#that will absolutely be the tag I’m using to differentiate when I branch out)
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thecoolerkent · 3 months ago
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I’d be offended if it was casual
It is illegal to be normal about us
((ignore that im not anon))
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knee deep in the passenger seat and you’re cloning me is it casual now
the answer is no
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borealis-strange · 3 years ago
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Chapter 9 “Tree city”
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Summary. There’s no summary
Notes. This was supposed to come out last week but I was too lazy to translate it xd
Tag-list: Tag-list:  @freesiafields @bambirexwrites @whitequeen-ofwillowgreen @vaeya @sirenlovesqueen @moreofthatqueen @eileen-crys​
If someone wants to be added or removed from the tag-list, just tell me :}
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We headed to Tree City the next morning.
We left early that day, Franco did not want to spend another second in The Coast of Silence.
By a pure miracle, we got a cart that would like to take us. It was a farmer carrying boxes and boxes of fruit. I think he wanted to sell his merchandise in the city, I really didn't pay much attention.
The trip was… calm. The scenery was beautiful, more than I expected. As we got further into Illusia, it was possible to notice how the vegetation changed. There were increasingly in addition to that here, the trees were green . Likewise, I could notice how there was also more vegetation of luminous mushrooms here. Unfortunately, they were not appreciated much in the daylight.
For that part, I got to enjoy the trip, it kept me distracted from my thoughts for a while.
Regarding Franco... I couldn't say if things were good or bad. Neither of us spoke during the entire trip, although I did notice how Franco occasionally looked at me out of the corner of his eye . It seemed that he wanted to say something to me but the words would not come out. On the other hand, Franco seemed calmer after what he had confessed to me the night before. Although he still had a trace of sadness and nervousness on his face.
Even though I still had a million doubts about his story, I preferred to leave them out. I didn't want to keep tormenting him with past memories. Besides, I wasn't sure that Franco could tell me his reasons. As much as I wanted to continue with my "investigation", I preferred to abstain, the best thing would be to rest this day before returning to my uncle.
I don't know how long it was when Franco decided to speak. Although it was something that caught me totally off guard.
— Do you know why Tree City is my favorite one? — Franco asked.
— Because ... You do your service here? — I said with doubt. Where did he want to go with all this?
Franco gave a little laugh.
— No, because of Cristinini — I had never heard that name — I met her in this city when I was 18 years old. And we just fell in love—
I had never seen Franco as the romantic type. I couldn't help but smile a little.
—Was she ... your wife? — I asked, now I was interested in all this.
— No. We never married because… well, she was a princess and I was a simple knight. Although, a few years after we met, we had a daughter. Unfortunately, we had to keep our relationship a secret, and I couldn't see them very often. But it was the time when I was happiest — Franco spoke with a certain enthusiasm, you could tell that it was one of the few happy memories he had left.
— My daughter, she was just like Cristinin — It seemed that Franco was going to cry — The only thing was that she had my blue eyes, we decided to call her Lillian —
Just like my mother, how curious.
— And what was Cristinini like? — I asked curiously.
Franco smiled slightly.
— She was beautiful. She had… golden hair and beautiful purple eyes. And her voice was so… sweet and she always made me feel better. After so many years, I still remember the last time I saw her. I had to leave the Empire for a few months, and when we said goodbye I swore that I would see her again but that never happened—
Now Franco was really shedding tears, although they were of happiness.
— Why? — I asked in a whisper.
Franco shook his head as if he wanted to shake a bitter memory from his head.
— Simply, things did not work out between us — Franco answered sadly.
— Oh ... I'm sorry — I apologized sadly.
— Don't worry — Franco said with a small smile.
A long silence formed between us.
Why did Franco act as if nothing had happened? It was strange. I would, too, if it weren't for what happened the night before. There were too many sensitive things for Franco to act like nothing.
Truth be told, I didn't blame him at all. It was probably hard to confess all that, maybe I'm the second person he's told after thirty years. I just didn't know how to behave.
I could be like Franco and pretend that none of that happened so that things would be as before. Or I could remember it and mull it over until my mind couldn't take it anymore.
Or just do nothing. All the options sounded good in a way.
Maybe I was very hard on him. I was sure Cristinini was someone Franco wanted to tell me about for a long time but he simply preferred not to… for some reason. Although I liked to think of Franco as the romantic guy who brought him flowers or sang a song to his beloved even though he wasn't very good at it. It was a nice thought.
— You know ... we could tell all this to Cris — I said quickly to change the subject.
— Cris? — Franco asked.
Oh, true. I had never told him that I knew other kings.
— King Cristian Green — I clarified — He was always close to my uncle, and he was also like an uncle to me —
— We won't tell you anything — Franco said seriously.
— Why? He could support us in all of this. He would understand — I tried to reason — I know... my uncle Silithur scares you a bit but I assure you that Cris is not as hard as him. He is more understanding —
— No — he said coldly.
— May I tell King Shadoune? — I asked in a low voice.
— No —
— What about King Rubyk? —
— Do not tell anyone — Franco said, not angry but like ... tired — Remember what ... what I did. I doubt they are happy to see me after that, and even less asking for his help —
But a maniacal skeleton wants to attack the Empire. That would seem like reason enough to tell them. I didn't say anything else, I suppose Franco had other reasons for not seeing the kings.
Again, the journey fell into deep silence.
At some point on the trip, I fell asleep. I dreamed of the Netherite knight, although it was not a nightmare. The two of us were face to face in what appeared to be my uncle's castle. The Netherite knight said nothing, he just watched me with his white eyes. I carefully approached him but he took a couple of steps back. The knight carefully removed the helmet from him, revealing his shadowy appearance. He had no other distinctive features than his white eyes. It seemed like he was going to tell me something but just then I woke up.
It was Franco who did it.
— We have arrived — Franco announced.
I was a little mad at him for waking me up. I was curious about what the knight was going to tell me. I stretched a bit and all trace of anger vanished when I saw the big city.
The huge and magnificent Tree City. Franco woke me up just when the city could be seen from the horizon, probably so that I could appreciate it.
Even though I had already come a few times, the city never stopped impressing me. The city was... a tree but not just any tree but a tree as tall as a mountain,
As we got closer you could see the little things that were in the treetops, all the bridges, elevators, and stairs that people used to move within the city . I managed to see luminous mushrooms on the branches of the tree, which served to illuminate the paths of travelers .
We reached the base of the tree, where they had made a huge hole in the trunk for all the people who came. The place was full of wagons of all kinds, making the environment quite noisy. Our wagon stopped and Franco indicated that it was time to get off. I took things and went after him. We greatly thanked the farmer before continuing on our way.
To tell the truth, I never learned to move within the city. I didn't know too many places, other than King Cris Green's castle, which stood at the highest point in the city. And that was it, my uncle wouldn't let me explore too much. And the time I came alone, it was just passing through, I just stayed at the base before taking a wagon to Farfania.
Franco ook me by the arm so as not to lose me and led me somewhere unknown. Luckily Franco did know how to move here.
