#it's just funny when for the rest of the deca most people have their own hcs

[death-by-sc0tland]

maybe i should know this as a devoted deca stan, but i'm wondering how did the fanon of theta's appearance (blond curly hair) even come about? cause as far as i know, his appearance was never described (correct me if i'm wrong), yet literally almost every fanart portrays him like that

[alphaketoglutaricacid]

@onehithero said: also we know theres at least some actual animals besides gadoll liek the scorpion n cows tht show up for a sec in ep 1 so tankers hav tht going for them re: food sources ..SORRY FOR RAMBLING SO MUCH deca dence essay got sleeper agent activated

onehithero said: i rly like what usaid abt kabu from natsumes pov too but i cannot form a half cohernet thought abt tht one

onehithero said: ALSO ALSO i think its interesting how the ep 8 conversation w minato is i think the only time kabu talks abt being jealous of humans being able to choose their own paths

onehithero said: also how minatos convinced hes like a good lil cog in the machine yet hes done 50 things tht wuld get him labeled as a bug but he just ignores all tht. the both of them can be so disconnected w reality

onehithero said: like minato didnt know abt 1)natsume 2) how the system has made kabu so severely depressed n he culdnt put up w it anymore.n minato continues pushing the just go along w the system shit he doesnt understand tht he was contributing to kabus misery.. n bc of tht kabu doesnt trust minato enough to tell him abt natsume for so long but then he goes n asks smth so big of him as go against the system

onehithero said: thinks abt how kabu n minato r obviously so important to each other but minato understands him less n less over time & kabu kinda already knew its risky to confide in minato like minato did know abt pipe which was a long time ago but he didnt know abt natsume til kabu was already sacrifing himself for her sake. n yet kabu then goes n tries to get him on his side anyway cuz he wants tht so badly..

onehithero said: OMG OMG CHEWS THESE WORDS SLOWLY N THROUGHLY SO DELICIOUS THANK U THANK U u get it u understand i love reading n writing essay lengh responses abt deca dence & again u just hit the nail on the head w this

Please let me know if this @ u 8 times and sorry if it did.  I will reply under this readmore but i love this enthusiasm! I like discussing this stuff so if u want keep it coming. I wanna understand deca dence better and i think i will by sharing ideas w other ppl. 

I think kabu and minatos relationship  is as good as it is because theres clearly a lot of mutual love and respect between them even when they don’t understand each other and thats why minato still runs after him when he hears kabu going suicide mission lets go baby. I think its interesting that minato was like ready to lie down and accept getting mass scrapped until he hears kabu go im about to be hilarious and hes like actually living and staying alive sounds great actually forget what i said about it being over.   you are so right about kabu and trust and natsume. I will always cherish episode 5 where kabu gives this big rousing speech about how natsume inspired him and saved his life and minatos there like ..who? ..what?? I think they may not be used to hiding things from each other. Also I think them drifting apart mirrors natsume and feis drifting apart tho I think while feis the instigator on that side kabus more on his side and minato like natsume is like wondering what in da world is going on. I think someone else wrote about this better than I can.

I do think minato does know kabus severely depressed because theres this line in ep 4 where he puts his hand on kabu and says like you’ve toiled enough at that awful job. and also in episode 11 when he and kabu talk and kabu says he was in a similar place as minato now in that he was waiting every day to be scrapped minato has no reaction until kabu says but that bug saved me. I think he knows kabus very depressed but he does not know how to address it cuz the system never gives either of them the tools or options for it. Though also I feel the system discourages meaningful relationships between the cyborgs so I think what minato and kabu have is likely pretty rare. Kabu donetello and turkey also fought together for a long time but turkey turns on donetello in a second even tho they fought together, he was his number two, and they were in prison together, and were pretty much all they got and donetello kills him in turn. I also think minato probably knew because he’s empathetic. Like I’m not sure about compassion but he’s very good at understanding where other ppl are and how to meet them in the middle so both parties get something they want. That’s how he got all the gamers to collect the old deca dence parts. Not by cashing in on ppl doing the right thing but by framing it as the final mission. He gets his lgbt community center coworkers for fight with him one last time by appealing to their sense of duty. He got the system to put kabu in jail instead of getting scrapped when Mikey got scrapped for a lesser offense. The list goes on. A tangent but I think the fact he acknowledges the living conditions of the humans are gonna get worse if nothing’s done even tho he’s apathetic at best towards them shows even when the system tries to mold the cyborgs into the roles it wants, sometimes the traits they have just keep on going despite themselves. I’m gonna stop myself before I go into jill and this theme but I’m gonna talk about it someday. So I think its more likely than not he knew but he didn’t know how to navigate around it also because it’s heavily implied he’s going thru the same thing and I think kabu might genuinely have no idea Bc kabu lacks empathy but his heart... is huge. When he hears minato express his feelings of not knowing what he wants he instantly tries to reach out and explain minatos not alone in what he feels. This is why they’re good foils. while kabu moves past where he was in the start where he states he does not intend to oppose the system and his compliance while also trying to do the bare minimum drives him to suicide, and finds the willpower and a reason to live and rebel against the system through his connection to other people (first natsume , he hangs out w kurenai sometimes too, and then with the jail robots). Meanwhile minato whos stuck in his literal ivory tower (it’s a Metaphor) never makes any of these connections. It’s the irony of kabu working at a armor repair job giving him some ability to connect w others vs minatos higher position isolating him from everyone else. I think kabu living amongst the ppl he harmed drove him to give up on life quicker, while minato being far apart shielded him from rlly having to see the effects of his actions I think he was headed a lil slower in the same direction. I think we’re led to believe minatos okay where he is but I think towards the end it’s clear minato has spent most of the series also in a bad place. I think he views things very similarly to kabu in that he wants to use what power he does have to protect the ppl he cares about similar to how initially kabu tried to just convince natsume to quit several times and he was like whatever at the rest of the humans who are natsumes comrades dying but he chooses to put it all on the line and try for some systemic change when he sees natsumes determination to fight. Also I think minato holds very little loyalty to the system cuz he doesn’t only like breaks 1000 rules for kabu (the hypocrisy) but he also looks the other way a lot. For example, when he overheard the top rankers talk about limiters he’s like I’ll pretend I don’t hear it also turn on private mode next time and he doesn’t berate them for considering cheating. Also donetello has been using an illegal avatar to climb to S rank again (isn’t it interesting that even after the ranked system is abolished something similar took its place). And his avatar looks the same as it did when minato worked with the guy. There’s probably like not that many ppl in s rank. And he calls himself donetello. Minato knows he’s supposed to be in jail but does he tell anyone? He’s like well.. that looks like someone else’s problem if they notice *goes and vapes* it’s so funny how little minato cares but it’s also not funny Bc some of minatos cruelest actions and things he’s complicit in are born not outta malice but apathy to everything. I think it shows (tangent number 4?) how the systems use of excessive force is counter productive cuz neither minato nor kabu are willing to report anything to disrupt the order Bc neither of them think the level of punishment is warranted. I also think that minato is probably the first person kabu really opens up to about why on a personal level he feels the system needs to be destroyed after Ep 7 is really interesting. It really speaks to how deep their [mutual and not platonic relationship I don’t know how to label ] is. I also think that he admits to minato that he envies human is rlly interesting and would like to hear what u have to think! I think it’s interesting that what really sets minato off is kabu saying he wants to choose for himself and also wants other cyborgs to have that freedom and I think it’s one of the few times we see minato get genuinely angry and have it not stem from worry. Tangent 5 I’m really extrapolating here but I think it’s very likely given how high up minato is that he likely knows of several cyborgs that rebelled against the system for similar reasons as kabu and knows how it ends and I think it probably feeds into his defeatist attitude. I think his role in the system must really kill whatever grasp of whatever minato has cuz he constantly has to act like it’s almost the end of the world and he’s strapped for resources all the time for like decades and decades of having to fake that type of desperation to entertain ur player base and cuz ur also on tv to entertain the general populace to distract them from their soul sucking jobs. I think that’s gotta mess with his perception of himself and also his ability to see that struggle as real and genuine. I think that’s also gotta be hard cuz he seems like out of his whole fuck we r under attack persona he seems like he’s a lil closed off but generally chill and somewhat upbeat to ppl who know him and he just wants to be isabella from animal crossing. I got really off track here. I think what really gets me is their relationship is built on knowing each other so well and so long , and how it’s managed to survive and persist through all this tragedy. They really mutually respect and love each other and that’s why kabu let’s minato walk away from his revolution even tho it compromises everything he works for. It’s why minato ultimently accepts kabus willingness to die for a tanker even tho he really doesn’t get it at all and it means it’s goodbye forever. But it’s still not enough to save either of them. Minato can’t save kabu from trying to passively starving himself to death and I’m not sure if kabu even knows where minato is at mentally. Sometimes no matter how close u are to someone there r things u miss and things u can’t help each other with. Even tho the two resolve to fight and then die together cuz this seems like the best choice Bc the system they were born into offers no alternatives, the deca dence doesn’t even activate without the help of other ppl. I think it shows one relationship cant support all that weight. In the end it is through their bonds with other ppl that gets them to an ending where they both survive when they decided alone their only option is death. Also u are so right about the other animals existing I totally forgot ty I cannot believe I forgot about the scorpion which calls to natsumes hairstyle which is a visual gag on how natsumes a bug and how like a scorpion, although unassuming, and fucking kill u, just like how her trying to get her boss to open up eventually leads to the whole thing toppling down. I also have a lot of thoughts about natsume but I’m still thinking of them and thinking hard Bc sometimes she becomes kabus inspiration Pinterest board and I don’t like that. When she shines she really shines but it starts getting sloppy towards the end so I have to think a lil longer about it. Okay I’m done. Also it’s kinda hard for me to look like I’m agreeing to ur points and nodding in this format but I really appreciate ur thoughts and will try to convey this. Maybe by formatting as a response to each of ur replies next time

[metalandmagi]

Summer 2020 Anime Worth Watching!

Apparently it’s time for the summer anime season, even though it feels like time is meaningless at this point. But somehow, there are still new shows coming out, so if you’re looking for something to watch when you’re stuck at home, here’s a list of the first impressions I got from this season. I don’t really know if it’s going to be worth it, considering how the spring season delayed so much, but here we are. 

As always, not all of these are available on Crunchyroll, but I’ll put a * next to the ones that are.

And if you’re looking for a bit more variety, I have lists for 2019 and the rest of this year’s seasons too...because remember when there was good anime being released instead of just everything being an ecchi or a second season?

2019 master list

My master list for every season of 2020 anime

New Shows!

*The God of High School: An over the top action anime consisting of one big tournament arc! It follows a group of teenagers competing in the epic “god of high school” martial arts tournament to determine the best fighter in the country. Following in the footsteps of Tower of God, this is the newest “crunchyroll original” that is being adapted from a South Korean webcomic. You can tell from the first episode that this will be a spectacle with crazy characters and lots of wild action and humor!

