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shoyomeow · 4 years ago

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WINTER WONDERLAND

- a @babythotshq collaboration

❀ characters : motoya komori x gnl! reader

❀ genre : fluff

❀ warnings : mentions of alcohol, language , mentions of the pandemic

❀ wc : 2444

❀prompt : game night

shoutout to @sempiternal-amour . i got you for the secret santa event and i hope you had a wonderful christmas.

USUALLY CHRISTMAS WAS YOUR FAVOURITE HOLIDAY.

There had always been a set routine that you had adopted during this time of the year that always filled you with more happiness that you could imagine and once you had started dating Motoya, who had been just as enthusiastic as you and would not only tolerate but add on to your extreme love for Christmas, it seemed that nothing in your life could go wrong.

At least during Christmas.

That was until this year of course.

2020, the year that you hope you never have to relive again and the year that has filled you with so much pain, anguish and exhaustion that the disconnection you felt from Christmas was not even unexpected at this point.

There was no part of you that felt like it was Christmas time and you figured that the same could be said for your beloved boyfriend as well since he didn’t show you any signs of holiday spirit either. Going through the year had been hard on both of them, while neither of them were extroverts who liked going out there was something oddly stifling about being forced to stay home instead of choosing to.

As the months passed by and the virus didn’t show any signs of going away, their irritation at being forced to stay at home morphed into sheer fear for themselves and their loved ones so you suppose it was understandable that neither of you felt up for Christmas this year,

You flinched as cold and slightly damp skin came in contact with your exposed arms, the sleeves of your hoodie having been rolled up to give you more comfort as you kneaded the dough, “How many times have I told you not to hug me after working out? You smell gross babe.”

You teased as you turned your head to see your boyfriend better, his bangs were sticking to his forehead, no doubt because of the sweat but there was a bright smile on his face which even after all these years made you swoon.

“The love of my life looked so serious how could I not comfort them by bestowing my loving embrace upon them.” he pouted prompting an automatic eyeroll.

“Okay you dork,” you pecked his cheek to reassure him before pushing him away, “Now go take a shower before you stink up the whole place. I didn’t spend that much money on scented candles for you to ruin it with your sweat.”

“Whatever my love commands, i shall do.” With one last kiss to the back of your neck, Motoya walked away from you and into the washroom.

God, even though three years had passed since you started dating the volleyball player you couldn’t help but feel giddy over him. You used to think that it was only in fiction that people didn’t get completely and utterly bored with their partners.

“So i was thinking,” Motoya started as the two of you lounged on the sofa with your legs perched up on his lap as the two of you searched for something to watch.

“Oh dear, that’s never a good sign now is it?”

You laughed as he flicked the back of your feet, briefly making a quip about how you should moisturise more before looking at you and continuing his earlier sentence, “What if we have a game night or something for Christmas?”

“Hah?” You sat up at that and frowned at him, “Babe won’t that be like really irresponsible? We’re still in danger from the virus and shit.”

“No no,” he shook his head vehemently as if the very thought of breaking safety protocols was terrifying, “Like a virtual thing. I was talking to a few of my old teammates from high school and shit so they were telling me how they had a virtual party for a birthday so I dunno.”

“Look, I know we’ve both been in sort of a funk recently and you haven’t been feeling the vibe for this year either but I just thought it would be nice to go through our routine and just try to enjoy ourselves?”

“What would we even play though?” You mused as you looked at the boy who seemed to beam at the prospect of not having his idea shut down.

“I already googled that shit,” Motoya giggled as he leaned forward to press a light kiss to your lips, “You really should start moisturising babe.”

“Yeah yeah,” you pecked his nose, briefly wondering if people would hate how absolutely cringey the two of you were as a couple, “Does that mean we’re going to go through all the traditions?”

“Mm, of course. The others might not want to but we can do it ourselves right?”

“Yeah,” your enthusiasm for Christmas was still pretty much nonexistent but as you looked at your boyfriend who was showering you with kisses you couldn’t help but think that you didn’t have to be enthusiastic for Christmas at all.

Christmas Eve was surprisingly amazing.

The two of you had woken up at the same time, which was odd considering that Motoya always woke up before you for his training. A part of you wanted to stay snuggled up next to him in bed but there was a slightly bigger part of you which wanted to start with the festivities already.

Like all Christmases before today, it started with baking. Of course neither of you were that great at cooking so you had ordered the batters for everything that you were supposed to make.

The cookies and plum cake were first, considering that the mixes for them were the easiest to navigate through , the gingerbread house was next. You and Motoya had always had a certain amount of fondness for assembling the house , maybe it was because of the food fight that usually used to follow that used to prompt you to head to the backyard to hose each other down.

