#this was so long im sorry

[littlewrensx]

"Okay, you guys ready?" She asked the twins as they got out of the car. "Daddy is going to be so surprised when he sees you guys." Since the day she found out, she had been wracking her brain on how to tell him. When she got pregnant with the twins, she had no choice but to keep it a secret until she was already showing. Calvin had been overseas and she didn't want to tell him on the phone. But now he was going to be home through the whole thing. But still, she didn't want to say anything until she had a doctor confirm it. All he knew was that she had a doctor's appointment. She told him it was a simple annual check up. You'd think keeping her pregnancy a secret for three months would make her an expert, but no just keeping it a secret for a week was killing her. After her appointment, she had went and picked up the twins and had them help her pick out some shirts for them to wear when they got home. Gabriel wearing a 'big brother' and Madelyn wearing a 'big sister' shirt, she smiled as they were so excited to help tell their daddy the news. "Honey?" She called to Calvin once they stepped inside the house. | @spiritusmuses

[off-mozzarella]

Having a bit of a crisis about eow

I know that if I want to play it I have to buy it asap in order to avoid major spoilers, but honestly? I don't feel convinced to play it 😬

When it just came out and I saw positive comments I was sure I wanted to buy it, but I've seen a bit of gameplay and watched some mixed reviews and I'm not sure now

It's a bit different, and that doesn't mean I think it's bad, but I'm not sure it's the game for me, something about the echoes being the main way you fight and sometimes traverse doesn't really excite me lol, and I feel a bit resistant to the artstyle and how slow things seem to move xd

At the end of the day I won't really know if I like it unless I try it but do I wanna spend that much money to figure it out 💀

I impulsively bought aoc and only played it like 10hrs bc I didn't like it, and, even though I don't regret buying it, didn't really like totk that much

This helps making me kinda stressed out from weighing buying a game and potentially not liking it to not buying it and potentially missing out on something I would've liked (even if I'd watch gameplays, yk it's not the same)

A friend of mine has the game so maybe we'll talk a bit about it but... I mean she did like totk lol so we may have different standards for what we like to see in a game

I've seen most people are liking it but I feel like there's a lack of more critical reviews, and it just came out so not many people can have a perspective of the game as a whole

And there's other stuff I want to buyyy

Idk I'm terribly lost lol, if anyone is playing please enlighten me with your opinions on the game

[literatemisfit]

LiterateMisfit's Doctor Who Journal

Series 1, Episode 1 "Rose"

Of course, the first episode of the 2005 reboot serves to introduce a new audience to the concept of Doctor Who, the TARDIS, the Doctor, and the lore that surrounds the show. As a Canadian born in 1994, I was one of the many people who needed the information found in the first series, back in 2011 when I discovered Doctor Who, to understand the show as a whole.

Now re-watching the show, what struck me most during this episode was just how much information the writers were able to include without making us feel like we were being thrown a list of facts or a complex piece of lore. It was natural, well-paced, and genuinely intriguing. It felt both like we were being introduced to an already established legacy and that we were going to discover it together.

The episode opens with a completely retro energy (now even more outdated in 2023) in early 2000s style, from old cringey technology to electronic-like pop music in the background, all of which was new to me at the time, having been too young to remember it. The energy is exciting and ridiculous, yet somehow entirely iconic. Very Doctor Who-like.

One of the first themes that the episode tackles is perhaps my favourite Doctor Who theme of all time: the mundanity of every day human life. Rose Tyler is introduced as living an incredibly mundane life, experiencing both the happiness that mundanity can bring, in Mickey her boyfriend being sweet and silly with her, having chips on her work break, her family dynamic, and her very British (to me) teenage lifestyle, as well as the dullness of mundanity, in her retail job, her responsibilities, and her predictable routine.

The mundanity of her life is interrupted, or rather shattered, by the arrival of one mysterious and bewildering character: the Doctor.

The way the series introduces the audience to the Doctor is so satisfying, even in re-watching the show. We anticipate the iconic Doctor Who scares as soon as Rose arrives in the basement of her workplace. She is the cool, stylish every-girl but she is somehow entirely relatable as we the audience start to put together these clues with her. We wait for this first mystery to unfold, anticipating the Doctor to appear like a god, the all-knowing, confident, and brave hero that we long for. When he finally does appear, his hand appears in Rose's before we even see who he is, a sign of the help and care that he offers to humanity at every turn. And finally, we are introduced to the show's main concept with his first words: "Run!"

The villains of the episode, the Autons, are the first of many examples of how ordinary, simple things can be used so successfully in Doctor Who to absolutely terrify us. It is almost creepier that the monster is NOT a disgusting alien species, but something that we are regularly surrounded by in daily human life. Of course, Rose expects it to be a prank, the most obvious and human assumption to make, and only when she is surrounded does the reality of the danger hit.

Their first meeting is followed by several classic Doctor Who moments: the classic running sequence and escape, Rose questioning the Doctor on what is going on, and his flippant responses, showing her, and the audience, that we should not assume the obvious and instead think outside the box. We are also introduced to the classic technobabble explanations that the Doctor is famous for, his selfless and, somewhat suicidal, approach in stopping the villains with the knowledge that he may not survive himself, and his alien lack of compassion in revealing to Rose that Wilson, someone she knew, is dead.

As Rose comes to realize that this danger is very real, reminding us that there are real stakes in this silly-appearing scenario, the Doctor attempts, for the first time in this episode, to leave her behind, both for her own safety and in line with his own preference for solitude. Not only does he leave her behind, he also leaves her in the dark, refusing to explain to her what has happened or why, and expecting, with his own hubristic assumption, that she should and will forget about him. But, not before returning to introduce himself and learning her name ("Nice to meet you Rose. Run for you life!"), which cements their future together. As Rose escapes, we get our first glimpse of the TARDIS, hidden away in the shadows.

Another theme is revealed in the following scene: the human cost surrounding an alien invasion. The news station is investigating, the country is reacting, Jackie Tyler is on the phone with everyone in her social group about what happened and how her daughter almost died, and Mickey is a worried, nervous, and overly-affectionate wreck. Rose, meanwhile, has mixed emotions. Like most companions, she is bitter at not understanding, confused in light of what happened, and totally and insatiably curious.

Now jobless, Rose hits a new level of mundane life. She has a loss of focus and purpose, and a loss of balance in her life, which is why when the Doctor appears at her door, as they begin to be drawn together, they bicker like old friends and she welcomes him in. Slowly, she is beginning to trust him. Not only that, she is beginning to be excited by him. She is focused on the events of the night before, trying to put everything together, wanting to go to the police, and meanwhile the Doctor is focused on the apartment, his reflection - a nice touch post-regeneration - and Rose's things, human things. In an unlikely turn of events, at least in his own mind, the Doctor is warming up to Rose.

When the Auton's arm attacks the Doctor and then attacks Rose, he saves her and their relationship, and Rose's insatiable curiosity about him, becomes personal. Once again, he attempts to leave her behind without the answers to her questions. But she puts pressure on him, asking him his name, who he is, what is going on, and after refusing to answer anything ("You have to tell me what's going on" / "No, I don't"), her genuine curiosity gets him to open up ("There's a war going on" / "Start from the beginning").

This leads to an explanation, some banter and then, deadpanned: "They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you. Do you believe me?" / "No." / "But you're still listening." He is testing her fortitude, her curiosity, and more importantly, her trust in him. He foreshadows their future together ("We're falling through space, you and me") but ultimately, leaves her behind again: "Now forget me, Rose Tyler. Go home." He sends her away, dedicated to his solitude.

We hear the TARDIS for the first time, not knowing what it is, not seeing the TARDIS disappear yet, and somehow it is still completely exciting. Like us, Rose knows something is going on as she immediately begins doing research on "Doctor Blue Box". In her meeting with Clive the online archivist, we learn more integral pieces of lore: that the Doctor has no first name ("Just the Doctor, always the Doctor"), that photos of him exist from different historical periods, hinting at time travel before we even learn about what the TARDIS is capable of. In his research, Clive unknowingly summarizes the Doctor's legacy, the show's history, and foreshadows the rest of the first series:

"The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he's there. He brings a storm in his wake and he has one constant companion: Death. [...] I think he's the same man. I think he's immortal. I think he's an alien from another world."

While Clive is absolutely correct, Rose once again makes the very human assumption that he is, like Mickey warned, an absolute nutter. Little does Rose know, Mickey has been attacked and replaced while she has been in this meeting. Only when the Doctor appears, once again out of nowhere like a fated hero, to save her from the False Mickey do they finally come together as a team: the Doctor saves Rose from the Auton and Rose saves the restaurant guests by pulling the fire alarm. They are now working together.

In their escape, the TARDIS is finally revealed. The simple fact of a wooden box bemuses Rose - and us. Why would that be a safe place to hide? She enters and peeks inside, but before the inside of the TARDIS is revealed to us, we watch Rose investigate the outside to show us that it really is bigger on the inside. We learn more Doctor Who lore: that the TARDIS can move, that the phone box exterior is a disguise for alien technology, and that the Doctor can invoke alien tribunal methods like the Shadow Proclamation in negotiations with alien species.

We also learn for the first time that the Doctor is both infuriatingly arrogant ("Are you going to witter on all night?" [...] "Now shut up a minute" [...] "I'm busy trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering about on top of this planet") and entirely moral ("I'm not here to kill it. I've got to give it a chance" [...] "I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy"), a dichotomy that I cannot get enough of in this show. I did not realize it went back as far as the first episode of the new series.

The Doctor and Rose become partners in this case when Rose solves the mystery of the London Eye and we see the Doctor's first moment of pride in her as he says his catchphrase for the first time, "Fantastic!". Rose follows him into the sewers because her trust has truly been earned. For the same reason, he willingly shares information with her about the Autons and the Nestene Consciousness but these explanations no longer matter. What Rose is truly curious about is the Doctor: he is the real point of interest. She is discovering him at last.