Great Pretender: When a Japanese con man pickpockets the wrong person, he ends up hopping on a plane to Los Angeles and getting wrapped up in a scheme with a sassy Frenchman named Laurent...who basically runs the mafia. There’s humor, there’s plot, there’s great characters, and it’s kinda gay. It’s an exciting original anime from studio Wit, so the animation is bursting with character, and both the music and the general vibe remind me a lot of Baccano or even Lupin III. And since it takes place in America with several foreign characters, there's hilarious English and accent shenanigans abound! The bad news is it’s still in Netflix jail, so if you want to watch it legally you’re kinda stuck for now. 

Japan Sinks 2020: A giant earthquake hits Japan, and a family must cope with the mayhem together. Because what the hell else could possibly go wrong this year? This is a new series (based on a novel) made by Masaaki Yuasa, the guy behind Ride Your Wave and Walk On Girl, if that tells you anything about the style of this anime. I’ve only watched the first two episodes so far, but I heard it goes from being a gripping realistic disaster series to a balls to the wall adventure. To be honest, disaster shows/movies freak me out, and this one is pretty devastating so far, which is a testament to how well it's made. But I appreciate that they include glimmers of hope when they’re needed. The best moments are the quiet ones that focus on the actual people and the narration that juxtaposes the time periods. There’s so much atmosphere, and the music really enhances the experience. And it’s all out on Netflix now, with a dub and a sub!

Deca-Dence: When humanity has been pushed to the edge of extinction by monsters called the Gadoll, the rest of civilization is forced to live in enormous mobile fortresses and send groups out to battle the unknown monsters. So basically like Mortal Engines but the fortresses can turn themselves into giant fists and punch the monsters. We follow a girl named Natsume who wants to be one of the soldiers who fight the Gadoll, but she is constantly rejected because of her prosthetic arm. So she ends up with five years of cleaning duty supervised by a stern but mysterious badass named Kaburagi. I honestly don’t care at all about the plot of the anime, because for me the characters are what drives everything, and these character dynamics are great. I’m not going to say it’s the most original story, but I think it’s fun so far. 

*Rent-a-Girlfriend: A typical harem/romance anime that follows the world’s most annoying protagonist named Kazuya. After Kazuya is dumped by his first girlfriend, he seeks out a rental girlfriend out of self pity….BECAUSE APPARENTLY THAT’S A REAL SERVICE THAT EXISTS IN JAPAN?! Like you can actually rent moms/dads/girlfriends/boyfriends and so on. Anyway, his fake girlfriend is the picture of anime waifu perfection...until Kazuya starts being his typical asshole self and she reveals her true nature of being an absolute sass master who don’t take no shit from no boring ass main character. Shenanigans happen and the two of them end up having to pretend they are in a real relationship. And I’m just calling it now...Kazuya’s grandma is the real best girl of the series. If you want a harem that’s actually funny and doesn’t mind roasting the protagonist, give this one a shot. Although I wish this were just a straight up romance instead of a harem because there is no way in hell that any girl, let alone more than one would want actually to date this guy. 

Next Seasons and Continuations!

*Fruits Basket 2019 (Season 2): Thank goodness Fruits Basket wasn’t delayed or cancelled last season because sometimes I feel like it was the only thing getting me through the spring. I’ve ranted about how good it is enough by now. If it can’t brighten your year, then nothing will. Just watch it if you haven’t already. 

*Re:ZERO-Starting Life in Another World (Season 2): Subaru is still trapped in another world, and he’s still as angsty as ever, but that’s not going to stop him from constantly putting himself through hell when he keeps dying horribly every time he needs to reset the timeline! There are mysterious new villains, nobody knows who Rem is (again) and I think there’s a plot somewhere under all the suffer porn. Seriously though, this show is pretty cool (even if I was two years late to the party). It’s one of the most interesting isekai anime I’ve ever seen, and it feels like it’s acting as a deconstruction of the genre, kinda like how Madoka Magica is for magical girl anime...both shows certainly have enough crying. The story is weird but interesting, the world building is cool, the villains (and sometimes the heroes) are batshit crazy to watch, and I like its moments of humor. 

No Guns Life (season 2): The story of Juzo, the hard boiled detective who plays by his own rules continues in the second season of No Guns Life. In case you missed the first season, this is a mystery/action anime that feels like an old noir film had a cyberpunk baby. There’s underground conspiracies, there’s interesting side characters, and...oh yeah the main character has a gun for a head. That’s right. we came to see a bara detective with a literal gun for a face, but we stayed for the world building and mysterious plots!

*Fire Force (Season 2): I’m going to be honest here, I really didn’t know if I should include this one or not. I have a major love hate relationship with Fire Force, but I figured there may be other people out there who would like it more than I do. So in case you missed the first season, this show follows a group of firefighters who puts out fires caused by spontaneous combustion using a mixture of guns and super powers. It was created by Atsushi Ōkubo, aka the guy who made Soul Eater. So it’s bound to be amazing right?

Not necessarily. Strap in for this one lads. 

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed with this show overall. Its main characters just aren’t that interesting most of the time, it can’t decide on what kind of show it wants to be, and so much of it just dragged for a good part of the series. I don’t know if it was a problem of pacing or if the plot was just that uninteresting for a while. The first couple episodes set up a very unique plot, filled with intriguing moral dilemmas. And then it proceeded to abandon everything interesting in favor of badly timed fan-service. It just couldn’t strike the balance that Soul Eater had between its humor and its sincerity. If they wanted to make an ecchi show, they should have just made one instead of inserting the same overplayed scenarios into every episode. I don’t care if a show has fan-service as long as it fits the tone, or if it only has certain episodes dedicated to playing up the humor. But Fire Force has a habit of just inserting it wherever it wants regardless of what’s actually happening in the episode. Also, some of the humor revolves around one of the main female characters who has a really messed up self image because she’s slightly more muscular, and not a tiny delicate flower like some of the other girls. Not going to pretend that doesn’t bug me. 

But that doesn’t mean there is nothing good about it! If there wasn’t, I wouldn’t have finished the first season, and I wouldn’t be including this one. So far, the second season has actually been funny because it made the first episode more like filler, instead of cramming in too much plot all at once. And to the surprise of no one, the animation is absolutely god tier. I wish it was being used for something other than clumsy fan-service, but it’s still really something to see. The world building is super creative and 100% my aesthetic, and there were a couple side characters I really loved later in the series (Benimaru). And I did like the twists and turns the series took later in the season when it actually focused on the conspiracy behind the fire force and the cult. When it follows the mysteries it sets up, it’s more fun to watch. Who would have thought? 

TLDR: There’s good stuff and there’s bad stuff. This show is really something you have to watch for yourself to decide if it’s going to be worth it. I’m going to at least try the second season, because I want to see where this goes, but it’s on thin ice. 

Honorable Mentions

Isekai edition! Both of these came out last season, but I hadn’t mentioned them when I made my spring list. But they’re both getting dubs now so I’m still counting them.

*My Next Life as a Villainess- All Routes Lead to Doom!: A twist on the isekai genre where our main protagonist wakes up as a character in her favorite otome game...only to find that she’s actually the bitchy rival side character who ends up either dead or exiled in every route of the game. So naturally she does everything she can to prevent this by becoming a sweet and caring supporting character...who inadvertently makes every single other character in the game fall in love with her. I ignored this show for the first few episodes because I need another isekai in the world like I need a hole in the head, but after hearing everyone rave about it, I caught up with it in no time. It’s a fun take on the otome game tropes, and it manages to be funny and sweet while not committing to any particular pairing.

*Ascendance of a Bookworm (Season 2): That’s right, it’s another isekai where an adult is reincarnated into the body of a child in a fantasy world. But this time, it’s a nerdy girl whose entire purpose in life revolves around reading books (can relate). However, when our main character Mine is thrust into this fantasy world, she quickly realizes that this particular fantasy setting is a little too...medieval  for her tastes...meaning a family of commoners like hers would have no clue how to read and books are only meant for rich people or the church. So of course Mine has to figure out how to either get her hands on some books or make them herself. This is a super cute show that I waited a long time to finally watch, and since the second season is finally being dubbed I wanted to shout it out. It’s just a wholesome isekai version of Dr. Stone. There’s no real action, but it’s a relaxing watch if nothing else. 

Well, there you have it. Hopefully nothing else gets delayed or cancelled because it’s pretty slim pickings as it is. And before anyone asks, I didn’t include GIBIATE because I thought it was a massive disappointment that somehow made a time travel horror anime plot boring. There’s also My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu, but it’s been 5 years since I watched the other seasons and don’t remember anything about it. But there’s that too in case anyone is a fan of the series and didn’t know it got another season. 

See you next season…if the world is still here by then?

[semi-imaginary-place]

gamers have no rights

SEIZE THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION

Oh and Minato actually using crude (like he always speaks very politely)  speech for the last big shot was a good moment. i rather like minato  and you can  see how dear kaburagi is to him. Minato gets Kaburagi put on mod duty instead of being destroyed or sentenced to life at the waste facility. Minato then stops Kaburagi from getting destroyed a second time and even keeps his avatar which would have gotten him killed. and he does all this without Kaburagi asking him, without Kaburagi ever knowing. Minato in the finale then risks annihilation to see kaburagi in the finale and is willing to gamble his life by staying in deca-dence to execute the plan. if he hadn’t helped, kaburagi would almost certainly be destroyed by the bubble wipe. Minato just wants to be near Kaburagi and be a part of his life. me in the distance: “gaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy”

when the admins threw donatello into the poop jail, did no one think to take the arm gun?

Yuzuru Tachikawa  has a lot of good stuff. death parade, mob psycho 100 II, assistant director for zankyo no terror.

once a limiter is released, can you put it back on?

http://decadence-anime.com/en/ incase the website ever goes down and i have to use the wayback machine

5.5: ok so i did forget the part where they say that Solid Quake and the other mega corps manufacture the cyborgs. ah and the cyborgs are also property of Solid Quake. real last stage capitalist dystopia. and some cyborgs’ job is to play the mmo. Like the company mandates download of the game upon cyborg activation. yeah if solid quake has the resources to manage a population of squishy monsters and have absolute control of all matter in the bubble they totally could have dealt with the air pollution on the rest of the planet. There’s also at least 4 other structures/companies on the planet. I wonder what they are up to. i was wondering about the ruins, so they were made as set pieces/background art for the post apocalyptic story.

so cyborgs did originally have their roots in biological humans. but currently and all the ones we see are assembled by Solid Quake. I wonder about the cyborg cores, they have the same green glow as oxyone. And one of the characters (minato? kaburagi?) says that cores aren’t controlled by Solid Quake, so the cyborgs have free will.