The second event was of course getting ready to wear the ugliest possible Christmas outfits the two of you could find. There was one Christmas, the very first one that you two spent together where you dressed up in attractive clothes taking inspiration from the Mean Girls outfit and while Motoya had appreciated that he had immediately made you swoon when he said that he would love to dress up in ugly outfits starting next year.

With your and Motoya’s nails painted with bright red and green nail polish and the two of you dressed in equally bright (and horrendous) red and green sweaters, you sat down with your laptops in front of you and logged into the zoom meeting.

Sakusa was the first one there of course, always the one to be ten minutes before the given time no matter how much he hated events like this, you and Motoya smiled triumphantly as his eyes narrowed in to look at something on the screen and his nose turned up in disgust.

“What in the hell are the two of you even wearing?”

The look of sheer disgust filled the two of you with a sense of pride , after all that was always the wanted reaction for you two. Second to horror of course.

“Are the others not here yet?”

“There are a few in the waiting room, I’ll just let them in.”

“Babe didn’t you disable the waiting room?” You questioned as you saw Motoya accept everyone individually.

He just looked at you with wide eyes with his eyebrows scrunched up, “Wait you can do that?”

You let out a snort before taking his laptop from him, out of the two of you you had always been the more tech savvy one.

“Heya everyone!” You tried to mask the awkwardness you were feeling as you greeted the handful of people who had joined in. Motoya and you wanted it to be a “small event” so you hadn’t invited many people in the first place except for a few of your mutual friends and Sakusa, “Thank you for joining us. Motoya and I didn’t want Christmas to suck so we figured something like this would be sorta fun.”

The circle you and Motoya mostly ran in was a close knit one where everyone knew each other and honestly you preferred having this than being surrounded by a bunch of fake people with whom you couldn’t be yourself.

Akira, your oldest friend and the person who had introduced you to Motoya in the first place was adorning her favourite cosplay , one of some character called Uravity and she smiled at you (well you assumed it was at you) before opening her mouth, “MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU WHORES.”

You winced at the loudness of her tone, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to connect your laptop to the Bluetooth speaker, “Akira my love, are you drunk already?”

“What’s Christmas without eggnog?” Akira grinned at you before picking up a piece of fried chicken and biting into it, “Besides, I’m exhausted as fuck this Christmas so you can’t judge me.”

“If you’re all exhausted and shit then why the fuck are you cosplaying?” Ryo, a teammate of Motoya's, grumbled as he looked at his screen. Surprisingly enough Ryo and Akira went to the same college, when you and Motoya got together it was a bit surprising to see that so many of the people you knew were somehow connected to him.

“Ryo stop being mean to Akira, she can do whatever she wants to do.” Like a true mom friend Azusa let out a soft sigh as he looked at the people on his screen. Azusa, was probably the only “new addition” you had to your group.

It was a bit surprising to say this but it was Sakusa who had introduced you and Motoya to the purple haired man who became your friend instantly. Apparently Azusa was one of the only people Sakusa respected enough to introduce to his circle, even his MSBY team members hadn’t received that privilege yet.

“Why can’t you all just shut up?” The final person in your tiny little group spoke up as he hid his face with the cloth of his turtleneck , “You guys are way too loud.”

“Now now,” Motoya intervened, “Why don’t we all start with the games already?”

Ryo’s lips turned up to form a competitive grin, “Of course, I’m going to pummel all of you to the ground.”

“Not if i pummel you first you stupid hoe,” Akira yelled at her screen but it was obvious that the declaration was meant for the only person who considered to be her rival (who she used to watch disney movies with and cried)

Sakusa had won all the games.

They didn’t play many games , just a few basic ones like Pictionary , bingo, and some trivia. They added a little spice to it by incorporating sharpies, drinks and junk food into the equation but at the end of it all, Sakusa was the only one who was fully sober while the rest were stuffed and tipsy and had drawings all over their face.

“FUCK,” you raised your head from Motoya’s shoulder and looked at the small square box where Ryo was staring at his lap? table? well whatever it was, “WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME THAT I WAS USING A PERMANENT MARKER ON MY FACE?”

You let out a loud laugh as you looked at his face, there were drawings all over it - a proof that he lost miserably against Sakusa’s prowess - and the fact that he couldn’t get rid of it easily combined with her tipsy state , she burst into laughter.

