In Los Angeles, The Historically Black Community Of Altadena Has Been Decimated By The Ongoing Eaton

before she could even put a name to a face, nobara had already decided that she had a bone to pick with special-grade tōkyō jujutsu tech 2nd year okkotsu yūta. in retrospect, this wasn't at all hard to do. before he had gotten back from wherever he'd been overseas early, his name had lingered in the mouths of the other 2nd years: the residuals of his cursed energy may as well have had lingered in the hallways, too.

his accomplishments during last year's goodwill event with their sister school were spoken of with an undercurrent of pride, and even fushiguro held a deep respect for him: but nobara wasn't impressed.

if anything? she was mildly annoyed. call it a petty annoyance at his thrashing those kyōto hasbeens so good that the succeeding year's goodwill event had to be held on tōkyō's turf instead of where she wanted to sightsee and try new foods, and she'd be lying to herself if she said she hadn't felt a flare of pride, but still ...

it's annoying: the way he walks past her in between classroom transitionings without so much as an inkling of the setback he's put her through ( she was on a slightly fixed schedule and he ruined it! ), the way she catches him during co-training smiling sheepishly and rubbing his head while talking to maki-san, panda, and inumaki-senpai from across the training grounds, the way he's so nice ( he reminds her of itadori in that regard ) that it makes feeling even an inkling of annoyance at him? feel like a slight against him despite what he's unintionally ruined for her, the way he can't tell when a girl's got a bone to pick with him even if he doesn't necessarily know her.

what's even more annoying is that she doesn't necessarily know him, so it's a petty annoyance nobara is feeling and that annoys her more, but even still? she's decided he's earned her ire for making it so that she wouldn't be able to explore all kyōto had to offer a countryside girl, an outsider, like her. she's decided that, for his transgression of annoying her, that he must make it up to her.

so, it's in between classroom transitionings where she catches him at the water fountain that she decides on confronting him, a hand on her hip and stamped down annoyance hidden behind tight, pursed lips as she approaches him. she introduces herself as casually as she can muster as a friend and kouhai of maki-san's, to which he replies in kind, he inquires: you're kugisaki-san, right? and it annoys her that he's being formal with her where he doesn't have to be. kugisaki is just fine, no honorifics are needed. he doesn't hear itadori nor fushiguro using them, does he? okkotsu is his own person, though, he'll do what he will.

pride blooms in her chest, though, at her sensei singing praises to his current class. she has been doing somewhat well in her studies, a little better than itadori, even with the cirruculum something she's getting used to. pride blooms in her chest, and — — — no, no, no! she couldn't forget why she had cornered him at the school's water fountain, couldn't forget the annoyance that had festered before pride had even deigned to take root with his honeyed words.

“ hold that thought, okkotsu. i've got a question: did you ever stop to think about the types of students that'd be filtering into gojō-sensei's class this coming year? what different kinds of walks we've taken just to end up in the same place anyway, where we're from? do you even care? ”

❝ oh , that's a hell of a coincidence ! but anyone who's friends with maki - san is a friend of mine . ❞ the special grade quickly forms his lips into a much warmer , welcoming smile as opposed to the serious expression he'd been wearing before when he comes to the understanding that this is a kouhai of his fellow classmate , not to mention probably one of the students gojo - sensei specifically requested he look out for . good luck or coincidence , he's content with the matter , blade settled over his shoulder in a thick black sheath . ❝ okkotsu yuta , maki - san's classmate . and you're kugisaki - san , right ? ❞ as soon as he suspects her offense , he's quick to explain himself ; ❝ gojo - sensei had nothing but good things to say about his new students this year . ❞

@waraningyo

wara ningyō are a popular kind of katashiro made of straw [ ... ] wara ningyō are used extensively as wards against evil. they are combined with something from the recipient of the curse, such as a piece of hair. this transforms the doll into a substitute for the intended target. long nails are pushed through the wara ningyō, harming the subject as well as the doll.

