#not really actively trying to be rulebreakers or whatever (some of them for sure) just like.... doing whatever they want

[br1ghtestlight]

writing a general outline of all my characters and their personality/character journeys lately and im beginning to realize that the phrase "disregards rules" comes up more often than i anticipated LMAO

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

thank you for agreeing to an exchange! 🗣️💕

fandoms: obey me! ; genshin

name: raven / pronouns: any / sexuality: ??? (no preference for OM!, but male preference for genshin)

personality traits: introverted (distant, little interest in getting close to many people), extremely independent (often refuses to rely on others), confident (arrogant), straightforward (blunt, sometimes tactless), decisive, even-tempered, good sense of humor, playful, teasing, mischievous, realist that leans optimistic, curious (nosey), a bit of a troublemaker/rulebreaker, does not shy away from conflict

hobbies: video games, watching anime, drawing (digital), painting (watercolor, acrylic), baking (but NOT cooking), reading, cosplay, thrill-seeking activities

likes: cats, sweets, good food, cool weather, aromatic candles, lattes, traveling, piercings, tattoos, puns (!), learning foreign languages, cleaning, new experiences, trying new foods, trying new skills, people with a good sense of humor (quite subjective), people who are flexible and open-minded

dislikes: dogs, spiders, bitter foods, hot weather, strong scents, pessimism, rigidity (in personality or environment), feeling restricted, possessiveness, conformity, having to be responsible for other people (i.e. people being dependent on me), boredom, when people don't stand up for themselves (i tend to look down on/clash with people who are overly insecure).

types / categories: intj-a ; 7w8 (yes i know type 7 is super uncommon for intj) ; love languages: physical touch, quality time ; zodiac: virgo sun, sagittarius moon, scorpio rising

misc.: clumsy ; accidentally misuses slang or phrases bc i can never remember how they go (e.g. "let's bust this popsicle stand" instead of "blow this popsicle stand") ; able to pick up new skills relatively quickly ; studied french, korean, and latin in university (as well as psychology and medieval history - i could not pick just 1 area) ; prone to being a bit directionless in life ; prone to bad luck but tries to find the humor in most situations ; tends to be pretty quick/harsh when deciding to cut people out of my life ; life approach: to live a life of varied experiences, to not take life too seriously

appearance / aesthetic: 5'1 / 155cm, round cheeks w/ a dimple on right cheek, button nose, green eyes, wavy ash brown hair (often switch between growing it out really long or cutting it super short, dyeing it; i like to change it up. hair is currently bleached and toned white). no tattoos (i want some!), several piercings (5 in one ear, 4 + an industrial in the other, navel piercing), clothing-wise my style tends to be hipster or comfy/casual goth? idk i love flannels and fishnets and combat boots. my overall color scheme is black/sage green/gray.

Hi Raven! Thanks for the request! Of course, I love doing matchup exchanges! I hope you like your matchups!

In Obey Me, I match you with...

Barbatos enjoys baking with you. He's canonically the best person at both baking and cooking in the game so no matter how good or bad you are, whatever you tow make together will always taste amazing. Luke's so jealous of both you and Barbatos.

This guy will do his very best to make sure you never feel like you have to be responsible for him. He's a butler, if anything he feels like he should be the one looking after you!

Barbatos is also the best person to talk to about all of your language and history interests. He's been around for so long and seen so much that any questions you have are easy for him to answer.

Loves your misused phrases. If it was anyone else, he'd correct them but he never wants to make you feel bad about your slip ups. He finds them endearing.

Barbatos is pretty busy most of the time taking care of Diavolo and the castle but when he does have free time, he wants to spend it with you.

Whether you're baking, learning a new language, or trying out a new skill, he just wants to be able to spend time with you.

In Genshin Impact, I match you with...

Your good sense of humour balances out Cyno's...unique sense of humour.

Cyno's another one who won't make you feel like you have to be responsible for him. He's gotten used to taking care of himself as General Mahamatra. He'll actually have to get used to letting someone else go small things for him.

He'd love your baking! Cyno doesn't really take much notice of what he's eating but if you've made it, he'll savour his food a bit more. He doesn't want your hard work gone too quickly and without proper acknowledgment.

Usually busy with his Mahamatra duties but all of his free time is spent with you. He doesn't mind what you do, as long as you're together.

He would like to go for walks with you finding stray cats and saying hello to them.

I see Cyno as someone who also knows a few languages (if only so he can make jokes in those languages as well). He'd love to sit down with you and spend an afternoon going over all the languages you know, comparing your knowledge of the languages you both know and helping the other learn a bit of the languages the other doesn't know.

A big fan of quality time. He enjoys the comfort your presence provides him with.

[leo-interactive-fiction]

Leo do you have any voice headcanons for the ros? If not could you describe what their voices sound like??