We get the first mention of the Time War, again much earlier than I remembered, and thus we are introduced to the complexity of the Doctor's personal history ("I fought in the war. It wasn't my fault!"), and his grief and guilt, to be explored later on. As the invasion begins with Autons coming to life all over the city, we are reminded of the real danger that is now affecting more than just Rose. It now affects her family and all of London. Faced with the Autons, Clive finally understands that he was correct about the Doctor all along and is killed, foreshadowing the deaths of future companions and showing us the danger in knowing the truth when it comes to the Doctor.

The voice of the Nestene Consciousness first mentions the words "Time Lord", an admittedly thrilling moment, especially as someone who has already seen the show. Suddenly, the Doctor is trapped and Rose, faced with nothing but her mundane future, risks everything for the man that she just met armed only with her trust in him ("Got no A-levels, no job, no future") and SHE saves HIM, making her his equal ("You were useless in there. You'd be dead if it wasn't for me" / "Yes, I would. Thank you.") and proving herself as a worthy companion. Because of her, the alien invader is destroyed, the city is safe and, on a personal level, so is Jackie.

For the first time, the Doctor does not send her away. Instead, he tries to sell himself, and the abilities of the TARDIS, by pitting her mundane life against adventure ("Unless, I don't know, you could come with me"). Her response is surprisingly logical ("Is it always this dangerous?" / "Yeah.") and she refuses. She has responsibilities. She has a life here. And the Doctor disappears. Insatiably curious and hungry for excitement, she regrets her decision immediately.

Seconds later, the Doctor reappears ("It also travels in time") and makes his final pitch, his last desperate plea for a friend. Rose Tyler takes her second chance without hesitation and leaves Mickey behind to live his mundane life ("Thanks for what?" / "Exactly") and runs away to the stars.

[syfynjvall]

ok. Okok. i think i’ve got my jumbled up thoughts altogether so! here they are under the cut (and it won’t be spoiler free so heads up!)

N’s route: man… i think when i played i was on a “i havent seen these characters in years” goggles high, ie graduation goggles if you will, but now that im thinking on it, it wasn’t super erm. cohesive. like when you can choose to say ily early on but then if you dont and N says it later, theres no option to reciprocate? odd. also there is no conflict resolution for the argument, it’s just kinda brushed aside.

what i did like was that if you play with an equally romantic partner as n, they do have a bunch of nice little moments. i’ve seen ppl say they come off clingy but like. i didnt see it that way. to me it comes across as more just that they’re SO passionate and so focused about protecting everyone (as shown in the backstory) but i can see why it’s off putting to others

F route: very cute little moments w the detective, absolute dream of a partner if you ask me. them talking about their mom? ruined me a bit why lie. also the “you’re the most delicious thing i’ve tasted” oof. my pulse was weak lads

i didnt like that there wasnt an ily choice for them?? doesnt make sense to me??? out of all the routes i feel like their would have been the most natural place to have an ily, but i digress. anyway. F love and supremacy always

A route: mixed feelings for sure.. i did feel like some of it was a bit ooc or like, i was just getting mixed signals. they’d say one thing and then contradict it a paragraph later and i was like. huh. ok.

overall tho… i will be so real with you guys it was kind of delicious. dare i say it was maybe my favorite. ik some ppl thought it moved too fast and i can see that! but for me it’s really not /that/ fast. think about if you read a book series that’s 2 or 3 books and it’s a slowburn. usually the couple will admit their feelings by the end of the second book or smth. and it’s not like A actually expressed their feelings and then jumped into a relationship yk?? personally i found the “one kiss and i cant have you anymore, this is done, i can’t let myself feel this” absolutely scrumptious. the slowburn is still in action even tho they kissed to me! but ig why some ppl didnt love it. bonus; them crying outside the detectives door didn’t feel ooc to me either. they bottked up feelings for 900 years and then watched the person they love almost die like. three times. and then consequently shoved them away again so there’s no way they’d be able to keep all of THAT inside. walls r bound to break eventually. anyway i did think this route was inconsistent at times but generally. i had a blast w all that pain and suffering

M’s route: i still dont really know how i feel about this one tbh. i did like a lot of it: the bakery scene, the lil not date, the scene in the shower especially. to me that felt very natural, just like. intimate and personal without being too fast or whatever. big fan. might think about that for the rest of my life. also if you’re on verda’s route with m the dinner party scene was equal parts awkward and funny so that was fun. AND as meh and underwhelming as the auction was, them saying they were willing to give more for the detective than they ever thought… mwah. there were moments where M felt ooc but i think i liked half of it. probably 😭

overall like i said before.. plot wise it isnt very cohesive and it’s not very exciting, it felt more romance focused than plot focused which ig makes sense but? idk. i like the thrill

if you’ve stuck thru this whole essay you’re a saint. and drop more of your thoughts into my inbox bc im curious to know what yall are thinking!

[sentate]

SENTATE - The Sunset Collection

Blending beach days with date nights; The Sunset Collection is fresh set of romantic dresses that can be kept casual for the day or glammed up for the evening. Whether its a cheeky sheer mini dress or a showstopping silk gown, your sims are guaranteed to be sizzling by sunset!

This 8 item set comes in my 30 swatch colour palette plus 15 new print swatches.

8 Items Total / 30 Plain Swatches (+15 prints)

DOWNLOAD - Free on Patreon

MORE DOWNLOADS  |  TERMS OF USE  |  LINK TREE

[arttuff]

he is 10 apples tall

[seiwas]

i have so much to say about this fic and don't know where to start!!!

(long blabber of my thoughts under the cut!!)

sera, you opened this with such a strong introduction to one of my favourite themes when it comes to gojo: how much of him is man? monster? (human? god?).

a feeling of deep and solid peace had settled over him as he hacked through bodies, as if that was what he was meant to do. he already confused the ever thinning boundary between man and monster. that bloodshed brought him such euphoric tranquility could only mean it was growing worse.

this whole interaction with shoko was so interesting to me because of how gojo tries to chase back that feeling. war can do many things to people, but for it to be intriguing enough that gojo goes to shoko to lowkey re-experience dying like it's drug therapy shows how borderline insane he actually is!! it tells so much about his character too—that obsessive part of him that doesn't stop until he gets what he wants or figures shit out.

that being said, one of my favourite things about your knight!gojo series is how seamlessly you integrate the characters into this new world, with your very own (fleshed out) lore. your mind, sera!!

the relationships between the houses (especially the royal family and the gojos); who's noble, what they're known for, reminds me of all the things i love about series like game of thrones/house of the dragon!

i remember a scene from the first time you posted knight!gojo, the one of gojo and tsukumo dancing, and love it just as much as the first time i read it!

gojo’s looking at you. your cheeks heat with his attention. his stare is intense, eyes half-lidded. every move is prowling, almost predatory. his eyes remain fixated on your face as he and yuki move in a complicated, sinuous series of circles. there’s something impossibly filthy about his gaze. it borders on indecency, combined with the way he barely seems to be paying attention to dancing, giving you all of his focus instead.

when gojo stares at you so intensely while dancing with her, it really does feel like something rated r without actually being rated r, and that boggles my mind!! how you can do that sera!! the tension!!! how you can convey that through your writing!!

i love the characterisation, not just individually but in every dynamic too!

shoko is so witty and snappy, and i love how you characterise her, sera. not just in this fic, but even in your other works like cruel summer! she always adds so much sass to everything.

i also love how you included gojo's mother, which isn't something we really get to see in a lot of gojo fics. a lot of the time she's portrayed as an absentee parent, but i like how gojo has at least some form of affection for her here.

when getou came in to save princess from naoya, i scREAMED omg thank fuckin god!!! you wrote him so respectfully too, like how he wouldn't even touch princess' dress 🥺

then there's utahime! i've always loved how you write utahime (especially in cruel summer) and i love her all the same here! the relationship she and the princess share is so precious, and how princess regards her and feels bad that she's put in harm's way makes me 🥹 it comes to show how much heart you've put into the princess, sera, and i adore that!

why do the people around you insist on destroying themselves for your benefit? 

this line is one of the reasons i love the way you write the princess; the themes around her are so devastatingly tragic, i really feel so bad for her sometimes. there's so much expectation of her to live up to a role she was never prepared for, along with the fact that she has to satisfy her duties as princess—being a woman in that world, too. it's also another thing that she has to live with the fact that literally every person she loves becomes expendable for her sake (she is literally their dying cause). the way you write her really makes me ache!

she has all this, and then all her wants, but truly chooses to be practical about it. like she is so painfully aware of what she has to do that she finds no point dreaming otherwise (even though she so badly wants them). sometimes, i think that she constantly has to remind herself of it just so she believes it :(

if gojo satoru was your husband, no one would dare anything with you, but you chase the idea from your mind as quickly as gojo plants it. you’re your father’s daughter, raised on his practicality. you don’t waste time on pipe dreams. better the hideous truth than a lie costumed in beauty - the bite of thorns was infinitely preferable to the impermanent fantasy of petals.  ... gojo’s mother used to say that the more adamantly someone denied something, the closer to the truth it likely was. you can only hope gojo doesn’t remember, because she was right. the reason you won’t give him even an inch on the topic of marriage is because a proposal from him is the only thing you want but can’t have.  ... if you let him in for one second, you can imagine how easy it would be to never stop. he’s every one of your desires and hopes made manifest, tied up in a single person. ... thorns, not petals, you remind yourself. you can suffer the truth. 

