#WAHHHH THE BOYS ARE BONDING I REPEAT

[thefanciestborrower]

Haha lol Ice Emperor goes Brrrr part 5

[Ooooh, we're half way there oooh, livin' on a—]

It was days before The Emperor got proper repairs done, in part because it was an exhaustive process that involved hand-braiding copper wire, and in part because he simply didn’t appreciate even the best of his blacksmiths melting one of his internal organs to seal it shut. In that time, as it was too cold to leave him outside, and The Emperor’s previous housing was inaccessible, the Boy—Lloyd, he called himself—spent most of his time curled up behind The Emperor’s teeth. Sometimes, Lloyd napped under his tongue, sometimes he simply lounged and talked until he was hoarse. Others, he poked his head above The Emperor’s mouthguard, and though having a very small boy suspended over his teeth was something of a nerve-wracking experience, if just because human blood got everywhere—Red. Sticky. A sign of ill times. Frightening—Lloyd seemed to take joy in “supervising” The Emperor’s strategy meetings.

It was an easy thing, getting used to the boy’s presence outside of keeping him contained. Lloyd spent most of his time talking, though he never paused for an actual reply, seeming content with The Emperor’s occasional hums of acknowledgement. Today’s topic seemingly revolved around his favorite story character, Fritz Donnegan, and his adventures in space. A samurai in space was an interesting… if outlandish topic, but it kept Lloyd occupied, and The Emperor didn’t mind the soft white noise as he sat and stared blankly at the opposite wall of the main entry hall.

It wasn’t as if there was much else to do. With his army questing for the mystery tea plant, and the single assassination attempt of the week taken care of (and cleaned up by Vex), he found his options for entertainment quite limited, a sentiment his… guest seemed to share for all of his talking. “And the writers completely forgot about Kiflin between issues one-hundred twenty-six and one-fifty.” Ah, back to the injustices inflicted upon this “Commander Kiflin,” seemingly the only thing Lloyd was willing to fault the tellers of his story for. An elbow propped up on his teeth’s anchoring ridge as Lloyd flailed in his indignance.

“I gather he was returned for half of his entertainment value in issue one-hundred fifty-one?” Speaking around the boy was difficult, but no more difficult than hitting a moving target with a shuriken. It was simply a matter of being careful of his teeth, really. His voice took on far too much of a metallic ring if he tried with his mouth closed.

“Exactly!” Lloyd took the opportunity of widening space to sprawl out even further across The Emperor’s molars, one hand waving about out of his mouth as if anyone could see him from behind the mouth guard. “And he wasn’t even drawn right—”

“Why do you read these stories if they make you so angry?” A tilt of his head cleared Lloyd away from his teeth, back in the safety further toward the back of his throat. The patch in his synthetic stomach was still curing, so he forced himself to resist the urge to swallow, instead using his tongue to tuck all of the boy’s limbs out of the way of tooth and cold. The Emperor may not have had saliva, per se, but some amount of moisture was essential for his organs to function in the way they should, so Lloyd was somewhat wet, a dangerous thing in the cold of the Never-Realm, where water froze near instantly upon hitting open air. Lloyd spluttered, but accepted the situation as it was, returning to his ramblings almost immediately.

“‘Cause they’re interesting.” A hand on his tongue, nudging and pushing. The silicone bent easily as Lloyd kneaded at it, sending a light, fluttery sensation up his circuits. Like he had a particularly excited moth in his mouth. “And I like the story for the most part, it’s just bad, sometimes.”

The Emperor hummed in acknowledgement, a low sound set in the middle of his chest.

“There isn’t much to do up on the Bounty except play video games, anyway. It’s all Jay ever does, at least…” Lloyd’s voice faded into a comfortable blurriness, his voice taking on the tone it did when he was rambling for rambling’s sake and didn’t actually want a reply.

Twenty minutes later, it occurred to The Emperor that, perhaps, he’d been humming for a little too long. The sound had dipped into a low drone, like the sound a factory made in the distance, or the growling of an engine. It was a quiet sort of sound—more felt than heard even to his metal skin. The next thought he had was that Lloyd was being remarkably quiet.

The slightest, most miniscule twitch of his tongue confirmed what he’d assumed. The boy was still, curled up with a shoulder dug into The Emperor’s cheek. Soft, slow breaths puffed around his teeth, and the low thrum of a heartbeat hovered in the air. Lloyd was asleep. Gone to the world. Well enough, The Emperor supposed. Quiet was a rare thing in the palace.

His hum tapered off.

Not even a moment later, Lloyd shifted. A flailing hand patted at his tongue, followed by a grumbled kind of noise that The Emperor thought might have been words once. It was only on the repeat he caught the meaning.

“Why’d y’ stop?” The boy mumbled into The Emperor’s cheek, half of his body spilled over the ridge of his teeth.