When I looked at the roof of the place, I saw how the tree trunk had several holes from which they went up and down in pulley elevators . Franco guided me to one of these elevators and we got on it with a few other people. Franco explained to me that we can also go up with the outside of the tree but that it was too many stairs and a complete disaster with the elevators .
After a few seconds going up, we reached our destination. Franco led me out of the elevator and onto the crowded street. The city of the tree had different levels, which are differentiated by huge wooden platforms that were supported by the branches of the tree. Fortunately, there was enough security to avoid accidents.
What caught my attention the most were the houses, which hung from the branches and looked more like birdhouses, in a way .
Franco took me to a hostel, where we will spend the night. We made our respective registration and left our things.
Not knowing where else to go, Franco decided it was best to find a place to eat.
We ate in absolute silence. I didn't want to talk about anything and all I wanted to do was leave now. I would have liked to explore the city a bit but didn't have the energy or humor to do it. Although who knows if Franco wanted to do the same or maybe he also wanted to rest a little, who knows.
— What are you thinking? — Franco asked after a while.
— I ... I don't know — I answered without looking up.
— You're still upset, aren't you? — Franco asked as he raised an eyebrow.
— I don't know whether to say that I'm upset, I just … I don't know. You could say that ... I don't know whether to trust you — I said carefully.
I could see a trace of pain on Franco's face as if he feared that he would say that.
— I'm sorry Franco… it's just … it was a lot for me the last two days and… with all this mess with Darkhawk I… confused. It's all — I said in an attempt to fix things.
Franco looked at me askance with some doubt and sighed heavily .
— In fact. I do not blame you. I know this whole thing is difficult. But I assure you that I have never regretted something so much in my life — Franco let out a bitter laugh — I ... I will not force you to trust me again, I just want to fix things —
I knew what he said was true, I felt it in his voice. I also knew that he never wanted Farfania's fall to happen but to tell the truth my mind just went round and round. They were conflicting feelings, a part of me said that Franco was the same as always, the same old man who cared deeply for me, the same man who spent every day in the Stone Pig tavern, the same man who until recently he did not want to leave what he called home .
However , the other part of me was screaming at me that that same kind man had done heinous things, that he had destroyed a city and killed thousands of people .
They were so different people that there was no way in my mind how they could be the same. Perhaps there was something more to all that, a version that Franco had not wanted to tell me. Or was it just my mind trying to deny the truth of the things Franco had done.
And now, he had no idea of anything. I wanted to go back to my uncle and forget all this but I knew it was not possible. I knew there was a madman out there. Who knows what his plans were. I imagined he wanted to finish what the Netherite knight started or maybe he just wanted to kill Franco. Nor was I going to risk finding out.
— Can I show you something? — Franco's question took me out of my thoughts.
— What? — I asked for.
— An impressive place — Franco answered.
I don't know why I ended up accepting. He had forgotten how difficult it was to get around in Tree City. We did a thousand and one laps all over the place, there came a point where I thought Franco was just bothering me, going around more deliberately . We went up elevators, walked over bridges, climbed stairs, and climbed branches, and yet there was more tree that we had to climb .
— How far is it? — I asked with annoyance. We had been going up and up through the branches of the city for at least half an hour.
— We're almost there — Franco replied, I could see the emotion in his voice.
I was absolutely exhausted and all I wanted to do was sleep. Why didn't I stay at the hostel? I knew perfectly well that the next day would be a long day and I still ended up accepting. This place had better be absolutely stunning to be worth it.
Franco kept climbing the stairs until he disappeared into the treetops. I was quite tempted to just sit here but with what little will I had left I continued.
I reached the top of the tree and immediately sat down on the first bench I saw. It appeared to be a small terrace made of stone. It had a few gas lamps and various colorful plants and flowers. Franco had brought me here for this!? If I had enough energy I would have yelled at him by now.
— Why are you sitting down? — Franco asked me. — Don't you want to enjoy the view? —
I sighed wearily and rolled my eyes at Franco. With what little will I had left, I got up from the bench and stood next to Franco. And to tell the truth, I'm glad I came.
The view was impressive, you could see much of the areas near the city. If you look out a little from the balcony, you can see the other floors of the city and the people who were there. The place certainly had a certain magic in the air, maybe that's why Franco loved it.
Even if you pay attention, in the distance you can see the wall that overlooked The Shelter.
— What do you think? — Franco asked.
— It's... beautiful — Was the only thing I managed to say, I just had no words for this.
Franco laughed a little.
— I know ... In fact this is my favorite place in the entire Empire —
— Because of the great view? — I asked amused.
— No. Because it was my first date with Cristinini. You would have seen us, at first it was somewhat uncomfortable. I was afraid someone would discover us but in the end, it was the most beautiful evening I have ever had. We danced and sang like there was no tomorrow and in the end, she kissed me —
Franco decided to tell me a little more about Cristinini. How he served her guardian, at first he only worked for her but the inevitable happened, he fell in love with her. He told me some of the crazy things he did to her for her, like sneaking into the castle of The Shelter just to see her, or the countless times he changed positions in the royal guard for the same thing .
It seemed strange to me that he had never mentioned her. Obviously , I didn't question it, I wasn't in the place to do that. Despite everything he told me, I knew he was not telling the whole story, or at least that was the feeling he gave me. I tried to ignore that feeling so that I could better enjoy Franco's stories. Who knows if this is the last time I'm going to hear them.
And for a couple of hours, I forgot what happened in the last few days.
After a while, we decided it was time to go down. More than anything, Franco insisted that I should sleep, I listened to him even though I would have liked to stay a little longer .
We returned the same way, going around the whole city until we finally reached the hostel.
Upon entering the room, the first thing I saw was my armor. I had completely forgotten about it. And now that I thought about it, I couldn't take it to The Shelter. I could easily hide it but it was also quite easy to see it. I didn't want to risk abandoning I forever. I took it carefully, as did my sword, and Vandal's badge. And I went to Franco's room.
I lightly knocked on the door and Franco opened the door for me a few seconds later. He looked at me strangely when he saw all the equipment that I brought.
— What do you want? — Franco asked.
— I need you to keep these things for me. I don't want my uncle to see them — I replied with a small smile.
Franco nodded doubtfully before ushering me into the room. I put things down on the bed heavily and stretched out a bit.
Franco took my sword and analyzed it for a moment.
— Are you sure you want to leave this? — Franco asked as he approached my side — Don't you need them? —
— I don't think so — I answered sadly.
— But ... What will happen if ... you don't see me again? — Franco asked doubtfully .
I would have liked to answer, that I would simply get another armor. But I knew that was not possible, I had a certain affection for that old armor.
— Maybe so I have an excuse to see you again — I replied with a smile.
Franco looked at me in surprise before giving me a little pat on the back.
— I hope that's possible — Franco said in the middle of a sigh — You better rest. Tomorrow ... will be a long day —
I nodded slightly before leaving.
Returning to the room, I remembered that I still had to write to my uncle. I'd been avoiding this moment all day, mostly because I never knew what to write to him. I thought about it a couple of times during the day but still had nothing to do with it.