there's a part that literally made me go:

but gojo knew you before you grew into the woman you are now. he still remembers how to pull smiles and tears from you, how to push you to the brink of exasperation and coax you into brilliant happiness. He has a key to all the gates you’ve erected. no matter what you do, he always slips past your defenses.  if you keep letting him do as he pleases, you’ll be the only one who loses. gojo is a man. If he’s rumored to be attached to the princess, it’ll elevate his reputation. he’s already the best swordsman in the entire kingdom. being thought of as a profligate would only make them worship him more. people love a little hint of degeneracy to their heroes - not too much to make them immoral, but enough to make them attainable.  a princess is not a hero. you’re not someone to attain, you’re someone to obtain. when people look at you, they only see the crown. if you’re thought of as a ruined woman, it would prevent you from finding a husband. it would destabilize the entire kingdom.  it hurts to realize that you’re that selfish. gojo would’ve chosen you over anything, but you’re letting something as empty as reputation displace him.  not that it’s exactly a choice. your life has been forfeit since you were born. you don’t belong to yourself, but to the royal house. as the only child of the king, you can’t allow yourself any mistakes, not when even the barest twitch of your fingers is scrutinized. 

reading it just stunned me completely! i love it so much because it touches on all the parts that make me feel so much for the princess. the burden placed on her is so heavy and there are so many things she has to consider.

you also add so much depth when you discuss how princess feels towards her father, because is it his fault he wasn't able to raise her? when he was grieving himself? can the princess truly blame him for that? honestly, i have mixed views about that too because the situation really is so complex.

you have such a gift, sera! creating a character that is so raw, so much so that readers ache for them and feel for them in the way that i managed to feel for the princess.

and don't even get me started on the dynamic between princess and gojo 😭 the push and pull is so strong; how they are equally so protective of each other, probably equally as jealous about others too. there's the teasing and the tension, and i just ugh! no words to even describe how much i love them together. you did such a wonderful job making me fall in love with them, sera 😭 gojo is so tender with princess and it makes my heart ache every time!

i don’t trust him, and especially not with you.” his hand smoothes over a stray ruffle on your petticoat, the gesture impossibly loving. “never with you, princess.”  ... he makes you feel at ease to speak freely without fearing how much you’ll reveal of your own vulnerabilities.  ... “then marry me,” he says softly. “marry me and be done with all of this. they don’t deserve you, anyway. they won’t treat you like I will.”  you close your eyes, feeling the telltale hotness of incoming tears burn behind your eyelids. why did he do this to you? he was so gentle it hurt, even though you knew he was capable of terrible things. somehow that made it worse, the knowledge that he was choosing to be kind. 

there's an exchange in the ballroom, the one where princess tells gojo to find another partner and he so firmly says he doesn't want to, that he doesn't care if people talk—and my heart reading it 🥲 i think the way you write gojo here is so desperately stubborn because all he truly cares about is the princess. it's echoed later on too, in the gardens when gojo tells the princess to take him in any way, he just wants to be next to her always 😢

there's also the assassination attempt! when princess thinks she's about to die and the last thing she wishes is to say goodbye to gojo. i love the entire exchange afterwards because it's truly one of the things i love about them—their lives are so different, shaped by the experiences that their positions have put them in but gojo never really makes her feel bad for being a princess. he never belittles her for the things he's used to but she isn't, and he just takes care of her, tenderly, gently, like handing her the cloak to wipe with should she vomit, like getting her silk slippers before letting her feet touch the floor (like who does that!!! omfg!!! gojo the man that you are!! sera the writer that you are making gojo the man that he is!!), like waiting for her and guiding her gently so she doesn't step on any blood (even lifting her up 😭). my heart was melting the entire time!!

the tournament also reminded me so much of that scene from house of the dragon! some of my favourite parts were:

at the end of their round, getou smiles even as gojo brings him to his knees. 

because it reminded me of satosugu in real 😭😭😭

he kneels - not to your father, but to you. 

because i got butterflies reading it for real!! his devotion omfg. and it's so cute too, how passing notes in secret is a thing for them.

that final scene in the garden had me crying too! the moment is so intimate, and the princess really loves him wholly and purely. gojo brings her crushed flowers and i still find it to be the cutest thing in this entire world 😭 then this:

“if not marriage, then knighthood. let me be yours, in whatever way i can have you.”  “you have me,” you tell him. “you always have.”

i'm crying 😭😭😭 gojo's devotion is so pure, and the princess' love for him is so pure too!! because she actually feels bad that he's devoted so much of himself to her at his own expense 😭

when i read this i really bawled:

gojo has been your dedicated shield for so long, the two of you have forgotten a life where he wouldn’t give up everything to protect you. he’d do anything for you - even that which he should hold sacred for himself. his very body is littered with scars that he’s received on your behalf. how much more can you take from him?  does gojo really want to marry you or does he want to protect you? will he play the part of the devoted servant for the rest of his life?  “you don’t have to…” you realize you don’t know how to say it. or that you don’t want to. selfishly, a part of you can’t bear to release him from the oath he gave you when you were children, though he couldn’t have known. neither of you could have understood what it meant for him to kneel at your feet and swear his life to you. it had all been in good fun, the way children understand things. “i don’t want you to- oh, satoru. you don’t owe me anything. you’ve done enough for me.” 

when she asks about the difference between wanting to marry or wanting to protect 😭 all the scars he's accumulated bc of her 😭 the fact that reader is willing to let him go, to set him free because he's done enough for her already aw mAN! i think truly, they both just love each other too much 😭😭😭😭

more lines that really made my heart hurt:

silently, you beg your tears not to fall. the way he disarms you is humiliating. you turn away, but gojo understands. years of watching after you has taught him a lot. he bandaged the scrapes that you refused to cry over and avenged your honor after you pretended your pride hadn’t been hurt. he can see right through you. “please don’t.”  ... you see the frustration on his face. he’s not a man used to holding himself back, and yet he does.  “it’s alright,” he says. “we can wait.”  it’s just another number to add to the tally of favors you owe him. 

and that scene at the end with yaga!!! i loved that so much from the first time i read knight!gojo too 😭

it's clear that gojo is so lovesick, he's a fool!

he was a soldier, so he had long since rid himself of the ability to lose his breath, but if he still could, he would’ve choked at the sight of her when he broke past the doors. 

how he cuts his little trip in shoko's lab and even hurries down the corridor just to get to the princess, how he's proud to protect her (to be the dragon that keeps people away), how he think she's so beautiful. it's the small things—how he rushes through the corridor, bites his lip to fight down a smile. he's so lovesick!! like the princess is his biggest damn crush and the love of his life!! (she probably is 😭).

when it comes to the princess, gojo drips with devotion and i find it so genius that it parallels so well with his position as knight. knights swear their devotion to their sovereign, just like gojo swears his devotion to the princess. and i'm not sure if that's something you meant to explore, sera, but regardless, it was so satisfying for me to uncover it. your beautiful mind!!

some of the lines that made me 😫 and think: gojo simp (for real felt these in my stomach)

wherever you were, he would always find you.  ... “don’t underestimate the things i’d do for the smallest sign of joy from you." ... “don’t make that face,” he says. “i’d marry you. if it came down to it, i’d take care of you.”  ... gojo’s mother had him trained in elegant cursive that he uses for formal documents and letters. In his messages to you, it degenerates into chicken scratch. it’s a lucky coincidence that it’s all but unreadable to anyone else, making it a code only you can decipher.  ... “i don’t care,” he says. “you’re what’s most important to me. more than pride, more than honor.” 

ultimately, your writing is, as always, just so beautiful, sera! i have too many favourite lines, but for sure the ones i featured here are some of them! literally had to stop myself from almost copy/pasting your entire fic when i was deciding what lines i liked best (and even then, i still listed down a lot 😭). i am always so fully engrossed in your works, and i am so immensely grateful for the amount of thought, love, and care you put into writing knight!gojo again! it's one of my favourites, truly :')

Act One, Chapter One: half agony, half hope

Knights are bound by duty and honor, but Gojo is more devoted to his princess than he ever was to his oaths.

Main Masterlist | AO3

wc — 10k

tags — royal au, knight gojo, princess reader, forbidden love, ballroom scene, dancing, court politics, blood, minor character death, period-typical misogyny, complicated relationships with fathers, secret meetings, flouting social etiquette by sneaking out to meet your childhood best friend who is also your loyal knight, title from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Next: the beginning of devotion (coming soon)

He was so still Shoko almost mistook him for a dead body. It was a common misunderstanding in her line of business, but not one she was usually startled by. As a poisoner, legally and officially a herbalist, the occasional corpse on her table wasn’t such an unexpected occurrence. A lord, on the other hand, was. 

Especially if it was him.   

Gojo Satoru wasn’t just a lord. He was the son of the former Hand of the King, the greatest swordsman in living history, and connected to the princess. There wasn’t a man alive who didn’t know the Gojo name. It was synonymous with the royal house itself as the clan that had produced scores of advisors to the king. In nearly every generation, the heir to the throne was accompanied by a Gojo, acting as a living sword and shield. 

But even with that storied history, this one was special. A young man who had risen to prominence during The Silent War, he returned home from hell as a knight unlike any other. The bards would adore him. They already did. 

Most generals earned their titles by leading campaigns. Gojo hadn’t needed one. He turned the tides of the war as a single man army. They had started calling him a grim reaper, a god of death. 

Shoko disliked him on principle, but she couldn’t kill a man like that. They’d have her head on a pike. She didn’t mind the idea of dying so much. What she did shrink from was the idea of dying painfully. 

The princess was known for abstaining from most decisions involving the crown despite being in line to inherit it, but Shoko somehow doubted that she would remain so passive if her favorite knight was murdered. Thankfully, Gojo let out a soft breath to show her that he did remain among the living. 

“I thought you died,” she remarked. 

“Sorry to disappoint you.” 

