♡    inspired  by    the  play  written  by     william  shakespeare  .     add  context    &     change  gendered  language  to  your  needs .     content  warning  for  suicidal  ideation     &     graphic  violence  .     happy  writing .ᐟ

❝  why  are  you  wearing  your  best  clothes ?  ❞

❝  i  don’t  meddle  in  politics  or  chase  women.  ❞

❝  you  ought  to  pray  for  god  to  spare  you  of  the  pain  you  deserve.  ❞

❝  if  we  take  away  [name]’s  support,  he’ll  be  forced  to  come  back  down  to  earth.  ❞

❝  whatever  you  want  me  to  do,  consider  it  done.  ❞

❝  i’m  not  competitive  like  you.  ❞

❝  don’t  let  me  hinder  you.  ❞

❝  i’ve  noticed  that  you  haven’t  been  as  affectionate  toward  me  lately.  ❞

❝  you’ve  been  like  a  stranger  to  me,  your  friend  who  loves  you.  ❞

❝  if  i  seem  guarded,  it’s  not  your  fault.  i  just  have  a  lot  on  my  mind.  ❞

❝  i  don’t  like  to  trouble  my  friends.  and  i  consider  you  a  good  friend.  ❞

❝  i’m  at  war  with  myself.  i’ve  forgotten  how  to  show  affection  to  others.  ❞

❝  i  misunderstood  you  …  i  kept  how  i  felt  to  myself  because  i  thought  you  wouldn’t  care.  ❞

❝  just  what  are  you  trying  to  do,  asking  me  to  look  inside  myself  for  something  i  won’t  find ?  ❞

❝  i’ll  be  the  mirror  that  shows  you  the  things  about  yourself  that  you  can’t  see.  ❞

❝  my  friendship  is  not  worthless.  i  don’t  make  the  same  promises  to  everybody.  ❞

❝  if  you  ever  hear  me  flattering  men  just  to  slander  them  behind  their  backs,  feel  free  to  call  me  ‘dangerous’  then.   ❞

❝  if  it’s  for  the  greater  good,  i’ll  do  it.  even  if  i  have  to  die.  ❞

❝  i  love  honor  more  than  i  fear  death.  ❞

❝  your  virtue  is  as  familiar  to  me  as  your  face.  ❞

❝  i’d  rather  die  than  worship  a  man  as  ordinary  as  i  am.  ❞

❝  i  was  born  just  as  free  as  he  was.  so  were  you.  ❞

❝  it  amazes  me  that  such  a  weak  man  could  hold  the  whole  world  in  the  palm  of  his  hand.  ❞

❝  sometimes,  men  can  be  masters  of  their  fate.  ❞

❝  the  fault  is  not  in  our  stars,  but  in us.  ❞

❝  what’s  so  special  about  [name]  ?     why  should  that  name  be  proclaimed  any  more  than  ours ?  ❞

❝  [place]  has  lost  the  breed  of  noble  bloods.  ❞

❝  i  have  no  doubt  that  you  love  me.  ❞

❝  i  understand  what  you  want  me  to  do  …  and  i’m  asking  you,  as  a  friend,  to  not  try  to  persuade  me  anymore.  ❞

❝  i’m  glad  that  i  could  light  even  a  small  fire  in  you.  ❞

❝  he  thinks  too  much.  men  like  him  are  dangerous.  ❞

❝  if  i  were  capable  of  being  afraid  of  anyone,  it  would  be  you.  ❞

❝  you  tugged  on  my  shirt.  do  you  have  something  to  say ?  ❞

❝  tell  me  what  happened  today  that  put  you  in  such  a  bad  mood.  ❞

❝  will  you  have  dinner  with  me  tonight ?   tomorrow  ?  ❞

❝  if  i’m  still  alive,  and  you’re  still  sane,  after  all  of  this  is  over,  we’ll  have  dinner.  ❞

❝  good  men  should  stick  only  to  the  company  of  other  good  men.  ❞

❝  we  either  take  him  down,  or  suffer  worse  than  we  are  now.  ❞

❝  men  are  meant  to  tremble  when  the  gods  send  warning  signs.  ❞

❝  our  father’s  minds  are  dead,  and  we  are  governed  with  our  mother’s  spirits.  ❞

❝  i  will  die  by  my  own  dagger  to  save  myself  from  being  enslaved.  ❞

