#THE USUAL BEING UNNECESSARY COMPLAINTS

[luvcaleb]

EYES ON ME.

nsfw (18+). i really did not mean for this to be a whole fic but i just kept typing. and typing. and typing... anyway, here are the usual cws: blowjob, cunnilingulus, corruption kink, praise kink, unprotected sex, marathon sex (sylus is starved), more yearning than you'd expect from a sugar daddy fic, and side note that sylus is older than you here (you decide how much lol). likes and reblogs will be very appreciated!

pov: you're a barista at the cafe sylus usually orders at and he overhears you saying you want to try being a sugar baby to make more money.

sylus generally avoids interacting with ordinary citizens. for one, they live in a separate world from him, and two, he'd rather not drag other people into unnecessary trouble.

you are no exception to this rule he placed upon himself. or at least, you should be.

but he can't help being drawn to your sunny smile, undeterred despite his intimidating appearance. he can't help but relax his shoulders when you greet him “welcome!” in a warm, gentle voice. he can't help but ask you how your day went, listen to your complaints, and chuckle fondly when you say something particularly funny.

and he can't help but notice how your sunny smile has diminished the past few weeks, weighed down by late nights and endless work juggling several part-time jobs to get by and pay the debt your father left behind.

so when he overhears you saying you want to try having a sugar daddy, he moves against his better judgment.

it's not hard to track you down in a shady site. even easier to lure you with an enticing price, better than any old, rich fool can offer.

and really, sylus doesn't plan on doing anything to you. this is somewhat like a donation, he convinces himself. that's all there is to it. he's not being possessive.

he pays you for your time. feels amused seeing you sit beside him with an almost visible question mark on your face, not knowing what to do. sure, you have a general idea what sugar babies do, but it was probably not simply watching an old romance movie while snacking on finger foods.

you think it must be some sort of foreplay, but he drives you home. the next time he calls you over, you eat together in a who-knows-how-many-stars restaurant in a tall skyscraper overlooking the city, which ends in a similar fashion. in the next, he takes you shopping and fills your closet with luxury brands, yet again ending the day with a drive to your shabby apartment.

and it's nice. it's really nice. to the point it's too good to be true. from the very beginning when you learned your client wasn't going to be an old geezer, you already thought you lucked out. but with sylus practically treating you as his girlfriend, leaving nothing to be desired, things couldn't be better. you can't even consider the possibility of being sylus's side chick that he's cheating with because there's nothing for him to gain from this arrangement. if you really think about it, sylus is basically throwing you all his money.

you think you can leave things like this. after all, you have nothing to complain about.

but on one of your gigs taking up a friend's waitress shift at a fancy restaurant, you see sylus with a woman.

they're both well-dressed. sylus always is, but now even more so with his styled hair and clean, crisp suit. the woman looks gorgeous in her champagne dress, all smooth silk and beautiful curves. the men around her can't help but stare.

he leads her to a table. pulls out her chair for her. smirks at her as they exchange friendly banter, looking like the picture-perfect couple.

a cold settles deep in your chest, even if you have no right to feel bad. you don't have the right to feel upset because it isn't like you're bound by any serious relationship.

but for the rest of the night, you try to avoid their table. you hope he hasn't taken notice of you, but that's probably wishful thinking considering you've felt an intense gaze on your back all this while.

eventually, they leave, and so do you. as you walk home, you try to dissect why you felt so awful. is it because he might cut you off now that he's interested in another woman? it must be. once he breaks off whatever you have, you're going to have a hard time finding someone else to mooch off of. you'll be back to the same old dreary lifestyle; the magic has worn off, and cinderella has to be miserable again.

but it isn't just that, even if it should be. you shouldn't feel so shitty seeing him with another girl if you only saw him as a client. somewhere along the line, you've started appreciating his quiet smiles, his teasing smirk, his kind gaze. there's something soft about his innocent touches, tucking your hair behind your ear or his thumb wiping away cake frosting on your cheek.

and you hate the idea of him doing all of that to that woman he was with.

“you should pay more attention to your surroundings, sweetheart.”

sylus interrupts your thoughts. you turn to look at the street beside you where you find sylus leaning against his car. waiting.

you hesitate only for a moment. you get in, and he drives you home. the silence is unsettlingly tense, so different from the comfortable quiet you've grown used to in your past drives.

eventually, you bring yourself to speak. “let's go to your house.”

sylus says, “i haven't asked for your services tonight.” it's soft, teasing, and most importantly, it's not a no.

the familiar manor comes into view, grand and imposing as always. he opens the car door for you. asks to carry your bag. unlocks the front door.

he drops it when you push him down the plush sofa, catching him by surprise. you've never quite seen him as stunned as he is now, stock still as you press your mouth against his. clumsy. unsure. yet eager. his fingers tangle in your hair, unmoving for just a moment, but soon he manages to tear himself away.

“i didn't ask for you to do this.”

he hasn't. he probably never intended to do this sort of thing in the first place.

but it isn't like he doesn't want to. his voice is strained. he's still holding you, as if afraid you'll pull away once you realize this is a bad idea. he's staring at you like you're the only thing that matters.

and you realize that you enjoy this attention. you like having his hands around you. you like him doting on you. you like him looking at you.

you don't want him to look at anyone else.

and, you come to realize, you want this just as much as he does.

---

there's a sense of clumsiness when you wrap your hands around his cock, hesitant and unpracticed. you seem as if you've never done this before. sylus should not be as thrilled as he feels at this discovery.

perhaps he should be a little turned off. but his dick feels the hardest it's ever been when you start giving kitten licks to his tip, innocently looking up at him through your lashes like you're asking for praise.

he murmurs filth under his breath when your lips close around his head, sucking at a spot that makes him shudder. he forces his hips to stay absolutely still even if he wants to destroy your throat. he can't afford to scare you away now. not when you're finally within his reach.

yet sylus can't help but run his hand through your hair, pulling you closer. making you take him in deeper. guiding your head as you bob up and down. you're gurgling around his cock, spit dripping from your mouth, tears in the corner of your eyes. so obviously struggling but still sucking more of him in, eager to please. you choke when his cock hits the back of your throat, and still, you hollow your cheeks, licking everywhere you could.

and that does it for him, making him finish much, much quicker than he means to. his cum fills your mouth, warm thick streams that overflow from your lips. he doesn't expect you to swallow, ready to catch with his palm, but you gulp it all down like a good girl.

sylus's chest fills with deep satisfaction. he tells you well-deserved praise as he showers your face with pecks, capturing your lips in a kiss that tastes bitter but oh so nauseatingly sweet.

he wants to reward you for being a good girl, you he pulls you to the edge of the mattress, pressing down on your thighs as he digs in. the first lick on your pretty pussy makes you yelp, legs kicking out in surprise. he gives your thighs a warning squeeze, and by the second, you're obediently staying as still as you can, whimpering to your palm.

you taste as sweet as you look, and sylus hums contently as he licks up all your slick and it never runs out. you moan so nicely for him when he laps at your clit, continuously flicking his tongue at the small bud, and you all but scream when he sucks it hard, tangling your fingers in his hair and jerking up your hips.

he doesn't complain when you ride his face, staring intently at your expression twisted in pleasure. your mouth is shaped around an ‘o’, eyes rolling back as he dares to slip his tongue inside your hole. he rubs your engorged clit with a rough thumb, fucking in and out your pussy with his tongue, groaning amidst the lewd symphony of squelches.

he hasn't planned on touching you, no. but he's thought of it countless times on nights he felt especially lonely after you left. imagined you on his lap, fondling your soft chest, playing with your cute pussy. he wondered what spots made you feel good, where you'd be sensitive. what faces you'd make when he touched them.

sylus doesn't have to wonder anymore, committing the sinful sight to memory. you've always been cute, but he thinks you're even more adorable now, squirming as he gently eases a finger inside you. you're wet enough to fit two, but it's still quite tight; it might take a while before you can take him in. he presses a reassuring kiss on your inner thigh when he finds your g-spot, telling you to stay still and be good.

so sylus spends a bit of time between your legs, adding more fingers as he laps away at your clit. at your first orgasm, he fucks you through it, not stopping his hand until the spray of cum has ceased. by the second, you've drenched his sheets and his arm, but by the way you're moaning his name almost incoherently, you don't want him to stop.

on the verge of a third, a fourth finger teasing at your entrance, you're begging him to fuck you. sylus has felt close to bursting for a while, so he doesn't complain. he rubs his cock between your wet folds, tapping at your clit with the head. slicking his cock with your juices as he marvels at how tiny you seem under him, the length of him intimidatingly massive laying on your stomach.

when he pops the tip of his cock inside, you clench around him immediately, warm and so goddamn tight. he can't slide it in one, smooth thrust; he fucks it inside bit by bit, observing your face for any signs of pain, but all he sees is a dazed, drooling slut, crying out his name and for him to put it all inside her. he shushes you, reasoning he has to be slow, but he's very well on the edge of his patience.

when his cock is halfway in, you turn into a shuddering, sobbing mess. his tip has poked somewhere sensitive, and when he grinds against it, you squirt hard, spraying cum on his abs. he laughs in disbelief, meanly rubbing tight circles on your clit to make your orgasm last longer.

once sylus has finally bottomed out, he whispers endless compliments to your ear, hands roaming around your skin. he can't stop his hips from thrusting, tirelessly fucking in and out of your soaked cunt with vigor he hasn't had in years. sylus doesn't consider himself the vocal type, but now he can't shut up about how pretty you are, how good and sweet you are for him. how nice and tight your cute pussy feels, how you're made to take in his huge cock.

he uses you the way he imagines in his dirty fantasies, like a whore he pays to bed. yet at the same time, you're his precious little princess, the one person he shouldn't hurt. the one person he should treat with utmost care. the one person that should stay untainted by the filthy world.

but you're moaning so loud, enjoying being his little slut. you want to be fucked hard and fast, fingerprints on your hips and waist. you want to be bred full of his cum and do it all over again. you want to be his.

so sylus takes you in all the ways he knows how. on your back. on your knees. on his lap. he lets you ride him, fucking up into your cunt when you get tired. he takes you against the wide, clear window panes, uncaring if someone might have seen. he fucks you while standing, holding up all of your weight, making you watch yourself on the mirror as he thrusts inside. he never once pulls out when he cums, your pussy crammed with his hot, milky loads.

you make a mess everywhere, but you don't have time to worry about it. you don't even worry about the chances of getting pregnant, being pumped full of sylus's cum. even if you did end up pregnant, sylus keeps going on and on about wanting you to be his pretty wife, that he won't let you want for nothing, that he'll provide for your every need if you'll just stay with him.

and in the face of his love, bordering on desperate obsession, you don't even know why you were ever worried about him falling for anyone else.

from the moment he laid eyes on you, he couldn't look away.

[eli0004]

Greetings!! I saw ur status that ur taking requests? Sooo may I please request nerd!armin 🙏🏻🙏🏻 I'm up for anything even if it's sfw or nsfw tbh I just wanna read something u wrote.<3 I don't really know how to ask for a request cuzz this is my first time.

Thank you ♡

You got it! I can most certainly do that! Thanks for the request ❤️❤️🫶

Nerd!Armin HCs (sfw/nsfw)

Includes: nerd!Armin x Fem!reader

Warnings: sub!armin, panty stealing, vocal sex, oral, fem!bodied reader, perv armin, sexting, smut, subtle manipulation, jealousy, breeding kink, subtle mommy kink, use of ma’am and other titles

Nerd!Armin, my love, my favorite loser 😔🫶 Eren’s childhood best friend and newest addition to your friend group. He is shy and sweet, with his lil graphic tees and flannel shirts, thick glasses low on the bridge of that perfect button nose

He looks at you like you’re the most angelic being he’s ever laid eyes on, you look at him like he’s the cutest little dork you’ve ever seen. He doesn’t know that though.

You caught on pretty quickly. He catches sight of you when he walks in and panics, fluffing his hair, checking his reflection in his phone camera, getting himself in order just to get nervous and quiet every time you say something to him.

The first time you talk it’s about a shirt he’s wearing, his favorite Anime, and crazy coincidence-you happen to have seen it. He doesn’t think you could get any more perfect.

Armin walks away from that conversation all giggly and star struck, and that’s when his two best friends realize what’s going on. They devise a plan to hook you two up and, surprise! It works!

Mikasa is happy that Armin is happy, Eren is happy that his best friend is no longer a virgin, it’s a win for everyone!

When the two of you hang out, it’s usually at home. Armin prefers your house over his, your bed is more comfortable, your tv is bigger and your snacks are better, or so he says.

Really, he’s just not prepared to have to explain thousands of dollars worth of figurines and posters and other strange paraphernalia. He wishes you could see his PC set up though, because he really likes yours.

Most of the time, date nights involve gaming and movies and anime. Occasionally you’ll go grab dinner or walk around the mall together. Armin spends ungodly amounts of money on limited edition things and you scold him for being an irresponsible spender.

Mans is way smarter than all of us though, so he knows how to budget and cut unnecessary costs to afford all the other unnecessary costs

He likes discussing video game lore, and gets extremely passionate about it. Loves conspiracy and discussing hidden meanings and implications in movies and shows and music

Like I have said in some of my other Armin hcs, he LOVES pda, in part because he just always wants to be touching you, and also because he likes having you on his arm. He never imagined he’d be with someone like you, let alone anyone at all, so he gets cocky about it.

Armin gets jealous at the drop of a hat and he’s dramatic asf. If you talk to the pizza delivery guy for too long he’ll pout and whine that you must find him more attractive.

He loves wearing your clothes, sharing clothes, etc. if you have oversized t shirts he will wear the fuck out of them, and they will go missing.