The kind of laughter that made it hard to breathe and was so painful that you had to clutch your stomach , despite knowing that doing so had absolutely no impact on the pain you felt. Your laughter must’ve triggered a domino as everyone who was present in the zoom meeting started cackling, except for of course Ryo who was staring at all of you angrily.

“Whatever I’m leaving you assholes,” Ryo grumbled as he moved towards his laptop before moving back, “I’m only leaving because my mother is calling me so don’t bother pestering me to join again. Merry Christmas and bye you dicks.”

“Hey guys,” Akira’s girlfriend, Sumire, popped up on her screen and smiled sheepishly at the group, “Kira’s completely knocked out so I’m just gonna tuck her in. I’m sure she appreciated this, she’s been feeling funky lately.”

“No problemo Sumire,” you smiled at the girl, “the pleasure was all ours. Merry Christmas beautiful!”

Sumire blushed at the compliment before smiling at everyone, “Merry Christmas everyone, good night.”

“Aight I’m gonna sleep. I have work to finish tomorrow , this was fun guys.” Azusa smiled at them wryly as he clutched his head , he had always been the most sensitive to alcohol in their group.

“Good night Zuzu!”

The boy blushed at the nickname before growling angrily , “STOP CALLING ME THAT.”

You and Motoya shared a laugh as he left, the only people who were left in the meeting now were the two of you and Sakusa who seemed like he was on the verge of falling asleep then and there.

“Goodbye.”

Never mind , Sakusa left as well.

You laughed at his antics , already expecting an eloquent text about how the event was fun from the MSBY player, before you moved forward to shut down your laptop and Motoya’s laptop.

“Are we gonna get up to wash our face?” Motoya grumbled as he pulled you back into his arms.

“We can wait till tomorrow can’t we?” You nuzzled into his neck before placing a soft kiss there, “Thank you for doing this love. It was really fun.”

“Mm,” he nodded slowly , “it was. Maybe next year it will be better?”

“We can only hope can’t we?” You raised your head to press soft kisses on his face, “Besides as long as I’m with you, every Christmas is amazing.”

Motoya stared at you for a moment before the two of you burst out laughing, “That was so cheesy!”

“I know right? I almost couldn’t keep a straight face when I said it.”

“I love you so much,” Motoya leaned down to kiss you languidly before resting his forehead on yours, “I’m gonna marry you someday.”

“Bold of you to assume I’ll say yes.”

“I know you will. Weren’t you the one who asked me to marry you on our first date?”

“That was because you gave me cake!”

“Yeah yeah,” Motoya moved in his position to make you more comfortable as you laid on his chest, “Merry Christmas love.”

“Merry Christmas handsome.”

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ask-de-writer · 4 years ago

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Dr. Mordenheim’s Travels, Book 1: De Writer’s Equestria, Ch. 8

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Dr. Mordenheim’s Travels, Book 1: De Writer’s Equestria, Ch. 8

@mordenheim

2319 words

used by permission of the author

TUMBLR EXEMPTION

Blog holding members of Tumblr.com may freely reblog this story provided that the title, author and copyright information remain intact, unaltered, and are displayed at the head of the story.

Fan art, stories, music, cosplay and other fan activity is actively encouraged.

===================================================

NEW TO THIS STORY? READ FROM PART 1 which is HERE

===================================================

Dr. Mordenheim’s Travels, Book 1: De Writer’s Equestria, Ch. 8

Dr. Victor Mordenheim has traveled to many different realities in his many centuries of existence. This series, which I shall add to from time to time, will explore some of them, beginning with the world of @ask-de-writer. Note: This tale takes place before the Hearthswarming story. It is actually the night after the Nightmare Night Celebration. =============================================================

The huge zebra sat at the table, waiting for the entrance of the two sisters. Luna had essentially twisted his foreleg until he finally agreed to meet with her sister, Celestia. Given that in his own world, Celestia was responsible for his curse and much of the suffering he experienced in his long, long life it had taken a LOT of twisting.

He clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and wished silently that he had brought his pipe. He imagined that it was likely bad manners to smoke inside of the royal palace, but his nerves were shot. He gazed around the room, which was smoothly tiled and decorated mostly in white and gold with deep midnight blue and black highlights. The black of a few of the tiles was so deep that he felt he might fall into one if he stared at it for too long.

He glanced back over his shoulders to the four guards posted by the huge double doors. Three of them stood at attention, their heads scanned the room as proper, well trained guards would. The fourth had his eyes locked on the “good” doctor, sneering with disdain at what he obviously considered a “lesser” creature. Victor turned away and rolled his eyes, sighing softly. There really was no escaping ignorance.

