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physicalturian · 2 years

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[18+] Deranged Love - Hanma Shuji x F!Reader - Part 23

[Probably contains spoilers from the anime and the manga][She/Her pronouns used for the reader, no physical description; Everyone is +18]

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Only 2 chapters left!

Words : 10 585

Warnings : Explicit! / Manipulation / Gaslighting / Violence / Sexual subtext

- - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 -Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22

What happened yesterday was enough to have Rai take the day off, which I only learned through her absence at the office, not through a formal announcement. Sure, it was understandable for the woman to be shaken, but Hanma had told her he had been ‘joking’ for what it was worth. Clearly, it was not worth much considering she was taking so long to process it. Rai was not stupid, I knew that. It had been shown through how quick she had connected the dots, even with little help from external people. So, of course, Hanma’s little prank did not work on her, but at the time she had only gotten over it enough to kick us out. And yet, as much as the woman had been annoying and relentless, I feared for her life. She was not letting anything go, she was holding onto every piece of information she had, she was like a rabid dog.

And I knew full well what Hanma would say they did to rabid dogs in the organization…

That had me sigh in disappointment, it would be a shame to lose her over something so trivial.

“Excuse me, do you know where Rai Nayoko is? She’s a junior, she–”

I smiled politely at the person who had interrupted my work and chuckled, “She is out of office today, heard she needed to take a day off. If there’s anything you need done you could try Kawahara Minori on the second floor. I think she’s arrived a few weeks ago, her workload’s pretty low.” I explained calmly. Inside I was boiling at Rai’s disappearance, because I knew she had not warned anyone. Perhaps a part of her thought she had a pass because she could use whatever info she had against me, but I was not going to let it get to me. Sure, her absence for the day confused everyone—not once had she missed a day of work—but if I managed to make it look normal, everyone would believe it to be true and normal indeed.

“I was worried for a second! I’ll do that, could you send me the bill of–”

Nodding once more, I grinned, “It’s on its way right now, I was just finishing it. Do find Minori.” And I sent them off.

For some reason, my first instinct when I was alone once more was to text Hanma telling him that Rai was not here today. I wasn’t sure if I was telling him all this because I wanted to tell him about my day or if I thought he needed to know that specific information. I would like to think it was the latter, but part of me just wanted to talk to him.

That part felt even more excited when he replied rapidly.

H. : Didn’t kill her

H. : yet

H. : kidding

H. : cleaning up something then be ready at 5 main entrance

From the little emotions, or perhaps lack of any pictures or overused flirtatious words, I could guess he was currently ‘cleaning up’. My reply was short as I told him I’d be ready by then but I’d have to get changed.

His answer, while unexpected, was more than welcomed when I saw the short voice message I received from him, “Office clothes,” I heard a thud behind him and some metallic rattling, “can be hot, ya know, they fucking wish they could fuck you in that office in that skirt… reminds me that we gotta do that, shit it’s on my bucket list. Tell me when you’re free for me to swing by–” the voice message suddenly stopped after hearing Hanma sigh angrily. A few seconds after, he sent another one, out of breath, “I’ll swing by and fuck you in front of those stuck up people if that’ll take the stick out of their ass. That could be fun.”

I had a hard time deciding if I liked the idea or if I just found it funny to hear him talk about such a topic while taking care of someone. At least, taking care by the definition of Bonten.

With a short scoff, I stood up and moved to the empty corridor as I replied with a voice message, “Great idea, but only once everything’s taken care of and I don’t have to look at Rai’s puppy eyes while you’re fucking me. I think it’d be funnier to do it in front of someone other than my co-workers though.” I paused and brought the phone closer to my mouth, “Thoughts on Ran as our one and only public?”

Then I let go and sent the voice message.

Saying such a thing must have for sure riled him up, that’s why I smiled down at the phone before putting myself on do not disturb. Excitement coursed through my body as I shoved my phone in my pocket and went about my day. Was it the best thing to do? Not really. But was I looking forward to seeing him frustratedly looking at me, telling me I was fucking around with something I shouldn’t. Because deep down I hoped that’d be the thing that’d make him cave in and fuck me.

The entirety of the day, I was tempted to look at the screen or check if he had seen my message but I thought it’d be a lot more tasteful if I had his reaction in person. Half the time I was zoning out, thinking about Rai’s absence and what it meant, while the rest of the time I was over excited to see his pissed off expression after my suggestion.

It did not take a genius, after the many times I mentioned him, to know that Ran was a sensitive topic. But I also knew Hanma was rather… territorial, and I wanted to see it in action. I wanted to see if that one small push would be enough to be the tipping point to make him fuck me. I had been more than a fool to believe that for even one second. Hanma, while being an impulsive man, had the most restraint when it came to, well, me. It surprised me, knowing how easy he’d punch a man for speaking to him with an ounce of disrespect—how he’d get in a fight with anyone who would be too boring for him and thought themselves to be better than everyone in the room.

But that impulsivity sometimes proved itself to be one of the easiest ways to get me aroused—I thought about it when walking by the corridor in which I had met Ran a few weeks back. That time Hanma had been waiting for us when Ran tried to have his way with me, I had never felt more relieved from seeing what I thought, at the time, was the worst psychopath I had ever encountered.

With time I learned to rely on him, to relish his presence, his touch, to even yearn for the latter—which to everyone but me sounded fucked up. I was aware that the person I was before all of this would also find it strange, but things had changed.

Things had changed in ways that made it hard to decide where I stood—was I still on that fine line between good and bad or had I crossed it yet? Good and evil both were concepts that did not sit right with me, and sat even worse with Bonten. They surely called themselves monsters and thrived on that reputation, but they did not believe their actions to be evil, bad. Or perhaps, not all.

Instead of reflecting on where my morals stood, I looked ahead and walked out of the hub—surprised to not see Hanma. As I was about to grab my phone, my wrist was gripped forcefully and I was dragged to a familiar car, my heart thumping in my chest. Looking up, I grinned at Hanma’s chest and was forced against the car—the first words that came out of his mouth were, “Either your phone’s dead or you are, doll.”

That was enough to have me smiling like an idiot, something I shouldn’t have been doing but still did when I met his gaze—that fiery gaze shining with something that sent chills through my body when he tilted his head to the side and smiled sweetly. “Here, you’ve gone mute, let’s see which it is.”

His hands patted down my body to find my phone then with one simple gesture, the screen lit up. Tons of missed calls, messages and notifications adorned it before he shoved it in his pocket, “D’ya think it’s funny?” He asked before suddenly pressing his cheek against mine as he whispered playfully, yet threateningly, “Of course you do, you’re almost shaking in excitement.”

Then he stepped away, tugging me from the car, and opened the door before shoving me in the backseat. “Wouldn’t want you to get the wrong idea, I’m not giving you shit attention after that stunt.” And before I could join him in the front, he slammed the backdoor shut and locked the car before getting in the driver seat. He did not wait much before starting the car and out of habit, I knew we were going to his place—after all, we had to get changed for the meeting Koko had asked us to attend. I did not know yet who would be there, but asking Hanma right now would only make him mad.

Instead, I tried to make things better.

Tried being the key word.

“I was only half-kidding…” I said, leaning on the back of his seat, earning myself a dry scoff from the man, but I could see his fingers drumming on the wheel. “But maybe what I am saying is that it would show him–”

“What would it show him?” Hanma inquired, looking at me through the rearview mirror. “That you’re looking for any opportunity to whore out just cause you haven’t been fucked yet?” He spat, his smile turning slightly bitter as those words left his mouth. As if he had flipped the switch, his face turned fully playful as he let his head hit the back of the seat, “So maybe you need a little reminder.” His voice, sweet, sing-song, it was unthreatening. But that’s exactly what made it so.

I did not dare speak thus making the rest of the drive silent once I sat back down properly.

The moment we arrived at the building, I was yanked out of the car but this time I made sure to keep up with his pace to not feel that strong tug of his on my arm. A wince still escaped my lips and I felt like a child being berated. What awaited me back at his place was anything but what a child would get upon being told off—when we crossed the door of his apartment, after an excruciatingly silent ride up the elevator, I was pushed to the couch back first.

A yelp escaped my lips but it did not mean much as I smiled at the sight of Hanma resting one knee on the armrest while undoing his belt, “Look at you, you don’t even fear whatever I’m gonna give you anymore.” He breathed slowly, his eyes roaming all over my body. Why would I fear fucking him? I didn’t care if he hit me, it made it more fun—what?

“Fuck, you’re that excited to get beaten up?” He scoffed. His hand reached for the front of my shirt—he pulled me up by the collar to have me sit, then told me to sit on my knees. I quickly did, knowing full well how desperate it made me. In an attempt to keep some dignity, I managed to say, “Am I supposed to fear the Reaper? So far he’s been pretty nice, but maybe you’ve gone soft.” I smiled sweetly, “I think that’s it.”

Suddenly, his hand was on my throat as he pulled me towards him with a wicked smile on his lips, “Soft? Baby, you’ve just spiraled down, that’s why you think I’ve gone soft.” He mocked. One second later, his hand was on my neck and I had his belt wrapped around it. Gritting through my teeth, I met his gaze and told him this was boring, he should fuck me, but he only tutted me like an idiot. “Boring? I’m giving you exactly what you need.” He breathed against my lips as he tightened the belt around my throat, making me gasp at the pain and lack of air—smiling, he reached for something in his pocket. My eyes never left his until I felt the metallic texture against my skin and looked down the best I could at his hands.

A knife.

Before I could say anything, he started pressing the tip in the belt while talking, “Because, if someone sees a dog in the street… even if you know it’s yours, they can’t know it’s yours unless it has–” He paused and with one swift movement, the excess of leather was cut and I felt him touch something on what was left of the belt. “A collar.” He grinned, looking at my neck.

Locking gazes with him, my eyes widened. I then patted at my neck and felt the much smaller sized belt that had the role of a makeshift collar around it. “You bastard–” I was interrupted by Hanma pulling at the collar to have my face close to his, “You bitch.” His lips met mine agressively—he pushed me to the couch before straddling my lap and wrapping his hand on the collar, close to my chin, “You bitch in heat, ready to get fucked by a Haitani.”

With the little air I had left, I gasped, “In front of—not by.”

The pressure on my windpipe stopped when Hanma’s eyes met mine again and his blank expression slowly turned into one of pure elation, “Thought you were Molly? Trophy wife or something? When will you get in that thick,” he tapped my temple, “little,” another tap, “brain of yours that I’m not fucking sharing, mh?” His hand returned to cradle my face, his nails digging in the back of my jaw strongly.

When the pain of his grip was too much, I clasped his hands and moved them from my face before lifting my head to brush my nose against his, “Don’t wanna be shared, just showed off.” Our lips met and this time, I felt him smile in the kiss as our tongues battled while his hands moved to lift my ass. He helped me take off my skirt then let me fall back on the couch, out of breath, “Let’s do that then, yeah?” Hanma then threw my skirt to the side and looked at me expectantly before suddenly getting off the couch, “You wanna get all dolled up and show them you’re more than just a pretty face, is that what you wanna do?” He asked with a hand extended towards me. Hesitantly, I reached for it and held it only to be tugged off the couch and to my feet, “I’d say the collar should stay, thoughts?”

My hand flew to the belt around my neck at the mention, my cheeks heating up the moment I felt the leather. Seeing him that angry over the suggestion of inviting Ran was almost flattering; although I did not know if he had been that angry over sharing his toy or over sharing me… Both were the same to him, but not to me. With a chuckle, I said, “It’s a bit excessive, don’t you think?” That made him laugh with a shake of his head, “A necklace or a homemade love collar, it’s the same, right?” As he said that, he gently undid the remains of the belt from my neck and tossed it on the low table. We stood there, close to one another in silence for a few moments. Not one sound coming from us, nothing coming from outside either considering how high up we were.

The silence was broken with a gesture: Hanma’s hand grazing up my exposed thigh to my panties as he played with the hem slowly. My breath hitched in my throat at the sensation of his skin against mine—I was on edge, it had been so long since he’d been promising to give me what I wanted. I did not know how much longer I could wait for him to finally abandon whatever goal he had set for me because no matter how much I tried to prove myself to him, it was not enough.

I did not know what more I could do to show him I was worthy of him.

“Pick something hot and put it on, we’re leaving in thirty minutes.” He stated right before moving to his room and changing into a different suit. I was glad there were still some dresses from the casino night hanging on his wardrobe and among these I picked one that had a plunging neckline, solely to show off the tattoo I had gotten on Saturday. Perhaps it was too much, but we had both agreed on showing me off. So, while I was not the most comfortable at first with such a cut, when I saw how good it looked in the mirror I thought it was a good idea. I looked deadly, and felt like it too knowing I had a holster on my thigh that seemed well hidden under the fabric.

I even gave myself a once over, smiling proudly at how I looked until I felt Hanma pull down the neckline to expose my breasts. I quickly covered them and looked at him in annoyance, “The fuck was that for?”

“Just showing you how easy it is to see your tits.”

“Which is a good thing for you, right?” I replied instantly, pushing him with force as I put the dress back properly.

“Anyone could see your tits.”

“But no one will, they have some manners. Not much, I’ll give you that, but some.” I explained as I placed my hand flat on his chest, “So it’s just a win for you, it’s very easy to just…” I looked at the strap on my shoulder and lifted it a second as I looked at Hanma with a smirk then stopped and pushed myself away from him, “Not that you’d fuck me. So it’s just easier for me to get undressed and shower I guess.” Before I could fully leave the room, Hanma wrapped his hand around my wrist and pulled me back towards him with a huge manic grin, “Didn’t peg you to be a tease, babe. Is that a bright new personality trait you got just for me?”

And while I scoffed in fake offense at his words, I truly believed it was exactly that—a way for me to act to keep him entertained. I did not mind it one bit, but I did not believe that trait would have come to light if I hadn’t met him. A great many things wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for him… because of him…

“Flattering yourself is a great quality one must have. Who else would do it but you, hm?” I asked playfully before walking towards the door.

Hanma laughed loudly at that and opened the door wide, letting me walk out first as he said, “I’d say the constant begging for my dick is a lotta flattering you’ve been doing, babe.”

Then without thinking much, I shrugged and looked over my shoulder, “If I wanted to flatter you, I’d say sometimes you look cute when you smile. Sometimes.” And that had the man stunned. Both him and I were shocked by what I had said, both embarrassed for a short moment until he walked past me to enter the elevator with his now usual arrogant expression, “Keep that energy for the meeting, that should make it fun.” He drawled. He then reached for my hand and tugged me inside the elevator, pressing the right button while still keeping me close to him.

His hand moved from my hand to my shoulders soon after as he draped his arm over them, the back of his head resting on the wall of the elevator as he sighed. “Feel free to not listen to shit, I do that. Most of the time.” But I doubted his words. He liked to act like he didn’t care but the man was observant, he was ready to gather any sort of information at any given point. He was scary.

I gave him a short laugh as we walked out of the elevator and saw the new doorman. Hanma waved at him with too much enthusiasm and stopped in front of him, “Are we happy to have been promoted?” He asked with a huge grin to the guy. Promotion? Was this someone from Bonten? How much would one be paid if they were part of a gang only to be a doorman? “I’d rather have worked for Mikey.”

“Don’t I pay you good money though? You should thank me.” Hanma clicked his tongue and nudged the man on his way to the car. I gave the ‘doorman’ a small nod and an apologetic smile before getting in the car with Hanma, something I had been doing way too much recently. The stress of going to this meeting was only growing the further we drove, and the only solution I found to it was to close my eyes and try to sleep it off—something Hanma did not want one bit. His hand was quick to find my thigh and hold it tight as he nudged me awake, “Sanzu hasn’t even started talking and you’re already sleeping?” He scoffed lightly, then threw me a glare, “Let your guard down out there and you’re fucking dead, got that?” He added, dead serious.

That definitely woke me up, I thought as I moved my head from the back of the seat and looked at him a few seconds before crossing my arms across my chest, “I won’t doze off. I just don’t know how long it’ll take to get there, so I thought I’d get some rest.” Just as I said so, the screen on the dashboard lit up with nothing but a phone number on it, was it a random person? Why would anyone call at this hour?

Hanma pressed the button on the steering wheel and picked up. He did not have time to say hello before the person on the other end angrily started talking. I recognized Koko’s voice, “Where the fuck are you? You better get here before Mikey does! The fucking audacity you have to not arrive before–”

“What, am I the last one to arrive?” Hanma asked without any care, a little playfulness in his voice. Koko clicked his tongue and paused before answering, “The Haitanis aren’t here yet, are you even on your way?” He sounded on edge and stressed, for a second I wondered if it would be that bad to arrive after Mikey. I quickly realized that of course it would, because arriving late would show the greatest level of disrespect. I did not want that at all, but I feared Hanma had little to no fear of portraying that.

Humming a second, Hanma drawled, “Yeah, don’t get your panties in a twist, we’re there in five.” Then he hung up. There was no need for niceties of bidding him farewell considering we’d see each other soon enough. I did not comment on the fact that Hanma had not saved Koko’s phone number nor on his lack of manners on the phone, the latter which I had lived through many times.

After those five minutes, we arrived in front of an expensive hotel. People dressed in fancy clothes were coming and going; there was a lot more activity than I believed was normal for this hour which made me believe there was some sort of event going on. If that was the case, it must have been deliberately chosen for the meeting to happen here, all so they would not get caught. “There’s a lot of people around.” I commented as Hanma stopped right in front of the entrance. He signaled for someone to come in and handed them the car keys before getting out and telling me to get out too.

“That’s the point.” He gave me a once over and grinned proudly, “That’s also why you’re dressed like that. To blend in with the fat cats.” But his manners in the outside world did not fit the ones of high society, not when he wrapped his arm around my shoulder like he had earlier today. He guided me through the crowd, not apologizing to the people he’d bump into—I’d do it for him. It’s not that he couldn’t, it was more that this was not a mission given to him by Mikey, this was him being a little shit for fun, so he did not have to be careful like I knew he could be.

Once inside, I let out a shiver and could not be more grateful for the heat of the building. We then stayed on the ground floor and walked to one of the meeting rooms, the stress inside my body only growing by the second and perhaps Hanma sensed it when I tensed upon us stopping in front of a door. “If you’re gonna piss yourself, it’s at the end of the hall, doll.” He mocked.

“I’m not—I’m not gonna piss myself, I’m just preparing mentally. They’re all very exhausting and I need to be ready, alright?” I whispered, moving his arm from my shoulders. As much as I craved his touch for comfort and perhaps also to show I belonged to him, I felt like I needed to enter this room as my own person. Being by his side was enough for them to tie me to him, to qualify me as ‘Hanma’s girl’ which I did not mind, but in the long run… I needed that authenticity.

He did not share the thought and wrapped his arm around my waist before opening the door loudly. The room was large enough to fit a long, rectangular table with 5 chairs on each side, while one chair was placed at the furthest end of the table: a total of 11 chairs around it. I assumed the lonely chair at the head of the table was Mikey’s. On the left of that empty seat, on one side of the table were Takeomi, Koko, Kakucho and Mochi, seated in that respective order. Mochi had an empty seat to his left on which he was resting his feet and scrolling through his phone while the three others were chatting together. That is until they saw us enter and looked at us with annoyance—at least for Koko.

I was certain Sanzu would sit to Mikey’s right, perhaps Hanma understood that too since he left a few seats unoccupied, having me sit facing the empty seat at the end of the table while he sat in front of Mochi.

That choice of his meant the brothers would be sitting next to him. I sat straight in my seat, serious, composed, aware of everything I was doing as I leaned towards him, “Are you sure about sitting here?” I whispered in the already silent room. “You’d rather sit next to them? Cause there’s no way that’s happening if that’s what you want, doll.” He laughed. A dry laugh. I understood that the suggestion I had made about Ran was still stuck in his head. Since I did not know how to fix it, I went along. A bit sad that he had mentioned it again, I sat back properly and looked around.

Hanma was the one to lean in this time, his lips brushing against the earring he had given me as he spoke, “D’ya know how good you look right now behind that table? All bossy and shit.”

