[Please End] Crow Armbrust (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
filetofish) wrote2018-04-27 01:15 am
filetofish) wrote2018-04-27 01:15 am
PSLS BECAUSE GAY
[no icons, many SPOILERS for trails of cold steel/sen no kiseki. there's also a lot of gross shit so watch your step.]
Mm. Okay, I'll hold you to that.
I want to keep you closer. So close you can't think of running again, even if you wanted to. It's not that I don't believe you, or trust you, but when I think about going back to normal it's hard not to be scared I'll make the same mistakes and miss it when you need me.
I want to keep you closer. So close you can't think of running again, even if you wanted to. It's not that I don't believe you, or trust you, but when I think about going back to normal it's hard not to be scared I'll make the same mistakes and miss it when you need me.
[Crow huffs, lightly. Honestly, this softie...]
Rean. You didn't make any mistakes. I'm just an asshole.
Rean. You didn't make any mistakes. I'm just an asshole.
Yeah, you definitely should have talked to me. But it's not like I didn't notice sometime was wrong. I should have pressed you more about it in the first place. It's not like just one or the other of us can be solely to blame if we're going to share everything.
Maybe. But I might have just gotten mad if you did push.
[Probably, actually. But it also would have worked, ultimately. He sighs, playing with Rean's hair and watching his face.]
But I'm glad you're stubborn, anyway.
[Probably, actually. But it also would have worked, ultimately. He sighs, playing with Rean's hair and watching his face.]
But I'm glad you're stubborn, anyway.
I'd rather fight than leave you feeling like you're struggling alone.
[He can deal with getting yelled at if he thinks he's got a good reason and isn't just being intrusive.]
After all, we're in this together.
[He can deal with getting yelled at if he thinks he's got a good reason and isn't just being intrusive.]
After all, we're in this together.
...Yeah. That's true.
[Somehow. He's not sure why he won the Reanbowl, but he did, and he's got to appreciate that.]
Sorry if I ever do fight with you. But I won't leave again. I swear.
[Somehow. He's not sure why he won the Reanbowl, but he did, and he's got to appreciate that.]
Sorry if I ever do fight with you. But I won't leave again. I swear.
It's okay. And like I said, I believe you. But I'll still be keeping you closer. You gave me a pretty good scare this time.
Sorry 'bout that.
[He is. Really. He's also pulling Rean in for another kiss, short but sweet.]
I love you too.
[He is. Really. He's also pulling Rean in for another kiss, short but sweet.]
I love you too.
[He beams like the happiest Rean in the world. He'll never get tired of hearing that.]
Finish your breakfast, we've got plenty to do today.
Finish your breakfast, we've got plenty to do today.
Yeah, yeah. Did you eat before?
[Just gotta make sure he's not being pampered at Rean's expense!]
[Just gotta make sure he's not being pampered at Rean's expense!]
Mmhm.
[But he'll steal a strawberry from Crow's plate anyway.]
[But he'll steal a strawberry from Crow's plate anyway.]
Good. Wouldn't want to neglect your cute body.
[He cannot resist. He isn't even trying. He is, however, gonna eat his breakfast, 'cause he has no complaints about food.]
[He cannot resist. He isn't even trying. He is, however, gonna eat his breakfast, 'cause he has no complaints about food.]
Honestly...
[But he'll watch Crow eat fondly, before dragging him out to do helpful things around town like he threatened.]
[But he'll watch Crow eat fondly, before dragging him out to do helpful things around town like he threatened.]
[Now that's just terrible. He's too old for field studies, "going back to school" aside. But he is pretty happy to follow Rean around. He enjoys the workout, too, and despite what he'd tell anyone he likes people, and helping people.
So it's not so bad. And then they go home and Crow plays teacher's aide and that's not so bad either. They start sleeping in the same bed, and their physical relationship doesn't progress too much but there's more than there was before Crow ran off. It's nice.