After a few moments there came a knock at the door. A new guard leaned in and whispered something to one of the others before the two nodded to one another and she backed out and closed the door.

“Night court is running late, I am afraid. Princess Luna will be unable to attend tea with her sister this evening. However, Princess Celestia shall be appearing in a few moments.

The zebra swallowed hard and felt his heart sink into his gut. This was not at all what he had agreed to. Meeting the two of them together was bad enough, at least he would have Princess Luna to lean on a bit and guide him through the ordeal, but this? This was almost too much to bear.

Victor stared wordlessly into the cup of milky tea swirling before him. His hooves tapped nervously on the tabletop as he waited. He turned his head to the left, casting furtive glances towards the door. The door where a mare who was the spitting image of the one who ruined his life would soon enter. He cast his eyes over to the side of the room and briefly considered hurling himself through the glass to escape. It might be poor form, but he wouldn’t have to face his fear alone.

He knew in his head that she was not the same mare who had been responsible for his centuries of torment, but he was not so sure of how his heart would react to seeing her face to face. He took a deep, cleansing breath through his nose and slowly exhaled through his mouth as he tried to get his nerves under control.

The door opened and he felt his heart freeze like ice. He turned to see the Princess of the Sun enter the room, alone. She was slightly taller than he, her rainbow mane seeming to blow in an eternal solar wind even in the still air of the room. He felt a sudden urge to flee settle into him until he met her gaze.

Her eyes met his and studied him with curiosity. Where the Celestia he knew would only look upon him with coldness and disdain, there was none of that here. Her eyes held genuine concern. Her violet gaze seemed warm and inviting, like being bathed in the gentle light of the sun after a cold storm. He started to speak, then stopped. Unused to the process he bowed low as he did for her sister, if a bit stiffly.

The princess smiled brightly, “My sister told me that you were quite nervous about our meeting, yet it seems something has changed that already. What was it?”

He cast his gaze downwards, ashamed of how frightened he had been. “One look into your eyes and I could see that you were not the tyrant ruler of my old home, despite many physical similarities. Your eyes speak of inviting kindness, while hers spoke of solitude and hatred.”

Celestia, let out a musical laugh. She moved about a few of the massive array of cakes set before her to make eye contact easier. No doubt many of these were part of her sister’s bribe. “I am glad to see you are so observant. The ability to see more than one’s appearance is a very important trait to have.”

The zebra finally took a small sip of his tea. He enjoyed the milky richness and the slight sweetness on his tongue. He thought about her words and tilted his head a bit. “And what do you see beneath my appearance?”

The tall mare looked thoughtful for a moment. Her first few words were muffled, spoken as they were around a mouthful of cake. “Power… Great power and intelligence, and a kindness and wish to help others.” Her wistful look turned to one of sorrow, “Beneath that, however, is pain.. More pain than anyone should have to endure. There’s a darkness down there, and that makes you a dangerous stallion.”

Victor sat his cup down with a shaking hoof. The porcelain made a soft clattering noise against the saucer. How much did she know, he wondered. Steeling himself, he forced his eyes to meet hers and was stunned to see not judgment, but compassion in her gaze. “I have done many things I am not proud of over the centuries. Things I wish I could go back and change, but I can’t. All of this power and all of the time in the universe…” “Yet you can’t change the past…” Celestia finished for him.

He nodded mutely and stared down into his tea for a moment.

The princess reached across the table and lightly touched his shoulder with a hoof. The zebra was so tense it was like touching a moss-covered stone. “I don’t know what you’ve done in the past, but that was another place, another world entirely. Here, I want you to know that you can start over. A clean slate, as it were.”

She stared into the depths of her own tea for a moment. “I know what happened at the celebration last night.”

Victor had gripped the edge of the table with his hooves so tightly that the wood sounded like it was beginning to splinter. He glanced at the guards, his voice a hoarse whisper. “They were inciting violence around children, I couldn’t just…”

She smiled softly, “I know… I know everything that happened, Victor. Luna knew what had happened and we do not keep secrets from one another.”

The zebra was confused by the smile, but relaxed a little. She hadn’t shouted for the guards so all may still be well.

“My apologies. A transgression like that where I come from could result in several years in the dungeon, if not becoming a permanent addition to the royal statue garden.” He rubbed a bit at his eye patch and chuckled nervously, but could see genuine concern in Celestia’s eyes.

“I’m sorry to hear that. To think that a punishment for a crime would be levied without looking into all circumstances involved, or worse that the circumstances did not matter is horrible. To think that it comes from a version of myself, even more so.” The tall alicorn helped herself to another piece of cake from the rapidly dwindling pile. As she took a bite, she mulled over a few thoughts.