Oh, I’m pretty bad with things like attaching voice claims to the characters haha. However, I do spend a lot of time trying to make sure that each character has a very distinct voice about them that people can identify even if I don’t point out who’s speaking in the book

E has a very cheery and informality about them. Compared to most, their voice is probably more artificially higher-pitched due to them talking with an optimistic passion. They have a lot more excitement in their voice, so they use a lot of short exclamations. They also talk with a more friendly tone, so their speech pattern is a lot more casual and doesn’t use a whole lot of big words

R’s got an almost ever-present smirk attached to their voice. There’s a constant quipping attached to their speech, paired with a smooth melodic voice like they absolutely know their voice is very nice to listen to and aren’t afraid to show it off. Though they’re very confident with it though, the sentences they say have a very intentional misdirection about them. They answer questions with questions, transition topics away from themselves and things they don’t want to discuss, and direct the path of conversations when in a group discussion. You can say their overall voice is like an amused evil puppetmaster, though I should probably clarify they’re not actually an evil puppetmaster haha

L has a very stiff formality and uses a lot of large words. Due to their lack of socialization, they default to a very proper speech pattern as though reading a mental prompt. I wouldn’t say their voice is quiet, but it is incredibly soft and seems to taper off or end in a question when discussing things they aren’t comfortable or familiar with. When intellectually curious, their speech seems to wander through the subject and bring up several questions and topics at once. Their voice at many points sounds as though they’re thinking out loud, which they consider a bad habit that they attempt to curb.

V’s got a very quiet and monotonous tone. It’s very stiff and uses many terms they’ve come to be familiar with in their time with Jagd. This being the case, they actually have a pretty good grasp of vocabulary and understanding verbal commands despite not knowing how to read themselves, though it’s still a few steps behind some of the more intelligent characters in the group. Their speech is typically very short and brief. They also do not talk as much as others, and in scenes where the group talks, it’s not uncommon that V only has one or two brief lines, and generally only talks in those cases when someone directly brings them into the conversation.

P probably has the deepest voice of the ROs, given that everyone was the same gender. They’ve got a constant enmity attached to their voice, so everything they say generally has a harsh bite in it when talking normally. Being the most temperamental of the group, they’re seen angered more often than others, which generally makes them sound like a hard drill instructor snapping at you while weaving insults. It probably doesn’t need to be said, but they’ve got something of a cussing problem, which they use habitually in many sentences. They’re also very informal and blunt with the words they use, and in many conversations, they’re the ones to cut out the extraneous topics to get straight to the point, often shutting up the more talkative members.

M’s speech is very easy to identify in the book due to their constant elongated talking pattern. They speak very softly, almost sing-song-like, and with a constant drowse that slows the pronunciation of their words. Despite that, many of the sentences directed at you are usually said with a subtle underlying slyness. They’re also one that doesn’t talk as much in group settings, though they usually allow themselves into the conversation when they do. Unlike V, who is more of a ‘speak only when spoken to’ in groups, M functions more as a ‘speak only when it matters’. Their sentences also have a small amusement attached to them in many cases, like they’re telling a small inside joke only they know.

Raven’s speech could only really be described as erratic. Due to having some extreme fluctuations in their emotional state -- at moments only needing a couple statements to switch them from overtly ecstatic and happy to a dismally sobbing wreak and then back to happy -- it’s hard to say there’s any real normalcy or pattern in the way they talk. The only real static condition in all of it is that Raven always takes their current emotional state to an extreme, and it is brought out through their voice. They are never simply happy or sad or angry or interested. Either overly excited or in a pit of despair or homicidally provoked or obsessive. In any case, in whatever they do, they act with extreme passion. in this way, they tend to use a lot of shorter exclamations instead of longer sentences. In groups, they tend to be more interested in seeing where the conversation leads instead of actively participating in it, adding small nudging statements every so often.

S is one of the other characters whose speech is much easier to identify than others. You can usually point them out in a crowd of dialogue due to their very informal style of speech and copious shortenings of words, like using ‘ya’ instead of ‘you’ and ‘tryin’’ instead of ‘trying’. They’ve got a very distinct voice, and I’d probably describe their accent as a slight southern twang. They’re one of the other characters that can swear a lot, though it tends to only come out when they’re angry or working and, unlike P, S’s temper is pretty well kept. Typically, they talk with a very upbeat and energetic tone, along with a constant troublemaking smirk. They’re a grade-a rulebreaker, and they very easily sound like it haha

F, like L, has a very formal pattern in how they talk. I’ve gotten some asks that consider F to have something of a French or British accent, though I don’t know that I’ve ever attributed an accent with them. At most, their accent is ‘elegantly condescending’ haha. With something like that, naturally, their sentences are constructed deliberately to patronize the subject and elevate themselves, often calling down very long-winded and complexly constructed insults using metaphors and drawing harsh parallels. Many of their sentences are much longer compared to other characters, while still saying just about the same thing that V could say in five or fewer words. That said, though they’re very insulting they tend to contribute a lot of elevated thought in group discussions, and like P tend to keep the conversation on track when someone else diverges too far from the main topic.

I hope that somewhat answers your question! haha

[lost-tanuki-tales]

Prompt fill - TDF

Prompt: First Encounter. Word count: 6.2k.

