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thelaughtercafe · 3 months

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Ler Hatsuharu, Kyo, and Shigure*

Tea Type: Brown Sugar Boba

Potential Triggers: Suggestive twording mentions, especially in Shigure's, and it has a brief mention in Haru's as well!

Pairing: Hatsuharu/F! Reader, Kyo/F! Reader, Shigure/F! Reader

Length: 1.7k+

Summary: I split up White and Black Hatsuharu here just to give a heads up!

White Hatsuharu:

Ok confession time. Hatsuharu's been a dream Ler of mine since childhood so buckle in.

White Hatsuharu is an asshole.

Love him, but as a Ler? He’s an ass.

That bitch who will pretend he isn’t touching you when you’re falling to pieces.

Tickle you in public discreetly so you jump a foot in the air and look behind your shoulder every 5 seconds only to still manage to catch you by surprise.

Make you squeal, bang your knee on a table at a family dinner, or snort and draw attention to yourself and revel in the blush that fills your cheeks as you scramble to brush off your reaction.

0 shame too omg. You think he won’t do it in public where people can full on see because it’s been teases of exposure before?

Oh sweetie. How naive.

Don’t recommend calling his bluff unless you want to get wrecked right in a public classroom while he apologizes for you “overreacting” and you weakly try to hit him, which does literally nothing.

“You didn’t really think this would work did you? If you wanted me to tickle you more all you had to do was ask, not be a brat.”

He sighs like it’s a big inconvenience as if there’s not a faint smirk tugging at the edges of his lips.

“Guess I’ll have to wreck you more now to keep a desperate brat like you sated a little longer. Now behave before I get annoyed.”

King of cheer up tickles too though. That man will make you laugh with deadpan humor first and then attack later while you’re watching tv and cuddle while he makes you laugh yourself hoarse.

Technique wise he varies. If he wants to startle you he’ll dig in to a place like your hips, sides or ribs but if he wants to draw out the tickling for a long term session he can easily start out slow and methodical and gradually ramp up the heat.

Black Hatsuharu:

Oh you poor lamb. Have fun being fed to the Wolf.

See, White Hatsuharu? He’s a saint compared to when he goes Black.

White Hatsuharu can pace himself, has certain things he doesn’t do so he doesn’t overwhelm you.

Black Hatsuharu uses that against you to make you regret angering White to the point he lost his inhibitions. There’s a reason I made his title “The Punisher” in my notes.

And it definitely has nothing to do with the fact I’ve had a Ler! Haru Lee! Reader Bully fantasy in my head for over a decade what-

So yeah! Black Hatsuharu really only comes out if you either ask for it, verbally or by being intensely bratty.

Or if you provoke another Ler/get tickled by someone else. He’s possessive af and wants to be the only Ler you have, or at least the most memorable.

Therefore, his methods are much meaner than Hatsuharu's. Unlike White Hatsuharu he only Ler’s you in private.

But he’s also much more ruthless.

White Hatsuharu doesn’t use tools or his mouth but Black Hatsuharu uses both liberally so good luck with that.

Will gleefully make you scream yourself hoarse.

Also bondage. And blindfolds. Yup. Sensory deprivation in general.

After all, can’t focus on anything but him when you can’t feel anything but what he’s doing to you right?

Oh yeah, smirks openly the whole time he Ler’s unlike White Hatsuharu's stoic expressions.

He’s also much more vocal, and raunchy as well(if you like twording that way obviously!)

Either way he’ll make fun of you for liking tickling, all while wrecking you to oblivion. Especially if you verbally have asked for him rather than acting up.

“Oh? Were you really so desperate to scream yourself hoarse that you called me?”

He’d snicked coolly as he pins you to the nearest bed or wall.

“You’re being an unusually good girl today. Perhaps my lessons are sinking in at last. …or maybe you’re just that much of a needy ticklish brat.”

Kyo Sohma:

Kyo’s…funny as a Ler.

He likes the control it offers and though he’ll never admit it he also loves the touching more than anything.

A healthy way to show affection that’s not too emotionally draining where he’s in control and can cope with his touch starvation? Of course he adores it.

