Rei x Reader
Warning: Female reader.
Scenario: Not even an argument could keep Rei away.
Genre: Very light angst, but fluffy ending.
Word Count: 1,343
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"You're not sleeping over?" Miri frowns as she sees you putting on your shoes by the front door.
"No, sorry, Miri-chan. Not tonight."
"Tomorrow?"
"Not tomorrow either. I'm a bit busy, but I can still see you during the afternoon when you're finished with daycare." You squat down to her level as she continues to pout at you.
"You haven't sleeped over in forever!"
"It's slept. Not sleeped." You corrected before embracing her. "It's only been a few days. Maybe soon I'll sleep over again. Just right now, I have a lot to take care of first, okay?"
"Okay." Miri lets out a loud sigh after you let her go and stand to put on your jacket.
"Let us know when you get home." Kazuki says before you completely leave the house.
"Yeah, I will. I'll see you all later. Good night!"
Once you exit through the door, Kazuki tells Miri to get ready for bed. The blonde male then looks to his dark haired roommate, frowning at how glued he was to his game. And it seems like he wasn't really paying much attention to it either based on his lack of wins.
"You really should've walked __(y/n) home."
"She didn't want me to." Rei answers back.
Ever since you and Rei had an argument a few days ago, you two stopped talking. You only interacted just enough to avoid any questions from Miri. Other than that, Rei kept quiet and you and Kazuki did most of the talking. You didn't stop coming over to their place for Miri's sake, but you didn't feel like staying the night. If this fight continued, you were considering slowly coming less. It was painful to be around Rei at the moment.
"It's going to be day four of you two being like this. Don't you think you want to talk it out?" Kazuki could feel the tension whenever you both were present. Rei only grunts in response, applying just a bit more pressure on his controller buttons.
"I just don't want you regretting anything." Rei ignores Kazuki, trying to focus on the race that he's been trying to win for the last five rounds.
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As usual, Rei is still up, immersed in his video games. His ears pick up a door being opened followed by heavy footsteps down the hallway and onto a few steps of the staircase.
"Hey, Rei. Have you heard from __(y/n), yet?"
"No." Rei pauses his game to raise a brow at his friend. "Why?"
"I texted in our group chat asking if she got home, but she hasn't answered. I even called her, but her phone is dead."
Rei checks his phone for any messages or calls from you.
None.
"It's been over two hours now. I'm getting worr-"
"I'll be back!" Rei quickly abandons his game, running towards the door while grabbing his jacket. His heart starts pounding at all the negative thoughts pouring into his mind. Even if you both were arguing, you typically told someone that you arrived home safely.
And your place wasn't far from his so you should have already been home. Rei is zipping through town, searching for a woman with __(e/c) eyes and __(h/c) hair. Not normally his style, but he then resorts to yelling your name. He tries your number again and immediately is transferred to your voicemail. He had hoped to hear your voice, even if you probably wouldn't sound too happy to see him calling.
Finally, he spots you exiting a tavern, adjusting the bag on your shoulder. Suddenly, he sees a tall male in black standing in front of you, blocking his view. The man looks horrifyingly familiar. He's reminded of Ogino, a terrifying killer from the organization.
And he's right in front of you.
Rei wastes no seconds, dashing towards the broad man and looping an arm over his neck. "Run, __(y/n)!"
"R-rei!?" You're surprised by his abrupt appearance. You didn't see or hear him at all! You see your boyfriend choke holding the man in front of you and you quickly pull at Rei's arm to loosen the grip.
"Stop! Stop! What are you doing?"
"He's going to kill you! Run! I'll catch up!"
"Wh-what? No! He was just asking directions! Let him go!" You knew of Rei's occupation so you understood his paranoia, but you also knew that this older male was innocent. Rei glances at his victim and his eyes widen at an unfamiliar person. He may be tall like Ogino, but his facial features did not match.
At all.
