#{{ OH DAMN. JAYBIRD!! I ALSO REALIZED SOMETHING. THIS IS PRE-AMBASSADOR TRUNKS TOO AWWWWWW 🥺😭💗

[acoldsovereign]

SUBJECT MATTER: Old (Unprompted) Meme-Move From Old Blog // sender: @peoplcshope.

SHE ALERTED HER SLAVES ABOUT AN EXTENDED ABSENCE. She wasn't sure how long the trip would take, but she estimated the timeframe to be within a couple of hours or days. Regardless, they were to run themselves as if she was still present--in other words, they had to pretend to be self-governing. She left instructions for them written in Ancient Saiya and a translation besides it (using the Modern variant), since most of the enslaved Races lacked the throat power and necessary internal makeup to make the same guttural sounds as she. Maiz made it abundantly clear that they were to report anything unsavory to her immediately.

She could (theoretically) replace Trunks, but not her kingdom.

----

WHEN SHE FIRST SHOWED VULNERABILITY, IT WAS AGAINST HER WILL. The nightmare of the Genocide haunted her dreams; screams and shrill alarms mixed together and deafened her child-like ears, thick tears, and the raging fire within tight, narrow hallways bathed in a dangerous red light effectively made her blinder than she already was. It usually ended the same way; Karne scooped her up with her tail and blitzed through the haze of death and carnage, then bumped Maiz up in her arms when the coast was clear enough. Maiz was shoved into an escape pod with hushed promises of being brought back when everything blew over, but she didn't care about that. She banged on the alien glass (of which was red too)--crying, screaming, pleading to fight with her, to know what was going on, why everyone was suddenly dying.

Sometimes the night terrors were crueler, and she perished along with them, her corpse reduced to ash in the hallways alongside the colleagues she used to know. She would perish on Planet Vegeta instead of in the atmosphere of Planet Kokytus.

Trunks had the displeasure of witnessing her cry during the first scenario, in her sleep.

----

SOMETIMES, SHE REGRETTED TELLING HIM ANYTHING. He was determined to show her 'she wasn't alone' in regards to tragedy and loss. It truthfully annoyed her that he committed her tear-streaked face and closely guarded hardships to memory; talking about her feelings didn't come natural to her. She had no equals--no peers. Merely associates she kept close to her chest (not everything was something to be shared with the time-traveler). None of them knew half of what she willfully divulged to him--not the aliens who did her hair and nails, not the tailor who customized her armors, nor any of the owners of the shopping strips she frequented who knew her by name and supplied her with the fabrics she used to design her bodysuits. Many of her slaves didn't even know why they were subjugated, either.

Outside of him, she wasn't known to be a person. She was an oppressive force of nature. She existed for a reason--otherwise, why would she still be alive? Why would she, out of everyone else, survive? She chose her purpose: to kill and destroy and enjoy it. She was a predator. A ruthless opportunist. A mass murderer and slave-owner. A ravager of worlds and crusher of dreams and hopes. Hells, at one point, she wanted to crush Trunks' own. She still carried those sadistic desires, but in a different manner with the passing days.

The device he made specifically for her--the holorogorus-disruptor, which hid her presence from other demons and Time Patrollers--on her left wrist itched, but she ignored it. Instead, Maiz listened to him go on and on about his world and what it meant to him. Talking about herself still felt foreign and out of place, so she made sure to ask pointed and highly detailed questions to keep the topic on him and off of her. Traveling to a different Earth wasn't what she expected either. The climate was the same but different--this sun felt a little hotter, the gravity somewhat weaker. Perhaps that's why her ruddy-complexion darkened progressively as he was kind enough to give her a tour of the places most precious to him . . . ?

The texture of her hair changed as the tour went on--her spikes fell towards her face and the waves seemingly shrunk. It wasn't exactly fair to say her iconic crown of bright red became straight, but it was close. She noticed the changes too late; one third of her energy was spent keeping stock of what Trunks told her, the second third was focused on memorizing the route they took just in case anything happened. Not that they'd be lost (because he knew the way), but because depending on another person outside of herself was a steep learning curve and she was abysmally failing at it. The final third of her energy was spent watching his reactions, studying his social cues (many of her relationships up until this point were either impersonal or strictly professional), and waiting for more appropriate opportunities to ask questions to keep him talking. It was when they reached the underground lab that he was seized by memories.

Silence fell when his gaze caught upon a pictured frame sitting upon a desk next to a dimly lit computer; a blue-haired, bright-eyed Bulma wrapped in what could only be called a warm embrace by two older people with vastly different hair colors, textures and clothes. She assumed this was Bulma's origin--Trunks' human grandparents. Suddenly, his purple hair made sense. (She's seen Saiyans with his shade of blue eyes before but haven't found a way to tell him yet; mostly because she didn't want to sound like she'd been staring at him too hard . . .). Maiz heard him mention the roof but she was much too taken with the genetic diversity displayed with the Brief Family genes. It all reminded her of home, eerily so. Contrary to belief, the Saiyans weren't all black haired and dark eyed. It was a misconception, a rumor started by Frieza to make them sound like an incestuous lot. Unappealing. To lower their market value overall, to make the Saiyans easier to control and eventually dispose of.

SHE TOOK A COUPLE OF STEPS BACK, UNNERVED BY A QUEASY FEELING IN HER STOMACH.

Her dead face briefly took on an expression of pain (furrowed brows, a frown, scrunched up features) before it went away. It was quick--a blink-and-you'll-miss-it event. Finally, she was able to look away and focus on other things. She looked at Trunks first, around, then up (there was exposed wiring on the walls, the plaster was chipped, the dome was indeed un-roofed, scorch marks trailed from where the roof would've began pointed at what the cause was, etc). She did this until her heart rate slowed, until her thoughts were no longer disarrayed, until her instincts no longer screamed to destroy the remnants of whatever he could call a home. She had to remind himself he wasn't mocking her, nor was he rubbing his life experiences in her face; he was showing her shared pain.

With a small sigh and slow sway of her tail, she asked, ". . .what else is here?" The quality of tone was detached, distant. Neutral, safe and boring. Not monotone--but as if she was disinterested with it all. Alas, this was simply how she sounded for the moment. Socialization in this manner was not her strong suit.

Neither was showing genuine concern.