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tojiswhore-nanamisslut · 3 months

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Good Movies and Better Friends

pairing: Nobamaki but really this is more about friend dynamics between Nobara and Yuuji with a little bit of Megumi and Yuuji.

warnings: N/A this is primarily fluff! Little bit of angst because Nobara gets her feelings hurt but it all ends well :)

synopsis: Nobara ends up getting in a fight with Maki but Yuuji comforts her with a hug and multiple rom-coms.

word count: 3k

a/n: This was inspired by this fanart! It was so hard to think of a reason for Nobara and Maki to fight but I did my best lol. Also it's almost 6AM and I'm posting this I wrote it in one-sitting bc I needed to just get it out so hopefully the writing isn't too bad.

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Yuuji was awake watching Human Earthworm 5 when he heard the sound of the front door opening and closing. Who was coming back at this hour? He had asked if Fushiguro and Kugisaki wanted to binge the Human Earthworm series with him but they both said they already had plans.

“I have...errands to run.” Megumi responded. He didn’t meet the other boy’s eye when he said it, though.

“Aww all day?” Yuuji pouted.

Megumi cleared his throat, still not looking at his best friend and just gave a curt, “Yeah.”

Yuuji, bummed by Megumi’s response, looked hopefully at Nobara, “What about you Kugisaki? We could even do face masks!” Yuuji wasn’t one to have a skincare routine, but he knew how much Nobara enjoyed cosmetics, so he hoped the idea of a face mask would be enough to entice her.

“Hmm, while the face mask is tempting, I’m not interested in some gross worm man. Plus,” and she gave a little flick of her hair with a smug expression on her face, “me and Maki are finally going on another date tonight and I’ve been prepping for it since yesterday! I got my hair cut, painted my nails, and bought a whole new outfit just for tonight!” Kugisaki said excitedly. “You should probably still do the face mask though, Itadori, your skin looks like it could use some hydration.” At that, she gave a little wave to the two boys saying she needed to start getting ready.

Yuuji looked at Megumi, a confused expression on his face, “Why is she getting ready so early if she said her plans are tonight?”

“I don’t know... But I should also get going. See you later, Itadori.” Megumi gave a wave and then there was nobody in the common room but Yuuji.

“Welp! Their loss.” And Yuuji made his way to the kitchen to start warming up some popcorn.

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Nobara met Maki at the school gates, excited for their date out on the town. It wasn’t often they found time to go out and Maki had been away on a mission, so it had been a while since they really got to have a conversation too.

“Hi Maki!” Nobara skipped excitedly up to the girl.

“Hey. You ready?” Maki responded with a smile and hooked her arm out.

“Of course!” Nobara beamed and hugged Maki’s outstretched arm.

The girls spent some time in the city, getting food, shopping (although it was mainly Nobara shopping and Maki holding her bags), and just generally enjoying each other’s company, walking hand in hand.

Everything was going great until they ran into Mai. She was out with Momo and Miwa, the latter girl the only one who wasn’t carrying a bag.

When Mai noticed them, she smirked, “Wow Maki. I never expected you’d meet anyone who could put up with you in a relationship.”

“Yeah I guess I got lucky. I’m not surprised you still haven’t found anyone yet, though.” Maki smirked back.

“Oh I’m just more selective with who I choose to share myself with.” And she looks Nobara up and down with a slightly disgusted look on her face.

Nobara’s face flamed. How dare she talk about her and Maki like that! “Don’t kid yourself! Maki is prettier, smarter, AND has a better personality than you!”

“Aww Maki your plaything seems to actually think highly of you. Too bad we’re the rejects of the Zen’in clan.” Mai cooed.

Maki’s face hardened, “Not for long. I’ll make them recognize me one way or another.”

Mai laughed, “How? By being pretty, smart, and having a great personality? Stop fooling yourself.”

Nobara had a choice insult on the tip of her tongue when she felt a hand on her shoulder, cutting her off.

“You’ll see. They all will.” And with that, Maki turned and walked away.

Nobara stuck her tongue out at Mai, accompanied by a rude gesture, before running to catch up with Maki.

“She’s so mean and it shows in how dry her skin is, but you’ll make her eat her words!” Nobara beamed at Maki.

Maki kept walking, not looking at Nobara, “Yeah.”

Nobara could sense the tension in her tone and laced her fingers in Maki’s, “Hey, I think you’re amazing and strong and can do anything. I don’t think you need to prove anything to anyone. You’re perfect just as you are.”

Maki’s grip on Nobara’s hand tightened as she balled her hands into fists, “I don’t need your approval or your pity. If I was perfect then I wouldn’t need these damned glasses or be stuck as a grade 4 sorcerer. If I was perfect I wouldn’t have been disowned by my own family.”

Maki gritted her teeth, anger flaring. Nobara winced as Maki’s grip on her hand tightened, “Maki my ha-” but she was cut off by Maki’s yelling.

“And I don’t need you to stick up for me especially if you’re just going to lie about who I am! I’m not perfect, I can't even see curses! That’s the bare minimum someone needs to even be a sorcerer! Don’t you know that!?” Maki finally turned to Nobara, who was in tears. It was at that point that she realized she was holding Nobara’s hand which had fingernail marks on it from where Maki’s nails were digging in.

Maki’s anger immediately vanished, only to be replaced by guilt and shame. Hadn’t the Zen’in ruined her life enough? How could she let them get in the way of her relationship and even worse, cause her to hurt someone she cared so dearly for? She hadn’t even realized Nobara had grabbed her hand; she was so lost in her angry thoughts.