❝  if  you  ever  grow  weary  of  life,  you  always  have  the  option  to  end  it.  ❞

❝  i  can  shake  off  the  tyranny  that  oppresses  me  whenever  i  choose.  ❞

❝  every  bondman  in  his  own  hand  bears  the  power  to  cancel  his  captivity.  ❞

❝  he  couldn’t  be  a  lion  if  you  weren’t  such  easy  prey.  ❞

❝  those  who  want  to  make  a  mighty  fire  must  start  with  weak  straws.  ❞

❝  i  might  be  speaking  to  a  willing  bondman,  in  which  case,  i’ll  pay  for  my  words.  ❞

❝  i  am  armed.  i  don’t  care  about  danger.  ❞

❝  evil  can  come  from  good,  just  as  poisonous  snakes  tend  to  come  out  into  the  open  on  bright,  sunny  days.  ❞

❝  think  of  [name]  like  a  serpent’s  egg   —   once  it  has  hatched,  it  becomes  dangerous,  like  all  serpents  do.  we  have  to  kill  him  while  he’s  still  in  the  shell.  ❞

❝  from  the  time  you  first  decide  to  do  something  horrible  to  the  moment  you  do  it,  everything  feels  unreal,  like  a  hideous  dream.  ❞

❝  are  you  ashamed  to  show  your  face  even  at  night,  when  evil  is  most  free ?     where  will  you  find  a  cave  dark  enough  to  hide  your  monstrous  face  by  daybreak ? ❞

❝  your  strange  mood  hasn’t  let  you  eat,  or  talk,  or  sleep.  if  it  changed  your  outside  as  much  as  it  has  affected  your  insides,  i  wouldn’t  even  be  able  to  recognize  you.  ❞

❝  as  your  partner,  shouldn’t  i  know  about  what’s  troubling  you ?     or  am  i  only  part  of  you  sometimes   —   to  keep  you  company  at  dinner,  keep  your  bed  warm,  and  talk  to  you  every  now  and  then ?  ❞

❝  tell  me  your  secrets.  i  won’t  betray  you.  ❞

❝  i’ve  given  myself  a  wound  here  on  my  thigh  to  prove  my  loyalty  to  you.  if  i  can  bear  that  pain,  i  can  bear  your  secrets.  ❞

❝  i’ll  follow  you  anywhere.  i’m  satisfied,  knowing  that  you’re  leading  me.  ❞

❝  when  beggars  die,  there  are  no  comets.  the  heavens  only  announce  the  deaths  of  princes.  ❞

❝  cowards  die  many  times  before  their  deaths.  the  valiant  never  taste  death  but  once.  ❞

❝  it’s  strange  to  me  that  men  fear  death,  seeing  that  death,  a  necessary  end,  will  come  when  it  will  come.  ❞

❝  your  wisdom  is  consumed  in  confidence.  ❞

❝  don’t  be  so  foolish  as  to  think  you  can  sway  me  from  what’s  right  by  using  the  tactics  that  persuade  fools.  ❞

❝  if  you  kneel  and  beg  and  flatter  me,  i  will  kick  you  out  of  my  way  like  a  begging  dog.  ❞

❝  even  you,  [name] ?  ❞

❝  i  could  live  a  thousand  years  and  i  wouldn’t  be  as  ready  to  die  as  i  am  right  now.  ❞

❝  there’s  no  place  i’d  rather  die  than  by  your  side.  ❞

❝  it’s  true  that  i  loved  you.  nothing  could  be  truer.  ❞

❝  if  i  had  as  many  eyes  as  you  have  wounds,  and  they  wept  as  fast  as  your  wounds  stream  blood,  even  that  would  be  better  than  joining  your  enemies  in  friendship.  ❞

❝  the  evil  that  men  do  lives  after  them,  but  the  good  is  often  buried  with  them.  ❞

❝  bear  with  me.  my  heart  is  in  the  coffin  there  with  him.  ❞

❝  i  haven’t  come  to  steal  away  your  heart.  ❞

❝  what  has  he  done  to  deserve  your  love ?  ❞

❝  i  don’t  think  of  you  as  any  more  than  property.  a  means  to  an  end.  ❞

❝  even  some  that  smile  in  our  faces  are  plotting  against  us.  ❞

❝  when  love  begins  to  sicken  and  decay,  it  makes  way  for  dishonesty.  ❞