I looked at him with a face now ten times warmer than it was seconds ago and frowned without ever saying anything. He continued by ghosting his lips over mine, “You’d look better on it, that pretty dress ripped off…”

“Hey!” Koko called out, Hanma threw him a lazy side glare before slowly turning his head towards him. “I don’t wanna see you two fuck here, get out or get yourself together.” Koko was interrupted by Hanma placing his elbow on the table and resting his chin in the palm of his hand, “Jealous you can’t get your blondie here? You fucking wish you could grope him with us around, huh?” Hanma then turned to look at me before kissing me salaciously in front of everyone, purposely shoving his tongue in my mouth so they could see. I felt my entire body heat up in embarrassment and hesitated to bring him closer—I did not get to do so, instead I felt him move away.

Only he wasn’t the one to break the kiss.

I barely had time to see that his hair had been gripped with force before his face was slammed into the table with the same amount of strength.

Just as fast, Hanma grabbed Rindou’s hand from his hair and pulled him towards him as he stood up, making the younger brother trip but Hanma didn’t let him fall. He held onto Rindou’s wrist still gripping his own hair, then choked the man’s throat as he pushed him against the wall—both laughed. Hanma did so dryly, eyes filled with anger; Rindou did so with pure thrill in his eyes.

I heard Ran laugh too and opted to move my seat out of the way when Rindou pulled at Hanma’s hair again before trying to knee him in the stomach only to be stopped. I was going to stand from my seat when Ran pushed me back down, tutting me, “Calm down tiger, just enjoy the show,” He smiled, then stopped me from digging my nails into the armrest, “The bastard can take a beating, get your claws back in.”

I pushed my chair further from him, he stepped closer. No one was doing anything as Rindou and Hanma threw punches at each other, so I pushed my chair even further, enough to stand up and move behind it to have something between Ran and I. I could feel the holster heavy on my thigh as I parted the dress and let my hand graze the gun, “How mature of you two to start a fight at a meeting. Were you that bored?” I scoffed. My lower part was hidden behind the seat so I slowly pulled out the gun and heard Kakucho laugh but did not dare give him a glare.

Ran grinned wickedly and turned the chair; as he did so, I stepped closer to him and rapidly went for his head, trying to hit him with the butt of the gun. He was faster and grabbed my wrist tight, making me wince, “You always go for the head,” He half-whispered with a shake of his head, leaning in, “You’re becoming predictable, bit boring isn’t it?” He mocked.

Hearing him tell me I was boring scared me more than I let on. As if he had lit a fire inside my chest, I gripped his hair with my free hand—which he gripped in return to alleviate the pain—then brought the tip of my heel to his crotch. He let go of me for a second and I pulled away then watched him as he tried to grab me back. I hit the butt of the gun on the back of his head when he balled over in pain. Another moan of pain from the man when his hand moved to the back of his head while he straightened his back.

He was tall, and I hardly believed I had much strength to put him down—my mind started thinking of the most stupid things to get him down, climbing on the chair to knee him in the face? Because I couldn’t have him ball over again, he was not going to do that. If I tried to kick him, he’d grab my foot and pull me down.

I put the gun away and looked at the seat between us, then at him.

He smiled in disbelief, “Now, you wouldn’t dare.” He held onto the back of the chair, I placed both my hands on the armrest and got it out of his grasp before lifting it off the ground and just as I was about to throw it, I heard Sanzu’s voice, “Mochi, your damn feet off the chair–” he paused and looked at us, moving Mikey behind him as he stomped our way.

He gripped me by the hair and forced me to let go; kicking me in the back of the knees to make me fall on the floor. He did the same to Rindou to have him let go of Hanma—when he tried to punch Hanma, the man grabbed his hand and smiled, a bloody smile that I somehow found attractive, “Try and touch me, Mad Dog, see who wins between you and I.” He then spat blood towards the ground, onto Rindou’s pants.

The younger brother’s face turned sour as he stood up to join his brother that still stood rather close to me.

“All of you to your fucking seats!” The pink haired man barked, shoving all of us out of his way and kicking the chair towards me.

With heavy feet, we all joined our seats. Hanma had his face full of small cuts, similar to Rindou’s. I could see he wasn’t really here and watched as he brought a cigarette to his lips, lighting it expressionless, staring straight ahead. I was more than awkward now that the adrenaline was dissipating, I felt Mikey walk behind us and let his hand trail on the back of my seat before joining his own spot at the end of the table. I’d like to think that when our eyes met he smiled at me, but his face remained the same, blank—perhaps I just felt the smile or saw it in his eyes? Or perhaps I was hoping too much, I was seeking some reassurance that I hadn’t fucked up. A reassurance I couldn’t get from Hanma in the state he was in.

Nudging his knee with mine, I whispered as close as I could, “Are you alright?”

He puffed out some smoke, quickly getting told off by Koko on the opposite side of the table but Hanma didn’t stop, he just shrugged and took another drag. He leaned back on his chair, one arm on the back of my chair, but he still wasn’t looking at me.

I nudged him again, “Did I fuck up?” I didn’t want to have fucked it up, even less because of a Haitani. I couldn’t slip up, shit I was panicking now. I could almost feel my heart trying to beat out of my chest, or was it my lungs? “Are you paying attention?” I heard a sudden voice to my right; quickly turning my head, I saw that Rindou had moved his chair next to mine. Before I could start to question how he moved his seat that was next to Hanma all the way here, I threw him a side glare and kept my mouth shut. I was trying to focus and turned a bit on my chair to hide him from my view, but he still leaned over the table and wrote a little note that he slid in my direction.

“Pst, hand it to Ran.” He whispered to Hanma, his arm fully extended as two fingers pressed on the paper to keep it closed. Hanma looked down at Rindou’s hand before crushing the cigarette on the back of it, pushing his arm out of the way before grabbing the paper. Ran snatched it from his hands then laughed, making everyone in the room shut up.

Sanzu slammed his hand on the table, “Is this fucking kindergarden? Can’t be that hard to keep your mouths shut!”

Ran looked at him and lazily said, “We just had an important question, right Rin?”

Rindou nodded, “Oh yeah, very important–” He was interrupted by Takeomi making a grand hand gesture as he spoke, “What are you doing there? Move your sorry ass back to your brother! Leave the bitch alone.”

While the gesture was sort of sweet, it made me slightly bitter upon being called a bitch once more. It did not really change anything to Rindou who grinned widely as he took my chin between his index and thumb, “We were wondering what’s the price.” He drawled, making his brother laugh again. I slapped his hand away from my chin and leaned over to him, making him lean back when I smiled wickedly, his own smile faltering a second. His tie in my hand, I pulled him close and as I spoke, I groped his crotch, “You should remember the amount of bills the old men would give you when your mom would have her turn, no?” I let go of him and patted the tie straight, “Was it three big ones? Two? Maybe coins? Nothing?” I quirked a brow, “Maybe she was free? That’s not very–”

I felt intense pain at my scalp but it wasn’t Rindou, Ran had stood up and was now pulling my head back to talk down at me—I stood up while he did so and never broke eye contact, “It’s a simple question, how much does the bastard pay to fuck you? Must be a pretty sum if you’re still around, huh?” Just as he was done, I spat in his face then stomped on his foot before kneeing him in the stomach. I was aware he hadn’t even tried to fight me off but it felt good to hit him, so I didn’t care. “How pitiful is it for a man of your stature to be jealous–” His hand was suddenly on my throat, a breathless gasp escaped my lips as I threw Hanma a glance but he did not seem to move from his spot. He was, however, watching intently, unmoving. I could almost see a proud smile on his face, but I was dreaming, I knew it.

A smile made its way to my lips when I looked back at Ran before biting his forearm hard. He let go right away and was about to punch me when someone stopped him—Mikey had stood up and interrupted us. With his voice void of anything, he spoke, “Ran, Rindou, back to your seats.”

Ran scoffed, “She went crazy at me, I just asked her–”

Sanzu pulled him back by the collar and threw him to his chair, almost making him tumble back, “Didn’t fucking ask. What Mikey says, goes. If I hear one more damn sound from any of you,” He mimicked pulling his gun out and pulling the trigger, “Got it?”

The brothers just slumped back in their seats while I had Mikey right in front of me, “You’re turning into him. Careful.” He simply said before pointing at my chair with one arm extended; he waited until I was seated to get back to his own seat then resumed what he was saying prior.

Seeing how little Hanma had paid attention to me, I placed my elbow on the armrest and rested my chin on my knuckles while listening to the presentation. I never really thought I would assist to such a thing, but it made it a lot more serious. That is if we ignored the brothers exchanging notes next to Hanma, passing papers while looking the most deadly they could—Ran caught me staring and sent me a chilly grin, making me turn my head back to anyone but him. Koko was the one I crossed gazes with. We exchanged polite smiles then brought our attention back to the presentation once more. “Some low shit bastard’s trying to get on our territory.” Sanzu showed a slide of a guy’s police record then started listing all they knew about him, his still weak but growing gang along with the fact that he had some famous politician on his side.

“That motherfucker disrespected us the moment he thought he’d thrive on our territory.” Sanzu spat, immediately stopping himself from talking more when Mikey raised his hand for him to stay silent, “Hunt them all down and kill them. We’ve wasted enough time on dealing with them the proper way.” He sighed and continued, “If they call us monsters for suggesting they join us, saying they won’t be caged, they’ll find peace dying in the name of their freedom.”

Hearing him speak those words made my chest heavy. I highly doubted they had suggested much if anything, they had given them two choices: join us or die. I admired that new gang for going against Bonten, but it was suicidal. I wondered if they knew who they were up against. They all chuckled at Mikey’s words, clearly unbothered by the task they had been assigned. My face was blank, not from fear but because I couldn’t let it show I was unsure if I was part of the people requested for ‘the hunt’. “They’re better off dead than traitors. One’s less painful.” Kakucho commented, making some chuckle. Were they that hard on traitors? What would one have to do to be considered as such and why did he have such a strong aversion to people joining Bonten?

Because if they joined against their will, sooner or later they’d leave, maybe trying to get some people with them, surely taking information and now inside knowledge of the organization.

Mikey was right.

They should be killed, Bonten did not need them. We were big enough as it was.

“Pay attention, doll. It’s gonna be your time to shine.” Hanma said, his head slightly tilted my way. I was surprised to hear him but couldn’t help my heart from beating in excitement from having his attention once more. Play it cool, play it nice, he ignored you up until now, I told myself. “I’m more than focused, it comes with you going mute and not giving me even a glance.” That was a lot more aggressive than I intended. That was a fuck up. I knew it the moment I heard him chuckle behind his hand as he mirrored my position, “Are we throwing a tantrum?” He whispered behind his hand once more, discrete for once.

I scoffed, immediately getting rid of any emotion on my face when I realized I was smiling, “Some might call it being upset for the little you intervened when the brothers came for me—but call it a tantrum.”

Hanma’s hand moved to rest on my thigh as he lifted the hem to expose it, his face never leaving the projection behind Mikey, “You’re a big girl, aren’t ya? Handled them well, if I had intervened I wouldn’t have had the honor to see you bite his hand off.” I could see from the angle he was in, the smirk that was drawing itself on his lips. Faking sitting back in my seat, I scooted closer to the side and helped his hand higher on my thigh. His fingers dug inside my skin and I saw him move a bit in his spot. In my head I wanted to believe he was getting too uncomfortable in his pants, but that train of thought was interrupted when Sanzu pointed at me.

“You—take the last bastard down,” He pointed at the presentation and I saw the face of one of the chairmen from Silas&Sons—I didn’t say anything about the fact that there were others that we had yet to convince because I feared they had done it themselves. Perhaps bribed some, killed others… And he was the last one standing in their way. ”Motherfucker’s too good for money, so put one little bullet right there,” He pressed the center of his forehead, grinning broadly and added, “Once that’s done we’ll have one less thing to worry about, so don’t fuck up rookie.”

He turned around to change the slide and I leaned over the table to place my elbow on it and look casual, even if Hanma was slowly moving his hand to my panties, “Is there a deadline?”

Mikey was the one to say, “The faster it’s done, the better.” I nodded and leaned back on my chair.

Koko made a subtle hand gesture for me to look at my phone and I did, noticing a text from him that said, “That means 3 days tops.” I held back a smile and thanked him, Sanzu scared me when addressing me once more, “It’s one job. You’re not here cause you’re an executive, you’re not here cause you’re loyal, you’re not here because you’re valuable,” He placed both his hands on the table with a thud, I heard Takeomi sigh along with Kakucho while Koko smiled, “You’re here cause Mikey wants to see if you can finish this, you started this entire shit by being a traitor to Silas&Sons–” Koko interrupted him with a soft laugh, “I don’t think you can betray corporate, but go on.”

Sanzu gave him a dirty look and continued, “You should be damn grateful to be sitting here tonight when everyone’s desperately tryna climb up to reach this very seat you’re sat on.” He pushed himself away from the table and spread his arms wide, “This is an honor!” I heard Rindou mumble ‘not again’ as he covered his face and leaned back, “You don’t realize how grand Bonten is! The feeling of belonging–”

Mikey placed a hand on Sanzu’s shoulder, “Continue the presentation.” I held back a laugh at first, I had managed to do that. Then, when everyone focused back on Sanzu’s long presentation, Hanma tilted his head my way and said, “Oh, I sure feel like I belong now that we all have matching tattoos.” I couldn’t hold back my laugh this time and snorted, my hand going to my face to stop it while the other gripped his arm. Some people turned to look at me and I uncovered my face to show I wasn’t doing anything. They looked away and I leaned back towards Hanma, “No, no, you don’t get it, this is so much bigger than we can understand!” He let out a barked out laugh, making Sanzu throw a glass his way which crashed into the wall behind him.

Startled, I flinched but did not say anything, we both understood the message and when he returned to talking, I leaned towards Hanma and commented, “We should make an offering to be forgiven after insulting the Bonten gods, what do you think we should give them?”

We listened as tasks were given; it seemed they were assigned to each respective person, but I believed it was more assigned to their… ’departments’, the businesses each were handling—unless it was specifically required by Mikey for them to do it themselves, like he would when asking Hanma to take care of people. After a few seconds, Hanma answered, “If he keeps sucking Mikey’s dick like that, maybe mouthwash.”

I quickly pressed my face into his arm to mute my laugh. We kept making little jokes like that until the end of the presentation—once it was finally over, Hanma stood up and moved to Sanzu’s spot, pushing him aside. It happened so fast I didn’t have time to ask him what he was doing.

Mikey was still in his chair, now on his phone.

“I’ll lighten the mood.” Hanma said in a sing-song voice.

Kakucho and Takeomi both stood up, the latter tapping on Mochi’s shoulder to have him follow them. Hanma did not even look at them as he fumbled with the cables to find one to plug his phone in. When he was connected, he opened his gallery and showed the first picture. I had to cover my face in embarrassment.

“So, earlier this week we had such a fun time with my girl, here we are at the funeral of that bastard cop—here she is all shy but here,” He moved two pictures further, ignoring the one where I’m reaching for the phone to stop him, one of the pictures where he had my leg onto his for no reason while people were leaving, “She’s letting me grope her in public!” He met Ran’s gaze and smiled wickedly.

My entire body froze at the taunt and at the picture, but what put me in awe was how the remaining people weren’t leaving. Sanzu was back at his seat next to Rindou, glancing at Mikey almost in a hurry but he did not say anything unlike the brothers who leaned in with their elbows on the table, “You’re selling the product, so what’s the price?” Rindou asked, opening his wallet.

Hanma gave him a deadly look; they stared at one another, the long-haired brother grinning like a fool while The Reaper stayed deadpan. Ran, without any attention on his person, tried to move to the seat next to mine but I was fast to kick it out of the way, making him click his tongue as he sat back down. I heard Hanma chuckle and looked up, meeting his gaze, “That’s my girl,” he turned towards Ran and smirked, “You’re really desperate. Don’t you own whore houses? I’m sure those are free, go get some.”

Rindou laughed, earning himself a hit from his brother.

Ran smiled sweetly and looked at Hanma mockingly, “You bring her dressed like one of my girls, I get a bit confused.”

“And I’m telling ya, next time you touch my girl you’re dead.” Hanma stated; while he put some humor into his tone, his eyes screamed for Ran to do it, to even try, just so he could finally beat him up. But instead, he moved to the next picture in his little presentation, making me stand up and run to his side to change to another one, “Alright, that’s enough–”

Hanma grinned, “Cause she’s fucking part of this, yeah?” He pulled at my neckline, fully showing the tattoo that was also on display on the projection. I held onto the fabric to cover my breasts while he pulled at the center to show the tattoo on my sternum, “But I think that maybe I should get my initials tattooed on her, like cattle—maybe that’ll get your inbred hands off her.”

This time Rindou wasn’t laughing, Sanzu was as he pushed his shoes off the table and let his feet hit the ground with a thud, a loud laugh escaping his lips. Was that all it took? Both brothers stood up, chuckling to each other—I placed one hand on Hanma’s arm and let out a nervous laugh. He had finally let go of my dress, “They draw the line at inbreeding jokes, maybe you should have kept your mouth shut.” I whispered slightly panicked, albeit smiling from ear to ear. While I tried to take a step back, Hanma took one towards them.

If a fight was to occur, I had no wish to be in the middle of it.

“Do you want to get them more mad?” I asked Hanma, who looked at me in a crazed haze, only waiting for one of them to come and punch him.

I took it as a yes and looked at the brothers a moment before joining Hanma’s side and dramatically saying, “Come on, the pent up frustration of celibacy makes idiots go wild like boars,” I looked at them and smiled, “And they’re clearly very frustrated,” I scoffed, “Can’t blame them, I think it has to do with the hair, it must send the wrong message to women…”

Sanzu laughed again, but only shortly.

Mikey stood up at the same time the Haitanis started to rush towards us—I heard the click of Ran’s baton and couldn’t help but feel excitement course through my entire body as I threaded my fingers with Hanma’s and pulled him back a bit. “Meeting’s over. Everyone go home.”

Ran laughed dryly but never looked away, so Hanma grinned, “Ya heard the boss.” then unplugged his phone and shoved it in his pocket. Sanzu pushed past the brothers, making way for Mikey while I walked to the door from the other side of the table—there was no way I was passing by the Haitanis again.

On our way out, I think I heard Rindou talk, faintly, “She’s actually kinda funny, can’t believe she’d go for The Crazy Reaper.” He chuckled, then we were out of hearing. I almost bumped into Mikey when he stopped in the middle of the corridor; Sanzu had kept on walking, probably at the white-haired man’s demand, “Hanma, wait outside.” He ordered.

I liked to believe that Hanma hesitated, but all he did was grin, “Roger, boss.”

Once more alone with Mikey, I could feel my high coming down. I could feel my feet touch the ground, I was, for lack of words, grounded. It was confusing. “I’m sorry for–” I started. Mikey interrupted me, asking, “How are you handling everything?”

It took me by surprise, making me let out a nervous laugh, “It’s—huh, it’s alright. I deal better with Hanma around, I think.”

“You shouldn’t rely on him. You should never rely on anyone, sooner or later they’ll die.” Mikey said, empty. His words, while simple and straight to the point, hit me like a brick. I wanted to press a hand to my chest to see if he hadn’t really hit me from how heavy it had made me feel, but instead I clenched my hand into a fist, “Should I take you for example?” I asked, angered by his nonchalance.

He seemed taken aback for a second, his eyes slightly wider than usual before the ghost of a smile crossed his features only to disappear just as fast, “Maybe. I think Sanzu would be better fit as an example, seeing where you’re going.” Like rapid fire, I answered, “What does that mean?”

He scoffed, “This obsession you both have. It’ll be your end, it’ll make you go against my orders.” There was a short pause, he stepped close to me and patted my cheek like a brother would before moving his hand higher and pressing his thumb to the center of my forehead, “There is only one way out after that.” His eyes locked back on mine as he gently let go of my head and stepped back. I wanted to talk back, to defend my loyalty, to tell him there was no reason for me to go against his orders if they made sense but I was frightened. I did not trust myself to speak, to utter anything, instead I stood there. Silent.

“Good night.” He simply said before making his way out.

I did not waste time to follow him out, not wanting to get caught by the Haitanis. My shaky legs had other plans, making me stumble a few times until I got outside to Hanma who was leaning against the wall by the door, cigarette in hand. “Had fun?”

“Why does he always have to be so intense?” I asked, now standing in front of him as he turned his head and puffed the smoke to the side, “He’s depressed, I guess.” Hanma shrugged. He dropped the cigarette on the ground and crushed it under his foot before nodding for me to come with him. I glanced at his hand, perhaps for comfort, hoping to hold it but it was too much to ask of him. Maybe he saw my distress, maybe he was also in need of some touch, but he wrapped an arm around my waist and forced me to walk at his pace, “Ya did good with the Fucktanis. Loved the energy, babe. Wouldn’t have got mad if you had shot his ass though, that’d have made him shut his trap.”