#waraningyo is an independent, privately selective, mutuals only, headcanon and lore-heavy rendition of kugisaki nobara from akutami gege's 呪術廻戦. delicately crafted by nine and re-est. dec 2023.

HI GUYS! seeing as how i've been gone awhile, muse is back for nobara, and to officially celebrate me being off my long ass hiatus: i'm tossing out a new starter call, that all said, feel free to like this for a starter varying in length and arc! this is capped at 7. multis, feel free to specify muses, tysm!

queen of expressions, nobara

being a sorcerer meant risking life and limb,⠀⠀it meant putting yourself second and dedicating all that you could — all that you were able in jujutsu society, your aptitude for exorcising curses — in service of keeping innocents safe from what went bump in the night ( usually, the dreadful manifestations of their own makings, their fears: what haunts them ) and that's who she was. a student / a sorcerer. existent duality of a girl.⠀⠀more recently,⠀⠀she'd found herself walking to the med wing of  tōkyō jujutsu tech, gojō-sensei making it somwhat clear in the eccentric way that he spoke: that her individualized training in regards of effectively targeting the souls of slightly grade-high curses wouldn't be able to be pulled off without an effigy that wasn't made of straw. it made sense to her.⠀⠀even making her 人形 took crucial amounts of time and there was no obāsan to trail after as if she was a little kid⠀⠀( to watch with a keen eye ),⠀⠀to show her the proper way physically,⠀⠀to fix her screw ups.⠀⠀nobara was on her own.

so in this, she understood why gojō-sensei just didn't have her construct a large enough doll. making them took time, something she didn't have, wasn't necessarily afforded to her as their enemies grew stronger. there was a restlessness to gojō-sensei, a carefully crafted methodology to his actions that nobara found somewhat puzzling to decipher. still, this is what she signed up for. this is what she wants to see through. still, though, she makes her way until she crosses the door's threshold of ieiri-san's office and is greeted by a completely different voice, hall pass and request jotted down on a note held in ever-delicate hands.

“ oh, hi. yeah, that's me. ”⠀⠀she confirms her identity,⠀⠀interest slightly piqued at the sight of the other girl.⠀⠀somewhere she's heard that they'd be getting a slight, more influx of students⠀⠀—⠀⠀this had to be one of them,⠀⠀and she vaguely remembers ieiri-san mentioning that there was an incoming first-year who was to be studying under her in learning reverse technique.⠀⠀this had to have been her. “ it's nice to meet you too, did you dye your hair? it's a nice shade of auburn. ”

            ❛     oh!   hello.   it’s …   Kugisaki - san,   right?     ❜          𝘯𝘰𝘵  𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨  𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯  𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺  𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘥  𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦  until now,   the girl nearly trips on her feet from the sudden entrance in the doctor’s office,  a space she’s been organizing for the past couple minutes for said doctor who,  coincidentally,  is not there at the moment.   not recognizing who  ʚ @waraningyo ɞ  is right away,  Orihime quickly pieces bits of information together and greets her fellow classmate with a smile.   with a trained eye,  she quickly scans for any visible injuries and relaxes when she finds none.   from what she’s heard between auntie and Gojō,  the incoming students are an interesting bunch   ━━━   she supposes that includes herself as well,  but she hasn’t exactly been able to show that to the others yet…   auntie promised it’d be soon,  though.          ❛     if  you’re  looking  for  Miss  Shōko,   i  sent  her  away  for  a  nap  after  lunch.    so  i’m  sort  of  in  charge  here,   for  the  moment.   um,   i’m  Inoue  Orihime,   the  other  first  year.   it’s  nice  to  meet  you!     ❜          there’s a short but polite bow from her,  long hair flowing down her shoulder in a cascade of orange.   the white lab coat is fitted to her size,  shorter than the one auntie wears,  and a pair of blue hair clips are attached to the left collar,  glinting in the fluorescent lights.          ❛     please  feel  free  to  ask  for  anything,   i’ll  do  my  best!     ❜

The bitter taste of defeat, Megumi remembered that. A belly full of blood and guilt. A heart which wanted to tear itself apart upon seeing Yuuji die with a hollow chest cavity, Megumi remembered every detail. What he could not recall however, was carrying the limp and macabre body of their fallen friend to their driver nor the gruesome drive back to Tokyo's Jujutsu Technical campus . . nor the couple of days proceeding the death — a mess of regrets and mourning which could not take full shape. Was Nobara as broken up about it as he? Megumi suffered on three levels having lost Orochi, Shiro, and, most grievous, failing to protect Yuuji.