With resignation, I went to my backpack and took out a small sack of ink and a piece of parchment. I put them on the desk. I walked around the room a couple of times while still thinking about what to write. I wasn't going to tell him the whole truth, as much as I would have liked to, but I didn't want to lie to him at all.
I sat down at the desk heavily and looked at the paper in front of me. I took the pen with trembling hands and dipped it lightly into the bottle of ink.
Where to start? I would have liked to start with Darkhawk and that he was trying to kill my mentor and therefore me. I omitted it at Franco's request, but that did not make things easier.
I was not yet ready to reveal to him what I had been up to for the past four years. It would be a gruesome encounter if I told him that I was training to be a knight. I had to find something else.
Maybe … tell him that I simply wanted to go home, that I was already tired of traveling all over the Empire. It sounded more reasonable and was partially true.
I took my pen and dipped it lightly into the ink before writing.
"Dear Silithur.
I know it's been a couple of months since you last heard from me. I assure you that I am fine. Franco has taken good care of me. These weeks we have been to fantastic places that you would not imagine. I went to Paladium for the first time! It is a beautiful place. We also spent the first night of the winter parties on the Coast of Silence.
I am currently in Tree City. It is such a magical place and full of so many things to see.
A part of me would like to live here.
Despite the fact that these last few years have been fantastic and I learned many things. I think it's time to go back to The Shelter. It's just that I've been away from home for a long time and I already want to see you and my cousin.
I would have loved that you met Franco, he is a great person and he always cares about my safety. Unfortunately, he will not be able to travel with me due to health problems. I hope that one day you can meet him.
I hope you can get me some money for the train back.
I'm already looking forward to going home.
With love, Regina "
I looked at the letter once it's finished. I had managed to smudge the paper a bit but it was still legible. I felt a bit strange, I had to hide something huge from my uncle, just because Franco was stubborn.
Maybe there was a way to tell him the truth, behind Franco's back. In the Shelter, I could do that, although Franco could do it too.
Someone knocked on the door lightly before entering the room. It was just Franco.
— Have you already written to your uncle? — Franco asked as he approached the desk.
— Yes… and I still haven't sent him the letter — I said nervously — I was thinking that… maybe you could come with me —
Franco glared at me and rolled his eyes at me.
— I don't think so — Franco said coldly .
— Why? If ... Darkhawk is looking for you, The Shelter would be the best place to hide. Don't you think? You ... you know why they call it The Shelter — I stammered a little hoping to convince Franco.
— I said not — Franco said sharply .
— But ... my uncle will have no problem. In fact, for a long time he wanted to meet you — I said in a low voice
— No. And that's my last answer — Franco raised his voice and left the room.
I looked at the letter disappointed. Why was he so reluctant? The Shelter was the perfect place, we could explain the situation to my uncle and he would surely help us with pleasure but no . Was it because he didn't like being underground? Did he have any bad memories there? Or was he just afraid of my uncle?
Whatever the reason for him, it was strong enough to risk being attacked by a madman.
I sighed sadly and took and closed the letter. I took the ink and wrote a symbol on the letter. It was a trick that my uncle had taught me, with that symbol I could send him any letter without having to send it by owl or something similar .
I waited a few seconds before taking the letter and heading to the campfire. I looked at it for a moment before throwing it over the fire.
The letter began to glow slightly before folding over on itself a few times before disappearing . The letter had been sent and now, I regretted not telling him about Darkhawk.
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ashintheairlikesnow · 5 years ago
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The Night Oliver Branch Died
CW: Drowning, threats with a gun, discussed/referenced noncon of a minor, discussed pet whump/dehumanization, oliver branch is gross but hey he dies in this one so, related note: character death
Tagging Chris’s crew just because I feel like you’ll all appreciate this:  @burtlederp , @finder-of-rings , @endless-whump , @whumpfigure , @stxckfxck , @slaintetowhump
READERS: Tell me if you guessed it before reading this!
TIMELINE: Takes place in the future of Chris’s timeline, when he has been free for years and has enrolled in college.
The night Oliver Branch died was absolutely ordinary.
He spent some time going over the notes for the trial, sitting in his nicely appointed but perfectly modest three-bedroom home, scanning his handwritten planned remarks for the press while he ate a light dinner of soup and salad. The cook left for the night, and Oliver was the only one in the house.
Well, or so he thought.
It used to bother him, but honestly he didn’t mind the solitude any longer. Years spent with a full staff, worries he had to constantly consider at all hours of the day and night, natural disasters and economic downturns and everything else. It was nice just to take a deep breath, smell the candle burning in the center of the table, a soft sweet magnolia smell that reminded him of his childhood home.
After the trial, perhaps he would move back home. He’d lived in this state for twenty-four years, was its governor for eight of them, but he felt… a bit tired of it all. He wanted to go back to a place where people moved more slowly, wandered the streets after church in pale linen suits in the summer with the ocean air a constant truth of everyday life.
They would know, of course, about his disgrace. But they would be polite about it, keep it to themselves. He had the sense that while the scandal would follow him, it would be easier to ignore in a place where people keep their secrets safely behind closed, locked doors.
Oliver had done the same, once upon a time, only to have the secret simply walk away when someone else opened the door. 
He sighed, sitting back, looking at his half-finished soup with a wistful sort of sadness. 
Honestly, he couldn’t complain. He was just grateful to be out of prison, living in his own house with his own cook and the cleaning woman who comes by twice per week. Almost back to normal. Once this trial was over, of course, he’d sell the house and move back home, and it would all be just fine.
He took a deep breath and picked up his notes, handwritten in a series of different ink colors to differentiate which part of the speech he was in. It helped him to memorize if he thought of the colors. The only one he didn’t like, but used, anyway, was a deep teal ink in the paragraph where he admitted to what he did to his beautiful boy.
His beautiful boy, who had ruined himself with freedom, just as Oliver had always known he would. Some people were meant to be kept, they could not be trusted to keep themselves. His Baldur had been one of those, he had known the moment he’d been shown the intake photo, of the pretty boy curled up in a corner of a plain white room, hands up over his face in some attempt to protect himself.
We believe this will suit your specifications, the email from Ms. Renfod had stated in flat, clean prose that could never have encompassed the perfect leap in Oliver’s heart at the sight, the excitement that ran through him from scalp to toes at the fear and tears in big green eyes. We have recently acquired this individual as a result of a deal involving a family member. No inconvenient missing persons report, Mr. Branch. Perfect confidentiality, no complications. We believe he will require three and one-half months of training, plus two weeks extra for final preparations. I have attached a price list for added fees.
God, what a sight, the pretty thing before they’d taken him from himself, before he’d been delivered smiling and silent and still in the dead of night to Oliver’s door.
Honestly, what a loss that he was roaming around like some wild animal now.
Some people needed a keeper, and every time he had seen his beautiful boy since his liberation it had only emphasized to Oliver how badly Baldur needed the right sort of keeper. This new one, the tall young man with his threats and curses, clearly wasn’t doing a very good job.