Reeeeally likes to make out, like it’s ridiculous. He’ll take hours out of his day just to lay there with you and kiss you lazily, sloppily, licking into your mouth and sucking on your lower lip and tongue.

Which brings me to nsfw 😍🌶️

This man is LOUDDD

Like obnoxiously loud

He whines and whimpers and moans, you cannot have sex with him when there are people around unless you wanna have to hear complaints about it later

Steals both T shirts AND panties, one to wear, the other to jerk off with

You know, and he knows you know. Eventually you’ll just start giving them to him willingly so he stops taking your good ones.

He loves eating 🐱 more than he loves getting head. He thinks about it constantly, remembering your smell, your taste, the way you squirm. Begs you to sit on his face every time you fuck.

Armin is insatiable. His sex drive is higher than anyone you’ve ever met, and you’ll go at it a few times just in one night.

Pretttyyyyy bedroom eyes. They get so lust blown and hazy, half lidded and his lashes are so long and delicate.

He doesn’t like to be on top because his arms and legs give out easily when it feels really good. He’s so sensitive it makes his body weak and trembly.

If he is ever on top he just lays down on you, grinding his dick into you slow and deep. Drools on your chest.

He says he doesn’t care, but he’s a total boob guy. He could bury his face in your tits and suffocate willingly and with pleasure.

When he cums, it gets all over the place. His brain floats off somewhere during sex and he doesn’t pay attention. Messy guy.

Lowkey has a breeding kink, and whines that he wants to make a baby. Afterwards he’s like “nah it was just heat of the moment….unless you want to 👀

Mommy kink, but he’s embarrassed about it, so he’ll only let it slip if you initiate that one. Calls you ma’am instead and it sounds adorable coming from him.

Big into humiliation, and he will cry when you’re mean to him but he always cums so much harder when you get him like that.

He lives for sexting, he gets really detailed and dirty behind the screen but all shy about it in person when you talk about the things he said.

Send you videos of him jerking off if you want him to, and he wants you to want him to so he’ll try and subtly get you to ask for them.

Total desperate submissive loser honestly, and it’s super cute! 🫶

[mizading]

Please could we get jealous/possessive headcanons for gojo geto and nanami <333

JJK Jealousy/Possessive Headcanons

{ Characters} Nanami, Gojo, Geto, Choso

{ Warnings } Possessive behavior, jealousy, yelling, needy behavior, etc. 

{ A/N } I usually don’t accept anonymous requests, but I decided to make an exception this time (wink). I couldn’t help but include Choso after last week’s episode. 

Nanami

Nanami won’t reveal any type of emotion until you two get home. He’s so used to remaining professional that hiding his feelings aren’t a task anymore.

Nanami is a reserved man; he would never let his jealousy show in public.

The most that Nanami will do is snake is arm around your waist. It looks innocent enough, but nobody can feel how tight his fingers grip your waist.

This is your only warning. Whatever it is that you’re doing to upset Nanami, stop.

Don’t expect Nanami to speak to you once you get home. Ignoring you is Nanami’s only way of keeping himself from lashing out.

Nanami sometimes doesn’t have the strength to simply ignore you, resulting in him lashing out. You can’t take him seriously when he looks so damn good frustrated and yelling.

The way that his dress shirt is rolled up to his elbows with a few buttons opened and his tie loosened drives you crazy. Seeing him in such a state makes you not want to talk to another man again.

It doesn’t take long for Nanami to calm down. He’ll eventually break down and embrace you, bringing his forehead to rest against yours. Skin-to-skin contact with you seems to calm his nerves and remind him that you’re all his.

Nanami will always apologize profusely for yelling at you. He genuinely hates it when he gets that worked up, but he can’t control it sometimes. Everything will be made up in whatever way you'd like.

If you name it, he’ll do it. Nanami is practically on his knees for you at all times. His world revolves around you; it’s only fair that he shows it.

Gojo

Gojo gets jealous extremely easily, and he knows it. Gojo won’t ever admit that it’s a problem, though; it’s his way of showing that he cares, after all.

Almost everything that involves another guy sets Gojo off. Conversations, stares, touches—all of it makes his blood boil. He doesn’t bother hiding any of it either.

Gojo takes joy in scaring guys off when he’s around with you. One look from Gojo’s icy blue eyes is more than enough to send any man into their grave.

The only time interactions with other males are somewhat acceptable is when Gojo is with you to “monitor” the situation. Let's not include Gojo feeling you up the entire time.

Gojo trusts you with his entire being; he just won't let anyone mess with what's his. You belong to Gojo, and Gojo only.

Gojo made it known to everyone that you’re his property. He doesn’t mean to be so possessive; he just can’t help it. The consequence for messing with what's his has also been made crystal clear.

Gojo sometimes fantasizes about him being the only man that you interact with, but he would never make that a reality. He still has some type of self-control. Don’t test Gojo, though; he’s quick to change his mind.

Arguments with Gojo really only happen because he can’t seem to control his jealousy issues. In the end, he always ends up in your arms, apologizing over and over again for raising his voice at you.

Gojo won’t control what you wear, but he’ll whine endlessly to hopefully change your mind. If you ultimately end up doing what you want, he’ll keep you awfully close while you two are out. Don’t get me wrong, he loves seeing you in your short skirts and tight tops, but he wants to be the only one to see. 

It’s all out of love, Gojo promises. Over time, he’ll work on it. Gojo knows that you’ll always be his.

Geto

Geto is quick to put an end to any unnecessary contact with another man other than him.

It’s no surprise when Geto pulls you away mid-conversation with an old friend of yours. Complaints won’t do much; if he doesn’t want you talking to someone, you won’t.

Geto doesn’t really get upset with you when he’s jealous because he takes control of the situation before his feelings can progress. It’s for your own good. Geto pissed off is a scary sight.

Geto is used to having full control over everything; I mean, he runs an entire cult. This includes you; he tends to believe that he has full control over you. It’s not on purpose, just instinct.

His control over you is mainly for your safety. Geto’s lifestyle isn’t safe, and he knows. He’d rather die than have anything happen to you, no matter how big or small.

Geto is very possessive and overprotective because of this. You belong to him completely, and nobody can get to you unless he allows it.

You mainly put up with his possessive behavior because Geto is honestly all you can ask for in a man and more. He’d do absolutely anything for you, and it’s more than the truth.

Geto won’t tell you that he was jealous until it’s just the two of you in bed. Something about snuggling up with you under the covers in a quiet environment makes him want to confess everything.

He tends to become softer at night. It’s not uncommon for Geto to ask if you still love him or why you fell in love with him in the first place. No matter how tough his demeanor is on the outside, he’ll always be a softy for you.

Geto may or may not apologize verbally for his behavior; it depends on how sensitive he is that day. If Geto doesn’t outright apologize, he’ll do it in other ways, such as buying you a gift, giving you extra affection, or taking you out.

Choso

Choso is really needy and clingy when he's jealous. You’re the only one to see Choso in this state, begging to give and receive love.

Choso can’t help but feel self-conscious when you talk to or touch other men. Is he not enough?

He won’t directly tell you that he’s jealous most of the time, but you can tell by the way he snuggles his body into yours with little whines.

Please don’t ask Choso what's wrong; he’ll immediately start sobbing. Through choked sobs, he’ll admit that he doesn’t like the way that you talk to guys other than him.

Jealousy frustrates Choso to no end because he doesn’t necessarily know what the feeling is. All Choso knows is that he only gets it when you pay more attention to other people, especially guys.

Calming Choso down once he’s a sobbing mess in your arms is a task. No matter what you say or do, he’ll continue crying out his emotions for at least ten minutes.

The best thing that you can do is hold Choso and remind him that he’s the only one for you. Once he’s calmed down, Choso becomes overbearingly sweet and cuddly.

Endless kisses and snuggles from Choso are coming your way. Good luck trying to get him to stop (he won’t). It’s his way of self-soothing and reminding himself that you’re all his. Knowing that he’s the only one able to kiss and touch you warms his heart again.

As if his unnecessary affection wasn’t enough, he wants you to return the love. Choso will beg and beg for kisses and touches. Refusing to give affection will bring him to tears again.

After Choso’s received his fill of love and affection, all he wants is to cuddle until he falls asleep. If you hold his body close and play with his hair, he’ll instantly fall asleep with tears of joy. Choso loves you so much it hurts; he just wants to be your only one.

[hey-august]

So i would like to send a headcanon, that Buggy (specifically live action) would let his s/o do his makeup sometimes.

Oh absolutely. He is made to be doted on like that.

I have thoughts about this, because I just adore it! WC: ~400 Warnings: sfw, buggy x gn!partner

Maybe it starts with Buggy being his usual chatty self - in between rattling off what needs to get done, complaints and vexes, and plans for treasure, he still has breath to explain his routine.

He dabs the edges of his red lip color, while muttering about how it needs to be smudged juuuust enough. And Buggy’s right, the quick touches soften the line until it won’t be immediately noticeable with the make-up smears and starts to wear off.

Buggy compliments himself on how well he lines up the triangles surrounding his eyes. Not too high, otherwise the blue stains his bandana. He drags the color through his eyebrows and says it’s for convenience, but he’s being too intentional.

He talks and chatters often enough about each step and his preferences that his S/O stores it all in their head and heart. They pay attention to the details.

Shaky lines? Shapes that are more blob-like and not as sharp? Blue on the edge of his bandana? The captain might be under the weather. Or he was being rushed. Maybe he’s pissed and a misplaced glance away from a fight.

On the other hand -getting catches of glitter and sparkle, lipstick so fresh and creamy that it left a print on his mug, even his lashes have a little extra going on. Even without all the make-up enhancements, Buggy is glowing.

Eventually, his partner asks try. They offer to help. Maybe they start with lipstick. Even though it’s not as easy as they expect (why are his lips so soft and squishy?), they do a decent job. Buggy’s staring in the mirror, assessing the skill, and they practically slam him back in the chair. They almost forgot a crucial step. 

With one hand on his shoulder, keeping him in place, their other is carefully dabbing at the layer of red they just laid on. Well, dabbing and smearing. It’s reminiscent of finger painting.

Aside from the in-crimson-ating fingerprint left on his cheekbone, Buggy’s impressed. He could get used to being pampered like this.

Sinking into the chair, Buggy let’s his partner continue. He’ll still talk through each step, and grumble when they don’t follow his exact directions, but he’s having fun.

And the next time it happens, Buggy’s the one to initiate. He’ll claim that he’s too tired, not enough sleep, too much stress… Excuse after excuse, each one unnecessary because his S/O already agreed five sentences ago.

[inkpot909]

How They Text the Reader Headcanons

↳ Gender neutral Reader with they/them pronouns. Reader is written to enjoy video games in one segment. Joseph Joestar is not included.

A/n: I’ve been wanting to do another one of these a good while now; they’re so fun to do. As always, writing this was a late night decision. I hope y’all enjoy! <3

Warning(s): An innuendo (Polnareff being Polnareff).

Jotaro Kujo

Forget dry texting, you just hope he bothers to text you at all.

He’s brief and to the point. Receiving an entire paragraph is something you’ll damn near never get from him. He does use proper grammer, but his phone settings are set up in a way that doesn’t automatically uppercase words when they should be.

It does nothing more than make his sarcastic comments come off as even more biting than they usually do.

Jotaro is one of those people who always has his phone on do not disturb. It doesn’t matter how far you’ve been separated or how tense the situation is, his ringer is always shut completely off.

To his credit, if he says he hasn’t seen your text, he’s being completely honest.

He will never check his notifications, see you’ve texted, and shove his phone right back into his pocket only to inevitably forget about it within the span of minutes. He won’t purposely ignore you. If he sees a notification from you, he’ll respond promptly.

That doesn’t change the fact he hardly looks in the first place.

Granted, he’s gotten better at it- largely due to a little pressure from your end. But even then, texting someone else to ask them to tell Jotaro to check his damn phone is a far better strategy most of the time. Usually, Kakyoin is your pick since he’ll do it without complaint.

And after a certain point, Jotaro won’t even mention he’s missed the text anymore. You both know it’s a given.

He definitely prefers to call you rather than messaging.

Texting is a means to an end in his eyes, and nothing more. But as previously mentioned, his phone is always on silent. This results in conversations over the phone occurring only if he calls you himself.

If he does call you, the conversation can go on for hours at a time. Most of the talking is done on your end, but he doesn’t mind one bit. He’ll interject with subdued hums or short words intended to let you know he’s still listening.

Jotaro is a frustrating person to try and reach over the phone. Yet, as dry as he is over text, he’s no stranger to adding a touch of cheekiness to his messages here and there.

Noriaki Kakyoin

If info-dumping were a professional sport, Kakyoin would be in the major leagues.

Before or during your time as a couple, expect a barrage of texts going on about whatever topic strikes his fancy. Prior to the relationship, it was apparently how he flirted?

Okay, no, it’s how he kept your attention on him.

But nowadays, it’s more like a genuine impulse to dump whatever is rattling around in his brain on you. It’s endearing, and usually thought provoking. If not, unquestionably out of left field. He’ll keep you on your toes, that’s for sure.

He’ll also complain to you over text. Kakyoin’s a polite guy, but that’s not to say he doesn’t have a judgmental streak.

If someone (usually Polnareff) does something he considers annoying or unnecessary, you best believe he’s messaging you about it within minutes. Standing right beside you. With the others around.

It’s decidedly better than voicing his blunt thoughts right then and there in front of everyone.

Kakyoin texts in proper grammar, but he will never once get on anyone else’s case for not doing the same. If anything, he finds it amusing. It’s far easier for him to read someone’s tone that way too because he’s downright terrible at determining tone through text messages.

The amount of misunderstandings that’s occurred over text, purely because he cannot comprehend for jack squat, is too many to count. Adorable? Yes. Conversation derailing? Also yes.