You apologize immediately to the older gentleman, forcing Rei to bow with you. It was hard trying to explain Rei's behavior, but you two got lucky that the stranger didn't press charges nor did he ask any further questions.
"Rei, what the hell was-"
Your sentence gets swallowed by Rei's lips, his hands gently cradling your face. He doesn't breathe, only deepening the kiss further. All frightening thoughts of potentially losing you and his regrets slowly dissipate. When he sees your confused yet angry face, he still makes a move to hug you.
He knows you're upset at him and he doesn't care if you yell or push him away, he just needs to feel you. Rei leans down to rest his chin on your shoulder, arms coiled tightly around you.
"What is going-"
Again he cuts you off. "I'm sorry."
Kazuki was right. Rei felt stupid to let an argument get in the way of the time that you could have spent with each other. He wouldn't know what he'd do if his nightmare came true.
"I'm sorry." He says again and your eyes continue to widen. You weren't expecting your night to turn out like this. The sincerity and the shakiness of his voice leaves you a little less angry and compelled your arms to return the embrace.
"I'm sorry, too." You knew you both were wrong for the bickering and needed to open the communication lines. Your hearts yearned for one another.
"You don't need to apolo-"
Now it was your turn to not let him finish. "Yes, of course I do. We both said some things that weren't nice and I'm not letting you be the only one apologizing."
That's what he loves about you. You were so reasonable, patient, and understanding with him. A person who didn't understand much emotions or how to approach them.
"So, what was choking that poor old man about?" You both give each other a little space.
"You didn't say that you were home and when we called, your phone was dead. I thought something had happened."
You looked through your bag and found that your cell was out of battery. "Oh. I had no idea. I wasn't ready to go home yet so I stopped by this place to grab a drink. I'm sorry for worrying you."
You felt better knowing that Rei still cared about you even if you weren't speaking to each other. You were glad he wasn't that stubborn.
"It's okay. Not your fault. Just glad you're safe." The hitman fills the space between your fingers with his, lifting your hand high enough for his lips to touch.
"Let me walk you home."
"And spend the night with me? If you're okay with that." You didn't want to force him into something he wasn't ready. You both just apologized so you weren't sure if he was still trying to work out his feelings. You two rarely get into altercations.
"Re-really?" His face looked like you just gave him the new Morio Kart game. He was just too cute.
“Of course. Just because we weren't talking didn't mean I didn't miss you."
"I missed you, too. The bathtub is cold without you."
"Well, my bathtub isn't big enough for us to sleep in, but I still got my bed."
"Perfect. I don't care as long as we're together...and talking again."
"And cuddling?" You laugh lightly, leading him to the street where you lived.
"That's a must."
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BL doujin & Men Who Make Some of Them
If BL is stories of androphilic men by androphilic women, then what’s the opposite of that? It would probably be stories of androphilic women by androphilic men.
The latter is what Minamoto Kazuki mainly dabbles in.
Apart from straight & BL manga, he also authored Shoujo Manga Artist Minamoto-San Comes Out. Yeah, that’s the title. It is autobiographical if that wasn’t obvious. Arguably, his most famous manga, at least in BL fandom, is Wall Circle's Doujin Artist Nekoyashiki-Kun's Desire for Recognition Grows which got live-action adaptation: KabeKoji in 2022.
Androphilic male characters who create straight content is not rare in BL. In 2023, from what I can recall, we got two such characters: Sung Woo Jae from Individual Circumstances (2023) and Yoh from Taikan Yoho (2023). Jinta from Cherry Magic (2023) also writes (presumably straight) romance. Even before that, we got an entire BL live-action franchise (starting with The Novelist (2018)).
Doujin production and consumption
Doujinshi (doujin for short) is self-published works. It includes both derivative works (fan works) as well as original works. It is estimated that nearly half of the doujin produced and circulated are BL. These are traditionally sold at conventions like Comiket. These days doujin are sold online, for example through dedicated websites like DL site.