I scoffed and entered the car with him, shivering at the cold of the night that slowly seeped in. With the adrenaline of the fight that almost happened followed by Mikey’s words, I was in some sort of trance that had now dissipated. “Do you have anything to treat wounds in your car?” I asked Hanma, opening the compartment in front of me, making a happy sound when I saw a white aid box and took it. Hanma grabbed it from my hands and gave me a confused look. “What do you need?” He roughly grabbed my jaw, turning my head around to check my face then gave me a once over, “You’re not injured, are you dumb?” He clicked his tongue and let go, dropping the box on my thighs before starting the car.

Mimicking his action, I grabbed his jaw and pulled his face towards mine, “You are.” I opened the box and with one hand opened the small alcohol bottle and poured some on some gauze that was in the box. I brought it to his face and disinfected his small cuts roughly, knowing he’d pull back like a dog. When he was about to do just that, I gritted through my teeth, “Please, Shuji. Let me hold you still.”

A small smile made its way to his beautiful face, slowly turning sly as his hand covered mine that was holding him, “Getting mixed signals with the begging and the being rough, gotta pick one side babe. Which will it be tonight?” He cooed mockingly and yet I could almost feel excitement dripping from his every pore as his other free hand moved to my waist, once more trying to raise the hem of the dress. With a tight smile, I pressed on a deeper cut and wiped it clean, finally finishing the disinfecting. It didn’t need much more but that, so I dropped everything back in the box and met Hanma’s gaze once more, “Sleep. It’ll be sleep tonight.”

He chuckled and leaned over, his lips brushing against mine. Before he could speak, I asked, “When am I going to be sent home?” It was fast spoken, rushed, but the question had been in my mind for so long since I feared getting used to his place only to be sent away soon. His eyes widened in confusion, quickly losing any emotion as he scoffed dryly. “We’re playing the victim now? Tell me,” Slowly, he smiled—a beautiful, knowing smile, “Do you want to go home?”

I looked down at his lips, then back at his eyes, then his lips again, “I have everything at my place… I pay rent, it was hard to find that place and my friends and family–”

“Frankly I don’t care, I asked you a question. And I don’t like repeating myself.” He stated, deadpan now.

Did I want to go home? Could I go home? I could, he would give me permission, but would I be able to stay away from him? I liked being around him, his place was not half-bad and he was there. He was not at my place, he would never come to my house. And what if I needed him during the night, what if my nightmares returned and I needed him to help me forget? Calling him in the middle of the night would definitely have me stay alone, he wouldn’t pick up…

You’re home, I wanted to tell him.

“I want to stay with you.” Was what I ended up saying.

It was a lot less frightening than admitting how much he meant to me after so little time. Because I was fucking scared—but he didn’t need me to be scared. I was fine with that. I had to be fine with that.

Hanma smiled broadly and pressed his lips against mine, kissing me deeply as he hummed against my lips, “Yeah? That’s my girl.” He then pulled back and clasped a hand on the steering wheel before rapidly starting the car, “Good thing you chose me, cause your house has been ransacked by the cops.” He explained off-handedly.

I had looked back at the road once he had pulled away but his little announcement made me turn to look at him at the speed of light, “I’m sorry?”

“I’m guessing the little mole bitch knew a bit more than you thought she did since she sent them over when you weren't home.” He shrugged, a smirk on his lips when he saw from the corner of his eye how in awe I was.

It doesn’t make sense, I never told her I stayed with him. There is no way she would know, even Shiho doesn’t know—or does she? Have I gotten drunk at some point after moving in with him and told them? I don’t think so, I was careful. “What does it mean?” On a bigger scale. Them looking into me to get to him, to Bonten. What did it really mean?

“Eh, means shit. You have your gun with you, so they got nothing.”

I started scratching my brain for anything bad I could have left behind, anything, then looked up at him again, “Who brought my clothes? What if they left something—I never even told Rai my address!” I was starting to get annoyed thinking about it. Running a hand over my face, I let out a frustrated laugh, “She looked through my file, I don’t know who the fuck she asked but–” I let out a another frustrated sound, not believing she could do that. Seeing how desperate she had been to catch Hanma though, or anything close to Bonten, it made sense she would go that far. “She truly is a mole, she really—ah!” I laughed angrily, not finding the words.

“I’m telling ya, there won’t be a next time for her. If she’s ever looking into our shit again, she’s dead.” He said nonchalantly, catching me off guard from how serious the situation seemed to be. Mikey hadn’t mentioned anything about it, but I was not there for all of their interactions and I feared he had given the order to take her out. And if not her, anyone interfering with Bonten—so, she fell under that definition.

Sighing, I did not reply and waited for us to arrive back to the building, exhausted. It had been a long day, and adding a conversation about Rai would not make it any better. I wanted to sleep, to forget about her. I just wanted to hope she would stop snooping around for her own sake.

But that very thought I had seemed to have done the exact opposite of what I wanted.

I felt it deep in my guts that something was off, but I blamed it on all the stress of the night. Maybe it taught me I should trust my instinct sometimes since when we entered the building, Hanma laughed. He was the first one to realize what was going on—I looked at him confused and he covered his mouth as he pointed at the stairs where, once I faced them, I could see Rai standing up in panic. She struggled with her bag across her chest and looked at the both of us with wide eyes.

So this was the face of someone who had just signed her death sentence.

[Chapter 24]

#physicalturian #writing #fanfiction #ao3 #writer #writings #ao3 writer #deranged love #archiveofourown #tokyo revengers #tokyorev x reader #tokyorev #hanma x reader #hanma #hanma shuji x reader #hanma shuji #tokyo revengers x reader

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animecreator3000 · 3 years

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About the Boueibu iceberg

@delphoxqueen asked me to explain about my list for the iceberg so here it is. I might update this from time to time with links and stuff if I stumble across the original posts. This is all from what I know so feel free to add new info. Also, spoiler warning for RobiHachi and the Boueibu manga and novels. (This is like a masterpost it’s very long)

1. There’s a theory in tumblr about which decade the series is set in, using data like the friday the 13th calendar in s2 ep11. In HK we got a second number for when the next monthly Pretty Boy Contest was happening and using the one from Love it was theorized that around a decade had passed since then, which ended up being true.

2. The stage play had a few original songs and characters exclusive to it so unless you watched the full performance, you probably weren’t able to witness all of them. One of the characters is called “Robato Deniro”, as romanized in the stage play booklet I own.

3. The nurse and the cafeteria staff from the s1 mobile game appear in the background in around the first half of s2 ep3.

4. S2 had an unfinished manga that was only available online and was never released on physical format; it was centered around the defense club and sometimes the conquest club and Beppu brothers. All that’s left from what I know are the scans linked on magicalgirlsandcerulean’s blog.

5. This isn’t that obscure because it’s talked about in the anime, but I’m mentioning it because I think many people dropped it before the ova, where right at the beginning it is revealed that the alien that resucitated Mr. Tawarayama twice was, as described by Io, a “mulberry-colored naked mole rat-looking thing”, and was nicknamed “Moley-san” by Yumoto. At least in the anime, we had never heard before of who this was and it never appeared on screen nor was mentioned again.

6. In HK ep8, Karurusu promises the knights to grant a wish if they show him how earthlings spend summer. Kyoutarou reveals at the end of the episode that he wished that summer lasted one more day so he could spend it doing nothing, which prompts Ichiro to theorize that it’s the 32nd of august, and the next day is the second 1st of september.

7. The stage play was was held from march 10th to 13rd, of which the latter is Ryuu’s birthday. There’s an additional recording of a small celebration with cake focused on Ryuu and Io.

8. Atsushi mentions his older sister in the flashback at the beginning of s1 ep4, but she never appears or is mentioned again.

9. There’s a few posts on tumblr theorizing about what happened to the Hakone parents since Yumoto only says in s2 ep3 that according to Gora, “they are busy with their hot springs tour”. En mentions that it’s a bit suspicious, but it’s all the information we have from the anime. Posts talk about the parents perhaps passing away from an accident or an illness, thus the reason why Gora was so worried about Yumoto’s cold in s1 ep10, but from another post I think it’s implied in the second novel that they actually left their home when Yumoto was still a toddler.

10. It’s no secret that the surnames of the characters are all real onsens in Japan that even the seiyuus have visited, but apparently the Arima onsen has two different kinds of water, “kinsen (gold hot spring)” and “ginsen (silver hot spring)”, with different properties each, and the Kusatsu onsen water also has certain properties, both that were used to build the characters. Additionally, Ryuu’s favorite food are Sato Nishiki cherries, which are grown in the same prefecture, Yamagata, as his onsen, Zaou.

11. The press club lose relevance after s1, with only Kinosaki and Tazawa reappearing briefly in s2 ep2 to interview the Beppu twins after they arrive at the school. Tazawa doesn’t even have lines. Hireashi is mentioned by Zundar in ep11.

12. What the heck

13. Exclusively in the manga we see that Arima met Kinshiro and Atsushi when they were little and they were good friends, but when they met again as adults, Kinshiro seemingly didn’t remember Arima. Atsushi, however, stated that Kinshiro’s talent is remembering people’s faces and names, so Arima wonders if he’s just trying to distance himself from him. He also explains to Akoya that he follows Kinshiro and obeys him because as a child, he was fascinated by his radiant smile. This is never talked about in the anime.

14. Like the previous point, the anime never shows Akoya being bullied, at most just a slight dislike of his full name, but the manga shows that he was made fun of for it and how he actually hates his surname, to the point of introducing himself formally to the president and vicepresident of the student council as “Holy Angel Akoya”.

15, 16, 17, 19. Batonama lives were the livestreams done through the franchise by the defense club seiyuus on youtube and niconico. They’re all on youtube, without any kind of translation.

Love-ko is a girl with a shell bikini drawn on a piece of cardboard that was used as a girlfriend in the Batonama Love! lives, acted by the seiyuus themselves.

RobiHachi has one episode full of official Boueibu artwork and a parody of the series too, a Love-ko doll appears, and Wombat appears as well, named “The Don”. It received an english dub, so for a bit, people were excited that Wombat was going to speak in english too. Also, various mechas appear in both Boueibu and RobiHachi.

18. The director of Fairy Ranmaru (Masakazu Hishida if I’m not wrong) revealed in an interview that he was inspired by Boueibu and aimed to make a show like that.

20, 21. The website super-groupies.com has results for defense and conquest club lingerie sets, dc and VEPPer tote bags, the Beppus’ scarf rings, dc bath sets and the pumps magicalgirlsandcerulean mentioned. I’ve found the s1 Loveracelets and Caerula Adamas’ ring on different sites, the True Loveracelets on TheChara’s twitter and the Happybraces (apparently called “Hapibure”) on broccoli.co.jp but I’m not sure where exactly they were all announced and sold, so I’ll just drop that.

22, 33. Boueibu was originally pretty much a copy of Sailor Moon, I think they were all going to be called “Lackluster Moon” and that stuff and be literally Sailor Moon genderbent. They were all different from color palettes to physical features (except Yumoto’s), and Ryuu was a shota, even smaller than Yumoto. Their names were also very reminiscent of the five Sailor Senshis’. Even if they made it more original, the show is still clearly inspired by Sailor Moon (just look at Caerula Adamas lol) and Pretty Cure. It has also referenced, very blatantly, animes like Doraemon, Detective Conan, Aikatsu and even Vocaloid, when Kyoutarou tries to guess what Karurusu is saying with ““Just Google It, Asshole”?” in ep1.

23. Wombat’s real name and the name of his planet sound like gibberish to the earthlings and ends up being named after the Earth animal, but Zundar, Dadacha, Karurusu and Furanui all have original names. And I think Hireashi means “goldfish”?

24. If you google “zundar technology”, it’s actually a company in Shanghai, China. Aren’t Wombat and Zundar always talking about “advanced alien technology”?

25. Zundar and Dadacha are siblings, so are Karurusu and Furanui, and so are their father King Kamopapa and their uncle minister Wao, but neither are the same species and, except the first two, not even the same color. But they are supposedly related because they share birthmarks or something like that...

26. Everyone who’s in this fandom knows about the pixel blur and voice pitch censor from s1, but I’ve added it anyway because it’s so rare for mahou shoujo and shounen animes to explain why the heroes aren’t recognized when transformed.

27. A good while of s2 ep11 is spent discussing Zundar’s ex-wife and his problems to give child support. Naturally, he gets mad at this.

28. “Money doesn’t betray” (s1 ep6) and “The despair hidden behind your smile that comes from not being understood” (s3 ep11) are sentences that came out of nowhere and implied that the people they were said by (Io) or about (Taiju) respectively had some kind of angst going on but were never explained at all. They’re famous for just that.

29. The Beppu twins’ house in Andromeda shown in flashbacks had strange green circles that apparently are from another anime I don’t know but honestly I didn’t get it very well... It was revealed on a tweet from Takamatsu.

30. Alien language mostly appeared in s2 due to the many flashbacks of Aki and Haru in Andromeda, but in Boueibu s1, it appears on the Zundar Needle before it is shot on the human. It appears a lot through RobiHachi as well, due to being a story about travelling through space. There might be an alphabetical chart somewhere, but I can’t assure it exists, I might even have dreamed it.

31. Hikaru Midorikawa as the melon monster, Kousuke Toriumi as the bishounen monster, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as the kotatsu and panda monsters and Takuya Eguchi as the remote controller monster in s1 and 2, before going on to voice the main cast in HK. Keisuke Koumoto voiced Hatchi Kita in RobiHachi as well as Akihiko in Boueibu, and the characters look similar.

A new addition is that so far Boueibu is the only anime I’ve seen where children weren’t voiced by female seiyuus, but by actual children. Personally, it’s charming and makes it so much more realistic, specifically since no women appear in the franchise at all either (not counting Protag-chan in the game).

32. Speaking of seiyuus, Can I Destroy The Earth? had a dub shown in ep11/12 (?) that made Gora the villain that wanted Earth to stay the same and not progress, against the monsters that supposedly wanted to bring good things to earthlings. Aki and Haru quickly dismissed this dub as fake. (I made a mistake in the title in the previous post btw)

34. As seen in the glossary in the Boueibu Mook (I think, but might not be the mook), Caerula Adamas’ speeches are based on an old japanese detergent commercial that went “Gold, silver, pearl, gift”.

35. In the manga there’s a short parody of the first chapter of Sailor Moon with “Pretty Boy Guardian Gakuran Akoya”. The conquest club manga was released before the anime, so I remember reading somewhere that a fake website appeared for the Gakuran Akoya manga, before turning into the conquest club manga website in the day of its release.

36. Cgi was used a few times in the anime: s2 ep10 for a short sequence of the defense club on a rollercoaster and the carousel monster, ep11 for a cenital shot of the Battle Lovers singing, and HK ep12 for the Honyalaland soldiers and the Wao mecha.

37. The toothbrush incident in s1 ep7. (It’s definitely well-known but it’s so weird lol)

38. “We hope we can see each other again someday!” Something along those lines was the last text to appear in the last episode of HK, implying a s2. We all know how that went.

#boueibu #new post bc i didn't put a readmore in the other one and it was getting too long #msorry #long post #speaking of the robihachi eng dub... sarazanmai has one too...#so many animes like those get dubs but not boueibu?! HOW UNFAIR #at least we got the funimation subs #is the game even canon??#i mean with stuff like how everyone is apparently straight in there #even yumoto who pretty much came out as gay in the anime #that's very inconsistent #i mean. it is canon but maybe it's like an au? idk #also we need gakuran akoya to be real lmao #also no prequel with gora or hk s2. WHYYYY #i think this took me four hours

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haledamage · 3 years

Note

"you deserve good things." for whoever strikes your fancy ;D

I realized after I finished this that I don’t actually know if you’ve played Neverwinter Nights 2 before 😅 but it’s written now, so here you go! if you haven’t played NWN2, you should, this game is for me what KOTOR is for you 💖

Etain/Casavir, mutual pining my beloved, sometime in the early days in Crossroads Keep, spoiler-free except for one very vague reference to in-game events

---

Etain found Casavir right where she expected to, in one of the rooms that hadn’t yet been furnished enough to see much use beyond one paladin seeking solitude. This one was fully constructed, at least, and had a fire crackling merrily in the hearth, though it wasn’t quite enough to chase away the chill that seemed to radiate from the very stones of Crossroads Keep.

There was a pile of old furniture against the wall opposite the hearth, some of it little more than splintered wood while others seemed to be fine except for a bit of threadbare upholstery and a lot of dust. Casavir had managed to find a few chairs that were in working condition, and had saved them from their fate as firewood. One of them had been repurposed into a table, holding a well-loved book and a steaming mug, while he sat in another one with a piece of his armor in his lap, meticulously repairing a ripped seam. The rest of his armor lay in a neat pile next to him, his sword and shield propped against the wall next to the fireplace - within reach, as always, just in case.

A third chair sat across from him, empty and inviting. Etain took its presence as offer enough, and slid into it cautiously in case it couldn’t support her weight. It creaked loudly before settling, announcing her arrival with more fanfare than she would have preferred.

Casavir looked up from his sewing, the warmth that bloomed in his pale eyes as they met hers doing more to dispel the cold than the roaring fire. He bowed his head to her, as formal and solemn as always. “Good evening, my lady.”

“Hey.” She flushed at her own comparative lack of decorum, and added a mumbled, “I mean, good evenin’.” He chuckled quietly, the sound clearly intended to be kind rather than mocking, though it also made her blush darker.

“Is there something you need of me?” His voice wasn’t quite hesitant, but it was the closest to it she’d ever heard. While his face betrayed nothing - it rarely did - he tensed, sitting up straighter in his chair. He looked like he was about to reach for his sword, as if he expected trouble; she was starting to realize that he always expected trouble.

In his defense, trouble did tend to find them - and her in particular - more often than could be explained away as coincidence.

“Relax. There’s no emergency or anythin’. I just, um…” Etain bit her lip nervously, digging around in her pocket until she found the little cloth bundle she had hidden in there.

“You what?” he asked patiently. He set his sewing down on the floor next to him and relaxed back into his chair, slowly untensing.

“I have a gift for you,” she said in a rush, thrusting the bundle at him. He took it much more delicately than she had presented it. “A little bird may’ve told me that your morn day was a few days ago. I wanted to get you somethin’.”

The ‘little bird’ had been Katriona, but truly his birthday was just a convenient excuse. She'd bought the gift weeks ago - not that she would tell him that.

Casavir ran his fingers over the soft green cloth square as if trying to map the shape of the item within it before unwrapping it. The corner of his mouth rose with the beginning of a smile, though he didn’t let it fully bloom. “It was kind of you to think of me, my lady, but you did not need to trouble yourself on my account.”

“It’s no trouble. Really.” She laughed as he still made no move to open the gift, and nudged the toe of his boot with her own. “C’mon, open it.”

He studied the cloth for another long moment before carefully unfolding it. In it was a bronze cloak pin about the size of his palm, simple but well-made and shaped like a sword and shield. On the shield was a crescent moon, curved like a bow and crossed by an arrow - the symbol that had been chosen as Etain’s heraldry when she’d been knighted.

His old cloak pin, a dented and battered shield bearing Tyr’s scales, had been his gift to her before her trial, a token of his faith in her that had helped her through one of the darkest nights of her life. But that had been over a month ago, and he hadn’t gotten a new one yet; he’d been using an unadorned one since. It was only appropriate that she replace it, since she’d taken his old one.

Part of her felt like it was arrogant to give Casavir a pin with her own mark on it, but she knew his bond with Tyr was a complicated thing, and his relationship with Neverwinter was tenuous at best, so they were both out of the question. He’d cut so many ties that, when you took those two away, all he had left was… this. This room, this half-ruined keep, and its Harborman commander.

“It’s lovely,” he said eventually, oddly subdued. He traced the crescent on the shield with his forefinger. “I do not deserve--”

He moved like he was about to try and hand it back, and one of her hands shot forward to stop him. He froze as soon as her skin touched his. “Yes, you do. You deserve good things, Casavir. In all the months we’ve known each other, you’ve never asked me for anything.” Sure that he wasn’t going to try and give her gift back, Etain loosened her grip on his hand, though she didn’t pull away completely. “When’s the last time you let yourself want somethin’?”