Maki opened her mouth to apologize but Nobara cut her off, “Well fine if you don’t need my pity then forget I said anything! I take it back, you're no better than Mai!” And with that the girl ran off, leaving Maki standing on the sidewalk.

It was 8pm by the time Nobara made it back to the school. She cried the whole way home, and even though she tried calming down, she couldn’t get the tears to stop flowing. How could Maki say those things to her? Her hand didn’t hurt anymore and she knew Maki would never intentionally hurt her, but in the moment it just made everything Maki said feel ten times worse.

As she approached the front door of the dorm building, she did her best to wipe the tears on her face. She knew Yuuji would still be watching human earthworm and she didn’t want him to notice her crying. So once she felt composed enough, she opened the door and walked through.

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“Hey Kugisaki! You’re back ea-” Yuuji’s expression went from pleasant surprise to immediate concern when he saw how red and puffy her face was. She tried to hide it but wasn’t fast enough. “Kugisaki....are you okay?” Yuuji got up and went straight to Nobara, movie forgotten.

At Yuuji’s kind voice she couldn’t help but burst into tears again, “Maki and I had a fight.” She gripped her arm and bit her lip, trying to keep her voice steady and not devolve into a fit of hiccups.

“Oh...I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?” Yuuji asked, brows creased in concern.

Nobara sniffled, “Not really no.”

“Would a hug make you feel better?” Yuuji asked. He understood if she didn’t want to talk about what happened, but hugs always made him feel better when he was upset about something.

Nobara sniffled again and pondered for a minute before nodding. Soon, she felt two strong but gentle arms wrap around her, her tears staining Yuuji’s jacket. He clasped his hands behind her back, holding her close. She returned the hug, burying her face into his shoulder as the tears continued to flow. Yuuji felt warm and comforting, like your favorite blanket or your favorite mug filled with a warm beverage on a cold day. Nobara took deep breaths, inhaling Yuuji’s familiar scent and slowly began to calm down. The boy made no attempt to move, allowing Nobara to determine how long she needed to be hugged for. When he felt her stir and begin to pull away he unclasped his hands and looked at her. Her face was a little less puffy than when she walked in and her breathing was steady.

“Do you feel a bit better now?” Yuuji asked.

“Yeah I do actually. Thanks, Itadori.” And Nobara gave him a small but genuine smile.

At that moment, a loud explosion went off in the movie and startled them both, heads turning to look at the screen.

“Oh! Oh! That was the best part of the movie! Hold on, let me rewind it.” And Yuuji excitedly ran back to the couch to grab the remote. He began to rewind it when he glanced at Nobara who was standing there, rubbing her arm awkwardly.

“Actually, I’m kind of sick of watching this movie. I’ve seen it like 5 times at this point. Is there anything you wanna watch, Kugisaki?” Yuuji was in fact very much still into these movies, but he could tell his friend needed him, so he would gladly save the rest of his binging for another night.

Nobara looked at him, “Oh, are you sure? You seemed so excited to watch these movies...”

“Eh it’s okay I’d rather watch something we both wanna watch! It’s more fun when everyone is into it.” Yuuji grinned.

Nobara gave a small smile in return, “Okay...do you know any good rom-coms? I like watching those.”

“Oh yeah! I know a bunch we can watch! I’ll get it setup.” And Yuuji began clicking buttons on the remote.

“Okay!” Nobara’s smile was bigger now, “I’ll go make some popcorn!”

“Good idea!”

When Nobara came back to the common room with a big bowl of popcorn in her hands she saw the movie paused on the TV and Yuuji wearing what looked like a face mask.

“Uhh, Itadori what’s on your face?” Nobara asked.

“Huh? Oh it’s a face mask! Here I brought you one too.” And Yuuji held out a thin packet to Nobara. She set the popcorn down and looked at it, it was a good brand, one she had actually bought often....wait a second. “Itadori, did you take these from my room!?”

The boy gave a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his neck, “Sorry...I don’t have any face masks of my own and I figured it would cheer you up if we did one. I’ll buy you more though, promise!”

Nobara fought the smile that tried to make its way onto her face but eventually gave up. It was a really sweet gesture, and plus, if he said he would buy her more then maybe she could convince him to buy an even better brand.

Nobara smiled, “Well all right but I don’t want you using my stuff again and I’m gonna hold you to that promise!” She put the face mask on and told Yuuji to scoot over on the couch, where she curled up and laid her head down on his lap, throwing the occasional piece of popcorn in her mouth and laughing along with Yuuji at the movie.

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Nobara woke up the next morning to six missed calls from Maki, 20 unread text messages, and the girl banging on her door.

“Nobara....Nobara please can we talk? I'm so sorry.” Maki’s voice sounded hoarse, like she had been crying.

Nobara got out of bed and opened the door, seeing Maki made her hurt all over again, but she at least didn’t feel like she was going to cry this time. After spending the night watching rom-coms with Yuuji she felt a lot better, and was ready to hear Maki out.

“Nobara...can I come in?” Maki asked weakly.

Nobara stepped to the side to let her in and then closed the door behind her before going to sit on her bed.

