For reasons to be expanded upon at a later date (because I love the little bits about Boothill and possible paranoia/betrayal canon gives us so very dearly HNGH) I think Boothill like... He won't let himself fall into disrepair or anything of course, but he reeeeeeeeeeally does not like letting other people poke around at his body. It's a necessary evil to him. He does whatever maintenance and repairs he can himself. He started out with a massive knowledge deficit, simply because he didn't really have any exposure to that kind of technology until he left Aeragan-Epharshal, but he's taught himself a lot since then, he worked really hard at it!
Anyway, the point being, Boothill generally isn't super trusting of people.
But I think he would come to make an exception for Himeko, since he trusts Dan Heng a lot, and Himeko is one of Dan Heng's once-in-a-lifetime dearly beloved companions.
Himeko is so unflappable, I don't think she would even bat an eye about anything he throws at her, either. Like she enters the Parlor Car one morning (she's always the first one up) and Boothill is already there, waiting for her.
"Mornin', Madam Navigator."
"Good morning, Mr. Boothill."
And despite the fact that he blatantly broke into the Express (Pom-Pom is NOT happy about this JDKSAJDSKL), Boothill tips his hat, greets her politely, and is nothing but respectful when he says he has a favor to ask of her. Except it won't stay a favor long, of course- he has every intention of paying it back.
Himeko never agrees to things blindly, but she does bring up that all the knowledge Boothill contributed during the Charmony Festival was essential to preventing the universe from being pulled into Ena's Dream. And they were able to hold onto the Jade Abacus because Boothill used Tiernan's burial relic to summon the Galaxy Rangers instead. The Astral Express owes him a debt of gratitude, and besides, he's a friend of Dan Heng's. Of course she'll try to help him.
Boothill fidgets a bit, quickly brushes off the thanks, and tells Himeko he's having a problem with error codes. He keeps getting the same one, seemingly at random times, but the darn thing has no obvious cause. Dan Heng mentioned Himeko had been the one to rebuild the Astral Express. He knows it ain't the same, but it's not like he's askin' for any major repairs or nothin'. He was wonderin' if she could just take a look, maybe offer him some insight, since she seems to be somethin' of a mechanical wonder.
So Himeko walks him back to a another car, where she goes to tinker with machines without them crowding her bedroom. It's all neatly laid out and organized, and it only takes a second for Himeko to locate some specific device with a long cord. Instead of plugging it in herself, she holds the end of it out to him, like an offer rather than a demand, and Boothill visibly relaxes a bit. He still eyes it just a little warily for a second, but he accepts and plugs it into the port on his side.
Himeko pulls up the list of all recent errors, and they really are all the same. Boothill has had multiple temperature alarms over the past couple of weeks since the Charmony Festival, and they know it's not the environment, because Penacony is mostly dreamscape and kept mild year-round. The long-forgotten natural deserts are too far away.
Boothill is staring from the corner of his one good eye, so Himeko turns the hologram to let him see what she's doing easier. They don't appear to be false alarms. His internal temperature spikes and then slowly lowers again, high enough that if it lasted it would eventually cause damage.
One option is for her to start rooting through personal data, figuring out what he was doing at the time of each code, and tracing cause and correlation.
Instead, Himeko reads out the timestamps, and asks Boothill if he minds sharing what was happening around him when it occured.
Two weeks ago: He and Dan Heng went to explore Dreamflux Reef and found a bar- nice place, good atmosphere. Woman runnin’ it was a doll. Boothill left fer not even two minutes to get them drinks (Dan Heng knows like nothin’ about liquor, Madam Navigator, can you believe this guy) and when he came back, someone had already stolen his seat and was hittin’ on Dan Heng! Dan Heng didn't even care, just shooed ‘em off. Boothill laughed and said not to let him get in his way if he wanted to meet someone. Dan Heng looked at him like he'd grown a second head. Why would he want to leave with someone else, when he came here to be with Boothill?
Twelve days ago: While laying low- er, just rustlin’ up some grub- in the Moment of Blue, Boothill passed Dan Heng with March and Caelus playin’ on the beach, buildin’ sandcastles and the like. When he passed by again almost two hours later, they were still out there, with Dan Heng pullin’ March through the water on her inner tube and Caelus hangin’ off the back of it. He swam so fast! You'd think he was part water snake or somethin’. He looked happier ‘n a cat in a sunbeam… He has a nice smile, doesn't he?