“What I want…” His hand unfurled under hers, the rough pads of his fingers brushing light as spring rain over her palm before coming to rest at the inside of her wrist, where her pulse raced at a hummingbird pace. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, a small catch in his normally smooth, deep voice. “What I want is irrelevant.”

“Not to me.”

He met her eyes again, and he looked at her in a way no one ever had before. The normally wintery blue of his eyes turned as warm and intense as a summer storm, and made her feel the same way, powerful and wild.

The smile Casavir had been holding back finally settled on his lips, small but real. “Etain…”

Someone cleared their throat in the doorway. “Knight-Captain.”

Etain jumped back, her face burning as she realized how far she’d leaned toward him. She turned toward the door, relaxing a little to find it was only Kana. As far as she knew, her right-hand woman wasn’t much for gossip, so there was a small chance that they might be spared from the rumor mill for at least a little longer.

“I apologize for interrupting.” Kana seemed to mean it, though if she had any opinion beyond that she kept it close to the chest. “A group arrived at the gates, and the leader is requesting an audience. He says he knows you.”

“Of course he does,” she muttered sourly, then louder she added, “Thank you, Kana. I’ll be right there.” She saluted and left without another word, and Etain turned back to Casavir and his poorly concealed amusement. “I guess duty calls.”

“It always does,” he said, a hint of either sadness or disappointment behind his voice. He rose to stand, his movements stiff from the unhold hours he probably spent in that chair before she disturbed him. But when he bowed and offered her a hand, the motion was as graceful as ever. “May I accompany you?”

“Are you sure?” Despite the uncertainty in her voice, she still took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. “You were in the middle of somethin’ when I came in.”

Casavir tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. “It can wait.”

Arm in arm, they left the room to go see what trouble had come to find them this time.

#etain torren #casavir #etain/casavir #neverwinter nights 2 #nwn2 #these two were the og for me. the first ship I ever wrote fic for like 15 years ago #all my love of stoic men and mutual pining and slow burns stems from them #though I was too shy to ever share any of it then #this is the first nwn piece I’ve ever written that has been seen by anyone but me!#better late than never :D

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jokertrap-ran · 3 years

Photo

(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Evan’s Personal Route Chapter 1-1: Unexpected Request (意外之请) Translation

“Just who is the dinner party’s esteemed guest…?”

*Light and Night Master-list | Evan’s Personal Masterlist *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join the Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *Evan’s tag will be #For Night, For Revolution

In the afternoon of a rare day off from work. So very rare, that even the air seems to be much fresher than ever before.

The sunlight shines upon my body, warm and fuzzy, as I lay on the sofa, yawning as I scrolled through my social media feed.

MC: Hmm? This post…

There was no description attached to this post, only a mere photograph. It was one of Zee, the COO (Chief Operating Officer) of Zeal & Company Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd.

Zeal was one of the top FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) companies in the world. It has now expanded to cover a wide expanse of industries, not limited to: Finance, Real Estate, Beauty, Household Products, and many more.

Zeal had just announced their high-profile entry into the Apparel Market recently by forcibly acquiring an internationally worldwide renowned clothing brand.

This bold move of theirs had caused a huge stir.

MC: The background in this picture looks a little familiar…

I enlarged the photo. The tower depicted in the picture was a little blurry, but I could still make out its iconic turret.

MC: Zee's here in Guangqi City?

The sudden realization made me recall the one rumour I'd heard back in the office.

To further expand their reach in the Apparel Market, Zeal was actively looking for worldwide partners to aid in their cause.

MC: Is Zee's sudden arrival here because of that?

However, the phone in my hand rang before I could delve any further into my thoughts about it.

I glanced at the incoming Caller ID…

MC: Evan? Why would he suddenly be calling me?

I straightened myself up and answered the call.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

Evan: Good afternoon, (Y/n).

Evan: It's Saturday today. I'm not disturbing you, am I?

His voice was deep and gentle, tinged with a slight cheery undertone.

MC: Nope, you aren't.

I could hear the low background music playing in the background, its melody was a little familiar. My heart leapt at the realization.

MC: Are you at a cafe?

Evan: Yes. Guessed it with your ears now, did you?

He seemed to be stirring his coffee as he spoke, the crisp sound blending in with the flowing piano notes in the background. It made me unwittingly picture him leisurely seated by the windowsill, relaxing.

I wonder if he’s in the same cafe where we met?

Then came Evan’s reply, almost as if he could read my thoughts.

Evan: It's the same one I first met you at.

Evan: Let's come here together again when we have the chance.

MC: … Yeah!

I froze, coming back to my senses a few moments later, the corners of my lips subconsciously lifting.

Evan: But, I'm calling you today for other matters.

Evan: Do you have any plans tonight?

MC: Not at the moment. Why?

Evan: How about joining me for a dinner party if you're free?

His voice sounded from the receiver, crystal clear to my ears, and igniting my fluttering heart.

Me? Join him for a dinner party…?

❖ Choice A: Sure

MC: Sure. What kind of dinner party is it, though?

❖ Choice B: That doesn't seem too appropriate

MC: A dinner party is a far cry from a normal dinner… Wouldn't it be too inappropriate if I went?

Although he was the one who’s taking the initiative to invite me, I wasn’t exactly sure just how I should be presenting myself.

And, just how will he be introducing me to others once we get there? As his colleague? His friend? Or… something else?

Evan’s voice sounded from the receiver once more after a brief moment of silence.

Evan: Sorry, it was a lack of consideration on my part.

Evan: I'll go alone if you think it's no good then.

It might have just been my imagination, but I could hear the faint disappointment colouring his voice.

MC: I… Sorry…

Evan: There is no need for you to be apologizing. This isn't your fault.

Even after cutting the call, I could still hear his gentle and comforting words, as if his words still lingered by my ear.

I curled back up on the sofa and looked out the window. The skies outside had already been dyed by the faint scarlet hue of the setting sun.

I couldn't help but be a little entranced by the warm yellow light of the sunset.

MC: He should be on his way there now...

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

Night slowly falls, and I feel like it's the longest night I've ever experienced…

☆ NORMAL END: A Missed Opportunity ☆ "Be brave and step out of your comfort zone to explore a whole new world!"

❖ Choice C: Do nothing

Evan: How about it, (Y/n)? Or are you concerned about something else, perhaps?

It was only when I heard his voice again that I realized I'd probably been thinking about it for too long. I tightened my grip on my phone and hurriedly tried to explain myself.

MC: Sorry. I'd honestly love to go with you, but I think it's too short notice this time.

MC: If I were to attend a dinner party, I'd have to prepare an adequate dress, put on proper make-up, fix up my hair and much more…

The other end of the line falls silent. It was only after a few seconds of prolonged silence that Evan's voice came through again.

Evan: I should be the one apologizing.

Evan: The invitation I extended to you was way too abrupt and it has troubled you.

Evan: Even so, would you be willing to go out for dinner with me if it wasn't a dinner party?

MC: Huh?

Evan: I'll take you out for dinner tomorrow. Just treat it as an apology for the sudden request I sprung on you.

Evan: No need for any dresses or hair styling. It is just a dinner for us two.

Evan's tone was very light and had a faintly joyful lilt to it. It made me unable to suppress the smile that came in response.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

It felt as if I could still hear his gentle voice lingering by my ear even after I’d cut the call.

The sunset outside was a warm yellow, making my heart feel all toasty and pleasant.

☆ NORMAL END: An Ordinary Night ☆ "Your opportunity gradually slips away as you lay back and relax…"

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

MC: Is there anything I should take note of? You know, dress codes and the like…?

You'd only just finished speaking when you heard the small, yet short, chuckle coming from him.

Evan: Normal formal attire works just fine. Don't worry about it.

Evan: One of the attendees is an avid fan of antiques and is quite knowledgeable in that field.

Evan: I recall that you have a keen interest in these things, so I'm inviting you to attend.

MC: I see… but I'm no professional. Wouldn't that only trouble you?

Evan: You won't. I trust you.

The firmness in his words assured me, immediately appeasing my worries. I clutched the phone tighter and voiced my assent.

Evan: I'll come pick you up downstairs in two hours then.

MC: Yeah, sure.

Evan: I'll be seeing you later then.

It felt as if his gentle voice was still lingering by my ear even after the call ended.

A sliver of expectation arose in my heart. I couldn’t tell if it was the expectation for the dinner party, or if it was Evan who’d invited me to said party.

I put my phone down and went to my wardrobe to select my outfit for the night.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

I dug out all the formal dresses I had within my wardrobe. After hesitating for a good long while, I finally went with a wine-red one-shouldered dress.

MC: Also, shoes, accessories, hairstyle and make-up… I’ll have to think about how to match all of these things with my outfit...

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

I hurried back and forth to make myself look presentable. By the time I looked up at the clock, it was already nearing our promised time.

I returned to my full-length mirror, checking over the accessories and the colour of my lipstick that I’d paired with my outfit. After I’d confirmed that everything was in place, I put on my high heels and made my way downstairs.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

I could see Evan’s car parked out front the moment I stepped out of the elevator.

Evan was basked in the orange light of the streetlight he stood under. His mouth curved into a gentle smile as he invited me into his car.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

Evan: You're very beautiful today.

He turned his head to face me from the driver’s seat. Light seems to have settled within his orbs, reflecting the image of my reflection within.

Flustered, I broke eye contact with him, clutching at my dress.

MC: Thank you. You're also very...

I’d yet to finish when I felt a slight coolness at my neck.

I stiffened, my head shooting upwards.

Evan had his hand raised, tucking the strands of hair near my temple that had fallen out of place behind my ear, his cool fingers brushing across my neck.

Evan: Your hairdo is coming loose.

The night was akin to a dark-set heavy velvet, yet the smile reflected within his eyes was crystal clear.

MC: Thanks…

I could subconsciously feel the tips of my ears grow a little hot. I lowered my head and turned my attention to the unwitting seat belt.

Evan: Do you need help?

MC: No need. I can do it up myself.

I struggled for a bit before buckling my seatbelt in, leaning back against the chair, and letting out a soft sigh.

The hair he’d tucked behind my ear for me earlier fell back down again.

A faint smile played at his lips as he started the car back up.

I collected myself, turning my eyes towards the window and gazing outwards.

I threaded my fingers through my hair and touched the shell of my ear, only to find that the burning had yet to cease.

❖☆————— ⊹ Oblique Curtains of the Night⊹ —————★❖

⊹ Next Part: (Chapter 1-2: Candle-Lit Game)

#光与夜之恋 #Light and Night #Otome #Translations #Tencent #陆沉 #Evan #For Night For Revolution #倾斜夜幕 #Oblique Curtains of the Night

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theofreakingbell · 3 years

Text

so this is an announcement

it is with a heavy heart I am announcing this (oddly formally but whatevs) but unless there's a miracle I probably won't be able to see the Loki Series when it first comes out. like... at all.

for a long while now I've been dealing with very intense light sensitivity and sensory processing issues, which have been impacting my life immensely and have been a royal pain in the ass to say the least. this includes an intense sensitivity to the color orange and certain shades of yellow specifically, of which there is.... A Lot of in the series from what I've seen. I couldn't even watch the trailer because even the few gifs I saw the day it dropped were enough to make me feel very intensely sick and I was afraid if I tried to I might throw up, and I didn't want to put myself through that. I have also been unable to watch any other tv for several months, likely because of how much visual information is required to be taken in quickly, vs like still images and gifs and stuff on here (which I have to be careful with color wise and stuff but are sometimes accessable to me in moderation, hence why I'm on here at all)

so.... yeah. I can't watch it right now. we've been trying to figure out what exactly is wrong and have some really good leads (something is irritating my nervous system we just don't know what yet) but yeah it is like..... not resolved right now at all and I don't know when it will be. as of right now there's no evidence that anything is permanent but it isn't better yet and the waiting and not knowing when it will ever get better (and thusly how long I will have to deal with not being able to see things) is quite frankly excrutiating. I think that's one of the worst parts of it cause I can't plan around it at all, there's just this gaping uncertainty.

I love you all. tremendously. and coming back on here after reading LWML and getting involved in the Loki fandom again after I fled it a long time ago due to bad experiences on here has honestly been one of the best things I've experienced throughout all this nonsense, and it has honestly kept me going more than I can tell you. I have felt some of the most wonderful, genuine, happiness, that I have ever felt, being able to share things with y'all. Seeing you appreciate my ideas (and my bad jokes lol) has been so incredibly encouraging and validating for me.

but um. aforementioned sensory fuckery. I may have to leave you for a while. spoilers are super difficult to avoid on this platform in particular (especially due to the recommended post previews being displayed and not getting blocked even if they are blocked generally) and so once the series starts coming out idk if I'm going to be able to come on here anymore, at least for now.

this is the last thing I want, but it's physically neccessary and I hate it. I hate that in order to not hurt myself I have to avoid something I love, and love so incredibly deeply.

as far as we know, and we know a lot, I am not in mortal danger. I will not die. I do not want any of you to worry about that. I just don't know when any of this is going to change, and how or how quickly my nerves will be able to heal etc.

I'm not leaving social media entirely. I also go on twitter and reddit and have messaging apps. If we've talked before on here or you've been a follower for a little while and want to connect elsewhere (where I will be hiding until this hopefully gets better) feel free to dm me and we can exchange other socials if you want :) I'm posting this now so hopefully can leave completely for a while if I need to.

in conclusion. I love you all, color sensitivity fucking sucks, and I hope the series is good. I will get to see it eventually.

❤️

#tag later #I'M NOT LEAVING YET I just might have to so u know. trying to prepare #cries

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melon-wing · 4 years

Text

Frustration

This is another story set in the Pirate AU. It takes place somewhere between Trauma and Dread :) Grian and Doc already met a few times, but there is nothing really going on between them. Check out the Pirate AU tag for the other stories!

The Oneshot was inspired by the dance scene in She-Ra, because me and @gridoc had a long geek out conversation about it :D No worries, there are no spoilers and you also don’t need to know the show.

~*~

Grian was looking around in annoyance. Why was he the one to be picked for this job? He hated coming to this place. There was only one upside to being here. This was a neutral zone, so he wouldn’t be in any danger. Pirates, navy and everyone else was welcome in this kingdom and they were pretty harsh with whoever broke the no fighting rule. Both navy and pirates had accepted it a long time ago. Even the ocean around the island was a fighting free zone. Nobody dared to lose the valuable access to this island. It was the one place where you got information about your enemies without being in danger. It also helped that this kingdom had a booming economy and it was always helpful to have good standing with the rich and famous here.

Today Grian was sent alongside his captain as a representative of the navy for the prince's birthday. He hated these kinds of events. It was the one disadvantage that came with rising up in the ranks. All those stiff gatherings he had to visit, pretending that the nobles were all delightful people. And ignoring it when they made fun of his poor upbringing and teasing him for growing up in such a rural place. He just bared it all with a smile. This time it wouldn’t be any different. He was already counting the minutes until all of this was over and he could return to the ship.

Grian fiddled with the blazer of his suit for probably the tenth time and took a deep breath before entering the huge ball room. A loud booming voice announced his and his captain's name as they walked in. A lot of eyes followed them. They probably knew that both of them were part of the navy. Thanks to being on so many stupid navy recruiting posters, Grian’s face had become too recognizable for his own liking.

It unnerved Grian, that with the formal wear he was unable to tell who was a pirate and who wasn't. And he hated it. He didn't want to make small talk with pirates. He didn’t trust them at all, not even in the neutral zone and it put them on edge.

He slowly walked along a red carpet up to the throne with his captain, both of them bowing respectfully before the prince. The moment Grian looked up and saw the prince's eyes raking over his body, he regretted coming here. He hated nobility and how they behaved while thinking they were better than anyone else.

As fast as the royal protocol allowed Grian hurried off to the side, getting himself a drink and a disapproving glare from his captain.

"Remember what we are here for, Grian. This is not just a celebration or some time off. We are trying to make friendly with those nobles, get better deals around here for the navy and see if we can get some information about pirate movements out of it. Use whatever means necessary, you got me? Do anything needed. Anything."

Grian resisted the urge to pull a grimace and only nodded stiffly. He already hated this event. It couldn't get any worse.

Half an hour later Grian had already moved to his third drink, but nothing could change his bad mood. There was barely any alcohol in it, far too little to take the edge off him. His captain was deeply into a discussion about politics with some of the older generals of the kingdom, while Grian had to fend of young star-struck boys and girls left and right. And some of those nobles really couldn't take no as an answer, coming back again and again, to try and pull him onto the dance floor. He always declined earning disgruntled looks and complaints.

He saw the glares his captain was throwing him now and then, but he hadn't ordered Grian to go and dance with those people. They were too young to have any valuable information anyways. It would be a waste of time and he couldn’t let his guard down to dance.

Still his Captain came stomping over after a few more of his refusals, pulling him aside. "Listen here, brat. You might be my first mate, because someone decided you looked good in that position and you have more luck than brains, but you are nothing special. Stop being so high and mighty. If I see you declining one more dance I will make you scrub the whole ship with a fucking toothbrush. You got that? No matter who approaches you next, you will fucking accept the dance with a smile."

Grian swallowed, balling his hands to fists. He hated being ordered around like this. He wished he could finally rise in the ranks to become captain... But then the admirals would probably piss him off... He would never be able to escape people ordering him around on a whim. "Understood, sir", he finally ground out, glaring at his glass.

"And smile, Grian, honey."

Grian took a deep breath and then put on his best fake smile, finally satisfying his captain enough to go back to those stuff old politicians. Grian just hoped that after all those refusals noone else would dare to approach him...

"Announcing: Captain Doc and his First Mate Ren" A voice echoed through the room and Grian froze, his glass slipping from his hand and clattering to the floor. Luckily it didn't break and one of the maids hurried along to clean up the mess pretty fast.

Grian's eyes were fixed on the entrance where he saw Doc and Ren walk through the crowd, up to the throne. Doc did a rather elegant bow with that dumb smirk of his. He said something, making the prince blush and chuckle. That stupid pirate was truly flirting with everyone he met. Grian couldn't help but get irritated by it. If that guy was already sweet talking the prince he must have been planning something. This was a neutral zone, but Doc was a pirate. He wouldn't care about those rules. He never seemed to care about anything. Grian probably should keep an eye on him, but at the same time he wanted to be as far away as possible. He didn't want Doc to notice him.

Grian got himself another drink, leaning against one of the pillars and looking through the crowd at Doc, who was talking with some young noblemen, who were all looking at him as if he was a piece of meat in that suit of his. Grian didn't want to know which poor guy they stole that suit from... It fit Doc rather well and... No. Fuck. No! It didn't look good on him at all.

"You keep staring at my captain like this and I might think you were trying to either murder or fuck him."

Grian jumped at the voice and turned around so fast he lost his balance. He was lucky enough when an arm wound around his waist, catching him before he could fall. He looked up into the smiling face of a man he knew all to well. They had met on the battle field a few times by now.

"Ren! Stop talking such nonsense!"

Ren just shrugged and looked over Grian's shoulder with a grin. "Oh damn. I think I made the Captain angry, putting my hands all over his prey", he joked and Grian turned around again to see Doc walking through the crowd towards them. Oh fuck! He had to get away. He didn’t want to interact with Doc at all if possible. He needed to hurry. But when he moved to take a step, Ren’s grip on his hip tightened. "Oh, I don't think so, Lieutenant Grian. We are all here to have a little fun. Don't just run away."

Grian would have struggled, but starting a fight now would probably get him thrown out and piss his Captain off so much. He still tried to gently push Ren's hands off of him. He didn't make it in time. Doc stepped up to them and he found himself trapped between two tall pirates. It shouldn't have made him feel so nervous. He had fought both of them before and came out victorious. But he was unarmed at the moment and he didn't trust them to be as well.

"Captain Doc... What a displeasure to meet you here."

Doc chuckled, looking Grian up and down slowly. "You look good, Grian. You should wear a suit more often. It is very nice. Far better than that dumb uniform and all it stands for."

Grian huffed and turned to look to the side, glaring at the tables on the wall, not even answering that. Maybe if he ignored them long enough, they'd go away. Or maybe he was lucky enough and his captain would notice the predicament he was in. They both knew Ren and Doc after all. His Captain wouldn't want Grian to be in any danger now, would he?

"Oh, playing hard to get now? I just want a little chat, that's all."

"Fuck you...", Grian muttered in annoyance, letting his gaze wander over to where his captain was standing. That stupid old man still hadn't noticed Grian getting cornered.