But he can’t ask for it! That’d be a weakness and Kyo isn’t weak!

Tries to get Yuki and has succeeded one singular time when he went to move him aside and ended up brushing his side.

Yuki left him gasping when Kyo laughed and taunted him and though he still tries now and again Yuki will look at him deadpan, smirk a little and move to attack or wiggle his fingers at him and Kyo is gone before Yuki can so much as take a step towards him.

Kagura teases him about liking it a little too much and that makes him flustered so he tried Hatsuharu.

…He went Black once and he has never tried to Ler Hatsuharu since. He was still confused when he came to, only to find Kyo near tears and trembling from exhaustion.

So his next target was Momiji, and he found rather than forcing it that it came very easily. He had the excuse of the boy annoying him for a cover and Momiji, even if he knew Kyo liked tickling him, never said a word.

Kyo would never admit it but he was grateful.

He’s shyly begun expanding his horizons with the boys in class when he has the nerve to. Little things like poking their sides when they ruffle his hair and such or call him Kyo-Kyo.

When he lers, he tends to act bothered by their weakness. He’ll scoff and act annoyed and tell them he’s “toughening them up” or “helping them get stronger”.

“Can’t believe you’re this ticklish. Tsk. You know what a big handicap this would be in a fight?”

Speaking of; loves to playfight. Will let his tired Lee up, encouraging them to wrestle/spar/try to come at him and then scold them when they don’t have the right form or not enough strength behind their moves before taking them down gently and continuing to wreck.

This is typically the point he can’t hide that giddy schoolboy-like smile he has so try and steal a glance while laughing your head off if you can.

“Hah, wow. That was pitiful. Maybe we’ll just focus on your stamina for now huh? That’s clearly all you can handle at the moment. Let’s see how you do with another 10 minutes of tickling hm?”

Shigure Sohma:

So I dunno too much about Shigure given I’m not fully caught up in canon(I’ve only watched both anime's first seasons since I want to watch the new stuff with friends).

But I do know there’s more to him than meets the eye. He’s got this fascinating darkness inside him that pops out through snide comments that cut someone deep before he covers it.

I believe Hatsuharu referred to it as “being unable to see a wound without rubbing salt in it.”

So, as a person in general and a Ler I peg him as a closet sadist.

To build a little off my prior Fruits Basket headcanons!

In Kyo’s case it’s a more tsundere like affection for exerting control over others, and for Yuki it’s also a touch of closet sadism but he’s much less mature and experienced so he hasn’t grown into it yet or likely even realized he actually is a sadist in some shape or form. This is likely in part due to his trauma and not wanting to be like you-know-who, in any capacity.

Shigure however? Oh, he definitely has had the experience and time and uses it well. He’s explored every facet of himself throughout his years and recognizes his penchant for sadism as an unavoidable part of him.

What does this mean for him as a Ler?

It means his poor Lee is fucked of course. Especially if they know about his darker side. Even if they don’t if it’s been a while since he could let that sadism flag fly and his mask may slip a tad.

Shigure’s mask is cheerful, playful and light.

He’ll make jokes, take pictures or video of you laughing yourself silly or blushing and send it to your friends.

Stupid, fun stuff like that.

Which is why his more cruel side is often such a shock.

But in a dark mood he’s eerily professional.

First off, Shigure is a grown adult at 26, even at the start of the series, and the people his dark side would show for would also be of age.

It’s a big departure from our other babies so I just wanted to clarify.

Let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised if Shigure had a raging tickle kink.

I’m keeping this sfw but yeah. Something to keep in mind.

In any case, he’s a big anticipation guy. I could definitely see him using blindfolds and silk bondage.

Proceeds to let you stew in anticipation while he works on a new chapter for his novel; maybe has one of those motion activated fans that’ll blow air and listen to you squeal in expectant surprise just for fun.

Once he finally does touch you he may as well not be, initially, his touch is so light. You can barely feel it. He doesn’t truly start till you’re near crying and begging for him to tickle you.

Lives for the intoxicating sense of control and relishes in utilizing it over you. Will absolutely degrade while he lers.

Unlike Hatsuharu; doesn’t make fun of you for liking it we’re way past that if he’s made you beg for it, oh no.