It's a really nice life, until Crow notices his body failing. At first he thinks he's just got a cold, when he starts getting dizzy spells. But then his vision starts to gradually blur, and his fingertips start to go numb. It's mild, at first. Minor, easily worked through and dismissed. If he were older, maybe he'd assume it's just aging. But he's only 22, and the problem is just a red flag of all of his fears about ceasing to exist.
He doesn't say anything. He knows Rean's going to be angry at him, but he just doesn't know what to say. He doesn't want to spend the time he has left watching Rean cry, so instead he's determined to see Rean as happy as he can, while he can. He does his best to be a good "student". To take on the lion's share of the chores, to get better and better at cooking, to take Rean on as many stupid fluffy happy dates as he can plan.
He tries not to look like he's trying too hard, though. He doesn't want to warn Rean, so he makes sure to absolutely not give off any of his usually unhappy tells -- no spacing out, no distance. He's just all love and teasing affection, and everything is great until about a week after graduation. It's time for a new class to come in, and Rean's been busy getting this year's Class VII first years acclimated. Too busy in fact to notice that Crow's been dizzy more often the last few days. He's dizzy today, too, while they're walking side-by-side down the street towards Kirche's for lunch.
Suddenly, he slows. In the bare handful of seconds before Rean's able to realise he's falling behind, he sways, lifting a hand to his head, and just as Rean turns around he crumples to the ground, totally unconscious.]
So it's not so bad. And then they go home and Crow plays teacher's aide and that's not so bad either. They start sleeping in the same bed, and their physical relationship doesn't progress too much but there's more than there was before Crow ran off. It's nice.
It's a really nice life, until Crow notices his body failing. At first he thinks he's just got a cold, when he starts getting dizzy spells. But then his vision starts to gradually blur, and his fingertips start to go numb. It's mild, at first. Minor, easily worked through and dismissed. If he were older, maybe he'd assume it's just aging. But he's only 22, and the problem is just a red flag of all of his fears about ceasing to exist.
He doesn't say anything. He knows Rean's going to be angry at him, but he just doesn't know what to say. He doesn't want to spend the time he has left watching Rean cry, so instead he's determined to see Rean as happy as he can, while he can. He does his best to be a good "student". To take on the lion's share of the chores, to get better and better at cooking, to take Rean on as many stupid fluffy happy dates as he can plan.
He tries not to look like he's trying too hard, though. He doesn't want to warn Rean, so he makes sure to absolutely not give off any of his usually unhappy tells -- no spacing out, no distance. He's just all love and teasing affection, and everything is great until about a week after graduation. It's time for a new class to come in, and Rean's been busy getting this year's Class VII first years acclimated. Too busy in fact to notice that Crow's been dizzy more often the last few days. He's dizzy today, too, while they're walking side-by-side down the street towards Kirche's for lunch.
Suddenly, he slows. In the bare handful of seconds before Rean's able to realise he's falling behind, he sways, lifting a hand to his head, and just as Rean turns around he crumples to the ground, totally unconscious.]
| | [Rean's observant in his own ways, but Crow... Is Crow. If he's determined not to let Rean catch on, and it's not something Rean is looking for, he doesn't have much chance of catching it. And he doesn't, not until he's watching Crow fold on the sidewalk like he's a puppet with his strings cut. He moves fast, it's a good thing speed is one of his main attributes, because he manages to catch Crow before he crashes and knocks anything into the pavement. Alarmed, he's yelling Crow's name but of course Crow isn't responding. People nearby are reacting too, because it's a dramatic scene. Ream doesn't need help carrying Crow, but he does send someone to fetch Beatrix, and then he's hauling Crow back to the church where Crow will wake up in one of the church cots, a worries Rean at his side.] |
[OK SO this is a slightly-future world where there are human-level androids. It's not your typical "abused population of inhumans" world but instead one where android work alongside humans with a fair amount of equality. It's not perfect -- there will always be groups who see it as unnatural or even immoral to treat robots as people, but mostly it's okay.
