#youthening

[lurking-latinist]

this has been bothering me literally since flux. why did kate stewart say “this has been many lifetimes’ work for me and my family”? alistair and kate, that’s two, that’s two lifetimes. what was that about???

[sporkberries]

the insane sexism on nexus mods genuinely needs to be studied

[scarletpineapple]

Went into anaphylactic shock after eating fried rice for the first time and spent the day in the hospital 😚✌️

[bongbingbang]

The scientists perfected youthening improvement serum

[schweizercomics]

Starting to pencil the first of two DRACULA figure sets for Patreon. Here's Dr. Van Helsing and the eponymous Count himself, in his youthened London appearance. I'm going off the book descriptions as much as I can:

Van Helsing: "a man of medium height, strongly built, with his shoulders set back over a broad, deep chest and a neck well balanced on the trunk as the head is on the neck. The poise of the head strikes me at once as indicative of thought and power. The head is noble, well-sized, broad, and large behind the ears. The face, clean-shaven, shows a hard, square chin, a large resolute, mobile mouth, a good-sized nose, rather straight, but with quick, sensitive nostrils, that seem to broaden as the big bushy brows come down and the mouth tightens. The forehead is broad and fine, rising at first almost straight and then sloping back above two bumps or ridges wide apart, such a forehead that the reddish hair cannot possibly tumble over it, but falls naturally back and to the sides. Big, dark blue eyes are set widely apart and are quick and tender or stern with the man's moods."

Dracula: often mentioned as quite tall, and "His face was a strong--a very strong--aquiline, with high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils; with lofty domed forehead, and hair growing scantily round the temples but profusely elsewhere. His eyebrows were very massive, almost meeting over the nose, and with bushy hair that seemed to curl in its own profusion. The mouth, so far as I could see it under the heavy moustache, was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp white teeth; these protruded over the lips, whose remarkable ruddiness showed astonishing vitality in a man of his years. For the rest, his ears were pale, and at the tops extremely pointed; the chin was broad and strong, and the cheeks firm though thin."

[aristocratic-otter]

20 questions for fic writers!

Thank you @artsyunderstudy for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

28, though one was a round robin where I only wrote one of the chapters.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

838, 380. Subtracting Birthday Man (the round robin fic), I've written, by myself, 799, 248. I'm not surprised. I'm not good at brevity. (And I have over a hundred thousand words in unpublished fics right now 😅)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only Carry On, though I've made a habit of sticking Simon and Baz into fandom loves of my youth.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Oh, Have You Seen The Fairies Dance, my CORB from two years ago, writing to art by @krisrix. 562 Kudos

Playing With Fire, Treading Thin Ice, my pinch-hit CORB, also from two years ago (I sense a trend), writing to art by @steppjes. 453 kudos

Back To Start, my Simon youthens Baz into a baby fic, 447 kudos

A Fucked Up Cinderella Story, a Simon as escort fic, and my first collaboration with my dear friend (and a brilliant artist), @frjsti. 339 kudos.

A Real Doll, my first real PWP (ok, it sort of has a plot) (a very thin one), written for @captain-aralias's Monster Under the Bed Fest, 331 kudos.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! It means a lot to me to hear how folk enjoyed my work, and I appreciate how much effort it takes to reach out sometimes, so I want to show my appreciation. I should be better at commenting myself!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Readers nearly burned me at the stake over my ending to The Blue and The Gray, where Simon rides away with his Union troop, leaving Baz behind at his plantation home. Even the 'happy ending' epilogue I wrote, to get them back together, is bittersweet, because Simon is damaged from the war and it will be a long road to recovery (or at least the length of the Oregon Trail 😉) (If you know, you know).

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I only do happy endings, but, like Ashton, I tend towards angst a lot of the time. So I think that my most meaningful happy ending is in New Year, New Me, which takes Simon and Baz literal to the end, of their long lives together (with a gorgeous song written by @moodandmist and @cutestkilla!)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet! I've gotten a few corrections, which I honestly don't mind. I'd rather be corrected than leave a glaring error in a fic. I agree with Ashton, this is an incredibly kind fandom.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Uh <looks side to side shiftily> yes? Like, a lot? It's funny, because I'm ace, but I find all the ways humans can relate to one another through sex fascinating, even if I don't need those things for myself. I'd say I write mostly bonding through sex? Occasional fucking just 'cause it's fun, but mostly soulful, loving sex.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not crossovers precisely, (I don't mix in characters from other fandoms) but I'm extremely guilty of throwing SnowBaz into any story, show, or movie I've loved and putting them through their paces:

The Watford Games: Simon and Baz in a Hunger Games Scenario

The White Chapel: Simon replacing Olivia Newton John in the movie Xanadu

The Snow Fox: (unfinished) Simon as the Francis Marion Character in the old Disney TV show, the Swamp Fox.

