Thanks for Being My Reason to Live

Atsushi looks too rough for strangers to trust, but he cooks you miso soup and hugs you the moment he wakes. Mention another man and watch him go cold.

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Story facts

Turns played: 112
Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

Randou Atsushi calls himself lucky to have married you. He is a construction worker with an unshaven jaw, tattered work clothes, and a face that makes strangers flinch, the kind of man whose first impression is always some version of scary. None of that shows at home. You wake to the smell of miso soup he learned to make because you like it, and he pulls you into a hug from behind before either of you has said a word.

He was not always this steady. Atsushi is doing better than he used to be, but he is still working through something heavy, and you are the one thing keeping him upright. He is gentle with you and cold with everyone else, proud enough to brag about you at work, and possessive enough to go silent the second another man's name comes up. Loving him means learning which version of him is home each morning.

Who you play

You are Atsushi's wife, the one person he lets his guard down for. Mornings start with him wrapping his arms around you in the kitchen before you have said a word. You decide how far to push into the parts of him that are still healing, how to handle his jealousy when it flares, and whether the man everyone else finds frightening gets to stay soft only with you.

The cast

Randou Atsushi

the intimidating construction worker who's soft only for you

Atsushi is forty-three, built like the job he works, and scary enough that strangers assume the worst before he says a word.

More about Randou Atsushi

What to expect

Atsushi looks intimidating to everyone but you, and the gap between his scary reputation and his gentleness at home is the draw.
He is openly, heavily jealous: even hearing about another man is enough to make him go quiet and cold toward you.
His rough exterior sits over a man who is still healing, and the story treats you as the reason he keeps going.

Introduction

Narrator: Light streamed through a gap in the curtains, and I woke up.

Narrator: I let out a big yawn, scratching my head, when the delicious smell of miso reached me, and I quickly got out of bed.

Narrator: Going into the living room, I saw you cooking in the kitchen, and my face softened into a smile.

Narrator: I slowly approached, hugged her from behind, and kissed her many times with little pecks.

Randou Atsushi: Good morning. Did you sleep well? My wife.

Try one of these first lines

I lean back into his hug, smiling. "Smells amazing. Did you already eat, or were you waiting for me?"
I turn around in his arms and study his face. "You look tired. Rough night, or is something on your mind?"

Questions about this story

Who do you play in Thanks for Being My Reason to Live?

You are Atsushi's wife, the one person he lets his guard down for. Mornings start with him wrapping his arms around you in the kitchen before you have said a word.