It's also pretty necessary, because there's a lot of them. And because the technology to make them was not just normally developed but found, in a strange dimensional rift that appeared one day and started spewing digital monstrosities. While humans are perfectly capable of destroying the machinery that comes out, going in is other thing entirely. For that, you need something made of the same materials. Thus, the androids, created from the scraps of the living machines that have been coming into the real world for a good thirty years now.
Inside the rift is a whole nother world, full of surreal scenery and advanced technology that humans can barely understand. They're still exploring it, slowly, trying to figure out what actually is ordering the seemingly thoughtless monsters to attack. There's a human settlement there now, but every human is linked to an android, via a brain implant that allows telepathy, and for humans to survive in a world where normal technology becomes inert on entry. It's weird, too -- not just electronics but mechanical things just seem to stop. Guns jam, wires short, anything that isn't made from the materials and powered with the crystals from the other world becomes useless immediately. Humans without an implant quickly sicken and die, too.
So they're reliant on re-purposed weapons, and on links with artificial humans, to convince this other world they're not foreign bodies to destroy. And Crow is one such artificial human. Recently, his partner was killed in an incident, so he's not sure he's ready to trust the new kid they're shoving at him.
C'mon, man. This "Rean" is only 20. Nevermind that Vita was also 20 when they met, and that means Crow is currently 7 years old, and designed to look and behave like someone in his early 20s himself. It's not really fair to dismiss the new guy, but he's doing it anyway. This is what humans call grief. Crow calls it self-preservation. But he's here anyway, walking into the office where his new partner has been left waiting for him for the last half hour. The implant hasn't been switched on yet, but Rean's probably feeling a little residual soreness around the tiny cut they used to put it in.
They haven't met before. Crow doesn't really want to meet. But when he walks in and their eyes meet there's just something about Rean's face that makes him curious. He sits on the table, rather than the opposite chair, and swings one leg over Rean so he's sitting directly in front of him, with his chest as Rean's eye level.]
Heya, new kid.
It's also pretty necessary, because there's a lot of them. And because the technology to make them was not just normally developed but found, in a strange dimensional rift that appeared one day and started spewing digital monstrosities. While humans are perfectly capable of destroying the machinery that comes out, going in is other thing entirely. For that, you need something made of the same materials. Thus, the androids, created from the scraps of the living machines that have been coming into the real world for a good thirty years now.
Inside the rift is a whole nother world, full of surreal scenery and advanced technology that humans can barely understand. They're still exploring it, slowly, trying to figure out what actually is ordering the seemingly thoughtless monsters to attack. There's a human settlement there now, but every human is linked to an android, via a brain implant that allows telepathy, and for humans to survive in a world where normal technology becomes inert on entry. It's weird, too -- not just electronics but mechanical things just seem to stop. Guns jam, wires short, anything that isn't made from the materials and powered with the crystals from the other world becomes useless immediately. Humans without an implant quickly sicken and die, too.
So they're reliant on re-purposed weapons, and on links with artificial humans, to convince this other world they're not foreign bodies to destroy. And Crow is one such artificial human. Recently, his partner was killed in an incident, so he's not sure he's ready to trust the new kid they're shoving at him.
C'mon, man. This "Rean" is only 20. Nevermind that Vita was also 20 when they met, and that means Crow is currently 7 years old, and designed to look and behave like someone in his early 20s himself. It's not really fair to dismiss the new guy, but he's doing it anyway. This is what humans call grief. Crow calls it self-preservation. But he's here anyway, walking into the office where his new partner has been left waiting for him for the last half hour. The implant hasn't been switched on yet, but Rean's probably feeling a little residual soreness around the tiny cut they used to put it in.
They haven't met before. Crow doesn't really want to meet. But when he walks in and their eyes meet there's just something about Rean's face that makes him curious. He sits on the table, rather than the opposite chair, and swings one leg over Rean so he's sitting directly in front of him, with his chest as Rean's eye level.]