Doujinshi culture and Comiket especially has been instrumental in the development of BL as a genre. Unfortunately, unlike other BL pioneers such as Mari Mori (her 1961 novel A Lovers' Forest is considered the first BL) and the Year 24 Group, Meikyu doujin circle (Yoshihiro Yonezawa in particular) seldom find mention in history of BL.
BL doujin grew side by side with commercially published works. The original use of the portmanteau yaoi (no peak, no fall, no meaning) was an indication of plot what plot nature of those doujins that subverted the East Asian narrative structure to focuse exclusively on erotic relations. Doujin BL varied widely in themes and approaches, even more than commercial BL as doujin are not created to appeal to the masses, instead cater to super-specific fandoms. Also, it is easier to debut into doujin arena than to commercial BL. However, since these are literally ‘thin books’ in most cases, there is associated limitation. There is cost of printing to be taken into account as well.
As more explicit doujin (yaoi) and less explicit BL (shonen ai, etc.) coevolved in a porous environment, BL transformed into a successful genre in itself with numerous dedicated magazines and multimedia adaptations. Moreover, doujin was good ground for experimentation and yields in that arena made its way into mainstream BL and enriched it.
Commercial BL welcomed many doujinshika into its fold. e.g. Ayano Yamane (author of the Finder series) is associated with a bunch of doujin circles at different points in time: GUN MANIA, Shouhoku Taiiku Yougushitsu and Ouka Seisaku.
BL mangaka continued producing both doujin and commercial BL. e.g. Kizu Natsuki (author of Given) is a prolific doujinshika under the name Gusari in Sashikizu circle.
BL mangaka produced doujin of their own work. e.g. Ichikawa Kei (author of Blue Sky Complex) published erotic extras as doujin.
These days, there is pixiv among others and long serialization possibilities. Authors are less constrained by space – unlike physical publication, web publication is not constrained by real estate (number of pages, chapters, etc.). Thanks to the internet, the distance between doujin and commercial BL have shortened.
A lot of gei comi (bara) is also self-published.
Doujin BL culture exists everywhere BL is famous with wide variation.
Doujin played an important role in emergence and growth of Korean BL. e.g. Totally Captivated by Yoo Ha Jin had doujin extras.
Chinese doujin culture is slightly different from that in other countries. Note-worthy is the self-publication of danmei (Chinese BL) novels. Three most recent cases against danmei authors [and their accomplices including those who helped the authors print, bind, package and sell those copies] were for self-publication.
天一(Tian Yi) for her student X teacher SM erotica 攻占 (Seize Control) - charged for self-publication and violation of law prohibiting publication of obscenity [explicit SM involving a 17-year-old student and his teacher in the novel]
深海先生 (Mr. Deep Sea) for her historical romance 锁帝翎 (aka 笼中帝 ; The Caged Emperor) - charged for self-publication.
There is a third. But the details are not available in the public domain.
It used to be a common practice for authors to self-publish uncensored versions of their web-published works, sometimes with explicit extras. These were intended for fans who wanted to collect these copies and to express their appreciation to the authors. Both self-publishing and “obscene content” are illegal in China.
Doujin, BL and their creators
Kabe Koji is the journey of a doujinshika, Mamoru Nekoyashiki, who yearns to be recognized as such and also as a beloved. While in high school, he fell in love with his childhood friend Kazama Issei whom he is sure doesn’t like him like that, thanks to rampant compulsory heterosexuality. Being gay was something he felt he had to keep under wraps not only because of fear of rejection but also because of heterosexism. Talented in drawing, he visits Comic King, a popular otaku convention where he discovers a different world – where male androphilia is celebrated in art.
This inspires him to cultivate his talent in drawing and to pursue a career in manga. Since the art he was most drawn in by was ero-manga with macho uke with bitch characteristics, that’s the style he pursues.
When we meet him, this is the subgenre that we see him focusing on. His influences are pretty obvious.
