#birthdays commemorate the birth of a person;

[sukunas-wife]

Hehehe rising at 12:57 in the morning for my day of birth 🥺🤍🤍

In commemoration of my birthday, I offer Birthday Sukuna (Student edition) 🥺 I love Big Daddy Ryomen, he loves his wife so much even though she has no find details 💀 (Yet- maybe) they give me Kushina/Minato when Naruto had his Madara induced dream

In all things, the Sukuna family wasn't to extravagantly celebrate holidays. “Special days” such as Christmas, Halloween, Valentines, White Day, and those other seasonal festivities would be recognized, however Ryomen Senior and Junior would usually brush it off, leaving it to their wife and mother to make arrangements.

Akira Sukuna, was a woman who came from a family who loved to celebrate the holidays. Seeing it as a way for the family to come together and tighten loose bonds. Birthdays and Anniversaries in specific were her priority. A sentiment her husband had shared from the beginning. If there was a special day, it would be his wife’s birthday, or his son's birthday. Followed very closely by his wedding anniversary.

Now here she stood yelling at her son, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN Y/N’S BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK AND YOU DON'T HAVE A GIFT OR ANYTHING PLANNED OUT!? WHAT DID YOU DO FOR HER LAST BIRTHDAY!? DON'T TRY TO SPEAK OVER ME YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING THEN EITHER! RYOMEN SUKUNA JUNIOR, I MAY HAVE BROUGHT YOU INTO THIS WORLD BUT I WILL NOT HESITATE TO TAKE YOU OUT OF IT YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT BIRTHDAYS ARE I SHOULD- OH- MMM, YOU- RYOMEN GET YOUR SON.” She was livid, and pacing around in front of the table where she had sat her son after he nonchalantly mentioned your birthday would be during the week. Then proceeded to say “Oh I don’t have anything.” After his mother asked what he was going to do to celebrate.

Sukuna turned to look at his father who was attempting to avoid the scene, “Ryomen,” he cleared his throat unable to think of the proper words, “You should understand by now how important days like these are. They come around once a year. Holidays will continue with or without us, birthdays can only be celebrated with that person. You don’t celebrate the birthday of a dead person or a person who is no longer in your life, we celebrate the living because they’re alive and with us in these moments. Our time here is limited and that’s what makes it special, that’s what makes spending time with your loved ones special.” He looked at his wife for approval, she had a soft smile, “Aww my Ryomen.” She raised her arms bringing her husband into a hug, a hand on his face bringing him down to kiss him.

Sukuna cringed at the sight, and scoffed when he saw his dad wink at him. Of course his dad would know how to play his moms game and get away with it.

“Now,” his mom tuned to him with a smile, break into your saving and go find something nice.” Sukuna hesitated in getting up, waiting as if there was something more to be said, and there was. “AND I'M JUDGING EVERYTHING YOU DO AND BRING SO YOU BETTER BE READY TO EXPLAIN AND DEFEND YOURSELF WHEN YOU GET BACK RYOMEN.”

He was quick to evacuate hearing his dad laugh, “That’s my girl.” He heard the mumbles of his parents as he ran to his room and out the house, “Find something nice…” he scoffed to himself, “I’ll find something better than nice, I’ll find something amazing you’re gonna be jealous.” He was mouthing off, shaking his head while looking at the cards in his wallet. He had one escape plan if something was out of his limit, which would be hard considering his father never turned off his weekly allowance from all those years ago. He let out a smug laugh before he was officially ready to go.

—- —- —- —- —-

“So what’s the difference between this and that?” Sukuna was squinting displeased at the poor lady behind the counter. She looked around, frantically begging silently for her superior to hurry with his lunch. “Well, this is 2.8 carrots for 775,939.73 yen…” she motioned to the bracelet on the velvet display in front of him.

She hesitated to turn around in fear he’d pocket the bracelet and run off. But his stare had her more fearful of offending him by moving the bracelet away. “I-I’m sorry sir, would you please tell me what you're asking about when you refer to ‘that’.” He gestured to a necklace sitting on a high shelf over a velvet stand, “That necklace up there.” She slowly turned her head, shaky hand resting on the glass case ready to snatch up the bracelet at any sudden movements. Sukuna was occupied tapping away at his phone doing maths to justify his spending.

“S-sir,” the jeweller carefully placed the velvet stand in front of him on the glass case. She watched as Sukuna put his phone away, hand coming up and taking the centre diamond between his curled pointer finger and thumb. He lifted it higher to get a closer look at it, uncurling his hand to let the strand of diamonds run over his fingers. “This is seven carrots in total weight and it goes for 1,901,013.11 yen. It’s called a graduated diamond necklace. The diamonds graduate in size as they near the centre. Many couples or parents for their children like to start off with a hand full of diamonds usually 5-7, odd numbers so the centre stone usually remains the largest and add on more as they achieve accompaniments in life such as graduation, engagement, marriage, job promotions, pregnancies, anniversaries or birthdays.” The sales woman smiled at him, missing his eye twitch, “birthdays…” was all she heard him say before he took a deep breath and sighed, “This may be improbable but will you take a full single payment.” The lady blinked, “I..I’m.. Yes?”

—- —- —- —- —-

“Hey! I just called! You didn’t answer so I thought you were busy and weren’t gonna call back.” Your voice on the phone had Sukuna’s lips shifting into a faint cross of a smile and a smirk.

“I know, I watched the phone ring.” His grin grew when you scoffed “How rude. This is why you're not in the running for Boyfriend of the year and my plushie is.” His grin didn’t falter, “Yeah yeah, see if that little shit buys you your McDonalds happy meal when you want to collect their stupid little toys.” He heard your hushed devious laugh and rose a brow, “why-WHAT ARE YOU DOING RIGHT NOW?” You spoke over him, and his eye twitched, “I’m out, running errands foorrr… running errands.” “Awwww you’re such a good boy running errands for your mommy huh?” He rolled his eyes at your tone, “Yeah sure.” He started to turn on his car, “WAIT” his eyes snapped to his phone, “Ryo, wait wait wait. Hold on, don’t do anything.” He started looking around, there wasn’t a chance in hell you were telling him to wait and not do anything just by chance. He saw you, running up the sidewalk and around his car to the passenger side and jumping in, your phones echoing until you ended the call. He looked at you, mouth slightly open and brows furrowed, “Hi.” You smiled at him, “y/n…” he sighed, “What were you doing running down the sidewalk.”

“Oh, well, I had to um, I was doing a thing where I was going to go and-“ he cut you off with an unimpressed look, “You were going to McDonalds for that hello kitt-Sanrio collection!” You cut him off with a grin leaning forward and smacking the dashboard, “C'mon let’s go! The fries are only getting colder.” He sighed, “Fine but first, get away from the dashboard.” His arm pushing you back against the seat as he reached over to grab your seat belt was something you’d never fight against, instead you always took the opportunity to grab his face and kiss his cheek.

“So what are you doing here at,” you looked out the window, “Woah, that’s the fancy jewellery store.” He shrugged, “Picking up a gift.” He was nonchalant and you awed, “Aww your dad is so sweet to your mom, he loves his wife so much.” He shook his head with a faint smile, side eyeing how your expression, how your eyes lingered on the shop with a soft smile. “Alright, let’s go.”

—- —- —- —- —-

“Cmmoonn Ryyooooo.” You whine sitting beside him. He was still sucking from his straw, side eyes you and he tilted his head to the side. You took it as a yes and started to raise your hand and he pulled his head back, “No.” you huffed, “You’re just jealous I’m prettier.” He rolled his eyes watching as you threw your Kuromi comb back onto the booth's table and picked up the sliding Little Twin Stars mirror, opening it to look at yourself and nodding your head. He laughed and put his empty cup down. You looked at his empty cup as he flicked the fries on the wrapper around before eating one. You picked up your cup and took a sip holding it in your hand as if your were offering it, he took and started to sip on what was left of your drink and you angled the mirror to look at him. He let the straw go to make a face at you through the mirror. Snapping your head to him, “Why did you drink my sprite?” He looked confused, “You gave it to m-why did you drink my sprite I was just holding it here and you took-.” You closed your mouth when he pressed some fries to your lip and you shook your head, “Why did you drink-“ he held the fries out to you and you smiled trying to pull away and he did it again, finally you took a bite of the fries and he snapped back at you “why did you eat my fries?” You looked away smiling half covering your face with your spread open hand, “I can't stand you.” You missed his grin, “It’s a good thing you’re sitting down then.” You both sat back against the booth, watching the orange even slowly turn pink. The people passing, the ones on bikes, the kids running by looking like they were avoiding someone they had caused trouble for. You smiled propping your face on the palm of your hand, staring off into the skyline watching the birds pass over. “What do you think tomorrow will be like?” He eyed you, following your stare into the city building skyline. “Hopefully quiet, I wanted to sleep in but I ended up getting in trouble this morning and sent out.” You hummed, “heh, your mom reminds me of Naruto’s mom, don’t tell me your dad I’d like Minato too.” Sukuna went blank, doing his best to remember what you were talking about. There was a small twitch in his lips, “It’s close.”

You smiled huffing through your nose, “Oh wanna go with me to pick up a dress? I was supposed to earlier but ya know.” You picked up the little hello kitty case and shook it around, “I got distracted.” He smirked down at you, “Got distracted or just wanted a ride?” Your sheepish grin gave it away, “Alright, let’s clean up and go.”

—- —- —- —- —-

“You’ve been out all day, what did you get?” Sukuna’s mother was quick to stop him at the entrance, “You don’t have anything big so I’m hoping you have plans?” Her eye twitched the same way he had earlier under the stress.

“I do.” She smiled pulling him in, great WE” she yelled back over her shoulder, “want to hear all about it.”

Sukuna heard his dad groan, “Oh- I mean ofcourse we do.”

That’s how he ended up sat across from them, all of them in silence after he explained his gift choice… “Well.. congratulations on your engagement sweetie.” Sukuna and his father looked at their respective wife and mom, “I’m sorry, dove, what did you say?”

“It's graduation. diamond. necklace. Ryomen, that’s a lifelong commitment. Y/n isn’t his daughter so he would be stupid if he’s going to give this gift away and he doesn’t plan on having a future with her. But, that’s not my little Ryomen. No, he’s smarter than that, so I’m congratulating him on his pre engagement statement.” She looked away sipping from her cup of tea that had long ago gone cold. Her husband was looking at her and she placed her cup down, “Don’t argue with me about this, he came in here and said it’s for LIFE ACHIEVEMENTS, then said graduations, Engagements, marriages, pregnancies and anniversaries- does that not sounds like the process of what their lives could pass through???” Her husband paused to think about it, she was making sense, Sukuna was looking between the both of them, “I also bought a dress…” His mom smiled fondly, “Oh that’s sweet, what colour is it?” “…White..” his mom laughed softly, not at his choices but how in her head it sounds like a marriage was taking place, replace the necklace with a ring and she’d be telling him goodbye next week.

“Well, as long as you put thought into it I’m happy and I know y/n will love it.” His mothers soft eyes and smile matched her tone and he nodded. “I hope so, she basically chose it out and left it because she said she couldn’t ever buy something that fancy without a special occasion.” He scrolled through his phone to find the video of you trying on the dress, his mom saw the look on your face, how your eyes lit up when you turned to the mirror, the smile on your face and how your head snapped to him and ‘you’re taking a picture?’ You smiled with closed eyes holding up a peace sign and, ‘Heh, that’s the best you got?’ He questioned you and you pouted, ‘How do you like it?’ The sales woman who finished laying out the dress asked you, “It’s really pretty! I love the sleeves! It’s a little simple but it would look amazing in pictures.’ Your excitement shined through, ‘It’s our first event dress created, I’m so glad you love it, it’s only 152,100.05 yen. We can alter sizes and length upon request if you’d like, but in my opinion I think the length is perfect here, but in the back we could add a small clasp to hold it in just a bit more snug.’ Your blank smile was enough for Sukuna to cut off the video and go to your rescue.

“Sweetie.” His mom smiled at him, but he was smiling like a fool at his phone, the silly look of your blank smile made him laugh, “Ryomen.” He looked up at his mom, “That’s an event gown…” he blinked and nodded, “I heard her say it was an event gown.” His brows furrowed, “A WEDDING, event gown.” His mom stressed the word, “I would know, I was there and I saw the dress when they first brought it in store a week ago for their wedding debut.”

“Biology wants what it wants.”

—- —- —- —- —-

‘Are you going to class in the morning?’ You squinted at Sukuna’s message, it was almost midnight when you had woken up to his message. ‘No, I’m gonna sleep in late. I don't wanna go in tomorrow.’ You watched the screen of your phone when the chat bubble popped up. ‘FINE THEN, didn’t wanna see your face in the morning anyway 😒’ you smiled and laughed lightly at his message. Head nodding as you yawned, blurry vision as you got ready to nod off again.

‘Still awake?’ You blinked slowly at the message, typing your answer and accidentally hitting answer when a call came in.

‘Hey’ Sukuna’s voice on the phone was comforting, ‘hey.’ You were cut off by a yawn. ‘Y/n.. I need to tell you something.’ Yawning again you tried to answer, ‘yeah?’

‘I…’ the line went quiet for a second ‘Happy Birthday y/n…’ silence, you smiled, ‘Thanks Ryo.’ The smile was evident in your voice as you yawned again. Silence took over the line, you laid their comfortably to the thought of Sukuna being the first to wish you happy birthday. ‘Y/n?’ You hummed, ‘Ryomen.’ He let out what sounded like a smug scoff. “I love you…’

You grinned like a mad man, “I love you Ryomen.” You could hear the smile in his voice when he finally spoke up again, ‘Get some rest I’ll see you tomorrow then.’ You hummed with a smile, ‘yeeaah, I’ll see you tomorrow Kuna’m.’

—- —- —- —- —-

Waking up at 5 in the morning wasn’t ideal on your birthday, yet here you were, in a haze staring at your window that was being tapped on. The brief wave of panic had you shooting up until you heard the voice of your cursed lover. Sighing you opened the window and he quietly made his way in.