Maki stayed standing while she spoke, “I am so sorry for everything yesterday. I don’t even know where to begin. Is your hand okay? I’m so sorry I didn’t even realize I was holding your hand. I was just so wrapped up in my own anger. I never meant to hurt you and the things I said aren’t true at all. I said them out of anger not at you but at the Zen’in and I’m usually better at not letting Mai get to me but when she said those things in front of you it just made me feel like I wasn’t good enough to be with you. And then when you were cheering me up afterwards I felt like you were trying to convince yourself of why you were with me and I know I was wrong and this isn’t an excuse but I just need you to know I am so sorry.” Maki didn’t take a breath that entire time. She had clearly spent the night thinking about and regretting her actions.

Nobara was silent for a moment before she spoke, “My hand is fine, you just left some marks from your nails on it but they went away after a few minutes...And I understand. I mean, I don’t understand exactly how you feel or what you’ve been through, but I get what you’re saying. You’re right it’s not an excuse for how you treated me yesterday, but I understand how one thing led to another. That being said though, I don’t ever want you to doubt how I feel about you. I’m not such a simple woman that the words of someone else can change my feelings. I know you and I know who you are. You have flaws and maybe you’re not a perfect jujutsu sorcerer but you’re perfect for me.”

Both girls looked at each other before Maki made the first move, walking to Nobara and gently grabbing her soft hands in her own calloused ones, “I’m sorry again. And you’re right. I should never have doubted you. Can you find it in you to forgive me?” Maki was staring intensely into Nobara’s eyes, which had softened. Nobody else got to see this soft, vulnerable side of Maki but her. She felt so special when it was just the two of them.

Nobara cupped Maki’s face with one hand, “I’ve already forgiven you. But I do expect a redo of our date.”

Maki smiled and gave Nobara a quick peck on the lips, “Anything for you.”

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Yuuji woke up late the next morning, he was up late last night watching movies with Nobara until they could both barely keep their eyes open. Surprisingly though, he never saw Megumi come home. Curious, he headed towards the boy’s room and knocked on the door. When he didn’t answer, he peered inside and saw the room was empty with the bed neatly made.

Huh, where’s Megumi? He got changed and walked around the school until he found Megumi with his divine dogs out, having just come back from a run.

“Fushiguro! There you are! I was looking for you. What time did you get home last night?”

Megumi’s eyes widened at the question, “Um, late.”

Yuuji’s head tilted, “Oh really? I was up pretty late with Kugisaki but neither of us saw you come in.”

Megumi looked away, “Yeah it must have been after you guys went to bed...”

“Wow and you still woke up early enough to take your divine dogs on a run? I woke up not too long ago and I’m still kind of tired.” Yuuji yawned to prove his point.

Megumi began shifting between his feet, clearly growing uncomfortable, “Yeah I guess I do well on little sleep.”

At Megumi’s statement, Yuuji grew skeptical, “Wait a minute...no you don’t. Don’t you remember that time we stayed out late watching a movie but then had to wake up early for training the next day? You were so grumpy! You yelled at me not to talk to you before you had your coffee!”

Megumi’s face warmed at being caught in a lie. Ugh, why did Itadori have to be so attentive towards his friends?

Megumi gave a deep sigh, “Okay, I never actually went out last night. I was in my room the whole day.” Megumi couldn’t look Itadori in the eye. He felt bad for lying to the boy about running errands but he really did not want to watch the human earthworm movies.

Yuuji pouted, “Fushigurooo why’d you lie?”

Megumi’s face reddened even more, he really wanted to avoid this but he supposed he did lie to his friend, and Itadori didn’t deserve that, so he told him the truth.

“I’m...not a fan of those types of movies.” Megumi said quietly.

“What? You’re not a fan of slasher films?” Yuuji asked incredulously.

“Yeah...and Human Earthworm in particular creeps me out. He just...doesn’t look right.” Megumi was avoiding eye contact at all costs when Yuuji broke out in laughter, causing Megumi to look up at him in shock.

“Fushiguro, you could have just told me that! If there’s a different genre you like we could have watched that instead! Last night I ended up watching rom-coms with Kugisaki.” Yuuji was grinning at his friend.

Megumi was always taken aback by how kind and genuine Itadori was. Especially living as a jujutsu sorcerer, it was easy to let the nature of the work get to you. But Itadori always seemed to have a smile on his face. He was like a ray of sunshine breaking through a cloudy day.

“Well, I like watching documentaries if you have any of those.”

Yuuji’s smile didn’t waver, “I can’t think of any off the top of my head but I’ll look some up and maybe we can watch one tonight!”

Megumi couldn’t help but sink into the boy’s sincerity and enthusiasm, and he also felt like he owed it to Yuuji after lying to him, “All right, I look forward to what you choose.”

Yuuji beamed and gave him finger guns, “Leave it to me!” And ran off, leaving Megumi to watch Nobara and Maki walking on the opposite side of the training field, hand in hand.

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sweetbottletops · 1 year

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Fic Roundup - 2022 Edition

My favorite fic for 2022. Rec for Arcane, Jujutsu Kaisen, with some Spy x Family and The Dragon Prince. Have you read any of these?