"In case you haven't noticed, Doc, I was a direct participant in creating and calibrating my body."

Doctor Whittler chuckled to herself. "Yes, I did notice, especially the times when you went and undid my modifications without my say-so or consent because you thought yours were better."

"They totally were," said Leo. "Look, I don't need a techie, I can handle myself just fine. I've been doing most repairs by myself."

"Exactly, most," said the doctor as she pulled open the door to the building to let Leo walk through. "There are some you can't do alone and it would be especially dangerous to leave you by yourself while you're stranded in space. Why are you so against the idea of having a person to help you?"

"Techies are really pushy. This one time I asked for cool knee guards, right, and I told them I didn't like the square shapes. They pulled a face like I was spitting in their soup. They insisted the ugly, chunky ones were optimal."

"You tried to force them to change everything after they were done with their work, of course they'd be annoyed," Doctor Whittler reminded her.

"Well they should've listened to my first request! I'm the one who's gotta live with those knee guards," grumbled Leo.

"Whatever the case, you don't have a choice in the matter. You've pushed back getting your assigned technician long enough, everyone else has one."

"Yeah, I know."

"I'm sure you'll make friends with them. You're going to spend some time up in space alone after all."

"Tell me about it." Leo stepped forward, holding the door open for the doctor this time. "It's cool to be a part of this but I also would rather stay on Earth."

"That's completely understandable. How's Jay doing, by the way?"

Leo made a face. "Sad that I'm leaving. I am too, obviously, but I try to be cheerful when we're together. It would be the worst if we both moped around until it was time for me to go."

Leonida had been mandated to investigate the disappearance of the network signal on the Kautauri belt, one of Earth's smallest space colonies which was co-owned with the Ophena planet's government. It had gone completely silent just under a week ago. Signals were ingoing but never outgoing, and when Earth had contacted Ophena about this matter it had turned out that they had the exact same problem. It had been decided that the infamous Captain Leonida Trust would be able to handle this situation. All she had to do was go there with Ophena's ambassador, check and report what was going on, and eventually serve as Earth's representative herself in any of the decisions the government of Ophena and Kautauri would take to fix the issue. Stealth was an important part of her mission if things ended up being dangerous and Leonida had the order to turn back and call for backup in that scenario; she was basically going to scout out the situation, which was one of the reasons Earth and Ophena were only sending out one common ship. Another reason was that the Kautauri colony wasn't the most important prospect for either planets so they couldn't really be assed to send out more people unless the situation was dire enough to officially require a whole fleet for backup.

Doctor Whittler threw her a compassionate glance. "I'm sorry this had to happen right before your party."

"So am I," sighed Leo. "I was looking forward to it, too, but I guess it'll be for another time. At least it was a surprise so there's no big disappointment for Jay. Still sucks."

"Yes."

"I'll try to celebrate it just the two of us even if we'll probably not be in the best of moods. I'm probably gonna cry at one point. Jay too, I'm pretty sure. I'll send updates of my trip so we won't feel so alone once I'm away."

"How long will it be?"

"Well, obviously you know what they calculated, a few months at best and a lot of them at worst. Honestly, I think I could get us to the colony fast enough. It's how long I'll have to stay there that's vague since I might have to stay and fix things for a while."

"I hope not, for your sake."

"Yep. But hey, at least I get to meet people from another planet. Apparently Ophena's ambassador is a giant frog, how cool is that?"

Doctor Whittler smiled. She always smiled when Leo got excited. "Pretty cool, I'd say."

"Right?"

Doctor Whittler walked up to a pair of heavyset doors and paused before pushing them open. "All right, we're here. Ready? This is an important choice so we have to be serious about it."

Leonida drew her shoulders back in a picture of professional authority and grinned at her. "When am I ever not?"

They walked in the room and were greeted by two officials, a short stocky brown-haired woman with impassive gray eyes and a tall blonde man who warmly smiled at them and shook their hands.

"Captain Trust, Doctor Whittler. I am Staff Sergeant Graham and this is Corporal Lloyd." The woman at his side nodded a salute, and he continued speaking. "We were informed that you were coming so you'd be assigned a private technician, and we've selected the eight best elements from our Advanced Engineering and Technology Program so you could make your choice. Corporal Lloyd will assist you, as she talks to these men on a daily basis, while I will oversee the exchange."

"Sounds good to me, Sergeant," said Leo.

"Please lead the way," Doctor Whittler said.

They followed the pair deeper inside the building and were lead to yet another room where Leo counted about twenty soldiers at one glance. A few of them lifted their gaze up from the small mechanical contraptions they'd been working on to curiously eye the four of them until Corporal Lloyd curtly said: "Back to work."

They quickly complied and Sergeant Graham said: "Privates Colm Price, Arkady Dragunin, Eathen O'Doherty, Bret Hardin, River Weston, Samuel Delacruz, Keelan Simon, Rohaan Mays, stop what you're doing and listen up."

The men all looked up- almost all of them.

"Dragunin," sharply called Coporal Lloyd.