❝  you  have  done  me  wrong.  ❞

❝  if  you  were  anyone  else  and  said  that  to  me,  those  words  would  be  your  last.  ❞

❝  i’d  rather  be  a  dog  howling  at  the  moon  than  that  kind  of  man.  ❞

❝  do  not  provoke  me.  ❞

❝  you’re  forgetting  yourself  if  you’re  trying  to  corner me.  ❞

❝  if  you  care  about  your  health,  you  won’t  provoke  me  any  further.  ❞

❝  leave.  you  little  man.  ❞

❝  don’t  take  my  love  for  granted.  i  may  do  something  i’ll  be  sorry  for.  ❞

❝  don’t  you  have  enough  love  for  me  to  bear  with  me  when  the  bad  temper  i  inherited  from  my  mother  makes  me  forgetful ?  ❞

❝  from  now  on,  when  you  get  moody  with  me,  i’ll  assume  it’s  your  mother  speaking.  ❞

❝  you’d  have  to  kill  me  to  stop  me.  ❞

❝  i  didn’t  think  you  could  get  this  angry.  ❞

❝  no  one  bears  sorrow  better  than  me.  ❞

❝  great  men  ought  to  endure  great  losses.  ❞

❝  good  words  are  better  than  bad  strokes,  [name].  ❞

❝  you’re  not  going  to  be  killed  by  a  traitor  unless  you  kill  yourself.  ❞

❝  i  wasn’t  born  to  die  on  your  sword.  ❞

❝  this  might  be  the  last  time  we’ll  speak  to  each  other.  ❞

❝  i  find  it  cowardly  and  vile  to  kill  yourself  early  to  evade  accountability.  ❞

❝  if  we  lose,  you’ll  be  content  to  be  paraded  through  the  streets  in  chains ?  ❞

❝  i  will never  allow  myself  to  return  to  [place]  in  chains.  ❞

❝  i’ve  become  an  enemy  to  my  own  soldiers.  ❞

❝  today  is  the  day  i  breathed  my  first  breath.  time  has  come  around,  and  i’ll  end  where  i  began.  ❞

❝  my  life  has  run  its  compass.  ❞

❝  i’m  a  coward  for  living  long  enough  to  see  my  best  friend  taken  before  my  very  eyes.  ❞

❝  you  shall  be  revenged  by  the  very  same  sword  that  killed  you.  ❞

❝  so  i  am  free.  but  i  didn’t  want  to  be  free  like  this.  ❞

❝  i’ll  run  far  from  this  place,  where  no  one  will  ever  find  me.  ❞

❝  our  sun  has  set.  our  day  is  over.  we’re  finished.  ❞

❝  you  are  still  mighty.  ❞

❝  the  world  will  never  produce  another  like  you.  ❞

❝  i  owe  you  more  tears  than  you’ll  ever  see  me  shed.  ❞

❝  surrender,  or  you  will  die.  ❞

❝  i  would  rather  have  you  as  a  friend  than  an  enemy.  ❞

❝  i’d  rather  kill  myself.  ❞

❝  i  know  that  my  hour  has  come.  ❞

❝  our  enemies  have  driven  us  to  the  edge  of  the  grave.  ❞

❝  i  ask  that  you  hold  my  sword  handle  while  i  run  into  it.  ❞

❝  that  is  no  job  for  a  friend.  ❞

If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be and why?

How do you take your anger out?

Have you ever been severely depressed? If so, why, and how did you handle it?

Who is someone you’ve cut out of your life, or wanted too, and why?

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever worked for?

Have you ever faced discrimination? If so, what was it?

Has someone close to you ever said something that hurt your feelings? If so, what was it, and did they ever make up for it?

Have you ever been hit by someone close to you? If so, who hit you, and did they ever make up for it?

What’s some trauma you have, and how did you get it?

What was the scariest moment you’ve had in public?

What’s the relationship like between you and your parents?

Where do you go to be alone?

Have you ever put your hands on someone? If so, who, and did you ever make up for it?

What’s the craziest thing you’ve done with another person?

Who’s the first person you contact on a lonely night and why?

What’s your biggest regret and why?

If you could pick only one person in your life, who would it be and why?

What gives you nostalgia?

What’s something embarrassing that you enjoy doing, and why is it embarrassing?