The Phantom Guardian by MissingN000 Jujutsu Kaisen (Gen Fic / multi-ship) – Found Family / Canon Diverging AU! *manga spoilers* Toji comes across a child named Maki he is convinced is the missing piece of his scattered memory. His life changes when he decides to take her in. He eventually finds himself smothered in found family. (in progress)

Love, Sex & Robots by AmberZ10 Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Modern Scifi AU "In the two years she’d worked at Kiramman Enterprises, Vi had never seen anyone else go in or out of that door, had never caught a glimpse of what it concealed." You guessed it... She goes through the door. (in progress)

There is No Road Forward Without Pain and Struggle (but neither are we born only to suffer) Series by haline Jujutsu Kaisen (Nobara/Maki, multi-ship) – Found Family / Canon Diverging AU! *manga spoilers* Massive multi-part series following Nobara and Maki through the series into eventual fixit territory. Yuki Tsukumo enthusiast friendly. (complete)

Make Me Feel Loved, Again by Writer_blues Spy x Family (Twilight/Yor) – Amnesia Twilight Twilight wakes up in the hospital with his memories set to Pre-Operation Strix times. As he's piecing his life and work back together he grows suspicious Past!Twilight might have blown his identity along the way with his cover family. (in progress)

I'll Find You When the Sun Goes Black by haline Jujutsu Kaisen (Nobara/Maki, Maki & Mai) – Ghost Hunter AU Sister ghost hunter duo is assigned to investigate a cursed spirit incident in rural Japan. Gojo perhaps did not brief them fully for the job. (complete)

Arcane Sports AU Get an Entire Section

Run at the Cup by TheHomelyBadger Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Hockey AU Two longtime league rivals end up drafted into the same expansion club - the Zaun Sumprats. Their inaugural season documented by an upcoming Zaun filmmaker. (in progress)

Is Love Just Violence by Chelsayyy182 Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Kickboxing AU Zaun fighter needing to go the next step in her career hires a Piltover coach with an impeccable resume who wants a challenge. Everyone has trauma. (in progress)

Save the Last Dance for Me by panglosian Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Dance Company AU Two dance worlds collide when a member of the prestigious Piltover School of Dance plays wingman and attends a life changing Lanes Academy showcase. (complete)

Honorable Mentions

Fic I found had an interesting concept, rare pair, or were long left abandoned, but I still want to remember.

Homeward Bound by seriousam Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Space Scifi AU Caitlyn is the aloof owner of a spaceship that plucks a prisoner off the surface of an unstable planet. She impulsively decides to have her as a guest onboard her ship as she digs deeper into her file. (complete)

Diplomatic Relations by ravensurana The Dragon Prince (Amaya/Janai) – Post-War Modern AU Rival generals find themselves dealing with being out of place in the new normal as the two governments prepare for a historic peace summit. (long incomplete)

Say It Softly by seunflwr Jujutsu Kaisen (Nobara/Maki) – College Omegaverse AU Alpha Maki is ghosting her way through college while dealing with trauma from an accident that sets her apart from everyone and a family she can't conform to. Until she meets someone very loudly going through life on her own terms. (incomplete)

Open My Heart and Let it Bleed Onto Yours by pearlgarner (KiWy) Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Undercover / Fake Girlfriend Canon Diverging AU Teen Vi turns herself in to spare everyone the consequences with only Grayson's visits and letters to Stillwater connecting her to the outside world. After helping Grayson over the years on smaller jobs she is introduced to a young officer with a dangerous theory about a case. Lots of trauma. (complete)

Wintery Arcane Fic Because I'm Feeling Festive Still

Wanted: A Girlfriend for Christmas by RedPanda92 Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Holiday party / Coffee shop AU Caitlyn's boss Marcus keeps scheduling her to work holidays every year and the only way to get out of it in order to visit her parents is to prove she has a significant other. 25 day countdown begins now. (complete)

Counting Down Til Christmas by loveshazel Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Hallmark Holiday AU A small town welcomes in a mysterious outsider who has opened up a bookstore and has ties to the past. (in progress) And They Folded Like Cardboard by SarcastCity Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Winter Olympics AU A Piltover biathlon and a Zaun slopestyle medal winners meet at the Olympic Village during the last night of the games. (in progress)

#arcane #jujutsu kaisen #fic rec #fic roundup #caitvi #caitlyn kiramman #nobamaki #maki zenin #nobara kugisaki #end of the year #ao3 #a03 fanfic #sweetbo thoughts

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lesbiansanemi · 4 months

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I miss nobamaki….

#tbh I miss lesbian ships in general #save me nobamaki. save me tatsuhime. save me shinomitsu. save me togachako. save me yuzugiri. save me yorusoi #but yeah specifically I am missing my DERANGED nobamaki phase #idk I feel like they lost what popularity they had in the fandom due to. you know. It 🙃🙃🙃#because I feel like I used to see art and fics of them ALL the time #and now it’s pretty rare to find something new for them #it’s a little sad #they were the closest thing I got to a f/f ship even starting to be a little bit popular #in a fandom I was really active in #it was nice….#yeah. I miss it #kaz rambles

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ddelline · 5 months

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f(ictitious work) i(n) p(rogress) friday

blurb | 9k into this impromptu, who knows what-post!canon!nobamaki (still don't know what the ship name is, no)... thing. who knows what it's gonna be? where it's gonna end? what the point is? certainly not me!

premise | what it says above, but also featuring: canonically dead!gojō, but somehow still featuring gojō!shenanigans, more spec parental!freshmen teacher!gojō!shenanigans (who's particular about clothes in the way insanely rich ppl are) bc what else

Gojō-sensei’s funeral is held on 2nd January at noon.

