LIVES
SUKUNA X READER | MEGUMI X READER
WARNING: implied suicide, obsessive + possessive + toxic relationship, deaths, insanity, (implied) violence
i.
The first time you met your lord, you were supposed to be his meal.
But your lord took a long, hard look at you and decided against eating you; now, you’re his ward.
Serving him in the temple, guiding his guests to paradise, and guiding his enemies to hell.
ii.
You and your three friends played together in the snow. One with pink-colored hair; a brown-haired child; and a black-haired boy.
(Sukuna’s eyes darken when the black-haired boy offers a hand to you when you fall.)
Your lord doesn’t like any of the friends you befriended, and you’ve always followed his orders, but the three friends you met were the only ones you kept a secret from him.
Partly because you don’t want to be lonely and partly because you love them, especially Megumi. The only warmth in your every-day life.
But maybe you should’ve followed your lord’s orders after all, because seeing this much red in the snow is not worth being lonely for the rest of your life.
And when you saw who exactly were the dead bodies laying on the ground, you screamed.
iii.
Where is he? You asked, and your voice seems so far away. Who are you looking for? Where is he? Where did he go?
Who are you looking for? A low and dangerous voice answered.
You shake your head. It’s not the voice you’re looking for. You tried to shake your head again because you couldn’t remember.
Who is he? Who is he? Why can’t you remember?
Sukuna-sama, the potion worked.
Yes, it did. Good work. A smooth, velvety voice answered. Different from the voice you heard earlier. Who is she? Who is Sukuna-sama?
Someone tips your chin up and starts cursing. "Why can’t she see? What did you do?"
"Ah," the next voice is scared, terrified. "I don’t know. The potion should’ve only erased her me-"
"Uraume."
The next you heard were screams at the same time the place turned chilly and you would’ve hugged yourself except someone was already hugging you.
And you can’t see. Why can’t you see? Why is it so dark?
iv.
Just when you can see again, that’s when you’re dying. You think you’re dying. Maybe you are as the shadows of your lord’s enemy slowly consume you.
Someone is screaming at you to move and live.
"This is for my son," the man who cast the shadow announced. "You should’ve never laid your hands on him."
Who is your son? I’m sorry, I don’t remember him. You wanted to apologize, but you can’t open your mouth.
You slowly closed your eyes, and instead of being afraid of the shadows, you finally felt at peace.
(It’s been quite a long time since you slept soundly.)
And when you opened your eyes to see his green and warm eyes, you finally remembered him.
"Megumi!"
v.
A raven with green eyes follows you and your husband wherever you go.
"He’s back again, Sukuna!" you say excitedly. "He’s been gone for so long, and he’s back again!"
Your beloved husband, Ryoumen Sukuna, watches in silence when the raven perches itself on your shoulder and stares at him with its unfathomable gaze.
"Are you hungry?"
The raven’s fate was sealed when you named him Blessing.
vi.
You’re holding onto him tightly now, but he wonders who you're thinking of while staring at the sky.
And he wonders how many times he has to kill the same thing in his lifetime.
vii.
Blessing sure is taking his time. You say whimsical while sitting on his lap. I wonder where he went.
Sukuna pauses, smelling your hair, but decides not to say anything.
And when you felt your husband’s hands on the knot of your obi, you scrambled to get away from him.
"Ah, let me start dinner," was your pathetic excuse.
You wish your raven was here; if only you could forget your husband’s repulsive touch.
viii.
Please just kill me. Just kill me! Kill me already!
Sukuna wonders why you deny what’s meant for him. Whether it would be your attention, your affection, your love, or your body—
(He watches you lifelessly floating in the lake.)
and your life.
ix.
For some reason, your husband doesn’t want a lake or any bodies of water near your estate, even after you pleaded with him. He’d always tell you no.
And for some reason, despite how many times you tried to love him, you just... can’t.
You met a raven-haired girl on one of your outings who happens to be a courtesan. She’s just like you. Maybe that’s why you feel such a connection to her.
You’re sold by your father to your husband, and she's sold to the brothel.
And you couldn’t quite help the way your heart skips a beat whenever you see her forest eyes.
x.
Sukuna is gone most nights. You have no idea where he goes or what he does for a living, but you know that whatever it is, he’s the best at it.
Your husband never took on anything that he wasn’t the best at.
xi
Her sigh against your skin, your hands on her hair, and your lips on her skin shake you to the very core.
You know that your husband would have you hanged for this, but he’ll never know, right?
(And besides, you have never felt happier.)
xii.