So I doubt minato ever switched departments though I guess its possible, meaning when he says he wants to fight along side kaburagi again he means this metaphorically, he wants to be able to once against work towards the same goal as kaburagi side by side. Also Minato calls Kaburagi “Kabu” no honorifics or anything and the subtitles bastardize this into just “Kaburagi”

they ended up making a game that involves throwing around a cyborg core. isn’t that a little...

Though everyone helped out a little, the finale was all about helping kaburagi where as I would have preferred something like everyone working and changing the system rather than kaburagi having a chat and the deca dence system letting him do what he wants. but I suppose that’s a hook for season 2. So seen on its own deca-dence has a good solid ending but not a spectacular one. But I am so glad it has a good ending, you don’t know how many shows have gotten my hopes up in the first couple episodes only to fizzle out and flop. I am so happy this show stuck the landing even if there was a little wobble.

I watched all of Deca-Dence in one sitting and wow do I love this show. It's just a good solid show. There's no weak point, each episode is solid, the writing is good, the animation is striking, and most importantly the show holds itself together throughout its entire run.

funny thing is. When I first saw the promo material for this anime back in spring of 2020 i went like ”ugggg not another one of these” where the remnants of humanity fight against annihilation at the hands of some monsters like shingeki no kyoujin or kabaneri of the iron fortress mostly because I’m been thinking a lot on compassion for the Other and a lack of that combined with propaganda about how the Other is a threat to the existence of the in-group forms the basis of a lot of modern facism and white supremacy groups that justify their existence against an imaginary threat use this same kind of logic framing themselves as the last bastions of humanity (whiteness) against a monstrous other (muslims, immigrants, ethnic minorities, usually people of color/not white people). Now the premises of humanity fighting against annihilation by monsters in of itself isn’t necessarily racist, but after a year where violent racism exploded against asian americans and BLM had a lot of attention, my mind can’t help but be in that space. However by the time I watched Deca-Dence on January 25, 2021 I had completely forgotten everything and anything about the show. All I remembered was some people crying about it on tumblr and twitter whose posts I skipped over once I realized they were about a show I hadn’t seen. So I went into this with a completely blank slate, I didn’t know that this was scifi, or that there was a giant fortress city, I didn’t know that Kaburagi was featured in the promos alongside Natsume, and I didn’t know we would be fighting monsters. But the first episode was just so well directed that I was excited for a second one despite the premises, and also i was still processing that last shot when i clicked the next episode button. It was the second episode that sold this show for me.

Oh I totally forgot to talk about natsume’s arm and how the show handle’s disability. Also I don’t have a prosthetic so take this with a gain of salt. Natsume occasionally feels self conscious about her prosthetic arm since people will comment on it and it adds barriers in her life, disqualifying her from joining The Power and making it more difficult to adjust the nozzle on her pack. She has added struggles in her life that others don’t, but the show never portrays her as lesser for it, its just something she has to consider and work around in her life. The line about how its not her weakness, but her power was a good line. And she literally turned it into a weapon, that’s so cool.

Corporations generate capital for the enrichment of their shareholders. But in the world of deca-dence there are no shareholders at the end of the pipeline. The machinery of the capitalist firm continues to spin, squeezing out as much cheap or free labor as possible, and acquiring assets, but for nothing and no one. Its a system made to benefit the Few, but whose beneficiaries no longer exist (or at least we never see them in the anime). The exploitation of the Tankers and cyborgs serve no purpose but to continue the existence of Solid Quake and its system.

dissonance grieving tankers at funeral to cyborgs chatting about how fun the last raid event was. bright cartoony artstyle to the dystopia of neoliberal capitalism (and the labor camp). the cheery game trailer and company intro style exposition for the apocalypse.

The reason the ending was only good instead of spectacular is because it doesn’t engage with the themes laid down in earlier episodes enough. The ending provides an emotionally fulfilling ending for its characters but only a lukewarm one for late-stage capitalism. There’s two narratives going on in Deca-Dence. The personal narrative told through Natsume and Kaburagi about learning to try again, improve yourself, make your own decisions, live on your own terms, and push your limits. Then there’s the secondary narrative about overcoming structures and systems of oppression. The anime team did a great job at the first one, but kinda meh about the second one. When we are introduced to the people of Deca-Dence we see them stratified into classes like Gear/cyborg and Tanker. However this is a false narrative perpetuated by Solid Quake to maintain its control of both groups, after all Solid Quake owns both the cyborgs and the Tankers as literal property. Ideally the Tankers and cyborgs would realize the divide between them is false and team up to tear down not only Solid Quake but the systems that allowed mega corps to exist in the first place and build more equitable and just social systems. And we do get some of this in the ending with changes in how Solid Quake is run (no more punishment of “bugs”, got rid of the gulag), but all this is shoved to the background. Essentially management and company policy changed but the fact that the corporation or its structures exists, didn’t. I can't tell if its deliberate or not though. Its common with single cour anime to leave dangling plot threads as a bid to the funding for a second season and most of them never do. So I can see it like that, but eh I still never liked this approach. Its also a limitation of the single cour instead of being produced as a 24 ep anime where they would have had lime to develop that second narrative.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Caramel Skin Under a Vanilla Sky prt 32 full draft