Tradition dictates that students and faculty alike dress in full uniform for funerals. In theory, it’s something Nobara considers to be acceptable. She never knows what to wear for life-and-death kind of occasions, with the exception of being out in the field, for which she wears her uniform. It’s decently tailored and in the right colours, and the A-line cut of her skirt, neither too short nor long, makes it pleasantly multi-purpose. It also makes her feel kind of powerful.

In other words: she’d happily consent to wearing an ensemble of: her school uniform, black tights, and any kind of dress loafers, to literally any funeral—school-affiliated or no; it’s sold, a done deal made easily.

Except in the case of Gojō-sensei’s.

Nobara thinks she knew him as most people had: as a man most people knew next to nothing about. It doesn’t make her feel sad or anything, that she never got to know him better. He’d been a loud constant, annoying to a fault and in your face about it. He’d also he’d been her teacher, and she supposes affectionate, per his own, offbeat brand. She’s sad, but not sad that they didn’t get more time, or that they were never closer.

She was very nearly royally pissed off. Pissed off at needing to intervene (on the behalf of a dead person) and dictate that the sartorial conditions of her dumbass teacher’s funeral not be beholden to stuffy, boring tradition. Her dumbass teacher, of whom she, plus every single person who’d ever met him, knew that there was nothing he despised more than keeping to convention and standard; that he likely never enjoyed anything as much as flipping a giant, fat fuck you to tradition—and jujutsu tradition in particular.

They’d had little in common (for which she’d always been relieved—the concept of being ‘friends’ with Gojō-sensei was an icky thought) but for one thing: they’d been (weirdly) kindred spirits in fashion. If she were to do anything to honour what he’d been, both to the world and to her, she supposes it’s right that it was this.

It’s a scant hour before she’s due to be in the principal temple for the ceremony, and she’s paging through hangers looking for the jacket she’ll be wearing. She flips hangers off-handedly: grey herringbone blazer; floral-embroidered boatneck sweater; strappy, iridescent dress; black fitted blazer—

She stays a hand on the following hanger. It’s a jacket, untouched and unthought of since months—since a lifetime, if she counts lives lived (and died); experiences garnered since. She tugs it out and drops it on her bed. Smooths a palm over the expanse of it; wide polo neck and boxy fit, glossy, purplish-black fabric.

Nobara doesn’t believe in higher powers, and she’s very sceptically inclined towards the existence of benevolent ghosts, spirits and/or divine intervention. Given her line of work she’s forced to concede to empirical evidence; people can live on after death—she’s got the scars to show for it, after all—but she’s also of the mind that curses are one thing—a guardian angel, holy spirit, or whatever else people believe is perched on their shoulder hindering them from walking into traffic—is something different.

But staring down at Gojō-sensei’s outrageously expensive, made-to-order uniform jacket—which can be found in her closet because she’d stolen it a few months ago in the name of fashion and redistribution of wealth—she can’t help but think that the motherfucker is lurking someplace closeby, a pale vestige caught between dimensions, watching and waiting for the moment in which he can pop into Nobara’s room and shatter a vase, or rearrange her closet, for shits and giggles.

Whatever it is—the ghost of Gojō Satoru or creepy coincidence—works to make her pause and reminisce, hands splayed over the jacket as she imagines Gojō-sensei taking her down Omotesandō prior to a mission, early fall last year.

Despite getting off at Omote-Sando, which is logically situated on the street of the same name, Nobara’d been surprised to emerge at the foot of Omotesandō Boulevard, long and wide and bustling, lanes serrated by zelkova trees and sidewalks lined left and right with the world’s most well-respected fashion houses. She put a hand on her hip and turned to Gojō-sensei and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

Gojō-sensei tipped his chin in vague indication down the road in lieu of replying. Nobara counted to ten before following.

They neither spoke nor interacted until a ways down the road when Nobara (not one for looking a gift horse in the mouth, anyway) fitted herself snug against the glass of the Marni window, gaze drawn by and caught by the ornamental, deconstructed display of Francesco Rissi’s print-laden pre-collection.

Gojō-sensei suddenly addressing her wasn’t enough to make her startle, but it was a near thing. “So you like this, huh?”

Nobara trained a suspicious glare at him over her shoulder. Gojō-sensei making any sort of conversation which didn’t a) require a Gojō Saturu-specific Rosetta stone to interpret, or b) made her want to light him on fire, ranked among the top tier of unusual occurrences. “Of course I do. I’m not some uninformed loser with no taste.”

Gojō-sensei smiled serenely. “Don’t talk ill of your classmates when they’re not here to defend themselves.”

Whatever she was expecting, it wasn’t that. She barked with surprised laughter—shocked in equal measure at Gojō-sensei, whacky and over the top and ridiculous on any given day, but never funny, attempting to be clever… and kind of succeeding.

Gojō-sensei looked pleased with himself.

They made their way down the boulevard at a slow pace. Nobara stopped at a display once every couple of stores, peering at and sometimes through the elaborate display curations: noted new pre-collection additions in some, scoffed at unimaginative accessories’ displays in others. Gojō-sensei stayed mostly quiet and on his best behaviour, only chiming in occasionally with a tidbit commentary (shockingly on the money), or an anecdote (weirdly compelling) until Nobara felt her head hurting with with conflicting emotions (respectively: ‘agreeing with Gojō-sensei’ and ‘not hating spending time with Gojō-sensei’).