He makes fun of you for begging him for a break, or not to tickle you somewhere.

“Ah, not here you said? But your hips make you squeal so loud for me, and that’s to say nothing of those endearingly pathetic bucks you’re doing in hopes of dislodging me.”

“Come now, a break? It’s only been an hour, my sweet. Surely you’re stronger than that? If not, you have a safe word. Use it if you feel so inclined. Otherwise; keep that pretty mouth of yours shut until I give you permission to do anything but laugh for me. Understood?”

God he’s such an asshole, he’s lucky you love him enough to put up with all his shit honestly.

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metalandmagi · 8 months

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Hello....If you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/manhwa/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Why you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before....

Hope you don't mind if the same person ask a different questions. Thank you so much @metalandmagi .....

Funny you should ask, because I was just listening to a podcast episode about favorite fandom ships, and I had actually started making my own list that I was going to post anyway! And I don’t mind you asking, since I don't really have people to talk to about this stuff. I like looking at your blog and seeing other people’s answers too!

Here's my top ten! These are going to be kind of repetitive because I’ve already talked about these fandoms so much, but these are my favorite CANON SHIPS, meaning they’re actually together or at least have kissed or something. I have a million non canon ships.

10. Jem, Will, and Tessa from The Infernal Devices- I wanted to keep myself to one ship per fandom, but I couldn’t help it, I just love this OT3 so much. I don’t care what anyone says, they are a poly relationship, not a love triangle (and I maintain that if Jem wasn’t already dying, he and Will would have realized they loved each other romantically, and their parabatai bond would have fucked them over eventually). They all have an equal amount of love and respect for each other, and they balance each other so well. And I appreciate that none of them are relegated to being “the overly jealous partner who ruins everything for the other two.” We get time with each of them and love them all equally.

9. Patroclus and Achilles from The Song of Achilles- Call me a basic bitch, but these two are unparalleled in terms of doomed romances. I love friends to lovers, and the story is so widely spanning that it gives their relationship such gravitas.

8. Yona and Hak from Akatsuki no Yona- Still haven’t finished the manga, but these two are god tier for fantasy romances. I love that they completely lose their minds over each other whenever they are not within arm’s reach, and they’re another great example of childhood friends to lovers. Hak’s “teasing” attitude in the beginning of the series wasn’t my favorite, but it’s funny to look back on it later, knowing that he’s so in love with Yona and would murder the first person to disrespect her.

7. Shigure and Akito from Fruits Basket- Because why would I choose one of the normal, healthy relationships when I could go for one of the most fucked up romances in shoujo? These two…I don’t even know where to start. They’re the definition of toxic for most of the series, but by the end, you’re really rooting for them to be together with the Sohma family curse broken. Shigure is desperate for the curse to be broken so he can prove to Akito that he loves her without them being tied together by fate. Akito feels like she needs the curse because otherwise everyone will leave her forever. Akito sleeps with Kureno. Shigure sleeps with her mom. They’re “gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss” meets “mansplain, manipulate, man-whore.”

6. Sasaki and Miyano from Sasaki to Miyano- What can I say? They’re just so freaking cute! I think they represent the romance a lot of people in fandom want, because they bond over manga and slowly come to learn more about each other. Sasaki never pressures Miyano to return his feelings, and I appreciate the patience he has in waiting for Miyano to give him an honest answer to his confession.

5. Jesper and Wylan from Six of Crows- Another basic answer, but these two are so entertaining whenever they’re together. I love that Jesper starts out teasing Wylan relentlessly about looking like a pampered rich kid (despite the fact that Wylan also lives on the streets), but Wylan deadass saves the group time and time again, so Jesper comes to respect him more. This is how you do teasing in a relationship: they get under each other’s skin but aren’t complete dicks to each other. And I appreciate that the Shadow and Bone show changes their dynamic slightly while keeping the chaotic duo the same at their core.

4. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase from the various Percy Jackson series- The pinnacle of middle grade/YA romance. Nobody else is doing it like these two. What works about their relationship is that we truly believe their friendship as 12 year olds before they start to have feelings for each other. So many times, authors shove two characters together because they feel like they need a romance, but Percy/Annabeth progress so naturally. They tease each other, but they know they’re both capable individuals at the end of the day (and their wildly different brands of intelligence work so well), and as long as they’re together, they can get through anything.

3. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian from Heaven Official's Blessing- I’ve shipped these two for much less time than these other ships, but they have smashed their way to my top 3 ships of all time. How do you compete with a god who’s fallen from grace and his eternally devoted follower who would burn the world down to see them smile? How do you compete with Hua Cheng, who has stayed by Xie Lian’s side for hundreds of years out of pure devotion, but not in a creepy or weird stalkery way? I think the biggest thing this ship has going for it is its sincerity. Hua Cheng doesn’t stay with Xie Lian because he’s hoping Xie Lian will fall for him eventually. He doesn’t believe he’s even worthy of Xie Lian’s love. But he stays anyway, because that’s what unconditional love is like. You stay when the one you love is at their lowest and you can’t do anything to help. You stay when they’re fighting the heavenly emperor and kick ass alongside them. You hold an umbrella over their head when it's raining blood and carry them across the ground when it's littered with corpses.

2. Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood from The Mortal Instruments/Shadowhunters- These two have destroyed me over the years. I think the best thing about this ship is how they bring out the best in each other and have changed each other’s lives for the better. Magnus is so outgoing and free spirited, but with Alec, he wants to “settle down” (lol) and raise a family. Alec started as the personification of the frowny face emoji, stuck in the closet with a stick up his ass, but now he’s basically running the shadowhunter world. They’re the perfect example of “opposites attract” who have changed their world simply by being in love.

1. Damen and Laurent from Captive Prince- Speaking of couples who change their world simply by being in love…I don’t know if any other ship will top them for me. All the other enemies to lovers ships can get the fuck out. They’re nothing compared to Damen and Laurent. So many times, people will write “enemies to lovers” or “hate to love” relationships that are just two characters snipping at each other or bullying each other for no reason. Get that shit out of here. These two start with the purest, most honest loathing possible. They hurt each other in countless ways, but they come to learn each other slowly. They have every reason to be enemies, but they come through each layer of trauma with love for each other. They’re the kings (pun intended) of this trope.

Honorable mentions: Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper- They’re just so wholesome and sweet. The progression of their relationship from like to love is so realistic, and they’re basically the live action/book version of Sasaki and Miyano.

Ronan and Adam from The Raven Cycle- (haven’t read the last book in the Dreamer trilogy, but I hope nothing bad happens). Their differing brands of chaotic energy compliment each other perfectly, and as a reader, the slow realization that Ronan is in love with Adam was so eye opening and satisfying in a way few other series have been able to capture.

Just for fun, here are some of my “less canon” ships too.

* Inej and Kaz (they're practically canon, but they never explicitly say they're together or in love...but we all know they are)

*Kylo Ren and Rey (also practically canonical since they've at least kissed)

* America and England from Hetalia (if I really want to go back to my fandom shipping roots. I read nothing but fics for them for like 2 years in high school 😅)

*Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima

*Hinata and Kageyama

*Carole and Tuesday

*Link and Sidon

#captive prince #shadowhunters #sasaki to miyano #tgcf #heaven official's blessing #percy jackson #pjo #six of crows #fruits basket #akatsuki no yona #tid #tmi

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ali-da-demon · 16 days

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FRUITS BASKET RANT FOR THE LAST TIME

Holy fuck. I loved it. I love the characters. I finished it and I'm so happy. So this is basically a thing of my thoughts (that I remember) on all the seasons.

Season 1: I was kinda confused and thought it would be like Kyo and Yuki liking her and all that. I really adored Shigure cause of how silly he was. Hanajima was very much my favorite and she's just so kind in her own way. I kinda though Kyo was frustrating and Yuki was too perfect sometimes (Yuck.) I loved seeing everyone and knowing who was which zodiac!!

Season 2: Oh wow, everyone needs therapy. Like a lot of it. I fucking love ayame. He might be my new favorite? No, Hanajima is still my number one. He's my second favorite. Yuki as the president? Fun. Love it. Akito is a major bitch. He's such a bitch.