“It doesn’t sound like you are in any particular hurry to go back there,” she said softly, taking a sip of tea.

“Not at all. There is nothing left for me there anymore. Everything was taken from me.” He picked up the mug of tea in his hooves and sipped at it sparingly. It had gone cold while they were waiting, but that was fine as far as he was concerned.

Victor was once more bathed in that comforting warmth as Celestia smiled at him. “You may, of course, stay here for as long as you wish. You are after all a citizen of Equestria, if not this particular version of it.” She giggled a bit, “Luna has also told me that you were so anxious to open your clinic that you forgot to get the proper licenses even after she told you directly.”

Victor blushed, a deep crimson showing through his pale fur. “Y..yes, well…” He stammered for a moment before nodding, “Very true. If Princess Luna had not been visiting that day I could have ended up in a rather large spot of trouble.”

“Ah! Before I forget! Luna was extremely impressed with the demonstration of your prostheses. She even said that it has pushed her to try improving on her own design. Perhaps the two of you should compare notes with one another and come up with a single design using your combined knowledge?”

Victor hummed and rubbed his chin, “I think that is an ingenious idea! If you think she would be willing, of course…”

Celestia chuckled to herself, “I think she would be delighted. After all, who knows what breakthroughs the two of you may devise?”

Victor slowly took another long, cleansing breath and allowed himself to relax at last. “Lord and Lady, I had been so nervous about this day. Thankfully, I see that it was for no good reason.”

The tall alicorn tilted her head at that statement, “Lord and Lady? I must admit that’s an expletive I have not heard before.”

“Ah..” Victor blushed a bit and thought he had gotten a bit too comfortable. “It is in reference to the parents of Princess Luna and Celestia from my own dimension. Lord Kraken and Lady Faust.”

The princess nodded. She took a very large bite of cake and chewed thoughtfully as she mulled it over, “Yes, I suppose that would make sense. Though it is interesting to hear that a version of myself and my sister came from an entirely different set of circumstances.”

The zebra lifted a fork in his hoof and took a small piece of the sugary sweet cake onto it, “Well, the circumstances, unfortunately, created a very different version of you both.”

Celestia took one look and could easily read the hurt in the doctor’s voice. She cleared her throat a bit and smiled once more at him, “Perhaps that is something we can discuss another time. This being our first meeting perhaps we should stick to more pleasant conversation.”

He placed the sugary treat into his mouth and let it melt upon his tongue. There was so much sweetness to it it made his teeth tingle, but it was still very flavorful. It wasn’t sweet just for sweetness sake, but crafted with love and care by someone who knew precisely what they were doing. “Mmm.. sorry..” He took a sip of his tea to clear some of the stickiness from his maw, “Did you have something particular in mind?”

“Well, the running of the leaves is in a few weeks. We’ve changed the route a bit so it runs past your clinic and will clear some of the mess out in that area. I was wondering if you were going to participate in the running itself?”

His ears perked up at the sound of that. How long had it been since he’d gone for a run and just really let himself loose? He could actually feel his true cutie mark trying to push its way pas the wolf-head curse mark on his flank for a moment. “I.. would like that very much, but I don’t know if I should…”

The princess blinked in surprise, sitting upright, “I don’t understand. The running is open to any creature who wishes to join in. What could be the problem?”

Victor chuckled a little, “Simply put, my skill as a scientist is purely due to study, hard work, and dedication. It has nothing to do with my talent.” He smiles, actually puffing up with pride a little, “While I may be a bit rusty, my true talent is running. I just don’t know if it would be fair to the others if I were to participate.”

She laughed a little, a high, cheerful piccolo like sound. “Oh, now I wish to see you run even more. If it is something you are skilled at and enjoy enough to brag about it in front of me, you must be impressive indeed!”

He blinked as he realized that he had just stepped in a mess with this turn of conversation. He sighed softly and shook his head, “Alright then, I will participate, but I just hope the other ponies won’t be upset if I show them up too badly.” He finished his small slice of cake and drained the last of his tea before smiling at her. However, the hour is late, and I still have a bit of paperwork to do before bed.” “Of course, of course. I should be getting to bed myself. It is a shame that Luna could not join us, but I did exercise enough restraint to save her a slice of cake.” Victor turned and bowed to the Princess, his head low to the carpet, “By your leave, your highness.”

She smiled and nodded, “Of course. I look forward to seeing you again soon, Doctor Mordenheim. I also look forward to what breakthroughs you and my sister may come up with.”