❝ hmmmm, ❞ natsuki lifts a brow, watching him unravel in front of her with barely concealed amusement. ❝ your brother’s friend, huh? ❞

she let the excuse hang there for a moment, thin, flimsy, and painfully obvious, before deciding not to put the spotlight on him any further. although it got her thinking for a second why he felt flustered about it. yes, natsuki works in the modelling industry and that meant seeing makeup being used on men, too, which feels natural and acceptable for her. plus, her friends who aren’t models do use bb creams and other skin care products. even more than her sometimes. it’s nothing to be ashamed of. so … why?

❝ okay, ❞ she says easily. ❝ we can pick some things out for her. ❞

before he could backtrack or invent three more people, natsuki reaches over and lightly grabs the sleeve of his jacket, steering him toward the beauty store they had just passed.

❝ come on! ❞ she glances back at him. ❝ we’re committed now. ❞

the bright lights of the shop spills over them as she pushes inside, shelves lined with rows of glosses and tints in every shade imaginable. she heads straight for the lip section like she had done this a hundred times before.

she wasn't planning on eating. chihaya isn't important enough in the grand scheme of things that she thinks she needs to worry about her food being poisoned. that's a concern for the likes of the sumiyoshi-kai's oyabun. not a girl playing pretend gangster with a bunch of kids. but still she tries not to eat in establishments that aren't tied to her. she is conscious, after all, that she is still in shinwa-kai territory. no doubt her family name, and her father's ties to the syndicate, are the only things that have kept them from retaliating thus far.

❝ ehh? ❞ she hums softly, lips pursing into a faint pout that’s more playful than serious. ❝ but now i want to. ❞ she folds the menu shut with a tap against the table, leaning forward slightly like she’s already decided the matter for both of them. it was a bold move to be pushy, but it was too late to retract the unexpected comfort that washed through her. ❝ besides, you said no allergies, so that means i can order whatever i think looks good. even if it’s just a skewer or perhaps, dessert? ❞

her smile turns sheepish for half a second, fingers absentmindedly tracing the edge of her sleeve. the truth is, she hadn’t really planned on eating either—not with how strange the evening had been, not after the man from earlier, but sitting here feels easy. easier than it probably should.

natsuki’s gaze flickers to the bag, lingering a second too long on the small, star-shaped and pastel colored bumpy spheres before she quietly takes one. more out of politeness than anything else. funny how she just went for it when it is a life rule to never accept candies from strangers. but can she really classify him as a stranger or not?

she turns the candy over between her fingers, brows pinching ever so slightly at his earlier words. doing the rounds. it sounds important in a deliberately vague way. the kind adults use when they don’t want to explain themselves to people younger than them. or maybe people in general. natsuki doesn’t press. she’s nosy, sure, but not stupid.

Character Aesthetic  ➙ requested by suburbiaofrp ;; { the baby doll }

Colour association/name moodboard for myself ♡

natsuki nearly missed the question the first time. she had been half a step ahead of him, distracted by a display window, when his soft, hesitant voice reached her from behind. lip gloss? she turned so quickly she almost giggled. of all the things she thought jaeha might one day ask her, that had never crossed her mind. he stood there, gripping his iced chai with pink ears and staring anywhere but at her, like … he regretted speaking at all.

it was endearing.

she looked at him more carefully then. he was always composed and dressed in clean lines, the kind of man who blended in by design. he moved through life like he was trying not to be noticed, every word and gesture measured. he had probably spent the last twenty minutes or so trying to gather the courage for this single question. the realization softened her at once.

a smile tugged at her mouth. ❝ it’s from pyt, ❞ she replies. ❝ glossy lip tint. shade two. ❞

the corners of his lips curve upwards slightly, the faintest whisper of a smile colouring his features. it's rare for a stranger to provoke this kind of response from him. even his fathers hadn't heard him laugh for months, not until he'd settled into his place in their family. for a stranger to make him laugh, however small that laugh may be, is... progress. ❝ does the country matter? ❞ he asks, genuine curiosity in his voice. the laws are different, of course, but beyond that, he fails to see what difference it makes. ❝ doesn't matter if i'm here or at home, i can still steal from someone, if i want to. ❞

natsuki finally chuckles before she can stop herself. it slips out bright and easy, surprising even her. there was something absurdly entertaining about the way he said it— just for fun — like he was confessing to sneaking extra candy rather than a real crime. most people tried too hard to seem dangerous. he sounded like he’d simply gotten bored and chosen chaos as a hobby. maybe?