She said something else, but Gojo wasn’t listening anymore. He was floating through a shapeless world again, chasing that moment. It slipped away from him despite his redoubled attempts to capture it. He remembered the tang of iron in his mouth. Blood spraying in the air, a mist that he could smell and taste. The leather grip of his sword in his hands, slippery with sweat. 

He was trying to win back enlightenment, briefly attained and lost again just as quickly on the battlefield. A feeling of deep and solid peace had settled over him as he hacked through bodies, as if that was what he was meant to do. It should’ve concerned him. He already confused the ever thinning boundary between man and monster. That bloodshed brought him such euphoric tranquility could only mean it was growing worse, but he hated things he couldn’t understand. 

He needed to experience it again. Just one more time, so he could make sense of it. The smell of blood. Wading through the dead and the dying, thigh deep in gore - it was no use. Frustrated, he let it go. 

There was something soothing about the cracks in the ceiling. He stared up at it, letting his breaths come as shallowly as they had while he had been immersed in his meditative state. Shoko’s basement was chilly and dark, but it was necessary for the illegal autopsies she performed at his request. Those, and the poisons she crafted for him, were its primary purpose. It was only a stroke of luck that these qualities were also helpful for his attempts to recover his short-lived state of grace. 

He was tempted to try again, but not today. There was someone too precious to keep waiting if he delayed any longer. He wouldn’t impose upon her the way he often imposed on the elder lords who tried to remind him of his place by pulling rank. While they deserved his spite, she didn’t. 

Even Shoko was surprised by his sudden desire for punctuality. “You’re not going to stay?”

“I have a princess to rescue,” he said. “Dragons to slay, things of that nature.” 

Shoko scoffed. “You are the dragon they have to save princesses from.”

Well, Gojo thought as he hurried down the corridor, she wasn’t wrong. He was sure others agreed with her. He didn’t waste his time with children’s tales anymore, but he remembered his mother’s voice whispering to him in the dark, curled around him in his bed. A dragon was a tool to lock princesses away. His presence deterred anyone from coming too near to his princess, so by that definition, he was most certainly a dragon. 

Gojo found that he was a little proud of himself for that. Thinking of his mother had made him nostalgic. He thought she might be proud too, that he had taken such good care of the princess she herself had looked after. A dragon might trap, but it also guarded and hoarded. He had polished his princess like a treasure, lavishing her with attention until she had become a gem. 

She was beautiful. 

He was a soldier, so he had long since rid himself of the ability to lose his breath, but if he still could, he would’ve choked at the sight of her when he broke past the doors. She was seated so that the eye of anyone who entered the ballroom would be drawn to her first, but he would’ve found her regardless. He had promised. 

Wherever you were, he would always find you. 

It’s difficult to hide, being as tall as he is, but Gojo managed. He didn’t want you to see him coming. Already, he has to bite his lip to fight down his smile as he draws closer and closer. A few more steps, a detour to duck behind some random noble, and he’s in front of you. 

“May I?” You don’t have a chance to speak before he’s already dragging a chair closer. 

The smile on your face doesn’t match the harsh delivery of your words. “The next time you leave me alone with these miserable fools, I’ll order you to fall on your sword.”

Gojo laughs, unfazed. “Good choice. You’re too pretty to get your hands dirty. Although, you are a bit more murderous than expected for a princess.” 

“You try putting up with Naoya’s simpering gibberish for an hour.”

“I don’t have to.” He slips into the chair beside you, avoiding you neatly when you try to trip him. “Watch your feet, my lady. People like me don’t have to put up with Naoya.” 

People like you shouldn’t have to, either. You’re both higher ranking than he is, a princess and a lord each, yet Gojo’s the only one who gets to escape his painful-to-witness affections. 

It’s only natural. A royal dowry comes attached to you. Any eligible man would have to be an idiot not to fight for your hand, but really, they’re vying for a chance at kingship. You can’t go one day without someone reminding you that you’re a physical embodiment of the crown, something to want and own. 

Gojo pours himself water with a heavy hand, bypassing the wine. Watching him sip at it, you realize you’ve actually never seen him drink.

“Come now,” he says, a little softer. “Don’t look so desolate. What will I do if everyone sees you pouting? You’ll ruin my reputation.”  

“You don’t have a reputation to ruin.” 

“Don’t underestimate the things I’d do for the smallest sign of joy from you. Shall I procure one right now to destroy for your amusement?” 

You know he wants you to smile, but you can’t. Even if Gojo can usually pry laughter from you with the ease of a trained jester, this time, your sadness weighs over you like a heavy wool cloak. It’s your birthday, but it’s not a happy occasion. Every passing year tightens the noose around your neck. 

You’re a princess, and that means your life was arranged for you before you breathed your first breath. There’s nothing you can do about it. You’ve never had a choice. 

“Don’t,” he whispers. 

“Don’t what?” 

“Don’t make that face,” he says. “I’d marry you. If it came down to it, I’d take care of you.” 

His words nearly cause you to spill your drink all over your finely embroidered dress. If it set in, it would never come out. He grasps your hand just as the cup begins to tip, saving you. 

“Did you mistake your water for wine?” It’s a genuine question from you. 

He waves his goblet around carelessly. You’re worried he might be actually drunk, but you smell no alcohol on him. He couldn’t get inebriated from just a sip, anyway. Whatever wild whims have overtaken him tonight are entirely of his own design. 

“Better me than Naoya, no? I’d keep you safe.” He cracks a crooked smile in your direction, like you’re sharing a secret. “Admit it. I’d be a good husband. If I were around, you’d be untouchable.” 

He’s telling the truth. If Gojo Satoru was your husband, no one would dare anything with you, but you chase the idea from your mind as quickly as Gojo plants it. You’re your father’s daughter, raised on his practicality. You don’t waste time on pipe dreams. Better the hideous truth than a lie costumed in beauty - the bite of thorns was infinitely preferable to the impermanent fantasy of petals. 

Instead of answering him, you push your plate in his direction. You don’t even have to ask. Gojo dutifully takes your knife and fork in hand to cut up your meat. “Not even going to consider it, princess? I’m hurt. That was a serious offer, you know.” 

“You’re insufferable. Be quiet and eat.” 

Gojo’s mother used to say that the more adamantly someone denied something, the closer to the truth it likely was. You can only hope Gojo doesn’t remember, because she was right. The reason you won’t give him even an inch on the topic of marriage is because a proposal from him is the only thing you want but can’t have. 

Predictably, he ignores you. He’s never known when to quit. With so little that can genuinely stand in his way, Gojo has difficulty understanding the concept of a limitation. You’re both spoiled in that sense, noble children who had never been told no. 

“Think about it,” he says casually. “We’d be invincible. What other house could stand before our union?”

“I said- hello, father.” 

“A little early to be calling- oh, hello, Your Majesty. You look well tonight. Is that a new ring?” 

Your father cuffs Gojo around the ears. “Brat.” 

He’s in a good mood, then. 

“My little girl,” he says to you. “How pretty you look. I’m surprised no one has stolen you away from me yet.” 

You’re not so little anymore, but you forgive him. It’s just the two of you, ever since the queen died. He’s the reason you are what you are, as cultivated as a rose in a greenhouse. The climate that nurtured you is one carefully tailored by his own hand. 

“Not for lack of trying,” Gojo says brightly. 

“Boy,” your father calls him, despite the fact that Gojo isn’t a boy either. A deep sigh escapes his lungs. He looks truly sorrowful for a moment. “You look just like your mother.” 

Gojo’s smile freezes on his face. It’s true, he does. Through him, the king’s former hand lives again, but you know Gojo doesn’t want to be seen as an extension of her, even if he misses her more than anything. 

You’re familiar with the way your father knows exactly what to say to make you feel small again. The king is someone who exudes power. His uncanny ability to pick out what you’re most sensitive to and exploit it makes even the most proud of noblemen revert to children in his presence, as if they’ve been scolded by a nanny for stealing tarts from the kitchen. It’s strange that you feel the need to protect Gojo, the strongest person you know, from that. 

He reaches out and pats Gojo’s cheek now that he’s reduced him to silence. “Enjoy the night, my dear child.” 

When he leaves, Gojo slumps back in his chair with a tick in his jaw. Even if the king is your father, he can’t help himself. “Nasty old man,” he mutters. 

You pinch his thigh beneath the table. “Smile and look pretty.”

“Ugh, who is it now?”

“Lord Zenin and his son haven’t gotten their fill of tormenting me.” 

“Hm,” Gojo says. “I wonder.” 

“If you have a plan to avoid them, hurry. They’re nearly here.” 

“I don’t know,” he teases. “I don’t think you’d like it very much.”

“Yes, well, I don’t like conversation with Sir Zenin very much either.” 

He grabs your hand. “Then you’ll forgive me for anything that happens tonight?” 

“Anything is questionable, but do as you please.” 

He tugs you from your seat, pulling you through the crowd of people. Caught in his wake, you float past faces familiar and unfamiliar until the patriarch of House Zenin and his infernal spawn fade behind you. 

When you turn to face him again, he’s dipped into a bow. His smile is sweet, boyish. It’s as if you’re children again, and he’s stolen you from your lessons to waltz in an empty ballroom, motes of dust that you’ve stirred up floating in the sunbeams. 

He extends his hand, a sapphire burning on one finger. A dragon curls around the silver band of the ring, a nod to his heritage. Though the Gojos are a powerful and ancient house, in this moment, Gojo looks young, foolish, and all the better for it. 

“May I have this dance, my lady?” 

You giggle, wishing you had a fan to pretend to hide behind. You’re playing pretend again, acting as if you’re characters from a storybook.

“I’d be delighted to, my lord.” 

The music swells. Gojo takes your hand and presses a kiss to your bare knuckles. His lips are soft against your skin, temptation incarnate. In his grasp, your fingers tremble slightly, torn between wanting to seize him and wanting to run away. 

You’re terrified by how much you want him. 