The zebra stood and turned to trot out of the room. He took great delight in the look of impotent rage on the face of one particular guard as he passed by.

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#Dr. Mordenheim’s Travels Book 1: De Writer’s Equestria #Chapter 8 #Hosted Tales #Written by @mordenheim

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attractionjapan · 7 years ago

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The Birth of Japan Game: Episode 2: The Backstory

The Birth of Japan Game is a chronicle in ten parts, recounting the early years of Dorian Gray’s journey along the path. The narrative begins some time in 2006 and concludes in early 2012. Names have been changed to protect the guilty and innocent alike. Previous episode here.

Let’s flash back to two years before I met Momoka, when I was a tall, lanky eighteen year old with a forgettable face and dreamy disposition. When I wasn’t working deadening rock bottom jobs such as cleaning hotel rooms, I had my head buried in a book. I’d had girlfriends before and the occasional one night stand – okay, “drunken hook-up�� is more accurate; I don’t believe teenagers can actually have a “one night stand,” which sounds like something a heavily sweating, hard-driven lawyer might do with an aging beautician after meeting in a hotel bar – but I was prone to depression and easily became discouraged; my identity did not allow for the active, much less aggressive, pursuit of women.

I first encountered Japanese people while wandering the campus of my university in Australia as a first year student. I’d moved to the city from a small town and had few friends, so instead of sitting in my room all day I decided to walk about and see if anything interesting was happening. I was awkward and naive but desperate to live; my high school years had been burdened by my failure to connect with the right crowd and the girls I wanted most. Now it was time for a new beginning. I’d even started visiting bars and clubs in the city, though I was usually too nervous to do much but stand around like a spectator.

It was the start of the first semester. The weather was sunny and clear, and students filled every corner of the campus’s open lawn. There were food stalls from other countries – Singapore, Malaysia, India – and hundreds of girls, both domestic and foreign: bronzed Australians in mini shorts, tall African goddesses, severe-looking European blondes with high cheek bones, and all manner of Asians. While walking across the grass I noticed a small group of the latter sitting in a circle and enjoying chicken kebabs from one of the stalls. On impulse I sat down and introduced myself to a young man with a mop of shiny black hair. His English was halting at first, but he seemed eager to talk and introduced himself as Hayato, an exchange student from Kyoto. He’d arrived in Australia two months earlier. Soon we were deep in conversation, drawing amused stares from the other Japanese students. I confessed to an almost total ignorance of his culture, and he promised to explain it to me if I’d help him with his English.

The part about my ignorance wasn’t strictly true. Like many my age, I’d grown up on Nintendo, and I enjoyed the occasional anime or Japanese film – the works of Takashi Miike and Takeshi Kitano being particular favorites. But my image of Japan had been formed entirely by the motley assortment of cultural products that had made it through to the West; I saw it as a land of flashing lights and flying ninjas, a garish mixture of the rigidly traditional and surreally post-modern. It was a land of raw fish and flashing arcades, unreadable glyphs and gleaming perversions. I hadn’t given any thought to the everyday lives of the Japanese; hadn’t, in fact, seen them as people at all. There had been no Japanese or other Asians in my small hometown, so I’d never had to test my preconceptions against reality. On a whim I’d joined the campus Anime Club, but had found it full of social misfits with doubtful hygiene – not the best place to make friends. Most of the members were bitter cosplaying lesbians and obese shut-ins unable to make eye contact. I stopped going after the second meeting.

Later in the week Hayato invited me to a party at his flat with the other exchange students, and our friendship developed quickly. I helped him with his English, often completing entire assignments for him, while he introduced me to his culture – and more importantly, his psychology. Hayato (who is now the editor of a major Japanese newspaper) was a clever and sometimes cruel young man who enjoyed amusing himself with his wide-eyed Australian friend. He taught me all kinds of obscenities which he claimed were common greetings, and I dutifully repeated them to the female exchange students, earning some truly shocked and withering looks. But he was right about Japanese food, which I quickly came to love: the subtle flavors and tart simplicity, how I could eat as much as I wanted without feeling full. I learned the names of all different kinds of sushi – toro, maguro, ikura, uni, buri, engawa – fish whose names I barely knew in English.

But Hayato’s greatest gift, and one of the most decisive influences on my life, was his encouragement to learn Japanese. The first time he brought it up I smiled and nodded but dismissed him immediately: how could anyone really memorize thousands of kanji characters and the fiendish intricacies of that alien, arcane grammar? I’d picked up remedial French and Spanish in high school, but at least those used the Roman alphabet. Japanese was uncharted territory, and nothing I knew would be of any use.