Oh well, he always puts in his best effort for you.

All this to say, Kakyoin will text you often and answers quickly regardless of what time it is.

Jean Pierre Polnareff

The biggest tease over text!

Polnareff is pretty standard across the board when it comes to messaging. Proper grammar, a healthy usage of emoji’s, and a good response time.

Actually, just good? Throw that notion out; his response time is unreal. To the point where you’ve earnestly wondered if he spends hours sitting by his phone awaiting your reply.

As often as he messages you, he does also prefer a phone call. He’s happy with either, but nothing will ever beat getting to hear the sound of your voice.

Like Kakyoin, he’ll react over text to events unfolding right in front of the both of you. Unlike the redhead, it’s never a harsh observation or comment best left unsaid.

Instead, he’ll poke fun at you over text that way. He usually doesn’t hesitate to tease out loud, but he also learns quickly what you’d like to keep between you two the further into the relationship you progress.

No matter the method, he’s going to playfully try getting under your skin.

When separated, expect him to check in on you quite often as well. It’s more than a little territorial, but it comes from an earnest place.

Polnareff is practically glued to your hip, but he also knows time away from one another is inevitable. Just a quick text to let him know how you’re doing, and a wave of reassurance will be washing over him.

You both are so accustomed to your text language that it only takes a single message for one of you to know exactly what’s on the others’ mind.

Muhammad Avdol

Avdol operates under a very simple philosophy: Texting is for casual conversation and phone calls are for more pressing matters.

That said, before the you began going out, he didn’t really text you much.

Primarily because he did not know what on earth to talk to you about. He’s not used to feeling intimidated by someone, yet it seemed far too daunting for the longest time. Hell, he even asked the others what they thought a good conversation starter would be (and he never once took their advice).

But as the relationship developed, so did your tendency to message each other. To the point where, now, you text frequently.

Avdol travels a lot, so messaging is naturally a reliable means of keeping in contact when he’s far from you. When he’s gone, he’ll send a lot of pictures of the sites he comes across or simply a pretty sunset he happens to be witnessing. If you like animals a lot, he’ll send you photos of those as well.

Ask him for a picture of himself, and he’ll send the blurriest photograph known to man. But he’s at least still recognizable! Mostly.

He will always tell you good morning and good night over text if he’s not present to say it in person.

Always is no lie, either. He could be in the middle of a heated stand battle and he will not hesitate to pause everything just to send you a good morning message. You’ll know if that’s the case if the message is followed by a picture of him smugly grinning in front of a freshly retired stand user.

Avdol uses proper grammar with the habit of neglecting to use periods at the end of his messages. It’s just a touch too formal for him, and you’re someone he knows he can let his guard down around. This means his texts often carry a playful air to them.

He’s a good sport and enjoys humoring you. Go off on whatever you like, and he approaches the subject with total sincerity.

[syndrossi]

went to check your tumblr to see if there was new content or to reread my favorite au content and saw the post of one follower being sick… and it made me laugh because i too am sick

this made me realize that it is Syn’s utmost duty to provide us (pretty please with cherries on top) with bullet points and or a paragraph as to how Daemon would take care of the boys when/if they get sick with like the common cold. and interestingly enough, how the boys will respond to it (pretty please and thank you)

Bullet points? A measly paragraph! Pah! So many people suffering through being sick merits 4.1K words of sick!fic. Also, for those of us in the US it sure was, uh, a day.

So warm up some soup or a hot beverage of your choice and settle in! This ficlet is set in a hand-wavy time period 2 months or so from present-day Resonant. We'll call this sickness a particularly nasty cold...

Sick Days

It was not often that Daemon was summoned by his sons, though he vastly preferred such summons to any other, and yet that was how he found himself following Ser Arryk to the training yard.

“Nothing is amiss?” he asked, because all the Kingsguard had uttered was that Rhaegar had requested his presence at the yard. Though if either had been injured, he was certain that Arryk would have stated such immediately.

“The princes were in disagreement,” the knight said after a moment, “and Prince Rhaegar decided that your intervention was necessary.”

Daemon frowned, further mystified. His sons rarely found themselves at odds, though it warmed him that Rhaegar trusted him to settle the matter. It did occur to him that his younger son might simply believe that Daemon was easier to convince than Jon, but he decided that the reason did not matter.

Both were at the edge of the yard, Jon with his arms crossed and mouth drawn into a scowl that was all the more ferocious beside his brother’s calm poise. Daemon gave Ser Perkins a curt nod of acknowledgement and ignored Cole entirely. His nephews were locked in some contest, but clearly distracted by both his arrival and whatever was troubling his sons.

Jon’s shoulders slumped when he caught sight of Daemon, as though his very presence signalled defeat, and he turned back to his brother with clear outrage. “You sent for our father?”

“You were being unreasonable,” Rhaegar said.

Daemon leaned to drop a kiss on the crown of each head, regretting as always the waning years he would have to do so before his sons grew too tall. “Am I so unwelcome?”

“It is unnecessary,” Jon insisted.

The words were not intended to sting, yet they did so nonetheless. So much of their days were spent apart: his sons at their lessons, and Daemon attending to the upcoming Stepstones campaign. He should be teaching them the sword, rather than relying on others to do so.

Rhaegar fixed him with a plaintive look. “Jon is ill. He needs rest, but he insists on training.”

“Ill?” Daemon turned to his other son, alarmed. He had not seemed out of sorts at breakfast, but as he studied him now, the flush to his face was not one of anger or exertion, and there was a glassiness to his eyes. He reached for both of his sons’ foreheads, and Jon’s was notably warmer.

“I feel fine,” Jon protested, ducking out of his hand.

“I bested you in all five of our bouts,” Rhaegar said. “And you had to lean against the fence after each!”

“Bed,” Daemon said firmly, moving behind his son to undo the straps of his practice armor. “What else ails you?”

“It is only a fever.” Jon sounded sullen at even admitting that much, which likely meant there was more to it.

Daemon slung Jon’s armor over the fence, then turned to his other son. Whenever Viserys had fallen ill as a child, Daemon had usually followed soon after. “You as well.” Rhaegar glanced at his brother, his concern plain, and let Daemon remove his armor without complaint.

Back at their apartments, Daemon had them bathe and change, though he did not force Rhaegar to rest. Instead, his son set Rolen to the task of securing cloths and ice water for a cold compress while Daemon settled anxiously beside Jon’s bed, noting his shivers beneath the blankets.

He tested his forehead again, not certain if it was worse, and wondered whether to fetch the maester. It hardly seemed worth it, given that Mellos would likely prescribe a leeching. My brother has not once improved under his care.

Daemon stared at Jon for a time, until Rhaegar appeared to drape a cool cloth over his forehead, which heightened his son’s shivering. He could not recall if that was better or worse, so he absently sent Rhaegar for another blanket just in case.

A book was placed into his lap instead, the Valyrian children’s tales that he had read to his sons before. Jon’s gaze was fixed upon the ceiling, stoic in his misery, and Daemon read until his son’s eyelids drooped, stopping only once to change his compress, and the shivering slowly abated as sleep took him.

Then Daemon watched him, book open on his lap. The sight of his son resting should have set him at ease, but each stab of fear grew sharper still. Everything that had threatened his children thus far had come from without, enemies that could be cut and bled and held at bay with enough swords.

They could die. Somehow that had never occurred to him before. His sons could be stolen, yes, and hurt by people like Allard Royce and Marten Crayne. But he had stolen them back before, and could do it again.

He could not steal them back from the clutches of death.

The evening hours crept by without him noticing until Rhaegar gently prodded him to eat supper, and he realized he had been ignoring his other son, who would be equally in need of reassurance. They ate together, and Daemon asked him about his lessons, letting his son’s voice wash over him without comprehending, then resumed his vigil.

The next day, he barely moved from Jon’s bedside, overseeing his meals with growing anxiety at his decreased appetite. His son’s fierceness from the day before had been stolen by exhaustion and fever, dulled to listlessness. Even so, rest seemed to elude him, as coughing joined the parade of misery.

Rhaegar must have made excuses for his absence to king and court, for no one came knocking at the door in summons. He did not realize that his son had taken up the task of parenting him until late in the day, which was the same time that he noticed a telltale flush in Rhaegar’s cheeks as well.

“You did not tell me you were feverish,” Daemon said, unable to keep the sharpness from his voice and regretting it when his son’s expression blanked. He kissed his cheek in apology, finding it warm to the touch, and then his forehead, which was hotter still. “To bed.”

I should have noticed sooner. His son had barely eaten at breakfast, and been much quieter today.

Rhaegar’s fever worsened with the onset of night, accompanied by the same violent shivering that had plagued Jon the day before, and Jon could barely go more than a minute without coughing or telling Daemon that he should tend to Rhaegar instead, both of which were equally upsetting. He could feel their misery like it was his own, worsened by his helplessness.

Once they had both finally drifted into sleep, Daemon left their room, ignoring the tray of supper that Rolen had set out at the table, or the steaming bath meant to tempt him into washing, and instead stumbled into the hallway, feet taking him nearly all the way to Rhaenyra’s apartments before he remembered himself and continued slightly past, to Laenor’s.

His cousin had started his evening with some drinking, judging by his befuddled expression upon seeing him. “Daemon?”

“I must speak with Rhaenyra,” he said.

Laenor’s mouth opened, then closed, as though he had meant to say something then thought better of it. “And you require a chaperone.” His cousin sighed. “Very well. A moment.”

The moment took forever by Daemon’s reckoning, the time spent away from his sick children weighing heavier by the minute, but at last he emerged. “What is it? You look terrible.”

Daemon did not answer, turning back toward Rhaenyra’s apartments and lengthening his stride, hearing Laenor mutter under his breath before trotting to keep pace. The Kingsguard guarding her door, Ser Steffon, stepped aside after announcing them, and the door opened barely a second later.

Rhaenyra had not yet retired for the night, though she had exchanged court dress for something more suitable for lounging within the privacy of her apartments. Her stare at him was not unlike Laenor’s and he wondered just how terrible he looked. He could not recall if he had even changed out of his clothing for bed the previous night.

“Daemon,” she said, her polite nod one of perfect propriety, followed by a smile at her husband. “Laenor. Come in.” Once the door had shut, she ushered them to the hearth, then stepped over to the boys’ room, opening its door to reveal Jace. She kissed his cheek, then shooed him. “Back to bed, dragonling.”

She then settled on the couch beside Laenor, regarding Daemon with a concern so sweet that his heart clenched. “You look frightful, what’s wrong?”

“What if they die?”

It was not what he had meant to say, and even saying it aloud felt like speaking the possibility into being. His hands ached for a weapon to wield against the unbearable uncertainty, but he could only clasp them in his lap and feel his blood thrum.

Laenor’s brow remained furrowed in confusion, while Rhaenyra’s softened in understanding. “Your boys?”

“They are sick with fever, and I—” Had never considered the possibility. Had not prepared for it. “I do not know what to do, or how to know what help they need, or if—”

He was gently shushed and then peppered with questions. Could they speak sensibly. Could they move. Were they eating. Did they need help to the chamberpot. How were their hatchlings.

“I did not think to check,” Daemon said to the last, lurching to his feet. It seemed so obvious in hindsight. At the very least, their hatchlings’ presence should be a comfort.

“If they are eating and sleeping and speaking, then it is not necessary to fetch their hatchlings at this very moment, Daemon,” Rhaenyra said, with an authority that kept him from moving to the door. “Children sicken. They will be sick again, and you will be brought low by their illness more often than not. That is the nature of being a parent.”

“My aunt Daenerys died of sickness,” Daemon said, remembering how even decades later, his grandmother could not speak of her first daughter without pain. He had not understood why at the time when it had been so long ago, but after knowing his sons for a mere three moons, it seemed impossible that he might survive losing either. “How can you be certain that any illness might not take your child?”

“The Shivers were deadly to nearly all who were afflicted, but they have not been seen within the realm since. Such illnesses tend to reach the smallfolk first, so we will have warning should it ever return.” He must not have looked reassured, because she added, “She did not have a dragon, I recall my father saying. The king sent for a hatchling, but it was too late. Your sons and mine are dragonriders.”

“My father was a dragonrider,” Daemon said, gripping the back of the chair he had vacated. “And yet sickness took him in his prime.”

Rhaenyra rose with a soft sigh and met him on the other side of the chair to set her hands atop his. “There are grave illnesses and mild. Some claim the young and frail, and others the hale and hearty. The maesters are trained to know the signs of those that can be deadly. Has Mellos tended to them?”

“No,” Daemon said. His jaw clenched. “I will not trust their health to a bloodsucker.”

The corner of her mouth twitched downward briefly, her stare growing distant. They had both spoken before about the man’s treatments for Viserys, and he knew that she shared some of his opinion. “Would you like me to see them? My own sons have weathered over a dozen illnesses apiece.”

Daemon’s grip loosened, relief filling him. “Yes.”

“And if I find cause for worry, either Laenor or myself can fetch Maester Gerardys from Dragonstone. He is most capable and does not rely upon leeching.”

Daemon remembered the maester from his own youth, from various scrapes earned when visiting his uncle’s family. The maester had been much younger then, but with gentle hands and a patience for questions, even from a child.

“Why don’t I fetch him right now?” Laenor offered. “I have been itching for a good ride while the weather is still warm.”

“I would be most grateful,” Daemon said, feeling his nerves begin to settle with the outline of a plan.

Rhaenyra lifted his hands from the chair and squeezed. “Then let us go.”

Ser Steffon remained behind to guard Rhaenyra’s sons within, and Daemon counted himself lucky that he had negotiated with his brother to only require the company of Sers Arryk or Erryk when outside of the holdfast. Even so, he invited the knight outside of the door to his apartments within. Hightower was more eager than ever to find suggestions of impropriety between him and his niece.