If you let him in for one second, you can imagine how easy it would be to never stop. He’s every one of your desires and hopes made manifest, tied up in a single person. Although it’s impossible, you still feel the heat of him. The warmth of his lips linger on you, a stolen moment before he sweeps you up in his arms.

This is how you remember he’s a boy no longer. The breadth of his shoulders is wide. He’s lost the roundness of youth, his face growing angular and cunning. There’s solid muscle underneath your hands as he pulls you with him, his feet beating a steady rhythm that you have to fight to keep up with. 

He’s doing it on purpose, you know, testing how much you still retained all of those years of tutoring. You’re determined to show him they weren’t for naught. 

When you catch your breath and master the music once more, gliding with him rather than being tugged along, he smiles like he always expected you to. He’s been like this since you were young, dangling challenges in front of you that he’s equally as excited to see you pass as fail. 

The music slows. All around you, the frantic steps melt into slow swaying. You’re feeling brave tonight, so you step closer. You allow the arm curled more tightly around your waist, the tender look in his eyes. When you steal a glance around, no one is watching the two of you, but how far can you go before you lose it all? 

“Don’t talk to Naoya again,” he murmurs against your skin. It tickles, and you squirm until he presses so close it petrifies you. “I don’t like the rumors around him.”

“What rumors?”

“Bad ones. He tumbles girls and leaves them with nothing. Hurts them, takes whatever he wants, and ruins their lives. I don’t trust him, and especially not with you.” His hand smoothes over a stray ruffle on your petticoat, the gesture impossibly loving. “Never with you, princess.” 

You shudder at the way he says princess, feeling cut open, exposed. What has gotten into him tonight? You don’t understand. It feels like drowning, your brain always three steps behind, struggling to break the waves of your confusion. 

You know you’re weak. It’s your name that protects you, the threat of your father and the royal house behind you. Alone, you’re a lamb to slaughter. You’ve been spoiled your whole life, leaving you naive and helpless. 

Gojo is someone you trust implicitly. He’s always protected you. You’ve relied on him for as long as you’ve been alive, but perhaps that’s conditioned you to feel comfortable putting your hand into the mouth of the beast. Even at the chance of exposing how poorly you’ve been trained for the court’s schemes, you don’t hold back when you’re with him. He makes you feel at ease to speak freely without fearing how much you’ll reveal of your own vulnerabilities. 

“I can’t,” you tell him honestly. “House Zenin is one of the Three Great Houses. I can’t refuse Naoya without good reason.” 

“Then marry me,” he says softly. “Marry me and be done with all of this. They don’t deserve you, anyway. They won’t treat you like I will.” 

You close your eyes, feeling the telltale hotness of incoming tears burn behind your eyelids. Why did he do this to you? He was so gentle it hurt, even though you knew he was capable of terrible things. Somehow that made it worse, the knowledge that he was choosing to be kind. 

“You should go,” you say instead. 

Marriage between you and Gojo would never happen. Forget your father. An alliance between the strongest house and the royal house? It would be akin to tyranny. There would be blood in the streets before any of the other nobles would allow it. It’s better not to dream about impossible desires. 

Thorns, not petals, you remind yourself. You can suffer the truth. 

“Why?” He says. “I want to stay with you. I want to be good to you.” 

“This isn’t something to joke about, Satoru.” He looks like he’d rather you have slapped him. “Never talk to me about this again. Find someone else to dance with.” 

There. Your brain snags on something to distract you. You’ve been dancing with him for too long. It’ll reflect poorly on your reputation to give an unmarried man so much of your attention. 

“Pick another partner,” you urge him. 

His brow creases. Stubbornly, he holds onto you even tighter. “Don’t want to.” 

“You have to. Everyone will whisper. I’m surprised they aren’t already.”

“Then let them,” he pleads. “It doesn’t mean anything to me.” 

Regretfully, you pull away. Darkness clouds his beautiful face. It’s unnatural. When you remember him, he’s always smiling. The instances when he directs a genuine frown at you are few and far between, but you’ve already made your decision. 

Gojo stalks off in search of a new partner. Somehow, even though you were the one who forced him to leave, your heart stings to watch his back fade into the distance. If you didn’t want him to go, you shouldn’t have said anything. This is what you hoped for. Still, it’s painful. 

You want to find somewhere to rest after your spat, drained from a rare argument with him, but nowhere is secluded enough for you to let your guard down. Suddenly, you feel a wave of hatred for your stupid, glittering palace and the stupid, glittering fools infesting it. You just fought with your best friend and you’re tired, but you still have to keep up appearances. 

Somewhere nearby, Gojo is spinning another girl, her skirts flaring out around them. You wish you could press your palms to your eyes, letting the pressure relieve your headache, but you’ve shown enough weakness tonight. Instead, you tilt your head back and breathe, trying to appear calm and in control. 

It’s a good thing you restrained yourself, because Naoya is the one that finds you. His shoes are the first thing you see, black leather with steel accents. Steel, not silver, because he wants it to hurt when he kicks. 

You know. You’ve heard the stories. 

“Abandoned by Satoru, my lady?” You hate the way it sounds coming out of his mouth. Gojo makes it sound so intimate, like it’s for you and him only. Naoya’s version is a bastardization, much like the man himself. 

You’re too tired to deal with him, and yet, you’ll have to. House Zenin is important to your father and thus, important to you, especially when you inevitably replace him. “What are you insinuating about your princess, Sir Zenin?”

You use the proper address, the way he should’ve spoken about Gojo. They’re not close enough for him to be calling the other man by his first name. 

“Nothing, nothing,” he says. “Don’t get defensive now.”

You want to tell one of the knights stationed around the hall to drag him away. Instead, you smile and let him prattle on. Court politics. If you ever want to prove to your father you deserve everything you’ve been born into, you have to play the game. No matter how terrible some of the players are. 

“Since you graced Satoru with one, I hope you wouldn’t mind another dance.” 

Turning him down isn’t an option, but when you see that everyone’s watching, you realize even more how much it really isn’t an option. He probably arranged it that way too. Demonspawn. You’d curse his house if you could, instead, you offer him your hand, cringing internally when he tries kissing it. 

You can’t help but compare the two. Gojo did it better. 

Like any son of a high born house, Naoya’s a good dancer. It’s the one compliment you’re willing to grace him with, as everything else about him, especially his personality, is hideous. His hand is solid against your upper back, the other leading you as you spin around the room. It makes you want to scrub yourself clean, even under the layers of clothes. 

You’re doing this for your house. Your throne. This is nothing. None of your mantras diminish your desire to shove Naoya’s head in the cake waiting at the banquet table. 

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” he tells you. 

“Forwardness is unbecoming in a man,” you say with a smile, as if he’s telling you the sweetest nothings. “What would my father say?”

“Don’t play coy, princess. We both know how this ends.” 

“Please excuse me,” you say as soon as the song ends. One is enough. “I find myself rather dizzy.” 

Naoya’s lips whiten with anger. He tries to grab your wrist, but someone steps between you. “Watch your hands with Her Royal Highness, Zenin. I won’t tolerate your disrespect.” 

Naoya’s eyes flash, but the interloper is sweeping you away already. His hands hover above your dress, never actually touching, as he guides you in the opposite direction. 

“Sir Getou, what are you doing?” 

Getou looks down on you in amusement once you’re a safe distance away. “Satoru sent me to rescue you, of course. I didn’t think he was serious when he said you would get into trouble without him.”

“Trouble finds me,” you reply archly. 

“Yes, yes,” he placates, sparking annoyance even though he just saved you from Naoya. “Are you tired of dancing yet, or do you have room for one more? I’m hoping to make an impression on potential wives by dancing with the princess.”

You’re smart enough to know that one more is rarely truly one more, but Getou did save you from Naoya. Besides, if you’re busy with him, no one else can ask for your hand. 

“I suppose I can spare you a dance.” 

Like Gojo, Getou is an adept dancer. He is, after all, a trained court noble, and the sons of House Getou are unusually predisposed to the arts in any case. If the Gojos are known for their strength, the Getous are known for their crafts. 

Getou doesn’t flinch from your unwavering gaze. If anything, he seems to find it amusing, although in the way one would find a puppy amusing. Gently, he leads you around the ballroom. 

“Stay alert, my lady. Someone’s watching you,” Getou warns. 

You follow his gaze to Gojo. There’s a beautiful woman in his arms that takes you no time at all to place, so infamous is her notoriety. Yuki of House Tsukumo is second only to Gojo in her blatant disrespect for everything the elders held dear. 

They make a striking couple. Everywhere they go, heads turn to watch them pass. Her gold to his silver, her lion to his dragon - it would be a powerful match. They would be perfect for each other, if only because no one would be able to challenge each other like they could. 

Excellent dancers each, together they become an instrument for the music to shine through. Getou is gentle with you, each movement as delicate as lilies floating across the surface of a pond. In contrast, Gojo and Yuki dance like they’re fighting, each trying to gain an advantage over the other. They’re magnetic, drawing every eye in the room to watch them. 

Everyone else may be entranced by the pair of them, but the pair itself seems disinterested in the crowd around them. Yuki’s eyes are closed but Gojo-

Gojo’s looking at you. Your cheeks heat with his attention. His stare is intense, eyes half-lidded. Every move is prowling, almost predatory. His eyes remain fixated on your face as he and Yuki move in a complicated, sinuous series of circles. There’s something impossibly filthy about his gaze. It borders on indecency, combined with the way he barely seems to be paying attention to dancing, giving you all of his focus instead.

“We can’t let them steal all the attention,” Getou says. He really is Gojo’s brother-in-arms. “Let’s give them a show.” 

You’ve never been trained in statecraft, but you’ve been given the very finest of tutors in the elegant manners of the court. A show, as Getou puts it, is more than within your capabilities. You close your senses to the rest of the world, focusing on the shift of your skirts and Getou’s quiet voice as your steps weave intricate patterns across the floor. 