Outside the regal, five-storied flagship steps of Valentino they approached the facade in tandem. Nobara peered at Gojō-sensei curiously: the lazy concave of his spine and his squared shoulders; the spotlights in the display bouncing off the glossy fabric of his blindfold. “You shop here a lot?” she asked wryly, because she didn’t know what else to say.

“Not off the rack,” he audaciously replied. When she sputtered, at a loss for a proper comeback that wasn’t a litany of insults, he grinned widely around teeth. It made her want to slap the audacity out of him—a comfortable, familiar feeling at least—talking about shopping for Maison Valentino Couture like he was describing the weather, or in this context, like he was talking about shopping for discounted high-street.

It also made her want to steal his wallet and lift his no doubt very black, very metal, very invite only-credit card and go to town on every store this side of Shibuya.

“The menswear isn’t exactly revolutionary,” Gojō-sensei continued, unperturbed.

She agreed. It made her seethe.

Because Nobara couldn’t walk beside someone who claimed to be a haute couture client and not ask about it, she puffed a breath and changed topics, inquiring gruffly about the made-to-order process (“I can’t believe they cater to people like you.” An exaggerated pout: “That’s hurtful. Money is money, isn’t it?”).

Gojō-sensei indicated her skirt. “I have them make my uniforms,” he said. “Clothes I spend ninety percent of my waking time in can’t be uncomfortable, and school tailoring’s been lacking for the past few years.”

Nobara blinked. She didn’t know what to do with that information. Didn’t know what to do with that her unhinged, idiot teacher: looks like a textbook himbo, manner of speaking like he’d just disembarked a spaceship after eons and encountered human civilisation for the first time, powerful like seven biblically accurate calamities mashed together—apparently unblinkingly spent money, in the give-or-take ballpark of north of fifteen million yen, on non-distinct, entirely unremarkable-ass workwear.

For a lack of better things to say or do which didn’t involve a) verbalising a long, drawn out noise like a tea kettle whistling, or b) shameless propositioning (not really, but for Valentino couture it’d be a near thing), she stomped a foot in the ground, spat a scathing comment about wealth disparities, and stormed off down the road.

(A month and a half later, two days after she’d socked Gojō-sensei in the mouth with a heavy fist for stealing her skirt and wearing it just to goof off in front of the sophomores and Itadori and Fushiguro (it had connected; Nobara refused to inspect the connotations of that), she limped off track following a gruelling cardio session, and noted a discarded uniform jacket folded next to hers. It wasn’t dirty enough to be Itadori’s; not worn soft with age and patched enough to be Fushiguro’s.

She picked it up; felt its weight and heft and high end thread count, the fall and silhouette a starch contrast to her own uniform jacket. She unzipped the high neck and smoothed a thumb over the label to be sure. Valentino Couture stared back at her in signature, blocky serif lettering.

Nobara grinned viciously. She brought the jacket back to her room and stuffed it in her closet, feeling neither qualm nor regret.

Gojō-sensei never asked for it back.)

Thinking back on it, it’s likely one of few available anecdotes about Gojō-sensei which manages to accurately quantify and encapsulate so much of what her teacher had been: impulsive, entitled and flamboyant; difficult to understand by choice rather than design and way too keen on leaning into it; self-important and spoiled with privilege (and once again, way too keen on leaning into it).

Nobara pinches the delicate, insignia-branded zipper of the jacket he’d never asked back between her thumb and forefinger. She pulls it slowly down, folding the exterior to expose the lining. The innards are a study in luxe materials and subtle craftsmanship: large swathes of black silk lining stitched with invisible seams; tucked near the bottom seam are dual flap pockets with hidden zippers, the dimensions of which would enable her to carry at least twice her current max amount of nails in the field. Saving the best for the worst , she thinks meanly.

Satisfied with the extent of her hands on-analysis, she carefully zips it back up and shrugs it over the hanger. She tucks it back in her closet, opting to hang it at the very front, alongside a handful of precious fabric-items not to be chafed at by coarse denim or itchy wool.

#work: fic #current wip #wip #wip wednesday #(wrong day but w/e pt 2)#fic: hyperborea #nobamaki #jjk #fandom: jujutsu kaisen

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that-was-anticlimactic · 1 year

Link

all fluttering and dancing in the breeze

🍃written for @nobamaki-bigbang🍃

“Great! Okay, so I’m assuming we all know how to play baseball, right?” Maki asked.

Everyone was nodding, and Nobara was about to scoff and say duh, was about to proudly announce that she was actually a fantastic baseball player. But…

But then she glanced at Maki—sweet, gorgeous, Maki with a determined fire blazing in her eyes—and she had an idea. A terrible, devious, but quite possibly genius idea.

“Um, actually,” she spoke up, much louder than necessary, “actually, I, uh… I don’t know how to play baseball.” She fluttered her eyelids and smiled shyly, grabbing a strand of her hair and twirling it around her fingers as if she were the epitome of innocence.