Well. That was fine. Not his problem any longer, and soon enough Oliver would stand up at a podium before the press, looking at all their little recorders, and he would tell everyone exactly who Christopher Stanton was and what he had been. Oliver’s disgrace would be total, but if he played this right, Baldur would never go anywhere again without no longer being able to hide behind his earrings and awful hair and the patch of scarred skin where his barcode once had been.
Baldur might have gotten away from him, all those years ago, but Oliver intended to ensure he could not get away from what he had been made to do, to be. One did not stop being a pet, once they were made into a thing to be used for pleasure, there was nothing else for them to be.
Baldur might have delusions otherwise, but Oliver could ruin those, for him, just like his boy had ruined himself.
Kicked out of his fancy little college for his fake identity, maybe even charged with it. All his new little friends would know who he was. It was the last bit of pettiness Oliver intended to allow himself to indulge in before he returned back to his hometown and let Baldur’s fragile new life come down around his ears.
Oliver smiled, trailing fingertips over the teal ink, the exact shade of Baldur’s hideous dye job. He still had a PI on retainer, taking pictures of his pretty boy out living his life. Oliver liked to keep tabs on his old flames, just to ensure they were keeping quiet, keeping to themselves, living nice respectable lives. 
Lately, with his reduced income, he’d had to cut that down to tracking Baldur alone.
Christopher Stanton. Oliver snorted. Awful name. Hardly did any justice to the perfect line of his cheekbones, the still-gentle curve of his jaw, the nicely full lips that would no doubt still part just so with a press of the right fingertips-
“Daydreamin’, are we?” A strange male voice asked, and Oliver looked up to stare down the barrel of a gun. 
His heart stopped, eyes caught by that circle of infinite black surrounded by unfeeling metal, and then he raised his eyes to see a man he had never seen before. He wasn’t very tall, draped in heavy clothing that disguised his body type, though he seemed a bit on the muscular side. Perfectly average face, difficult to describe to any law enforcement, blondish-red hair cut in a flattop, narrowed eyes, smattering of freckles. Too far to see the eye color.
Robbers, really? Tonight, of all nights?
Oliver put both palms carefully down on the table as his heart began to pound. “Can I help you?”
His voice was admirably steady, and he was more than a bit proud of himself for that. He did not visibly tremble or shake, but he was deeply, deeply aware of that gun. He could see the safety was off, the man’s finger resting lightly around the trigger.
“You can,” The man said, with a hint of amusement in the blocky lines of his face. It came out more like ye can, an accent Oliver couldn’t quite place. Irish, maybe? “Hearing some rumors, about someone planning to testify next week. I was hoping’ you’d be able to disabuse me of such a disturbin’ notion.”
Oliver blinked, caught off-guard by the man’s friendly, personable tone even as the gun never faltered but it’s position held pointed directly at him. “If you work for WRU-”
“Oh, I don’t. No, as heartbreaking as it is, lad, Rossi’s group got the WRU rejects pipeline all sewn up, don’t he? Clever fuck. And I am a good many things, but I’m not a man stupid enough to cross Giovanni Rossi. You don’t put that man in a bad mood and walk out alive, do you?” Once again, the word slipped into ye, and Oliver was sure now that the accent was Irish. Faded, with the local accent flattening the vowels and roughing up the consonants, but the Irish was there nonetheless.
It occurred to him that it didn’t really matter if he identified his accent, because he almost certainly wasn’t going to walk out of this alive if the man was so easily dropping names.
“I wouldn’t know. If you’re not with WRU, I don’t see why there’s-... there needs to be a problem,” Oliver said, without moving, barely even letting his lips form the wounds. His heart still pounded in his chest. His dreams of moving back home by the coast, to Charleston’s beauty and grandeur and age, were rapidly feeling like scraps of tissue paper dissolving in water.
“You’re not just testifyin’ about the company, now, are you?” The man sighed, pulling a chair out on the other end of the table, sitting down without lowering the gun, keeping it trained on Oliver, just shifting it slightly to aim directly into his chest.
Oliver had taken a few courses in self-defense, back in the day. Aim for the center mass, the easiest thing to hit. People in movies can nail an arm or a leg with accuracy but in real life it’s rarely so easy. Aim for something lethal.
“The trial is about the company,” Oliver said, voice shaking, his own genteel accent thickening the more the fear settled in.
“It is, at that,” The man said, nodding. “But it’s not only about that, either, is it?” He snapped the fingers on his other hand, and Oliver jumped nearly a foot in the air as he realized there were two other men standing behind him he hadn’t even noticed. They appeared on either side of him, one of them picking up the papers on the table and moving them over to the man, who gave a soft, polite thanks and looked them over.
Suddenly, Oliver’s different ink colors for different aspects of his speech seemed… superfluous. He was never going to give that speech.
“What else is it about?” Oliver asked, breathy. He was going to die, and he’d always hoped for one more chance to visit his parents’ graves. Spit on them once or twice, leave flowers, and go. He’d always hoped…
Something occurred to him.
“Is this about my Baldur?”
The man’s face twisted in an expression of utter, absolute disgust.
“Is that it? Did his new keeper send you to-”
“No. Oh no, fucknuts, no.” The man laughed, looking over the papers, flipping through them idly with one hand as his associate stepped back, one of them lurking on either side of Oliver, hands pressing steadily into his shoulders to keep him right where he was. “No, no. I’ve nothin’ to do with that young lib boy. Know of ‘im, though. We keep an eye out, on our own. It’s been a long, long time, but… I owe a debt.”
“A… A debt?” Oliver’s voice caught in his throat. 
“Indeed.” The man set the papers down, and for a moment, Oliver could have sworn there were tears in his eyes, emotions that played openly across the man’s utterly nondescript face. Grief, anger, sadness all warred there. 
The hands on his shoulders tightened. 
“Long time ago now, but I don’t forget, do I? Ah, look, here ‘tis.” The man tapped his finger in the teal paragraph so carefully written on the third page of the speech. “Here’s our lad. Tristan.”
“Tristan-... are you talking about Baldur?”
The man snarled, and Oliver flinched back against the back of his chair, waiting for the burst of sound and the bullet and his own death. Nothing came, and after a moment he opened his eyes. The man had settled his expression, but it was with effort - the anger was still clearly visible. “I’m not talkin’ about your bullshite pet name in the slightest, you sack of shit. No, I’m talkin’ about my friend’s boy Tristan.”
Oliver swallowed, and offered, “I believe… I believe he goes by Christopher now. I could give you his address-”
“We know where he lives, gobshite.”
“Then why are you here-”
“I told you, my debt. You’re an awful thick, aren’t you? We’re not the type to abduct a wean, although that never gave your like a pause, did it?” The man tapped his gun on the table, the first time it had truly lowered since Oliver had first realized he was here. Oliver let out a breath of relief.
“What is your debt, exactly?” His voice was still airy, but he tried to sound calm, in control. Never moved his hands. “I still have some funds the courts are not aware of, perhaps we could work out a deal-.. I have a safe upstairs-”
“Not that kind of debt. I had to stand by when my mucker and his wife got his face shot in by our own boss, no less, but I’m the boss, now. Took a while, took too long. I’ve had to wait and wait and wait, but me and my lads here, we’ve all owed Paul Higgs a debt since, Lord, has it been nearly a decade now? And I intend to pay it tonight.”