Season 3: AKTIO IS A WOMEN??? WTF, SINCE WHEN WAS HE A WOMEN. ah shit I mean, SINCE WHEN WAS SHE A WOMEN?!??! No wonder she's sleeping with all these men who seem to be straight. Her mom is just as fucked as her. Everyone's curse is broken yippie! Kyo was a major dick in one episode but besides that, he's fine. I love the master. Everyone needs therapy and I'd pay for it.

#ali is ranting #ali finished fruits basket and doesn't know what to watch now.

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flipperdipper10 · 2 months

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Magia Record is a funny game and Scene Zero is even funnier.

I've already talked about how Shigure's story is kinda ironic since she made her wish and then did the exact thing her wish was meant to prevent.

The funny part is that she isn't the only one who does this, Scene Zero does this too with Mabayu. Also, spoilers for Scene Zero film 12 below.

I love this girl so, so much. She's such a goober. Why is so silly. I hope she goes to therapy.

But essentially since I'm mostly watching Scene Zero via the translations 29udon is doing on youtube (seriously go subscribe to them they're doing gods work) right now we're at 12-20. And this is where the finale of Mabayu's backstory as a magical girl just finished playing out and we learn of how Mabayu reacted to this.

We learned that Mabayu worked with Mami to help girls contract by seeing the future and knowing what the girls would wish for and as a result would tell Mami just what to say in order to get the girls to contract. And eventually these girls would go on and become witches, and once Mabayu realized what she had been doing she erased her own memory of ever being a magical girl, thus why she had amnesia for the solid part of Scene Zero.

Homura also knew about this because in one of the films after Mabayu died she went and asked Mami "hey whose this green bitch" and Mami told her but Homura never told Mabayu out of respect for Mabayu's decision.

So how does Mabayu react to learning The Truth? Uhhhhhhh not well but like who can blame her that's not something you'd want to remind yourself of. So she does the exact same thing her mom did. She saw her own future. And just like her mom fell into despair over that fact, so did Mabayu.

What Mabayu's future saw was that Mabayu turned into a witch with Mami (a fairly dangerous witch due to how high Mabayu's karmic destiny is at this point) and Homura has to kill her. As the time loop resets again, Mabayu witches the second she comes back to life in despair of Homura failing to kill Walpurgis, and the time loop doesn't reset after that (Implying Homura either died or, more likely, became a witch). And reasonably as you can react when you see futures that can't be changed, Mabayu is panicking and spiraling hard.

And then Kyubey got Madoka involved. The person Mabayu's been doing this to help with Homura. Kyubey told Madoka everything he's managed to reason out about what Homura and Mabayu are doing, and Madoka, in true Madoka fashion (we love her so much she's so nice), decides to use her wish to save Mabayu.

It comes full circle- Mabayu used her wish to save her mom from the despair of seeing her own future, and now Madoka used hers to save Mabayu from the despair of seeing her own future.

It's so interesting when Madoka or Magia Record does this, where they use the wish the character made as a backbone for the characters arc where the options are either: realize the irony and change your ways, double down and have the irony be something the readers can point at, or the third option, go full circle and have the girl end up back where they were when they made the wish.

I'm so, so excited for how Scene Zero eventually ends up, and Mabayu is up there as one of my favorite magical girls right now I love her so much. I really should make a tierlist of my favorite girls Mabayu is up there in top tier.

#magia record #mabayu aki #scene zero #homura akemi #madoka kaname #god i love magical girl irony its so tasty #chomp chomp chomp these magical girls are so fun to think about #also the green haired girls keep drawing my attention for some reason #shoutout to green haired magical girls fr love those guys

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borhaprequiem · 3 months

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Beyond the Seams

Fandom: AI: The Somnium Files Rating: 13+ for swearing and some intense themes Major Characters: Kaname Date, Hitomi Sagan, original trans characters Pairings: Kaname Date/Hitomi Sagan Words: 2,448

Heads up: This fic features identity death (complete removal of memories) and anime-style characters turning into realistic, ordinary humans. As well as cis-to-trans, though I try to handle it tactfully and avoid calling too much attention to the specific changes it would imply. (Also T4T Datomi is canon to me in at least one timeline lbr.) If you are sensitive at all to any of these tropes please don't read this.