His sons were both asleep, and Rolen informed him that he had changed their compresses ten minutes before. Neither were shivering, though their cheeks were still warm to the touch. Rhaenyra repeated his test with a kiss to their cheeks, and Rhaegar stirred to sleepily mumble, “Muña?”

Daemon tried not to look as though he had been punched in the gut, but Rhaenyra’s glance toward him was one of knowing. It hurt to think that he alone might not be enough for his children, or that he could not give them a mother who would love them as Rhaenyra would.

And even then, would she ever love them as much as sons of her own blood?

It was an unkind thought, but that did not make it untrue. Were Daemon ever forced to choose between the lives of her sons or his, he knew his heart. He was not ashamed of it; he could no more be ashamed of the need to breathe.

They are mine and I hold no life above theirs.

Rhaegar seemed to recognize Rhaenyra at last, and his face fell as he uttered a stricken apology that she shushed, stroking the hair from his forehead. The noise woke Jon, who sat up with an urgency that Daemon did not understand until the front of his tunic was splattered with sick that dripped down to the floor.

The smell was awful. Daemon reminded himself that he had endured far worse on the battlefield, and Jon looked so horrified, blurting apologies of his own, that he could not be annoyed for more than half a second.

“It is not the worst fluid I have been sprayed with,” Daemon assured him, and despite Rhaenyra’s dubious reaction on the other side of the bed, a ghost of a smile appeared on Jon’s face.

Rolen appeared to help him out of his soiled clothing, and then to tend to the mess on the floor. Once finished, his servant brought a clean chamberpot and set it upon the small bedside table for future spells of nausea.

Jon accepted a cup of water, and when Daemon mentioned that he would bring their hatchlings for company, Rhaegar offered to summon them himself from the Red Keep’s enclosure, an ability that he still found perplexing. Caraxes often seemed to know to find him, especially in dire moments, but Daemon had never tried calling his dragon with the expectation of him heeding.

Within minutes, however, the hatchlings were shrieking at the door to be let in, and Daemon caught Shadow mid-inhale of a gout of dragonflame. “Kelītīs!” he hastily commanded, and the hatchling coughed, only a tiny flicker escaping his mouth.

Daemon offered his shoulder, which Qelebrys took gladly while Shadow zipped past him. It was only a matter of time, he mused, until the hatchlings were forbidden from the holdfast if they could not learn to restrain their enthusiasm with their newfound dragonflame. A matter to discuss with his sons when they were feeling better. Scholarly and martial lessons had their place, but dragonriders needed lessons of their own. For all his duties, he could not neglect that aspect.

His sons seemed cheered by their dragons’ company, which granted them what seemed an extra vitality, and Daemon felt a fresh impatience with himself for not thinking of it before.

He watched them play with their hatchlings, showing off their impressive command to Rhaenyra at her prompting. As ever, Jon seemed to hold himself at a distance from her, demonstrating a deference that still puzzled Daemon, because his son had a natural command that he did not hesitate to apply even to the king.

Rhaegar, who possessed a similar command, albeit one that tended to rankle fewer men with excessive pride, was the opposite. Though he afforded Rhaenyra the respect she was due as the king’s heir, he treated her almost as an equal.

They are most certainly your sons, Rhaenys had remarked to Daemon more than once.

The play tired his sons quickly, however, and they did not even need the aid of a story to drift back to sleep.

“I do not think it is anything to worry about,” Rhaenyra said once they had re-entered the main chamber. “It seems very like the minor ills that plague my sons on occasion. Once the fever goes, it will be sniffles and prodigious quantities of snot.”

Daemon rubbed at his eyes, fatigue setting in. “Thank you.” His earlier terror had eased to a more manageable fretfulness over the course of Rhaenyra’s visit. He did not think he could shed it entirely, but he might actually sleep that night.

“And they will likely become crankier once they begin feeling better,” she added.

He nodded politely, not voicing his skepticism. Raging fits and whining seemed to afflict his nephews quite often, and even Rhaenyra’s sons were not immune, but his own were far more composed. He doubted he would face more than a few half-hearted attempts from them to win free of bed.

“Get some sleep, Daemon,” Rhaenyra said, holding herself to a nod in the presence of the household knight.

Daemon nodded back, feeling the distance between them particularly keenly tonight. “I shall.”

Her lips quirked. “You will find yourself in need of it soon enough.”

x~x~x

His sons were in fact capable of impressive crankiness, Daemon quickly learned, expressed in myriad creative ways. Jon seemed to view being sick as a personal insult, and that extended to being treated as sick. He complained incessantly about being forced to rest, insisting that he required fresh air and generally implying that he knew better than Daemon and Maester Gerardys.

On the third night, after Jon’s fever was mostly gone, Daemon’s refusal to allow his son to take a walk within the walls of the holdfast seemed to stretch him past his limits. A screaming fit ensued wherein his son accused Daemon of treating him like an infant to make amends for the years they had spent as orphans.

Daemon held himself together long enough to reiterate his decision, and then he locked himself in his chamber, vacillating between tears of heartache and tears of rage. It proved not enough, and he sought Caraxes’s company instead, finding an isolated copse of trees a short distance from King’s Landing to burn to charcoal and ash.

His son was contrite when he returned, assuring Daemon that he knew that he would have come for them sooner if he could have, and took the peace offer of a story.

Rhaegar meanwhile was an exercise in patience and understanding. Where the nigh-mortal blow of Jon’s words had not been meant to wound him so badly, his other son exhibited a flair for cutting his heart to ribbons with calculated precision. Every accusation and taunt seemed designed to provoke fury or sorrow, depending on how tired his son was, and being denied the former only further upset his son.

Daemon learned at last that where it was kinder to spare Jon the signs of his upset, Rhaegar somehow needed his tears and frustration in order to release his own, at which point he accepted Daemon’s hugs with hiccuping apologies.

In all, Daemon was vomited on three times, reduced to tears a dozen times, driven to burn four separate groves of trees, and restrained himself from regicide by way of fratricide while on the receiving end of smug superiority from Viserys twice, as though his brother even knew when one of his own sniveling brats was sick, much less tended to them.

This would be easier if they had a mother, Viserys had even dared suggest at one point, and Daemon had smashed a vase in front of him in lieu of punching him.

His sons’ misery eventually eased, especially once Daemon started letting them chase one another through the halls of the holdfast, or recruiting an unlucky Kingsguard to be in the role of chaser. As Rhaenyra had predicted, the snot ran freely along with his sons, but with their energy spent, their mood improved dramatically.

When Daemon himself fell ill at last, he let them order him around to their hearts’ content. He was deemed confined to bed, where each of them traded turns changing his own compress as they debated what soup he should have from the kitchens, with Rhaegar pointing out that they needn’t rely upon what the kitchen had already made and could order whatever they saw fit.

The days of fever were unpleasant and somewhat hazy, the accompanying aches and shivering occupying most of his attention. Through it, he remembered the worry on their faces as they tended to him, and it was a far more powerful balm than any soup.

He had weathered sickness on the Stepstones before, but Corlys’s worry had been first and foremost for his dragonrider, not for Daemon himself. At Runestone, his wife had viewed his illnesses as brief respites of her own—perhaps even hoping that one might free her of him entirely. The last time someone had tended to him as his sons did now would have been when he had caught a bad fever at fifteen. Despite his grandfather’s protests, his father had remained by his side throughout.

Jon read to him in Valyrian, struggling only a little with some of the bigger words, and Rhaegar sang lullabies to him that evoked a hazy memory of his mother’s face, and voice rather less sweet. Qelebrys watched him from the foot of his bed, while Shadow performed tricks at Jon’s command. Visitors were turned away, except for Rhaenyra and Viserys, and somehow his sons had secured the two differing plans for the proposed holdfast at Bloodstone that the heads of the masons and builders had been squabbling about for the past fortnight and negotiated an agreement between them.

“You should let us assist you more often,” Jon said matter-of-factly. “It is more interesting than our daytime lessons.”

His fever gave way to a truly irritating stuffiness that made it difficult to rest, and equally difficult not to hate everything. His complaints seemed to amuse his sons, and although that should itself have been irritating, their good humor took the worst of the edges off.

“I have read that dragonriding can clear one’s breathing,” Rhaegar informed him once he felt well enough to take supper with them at the table. His hopeful expression was only partly out of a love of flying, Daemon knew, as his sons were also still afflicted by sniffles.

They tested it together, finding the adage to be true during the flight itself, and for a short time after, but the stuffiness did creep back with each passing hour. At supper, they composed lists of their preferred soups, and found that none of them liked the sweet carrot soup. He and Rhaegar shared a favorite in chicken and mushroom in broth, while soups with broccoli edged that out for Jon.

His sons belatedly “permitted” him hallway privileges, bestowing upon him the honor of chasing them through the halls, and though his chases ended with some light coughing, their delighted grins made the effort worth it.

It wasn’t until he felt almost completely better that he allowed them to sleep in his bed, a habit that had gone from every night for a long stretch to something they requested only on occasion. As he neared sleep, he felt Jon shift beside him, and he opened his eyes to find his son staring at him with upset.

“What is it?” he whispered, shifting his arm to lay a hand on his hair.

“You cannot die,” his son whispered back. “You must promise.”

Daemon shifted to press a kiss to his forehead. “I promise.”

[tiredfox64]

Okay I have a prompt that’s been stuck in my head for WEEKS and I can never get it right (probably because I’m the one who wrote it) but it’s a Liu Kang prompt, the reader is fem and is VERY OF AGE like late 20’s or something so nothing gross. But it’s “sweetheart, my tattoos are older than you.” RAHHHH RAHHH RAHHH FIRE GOD LIU KANG RUIN ME TO THE DAWN OF TIMEEEEEEEEE

You’re Not That Old

Yip notes: no entienda ʅ���◞‿◟）ʃ

Pairing: Liu Kang (MK1) x Afab reader

Warnings‼️: It's short I'm sorry

Ah late 20s. Time to slow things down and take a step back. You’re not a party animal anymore. You’re not a young adult anymore for some odd reason even though your late 20s are not at all old. Really, you got a long way before death comes and takes you naturally. Death’s eyes are not on you so why are you still complaining?

“Ugh! I’m so freaking old.” You whined.

Your boyfriend looked at you with this somewhat disappointed look. Or he might have been judging you. It’s hard to tell with those godly light eyes. His arms folded before he began speaking.

“Old? I would hardly call you old. I do not see a single wrinkle on your face that would indicate your age.”

“Yes there is, look.” You pointed to a smile line. Those are natural and could appear at any age. It’s not even that noticeable!

Like the sassy god that Liu Kang is he rolled his eyes at your display of sorrow. It’s unnecessary. You’re still as young as a blooming flower yet here you are acting like you’re sixty. Shoot, even Liu Kang would consider sixty young since not many naturally die at that age.

Could he really judge fairly though? He is a god who has lived for eons. He has seen life created and life succumb to death. He has seen it in all eras at all ages. But this isn’t the 1800s when it was impressive to reach thirty without being close to death due to pneumonia. You’re young and full of energy still. You don’t even feel any strain in your joints or have any complaints of back pain. He wouldn’t even say your age is an age of concern when it comes to wanting kids. You’re not on thin ice, the ice is thick and sturdy.

“I believe you are seeing things that are not there.” He reassured you.

“Oh sure, it’s easy for you to say that when you’ve stayed the same age for years,” Eons actually, “There is nothing about you that indicates that you are older than me.”

That’s when Liu Kang got closer to you. You were still looking at yourself in your vanity mirror before you saw his hand come closer to you. He gently placed his hand below your chin before guiding your face to look at him. He tilted your head up and you saw how he looked down at you. You could already tell by that smug grin of his that he was about to prove you wrong.

“Sweetheart, my tattoos are older than you.” He said in a low, husky voice.

…

He’s…not wrong. You were proven wrong.

Liu Kang has had those tattoos ever since he became a god back in his original timeline. It just seemed to be an aspect of being a god. Those tattoos may be younger than him, but they are older than you.

If you haven’t already noticed those glorious dragon tattoos even though you have been with Liu Kang for a long time he will help you notice. They began glowing like they usually would when he uses his fire powers except he was holding back. He can’t burn that pretty face of yours. The light blue light radiated and caught your eye. Then your attention was brought right back to Liu Kang’s face once you felt his thumb lightly caress your face.

“See? I told you that you are not old.” He said before he leaned down and gave you a kiss.

He let go of your face before walking off to do some important duties. Probably to train the others or have a word with the Lin Kuei’s grandmaster about an upcoming mission. I don’t know, you don’t care. You’re just stunned by what he said.

1: God just called you sweetheart.

2: That was so smooth and you don’t understand why.

It might have been the face grab. It might have been his voice. It might be because he made his tattoos glow in that moment so you could get the point.

Whatever it was, thank goodness it worked. It made you forget about how old—I mean young you are!

Yap notes: I'm genuinely sorry if this is not what you wanted, I read the prompt so many times and I just think I wasn't the right woman for the job. I think this is more on me and something not going correctly in my brain. Once again I'm sorry if this is not what you wanted I hope someone else will be able to get it right for you.

[hottiehiei]

No Strings Attached with Hiei

When friends with benefits turns into something more…

nsfw (nothing too explicit), gender neutral

✧༺✧༻✧༺✧༻✧༺✧༻✧༺✧༻✧༺✧༻

𓆩⟡𓆪 Don’t catch feelings. That was the only rule. Hiei made this clear from the very beginning, and you agreed without complaint. Neither of you had any intentions of pursuing a relationship, so it seemed easy enough. It was only harmless fun.