The man smiled, briefly, at Oliver.
“Couldn’t stop Paul’s boy from the sufferin’ already inflicted, but I can ensure you don’t say a word about him ever again, can’t I? Ah, no, we can’t have that. He’s got a good life now. Nice boy, all grown up. Hair’s a bit bollocked but who are we to judge, hm? He’s got himself a nice life goin’ and I intend to ensure he does his da proud, just like he would’ve if he weren’t forced to fuck you, you depraved bit of dogshit on my shoe. Fucking a child. A boy. What’ve you got to say for yourself?”
Oliver didn’t even bother to open his mouth. He understood that any attempt at self-defense wasn’t needed or even wanted. He understood that probably there was absolutely nothing he needed to say, ever again. He closed his eyes, lips moving in some dim form of prayer.
“Ah. A man of God, then?” Oliver looked to see the man pull a rosary from underneath his shirt. “That’s a fuckin’ laugh, considering what you’ve done. But, hey, He’s forgiven worse, I imagine. Tristan might even forgive you, too, he was always too good a boy for it all. Too bad for you that I don’t forgive shite.”
“If you’re going to shoot me,” Oliver said, barely able to get his voice above a whisper, “then do it.”
“We’re not going to shoot you, idjit.” The man rolled his eyes, giving his companions an exasperated can you believe this? look. One of the men, the one on Oliver’s right, laughed. “They’d trace it, we’d have to deal with the law, and honestly I am just not in the mood to pay any cops off this week. I’ve already paid Rossi off to keep him from gettin’ pissed at me, although he’s a man who understands the value of family, I think he’d have let us anyway. Still, never hurts to grease a palm, does it? What we’re going to do, Mr. Branch, is drown you. Your bathtub’s chock full of river water.”
“What?” Oliver swallowed, jerking forward as if to push himself up, but the hands on his shoulders pushed him back down. “H-how-... why-”
“When we dump you in the Trelawney,” The man said, calm and easy, “your lungs’ll already be chock full of its water. Nothing unusual about that, hm? Just another child molester dumped in that chemical swamp where he belongs. My mucker’s boy-... I couldn’t help him. I’ve owed Paul for that, we all have. This is my organization, now, and I will ensure Paul’s boy’s name never leaves your lips again.” The man snapped his fingers and Oliver shouted as he was dragged to his feet by the other two, kicking out, knocking his chair over with a clatter.
Just beyond the window were a hundred other houses, lights on in some, families laughing in front of their televisions. Utterly unknowing as their neighbor was dragged upstairs to his own master bathroom, to a custom-made clawfoot tub absolutely full of disgusting, muddy river water dredged up and brought here and Oliver had never even known they were in the house. 
They held his head over the water as he screamed for help.
The leader leaned back against the sink, lit a cigarette, took a long drag and let the smoke float over his face. His eyes were green, Oliver realized with a kind of hysterical panicked giggle. His eyes were green. 
Like Baldur’s.
“W-wait-, wait-... one question, just one, one question-”
The leader held up his hand. They kept Oliver’s head a few inches above the brackish water in the tub. 
“Paul Higgs-... Baldur’s-... the boy’s father.” Oliver could barely breathe, barely get out the words. He was going to die, why was this question so important? Still, he couldn’t stop himself from asking it. “The boy’s-... just a friend?”
The leader snorted, flicked his cigarette onto the bedroom carpet through the bathroom door. A trail of thin smoke began to rise. “Paul was my best friend, yes,” He said flatly. “His da and mine were cousins. The looks run in the family, don’t they?”
“Why… why now? Why not before? When he was-... why only now?”
The man’s lip pulled to the side in a sneer. “Had to wait ‘til the company couldn’t protect you, didn’t I? You’re not a client now, Mr. Branch. Just a bit of blood on Karen Renford’s shoes. Loose thread. You’re not the only one keeps tabs on runaways, you know.”
“What?” Oliver’s eyes widened, the muddy water giving him a strange, distorted, half-transparent view of his own reflection. “What, what are y-you-”
“Ah, it’s not worth explaining this shite to him, is it?” The man rolled his eyes. “Renford knew where he was. She knows where all the runners are. She’s not going to let you fuck the company just to get your fifteen minutes, gobshite. I hate that insufferable bitch and she’s the one who made Paul’s boy into a pet, but I know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth even if the one given’ it should probably be shot herself.”
“Wh-why-”
“Shut your feckin’ hole. We may not have the pleasure of a regular contract, but I was happy to accept this little job free of charge. Everyone gets what they want, don’t they? Paul’s boy gets his nice little life for keeping, Renford gets the blood out, and I get to make up to Paul what I couldn’t do back then. Ah, Tristan was a sweet boy. Bit of a wild thing, but…” The man sighed mournfully. “Well. We all lose people, in this business, Mr. Branch. I’m sorry to’ve lost him but I’d never think to take him from what he’s got. I’m no monster.”
Laughter bubbled in Oliver’s throat, and he barely held it back. No monster, but you’ll kill me, will you?
“Tonight, everyone gets what they want.”
“I wanted Charleston,” Oliver said, staring into the brownish silt-soaked water, thinking of the blue of the ocean, the waves battering the shore, white-capped on rougher days, the salt-smell of the sea. His mother’s hands holding him, sitting on his father’s shoulders, before it had all changed. “I, I wanted Charleston.”
The words were more plaintive than he intended them to be.
“Sad for you,” The leader said without sympathy. “The heart bleeds. Perhaps you should’ve kept your wee dick in your pants and not touched our friend’s boy, then, hm? Bit late for that, though. Hope the Good Lord’s feelin’ His mercy today, pervy fuck, ‘cause you’ll see none from us.”
He snapped his calloused fingers, and Oliver’s head went under the water. He’d jerked in a final breath just before, and as he held it - lungs burning, time running out - Oliver had only a single remaining defiance. His last thought, before he had to pull water into his lungs, before the thrashing and the choking and the final blackness that pulled him under, wasn’t of Baldur at all.
He was found in the Trelawney River, the water in his lungs a perfect match for the water around him. His bathtub had been recently cleaned, but that wasn’t suspicious, as his cleaner had been there only the day before and Oliver rarely took baths. His dinner table was clean of any sign of his final meal. 
There were no papers on the table, or anywhere in the house, detailing his intended speech to the press. Those papers were burned and the ashes spread on the graves of Paul and Veronica Higgs, along with a fresh spray of daisies, Ronnie’s favorite flower. 
Oliver Branch’s testimony could no longer be given, due to his untimely death.
The suggestion that he had killed himself because of the shame of his own actions made the rounds in the press, followed by certainty in certain spaces that he had been murdered to protect WRU on Karen’s orders. 