Summary: Thanks to the leader of NAIX, Date and Hitomi are emancipated from the simulation. What happens to them in the realm beyond is something they could never have imagined.

Author's note: you may notice that some details are inconsistent with the actual games. this is because i wanted to avoid spoilers since i imagine most of my audience has not played this series (you should though it's fucking amazing). also i wrote this in a spiteful "i saw someone use this idea and thought i could do it better" haze so i didn't really care lol

Please read my bio before following.

“Hitomi Sagan has been captured by us. Come to the basement of the Lemniscate building if you ever want to see your beloved again.”--NAIX

Those were the words on the slip of paper Kaname Date held in his hand. He clenched his other fist, seething. There was no way they would get away with this.

He and the other members of ABIS had recently been investigating the Half Body Killings, and he had suspicions that the cult-like organization NAIX was behind them. Unfortunately, they had caught onto him first, and now were demanding ransom.

“Let's go, Aiba. There's no time to waste,” he said to his partner. If she wasn't currently embedded in his eye socket, she would've nodded.

--------------------------

As soon as Date had arrived at the very bottom floor of Lemniscate, he saw his partner Hitomi gagged and tied to a chair, as well as a large, complex, strange machine in the middle of the room. It had two giant, mechanical arms with pointy ends meeting in the center. But the latter was of no concern to him compared to the former.

“Hitomi!” Date cried. “I’m going to get you out of there, don't worry—”

Hitomi’s mouth had been completely taped over, so she could only nod in response. And yet, her face brightened up instantly upon seeing her boo come to rescue her.

But when Date rushed over to her and began trying to untie her—another door to the room opened, and Tokiko Shigure, the leader of NAIX, walked in.

“Oh, Date, finally you decide to show up.” Her tone was monotonous and her face completely devoid of emotion—which made it that much more unsettling. “I have located a tear in the seams of the simulation we’re in, and I’ve decided that you'll have the honor of being the first to be emancipated.”

“...What the HELL does that mean?!” Date screamed. He took out his gun and pointed it straight at Tokiko. “Let Hitomi go, and no one gets hurt. This is an ORDER from the MPD.”

The corners of Tokiko’s mouth turned up ever so slightly, making as much of a smirk as possible on the face of one who had given up all emotions.

“Don't worry, I’ll let her go,” she replied. “From the simulation, that is. And you will follow her.”

Date’s hand didn't budge. He kept his finger on the trigger, ready to shoot if she made a wrong move.

“But you have a choice. You may choose to join my cause, and I will send both of you to a perfect reality where you can live peacefully and freely. Or continue to resist, and your selves will be erased altogether.

Date grunted.

“Like HELL I’d join you, bitch!”

He pulled the trigger—

—

—and as soon as he did, the large machine in the room whirred to life. Faster than the blink of an eye, the two arms seemed to rip apart the fabric of reality itself, creating a dark, ethereal rift between them.

Its gravity pulled the bullet away from its target—and into the rift, where it vanished.

Date could feel the gun in his hand rattle as it, too, was pulled towards the tear in reality. His feet slid closer and closer to the rift as he tried his best to keep them on the ground, slowly marching his way towards Hitomi. The chair she was tied onto was sliding closer to the rift as well, as the ropes binding her snapped off one by one and flew into the rift just as the bullet did.

Date’s hair blew around, slightly obscuring his path to his destination. It was as if a large, powerful wind had engulfed the entire room.

And before he knew it, he was only a few steps away from Hitomi—but her bindings had completely come undone, and she only had her chair to grip onto to stay on earth.

“Almost—”

As he reached for her—her chair suddenly slipped off its legs, about to tumble right into the gaping hole right next to her. Hitomi screamed as much as she could with her mouth still taped over, instinctively letting go of the chair—and just in time, Date caught her.

“Don’t worry, I got ya—”

But not for long, unfortunately. The suction of the rift was too powerful, and after a few seconds, the force grew too much for Date—his grip slipped, and Hitomi disappeared into the rift…and Date followed not even a second after.