[or: nobara pretends that she doesn't know how to play baseball so she can spend time/flirt with maki]

🍃11,157 words | nobamaki🍃

🍃art on tumblr here & here🍃

🍃art on twitter here & here🍃

#corey writes:)#AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH #GUYS I FINALLY FINISHED #IT TOOK SO LONG #this fic was originally going to be 4.5k words MAX and that CLEARLY didn't happen lol #i pushed myself to try something new this time and wrote something a little out of my comfort zone! it's a baseball fic!!!#i am really proud of how it turned out like it's not my favorite fic ever nor like Great but it's Great in the sense that this is Not my #typical style of writing and i'm proud of myself for finishing and finishing with SO MUCH written!#i actually like. need to go to bed lol - my first alarm goes off in like five and a half hours i just. today's my posting date and i REALLY #wanted to post it today! i worked SO HARD all day between teaching/student teaching and meeting with my supervisor ahhhhhhhhhhhh #there is art!!! my artist is not on tumblr but gave me permission to repost it here with credit sooooooo i am SO pumped and ready for y'all #to see it! it's literally SO PRETTY AHHHHHH they are SO TALENTED so everyone go follow them on twitter if you have one!#okay actual tags now sorry y'all just really proud of myself for finishing and finishing on time #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #nobamaki #jjk fanfic #kugisaki nobara #zenin maki #nobara swears so much in this y'all it was rough iouygtfcdxfcghujijuhygf #okay i need sleep i just always get so nervous when posting lol #MWAH GOODNIGHT! <3

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zukkaoru · 1 year

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nobamaki!! platonic or romantic up to u <333

since you didn't give a number, i just chose via random number generator skdhsjk also honestly this could probably be read as either romantic or platonic so. take your pick !!

97. everywhere, everything - noah kahan

i wanna love you 'til we're food for the worms to eat 'til our fingers decompose keep my hands in yours

word count: 1.8k

trigger warnings: referenced character death (canonical and non-canonical), talk of death / body decomposition and worms (see highlighted lyrics ^), implied possible suicide, grief, minor survivor's guilt, major jjk spoilers

Nobara stands in the ruins of Tokyo, unsure how she’s still alive.

(She knows, the first year from Kyoto managed to preserve her corpse in the moment after she took what should have been her last breath, and once her body had been returned to Jujutsu High, Ieiri resurrected her. She knows, she is lucky because she lost only an eye and an ear instead of her life.)

But out of everyone, how is it that Nobara, whose heart stopped, made it to the other side?

Except, there isn’t an “other side” - not really. There is only the ruins of Tokyo, the phantom pains of everyone who died along the way, and…

“Hey,” Maki calls softly. “We should keep moving. If we miss the train, we’ll have to hijack a car, and neither of us can drive.”

And there is Maki.

There is Nobara and Maki, trudging through the ruins of the city Nobara once thought would save her life, and they are walking towards the last train out.

Maki holds a hand out towards Nobara, helping her climb over the wreckage of what might have once been a vending machine. Nobara does not let go, instead entwining their fingers tighter. Maki’s hands are rough from the burns she sustained in Shibuya, but they still feel like home to Nobara, and she doesn’t want to let go of the only constant she has left.

Maki’s sword hangs in a hilt at her waist, and Nobara watches it hit her leg with each step she takes.

“How’s your back?” Nobara speaks up.

“Fine.” It sounds like a lie, but Nobara knows Maki doesn’t want to risk missing the train. They’ve already waited this long to leave the city, hoping that they wouldn’t be the only two making this trip to the station. But this is the final call - anyone left in Tokyo after this will have to find a way out on their own.

It seems useless to wait for others who may want to join them anyways. If they haven’t returned to Jujutsu High by now, they likely never will.

“Let me know if you need a break,” Nobara says, even though she knows Maki won’t. Maki will push through the pain because she’s suffered worse, because she doesn’t want Nobara to have to deal with being stranded in a dead city. Nobara is sure they could figure something out - like Maki said, maybe hijack a car, or just…ask one of the few remaining staff members lingering on campus to drive them. Surely Ieiri knows how to drive, right?

Maki hums in false agreement.

Nobara studies the buildings, crumbling and abandoned and crawling with curses. None of the cursed spirits bother them, though. Even the high grade ones are keeping their distance. Whether because of Maki or her sword or something else, Nobara isn’t sure, but she won’t complain. The curses can have Tokyo; there’s nothing left here anyway.

Once one of the most populous cities in the world, it’s turned into nothing but a ghost town. It’s like a scene straight out of some post-apocalyptic movie, except Nobara knows she was there when the apocalypse began, right in the middle of it all, and she’d died.

She died.

But here she stands, hand-in-hand with Maki as they pick their way through the wreckage towards whatever life awaits them.

Nobara can’t believe that after everything, she’s content with returning home.

It won’t be the same, of course. Maki will be with her, and it’s no secret they got caught up in the middle of the end of the world. Maki’s skin is covered with burn scars, her voice will always be scratchy, and her back flares up in pain if she overworks herself. The left side of Nobara’s face is covered by an eyepatch, she’s missing an ear, and her hair won’t grow right near the site of her injury. Nothing can ever be the same as it once was.

But Nobara hopes that where they’re headed can still be home.

When she’d first come to Tokyo, she’d been high on the fantasy of never returning to her roots. She would graduate top of her class before becoming a part-time sorcerer and part-time model, living it up in the city. Fumi would join her, eventually, and they would reunite with Saori.

After Nobara had met the other students, her fantasy had expanded to include them. She would get drinks with Fushiguro and Itadori on weekends, she would introduce Maki to Fumi and Saori, her two worlds would merge and everyone would get along.

(She should have known that wouldn’t be possible. But she never could have expected how drastically different her life would look only six months later.)

Sure, she’d known Itadori was sentenced to execution from the day she’d met him. But come on, her teacher was Gojo Satoru, and clearly he hadn’t wanted Itadori to die either. Nobara was certain he’d find some way to intervene. She’d never expected—

She squeezes Maki’s hand, and Maki squeezes back, looking over at her. “We’re almost there. It should only take a couple more minutes.”