“You’ll pick it up quickly,” Hayato assured me. “Don’t worry – we’ll all help you. Once you get a Japanese girlfriend it’ll be easy!”

I was just naive enough to believe him, and the next semester I enrolled in an introductory language class. My motivation was as much practical as idealistic; my Media Studies degree was looking increasingly useless, and I wanted a certifiable skill I could write on my resume. The prospect of a future translation job seemed incentive enough to continue. Speaking a bit of French and Spanish seemed trivial in comparison with reading a Japanese newspaper or watching a Kurosawa film without subtitles, and the fluent Australian students in the classes above me struck me as incredibly worldly and sophisticated. Many of them showed me pictures of their Japanese girlfriends, some of whom showed up to meet them after class. I was certain that at last I was on the right path.

Learning Japanese proved to be an adventure beyond the scope of this book – those interested are advised to consult the numerous websites on the theme. The language was demanding but curiously logical – more so, in fact, than English, with its numerous irregular verbs and irrational spellings. As expected, the kanji writing system was the biggest challenge, but even it yielded unexpected felicities. Once I cleared the initial hurdles, I discovered that a pictorial rather than phonetic writing system made sense in ways I hadn’t imagined. I gained a feel for the character combinations and learned to figure out the readings of unfamiliar words. The language, which had once been forbidding and inaccessible, became practical, even poetic.

More importantly, learning Japanese was my key to understanding Japanese culture. I was suddenly introduced to an unsuspected world of music and film, art and fashion. Why had I never heard of Ayumi Hamasaki and Shiina Ringo? Or read FRUiTS magazine, with its cavalcade of front-line Harajuku fashions? What about the Shibuya-kei music scene of the 1990s with its links to French pop and American indie? Japan was no longer a cliched planet of craziness, it was an entire world with its own codes and jokes, clothes and trends and thousands of years of history. I took another language class, and another, and then ones on culture and economics. Before I knew it I’d taken on a whole new major: Japanese Studies.

While all this was happening, I maintained my close association with Hayato and the other exchange students. Most of them were a few years older than me, and looking back I can see that they thought of me as a little brother, pardoning whatever ridiculous cultural faux pas I made and indulging my fumbling attempts at speaking their language. All of us lived in the university’s student housing, so it was always easy to meet up for drinks and study sessions. Sometimes they invited me over for massive fry-ups of Japanese dishes I’d never heard of, like okonomiyaki and takoyaki – or in other words, savory cabbage pancakes and deep-fried chunks of battered octopus. They’re both much better than they sound.

The student housing was filled with young people from countless different countries, and in addition to my Japanese friends, I picked up all kinds of knowledge from Ethiopians, Mongolians, Indians, Malaysians, and a variety of Europeans. And of course, there were other Australians. One of them, Daryl, was a slick character with a salesman’s smile and natural Aussie charm. He had no interest in Japanese language or culture but still hung around the exchange students, often showing up at parties and dinners. I was a bit suspicious of him at first, but he seemed harmless enough.

Before long my thoughts returned to what Hayato had said about getting a Japanese girlfriend. Obviously a personal language partner would be helpful, but I already had several competent teachers, and now I wanted a cool girl I could connect with. And so I considered the female exchange students. One of them, Tomomi, was more attractive than the rest. The others were short, squat and a bit chubby, and they didn’t seem to bother with makeup or suggestive clothing. Only Tomomi commanded attention. She was tall, with a curvy figure and a mischievous face that suggested a preference for partying rather than studying in her room. I decided that I had to make her mine, even though I had no idea how. She was in my social circle, if that term could be applied to the loose crowd cohering around the student flats, but it never occurred to me that I could simply knock on her door and invite her to dinner. My earlier overtures to girls had been either laughably grandiose – I once sent a girl an enormous, needlessly expensive bouquet of flowers, and wrote poems to others – or so subtle that they never registered at all. I was about as far from a natural as anyone could be. Still, I felt certain that if I remained in Tomomi’s orbit, the right chance would come for us to connect.

So I was taken aback, as you might imagine, when Daryl started fucking her.

His tactic had been everything mine wasn’t: casual but fearlessly direct. He’d gone around to her apartment with some drinks, and before long they’d started making out. Within a few days they were inseparable.

I’d been beaten to the punch, and I wasn’t happy. Predictably, I became depressed and moped around for days.

“Don’t feel so bad,” Hayato reassured me. “There are lots more like her.”