He’s a naturally friendly man. It’s easy to talk to him, whispering between each peak in the music. Although he’s friends with Gojo, your social circles rarely overlap enough for you to spend much time in Getou’s company. You’re almost surprised by how much you enjoy it. 

“I think it’s time to change partners,” calls a familiar voice.

As Getou takes the hands of Lady Yuki, her eyes still closed as she sways, someone takes his place. Gojo’s hand slides from where Getou’s were placed appropriately on your upper back down to your hip. You drag them back up, ignoring his pout. He’ll be your last dance of the night. 

“Should I be worried about being replaced?” He murmurs. 

“It was only one turn,” you tell him. 

“And I never want to do it again,” he says. “The other girls don’t dance like you do.” 

He’s an unrepentant liar. You might have been tutored by the best dancers your father could find, but at this level, first and second place might as well be interchangeable. He’s only saying it so you know that he wanted to come back to you, despite the fact that you forced him away. 

Gojo’s a contradiction wrapped inside a paradox, at once sadistic and merciful. No one’s capable of making you feel as much as he does. Without the guidance of formal tutors to give you the education of a prince, you have no idea how to navigate the dangerous world of alliances and betrayals, war and peace. Once, you clumsily blundered through diplomacy, watching your father’s disappointment grow by the hour. You’ve since learned that complete silence is preferable to gaucheness. At least that is something your education as a princess has taught you. 

But Gojo knew you before you grew into the woman you are now. He still remembers how to pull smiles and tears from you, how to push you to the brink of exasperation and coax you into brilliant happiness. He has a key to all the gates you’ve erected. No matter what you do, he always slips past your defenses. 

If you keep letting him do as he pleases, you’ll be the only one who loses. Gojo is a man. If he’s rumored to be attached to the princess, it’ll elevate his reputation. He’s already the best swordsman in the entire kingdom. Being thought of as a profligate would only make them worship him more. People love a little hint of degeneracy to their heroes - not too much to make them immoral, but enough to make them attainable. 

A princess is not a hero. You’re not someone to attain, you’re someone to obtain. When people look at you, they only see the crown. If you’re thought of as a ruined woman, it would prevent you from finding a husband. It would destabilize the entire kingdom. 

It hurts to realize that you’re that selfish. Gojo would’ve chosen you over anything, but you’re letting something as empty as reputation displace him. 

Not that it’s exactly a choice. Your life has been forfeit since you were born. You don’t belong to yourself, but to the royal house. As the only child of the king, you can’t allow yourself any mistakes, not when even the barest twitch of your fingers is scrutinized. 

When Gojo offers to escort you back to your chambers at the end of the night, you swallow down the desire to agree. His eyes are hopeful, mirroring your own expression. It could be like back then, when you were children, running through the halls of the grand palace without a care in the world. Except you know you can never return to the halcyon days of your childhood, before your mother died, before his mother disappeared, before everything went wrong. You try not to let the disappointment on his face bother you when you allow the knight your father sent to bring you back to your rooms instead. 

You attribute the strange feeling you get in the morning to the leftover melancholy of last night. Sunlight trickles across your face lazily, not enough to raise you from your bed but just bright enough to remind you that morning was here. 

You’ve never slept long enough for the sun to warm your face while you were still entangled in your sheets before. The window faces your bed at such an awkward angle that the sun has to be high in the sky before it can light across your pillows. 

Usually a maid wakes you by now if you aren’t up already. Where were they? 

A gentle knock at the door only makes you more apprehensive. It can’t be Utahime. You know the sound of her steps. The pacing is stilted, awkward, as if whoever was behind the door was nervous. 

“Hello?”

“Oh, princess!” Definitely nervous. Not a voice you can recognize. A new maid, perhaps? But why would they-

The door bursts open. You scream as a cloaked figure lunges at you. She throws herself on top of you, trying to pin you to the bed so she can run you through with the knife she has raised in her left hand. 

She’s crying. “You weren’t supposed to be awake!”

Crying and angry. Fluffy white down bursts into the air, obscuring your vision as she stabs a pillow so brutally it vomits its contents. She’s not very good, which explains her terror. Unfortunately, you aren’t very good either, and you’re pinned underneath her. Thrashing doesn’t work - at the very least, she’s stronger than you, if badly trained. 

When she finally immobilizes you, she has a growing bruise over her arm from a terrible punch you had thrown, trying to mimic the way Gojo does it. Keeping your thumb outside your fist was all you remembered, and it went wide. You barely managed to hit her, and it came with a cost. She snags your wrist and pins it down. 

The knife plunges towards you. It’s rusty, which terrifies you almost as much as the implement itself. If by some miracle you survived, you’d be at risk of infection. 

Blue eyes flash before you. In this moment, an inch away from death, you wish you had gotten to say goodbye to him. Fear robs you of rationality. You don’t know anything but that you want to see him one more time and feel the warmth of his embrace. 

“Princess, it’s okay. I’m here.” 

You crack an eye open. The girl is no longer visible. The only person leaning over you now has white hair and the characteristic Gojo eyes, impossible to fake. You decide you must’ve died already. This is heaven, where your wishes have been granted. 

Gojo pulls you up. His hands are warm and solid. Vaguely, you realize that you’re trembling with the same nonchalant distance that you would use to catalog the color of the pillows. 

“You’re not dead yet.”

“Did I say that out loud?”

He chuckles. His thumb is rubbing soothing circles into your palm. “No, I could just tell by the look in your eyes.” 

“The girl…”

“Dead.” 

You scramble to the edge of your bed and peek over. Sure enough, she’s lying in a pool of her own blood. Her throat has been cut so surely her head is nearly separated from her body. 

You gag. 

“Wait,” Gojo says. He kneels to tear off her cloak and holds it in front of you. “Here, princess.”

You don’t want to give in to your queasiness, especially not when he himself is so stoic, so you shake your head. More insistently, he pushes it towards you. 

“It’s only natural,” he soothes. “I’m used to this. You’ve never seen a dead body before.”

“Just come here,” you say weakly. “No, actually. I’ll come to you.” 

“Give me a second,” he says, dropping to his knees. Under the bed, he retrieves your silk slippers. He slips them onto your feet gently, standing when he’s finished with his task. 

Obligingly, he waits as you gingerly step over the girl. When your slipper threatens to dip into the red stain spreading across your floor, he simply grabs you underneath the armpits and lifts you over it. 

Even though it’s a horrific scene, you can’t look away. Her face is frozen in a still mask. Bile fills your stomach. Gojo gently turns your head in another direction with two fingers, the touch delicate. “Don’t look.” 

“I think I’m going to be sick.” 

“I told you not to restrain yourself,” he says disapprovingly.

“You’re not- you’re-“ You can’t figure out the right way to finish your sentence. “Does it really get that easy?” 

His laugh is short and brutal. “Easy? I didn’t even think about it. All I know how to do is kill. I don’t mind it, for you.” 

You shake your head. There’s nothing to say, with a body between you and blood pooling around both your shoes, but still, your heart aches. You had known him when he was a boy. It would always be hard to see him with calluses where once his hands had been chubby and soft. 

He chucks you under the chin, the gesture fleetingly affectionate. “Don’t be so despondent, princess. I’m glad to do it. That’s what knights are for.” 

Knights and maids, all meant to lay down their life or other lives for you at your convenience. Utahime was too loyal to have let an assassin into your chambers by choice. Your breath catches. It concerns him that you’re teetering into upset again, just when he’s calmed you down. 

“Satoru, is Iori-“ The thought is too horrible. You can’t finish it. 

“She’s not dead,” he says. 

Noticeably, he doesn’t say that she’s alright. 

Utahime will be scarred forever. They found her slumped at the bottom of the stairs, her body dumped unceremoniously after they stole her from outside your bedroom. A massive gash opened her right cheek up, crossing just slightly over her nose bridge. 

You almost can’t bear to look at her. Not because her scar makes her hideous - far from it. Utahime will always be beautiful to you. The scar is only a reminder of how you’ve failed her. 

You’re a princess without any power.  All you can do is fuss over her after the fact, unable to change the past. 

“Princess,” she hisses, jerking away from you for the third time in as many minutes. “You must stop! I’m your lady-in-waiting, not the other way around.” 

“You got hurt for me,” you say, hands balled helplessly at your side. You refuse to touch her more aggressively, for fear of aggravating her wound. The bandages wrapped around her cheek are an ever present reminder of how much she’s sacrificed for you. So are the whispers. The looks. She holds her head high, acting as if it doesn’t bother her. 

“I was glad to do it. I didn’t want to be shipped off to some far away baron anyway. Be grateful,” she cracks a smile you don’t feel. “I certainly am. At least I could still join the church, if anything.” 

Why do the people around you insist on destroying themselves for your benefit? 

“You don’t need a baron.” Loyally, you vow, “I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life.”

“Be careful, my lady. Some would take that as a marriage proposal, and then I’d have twice as many death threats.”

“I’d protect you.”

“You, princess? I doubt that,” Gojo calls. 

You’ve been watching the knights move in and out of the arena from your vantage point on the royal balcony, but very few of them have dared to address you, much less speak to you so casually. They’re all too focused on the tourney you’re set to watch this afternoon. Only he would be so familiar with you and so unconcerned about the sparring, knowing his chances. 

Utahime lets out an aggressive sigh with no regard as to whether or not Gojo could hear her. In fact, she’d probably prefer it if he had overheard. Gojo, for his part, ignores the chance to antagonize her for once in his life in order to focus on you.  

“You know, my lady, I’ve heard an interesting rumor going around.” 

You walk to the edge of the balcony and peer over the railing. Utahime gasps in fear and grabs onto your petticoats, afraid that you’ll tip over the fencing. “Go on, Sir Gojo,” you say. 