Coming too with a long groan, Keith was startled by Ezor hovering right over his face. Her smile wide as she chewed on her gum "He's awake!" Wincing at her yell, Keith placed his hand against his aching side as he forced himself to sit up, discovering he was back on his ship and back in his quarters "Take it easy, you have bruised ribs and are suffering the effects of the drug in your system" That kind voice and way of speech could only be from Daehra "He's fine. He's had worse than this" "He is still my patient. Rest is important to recovery" "He's part Galra. We're stronger than most" Great. Ezor had upset Daehra and now the two of them were fighting... "Excuse me... I am right here. Daehra, what happened?" Ezor huffed at him, jumping back from his side and crossing her arms with a pout. Coming over to his bed, Daehra sat herself down near his knees "You were left at the base of the space port. Zak said your tracker signal had been in place for the last two doboshes, so Acxa and Lucteal went down to meet you and found you unconscious on a bench in front of the port. Your left side is heavily bruised, and you were affected by which ever drug was in your system. Without my equipment, I was unable to perform an analysis. Do you have any lingering symptoms?" So they beat him up and left him for collection. That was... something. He'd kind of hoped being gassed would lead to a one way ticket out to the outpost "No... I'm just a little stiff" "Any memory loss? Do you remember what happened on Erathus?" Scrunching his brow, Keith nodded. His mind felt foggy, but that would be the gas and would pass once it cleared his system "I met with him... he wouldn't change his mind about Lance... and he said something about... not trusting our allies or something... or them not being who they appeared to be. When he tried to have me escorted out, I kind of..." "He means he got into a fight" Injecting herself back into the conversation, Daehra nodded at Ezor's words "I gathered as much from the state he is in. You have been unconscious for the last 6 vargas now. We have left the orbit of Erathus, and are now in a rather neutral sector for the moment. I have been contacted by Th'al while you slept. She is planning on meeting with Lance next movement" Keith lowered himself back down. His ribs hurt like a damn quiznak "He said something about Lance's bounty status changing. Do you know anything about that?" "No. It has not been updated on the boards. We do not have Th'al's pod signature so we cannot track her ship. All our security systems were designed by Zak. They are designed to be unhackable and he has done his job too well" "Can we contact Th'al?" "She said she will be in contact with us. We have been waiting for you to awaken before deciding our next course of action" That was easy. They'd tried knocking at the front door. Now was time for a side entrance "We're heading to the outpost. Erathus was a bust" "Not necessarily. You did learn that you are associated with those causing the disturbances here" "You mean his cryptic warning? I don't think we can believe anything the chief of police said. Not with how he acted over Lance" Daehra sighed "Alright. For now I will inform Acxa of your decision. Is there anything you wish for the Atlas or your mother to be doing?" Why would she be asking that? The further away they stayed, the better "No?" "Understood. You should try eating something then sleeping off the rest of the drug in your system. Should you present with more systems, please notify immediately. I shall leave you to rest" "Thank you, Daehra" When Daehra left, Ezor didn't follow. Rocking on the balls of her feet, it wasn't like her to be keeping her mouth shut "What is it?" "Acxa called Shiro" Going to shoot up, Keith barely made it a few inches before dropping back down "She did what?!" "Yep. Shiro will be sending a team to deal with the people who handed your arse to you" Shiro is what now? "This isn't funny" "I never said it was. That Daehra is weird. She's so nice it make me sick" "She's a good person" "She's too nice. No one is that nice" "She's an empath. She can feel your feelings. I hope you and Zethrid haven't been making trouble" Popping her gum obnoxiously, Ezor hummed. Never a good sign "What did you do?" "Nothing. I definitely didn't let Acxa call Shiro, and I definitely didn't let her call Krolia" "She called my mum?" "They handed you your arse and left you sitting there like some kind of idiot. What happened, Keith? This isn't like you" "It's not like me?" It probably wasn't... He was acting sloppy and recklessly, driven by his need to see his husband again "Nope. Are you in looooove? Is that why you've been acting all weird since you saw Lance again?" Ezor's tone got under his skin, Keith's anger prickling at him for a tick before fading away, his tone filled with resignation "Yeah. Yeah, I am. I'm serious about him. If you're going to laugh, you can just leave" Ezor sighed "Seriously, we've been working together for over a deca-phoeb. You don't think I can take this seriously?" "I don't know what to think. You all think Lance is some goof-ball. That he wasn't take anything seriously. He's not like that all... He... he's more than that" "We all get it. The Earthling is important to you. I'm sure he's not going to do anything too stupid. That's you're department" "I wish I could agree. Go tell Acxa to call Shiro and tell him not to come. He can't take on Erathus alone, we need to get to that outpost before Lance does" "Roger that! We'll rescue that boyfriend of yours, then demand payment" "No. We're taking a holiday once Lance is safe" "Boo. I'd rather the money" Bounding out the room with far too much energy, Keith let himself relax properly against his bed once Ezor was gone. He wanted more time to mull over what the chief of police had said, but was far too close to falling back to sleep. Daehra had said to eat and rest, yet food meant having to move which felt too much like commitment at that point in time. All he'd gotten out the chief police had been a stupid cryptic clue over who to trust. The man's words were completely pointless given there weren't that many people he trusted to begin with. If it was something big that involved one of their allies, than surely it would have come up by now? They had people who kept in regular contact with their alliances. Kidnapping and killing people would have had to have come to light, meaning what the man had said was a complete load of shit. The quiznakking arsehole didn't need to drug him... though, not that he'd admit it, he probably shouldn't have picked a fight with the police officers even if he was in a right royal arse of a mood. Shiro was probably going to yell at him, while his mother was probably going to be disappointed he hadn't held out for longer... God. He was so ready for all of this to be over. * Unable to justify laying in bed while his team was busy, Keith found himself creeping out of his quarters during what would be the small hours of the morning. With one hand holding his busted ribs protectively, he crept up to the helm of his ship to find Acxa piloting, and Daehra reading a data slate beside her. He didn't know the two of them had gotten so close, or close enough for them to both be doing their own thing without caring about the other. Looking up at him as her attention had been caught by the opening door, Daehra raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips as she prepared to scold him. Holding up his free hand, Keith nodded at her "I know. I'm supposed to be resting" "Yes, you are" "I'll rest when all of this is over. Where are we?" "Skirting close to a safe planet. Acxa and I decided we should wait until you were on your feet again" "I thought I told you to head towards the outpost?" Acxa sighed at him "You're in no condition to be performing a mission right now. We still have no way of approaching the outpost safely, and Shiro has instructed us to wait. He will be wormholing out to this sector once he his finished work at his current location" "We don't have time to wait. Lance's status has changed. For all we know he's already at the outpost..." Growling out the words, Keith gripped his ribs harder before continuing "... I refuse to let him be hurt again. I refuse to believe he's been cut to pieces. We're going after him. I'm going after him" Acxa crossed her arms "What aren't you telling me? Veronica is worried for him. She has no idea what has happened to him, and you're acting strangely. If you expect me to follow your plan, you need to tell me why? Why are you risking your life, and ours, for him?" "Because I fucking love him! I love him and they fucking hurt him. He thinks no one cares enough to be bothered by his death. He lets himself get hurt repeatedly, he throws himself into battle not caring if he dies. He's been fucking hurt, and I made things worse. So we're going after him. We're going to get him back and then he's staying by my side. I'm sorry Acxa, I know he's Veronica's little brother to you, but to me he's my whole damn life!" Yelling didn't help his ribs, the half-Galra wincing as he hunched over. Hearing the engines whirl, Keith's head shot up. Acxa flicking and tapping her way through firing up the engines and plotting their route "Wha... What are you doing?" Acxa continued as she spoke "He's family to you. I understand now. I don't agree with this, but it's better than you finding a way out there alone" "Wait a dobosh, Keith is wounded and your ship is too obvious" Daehra had a point. Limping over to the spare seat she sat in, Keith leaned heavily against it "There's a trash moon out here isn't there? Can we pick up a smaller ship there?" Daehra turned so she could look up at him "Thatus. Perhaps. It is usually used to scrap ships" "Acxa, take us to Thatus. Daehra, do you have anything here that can help heal my ribs faster?" "I'm sorry, I do not. I can rewrap your chest for stability, that may aid you?" Keith gave nod "We'll do that. I should have painkillers in the first aid box..." "I believe the first aid case is in your quarters. You sit here and remain still. I shall return" Nodding his consent, once Daehra had left Keith took her seat. Watching Acxa, he wasn't sure what to tell her. Maybe the truth was the best way to go? "Uh... Acxa. About Lance. We decided we were going to take it slow. It's not that I didn't think you're not trustworthy, but..." "They tortured him?" "Yeah... its awkward and hard to explain what's going on between us. But he's important to me..." "He's always been important to you. It did hurt when you wouldn't say what was happening, but you were trying to protect him. I understand. When we find him, be sure you tell him how much you love him" "He knows... I'm actually the one who confessed my feelings to him first" "Dammit. Now I owe Veronica 500 GAC. We were sure Lance would confess his feelings first" Keith drew his brow "You two talk about Lance?" "Of course we do. She's been very worried over him" "Lance knows, he's not ready to talk though. Things didn't go well with him living on Earth" "She never said anything about that" "It's complicated. Given you're dating Veronica, it's probably best I don't explain it all. I don't want to put you in a position where you need to lie to her" "I understand. He does know he can talk to her, doesn't he?" "Yeah... Lance knows. He just needs more time. How far out from Thatus are we?" "Zac updated our star maps for the area. The nav system is saying it's roughly a varga and a half until we reach them" "That's not too bad..." It was a quiznak of a lot closer than Keith thought "We were already a way from Erathus. Keith, do you still plan on going into the outpost alone" Several long ticks passed, he'd just told himself to be honest with Acxa, and yet, he was wavering in his convictions. If something happened to his team, he could never live with himself. In a new way, he felt like he understood what Lance had been saying all along. This fight wasn't there's... but... at the same time it was. The threat out there threatened to spill further, and it was already too far spread for him to see the full picture. What was the right choice to make? Either choice could end in regret... Lance might be injured. He might need help to extract his lover from the clutches of whoever held him... but leading his team in there might just turn into him leading them to their deaths... he couldn't do that... he couldn't risk his team... even for the love of his life. The realisation threatened to send him into tears. He was choosing his team over the man he'd claimed he loved... "I do" Acxa didn't miss a beat "Then we need a plan" He had a plan. A shaky plan but the start of a plan nonetheless "I'll take a ship to the outpost alone. They've already seen my face" "If you're going in, you're not going in without a backup plan" "No. I can't risk your lives" "Keith..." "Acxa, please. Lance... he could already be dead. If I go in alone, I don't have to worry about you all ending up dead too" Acxa scoffed "Yeah. Right. It's perfectly fine for you to throw your life away, and you expect us to simply comply. No way is that happening" "Look. I don't see another way" "You don't see another way because you have been blinded by your love for Lance" He'd been beaten and bruised, and may have held poor control over his emotions, but he wasn't blind "You have no right throwing that back in my face!" "You want to play hero and rescue him so all will be forgiven" "It isn't like that!" It kind of was... when Acxa's voice reached his ears, he realised that maybe he did. Maybe he did want to be the one who saved Lance so that Lance couldn't run from him again... He just wanted him back... "We're going with you" "You can't..." "Then let us wait close enough to the station to provide backup. Don't send us back to Shiro" Keith opened and closed his mouth, still gored on the horns of dilemma. What was to stop the Erathian police firing on their ship in his absence? What was to stop them from boarding the ship and taking all of them prisoner? The threat of the Atlas and the threat of retaliation from Daibazaal didn't seem to phase the police chief as much as the thought of losing his life by trusting them with the truth "Krolia will be preparing a unit, as will Shiro. If you insist on a solo entry, then we'll be close by. How many enemy soldiers were there last time?" "I don't remember. The base didn't seem to be an overly large complex... maybe... a dozen?" "And do you feel confident over a solo entry? If they are to take you prisoner, do you feel you could gain access to the air ducts, or potentially over throw a guard?" "The guards made up for their lack of experience with numbers..." He'd honestly been too focused on getting Lance out of there. What they'd witnessed still churned his stomach, and now he was going back like some idiot "Then we make a plan. If you don't return within a quintant or contact us, we'll follow you in" "Time works differently in there. Quintants in there are movements out here" Acxa frowned "We're not leaving you for movements" "You'll need to consult with Zac. He calculated the magnetic fields and asteroids. Also, due to the conditions inside the pocket of space, access isn't always available..." "Then that's what we'll do. With our new cloaking technology, we may be able to follow you without detection" "No... I refuse to let you guys follow me when you could end up dead. We have no idea who or what is waiting for us" "Keith. It's either we follow, or I'll shoot out the control panel so we have no choice but to wait for Shiro" "You can't do that!" If his ship wasn't running, he couldn't get to Lance... "I can and I will if I have to. Now, do we have a deal?" He really didn't have a choice. He needed to get to that outpost as soon as possible, and he knew Acxa's threat wasn't an empty one but rather a promise "Fine..." "Good. I'll update Krolia on the situation. You need to rest. Zethrid and Ezor have Kosmo for the night. Lucteal and Daehra both have beds made up in the storage hold. I will pilot us to Thatus" "I'm perfectly