt unbelievably happy. Perhaps you were giving him a chance, giving whatever it is that’s between you the opportunity to blossom and just going with wherever and whatever it brings you. He liked that thought.

You came out of his room just as he was taking out the pizza he made, dressed in that oversized, white shirt he brought out for you, the collar askew on your shoulders. You walked into the kitchen running a towel on your hair, leaning on the counter. He almost dropped the pizza when he saw that you’ve forgone the sweats he’d given you, your legs bare from halfway down your thighs.

“I gave you pants, you know.”

You laughed at his words. “They’re too big for me. I returned them in your closet.”

He rolled his eyes playfully. “Go wait in the living room. I’ll be finished here in a bit.”

You did as you were told, much to his relief but still went to the extent of getting you a blanket in case you wanted to cover up, not that he minded looking at your legs. Nevertheless, he preferred not to with all the thoughts running amok in his head. He wanted to take things slow with you even if you were proving to be his kryptonite. You thanked him for it, happily munching on the pizza he made as the movie started.

“I can’t believe that woman gave us this expensive wine,” you said as you took a sip from your glass.

“I can’t believe we’re having pizza with it,” he said as he sat at the other end of the couch. The two of you laughed at that, but then he stopped when you did, noticing how you were looking at him with a confused look on your face. “What is it?”

“Why are sitting so far away from me?” you demanded, but instead of him moving towards you, you crawled on the sofa closer to him.

Sukuna reveled in how naturally you took his arm and placed it on your shoulder, leaning against him before adjusting your position and covering the two of you with the blanket. He was glad your guard was down where he was concerned, the fact that you smelled like his shampoo and were wearing his clothes making him all warm and fuzzy inside. He pulled you closer to him, eyes trained on his massive flat screen.

“Sukuna…” you said a few moments later.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“You’re too stiff.” You looked up at him, snickering. “I won’t steal your virtue if that’s what you’re scared of.”

He just laughed but it was taking everything he had in him not to do anything when you were tempting him in the most sinful ways, but he forgot all about that when your head lolled against his chest and found you sound asleep. You looked so serene that instead of taking you to bed, he sat there, cradling your form until the movie finished, his fingers playing with your hair.

Sukuna looked down at you, feeling like his chest was about to explode as he breathed in, realizing the depth of how much he felt for you, and although you couldn’t hear it, he said, “I’m in love with you, Y/N.”

***

The crisp morning air blew past the open balcony doors, into the bedroom, rustling the white sheets on his bed that momentarily served as the sanctuary of a tangle of limbs and blankets, cradled by the softness of the mattress and feather-filled pillows. Even breaths rose and fell in sync, filling the wide room. Languid fingers twined with the silkiness of long locks of hair and smooth, bare skin. The bed creaks and Sukuna’s eyes open to the brightness of daylight.

He took in his surroundings, and the first thing he noticed was the pressure on his leg, his left arm just by his shoulder and his chest along with the warmth that was coming from his side. His eyes wandered down to his body to the sheets barely reaching his waist, until finally he found the source of it all.

On his left side was none other than you, pressed to his side with no quantifiable distance separating your bodies but the measly fabric of the shirt you wore. Your hair fell on the pillows and his shoulder which was cushioning your head, your leg crooked across his thighs while your hand lay on his chest in a stagnant caress that suddenly made his whole body burn from the inside. Peering down, he noticed how your brows knit together in an unconscious frown while your thick lashes cast shadows below your closed eyes. Your long, lean legs were exposed to him up to your milky thighs as his shirt which you were wearing rode up, and he could only pray that you won’t move that limb any further or else…

Cursing at himself, he diverted his gaze and realized how his left hand had been running up and down your back. The feel of your warmth against the pads of his fingers sent him to the edge while your scent intoxicated him until he felt sweat beading on his forehead. He knew he was being shallow, but he couldn’t help it either. He was still human. Still, a smile made its way across his mouth. He was only able to think of the moment and how he wished to wake up to it every single morning of his existence. He decided to stay still and hold onto it while it lasted.

“Why are you so pretty?” he whispered, then pulled you closer while he closed his eyes, meaning to go back to sleep, but it wasn’t long before he felt you stir against him, your leg moving upwards. In the process, said limb swept higher, touching that particular spot between his legs. The weight of your leg didn’t help with the carnal thoughts that were already running amok in his mind.

You suddenly moved, groaning as you shifted, the drawn-out sound doing things to him.

Sukuna’s eyes remained shut, fearing what might come next after you discover the compromising position you were in, but it didn’t come. Instead, you just very slightly distanced yourself from him, remaining within reach, but he was startled when he suddenly felt cold fingers brush across the skin just below his lower lip.

“If I were an artists, I would have painted you,” you said quietly while your fingers travelled lower. “Just look at that jaw line.”

Sukuna felt himself shiver when your other hand began working its way from his collarbones, going all the way down to where his chiseled stomach was. The titillating sensation filled his brain and before he knew it, his eyes were half open while his hand had already grabbed you by the wrist. His other arm worked to topple you over, back to the comfort of the pillows, while he rolled on top of you, staying still while completely rendering you motionless by pinning your arm down.

The reverberation of your chest against his whilst you chuckled albeit his weight sent him to the edge, almost falling off, but he held still and stopped himself from doing anything.

“Ryomen Sukuna,” you whispered, tapping his back slightly.

He wondered whether you liked being there with him, too, or what. “L/N Y/N…What’s with the formality?” What, indeed? The two of you were in a very intimate position and yet he addressed you that way, sounding agonized even to himself. “Don’t do that.”