Perhaps a handler had done it, the rumors went, sent by the strange emotionless Karen Renford, who sat on the stand and spoke with perfect diction and a total lack of feeling on the particulars of her job, and who had never once set off a lie detector in her life. Perhaps a pet liberation member had finally snapped - there had been an incident years ago with someone who had beaten Oliver nearly to unconsciousness, maybe that person had hunted him down again.
Maybe Karen had killed him herself.
The rumors went in circles, but no one ever guessed the truth. 
Oliver’s final defiance was known only to him, and went with him to the grave he was eventually buried in. His final thought was simply of the crash of a white-capped wave against the shore. 
Oliver Branch died thinking not of his crimes, but with the ocean behind his eyes. 
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transarchivist · 5 years ago
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Do you have any podcast recommendations? I've listened to tma, wolf359, the penumbra podcast, and like...half of night vale. You seem like you'd know some good ones!
!!!
I Am In Eskew is an absolute all-time favorite of mine! It’s very firmly horror, but not tragedy. Think… WTNV but 1. on a personal scale, 2. actually terrifying, and 3. not benign. It follows David Ward, inhabitant of the city Eskew, as he chronicles some of the terrifying stuff that happens to him. Eventually, we hear from Riyo Dulae, a private investigator who’s been pulled into Eskew’s orbit. It uses place-as-horror in an astonishing way! It’s a finished product with 30 episodes and the ending is honestly amazing. I’ve listened to it several times. It’s very good. Listen to it. Please.
This got long, so the rest of the recommendations are under the cut, and in no particular order! (Eskew is absolutely my top recommendation lol) Particularly sad endings and ongoing series are specified.
Janus Descending is a finished and relatively short sci-fi horror series. It follows two xenoarcheologists (archeologists for aliens) as they inspect the site of an abandoned alien civilization. It’s told in inverse chronological order, alternating between Chel and Peter’s perspectives. Chel’s is chronological, while Peter’s is backwards. It’s an amazing format and keeps you suspended in the mystery up until the very end! It is a tragedy, though, and has a sad ending.
ars PARADOXICA is an audio drama about time-travel and the Cold War. The synopsis is this: scientist Sally Grissom accidentally creates time travel, is transported back to the Cold War, and is entwined with a clandestine branch of the US government. It’s 3 seasons long- and I will say that if you’re not good with differentiating voices I recommend either listening to it without stopping for a long period and/or reading along to transcripts. The plot is intricate but engaging and the large cast of characters each has their own unique personality. Plus: canon ace main character (as in she says she’s asexual! in canon!), a Jewish lesbian semi-main character, a mlm (bi?) man of color side-character, and several other characters of color.
Mabel is an ongoing horror podcast with elements of fae/fairy lore and the place-as-horror theme. It’s not as outright horror as TMA, Eskew, or Janus Descending, it’s much more atmospheric? It’s several seasons in, with the next season currently in production. It follows Anna Limon, who is an in-home caretaker, trying to contact Mabel Martin, the granddaughter of the woman Anna is caring for. It has lots of wlw, lots of moral ambiguity, beautiful prose, and lots and lots of fae. 
Zero Hours is a 7 episode long anthology series by the creators of Wolf 359. Each episode deals with “the end of the world - or at least something that feels like the end of the world.” There’s 99-year intervals between episode and it starts in the past and ends in the far future. It’s honestly stunning and was well worth listening to in it’s entirety when it dropped (and subsequently staying up past midnight). 
The Bright Sessions is… kinda urban fantasy? The official synopsis is that TBS is a “science fiction podcast that follows a group of therapy patients. But these are not your typical patients - each has a unique supernatural ability. The show documents their struggles and discoveries as well as the motivations of their mysterious therapist, Dr. Bright.” (I tried explaining but was having a tricky time) The characters are amazingly written and unique. (And no, it doesn’t fall into the “evil therapist” idea, in case you were worried) One of the main characters is gay (and it isn’t a throwaway line). It has good and realistic representation of mental illnesses: a main character as a panic/anxiety disorder, another has PTSD, another has depression, and so on. The main show is finished but there’s a spin off that’s being made. Specifically happy ending!
Alice Isn’t Dead is a horror podcast by the creators of Night Vale. It follows Keisha, a trucker, who is looking for her wife, Alice. Keisha encounters many strange things as she drives back and forth across America, including murderous almost-human monsters, places that are stuck out of time, and a nation spanning conspiracy. It encompasses the whole… atmosphere of middle-of-nowhere America perfectly. It’s a complete story with a novel form (haven’t had the pleasure of reading it, though). Main character is wlw, and Alice is not dead.
Limetown is a horror podcast. It follows reporter Lia Haddock as she investigates the mystery of Limetown- a town in Tennessee where over 300 people disappeared overnight, never to be heard from again. It’s finished…? I think the podcast is finished but a book and a Facebook miniseries are in development? Anyways. Sad ending. I loved the first season a lot, the second season is good too though!
The Adventure Zone isn’t an audio drama, instead it’s an actual-play show of Dungeons and Dragons (and D&D like systems). The McElroy brothers and their dad host it, and are frankly absolutely hilarious. TAZ: Balance is the first season and starts as a classic d&d game but turns into an amazing and heart wrenching story with beautiful prose and music. And also 69 jokes. TAZ:B is honestly one of the most emotionally impacting stories I’ve ever heard. It has an amazingly happy and hopeful ending. Includes: casual lgbt rep and a late game but major character is a trans woman! I’ve heard good things about the recently finished season TAZ: Amnesty, although I haven’t finished it. There’s a new season, TAZ: Graduation, that started recently, and I’ve enjoyed the handful of episodes I’ve listened to! Currently ongoing, but tragic endings aren’t something that’s expected.
I haven’t finished/caught up with these, but I’ve enjoyed them: Sayer (sci-fi. think menacing capitalist Night Vale in space, heard s3/s4 are really good), The Bridge (horror, alternate modern day. follows a watchpost on a bridge that crosses the Atlantic), The Orbiting Human Circus (from the people at WTNV. surreal fiction. hard to explain). I feel like there’s more but I can’t remember any atm. 
I’m also gonna point you towards @theradioghost‘s blog and her podcast recs tag. Her taste is amazing and I haven’t disliked a single show I’ve tried. (Also, check out her show, Midnight Radio! It’s the next thing on my to-listen list.)
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derangedsilence · 5 years ago
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Reiji Sakamaki
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Permissions
Shipping?  Yes.  Singleship per verse with limited verses.  Please note - as stated on the rules page, orientation is typically listed as what the muses think they are.  
Duplicates? Multiple ‘Yuis’?  What about character that aren’t on the dedicated castmates list?  Yes.  You can thrust Reiji at Reiji.  There’s also no issue with duplicates of canon, crossover, etc. characters that Reiji is already interacting with.  You want it, you got it.   To prevent destroying the validity of duplicate muses, I will sometimes think of things as ‘A Kanato did this’ instead of ‘Kanato did this’, which is a very subtle difference but prevents another muse from having to deal with the blame of an event they were not responsible for.  This will only be differentiated as necessary within writing.  I repeat: all duplicate muses will be treated with respect, not as ‘fakes’.  Any Sakamaki brother is a brother of his, regardless of how many Kanatos there are (for example).  We’re just going to, uh, slide past that as often as possible (and occasionally make jokes).
