[Uraboku] Bruises and Bitemarks (3/?)

[rooftop_sakura]

Title: Bruises and Bitemarks
Author: masanami
Character(s): Hotsuma/Shusei, mentions of Senshirou/Kuroto, Takashiro, Tachibana, and others
Word Count: 6,200
Rating: R
Warnings: Host AU. Suggestive material.
Summary: Shusei's the perfect host and Hotsuma's the perfect person to ruin everything for him.
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in getting this out

Comments

[ravanna]

And I am more than happy that my words mean so much to you, too, kinda influencing you ♥

And I really think that how you again pointed it out to me here, that is just exactly how we as readers got to see him in the story as well - as someone only knowing these values, at least knows how to handle them and what affection is worth how much trying, and I also think this was not - too sudden, or something, for we always have to think in terms of Shusei's Host-being, and how much actually (has to) happen(s) in one night, depending on how muchb he tries and how much his costumer drinks/pays. I do think it makes perfect sense for them to become intimate so sudden - especially seeing they're men, which might be a clishé but I actually think it's not - and I just LOVE how Hotsuma tries to understand Shusei's behaviour and even think in his terms and his timelines and whatnot but - fails. How could he NOT?

*smiles* You're too cute, darling. There's really no need to thank me; you're the one really infecting me again and again with the intensity of their relationship and how well AUs can work, if one keeps them in character as you do ♥

[masanami]

For the same reasons you pointed out that this IS Shusei's world and his values and morals that are moving the timeflow and story--it's so different from the Shusei we know in canon who cannot make those moves (and maybe I am pointing out my own flaws, maybe not, since we present these same personalities in a different light and a different background, not tied together by a past and destiny that has bound them together)--but still. It is this Shusei and his speed and his knowledge that drives his actions. ahhh but I do SO love discussing and thinking about it--maybe breaking it apart and seeing its flaws but still loving it on a whole.

♥ ♥ ♥

[ravanna]

I think that's why I included "Name" in the OST as well - somehow it so shows the certain emptiness in Shusei's world, though it holds exactly the amount of "things" one needs to actually "live", but I do see Shusei's form of "living" more than the one of simply "existing". Now he's found something of True value and wants to keep it, but - how, if you never really learned how to cling to something when all you ever wanted to have actually came back to YOU?
And aaah, breaking, yes. Haha, I know about THAT, seeing how I destroyed and disrupted and tore my own characters apart in TS ^__~

(and hon, you got any idea how long B&B as going to be? Because I do wonder; there's still so much room yet I think it's also a difficult development still coming for them, and SO many possibilities to end it. Gaah!!)

♥ I so love all these discussions with you, too. One should never stop doing so.

[masanami]

That's so true. Shusei's eyes have been sorta dead to the world--everything has a veil around it that can't quite touch him even though he lives and breathes in it--until Hotsuma comes along and he's suddenly thrust into this abyss that he cannot understand because it does not conform to what he knows and perhaps that is what confuses him the most--that and the fact that he cares and does so deeply want concern to show but at the same time he has no way of expressing it in any terms but the ones he knows.

oh god don't even get me started on how torn and broken you've made these lovely, lovely boys in TS. My heart is still reeling from that last chapter and still just so--so crushed. Even through all the heartbreak I have loved every moment, every second of it. I cannot wait to see what else you have to share with us...as you wrap things up and leave us with your final thoughts ♥

Originally I only planned on B&B being a few chapters long, maybe 4-5, but now I think it will be longer. Maybe closer to 8-10? It's hard to say, especially with the lengths that I have written these chapters, which are so much longer than the normal length I usually write for multi-chapter fics. Even this chapter wasn't meant to be in this place, an entire chapter I added simply because I felt the foundations and lines of Hotsuma and Shusei's relationship needed to be more closely defined before I could move forward into what comes next...because all the characters I have introduced so far will have a dynamic impact on their relationship, on the fragility of it, as they struggle and try to connect among the dark city that is Kabuchiko and all that it means by Shusei being wrapped up in this sort of lifestyle.

I do love these discussions too, darling, for they are definitely a bright spot during my days ♥

[ravanna]

I also think that accepting this sort of new world MUST be hard, and difficult, and I love his way of dealing with it - on the one hand absolutely being overwhelmed, not knowing what to do and which behaviour is the right one, on the other throwing himself completely into Hotsuma's arms - like he so wants this change as much as he fears it. Loved the iomage of a shell being cracked, and you just pierce into it with your fingers and get it bursting. It fits so well here.

And now I am SO curious! The other characters will be of huge importance, too? Waaah, that's amazing, darling; I SO love stories with more views, more people actually touching the story of the main characters and changing their attitudes as well as their wishes, and I am SO curious for Kuroto's role and aaah *__*
But it's funny how it sometimes gets so hard to nail down how long something's going to be. As long as there's plot, and list, always give it a go, and share even the B-sides with us (we need a Kuroto/Senshirou B-Side for this story, hooon! Only something short but - please?;_;)

♥

[masanami]

I think of a lot of their relationship will be defined by characters we have only just begun to see :) Hopefully the other characters' involvement will be as enjoyable and meaningful as the rest...for they all will certainly impact Hotsuma and Shusei in some way or another...in ways that may or may not be noticeable quite yet^^

Senshirou and Kuroto most definitely have a backstory that's already been developed in my head, one very relevant, in some ways, to Shusei. Hopefully I'll be able to incorporate that story in with this one ♥