Eleven days ago: Boothill was killin’ time in Dreamflux Reef when he turned the corner down a shady alley and saw Dan Heng, surrounded by three men demandin’ “protection money.” None of ‘em stood a chance, they were all on the ground before Boothill even blinked! So cool! Boothill wants to see that spear of his closeup- Anyway, Dan Heng stepped on one of ‘em on his way out, hahaha! Boothill stepped on the same guy a second time as he hurried to catch up.
Eight days ago: Here on the Express, actually. Boothill had mentioned bein’ curious about the archives, and Dan Heng personally invited him.
(“I remember that day, I saw you in the hall.” “Was there any problem with the heating that day?” “No, none. I don't think the temperature has anything to do with these error codes. I have a different theory, keep going.” “If ya say so.”)
Boothill was fascinated by an entry on aeons, and from a single question he asked about Lan, the two of ‘em ended up talkin’ fer hours. About aeons and Paths and Emanators, Acheron and Self-Annihilators, the Sea of Nihility, Tiernan, the Nameless and the Galaxy Rangers, their burial relics and their customs. Dan Heng finally just started writin’ and editin’ the entries in real time, with Boothill pointin’ things out and tellin’ him what to add in. They were at it so late that Boothill ended up sleepin' on a couch in one of the cars.
He'd figured there had to be something to make Dan Heng chatty- he'd caught just a glimpse of it that first night they met, sittin’ at the bar in the Reverie together. He'll have to ask about the archives more often, if it gets him all revved up like that.
One week ago: After that night of energetic discussion, Dan Heng was apparently hyped up, because after he'd downed some of Himeko's coffee (“You had some too, right? What did you think of it?” “It was great, even better'n chewin’ bullets!” "Thank you! That was my newest brew, I can't wait for everyone else to try it.") he actually asked Boothill to go hunting with him. Boothill asked who their target was, and was surprised when Dan Heng pulled out photos that looked like they were from March's camera, of all things, instead of a bounty or wanted poster.
And as he sat there, studying these pictures, Dan Heng explained that he wanted to hunt down these specific memory zone memes to record them into the archives. Planets with so much memoria are a rarity, especially with the Stellaron's activity thrown into the mix, which has surely affected the local “wildlife.” He might not get another opportunity like this for a long time. And Boothill had talked last night about his extensive expertise in tracking and hunting, so he should have plenty to offer here, Dan Heng would like to learn from his experience and see how he does things!
And oh, Madam Navigator, by the time Dan Heng was done speakin', his eyes were practically sparklin'! Just lit up like the sun! Boothill could scarcely believe it! The two of them couldn't even wait another day, they set out that very morning. It had been a long, long while since Boothill had tracked someone- er, somethin’- without the intent to capture or kill. It was…actually really nice. Nostalgic, but in a good way. It might even have been his favorite day on Penacony…so…far…
Boothill trails off as a couple of realizations crash into him. All the temperature alarms he's spoken about thus far- they've all happened in the company of Dan Heng. And now that he's thinking about it, he's pretty sure even the ones he hasn't yet talked about were with him, too. Dan Heng has been responsible for all of his error codes, every. single. one.
The screen in front of Himeko suddenly refreshes to the top of the list, displaying a new notification for the current time. Alert! Core temperature above normal range.
Himeko's knowing smile is sly as a snake.
Wwwwwelp, would ya look at the time, Boothill has some errands to meet, people to run, y’know how it is, he should really get goin'-
“Oh, Mr. Boothill? About that favor.” And Boothill jolts to a stop in the doorway because fudge, he can't just leave without hearing her out. He'd given his word. He has no problem running out on someone he thinks deserves it, but Himeko really had been kind to him to try and help him out. Her voice is just as knowing as her smile, Boothill can't turn around to look at her, or else he knows he won't be able to disguise the sound of his cooling fans kicking on.
“Don't make Dan Heng wait too long, ok~?”
“Y-Yes, ma'am.”
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Divorce Saga Domon - A Haunted Honk Prequel
Hello Internet Stranger looking up G Gundam on Tumblr dot com!
This is an idea for a fic set in an Alternate Universe involving Queer Non-Canon Relationships between the characters of the series.
If you are not looking for this content please scroll on.
If you ARE looking for this content - and you're ok with reading my and other's Headcanons for this Alternate Universe I've haphazardly spun up -
Then go ahead and feel free to:
Check The Tags Of This Post For The Pairings
and click the Read More below!