Moreover, the main character (hence the target of affection in his work) looks a bit like his crush. Issei notices this and tries to draw himself like that (with disproportionately thin neck) in little notes and letters to his Mamocchi.
[I honestly think Nakao Masaki was bit of a miscast for this role appearance-wise because in the manga Issei is more on the gacchiri (muscular) side of ikemen. Whoever thought Torii-san’s uke from Fudanshi Bartender no Tashinami (2022) would be right fit for Issei’s character. The actor clearly didn’t disappoint in any other aspect. This is like the case with casting decision in One Room Angel (2023) wherein a manga character with gachimuchi aesthetics was changed into a lean ikemen. An opportunity for a different body-type was wasted. No complains against those actors since they aren’t the ones responsible for casting.] This is an erroneous assessment. Thank you @tompetertrash for correcting me.
Nekoyashiki, while pursuing training and education in manga making, has already established himself as a fairly successful doujinshika known as Honeniku-sensei of Muscle Department Store. He belongs to the Wall Circle.
"Kabe circle" (wall circle) — a slang term for doujin groups or "circles" that are popular enough for their booths to be placed beside the wall of the convention, for ease of line management. (Source: ANN)
He is friends with Yamada, a fujoshi who is his support in creating, defending and selling doujin.
Such friendships are not too rare. For example, friendship between Yoh and Manju in Taikan Yoho (2023). And the IRL friendship between female danmei author Lan Lin and male manhuajia Liang Azha.
Nekoyashiki meets two other characters at Comic King: Framboise and Takkun.
Framboise is the president of a doujin circle called Bearded Beauties. He is very popular. He is not only among the wall circles each time we see him, but also is showered with gifts by his fans. He acknowledges that he has been doujinshika for years. His art resembles him – body-type, facial hair, moe. He keeps inviting Nekoyashiki warmly to a gathering of muscle BL artists despite getting turned down. His interactions with Nekoyashiki are precious.
Takkun is Nekoyashiki’s fan. He is inspired by Nekoyashiki and worked hard to establish himself as a wall circle doujinshika.
His rise from a consumer to producer of doujin and finally a wall circle doujinshika mirror's Nekoyashiki’s journey. Moreover, his rise is contrasted with Nekoyashiki’s fall.
Also, one of two characters on his doujin cover looks a lot like him.
Unlike Framboise and Takkun who draw what they like, Nekoyashiki draws to be recognized.
Nekoyashiki draws a second season to his previous work Please Suck on my Enormous, Manly Tits. Despite Yamada’s best hopes, it is not popular at all and loses Nekoyashiki his position as a wall circle doujinshika. He bids goodbye to Suck My Manly Tits series and to ero-manga sub-genre in general.
In a desperate attempt to climb back into popularity, he tries classic BL pairing. We get to see him reading commercial BL as a part of his research. This is an obvious mistake. Yamada wants to intervene but hesitates and ultimately gives up.
When his next doujin, My Perfect Boss Became My Perfect Spouse, also flops, he loses his resolve to be a mangaka.
Yamada asks Nekoyashiki to be more honest and expressive in his creation.
In the end, Nekoyashiki creates a doujin inspired by his own relationship and aspirations – a work that, Framboise and Yamada notices, is to Nekoyashiki’s satisfaction.
It is common for at least some characters by male BL and gei comi mangakas (who have revealed themselves) to look at least a little bit like themselves. To see examples, check out the beginning of Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It where representative art and artists are placed side by side. Some even acknowledge this. e.g. Chinese BL manhuajia Liang Azha once commented on how his shou (uke) tend to look like him as he is today and his gong (seme) resemble his looks from his college days. Moreover, art tend to inspire clothing, haircuts, and other features which in turn inspire art. The influence Tom of Finland had on androphilic men of his days and they on him is discussed in his 2017 biopic. Similarly, mangakas are influenced by their senpais in the field and sometimes it is noticeable in their art too. e.g. Gengoroh Tagame’s historical works looks quite a bit like those of Go Mishima.