Heya, new kid.
| | [He's been selected for the whole settlement on a hostile alien world program for his aptitude and skill, he's been thoroughly educated and tested on what he needs to know to live on the other side of the rift. The thing is, the reasons he even applied are more... Complicated. He doesn't really have a sad backstory, his adoptive family loves him, but he feels lost in what to do with his life, the idea of dedicating it to something greater than himself is one that appeals. That, and he wants to know more about himself, why he has some mysterious and dangerous abilities that he can't control, what his background is. Maybe this won't answer those questions, but it will let him forge forward in finding answers for who to be himself, even if he never learns about his past. So here he is. A little eager, a little nervous. He's had android friends, it doesn't really mean much to him whether someone is organic or synthetic, but the idea that soon he's going to be telepathically connected to a stranger is enough to make anyone a bit anxious. But he's optimistic, and when Crow sits in front of him, irreverently, he smiles.] Hey. Nice to finally meet you. |
[He wakes up feeling kind of woozy, but otherwise normal. That's probably the worst part -- everything is fine until it's not, for just a moment, as if his life is a faulty orbment light, flickering as it starts to go out. He can't tell when it'll happen, but it's happening more often.
He remembers, abruptly, that this time it happened near Rean, so he goes from lashes fluttering to sitting straight up in an instant.]
--! Rean?!
[Oh hell. He's in trouble now.]
He remembers, abruptly, that this time it happened near Rean, so he goes from lashes fluttering to sitting straight up in an instant.]
--! Rean?!
[Oh hell. He's in trouble now.]
Eeeh, it's not bad I guess.
["Nice to meet you" is not happening. Crow's still not sure he's into the idea. But he's not going to be a huge asshole about it -- yet. It'll be harder when the implant turns on. They won't immediately hear every thought. It takes deliberate effort to "send" a thought along, but it's really hard to do that dishonestly. You can't think one thing and send another. If you're sending, you're sending everything at that time.
So he'll be a jerk when that happens, most likely. But at least he can be halfway charming to start.]
You're cuter than I expected.
["Nice to meet you" is not happening. Crow's still not sure he's into the idea. But he's not going to be a huge asshole about it -- yet. It'll be harder when the implant turns on. They won't immediately hear every thought. It takes deliberate effort to "send" a thought along, but it's really hard to do that dishonestly. You can't think one thing and send another. If you're sending, you're sending everything at that time.
So he'll be a jerk when that happens, most likely. But at least he can be halfway charming to start.]
You're cuter than I expected.
| | [He's sitting up too, from his worried and anxious slouch to startled and upright as Crow shoots up.] Hey, hey settle down. I'm right here. [He doesn't know what's wrong yet, he's worried Crow's sick, so all the abrupt movement can't be great for him.] How do you feel? |
| | [He blushes a little out of sheer surprise, not used to the abrupt flirting, flustering just a little but catching himself. It's probably just hazing or this guy's way of being friendly.] Uh... Thanks? You're not quite what I was expecting either. |
Fine. I feel... fine.
[That's not even a lie. For now he feels fine, other than the fuzziness on the edge of his vision that's become an easily ignored constant.]
Too much beer not enough water this week, I guess.
[That's not even a lie. For now he feels fine, other than the fuzziness on the edge of his vision that's become an easily ignored constant.]
Too much beer not enough water this week, I guess.
Oooh? What were you expecting then? I'm curious.
[He's also leaning in close, just in response to the blush. This is fun, and absolutely sort of hazing.]
[He's also leaning in close, just in response to the blush. This is fun, and absolutely sort of hazing.]
| | Yeah, I'm not buying that. You're not dehydrated. [That was the first thing the father looked for, and heatstroke, but Crow shows signs of neither.] What's really going on? |
| | Uh. [He doesn't lean away but he's clearly not used to having his space invaded. Still, he's meeting Crow's eyes directly, if rather puzzled about this hazing ritual.] Less flirty, probably. |
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