"Well then...", Doc bowed a little before him, holding out his hand. "How about a little dance?"

Grian's mouth fell open in shock. That guy couldn't be serious! Why in the world would Grian want to dance with him? There was no way. The only way they danced was with their swords.

Finally his Captain seemed to notice what was going on, watching Grian like a hawk. Hope bloomed in Grian's chest. He would be saved from this hell now. A few seconds passed, nothing happened. His Captain just kept staring. Well, Grian would handle himself then. He turned to glare at Doc. "I'll dance with you once the ocean dries out", he spat, making Ren behind him laugh and loosen his grip. He used the opportunity to swiftly step out between them and hurry off towards his captain. Surely not even Doc would dare to follow him there.

"Grian, what was that?" His Captain's voice was filled with disapproval. "I thought I ordered you not to refuse anyone again.”

"Well... You can’t honestly expect me to dance with that fucking pirate! He is evil! He killed some of our people. We fought him before!”

Grian not only got glared at by his Captain, but the other people around them seemed to look at him in disapproval as well. That's why he hated the neutral zone. Everyone seemed to pretend that pirates were fine people here. Pretending they never did anything wrong. His Captain noticed their glares as well and grabbed Grian's arm so hard it would probably leave marks later. Funny how gentle Ren's grip had been compared to it, Grian thought to himself.

The Captain pulled him close, before hissing into his ear. "You'll go back there now and dance with him. Otherwise we’ll have a problem, you got me? You do remember the last time you didn’t follow my orders, do you?"

Grian wanted to defy him so badly. He wanted to say fuck it all and just storm out the ballroom. But that would probably offend royal protocol and he didn't want to imagine the punishment he'd get for that. His back already ached at the memory alone of the last time. His Captain might be a good soldier, but when it came to punishments he would be pretty harsh and when he threatened something, he'd sure as hell pull through.

"I... Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, sir..." Finally the pressure on Grian's arm faded, as he was given a little shove into Doc's direction. Grian hung his head and walked back to where Doc was still standing, watching his every move.

Grian stopped in front of the pirate, who had an unreadable expression on his face. Ren behind him looked furious, probably still mad about the refusal Grian had given Doc.

"Grian, are you being a-"

Grian interrupted him before he could finish, still feeling his Captain's eyes on his back.

"Would you still like to dance with me, Captain Doc?", he asked or more like spat out, holding out his hand and glaring at Doc. He wanted it to be perfectly clear, that this wasn’t really his idea of a good time.

Doc didn't seem to mind the hostile way it had been said, a huge smile forming on his face. He took Grian's hand and pulled him in suddenly so Grian smashed against his chest. "I'd be delighted, Lieutenant Grian. Who knew the ocean would dry out this fast."

Grian growled low in his throat, but he still let Doc pull him onto the dancefloor, where a new song was about to start. They got into position and while Grian tried to put as much distance as possible in between them, Doc would have none of it and pulled him close again.

"Don't be so shy, Grian. It's just a dance. Enjoy yourself a little. I promise I won’t harm you. I’m pretty good at this."

The first notes of the melody played as Doc took the lead, a hand on Grian's hip gently guiding him through the steps. Doc smiled softly at him, as if they had never fought before, as if there was no bad blood between them, as if this was perfectly normal. Grian couldn't believe it.

"Why are you even here, pirate?", he growled out as Doc twirled him below his arm. Doc laughed a little at that question.

"Always so suspicious. Can't we just be here to have some fun? It is the neutral zone after all. We do frequent business here, so we were invited. We are just here to have some fun and get some free food."

Grian looked at him in doubt. As if a pirate would just come to some stupid stuck up dance to enjoy himself. That was impossible. They must have been planning something. Grian looked around the room as they moved in circles on the dancefloor, searching for Doc's first mate. Maybe they were planning something while Doc distracted Grian. But no, Ren still stood where they had left him, watching both of them with a fond smile.

"I'd rather you'd look at me now, my dear. You always treat Ren so much nicer than me. Falling into his arms like that earlier, one could think you guys were flirting without me."

Grian's eyes snapped back to Doc, his body shaking in fury. "I would never!"

Doc's smirk only widened, showing his sharp teeth. "Good to hear, that you wouldn't flirt without me."

Grian fumed, a jumbled mess of words leaving his mouth, making Doc chuckle. His hand left Grian's hips and he twirled him away with the other, only to twirl him back a second later, pulling Grian flush against his chest.

"Listen, Grian... You could join my crew. That old guy would never be able to order you around like that ever again", Doc whispered into his ear, the hot breath sending a shiver through Grian's body. "I would never treat you like that. I'm an amazing Captain."

Grian pushed away a little, still not daring to let Doc go to stop the dance. He knew the way his Captain treated him wasn't alright. He knew that. He’d known that since the first time he had been punished. But to hear it from the mouth of a fucking pirate was a slap in the face. "You might think you are perfect, but you kill people. I might be... He might..." Grian broke off, casting one nervous glance to the side where his Captain was watching them. "He isn't perfect, but I'd never betray him or the navy for scum like you."

Doc stared at him for a while and then sighed, before his smile returned. "Well can't blame me for trying. But you bet your cute ass I'm going to enjoy this as long as it lasts."

They moved elegantly through the crowd to the melody of the song and even if he hated it, Grian had to admit, that Doc was a pretty good dancer. If he just pretended it was anyone else but the pirate Captain this would be pretty nice. As Doc pulled him close again, Grian just sighed in defeat and closed his eyes, letting his body be moved through the steps by the other. It wasn't half bad. The song was nice, Doc's hands were gentle, his body was warm. It was weird how in that moment he felt so good… so safe. And then Doc suddenly dipped Grian, his eyes snapping open again. Doc was looming over him with that lopsided smirk of his.

"I wish I could take you to my bed tonight, to be the one who takes that suit off of you."

The warm feeling left Grian's chest in a heartbeat and he glared again. "Your jokes have been better, asshole." Doc laughed at him and pulled him up again, staring into his eyes so intensely, Grian almost had to avert his gaze. But he couldn't even let the pirate win this battle. "So why don't you tell me why you guys are really here? I know you are planning something. I’ve known you for a while now. You would never come to an event like this otherwise."

Doc hummed, still looking highly amused. "Well I could tell you if you really want to know."

"Yeah?"

"You'd have to give me something in return, of course", Doc replied, pushing Grian away again, spinning him around before pulling him back. He didn't put his hands on Grian's hip this time but rested it gently under Grian's chin, tilting his head back even further. "Just a little something..."

Grian's breath hitched. They were so close now. The last notes of the song faded. They stayed there, their warm breath mingling in between them. Grian's eyes flickered down to Doc's lips and then back to his eyes again. Was it his imagination or were they getting closer and closer with each second that passed?

And then someone tapped onto Grian’s shoulder, making him jump away as if he had been burned by Doc. Turning around, he saw the prince behind him, smiling brightly.

"A dance, my dear soldier", he asked in a thick accent, taking Grian's hand and planting a soft kiss onto it. Grian's eyes widened, a blush appearing on his cheeks as he nodded. If he were to refuse this dance he'd be demoted for sure. It might also help him forget the dance he had just shared with Doc… And to forget what he had almost done for some piece of information.

As the next song started and the prince pulled him uncomfortably close, Grian swore he could hear Doc mumble: "I'm so going to enjoy robbing that asshole later." Grian looked over his shoulders at Doc's retreating form. He was about to alarm the prince, but when he felt a rather unwelcome hand on his ass, Grian decided to pretend he never heard about the planned crime.

#🍉 stories #pirate au #hermitship #hermitshipping #gridoc #a first glimpse into grian's unhappy life in the navy #not all sunshine and rainbows there #also jealous doc #And Ren the ultimate wingman :D

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lyrebirdswrites · 3 years

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if u've seen the news about the possible new jjk movie, do you have any thoughts on what it would adapt 👀?

I have seen the potential news and I’m very excited about it! I will do my best to keep my answer spoiler free.

I think a movie is pretty much guaranteed to be an adaption of either volume 0 or the star plasma vessel arc. Personally, I’d like to see the star plasma vessel arc in cinemas - this is mostly because I am a shameless gojou stan and an even more shameless getou stan, and I want to witness their backstory in the stupidly high production value that a movie will no doubt have. Also imo the star plasma arc tells a story which would work better in movie format than in episodic format - yuuta’s backstory can be split neatly into individual chapters or chapters 1+2 and 3+4, while gojou’s backstory is a downward spiral that is better experienced all in one go.

However, taking pacing into consideration, I think it would make sense for the movie to cover the prequel arc instead. Season 1 will cover roughly 63/64 chapters. The star plasma vessel arc and the shibuya arc combined are about 71 chapters - but most of those chapters are fight scenes, which tend to be animated at a quicker more condensed pace than dialogue heavy scenes. If the movie adapted the prequel and season 2 adapted the gojou backstory plus the shibuya arc, we wouldn’t need an ova. Then season 3 could adapt from the arc which starts directly after shibuya, beginning with yuuta’s reintroduction. The gojou backstory already flows into the start of the shibuya arc pretty neatly anyway (more neatly than yuuta’s backstory would).

The alternative would probably be a gojou backstory movie, a yuuta backstory ova/no animated yuuta backstory, and then season 2 adapting the shibuya arc in its entirety (starting from chapter 80, which would make it 56 chapters). Possibly yuuta’s reintroduction after shibuya might be tacked on at the end of season 2 in this case, bringing the total chapter count to 63 which is equal to season 1. But I think that yuuta’s reintroduction makes more sense as an opening to the annihilation migration arc rather than an end to the shibuya arc. The pacing here is not as neat or as intuitive as the one I suggested above, which makes me think that mappa will take the path of least resistance and have the movie be volume 0.

TL;DR - the movie is probably going to be the prequel!!! If not that, then the star plasma vessel arc, which I would low key prefer to see because I’m super biased and I like it better. Both options are great, but making a movie out of the star plasma vessel arc might make the pacing a bit more complicated to manage, which is why I think it’s less likely.

Tbh we can’t lose either way, and I really hope we get a formal announcement of the movie’s content!! They’ll probably tell us after the credits roll on the last episode this Friday or at AnimeJapan 2021 (assuming the registered domain actually is legitimate lol. It could very easily be fake)

#hype hype hype!#jjk movie #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #lyrebirds-answers #anonymous

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felassan · 4 years

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So from the tease that we got so far, I think the south is doomed,it looks like red lyrium has spread so far and wide destroyed everything on it's path (like that second picture of the Ferelden styled ruin/building) do you think blight and red lyrium will destroy or at least ruined some part of southern continent like Ferelden? And what about red lyrium in tevinter? Is the red lyrium growth in the north as bad as the south?

Hi Nonnie. This became long so I put it under a cut. TN spoilers beneath

My takeaway from it was bit different in some respects. I would guess that the WIPs were less of a “here’s what’s happened in Thedas between Trespasser and the next game”, and were a bit less specific on the major/main storybeats front than the DWR trailer and than a normal proper trailer would be. I would guess that the WIPs are more like a mini tech demo (a tiny slice of next gen capabilities), a nod to fans to show the franchise is still alive and a reel put together to act as an example of environmental stuff that looks cool while also being something which was suitable/safe to show at a corporate event like EA Play.

I took it as telegraphing the following:

‘Hey guys! DA is still a Thing. DA4 is still coming and it’s in development. Here’s a little snippet to reassure / feed / excite you [delete as appropriate lol] and keep the tiny spark alive. Haha lol we still can’t formally announce the game because top-level leadership rules and NDAs’

‘Wow omg! We’re excited about our next-gen stuff. Get a load of that raytracing (and so forth)'

‘Check it out! It’s red lyrium and stuff. These segments are Noticeably, Recognizably Dragon Age™’

‘This is conceptual. We’re still early in development and can’t show you anything more specific than this’ (compare to the similar early conceptual teases of MEA and Anthem)

In terms of major plot aspects*, I took it as:

Indicating or setting the kind of tone, aesthetic and overall feel the next game will have (‘Ooh ominous - dark - creepy.’), like set pieces or color swatches or a free sample/taster session of something

red lyrium is dangerous and the threat of it and its spread will feature in the plot of the next game. (‘The red lyrium threat shown in the background of DAI as in Emprise is returning, and with a vengeance’; ‘Expect to learn more about red lyrium in the next game’)

‘Omg!! What is that beating mass? Ooh!’

I don’t think we can say for certain that the WIPs are set in the south. It can probably snow in parts of the north of Thedas for one thing (see all that Equator stuff), and since several of the assets in the WIPs such as the bearded statues and skull-topped urns are straight out of DAI, it could be a case of asset reuse. If it’s simple asset reuse, devs were probably just making use of what resources they currently had available or were able to currently show, not trying to telegraph a specific location. Given the statues and urns, it’s possible that the buildings were also reused assets, and so not necessarily specifically Fereldan despite the resemblance. It’s also possible that given the nature of the WIPs as a mini tech demo and as a ‘tone setter’ of sorts, that they weren’t created with any specific location in mind. The game was also rebooted and is still far out from release - things could change and such scenes might not even make into the game (see the Crestwood scenes from the DAI marketing cycle).

About the far and wide and destroying everything in its path, stuff. I don’t doubt red lyrium has spread some and is destructive, but it’s worth mentioning I think, that the three shots we saw look to have been ‘connected’. They seem to have been ‘taken’ in the same place (that place could either be a specific place in Thedas, or just the same ‘set piece’ made for the teaser), going by the similar lighting and how it looks like snow is tracked onto the foreground of the second shot. Example: The mass in the third shot seems like it’s located inside the fortress which is in the top right of the second shot. So it’s possible there’s a tighter ‘focus’ in terms of the spread of red lyrium in the surrounds than what we think.

This is all speculation of course and so I could easily be wrong, but: so, I am unsure about the south being doomed. I do think we’re leaving the south behind, that red lyrium destroys what’s in its path, that it will have spread more by the time of DA4, and that it is a serious problem and is going to be a grave threat faced by Thedas and the PC and crew in the next game. (This was shown in the background plot in Emprise.) Just more like, the threat of red lyrium dooming whole regions is something we will be contending with and trying to stop in the narrative, or at the very least is something which will be part of the backdrop to plotbeats (like why Solas is doing his thing). Would they change whole nations so dramatically like that off-screen between-games, effectively removing or drastically ‘reducing’ those nations as settings? That’s a lot more of a radical change than “And now the Qunari are invading.” They might, that would be something different to what’s been done previously and so be dramatic and new, and you could potentially have an updated south which amounts to ‘Red Lyrium Future Ferelden and Red Lyrium Future Orlais’, but idk. The south doesn’t have to be doomed to cause a narrative move north. I’m thinking about how in DAO, the Fifth Blight threatened to spread across and ruin all Ferelden, but it was stopped and only really properly environmentally scarred parts in the far south near the Wilds. If they did do this, I would expect the story to have a big influx of refugees from Ferelden and Orlais travelling north to escape the issue. I feel like that’s something we’ve already seen before, that was already explored in the Fereldan refugees crossing the Waking Sea and the effects of the influx on Kirkwall in DA2.

I think red lyrium is a major threat to the world (a threat of doom, to all nations, north and south), and that it will have spread further than it had before by the time of the next game. This was seeded as a beat in DAI (literally in the nodes of lyrium in the land and metaphorically in the lore in codexes and such). I think this spread would at least ruin or seriously damage certain regions in the south and possibly elsewhere before the next game, like what we could expect to have happened as a result of the expanding spread in the region of Emprise despite the Inquisition’s efforts. I think it’ll feature prominently in the narrative and that we’ll learn more about it in terms of Dramatic Lore Reveals (considering the intersection it has with the Taint/Blight and the corrupted fleshy sacs in the WIPs). I’m hesitant in thinking that the south more as a whole has been doomed by red lyrium by the time of DA4, and in thinking that’s what the WIPs are saying. Hope this makes sense. 😰 Ofc, all any of us are doing when speculating about the trailer is guessing, so who knows really. 😄

About red lyrium growth in the north: We know less about its growth in the north than we do about its growth in the south. It does seem that it is worse in the south, because after the Breach opened, nodes of it began appearing throughout the surface of the south. The aforementioned Emprise du Lion is the best example of this so far. Makes sense, aside from the Breach it’s in the south that the red lyrium idol was found and in the south that the red templars were largely operating. I do think it’s still a big threat to the north though - it’s clear from stories in Tevinter Nights that some Magisters in Tevinter are messing with it (e.g. the Wigmaker’s experiments) and that remnants of the Venatori are still active in parts of Tevinter. In DAI we saw the Venatori just like the red templars messing with red lyrium: poisoning the well in Wycome, trying to start a supply line in Antiva, trying to smuggle it from the Storm Coast to Minrathous in order to convert the Imperium's slaves into an unstoppable army to turn the tide in the war with the Qunari for Seheron.. (TN was also careful to present us with similar instances of Tevinter nationalism and Tevene desire to restore the glory of the Imperium.. And here we note that both Antiva and Minrathous are northern locations). Stupid behavior like that is exactly how this kind of dangerous thing gets out of control and spreads. And so, I’m sure we can expect to see red lyrium threatening the northern regions in a serious way in DA4.

* I mean I still have been and am gonna speculate wildly and overanalyze, but primarily because doing so is fun for me

#dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #dragon age #bioware #mj replies #video games #tevinter nights #tevinter nights spoilers #tevinter nights spoiler #spoilers #spoiler #anonymous #tumblr fcking up the read more coding on an ask reply yet again #solas

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tarithenurse · 5 years

Text

Orphan - 3

Starring: Fem!Reader and MCU characters! Contents: ENDGAME SPOILERS! Angst (surprise!), confrontations, questions that needs answering, sadness, loss, confusion, feeling homeless/rootless, lack of will, loads of other sad feelings. Sorry. A/N: So, yes, this is starting to move along and I’m very touched by the responses I’ve gotten on just the 2 first chapters. As always, if you want a tag: let me know. Feel free to reblog or comment as I adore any sort of feedback. Who knows...one day I might even get better thanks to it? ;)

3. Family or not

Of course it’s not a big happy family reunion (whatever’s left of it). It’s an awkward walk through the autumn forest, stuck between a dude known for his robot suit and a chick who is part robot. Cyborg. At least Rhodes, because you’ve recognized him even with the lack of formal introductions, seems to be a bit sorry about the way things are going, but you probably bear some of the guilt for that as well.

No one says a lot after an initial phone call has been made, so it’s just the wet crunch of leaves muffling the footsteps as you trudge around the lake to a place probably used for canoeing during the summer. Now it’s place for a series of black, imposing cars with equally stern people whom you’ve seen on youtube, news coverage, and the few printed papers still in the making nowadays, and where Rhodes hadn’t seemed surprised by your existence…well…it’s a very different matter for the rest and your only comfort is that not all of the funeral guests facing you.

I should’ve stayed in bed today. The fight-or-flight response is long gone, replaced by a leaden sludge internally seeping from the guts to the feet. Why did I come? Spying on the funeral of a dad you’d only just found out that you had had wasn’t going to bring him or anyone else back, and right now? Right now you wanted your mom, not for the first time and probably not for the last time since she got killed years ago. Why did you never tell me, mommy? A new wave of guilt wrecks you, tearing at your heart for blaming the only family you’ve ever known, and you feel the hot swell of tears threaten to fill you eyes and drip from your nose.

I won’t let them have that too. No one moves a muscle as you clench your fists, your shoulders rising and falling as you combat yourself through the breathing. And no one interrupts Rhodes as he briefly explains about a trivial escapade decades ago that introduced the great Tony Stark to the concept of consequences. Consequence. Me. Just an accident that could be shoved into the dark recesses of a closet. No wonder your mom hadn’t told you who your father was when you were a kid, begging to have a full set of parents like your classmates.

But something must have changed with the Snappening, something else than just guilt had reared its head and made Stark leave you the answers to all the questions you’d ever had…even if he didn’t know id you’d be back.

“Confusion,” a dreamy voice lisps to your right, “sadness and…frustration…there’s so much hurt.”

You don’t look at her nor the person saying some nonsense along the lines of “I am groot”, whatever that’s supposed to mean.

“Oh…sorry.”

“Bad time or not, what do we do with her?” Nebula sneers more to herself than the rest. “Apparently, we’re not supposed to kill her.”