𓆩⟡𓆪 Hiei warmed up to the idea after you caught his attention through subtle flirting, mostly using nonverbal cues like seductive stares. At first, he thought you were dense for trying to seduce a demon, but he was intrigued by your lack of fear. Besides, a human who didn’t mind being used was far too good to resist. He responded rather boldly. “If you want it so bad then say it.” “How long do you plan to drag this out. I know what you want.” (Hiei isn’t much of a flirt, sorry.)

𓆩⟡𓆪 Quick side note— even if there are no strings attached, there needs to be some level of trust before Hiei exposes himself intimately. Sure, he might have the occasional dirty thought, but he wouldn’t sleep with just anyone. Hiei may be a demon, but his morals differ from those of his kind. That said, sex wasn’t an everyday thing. His libido isn’t very high.

𓆩⟡𓆪 Only under certain circumstances will Hiei decide to snatch you away to satisfy his urges. Suppose he’s pulsing with pent-up energy after an intense fight. Dragging you to the bedroom would be the perfect way to blow off that extra steam.

𓆩⟡𓆪 Once this routine is established, you eagerly await his next battle, practically wishing for some idiot to come along and challenge him. The more riled up he gets, the better. Hiei can feel your eyes trailing him while he’s engaged in combat, and he enjoys every minute of it. Once the battle is over, he will send you a look that says, “You’re next.”

𓆩⟡𓆪 There’s no lovemaking or sensual foreplay. To keep your relationship a secret, everything has to be quick, which is no issue for Hiei. His mouth is rough and hot against your body, licking and biting at your skin for only a second— any longer and he’d risk leaving unnecessary hickeys. Don’t even bother trying to take control. He’s visibly on edge, relentless with his thrusts. But, if there's time to spare, Hiei will generously go down on you as a way to calm down.

𓆩⟡𓆪 All of this, yet he never kissed you. A small boundary that he would not cross. You never prohibited kissing, he simply chose not to, and you didn’t question it.

𓆩⟡𓆪 By the time you return to the group, your hair is noticeably disheveled, and your clothes are oddly loose and stretched out. Somehow, Hiei is the same as before, not a single hair out of place. He’s perfectly relaxed while you’re struggling to recover. It’s a miracle no one has caught on.

𓆩⟡𓆪 But in the midst of everything, the line between friend and lover started to blur. The two of you developed an emotional connection rather than a physical one. As mentioned, sex was never frequent to begin with. The strength of your relationship didn’t rely on what happened in private. Hiei liked you…a lot. Spending quality time together was more than enough to put him at ease. It didn’t matter how the time was spent, he just wanted to spend it with you.

𓆩⟡𓆪 Hiei’s growing feelings became apparent during intimacy. He seeks your touch because he misses your warmth, not because he needs to relieve tension. Instead of his usual manhandling, he holds you closer, pressing his body onto yours with great gentleness. He wants to hear and feel you in different ways than before.

𓆩⟡𓆪 Less dirty talk, more sweet talk. He went from saying, “Beg for it.” to “Lay back, I’ll take care of you.”

𓆩⟡𓆪 The switch up is so obvious. Initially, he strictly prohibited kissing; now, he can’t keep his lips off you. There are full-blown kissing sessions that last way longer than they should.

𓆩⟡𓆪 Honestly, Hiei will eventually slip up and say something along the lines of “You’re mine.” or “You belong to me.” because the very thought of you sleeping with someone else is maddening.

✧༺✧༻✧༺✧༻✧༺✧༻✧༺✧༻✧༺✧༻

[brand1-br0ke]

All the claims about Mikayla from save a fox abusing and torturing animals are so easy to debunk. It didn't take long to figure out what was true(literally nothing) and what was all lies and people's opinions(literally everything).

That Google Drive document? The first few sentences is about how fur farms aren't inherently bad.

Do people not know how non-profits work? Do people not understand how the laws that pertain to non-profits and rescue organizations work?

For example, the claim that Mikayla spent donations on buying foxes and tattoos? Mikayla was never a member of the board, which means that she didn't have access to any of the bank accounts. Same thing about Ethan buying a $400,000 car. He's not a board member either. And he doesn't buy new cars. He likes fixing up old cars(buying parts with his own money) which is his hobby. He posts about it frequently on his Facebook page.

Furthermore, every penny donated and every penny spent is kept track of. All Non-profits and rescues get audited every year.

The fact that SaveAFox Rescue has a fur farm license? SaveAFox has to have a fur farm license, it's State law.

The people saying that all of the foxes need to be taken away and rehabilitated? Rehabilitated to where? All of those foxes were born in captivity, either on a fur farm or bred and kept as a pet. It's illegal to release them into the wild.

The claim that SaveAFox is a hoarder? Every wild animal at SaveAFox has a file. A copy of which is sent to the Federal Government. It's the law. You know what else is law? Inspections. SaveAFox gets inspected like every other animal rescue.

The complaint that SaveAFox charges $350 for people surrender their wild animals? Not uncommon. My local SPCA does that too. I'm not saying that it's good or bad, just that SaveAFox is far from the only animal rescue organization that does that.

The complaint that animals sometimes get injured at SaveAFox? Even though the animals were born in captivity, they are still wild animals and have their wild instincts. Conflicts occasionally happen. You can minimize those conflicts but you can't completely prevent it unless every fox is isolated from one another.

SaveAFox not accepting female Red foxes? That is actually to prevent conflict. Females are the dominant sex of the red fox species and you can't randomly stick 2 unrelated females together and hope for the best. You can get 2 males to get along far easier than you can get 2 females to get along. That's why Sophie and Esmae for example, are in 2 different yards. If they ever met, they will tear each other to pieces. So because of the dominant nature of the female foxes, SaveAFox can only have so many. It's not sexism, it's biology.

Mikayla having an onlyfans account? Mikayla usually just posted videos of her pole dancing or doing yoga in leotards. Mikayla was never completely naked, but occasionally would post videos of her being nude but with her sexy bits covered by the rescue snake she'd occasionally pose with. People got upset about that especially and considered it to be exploitation of the animals.

The jackal puppy breaking its leg? Animals break their legs from roughhousing, playing and running constantly, especially babies. I can send you a video of a cheetah breaking her leg from running in a zoo. It happens.

Once again, every single claim has zero video evidence of any intentional animal abuse or torture from Mikayla and is literally just speculation.

Anyone spreading these lies, such as @is-the-owl-video-cute, and @whats-this-mustelid as well as their followers and defenders who blindly followed the worda of randoms needs to he ashamed of themselves. You've caused a lot of unnecessary suffering in this world. Be ashamed.

Also, she's already fucking dead. What more do you cowards want. Jesus christ.

[kamidukki]

Tokyo Debunker: Towards the Annivesary

⚠️Warning: long read

⚠️Disclaimer:

1) Despite the seemingly endless stream of complaints at the beginning, venting is not my purpose in writing this. I intend this to be a personal reflection on playing Tokyo Debunker (TKDB) in general. Therefore, I'll try to be as civilised as possible, even when writing about aspects of the experience that I dislike the most.

2) This post also mentions other joseimuke games -> Twisted Wonderland (TWST), Akuneko (AKNK), Yumekuro (YMKR), etc.

3) I mostly watched the reactions of the JP fandom on X/Twitter, so if you find that some opinions don't match what you usually see in the international fandom, that's probably why.

I'll start by summarising TKDB's existing problems, things that mostly will stand out to a new player. Almost everything I'm going to say has already been said by someone else, and this video by RoseEmber on YouTube has succinctly pointed them all out, and people have mostly forgotten/forgiven it, thanks to the highly intriguing plot, it seems?

Still, I'd like to say them in my own words, so here they are.

1) Right off the bat is the use of artificially generated images as backgrounds. I have no way of being 100% sure that they're AI. In the unlikely event that they were drawn by actual human artists, this suspicion will turn out to be nothing more than slander. What started the suspicion for me was that the general atmosphere of the backgrounds reminded me of images created in Midjourney, which I have observed is often used/preferred by Japanese AI users as an image generation tool. What added to the suspicion was how the company handled calling out. What cemented my stance on the use of AI art to be abhorred in TKDB is a particular background: Rui's bar. I wouldn't have known its origin if it wasn't for RoseEmber's video. In my opinion, the company really shouldn't get away with this and should replace it with another completely original background.

There's no way they can afford to change just one background, I know. If they change Rui's bar, I am sure people will protest and demand that they change everything to human-drawn backgrounds. I have no objection to that, although I have little more to add. I'll come back to that later.

Anyway, the decision to use artificially generated images in Tokyo Debunker will always be the biggest setback and irony, considering it's one of the most localised joseimuke games (in several languages, no less). International fandom, from what I have observed so far, is far more merciless when it comes to this particular issue, so the effort that goes into localisation is wasted in the face of blatant act of cutting corners.

2) Next is something I find neither positive nor negative, but still a problem: the advertising. Now, the company behind TKDB is notorious for its aggressive, deceptive, flame marketing tactics. I find the ads hilarious myself, although I understand why people were so keen to get rid of them from their Twitter timeline. They're gory sometimes, and if you put headphones on, the music is disturbing. The comments I read often mentioned how persistent the ads were, despite having been flagged as uninteresting. I don't know how they got there, and I never got them on my TL, so I went out of my way to YouTube to see how annoying they were. In addition to the above, the fact that the ads DON'T REPRESENT the game at all is what gets me. Like... it's half funny, half upsetting. I mean, what the hell, dev? Your potential users are not looking your way because of this unnecessary circus. (Again, the RoseEmber video gave me some valuable insight into the ad issues).

3) Next: Character design. The said design includes their characterisation, not just what the eye can see. This particular issue puzzled me at first, but unlike my discomfort with Rui's bar BG, or the BG in general, I've come to the decision to let go and enjoy. Anyway, here are my two cents about the characters.

I don't even play A3, but the moment I saw Towa, Misumi's image immediately came to mind. Jin and Haru, if you're familiar with Hypnosis Mic, will remind you of the MCD duo. Tohma's personality shouldn't be as evocative as Twst's Jade, but, well.

Once a suspicion starts, it floods.

Kaito, the guy from Kimetsu no Yaiba (whose name I've forgotten as I don't follow the series too closely). Hyde, the guy from Jujutsu Kaisen. Moby, Koro-sensei from Ansatsu Kyoushitsu.

Having made it so far into case 61, I can say I look at them with zero negative feelings now, helped by the fact that I've found that they're not just cheap rip-offs. Their inspiration may be borderline imitation, but they're so damn well made that I can't get angry.

All but one: Haku.

He leaves me with mixed feelings, as I can't get over the fact that he's a borderline rip-off the way I can with other characters. Haku, as most players probably already know, is 'inspired' by Mikage of Yumekuro, a game which sadly ended its service in September 2024. I can imagine that people who see Haku before Mikage will find him a better version than Mikage. I don't blame them. Still... Mikage is a very distinctive character, and even though I am not a big fan of him myself, I still find him endearing because of those characteristics. His mannerisms, his character voice (he uses omae-san like Haku!) and his personality in general. They're designed to be laissez-faire characters who prefer to avoid trouble, quiet but mysterious in a way that draws players in emotionally, kind and competent in a way that no one else can be. As if that were not enough, Haku belongs to Hotarubi, a dormitory that evokes traditional Japan, while Mikage belongs to Tokohana, a guild with strong Japanese aesthetics and sensibilities. Since Yumekuro stopped its service, it feels like Mikage died and was somehow resurrected as Haku in TKDB...

Okay, enough sap, back on track.

4) Worldbuilding is next. OK, we can get straight to the point with this one. A game where the player has to live in a rundown building of a certain prestigious school on a tiny island with seven dorms where the fourth years have to go off campus or something... Hmm, sounds familiar. Yeah, no surprise, Twisted Wonderland. A game where the player has something to do with a mysterious ring and demon power with its shady contract system? Akuneko. I'm not as offended by this as I should have been (you know what they say, copying from a paper is plagiarism, but copying from so many to make it your own is research or something), but I won't blame TWST and Akuneko fans if they find this part problematic to the point where they refrain from continuing to play or even trying the game.

5) Finally, the gacha. Hmmm, I really can't say. I don't dislike the system in general, and I'd like to thank the people who spend more than I do, because it's thanks to you that the game, or any game with a similar system, can continue. Yes, yes, problematic, predatory practice, I'm aware of that. I'll come back to this later.

Okay, that's all for the less savoury aspects of Tokyo Debunker, I guess?

Despite all the problems, it turns out that Tokyo Debunker has raked in money in numbers that Romeo would approve of. It ranks fairly consistently high on the joseimuke games list.

It's obvious that one of the many reasons for this is its harsh, harsher than other games, gacha rates, which has probably encouraged players to keep pouring money in. Is it the biggest reason? Probably yes. Is it the only one? No, it can't be. I have some faith in humanity that the majority of people won't spend money just because a 2D character has a pretty face.

For me, and for a lot of people whose opinions I've spied on X/Twitter, the most important reason they're hooked on Tokyo Debunker is the highly intriguing plot, so let's start TKDB's good points with that one.

1) Again, highly intriguing plot points. Masterful execution. Engaging delivery. TKDB has no event or personal story (only chat) like other games, but its main episodes are done right on so many levels that I have nothing but praise for the writer(s) and the people in the production staff. I can only confirm that @/sakugintani (X/Twitter) is the writer of episode 13, but it looks like it's safe to say that they're all written by actual human writers...? At least I hope so. I think there's a problem with the music being used... I don't know the details, so I won't put it in the problems section above. Instead, I just want to point out how well the background music they chose for the scenes and events in the story fit together. I do find a small problem with the SFX, that the volume is not consistent, but it's too small a problem to pay attention to.

2) Interesting, wide range of characters. Despite what I said about the designs? Yes. An imitation of classical painting will still sell for a high price, as it turns out. They're written pretty decently, whether it's as individuals or their personal relationships with each other.