Episode 2: The Naked Next, (gift fic for @raenestee) (I blame this one on @facewithoutheart), Simon and Baz in the Star Trek Universe.

and, Stars, Flowers, and Children, an unpublished (part done) fic set in the universe of the movie the Blue Lagoon, and To Heal a Broken Mind, an unpublished (nearly finished) fic set in a scenario similar to the TV show House MD.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Fingers crossed, but no, I don't think so. Probably hard to pass off a seventy thousand word fic as your own that you just popped up with out of nowhere.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Only the round robin fic, Birthday Man, where each of several fic writers wrote a chapter for Simon's birthday celebration, and the Star Trek Universe fic, The Naked Next (linked above). But I'd definitely give co-writer credit to many of the fandom artists I've worked with, because their work either inspired my words, or they even helped guide the evolution of the fic in the background. I especially have to give credit to @krisrix, @ivelovedhimthroughworse, @frjsti, and @artsyunderstudy for being brilliant at helping me flesh out the fics they did art for!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Gee. Bet you can't guess.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

This is a tough one because I've (so far) never not finished a fic I've committed to (I've got a few paragraphs of a few random ideas in my files, but nothing I ever advertised or put much effort into). But I'm also perpetually in the middle of at least five or six fics, so leaving one dangling remains possible, even if I desperately hope it won't happen. I guess I'll mention Westward Son here, because though it ought to be finished in the next couple of weeks, it took me two fucking years to get there!

16. What are your writing strengths?

I don't get writer's block. I think my habit of fic jumping helps with this; if one fic is dragging, I can spend more time on another until words start to flow for the first one again. I do force myself to write at least a sentence every couple of days, even on the draggy fics, though. I think I'm decent at characterization? Especially Simon, because I identify with his way of thinking a lot. I also think I'm decent at giving the reader a strong visual of what's going on in a scene (hopefully).

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot and tech. I can write plot, but not snappy, quickly resolved ones. For me to find my way to the end of a plot usually takes several thousand words. And that's a weakness, not being able to write short. I don't know how to be interesting in small bites, I guess. And tech: I'm intimidated by incorporating modern tech like social media, etc. in my fics. I always feel like I can't format it correctly or make it look/sound realistic enough, so I tend to avoid fic ideas that are tech based, like text fics or social media fics. Aaaaand now I'm writing a fic based in Tiktok, a platform I do NOT know well. Pray for me.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I've done it once (in The Blue and The Gray), but I'm nervous about it. I think I'm afraid of misinterpreting a connotation of a word or phrase. I researched extensively for the Spanish lullaby in The Blue and the Gray, and even the Greek and Latin phrases in Back to Start and The Watford Games. I don't mind it in fics, so long as the meaning isn't integral to the scene (like using French swears in a fic set in French Canada) (@bazzybelle, I'm looking at you!). If the meaning is integral, I tend to prefer the translations be not far away (like at the end of the fic), but rather just a few lines down (like at the end of a chapter), because it's frustrating having to jump back and forth to get meaning from what I'm reading.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

CSI, on fanfic.net. But I only wrote one fic. Don't look for it. I didn't have this username and I'm not interested in reliving that part of my life 😆

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I think it will always be Back to Start (linked above). I still love the premise and it was the first fic that made me feel like a real writer. You don't forget that feeling. It's my baby.

How about, instead of tagging folk, you consider yourself tagged if you're one of the many people I mentioned above? 😂

[gastrophobia]

Jenny Jump

As part of an effort to provide sharable content while I'm (still!) refining my Oz comic script, here's some fan art of my favorite non-Baum Oz character: Jenny Jump. (still under copyright till 2036)

A lot of Oz fans don't "get" her, but Jenny Jump is a wonderful anti-hero protagonist: a fashionable half-fairy (split right down the middle) teenager from New Jersey. All of her emotions are constantly dialed up to eleven. She's so FUN!

Jenny's introduced in John R. Neill's Wonder City of Oz, where Oz is a bizarre rubber hose cartoon with living houses and cartoon physics. And the familiar characters all have cartoon personalities to match.

God, this book is ALMOST perfect.