Multiple Reijis will be treated as though they’d somehow wandered into one’s world or the other via some enchanted, strange object or doorway in the Sakamaki household.  This allows them to interact, but prevents the concept that one is a ‘true’ Reiji over the other.  You have been warned.
Fighting?  A-Okay.  I’ve done a lot of fighting roleplay but it was in the past and I’m way more interested in the storytelling of it.  It’s better that we discuss the end result beforehand for smoother sailing, but we can improv it as well.  I do this from a storytelling perspective.
Harming? A-Okay!  Just be aware that this muse may harm or kill yours in turn!
Killing? A-Okay!  Please be aware, however, that should the need or desire to continue the verse arise, the death scene will be considered a what-if.  In addition, it is very difficult to kill this muse due to the pureblood resurrection abilities.
Can we send shippy memes / etc.? Sure, we can still explore what-ifs, drabbles and oneshot threads, but the main focus will be on the storyline here!
Can we know Yui has Cordelia’s heart, is possibly turning into a vampire, is surrounded by vampires, etc. and reference this to Reiji? On a case-by-case basis.  It should be discovered organically if it’s not something your character would be able to know already.  There’s plenty of situations where this would make sense.
Can we know about Reiji’s past before interacting?  No, not unless you have genuine reasons for it like being one of his brothers.
Can we have characters comment on the events of the timeline? Yes, if they “catch sight of”, “overhear a rumor”, “a familiar saw X”, or any other sensible reason, then characters can be aware of and comment on events.  I wholly encourage characters participate in Reiji’s life!  Please tell the story with me!
Can we rescue Yui Komori from the Sakamaki household? Unlikely.  At best, if you succeed in the first place, it’s entirely likely that they will find you, they will take Yui back, and they will kill one or both of you for this.  Or the Mukamis might take advantage of the situation!  Obviously, the exception here is the Mukamis, who are entirely expected to attempt this from time to time.
Can we reference interactions we’ve had with your Kanato, etc. to Reiji?  I mean...sure?  If you want?  I’m fine with using my muses for plot and timeline advancements for myself and those I interact with (within limits) but I’d also prefer to not be my Ayato’s Kanato and vice versa, so this would probably be limited.  You can still act like what’s happened has happened, though.
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Biography / Stats
FULL NAME. Reiji Sakamaki ALIAS. Reiji-san (Yui), Tableware Otaku (Ayato), Shichisan Megane (Ayato), That “Unlikeable Person” (Laito), My Dear (Cordelia) AGE. Appears 18-19 || Actually significantly older BIRTHDAY. August 29  GENDER & PRONOUNS. Male, he/him ORIENTATION. Heterosexual SPECIES. Vampire OCCUPATION. High school student of the night school known as Ryoutei Academy. 3rd year in HDB, 1st year of the college branch if assuming time has passed. RESIDENCE. Sakamaki residence, Japan
HAIR. Dark purple/black EYES. Red BUILD. Fit HEIGHT. 6'0'' (183cm) TATTOOS. None PIERCINGS. None. ADDITIONAL MARKINGS.   Glasses. OTHER. Right-handed
ZODIAC. Virgo  ALIGNMENT. Lawful neutral  POSITIVE TRAITS.  disciplined, sophisticated, intelligent NEGATIVE TRAITS. strict, arrogant, perfectionist
BIRTH PLACE. Japan NATIONALITY. Japanese PARENTS. Karlheinz (Alive?), Beatrix (Dead) SIBLINGS. Sibling: Shuu (older).  Paternal Half-siblings: Subaru and the triplets (Ayato, Kanato, Laito) EXTENDED FAMILY. Karlheinz's other wives, Christa and Cordelia. Richter (Uncle). EDUCATION. High school (likely several times over) SPECIES. Vampire NOTABLE SKILLS. Housecleaning, cooking, household management, academic work, poison & drug creation, piano, chess LANGUAGES. Japanese, English, German  FAVORITE FOOD. Spaghetti carbonara
PUREBLOOD. Inhuman strength, increased speed, vision, hearing, and smell. Fast healing & healing saliva. TELEPORTATION. Can teleport instantaneously. FLYING. He can fly on a full moon. SWORDSMANSHIP. A OTHER. Potion, drug and poison creation.  Can heal/treat vampires. WEAKNESSES. Truly holy objects weaken him, but not by much.   DISLIKES.  Weakness, poor manners, disobedience towards the rules of the household, the cursed incantation of “Reiji, Reiji, please engage-y”
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Appearance
[*Credit: Appearance section pulled directly from the Dialovers Wiki.]
Reiji is a tall, slender young man.  His hair is primarily purple-black with a lighter gradient.  It is almost an inch away from being shoulder length and it is neatly combed. Reiji’s eyes are red.  He wears rectangular glasses.
Reiji usually dresses professionally to match his cordial facade.  In HAUNTED DARK BRIDAL, he wears a grey and black vest over a white dress shirt with black pants and a black belt.  
In MORE, BLOOD, he wears a black trench coat with a white dress shirt and black pants.
In DARK FATE, Reiji grows his hair out in order to emulate his father.
His school uniform consists of the black school jacket with a buttoned red vest over a black dress shirt and red tie.  He wears it with the black uniform pants and dress shoes.
According to Cordelia, if he weren’t so stiff, Reiji would look just like Karlheinz when she first met him.  She says that even his eyes are just like Karl’s.  This was said in an effort to tease Reiji, since he admires his father and dreams of becoming like him.
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Personality
The household is a reflection of the outside world and one’s ability to affect it.
Despite being the second son, Reiji manages the Sakamaki house during Karlheinz’ prolonged absence as though he is the eldest.  Reiji manages the household funds, affairs and maintains the rules and expectations within the house.  Reiji is a strict perfectionist who values rules and expectations and he demands highly of both himself and others.  
Often wearing a smile, Reiji is intelligent, reserved...and pessimistic.  The second son’s polite, refined mannerisms make the barbs in his sophisticated speech come at a surprise - unless you’re related to him.
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History
CHILDHOOD. As the second son of the Sakamaki family, Beatrix raised him to be a servant for his elder brother, Shuu.  She focused her attention almost entirely on Shuu, neglecting Reiji’s ambitious nature and his achievements.  
Reiji’s desire for his mother’s approval and attention never waned.  Twisting as the desire continued to be unmet, Reiji eventually burned down an entire human village, resulting in the death of Shuu’s human friend Edgar.  Reiji did this to punish and teach Shuu a lesson while also hoping to help and impress his mother, Beatrix.  Eventually Reiji even hired a vampire hunter to kill his mother in his desire to finally be acknowledged by her.  Instead of feeling at peace with it, he was dissatisfied that his mother was happy that he had killed her.
NEAR CURRENT.  Karlheinz manipulated circumstances to keep tossing experimental sacrificial brides at his children.  None could endure the blood loss, physical and emotional torment.  The sacrificial brides were too fragile and the Sakamakis broke their toys.  