With gloom clinging into every pore of his body, the onyx haired teenager emerged from the hermit-like dormancy of his room and attempted to move through the shared living area as stealthily as a shadow. Reclusive plans were shattered the instant eye contact was accidentally initiated from across the room. He didn't know how to feel, he didn't know how to react; he always guarded his feelings from the outside world and even from his own self. Gaze dropped to the wooden floor, and the teenager shuffled his feet with uncomfortable energy. ❛ How are . . you . . Kugisaki? ❜

just how long had it been since she allowed herself to feel so utterly saddened by something well out of her control? only twice: this was one time, a bygone happening in her past ... when saori's parents saw it fit to move her out of the village and away from nobara because of all the harrassment received due to them not being from there, them being gossipped about, them sticking out as much as she in their little non-jujutsushi way. them being outsiders.

she had been age seven then and at age seven, saori and her family were gone.

at an age that young, being the jujutsushi child that she was, emotional regulation was something that she was taught with a more refined finesse. it'd had spell disastrous if she ended up cursing the villagers for their act of transgession against her childhood friend, so she did what all children did when their hearts were broken and she cried in front of saori's abandoned home instead, hand holding fumi's.

the seat she reserved for saori became empty, vacant, and the pain twisting her heart like a knife stab turned into resolve over the years. sure, fumi was still seated at her table but it wasn't the same. it wasn't like saori died or anything, and she promised to meet up with both her and fumi when she got to tōkyō, but still — —

it's been near a week or so following itadori's demise and sleep doesn't find nobara any easier than it did a few days ago. put out early in their mission, she had to learn of its aftermath through a visit from fushiguro while recovering in the hospital from injuries sustained on their mission in eishu.

just how long had it been since she allowed herself to feel so utterly saddened by something well out of her control? only twice: this was the one other time. only more recent and the stakes raised were higher, the probability of meeting again lesser because death was always hot on your heels.

itadori had died and left their group down to just them two, only her and fushiguro. but the seat itadori dragged to her table of his own volition was one decidedly bolted to the floor by none other than nobara herself. she puts up a good front, attends classes with as straight a face she could manage, but at night instead of scrolling social media she'd sometimes find herself poring over the text thread in the groupchat she shared with fushiguro and itadori.

instead of reading messages over and over that equally made you cry or laugh, any sane person would have just left, however nobara is crazy and honestly? it'd feel a little wrong leaving. kinda like an unspoken betrayal, so no: she wouldn't. still groggy with sleep and emerged from her room, palms knead her eyes in an attempt to further wake herself up. a pick-me-up was so needed and she moves, a young woman with purpose, only to pause when:

she sees that familiar dark haired mop of spikes. fushiguro, he'd been there when itadori had ... they both felt his loss, were kindred in that. isn't it tragicomic how history repeats itself? fushiguro's more visibly shaken up about it than she is and she doesn't blame him. after all, he witnessed the ordeal and it'd been the first time he'd lost a classmate in the way he did. the way they both did.

“ i'm ... okay, but jeez, you look like you haven't slept a wink. wanna go get coffee with me? it'll be my treat just this one time. ”

one thing about me is that I'll never move on, if I said goodbye to you 10 years ago I still miss you today

Im gonna be so real can yall actually talk about ways we can support trans women in the UK instead of giving all the attention to fucking JKR. I already know that Harry Poter sucks, I wanna know how to actually HELP people. Something something you have to love the oppressed more than you hate the oppressor