The only real problem with this book was apparently added by an anonymous editor without Neill's input [spoiler for 83 year old book]: At the end, the Wizard "fixes" Jenny's personality by removing her anger, envy, and ambition.

But you know, I don't consider the magical lobotomy canon since Jenny Jump is absolutely perfect in every way and doesn't need fixing.

It's actually pretty great that I can just pick and choose what I accept as canon. One offensive illustration in an otherwise okay book from 1940? Not canon. Jenny Jump getting nonconsensually youthenized? Not canon. All of Ruth Plumly Thompson's books? Not canon.

Cross-posted from my Patreon. (link in bio)

[tangledbea]

Hello! I hope you're doing well!

What do you think would've changed if Gothel actually grew to like Rapunzel through the 18 years of her life? Would that make Gothel a more symathetic villain or at least add depth to why she's been keeping Rapunzel in the tower all those years. For some reason, I actually can imagine Gothel panicking that Rapunzel might never return to her, not just because of her hair but because she cared about her.

Now, this would technically be out of character since Gothel is nothing like this in the movie, but do you think it would've worked in the context of the film? I'm pretty split on it.

Ps. I love your blog and appreciate your dedication to this franchise <3

Hey, thanks so much!

Honestly, I think changing Gothel's motivation would completely undermine her role in the movie. Frankly, when the movie was new, there was a lot of debate about how much she did or did not love Rapunzel, but at the end of it all, we came to a general (obviously not unanimous) consensus that if she loved Rapunzel as a person at all, it was about as much as the average person loves a goldfish. (This is not to say that there are no people out there who adore their pet fish -- but Gothel would not be one of them.)

Gothel caring only about the healing affects of the flower and not about Rapunzel is so key to her motivation that I think changing that would turn it into a different adaptation of the fairytale Rapunzel, such as what Into the Woods did with it. After all, there is nothing contextual that said that Gothel was lonely. She only arrived at the tower when she wanted youthening, stayed long enough to cow or placate Rapunzel into not leaving, then left again to live her own life. I don't even think she lived there regularly once Rapunzel was old enough to take care of herself reliably. To Gothel, the tower was like a beauty salon that she visited on the daily.

So I think that her contextually genuinely caring about Rapunzel would change too much to keep it the same story. If she genuinely cared, I could see her agreeing to letting her see the lights, but from the far shore where the celebration was not. It would placate Rapunzel while keeping her away from prying eyes. Gothel genuinely caring about Rapunzel would have kept Rapunzel from being so torn about going back to the tower during the campfire scene, because she would have recognized the genuine comfort awaiting her there instead of discovering that grabbing her own freedom meant cutting ties with Gothel.

Or maybe I'm biased and the idea of Gothel being more sympathetic just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, because I'm presently over the sympathetic villain thing. While sympathetic villains add nuance and depth to stories, sometimes a good old fashioned black-and-white villain is precisely what I need, and Gothel fits into the latter category.

[meirimerens]

it seems to me that the deal with pathologic 2 english dubbing is entirely dividing all of the characters into three categories: British, South Park character and Women (with intended derogation). honestly drives me insane a bit because with russian well we don't really have that distinct of accents so everyone kinda sounds the same in that manner... and it almost feels less theatrical (maybe it should. but the way english dubbing sounds theatrical To Me is. well. NAWT GOOD) in russian voice over, especially with the kids. (still thinking about british 20 y.o. oxford student that is Notkin and south park caricature voiced by an adult woman that is Khan in english dub. *[metaphorically] holding a cig in between my fingers pensively* still not dealing very well with it emotionally.) the only voice that set me absolutely fucking insane in russian voice over was Eva's – WHY DOES SHE TALK LIKE THAT!! WHAT DID THEY DO TO HER!!!!! misogyny in casual ways etc. etc. but with english dubbing every other character forced a fight or flight response out of me. idk maybe i am a bit biased but with the way it is just so different.... pathologic 2 (RUS) and pathologic 2 (ENG) are like two siblings who are mostly the same but one of them is objectively . uglier than the other. speaking of siblings, it turns out Stamatins have DIFFERENT voice actors in english. this feels like a crime....

i could talk about the voices for Hours bro i played the game russian voices/english subtitles and most of the lp's i watched also went this route except One so i discovered the english voices like second-handedly and Scared Me bro scared me... i've already talked about the kids' voices like I Know. I Know how hard it is to VA kids especially if you have to work with regulations making it harder to hire child VAs (for the better of the kid mind you, i'm not saying #bringbackunregulatedchildlabor here) and i'm sure the women who voice teenage/child boys are doing their absolute bests but man. i think the suspension of disbelief works way more when working with for ex. anime voice acting bc you can See the characters are only vague simulacra of children, but in a game that has pretty detailed 3D models and strives for a certain realism in the faces and whatnot, it is Jarring...