You yawned trying to ask him why he was here and he just brushed you off kicking off his shoes and taking off his sweater showing the long sleeve shirt that hugged his frame. He pulled down his sweat pants and you were going to look away until he mumbled “Calm down I’m wearing pants.” You looked back to see he was in fact wearing a thinner set of joggers, before he threw himself onto your bed throwing the blanket back. You looked at him as he looked at you, “You coming or not?” You weren’t sure what to say, as another yawn racked through your lungs and chest, “Yeah let me just.” You turned and locked your room door playing a risky game of getting caught with your boyfriend in your bed or getting yelled at for having a locked door. Either way, you’d take a scolding for a locked door any day. Yawning as you made your way to your bed, Sukuna rolled his eyes when he saw how much space you left. With one arm he hauled you over into his chest using the other to pull the blanket up over your shoulder. You settled on his chest as he held you tight, “Happy Birthday brat.” You smiled and hummed, a quiet “yaaay”, left you as you fell asleep on his chest to the faint scent of his cologne comforting you.

—- —- —- —- —-

It wasn’t until you woke up that you realised you had drooled over Sukuna’s chest. You looked up at him and he had an arm thrown over his eyes, the other wrapped around you loosely. His chest was rising and falling slowly as you started to sit up. You sat up and smiled down at him. When his hand slipped from your side he started to wake up groaning. “What time is it?” He was drowsy based on his squinty eyes that kept closing slowly and he’d force them open again. You grabbed your phone from the nightstand, “It’s 10:56.” He hummed and let his head fall back into your pillow. You sat there just staring at him and he was staring off at the roof.

“I’m hungry..” he looked at the glow in the dark stars on your ceiling before answering you, “Where do you wanna go?” He turned to you to see your cheesy grin before he popped your thigh with his hand, “It’s your birthday we’re not going to McDonald’s.” You huffed, pulling his hand into yours, spreading his fingers out and popping his joints, “How about one of those fancy kfc lunches?” He laughed, flexing his hand before intertwining his hand with your own, “I’ll take you somewhere I know that little brain of yours will be entertained entirely.” You would’ve squinted at his little Brian comment but let it slide, “alright, I’ll get dressed then and we can go. He rolled over to face you, you were sitting facing his chest before he propped his head up on an arm, “The place doesn't open til four, we have about 6 hours to burn if there’s something you wanna do.” You sighed, “I don’t know, I’m just hungry.” He huffed, flaring his dramatics, “Fine, get ready I’ll take you somewhere you can eat BEFORE we go eat.” He watched as you jumped up running over to your closet pulling out whatever it was before rushing out your room. He made quick work of getting out of your bed and running to your window to pull his bag in. It was a duffle bag that had your presents, his clothes and a few extra things.

By the time you came back he was dressed and stretched out over your bed that he tried to straighten up. “Took long enough.”

—- —- —- —- —-

You were indulgent in the little treats Sukuna kept paying for. By now you had one to many mini bags and Sukuna was carrying a few more. Each one was filled with chocolates and sweets you had picked up from every shop he had taken you to. Biting into a chewy fudge you were content with how it was sweet but not overwhelming, it was smooth and didn’t taste strongly or bitter. Turning to Sukuna with a smile you held the piece up to his lips, any other day he’d resist and make you work for it but he was curious and immediately inhaled your sweet making you laugh. The both of you sat in silence sharing sweets and opinions on what could be better. You mostly listened to Sukuna as he critiqued harsher things.

“Now what?” You asked as he chewed on another piece you pushed to his lips. He shrugged, “Is there anything you wanted to do?” You hummed looking around, and down at your shoes. They were your worn down sneakers, you’d wear when you’d often go out with Sukuna because they were more comfortable than those stiff loafers you’d use for uniform. You kicked your feet, “I wanna go buy new shoes, pretty soon I’ll have to retire these.” He looked at your shoes, “Yeah, didn’t wanna say anything but they look like they’re begging for a break.” You smacked his shoulder and he grinned at you catching your hand squeezing it, “truth hurts sweetheart.”

“Alright, let’s go then, take my bags.” You handed him the rest of the small bags that held chocolates neither of you liked. He rolled his eyes taking them from you and following you God knows where.

That’s how you ended up here, trying on shoes with Sukuna watching intently. You made the mistake of asking his opinion and he had taken his role seriously. “No, you’re not a show girl y/n you’re not going to wear six inch heels anywhere. You’ll break your ankle anyway, look.” His open hand motioned to your wobbly walk. “You just hate me cause I’m pretty Ryo.” He let out a single laugh, “Try these instead.” You sat across the aisle from him holding up your foot to him, “Change it for me?” If you were anyone else he would’ve thrown the box of shoes at you. But alas, there he was with a soft smile a scoff, untying your heel and putting your sock back on he placed the new shoe on your foot. They were simple converse but you were gleaming because he put it on and even tied it for you. “Perfect.” You wiggled your foot at him and he grabbed your foot by the sole of the shoe pulling the shoe off, “Great, we’ve been here so long I think we can go eat now.” You hummed lifting your other foot for him to take the heel off and put your sock on. He watched as you huffed trying to slip your old shoes on. “What about all the bags?” “We can take them back to your home and I’ll give you your birthday present.” He saw how your eyes lit up, “How about now?”

The way you exaggerated batting your eyelashes had a small smile tugging at his lips, “I left it at your house so you wouldn’t bother me all day, let’s go pay and then when we get there you can open it. I won’t fight you about it because you have to use it today or I’ll take it back.” You were smiling like a love struck fool when he offered his hand. You took it, letting him help you up before hugging his arm resting your head on his shoulder, “I love you.” He looked down at you from an angle, “mhm.”

—- —- —- —- —-

“No… Sukuna..” you held the dress to your chest looking at him with a sympathetic smile, before holding the dress up and smiling at it before hugging it to your chest again looking at Sukuna, “you didn’t have too Ryo, I love it so much, but it was so expensive I can’t, awww but it’s so pretty Ryyoooo.” You whined doing a little stompy dance squeezing your dress to your chest before throwing it in your bed beside Sukuna. He reached over to pick it up until you were between his legs squeezing him in a hug, his head pressed against your chest with wide eyes. He couldn’t get used to the displays of affection, still he let his hands hover over you until he hugged your waist letting you press your cheek to the top of his head and squeeze him harder, “I lied you are in the running for best boyfriend of the year.” You didn’t see the way he smiled but you felt the way he laughed when he pulled away shaking his head, “Where’s that damn plushie anyway.” You pulled him back into your chest fearing for your plushies life, “Uh, no where.” He squeezed your waist in his hud before he tried to push you back so he could stand. “Get dressed, I need to get ready.” You finally let him go and he turned to give your dress a Quick Look before grabbing his bag and heading out to the bathroom.

It took half an hour for you to get ready and you were still in a Fritz about shoes and how you were supposed to close your zipper. Finally you gave up sitting down on your bed huffing. The knock on your door pulled you out of your despair, “help me..” your plea had Sukuna dropping his bag and walking over to you with a focused face as he motioned you to stand. You did and face your open closet door, the body mirror there showed your reflection and how elegant the dress made you look. You smiled at yourself watching as Sukuna looked like he was struggling, “Step forward.” Was all he said as he finally stood behind you and zipped up your dress, you were smiling bright at your reflection, watching how it looked like he was pulling at something. “Is something wrong?” He looked up at you through the mirror, “Yeah something is missing.” His furrowed brows looked concerned through the mirror and you gave him a worried look, “Put your hands down I’ll fix it.” You kept your arms to your side hearing him rustle something around before he looked up bringing his arms around your shoulder over chest. He pressed his hands together before pulling them apart slowly showing you the reflection of the necklace he had bought. Your jaw dropped before you started choking, “RYOMEN.” You tried to step back only to bump into his chest as he laughed, stepping back to clip the necklace onto you, “What.” “NO RYO you didn’t have to, please, I’m gonna cry.” His smile was priceless, he looked so soft staring at you through the mirror. The edges of his lips were pulled up into soft smiles, his eyes were full of sentiment. “I think it fits well y/n.” You felt heat race to your face as you forced your eyes closed cupping your hands over your face. You turned to face him, hugging him and burying your face in his chest to hide your face, “rryyooo.” Your muffled whine was ignored when he laughed lightly patting you back with his hand, “if you really don’t want it I’ll take it-NO IT'S MINE.” The way you turned your head to the side with a sheepish pout led him to sigh, smiling down at you, “you’re a mess y/n.”

—- —- —- —- —-

“Ooou, well aren’t you just fancy.” You shook your head side to side taunting him. “No, I just don’t spend all my money at McDonald’s for toys.” He flicked your forehead making you squirt him and make a face. “So… what is this exactly?”

“Just trust me you’ll like it alright, my parents are here also or else we wouldn’t get a private room so you can have fun with that also.” You both stopped when the hostess stopped in front of a Shoji door, “This is the room reserved for Ryomen Sukuna and company. Company has already arrived.” She slid the door open and there you saw Mr and Mrs Sukuna. Your bright smile was genuine as you greeted them, being wished happy birthday and squeezed into a tight hug by his mother. She held at arm's length, “Oh you look beautiful! This is beautiful. Where did you get it? You look very nice y/n.” Her eyes fell on her son, she looked him up and down, “I see you took a lesson from your father.” Her husband choked in the background looking at his son. Black dress shirt, black dress pants, shiny dress shoes and a black tie. “I don’t see anything wrong with it…” his mumble had her casting him a side glance, “There are other colours other than black husband.” He grinned, “Says the woman wearing black.” You smiled before she turned back to you rolling her eyes, “men.” Your laugh had her refocusing on you, “assuming Sukuna was with you all day after I got a call saying he was in fact not in school, how was your day?” She was smiling, nodding along as you went about telling her of the chocolates you tried, she was surprised Sukuna ate any considering he didn’t like chocolate all that much. Even more surprised when you told her you spent over an hour shoe shopping before he finally found you a decent pair. The two of you kept talking until she asked what he had gotten you as a gift. She was how you perked up jumping out of your chair to show her your dress in its full glory, “He bought me this dress, I really loved it when we saw it in a store, but I couldn’t get it because of how pricey it was. I almost started crying and telling him to take it back.” His mother admired your enthusiasm and sheepish smile, “Well, it looks amazing y/n. A beautiful dress for a beautiful girl.” You blushed with a sheepish smile. “Thank you he also got me this actually, you asked earlier but I didn’t get the chance to answer.” She watched as your hand touched the necklace. Your expression changed to a soft smile as you looked down, “I kept telling him he didn’t have too, I actually started crying.” She looked at her son, he was staring at you with a goofy smile until his dad elbowed him talking about something he didn’t have a clue of.

She smiled, “You’re a very lucky girl Y/n, but I can say that Ryomen is even luckier to have found someone like you.”

You all turned to the door when there was a tap. A chef rolled in with a cart, “It’s a special day, so we’re going to make it extra special!” Sukuna’s mom left you to sit by her husband leaving room for Sukuna to sit with you, “You’re going to love this.” You smiled at him, he was staring at you with a small smile. You reached over under the table taking his hand and bringing it to your lap squeezing it in both of yours. “Thank you for everything Ryomen, I love you.” It wasn't until your hand came up to bring his face closer and you kissed his jaw he reacted. His father laughed at his son's wide eyes and reddening face. The Chef laughed, drawing a heart with oil on the flat grill, “ah, young love,” he lit the oil causing a burst of flames leaving you in awe, squeezing and shaking Sukuna’s hand. He missed the entire show but was content with taking in your reactions.

It was true and he hadn’t realised it, he was in love with you and he couldn’t deny it.

(On a side note, I went to early birthday lunch and I dressed up and a lady literally got a glimpse of me and snapped her head around and screamed across the room “OH MY GOD YOURE BEAUTIFUL!” And i felt so loved 🥰🥰 also go you wanna leave me a gift 🥹 here’s my PayPal (my cash app didn’t wanna link) but it’s not obligatory or anything, I’ll probably take them down later because it makes me feel funny. Someone sent me a dollar and I love that virtual dollar sm it makes me smile lol)

Tag: @sakuxxi @mercymccann @certainduckanchor @najiiix @bakugou-katsukis-wife @amitiel-truth @souyasplushie @mylovelessnightmare @ynjimenez @princessluvz @furiousblacktiger @anyaswlrd @shytastemakerthing @alialucille

@sad-darksoul @satorisgirl @bontensbabygirl @lupita97lm @queen-luna-007 @venus-seeks

@bofadeezs @shytastemakerthing

🤍🥳

[nso-csi]

240820 ELLE KOREA D Edition September 2024

Q. We met you on your birthday on the 18th of July and time has passed this fast. T. It was even more meaningful to be meeting TASAKI on my birthday. I was able to feel the beauty that a pearl holds throughout the shoot.

Q. How would you have spent your birthday if there wasn't a shoot? Even though you went straight to dance practice on the shooting day T. I will probably do a commemoration birthday live with my fans like I always do yearly. Though I didn't have the time to do so on that day as I ended my practice a little over midnight, I will usually spend time with my family or my friends after I am done with the live

Q. New mini album released on the 19th of August, your solo world tour, and up till your survival program MC challenge! Are you spending your time busily on purpose? T. No, I'm a person who wants to go about my daily life being relaxed and slowly getting ready (laughs). I debuted at a young age, and it's also because I have come this far not being able to make any decision myself, without resting. However, right now, I just have lots of things that I need to do (laughs).

Q. How was KCON LA you went to at the end of July? You were the main person at the 'Dream Stage' where you did a stage with the fans. T. America holds the biggest music market, doesn't it? I garner a sense of anticipation and greed every time I go. I usually don't go and search for each and every reaction to my stages but for the stage this time, as it was also trending on SNS, I felt a sense of pride. I think that I will need to personally go and meet the fans that have supported me for so long. It's actually really not something easy for one to buy a plane ticket and fly over to another country to see the artist you like.

Q. You had your fan meeting mid July too. You did 4 shows altogether including the additionally added show. T. This is just my personal thoughts but I feel like I am especially close with my fans. I was really young when I made my debut so it was hard for me to say anything but at some point, the seal seemed to have just came off. 
 Q. Other than getting more comfortable, is there anything especially different as time passes? There was a stock of Pansy, which is also the title of your fan song, appearing in your 5th mini album's trailer and that really touched your fans. T. As much as Pansy is the birth flower of the very same date as SHINee's debut date, its flower language means 'the moment of debut' which holds the meaning of revealing oneself to the outside world for the very first time. I wanted to convey the meaning along with the birth flower that no matter where I belong, I will be working with the identity called Taemin and it would be nice if there would be no prejudice present at my start.