He wasn’t wrong, and the next year, when he returned to Japan, Hayato made good on his word. A new exchange student would be arriving from his university, he told me, and he wanted me to show her around campus and help her settle in. His meaning was clear: this girl was for me. Her name was Maya.

If the implication that Hayato could simply give her to me like a gift seems demeaning, it’s important to remember that these kinds of introductions are common in Japan, where women often meet their boyfriends through a mutual acquaintance. The hierarchical system of sempai (senior) and kouhai (junior) means that these acquaintances are usually older students at their high school or university, or a boss or manager at their company. The culture is gradually changing, but it’s still common and considered normal. Looked at this way, Maya and I were both Hayato’s kouhai, and as such it was natural that he should introduce us. Maya later told me that he had written her a long email praising my character and encouraging her to go on a date with me if she were so inclined. In other words, I was a gift for her as much as she was for me.

(Daryl, incidentally, tired of Tomomi within two months and moved on to seducing other foreign students. Even to this day I can’t think of him without feeling a twinge of jealousy, but now it’s leavened with amusement).

When I heard that Maya had arrived, I went around to her flat and left a message for her. We met up the next day in the university cafeteria. She was a tall girl, very thin, with an angular body, elfin features and slightly crooked teeth that actually enhanced her smile. Talking to her, I saw that she was a genuinely good-natured person without a trace of negativity. I showed her around campus and later took her around the city, all the while planning how to make my move. I eventually decided to invite her to Zero Hour, a bar on campus. It had a balcony and lots of dark recesses for private conversations, and the music, though loud, usually wasn’t deafening.

Maya accepted the invitation, and we met in front of the bar on the night I’d specified. Soon we were inside and sharing a pitcher of beer. True to my calculating nature, I’d gotten some Australian friends to “accidentally” wander by and talk me up, which they dutifully did. I’m sure a more cynical girl would have been suspicious, but Maya didn’t seem to suspect anything and acted duly impressed. An hour or two passed, the bar filled up and the music got louder. Both of us relaxed and moved onto the dance floor. I reached over and took her hand as Sly and the Family Stone’s “Everyday People” came on over the speakers. The ridiculous camp atmosphere perfectly matched my overblown emotions. With no destination in mind, I led Maya off the dance floor and out of the bar. It was a warm night and the stars were out; a crowd of students milled around the entrance. My heart was racing as I led her along the path leading back to the student flats. We eventually stopped in an out-of-the-way area between buildings, where we sat on a disused office table that was waiting to be placed in storage. We were both drunk enough that our trivial conversation seemed momentous, and before long we were making out. Then I pulled a kokuhaku, or confession, formally asking her to be my girlfriend. She accepted, and more kissing ensued. Not long after, a random drunk Australian wandered by on his way home.

“You guys are a good couple,” he said.

I could have led Maya back to my room right then – our flats were not far from each other’s, and she was clearly willing. In fact, she later asked me why I hadn’t immediately taken her back to my place. I honestly didn’t know. Perhaps I still had some nonsense idea of how a gentleman was supposed to behave or, more likely, I simply hadn’t thought of it.

The next day I went to her flat and an all-day sex session commenced. She was as eager as I was, and seemed surprised that I was interested in her.

“I wasn’t sure last night really happened,” she said. “I thought you’d wake up today and not want to see me again.”

I reassured her that she was all I wanted. Soon we were a serious couple, sleeping over at each other’s flats most nights and travelling around Australia together during our vacation time. Our groups of friends merged and I ended up staying with her for nearly two years, even after she returned to Japan, as I continued my education in her language and culture. I was hopeless at first, and we almost always spoke in English, with her encouraging my fledgling attempts at coherent Japanese sentences.

This was one of the happiest periods of my life, and for a while it seemed that all my dreams had come true. Maya had a sunny disposition and no sexual hang ups; in fact she was open to experimenting with costumes, role playing and other things which I’d been too shy to suggest to my previous girlfriends. I confessed all kinds of fantasies, and she embraced every one of them with naive enthusiasm. Our mutual foreignness made us bold with each other, and our erotic life quickly became colorful.

The year passed quickly in relative bliss. By now I’d set my sights on studying in Japan and perhaps even living there for good. At the time I imagined this as the next step in my relationship with Maya – or at least that’s what I told myself, and looking back, I think I believed it. But I was gradually changing, becoming more confident, looking ahead to new experiences. And somewhere in the back of my mind, the hunger for more girls was already growing.

The post The Birth of Japan Game: Episode 2: The Backstory appeared first on Attraction Japan.

from Attraction Japan http://attractionjapan.com/birth-japan-game-episode-2-backstory/

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