i think the use of British/generally Non-American english accent is like a commin trope to denote a foreignness or a different social status (because most of the anglophone players Will Be americans because. bigger country) but like. come on. look_how_they_massacred_my_boy.mp4... i'm sure there are subtleties within the russian voices that i'm not gettin because. well i'm not russian i guess that helps that would be Complicated to transpose in english but like. worarrgh.

i'm Very Glad both of these games had a release with an english voice acting cast because we like. Know. the tendency that americans have wrt Foreign Media / refusing to interact with things if they are not Dubbed in english even if they are subtitled [i think the whole Parasite movie release put that on the carpet again but i knew of it way before that] so it allowed for More People to check out the games [again. for the better and the worse...]

can we talk about eva and the twins let me talk about eva and the twins. can i talk about eva and the twins?

p2 russian eva has a light and high-pitched voice but it's kinda like. airy and hazy like she's deep in thoughts like she's daydreaming... her english voice sounds like the squeaky voices anglophone VTubers make so sound like cutesy anime girls. she sounding more like a child. and when you pair it with her neotonous face with her fit that looks like a child having dressed themselves and the general "youthening" of her personality. well i ain't saying anything but i'm making the biggest side-eye known to man rn!

p1 russian andrey has a sort of like high almost mighty and haughty attitude, kinda towering, p1 russian peter also has this sort of height with pride to it but fraying on the ends like mouth woolen (the Drink)... p1 english andrey has some of that height and restraint, kinda high in the throat like he's being above... p1 english peter is Squeaky. he's so squeaky. almost sounds giddy from time to time but also. The Drink. my man an arm on the wall drink in the other at a party telling you about shit only his drunk mind can comprehend...

p2 russian andrey has a depth and a certain Mystery but it still looks natural/like he's Deep In Thoughts... p2 russian peter is way #deeper than his p1 counterpart but it still looks natural/that's a Depressed voice if i ever heard one. scraping the floors with it.

p2 english andrey is so raspy it's kinda comical like he playin toughguy and p2 english peter while still Deep is like Theatrical to a goofy extend like IT'S NOT THAT SERIOUS. YOU SLEEP IN A BATHTUB 😭😭

while it. is normal for siblings to have different voices and would make sense for two siblings to have different voices, and as such voice actors... it doesn't for the stamatwins!! are you crazy? you SEPARATE the stamatwins? you make them into two people instead of two sides of a same coin? JAIL!! JAIL FOR THE VOICE ACTORS

[krinsbez]

RANDOM DRACULA THOUGHTS, SEPTEMBER 22nd

NGL, I have been very eagerly awaiting the "Jonathan sees the youthened Count swanning around London" scene, and seeing how Tumblr reacts to it...but I had forgotten that he specifically sees Dracula stalking his (I presume) next victim.

Incidentally, notice how The Count appears to be completely oblivious to Jonathan staring at him and having a panic attack, which is interesting. You'd think someone as meticulous as The Count would have good observational skills, so a young man with snow white hair who is simultaneously engaging in an inappropriate-by-Victorian-standards PDA whilst also having a panic attack would be pretty notable. Even if said young man wasn't someone he'd spent months tormenting and who was supposed to have been eaten by the Brides weeks ago.

Other interesting note that the person Dracula has presumably chosen as his next victim is also a notably beautiful girl. It makes one wonder, viewing his feeding as a metaphor for sexual assault, if what he did to Jonathan and the crew of The Demeter was less Dracula being queer and more due to Situational Sexuality?

All this, and we now have Van Helsing being the one to inform Mina about Lucy's death, which...what? How did that happen?

Oh, and of course Van Helsing's backstory with the dead son and the institutionalized wife, which I really ought to try to analyze, but, well, see the rest of the post above.

[rayisalive]

do you want to know of more men with long hair or are you going to bask in your youthen style of attraction before so you can adequately prepare

What- i mean u can show me them ig if u want lmao-

[angelhairpastawithherbs]

When I see a person finally follow after liking a bunch of stuff it feels like I am an elderly duchess in my garden sipping on tea whilst a gentle breeze passes by and they ask to join me as I bask in the glory of what was gained from my youthen pursuits

[blackmoonrose13]

Mobile tumblr, please stop doing ads for dangerous and missleading weight-loss products and youthening stuff, this is highly offensive and if I have to report every add i see with this. I will, those shit adds should not be on here.