One of the soldiers belligerently looked up from his work as if he would've much preferred to focus on his project than to even care about any of this. He didn't look at Leo nor at Doctor Whittler. There was a sudden tension in the air between the private and his corporal and Leo sensed there was history there. Private Dragunin was possibly a conceited jerk or a fellow rulebreaker. Maybe both.

Sergeant Graham graciously ignored what was happening. "This is Captain Leonida Trust, first of the five mechanically and technologically enhanced soldiers, and Doctor Whittler, one of the head researchers in the MATES project. They're looking for a personal technician who will be assigned to Captain Trust for an indefinite period of time as well as on a reconnaissance mission in outer space. For those who might've heard of it, it's the operation meant to recover communication with the Katauri belt."

The soldiers' eyes lit up and those who hadn't been called upon still glanced at Doctor Whittler and Leonida despite their orders to focus. Either they were an unruly bunch, either both women's appearance in this place was a bigger deal than Leo had perceived it to be. These soldiers were in engineering, after all, so they were bound to be interested in technological prowess. The rebellious Dragunin also turned his gaze on them and now seemed just as fascinated as his peers.

"The eight of you will pass an interview with both of them so they can decide who they would like to choose as the captain's assigned technician."

Gazes lingered on Leonida as Sergeant Graham finished explaining what the interview would consist in, and then they stepped in the room next door to start the process. Sergeant Graham didn't say much but Corporal Lloyd gave her recommandations from the start, informing both the captain and the doctor that O'Doherty and Mays had always presented remarkable success rates and intelligence far superior to the rest of the class. Leonida only paid attention to the first and fourth interviews. Colm Price seemed like a calm and level-headed man whose specialty lied more on the medical side of engineering and he reminded her a bit of Cantrell, which was what caught her attention. She was in a rather pensive state during O'Doherty and Simon's interviews, and then Dragunin walked in. Now that he was standing so close, she could tell that he was a bit younger than the guys before him. Mid twenties, maybe? He had short brown hair but everything else about him was pale, which was why she was quick to notice the thin smattering of dark freckles across the bridge of his nose. The soldier was lean and tense, brows slightly furrowed. Probably out of stress, thought Leo. They'd all seemed a bit nervous and impressed by her presence- the appearance of one of the MATES experiments on this day in their lives probably really was something huge for them. Doctor Whittler kept saying Leonida didn't really give herself enough credit for what she was.

Dragunin wasn't nearly as talkative as the O'Doherty genius, and he never smiled which was completely contrary to Simon's easy charm. He didn't just look tense, he looked wary, and his eyes weren't always trained on Leonida and Doctor Whittler like the others' had been. He was watchful of all the reactions in the room and that included Corporal Lloyd's and Sergeant Graham's.

Dragunin's specialty was building weapons. He wasn't very expansive on his knowledge and abilities during the interview and Leo felt like he wasn't actively trying to show off his skills, even though it was obvious he was interested in her and Doctor Whittler. A reserved rulebreaker, then? Curious.

Leo leaned forward and said: "How confident are you in your skills of technician? Would you be able to pull it off if you had to modify some aspects of our ship without guidance?"

"I'm positive I could, as long as I was allowed to study all of its blueprints," he answered with no hesitation. Arkady Dragunin had an accent which Leo couldn't place because it was so faint.

"Would you feel the same confidence in repairing me if the need arose?"

"Yes, with the same condition as for the ship. I can adapt to new technology and build whatever you need me to as long as I've aquired the basics."

Leonida looked down at the details of Dragunin's file. His scores corroborated with his self-proclaimed versatility, though he did have several weak points like in the medical and linguistic domains. She found it very interesting that Dragunin's best talents resided in combat engineering, notably explosives and fortifications, as well as in armament engineering. This mission wasn't supposed to require firepower but Leo rather enjoyed the prospect of talking with someone who shared her interests.

She looked back up and said: "If you did end up coming with me, we'd be stuck in space for a while. It might be a lot longer than just a few months. Do you still want to play a role in this mission knowing this?"

Dragunin's gaze flickered to the left, in the direction of the Corporal and the Sergeant, and his jaw was set when he answered without looking at her: "Definitely."

"Private Dragunin," said Leonida, authority slipping into her voice just as years of experience as a higher-ranking individual had taught her to speak. "The one deciding your future right now is me, not your Staff Sergeant nor your Corporal. Look at me when you answer."

Dragunin's clear gaze sharply returned to her and he curtly nodded. "Apologies, Captain. Yes, I want to be a part of this regardless of how long the mission will last."

"Okay," said Leo. "That's all for me. Doc?"

Doctor Whittler gazed at her and then at the soldier. "That's all for me as well."

"Dismissed," dryly said Corporal Lloyd. "Get back to work."

Dragunin glared at her, clearly rankled by her tone, and he saluted both of the women in front of him before leaving. Reserved maybe, but Dragunin wasn't shy, not with the way he openly glared at his Corporal. Leonida was really curious now about the situation between the two. She was distracted after that, focusing on Corporal Lloyd more than she did on the other soldiers. The woman wasn't expressive at all so it was difficult to know what she was thinking. One thing was for sure, however, and it was that her tone of voice was not once as severe with the rest of the soldiers as it had been with Arkady Dragunin.