Q. Despite being in your 17th year since debut, do you know that you have lots of new fans coming in? T. If that’s true, it will be something I am very thankful for! I want to make it impossible for them to get out (laughs). Thinking that there aren’t a lot of teams that can promote for so long regardless if it’s as SHINee or as a solo artist, I want to be the real memories of others. The song released this time may be a memory to people 10 years later too.

Q. Your mini 5th album title means 'Eternal'. On the other hand, you are starting your world tour titled at the end of August. They both have a totally opposite meaning and that's interesting. T. You will remember the name, won't you. I chose the word 'Eternal' for the album name with the desire to leave a record like a proper noun despite the change in generation. I have lived a life where there's no guaranteed anonymity ever since a long time ago and I have thought a lot in regards to this. I know it's a thankful life but I wonder what will be a difference if I am not exposed to the public's view, when I think of the unnecessary misunderstandings that inevitably accompany me, I think about 'Gaze' itself. However, that gaze itself will be very different depending on each person and the one who recognizes the eyes that people have on will be me. If I don't recognize it, it will eventually be nothing. That's why, I decided on the tour title to show it on stage.

Q. Your resolution for your first solo world tour that starts at the end of August is… T. They say that SHINee is 2nd generation idol, right. However, as much as we are actively promoting right now, I want to be a symbolic existence and not be forgotten. Substitute someone, the industry likes to use the word 'Substitute'. I know that people can express it that way and it's not something said wrongly but because it made it sound like (we are) products, I don't like it. I want to continue to open up myself and my possibilities through an even wider market and stages abroad.

cr. iheartshinee_

[ladyiristheenchantress]

Birthday Magic!!

Hello friends!! June is my birthday month (today being my birthday), so I thought I would take us through all the magical significance of a birthday, and include some exclusive spells, divination, and more than I like to do as my birthday approaches!! Your birthday is special, take some time to celebrate yourself!!! Whether you are with family or friends, or celebrating on your own, you have a lot to be excited for! Lets get started

What is the cultural significance of a birthday?

Before calendars were invented it was really hard to remember when someone may have been born, but it is said to have started in ancient Egypt where birthday parties were held to celebrate the commemoration of the new pharaoh! In the pagan world it was said that someone had a spirit present with them on the day of their birth and was said to help guide them through life, which is how the spirit guide was born!

Birthdays first started a form of protection, in ancient Greece they were the first to celebrate with birthday candles as a way to ward off evil spirits who would come during major events! The candles, friends, and good vibes were a way to protect the birthday person!

In ancient china, the first birthday was considered the most special, and was celebrated with a special ritual called 'Zhuazhou' where a cloth was placed in front of the baby with different objects and from there the baby and its family would see the future ahead!

The modern birthday, as we know it, is actually partially German who began adding cakes, candles, and eventually in the united states a pair of Kentucky school teachers came up with the birthday song after remixing it from a song called 'Good morning to all' and now we have the modern birthday!

How can I honor my own birthday?

Understand your birthday superstitions! Do you find yourself feeling more spiritual on your birthday? How about fending off bad luck if you were born on friday the 13th? Understanding your birthday traditions can help you connect more to new magical traditions that work for you

Understand what your birthday represents to you. When we get older, for some people birthdays can fill us with all sorts of emotions. Some people get excited and throw big parties, for some birthdays are really tender and sources of anxiety so its important to seek out friends and family. Understanding what your birthday corresponds too can be really important for how you choose to celebrate

Understand that you are human. Above all else, honor the fact that you are still standing, that you are here on this earth, and that you did it. It is a big achievement to be still here, and I am so proud of you. Take some time to be proud of yourself my love

Lets talk practices!

Lets go into common rituals, correspondences, tarot spreads, and more!

Practices:

When you blow out candles on a cake reflect on your wish and the history of that tradition

When singing the birthday song, add fun in-between's like "Cha cha cha" to welcome spirits of prosperity

Begin a journal, consecrate an altar or book of shadows, or deep clean your spiritual space for a total energetic refresh

Practice self care and open all those fancy soaps. Practice glamour magic with saved items for an energetic boost

Create a potion using mint, chamomile, and lemongrass for career and academic successes. This potion refreshes your mind and uses birthday energy for renewal

Create spells with renewal, celebration, and reflection in mind

design a spell using your birthdays moon phase and moon sign

Create a blessings spell for the year

Create a crystal grid that represents you and things that make you feel good like colors, energies, and shapes

Practice birthday rituals your ancestors would have practiced

Look up the moon phase and sign and design a birthday ritual with that in mind

Wear favorite colors to represent your sense of self and stability into the next year

Iris's Birthday Seed Spell:

Ingredients:

A pot

a seed of your choice (preferably ones in season on your birthday)

soil

The Steps:

On the bottom of the pot draw a sigil of prosperity and fortune

around the pot, write down goals you have for yourself

as you plant the seeds focus on your intentions for the year ahead and cover them with soil

OPTIONALLY add crystals like moss agate, tree agate, or pyrite on top of the soil for an energetic boost

As you tend to the plant, remember to tend to your dreams

Divination:

Compare and contrast todays astrological chart with the one from your day of birth

Find out what your birth card is and what it means for you

Use a pendulum around your house to find lost objects you may have forgotten about this year

Get yourself a new divination tool

Practice divination your ancestors would have used

Create a shufflemancy playlist by taking the top song on the charts every year on your birthday, then setting it to shuffle.

Calculate your life path number

Symbols:

Cake

candles

Favorite foods, items, and colors

Birth stones, cards, flowers, numbers, and signs

Flowers in general

Large gatherings

Birthchart sigils

Personal Symbols

Mundane:

Remember, Birthdays are filled with a lot of emotions for people. Some people are very excited to celebrate, and others may be stressed, experience feelings of depression, and regret. It is valid to feel any type of way, make sure you are feeling it! On your birthday seek out your support system, whether its friends, family, or teams. They want to celebrate you with you!

Another thing is actually take this time to celebrate you! This is a time to honor another rotation around the sun, it is valid to reflect on anything that comes up for you. Remember that you are not alone, and you are loved very much. Birthdays are special, even if we try to deny it sometimes. Birthdays are special, because you make them special!

If its not your birthday, and you have a friend or family members coming up, it costs nothing to make someones day with a simple text, happy birthday gif, or some time to just sit down and chat. Take care of your friends, as they take care of you. That friend may be excited to host a party, or that friend may want to be left alone, However they choose to celebrate is unique and valid. Make sure that they feel appreciated just like you would want to feel appreciated.

With that said, Here are a few ideas for how to celebrate your birthday in a mundane way, and some tips for birthday wellness

Ideas:

Host a small get together for your friends and family

Reflect on your past in the morning, Honor your present in the afternoon, and dream about your future in the evening

Enjoy your favorite meal

Try your hand at something new like painting, ceramics, or glass blowing

Get yourself a present

Rest!!! Catch up on your favorite show

Take an 'everything' shower

Relax with your favorite beverage

Enjoy a trail with your pets or just get active

Enjoy time out of the house people watching

Put the phone, work, and academia down, be present with yourself

Well with that said, i hope you all have enjoyed! Happy birthday to you, and I hope you have a prosperous journey around the sun once more!

Tip Jar

[iu-jjang]

[FANCAFE] 230918 From.IU - IU is here!!!!

To my pyeon (those who have been by my side) for a long time,

my dear uaena-ya,

happy 15th birthday🩵

Hello uaena?

September has come again without fail!

(Although not as much as last year) Though the hot weather stretches on, enough to overshadow the term ‘autumn’..

Anyway September is here. Is everyone doing alright amidst this everchanging weather?

Uaenas seem to be bustling with anticipation about the screening of the Golden Hour movie and that puts me in a good mood, when I check in every now and then 😌🩵 (It’s l..legit awesome…)

Without being roasted by the sun! Or pickled by the rain! Or blown away by the wind! Please take care when you go and watch the show!!!!

September is our IUaena festival, so let’s not fall sick and let’s be especially happy 🔥

Anyway, September is here and somehow 15 years have passed..!!

From my 10th to 14th anniversary, the 4 years were like that, but this year really flew by as swiftly as an arrow.

We’ll be having a large scale(?) celebration a week later, but celebrating on the day itself has more meaning, right?! I thought about whether to read out this letter on stage that day, but decided to just post this on the actual day today in commemoration 🩵

Uaenas, my classmates from Gwangjin Middle School whom I have been friends with since I was 15 years old, are Junghoonie and Rangie. (I introduced them on a broadcast previously hehe) Although they are busy with their adult lives now, when I contact them occasionally, I feel like I return to who I was as the middle schooler Jieunie.

They are my friends that I shared my teens, 20s and 30s and we watched each other become adults, so even if it’s gross, it’s a deep relationship that I’m grateful for.

But come to think of it, uaena have been my longest friends for as long as Junghoonie and Rangie. You’ve watched over my teens, 20s and 30s, you always start conversations with me and ask me questions that I’m glad to answer and you love not just my front view, but my side view and even my back view every time.

I came across this in an article, but apparently we hold a piece of information for about 15 years. In the span of 15 years, as society changes and the trends change, people also change their values and when new perspectives appear during that timespan, we often redefine the way we think.

As I read that article, I sensed a newfound weight to the timespan of 15 years.

In this long span of time that it wouldn’t be out of the norm for something to be forgotten, as I unknowingly worried about things, got lost, changed, matured and grew older, thank you for watching over me silently during this period of time.

I’m still that boring person with a bad sense of direction and gets lost once in awhile, whenever I think of uaena, I always feel like I get a flash of strength.

Each of you having some kind of confidence (TL note: in me) and in the long span of time of the birth and death of a piece of information, I’m not sure if you liked me constantly, but that look of confidence protected me for many days. Thank you so much.

I’m still just me as always… but in your eyes, I am strong!!😌🔥

I’ve been busy recently, as if I’m back in my rookie days. Basically, I’m having fun and being happy! keke Physically, I think I’m well-suited for this too. Inevitably, there are times when I get exhausted and during those days, it’s like I’m receiving orders (TL note: like at a restaurant) over and over again, spending each day clearing missions. ‘Because to uaena, I am strong!!’

I’ll save the rest of the things I have to say until this weekend (TL note: To say during the fan concert).

I love you.

(Ah, it’s past midnight. Ah…. I find this kind of things such a pityㅜㅜ)

(TL note: By the time IU posted on fancafe, it was already 12:15am)

Translated by IUteamstarcandy with love

[ladykissingfish]

*in the cave*

Madara: Boy? Have you finished your exercises yet?

Obito, sweating and panting: Y-yeah … hey old man, does Guru-Guru have to stand on my back the whole time? It’s really starting to hurt …

Madara: No complaints, child. Be grateful that I’m taking the time to help restore your body. Now come … *gestures to the table* After our meal, we have a bit of a treat.

Obito, eyes wide: Is … is that a cake??

Guru-Guru: It’s chocolate! Isn’t it pretty?! We made it!

Obito: But what’s it for?

Madara: Today is a special day, child. On this day a person was born, so strong, so valiant, so pure of heart, that it would be a sin not to commemorate this precious day.

Obito, sitting and smiling: Awww, gramps! I can’t believe that you remember that today is my birth—

Madara: That’s right; today is my dear brother Izuna’s birthday. The most important day of the entire year. *cuts himself a huge slice of cake, then a much smaller piece for Obito, which he pushes across the table* So let’s honor him, shall we?

Obito:

Obito: Izuna Uchiha. Your brother that died almost fifty years ago. That’s whose day we’re celebrating?!

Madara: Of course. What else could there be?

Obito:

Obito: *pushes back from the table* I think I’m just going to go for a run instead. *leaves*

Madara: Honestly, that boy … he gets so sensitive sometimes. I can hardly figure him out.

Izuna’s ghost, sitting at Obito’s place and taking up his slice of cake: Kids, huh?

Guru-Guru: Completely incomprehensible.

[songsofadelaide]

Asleep Among Endives

Chapter 2 — The Sun

In the summer of 1997, the fledgling clan head of the superpower Gojo Clan fancied you a playmate, one headstrong enough to disregard the warnings about befriending a little god who might ensnare you with a curse. When you first met the young Satoru, everything around you turned a lovely sky blue. Little did you know that the very same thing happened to him, and you painted his life in shining gold-like sunlight.

[A Gojo Satoru x Reader fic, ongoing]

cw/tw: childhood trauma, implied/referenced child abuse, naoya being a little creep wc: 10.2k. ✾ Fic Masterlist ✾ Chapter 1 ✾ Chapter 3 ✾ ~Interlude~ — In the Quiet

— The Sun.

~ 1997.

It is said in the old times that a child is assumed to be a person of God until they reach the age of seven. By then, a little one should have a foundation of their soul and a heart of a human. Why was it that you only had a faith shaken by the very person who raised you and a heart hardened by your strange circumstances? 

About a month before your seventh birthday, Lady Suzuna tasked Kazuya and Chiemi to extend invitations to the children and young heirs and heiresses of the different sorcerer families. Seven was the perfect age to make friends and create lasting bonds, the most perfect opportunity to connect with other sorcerer children with similar experiences. It was an auspicious day for a birthday celebration as well, and what better way to commemorate your birth than formally announcing you as the official heir to the Koganei Clan leadership?

A day before the celebration, every servant in every corner of the ancient traditional home was busy preparing the Koganei Estate for the ingress of guests from sorcerer families and the clan's business partners alike. Everyone seemed to be in a constant state of movement while you and your mother leisurely walked around your home, the softness of your padded footsteps seemingly fading into the background of your family's busyness. 

"This tree was a gift to the city from our family back in the 1920s. It's grown remarkably well over time, but it is different from the rest of the ginkgo that line Meiji Jingu Gaien. The leaves of the trees outside fall and grow according to the season while ours remains the same all year round. I suppose we can attribute it to our cursed energy. Unlike other sorcerers, we make use of our power by healing, not so much exorcising," Suzuna stated, your smaller hand in hers as you took your time to walk around the estate's private gardens. The perennial aged ginkgo tree that has been there for as long as you can remember towered over your forms. Summer, spring, autumn, winter— regardless of the season, this tree remained alive and flourishing, its golden leaves constantly raining on this particular part of the estate. The tree has seen the coming and passing of former clan leaders, and you had no doubt in your mind that it will surely still be here by the time you pass away as well. "It's beautiful but resilient."