capable of piloting" "You know the rules. You're injured, which means you forfeit the right to pilot until healed. Now please go find Daehra... you might not be able to bare it if anything was to happen to us, but we feel the same way about you too, Keith." With freshly strapped ribs, Lucteal and Keith walked through the metallic junk piles that covered Thatus. Ships and ship pieces lay in various stages of salvaging, the towers of parts stretching high, as well as forming trip hazards all over the ground. Out of everyone, Lucteal was the one handling Lance's absence almost as bad as he was. Lucteal however had Daehra to lean on, while Keith just had endless hours of self wallowing and rage. The first movement after the loss of Lance had been the worse when it came to his temper, he'd been unable to calm himself. Now was still plagued with the lingering prickling anger, but moving forward meant he was moving closer to Lance. Moving forward towards the man who loved and the man who made everything better in his life. Lance was always there for him. Whether it be a rough day, or a bad nightmare, Lance would push his problems aside to be there to hold him until he felt better. Perhaps Lucteal could sense all of this, as he hadn't been an insufferable arsehole since coming with them on this scattered adventure to find Lance. Reaching the trade tent, Lucteal held the tent flap open for him. He really must look awful if they'd evolved into Lucteal opening tent flaps for him. It was the same muscled brown alien behind the workbench in the tent that Keith had spoken to over Guile's disappearance. Keith could almost swear they were tinkering with the same device they'd been last time, just to complete the picture of a stereotypical junker. Looking up from their project, the aliens flickered over him before settling on Lucteal with a big smile "I heard you were in trouble" "And I heard you were actually working for a change. Is Baja here?" "You never come to see me. Baja's off planet at the moment. What trouble are you getting into this time?" So apparently Lucteal was here enough to be friendly with them. Keith hadn't expected that... It seemed to him he'd been forgotten in the background "This Keith. Keith, this is Yule. Leandro needs a pick up, so we need a ship" "What about the ship you came in?" "That's his. He's not exactly on Leandro's team" "And the Telula? was it? Did it finally up die?" "I wouldn't let Leandro hear that. No. He's off with her and we need a ride out there" Keith had never seen Lucteal so talkative with someone who wasn't Lance. He didn't know what to make of it... Was Lucteal crushing on this alien now that he knew Lance was permanently off the market? He had no idea what flirting really looked like. He and Lance hadn't gone about things in the traditional sense of dating "That's not what I've heard. I heard he's got a bounty on his head" Lucteal huffed, shuffling his weight semi-awkwardly as hand came up to play with the edge of his hair. This was surely flirting... Lucteal was flirting... "You know Erathus. They're less than honourable. Leandro did nothing wrong" "I never said he did... though I've got not idea why he's in trouble, absolutely none. It's not like he's single handily upset almost everyone on that pretty little planet with all his tampering. Still. He brings in the business and it's all about that GAC at the end of the quintant. If you're after a ship, I think we can help. We've got some pods Baja was supposed to strip, damn imbecile's left them sitting for the last phoeb. Or do you need something bigger like that junker of yours? You know I'll give you a fair price when you finally trade that floating wreck in" "Leandro would sooner die than give up the Telula. We'd all rather die than give up the Telula. She is out home" Yule held... her? hands up. All four of them, as they? sighed at Lucteal "You know I'm only messing with you all" "Then remember that the Telula is our home. We need a ship that's not going to short out when travelling through magnetic fields" "Lemme guess, that idiot commander of yours is heading back out that way again?" "Leandro is not an idiot" "I'm using his own words" Keith's who body felt as if he'd been jump started at the prospect of Lance being on Thatus recently, forgetting he'd been excluded from the conversation, he hurried to ask "Have you seen him? Was he here within the last phoeb? Did he seen alright?" Yule raised a thick dark brown eyebrow at him "How do you expect me to know all that? He doesn't come out this way for anything other than work. I heard he's been bouncing around with Th'al. Friend of a friend and all that quiznak. I ain't seen him about 3 phoebs. Didn't even come back to collect his GAC from his last drop" Keith deflated on the spot. Of course Lance hadn't been here. That would be far too easy and far too safe... Shooting Keith a glare, Lucteal held it for a few ticks before looking back to Yule "Ignore him, Yule. He knows nothing about what it's like out here. We only need a small one man pod, two after we pick Leandro up" "I think we've got an old Galra fighter jet. She might be banged up, but Baja isn't here to say no. Just do us a favour and drop your next ship our way" Lucteal smiled a genuine smile and shocked the heck out of Keith. The man was acting surprisingly human. His English was already far better than when they'd met, and now he was flirting and charming Yule... Lance would have been proud, or would have wiped away pretend tears from the corners of his eyes as he whispered about how "they all grow up so fast". Maybe this was simply Lucteal copying how Lance would have handled the situation. Either way, Keith wouldn't say no to a Galra fighter jet "Sounds good. Where are we looking?" "Follow through the Greenlock cattle ships until you hit the T join, then take it right to the end. You'll find all the Galra jet parts there. Take whichever one you can get fired up. We'll chuck it on the account. Galra aren't to popular so their parts don't move like the used to" "Thanks, Yule. I'll be sure to send Leandro to deal with the account" "You better. Baja's going to throw a fit when he hears I didn't charge you on the spot" "Baja's always throwing a fit" "This is true. He's better now he's got Yuhpee" Giving Yule a wave, that seemed to be how the conversation ended. Lucteal making his way back out the tent with Keith trailing after him. His ribs complaining with every damn step, but he still had more than enough self pride and wasn't about to fall behind Lucteal of all aliens. "Do you know where you're going?" Trying to make conversation as they started walking back through the labyrinth of parts, Keith regretted his question. With how blunt it sounded, he wouldn't have been surprised if Lucteal thought he was insulting his intelligence "Yes. Greenstock ships then right at the T" "Can I ask what all that meant? A drop? And what makes Greenstock ships special?" Lucteal had lost the air of "Lanceness" as he hastened his pace "Greenstock was a planet out past our home world that was renown for its.. You wouldn't have a word for it. It was beast that could travel far on little water. It had much strength and the Galra soon wiped out the entire species of them with their greed. Old ships sometimes randomly turn up in this area of space, with all the magnetic forces, temporal anomalies and time issues... I do not know why I'm bothering to explain things. Any ship with no claim gets taken here. A drop here is a ship we've come across and liberated from its owner or was left abandoned. It's happened a few times here and there. If it's too far away, Baja will take a crew to collect. And because I know you will only hassle me with more questions a "Yuhpee" is a small yipping animal about a third of the size of your wolf. It has brown scales and is raised as a companion according to Zac's data. Now we walk, try not to fall over or Daehra will be more than irritating" Keith kept his mouth shut as he processed. There was nothing usual about the Galra erasing whole species lines... and the owner of the salvage company on the moon was a grumpy old man who'd softened up because he'd gotten a space dog. Keith had thought they didn't do much business here because Lance hadn't been out in this area of space for more than six phoebs when they'd met, but his brain also hadn't thought of all the time stuff happening anywhere other than out near the prison station either. His accidental husband had also mentioned he had trouble with time since being held captive... so maybe while it'd been six phoebs to Lance, it'd been both longer and shorter in other sectors of this space. Trying to work it out, the half-Galra quickly gave up. Time travel and tracking was simply too much to comprehend when you started thinking about how huge space really was. In fact, it was kind of amazing humans even existed. How people figured out television, radio, mobile phone and computers back in the 20th century he'd never know. To make such huge and sudden leaps seemed impossible, and surely people back there had to question if any of it was actually real, and if they'd themselves were real. Everything they took for granted must have made them all question their own tiny existences once. Keith hadn't really stopped to ask himself any of these questions before being hurled into space. Since he'd come to grips with his past, part of him had been trying harder to understand his human side... but the mystery of that kind of wonder still felt foreign to him. The only wonderous thing in the whole universe, to Keith, was that Lance had feelings for him too. Reaching the area of the moon dedicated to Galra technology, Keith was impressed by how much salvage was actually there. Pieces of everything from half dismantled cruisers to scraps of sentries lay before them like bodies strewn across a field, left rotting after some sad battle "What can you fly here?" Most of it? Except for sentries as sentries didn't seem to fly without some external source of propulsion "Pretty much most of it. Those cruisers aren't going anywhere. Do you see any fighter jets?" "Probably further down. They don't exactly sell Galra parts out front" "They carry more than I thought they would..." Lucteal scoffed "Of course they do. They take almost everything. If it can be recycled it is. If it can be rebuilt, it is. They pretty much scrap ships for everyone out here" "I didn't pay that much notice when I was here before" "The great and legendary Keith can think of anything other Lance? I don't know if I can imagine that. Not with the way your emotions have been flooding out" There was the arsehole he knew. Keith ignoring him as he shuffled on. It wasn't like he wasn't sympathetic towards the two empaths, but he couldn't shut down what he felt for Lance. He wouldn't even try. With everything crumbling Lance was the hope that kept him going "That's exactly what I mean. You're thinking of him again. Do you really have so little faith in him? He was doing perfectly well before you came along. Now, please find this jet of yours. I would like to be off this planet as soon as possible" "Lance wasn't fine, you were all too stupid to see that. I thought you and he were close, but you really know nothing about him, do you? If you're so anxious to leave, then go. I'm sure I can find a ship on my own" Grabbing him by the shirt, Lucteal pulled Keith sideways into a towering pile of ship metal. Cringing as his sore chest made contact with something particularly pointed, he then growled as shoved Lucteal back "I know you're fucking mad at me for some shit, but Lance made his choice" "I know he made his choice, but you have no idea what he means to us! We look up to him and respect him. Never has he doubted himself in front of us as he does when with you. You make him doubt himself. You make him question his leadership. He is strong. Stronger than anyone else in this sector, yet you do not even think. He left because of you. Do you not think he would have been able to pull himself back together by now? Is this why we must follow you? He is strong and he has a plan. You have no plan. You're acting reckless. You knew Erathus would hold no leads and you went. Leandro wouldn't have. It was a waste of time. Now find this ship so we might go" The lecture wasn't appreciated. Lucteal had been sheltered all his damn life. A little rich kid who was now running around the universe like he had a clue what it was really like out there. Forcing his aching body to full height, Keith bit back the pain as he pushed past Lucteal, mentally taking back his sympathy towards the man and his sister. Daehra was the only one he was going to make an effort towards, even if it meant pissing Lance off. He didn't understand Lucteal, and he'd simply have to accept that. After all, it was impossible to be friends with everyone in existence. No one was built that way... Keith had almost been cruel enough to mention the fact that thanks to Annla he and Lance were technically married, but the words died on his tongue. Maybe he was still trying to find a way to get along with him for the sake of Lance? Or maybe he didn't feel like being pushed back into the sharp pile of metal? Either way, he didn't so much as glance back at Lucteal. Perhaps that was the answer to everything, simply ignoring what he couldn't handle and focusing on what he could. * The only fighter jet that was capable of flying needed work. There'd been three relatively in shape still, but one of those had blood throughout the cockpit, with lumps of something that looked suspiciously like bits of flesh splattered on the back wall of the space. The other one was missing too much wiring from under the dash, leaving the third option which needed the armour of the left wing replaced. Unable to do the repairs by himself, Keith had called through to his team, Zak banned from coming on the planet due to some past grievance with Yule and Baja, so Daehra stayed on board his ship with him. Lucteal had taken to wandering through the ship parts, with Ezor and Zethrid. Leaving Acxa alone to tinker with the wing of the jet, and Keith to stand and watch on while feeling like a weak idiot. He was tired of everyone else doing what he should be doing. Thanks to jumping in head first, he was left licking his wounds and mulling over what Lucteal had said. He loved Lance. He loved waking up with him. Cuddling into him. Having Lance hold him until he calmed from whatever nightmare reared its ugly head. Things hadn't been perfect. Withdrawal had taken far more than he wanted to admit out of him, and now there was a risk they'd have to go through that all over again... Did Lucteal see going through withdrawal as weakness? Because Keith couldn't see things that way. It took strength to say he needed help. It took strength to let someone in and to let them help. Lucteal was full of shit. Keith already knew Lance was fucking strong. He made an amazing commander for his team, their loyalty proved that, as did his briefing on the Atlas. Lance controlled the whole room, despite the fears and anxieties he'd held. Yes, he doubted himself, but Lance had told him when he'd suffered his own doubts over being Black Paladin that all leaders felt that way. At the time he'd thought them just words to soothe him, now he knew otherwise. Lance was living the words of advice he'd given him so long ago. He trusted and relied on his team, something Keith realised he hadn't done completely with his own. It wasn't like he didn't like Ezor and Zethrid, yet when they were alone he never knew what to say. He'd never moved past whatever they were when they'd formed their team over a deca-phoeb ago... He'd let the girls to organise themselves... Quiznak. He was a terrible leader. He was leading his team into danger without that key trust... no wonder Acxa and Lucteal had both spoken to him as they had. He was still a child... Things were going to change when he got Lance back. He wouldn't be going back to Daibazaal until he'd sat down and done some serious self reflection.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