“If a fair damsel grants a knight her favor, he’ll fight ten times as well. Twenty, even. And all the more so if it’s the princess, who everyone knows is the fairest in the land.”

Unwillingly, a smile twitches to life upon your lips. “Is that so?”

“Won’t you grant your most loyal knight a token of your affection?”

“Don’t,” Utahime gripes. “What has he done to deserve it?”

A scrap of pale blue fabric flutters in the light breeze, reminiscent of doves. Gojo catches the ribbon you’ve loosed from your hair, his fist enclosed in armor. He brings it to his lips for a chaste kiss he can’t place upon you. The entire time, his eyes are on yours, searching. 

“I’ll win this whole thing,” he says. “I’ll defeat every knight here for you.” 

The trumpets blow, calling the contestants. He’ll be wanted. Utahime shakes you lightly as he leaves your sight. “Get yourself together,” she says sternly. 

“But mama, I love him!” You joke. 

Her frown can’t last in the face of your teasing smile. She fixes the lace on your sleeve and collar, though they’re hardly ruffled. She can’t help herself. It’s her second nature to dote on you. 

“Ah, my princess,” she sighs. “You worry me.” 

You poke her uninjured cheek, trying to get her to smile. “It’s not me. You worry too much.”

Another voice cuts in. “I feel the same way sometimes, my dear Lady Utahime, but I trust no one more than you. Her mother left her to your capable hands, after all.” 

Your father has arrived. Utahime smiles as the king kisses her cheek, but you can’t. You know he means it lightheartedly, but it galls you all the more that he says it so blithely. When your mother fell ill, Utahime had been the one who took charge of looking after you. 

Not your father. 

Not your only living parent, the man who was supposed to feel all the closer to you for your loss. Instead, he pushed you away. 

You knew you weren’t being fair. 

The king had been wracked with grief over the passing of his beloved wife. Along with his other royal duties, he couldn’t possibly have been expected to watch over an infant as well. You know better than anyone the toll the crown takes on a man. Stewardship of this land asks a heavy price. It’s not an easy role. 

No, you can’t blame your father for choosing the country. It’s his duty, as it is yours.

You only wish it hadn’t been Utahime’s burden to carry instead. She was just a few years older, a child still when she had raised another child. In many ways, she had been a mother to you. Only now that you’ve grown older than she had been back then do you understand how much responsibility she had accepted at such a young age. 

Your father turns to you. “Are you enjoying the tournament?”

“It’s barely started. Only the squires have been jousting. We haven’t seen any of the real knights yet.” 

“Those squires will become knights themselves one day. Watch carefully, and you may discover a treasure worth keeping.”

As he speaks, you finally find someone worth watching, as if your father only had to say it to cause it to happen. A boy with rosy hair lunges towards his opponent. He disarms him and forces him to the ground - only to offer him his hand in exchange.  

The other squire hesitates. Doubt crosses his face. Finally, he accepts the proffered hand like someone expecting an attack at any minute, but all the other boy does is pull him to his feet and dust him off. He’s more honorable than most of the knights of the realm you know, too focused on humiliating their opponents to flaunt their own glory. 

Your father doesn’t notice your distraction. He’s still speaking. You bring yourself back to the conversation just in time to hear him say, “Sukuna, the King of the Curses.”

“Sorry?” You laugh. 

“It’s no laughing matter, I’m afraid,” your father says gravely. “He’s the ruler of the Western Kingdom, the land where the sun never sets. Perhaps he’s grown tired of his arid land and seeks gentler climes, for his invasions have earned him the title ‘King of Curses’.” 

Utahime’s lip curls in disgust. “King of Cruelty is more like it. I’ve heard of what he’s done to his prisoners. That man has no honor.”

“None,” your father agrees, “and yet it is necessary not to antagonize him. We are small if prosperous. We can’t afford it.”

Utahime looks as if she wants to speak, but she holds her tongue. She’s always been good at navigating the court. Trained under her, you wait as well. Taking your cues from her is something you’ve done since you were a child.

“Yes,” your father says, his eyes distant. He’s ruminating over something he won’t share. “He can’t be provoked. The representative he sent us for this tourney must be carefully attended to.” 

That representative, Uraume, doesn’t fight like any knight you know. Their sword is wider than most of those found in your country, and half as tall as a man. Precision is lost in favor of brutality. They wreak havoc with the brutality of a butcher, tearing through the ranks of your best and strongest. Of course, he’s not the only strong fighter. There are other knights to watch as well. 

“That Lady Tsukumo is doing quite well for a woman,” your father notes in surprise. “What prodigious talent. I don’t think her house has produced a fighter like that in years.”

“She’s better than half your knights,” you remind him. “Lady Tsukumo already defeated most of her bracket.” 

“Yes, yes,” your father laughs. “You know I don’t mean it like that. I’m simply admiring her.” 

As the day progresses, clear victors emerge in each division of the tournament. Uraume is one of them. Gojo is another. 

They placed him against Getou for his penultimate match, knowing the crowd would go wild for a contest between not only two of the best knights of the realm, but sworn brothers. Although Getou is better than most, Gojo is more of a natural disaster than a real, human adversary. At the end of their round, Getou smiles even as Gojo brings him to his knees. 

The next round is even more hotly anticipated than Getou and Gojo’s. 

Gojo strides into the center of the arena with the classic arrogance he’s known for. He delights in riling the crowd up. They cheer louder and louder on each circuit he laps around the arena on his silver stallion, pale as moonlight. By the last, they’re nearly delirious with passion for him. 

Uraume has no such pretenses. They’re a cold creature, as frigid as they come. 

It matters not. Gojo beats them so easily that it can only be described as disrespectful. He rides past Uraume and thrusts the hilt of his sword into their stomach with such force they fall off their horse. Gojo dismounts casually. He hadn’t even used his blade. He flips Uraume onto their back with a boot and steps onto their breastplate, pinning them in place. His sword hovers underneath their chin, a whisper away from death. “Yield,” he says pleasantly. 

You, remembering your fathers speech about Sukuna’s chosen representative from that morning, glance to the side. He’s smiling as gently as ever. Underneath his cloak, where only you and Utahime can see, his hands clenched so tightly his knuckles have turned white. 

After the match, you recognize one of the men rushing Uraume off to be one of your father’s most trusted advisors. He must be doing damage control, but then again, when is he not when Gojo’s around? 

Your father stands, as composed as if he had never been upset in the first place. You envy that self-control. You’ve always aspired to your father. In your eyes, he was the perfect ruler - perhaps because he was the one who taught you what a ruler should be. 

Gojo waits in the center of the arena. He’s beautiful as always, as fierce as an avenging angel. There’s a fine sweat beading at his temples in a way that makes you want to wipe it off with your handkerchief, but you abstain, knowing thousands are watching. 

Gojo has no such scruples. 

When it’s time for him to be awarded his laurel crown, he kneels - not to your father, but to you. A gasp rises from the crowd. You stifle your own shock. Here, where every sign of weakness is clearly visible and easily taken advantage of, you can’t reveal that this wasn’t planned. The royal family’s control over its retainers must appear immaculate - even if Gojo had always been uncontrollable. 

Wordlessly, your father passes you the laurel. You know something is brewing. He can only tolerate Gojo’s outlandish behavior so many times. But this isn’t the place to worry about your father’s incumbent wrath, so you take over the duties of honoring the victor. It’s easy. You’ve seen your father do it enough times to be able to replicate it in your sleep. 

Gojo rises from his knees, a hungry smile on his face. “I told you I’d win.” 

“That you did,” you reply noncommittally, trying to figure out how you’re going to discreetly get him out of the arena without your father attempting to try him for treason. 

He frowns. Knowing him and the type of maneuvers he’s likely to pull, you put a respectable amount of distance between the two of you as you mark his brow in gold paint. 

When you grasp his hand to lift his arm into the air, he presses something into your palm. Years of sharing secrets and playing pretend at espionage have trained you not to flinch. When you lower your enjoined hands, you slip the shred of paper he’s passed you into your pocket. 

People are cheering. You notice with warmth that he looks heroic, like he’s stepped right out of an old legend. Your father doesn’t seem to agree. 

Arguments between the two of you used to be few and far between, but lately it seems like you can’t do anything right. You’d forgotten what it was like to retreat to your parents’ bedroom for a scolding. It hadn’t happened since you were a child, yet here you were again, studying the fabric of the draperies to avoid eye contact with your father, just like you had when you were younger. 

“He wasn’t trying to be disrespectful,” you start. But that’s not true, and you know it. So you try again. “He wasn’t trying to cause problems. He cares about the kingdom, father. He was just trying to show off his - our - strength.” 

“Gojo is a liability.” How easily your father casts him off, marks him as defective. He’s always been like that - clinical in his appraisal. You lacked that precise, indifferent ruthlessness. You’ve tried. 

“He’s a good man, a good knight. House Gojo has always been loyal to us, father. Remember his mother? Remember Sorashi? She wouldn’t want you to treat her son like this.”

Your father flinches. First comes sorrow, then, anger. “Don’t speak to me about Sorashi.”

“You can’t just pretend like they never existed! Sorashi, my mother-“

“Child, you are testing my patience dangerously.” 

You fall silent, hating yourself for it. Always a child. Never someone worth listening to. 

“You don’t understand anything,” he says more gently. 

“I don’t understand anything because you won’t tell me anything!” 

“You’re a princess,” he snarls. “You’re not supposed to know anything!”

You reel back, stunned. You had always been afraid that this was how your father truly felt. 

“You have no sons, so it’s me or no one else.” Disgust fills you at the fear in your own voice. Weak. Pathetic. After all these years, the lessons your father gave you still haven’t sunk in. Perhaps he’s right, and you’re not fit for the throne after all. You’re still begging for what you want instead of demanding it like it’s what you deserve. A prince wouldn’t act like this, but you’re not a prince - only a girl who was never taught how to rule. 