The afternoon breeze was cool against your ankles, the wind gently blowing through your striped yukata as you took measured steps beside your mother in this sectioned-off area of the garden. There was a sacredness to the tree's age now, and the family gardeners probably didn't want guests and strangers wandering in here and causing any hurt or damage to it.

"Otome, tomorrow is your birthday. I know you would have wanted to celebrate the day of your birth with your family— your real family… Which is why I asked Kanade-san to assist with tomorrow's preparations. She and I will help dress you in your celebratory clothes."

"Oh…" Your grip on the older woman's hand tightened, though you tried to hold your calm expression. "Th-Thank you very much for your consideration, okaa-sama."

"What did I tell you about your emotions, my girl?" The older woman shook her head, a slight tsk leaving her lips. "Your eyes are shining. I can tell you're about to cry tears of joy."

"I'm sorry," came your only response. Lying to her was never a good idea when the truth is already blatantly obvious to her. 

"I'll forgive you just this once since it's your birthday," Suzuna stated, a small smile gracing her painted lips now. "Ah, here she is."

Her comment made you look up from your path, and you felt her slowly turn you the other way, a kind hand on your back as she eventually let go of you. From across the garden stood your mother— the one who gave birth to you— in a muted mustard yukata, the family's standard servants' attire. 

"Good day to you, ojou-sama," came your birth mother's greeting as she bowed before you and the lady of the house. "And to the madam as well." 

"You may approach," came Suzuna's soft command. She gave you a gentle push toward the other woman. "And you may greet your mother." 

You tried desperately not to let the excitement show in your steps, but your sprint betrayed you as you happily hurled yourself into your mother's open arms. "Okaa-chan!"

The two women couldn't blame you for your reaction. You were only a child, still so clueless about the weight of the crown about to rest on your little head. And yet there was a certain maturity now evident on your face, the warmest of smiles on your lips as you hugged your birth mother. You happily buried your face in her chest, feeling the beat of her heart against your cheek. 

"Oh, how you've grown, my little love…" Mustard sleeves enveloped you in a warm embrace, but you did not cry even though you wanted to. You couldn't bring yourself to, even though her words were so similar to what your… stepmother— I suppose I could call Suzuna that— said mere moments ago. "Strong and lovely, just like our ginkgo tree."

Summer nights were like a spell itself. Something about the balmy weather and the trilling of the cicadas often drew people into some kind of trance. You were no different from those under summer's thrall even though you were born in this season. In fact, summer's magic seemed to be even more potent now than ever. On the night before your birthday celebrations, you found your little feet walking towards your family's secluded garden, the one where the ancestral ginkgo tree stood, towering over the still and silent estate. 

You had no idea what time it was, but you were awakened by the sound of soft crying coming from the foot of the tree. It was strange that no one else could hear it except you, even more so now that you were face to face with the weeping figure. 

It was a woman, one you haven't seen in the estate before. She did not wear the standard servants' attire but instead donned a lovely kimono in the shades of bamboo and sunrise. Something about her felt otherworldly as she paid no mind to your approach, her face concealed in the sleeves of her dress. 

"Are you all right? Why are you crying?" You asked her, though she did not respond. "Please don't be sad…"

The phantasm stilled at the sound of your concerned yet inquisitive voice, her arms slowly dropping to reveal her face to you. 

"You can see her?" Came a voice that was very much real this time you nearly jumped from your spot in shock. 

"O-Okaa-sama!"

Still in her sleepwear similar to yours, Suzuna approached you, mere steps away from the base of the tree where the crying woman stood. "Answer my question, daughter." 

Spirit sight is the most basic technique a child can develop before being able to fully harness cursed energy. At the same time, it is the most important skill a sorcerer requires in order to be able to harness cursed energy. 

"Yes… I-I only came here because I heard her, okaa-sama. No one else but you came to see her, too…"

"There is no need to be so nervous, daughter," Suzuna stated as she placed a hand on your head and gently ruffled your hair. "Do you know who she is?"

And children from sorcerer families who lack the most common ability that should be known to all sorcerers are no better than the average person. 

You shook your head in response to her question. 

"You and I descended from a pathetic man. We come from a long line of desperate people who wanted nothing but to prove their worth, even if it meant breaking the hearts of their loved ones," she said softly, holding the crying woman's gaze as she took your smaller hand in hers once more. "Uesugi Karui married for love and received nothing but heartache in return when she couldn't give birth to a child with Koganei Masahito's gift."

Uesugi Karui… You've heard that name before from one of your mother Kanade's bedtime stories. Karui was the first wife of the clan founder who bore him many children, all of whom he cast aside in favour of bastards who were fortunate enough to inherit his prized reverse cursed technique. Masahito's bloodline branched off into numerous families, and even Suzuna herself couldn't determine from which one she originated, even though she was certainly born into the main family. 

She could not relate to Karui's plight. How could she? When she herself decided to take a lover apart from her own husband out of sheer desperation. She sighed to herself, prompting you to look up at her. "I suppose I'm no different from that man, too." 

Karui's presence, after lying dormant for so long, only seemed to solidify the theory that she was here to curse the existing Koganei Clan, even though it has been hundreds of years since she last possessed the name. Suzuna last saw her when she was just a child herself and she had no guiding hand before like you did now.

"I know we aren't the only ones who can see you, but we are the only ones brave enough to ask," she told the unmoving phantasm, still rooted in her position at the base of the ginkgo tree. "Are you here to curse us? To curse… this child?" 

The spirit of the weeping woman moved ever so slightly, her approach toward you blocked by your stepmother. Suzuna shielded you from Karui by taking a step forward, hiding you behind her skirts. "If you're going to curse someone, curse me instead. This child is…"

Karui slowly shook her head in response to the other woman's statement. She moved to touch your forehead, smiling as you laughed at the ticklish cold that was her cursed energy. "It's true that I married for love, and even if I were to return to those days, I would not have it any other way."

Uesugi Karui was not at all a vengeful spirit, but simply a ghost still in unrest. 

"There are things you regret, Suzuna. Some of which are already far too late to take back," the lovely phantasm stated, the sadness in her eyes softening to a rueful expression. "However, it is not too late for her."

"I…" Suzuna's voice cracked. "I did what I had to do, as did you…"

"But did you do it out of love? Your obsession with duty will drive you to your grave early," Karui told her. "I am not a vengeful spirit, but there is a greater chance of that happening to you if you do not temper your expectations." 

Your mother's hold on you tightened ever so slightly. 

"I lived for many more years even after danna-sama passed away, and though my children and I were looked down on because none of them possessed their father's gift, I made sure to fill our home with so much love that they had no time to pay attention to every terrible thing being said about us," the phantasm stated, holding her hand out to you. You looked up at Suzuna once more, who only nodded at you in response. "I do not pass on any curse to you, young Koganei born with the gift. All I ask is for you to live your life with so much love that you have no room in your heart to curse anyone else. Not even your mother who gave you away, not even this mother of yours who has been cruel to you, not even your sister who wishes for your unhappiness, and not even those who wish to possess you for themselves." 

Karui's hand was cold as ice, yet there was a gentleness to her touch when she spoke to you, lulling you to sleepiness. You could not recall how you found your way back to your bed that night. When you awoke the following morning, your fingertips were freezing even though it was a rather warm day. 

"Good morning, ojou-sama," came an even warmer greeting. You smiled as you felt a gentle hand over your forehead, brushing away the hair that fell over your eyes. "Happy birthday to you."

The servants weren't any less busy despite all the preparations made yesterday. When the day of your seventh year finally came, it was time for the main family to do their job— welcoming and receiving their guests. While the Lady Suzuna was busy ensuring you were dressed in your very best for this day, it was her family who became the face and front of the clan, and she relied on her husband to hold the fort while she was still away.

Kazuya's father, Kaminari Kyouya, is the second-born son of his own sorcerer clan, one rich in magicians who practised lightning sorcery. He and Suzuna were childhood friends and he chose to marry into the Koganei Clan out of his great love for her. In fact, he loved his wife so much that he was willing to look the other way when she decided to have a child with another man. 

Kyouya and his children stood dutifully just outside the estate's genkan, warmly welcoming every guest that arrived with presents and blessings in tow for the heir's birthday. While Kazuya imitated his father's mild demeanour, Chiemi was growing tired of having to greet people she didn't know. She tugged at the older man's forest green hakama, looking up at him with wide and innocent eyes. 

"Papa, can you carry me?" She asked him, punctuating her question with a very sweet-sounding, "Please?"

He knew that this child wasn't his, yet he loved her all the same. How could he not? She had the very same eyes as her mother, the same ones he first fell in love with so long ago. He scooped up the little girl in her pink kimono and nuzzled her cheek as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Of course, my little Chi. Are you tired? We only have to do this for a bit more, then we can go back inside." 

Suzuna stepped out of the genkan to join her family in welcoming their guests. She wore an elegant kimono the same shade of forest green as her husband's attire. "Kyou, you ought to stop spoiling Chiemi. She's already five."

"Mama's being mean again, papa…" Chiemi buried her face deeper into the crook of her father's neck.

"I know, Chi. Don't worry about her," Kyouya murmured in reply to the girl with a pleased smile on his face. Perhaps five was already a bit too old to be carried, but he couldn't resist his daughter's pleading adoration. "We've been standing out here for quite some time now, Suzu. Besides, I don't mind holding my girl for a little while."

"That's not the point," Suzuna tried arguing. "Chiemi, you—"

"Oh, hush, you. Guests are arriving, so let's not argue here, please," he said with a chuckle even though he wanted to silence his wife. "Smile, Suzu. Here come the representatives from the Tokyo Saenome Clan."

And she did so, equally amused and equally annoyed at her husband's dismissal of their exchange. She greeted their guests pleasantly and it took her some time to realise there were only three of them by the entrance. "Now where did Kazuya run off to?"

The clever boy slipped away in the middle of his parents' bantering. Kazuya paid no mind to the servants bowing before him as he passed by them, his steps on the redwood engawa loud and impatient. He was eager to find you before any of the other guests did and was more than pleased to find you just about to step out of your room.

The shoji slid open, and you walked out with a measured step, not at all used to the weight of your outfit for the day— a crimson kimono embroidered with hundreds and hundreds of golden ginkgo leaves being blown by the wind.  

"Oh, Kazu-nii!" You happily greeted the older boy in the same forest green hakama as his father. 

"Happy birthday, Otome. May you always be blessed with good health and happiness all your days." 

"Thank you very much, Kazu-nii," you replied to him with a bow, remembering your stepmother's instructions from earlier today. Bow with gratitude. 

"This is for you," the boy handed you a gold-coloured omamori you recognised as something from the Meiji Shrine near your home. "A present, for good fortune." 

"Oh, thank you! I promise to treasure this," you stated rather excitedly before safely tucking the amulet into your obi, making it another accessory in your already intricate outfit for the day. 

"Bocchan, it's time for Otome-sama to see her guests," said the servant who assisted in dressing you. He recognised her as your birth mother. She wasn't in the standard servants' attire this time but in a kimono the colour of sunrise, the image of an aged tree with falling golden leaves printed on its front folds. 

Ah, the boy thought to himself. The older woman's dress was more similar to yours than his family's ensemble, even though you were part of his family. Then again, it was no secret to jujutsu society that you were not Koganei Suzuna's blood-born child, but one from the branch family. 

Kanade smiled at him. "Would you be willing to escort her to the audience hall?"

"O-Of course, Kanade-san!" Kazuya replied, an embarrassed expression on his face as he turned to meet your expectant eyes. He feigned a cough into his fist and offered you an elbow. "Shall we, then, my sister?" 

"Mm! Let's go!" 

You were aware that the celebration was by no means a simple one, but a grand honouring of your birth and your role as the future leader of your sorcerer clan. However, you couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the large number of guests that arrived to personally greet you today. The estate shoin was filled to the brim with unfamiliar people both young and old in more traditional attire in various colours and degrees of formality, and they rose to their feet to clap for you as you stepped into the audience hall in your brother's arm. 

The rumbling applause gradually died down as you took your place in the centre of the hall, surrounded by your immediate family— Suzuna, Kyouya, Kazuya, Chiemi, and your birth mother, Kanade. The two women each gave you a kiss on your cheek, while Kyouya gently placed an ornate glass kanzashi on your head. 

"Many happy returns of the day, Otome-chan," the older man greeted you with a smile, to which you replied with another. 

"Thank you very much, otou-sama."

The Koganei servants started to bring in the food and drink, allowing the older and elderly guests their meal as the children lined up before you, smiles on their faces and gifts in hand as they prepared to greet you. You felt no different from the hina dolls that adorned your family home, visitors paying you homage like a tiny goddess reborn from so long ago.

You sat seiza right in the middle, the sleeves of your crimson kimono reaching the golden tatami floor as you remained perfectly still, giving your newfound friends the occasional bow of gratitude as they approached in a neat line. You thanked each one who presented their gift to you, each decision made with great consideration for your person— Porcelain tea sets, freshly-made ichigo daifuku, a calligraphy set with a bottle of golden ink, a rose-coloured kinchaku, a tortoiseshell kanzashi— the presents piled up by the minute, but the line was disrupted by a dark-haired boy with the sharpest brown eyes, closely followed by a family attendant with a large ornate box in hand. 

"Happy Birthday, young lady of the Koganei house," he said with a smile. The boy wore a pressed white dress shirt underneath his navy blue kimono, and he effectively blocked your line of sight to ensure he had your full attention. "I am Zenin Naoya, son of Zenin Naobito. It is with great honour that I present to you a gift from our family."

The boy you only knew from your mother's narrative has finally made himself known. He was only a few months older than you, but he spoke with the eloquence of an elderly man with the hint of an old accent that slightly irked you. 

"Thank you very much, Zenin Naoya-sama," you stated with the same measured bow you gave everyone as you received the present from his servant. You were about to set it aside when he spoke again. 

"I would like for you to open it before everyone."

His statement prompted you to turn to Suzuna, who only nodded at you from across the room. Seeing her confirmation and the fact that she was still keeping an eye on your conduct reassured you, so you delicately unwrapped the present before the boy. It was a beautiful silk kimono the colour of flint, and finely embroidered with bright orange thread were the detailed feathers of a bird— which at first you thought was Suzaku, but upon closer inspection was something else entirely.

