Where do I start with this other than the obvious "... Woah!" or possibly "Veni..."

I just got blown away by a devastating combo of fascinating content and beautiful use of language. It feels pretty damn good.

Right from the get-go, you throw us into Otogi's world, making us see and feel things as he sees and feels them. The ennui he exhibits literally drips off of every word and observation, turning him into a gorgeous centrepiece for the story. It also made me more than a little jealous of a life so entrenched in success and sensation that such things become a bore. Making the reader empathise with a character that has some deeply unpleasant character quirks is a difficult job, but you managed it expertly.

The whole piece brought to mind the old classics of Victorian horror. The concept of a successful, popular, desirable protagonist harbouring a second, darker side. In this case it's two-fold.

The Otogi that has everything he needs provided for him - Mirrored by the Otogi that desires nothing more than to be put down. To lose.

The lover that knows everything to say at the right moment, and has a thousand perfectly-timed means of making someone feel like the centre of his universe - Whilst simultaneously working on an almost mechanical, inhuman level to go through the motions.

Very reminiscent of Dorian Gray, especially towards the end where all the pleasures of the world become a meaningless blur of sensations that are indistinguuishable from one another, bringing only spite and boredom.

I've just likened your fic to one of my favourite pieces of fiction of the last 200 years. I think that says it all ;

As a final thought: Your author notes were absolutely delectable. I love to see the inner workings of a writer's mind, charting a piece from start to finish. It was fascinating to see where the initial seed of the story began and how it spread upwards from there. I look forward to seeing more such notes in the future ;)

Many thanks, and best wishes

~Jack~