The door closed on River Weston, the last soldier to be interviewed, and Leo leaned back in her chair to say: "So, Doc?"

"I'm having a hard time deciding between Rohan Mays and Keelan Simon. What about you?"

"Dragunin," said Leonida with no hesitation. Corporal Lloyd blinked, expressionless as ever, and Sergeant Graham looked a bit surprised.

Doctor Whittler frowned at her. "He barely talked compared to the others."

"Don't you think his name is cool? Dragunin. It has a nice ring to it. You think it means dragon in some other language?"

"Really? Leonida, this isn't just a matter of cool names!" exclaimed the exasperated doctor.

"If I may," intervened Corporal Lloyd, "Arkady Dragunin's teamwork is lacking and as I've stated before, there are brighter recruits among those we've presented to you."

Leonida leveled a keen gaze at her. "He's part of your eight best elements."

"High scores resulting from a good understanding of engineering do not always equate sufficient wits out on the field," steadily replied the corporal.

It sounded like a load of bullshit and Leonida crossed her arms over her chest, deciding she really didn't like Corporal Lloyd very much. "What's the purpose of allowing him to be part of this process then, Corporal, if you didn't want him to be chosen as my technician?"

The woman's brow creased ever so slightly. She definitely seemed like the type to hate getting challenged regardless of hierarchy.

"You already made your recommendations earlier, Corporal Lloyd," intervened Sergeant Graham. "It's up to Captain Trust and Doctor Whittler to make their choice now."

Corporal Lloyd nodded shortly and fell silent. She could have been pointing out Arkady Dragunin's weak spots because she genuinely wanted Leonida to choose a more talented individual to accompany her on her trip to outer space, but the way she'd singled out the soldier felt more gratuitously demeaning than concerned.

Doctor Whittler looked at the three of them and said: "Corporal Lloyd knows these people best, Leonida. Don't you think we should trust her judgment?"

"I also like to think I can trust my own judgment, Doc. If he's in this program and among those with the best scores, then he's more than qualified for this operation, isn't he? You're asking me to choose the best of the best but I don't need the best of the best. I just need someone who knows what they're doing and I want someone who won't bore me when it's just the two of us stuck in a ship thousands of miles away from Earth. Private Dragunin seems to fit the bill."

"You always did have a soft spot for weapon building so I'm not surprised you'd want to get to know someone whose specialty is exactly that," reluctantly said Doctor Whittler. Then she let out a soft sigh. "Well, you're the one this choice is up to, ultimately. I told you what I thought."

"Yes, and thanks, but I'm not changing my mind." Leo looked at the Sergeant and Corporal. "I've made my choice. It'll be Dragunin."

They headed back outside in the room of soldiers. Corporal Lloyd stood next to her sergeant and with her legs firmly planted apart in front of them all, she declared: "Captain Trust has decided that Private Arkady Dragunin would be her assigned technician. Follow them, Private."

Heads turned in the stunned soldier's direction and Leonida felt a chill in the room. She'd expected jealousy to some degree because of how eager they'd all seemed to meet her, but she'd also expected some sort of celebratory atmosphere. During her time as a Private, her fellow crewmates had been happy for her when she'd gotten promoted. This was different. The air was oddly tense and the faces surrounding Dragunin were dark.

Looks like I might've picked the problem child, she thought to herself.

And then, just like that, smiles appeared all around and some words of congratulations were said to Dragunin as he started making his way to the front of the room. Someone even patted him on the back and Leonida caught the way he tensed up. Yep, probably the systematic bullied recruit. Leo didn't like that this was a thing in the army but she'd been unable to stop it in her division back in the day and she'd long since given up on trying to make herself heard on the subject. Even if she was pulling this one out of the fire, another one would take his place. It was disheartening and Leo didn't linger on disheartening thoughts, so instead she smiled brightly at Dragunin and clapped him on the shoulder. He was shorter than her and the height difference made the gesture easy.

"Congrats, Private. We're going space-travelling together."

His eyes briefly flickered down to her hand first, and then he looked at her face and very seriously said: "Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

She stuck out her hand. "Might as well introduce ourselves correctly. The name's Leonida Trust."

His was a bit smaller but his grip was very firm. "Arkady Dragunin."

In an entirely meddlesome afterthought, she added: "It's nice to meet you. Or as they say in Italy, piacere di conoscerti." She let her sentence end on an inquisitive note, hoping he'd get it.

The look in his eyes lightened a bit and his lips slanted in some sort of half-smile which kinda made it look like he wasn't used to doing that all that much. "Priyátno poznakómit'sya, Captain Trust."

Great, so he could read between the lines. Leonida squinted a bit. "Is that Russian?"

"It is."

"Still got it," she beamed. "By the way, since we're going to be hanging out 24/7, you can drop the Captain Trust and call me Leonida."