"That is Nue, one of the shikigami of our family's Ten Shadows Technique," Naoya stated rather proudly. "While I don't possess the technique and I am unable to summon it, that won't stop me from appreciating its beauty and said ferocity."

Talkative was the first impression the Zenin child left upon you. He was evidently proud of his heritage, but what good is all of that showmanship if he's rude to everyone else?

"It's beautiful, indeed. You have my gratitude for such a lovely present. I understand you took time off your day to visit me on my birthday and you wish to speak with me more, but it would be rude of me to hold the line even longer when every other guest here did the same as you," you replied to him with a pleasant smile that visibly flustered him. You lowered your head to a bow as Naoya slowly stepped away from you, cheeks flaming red in both embarrassment and infatuation, not that you were aware of the latter. 

"Huh. So he really was a brat," Suzuna murmured to herself as she watched from afar how you handled the very entitled Zenin child and put him in his place. She had her drink in hand as she sat across her husband and son, who were conversing about something else. A small hand gently tugged at her sleeve. 

"Did you say something, mama?" Asked Chiemi, who looked up to her with a measured head tilt that anyone would find adorable. 

"Nothing at all, Chiemi," the older woman replied, smiling as she tucked away a lock of her daughter's curly hair behind her ear. "Have you… greeted your sister a happy birthday today?"

"…Do I still have to? So many people are here for her already!" The little girl said with a pout. 

"I'm sure your greeting would mean a lot to her, Chi-chan," Kazuya piped in on his sister's conversation with their mother. "Look, Otome's about to take a step outside for a bit. Why don't we go see her?"

"I don't wanna!" 

Chiemi was fine left alone in a corner, Kazuya knew that much. Though he knew jealousy played a part, he still had a difficult time fully understanding why his sister felt that way about you. Whatever you had was given to her as well, even though you did not ask for any of it yourself. There were times Chiemi was given more, but it did not matter at all to you. You were happy to see that she was happy, and that seemed to incense her even more. 

Today was the only day you were given more than her and she tried to be on her best behaviour… Yet even after receiving the harshest scolding of her life about a month ago, nothing could stop Chiemi's ever-growing rage over her own family's preference for a daughter who shared no immediate blood ties with them.  

"Fine. I'll greet her. I'll greet her so you can shut up about it, onii."

There was little Kazuya could do except follow his little sister with haste as she got up and hurriedly trailed you out of the audience hall, the look on her face foreboding chaos.

"Chiemi!"

You were already a bit spent to notice the younger girl's approach. It wasn't at all easy sitting perfectly still and you overestimated your capability to remain in the same position for the rest of the day. As you stepped out of the hall and into the redwood engawa to take a moment to breathe and stretch your tired legs, you found yourself suddenly pushed from behind and falling off the edge of the walkway, the speed of your descent only quickened due to the weight of your outfit.

"Ojou-sama!" Came the panicked cry of your mother, who hurriedly tried to reach for you as you tipped off the engawa. 

"Chiemi, no!" Kazuya exclaimed as he eventually caught up with the girl in the pink kimono, encasing her in his arms to prevent her from acting any further. He was moments too late, however, as he found your figure lying face down on the ground. 

The fall wasn't that far, but it still hurt. You tried to make sense of things as they were unfolding at the moment, not at all letting your sister's actions affect your judgement. You expected her to pull a stunt like this today and you were right to think of your reaction thoroughly beforehand. "Okaa-chan, please take her away before people start to notice." 

"Haa?! Who do you think you are ordering people to— A-And don't you dare touch me, you—" 

The sound of Chiemi's shrieking complaints was drowned out when an unfamiliar voice asked you, "Are you okay?" 

You raised your head and found a slender hand outstretched to you. You grasped it and allowed this person to help you up on your feet again despite not knowing who they were. "I'm fine. Thank you very much."

It was a boy with eyes as blue as the clear ocean and hair like starlight. He held your gaze long enough for you to forget what just transpired, the intense and ethereal look in his eyes taking you someplace else— It felt like you were standing in the middle of the ocean, frigid snow blowing across your face yet it didn't hurt. More than anything, the sound of the waves and tides was comforting—

"You have some dirt on your face," he said, his voice pulling you back to reality and the incident that just occurred between you and your siblings. He brought the sleeve of his pale blue yukata to your cheek. "Ne, Kazuya, if this girl truly is as important as you say she is, why are you letting that kid smack her around?"

The unnamed boy's remark seemed to anger Chiemi even further, and she thrashed in her brother's arms. "I-I'm not just some kid! I am Koganei Chiemi! Koganei Suzuna's true daughter, the beauty—"

"Blah, blah, blah. Is that it? You expect people to bend over backwards for you just because you're pretty?" He rolled his eyes at the younger girl. "I'm not into whiny little brats like you."

"W-Wait, Satoru," came Kazuya's sudden plea. "Please don't—"

"I'll pretend I never saw anything here, but I suggest you keep the feral animals in their cages," stated Satoru, the boy in the blue yukata. He pulled something from out of his sleeves and handed it over to you. "This is for you, Koganei girl. Happy birthday."

He found his way up to the audience hall and eventually disappeared into the crowd. You opened the slender box in your hands, evidently mystified as you laid eyes on his gift: a set of prayer beads the colour of the clear ocean.

The Lady Suzuna patiently waited until evening, until all the guests have been sent off, to handle the incident that occurred between you and Chiemi earlier in the day. Other family members knew better than to get in the way of the matriarch's warzone-like discipline. 

"How many times must I tell you, Chiemi? You speak out of turn and expect everyone to be gracious with you, is that it?" She stated, her voice calm and firm even as her daughter squirmed away from her grasp. "You're fortunate Otome made the right choice to send you away rather than stoop down to your level of immaturity."

You begged for lenience for the younger girl but were faced with the older woman's fury just as much as she was angry with her own daughter.   

"Okaa-sama, please… This… solves nothing. You said it yourself. She'll just keep on hating me…" You pleaded, writhing in agony as you clutched your stomach after being kicked away. You were not able to defend yourself well this time. "I promised to never curse anyone, not even her…"

"I will beat the anger out of Chiemi until she understands that she is not the only daughter I have," the older woman said, her palm landing angrily on the younger girl's bottom. "I asked her to behave herself for one day—"

"Koganei-sama," came the voice of an elderly servant from outside the room. "My apologies for interrupting… There is a messenger from the Gojo Clan waiting for you."

"What?!" Suzuna hissed. Why the Gojo Clan of all people? She had no answers and only grew even angrier at the thought of you misbehaving yourself before the son of the prominent clan. "Otome! Did you do anyth—"

"I-I didn't—!"

"If I may, my lady," the servant continued. "It seems their young master has taken an interest in Otome-ojou. Satoru-sama is inviting her to the G—" 

Satoru wants to see me again? But why?

"Leave us!" The older woman commanded, to which the servant replied with a faint acknowledgement and the scurrying away of padded feet. She slumped to the floor, dropping Chiemi in the process. She was obviously at her wit's end now and she needed answers. "You spoke to him?"

You sat up and straightened your back, taking a deep breath before responding to her question. "Yes, okaa-sama. He— Gojo-sama— helped me to my feet when I… fell off the step earlier." 

"That child is not your ordinary boy. His birth changed the balance of the jujutsu world. He is like a little god," Suzuna stated, a sigh of exhaustion leaving her painted lips. "And you, a little goddess in his midst."

This wasn't news to her. Gojo Satoru isn't the first boy to show an interest in her heir. However, she had no idea whether or not this invitation was truly from the little god himself or if it was the working of other elements. 

"Normally, you would be allowed to visit another clan's residence, but we're talking about one of the Great Three Sorcerer Clans here…" she started. You sat quietly as the older woman rattled out fact after fact. You were so focused on self-preservation that neither of you noticed Kazuya slip into the room to take Chiemi away again. "…And not to mention that bounty on the boy's head… Then again, the Gojo Clan is said to live in an impregnable fortress."

No matter how silly or boyish that whim may be, it would be foolish to send her there on her own, Suzuna thought to herself, long and hard before she eventually turned to you. 

"I told you before that I tire of making all the decisions here. That's why I'm asking you now— What do you want, Otome? Do you wish to see that boy again?" 

But you knew it wasn't just a matter of wanting to see him again— though admittedly, you actually did. So you answer her question truthfully. "I would like to meet him again, if that is all right with you, okaa-sama." 

It was a surprisingly wise answer, proof that you still considered her word above your own desires. She beckons you to approach, her hand gently gliding through the hair over your forehead in order to push it upward. "Then I suppose we do as the little god requests." 

Yet an epiphany washes over her all of a sudden as she holds you in her arms. Who does that child think he is? Asking for my heir, of all things… "…Or maybe not."

The shoreline was covered with a carpet of freshly fallen snow. It wasn't at all cold, though, as you traversed through the snowscape, your feet sinking deep with every step you took. There was someone walking a few steps ahead of you, a hand reaching out for yours. 

"Ngh…" You groaned to yourself as the sunlight of the new day filtered through the shoji leading to the garden just outside your bedroom. 

The little god that was Gojo Satoru was in your dreams that same night for some odd reason— he and his hair like snow and starlight and those eyes that seemed to see right through you— 

"Hey, are you awake already?" 

Huh. He sounds so real here, too… No, I could have sworn I was awake— "Huh?…"

"It's rude to keep your guest waiting, you know."

Wait, what?

You bolted up from your futon, your comfortable sleep cut short by the quiet arrival of the boy that was in your dreams mere moments ago. "Y-You—!"

"Hello, Koganei girl," said the boy who was seated on the tatami right beside your bed. He was very much here and very much present in your bedroom right now. "Good morning! I thought you'd never wake up!"

"Wh-What are you…" You stammered at him, rubbing your eyes until stars appeared and blinking— "You're really here!"

The shoji slid open, with Kazuya storming into your bedroom. It was only then you realised they were in matching white gi, which could only mean— "Satoru! You said you'd train with me first thing in the morning!"

"Whoops! I did say that, didn't I?" Satoru stated before eventually shrugging at the other boy. "But you knew I came here for her first and foremost, Kazuya."

"That's beside the point! I— Oh, good morning, Otome!" Your older brother paused from his declaration when he saw you finally up. "You remember Satoru, right? He'll be staying here for a week."

"That's because your mom didn't allow you to visit me," the silver-haired boy said with a pout. "But I'm here now. Aren't you glad?" 

"Huh? Oh, uh…" 

"Satoru!" 

Kazuya's impatient huffing prompted the other boy to rise from his seat. He moved toward you slightly, as though he wanted to reach for your hand but decided against it. Instead, he beamed at you rather confidently before eventually declaring, "Let's talk later. I'm just gonna wipe the floor with you brother so he'll leave me alone."  

"Is that so?" Your brother responded with a laugh as they exited your room, their boisterous, boyish laughter filling the still-quiet halls of the estate. You rose from your futon and opened the shoji leading outside to the garden, where you were greeted by the glare of the morning sun and your family's perennial ginkgo tree.  

You weren't brought to the little god's home like he expected. That wouldn't stop him from seeing you again, though. So instead, he came to yours. 

The estate became a hive of activity once more after Suzuna agreed to play host to the young heir of the Gojo Clan not long after your very first encounter. It was no surprise that the boy was spoiled rotten by his own family and the Koganei tried its best to keep up with his every wild and wily demand. Fortunately, Satoru did not ask for much apart from time with you. 

A lot of time, to be precise. 

Satoru agreed to stay over at the Koganei Estate on the condition that he trains with Kazuya every morning and follows his exact same daily routine. Kyouya remarked that he was a surprisingly diligent pupil despite his mischievous overtone. 

He had the most attentive eye on you when the two of you shared lunch in the dining hall that day. 

"G-Gojo-sama, is something—" You nervously started as you sat across from him. He cut you off as soon as he heard the way you addressed him.

"Satoru," he stated plainly. "That's my name. Don't call me Gojo-sama because it's like you're referring to my father or some other old fart."

The boy sat across from you, happily helping himself to a bowl of piping hot rice and carefully deep-fried golden brown tiger prawn tempura. The yukata he wore now had a pattern of navy blue seigaiha, reminiscent of the tides and waves in your dreams.

"Koganei girl—" 

It was your turn to interrupt him. "My name is actually…" 

You gave him your name. It embarrassed you how easily it rolled out of his mouth, like he's known it all his life. 

"Your hairpin," he said, pointing to your head. "Did you know that it's a tsukumogami?" 

"What?"

Your stepfather's gift to you was a delicate glass-blown kanzashi. When you pulled it out of your hair to inspect it more closely, you saw the fine craftsmanship and the intricate azure blue beads and gold trimmings that adorned it. Though you were certain you were holding it carefully, the hairpin fell to the tatami floor, followed by a gentle stream of cursed energy that seemed to emanate from it. It didn't take long for the object to finish its gradual morphing, taking on its human form as the legends say. 

A woman in an elegant azure kimono now sat before you, a tender smile on her face as she met your curious gaze. "You're friends with a very shrewd boy, child of Suzaku. Though I suppose nothing can get past those mystic eyes of his." 

"O-Oh!"

"You may call me Marin. I have served your family for time immemorial as a guardian spirit of sorts. My presence has been restored for this very purpose: to serve as your protector in times when your family cannot," she stated, prostrating herself before you. "It would be an honour to accompany you on your life's journey, aruji-sama."  

"I… I'd like to know this first," you started, trying to hide the quell in your voice. "You called yourself a guardian spirit. I've never heard of you before, though…"

Marin raised her head, the same kind smile on her face even as you questioned her. "That is because I was sealed away, only to be awakened once my master awakens as well. And it has been… three hundred years since I last saw my master, the one who possesses Suzaku." 

"Otome is not the same master you served before, tsukumogami. She might possess the same ability as your old master, but she is a different person altogether," Satoru interjected. 

"I am well aware of that fact, little godling of the Gojo family," the woman stated. "That is why I wish to accompany her on her life's work— in order for us to have a better understanding of each other, and for me to glean more knowledge about the world at present… If she will have me, of course."

"Of… Of course, Marin-san! I… I would be honoured to have you as well!" You told her, taking her hands in yours. The guardian spirit was evidently touched by your trust. It was pure and child-like, a currency in itself that is absolutely priceless. 

"I thank you, aruji-sama. Remember you have only but to call me and I will be there," she replied, lifting your hands to her lips in reverence. "For now, I bid you farewell. I am only an arm's length away from you. Always."