CSUAVS update. I'm not actually dead

Coming too with a long groan, Keith was startled by Ezor hovering right over his face. Her smile wide as she chewed on her gum "He's awake!" Wincing at her yell, Keith placed his hand against his aching side as he forced himself to sit up, discovering he was back on his ship and back in his quarters "Take it easy, you have bruised ribs and are suffering the effects of the drug in your system" That kind voice and way of speech could only be from Daehra "He's fine. He's had worse than this" "He is still my patient. Rest is important to recovery" "He's part Galra. We're stronger than most" Great. Ezor had upset Daehra and now the two of them were fighting... "Excuse me... I am right here. Daehra, what happened?" Ezor huffed at him, jumping back from his side and crossing her arms with a pout. Coming over to his bed, Daehra sat herself down near his knees "You were left at the base of the space port. Zak said your tracker signal had been in place for the last two doboshes, so Acxa and Lucteal went down to meet you and found you unconscious on a bench in front of the port. Your left side is heavily bruised, and you were affected by which ever drug was in your system. Without my equipment, I was unable to perform an analysis. Do you have any lingering symptoms?" So they beat him up and left him for collection. That was... something. He'd kind of hoped being gassed would lead to a one way ticket out to the outpost "No... I'm just a little stiff" "Any memory loss? Do you remember what happened on Erathus?" Scrunching his brow, Keith nodded. His mind felt foggy, but that would be the gas and would pass once it cleared his system "I met with him... he wouldn't change his mind about Lance... and he said something about... not trusting our allies or something... or them not being who they appeared to be. When he tried to have me escorted out, I kind of..." "He means he got into a fight" Injecting herself back into the conversation, Daehra nodded at Ezor's words "I gathered as much from the state he is in. You have been unconscious for the last 6 vargas now. We have left the orbit of Erathus, and are now in a rather neutral sector for the moment. I have been contacted by Th'al while you slept. She is planning on meeting with Lance next movement" Keith lowered himself back down. His ribs hurt like a damn quiznak "He said something about Lance's bounty status changing. Do you know anything about that?" "No. It has not been updated on the boards. We do not have Th'al's pod signature so we cannot track her ship. All our security systems were designed by Zak. They are designed to be unhackable and he has done his job too well" "Can we contact Th'al?" "She said she will be in contact with us. We have been waiting for you to awaken before deciding our next course of action" That was easy. They'd tried knocking at the front door. Now was time for a side entrance "We're heading to the outpost. Erathus was a bust" "Not necessarily. You did learn that you are associated with those causing the disturbances here" "You mean his cryptic warning? I don't think we can believe anything the chief of police said. Not with how he acted over Lance" Daehra sighed "Alright. For now I will inform Acxa of your decision. Is there anything you wish for the Atlas or your mother to be doing?" Why would she be asking that? The further away they stayed, the better "No?" "Understood. You should try eating something then sleeping off the rest of the drug in your system. Should you present with more systems, please notify immediately. I shall leave you to rest" "Thank you, Daehra" When Daehra left, Ezor didn't follow. Rocking on the balls of her feet, it wasn't like her to be keeping her mouth shut "What is it?" "Acxa called Shiro" Going to shoot up, Keith barely made it a few inches before dropping back down "She did what?!" "Yep. Shiro will be sending a team to deal with the people who handed your arse to you" Shiro is what now? "This isn't funny" "I never said it was. That Daehra is weird. She's so nice it make me sick" "She's a good person" "She's too nice. No one is that nice" "She's an empath. She can feel your feelings. I hope you and Zethrid haven't been making trouble" Popping her gum obnoxiously, Ezor hummed. Never a good sign "What did you do?" "Nothing. I definitely didn't let Acxa call Shiro, and I definitely didn't let her call Krolia" "She called my mum?" "They handed you your arse and left you sitting there like some kind of idiot. What happened, Keith? This isn't like you" "It's not like me?" It probably wasn't... He was acting sloppy and recklessly, driven by his need to see his husband again "Nope. Are you in looooove? Is that why you've been acting all weird since you saw Lance again?" Ezor's tone got under his skin, Keith's anger prickling at him for a tick before fading away, his tone filled with resignation "Yeah. Yeah, I am. I'm serious about him. If you're going to laugh, you can just leave" Ezor sighed "Seriously, we've been working together for over a deca-phoeb. You don't think I can take this seriously?" "I don't know what to think. You all think Lance is some goof-ball. That he wasn't take anything seriously. He's not like that all... He... he's more than that" "We all get it. The Earthling is important to you. I'm sure he's not going to do anything too stupid. That's you're department" "I wish I could agree. Go tell Acxa to call Shiro and tell him not to come. He can't take on Erathus alone, we need to get to that outpost before Lance does" "Roger that! We'll rescue that boyfriend of yours, then demand payment" "No. We're taking a holiday once Lance is safe" "Boo. I'd rather the money" Bounding out the room with far too much energy, Keith let himself relax properly against his bed once Ezor was gone. He wanted more time to mull over what the chief of police had said, but was far too close to falling back to sleep. Daehra had said to eat and rest, yet food meant having to move which felt too much like commitment at that point in time. All he'd gotten out the chief police had been a stupid cryptic clue over who to trust. The man's words were completely pointless given there weren't that many people he trusted to begin with. If it was something big that involved one of their allies, than surely it would have come up by now? They had people who kept in regular contact with their alliances. Kidnapping and killing people would have had to have come to light, meaning what the man had said was a complete load of shit. The quiznakking arsehole didn't need to drug him... though, not that he'd admit it, he probably shouldn't have picked a fight with the police officers even if he was in a right royal arse of a mood. Shiro was probably going to yell at him, while his mother was probably going to be disappointed he hadn't held out for longer... God. He was so ready for all of this to be over. * Unable to justify laying in bed while his team was busy, Keith found himself creeping out of his quarters during what would be the small hours of the morning. With one hand holding his busted ribs protectively, he crept up to the helm of his ship to find Acxa piloting, and Daehra reading a data slate beside her. He didn't know the two of them had gotten so close, or close enough for them to both be doing their own thing without caring about the other. Looking up at him as her attention had been caught by the opening door, Daehra raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips as she prepared to scold him. Holding up his free hand, Keith nodded at her "I know. I'm supposed to be resting" "Yes, you are" "I'll rest when all of this is over. Where are we?" "Skirting close to a safe planet. Acxa and I decided we should wait until you were on your feet again" "I thought I told you to head towards the outpost?" Acxa sighed at him "You're in no condition to be performing a mission right now. We still have no way of approaching the outpost safely, and Shiro has instructed us to wait. He will be wormholing out to this sector once he his finished work at his current location" "We don't have time to wait. Lance's status has changed. For all we know he's already at the outpost..." Growling out the words, Keith gripped his ribs harder before continuing "... I refuse to let him be hurt again. I refuse to believe he's been cut to pieces. We're going after him. I'm going after him" Acxa crossed her arms "What aren't you telling me? Veronica is worried for him. She has no idea what has happened to him, and you're acting strangely. If you expect me to follow your plan, you need to tell me why? Why are you risking your life, and ours, for him?" "Because I fucking love him! I love him and they fucking hurt him. He thinks no one cares enough to be bothered by his death. He lets himself get hurt repeatedly, he throws himself into battle not caring if he dies. He's been fucking hurt, and I made things worse. So we're going after him. We're going to get him back and then he's staying by my side. I'm sorry Acxa, I know he's Veronica's little brother to you, but to me he's my whole damn life!" Yelling didn't help his ribs, the half-Galra wincing as he hunched over. Hearing the engines whirl, Keith's head shot up. Acxa flicking and tapping her way through firing up the engines and plotting their route "Wha... What are you doing?" Acxa continued as she spoke "He's family to you. I understand now. I don't agree with this, but it's better than you finding a way out there alone" "Wait a dobosh, Keith is wounded and your ship is too obvious" Daehra had a point. Limping over to the spare seat she sat in, Keith leaned heavily against it "There's a trash moon out here isn't there? Can we pick up a smaller ship there?" Daehra turned so she could look up at him "Thatus. Perhaps. It is usually used to scrap ships" "Acxa, take us to Thatus. Daehra, do you have anything here that can help heal my ribs faster?" "I'm sorry, I do not. I can rewrap your chest for stability, that may aid you?" Keith gave nod "We'll do that. I should have painkillers in the first aid box..." "I believe the first aid case is in your quarters. You sit here and remain still. I shall return" Nodding his consent, once Daehra had left Keith took her seat. Watching Acxa, he wasn't sure what to tell her. Maybe the truth was the best way to go? "Uh... Acxa. About Lance. We decided we were going to take it slow. It's not that I didn't think you're not trustworthy, but..." "They tortured him?" "Yeah... its awkward and hard to explain what's going on between us. But he's important to me..." "He's always been important to you. It did hurt when you wouldn't say what was happening, but you were trying to protect him. I understand. When we find him, be sure you tell him how much you love him" "He knows... I'm actually the one who confessed my feelings to him first" "Dammit. Now I owe Veronica 500 GAC. We were sure Lance would confess his feelings first" Keith drew his brow "You two talk about Lance?" "Of course we do. She's been very worried over him" "Lance knows, he's not ready to talk though. Things didn't go well with him living on Earth" "She never said anything about that" "It's complicated. Given you're dating Veronica, it's probably best I don't explain it all. I don't want to put you in a position where you need to lie to her" "I understand. He does know he can talk to her, doesn't he?" "Yeah... Lance knows. He just needs more time. How far out from Thatus are we?" "Zac updated our star maps for the area. The nav system is saying it's roughly a varga and a half until we reach them" "That's not too bad..." It was a quiznak of a lot closer than Keith thought "We were already a way from Erathus. Keith, do you still plan on going into the outpost alone" Several long ticks passed, he'd just told himself to be honest with Acxa, and yet, he was wavering in his convictions. If something happened to his team, he could never live with himself. In a new way, he felt like he understood what Lance had been saying all along. This fight wasn't there's... but... at the same time it was. The threat out there threatened to spill further, and it was already too far spread for him to see the full picture. What was the right choice to make? Either choice could end in regret... Lance might be injured. He might need help to extract his lover from the clutches of whoever held him... but leading his team in there might just turn into him leading them to their deaths... he couldn't do that... he couldn't risk his team... even for the love of his life. The realisation threatened to send him into tears. He was choosing his team over the man he'd claimed he loved... "I do" Acxa didn't miss a beat "Then we need a plan" He had a plan. A shaky plan but the start of a plan nonetheless "I'll take a ship to the outpost alone. They've already seen my face" "If you're going in, you're not going in without a backup plan" "No. I can't risk your lives" "Keith..." "Acxa, please. Lance... he could already be dead. If I go in alone, I don't have to worry about you all ending up dead too" Acxa scoffed "Yeah. Right. It's perfectly fine for you to throw your life away, and you expect us to simply comply. No way is that happening" "Look. I don't see another way" "You don't see another way because you have been blinded by your love for Lance" He'd been beaten and bruised, and may have held poor control over his emotions, but he wasn't blind "You have no right throwing that back in my face!" "You want to play hero and rescue him so all will be forgiven" "It isn't like that!" It kind of was... when Acxa's voice reached his ears, he realised that maybe he did. Maybe he did want to be the one who saved Lance so that Lance couldn't run from him again... He just wanted him back... "We're going with you" "You can't..." "Then let us wait close enough to the station to provide backup. Don't send us back to Shiro" Keith opened and closed his mouth, still gored on the horns of dilemma. What was to stop the Erathian police firing on their ship in his absence? What was to stop them from boarding the ship and taking all of them prisoner? The threat of the Atlas and the threat of retaliation from Daibazaal didn't seem to phase the police chief as much as the thought of losing his life by trusting them with the truth "Krolia will be preparing a unit, as will Shiro. If you insist on a solo entry, then we'll be close by. How many enemy soldiers were there last time?" "I don't remember. The base didn't seem to be an overly large complex... maybe... a dozen?" "And do you feel confident over a solo entry? If they are to take you prisoner, do you feel you could gain access to the air ducts, or potentially over throw a guard?" "The guards made up for their lack of