#ask sync

[syncrime]

God I'm in such a yearning mood. Literally losing my mind over thinking about slow makeouts with Zhao

OHHHHHH that's such a sweet thought!! 🥺🥺 I hope you don't mind if I just—

———

It was inevitable, the way you were drawn to one another. It was true when you first met many months ago on a sunny day in Ijincho, and it's true now, watching movies together on opposite ends of the couch. It always starts off that way, just something innocent in intent; a means to spend more time together laughing and talking, but there's always something, some unspoken, unseen force that draws the two of you together until you meet halfway.

And that's about where you both are on the couch right now, the movie playing in the background, forgotten, while you hum, content, in between kisses. You're not quite the tangle of limbs or clothes just yet—though the night is long, and he has nowhere that he needs to be tomorrow—the two of you simply exist within each other's spaces, sharing heat and tender caresses. Of a cheek, idly stroking with his thumb. With a hand splayed down and around your neck, right in that little junction where it meets your shoulder, where his nails graze. Of your lower back as he drags you closer until you're almost, almost, on top of him.

You both have every opportunity to slip a hand beneath clothes, knowing full well that that's all it takes for them to come off, but that's just too messy for this quiet moment. All either of you really want from the other is nothing more than this; an organised mess and kisses that are both gentle and forceful; where you lean into him, and he accepts all that you are.

His eyes are gleaming and his smile is somehow sleepy when you pull back. But not for breath. Not when you both breathe the other full of love and life. No, you part from him with a final peck at his lips to reach up and pull his glasses of his face, folding them slowly, gently, and then reaching past him to put them somewhere safe. He lets you do this, watching you all the while with an easy smile. Zhao turns his head as you lean past him, his lips finding your pulse just to feel its rhythm; the unshakeable proof that he has you. He kisses his way up it until he finds your lips again, anchoring you into place with a hand on the back of your head. He tilts his head just so, pulling you closer, as if that alone will let him taste you all the more.

He swears it does.

And all the while, the movie continues to play, until the credits roll and the screen darkens, and all that remains is white noise.

[syncrime]

Here's a slightly angsty thought: idk if this is a proper trope, but I see Zhao calling you up in the middle of the night to see if he can come over. As much as he values honesty, handling his emotions can be troublesome at times. So whatever's tormenting him, he turns to you for comfort, which in this case is sleeping with you (whichever way you interpret it) You do manage to get him to open up though so he knows he really can trust you

(Zhao, my beloved, I will drop everything to see if you're okay🤧)

Wehhh me too nonnie!! WE LOVE SOME HURT/COMFORT IN THIS HOUSE 🙏🙏 At least I think this classifies as hurt/comfort 🤔

I really could see him doing this tbh, but not before a little (or a lot) of hesitation on his part, because he just got out of cleaning up a mess some of his boys inadvertently left behind, and it's like 3am, which is kind of the norm for him honestly, but it isn't for you, but he really wants to see you? So he's humming and hawing and keeps his thumb over the call button, wondering what he could even say, because he knows he's gonna be waking you up if he does hit that button.

And then he gets a text?

From you?

hey are you up?

And he immediately responds:

yeah. just got done wrapping some shit up. you ok? its pretty late

had a weird dream. been rolling around ever since

well can i come by? i was kinda wanting to call you tbh. kinda in a mood too.

yeah of course!

Things just kind of have a way of working out for the two of you tbh; coincidences that make everything feel right. Right by you, right by him. Makes you feel right for each other too, even though neither of you say it. But you feel it in the way he smiles at you when you open the door for him twenty minutes later. And in the warmth he radiates when he pulls you in for a hug you both need.

Rest comes easy for you both after that.

[syncrime]

Does Zhao speak Mandarin?

Wohhh nonnie hello!! 💖

I do like to think so!! While he did say in game that a lot of second and third gen Chinese in Yokohama can’t speak it (and he does fall into that category), I think he was defs raised with two languages. He refers to certain dishes with the proper intonation (as far as I can hear) in party chats and table convos too, and well, being leader of the Liumang for 10 years - not to mention very likely to have been groomed to take over since he was young - it makes sense to me for him to be able to speak his mother tongue. 🤔 He’s no Mabuchi though, Zhao only speaks Japanese and Mandarin. He could learn more, he has the capacity, he just, as he’s said before, lacks the motivation and drive.

Thank you nonnie, I hope this was helpful 😭🙏

[syncrime]

*slides you a wrinkly old dollar* Please talk about Saejima and why he's the best boy

YOU. You. I like you nonnie. I like you very much. Because Saejima is VERY good and is one of my top Yakuzie characters, and I thank you so much for letting me ramble about him. 😭💖

Spoilers for Y4 and Y5 below, so be wary!