Marin's cursed energy condensed itself once more, housing itself in the elegant hairpin until nary a trace of her human form remained. Satoru lifted it from the tatami and scooted over to your side, pinning it back to your pulled-up hair. 

"Thank you…"

"Huh. You're really like the sun," he said. You couldn't help but cock your head in confusion at his statement, earning yourself another one of his boyish grins. "You know that sorcerers like us have different kinds of energies, right? We can see and even sense traces of it… but it's different when you touch. I… don't normally let other people touch me, so I was surprised when I held your hand and saw that instead." 

"That?"

"It was said that when you touch someone and you see colours, you're touching that person's very soul." 

What? "Really?"

"When I held your hand yesterday… It felt like I was looking at numerous rays of the sun. It was all golden! But my eyes didn't hurt at all."

"Oh…" 

He suddenly raised a hand to his nape, a sheepish expression gracing his features. "Did you… see any colours when we held hands?" 

"I saw the sea… and snow," you told him truthfully. "Like a splash of blue." 

There was a curious twinkle in his eyes when you spoke of the vision from yesterday. He looked… rather pleased with himself.

"I'm glad that's the case!" He stated, his confidence returning as he happily rocked back and forth, not at all making an effort to mask his giddiness. "I'm really glad I came here! Even though I have to spend most of my mornings with Kazuya…" 

So he came seeking answers, you thought to yourself. Satoru grew surprisingly warm and comfortable around you afterwards. He remained a diligent student to your stepfather for the rest of his stay as well. He gladly sparred with Kazuya now and even let him win on occasions, though he took no pleasure in going easy on him. Satoru was a prodigious child and Kazuya soon came to realise that even if he mastered Raiden and his inherited Lightning Rod Sorcery, he can never best a little god born perfect. 

On the other hand, Satoru wanted nothing to do with your sister, even though she insisted that they started off on the wrong foot. 

"That boy is so… enamoured with you, my girl. It's rather strange," Suzuna absentmindedly commented as she permitted you to exit the room through the shoji leading to the garden, where the silver-haired boy spent most of the afternoons waiting for you to conclude your basic studies with your mother and governess, his excitement not at all waning as the days passed. 

On his final evening at the Koganei Estate, Satoru slipped past the night patrol and hurriedly made his way to your bedroom, his mischievous, catlike smile glimmering in the dark of the night.

"Shh," the boy with hair like starlight raised an index finger to his lips. "Let me stay here tonight." 

And he spoke. Even as the moon hung high in the night sky, he spoke about anything and everything that came to his mind, even though you had no idea what he was talking about. Despite his sheltered existence, Satoru was intelligent and worldly, and he spoke of things you had yet to see outside your gated home, things he wanted you to see with your own eyes, things he wanted to see with you— to experience with you. You. 

"Do you want me to come back for you when we're older?" He asked, no longer embarrassed by the yawn that left his mouth. He lied down beside you just outside your futon, your small hands slightly touching. 

"Or maybe I'll find you," you replied with a small smile on your face. You were sleepy, but the thought of him leaving tomorrow gave you the strength to fight back the urge to drift off into a dream. 

"Fine by me," the boy nodded, a grin on his face that eventually widened into another yawn. 

Satoru fell asleep first. The only thing that mattered to you was the fact that he was there— the one who touched your soul and saw sunbeams. Perhaps he was waiting to meet you in the space between dreams and the waking world. When you reached for his hand, a tender wave of calmness washed over you, just enough to lull you to sleep as well. 

When morning came, neither of you was bothered by the sound of thundering footsteps through the estate halls, the panicked whispers of "where could he be" being passed around by family members, sorcerers, and servants alike. 

It amused Suzuna, who knew exactly where the little god was— unbothered and sound asleep right next to her child, the one who touched his soul and saw the sea and the sky— their tiny fingers warm and intertwined. 

~ 2004.

Your life as the young heir of the leadership of the Koganei Clan was composed of many hours of learning and training from your mother and family elders, as well as a series of encounters and misencounters with the different children of the numerous sorcerer clans both major and minor. Many grew to respect you and your presence at gatherings, saying you earned the right to sit at that table with all the hard work you've put into becoming a worthy heir, while others remained ambivalent that a girl would be a clan leader. When you turned fourteen, Lady Suzuna started taking you with her to clan leader gatherings. The invitations to such meetings never ceased and became a part of your life as well, earning you allies and opportunities to continue proving your mettle.

When wintertime rolls in, signifying the start of the new year, the venue for clan leader gatherings is reset, and the representatives of sorcerer families near and far converge to Kyoto— the heartland of jujutsu society— to the fortress-like estate of the esteemed Zenin Clan. 

Zenin Naobito inherited leadership of the Zenin Clan from his elder brother in 1999, shocking onlookers that the role was passed down to a sibling and not to offspring. But upon closer examination of their circumstances, it only made sense for the leadership to be passed on to someone who excelled in sorcery and had a knack for politicking. 

Naobito's nephews— the rugged and apathetic Jinichi, and Toji— did not fit those qualifications at all. Toji, most especially, since he was known to have been born with no cursed energy at all, making him an anomaly in his own family. He seemed to exist outside the cycle of cursed energy and his senses made up for his lack of it. 

Toji has since left the Zenin Clan on his own accord. Whatever is known about him now is considered lore— and most of the time, fiction. 

Esteemed as they were in the eyes of everyone in jujutsu society, none of their living family members have inherited their most prized Ten Shadows Technique. Naobito was said to have conceived his youngest son, Naoya, as a final attempt to manifest their family's truest hope of regaining their power from ages ago. Alas, that was not the case at all, for his son inherited a form of sorcery so ghastly similar to his that it felt a bit like mockery. 

If it was any consolation, Naoya was exceedingly intelligent and gifted in his own right, perhaps even more talented than his older brothers. Naobito saw in him a strength that reflected his own— and the smarts to go with it. It was too bad his own pride and entitlement spoiled whatever personality he had. His ongoing infatuation with the girl who possessed Suzaku did not help his moral argument, either. 

It was never his character to patiently wait, but he did so with you. Naoya tried to mask his elation with anything other than that when he saw you enter the shoin with your mother. 

Ah, the strange thing you did to his silly little heart. His uncle Jinichi chuckled at how motionless he stood next to his father. He followed the boy's line of sight and—

"Don't look at her, you dirty old man," Naoya hissed at his uncle. He couldn't blame the older man, though. The way you carried yourself now was even more refined than ever— to think that you could improve even more from that time you put him in his place— and that sprig of gladiolus tucked in your hair… 

Naoya imagined himself backing you into a corner, the sheen of your gold kimono dissipating as you fell into the shadows of the more quiet parts of their estate—

"Does your father know you're a horny little shit?" Came his uncle's remark, followed by a low and rumbling chuckle. It was a joke meant to sound like an insult, but the boy's enraged expression only meant that Jinichi was spot on. 

You could sense eyes on you from across the grand audience hall, and you were greeted by Naoya with a smile, one you hadn't seen in a long while. He looked surprisingly antsy in his spot beside his father and uncles, turning in your direction every once in a while. The meeting was an exchange of views between leaders and was meant to be boring for the youngsters. All of it will make sense in the future, Suzuna whispered to you earlier. 

A recess was called and you took that as an opportunity to stand up and stretch your legs. And perhaps encounter someone… 

That someone you had in mind was not Naoya. 

He greeted you with the same eloquence and warmth so akin to his father that it felt like you were talking to an older man. "Hello, Otome-san." 

"Naoya-sama," you replied to him with a low bow. "It's good to see you again." 

"It certainly is. And seein' you here is such a delight because you are definitely a sight for sore eyes," he stated. 

"Oh, um… I'm glad to know I brighten up the room if that's what you mean." 

Pretty, pretty, pretty— For Naoya, you were so devastatingly pretty that it killed him inside not to have you to himself. He wanted to hold you. "That is entirely true and exactly what I meant. You… Has anyone ever told you that you'd look so nice as a bride? Not now, exactly, but…"

"E-Excuse me?" 

"You're fortunate to have a brother capable of handling things in your family in case you must leave in order to marry," Naoya continued with his seemingly half-brained monologue, only for it to be cut short by your sharp interjection. 

"I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen at all," you replied to him, correcting his misconception about your presence there today. "I stand here before you as your equal, an heir to a house of sorcery." 

You tempered your emotions, keeping them in check in hopes they won't show on your face. However, it got the better of you when Naoya tried to reach for your hand and you suddenly took a step back. He recognised that look on your face as one of horror and disgust. 

Disgust, of all things. One single look made him feel entirely pathetic and hurt and his bruised ego wanted to make you feel just as bad. 

"I see. So that's how it is. You do know the entire reason why yer family still exists is because of your mother's a sycophant. In case you didn't know what that means, it—"

But you had the same sharp look in your eyes, not at all deterred by the fact he veiled his comment with an insult. "I know what that means, Naoya-sama." 

"Everyone in his meeting is aware of what kind of person your mother is, you know. She'd have done everyone a favour by handing over the reins to her husband or her son. It won't be long 'til your family is driven to its own ruin by her own making, and I'll be there when she puts you up for bidding— the heir of a family no better than that of insects—" 

Thwack. 

It was a strange feeling. You did not punch him in the face with your dominant hand yet he was sent two steps back. 

"You—!"

"You called me the bride of a family of insects yet you can't seem to get me out of your mind," you said, the adrenaline pumping through your body as you seized the collar of his dress shirt. "If this is how you intended to win me over, you are pathetically naive."

You pushed him off the engawa and jumped at him while he was down, preventing him from thrashing away from you. 

The unearthly shriek that the other youths heard from the outside of the shoin prompted them to rush outside, everyone present surprised by the scuffle that was ensuing between the girl in the golden kimono and the young master of the house.

The boy had a hand in your now-messy hair as you sat atop his finely-clothed figure, driving your fists into his face in a blind rage. You were hardly an image of gracefulness right now but you were too incensed to give a fuck. 

"Who the hell do you think you are?! Do you think you can just call my family trash and get away with it?! I'm not just a pretty face like you say I am, you piece of—"

You were quickly pulled away from the dark-haired boy by your fellow young ladies, who struggled to pull you back as you tried to rip away from their hold with nothing but fury boiling your blood. The young Zenin boy got on his feet, seething as he was held back by his clansmen from approaching you again.

"This isn't over, Koganei!"

"Grow a fucking backbone, Zenin!"

The scolding you received when you arrived back home at the Koganei Estate was unlike any other. Princess as you were in the eyes of your clansmen, Suzuna considered your recent actions as inappropriate for a future clan head and had you punished for it. The ripped and dirtied kimono from this morning's incident was taken off of you and cast into a fire despite your protests. 

Suzuna was tired. It had been far too long since she last admonished you for something. You were doing so well, after all, following her example and learning from her firsthand. She knew within herself that any corporal punishment she would mete out to you will only embolden you further. 

The two of you sat quietly in her den, the very same place where she would often discipline you as a child. She ordered not to be disturbed by anyone in order to fully understand what was running through your head that afternoon when you decided to smack Zenin Naoya in the face. 

"I have no words for what I just saw, Otome," she stated. "What… What exactly happened back then? Why on earth did you punch Zenin Naobito's heir, of all people?" 

You sat seiza, silent and dignified like she always instructed. Your lip was split open and you could taste salt and dried blood on the tip of your tongue even though you did not open your mouth to speak. 

"You don't deserve the prestige that comes with the position if you're going around acting like a wild boar!" 

"I know you've said time and again to accept everything thrown at us with grace, but I cannot! I will not… I will defend our family's honour even with my bare hands! I…" You shouted back, fists shaking as you tried desperately to swallow the lump in your throat. You have mastered the art of holding back your tears out of fear of upsetting this woman, your mother— Lady Suzuna, but the rage that made your blood boil spilled carelessly in your words. "Zenin Naoya told me that a family led by a woman will only be driven to its own ruin, that we're only fortunate enough to still be standing because of your own pandering to the elders of jujutsu society! He called the Koganei trash! He— How dare he discredit what you've done for this family!…"

Once again, you amaze your mother with your quick wit, though she expected you to act more wisely. The fact that you were defending your clan's honour was not lost to her, but that mattered little now after the tussle that transpired. "That was nothing to lose your patience over, Otome. I told you that getting upset over trivial things is—"

You looked at her with furrowed brows and disbelief. "It wasn't trivial to me, okaa-sama! He insulted you! To that extent, he's insulted our whole family! Why are you being so nonchalant about this?!"

Suzuna wanted to implode. Seeing your untapped rage finally reach its tipping point forced her to evaluate you as her heir, but more importantly, as a person. Your progress— who you are now— is exactly who she wanted you to be. You had better control of your emotions now, a firmer grasp and understanding of the power of your tears, yet she wished you handled your anger better than just throwing your hands at other people. 

And other people happened to be the honoured son of one of the Great Three Sorcerer Clans. 

"Because at the end of the day, we small, insignificant clans are powerless against those giant madhouses. They don't like seeing difference,  anything out of the ordinary— they most certainly do not like seeing women fighting back. No matter how skilled you grow…  Those— Those men can crush us, Otome."

The tremble in Suzuna's voice broke your spirit. Did she not defend this family in her own way? If your self-preservation meant pandering to those above her, she still did so with grace and poise, embodying the beauty and resilience of the ginkgo tree your family takes so much pride in.

She sighed in exhaustion, both physically and mentally. "That brat was obviously infatuated with you. I could tell from the way his eyes followed your every movement. You could have just accepted his compliments…"

You prostrated yourself before her, lowering your head until it touched the tatami. "I'm truly sorry, okaa-sama. I thought I defended our honour but all I did was tarnish it with my rashness. I will accept any punishment doled out to me as you see fit." 

"That won't be necessary. You… did what you thought was right. It wasn't, but you believe yourself to be entirely justified. Keep that conviction of yours, Otome. You have that thing you said that brat didn't," Suzuna shook her head in defeat, a small smile gracing her face despite knowing you were in deep shit. "A backbone."

In the morning that followed, as you were having breakfast in the dining hall with your family, a message of apology and a single box of delectable Royce' Nama Chocolates were delivered by a Zenin messenger. You awaited retribution but all you received was a sweet and a sorry. 