"That'll take some getting used to, sir," he told her. He sounded somewhat cautious.

She laughed to put him at ease. "Sure thing, Arkady."

"Leonida!" Doctor Whittler called out as she motioned for them to come closer, which distracted Leo long enough that she didn't notice the way the soldier's shoulders had stiffened.

She turned back to him and gestured towards the doctor. "Come on, we're going to tell the higher-ups about your new position before we get to the interesting part."

Arkady didn't say anything when he followed her.

 Leo had wanted to promptly expedite the meeting with her superior but Major Arthur Cantrell had apparently decided to spell out the expansive list of their duties on this mission to both her and Arkady. The major didn't hate Leonida for allowing his nephew to die out on the field but he'd definitely stopped appreciating her existence since then. Leo, for her part, didn't like getting reminded of Miles, but that was something she had little chance of avoiding since she often had to refer to Major Cantrell whenever she was done with one of her missions. He was also implicated in the MATES project and had a hand in overlooking its five elements. None of the other MATES were as highly ranked as Leonida so she was unfortunately the one who met up with the major most frequently.

Doctor Whittler was there too. She could've gone back to the lab but had insisted on assisting to yet another debrief about the Katauri belt communication operation with Leonida. They sat around the table in the clean, wide room as Major Cantrell explained all over again what the operation would consist in. Granted, there were some added details about the giant frog ambassador's species, but Leo was bored and she figured that if she needed to know more about it she'd just ask it directly. She was pretty sure human knowledge of opiels wasn't as trustworthy as opiels' own knowledge about themselves. Leo took advantage of the debrief to cast side glances in Arkady Dragunin's direction. He looked very focused on what Major Cantrell was saying, so that was good. Leonida knew she tended to be a bit air-headed herself at times and that a serious subordinate was a good way to balance it out. That was how she'd worked so well with Warren Mullins and David Werner back when they'd formed a small, cohesive special ops unit with Miles Cantrell. She just hoped Arkady was less of a party pooper than Warren had been, God rest his soul.

"This concludes my presentation. Do you have any questions?" asked Major Cantrell, his dry voice pulling Leonida back to the present. She just shook her head without saying anything but Arkady spoke up.

"Sir, one technician for a whole ship's maintenance seems a bit short, especially when it's meant to hold a crew of four."

Major Cantrell studied him. "You come from the Advanced Engineering and Technology Program, correct?"

"Yessir."

"I was assured that a single element from that course would be enough for this mission. Are you telling me you're feeling overwhelmed by the responsability your superiors have elected you to carry?" Major Cantrell looked at Leonida. "Or that maybe Captain Trust hasn't made the right call by choosing you?"

Arkady's blue eyes had turned wary and his gaze quickly flickered in Leonida's direction before returning to the major. "No, sir. It was just something I wanted to point out."

Major Cantrell turned his attention back to Arkady. "Your remark has been acknowledged, Private. Now is there anything about this mission you believe you might be unqualified for?"

"No, sir." Arkady's voice was steady but he sounded a bit resentful.

"Good. Then if there are no other observations, this meeting is adjourned." Major Cantrell turned off the projection and retrieved his identification badge from the computer, and before leaving he said in the exact same level tone he'd used during the presentation: "And Captain Trust? Do try keeping your subordinate alive."

Well, maybe Major Cantrell hated her a little.

 After that, Doctor Whittler lead Arkady and Leonida to one of the lab rooms so she could show him the blueprints for Leonida's body and teach him the basics of what he needed to know about it. Doctor Whittler intended to give him several lessons and chances to practice before they were due for their departure from Earth. Arkady looked kind of conflicted between looking impressed by the intricate technology of Leonida's body and keeping a neutral expression, and he even looked somewhat wary of Leonida herself. Leo didn't know what she'd done to make him uneasy in any way, but Arkady's caution was there and unmistakable. Maybe it had something to do with the way he'd been treated by his corporal. Arkady was absolutely not an asslicker, that much was clear, but he did seem to hold hierarchy pretty close to his heart.

Doctor Whittler had started by explaining what Leonida's blood was made of and how Arkady would have to ensure that it flowed seamlessly through vessels and additional circuits, but Leonida was already growing impatient.

"Doc, drop the boring science talk, I want him to see all the cool stuff I have," she interrupted.

Doctor Whittler shot her a look and then sighed. "Fine, Leonida. Go ahead and show off."

Leo grinned at Arkady. "Ready?"

Arkady uncertainly stared at her and then shuffled slightly backwards like he expected her to explode. "Ready for what, Captain?"

"For this!" exclaimed Leo, and she let all her compartments slide open at once.

Arkady's pale eyes widened when he saw the arsenal she always carried with her and let out a short: "Chert voz'mi." From the sound of his voice, it probably meant something along the lines of 'holy shit'. He passed his hair through his short brown hair in incredulous awe which he couldn't hide when he looked at the two women to ask: "And there's no risk for any of that to get set off without the captain's control?"