Even with the decent boots you’d scrounged, your toes are getting cold while you let them talk, make up their minds about your future both because you know these people will only leave you very little to say but mainly because you have no freaking idea what you want. The plan had only reached as far as to have a look at the funeral to see what you might have been missing out on. After that? Well, plan or not, now things have been set in motion that you can’t undo.

“Alright, [Y/N],” Rhodes finally turns to you with a frown, “let’s get you somewhere warm, waddaya say?”

You just nod and crawl onto the backseat of the black sedan he points at where you’re joined by the two men with the broadest shoulders, one of which is rock solid. *Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield* Sure they were close then and apparently now because the men don’t leave a lot of room for you and you don’t dare shift for a more comfortable position, choosing instead to sit with everything possible tugged in tightly.

It’s unbearably silent after the last car door slams and the cortege of black vehicles move onto the road leading around the lake. Why did I come? I’m an idjit. The two relics makes it unbearably warm to sit in the car…or perhaps it’s the nerves. But you’ll be damned if you speak up now even if it’s to ask for a window to be opened. No one question Rhodes as he navigates them further from the Stark Residence, following a short stretch of highway before heading to what must be the nearest motel lying snuggly by the river.

“I’ll uhh…get a room for ya, wait here,” War Machine (minus armour) announces and leaves two super soldiers, one orphan, and a blue cyborg behind without waiting for an answer.

This isn’t for me, right? “He…doesn’t have to. I’m sure I can get my bed back at the hostel.”

There’s a very obvious snort of disbelief from the front, but at least the Captain is kind enough to try to turn to face you and explain: “Don’t take this the wrong way, miss, but this is for our sake. Gives us a chance to talk with you…know where you are.”

“So I’m not s’posed to leave…”

“No.”

“Nebula!” Rogers chastises to no other effect than a scoff and shrug.

Why not admit it too, Capcicle? “Not a prisoner, just…grounded? Does that make you my daddy?”

The blush spreading rapidly across the blond man’s face is gloriously deepened by Barnes’ rolling laughter which continues as the car doors are opened from the outside by the only guy who knew about your existence. Behind him is a tiny crowd including a guy with a mohawk, a green woman, and…the fuck? Are those antennae?!

… Clint …

Good, old Tony Always-a-Surprise Stark. Not only did the guy have to go off and be the biggest hero of them all, he’s made sure to make a backup and kept her tugged away safe and far away from the messy (yet glamorous) life he’d lived. Glancing over at the chick, Clint can’t help but see parts of both the father’s and even the little sister’s features. The eyes. Fuck, it hurts more than he’d imagined.

Wonder what Nata– But no, Natasha won’t have any thoughts on what to do. There’s no calm logic from the world’s best redhead to counter the scared and cowed emotions streaming from [Y/N], as she’s called, who’s waiting silently for a verdict.

She’d come prepared, Tony’s daughter. All the documents and shit that Stark had left after the Snappening are spread out on the bed as proof of her existence just in case no one would believe her or Rhodes.

“I am Grooot?”

“What do you want?” the raccoon translates easily. “Why show up today? What’s the point?”

Nimble hands wring a snippet of a jacket that seems to be second-hand. “I dunno…guess it was sorta to…” She sighs, and it almost makes sense to Clint what this is about. “I only remember seeing him once and I didn’t know then. Now I’ve got a-a half-sister? It doesn’t feel real!”

“So you went, made sure they’re there…then what?” The odd creature is feisty for its size, a sort of feral smugness playing on the little face. “Want money?”

“No, that’s not –“

“All his cool gear?”

“Why would I –“

“Ah! Marry the grieving widow to –“

A mix of shouts and protests shut the furry interrogator up even if it’s probably only going to be for a while – it doesn’t take a lot of time together with Rocket to figure that out. Or why.

“Listen, I don’t have a fucking plan. Okay? I appear on some poor guys lap in the middle of a lecture only to find out it’s been more than five years! I got no home, no one to go to, no job. Maybe, some old pictures and books have survived, but that’s it. Stark might’ve been my father, but he’s never been my dad and I don’t belong with his family!” There’s a subtle movement from the Quill-guy, but no words break the roaring silence that follows [Y/N]’s outburst.

She needs a home.

“You’re not going back to the hostel.” Clint hears himself declare, already pulling the phone out of the pocket. “You’re not gonna be on your own.”

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prorevenge · 5 years

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Act awful all year? Don't expect your re-election or an award!

This is going to be quite long, so apologies in advance - its a little bit of a two revenge in one, TLDR at bottom. Names changed and all that jazz, her first name is SUPER identifiable so from now on she will be called....Jane.

So, some background - Jane and I met in University when we joined the same nerd club. We became fast friends in the first year, so much so that when it came around to second year we decided to move in together. That was a whole mistake in itself but thats more badroommates territory. A year into our friendship, the committee of the Nerd club was going through its election period and we put ourselves up for two positions, me being top dog and her being second in command, and we got the positions! All was right with the world, I was exited to run the club with my best friend by my side, thought it was going to be a really good year!

Spoiler: It was NOT a good year. Between September and April, she:

Angered three people so much that they quit an event committee that Jane and I were on - all three told me it was because of how badly she treated them, ie belittling them and saying the work they did was crap.

Talked shit about 90% of the clubs membership, including members who had been there years

Complained about having to take part in club events and tried to pawn attending the events off on other people

Would take tasks off of me when she didn't feel I was completing them to her standard, and then get passive aggressive at me for making her do "all the work"

Consistently rude to most of the membership

At one point, rude to our friends within the Union (MASSIVE no-no, if we want to do ANYTHING at all the Union needs to be on our side, they're essentially in charge of all clubs)

Straight up yelled and swore at members on various different occasions, which almost triggered a formal complaint!

I can't stress enough how awful she was. Yes, she ticked all the boxes and was good on paper, but she also upset pretty much everyone in the club in the process, AND a good few people in the Union. Safe to say, even though she was volunteering as lot of her hours into this, she was acting like a real piece of work throughout the whole situation. At one point, she even said she was only doing as many hours as she was so she could get an award at the end of it (this award is basically given to the best committee person that year, in any club and in any position, and it helps if you have a shit ton of hours in your club) which I thought was a bit skeevy. So, since she'd slowly been pissing me off all year, I decided that I was going to try for it instead!

And try I did - I became 150% involved in club activities, including staying late at night to get work done. I made friends with every person in the Union, and was there so much that even the people that didn't know me at least knew my name. I dedicated the majority of my time not doing Uni work to doing club event work, and when the award sheet came around I knew I had done at least as much as Jane had, if not more - and I knew she wasn't going to win. You see, me being friends with the Union people payed off - I had a chat to a few of them, before they decided on who got the award, just about some club events. We got onto the topic of talking about the awards, and someone says "Only one of them would be happy for the other, if they were to win." Immediately faces turn sour, and I just shrug - "It doesn't matter who wins, all that matters is we've improved the club this year: )"., which is something I did/do truly believe. However, her being so rude throughout the year came back to bite her, and I'm sure they took her attitude into account when voting for who won the award.

Cut to the award show, and I can tell she's at least semi-confident she's going to win - she's been talking for the past week about all the hard work she's put in, and lamenting about how she hopes all her efforts haven’t been wasted - obviously hinting at this award that was coming up. Night of, and it comes to announce the award - what do you know, they say my name instead of Janes! I go up, get my award, and come back happy as a clam to a very put out looking Jane. I was told later on that when I went up to get the award, she glared daggers at my back - shockingly not happy that her friend won a well deserved award! And when she took pictures of the Clubs awards at the end (we won a few big ones for a big event we held) she slyly moved my award out of the way so as not to take a pic of it. Cool Jane, you be petty - but I'm not done yet.

Next up was the election period - and once again, Jane wanted to be second in command. Of a club she has done nothing but moan and shit talk the whole. entire. year. I won't be there this year, you see, so she thinks she has free range of the club and can do what she likes with it. A lot of the membership are also graduating, so its unlikely anyone will step up to also run for second in command and beat her. She may be Satan come to earth, but a Satan second in command is better than no second in command. This way, she can still get some sort of award next year - she's been in the committee of a club for two consecutive years, that counts for something!

Until...I find someone to run against her. Because of course I do!

What’s even funnier is that she dismisses the person at first - lets call him Sam - smugly stating that no one would vote for him many times. Sam has been president of a society before, ISN'T widely hated by the clubs member base, and honestly would be a kind of alright second in command. So, instead of going around being as diplomatic as possible when talking to members about the elections, I'm probably too honest. Yes, Jane did such and such as second in command, however she did yell at someone during that event. Oh yeah, Jane has gotten that new game for us which is great, but I think we might have gotten some more if she didn't tell the guy who donated it to us to fuck off. She's really good about doing the paperwork and keeping things running but she doesn't like to come into club meetings so you might not see her much etc etc etc. Just giving people the full, unbiased truth about her - not telling them to vote for Sam, but not painting a pretty picture about Jane either.

Well, queue results night - I've been told the results beforehand, and we are having a club party to announce them. A good majority of the membership showed up to watch what would happen - most of these people were the ones Jane has yelled at or rubbed the wrong way, so they mostly wanted to come to make sure she didn't get in. Jane herself looked fine, like I said she had dismissed Sam as someone who could run against her as she deemed him "incompetent". I made sure to drag that part on for as long as possible and left the second in command position until last. I'm trying to subtly look at her from the corner of my eye when I announce:

"So for second in command next year, you guys have elected - Oh, it's pretty close, but overall, Sam is the winner! Sam is your new second in command!"

Que clapping from every member of the room. Except Jane, of course! She's already up, out of her seat, and storming out. Sends an angry message saying she's not coming to club again, how all of her hard work has been for nothing, how I steal the credit for everything, yadda yadda yadda. I expected as much, to be honest, which is why I lied when I said the voting was "close"

It wasn't. The votes were 10 to 40.

TLDR: Best friend and second in command acted like a bitch all year to members of our club and myself - I made sure that I got an award that she felt entitled to, and that she 100% would not be re-elected into the position by making sure someone she hated got the position instead.

Bonus little revenge: When she went home for the summer, she was trying to take 2 of the clubs awards with her as she thought she "deserved them" for her hard work (read: Was jealous I got an award and wanted one too, even though they 100% belonged TO THE CLUB and not to us as individuals). I vetoed that shit real quick, took them from her hands when she tried to take them home, and locked them in a display cabinet in the Union. No awards for you! :)

(source) (story by RAVENGEisSERVED)

#prorevenge #by RAVENGEisSERVED #pro revenge #revenge stories #pro revenge stories #pro #revenge #revenge story #last10

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ro-visiting-the-bureau · 6 years

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Birthday Bash Prompt 4: Jealousy/Fisticuffs

Posting for YarningChick, who does not have a tumblr but wanted to share her fills with you guys

A/N: Baron’s best original line in this story is provided by Garbage CAN not Can’t. This is partially based on my only dinner theatre experience (Beauty and the Beast!!!!) and a nice talk with Catsafari.

This is what parenthood was all about, wasn’t it? Doing something you don’t care about for the sake of your child? She could have been snug at home, making more progress on her deadline and maybe listening to the radio for inspiration.

Instead, she was doing a favor for a comrade-at-arms. At least, that was how it felt.

“Reservation?” a tired-looking woman asked as the couple before them in line were escorted into the main theatre.

“It should be under ‘Hashima’ for three,” Naoko answered, wrapping one arm each over her own daughter and the girl she had all but adopted by now, nudging her large handbag behind her so that Haru didn’t have to bend around it for the embrace.

Hiromi was nearly bouncing in her sneakers with glee. All three of them had made an effort to dress a little nicer than usual, but Hiromi had forgotten her dress shoes at her own home. Naoko couldn’t resist being grateful that Haru had given her the perfect excuse to keep her regular sandals instead of suffer through high heels for two hours.

“Ah, there you are,” the woman said with a slight more enthusiasm as her pen jabbed at a line near the top. “Naru? Table number three’s here.”

The younger woman serving as a waitress this evening nearly bounced forward with a huge grin. “So which one’s the birthday girl?”

“That’d be me!” Hiromi chirruped like a bird, making her best friend roll her eyes with a resigned smile.

“Right this way. Man, I wish my dad would do something like this for my birthday,” Naru pouted, leading the three women to a round table that was very close to the stage. It wasn’t far from where a single musician in medieval attire was contentedly playing on a lute to set the mood. Three places at the table had been set in a formal setting, but the middle place had a folded golden napkin instead of wine red.

“That one’s yours,” Haru asserted, easing the appropriate chair out for her friend before the waitress had a chance.

Hiromi blinked. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit next to your mom? We could switch the napkins, I doubt Naru would tattle on us.”

“I can handle one night of letting you be the center of attention, dear,” Naoko soothed her, even though she had been looking forward to sitting next to instead of across from her child.

But a birthday was still a birthday, and she didn’t want to risk a misunderstanding later. Her hands gently added pressure until Hiromi was sitting and Haru could push in the chair slightly.

The lighter brunette had to laugh at the familiar gesture. “Who needs a boyfriend with a friend like you, Haru?”

“Ha ha,” she answered dryly, settling herself into the left seat as Naoko did the same on the right. Noticing that a program was where her plate would soon be, she curiously took a peak at the menu side. “Mom, what’s bruschetta?”

“Toasted slices of bread with something on it,” she replied, already fishing a quilt square out of her large bag. “It’s a common starting point in Italian meals.”

Hiromi couldn’t help but giggle as she looked over the menu as well. “Italian Wedding Soup! Man, this is the best time for this dish!”

“Other than an Italian wedding,” Naru agreed with a laugh, already returning to her post to escort more guests to their assigned tables. “Don’t worry; everything’s been prepared without alcohol, and the bowl of shards is just stained glass candy.”

“That’s one less thing to worry about,” Naoko muttered under her breath as she wove her needle into a time-consuming stitch. “Our bottle of sparkling cider made me nervous before I looked at the label.”

“I’m pretty sure they would have checked I.D.s if they were going that authentic for the meal,” Haru pointed out while looking over the program in half-interest, helping herself to a red shard and licking it like a lollipop. “We’d have probably ordered pizza and let Hiromi pick a movie if they were doing that.”

‘That would have suited me just fine,’ Naoko couldn’t resist thinking in resignation as her needle continued to dance.

Taking in her daughter’s best friend while her father was out of town was no chore, but his birthday request on Hiromi’s behalf was definitely cutting into time that she didn’t have to spare. Still, it had been a while since she had done something with her own daughter, and at least neither of them minded her bringing a bit of work to the theatre.

“Orange custard for dessert,” the birthday girl announced firmly while pointing at the menu again. “I don’t know what that is, but it sounds like ice cream.”

“Well, more of a sherbet,” the lutenist called from his chair with a roguish grin. “I got a small taste from the first batch this morning, and it wasn’t bad.”

Hiromi beamed happily as she looked around the theatre. Nearly all of the tables had occupants now. It couldn’t be much longer!

It was still a good fifteen minutes more before the doors were closed and the waiters had finished passing each table a plate of the bruschetta.

‘Thank heaven we’re close enough to the stage so I can work by the dimmed light,’ Naoko couldn’t resist being grateful for as the lights overhead grew faint. ‘I just hope the actors don’t take offense.’

The lutenist got up from his chair to inch closer to the side door of the stage, letting his fingers steadily play softer and softer until stopping completely when he was safely out of sight.

Hiromi looked up around a mouthful of the soup, swallowing it and using the golden napkin to pat the broth on her chin away as Haru regretfully lowered the last of the bruschetta.

Instead of the stage, the actors came in from the main door, circulating between the tables in a slow and steady pace. As one, townspeople, noblemen, and everything in between chanted as one with their palms clasped to their chests.

“Two households, both alike in dignity,

“In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

“From ancient grudge to new mutiny,

“Where civil blood made civil hands unclean-”

The dignified introduction was ruined when one of the bigger actors accidentally tripped over an unused chair that someone had forgotten to push back in with a surprised yell.

The somber mood was ruined. Nearly the entire room erupted into laughter at the classic slap-stick as the large man, blushing scarlet, hurried to his feet and snatched his fallen sword away from a curious three-year-old. His face was like a storm cloud as he stomped toward the stage, using his voice like a megaphone to try distracting the crowd.

“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes!

“A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life!”

The other actors joined in again, although more than a few of them had silly smiles that further dampened the attempt at a regal setting.

“Whose misadventure piteous overthrows

“Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.”

“Spoiler alert,” Hiromi breathed through a small giggle.

Thankfully, the next scene was free of unplanned incidents. Naoko got a bit worried when the big actor, playing the part of Tybalt, got a little too enthusiastic with knocking down the other actors with sword or fist, but thankfully the actor playing the prince showed up before any real damage was done.

It was definitely easier to tell which person was Capulet or Montague, since the outfits were color-coded. Montagues were all in varying shades of green, while those loyal to them had accents or hose of green. Red was the theme for the Capulets, and those that were loyal to the prince or neutral were in white, or brown for the lower born.

‘Which makes sense since Friar Laurence cared for both of the families.’ Finished with the blue embroidery thread, Naoko spooned a few mouthfuls of the soup before searching through her bag for the red thread. ‘I don’t even like Shakespeare! Why am I here if the only thing I like is my daughter, Hiromi, and the food? I could have taken us to a restaurant and been done with all this in a bare minimum of half the time.’

After the prince was done breaking up the fight, Lord and Lady Montague started discussing their worries for their son with a taller actor with glasses serving as Benvolio.

It was soon clear why he had been chosen for that role. Everything about his demeanor screamed ‘wet blanket’. It was such a shame that his long-standing friendship with Romeo wasn’t enough for some of that ‘think before you jump’ mentality to rub off on the titular character.

After a while, a resigned sigh echoed through the room, making Naoko turn her head to see who was as ‘thrilled’ to be here as she was.

There was one actor that must have slipped in when the others had and stayed silent against the farthest wall until the crucial moment.

Naoko had to admit, he was a very handsome youth. Perhaps in college, well-built, and crowned with a thick head of strawberry blonde hair. He was dressed in a light green hose and a deep emerald doublet with gold embroidery that the quilter couldn’t help but get distracted by.

But hey, it was a better alternative then checking out someone young enough to be her son.

Romeo was wandering aimlessly between the tables with a far away expression, almost absently pushing an empty chair to the table with one foot before another accident could occur.

“See, where he comes. So please you step aside

“I’ll know his grievance, or be much denied.” Benvolio promised his aunt and uncle, properly stepping down from the stage and running between the tables.

It was almost sad, how believable Romeo made his heartbreak seem, even if some of the passages were slightly on the vulgar side on his hopes for the unnamed girl.

‘Why are parents letting their little kids watch something this crude? Why am I letting Haru listen to something this crude?’

Thankfully, her sweet angel was spending most of her attention on her soup before it got cold, although she was keeping one eye on the two men as Benvolio attempted to comfort, and Romeo refused the comfort.

The slight blush on her face said loud and clear that she wasn’t checking out Romeo’s gold embroidery like her mother.

Sighing with resignation, Benvolio wrapped an arm around Romeo and gently eased him to face away from the stage to speak more privately.

While the audience had been neatly distracted, Lord Capulet, Paris, and a servant had taken over the stage to speak of Paris’ hope of marrying Juliet.

‘Not seen the change of fourteen years?!’ Naoko started fuming again, attempting to calm herself before setting needle to fabric again.

The pretty blonde woman in all red she had glimpsed before in the chorus was definitely not a brand-new teenager, but the idea still made her blood boil. Forget Romeo’s age; how old was Paris to insist this badly that he wanted to make a thirteen-year-old Juliet a mother as soon as possible? She was obviously still a baby herself!

Thank heaven society standards have evolved since then! But next time someone tried to sweet-talk her into watching Shakespeare, the quilter would be remembering all this.

The all-too cheerful servant was happy to take the list of names he was meant to invite to the Capulet feast, but remembers after leaving the stage by the side stair towards the tables that he can’t read the list.

‘Yet another downside to having uneducated servants,’ Naoko couldn’t help thinking smugly as the servant pretended to run down Romeo and Benvolio to see if they could read the list. ‘It could have potentially kept your daughter, nephew, prospective son-in-law, and many others from getting killed in less than a week if you had let them have a bit of schooling.’

Romeo was delighted by the list, since the poor girl he was interested in was among the invited guests, but it was Benvolio who spoke as the servant went on his merry way. He drew the actor aside, towards the table where Naoko and her girls were enjoying their meal.