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Ended up outlining a completely different fic as a Segway for an explanation instead of making progress on the Royal Flush Haunted Honk AU's Clown Motel Fic like I wanted to but uh....
For y'all's review for the AU: A Prequel Outline - Divorce Saga Domon
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Hey real quick - I'm thinking of maybe changing the timeline to 2 years post canon as opposed to 3 years and change post canon.
The reason being: I had a thought that this scene could either be part if the fic or if it's getting to big then it could be a stand alone tie-in prequel fic as part of this AU but - like
Immediately Post Divorce Domon Needs Space and runs off. As one does. And he runs to Earth because he just wants to Get Lost for a while.
He has Argo smuggle him out to avoid detection.
Argo has Andrew help stow Domon in a storage hanger of a Neo Canadian supply ship that's returning to the US - they have trade often enough and share agricultural resources - which leads to Domon ending up in New York when he hits Earthside pavement.
He's privately worked on his English the last couple of months and after being dropped in New York with a different hairstyle, outfit, and accent he's unrecognizable.
He considers making his way west to get some solitude in the wilderness, but something about that initial plan feels off now that he's on the ground.
Chibodee is also Earthside for a special series of prize fights aimed at raising charitable appeal for the US in the eyes of Neo Americans.
Domon decides to hit up Chibodee for a fight on a day between matches hoping it'll clear his head and give him the clarity to decide on a course of action. What ends up happening is an unexpected heart to heart via blows and a breakdown.
Domon is happy for Rain and Kyoji, and he knows it's not true; but he feels like he lost a piece of himself when his relationship with Rain fell apart.
Domon's instinct is to run after that but Chibodee knows this city and Domon doesn't hide out for long before Chibodee drags him back to his place to stay and just "Chill out and breathe. You don't have to be anyone but yourself here. You can take as long as you need to find out what everything changing means for you." Friends and teammates stick together.
So Domon spends a few weeks with Chibodee sparring and hanging out in New York. Chibodee does a frankly awesome job at containing his feelings because he's focusing on Domons feelings and being a good friend first and foremost. Whatever he's feeling can wait until after Domon is done going though it.
There's a bit of a twinge in Domon's heart as he leaves that he can't really place.
After he returns to Neo Japan and gets settled back into life with his family, The Dreams start.
They're mainly set in New York. Small things first like noticing Chibodee's smile and his eyes. Then sparring sessions that begin to turn lurid.
He thought these kinds of dreams would stop after he was married.... he doesn't know what to do about this.
I just figure it gives more clarity and sense of time for the journey from Comphet Marriage Dissolution to Feelings to Confession. Idk.
But I got stuck on a bit and then had this thought and needed to get it down before I lost it and it was so long it made sense to make it its own post as opposed to several replies.
The Maize and Clown Motel will probably still be 3 years and change post canon for clarification.
@thedragonchilde @amplexadversary @youreaclownnow
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yknow im probably going to sound a bit overdramatic for a moment with this sorry but,
ive said like two lore streams ago or w/e that im not going to let myself get as heated as i did at the start with how gun's been handling ( read : forgetting she exists ) maria all this time bc at this point i consider my portrayal of her an oc, as i essentially feel across the board with my other texas muses frankly but like.
i do think, while i was obviously thrilled to no end that they announced maria & she was playable etc, i do think the execution of her in-game really sincerely disappointed and pissed me off so badly. like yes end of the day shes a bunch of pixels etc etc whatever sure but its like. genuine frustration at how absolutely sidelined she has been since day one. and i know theres plenty of valid arguments for other characters receiving similar treatment ( ie. sonny ) in a variety of ways, and i do get the angle of maria initially serving as a haunting of the narrative, haunting her friends and sister and being more of that sort of invisible presence rather than physically there in the moment like they all are - but its severely disappointing to see just how little they give a shit about her, both in lore & in gameplay etc.
model-wise? shes completely fine i adore how she looks and everything shes beautiful shes adorable shes exactly as babygirl as i hoped and imagined her to be & look. but shes otherwise both so underwhelming and so borderline useless ( being generous ) and her ability is just the most uncreative pointless thing i feel they could have thought to give her. like. theres so many pieces i can rip apart for just that alone but i dont wanna yap for an eternity lmao
i just wish they gave an ounce of a shit about her. and like sure yes they could easily alter things or add on things on for her in the future etc. sure, yeah, fine and all but its just... i dont think im going to forget how sloppily put together they made her. or how they've consistently forgotten & disrespected her all these months. and with them branching away from her & the friendgroups' story into other victims' as time passes, their already sheer-ass attention spans are only going to grow thinner across the rosters and i guess in my eyes theyre just never going to make up for any of how they treated her character. and like yes thats fine bc i & others will do her infinitely better justice than they ever will but its still just like... its still disappointing.