"Naobito-sama sends his regards— and his apologies for Naoya-sama's poor treatment of the young lady Koganei," said the Zenin messenger as they handed over the box of candy to a Koganei servant. "In line with this, Naoya-sama is inviting the young lady Koganei back to Kyoto—"

"No," you stated plainly.

Suzuna nearly jumped from her spot as you conversed with the messenger at the genkan. "O-Otome! What are you saying?!"

Oddly enough, the more you rebuffed Naoya, the more he seemed desperate to ensnare you.

"If Naoya-sama truly wishes to apologise to me and mend our strained relationship, he will come here to the Koganei Estate in person to see me," you told the confused Zenin messenger. "That is all." 

They left in haste carrying nothing but your response to their master's measly excuse of an apology. 

Chiemi couldn't believe her eyes. You were never one to make demands of anyone and it annoyed her to see you acting so audaciously. To see you acting just like her mother, fitting into your role as heir like a snug mitten.

"You've grown awfully confident with yourself, onee-sama. Naoya-sama has done nothing but woo you for the last few years and yet you still punched him in the face," she piped in. "I take it he said some awful things about our family, but he was definitely just teasing you. I suppose you think you're above him now—"

"…t up…"

"What?" She asked, her nose crinkling at your inaudible response. "See? That's the thing with women like you. You always forget your place…"

You couldn't bear to listen to her droning until she said something that made your blood boil once more. 

"Oh, I know! Why don't I go to Kyoto in your stead? We are sisters, after all, and Naoya-sama might find my company more pleasant than you—"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up! For once in your life, shut up, Chiemi!" You screamed at the other girl's face, shaking her shoulders so hard that she dropped to her knees in total shock. All those years of tormenting you and you finally snapped at her. "You can hate me all you want now, but you will thank me eventually! I'd never marry that man even if Suzaku himself commanded me to! And I'm not about to let you waltz into your misery, either!"

Author's notes: — I am once again apologising for this chapter's length. I wanted to keep on expanding and expanding this universe further and accidentally hit 10.2k words. — I think Naoya being a little creepy in the final part of this chapter is pretty on-brand. Don't get me wrong, I love him a lot. I just happened to love Gojo more. We will see more of Naoya in the coming chapters and continue breaking his teeny little heart more. This is a work in progress, one which I am very happy to be writing! This is also my first time actually posting a full fic here, so please let me know if there's anything odd. You can get in touch with me on Twitter or here at Tumblr @SongsOfAdelaide if you wanna drop me a line or something! ~ Mari / SongsOfAdelaide ♡ ♡ tag list: @woozzz

✦ Asleep Among Endives Masterlist ✦

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday to Eddi Reader.

Eddi, born born Sadenia Reader on August 29th in 1959, has been around several blocks, musically speaking. A native of Glasgow, she has been well known and loved here for years. Oddly enough, Reader jumped right into her performing career in the early ‘80s by travelling throughout Europe with a circus troupe. Shortly after, she decided to settle in London and become a session vocalist.

Her choice proved fruitful as her book soon filled up and she landed work with the Eurythmics, the Waterboys, and Gang of Four. None seemed like the right setting for Reader. Then she found her place in the spotlight with Fairground Attraction. The band’s debut, First of a Million Kisses, hit the British charts in 1988, along with the single “Perfect.” Reader gained a good bit of recognition, both critical and popular, and was able to launch her solo career from that platform, although it did not happen immediately.

Her solo debut, Mirmama, saw daylight in 1992 and found Reader’s lovely pipes wrapped around some fine tunes. Although it was a limited release, it caught the ear of the folks at Warner Brothers, who followed it in 1994 with her self-titled album. This second effort included more Reader originals amid the slick production.

Despite touring in its support, she still managed to contribute to recordings by Thomas Dolby, Liberty Horses, and others. When things didn’t pan out with her major label, Reader returned to her independent roots and issued Candyfloss and Medicine in 1996 and Angels & Electricity in 1999, all the while perfecting her brand of smooth acoustic folk-pop.

Finding herself with yet another musical home, Compass Records re-released both Mirmama and Angels & Electricity in the United States and allowed Reader the chance to put forth her most organic offering to date with Simple Soul in 2001. Seventeen Stories: The Best of Eddi Reader and the all-new Driftwood arrived in 2002, followed by Eddi Reader and my personal favourite, Sings the Songs of Robert Burns in 2003 and Peacetime in 2007.

2008 sawEddi make a foray into film with an appearance in Me and Orson Wells, the following year she commemorated the 250th anniversary of Burn’s birth with a deluxe version of his songs with additional songs to add to the original. That same year she also put out new music in the form of her ninth studio album, Love is the Way.

Save for a live record, which appeared in 2010 Eddi took a long break from the recording studios, returning in 2014 with Vagabond. There was only a slightly lesser gap between albums with her 12th studio record appearing in 2018, Cavalier, which was recorded in Glasgow.

In 2020 Eddi celebrated 40 years in the music business with a UK wide tour that included 10 Scottish shows, that was before the Covid virus came calling, the shows had been rescheduled twice. The album Light Is in the Horizon followed, her 12th studio piece.

In 2024, the band's original line-up announced a Japan and UK tour, and reunited for an album titled "Beautiful Happening", set for release on September 20th 2024. A first single, "What's Wrong With The World ?", was released in February, followed by the album's title track in June.

Eddi is back to touring with her solo band and has a gig on Hayling Island off the south coast of England, in December a seven date tour of Ireland follows in 2025, then ten gigs in England.

Don't worry she hasn't forgotten her homeland, look out for Phil Cunningham’s Christmas Songbook, where Eddi will join the former Silly Wizard musician in ten Festive concerts around Scotland between December 12th and 22nd.

I've chosen a gaelic song that Eddi performed, it's called Buain Ná Rainich (Fairy Love Song) and is from her 11th album Vagabond.

The other well-known title, Tha mi Sgìthh, there are many variations of the story relating to this song, but one version says that the song was originally sung by a fairy who caught sight of a beautiful girl when he was cutting bracken. They fell in love, but alas there was no fairytale ending. When her family learned of the love, they stopped the girl from seeing the fairy and they locked her away. His song mourns the situation. The tune of this song is very old and it is often used as a lullaby. In Cape Breton though, it is often used as a Puirt à beul!

[ask-thearchivists]

Do you collectors have any holidays or festivals or whatnot you celebrate?

{It's going under a read more this got way too long.}

The Charmer: The Coordinator knows more about these things than any of us. Due to our lifespans we perceive time slightly differently than you, and due to the complete and utter lack of a planet we could designate as home, our way of measuring time is unfamiliar to your own traditions. We have large celebrations for personal milestones, we have other celebrations for certain astrological events specific to our assigned galaxy, that you might compare to a "holiday" as we do celebrate. But they happen over such an extended period of time with even more time in-between that the festivities and practices we adopt would seem incomprehensible to you.

The Cartographer: Oh I remember some of the major holidays. There is only one holiday I recall that works on a scale larger than Galactic, Which is the celebration of the Grand Constellation. I don't think she ever explained what that is, but it's what we refer to the Universe as. On planets, constellations are made of stars, for us in space we are moving through the stars so quickly that any one solar system's constellations mean nothing to us very quickly. Instead we measure things using the Grand Constellation, an expanse so great that even the quickest and most skilled Collectors may never be able to travel it completely.

The Cartographer: So anyways we celebrate the creation of the Grand Constellation once a Comet for the length of 100 Orbits. That's 1/1000th of the length of a Comet, so pretty reasonable. Uuuh, an Orbit is similar to one year for your species. It is celebrated at the end of a Comet, so we finished our last, and first, Flare celebration 23 Orbits ago. None of us are old enough to have had one previously. Besides that the holidays we celebrate mark certain things in our assigned galaxy. We have Galactic Equinoxes and Solstices, these are measured by tracking the orbit of the closest inhabited solar system to the center of the galaxy, seasonal attributes are assigned according to the cardinal directions of the Grand Constellation. The Autumnal Equinox will actually begin next Orbit, and last for 10 Orbits.

The Cartographer: The festivities for our Autumnal Equinox involve mourning traditions, because it is symbolic of the inevitable decline in life anything that lives will face. For the first five Orbits we fast as much as we are able while still conducting our jobs, really traditional Collectors will cut their hair short, but this is not necessary. The last five orbits we feast by indulging more in our consumption of astral energies and radiations. Another practice is Oblivion, where we enact minor changes to our Collecting, like if Cleaning is determined as necessary during the Equinox we abstain from the burning of the planet. Instead, we Collect everything with our star constructs according to minimum criteria as quickly as possible, and then leave them. I think it's...silly, it's meant to enforce to the mortals their powerlessness in the face of grand cosmic indifference.

The Curator: For our own personal milestones we celebrate new births by feasting on a dying star, allowing the newborn to eat as much as they want, hoping they will grow strong and powerful as an adult. First Collections are very important, and unless there is something extremely aberrant, we are meant to only guide. This is a sort of birthday celebration by the way. Another sort of birthday celebration is the Naming Ceremony. This is the last birthday a Collector will be super tiny and mortal sized, before growing into the size they will be as an adult Collector, and we commemorate this with the official assignment of their title and job in the Archive, thus becoming an official Archivist. It would be the second birthday after the First Collection, or about 500 Orbits later. The last major milestone before typical ones like living for your first Comet and such, is the celebration of the Collector becoming an adult, and earning the full responsibilities of their job. This happens 1,500 orbits after the previous one.

[baekcheon-jin-dongryon]

🪷 ~ The return of the Blossoming Blade ~ 🪷

Q&A:

<화산귀환> *500화 기념 QnA*

Commemoration of chapter 500 (LN), a look back at your questions! [Translation]

Official Q&A (by Luffmedia), Link: 💮

< my language is not English, I apologize for any potential spelling errors >

Main character profile:

주요 인물 프로필

Cheong Myeong [청명]

Age: 18 years old (chap 500)

Height: 5’8” / 172 cm (still growing)

Date of birth: Unknown. Both Cheongmyeong and Chosam are orphans, so their dates of birth are uncertain. However, Cheongmyeong's birthday, based on the day he first entered Mount Hua (past), is October 10.

Body type: He looks a bit skinny with clothes on, but in reality he has huge, lean muscles.

Appearance: Waist-length hair, tied roughly with a green ribbon. Because his hair is thick, it gives the impression that the ponytail floats slightly. Because he tied it up so roughly, his bangs and side hair look messy.

- His jaw is slightly slender and his appearance alone gives him a delicate look, but he's never been rated as nice because of his facial expressions and eyes.

- There is a big gap between his facial expressions when he is laughing and when he is angry.

- An appearance that receives a debuff due to his personality.

- The proportions of his hands are a little larger compared to the rest of the body.

To be continued

1/7

[mykey-and-bobby-koopa]

((It's August 13th, which means… Koopa Week has come to an end.

To commemorate that event, here are some facts about Kamek, Bowser's Magikoopa servant:

• His full name is Karmelo Krystal Koopa.

• His shortened name is derived from his first name and the initial of his middle name.

• His middle name was derived from the color of his shell, which is light blue and without spikes.

• He is 59 years old. His birthday is December 21st.

• His sign is Sagittarius and his stone is turquoise.

• In terms of height, he is taller than Morton and shorter than Morton and Wendy; in terms of weight, he weighs the same as Jr.

• He has been nearsighted since he was 40, since then he has had to wear high magnification glasses. As he gets older, his vision becomes more blurry because he develops cataracts.

• His favorite dessert is rum raisin ice cream.

• His favorite color is gray.

• His shell is smooth, with no spikes on it.

• He walks semi-hunched over because his tunic is somewhat heavy. If he took it off he would feel lighter and would be upright like the rest of the Koopalings

• During his adolescence he wanted to study magic, being one of the first Koopas to be a Magikoopa. His love for it was born when he played “Dungeons and Koopas”, almost always being the role of a magician.

• He has an older sister, being only two brothers.

• He is a great lover of reading, he knows many things. One of his topics of interest is medieval fantasy literature.

• His first job was being the assistant of Bowser's grandfather, who at that time was the king. From there he has served the royal family uninterruptedly until the present. From the beginning Bowser's grandfather saw potential in him with his powers and magical abilities, teaching the young princes magic.

• He saw Bowser's father and Bowser himself grow up, knowing everything since they were both young.

• You could say that he is like the Koopalings' “grandfather”, since he treats them with tenderness and scolds them in equal parts. He helped in the birth of each one

• He met Mykey and Bobby's parents in person, being very close to them.

• Shortly after Bowser's father was crowned king, he met a Koopa with whom he fell in love. However, things did not go so well and nothing came of it. Since then, he has not wanted to start a relationship with anyone, even today.

//

Es 13 de Agosto, lo que significa que... la semana koopa ha llegado a su fin.

Para conmemorar ese hecho, aquí algunos datos sobre Kamek, el magikoopa sirviente de Bowser:

Su nombre completo es Carmelo Krystal Koopa.

Su nombre abreviado deriva de su primer nombre y la inicial de su segundo nombre.

Su segundo nombre fue derivado del color de su caparazón, es cual es celeste y sin pinchos

Tiene 59 años. Su cumpleaños es el 21 de diciembre

Su signo es sagitario y su piedra es la turquesa.

En cuanto a estatura, es más alto que Morton y más bajo que Morton y Wendy; en cuanto a peso, pesa lo mismo que Jr.

Es miope desde los 40 años, desde entonces ha tenido que usar lentes de gran aumento. A medida que su edad avanza, su vista se torna más borrosa debido a que desarrolla cataratas.

Su postre favorito es el helado pasas al ron.

Su color favorito es el gris.

Su caparazón es liso, no presenta pinchos en ellos.

Camina semi-encorvado porque su túnica es algo pesada. Si se la quitara se sentiría más ligero y estaría erguido como el resto de los koopalings

Durante su adolescencia quiso estudiar magia, siendo uno de los primeros Koopas en ser magikoopa. su gusto por ella nació cuando jugaba “Calabozos y Koopas”, siendo casi siempre el rol de mago.

Tiene una hermana mayor, siendo solo dos hermanos.

Es un gran amante de la lectura, sabe muchísimas cosas. Uno de sus temas de interés es la literatura fantástica medieval.

Su primer trabajo fue siendo el asistente del abuelo de Bowser, quien en ese momento era el rey. Desde ahí ha servido a la familia real ininterrumpidamente hasta el presente. Desde el principio el abuelo de Bowser vio potencial en él con sus poderes y habilidades mágicas, enseñándoles a los jóvenes príncipes la magia.