The last thing Date saw before departing this world was, out of the corner of his eye, Tokiko smirking wider than he’d ever seen before.

--------------------------

It was the strangest feeling. Date felt as if he was falling endlessly within an abstractly colored nothingness as unusual sensations overcame his body. He watched his hair blow all around him, the thick, smooth locks beginning to…split apart, finer and finer. Every morning when he did his hair, he’d always noticed that the strands melded together in bunches with several of the nearby ones. That’s how it was supposed to be. That’s how it was for everyone. But now, it was as if he could see each individual hair of his, completely separate from all the other ones. It was bewildering. What the hell was happening, this wasn’t right, this was making his head hurt—

His hair wasn’t the only thing changing; his clothes also began to become less smooth, patterns of very thin fibers woven together starting to appear and spreading throughout his outfit. Date caught a glimpse of his glove, and his skin began to crawl as he saw the intricate, detailed woven pattern wash over it. This was far too much detail than he was used to. It was unsettling. It was maddening.

But he couldn’t dwell on that. He had to find Hitomi.

“HITOMI!” he cried out. No response. He tried his best to swim through the void to look for her, but he didn’t really know if he was actually moving.

But a far more unnerving sight greeted him instead. Suddenly, he could see his face, extremely clear and close-up, all around him. It was as if he was in a house of mirrors, but if the mirrors were all zoomed in.

He watched as a similar thing happened to his face as it did to his clothes. Tiny little wrinkles and hairs appeared all over his skin as it took on a more leathery texture. And he could see it in extremely high detail. He screamed. He continued to scream as he was forced to watch his nose widen slightly, the edges and nostrils becoming more defined. A new pinkness tinged his lips as tiny creases appeared throughout them. And as his eyelashes and eyebrows split into individual hairs just like the blond locks flowing from his head, he felt a pounding headache as his eyes shrank a bit.

Hopefully Aiba being there wouldn’t hurt him or her in any way—wait. Was she still there?

“Aiba! AIBA!” Date yelled once again, only to again be met with silence.

He felt a slightly uncomfortable feeling in his eyes—plastic? Was there plastic in there? Was he wearing…contacts? He suddenly noticed that his left eye was working as normal again—it didn’t feel like Aiba was there at all.

“AIBA!!! Shit! Where did you go?!”

Tears welled up in both of his eyes as he clutched his head. He didn’t know what was happening to him, or where two of the people he cared about most were, and on top of that his head was starting to feel foggy. What could he do? Nothing. Nothing at all. He squeezed his eyes shut, neither wanting to look at his magnified reflection anymore nor accept his current reality, and hoped that it all would be over soon.

And to add insult to injury, he felt an almost painful tingling pass through his muscles and bones. His whole body felt as if it was rearranging itself—he was being compressed slightly shorter, and the proportions of his body shifted around. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but everything just felt wrong. His clothes didn’t fit the way they used to—too tight in some places and too loose in others. He was beginning to feel like a stranger in his own body. What was that bitch Tokiko doing to him?!

Suddenly—foreign thoughts suddenly hit his mind. Memories. Ideas. Revelations about the world he came from. And then one of them practically slapped him in the face.

It was all just a game.

Now, Date wasn’t big into video games. He just couldn’t get into ShovelForge or any of Iris’s other favorites no matter how many times she begged him to play with her. But at the very least, he knew they were just lines of code controlling the images on the computer screen, or however Pewter explained it to him. Mere fabrications. Fiction.

…Was he just lines of code this whole time? Were none of his free will or sense of self really his, and he was just being controlled by some jumbles of 1s and 0s?

God damn it. God damn it to hell.

He yelled, digging his hands into the sides of his head—and then his hair came off.

Shaking, he stared at the lump of hair he now held in his hands. It was a wig. If he could see the top of his head, he’d notice that underneath it was a short black buzzcut.

He clenched his teeth, which had, too, split from two solid strips of white into sections that looked like rounded squares and cubes. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck. His reality was breaking apart around him. Was this the “emancipation” that NAIX so fervently strived for? What did they even see in this horrifying madness?