like so much went wrong with that release day that i think i was just trying to cling onto the excitement of her just being playable but everything else, certain other complaints etc i wont get into, made me think that disappointment in how she was executed was an exaggeration on my part bc im too attached to her lmao and so i kinda just internalized the disappointment i think but it really is just like man. i feel like ive lowkey been in mourning of her since she was released. no faith at all that they are ever going to give her an ounce of dignity outside of how her model looks.
and again. i know i and the fandom do her infinitely more justice than they ever will at this point and that fact alone does make up for this all, i just wish she was remotely fun to play as and didnt feel like such a slapped together, zero-thought, near copy-paste non-asset in-game. i play her bc i love her but she also just makes me fucking sad LMAO
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"Weirdly, the best sleep I've ever had." / Royal Purple
This day could not get any worse, and Julie really needed to stop thinking that particular sentiment. It was like every time she thought it the universe conspired to prove just how wrong she was.
First she couldn’t get out of this stupid haunted forest night hike activity that someone thought was a good idea. Then she wasn’t allowed to go with Flynn, because the ever so brilliant activity lead also thought it’d be brilliant to completely randomize the groups. While she didn’t have Flynn’s misfortune of being stuck with Nick and Carrie during one of their ‘off’ periods Julie was still trapped with Kayla and Reggie.
Kayla, who rarely ever spoke to her. Almost always close to Carrie, unsurprisingly since she was practically Carrie’s number one Dirty Candi girl. And then Reggie, who Julie had even less interaction with. Only really knowing that he and the rest of his band were as close to getting dropped out of the music program as she was. Despite how new they were, though for entirely different reasons.
The two of them seemed friendly enough. Though, it didn’t take long before she was feeling like an awkward third wheel with how quickly they got flirty. An analogy that got all sorts of confused and mixed up when Reggie turned his attention to Julie.
“So, Julie?” He spoke her name like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to say it, like even acknowledging her very presence would shatter her like the most fragile glass. She didn’t even have the time to feel insulted at the insinuation as he plowed on, practically shattering her apart anyway. “I think I’ve missed out on any of your performances, what do you play?”
God maybe she was more fragile than glass. She avoided glancing towards Kayla, certain she’d be pulling some face or ready to make some snarky Carrie-like comment. Julie was not ready for this kind of attention and wished to get out of it. Only for the heavens above to open and release a sudden torrential rain pour on the three of them.
Which is how Julie now found herself in a small dusty abandoned cabin in the woods that Kayla managed to spot. The one stroke gracious stroke of luck for the night. A fact Julie tried to remind herself as she tried her best to hold off the chills running through her veins.
“Don’t worry.” Kayla stuttered loudly enough for Reggie to hear as he explored the cabin to see if there were any blankets or firewood to help warm them. “I’m sure once they notice we’re gone they’ll send out some sort of search party.”
Sure, once they notice Kayla and Reggie were gone. The odds were slim of anyone but Flynn noticing Julie was gone. She kept her mouth shut as she tentatively sat on the creaky couch that vaguely smelled of mildew.
“You make it sound like it’s going to rain like this all night.” Reggie laughed from the other room.
“Who knows, maybe it could.” Kayla said, sitting on the couch beside Julie, her chilled damp arm brushing against Julie’s. “If nothing else it’d be safer to stay here. Unless either of you know how far we may have ventured from the trail, because I certainly don’t.”
Julie silently shook her head before realizing it may be too dark to be seen and quietly said her “no” out loud.
“You got a point there.” Reggie said, his outline barely more than a silhouette as he returned to where Julie and Kayla were, sitting on Julie’s other side. She pulled her arms in tighter trying to shrink into herself when his wet flannel brushed against her. It was a bit of a surprise he was still bothering to wear it.
“Anyway,” he continued on, leaning further into her space. “All I could find was this blanket, one the one bed this place seems to have. So unless either of you wanted to use the bed–”
Julie wrinkled her nose at that idea, given the state of the couch who knew what that mattress was like.
“Ew. God no.” Kayla echoed, and Julie’s chest twisted uncomfortably despite how she knew Kayla was also only referencing the mattress.
“Yeah, I figured you’d say that.” Reggie laughed again, weaker and more stuttering than before.