experience with numbers..." He'd honestly been too focused on getting Lance out of there. What they'd witnessed still churned his stomach, and now he was going back like some idiot "Then we make a plan. If you don't return within a quintant or contact us, we'll follow you in" "Time works differently in there. Quintants in there are movements out here" Acxa frowned "We're not leaving you for movements" "You'll need to consult with Zac. He calculated the magnetic fields and asteroids. Also, due to the conditions inside the pocket of space, access isn't always available..." "Then that's what we'll do. With our new cloaking technology, we may be able to follow you without detection" "No... I refuse to let you guys follow me when you could end up dead. We have no idea who or what is waiting for us" "Keith. It's either we follow, or I'll shoot out the control panel so we have no choice but to wait for Shiro" "You can't do that!" If his ship wasn't running, he couldn't get to Lance... "I can and I will if I have to. Now, do we have a deal?" He really didn't have a choice. He needed to get to that outpost as soon as possible, and he knew Acxa's threat wasn't an empty one but rather a promise "Fine..." "Good. I'll update Krolia on the situation. You need to rest. Zethrid and Ezor have Kosmo for the night. Lucteal and Daehra both have beds made up in the storage hold. I will pilot us to Thatus" "I'm perfectly capable of piloting" "You know the rules. You're injured, which means you forfeit the right to pilot until healed. Now please go find Daehra... you might not be able to bare it if anything was to happen to us, but we feel the same way about you too, Keith." With freshly strapped ribs, Lucteal and Keith walked through the metallic junk piles that covered Thatus. Ships and ship pieces lay in various stages of salvaging, the towers of parts stretching high, as well as forming trip hazards all over the ground. Out of everyone, Lucteal was the one handling Lance's absence almost as bad as he was. Lucteal however had Daehra to lean on, while Keith just had endless hours of self wallowing and rage. The first movement after the loss of Lance had been the worse when it came to his temper, he'd been unable to calm himself. Now was still plagued with the lingering prickling anger, but moving forward meant he was moving closer to Lance. Moving forward towards the man who loved and the man who made everything better in his life. Lance was always there for him. Whether it be a rough day, or a bad nightmare, Lance would push his problems aside to be there to hold him until he felt better. Perhaps Lucteal could sense all of this, as he hadn't been an insufferable arsehole since coming with them on this scattered adventure to find Lance. Reaching the trade tent, Lucteal held the tent flap open for him. He really must look awful if they'd evolved into Lucteal opening tent flaps for him. It was the same muscled brown alien behind the workbench in the tent that Keith had spoken to over Guile's disappearance. Keith could almost swear they were tinkering with the same device they'd been last time, just to complete the picture of a stereotypical junker. Looking up from their project, the aliens flickered over him before settling on Lucteal with a big smile "I heard you were in trouble" "And I heard you were actually working for a change. Is Baja here?" "You never come to see me. Baja's off planet at the moment. What trouble are you getting into this time?" So apparently Lucteal was here enough to be friendly with them. Keith hadn't expected that... It seemed to him he'd been forgotten in the background "This Keith. Keith, this is Yule. Leandro needs a pick up, so we need a ship" "What about the ship you came in?" "That's his. He's not exactly on Leandro's team" "And the Telula? was it? Did it finally up die?" "I wouldn't let Leandro hear that. No. He's off with her and we need a ride out there" Keith had never seen Lucteal so talkative with someone who wasn't Lance. He didn't know what to make of it... Was Lucteal crushing on this alien now that he knew Lance was permanently off the market? He had no idea what flirting really looked like. He and Lance hadn't gone about things in the traditional sense of dating "That's not what I've heard. I heard he's got a bounty on his head" Lucteal huffed, shuffling his weight semi-awkwardly as hand came up to play with the edge of his hair. This was surely flirting... Lucteal was flirting... "You know Erathus. They're less than honourable. Leandro did nothing wrong" "I never said he did... though I've got not idea why he's in trouble, absolutely none. It's not like he's single handily upset almost everyone on that pretty little planet with all his tampering. Still. He brings in the business and it's all about that GAC at the end of the quintant. If you're after a ship, I think we can help. We've got some pods Baja was supposed to strip, damn imbecile's left them sitting for the last phoeb. Or do you need something bigger like that junker of yours? You know I'll give you a fair price when you finally trade that floating wreck in" "Leandro would sooner die than give up the Telula. We'd all rather die than give up the Telula. She is out home" Yule held... her? hands up. All four of them, as they? sighed at Lucteal "You know I'm only messing with you all" "Then remember that the Telula is our home. We need a ship that's not going to short out when travelling through magnetic fields" "Lemme guess, that idiot commander of yours is heading back out that way again?" "Leandro is not an idiot" "I'm using his own words" Keith's who body felt as if he'd been jump started at the prospect of Lance being on Thatus recently, forgetting he'd been excluded from the conversation, he hurried to ask "Have you seen him? Was he here within the last phoeb? Did he seen alright?" Yule raised a thick dark brown eyebrow at him "How do you expect me to know all that? He doesn't come out this way for anything other than work. I heard he's been bouncing around with Th'al. Friend of a friend and all that quiznak. I ain't seen him about 3 phoebs. Didn't even come back to collect his GAC from his last drop" Keith deflated on the spot. Of course Lance hadn't been here. That would be far too easy and far too safe... Shooting Keith a glare, Lucteal held it for a few ticks before looking back to Yule "Ignore him, Yule. He knows nothing about what it's like out here. We only need a small one man pod, two after we pick Leandro up" "I think we've got an old Galra fighter jet. She might be banged up, but Baja isn't here to say no. Just do us a favour and drop your next ship our way" Lucteal smiled a genuine smile and shocked the heck out of Keith. The man was acting surprisingly human. His English was already far better than when they'd met, and now he was flirting and charming Yule... Lance would have been proud, or would have wiped away pretend tears from the corners of his eyes as he whispered about how "they all grow up so fast". Maybe this was simply Lucteal copying how Lance would have handled the situation. Either way, Keith wouldn't say no to a Galra fighter jet "Sounds good. Where are we looking?" "Follow through the Greenlock cattle ships until you hit the T join, then take it right to the end. You'll find all the Galra jet parts there. Take whichever one you can get fired up. We'll chuck it on the account. Galra aren't to popular so their parts don't move like the used to" "Thanks, Yule. I'll be sure to send Leandro to deal with the account" "You better. Baja's going to throw a fit when he hears I didn't charge you on the spot" "Baja's always throwing a fit" "This is true. He's better now he's got Yuhpee" Giving Yule a wave, that seemed to be how the conversation ended. Lucteal making his way back out the tent with Keith trailing after him. His ribs complaining with every damn step, but he still had more than enough self pride and wasn't about to fall behind Lucteal of all aliens. "Do you know where you're going?" Trying to make conversation as they started walking back through the labyrinth of parts, Keith regretted his question. With how blunt it sounded, he wouldn't have been surprised if Lucteal thought he was insulting his intelligence "Yes. Greenstock ships then right at the T" "Can I ask what all that meant? A drop? And what makes Greenstock ships special?" Lucteal had lost the air of "Lanceness" as he hastened his pace "Greenstock was a planet out past our home world that was renown for its.. You wouldn't have a word for it. It was beast that could travel far on little water. It had much strength and the Galra soon wiped out the entire species of them with their greed. Old ships sometimes randomly turn up in this area of space, with all the magnetic forces, temporal anomalies and time issues... I do not know why I'm bothering to explain things. Any ship with no claim gets taken here. A drop here is a ship we've come across and liberated from its owner or was left abandoned. It's happened a few times here and there. If it's too far away, Baja will take a crew to collect. And because I know you will only hassle me with more questions a "Yuhpee" is a small yipping animal about a third of the size of your wolf. It has brown scales and is raised as a companion according to Zac's data. Now we walk, try not to fall over or Daehra will be more than irritating" Keith kept his mouth shut as he processed. There was nothing usual about the Galra erasing whole species lines... and the owner of the salvage company on the moon was a grumpy old man who'd softened up because he'd gotten a space dog. Keith had thought they didn't do much business here because Lance hadn't been out in this area of space for more than six phoebs when they'd met, but his brain also hadn't thought of all the time stuff happening anywhere other than out near the prison station either. His accidental husband had also mentioned he had trouble with time since being held captive... so maybe while it'd been six phoebs to Lance, it'd been both longer and shorter in other sectors of this space. Trying to work it out, the half-Galra quickly gave up. Time travel and tracking was simply too much to comprehend when you started thinking about how huge space really was. In fact, it was kind of amazing humans even existed. How people figured out television, radio, mobile phone and computers back in the 20th century he'd never know. To make such huge and sudden leaps seemed impossible, and surely people back there had to question if any of it was actually real, and if they'd themselves were real. Everything they took for granted must have made them all question their own tiny existences once. Keith hadn't really stopped to ask himself any of these questions before being hurled into space. Since he'd come to grips with his past, part of him had been trying harder to understand his human side... but the mystery of that kind of wonder still felt foreign to him. The only wonderous thing in the whole universe, to Keith, was that Lance had feelings for him too. Reaching the area of the moon dedicated to Galra technology, Keith was impressed by how much salvage was actually there. Pieces of everything from half dismantled cruisers to scraps of sentries lay before them like bodies strewn across a field, left rotting after some sad battle "What can you fly here?" Most of it? Except for sentries as sentries didn't seem to fly without some external source of propulsion "Pretty much most of it. Those cruisers aren't going anywhere. Do you see any fighter jets?" "Probably further down. They don't exactly sell Galra parts out front" "They carry more than I thought they would..." Lucteal scoffed "Of course they do. They take almost everything. If it can be recycled it is. If it can be rebuilt, it is. They pretty much scrap ships for everyone out here" "I didn't pay that much notice when I was here before" "The great and legendary Keith can think of anything other Lance? I don't know if I can imagine that. Not with the way your emotions have been flooding out" There was the arsehole he knew. Keith ignoring him as he shuffled on. It wasn't like he wasn't sympathetic towards the two empaths, but he couldn't shut down what he felt for Lance. He wouldn't even try. With everything crumbling Lance was the hope that kept him going "That's exactly what I mean. You're thinking of him again. Do you really have so little faith in him? He was doing perfectly well before you came along. Now, please find this jet of yours. I would like to be off this planet as soon as possible" "Lance wasn't fine, you were all too stupid to see that. I thought you and he were close, but you really know nothing about him, do you? If you're so anxious to leave, then go. I'm sure I can find a ship on my own" Grabbing him by the shirt, Lucteal pulled Keith sideways into a towering pile of ship metal. Cringing as his sore chest made contact with something particularly pointed, he then growled as shoved Lucteal back "I know you're fucking mad at me for some shit, but Lance made his choice" "I know he made his choice, but you have no idea what he means to us! We look up to him and respect him. Never has he doubted himself in front of us as he does when with you. You make him doubt himself. You make him question his leadership. He is strong. Stronger than anyone else in this sector, yet you do not even think. He left because of you. Do you not think he would have been able to pull himself back together by now? Is this why we must follow you? He is strong and he has a plan. You have no plan. You're acting reckless. You knew Erathus would hold no leads and you went. Leandro wouldn't have. It was a waste of time. Now find this ship so we might go" The lecture wasn't appreciated. Lucteal had been sheltered all his damn life. A little rich kid who was now running around the universe like he had a clue what it was really like out there. Forcing his aching body to full height, Keith bit back the pain as he pushed past Lucteal, mentally taking back his sympathy towards the man and his sister. Daehra was the only one he was going to make an effort towards, even if it meant pissing Lance off. He didn't understand Lucteal, and he'd simply have to accept that. After all, it was impossible to be friends with everyone in existence. No one was built that way... Keith had almost been cruel enough to mention the fact that thanks to Annla he and Lance were technically married, but the words died on his tongue. Maybe he was still trying to find a way to get along with him for the sake of Lance? Or maybe he didn't feel like being pushed back into the sharp pile of metal? Either way, he didn't so much as glance back at Lucteal.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