“At this same ancient feast of Capulet’s “Sups the fair Rosaline whom thou so loves,” Benvolio told his friend with repressed jubilation, waving a grand hand at Hiromi, who stopped licking a blue candy shard in surprise.

Romeo’s eye had been to Hiromi to continue the small homage, but it almost slipped of its own accord to Haru instead. There his gaze stayed in a spell of wonder, and his mouth slowly fell open in astonishment. The rest of Benvolio’s lines fell on deaf ears, and the lead missed his cue long enough to make people from other tables start squirming around to see why things had suddenly stopped.

“Um, crow?” Benvolio prodded, both with his voice and with an elbow, but Romeo continued staring at the brunette like he had forgotten how to do anything else.

Haru was now blushing at the unexpected attention from the handsome stranger, using her large brown eyes to unthinkingly perfect the ‘deer in the headlights’ look as she tried to shrink down in her seat to put some distance between them.

It was then that Naoko fully appreciated that her daughter had taken some pains to look nicer than usual tonight for Hiromi’s special birthday dinner. Her simple handmade dress of varying green hues neatly mirrored Romeo’s color scheme and eyes. By having the top part of her hair held back in a braided crown instead of the standard ponytail, she could almost have passed for one of the Montagues herself!

“… She doth teach the torches to burn bright!” Romeo finally breathed in complete appreciation, forgetting that anyone else was in the theatre. A different, gentler smile was playing on his lips as his green eyes grew tender.

Haru blushed redder than a Capulet tunic before almost frantically pointing a finger at her friend. “Not me! Her!” she tried to remind him through a whisper.

Hiromi had caught on to what was intended to happen by now, but her ecstatic grin said loud and clear she didn’t mind the change of plans. “She doesn’t have a boyfriend,” she tattled in a similar whisper.

“Go for it!” Naoko also encouraged, shoving her needlework into her bag for now. ‘He isn’t looking at her the way the Romeo so far would!’

Romeo beamed at both the news and encouragement, but a horror-stricken Benvolio grabbed him by the arm and started physically dragging him away before he could prematurely continue the ‘ne’er seen true beauty’ speech.

Haru breathed a deep sigh once he was a good ten feet away, even if he was still fighting to close that distance again.

“Yes! There sups the fair Rosaline thou loves!” Benvolio began again, his tone now verging on the edge of panic as he tried to remind the other actor they were indeed acting.

“With all the admired beauties of Verona.

“Go thither, and with unattained eye,

“Compare her face with some that I shall show,

“And I will make thee think thy swan a crow.”

The disappointment on Romeo’s features turned to rage, making him double acrobatically on Benvolio until he was standing and had a fistful of the man’s purple and green doublet by the throat. He had been shorter by a head’s worth, but now he seemed to tower over poor Benvolio that now seemed genuinely afraid for his life.

“One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun

“Ne’er saw her match since first the world begun!” the lead snarled, more than willing to defend his lady from such slander. He even had one fist raised in a silent promise to beat better taste into the man if he spoke against Rosaline again.

Naoko couldn’t hold back her enjoyment, even if she had wasted thought on it.Now that there was a girl Romeo actually liked, his enforced countenance had changed from the medieval equivalent of a whiny, horny teenager to the most chivalrous of knights. For her sweet daughter, no less! ‘I take back everything I’ve thought for the past week! This is where I want to be!’

Hiromi was grinning from ear to ear as she took a firm grip on Haru’s arm to keep her from crawling underneath the table out of sheer embarrassment as the other tables caught onto what had caused the change in Romeo.

Benvolio fought to regain his composure and whispered something quickly before speaking again in a louder voice.

“Tut! You saw her fair, none else being by,

“Herself poised with herself in either eye:

“But in that crystal scales let there be weighed

“Your lady’s love against some other maid

“That I will show you shining at this feast,

“And she shall scant show well that now seems best.”

Romeo was giving him the death glare, and mentally counted to ten before dragging his friend back to the stage for their exit.

“I’ll go along, no such sight to be shown,

“But to rejoice in the splendor of my own.” He managed to make eye contact with Haru at this, and did his best to offer an apologetic, adoring smile before he was swallowed up in the curtains surrounding the stage.

Haru moved her soup aside enough to rest her head on the table. “That did not happen. That did not happen,” was slightly muffled by her brown locks.

Still beaming, Hiromi reached over with one hand to start rubbing her back in comfort. “That totally happened. That totally happened, you lucky jerk!”

Haru looked up fiercely with a glare. “Not all of us like that much attention, Hiromi! This was supposed to be your birthday surprise! Your dad arranged it with the director, that’s why you had a gold napkin!”

Hiromi couldn’t stop impishly grinning as she used her other hand to start sucking on the shard again. “This is so much better! You’re going to talk to him after the show, right?” she asked eagerly.

“What? No!” Haru was aghast at the thought, taking a quick look around the theatre for the exits. “If anything, I should leave before the next scene!”

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” one young man called out from a table over, still holding hands with his giggling date. “I’m on the fencing team with Baron, and he’s never reacted to a girl like that before. Save yourself the embarrassment of having him track you down later, because he will.”

“I have your word on that?” Naoko pressed, one eye on the stage in case ‘Baron’ snuck another look at Haru.

Tybalt poked his head out instead, looking straight at Haru as if mentally weighing her. Tilting his head to one side as if mentally saying ‘not so bad’, the head then retreated to the other side of the black curtain.

The college kid from the table nodded through a grin. “You bet, ma’am! Baron’s next to nothing like Romeo off the stage. You won’t have to worry if he’s going to be a-”

“FIGHT ME, PEASANT!” Romeo suddenly roared, a chorus of violent sounds and surprised yells coming from the back stage.

The only evidence on this side was how the curtains were billowing and getting moved around quickly, as if a tornado were rampaging on the other side.

“Baron, don’t! You’re supposed to fake-kill him later! Fake!” someone could just be heard trying to reason.

Haru paled before burying her face in her hands as the sounds continued. “Somebody tell me that he’s getting into fisticuffs over something other than me.”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Naoko apologized, now too excited to return to her sewing. “Tybalt looked like he was going to say something right before the second fight broke out.”

“Ye-eah. Just take it for granted that he won’t put up with any disrespect to her,” the college guy finished with a nervous laugh as his date patted him on the back with sympathy.

ooOoo

It took a while, but the play got back on track. After the scene that introduced Juliet and her nurse, they began the somewhat lengthy affair of ‘getting the party started’. There were a few of the actors that were working around limps that hadn’t been there at the beginning of the play, and one that was being especially tender of one of his arms. Nearly all of them were sneaking curious glances at Haru as they past by her table, but it was hard to read what they were thinking.

Romeo was still noticeable, of course. His small black mask helped conceal the force of his gaze, but regardless of where he was in the reverie, his eyes never really left Haru.

“Please let me hide under the table,” she begged Hiromi, who still had a vice-like grip on her arm.

“Never,” she smirked, pulled her seat a little closer to her friend to ensure that she didn’t move.

The party was a little more three-dimensional than anticipated, since the actors were spreading out between the tables again, as if all the theatre were a part of the stage. Naoko had to admit that it made her feel like the play was slightly more real, but she had to admit that she was really looking forward to when Romeo finally had a chance to talk to her daughter!

Juliet, looking every inch a princess in her scarlet gown and flowing golden hair, managed to dance close enough to their table with a random Capulet guest, daintily helping herself to the big red rose on their floral arrangement. She held it to her nose to artfully partake of its fragrance, resting one hand on the tablecloth as she paused in her merrymaking. “Psst, Rosaline,” she whispered, letting the rose mask her lips to anyone that wasn’t at their table.

Haru looked up at her as if she feared the worst.

“I’m letting you have my share of the custard after the show for what’s about to happen. Sorry in advance,” Juliet whispered as gently as possible while sneaking the girl a sympathetic look.

Haru opened her mouth to make the standard inquiry, but started blushing again as Romeo managed to say above all the suddenly softened noise;

“What lady’s that, which doth enrich the hand

Of yonder knight?”

“Oh, please no,” Haru choked, catching onto Juliet’s strategic placement.

Romeo’s sudden infatuation with her had been anything but subtle. But with Juliet standing right next to her, it enabled the illusion that the sweet flowery speech was really directed at her instead of some stranger trying to mind her own business.

“Hang in there,” the Capulet escorting Juliet murmured, casually reaching back and patting the poor girl’s hand. “What Baron lacks in subtlety, he makes up for in everything else.”

Haru had her face down on the table again, making an agonized groan as she tried to drown out the flowery speech with her hands to her ears.

‘Poor Haru,’ Naoko couldn’t think without resisting a giggle. ‘She’s never gotten attention like this from a boy before. I hope he’s at least a gentleman once he gets all the Shakespeare out of his system.’

“Did my heart love ‘till now? Forswear it, sight!

“For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night,” Romeo finished crooning like a lovesick idiot.

Juliet comfortingly patted Haru’s head once Romeo was done swooning, gave a sly wink to Hiromi and Naoko, and rejoined the party as the focus switched to Tybalt and Lord Capulet.

“Nice to know she isn’t mad about this,” Hiromi whispered to Naoko, who nodded her agreement before reaching across the table to nudge her daughter’s arm.

“Please stop that, Haru. You’re too old to pout like this.”

Her child lifted her head enough to level a glare at her mother with one eye. “You’re not the one everyone’s staring at this time. Sorry, but I’m Dad’s kid on this.”

Naoko felt her heartstrings twang violently at the reminder. She gave a deep, reminiscing sigh as she took hold of her daughter’s hand, dragging it across the tablecloth so that she could continue to grip those familiar fingers.

Hiromi understood the pain of losing a parent, so she reached forward to lay her hand on top of theirs. “We’re still here for you, Haru. You’re not doing this alone, you know.”

That glare softened into a loving glow as she slowly sat up, keeping their hands in hers until it was resting in Hiromi’s lap. Naoko scooted her chair a little closer to Hiromi’s to make the clasp a little less strained but kept an eye on who she was dead certain was her future son-in-law.

As expected, when he had to do the ‘pilgrim small talk’ with Juliet, she was once more between them in such a way that Baron could see Haru over one shoulder. His eyes were still gentle and adoring as they looked at the brunette, but when it came time for the first kiss, he actually blanched. His eyes turned wide and panicked as they darted between Juliet and Haru, but what had been said couldn’t be taken back.

Naoko could see a mischievous smirk on the side of Juliet’s face as she intentionally lowered her head for him to press a kiss to her forehead instead. He did so with a grateful smile, then carried on as if the kiss had been normal.

There was a mixed reaction from the dinner participants. Some of the ones that were a little farther away had obviously been hoping for a real kiss, but the ones closer to the front were passing thumbs-up to the true object of Romeo’s affections.

“Quick thinking,” Haru couldn’t help muttering with a wan smile, giving small hand waves to acknowledge the bits of encouragement complete strangers were offering her.

Yes, everything was going surprisingly well for the remainder of the scene. Romeo found out who Juliet was, although he should have known from crashing a Capulet party, and he was mournfully leaving as Juliet began inquiring her nurse as to the man’s identity.

But then Romeo made the mistake of looking over his shoulder for a last glimpse of Haru. As such, he didn’t see the one chair left out by a patron that was paying a quick visit to the bathroom.

“Look out-” Haru tried to warn, but it was already too late as the man tripped on the chair and scraping one arm against the table’s edge.

There must have been an exposed nail or sharp edge that had been overlooked, because the sound of ripping cloth was surprisingly deafening.

Romeo looked down at the rip that had turned half of his sleeve into an open one, exposing the snow white tunic underneath. Blushing terribly, he stumbled to his feet while using his other hand to hold the tear together as he made a hasty exit to the door that lead backstage.

Naoko took no time at all for her decision. Getting up from her seat, she marched around the table, grabbed her daughter’s hand, and started dragging her to the same door that Romeo had disappeared into.

“Mom?” Haru asked in a horrified whisper, almost as if she knew what her mother was planning.

Mercutio stepped in front of them with his arms out in a blocking gesture. “Now’s a really bad time,” he nearly begged in a whisper as Juliet and her nurse spoke in louder voices in an effort to distract the dinner guests from Romeo’s embarrassment or Mercutio’s attempted intervention.

Naoko threw her large bag into her daughter’s surprised arms and pushed her a little closer to the actor while keeping her own voice just as low. “My daughter’s been making her own clothes for years. She can handle Romeo’s doublet.”

“Mom!” Haru hissed in mortification, but Naoko only returned a steely smile.

“If I go fix his doublet, what kind of information do you think I’ll give him before it’s done? Besides, you’re faster at hand-sewing than I am.”

Despite herself, Haru managed a small glare while holding the bag to her chest. “Well, you’re the one that’s always on the sewing machine for work, what choice do I have?”

Mercutio took a brief second to look over Haru’s well-fitted dress before clasping his hands to her with a heavy breath. “We can’t keep a tailor to save our lives, and we desperately need a good one right now. If Baron hits on you harder than you can handle, I’ll knock him on the head until he behaves.”

Haru still looked sick, but at least she understood there was no time to work with. “Lead the way,” she invited with a weak smile, making him beam and wrap an arm around her shoulders to encourage a fast walk to the door that quickly swallowed them both.

“Sorry about robbing you of Haru for the rest of the night,” Naoko apologized to Hiromi as she claimed her seat.

The birthday girl was smirking as she carefully chose an orange shard to lick. “What do you think her chances are of walking away without a date?”

Naoko beamed while letting herself suck on a green shard. “Nonexistent.”

Hiromi wickedly giggled her approval. “Lucky jerk.”

xxXxx

For clarification:

Romeo- Baron

Juliet- Louise

Benvolio- Natori

Mercutio- Toto

Tybalt- Muta

The Prince/Director- Lune

Capulet servant- Natoru

#TCR Birthday Bash 2018 #tcr birthday bash #yarningchick #submission

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leonawriter · 7 years

Text

Temporary Accommodations

Read it on AO3

Fandom: Voltron Legendary Defender

Characters: Lotor, Shiro, Hunk, Lance, Coran, others.

Notes: Spoilers for S4. No pairings. Somewhat outsider’s POV, given neither Lotor nor the reader gets to see what the Paladins are up to.

Summary: Nothing lasts, is what he tells himself. Childhood, family, home, friends... all of it leaves or betrays you eventually. He doesn't see why Voltron would be any different, but it could be a safe haven for a while at least.

His address to the Voltron Coalition is taken quite well, considering everything that had happened in the past, as well as the current fight that they'd all just barely survived. He's escorted down to a nearby planet's surface - not Naxzela, which everyone was still understandably wary of even long after the witch's ship had departed - by several Coalition ships, and a Voltron Lion on either side.

He'd call it a parade of honour, but he knew that honour was very likely the last thing on these people's minds right now, least of all for the son of the Emperor, no matter what else was going on. At least, however, this wasn't providing any surprises. They were all reacting to his presence exactly as he had anticipated on his way there. Cautious, yet grateful. As beings tended to be when their lives were saved.

He remembers Throk, and the easily swayed Galran masses, and wonders how long it will be until, once again, he is made into a scapegoat for someone's grand ideas, or until someone merely becomes the latest in a long line to consider the Prince as a bargaining chip to be used to curry favour with the Empire.

When he lands the ship - only one part of three, the other two left behind, one still on his flagship and the other with Ezor, Acxa and Zethrid - there is a sound that is almost like silence, but not quite. It's the sound of people trying to be silent, and failing as they whisper to each other.

It isn't as though he hadn't anticipated this, too. But he walks out, helmet still on because having just saved many of these peoples' lives or not, only a fool would walk out with no head protection where some might want to take a lucky shot - and everyone steers well clear of him, creating an empty space in which the other ships land, and their pilots walk out, serious and measured expressions on their faces, and he ensures that his own face, visible through his helmet, shows that he is suitably understanding of the situation he's found himself in.

It doesn't take much effort to look convincingly exhausted and, in doing so, harmless enough to be inoffensive to their eyes - which is rather helped by how long he'd been having to live from the part of the Sincline ship he'd been piloting ever since the transmission announcing that he was now a fugitive of the Empire.

He wanted to close his eyes. Let it all go past him, like the stars had as he'd floated not quite aimlessly in his ship.

But the Coalition were expecting a Prince, and regardless of who his parents were, or what anyone else thought of him, he could not show such weakness in front of these people.

...

Discussions and negotiations were a steady stream of person after person asking questions, making demands, needing to know things.

Why he'd decided to help. The specifications of his ship. Where the other ships were. If he knew anything about the Empire's current or planned cargo routes. What he knew of the mobilisations and the general structure of the Empire's military. The current status and whereabouts of Zarkon and Haggar. What he'd known about the general sentiment of the rest of the Empire toward Zarkon, or the Voltron Coalition. Why he'd become a fugitive in the first place.

"Hey, didn't you have people with you before? When you, uh, tried to steal that teludav."

His blood rushed to his head, the sight he had of the table he'd been staring at almost blankly for the past what felt like vargas worth of interrogation swimming slightly in his vision as he tensed against his will.

Realising he'd been compromised, that there was a traitor in his midst, that there was only one person it could be, not understanding but unable to stop himself from swinging his sword just to hope that the rest of them could escape and survive-

-pinning all his hopes on one thing, one thing that failed him, and as he turns around and hears only two words and only sees a gun in the hand of the one who, out of all of his generals, he'd trusted the most-

-if they'd wanted him dead, he'd be dead, but he wasn't and as Zethrid said, it was nothing personal, he could understand that, but that didn't mean he was going to sit there and take it, because this wasn't the first time he'd been tied up like this, and they'd have to try harder and mean it in order to keep him there-

-the other comet ship doing nothing, staying where it was, just waiting to pick up Zethrid as she floated out in free space toward it, leaving him on his own, aside from the radio chatter that he could still listen in on and a steady feeling of determination being an undercurrent to his need to keep running as far as he could, for as long as he could, as though there was anywhere to run to, until he found... Voltron. And the witch setting off a planet-sized bomb.

He slowly became aware of the rest of the room's eyes having been on him, and breathed. Slowly.

"You won't have to worry about them coming after me and causing a disturbance. Meaning that there's nothing more about them that I need to elaborate on."

Several people frowned, and he could sense the distrust in the room deepen.

"All right. Fine."

His eyes snapped to the one who'd spoken this time - the one in black.

"Shiro?"

That was the one.

"Just one more question, and we can all go back to our other duties. And we've got a lot, after the battle we just had. Lotor, just how long were you running from Zarkon in that ship?"

Lotor's eyes narrowed.

That's Prince Lotor to you, his mind so easily inserted into the conversation, what would have happened if Acxa had still been at his side.

"I don't see how that information is necessary to these discussions. I already told you how I knew that I might be needed here. How long I travelled before that has no bearing on anything whatsoever."

Very nearly all of the ones present who were in Paladin armour of some sort shared some look, communicating some idea that he wasn't privy to. Meaning that something he had said or done had given them something to think about, whether he liked it or not.

It was more of a relief than he could remember having in these past few quintants when they dismissed him, free to roam as long as he didn't stray from the encampment either planetside or not, without telling anyone.

It meant that he could lean against a wall, slide down to the ground, and reflect on how, exactly, his situation had become as bad as it had.

...

Working his way through the rank and file of the Voltron Coalition was, Lotor mused as he did so, much the same as dealing with the rank and file of the Empire. Both were rather more informal with each other than they were with him, and both tended to look at him with thinly veiled distrust. The main difference being that there were far fewer formalities here even between the ranks and that the leaders were barely distinguishable from the ones they served alongside.

At least the distrust that came from a single look at his armour or the mention of his name was something he could handle after opening his eyes and finding that several vargas had passed, if he'd read the alignment of the sun and stars in the sky correctly for a planet of this size and position.

"Oh, uh, hey. Didn't expect to see you here."

For a moment he couldn't place the voice, but when he looked up it became obvious. It belonged to the Yellow Paladin - Hunk, he remembered someone saying his name was.

'Here' happened to be where they'd started to load food and other rations back into the various cargo ships that served as the majority of their fleet, with only a fraction still left ready to hand out. The Paladin himself was working on both sides of the operation, helmet off and rather bemused at Lotor's presence.

"Well, considering I can't exactly leave entirely, I was bound to turn up somewhere sooner or later," he said, deadpan. And it was true that he'd wandered past several other places before his feet - and, what he would not admit aloud, his stomach - had taken him here. "It isn't exactly a large area to have free reign of."