Leonida and Doctor Whittler glanced at each other, and the doctor said: "No. There were some hiccups in earlier stages of development but we've made sure it would never happen again."

Arkady didn't notice their silent exchange. He was leaning in closer to Leonida, fascinated, all prior caution forgotten as he read out the labels on the four canisters positioned in a square at her midsection. "Tear gas, oxygen. What are the two at the back?"

"Anesthetic and fuel."

"What kind of fuel?"

"Flamethrower fuel."

Arkady's head snapped up in disbelief. "You have a flamethrower?"

"This baby right here." Leonida waved her left arm.

"This is insane," murmured Arkady.

"Pretty damn cool if you ask me," smugly said Leonida. "I've got a built-in transmitter, LRAD, first aid supplies, ammo, you name it."

Arkady glanced downwards. "What about your lower legs?"

"They're reinforced to enhance my fighting ability. I pack quite a kick," said Leo with a wink.

Doctor Whittler let Leonida boast for ten more minutes, which was longer than she would've usually allowed and Leo suspected it was because she was just as intrigued as her to see Arkady act so openly interested about something. He'd seemed very stoic and sullen up until now. His excitement right now still looked a bit restrained but it was clearly because he couldn't help that it was showing in the first place. Leo determined that those excellent grades of his in weapon-related courses hadn't been a fluke, and that Arkady really was passionate about this kind of thing.

Then once Doctor Whittler and Arkady had gone over the basics of a MATES' maintenance, the technician had to leave to get a look into the ship he'd have to take care of for the forseeable future. Leonida had gotten her information on it already and this was a deeper analysis of the ship she didn't think she'd need to know, but she went anyway, just in case. Having a technician was probably handy and she knew to delegate duties but she liked to be able to rely on herself just as well. When Arkady noticed that she was coming with him, he threw her an odd look but didn't comment. His careful enthusiasm had faded as soon as Doctor Whittler's lesson had ended and he was back to his sour-faced, quiet, wary demeanor.

Arkady only stayed in Leonida's vicinity when they were both listening to the ship guide and as soon as he was allowed to check the ship by himself, Arkady strayed away from her. One moment he was right there looking at the fixtures between the wall panels, the next he was gone from the room. Leo tried to find him but there were many possible spots he could've retreated to and maybe he just needed some time to himself after this recent change of positions, so in the end she just left.

Only, it turned out Arkady seemed to need a lot of time to himself even in the days that followed. Leonida didn't cross paths with him as often as she'd thought she would and she was rather busy herself with planning out the route of their space trip, adjusting contingency plans, testing communication devices, talking with her superiors, and barely finding any time for evenings with a downtrodden and slightly resentful J. It wasn't easy seeing her caro so sad to see her leave, especially since Leo wanted nothing more but to stay home so they could be together all day until she had to go but couldn't allow herself to because of her obligations. When Leo's lips started wobbling and her brow creased during dinner on the third day of the week, J teared up in turn, and they ended up spending the whole evening cuddling on the couch in front of Leo's favorite movie eating their emergency supply of junk food. It wasn't sexy, but it was as much comfort as they could get in their respective states.

Leo and Arkady did both have High-G training at the same time and they did both meet up with Doctor Whittler to continue Arkady's formation and check for any last-minute necessary updates to Leonida's systems, but the technician never followed Leonida and Doctor Whittler in the more personal conversations. He remained professional when he talked and was engrossed in understanding her components the rest of the time. Leonida was starting to fear that he'd be less entertaining than she'd given him credit for when they'd be in space together, but the other part of her could tell something was up. Arkady continued side-eyeing her like he expected her to do something and Leonida still didn't know what it was exactly. She wondered if Arkady would have behaved differently with her had she not been his superior.

It was two days before the launch when Leonida went to triple-check that the ship had enough of her spare parts in her assigned containers, and she found Arkady in one of the open rooms while she was walking down the hallway. The young man was in a plain grey tank top and faded orange coveralls which were tied at his waist by the sleeves, and he was crouching close to the ground with his arms reaching out into a hole where he'd pried away a section of the wall to see the electrical wiring behind it. It didn't look like he'd heard her approaching, which wasn't that surprising considering Leonida's steps were always very quiet. The doors automatically closed behind her when she walked into the room and that was the moment Arkady realized he wasn't alone anymore. He whirled around and saw her coming closer.

"Hey, Arkady," Leo said with a smile. "What are you doing here all alone?"

He didn't smile back, of course, only vaguely gestured towards the hole. "I'm looking over the ship's electrical grid to check that the doors are all wired right."

Leonida stopped next to him. Arkady didn't budge and kept staring up at her.

She asked: "Is this what you've been doing lately? Checking on the ship by yourself?"

"Yes. I want to make sure I know it in its entirety before we leave Earth."

"About that. We're going to leave Earth in two days, don't you want to hang out with people a bit more before we're stuck in space? Whenever I ask others where you are they say they almost never see you."

"I'm fine the way I am," answered Arkady.

"Hm," thoughtfully hummed Leo. Then she asked: "Are you the kind of guy who doesn't like people?"