3) Localisation. Just wow. Really commendable that they employ actual translators of many languages and then allow players to switch languages with the simple press of a button. I mean, I love Twisted Wonderland, but it's really disappointing that they have separate apps/servers for separate languages... Something to do with the copyright thing or something? Akuneko, Mahoyaku and Bungou to Alchemist have no official English localisation, while Touken Ranbu's is finished. Anyway, this part in particular is the very opposite of a deal breaker for me.

(On a related note, I played TKDB because Minami (@/sakaimii on X/Twitter), who's part of the TKDB English loc team, posted about it. I don't know her personally, but I followed her because she used to work on the unofficial translation of Mahoyaku (mahoyakueng.wordpress). I find her (and her team's) work enriching and delightful. Glad to see the same for TKDB)

What else? Uh, I can only think of three... Well, that's just my personal opinion anyway. People may find other discouraging/encouraging aspects that I haven't listed here. There are some aspects I have deliberately left out, such as the UI, the raid system, etc., simply because I have no opinion on them at all.

The overall gameplay experience generates mixed reactions, ranging from boring / too idle, with the case impossible to solve without SSR cards, which becomes increasingly true as you progress through the levels. I have no problem with idle games, quite the opposite in fact. The reliance on SSR cards, on the other hand, is a hindrance to the enjoyment of the game.

Now, why am I writing all these things out, especially when most of them seem to have been left behind?

Because I want more people to get to know Tokyo Debunker. I want more content, I want to see it talked about, I want to read and interact with other people as it progresses, and I want to see the game itself flourish for a long time.

Sadly, that's going to be quite difficult if a lot of people are put off as soon as they start. I've already seen so many people driven away by the AI images (rightly so) and even before that by the adverts. I read one JP user commenting that no matter how much they liked TKDB, it wasn't something they could boast about or be as open about as other games because it made a lot of people feel uncomfortable.

At this point, I think there have been a few murmurs here and there along the lines of "the ads suck, but the game is actually great!" I can only hope that this will help people to try Tokyo Debunker and like it.

STILL.

It will leave us with a very undesirable situation if the player base grows but none of the problematic aspects change for the better. If a game with AI images and borderline rip-off elements does well, it will only encourage other companies, especially the smaller ones, to follow in the same footsteps. That's why I hope that the company is seriously considering a change, especially in terms of proper advertising and images of human artists (since nothing can be done about the rip-off aspect).

Am I asking for too much? Probably. Who knows. I don't have any insiders to ask about the company's financial situation and whether or not my request will put a dent in their wallets. My instinct is to say no, it can't be? Surely it must be in their budget by now to hire human artists to create backgrounds and real advertisements?

Then again, who knows. A game like this costs a lot. Potential users usually don't want a company to cut corners, especially if it's so sharp that it puts an end to someone's livelihood. From a business point of view, however, some corners have to be cut, because if they aren't, the other option is EOS, because it doesn't make enough profit, maybe not even enough to cover the cost of production. There are some Joseimuke games that had to end before they even reached their first anniversary. The obvious solution is to cut corners where it hurts as few people as possible, if possible none.

How?

I don't know 😭

One solution that immediately comes to mind is not to have the story fully-voiced, but even I can find myself protesting at the prospect of this ill-conceived solution.

Now about the gacha in TKDB. I mentioned how hard it is. Specifically, you need to pull 500x to get the pity/guaranteed SSR card featured in the banner. In TKDB, a single draw costs 200 gems, but 10-draw cost 1,980 gems. If you want to reach the 500 count, does that mean you have to do the 10-draw 50 times? I haven't had a chance to test this, but I think it's safe to assume that's the case (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!).

50 pulls of 1,980 gems will cost you a total of 99,000 gems (100,000 if it is a single pull, but why would anyone do that). If you buy from the regular gem shop and choose the most expensive option, 5000 gems for 10,000 JPY, you will have to part with around 198,000 JPY. Convert that into your local currency and that's the estimated price of a single SSR card of your choice.

Okay, you don't have to spend that much, I know. TKDB regularly gives out a decent amount of free gems, and they have several back-up shops that, if you use them wisely, will give you more valuable gems for your money. (They are a little overwhelming, by the way).

I'd like to do a detailed comparison with TWST, Mahoyaku, Akuneko for the mercy system in each of these games, but let's save that for another article.

The fact that you need several SSR cards to solve the case and unlock more chapters seems to be a deal-breaker for some people. The more cases you solve, the more impossible it becomes to play without SSR cards. At the moment I'm playing on two servers, one where I pull once I've collected 1,980 gems and the other where I do the opposite. On the latter, I'm actually able to get to case 53 with just a single SR Darkwick Chic card and 8 R cards (the casual outfit ones). It's starting to get too hard, though. It's not a walk in the park when you're f2p in TKDB, unless you're very lucky.

(On another note, I have heard that TWST is just as tough for some people who struggle a lot to get through OB combat, especially book 6? I don't remember having too much trouble with it, so I can't really compare it myself)

As I said, I don't have any particular negative feelings about the gacha system, provided it's done properly. In theory, it's a good system that allows people to contribute according to their own financial situation. It allows all players to enjoy the content equally, while the company still makes a profit. However, it needs to be done in such a way that if a company gets carried away and consumed by too much greed, there will be nothing but resentment.

With the system that TKDB has in place now, I can only hope that existing players don't get tired before management can focus on and implement improvements to the overall system and UX, and the only way to do that is to keep the current level of excitement generated by the main storyline steady, even increasing, while applying a fix where it needs one.

Alright, I've said my piece. That's all I have to say, I think.

To close this long, somewhat anticlimactic writing off, I would like to wish TKDB a long and successful journey. I hope that all honour students will be able to see TKDB grow into something better as we walk with it ❤️

[dailyfigures]

Unpopular opinion: I might be out of the loop but I never really understood why there was controversy over no plastic display (I think it had something to do with nanoroids). It would be one thing to at least know that all the parts came with it, but I usually just care about the figure more and if I wanted to display it, I'm sure there's other ways I could do it.

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

i get some people who display their nendoroid boxes might be disappointed, that's understandable. i do think the whole uproar/controversy was stupid and like i discussed yesterday, it's very disappointing to me that no one in the community seems to want to talk about the enviromental impact of the hobby.

i also think it was incredibly weak of good smile company to immediately go back on their decision after they got some backlash. i used to work for a cosmetics company who changed the recipe of their best selling product to make it vegan. it was very controversial, even years after the decision their instagram comments are still being flooded with complaints everyday but they stuck to their morals and i respect that. i think good smile company's "we care about the enviromental impac- oh you're mad....? nevermind we hate the enviroment!!!!! sorry guys we were just joking please don't be mad!!!!!" move is embarrassing. yeah big company is greedy, fork found in kitchen, it's not news but yeah i thought the whole thing was unnecessary and stupid.

send me your unpopular figure opinions

[halliescomut]

The Boy Next World Finale

I'm gonna start this with a disclaimer- it's probably not going to be very nice. I do try to be kind even when criticizing media. It think it's important to know that most of my critiques about the story and show are based in the story itself, and not directed at any of the onscreen talent.

I'm also going to complain that Mame stuck so close to the original novel. I don't want to hear about how I should have expected that. I understand that when EA and SEA print BLs, whether novels, manga, manwha, webtoons, etc. are adapted to series that those series are usually like 98% accurate and often the things that aren't kept are things that are simply unrealistic for adaptation. But Mame's novels and series are a very unique situation because Mame is the author of the original material. A lot of the refusal to change these stories comes from a place of not wanting to disrespect the original creators, as well as the audience expectation to see the exact story they already like depicted in a new medium. In the case of Mame, she does not HAVE to be worried about that first part. And there is precedent for changing things in the series adaptations, we saw that with KinnPorsche, which was done with the consent and approval of the original authors (though they are garbage so fuck them really).

We will start on the negative though, because honestly I need to get it out of my system. I have defended Mame for a lot, and I really felt like in a lot of ways she had been improving in the way that she depicts her stories, particularly in her series. If you have been watching a good assortment of EA and SEA BL over the last 5 years, you can see a pretty distinct shift in how those series portray a lot of things. We saw backlash over LITA for the reveal of Payu being the one to mess up Rain's car the night of the faculty dinner thing, and A LOT of complaints over the Prapai/Sky storyline, in particular Prapai's diligence in pursuing Sky, and the words stalker was brought up and used in both cases. In the case of Payu, I always felt like that was an unnecessary inclusion in the story, nothing changed without it really, and it would have been believable and in character for Rain's car to have some sort of mechanical malfunction due to lack of regular maintenance, when he is very intentionally set up as a flighty character. I defended, and will continue to defend, the Prapai/Sky story choices, because 1: Without Prapai's persistence, there is no love story, and 2: Prapai's 'wooing' of Sky is literally him following the instructions that Sky gives to Rain in episode 2 (at least I'm pretty sure it's ep 2) about how to get Payu to fall for him. It is set up within the story that this is what Sky thinks you should do to get someone to fall for you, potentially, people still have free will after all. So to see this shift in how problematic behaviors are presented within series, and having an older novel (originally released in 2020), there really was no reason to maintain this story point in my opinion, at least not on the scale that it was.

Realistically, I think since she chose to actively change the story to basically make the parallel universes real, then she should have stuck with that. Because they weren't real in the novel and no the special chapters do not confirm that they were real, there's one that takes place from the perspective of alternate universe Cir and Phu, but it's not in a way that affects the Cir and Phu of the main universe, and the swapping either physically or Freaky Friday style of the Cir's never happens. If she chose to fully get behind the parallel universe swap, which she could have done without affecting much of the story. Personally, I think the way to go about this would have been for the accident that is the starting point of the novel/series to have taken the lives of 1 Cir and 1 Phu, leaving the alternate universe without either, and leaving the main universe with basically an original Phu and a transplant Cir. We could still have those moments of Phu being focused on getting Cir back to his Phu, and the sort of emotional climax be Cir admitting that he doesn't want to go back, because there is no Phu there. And you can still explain all of the little kindnesses that the previous Cir was doing basically the same way they explain in the show, that he was changed by the fact that Phu saw him as a person, not a robot, not a product, but a person, and so he went out of his way to do acts of kindness in secret for him, because once Cirrus learns about Phukan, regardless of the universe/timeline, he can not help but want to care for him.

The other secondary option is that they fully follow the parallel universe set-up they had, where the traumatic brain injury gives Cirrus a glimpse of what he may miss by staying afraid. It's a common story trope for a reason that when people, especially very young people, directly encounter death for the first time, that it fundamentally changes the risks you are willing to take. The classic quote is "Every man has two lives, and your second begins when you realize you only have one." Cirrus encountering a version of himself who lost his Phukan early on, and wanting to show this Cir that he needs to take that chance and pursue Phu, both to keep Phu safe, but also to maintain his own health and sanity. There's very interesting options available to play with, and none really require relying on what is inarguably a very problematic story point.

Like, I haven't really been interacting with a lot being said about The Boy Next World, because realistically I feel like a lot of people that talk about Mame's series, are coming at it from a perspective of wanting a gotcha moment. They want to say "see this is why it's problematic to have straight (presumably) women still writing BLs", and I just don't love coming at it from a place of TRYING to find problems so you can tear a woman down. Yes, we should be continuously encouraging the inclusion of queer creatives both in front of and behind the camera, but sometimes it feels like an excuse to be misogynistic. And realistically, it is a net good for queer stories of almost any quality being told and shared and discussed globally. All of that being said, given the very clear shift in how problematic behavior is portrayed within SEA and Thai BL specifically over the last couple of years, this choice will not only feel old and out of step, but distasteful to a lot of viewers. It's going to prevent people from rewatching the show, truly I have rewatched all of Mame's series at least once, and I do have favorites, but this one...knowing the endgame especially when I know that there probably wouldn't have been much of a negative reaction to a thoughtful change, it really brings down my desire to rewatch it, and I think that in itself is unfortunate because I think the story without the stalking is very emotionally affecting, and Boss and Noeul have done a really good job portraying these characters.

I did not bother to reread the novel, I only read the special chapters that were released recently, so admittedly a lot of my memory of the novel is based on my own notes and posts about it here on Tumblr, but I don't recall the final confrontation ending with Ozone trading himself for Cirrus. I'm not saying that's not what happens, just that it isn't what I recall. From a storytelling point of view, specifically one which is related to romantic storytelling, that's a shitty ending. Knowing the damage, both physical and psychological that their mother placed on Cir, Ozone taking his place is a bad ending. We had already established within both the novel and series (this I do remember) that Cirrus was putting things into place so that at the time of his graduation he would have leverage to get out from under his mother's thumb. Why would you put that aside and instead have him only escape by basically sacrificing his brother. I don't care that his brother is now 'grown', and the idea is that he would be able to withstand their mother's abuse without damage, because that's simply not true, but it also undermines the very knowing sacrifice that Cir made. He CHOSE, with intention, to stay with his mother and let his brother go with their father. He did that knowing that his life would basically be hell on Earth, but he loved his brother and was willing to do this. There's room here to blame their father, but it's made pretty clear that their father doesn't have near the resources of their mother, she was the one who brought wealth and power to that relationship, so I'm not going to put as much of the blame on him because it genuinely belongs 99% on his mother's shoulders. So why could they not simply pull the ace up their sleeves, tell her "No, you are not going to be the one in control of this" and walk out leaving her as alone as she deserves to be. You can be concerned for revenge, but that doesn't have to be an axe over their heads, a conversation between all of them to clarify what they've done to safeguard themselves against her would be plenty. We've established that both Cirrus and Ozone are very intelligent, they would have the ability to outsmart their mother who is blinded by her own ego. Would it be a Deus Ex Machina moment? A little, but it certainly wouldn't feel like it's coming out of left field. And like I said, that ending creates a dissatisfaction in the viewer because the number one concerns we've watched Cirrus have were for his brother and for Phu, so him sacrificing Ozone for Phu would not feel like a happy ending, and also feels out of character, especially when we saw the ending of their story in the universe where Ozone ended up with their mother.