He throws up his hands in exasperation. “I didn’t say anything about sons. See, you’re too young and inexperienced. This is why I won’t let you in yet. You’re not ready to rule.”

“But I will?”

He gives you a wan smile. He’s tired. Guilt seeps through you. These days, all you do is fight. You miss the times when it felt like you had worked together. At the end of all of it, you love your father. You hate that it’s been like this. 

“All in time, my child. I love you, I really do. But you’re not ready.” 

Mutiny curls under your tongue. You’re not ready because he waited too long, hoping for a male heir until your mother died. By then, it was too late for you to catch up on years of lessons you should’ve had. Regardless of what he says, you know how he feels. You were never the one he wanted but-

He’s still your father. When he reaches out to stroke your cheek, a peace offering, you close your eyes against his hand and don’t give voice to your treasonous thoughts. It’s nothing to suffer the humiliation of your status for a while longer. You have all the time in the world to earn your place. 

Your father is right, in the end. You can be patient. 

Back in the privacy of your room, you unfurl Gojo’s note. Gojo’s mother had him trained in elegant cursive that he uses for formal documents and letters. In his messages to you, it degenerates into chicken scratch. It’s a lucky coincidence that it’s all but unreadable to anyone else, making it a code only you can decipher. 

The gardens at midnight. - S. 

Only a place and a time. Is he trying to tempt fate? 

You indulge in the idea of not going, especially since things are already tense with your father. All the way up until the hour you need to leave, you let yourself believe it’s not happening. It’s too risky. People are already suspicious of you as it is. The minute passes, and if you go now, you’ll be late, so you won’t. 

You grab your shawl with a huff of annoyance. You’re going. You were always going to go, from the very moment you got the note. 

You aren’t used to sneaking through hallways you usually glide through. There are several close calls as you make your way closer and closer to the gardens. Multiple times, you’re forced to make a run for the nearest door or drape to hide behind. 

You’re barely two feet away when you’re finally caught. A hand slaps over your mouth before you can scream as someone tugs you into a dark corridor. You kick and lash out, forgetting everything Gojo has taught you in favor of blind violence. 

“Shh,” comes a voice in your ear. “It’s just me.” 

You bite him. 

He hisses and pulls back, shaking out his hand. “What’s wrong with you?” 

“Why would you do that? You scared me!” 

“You’re not careful enough, princess. Did you even notice the maid coming up the left hallway?”

Admittedly, you hadn’t. It’s lucky that he was there to save you. 

Gojo has always been there to protect you. The tension bleeds from your body. You sigh and lean into him. You can’t help it. 

He laughs. “Are you that happy to see me?” 

“If you don’t be quiet, I’ll show you exactly how happy I am.” 

“Come on,” he tugs you out towards the gardens. It’s dangerous, but you follow him anyway. Being with Gojo is so threatening not despite his strength, but because of it. You rely on him too easily, trusting him to see you safely through any peril. His very presence is the promise of security. It makes it too easy to relax when he’s with you. 

You expect him to tell you why he called you here, but he remains silent when he tugs you down on the bench next to him. “Satoru?” 

“Here,” he says, opening his hands. A single crushed violet sits on his palm. You raise it to your eye. It’s all the more fragrant because it has been mangled, the delicate petals bruised to release the scent into the air. 

Gojo’s mouth lifts in a smile. “Sorry,” he says. “I didn’t realize.” 

“You really know how to win a girl’s heart,” you tease. 

“Hopefully I know how to win over her father’s too.”

You freeze. 

“If not marriage, then knighthood. Let me be yours, in whatever way I can have you.” 

“You have me,” you tell him. “You always have.”

You don’t know how to answer such devotion. Besides the obvious political ramifications of being wedded to Gojo when your marriage is meant to be a bargaining chip used for the sake of your kingdom, you don’t want it. Not like this. 

Gojo has been your dedicated shield for so long, the two of you have forgotten a life where he wouldn’t give up everything to protect you. He’d do anything for you - even that which he should hold sacred for himself. His very body is littered with scars that he’s received on your behalf. How much more can you take from him? 

Does Gojo really want to marry you or does he want to protect you? Will he play the part of the devoted servant for the rest of his life? 

“You don’t have to…” You realize you don’t know how to say it. Or that you don’t want to. Selfishly, a part of you can’t bear to release him from the oath he gave you when you were children, though he couldn’t have known. Neither of you could have understood what it meant for him to kneel at your feet and swear his life to you. It had all been in good fun, the way children understand things. “I don’t want you to- Oh, Satoru. You don’t owe me anything. You’ve done enough for me.” 

For a second, your imagination plays tricks on you. The cobalt of his eyes kindles into a terrifying flame, like the lightning in the town he hails from. It’s as if the draconic blood his ancestors claimed still lives within him. 

He continues as if he hadn’t heard you. “I’m going to ask your father tomorrow. I want to be your dedicated knight; I won’t wait any longer. I’ve waited enough.” 

His pushiness feeds your annoyance. You cling to it, preferring it to the dreadful hopelessness inside of you. The right thing is not always the easy thing. Gojo deserves his freedom after wasting his youth on keeping you safe, yet letting him go feels as difficult as willingly driving a nail through your hand. You want to cling to him forever, reassured by his strength. 

“Don’t,” you say, trying to sound firm. 

“At the ceremony,” he says determinedly. “When he gives me captainship in the army. He’ll have to say yes if I ask him then.” 

“Satoru, please-” Your voice wobbles embarrassingly, and you have to pause. Silently, you beg your tears not to fall. The way he disarms you is humiliating. You turn away, but Gojo understands. Years of watching after you has taught him a lot. He bandaged the scrapes that you refused to cry over and avenged your honor after you pretended your pride hadn't been hurt. He can see right through you. “Please don’t.” 

You see the frustration on his face. He’s not a man used to holding himself back, and yet he does. 

“It’s alright,” he says. “We can wait.” 

It’s just another number to add to the tally of favors you owe him. “It’s not that I don’t want you to be my guard,” you say in a small voice. “I just-” 

“I know. Though I do think the king will ask me anyway, so this is all pointless.” He looks away. “I just wanted you to- Nevermind.” 

“Really?” Doubt colors your voice. 

“I’m the strongest. Who else would your father ask to protect you but me?” 

“He doesn’t like you,” you point out. “No, he does, but it’s a very begrudging like. I don’t get it.” 

It makes you smile, thinking about the way your father can’t stand Gojo but won’t allow anyone else to speak poorly of him. He’s still a Gojo after all, no matter how much trouble he causes your father, and your father loves Gojos. The royal house has always held their house dear. They had been close for decades. Always, they were something to the other, no matter what form that something took. 

“There you are,” Gojo murmurs. His fingers trace the arc of your mouth. “So pretty.” 

You glare at him through tears. “And whose fault is it that I cried?” 

“Your father’s?” 

You scoff. “You see? This is why he doesn’t like you.” 

Gojo looks at you seriously. “I’ll get down on both knees and beg him for it if I have to.” 

“Don’t do that,” you gasp. 

“I don’t care,” he says. “You’re what’s most important to me. More than pride, more than honor.” 

You look at the crushed violet in your hand. 

Who else but Gojo? 

He breaks you down so easily. You press the flower back into his palm. “I know you’ll do what’s right.” 

His eyes soften. He leans closer. 

“Gojo,” comes a voice. “What are you doing in the gardens this late at night?” 

You stiffen. The owner of the voice is drawing closer. 

“Do you trust me?” Gojo asks, as cool and collected as ever. 

You nod, fearing your voice will give you away. He cups your face in his hands and ever so delicately presses a light kiss to your cheek, tilting his head towards you. Does it look like a real kiss from afar? Did he mean it to? 

“Stop,” he tells the man behind you. “Don’t come any closer. You’ll scare her.” 

“A new plaything?” Asks Yaga. “I’m not so scary, am I?” 

Gojo notices you tremble harder as the voice registers. Lord Commander Yaga is close to the King. As the captain of the kingsguard, he could ruin everything.

Gojo lifts a hand to the back of your head and presses it gently towards his shoulder, obscuring your face. He pulls you towards him, arranging your legs around his waist. A soothing hand traces a warm path up and down your back. It calms you as much as it shames you. You’ve never been this close to any man, not even him, and now you’re cuddling only for the sake of protecting your secrets. 

“The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard is a terrifying man, or so I’ve heard,” he says casually, as if the two of you aren’t trapped in an extremely compromising position. As if your father wouldn’t demand his head on a pike if Yaga realized who it was. 

“Just escort her to her room when you’re done,” Yaga says gruffly. “I don’t need to tell you to be a gentleman, do I?” 

“No, sir,” Gojo says cheerfully. 

That night, you breathe a sigh of relief. Yaga gave no sign he recognized you. He acted as if he normally would upon encountering any soldier of his on a late night escapade, profoundly disinterested and deeply desirous to get away. Only in the morning do you begin to doubt your deception. 

[buggachat]

Part 187 of my bakery “enemies” au!

First / Prev / Next / All

Kofi

[chloesimaginationthings]

This could be a kart if FLAF wasn't fucking around..

[drac0line1nn1t]

Part 1 | Part 2

[arcanegifs]

The hunt is on. Arcane, the final season coming this November to Netflix.

[stil-lindigo]

mumbattan's one and only pavitr prabhakar!!

prints

[rusticfurnace]

GHOSTSOAP // "you sweet fucker" MINICOMIC!!!

[cirrus-grey]

[aveloka-draws]

If Narinder got back from expedition and found everything thats been going on and also theres a goat here now hshsjs

[azuneekun]

MY EGG ???????????????????????????