He’s a patient man, but he’s no fool.
(Why do you not smile like that when you’re with him?)
And he has never let anyone touch what’s supposed to be his.
xiii.
The courtesans are whispering as he walks through the hallway with purpose.
He lets them be because they’d be screaming later.
He stops at the door, opening it, and he’s greeted by a familiar soul.
He came back again. For you, no doubt.
"Welcome, master," the raven-haired girl in front of him greets.
Sukuna slams the tatami door shut.
xiv.
Your husband is at home today, which means you wouldn’t get to see your lover.
He’s making you breakfast, as you followed him with your eyes while drinking the tea he made. He came back earlier than you were used to last night. You wonder where he went.
You choked on your tea, screaming when he came face-to-face with you while holding a familiar head.
xv.
He doesn’t know how many generations he went through alone after that. He misses you terribly. He misses you so much.
Next time, he’s going to try to be less cruel, if only that would make you stay with him.
xvi.
Sukuna doesn’t want kids. Kids will just get in the way of your relationship. They’ll just take away the precious time and attention you’re supposed to shower him with.
"No! No!" you cried when he killed your child, hands grabbing onto the bloodied unborn menace on the floor. "Oh, god. NO! Plea—I'll do anything."
Sukuna sighs and tips your chin up so you’ll look at him. Only him.
"Kill me! Just kill me! Please!"
Sukuna doesn’t know how many times he's heard you say that in all the lives you've lived, but his answer will never change.
"No."
And you laughed.
xvii.
The cherry blossom sways lightly as if comforting you. You smelled the wild rose that you found earlier, its scent relaxing. You played with it while staring at the falling petals in your backyard.
"Megumi, you’re back already?" Your eyes are glassy as you turn to him, eyes unfocused.
Yes, how are the kids?
"Sleeping." You giggled. "They were very excited to see you."
Me too.
Sukuna watches unflinching as you converse with yourself. He came to get you when he saw the storm brewing in the distance but changed his mind. The cherry blossom sways violently, and he pried the wild rose off your hands when he noticed you cut yourself on its thorns, and you looked at him clearly for the first time in anger before you forgot that he’s there.
xviii.
He finds you panicking while frantically looking around the house. Around you, the house helpers don’t know how to help.
"Ah, Sukuna-sama-" you cried, running toward him. "Sukuna-sama!"
"Where did they go? Have you seen them?" You sobbed, holding onto his robe. "Where are they? Where are our kids?"
"They're not real."
"Don’t lie!"
He says nothing.
"Take it back!" He doesn't. Your eyes widened as if in realization."Oh, I know. They're with Megumi."
His eyes darkened at the mention of the name.
"Yeahh... they're fine. Megumi's with them." you say in a frenzy tone, holding onto your face. "But they need their mommy."
You left without a second thought, but he knows you're headed toward the backyard.
And he finally lets you end your suffering.
Never let it be said that he's incapable of love.
xix.
Sukuna woke up from his long slumber when a pathetic human ate his fingers.
And he thinks that the past is following him because he saw who it was and who the shadow-wielding sorcerer was. He knows that this time will be different.
(You watched as Sukuna in Megumi’s body killed your friends, your teachers, and your families.
And you watched as he walked closer to you, his two sets of eyes in frenzy; it was like slow motion when he put his hands on his chest. You ran towards him to stop him when you realized what he was gonna do, but it was too late. He pulled the heart out anyway
And you screamed)
xx.
You woke up, screaming, and Megumi was quick to your aid, brushing your tears away.
"Megumi," you sobbed, holding onto him.
"What happened?" Megumi asked, worried.
"I-Sukuna was- he-" you couldn’t breathe. You don’t know what you’re going to say first.
"Sssh, it’s okay. It was just a nightmare."
Yes, yes. It was just a nightmare. A nightmare, after all. Megumi is still Megumi. Your friend, your lover, your family.
You hugged him tightly, and Megumi smiled. You don’t notice the markings on his face and body, which are barely visible, or his two extra eyes smiling in mischief.
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Eskewcity's Top Ten Games of 2023
Hello!!! I've decided to compile a list of the best games I played this past year. As such, this list is not limited to only 2023 releases (in fact a majority of the games I played are several years old atp). Additionally, I only considered games that I had completed by year's end. This means that fantastic games such as Signalis and The Talos Principle 2 will not be included, though I still highly recommend them.