And the company you are using to advertise these things should be shaming themselves for thinking its okay to put stuff like this up to begin with.

Same for those dental miracle cure tooth pasts tooth foam what ever that use definatly fake teeth and or 3d models just saying lots of misleading shit you are trying to hawk to me

[scissorsisters]

When I was a kid I thought euthanized was spelled youthenized and it was like hitting you with a beam that made you younger

[liroyalty]

Happy Ending AU - 『v!what happens after the happily ever after』

The New Additions to the Royal li Fiorenobila Family

Prince Adam Walter li Fiorenobila

(Faceclaim - Oliver Tamian from His Majesty's Proposal) | 20 Years Old

Adam is the next child born after the twins Suzanne & Slane(in which Sue is the older of the two), King John & Queen Rosa's second son, & fourth child total. His was given the middle name Walter, after his deceased grandfather & uncle to honor their memory. He bares a strong resemblance to his father in his youthened days, minus his light brown hair to John's black hair. Adam is a mild mannered, well behaved son, positive & outgoing in nature, who seemed quite similar to his oldest sister, Ann. During his mandatory military days, his skills with firearms was noted to be his best & was placed in a sharpshooting squad during his two years. Many recount, his only true downside are his loose lips, as he is often spreading rumors or starting them. Both making his a value ally to have, as well dangerous to keep around, as he is horrible a keeping secrets.

Prince Justin Cuoredispada li Fiorenobila

(Faceclaim - Louis Amamiya from Code Vein) | 19 Years Old

The third son & fifth child between King John & Queen Rosa. Of all of the King & Queen's children, Justin sported the best skill with a sword, a trait clearly taken from his father(as John wielded greatswords into battle during his youth). When his time came to enroll in the military, his melee skills seem unmatched by his peers, while his range skills lacked, despite this, he often carried a small gun with him as a reverse weapon. Justin was often placed into the front lines during drills & mock battles, where his skills shined the most. The king would later gift him a steady & large crimson bladed sword as a gift for his 18th birthday, which would later be followed by the Camellian court dubbing him 'Crimson Justice'. Justin himself is a very quiet & well meaning man, who believes in doing the right thing above all else. He stands ready as his siblings side, ready to help them all in their goals for their futures.

Prince Romeo Coraggioso li Fiorenobila

(Faceclaim - Lumiere Pedin from Asmodian's Contract) | 18 Years Old

First of another pair of twins, Romeo is the fourth son & sixth child between King John & Queen Rosa, as well as their final son. Joyous, charming, friendly & outgoing, Romeo is the ideal of a prefect prince, even rapped up with the prefect name, like a nice bow. As the youngest son, he is expected most of all to marry a foreign princess, as it is the standard t for the youngest children in royal families to be used as political tools for forge alliances with other nations through marriages. He is torn between his duty, & his desire to find true love first. This mental pull is worsen by how his twin sister was treated by the court for having turned down a marriage proposal, as he wants dearly for his twin to find true love as well, rather then be forced into a situation where she might suffer at the hands of an unloving spouse.

Princess Roxanna Loretta li Fiorenobila

(Faceclaim - Marianne Pedin from Asmodian's Contract) | 18 Years Old

Second of a pair of twins, Roxanna is the third daughter & the seventh child between King John & Queen Rosa. She is also referred as 'Roxy' by friends & family, her middle name was given in honor of her deceased aunt, the king's little sister, whom she also bore a striking resemblance too in her black hair & blue eyed beauty. Roxy, originally being the youngest child in the family, was the one most expected by the court to be married off to a prince of another nation, as it is the younger children's first duty to forge alliances, however, Roxanna at first did not want to marry just anyone, as her parents instilled the belief of true love being most important in marriage first. At a young age, her father approached Roxy & asked if she would be willing to marry the Crown Prince of the Lareryth Empire, Seth de'Lareryth Heart, to strengthen their countries' bonds. Roxanna refused, saying she didn't want to marry a stranger. John readily accepted his then-youngest's answer, & instead passed on the offer to his second oldest daughter instead, Suzanne, who accepted the deal after some thinking. When word got out to the court of Roxanna turning down the marriage proposal, courtier quickly began mocking & insulting the princess for refusing to do her duty as the youngest & marry for alliance means, including calling her a useless, spoiled brat. She has sense then, spent her days preparing herself to be used as pollical tool, & to marry the next royal who shows interest in marriage, wanting desperately to not be seen as useless.