Final thoughts on the negative- overall I'm just disappointed because it didn't have to be this way. There were changes made to the story, like Jin's psychic abilities, and the actual existence of the parallel worlds, so why could we not have made further changes that brought the story forward just a little bit more in step with the Thai BL scene overall?

To what I did like- literally almost everything else, which is why the whole story feels so tainted by that stalker storyline. I'll start with Noeul, because I do feel like he often doesn't get the level of respect he deserves for his acting. His portrayal of Phukan's was very well done, and in a way that is more difficult to describe. This was not necessarily a comedic role, but by virtue of Phu being kind of a silly little guy, there's a lot of moments of comedy, especially physical comedy in the show, and it is hard to do those things well, and also to not be too over the top with it, because this is more of a drama, so you don't want it to be out of place. There's also a subtlety in his acting when it comes to the more serious moments, not the sad moments, or highly emotional moments, like the confrontations with Cirrus, but the serious moments like the conversations with his father's flute. His conversations with his mother, his discussions with Cirrus about his life after his father passed, all of it is delivered in this way that feels distant in the way that you often have to distance yourself from your grief. And when we reach the point in the story, when he has the realization that the other Phukan is alone (as far as he knows) and he becomes almost panicked over it. He's felt and been alone for all of these years, I think 7 years at this point, and it's not easy, but he can do it, but the thought of this other Phu having had someone to stand by him, but now they don't, he can't stand the idea. We already see Phu as this person who is kind, his friends like him because he is this kind and thoughtful person, but this moment really hits it home to you. You know, we've watched this whole episode of him really taking us step by step through this day of mourning and remembrance, and we're not hit on the head with it, but we are reminded that yes we are seeing him doing this now as a 19/20 year old man, but that before now he was 14 and 15 and 16. A child, very fresh in his grief, having not only lost his father, but also his mother in most of the ways that matter, and in that moment when he's finally not alone on this day, so much weight is lifted. But then hie thinks of the version of him who hasn't had to carry that weight alone, and wouldn't that weight crush him if he had to start now, not just because Cirrus is gone, but because as far as Phu knows, a Cirrus that doesn't know or love him is who is there, and wouldn't that be double the heartbreak? Just...none of this is the easy simplicity that we saw in Love in the Air, so to bring this with the level of nuance that it is is very impressive on Noeul's part.

Boss does a really good job. I talked a bit in my discussion of the first couple episodes, that I was a bit worried at the coldness of the character, which is balanced by the almost innate warmth that Boss has, but still feels a bit off-putting. Through the series as we are fully introduced to the other Cir's and in particular the full explanation of the multiple world/timelines, seeing those scenes playing out of how things end for Cirrus and Phukan depending on the choices made was stunning. And it wasn't just Boss's acting in those different moments, but that he had set-up everything so spectacularly in the first half of the series, that you felt all of that same grief he did as he watched. There's a level of difficulty that comes with sort of playing to an empty room, which is what Boss was having to do when he was confronting the other version of himself, and even in the finale, recording that video to Phu. It's incredibly difficult even with multiple takes to get the exact right level of emotion while also making it feel like it's all happening real time. And while you could consider Boss experienced, you still also kind of have to remember that this is his 3rd job that he's filmed. (AN: This is under the expectation that he's fully filmed Zomvivor, bc honestly, I'm not clear on that, but I'm not really counting the cameos in Wedding Plan and Love Sea here.) I do really think there's a uniqueness to Boss's portrayal of Cirrus, particularly the versions we see the most, Main Universe Cirrus, the 'parallel world' version we see in the dream sequences, and the ponytail version, because they do all feel kind of different. But there's also this underlying feeling throughout. We've set up this idea that Phukan is the catalyst that changes Cirrus, that as soon as he truly meet him, things are changed forever, and we see that multiple times, so when we see even ponytail Cirrus rein himself in over the time he spends with Phu, it just really adds so much weight the fatefulness of their relationship, the inevitability of it.

It's I think the best portrayal we've see of soulmates since Until We Meet Again. A lot of that is Boss the person, and the clear genuine affection he has for Noeul, that really shines in their work together, but a lot of it is also talent. It's not just about him making heart eyes at Noeul/Phukan, it's the physical acting he brings into it. His face acting is pretty excellent, the eyebrow twitches and glowers, but also the way you'll see his hand twitch to reach out, or the way that he grasps at Phu, not just holding him, but holding on for dear life. There's this undercurrent of desperation in a lot of the small movement he makes that really sells how much he cares about Phukan.

We're knocking on 3000 words at this point, so I'm going to give a quick rundown of the other things I really enjoyed about the series. I loved Wim and Jin in the novel, and I also very much enjoyed them in the series, thought I did feel they were pretty different form their novel counterparts. I'll also admit that Wim kinda bugged me here and there in the series and novel because of how he talked about Cirrus and his general disdain for being Cirrus's babysitter or whatever, but I am granting some leniency based on the fact that he's still young. I really liked the friend groups in general, though I didn't really feel like we got to know the others.

I talked in previous posts about the visual beauty and use of cool and warm tones throughout the story. The cinematography is frankly gorgeous, and I hope Mame (or any other production company) continues to work with that director, because he's clearly very talented. It's a balancing act to have your shots line up in such a way that the visuals build upon the story that's being told, and you will see in some shows where they kind of thought "oh wouldn't this look cool", but it overwhelms the story rather than elevating it. I never really felt that here. Shots were well-planned and well-executed with that clear intent of providing that foundation for the emotions of the story.

I might have more to say, but honestly, I don't know. Usually I'm not posting more because I plan to rewatch so that I have more clarity, and I'm looking at things from a bit more of a distance, since when I'm first watching the show, my focus is on understanding what's happening and the performances. But as discussed above, I don't know how I really feel about doing any sort of rewatch at this time. But if I do have more to say, it'll be posted here and tagged appropriately.

My Mame BLs Masterpost where you can find my posts about the other episodes as well as some thoughts about the novels

[princessleechan]

"You're the Man" Profiles #3

Masterlist

⚽synopsis: After your university cut your soccer team to prioritize the men’s team, it’s natural you have a falling out with your then soccer-star-player boyfriend and impersonate your twin brother at the rival university to play on their men’s team. Wait, it’s not? Oh well.

⚽pairing: afab!reader x ot13 (??? Member)

⚽genre: humor, romance, crack, eventual smut

⚽series tags: MDNI, she’s the man au, revenge au???, cross dressing!reader, reader identifies anything but male, sports au, queer themes, university au, love-whatever the fuck kind of shape, tags will vary per chapter

⚽Tag list: @90s-belladonna @the-boy-meets-evil @lirtha97 @hipsdofangirl @justineasian @kwanisms @multi-kpop-fanfics @pantumin @wooahaeproductions @mayashu @shuasdraftsalt @lone-lone-ranger @headlockimnida @horanghaezone @haolistic @porridgesblog @jeonjungkaka @luchiet @ujimatchaaa @skzdesi @cheoliehansolie @vlbii @myghobi @sisterofsomeone @joonsytip @gyublues @alltheshineofthestars-blog @randomworker @isabellah29 @savgogh @too-many-kpop-hubands @kotarousproperty @shingsoluvely @kamabokogonpachro @skittlez-area512 @seccdlurv @chisskaa @mochiteez @theyluvfrankocean @lllucere @thomawifey @middle-of-the-earth @okiedokrie @itsokaytobedumb00 @humankimbap

Minghao: Friend of Y/n that helps them with their entire makeover and confidant. Usually is on the other end hearing your complaints and worries about this experience but it’s ok, he’s an artist. He has trust in his work.

Jun: Team member and one big ball of sunshine. Nice guy that’s just happy to be part of the team. Tries to keep the energy positive and a great distraction when conflict arises.

Jihoon: Team member that’s sympathetic towards Y/n for thinking they’re in the same situation. Gives unnecessary advice about being a short king and taking life by the balls. Things will get better lol.

Seungkwan: One of the new players on the team that accelerated to first string. Started the group chat of new players in the hope of making new friends.

Vernon: One of the new players on the team that plays second string. Needed a sports elective and accidentally joined the team but much more interested in the drama in the soccer team rather than the sport.

Chan: Youngest of the new addition of players and plays second string along with you. Wanted to expand his skill set and add some new moves under his belt as a dancer.

[blondeaxolotl]

🧣anon here! im literally screaming crying throwing up from the last ask. other anon, i love you and your mind oh my GODDDDD that was fantastic i am frothing at the mouth actually ohhhh my god

mono. mono my dude, you are so good at furthering this angst stuff i am LOSING it

just, the thought of floyd realizing it first!!! knowing jamil THAT well bc when floyd loves he loves with EVERYTHINGGGGGG but to jamil, upon their breakup, he thinks 'oh. he didnt love me at all.'

godddd this hurts 10 times more omg. i love it. anon, mono, your MINDSSSSS

like, this is gonna fuck jamil up so bad i love it. he's gonna internalize it, all those moments of 'freedom' he had, basketball club and floyd, both so deeply linked, are gonna be tainted by the memory of floyd letting jamil go with no complaint, just content. the moments he thought he would be able to treasure, to think back on and yearn for when he's stuck in this life, this role, that claws at him, that chokes him, that takes everything from him---he cant even have that. bc it wasnt real it was a trick and shit he shoulda known. never trust anyone from octavinelle.

and shit. he told floyd so much. floyd was there, and witnessed jamil's most intimate failure, his desperate bid for limited freedom--and then jamil kissed him. loved him. and it wasnt. real. none of it. are they laughing? jade and azul and floyd? or was it even worth that, like was it just some idle entertainment and floyd got bored? jamil loved him.

and he supposes the only bright side here is that he wont be upset about the breakup. he'll only be upset it didnt happen sooner. he wont miss floyd now.

(he misses floyd still. hes angry and bitter and hurting but he misses floyd and that makes it worse. kalim comes to him all excited and says he managed to get jamil a break to go visit floyd if he wants. jamil takes the break. he doesnt go to visit floyd tho. he goes somewhere else. anywhere else. he comes back and goes back to work on time and kalim is staring at him, forlorn, because jamil came back with the same closed-off expression, the same walls up, coming down only when najma and kalim really need it. people smile and jamil and ask him for his number for his name for a date and jamil. jamil's eyes are blank, his expression placid, he has work to do, and kalim and najma can tell no one's getting in.)

Heheh thank you! I have history when it comes to talking about angst of my favourite characters/ships, it's all fun for me so glad you're enjoying it (with tears)

Poor Jamil... my shayla.. pats him on the head, my boy does not deserve this poor treatment mwah mwah, shame on you floyd tsk tsk (I say as I'm not the one who's making him do this).

It wouldn't surprise me even while on break, Jamil did end up seeing one of the octatrio in public, and what did he do? Dipped, ran even. Screw talking, I don't think he'd even want to look at them after what happened. I'd imagine after that "harsh break up and reality check", Jamil sees nothing but a bunch of good for nothing liars and manipulators, even if he still loves Floyd, I'd imagine the sight of him would piss him off through the ROOF. Cause all he is thinking about now is that break up and how unnecessary "chill and not bothered" he seemed to Jamil.

Now with Floyd.. I'd say he's still suppressing his emotions like usual but he IS showing off signs that he misses Jamil, by being annoying about it. Not in the boohoo I miss Jamil way but in a "This is so boring, Sea Snake would've made this more fun" or "Sea Snake could do this better than you lmao". Basically a bunch of this/you suck, Jamil does it better/much cooler, and he's repeating them like a parrot. There were many MANY times where Azul contemplated taping his mouth shut because it's that annoying, sorry you miss him but also shutthEFUCKUP.

Now hear me out, what if close around the end of Jamil's break. Kalim decided he wants to go out as well since it's been a while he went anywhere without Jamil by his side. It's like a once in a lifetime experience for him, he never went alone anywhere without Jamil by his side. So why not try it at least once? (What's the worst that could happen.) And during Kalim's adventure, HE ends up being the one to bump into the octatrio, guess they still ended up sticking to eachothers sides even after graduation. Now they catch up, Kalim is happy to finally see old friends/classmates again, one of them being Jamil's boyfriend- Ex? He doesn't know exactly, but he's happy to see him too.

Now Azul questions where Jamil is since it's strange seeing them separated. Kalim explains that Jamil is on break and it's also why he decided to go out, it's been a while since he went anywhere alone. Floyd doesn't say much besides a quiet "aww man" and Azul seems to curse under his breath as if he was so close to finding the one thing that'd shut up this annoying sound that keeps screaming in his ear for months now but I guess not. Now let's say, mid through the convo the four are having, Jade spots a shop in the distance he wants to go to (most likely something to do with mushrooms probably), he demands to go check it out, Floyd refuses to and decides he'll just wait with Kalim. And so poor Azul gets dragged away by Jade and just waves at them "we'll be back" because this is the closest Azul got to almost getting a business deal through Kalim's money AND HE DOESNT WANT TO LOSE IT CAUSE OF JADE'S HYPERFIXATION. So they're both told to wait, alone.

Now that the two are alone, Kalim doesn't know yet that Jamil hasn't actually gone to see Floyd like he expected him to, I mean, that's the whole reason Kalim managed to get him a break, to go see Floyd. So without much thought, Kalim decides to ask Floyd about it. Like "So did you and Jamil catch up? It's been a while since you two seen eachother! Did you have fun?" just an innocent question, a question Kalim didn't realise will cause major problems. Floyd stares at Kalim dumbfounded, clueless, what is lil bro yappin' bout, so he asks him what he's talking about, isn't Jamil on break? And Kalim replies with a confused laugh

"Yeah he is, I gave him a break so he could go see you. I thought he did that already.. Did he not?"