Finally, I will put my ranking under a read more for the sake of not clogging anyways dash. Hope you all had a good 2023 and maybe can find something that interests you mwah <3
10. Subway Midnight by Bubby Darkstar
Board the train! Run away from a weirdo! Solve some puzzles! Make friends with some ghosts! Try not to become a ghost yourself!
While I am not someone usually willing to gloss over a somewhat lackluster story for the sake of gorgeous visuals, I will give Subway Midnight an exception. Even with a game that largely takes place in a subway car, it was exceptional when it came to its visual design. It has a blend of a cartoonish style for the characters mixed with extremely realistic environments. The gameplay itself was also quite fun, if not tedious in multiple runs and I really enjoyed the variety of characters that players encounter.
9. Broken Reality by Dynamic Media Triad
A humorous adventure set in a 3D parody of the internet. Diverse puzzles, beautiful worlds, friends, experiences, upgrades and more, await those who 'log on'!
Depending on yourself, Broken Reality might either be a headache inducing cacophony of colors or a fun exploration game about the internet and the commercialization of products and each other. For myself, I choose to look at it from the latter perspective. I found the game to put quite humorous and I really enjoyed all the different worlds to explore. Much like Subway Midnight, I would not recommend it much on its story but I think the design and concept certainly carries where that lacks.
8. Hylics by Mason Lindroth
Hylics is a recreational program with light JRPG elements.
At its core, Hylics is a game with a pretty simple concept. Fight your way through the world with the end goal of defeating the big bad, Gibby, King of Moon. However past that, get ready for a confusing and abstract adventure. This accounts for several reasons. For one, the dialogue of Hylics consists of randomly generated sentences that feel almost coherent while maintaining a healthy amount of head scratching. The game was also created through claymation leading to characters and environments whose shapes twists and turn in perplexing patterns. While this may seem to take away from the experience, I found this not to be the case at all. In fact, I would say it enhanced my time playing greatly. I could not stop thinking about Hylics after I played it simply because its weird and purposely lacks focus which makes it all the more memorable.
7. Babbdi by Sirius & Léonard Lemaitre
BABBDI is a short, first person exploration experience with light narrative and platforming elements. Visit the town of BABBDI, a forsaken district in the outer ring of the megalopolis. Meet its inhabitants and discover how to escape.
In Babbdi, your goal is to leave Babbdi. You must search through the city to find a train ticket that can guarantee your escape. However, the ironic part of playing this game was that I did not rush to leave. While being a free-to-play game, it had an incredibly sizable area to explore. The game actively encourages the player to search every inch of city to find its secrets while also reminding the player that their goal is to eventually leave all of this behind. If you have an hour or so to spare and love games focused more on exploration than action, this is definitely one to check out!
6. Who's Lila? by Garage Heathen
A reverse-detective adventure, where you control your character's face
In Who's Lila, you play as a young man named Will who cannot properly control the expressions on his face. As the player, your job is to ensure that he reacts properly to the world around him. The game even starts with a tutorial on how to respond accordingly to a variety of situations. While a seemingly simple concept, this game is not as it may appear. In fact, and without giving much away, Who's Lila requires multiple playthroughs to order to begin to piece together what is truly going on.
5. Hypnospace Outlaw by Tendershoot
Greetings Enforcer, and thank you for enlisting in the Hypnospace Patrol Department! As the world falls into its slumber, Hypnospace becomes a bustling global village. These virtual streets aren't going to police themselves!
Taking place in 1999, Hypnospace Outlaw tasks you as a moderator for a new form of technology which allows users to surf the internet in their sleep. As the player, you're tasked with seeking out policy violations and handing out warnings and even banning users, if necessary. There is so much about this game I can say but I find going in blind is the best. I definitely found some frustrations which some of the puzzles and how obtuse their solutions were but its undeniably one of the most unique games I have ever played.
4. Return of the Obra Dinn by Lucas Pope
Return of the Obra Dinn is a first-person mystery adventure based on exploration and logical deduction.
In Return of the Obra Dinn, is a mystery game where you not only have to determine the fates of one person, but an entire ship's crew. Additionally, you have to determine the names of each individual based on existing records. By going in the past to witness the last moments of each individual, players can be able to slowly work out the mystery of the Obra Dinn. As someone who plays many puzzle games, I found this to be one of the most satisfying I've ever played. I also thought the game just looked gorgeous and was extremely fitting for the vibe it was going with.
3. Papers Please by Lucas Pope
Congratulations. The October labor lottery is complete. Your name was pulled. For immediate placement, report to the Ministry of Admission at Grestin Border Checkpoint. An apartment will be provided for you and your family in East Grestin. Expect a Class-8 dwelling.
