Ao3
Part 1
Part 2
Part 4
Part 3 of the roommate idea
Steve declines the hellfire invitation from Dustin, making up a pretend date, because otherwise he was not getting out of that one. He checked the time on the wall.
2:27
Yeah, alright.
He waited a few hours before getting ready and heading to the school.
The game starts in thirty minutes so they should be-
Steve grinned as he watched the back of Dustin move into the drama room.
Perfect.
He waited a minute, listening into their conversation before deciding that he didn't need to wait for them to stop because if they stopped that meant they were starting.
He slammed open the clubs door, making a couple people in the room jump.
“Steve! What are you doing here?" Eddie asked from his place on the throne. "DnDs over, pack up your shit.” He stated, leaving no room for argument.
Well, apparently a little room.
“What!! Why?! Last campaign of the semester, Mike leaves for Cali tomorrow!"
Steve furrowed his brows, and put his hands on his hips, Gareth, Grant, and Jeff weren't arguing, they knew he was serious, good.
“It can wait till he gets back, why would you even plan this a day before he leaves?”
“Why do we need to pack our shit?!”
Steve pinched his nose, "We're going to Luca’s basketball game.”
“What?!?”
“That traitor-"
“Stevie, darling, you can't be-”
“Why?!”
“You two know each other-”
Steve grimaced, a migraine starting at the fore-front of his mind.
“Please shut up, Christ.”
Eddie winced and immediately shushed everyone.
“We're going to this game, because even if Lucas doesn't get to play, we still gotta support him. Dustin, Mike, you guys have only gone to one of his games, his first one.”
He turned the other group, "Grant, Gareth, Jeff, fuck Eddie. None of you have gone to a game, I know it's not your usual shit but you gotta come. Hell, Erica, you're his sister, I mean, you’ve done an amazing job at showing up at the rest, so I can’t really complain about you.”
Dustin winced, “ Sorry Steve, but why does this matter so much to you? It's not the end of the world.”
Steve rubbed his arm, “ He needs someone to be there for him, even if he doesn't win. You can just do the damn campaign at Eddie's when Mike comes back.”
Mike, in question, scoffs, “And since when do you make the rules.”
Steve ignores him, reaching forward and grabbing Eddie's arm, and Erica’s shoulder. "Suit yourselves, but kinda hard to play DnD without the Dungeon Master, and Eddie and Erica don't have a choice.”
They make their way to the gym, a reluctant group of Hellfire in tow, and sit across the top of the bleachers. Steve waves at Robin from where he sits and then turns to Hellfire. “ Thank you guys for being reasonable."
Gareth scrunches his nose, “You cannot just keep stealing Eddie randomly.” Steve purses his lips, and leans into the man in question.
"Not stealing if he's okay with it, right Eds?” Eddie looked between the two, “ I'm sensing I should say yes?"
Steve grinned and patted his cheek. “Good boy."
Dustin turned to them, "Was Eddie the date you were talking about earlier? You tell seem awfully friendly."
Eddie flushed, and let's out an awkward laugh. " Steve wishes he could date me."
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TW: rape
Something I really appreciated about The Sunshine Court was its nauseatingly realistic depiction of rape culture.
Jean’s (repeated, violent) sexual assault isn’t treated as something horrific; in the toxic environment of The Nest, it’s normalized. The real story — Riko ordering 5 male players to rape Jean as a sadistic way to ‘break him in’ — is quickly twisted by his abusers; Jean is seen as a calculating vixen who slept his way to the top, for a Perfect Court number:
They continuously mock and taunt Jean with senseless jokes about it. There is an element of jealousy at play; Jean is a prodigy player, and, as he says himself at some point in the book, his older teammates didn’t enjoy being shown up by a child. They certainly enjoyed knocking him down a peg, though, by humiliating him and creating an illusion that he only got his spot on the team for sleeping around, not his talent:
Even one of his rapists, Grayson, continues this false narrative despite knowing the truth (or maybe he even convinced himself this narrative is the truth; that Jean ‘seduced’ him for a spot on the starting lineup):
Other ravens who don’t know the truth seem to quickly believe the narrative that a 16 yo chose to sleep with a bunch of his superiors for a personal gain; that is certainly easier than entertaining the thought that your teammates (friends?) are capable of something this horrific. Or maybe they simply don’t question it too hard; after all, Jean can’t tell his side of the story.
The rumors eventually spread outside the Nest. Jean’s reputation is tarnished to the point that this is one of the first things strangers on the internet learn about him:
The most heartbreaking detail about it all is Jean’s age. He was a 16 boy on the college team, the youngest player on the lineup; a foreigner who couldn’t even speak English when he arrived; an outsider. Despite the fact that his young age is something that even the ravens find particularly scandalous about the whole situation, Jean’s agency is never questioned. He’s not seen as a minor who was taken advantage of by older, superior men — and most of them are quite significantly older, having already graduated by the time Jean’s 19; Grayson seems to be the youngest of them and he’s at least three years older than Jean.
As many victims of SA, Jean had no choice but to continue living with his abusers side by side, pretending like nothing happened. Knowing there’s absolutely nothing he can do.