Other BL doujinshika in Live-action BL
Yoh from Taikan Yoho (2023) creates his first BL doujin, inspired by his ikemen boyfriend and their relationship, in collaboration with his mangaka friend Manju after his career as commercial mangaka of straight ero-manga takes a nose-dive.
BL Metamorphosis (2022) depicted the process of BL doujin creation in detail as the main character, Sayama Urara, embarks on that journey. Her friends offer her support, especially Ichinoi Yuki who funds the printing and binding. Sayama Urara doesn’t debut as doujinshika as she doesn’t set up her booth at the convention. However, one of the copies lands in the hand of one of her favorite authors Komeda Yu whose commercial BL work Kimi no Koto dake Miteitai was what brought Sayama Urara and Ichinoi Yuki together.
Komeda Yu on the other hand is a doujinshika turned commercial BL mangaka. She visits the convention in hopes of overcoming writer’s block and to rediscover her passion for drawing. She is motivated by the doujin that Sayama Urara created and emerges out of slump to continue with her series.
Fudanshi Bartender no Tashinami (2022) revolves around Soichiro Hibiki, a fudanshi bartender moonlighting as a BL doujinshika, who draws inspiration from his customers and fellow bar staff to fuel his passion.
Minamoto Kazuki
While narrative drives home the point that the various pieces of art we see are works of respective doujinshika characters through haircuts and body types, the fact remains that most of those are actual doujin by Minamoto Kazuki aka MELU. He belongs to the circle: GOOD BYE LIFE.
In case anyone want to read them, here are the links:
Kumabayashi at Work Has Not Underwear Line
One Million Miles: The Complete Collection
Competition Swimming Brief in Suit Man
A Midsummer Night's Beach Story: SM Assault Works 2
Suck My Manly Tits manga: 俺の雄っぱいがでっかくなっちまうくらいちゅーちゅー吸ってくれ
俺の雄っぱいがでっかくなっちまうくらいちゅーちゅー吸ってくれ2
"Suck My Manly Tits" doujin is in its 3rd season: 俺の雄っぱいがでっかくなっちまうくらいちゅーちゅー吸ってくれ3
Autobiographical pieces that didn't figure prominently:
30年以上マンガをほとんど読んだことなかった彼氏がBL沼にハマった話 (A story about how my boyfriend, who has barely read manga for over 30 years, got addicted to BL swamp.)
J庭でちいさな夢を叶えたゲイカップルの話 : Story of a gay mangaka and his boyfriend who participated in J.GARDEN, and their little dream that came true.
The cover of this doujin got live-action adaptation in one scene that one would miss if not looking closely:
Other interesting works by Minamoto Kazuki
Autobiographical: Shōjo Mangaka no Minamoto-san ga Kaminguauto Shimasu.
2. Those with English translation:
The Midnight Association for The Broken Hearted
The salaryman who has a fetish for suit gets horny.
The Gay Who Turned Kaiju
3. Essay-manga about doujin-making
夜寝てる間にBL原稿のお手伝いをしてくれる妖精さんがいた話
BL同人原稿(アナログ18禁!!)を東京から大阪の印刷所まで届けてくれた彼氏の話
4. About Kabe Koji (2022) live-action:
自分が原作の実写ドラマの大ファンになってしまったので原作者自らヲタ活をしています。
自分が原作の実写BLドラマをリアタイしたくて大阪へ行ってきました。
___
This is dedicated to @bengiyo and @liyazaki for gifs featuring Framboise. Thank you very much.
While I was trying my hand at a review for One Room Angel (2023) and wanted to express my disappointment at the lean ikemen casting for Kouki’s role, I got an opportunity to use those gifs. I really wish someone would create some gifs for SHIMBASHI TUGBOAT content too.
(Especially this scene.)
For someone who is as much a fan of “tribes” as BenZi, I would not mind playing the 9Monster live-action BL bingo version.
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