CSUAVS prt 32 start

Coming too with a long groan, Keith was startled by Ezor hovering right over his face. Her smile wide as she chewed on her gum "He's awake!" Wincing at her yell, Keith placed his hand against his aching side as he forced himself to sit up, discovering he was back on his ship and back in his quarters "Take it easy, you have bruised ribs and are suffering the effects of the drug in your system" That kind voice and way of speech could only be from Daehra "He's fine. He's had worse than this" "He is still my patient. Rest is important to recovery" "He's part Galra. We're stronger than most" Great. Ezor had upset Daehra and now the two of them were fighting... "Excuse me... I am right here. Daehra, what happened?" Ezor huffed at him, jumping back from his side and crossing her arms with a pout. Coming over to his bed, Daehra sat herself down near his knees "You were left at the base of the space port. Zak said your tracker signal had been in place for the last two doboshes, so Acxa and Lucteal went down to meet you and found you unconscious on a bench in front of the port. Your left side is heavily bruised, and you were affected by which ever drug was in your system. Without my equipment, I was unable to perform an analysis. Do you have any lingering symptoms?" So they beat him up and left him for collection. That was... something. He'd kind of hoped being gassed would lead to a one way ticket out to the outpost "No... I'm just a little stiff" "Any memory loss? Do you remember what happened on Erathus?" Scrunching his brow, Keith nodded. His mind felt foggy, but that would be the gas and would pass once it cleared his system "I met with him... he wouldn't change his mind about Lance... and he said something about... not trusting our allies or something... or them not being who they appeared to be. When he tried to have me escorted out, I kind of..." "He means he got into a fight" Injecting herself back into the conversation, Daehra nodded at Ezor's words "I gathered as much from the state he is in. You have been unconscious for the last 6 vargas now. We have left the orbit of Erathus, and are now in a rather neutral sector for the moment. I have been contacted by Th'al while you slept. She is planning on meeting with Lance next movement" Keith lowered himself back down. His ribs hurt like a damn quiznak "He said something about Lance's bounty status changing. Do you know anything about that?" "No. It has not been updated on the boards. We do not have Th'al's pod signature so we cannot track her ship. All our security systems were designed by Zak. They are designed to be unhackable and he has done his job too well" "Can we contact Th'al?" "She said she will be in contact with us. We have been waiting for you to awaken before deciding our next course of action" That was easy. They'd tried knocking at the front door. Now was time for a side entrance "We're heading to the outpost. Erathus was a bust" "Not necessarily. You did learn that you are associated with those causing the disturbances here" "You mean his cryptic warning? I don't think we can believe anything the chief of police said. Not with how he acted over Lance" Daehra sighed "Alright. For now I will inform Acxa of your decision. Is there anything you wish for the Atlas or your mother to be doing?" Why would she be asking that? The further away they stayed, the better "No?" "Understood. You should try eating something then sleeping off the rest of the drug in your system. Should you present with more systems, please notify immediately. I shall leave you to rest" "Thank you, Daehra" When Daehra left, Ezor didn't follow. Rocking on the balls of her feet, it wasn't like her to be keeping her mouth shut "What is it?" "Acxa called Shiro" Going to shoot up, Keith barely made it a few inches before dropping back down "She did what?!" "Yep. Shiro will be sending a team to deal with the people who handed your arse to you" Shiro is what now? "This isn't funny" "I never said it was. That Daehra is weird. She's so nice it make me sick" "She's a good person" "She's too nice. No one is that nice" "She's an empath. She can feel your feelings. I hope you and Zethrid haven't been making trouble" Popping her gum obnoxiously, Ezor hummed. Never a good sign "What did you do?" "Nothing. I definitely didn't let Acxa call Shiro, and I definitely didn't let her call Krolia" "She called my mum?" "They handed you your arse and left you sitting there like some kind of idiot. What happened, Keith? This isn't like you" "It's not like me?" It probably wasn't... He was acting sloppy and recklessly, driven by his need to see his husband again "Nope. Are you in looooove? Is that why you've been acting all weird since you saw Lance again?" Ezor's tone got under his skin, Keith's anger prickling at him for a tick before fading away, his tone filled with resignation "Yeah. Yeah, I am. I'm serious about him. If you're going to laugh, you can just leave" Ezor sighed "Seriously, we've been working together for over a deca-phoeb. You don't think I can take this seriously?" "I don't know what to think. You all think Lance is some goof-ball. That he wasn't take anything seriously. He's not like that all... He... he's more than that" "We all get it. The Earthling is important to you. I'm sure he's not going to do anything too stupid. That's you're department" "I wish I could agree. Go tell Acxa to call Shiro and tell him not to come. He can't take on Erathus alone, we need to get to that outpost before Lance does" "Roger that! We'll rescue that boyfriend of yours, then demand payment" "No. We're taking a holiday once Lance is safe" "Boo. I'd rather the money" Bounding out the room with far too much energy, Keith let himself relax properly against his bed once Ezor was gone. He wanted more time to mull over what the chief of police had said, but was far too close to falling back to sleep. Daehra had said to eat and rest, yet food meant having to move which felt too much like commitment at that point in time. All he'd gotten out the chief police had been a stupid cryptic clue over who to trust. The man's words were completely pointless given there weren't that many people he trusted to begin with. If it was something big that involved one of their allies, than surely it would have come up by now? They had people who kept in regular contact with their alliances. Kidnapping and killing people would have had to have come to light, meaning what the man had said was a complete load of shit. The quiznakking arsehole didn't need to drug him... though, not that he'd admit it, he probably shouldn't have picked a fight with the police officers even if he was in a right royal arse of a mood. Shiro was probably going to yell at him, while his mother was probably going to be disappointed he hadn't held out for longer... God. He was so ready for all of this to be over. * Unable to justify laying in bed while his team was busy, Keith found himself creeping out of his quarters during what would be the small hours of the morning. With one hand holding his busted ribs protectively, he crept up to the helm of his ship to find Acxa piloting, and Daehra reading a data slate beside her. He didn't know the two of them had gotten so close, or close enough for them to both be doing their own thing without caring about the other. Looking up at him as her attention had been caught by the opening door, Daehra raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips as she prepared to scold him. Holding up his free hand, Keith nodded at her "I know. I'm supposed to be resting" "Yes, you are" "I'll rest when all of this is over. Where are we?" "Skirting close to a safe planet. Acxa and I decided we should wait until you were on your feet again" "I thought I told you to head towards the outpost?" Acxa sighed at him "You're in no condition to be performing a mission right now. We still have no way of approaching the outpost safely, and Shiro has instructed us to wait. He will be wormholing out to this sector once he his finished work at his current location" "We don't have time to wait. Lance's status has changed. For all we know he's already at the outpost..." Growling out the words, Keith gripped his ribs harder before continuing "... I refuse to let him be hurt again. I refuse to believe he's been cut to pieces. We're going after him. I'm going after him" Acxa crossed her arms "What aren't you telling me? Veronica is worried for him. She has no idea what has happened to him, and you're acting strangely. If you expect me to follow your plan, you need to tell me why? Why are you risking your life, and ours, for him?" "Because I fucking love him! I love him and they fucking hurt him. He thinks no one cares enough to be bothered by his death. He lets himself get hurt repeatedly, he throws himself into battle not caring if he dies. He's been fucking hurt, and I made things worse. So we're going after him. We're going to get him back and then he's staying by my side. I'm sorry Acxa, I know he's Veronica's little brother to you, but to me he's my whole damn life!" Yelling didn't help his ribs, the half-Galra wincing as he hunched over. Hearing the engines whirl, Keith's head shot up. Acxa flicking and tapping her way through firing up the engines and plotting their route "Wha... What are you doing?" Acxa continued as she spoke "He's family to you. I understand now. I don't agree with this, but it's better than you finding a way out there alone" "Wait a dobosh, Keith is wounded and your ship is too obvious" Daehra had a point. Limping over to the spare seat she sat in, Keith leaned heavily against it "There's a trash moon out here isn't there? Can we pick up a smaller ship there?" Daehra turned so she could look up at him "Thatus. Perhaps. It is usually used to scrap ships" "Acxa, take us to Thatus. Daehra, do you have anything here that can help heal my ribs faster?" "I'm sorry, I do not. I can rewrap your chest for stability, that may aid you?" Keith gave nod "We'll do that. I should have painkillers in the first aid box..." "I believe the first aid case is in your quarters. You sit here and remain still. I shall return" Nodding his consent, once Daehra had left Keith took her seat. Watching Acxa, he wasn't sure what to tell her. Maybe the truth was the best way to go? "Uh... Acxa. About Lance. We decided we were going to take it slow. It's not that I didn't think you're not trustworthy, but..." "They tortured him?" "Yeah... its awkward and hard to explain what's going on between us. But he's important to me..." "He's always been important to you. It did hurt when you wouldn't say what was happening, but you were trying to protect him. I understand. When we find him, be sure you tell him how much you love him" "He knows... I'm actually the one who confessed my feelings to him first" "Dammit. Now I owe Veronica 500 GAC. We were sure Lance would confess his feelings first" Keith drew his brow "You two talk about Lance?" "Of course we do. She's been very worried over him" "Lance knows, he's not ready to talk though. Things didn't go well with him living on Earth" "She never said anything about that" "It's complicated. Given you're dating Veronica, it's probably best I don't explain it all. I don't want to put you in a position where you need to lie to her" "I understand. He does know he can talk to her, doesn't he?" "Yeah... Lance knows. He just needs more time. How far out from Thatus are we?" "Zac updated our star maps for the area. The nav system is saying it's roughly a varga and a half until we reach them" "That's not too bad..." It was a quiznak of a lot closer than Keith thought "We were already a way from Erathus"