BUT TO BEGIN. What hits me like a damn truck every time I think about Saejima is the fact that he wanted to be a teacher. He wanted to teach elementary school kids. He wanted to help them and guide them and hopefully put them on a solid path that lead to their futures. And looking at how gentle he actually is in canon? SAEJIMA WOULD HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL AT IT. HE WOULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST KIND AND NURTURING AND SUPPORTIVE TEACHER ANYBODY EVER SAW. HE WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST SO DAMN GOOD. 😤😤😭😭😭 But circumstance forced him into seedier avenues, until he could no longer back out (and honestly, given how black and white Japan's justice system is, the moment he eked even a toe across the line, that dream of his was long gone). Just the mental image of him in a colourful classroom full of kids who adore him, and kids he loves with his whole, gigantic heart, I just... wehhh 🥺🥺

Another thing I absolutely adore about Saejima is how much he cries. Big burly man like him who could crush my head with one hand, crying to an entire audience about how terrifying it is to kill someone? AND WHEN HE THOUGHT HE DID IT 18 TIMES?? (That's admittedly a grievance I have with Y4, I wish they didn't wipe his slate clean, it's.. such a contrivance sjdhf). The remorse he showed was genuine. The trauma related to that incident is real. AND HIS REUNION WITH SASAI!??!? I START TO CRY EVERYTIME, THE EXACT MOMENT SAEJIMA DOES BECAUSE FML. 😭😭💔💔💔 In this house we stan men who don't give two shits for toxic masculinity. Let men cry. Saejima does. A lot.

He's also generally just incredibly good natured and genuinely wants people to not only have ambition, but to succeed too?? This lends incredibly well into like... why he would have been a fantastic school teacher. What this doesn't explain however, is why, if he's been guiding Daigo along with Majima, there have been frequent Bad Decisions made for the Tojo Clan at large. 🤣🤣 Maybe Daigo says a thing, and he and Majima kinda of look at each other like

before saying, with forced smiles, "haha ok son, whatever u say..."

And speaking of his kyodai, his relationship with Majima is something I deeply cherish too, not only from Saejima's viewpoint, but Majima's too (which is a WHOLE OTHER THING TBH). Their loyalty and devotion to one another, their unshakeable faith in the other, their belief in the other's strength. And like, he is SO loyal, but he isn't reckless about it. Saejima's acceptance of Majima's "death" in Y5 is something I look very fondly at, because when Saejima found out about it, he didn't seek revenge. He wholly accepted that Majima isn't the type of man to go down easy, and whoever killed him was simply stronger than him, and that's all there is to it? That isn't to say he wouldn't have grieved, but it speaks to the kind of man he is, and the depth of his relationship with Majima that his first instinct is to find out the truth instead of revenge. Even in Y4 when he underwent that trial from the Florist? Where he had to kill his opponent in the arena in order to gain the info he wanted? My mans didn't do it. He's not going to bloody up his hands for his own gain. Not like that, and not ever. He's a selfless man who lives for the people he loves. And when he loves, he loves with his WHOLE DAMN HEART. 💖

IN THIS HOUSE WE STAN SAEJIMA TAIGA

...ya know what, it's been a hot minute since I replayed Y4 and Y5, I should do that to see my Battle Grandpa

[syncrime]

do you have a zhao playlist/songs that remind you of him? i need songs to put on my zhao playlist and brain empty

Ahh I'm sorry nonnie, but since my musical repertoire is embarrassingly limited, I don't really have anything on hand I can rec for our boy. 😔

The most I can offer you at the moment is that I think he's not too picky about music in general. If it makes him bob his head to the beat, he's into it, and if he likes it enough, he'll ask what song it is. He'd probably like something more energetic? Something he can sort of just be himself throughout? Whether that means singing (or yelling, whichever) the lyrics to a hit from the 80's at the top of his lungs and making a fool of himself, or genuinely vibing with something he feels helps him express himself (and sometimes those are one and the same), he's open to anything!

Sorry I couldn't give you a proper answer nonnie. 😔🙏

[syncrime]

This is definitely a shitpost but Zhao would absolutely use emojis like 🥰✨🧚‍♀️💖😍 because you can use them in a cute, affectionate way but also a sarcastic way (ie. ✨no✨🧚‍♀️)

Hskdkdkak THIS IS SO LEGIT THOUGH 😭😭🤣🤣🤣

Like it's completely indecipherable to the older members of the party (so Ichi, Nanba and Adachi), but Saeko and Joon-gi get it, and sometimes, in the big group text chat they absolutely have, sometimes it's just strings of emoji and they're the only ones who know what's going on.

[syncrime]

At some point you gotta wonder if RGG Studios knows how many simps their characters have. Like you cannot tell me they don't think their own creations are sexy as hell

Omg looking only at Majima’s evolution over the course of the series’ life, they are 1000000% aware of the sheer number of simps they pull in with every new game they release. He went from deathly pale, gaunt meth addict to... [GESTURES TO DRAGON ENGINE MAJIMA] THAT

Joon-gi is probably another good example to use; he was a shitbird in Y6—I didn’t personally like him at the very least, but as with all things, ymmv—but RGG Studios probably noticed people were like “oh he cute!!!!!!”, so they brought the design back for Y7/LaD and then made him a very polite murderer.

THEY KNOW.

🤣🤣

[syncrime]

Sometimes I hc that Zhao's dad was the kind of strict parent that polices their kid on what they should wear, so that affected how Zhao wanted to dress even as an adult. Like he fr does not give two shits what people think of his fashion choices these days because he's such a cool guy

GOD you might be right nonnie. Like Papa Tianyou was all about saving "face" and keeping pride intact, and Zhao, just really not feeling the Liumang, or any of that garbage, was like "haha yeah well watch THIS" and gets his ears pierced, gets an undercut, paints his nails, HOT GLUES STUDS AND SPIKES ONTO HIS SHOES, wore an extra ring everyday and would like... put his hands where his father could see them, just for the extra spite.

I bet when Zhao (begrudgingly) inherited the Liumang, he was really relieved to know about the Great Wall, and how everybody was actually working together. 😭