Nobara forces a smile.

Nobara tries not to let her thoughts spiral for the remainder of their walk. She tries to focus on the positives, like how the sun is still shining and Maki is still beside her and the fact that she even has a home to go back to.

Other people aren’t so lucky. Maki isn’t so lucky. Not that the place she’d grown up had been much of a home to begin with, but she lost the only person who made it bearable, and now that place is just as much of a ghost town as Tokyo is. At least Nobara’s middle-of-nowhere hometown had escaped damage when the apocalypse came. There were no Culling Games colonies that overtook it and no cursed spirits unleashed on the citizens. Nobara hated growing up somewhere that rarely even showed up on maps, but now, she’s grateful.

They arrive at the station just in time, boarding the train only a few minutes before its departure. The sole staff member eyes Maki’s sword warily, but they don’t say anything. The train is almost completely empty apart from them anyways, and Nobara can’t believe there haven’t been people carrying worse who have boarded in the past few weeks.

Nobara and Maki sit next to each other in an otherwise empty train car. Their hands had separated so they could shrug off their backpacks, but once they’re seated, Nobara’s hand finds Maki’s once again. She leans her head on Maki’s shoulder and allows her eye to slip shut.

Even at the end, she’d hoped Fushiguro would return to make this trip with them - Nobara’s grandmother said she would accept as many friends as Nobara had left into her home. But after Itadori’s second death, Fushiguro killed those responsible and disappeared into the night. Nobara and Maki both tried calling him, but all they got were ringtones that eventually sent them to his voicemail.

Inumaki and Okkotsu left Tokyo shortly after Kenjaku’s defeat, returning to Okkotsu’s hometown so they could move overseas with his family. The remaining Kyoto students returned to their own families. Iori relocated to the Tokyo campus so she could stay with Ieir, who elected to stay at Jujutsu High, in case any of the sorcerers who disappeared without a trace ever show back up.

It’s happened before, she says. Last time, it took ten years. If they’re alive, they’ll come back. They won’t be able to stay away.

Nobara hopes it’s the truth. If it takes a decade, she might kill Fushiguro herself, but she’d do just about anything to see him again.

She can’t say she didn’t see it coming, though. Fushiguro had already lost his sister, and Kenjaku’s downfall cost Gojo his life. Of course losing Itadori would send him straight off the deep end. Nobara doesn’t even blame him.

She just wishes he’d stuck around long enough for her to tell him that. She wishes he’d answered her calls and agreed to return home with her and Maki.

But truthfully, Nobara isn’t sure she even believes he’s still alive. He’s never been good at the whole self-preservation thing.

Maki lifts her free hand, running it through Nobara’s hair. Her fingers catch on the tangles, and she works through them gently. Nobara imagines her hair must be greasy and nasty - she hasn’t had much motivation to take care of herself lately - but Maki doesn’t mention it.

What she does say is, “When Mai and I were little, after it rained, we used to go outside and collect worms. Our mother told us not to because we always got dirt all over our hands and clothes, and because girls don’t play with bugs. But we kept doing it anyway.

She told us, once, probably in an effort to get us to stop, that worms would eat anything, including us. But when I asked for clarification, she admitted that they would only eat us if we were dead and our bodies decomposed, which would never happen to Mai, because sorcerers are always cremated. Me, on the other hand? I could become worm food. So after that, whenever we collected worms, Mai would dangle them in front of me, drop them on my arms, and start chanting ‘Eat her!’”

Nobara smiles, and a laugh falls out of her mouth.

“Now that I think about it,” Maki continues, “becoming worm food sounds…so mundane that it becomes ideal.” Her fingers still, her arm dropping to wrap around Nobara’s shoulders. “Like, yeah, after I die, let my body be left alone so long I become food for the worms. Let my corpse be treated as if I were just another person with nothing special about me.”

Nobara hums. “That’s an interesting way to think about it.” She lifts her head so she can look at Maki. “But I get it. I think I’ve had enough being special to last an entire lifetime. I never thought I’d say this, but being a normal, boring, nobody sounds like the dream life.”

It sounds too good to be true, really. But…maybe it’s not impossible.

Maybe Nobara and Maki will go home, and they will be allowed to simply live. They can go to the grocery store and cook dinner and do laundry and get stupid, boring, normal people jobs and they can learn what it means to live.

Nobara knows these past six months will hang over their heads forever, but Nobara also knows she will love Maki until their bodies are left to be consumed by worms, hand-in-hand, side-by-side. Nobara knows that she was allowed to survive, by some random stroke of luck, and she will not throw the remainder of this life away.

Once, she would have seen returning to her hometown as a waste of a life, because you only get one.

But she’s older now. She lived a life always desiring more, and that girl died on October 31 in Shibuya.

Now, all Nobara wants is Maki’s hand in hers and a life so mundane that their corpses are allowed to decompose naturally when death finally comes for them.

#took a break from the spotify wrapped fics to work on other stuff (and also corey's got uhhhhh embarrassingly long..)#but i needed a break from the fic i'm working on rn so i'm just gonna. drop this and run away <3 #jjk #nobamaki #nobara kugisaki #maki zenin #jjk spoilers #jujutsu kaisen #fanfic #nobara x maki #zen'in maki #grace's writing tag #ask game #vera tag

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