“He should probably get out of those wet clothes” Someone said, and Julie froze as the other two fell silent and she realized that someone was her.
Reggie bumped her with his shoulder. “Is that a come on?”
“N-no.” Julie stammered out, teeth chattering from a mixture of her growing mortification and the cold, her blush doing little to warm her up. “You’re drenched, and clearly freezing. I-I’m j-just saying, you’ll g-get sick if you do-on’t get warm and dry.”
“You’re not much b-better yourself.” Kayla replied, a distinct lack of venom or malice.
“Sounds like we’re all in a bad shape.” Reggie stuttered out again before mournfully adding, “Too bad I didn’t find any firewood.”
“Well maybe we should just get out of these wet clothes then.”
“What?” Julie and Reggie both snapped at Kayla’s suggestion.
“Think about it. We’re all soaked and freezing. We have one, questionably decent, dry blanket. Plus the body heat would probably help too. Besides, if we stay in our underwear it’s basically like we’re just in swimwear.”
While Kayla’s argument added a layer of mortification Julie hadn’t felt regarding swimwear in a long while, she couldn’t deny the logic behind it all. Neither could Reggie.
None of it alleviated the awkwardness of stripping in front of each other. The three of them turned their back to each other as they did. Silently sitting back on the couch in their earlier arrangement and Julie tried to not think too hard about the state of the couch or blanket. Nor about how smooth Kayla’s legs against hers were, or about how surprisingly toned Reggie felt against her other side. Her mind instead decided to wonder what the other two were thinking about her. Not that it mattered much, right?
Reggie quickly broke through the growing silence. “Feels like we should have had dinner, or played like strip poker first or something.”
“What?” Kayla laughed incredulously, Julie’s own confused chuckle mixing in.
The three of them soon found themselves falling into teasing conversation similar to the one from their earlier hike. Only now Julie felt less like an awkward third wheel and more like she had a surer place between the two of them. Though it probably helped she literally was between the two of them.
And much like before it wasn’t long before Julie found herself on the receiving end of questions she was unprepared for.
“So, Julie, you never did answer my question before.” Reggie said, though now Julie could tell it was genuine curiosity that drove his inquiry.
Julie took a deep steadying breath, bracing herself. Not so much to answer Reggie, by this point she was almost numb to the words she needed to say, a mechanical practiced speech. Rather she braced for whatever pitying response she might get in return, the unpredictability of which she could never truly prepare for.
Before she could say anything though, Kayla’s long nails brushed Julie's hair aside as she leaned closer, warm breath ghosting across the shell of her ear. “Hey, you don’t have to answer if you aren’t ready. I’m sure he would understand, or I could distract him. If you want.”
Julie grabbed ahold of Kayla’s hand, giving it a small squeeze. Hoping it came across as the thanks it was intended to be.
“You actually haven’t missed any of my performances.” Julie quietly said.
“Oh.” Reggie’s hushed tone matched hers. “But I thought–”
“You’re not wrong.” Julie cut him off not wanting the reminder and Kayla squeezed Julie's hand again. Maybe, maybe Kayla was right about this too. At least Julie hoped she was, because Julie definitely wasn’t ready to tackle this. Not tonight anyway.
“However.” She said, trying to infuse as much flirting teasing as he and Kayla had been using all night. Even if she could tell she was doing an extremely poor job of it, her voice cracking despite her efforts. “That’s a part of my back story you have yet to unlock.”
Reggie did her the service of laughing at her poor attempt at a joke and allowing the conversation to move to new topics. She did him the service of pretending his ‘oh so random excuse’ for a hug not even a minute later was just that, ‘a random hug.’ One that Kayla also happened to get involved in.
The next morning Julie was almost certain the whole evening had been a bizarre fever dream until she realized she’d fallen asleep sitting up. Slowly she blinked her eyes open to find herself leaning against Reggie’s pale freckled shoulder, a heavy weight leaning against her own head and against her other side. Julie shifted, trying to not wake the other two but not sure hoe to remove herself from between them.
“Morning.” Kayla whispered, her voice slightly raspy, and making no move to get off of Julie. “We must have accidentally drifted off.”
Julie nearly squeaked in surprise to hear her voice, and definitely did when Reggie chuckled and whispered back. “Weirdly, the best sleep I've ever had."
“Same.” Kayla giggled, both of the laughing vibrating against Julie’s chest. And though she couldn’t quite bring herself to say it with her voice caught behind her smile, Julie felt the same way too.
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