Vio crecer al padre de Bowser y al mismo Bowser, conociendo todo desde que ambos eran jóvenes.

Se podría decir que es como el “abuelo” de los Koopalings, ya que los trata con ternura y los regaña a partes iguales. Él ayudó en el nacimiento de cada uno

Conoció en persona a los padres de Mykey y Bobby, siendo muy cercano a ellos.

Al poco tiempo de que el padre de Bowser fuese coronado rey, conoció a un Koopa del que se fue enamorando. Sin embargo las cosas no salieron del todo bien y no se llegó a nada. Desde ese momento no ha querido entablar una relación con nadie, incluso en la actualidad.

[lunaetis]

@everlastiingiimmortals asked :

"I heard you joined the Express on this day last year." The familiar rumbling tones of Jing Yuan's voice would be accompanied by a gift in a red velvet pouch, dangled teasingly before Eden's nose. Inside, she'd find a small but intricately carved wooden replica of a racoon curled around a crystal planet. "It isn't much, but I thought to have this commissioned to commemorate such a momentous day. Happy anniversary to your life as one of the Nameless, Eden."

happy birthday eden ! ( 26.04.2024 ) || always accepting

─「エデン」─  THE TRAILBLAZER had no concept nor knowledge regarding the celebration called a birthday. apparently, it was something quite common across many planets and customs, to celebrate the date of your birth, the very day you came into existence. it was supposed to be something joyous, a gratitude and appreciation of life. how you started your journey in this very world.

                for EDEN, it wasn't exactly a birthday, but the astral express treated it like one. it was the day she had opened her eyes, the day she became eden and her journey began. from that day to now, a whole year according to the star calendar, so many things had happened. good and bad. the vessel reflected upon them, how much she had grown and ... changed. in a way, the only thing she could hold onto was her name.

                the deep, familiar and soothing voice pulled her from her reverie. the GENERAL had graced her with his presence once more, and eden let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. in the company of the general, she found herself being able to let her guard down. out of EVERYONE she had met so far, through the truths and lies she lived through the year itself, through many encounters both fated and unplanned — he remained the one person who she knew she could TRUST, wholeheartedly.

                the pouch caught her attention, and her gaze followed it as it was placed onto her gloved palm.

                " for me ... ? " once again, he had gotten something for her. he went out of his way to acquire A GIFT for her even though he shouldn't have. and once again, he proved to have paid more attention to her than one let on. the fact that he realized she had joined the astral express on this date. slowly taking the content out of the pouch, her HEART skipped a soft beat at the delicate piece of wooden raccoon wrapped around a crystal globe.

                commissioned. he didn't just buy it. he ... had it specially made for her. for a nameless like herself.

                " i ... " words were lost in her throat, but she could hear the sound of her heart beating increasingly loud. it wasn't a humming of THE STELLARON, no — it was actually the organ in her left chest pounding against her ribcage, so hard that it was almost painful. what was this feeling ? a mix of warmth and hollowness, a sensation rising from within. even when she had told herself to pull away, to put up a wall, to no longer trust anyone. it was all orchestrated. nothing was real.

                yet ... yet ... could the stellaron hunters plan all this ? could THE SCRIPT control even these small moments where he reached out for her ? time after time ... he was the only one she couldn't LIE to.

                this can't be pre-determined, can it ? this ... this was real. this gift was hers.

                without a word, she held the gift carefully in her hand before her arms came around him. a silent embrace, but how it spoke so loud of the words left unsaid by the cracked vessel. burying her face into his frame, she bit back the burn in her eyes, clenching the lids shut so none of the droplets would escape. she might not know what a birthday is, or why people celebrated it, but this ... this very moment where she felt seen and recognized, where she wasn't stellaron vessel but EDEN ...

                it was real ... she wanted to believe that it was.

                " thank you ... general. i will treasure it, always. " thank you for always seeing me.

[mehiwilldoitlater]

You know I was wondering;

How do you think the Acolytes would celebrate the creators birthday? We have holidays to commemorate birthdays and the events surrounding things we find significant. Personally my birthdays on the anniversary which sparked this question.

How on earth does Teyvat celebrate? (Is it like Teyvat is conjoined to reader at birth, or was their a series of events?) I want your take!

I would Like to go with the conjoined idea.

Like, the First spring day of the year, on Teyvat, connect with reader birthday. The earth Is warm, but not too much, flowers blooming, nice weather....it's Just a perfect day! Usually old civilitation connected that day with the rebirth if the world soooo, why not?

The festivity of "the Birth" differ from country ti country. On Mondstadt, for instance, consist in a huge festival, where work stop, musicians perfom on the streets...Is more like a Fair than a religious matter, but people there like it that way!

On Liyue, you Need to think It like the chiese new year, a huge festival with fireworks, ceremonies and colofull parades.

Inazuma take the thing more to a serious way, with people visiting the shrines to obtain good fortune etc.

Unfortunaly, Sumeru lack of these ceremonies or party ,yet ,on that days, stories about the creator and their originale archon soreads across the streets

[hahaalaine]

It was so sweet that my little sister not only wished E a happy birthday but she also told me "happy birth giving day". Like she was the only person to acknowledge that and it was actually really nice because it was such a significant event for me and I didn't realize I needed that validation until she gave it.

I'm not trying to make the day about me but it was nice to commemorate the experience

[bobmccullochny]

History

December 25th - Christmas Day, commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Although the exact date of his birth is not known, it has been celebrated on December 25th by the Western (Roman Catholic) Church since 336 A.D.

December 25, 1066 - William the Conqueror was crowned King of England after he had invaded England from France, defeated and killed King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, then marched on London.

December 25, 1776 - During the American Revolution, George Washington took 2,400 of his men across the Delaware River. Washington then conducted a surprise raid on 1,500 British-Hessians (German mercenaries) at Trenton, New Jersey. The Hessians surrendered after an hour with nearly 1,000 taken prisoner by Washington who suffered only six wounded (including future president Lt. James Monroe). The victory provided a much needed boost to American morale.

December 25, 1868 - President Andrew Johnson granted general amnesty to all those involved in the Civil War.

December 25, 1926 - Hirohito became Emperor of Japan.

December 25, 1989 - In Romania, a television broadcast of a Christmas symphony was interrupted with the announcement that Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife had been executed following a popular uprising. A pro-democracy coalition then took control. Ceausescu, a hard-line Communist, had been ousted from power after ordering his black-shirted state police to suppress a disturbance in the town of Timisorara, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 4,500 persons.

Birthday - Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was born in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. He was a mathematician, scientist and author, best known for his work Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica on the theory of gravitation. He died in London and was the first scientist to be honored with burial in Westminster Abbey.

Birthday - American nurse and philanthropist Clara Barton (1821-1912) was born in Oxford, Massachusetts. She served as a nurse during the Civil War and in 1881 founded the American Red Cross.

Birthday - The founder of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah (1876-1948) was born in Karachi.

Birthday - Film actor Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) was born in New York City. Best known for The African Queen, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and To Have and Have Not.

[coopsgirl]

Snippet from The Darkening Forest

I haven't had much time to work on the latest chapter of my current Thranduil fic, The Shadow and the Sunrise, (it is coming soon though) so I thought I'd highlight one of my favorite parts of the first Thrandy fic I wrote. It's set around T.A. 1050 and Thranduil (whose wife broke her bond with him and sailed West) and Legolas have befriended a young female elf named Dailwen who came to their realm as a refugee from another part of Greenwood.

The elves of the Woodland Realm had a feast each time the seasons changed but the one in the Spring was especially fun as it was also a chance to celebrate their king’s birthday. The celebration was held each year on his birth date to commemorate both events together. Unlike the Yule festival held under the stars, the Spring feast was celebrated out in the bright sunlight. Legolas and Dailwen didn’t know what to get him for a gift as he didn’t want for or need anything. Eventually they decided their gift would be a chore the king had been putting off for a while. The large wooden bookshelves in his study, which held his personal library, needed to be cleaned and polished once a year and Thranduil typically did the job himself although he did not exactly enjoy it. The shelves were made by his father so he was very particular about them but when Dailwen and Legolas offered to do the job, he gladly accepted their gift. The party itself was a big success, as they typically were, but the king couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy each time Dailwen danced with a different ellon.

--- “What’s happened?” Thranduil asked frantically as he happened to turn down the hall in time to see Legolas carrying Dailwen to her room, her face contorted in obvious pain. “She fell from the ladder and landed hard on her back” he explained as they had been working on the tall bookshelves. He reached her door and Thranduil opened it so they could take her inside. Her breathing was labored and Legolas carefully laid her on the bed. Thranduil sat down beside her and took her hand in his. “Just focus on me and breathe” he said calmly as he used the back of his fingers on his other hand to stroke her cheek. Her breath soon returned and she said, “I’m alright. The fall just knocked the wind out of me.” She tried to sit up but Thranduil wouldn’t let her. “I’m fine” she said in protest. “Lay still until I’ve made sure nothing is broken” he told her in a tender voice. “I’m not made of glass” she said with a laugh but then she winced a bit in pain. Indeed, elves were tough and a fall of just a few feet, even if it was on to a hard stone floor, shouldn’t do much damage. Thranduil was a skilled healer and he was going to make sure she was alright before allowing her to move about. “Stop arguing and be still” he said a bit more firmly now. First, he put his hands on both sides of her head to check her skull, then he moved down to her neck and also ran his hands along her arms. When he put his hands on her ribs, it tickled and she did her best to hold in the laughter. He checked her hips and then lastly her legs and feet. “Nothing broken” he confirmed and then he helped her sit up and Legolas poured her a glass of water from the pitcher in her room.

“Was nearly making my heart stop part of the gift?” he asked teasing her as she finished her drink. “That was a bonus” she said jokingly. “Your back may be sore for a bit but I have some liniment that will help.” He instructed Legolas to bring him the supplies and while he was gone, Thranduil told her to take off her tunic. “I most certainly will not!” she said shocked at the request. “Take it off and lay down on your chest” he said demandingly as he stood up and turned away from her. She gave the back of his head a cross look but then did as she was told. “Okay” she said when she was done and he sat back down beside her. Her back was red from her shoulders to her waist. “Am I going to have to wrap you up in pillows or will be you be more careful in the future?” he quipped. “Don’t make me laugh; it hurts” she said pitifully. Legolas came back in and handed his father a small jar. His cheeks flushed a bit as he saw Dailwen’s present condition and then he stood back by the door. Thranduil opened the jar and used his fingers to dip out the liniment. He rubbed it between his hands and then began to work it into her back. She flinched once and he said tenderly, “I’m sorry but this will make it feel better.” Between the warmth of the ointment and the touch of his gentle hands, Dailwen soon forgot all about the pain. “Now lay still and rest” he said and then he bent over and kissed the back of her head. Dailwen soon drifted off to sleep feeling absolutely wonderful.

She woke up after a bit and checked the clock on her bedside table. It was almost time for supper so she got up and redressed. She walked down the hall and when she passed the king’s study, she found both father and son working on the bookshelves. “This was my plan all along. I fall, get hurt, and then get out of the work” she said leaning against the door frame. “How are you feeling?” Legolas asked. “Much better. That liniment helped a lot. Thank you” she said directing the last part to Thranduil. “You’re welcome. You have no idea how many times he fell out of the trees as a child and had to be coated with it from head to toe” Thranduil said referring to the liniment and his son. They left their work to eat and Ithilfen had made a special desert for Dailwen, a lemon custard pie, after hearing about her accident. She was always happy to make people feel better with their favorite foods.

Dailwen went to her room after supper so she could soak in a warm bath skipping their usual family time. Legolas went back to work on the shelves and although his father offered to help him finish, his son insisted that he would do it alone as completing the chore had been a gift. Thranduil went to his room and sitting at his desk he began to sketch a picture of the forest with its Spring flowers in bloom. However, he continually found himself distracted with the thought of how soft her skin had felt and how her hair smelled like lilacs. He got out a blank piece of paper and began a new sketch. She was lying on his bed with her back exposed and only a silk sheet covering her lower half. Her face was turned so that the seductive smile on her lips could be seen.

If you enjoyed that, you can read the whole story here:

[poetsofthelakes]

1989 original foreword:

"These songs were once about my life. They are now about yours."

I was born in Reading, Pennsylvania on December 13, 1989.

In the world we live in, much is said about when we are born and when we die. Our birthday is celebrated every year to commemorate the very instant we came into the world. And a funeral is held to mark the day we leave it. But lately I've been wondering... what can be said of all the moments in between our birth and our death? The moments when we are reborn...

The debate over whether people change is an interesting one for me to observe because it seems like all I ever do is change. All I ever do is learn from my mistakes so I don't make the same ones again. Then I make new ones. I know people can change because it happens to me little by little every day. Every day I wake up as someone slightly new. Isn't it wild and intriguing and beautiful to think that every day we are new?

For the last few years, I've woken up every day not wanting, but needing to write a new style of music. I needed to change the way I told my stories and the way they sounded. I listened to a lot of music from the decade in which I was born and I listened to my intuition that it was a good thing to follow this gut feeling. I was also writing a different storyline than I'd ever told you before.

I wrote about moving to the loudest and brightest city in the world, the city I had always been overwhelmed by... until now. I think you have to know who you are and what you want in order to take on New York and all its blaring truth. I wrote about the thrill I got when I finally learned that love, to some extent, is just a game of cat and mouse. I wrote about looking back on a lost love and understanding that nothing good comes without loss and hardship and constant struggle. There is no "riding off into the sunset," like I used to imagine. We are never out of the woods, because we are always going to be fighting for something. I wrote about love that comes back to you just when you thought it was lost forever, and how some feelings never go out of style. I wrote about an important lesson I learned recently... that people can say whatever they want about me, but they can't make me lose my mind. I've learned how to shake things off.

I've told you my stories for years now. Some have been about coming of age. Some have been about coming undone. This is a story about coming into your own, and as a result... coming alive.

I hope you know that you've given me the courage to change. I hope you know that who you are is who you choose to be, and that whispers behind your back don't define you. You are the only person who gets to decide what you will be remembered for.

From the girl who said she would never cut her hair or move to New York or find happiness in a world where she is not in love...

Love, Taylor

Welcome home, 1989🩵🫶🏻