The moment Floyd heard those words, his whole world shattered. He just stood there frozen, staring at Kalim. Jamil is on break, a break he was supposed to use to come SEE HIM, but he did not do that, and he wouldn't have known if Kalim didn't say anything about it. So why, why did Jamil not come and visit him? Did he get over him? Was HE supposed to get over Jamil? Or did Jamil find someone else that he likes more than him, and therefore went to see them instead of him? Floyd didn't know, he didn't know ANYTHING ever since graduation. Hell, he didn't know if Jamil HAD the options to contact him at all, Floyd just sat and waited, like a dog waiting for his owner to come back from the store. But that didn't happen, apparently Jamil isn't coming back, and he wouldn't have known that. If it wasn't for Kalim.

Now Floyd's head is just all over the place, it's like his brain just did a factory reset on him, his emotions were everywhere and all his brain understood was "Jamil had the chance to see him, and he chose not to" and he's losing it. He forgot where he was for a moment until Kalim shook him with worry, "Floyd! Are you okay?? Your eyes are red??" and he suddenly clicked back to reality, now silently panicking after Floyd realises he stopped masking his emotions and is now on the verge of a crash out. He has accidentally made himself "vulnerable" to Kalim, he doesn't know for how long but he knows it was long enough for Kalim to start apologising profusely for upsetting him. So, what will he do now?

Well, he's going to run away of course! He is NOT going to continue standing around in public like a lost dog while Kalim is worrying asking him multiple times if he's okay. So Floyd just books it, no hesitation, last thing he wants is for Azul and Jade to see him in this state. And not shortly after, the rest of the octatrio come back confused to find a worrisome, concerned Kalim with an expression that screams "I fucked up" and a missing Floyd. Kalim doesn't say much, he tells them Floyd just got up and ran, but he doesn't want to say why, out of pure worry he might make things worse than he already has, so he just stays quiet and tells them he has to go as he hurries up away from them (RIP Azul's business opportunity...) Now hours later, Jade and Azul finally end up finding Floyd, probably back at where ever the 3 of them are living now. And he's just laying on the couch, kicking his feet in the air while messing on his phone, he is back on his cheery goofy old self, almost like he didn't just full on run away from Kalim after finding out Jamil chose not to visit him. When Azul asks him why the hell did he just dip, Floyd gives a typical "Ehh I got bored of Sea Otter so I went home", he didn't tell them the actual reason, hell you couldn't even tell he was upset earlier (he already embarrassed himself in front of Kalim, last thing he wants is to do that in front of his brother and Azul now). So Azul just punched him in the arm for making him miss a business opportunity with Kalim because he was "bored" and left without a notice. And so after that, everything went back to normal with the trio. Except, the lack of constant annoying blabbering about a "Sea Snake" suddenly stopped without a trait. I guess Azul's wish of wanting to shut up that annoying noise finally happened, though, now he kinda wishes it was back, because an awfully more silent than usual Floyd is way more uncomfortable than a loud and repetitive Floyd.

Now switching to the Scarabia duo, Jamil comes back from his break. Same closed off expression, ready to go back to work and act like everything is same as before.. Only for Jamil to immediately notice Kalim is acting strange. Sighing and imagining up whatever shenanigans could've Kalim caused while he was away, he asks him what did he do. But Kalim just.. refuses to answer. And that makes Jamil concerned, WHAT the hell did this guy do while he was away and how the hell is it so bad that Kalim can't tell him.

And honestly how WOULD you explain what happened? "Yeah so I ended up bumping into your ex boyfriend and I made him cry after accidentally telling him you didn't come visit him while on break, my bad" YEAH NO KALIM ISN'T SAYING THAT NOPE, so poor boy, now being a nervous wreck just yelps "I'M SORRY-" before he quickly sped away before Jamil can say anything else. Leaving him confused and now praying Kalim didn't possibly kill a guy.. Which tbh, would've been better than what he actually did.

OUF okay yapped more thank usually so I decided to doodle a lil moment of Floyd losing it and Kalim trying(?) to comfort him as best as he can lolz

[do0zy-artz]

I used to get those, too - 1k Words

Nobara grumbles a complaint under her breath, something about having to do missions while on her period. She shuts the car door behind her with more force than normal, making the vehicle shake in place. From the drivers seat, Ijichi jumps. Gojo starts towards their cursed location, chuckling. "Man, I remember when I used to get those. Those things were the worst." Or: Gojo accidentally coming out to his students, confusing them, and having a field day with it

Read on ao3

The car pulls up to their location for today, rolling to a stop infront of an old, abandoned house. The real estate people who owned it had plans to go in, renovate, and eventually sell the place; but their work had been put to a halt by rumors of the house being "haunted" and a general uneasy feeling that surrounded the building.

Obviously, there was a curse in there. Maybe a few more, based on what the reports said. So Gojo Satoru and his students are here, clambering out of the car and towards their next misson.

Fushiguro and Itadori get out before him, causing their rather animated conversation from the drive over to end. Shame, Gojo thinks as he steps out of the passenger seat. It was amusing to listen to them bicker about nonsense.

Nobara grumbles a complaint under her breath, something about having to do missions while on her period. She shuts the car door behind her with more force than normal, making the vehicle shake in place. From the drivers seat, Ijichi jumps.

Gojo starts towards their cursed location, chuckling. "Man, I remember when I used to get those. Those things were the worst."

He walks a few more paces, then pauses when he realizes the sound of his students footsteps have stopped. Their usual pre-misson chatter has also abated, leaving nothing but an awkward silence in the air. Curious, Gojo spins back around with a hum, only to find that Itadori and Kugisaki are staring at him, dumbfounded. Fushiguro is keeping his face carefully blank.

Ijichi, whose further supervision of the students would be unnecessary in Gojo's presence, locks the car doors and rolls the windows up almost comicically slow. The car then starts rolling down the road at a lazy five miles per hour. He speeds up noticeably when he's three houses away from the potentially awkward situation. Nobody pays his departing vehicle much mind, thankfully.

(Satoru, used to joking about the subject with Shoko and Nanami and their other coworkers, belatedly realizes that oh yeah, these kids don't know that yet. Whoops.)

"What." Kugisaki starts, pointing a finger at his chest. The gesture feels almost...accusing. Accusing him of what, Gojo doesn't know, but its certainly of something. "Do you mean by that?"

Gojo shrugs, a smirk dancing across his face. "That I used to get periods." These kids are (usually) very smart, he's sure they can dechiper that by themselves!

There's a pause as his two students let that information sink in. Fushiguro, who is already aware of this, stands there silence. Gojo tries to send him a discrete little smile, and promptly gets ignored. Fushiguro actually sends him a glare, a few seconds later. His students were so rude to their wonderful teacher.

(He's having way too much fun toying with them. Megumi can tell by that stupid grin on his face. Hence the glare he sends to his mentor, five seconds after he smiles at him like this is some big secret they're both in on.

It's not a secret and therefore Megumi isn't in on it, for the record.

The urge to punch this guy makes itself known again. He pushes it down. They're in public, Gojo probably has infinity up. He'll have to save his ambush for when they get back to campus.)

"You, what—how?" Itadori stammers, blinking in confusion. Kugisaki says nothing, making a face as she turns the information over in her head. Their prospects of figuring this out do not seem very high, unfortunately.

"I dunno Yuji, how did I get them?" Gojo just grins wider, hands clasped behind his back. Oh, this was hilarious. Part of him wished he was recording right now, so he could show the video off later.

"I uh, I dunno, um-" Itadori stammers further. It seems Gojo has overestimated him and Kugisaki's combined problem solving capabilities. Two friends who get dumber when they're together, or something along those lines. (Megumi thinks privately, and with no lack of affection, that those two were just born a little stupid.)

Fushiguro lets out the loudest sigh of the day, his face twisting into a scowl. "It means he's transgender, you idiots."

"Ohhhh." Itadori and Kugisaki gasp in unison. Fushiguro can practically see the little lightblub over their heads. What else they thought Gojo meant by that was anyone's guess. Fushiguro doesn't want to know. It was probably something stupid. And nonsensical. Something stupid and nonsensical.

"That's not how I planned to bring up the subject, but Megumi got it right!" Gojo claps his hands together, sending a beaming smile at the aforementioned student.

"I already knew." Fushiguro points out, and promptly gets ignored by both his teacher and his friends. Whatever. At least Gojo isn't insisting he get some sort of prize for figuring out something he already knew.

"How you planned to....?" Itadori mutters, and the other three watch as his eyes light up in real time. "You were planning on telling us!?"

Gojo smiles. Bingo! Right on the money! He knew Itadori could figure something out! "Why wouldn't I? Everyone else already knows."

"Seriously!?" Kugisaki yells, glaring daggers at their teacher. Note to self, keeping Kugisaki in the dark about important things pisses her off. Not too badly, just enough to give people a death glare.

Gojo waves his hands dismissively. "You weren't left in the dark for that long!" He's only had these kids for like, a month or two. The second years didn't find out 'till after winter break, last year. It could be worse!

"Uh, happy pride month!" Itadori blurts out, and oh yeah, it is the last day of June. Funny how that worked out.

"Awww thank you, Yuji." Gojo drawls, ruffling his students hair. Wishing him a happy pride and not complaining about the hair ruffle? His student is too kind, truly.

"And seriously Nobara, if you wanna skip out, you can." He says, turning to her. Periods are a force to be reckon with, and Gojo doesn't want any of his students getting injured (or worse) because they thought sick days weren't an option.

(Typically, for sorcerers, they really aren't. But they will be an option for his students, as long as Gojo has a say in anything.)

"Nah, I'll be fine." Kugisaki stretches her arms above her head, a deranged smile twisting onto her face. "Killing curses is just the outlet I need."

"Great!" Gojo claps his hands together again, gesturing toward the abandoned house in front of them. He excitedly wonders if (and somewhat hopes) Nobara will throw a curse out of the building again. "Because there's plenty of curses in there!"

The three first years run off, and Gojo leans aganist the old, decaying fence to wait. He wonders, briefly, if there's gonna be an impromptu transgender AMA when they get back in the car.

Heh, who's he kidding? Knowing these kids there probably will be. He can imagine the scene now, Itadori and Kugisaki asking dumb questions while Fushiguro scowls in the corner. He'll have to record that, then, so he can remember all the silly stuff they ask him. And show it to their other teachers, of course. What else would one do with a potentially embracing video of their students? Not show it off?

(And if there's a box of expensive chocolates, complete with a note and a cartoon Gojo doodle outside Kugisaki's door when they get home? Well, Nobara's not gonna complain about free chocolate. Especially the bougie kind.)

[hundredline-imagines]

Hi! Could you do Eito x a reader who appears normal to Eito? fluff maybe smut if possible!

Finally getting around to my first non-bullshit eito request, we love to see it.

Eito Aotsuki x Reader He Can See

“You're so pretty/handsome, it makes me feel sick. In a good way!” When he finally confesses to liking you, it’s raw, like it’s been eating him alive. “I just can’t stop thinking about you. Even when I want to, even when I try to.” He looks almost guilty, then quietly adds: “But I don’t really want to stop.”

Lowkey very creepy at first, it takes a while for it to actually come off as romantic and not stalker-ish. Look, you're the first person he can see as human, how can he not be all over you? The guy's got a staring problem, a 'hugs for a bit too long' problem, and at least 3 more problems that you probably haven't caught him doing yet.

It takes him a long time to get used to another human's touch, but once he does he's very touchy feely. He's running or patting his hands through your hair to memorize the texture and softness of it. Handholding is his default for touching. He’s cataloging your body language. Like, actively analyzing your facial expressions, hand movements, and speech patterns. If you use any sort of cologne/perfume/body wash he likes, he’ll just… melt into you. Nose tucked into your neck with no shame.

Being that you're the only one he can hear normally, this makes him extremely susceptible to teasing!! Even if it's just saying his name in a certain way, he gets way too flustered about it.

Loyal to a disturbing extent. He knows you're capable of handling yourself, but if there's anything he can do for you, he's there. He'll take hits for you even when it's somewhat unnecessary.

Likes snuggling and doing cute romantic things he's read in books. Picnics, reading dates, lounging in the pool, he loves all of it!

Gifts!! He loves giving you gifts and watching your reactions! Mostly small trinkets from the Gift-O-Matic, but occasionally something bigger when he gets the resources for it.

Smut under the cut!!!

Eito doesn’t understand relationships the way others do, let alone intimacy. He knows what reproduction is supposed to look like, but that doesn't mean he knows what he's doing at all when it comes to sex. So it's up to you to give him a sense of certainty. He's very inexperienced, but he's also a fast learner and very obedient. Give him any sort of command and he'll usually do it without complaint.

Something actually canon: World's biggest praise kink! Call him a good boy, tell him he did a good job, or anything similar while he's pleasing you, and he's just a whimpering mess. Please, tell him what a good job he's doing while you can barely get the words out of your mouth. “I-I don’t know what to say. Do it again. Say it again. Please.”

Scent kink. After dealing with vile, disgusting, nausea inducing smells his entire life, you're nothing short of his personal heaven. Honestly, he'd be content to just take in your scent while humping and grinding against you like a dog if you'd let him.

Talks and worships you until he physically can't anymore. You're beautiful. He runs his hands up and down your body, each part just so angelic and perfect. When he's close, he does not stop talking. His mouth just runs and babbles until his orgasm hits him in waves.

Afterward, he’s so quiet, but so happy. He keeps brushing his fingertips along your arm, your ribs, your hair. He hides his face in your neck and whispers, “Thank you for letting me love you like that.”