"Haha, no! I guess not. Oh, uh, we were all told if we saw you, we should pass on a message. Shiro'd wanted to say earlier but then things happened, and we got busy, and, well - we kinda all agreed it'd be best if you came with us."

He briefly remembered Zethrid saying nothing personal before dragging himself back into the moment.

"Of course."

"Yeah, so," Hunk starts before picking up a crate and piling it into the back of a ship, "You and that, uh, Sincline ship of yours? That's what it's called, right? You'll be on the Castle. With us. Which is probably going to be really awkward given how things went between Allura and Keith, and Allura likes Keith. Though, you did save all our lives, so you've got that going for you, at least. So you can't be all bad."

He clamped down on the part of him that wanted to throw appearances out of the window and reach for one of those ration bars, or a juice box, before they all disappeared.

"So you want to have me where you can see me."

A part of him itched to find his way back to his ship and get out, get to somewhere unoccupied by either the Empire or Voltron, but logically he knew that this would never work. For one thing, it would undo all of the hard work he'd put into the earlier negotiations. For another, the only part of known space that wasn't controlled by his father, was protected by the Voltron Coalition. It was as simple as that.

And then, of course, there was the fact that it did, ultimately, make sense.

"Er, kind of, yeah? I mean, that was brought up. Quite a lot. In a friends close, enemies closer, sort of way. But actually the thing that did it was me and Pidge remembering how Zarkon's after you, and we really don't want you bringing down the main fleet on any of our bases that can't handle that. And we've got a teludav, so there's more of a chance that running away might actually, uh... work."

Lotor blinked, trying to make their reasoning fit with what he knew of them, only to find his mind reacting sluggishly.

"How long until we depart?"

"A few more vargas, I think? We still have to finish packing everything away and making sure everyone's okay to travel so soon." Hunk paused, looking at him in a way that made him feel something was being calculated behind those eyes. "Hey, are you okay? No offence dude, but you keep staring at the food, and if you're hungry, all you need is to pick it up. Even if we don't like you none of us are gonna starve you or anything."

Ah. So that was it.

He would have felt more offended, more defensive of the idea that he might be being pitied by these people, if it weren't for the ever-present wariness in the Paladin's eyes, and the way Hunk kept watching him, as though he wanted to know exactly what Lotor was going to do next.

He grabbed a ration bar. Opened it, and bit down. Forced himself to chew slowly. The Paladin didn't stop watching until he'd finished his second, and he didn't leave until he was sure that his movements couldn't be reported on.

...

"Okay, so here we have- what?"

Lotor had put up a hand to pause the Paladin in blue before he could get into the swing of whatever he was about to say before they'd even managed five paces into his supposed 'tour' of the Castle of Lions.

"Apologies for interrupting, but - I feel the need to ask a question."

"Uh, okay then?"

"You are the Red Paladin, am I correct?"

It had been his prior assumption that this person was the Blue Paladin, before he'd seen him come out of the Red Lion not too long ago, and seen the Red Paladin's bayard in his hand.

"What? Oh, right. See, I used to be in Blue, but then Shiro disappeared. So someone else had to fly Black for a while - that was Keith, who's usually in Red, so then I ended up taking his spot again, and Allura took Blue. Actually... that's kind of how you found us. You know, back when you flew circles around us on that gas planet."

"Thayserix," Lotor corrected, attempting to sort out the information in his head, and not being completely successful with it. He was beginning to regret asking.

"Right, that." The Paladin looked around, shrugged, and continued from before. "Anyway, this is obviously the shuttle bay, where ships other than the Lions go. There used to be another one, but then Keith and Allura blew it up. Lucky for you, that means there's just enough space for your, uh... Sincline ship."

They started moving again, the Paladin - far easier to just call him that rather than attempt to be specific as to which Lion he was supposed to be the pilot of - leading him out into the corridors of the castle. And it was a good thing he had a guide, as if he had been left to his own devices, he might have become lost in a short matter of time, given how similar so many of these halls appeared.

"This is the training room, so you can fight and things that aren't us. It can also do all sorts of cool stuff."

More than training, he was curious as to whether they would be able to replace the weapons that he had lost, back on his personal ship, that he had not been able to take with him. It had seemed such a small thing during negotiations, when all he'd cared about was ensuring that he wasn't about to be paraded around as a high profile hostage and then killed as he attempted to escape.

"You say that, and yet you've been walking in front of me all of this time."

The Paladin shrugged.

"Uh, you were the one who saved everyone's lives back there just a few hours ago? Vargas. Whatever. I really don't think someone who's just done that would shoot or stab me in the back. It just doesn't make sense. Besides, if you were in front of me then I'd have to be telling you where to go all the time, and that'd take way longer."

He took a moment to let the words sink in - the idea that they didn't think that he would so easily turn on them, just as he had Narti, just as Acxa and Zethrid and Ezor had on him.

Treachery and backstabbing was the Galra way as much as anything, whether it was behind closed doors in the highest ranks of the commanders, or on a meteor out in space. Perhaps they simply weren't aware of that.

"This is the kitchen! For, y'know, when you need to find the food goo machine at three am because what you wanted was Hunk's cooking but Hunk isn't awake."

He blinked, unsure of whether 'food goo' was worth waking up for at what sounded like halfway through the night cycle, among other questionable things in that sentence.

"I'll have to take your word on that."

"Oh, trust me. In a few days' time, you'll be hooked on Hunk's cooking - Galra prince or not."

More hallways, more bright lights on the walls, the ceilings, and more rooms. One was mostly empty aside from soft seats. One was small, dark, and didn't have much in, and his guide didn't have much to say about it other than to not disturb whatever was there, so Lotor could only assume it was something of great importance. Another was less a room and more an indoor area that seemed to be based on somewhere planetside, occupied only by one unfamiliar creature that made loud noises and was apparently called a 'Kaltenecker'. And then-

"Lance?"

They stopped at the presence of someone else in the hall. Dressed in the black outfit of the Blade, but shorter and not seeming to be Galran just going by appearance. Noteworthy, considering all of the intelligence they'd been able to collect on the Blade of Marmora-

"Keith! I thought you were still with..."

"It was decided it'd be better if I stayed back here with you guys at least for a while, remember? Everyone's going back over old intel trying to figure out what it actually meant now that we know not everything we were investigating was because of Lotor," the Blade, Keith - which was certainly interesting news, if it was the same Keith that Lance had been referring to earlier - said, sparing him a glance.

Lotor said nothing. It had hardly been his own fault that the Paladins had automatically assumed that anything that the empire was doing, was on his prerogative. Not when Haggar had still been at its heart, and as he had said in their negotiations, his own main interest had been the construction of the Sincline ships.

"Right, well... I've just been giving him the tour. Nothing dangerous in just letting him know where things are, right?"

"Er... no, I guess not." More odd looks. A thought, a memory, tickled in the back of his mind, but then danced away from his grasp when he tried to reach for it. "Allura's waiting for both of you, though. She wants him where she can see him, I think."

He saw a shared look. Several. Not all of which he could hope to decipher. Often interspersed between what seemed to be good-natured teasing between teammates that had an edge to it, an undercurrent of some kind.

Something he remembered from when Acxa had returned from the mission he had sent her on to harvest scaultrite-

Lotor stumbled, going light-headed for a moment. Righted himself and carried on almost without any hesitation, yet still caught both the Blade and the Paladin looking at him, having noticed.

It has to be the lighting here that's making me disoriented. It's so bright.

...

He wakes up in the middle of the night cycle, struggling to breathe evenly and in a cold sweat, eyes unable to focus for a good few dobashes, and for most of that, unable to.

He still remembered the feeling of his ship rocking as he was hit by another blast from his father's fighters. It only made sense that his subconscious had convinced him that if he attempted to relax and sleep, then he would suffer the same consequences as he had before.

Time allowed him to recognise the room as the one that had been assigned to him. Not too far from the Paladins, most likely so that they could know that he wasn't getting up to something suspicious on the other end of the castle. An ordinary room. Small, but with far more comfort and amenity than he had expected. Far more than he could have hoped for from the Empire, if he they had deigned to keep him alive.

The transmission, in his father's own voice, the first sign of him to the rest of the fleet since Voltron had put him out of commission some phoebs earlier, stuck in his memory. Telling every soldier and commander and drone alike that he was to be killed on sight.

A room, even a prisoner's cell, would have been a luxury. And here, he was alive.

He looked over to the wall, where the bulkier aspects of his armour were hung or resting on the floor, ready for him to put them on again and defend himself at a moment's notice, untouched. The door still shut. No sign of any sounds from outside, other than something he could just about place as.... he suspected someone was snoring, though he couldn't yet tell who. The sound itself, though, was far too familiar from the times he'd had to sleep in direct proximity with his generals.

He lay back down, back to the wall and able to face the door should it open, and closed his eyes again, knowing that even fitful sleep was better than no sleep.

They had any number of opportunities to have me dead just today. A few more hours won't make much difference.

On top of everything else, his shoulders, arms, and wrists still ached. The pain, coming in waves, he didn't mind. It reminded him that despite everyone's best efforts, he was alive, and he was, at least, not anyone's prisoner.

...

He had been expecting to have the Paladins wish to continue their discussions, negotiations and keep questioning him for more details the next day, but those expectations were subverted when he exited his room, armour on, to the sounds of the castle's other occupants seeming to have been awake and up for quite some time already, with a racing of feet in one direction, and shouting coming from another audible even before he opened his door.

It was the Paladin in the blue armour who stopped just long enough to tell him that the princess wanted him down on ground level, by which he meant they were on a planet and picking up a few more rebels who'd lost their fighters and/or crashed planetside as well as more injured, and they were taking them back to a better base of operations.

Things planetside here were rather more frantic than they had been on the one on which they'd had their first face-to-face meeting. More people were rushing around, and he could see more remnants of downed ships that would never be salvaged. This was clearly not somewhere that any of these people had planned to stay in.

The princess was not all that hard to find, given her pink armour and the way that she tended to be the centre of both operations and attention wherever she went. In this case, she was surrounded by numerous stacks of supplies, some of which were being piled onto a hovercart by the Yellow Paladin, Hunk. Her head tilted over toward him as he walked closer to her position, her expression, given she wasn't wearing her helmet, easily read. Narrowed eyes and hard lines toward him - contrasting with the far softer expressions she saved for all others.

"Lotor. I was wondering when you'd be able to join us."

"I wasn't aware that anything had started happening. I had been under the impression that if something came up that I would also be informed."

"Which still stands, I assure you. But this is a routine extraction operation, and your presence was hardly an emergency. However, now that you are here, it would be appreciated if you would give Hunk a hand with these crates."

He stared at her for a few seconds, and then at where Hunk was working, caught between indignation at being assigned such menial work and the inability to understand why they would trust him with such a thing when even just a few vargas ago, they had been enemies.

The princess' expression grew, if anything, colder during his hesitation.

"You may have saved all of our lives just yesterday, but do not expect one action to mean that you are excused from everything else. If you are going to be, as you were willing enough to suggest, a part of this coalition, then you will participate in it, just as the other Paladins do, just as those capable from the planets that we have freed do, just as those rebels who work with us do, and just as I do. No one is of any greater or lesser importance here. We all try to help each other. That, is what the Voltron Coalition is about."

Her small speech had attracted a similarly small crowd of onlookers, and even with those who were not openly staring, there was a silence that Lotor was all too familiar with that suggested that everyone present were waiting to see what would happen next.

Without saying a word, he walked past her, over to where Hunk was, and began to copy the Paladin's actions. The crates were heavy and weighed on his arms and shoulders, but he gritted his teeth and ignored the shooting aches, hearing the buzz of conversation and movement and the princess' orders and demands begin once again.

At one point they ran out of crates, and he was shuffled onto another group, one that was scavenging supplies from the downed rebel ships - not built to be fighters, any of them, a thought that made him miss his custom fighter, even with the Sincline ship safely in the castle's hangar - and when they had searched the way through one ship, they moved on to the next.

None of them talked very much, but then again, he assumed that they were doing the same as he was, and saving their breath for working around their injuries, moving through difficult areas, and shouting to the search team when something - sometimes, someone - of importance was found.

No one ever seemed grateful to see him, but then he hardly expected them to. But on the other hand, everyone seemed to accept his presence after a while even if they weren't happy with it, their work far more important than the fugitive Prince of the Galra Empire.

...

It took several more quintants - all full of the moving of supplies and refugees, which he was roped into being involved with at every turn - to rebalance his sleep cycle, both after the lack of sleep while evading his father's forces, and to the slightly different cycle that the castle seemed to use. His sleep remained troubled, but after the first night he hadn't woken up unexpectedly again.

This, however, was the first time he'd been woken up to the sound of alarms blaring, panic beginning to settle into his bones before he remembered where he was, upon which nausea took over as he automatically pulled on his armour and made his way to the bridge, still having to remember which corridor was the right one to take, and having to double back on himself twice.

The Paladins were already gone at that point, leaving only the three of them in the castle with the monitors to show that they were facing down thankfully just one of the empire's cruisers, albeit one that was sending out enough fighters that if what they were attacking were anything other than Voltron, then their target would be surely decimated.

Coran, despite the lack of formality or the sheer eccentricity, was in charge of telling the Paladins and his princess everything that they needed about their battlefield, and had spared Lotor as he entered not even a glance.

Keith, in his Marmora armour, was stood just behind the Red Paladin's chair - interesting, perhaps, given that he no longer currently held that position in the team, but then, perhaps not so much considering how well he knew that habits such as those could be hard to break. Pale, pink hands clenched around the back of the seat in front of him as he watched the ongoing fight.

"Can't you do anything?"

He raised a single brow and gave a tight smile.

"And do what, exactly? I came to you for protection because as you know, if anyone in the empire, no matter how distant the outpost, saw that I was present, then I would rapidly become their new target. Unless that is what you want - for me to become bait so that your friends can escape from each encounter free of harm?"

"No, I just - never mind. Forget I said anything."

There was enough of a lull in the fighting from a large number of fighters being immobilised that the Lions - formidable up close, somehow even more so from a distance when he could see exactly what they were capable of, a sentiment that had hardly changed between seeing two of his generals fight them and now, relying on them for safety - were able to expend the necessary time on flying in formation, and coming back as Voltron.

Five pieces, coming together as one.

Five pilots.

Keith visibly relaxed as the massive robot broke apart once again in order to head back to the castle, as did Coran, who was congratulating the Paladins on a job well done.

Lotor should be feeling relieved as well, relaxing at the fact that they were doing exactly what he had hoped they would, that such an obstacle would prove no true threat, but the stress continued to well up inside of him, for seemingly no reason.

...

It takes time to pace through the long, empty halls of the castle, each one imposing and bearing down on him and nowhere assuaging the restless feeling of having been cut off, that this was as much his place as Zarkon's flagship had been. He simply ran a far lower risk of dying at one of these Paladins' hands than he did at his father's mercy.

He finds himself, heart pounding, in the docking bay where his Sincline ship had been staying ever since he had joined with the Paladins after Naxzela.

It wasn't the first time he'd been down here, to check on his ship, but each time he'd been, he still found himself wondering what would happen if he took his ship and left, whether it was for good or for only a few dobashes. He'd heard stories of how once, someone had taken a Lion - although sometimes accounts differed and said that it was the Princess, and others said that it was one of the Paladins - and that of the remaining Lions had gone out of their way to bring down, in some cases destroy, the vessel and pilots responsible.

After having studied them for as long as he had, Lotor doubted that wanton destruction would be par for the course, especially since they did seem to want him alive, but he would prefer not to test the theory.

Instead, he ran his hand across the paintwork of the Sincline ship itself, remembering when these joints here and those angles there had been but lines on a blueprint that had made sense at the time.

There were already a fair few scratches and imperfections in the paintwork. The Sincline ships hadn't even been completed yet, and they were already damaged. As if completion was a thing that was possible still, now. A mark in an awkward place caught his attention, and he sighed, knowing exactly what must have caused it, wondering only how it had escaped his attention for so long.

The door opened just as he'd taken off his gauntlets and rolled up his sleeves to put a sponge in soapy water and start to wipe down the still sooty area, causing him to freeze.

"Ah, I thought I might find you here!"

The royal advisor. Not someone who Lotor had needed to deal with often or much, since his arrival. But the Altean was a semi-constant presence in nearly everything.

Several dobashes passed, and there were no sounds of movement. The feeling of being watched made his skin crawl.

"You can tell the Paladins that they need not concern themselves with the prospect of me disappearing on them and losing them their valued informant, if that is what you wanted," he said, making every attempt to keep his voice level and not snap.

"What? Oh, no! I just got lost in thought. And memory. Seeing that ship and given what you've said about its counterparts, it reminds me of when Alfor was still building what would become the Voltron Lions." He wanted to say something cutting about Alfor's judgement of character, how it had been lacking in some areas, but didn't have the energy, instead just scowling as he scrubbed off more dirt, not saying a word. "They're beautiful ships."

At first, he thought Coran was still referring to Voltron. But something in the tone had changed. Lotor should have taken pride in the statement, as he had done in the first stages of the Sincline ships' design and creation, their first test flight, their first test fight.

But instead, it made him grit his teeth, reminded of how he had aimed for something so high, and crashed - almost literally - with only a single betrayal of trust.

Ship. Singular, now. The Empire had what there was of the head piece, while Acxa, Zethrid and Ezor had the arms. His part was the only one left that he trusted was not in enemy hands right now.

A dizzying, sickening thought, which brought about an intrusive thought of his own hand coming up to hit him in the face without warning from the rest of his body, but logically, something that he had to assume was at the very least possible.

"Perhaps this wasn't what you wanted to hear, but... the Paladins do worry about you. You have been gone for several vargas now, after all."

"Forgive me, but I don't see why my absence matters that much, as long as I don't cause trouble, which I've been taking care not to. They don't trust me and I don't trust them, although I can't say it isn't an earned reputation."

On either side, for that matter. He'd used them as a means to an end, but they'd also put themselves in the way of his plans and come after him with such doggedness that his wariness was justified.

"Maybe that's true, but you did still miss two meals, and these Paladins take the idea of helping people very seriously! And no one can fight or run from the Galra empire on an empty stomach! But we can only help us if you let us. All that said of course, if you wanted to just be left safely alone, there's always the people of Gandbraxi, who have a cultural taboo on non-essential social interactions. Rather lonely people, but-"

"Gone."

"I'm sorry?"

Lotor sighed, pointedly not looking back to gauge what the reaction had been, or was going to be, to his next statement. Instead, he kept his attention squarely on the area he'd been trying to clean, resigning himself to the fact that what had been an unmarred area was now clearly not, paintwork discoloured by the jaunt too close to the unstable star.

"Gandbraxi," he said flatly, "was colonised by my father many deca-phoebes ago. And when they appeared to be... uncooperative, they were enslaved. Some sent to the arenas. Which of course they were unsuitable for. Not quite as extinct as some, but a common enough occurrence."

Enough ticks went by that he finally allowed himself to turn around, only to see the Altean's features drooping.

"It always is hard," the man said, slower and more serious than how he usually said anything, and far more like how Lotor had rarely heard him talk to the princess than any of the others, let alone him, before, "remembering that other civilisations have gone through similar experiences to us. It's so easy to forget and think that there're places that were just never touched, because we haven't seen them yet."

Lotor opened his mouth to ask who Coran meant by 'us', before closing it again upon remembering.

Of course. Me.

Allura, the princess. Coran. My mother... and me. The only Alteans - or part, at least - left.

Unless the witch was hiding something as large as that from me, which I wouldn't put past her.

With one last baleful look at the mark on his ship, Lotor stood, took the bucket and sponges back to where he'd found them, and dried his arms so that he could put his sleeves back into place.

He followed Coran wordlessly back to the castle's kitchen, listening to the man ramble on about place and adventure after another, carefully keeping his silence on just how many of these places and peoples had also been irrevocably altered. Sometimes, he had often thought, beyond repair.

But then, he had thought that of the Balmerans, too.

AN: Started a month ago when S4 dropped, and the original idea (which I still haven’t gotten to yet) came about well before that. It’s almost creepy how my original ideas, which I RP’d with a friend at one point, fit so well with how S4 played out that canon simply filled in the gaps of my idea.

A few interactions were almost directly the result of friends roleplaying, and my wanting to rectify some ideas people had about the way the Paladins would treat Lotor, even when they don’t trust him.

#voltron #voltron legendary defender #prince Lotor #vld lotor #vld stuff #Leona fic

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