A questioning noise rose in the back of The Emperor’s throat, though Lloyd didn’t seem to understand his confusion, plowing over the sound with more of his own. “‘Had a weird dream. Think ‘s your fault. Vex told me your name was E.M.P. Like the acronym.” A moment where silence stretched.

Lloyd shot upright so fast he hit his head on the roof of The Emperor’s mouth. He didn’t even pause to groan or complain, racing ahead at a speed only brought on by—apparently—the strangest of dreams. “You have a name, right?” Little hands rested lightly on The Emperor’s incisors as the boy leaned to the front of his mouth. “And it’s not E.M.P?”

He had a name! Of course he had a name. He was… he…

Did he have a name? He didn’t think so. He had always simply been referred to as “The Emperor.” Lord of ice.

“I do not have a name to my memory.” The Emperor refocused his eyes and caught the silhouette of a servant standing at the entrance to the hall, a tiny package held in her hands. At the same time, he could all but hear Lloyd wrinkling his nose in disapproval.

“Well, that doesn’t make any sense.” There it was.

“You may give me a name to call me by if you like.” The servant bowed as she began ascending the steps. “I’m sure I had one at some point, but I’m afraid the formlings took that from me when they damaged me.” He freed a hand for her to place the simple folded cloth in. Inspection revealed a thick winter coat, insulated well against the elements in the same manner as his army’s... only... miniature. A nod, and she was gone.

“What about Julien?”

An odd name for an emperor, but the name was… familiar. Like he’d heard it millions of times. Maybe it was his name, even though that didn’t sound quite right. He supposed it didn’t matter. Whatever title he took would become his, as the palace did.

“Julien is… acceptable.”i

[xiaozhuazijun]

Mini Review: Takaomi Tsugaru (♥ω♥*)

Disclaimer: This review is also posted on Amino-Otome. Thought I’d share it here too :P

I declare that I am now officially a fan girl to Tsugaru in Her Love in the Force. Tsugaru is now my NO.1 LI considering that (1) I instant bought all his main stories, POVs, and epilogues, (2) I binge read his three main stories in a few days, and (3) he owns a separate folder in my Google Drive. Not to mention that I cannot stop thinking about him whenever I have free time (OMG, this is a crush, isn't it? (•ө•)♡)

I haven't touched his POVs and epilogues yet but I cannot help writing this mini review to share how much I love him and how interesting his stories have been. I'm new to Her Love in the Force but usually dig the settings in 'action-oriented' otomes. Tsugaru's stories are no exception! Besides romance, the stories use quite some plots to develop the interactions between the team members, the cases the force are working on, and the atmosphere in the office. All these 'side-plots' are not wasted and definitely help me treasure the bond between Tsugaru and MC more. And... I am moved by how supportive MC's instructors are (yea, including Kaga). They are the guardian angles for sure!

LI Rating: 5++++/5

MS1 Rating: 5/5

MS2 Rating: 4/5

MS3 Rating: 4/5

--Minor Spoilers in texts and screenshots ahead!--

Romance-wise, I admit that it is such a slow-burn (my inner fan girl just screams for more romance!!!) but all the interactions between Tsugaru and MC are just so very natural and cute. I think both of them misunderstood the other (Tsugaru: MC hates me; MC: Tsugaru hates me) and tried to hide their feelings (MC: I can never tell Tsugaru otherwise he will kick me out of his squad). This is, to be honest, the way I'd go with if I were in love with someone at work. BUT, seriously, are you two guys primary schoolers?! While they both try to hide, true love will always show! MC cares Tsugaru so much that all the other guys figured out and in return, Tsugaru just can't stop being jealous around MC (I love jealous boys (☆∀☆)). I've been waiting for their confession but they haven't revealed their feelings at the end of MS3-Part 2. Can't say I am not pissed and disappointed even though I enjoyed the stories so much.

Now, what's ahead of me is the loooooonnnnggggg wait time for MS4 (I genuinely with they can at least confess to each other, honestly, NO teasing allowed)!

Special mention of Momose, known as the lapdog of Tsugaru, a member in Tsugaru Team, and Tsugaru's (former?) No.1 fan (as it is ME now!!!). He tease MC ALL THE TIME (even more often than Tsugaru does) but he is very capable and reliable on a case. He is the real gorilla in the office to hold his breath for more than 5 mins and survive poisonous gas LMAO. I wish Momose would be one of the LIs one day. We can see how he 'betrays' Tsugaru and makes MC his love (＾艸＾)

Now.. screenshots time! Actually I have a lot of screenshots saved but I don't want to spoil too much. Will share only a few of them to give a taste.

Those emotions in his eyes. I cried on site!

Tsugaru OS: You are not allowed to wear other men's watch.

Blushing boy wahhhh

Momose is smiling!!! I repeat!! Momose is smiling!