Date’s thoughts were interrupted by a brown flash out of the corner of his eye.

“Hitomi!”

God, even his voice felt wrong. He didn’t know if it was something that actually changed within him or just the space they were in bending the sound, but it was much higher-pitched than usual. But he didn’t care at this point. He had finally found his lover.

He could tell that Hitomi had gone through the same “detail-ification” process that had happened to him, though she appeared to be barely conscious. Her body was limp and her eyes half-closed. Date once again tried to swim over to her…and he managed to grab onto her good arm. Her sweater looked and felt a lot rougher than usual, but that barely mattered at this point.

…Did the hand on her other arm just twitch? He chose to ignore that.

“Hitomi, Hitomi, I’m so glad you’re alright.” Date leaned closer to her ear. “We’re going to get out of here. Back to safety. Back *home,* even. I promise.”

…Where was home, again?

As Date tried to picture his apartment…or Hitomi’s house…it just didn’t feel as familiar to him. It felt like he was trying to picture a house belonging to a stranger that he saw once. Or a character in a game, even…

What about the people he knew? Every face his mind conjured up felt flat, fake. Fictional.

He couldn’t let himself go like this. He had to remember. He—

He clutched his head again with his other hand. Who even was he, really? He realized he couldn’t even recall his name. Or the name of the other person in front of him. All he knew was that she was his dear partner, and he loved her and needed to protect her. So he hugged her and held on tight.

The two began to fall slower and slower…as the mess of colors surrounding them began to untangle themselves into something more resemblant of a defined reality.

And as they settled down to earth again, the man slowly began to drift back to reality. His identity began to flow back to him. He was a salaryman living just outside Tokyo. During his time off, he loved playing all sorts of games and visual novels. And his name…

His name…

Kouta Tanaka snapped back to the present. He was standing in the entrance hall of his apartment, deep in an embrace with his girlfriend, Hanako Suzuki.

“...You alright?” Hanako muttered. “That was a kind of a long hug…felt like you didn’t want to let go. Not that I’m complaining~” She giggled.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just…kind of zoned out a bit.” He broke off the hug and scratched his head—er, wig—sheepishly.

The two had just gotten back home after a long, exciting day at Comiket. It was the first time they had tried out a couple’s cosplay, and they had lots of fun browsing all the comics and merch at the vendors’ booths, as well as meeting other cosplayers with stunning outfits and props. They even managed to meet a couple other fans of AI: The Somnium Files, who had complimented their Date and Hitomi costumes greatly.

But the best part was—it was a time when they felt they could truly be themselves. Social pressure pushed them to stay closeted for most of the year, and HRT was nigh impossible for them to get in Japan. At these sorts of conventions, however, all judgements were suspended, and they were free to dress in the outfits that gave them the most gender euphoria, as the characters they most looked up to or related to.

“I know I said this already, but—you make a perfect Hitomi, dear.” Kouta stroked his girlfriend’s wig, feeling the soft, straight brown strands in his hands. She blushed at the compliment.

“And you make a perfect Date!” she exclaimed back. Kouta simply smiled.

Even as they exchanged more romantic banter, Kouta still had a stray thought on his mind. Something that scratched at the back of his brain. It was kind of dumb. But he couldn’t help but pop the question.

“Y’know, with how much we identify with Date and Hitomi…Do you think we might have actually been them in a past life?”

Hanako chuckled. “That sounds kind of silly. …But honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised. If that really were the case…I know we’d find each other again in any universe.”

“You really think so?”

“Absolutely.”

Now it was Kouta’s turn to blush madly. Being able to resonate on silly topics like this…he really couldn’t ask for a better partner.

“Then I’m glad I found you. I…I love you, Hitomi.”

Hanako giggled again upon being called that. “And I love you…Kaname.”

And so they embraced each other again, locking lips in a deep, passionate kiss. No matter what might have happened in the past, their current life was perfect—as they had each other.

#📝 writing #🟡 rating: 13+#⚠️ cw: identity death #📚 media: ai the somnium files #🦋 human to human #🦋 reality shift #🦋 male to male #🦋 female to female (offscreen)#transformation

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