"...I don't dislike people."

Leo waited for him to continue, but instead Arkady just kept tinkering with the grid. She would've thought that maybe this was a sore subject if not for the fact that every subject she tried to broach seemed sore with the way Arkady reacted to her questions. She ventured: "Any family to see, then?"

"Not in these parts."

"Oh, okay. That's unfortunate."

Another silence. Leo wondered, again, why Arkady always behaved so aloof despite saying that he wanted to come on this space trip with her. He'd looked determined to be a part of this operation during his interview. As she watched his back, she found it looked more lonely than hostile. Maybe he was stressed by the prospect of leaving Earth and this was how he reacted when faced with stress, distancing himself from everything that reminded him that he was, in fact, leaving Earth for months without knowing exactly when he'd return. Maybe he wasn't as unfazed as he seemed to be. Had he even taken the time to enjoy the stuff on Earth that he'd surely miss out there, once they were far from home? Maybe he didn't know how. After all, he'd recently been pulled out of that engineering division and had been mostly left to his own devices since then, and Leo knew for a fact it felt weird to suddenly not have any more orders to follow at every hour of the day. Leo decided she might as well try to convince him to go out to that bar she and the others had planned on visiting, see if she could get him to loosen up a little for once in his life.

"Hey, Arkady? The guys wanted to go out tonight. Do you think you'd be interested?"

There was a very short sigh which Leo probably wouldn't have heard had she been a regular human, and then Arkady pulled away from the hole in the wall, leaned back on his heels and shot her a heavy look. "Captain Trust, I need to focus on my work. I know you probably think that I could be doing better things than spending all my time here but I don't want to take any chances with this ship, especially since I'll be the only one fixing it."

Unfortunately for grumpypants there, Leonida wasn't one to give up so easily. "Come on, Arkady. I'm not the only one who'd like to get to know you better." She crouched next to him and settled a hand on his shoulder with a teasing grin on her lips. "Are we not good enough for your company?"

Her hand could have burnt Arkady through his clothes and his reaction would've been just as instant. His eyes widened at first and then he shot up and away from her, words spilling out of his contorted lips like a snarl. "Don't get too familiar with me, Captain."

Leonida lifted both hands in the air, surprised by his sudden aggressiveness. "Woah, calm down! What's the matter?"

Arkady glared at her like he was trying to see through her. "Why do you want me to hang out with you people?"

"Hey, it was just a suggestion. I thought we could try and be friends, you know? No need to get so angry over it. "

"Don't get the wrong idea. We're nothing else than subordinate and superior," curtly said Arkady.

Leo frowned. "Seriously?"

"Yes, Captain Trust. Seriously. If there was nothing else you wanted from me then let me continue my work."

Captain Trust. Arkady had told her it would be difficult for him to get used to calling her by her first name, and in fact, he'd never once done it since she'd told him to. She stared at him some more and then moved to get up. Leonida noticed the way Arkady stepped back when she did this so she slowed down her movements, puzzled by the man's distrustful attitude. "Well... Okay then. Jeez, I don't know what's wrong with you but there are nicer ways to say you want to be left alone."

A muscle in Arkady's clenched jaw jumped and he retorted: "People like you don't seem to understand nicer refusals."

"People like me?" echoed Leonida, feeling somewhat offended but mostly very confused. Her technician's behavior had just undergone a whiplash change from kind of cold to straight-up rude and she had no idea what had set this off. She hadn't been even been mean to him.

"Nevermind." Arkady's voice was bitter. "Are you going to leave?"

Leonida put a hand on her plating-clad hip. "You do realize we're going to be hanging in this place together all the time for a long while, right? Whatever's got you acting like this, you need to get your shit together. I'm not going to tolerate this kind of behavior."

"Don't ask me to be anything else but your subordinate and we'll be perfectly fine."

Annoyed, Leonida said: "You're really uptight, you know that?"

"I've been told that before, yeah," he challengingly replied.

They glared at each other.

"Fine," moodily relented Leo. "We'll maintain a boring professional relationship and nothing more. I really thought you'd be more interesting than this, Arkady."

"I also have a rank and a surname, Captain Trust." Arkady pointed at his insignia. "Private Dragunin."

She snorted in disbelief. "Oh, come on. You can't be serious. Are you really that stuck-up?"

"I'm completely serious," he gravely answered.

Leonida abruptly decided she'd had enough of this conversation. "You know what, I'm just going to let you cool down and work until you get over your stupid mood swing. I like to think I don't get pissed off easily but if you disrespect me like this again I'll have you doing pumps until you cough up blood, you hear me?"

Arkady's blue eyes were expressionless now. "Loud and clear, Captain Trust."

Leo sighed and let her hand drop from her hip as she turned away from him. She walked across the room and through the automatic doors, then suddenly spun around in the middle of the entrance to tell him: "Whatever your issue is with me, Dragunin, you better tell me what it is before this goes too far. And I'm not gonna be calling you Private when it's just the two of us, that's stupid."

Then she walked away and the doors slid shut behind her.