As a border patrol officer, your job is determine the legitimacy of the documents that are brought to you by people wishing to enter the country of Arstotzka. This requires things such checking if their paperwork has expired, if they match their passport photo and if they have the necessary seals for entry. However, what if someone comes to the border fearing for their safety if they are denied, without the correct paperwork? Will you let them in, risking punishment for yourself or deny them, ensuring that you will able to provide for your family at home? Papers Please is a game that will continuously make you question your own ethics under a authoritarian regime. I found this game to be incredibly emotional and made me replay several days simply because I decided against my initial judgments. Certainly one of the most impactful games I played this year.
2. Presentable Liberty by Wertpol
You have been imprisoned without being told why. All you can hear day in day out is the faint ticking of a clock in your cell. That is, until the first of 5 fateful days begins.
Sometimes there are short indie games in the world that fundamentally change you and this is one of them for me. With that in mind, there is not much I want to say about Presentable Liberty since I find its best experienced blind. The short of it is you play as a prisoner as they receive letters from those on the outside. The gameplay is minimal since the player is stuck in their cell for the majority of the game but promise you when I say it does not much that action when its biggest strength comes from its writing. While this game had its short lived success on Youtube, I implore everyone out there to play it and see why I choose to rank it this high on the list.
1. Cry of Fear by Team Psykskallar
Cry of Fear is a psychological single-player and co-op horror game set in a deserted town filled with horrific creatures and nightmarish delusions. You play as a young man desperately searching for answers in the cold Scandinavian night, finding his way through the city as he slowly descends into madness.
Honestly, it's insane it took me so long to play this game especially when loving a piece of media that's a psychological horror featuring a depressed character wandering a city is kind of what I'm known for. However, I finally got around to it and I'm so glad I did. While not the most technically savvy game out there, it is incredible what Team Psykskallar managed to pull off while offering players the opportunity to experience the entire thing for free. Several times throughout playing Cry of Fear I couldn't stop thinking how much better it was than many of the games I've paid for. Like I said, its definitely not the most polished horror game out for sure but damn was I charmed. Even after I completed this game, I immediately had to restart so I could play with director's commentary as I was just that damn interested in learning about as much of this game's development as I could. And its because of how invested I got in playing this game but also its background, that I choose to make it my number 1 pick this year.
(fuck that train level though)
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Hey, you! Do you like Kid Icarus? Do you crave more Kid Icarus content but know we will not be getting any? Do you want Pit and Dark Pit to run around your computer screen stealing your tabs and causing a ruckus? Well, I’ve just made a Pit and Dark Pit shimeji! Click here to download it from Dropbox! Happy anniversary!
TW: There is some minor body horror - for more info read the editor's note!
Some insight on the process of making them under the read more for those interested!
So this was my second shimeji I ever made. This one is a duo shimeji - so both Pit and Pitto act individually. There is one action that allows them to interact, the "Tease" and "Cain Instinct" (originally named "Broadcast Affordance" and "Hunt" respectively.) In the original download, the two shimejis hug - but I didn't feel that represented the Pits.
When I first came up with idea for them, I knew I NEEDED to make Dark Pit kick Pit in the stomach (sound familiar?) and that... definitely took time. Some people in the 25 Years discord asked if I could make Pit fly across the screen after getting kicked and I knew I would have to do that manually.
I attempted making the kick have more impact and throw Pit far, but then often he would go offscreen and you wouldn't be able to see him anymore, so I settled for a shorter distance.
I was very tempted to make Pit daydream of something silly in the animation- food mostly. But then I felt that that leaned a little too heavily into the "Pit is dumb and only thinks about Floor Ice cream" so I asked for feedback and the consensus was that both Pits should be thinking of killing some enemies, so there we go!
Also I didn't want the boys to just multiply the way an unedited shimeji multiplies (sorta just... splits into two) so DP gets some Viridi nature magic and Pit gets some good ol' lazer.
The original plan was to give Pit and Dark different animations for everything- including walking, climbing, running, etc. That was TOO much, so the only real remnant from that is DP's ceiling climb. Similarly, I also tried to draw every frame individually (so no cutting and pasting parts of the body) and BOY that was... a decision! In the end I don't regret doing it because it gives a more 'hand drawn' appearance that I wanted, but it took so much longer.
To be honest, I did end up rushing this a bit at the end, I really wanted to have it available for download on the anniversary, and even though I'm not happy with some frames, I'm overall very proud!
I hope you all like them!
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