You scoffed good-naturedly. “Am I giving you strange feelings?” you questioned, ridiculing him early in the morning. “I knew you were pretending to be asleep. Men just can’t say no to a woman’s touch, huh?”

He supported his weight with his arm and drew himself up, the rest of his weight pushing down lower against you. He smirked then. “So you were also awake.”

“Yeah.”

“And you let me hold you anyway?” he murmured, his face almost closing in on yours.

You ignored the tone in which he spoke and its implications. “I was just too lazy to move. Besides, I thought you were a pillow. You’re so warm.”

“That sounds fishy, Y/N.”

“And what’s fishy about that?”

He broke into that crooked grin, feeling his evil streak resurfacing. “Hmm. The fact that you’re liking this as much as I am.”

You removed your hand from his grip and lightly slid it down his inked rib, going lower as you traced the patterns of his tattoo, your eyes remaining on him, a sultry smile swathed across your lips.

A moan nearly escaped his parted mouth, but he wasn’t able to hold back the sudden closing of his eyes and slight parting of his mouth as your hand reached halfway down. “S-stop…”

Your hand stopped where his pelvis was, but your fingers continued to draw circles on his skin. “Are you sure you want me to stop?”

Sukuna panted and nodded at you feeling his hot blood rushing southward.

“Yeah?” You laughed softly, your eyes widening a bit in amusement while your leg kicked faintly underneath him, feeling something stiffen against your thigh. “Something else tells me you don’t,” you purred into his ear.

Sukuna bit his lower lip, peeking at you through half-lidded eyes. He knew you felt that and he was getting embarrassed with every second he stayed there. He knew your effect on him and you were more than just aware of it. You were even going to the extent of toying with him, making him feel like a goddamn teenager with raging hormones.

“You’re baiting me,” he played along, brushing your hair off of your neck and twirling the strands with his finger.

You smirked. “Am I?” you said slowly, hand sliding on the garter of his sweats. You withdrew your hand and rolled the two of you over despite his weight, turning tables on him. You touched the tip of his nose, taking in the disappointed look on his face all to your amusement before getting off.

“You’re funny, Sukuna.”

Your leg wasn’t even halfway off of him from where you were sitting astride his torso when Sukuna decided he was going to take his chances with making you succumb to him somehow and he finalized that by stopping you. Grabbing your waist, he rolled you over once more and without second thoughts, dipped his mouth against your, just pecking you on the mouth at first to see what you would do.

Too stunned to react, you were only able to stare at him, but Sukuna didn’t just stop there. He pressed his mouth against your sensuous lips in numerous fleeting touches until he felt you respond to it in the same gentle manner. Those small gestures, along with the closing of your eyes, ignited the fire that had been coursing through him until he thought he would explode if he didn’t comfort himself with the feel of you against him.

Unable to hold back anymore, he crashed your lips together in an urgent, scorching and passionate kiss, nibbling on your lower lip. You responded in kind, possessively holding onto his taut shoulders as he lifted you both in a sitting position so you were kneeling astride his lap. Sukuna pushed his fingers into your hair, holding you against him while his mouth moved downwards to your neck, seductively biting on your collarbone, marking his trail of fire up the columns of your throat before returning to your mouth.

Opposite to his aim to escalate the heat and passion, you placed both of your hands on either side of his head, cupping his cheeks with gentle hands and pulled away slightly, still with your foreheads against each other, hands intact on his shoulders and your waist, both panting for air.

You flashed him an apologetic smile, swallowing hard as you pulled back and sat down on the bed, looking down at your hands which you were wringing. Silence fell over the room and when you came to your senses again, you met his gaze.

His eyes rounded at the realization of what he just did. “I’m sorry, I don’t what came over me.”

“It’s fine. Don’t apologize.” You shook your head. “Sukuna, I…I shouldn’t have…”

He smiled at you then and pulled you close, giving you a soft peck on the forehead, eventually taking you into his arms, soothing your back as he embraced you. “That’s not it, sweetheart. I can’t keep my hands to myself even when you’re not doing anything.”

“I’m sorry…”

He looked at you at arm’s length. “Don’t be.” You diverted your gaze, but Sukuna lifted your head with a finger, making you look at him, holding you in his gaze “I’m willing to take it slow if that’s what makes you comfortable.”

“Look, I just want to be sure about how I feel. I don’t want to be doing this half-baked because I don’t want to hurt you –”

He placed a finger against your lips, still raw from his kisses. He didn’t want to hear what you had to say just yet but he smiled slowly at you. “I’m willing to give you time, and for now, I just want us to stay like this. Is that okay?”

You nodded, swallowing hard.

You found yourselves lying in bed until the sun was high in the sky and it was just too warm to stay there. Endless talks led to teasing which eventually led to laughter. He was glad that you were back to your carefree self again, even happier that you were considering his feelings.

“Should we get something to eat?” you suggested to him.

“Are you hungry?” Sukuna asked.

“Yeah. Aren’t you?”

Sukuna chuckled. “Starving.” He stood up first and pulled you with him, leading you out of the room with a happy grin on his face. “Let’s make breakfast together?”

“Sure…” You beamed at him. “I’d like that.”

-end of part 2-

Additional notes are available in the masterlist, particularly on the reasons why I wrote some things the way I did.

Thank you so much for reading. Likes, comments and reblogs are deeply appreciated! Hope you enjoyed it.

© ORIGINAL WORK BY nanaminokanojo. CHARACTERS ARE INSPIRED BY GEGE AKUTAMI'S JUJUTSU KAISEN. [20210623]

PHOTO/IMAGE/GIF/FANART SOURCES FULLY CREDITED TO THE RESPECTIVE OWNERS.