The first time someone voices concern over the questionable circumstances surrounding the whole situation happens in this conversation with Jeremy (to be fair, it seems like Jean's age isn't public knowledge but the ravens obviously know):
And as many victims, Jean internalized his experience as something he deserved on some level:
TLDR: Sexual assault is, unfortunately, a very big part of our culture; it’s not just something that happens in the dark alleys; rapists aren't just scary strangers. They're also your friends, peers, teammates. The way the Nest (and the general public as a whole) turns a blind eye at best and mocks and humiliates the victim at worst is a microcosm of how SA is largely treated in real life. It was genuinely fascinating to see it depicted so realistically, even though it made for a heavy read at several points. I hope Nora keeps up the good work, and we'll see further exploration of the topic and Jean dealing with his trauma in the next book.
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Hiii do you have any bf headcanons for Sho, Ren, Haku, Rui, and Jiro?
Tokyo Debunkers as boyfriends hcs pt 2
including: Ren, Rui, Jiro, Lucas, Haku
Part one part three
Ren Shiranami
—he just wants to cuddle up and watch horror movies with you
—he’s gonna make a blanket nest for the two of you with all sorts of snacks and things so you don’t have to get up during the movie
—he’ll definitely hold onto you and keep you comforted during the scary scenes 🩷
— very much a tsundere at first. He’ll be like “ugh, it’s not like i like you,,,,” but then he’ll just think about you 24/7, he always wants you around, and even Haru noticed how much better his mood always becomes when you’re around.
—he likes when you hold him. He’ll definitely complain, but he’ll get so butthurt if you stop. Like “ugh, why do you keep holding onto me…… Wait I didn’t say to let go,,, I guess you can keep it up,,,,” but on the inside his heart is racing and he’s so happy to have you there (and it shows on his blushing face)
— can and will complain about the jabberwok house anytime something weird happens.
—haru has come through his window before in the middle of one of your horror movie dates. You all screamed, Ren nearly attacked Haru.
Rui Mizuki
—he wants to hold you. He wants to kiss you all over. He wants it so bad, but he won’t come near you.
—he’s so scared of his curse hurting you. He gets so sad to think about what could happen even if he accidentally gets too close
—he always makes sure to wear a protective layer when you’re around.
—since he can’t touch you, he shows his love in other ways. He flirts a lot but only with you. He dropped the flirting with others the second you came into the picture
—he plans all sorts of cute dates with you, from picnics to fancy dinners.
—he gives you so much praise and reassurance, and he’s always ready to lend an ear if you’re having any sort of issue no matter how small or insignificant it may be
—he does all the stereotypical gentleman things like holding doors open for you, buying you flowers, he’s paying for all your dates, etc.
—if you come visit him while he’s working his heart may just explode from joy. He’s just so happy to see you. He’ll make a drink that you’ll love solely based on your personality.
Jiro Kirisaki
— He never really understood the appeal of a relationship until you came along.
—he was very confused by his own emotions at first.
—he went to Yuri to ask if it was some kind of mental disorder because he couldn’t stop thinking of you. Yuri informed him that it was likely just a crush, then told him to get back to work.
—Jiro now as your boyfriend, really tries his best to understand every little thing that goes on in your head
—he’s made a mental list of all the tiniest reactions you have to everything in your daily life. Every. Single. Thing.
—he’ll confide in you about how rough his job can be and how exhausted he is.
—sometimes in the middle of cuddling with him, he’ll start giving you a health evaluation. He says it saves time and is more efficient if he just does it then and there.
—he’s like a puppy and will do anything you tell him to, from tying your shoes to even making sure to get more rest.
—will give a lot of random fact on a very wide variety of topics. Sometimes you’ll just be chillin and he’ll turn and say the most out of pocket thing then go back to being silent like it was nothing.
Lucas Errant
—he’s so protective of you.
—he wants to be your best friend and boyfriend all in one.
—he really will do anything for you too.
—he likes to stand right beside you, he’s not huge on pda, but he thinks just standing by your side and being in your presence is the best
—he’ll really open up to you and be much more vulnerable about his life before darkwick along with his twin and his home life
—behind closed doors he’ll cuddle up against you and really relax, he gets SO SO nervous that you’ll slip away from him. So he always makes sure to tell you how much he loves and cares for you.
—Man will write down a physical list of date ideas and ask you to rank your top three. And he’ll take you on those dates and make them as special as he can.
—also does all the stereotypical gentleman things, you will never touch any door ever again.
—he likes to follow you around and help you with whatever it is you’re doing. Also likes to have study dates with you!!
Haku Kusanagi
—honestly he works so hard to keep everything sailing smoothly, he’d do the same in a relationship.
—he always does his best to keep you happy and comfortable at darkwick academy. He checks up on you a lot, but also leaves you space to figure things out. He knows darkwick can be a little overwhelming
—he likes to take walks with you around Hotarubis grounds, even if it’s a little gloomy.
—he feels so content just existing beside you. Hell make you tea and just sit in the gardens and admire you.
—he tells you a lot about his family and the shrine, he gets very vulnerable. So please reassure him that he’s doing great and remind him to take breaks.
—if you praise him at anything he’ll make sure to do that thing around you more. You like the way he makes tea? He brews you some every time you’re over. You like the smell of his new shampoo? He’ll use it every time before he sees you.
—You compliment his looks and he’ll turn into a flustered mess. It’s funny to see someone so easygoing get so red and start stuttering.
—gives forehead kisses or presses his forehead to yours sometimes to just destress from all the damage control he has to do for his fellow students.
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