Princess Julianna Pianto li Fiorenobila

(Faceclaim - Charlotte Abelfreyja Drossel from Violet Evergarden) | 13 Years Old

The final, surprise fourth daughter & eighth child of King John & Queen Rosa. She is also referred to as 'Julia' by friends & family. Julianna was a surprise child, who the king & queen were not expecting or planning to have, & it shows in the age gap between Julia & the twins, Roxanna & Romeo. As the new youngest member of the royal family, Julianna is expected to arranged to marry someone for the day she becomes of age, & after learning & seeing what happened to her sister Roxanna after rejecting a proposal, Julia is terrified of such a situation, in which she sees, no matter if she rejects or accepts, she will not be happy & will be set up only for misery. This has made her a very emotional sort, & she has a habit of crying when she feels overwhelmed, insulted, or being made fun off. This has lead to some in the Camellian court to refer to Julia as the 'Crybaby Princess', a rumor Julianna is aware of & only worsens the behavior.

[sereia1313]

@neutronstarchild your prompt for my 100th Fic Ask somehow disappeared! But here it is!

Read the series on Ao3, Dokuga, and FFnet. It's a permanent ask, so the prompts are always open (IY pairing+occupation+colour= kiss ficlet!)

HoJak, Cleaners, Burgundy

Jakotsu sighed as he looked at the person lying next to him.

The sandy-haired man—Houjou, was it? He couldn't remember for sure—had been half drunk when Jakotsu had tried to clock out for his shift at the hotel. The banquet hall wasn't even his usual assignment, but the boss had asked him to start on the carpets in order to keep the sake from staining.

And there'd been a lot. 

He'd thought the guy had been celebrating an engagement, but the cheering and 'congratulations' seemed to be more tongue-in-cheek, and Jakotsu had soon realized it was a divorce party.

The host had been cute, catching his eye more than once, but it was the way he'd hung off Jakotsu's shoulders at the end of the night that had him pausing. The man had practically dragged him up to his hotel room.

No one else seemed inclined to help their host, having had their fill of free booze and buffet, so it had been Jakotsu, a complete stranger, who'd half carried him down the hall and into his room. The same stranger who had tumbled into bed with him after the man's arms had locked around his neck, begging him to stay.

Sighing, and resigning himself to another awkward morning, Jakotsu poked the man in the forehead. "Time to face the music, sleepyhead."

The man groaned, rubbing his face as he arched off the bed. Jakotsu enjoyed the view, the blankets falling away from the man's body, showing off his sculpted chest, then reminded himself that overextending his stay would just make things worse.

Why did he always fall for the straight ones?

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, running a hand through his hair. "I won't hold it against you if you deny everything, just don't start throwing punches when you—" Black eyes widened when the man's arms wrapped around his waist.

"Do you have to leave?" His sleepy voice rumbled against his back before he placed a kiss between Jakotsu's shoulder blades.

"Don't you want me to?" Jakotsu asked incredulously. All the others had, swearing up and down that it had been a mistake and they weren't actually into men, though their actions throughout the night always proved different.

And this one has been exceptionally passionate.

Jakotsu had thought it a shame that he'd wake up to a sea of regret, especially when the newly divorcee had curled against him in post-coital bliss.

His arms tightened around his waist, urging him back onto the bed. "Not if you don't want to. But I'd love to have breakfast with you. And know your real name."

Jakotsu raised an eyebrow, looking at him over his shoulder. "I told you my real name."

"That was the truth?" He pulled back, sandy hair sticking out at all ends, a flush on his cheeks. "Sorry, it sounded so exotic that I thought you'd made it up."

"Better than Houjou."

His flush deepened, and he rubbed the back of his head. "It's a family name."

"So I gathered." Jakotsu turned around, uncaring of his nudity, though Houjou's gaze travelled down to his hips, blushing even harder when he was caught staring. "I take it you're not going to kick me out? Claiming the entire night was a mistake?"

Houjou's head cocked to the side, confusion youthening his features, and Jakotsu began to wonder just how innocent the man was. "Why would I do that? I was the one who invited you here, wasn't I?"

"Didn't stop it from happening before," Jakotsu mumbled, then flashed the man a seductive grin, it only widening when the man licked his lips. "Do you actually want breakfast?"

Houjou shook his head, his hands already sliding up Jakotsu's chest. He smirked, throwing the blanket completely off the bed before pouncing.