CURRENT. A single sacrificial bride is surviving and enduring: Yui Komori.  Whichever brother obtains her will become the Sakamaki heir.  Without directly entering into a “relationship” with any of the Sakamakis, she endures her stay there.
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Verses
Brief summaries of the verses for Reiji along with potential links for those less familiar with Diabolik Lovers but still want to interact with him.  For the sake of keeping things clean, encouraging community-wide and cooperative storytelling in roleplay, and not letting things get too crazy, verses will be limited.  More may be made over time as needed.
Summaries:
| DL Anime | DL More Blood Anime | Haunted Dark Bridal | More Blood | (Coming Soon)
VERSE - HAUNTED DARK BRIDAL
*This verse will be typically be the default, 'main verse'. In this, it is assumed that Yui Komori is staying at the Sakamaki household with some version of the first game having taken place. If the second game is included, it's with the idea that Yui stayed with the Sakamakis. Whether Reiji or one of his brothers winds up obtaining the Sacrificial Bride, Reiji’s life continues.
Verse Details | Tag: #V; REIJI; HAUNTED DARK BRIDAL
VERSE - MORE BLOOD
If for some reason it's absolutely necessary to differentiate between the verse above and a verse where More Blood has certainly occured, but Yui did not (at least initially) stay with the Sakamakis and instead is currently living with the Mukamis or was, until recently, still living with the Mukamis.  Rivalry abounds and attempts to procure Yui are likely.
Verse Details | Tag: #V; REIJI; MORE BLOOD
VERSE - MISC.
Posts that could take place in the Sakamaki or Mukami verses but involve duplicates (whether Yui or others) in the same scene in a manner that would be hard to pass off as typical flow for those verses.  Also includes nearly ANY time fellow characters are staying at the mansion, otherwise we’d end up with verses of 20+ additional characters hanging out in the Sakamaki villa.  
Verse Details | Tag:#V; REIJI; MISC
SITUATIONAL VERSE TAGS
#V; REIJI; UNIVERSAL
Posts that can easily be assumed to have occured in either the Sakamaki or Mukami verses, typically answering asks, etc. that aren’t directly related to events unique to their timelines.
#V; REIJI; WHAT IFS & #V; REIJI; ONESHOTS
Likely reserved for one-off threads exploring a “what if”, a romantic meme that would otherwise be inappropriate, etc.  If a meme doesn’t quite fit with one of the existing timelines, it’ll get one of these.
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Trivia
Collects tableware
Good at finding killers for hire apparently, you go man
He reads very well
Sensitive when he gets drunk, whatever that means
He wants to bring his mother back to torture and kill her again
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Tags
THREAD / WRITING TAG: #echoes in the halls; reiji
HEADCANONS:  #hc; dialovers; reiji
IMAGES: #itt // reiji sakamaki
MUSIC:  #music; dialovers; reiji
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derangedsilence · 5 years ago
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Shuu Sakamaki
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Permissions
Shipping?  Yes.  Singleship per verse with limited verses.  Please note - as stated on the rules page, orientation is typically listed as what the muses think they are.  Please note that sleeping with someone =/= shipping here.
Duplicates? Multiple ‘Yuis’?  What about character that aren’t on the dedicated castmates list?  Yes.  You can thrust Shuu at Shuu.  There’s also no issue with duplicates of canon, crossover, etc. characters that Shuu is already interacting with.  You want it, you got it.   To prevent destroying the validity of duplicate muses, I will sometimes think of things as ‘A Kanato did this’ instead of ‘Kanato did this’, which is a very subtle difference but prevents another muse from having to deal with the blame of an event they were not responsible for.  This will only be differentiated as necessary within writing.  I repeat: all duplicate muses will be treated with respect, not as ‘fakes’.  Any Sakamaki brother is a brother of his, regardless of how many Kanatos there are (for example).  We’re just going to, uh, slide past that as often as possible (and occasionally make jokes).
Multiple Shuus will be treated as though they’d somehow wandered into one’s world or the other via some enchanted, strange object or doorway in the Sakamaki household.  This allows them to interact, but prevents the concept that one is a ‘true’ Subaru over the other.  You have been warned.
Fighting?  A-Okay.  I’ve done a lot of fighting roleplay but it was in the past and I’m way more interested in the storytelling of it.  It’s better that we discuss the end result beforehand for smoother sailing, but we can improv it as well.  I do this from a storytelling perspective.
Harming? A-Okay!  Just be aware that this muse may harm or kill yours in turn!
Killing? A-Okay!  Please be aware, however, that should the need or desire to continue the verse arise, the death scene will be considered a what-if.  In addition, it is very difficult to kill this muse due to the pureblood resurrection abilities.
Can we send shippy memes / etc.? Sure, we can still explore what-ifs, drabbles and oneshot threads, but the main focus will be on the storyline here!
Can we know Yui has Cordelia’s heart, is possibly turning into a vampire, is surrounded by vampires, etc. and reference this to Shuu? On a case-by-case basis.  It should be discovered organically if it’s not something your character would be able to know already.  There’s plenty of situations where this would make sense.
Can we know about Shuu’s past before interacting?  No, not unless you have genuine reasons for it like being one of his brothers.
Can we have characters comment on the events of the timeline? Yes, if they “catch sight of”, “overhear a rumor”, “a familiar saw X”, or any other sensible reason, then characters can be aware of and comment on events.  I wholly encourage characters participate in Shuu’s life!  Please tell the story with me!
Can we rescue Yui Komori from the Sakamaki household? Unlikely.  At best, if you succeed in the first place, it’s entirely likely that they will find you, they will take Yui back, and they will kill one or both of you for this.  Or the Mukamis might take advantage of the situation!  Obviously, the exception here is the Mukamis, who are entirely expected to attempt this from time to time.
Can we reference interactions we’ve had with your Kanato, etc. to Shuu?  I mean...sure?  If you want?  I’m fine with using my muses for plot and timeline advancements for myself and those I interact with (within limits) but I’d also prefer to not be my Ayato’s Kanato and vice versa, so this would probably be limited.  You can still act like what’s happened has happened, though.
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Biography / Stats
FULL NAME. Shuu Sakamaki ALIAS. Shuu-san (Yui), Dull Guy (Ayato), Neet (Yuma), Good-for-Nothing (Reiji) AGE. Appears 19-20 || Actually significantly older BIRTHDAY. October 18  GENDER & PRONOUNS. Male, he/him ORIENTATION. Heterosexual...? SPECIES. Vampire OCCUPATION. High school student of the night school known as Ryoutei Academy. 3rd year in HDB, 1st year of the college branch if assuming time has passed. RESIDENCE. Sakamaki residence, Japan
HAIR. Blond EYES. Blue BUILD. Fit HEIGHT. 5'11'' (180cm) TATTOOS. None PIERCINGS. A black stud on each ear, easily missed since he has his earphones in. ADDITIONAL MARKINGS.   Typically wears an mp3-player on his neck. OTHER. Left-handed
ZODIAC. Libra  ALIGNMENT. Neutral Tired  POSITIVE TRAITS.  creative, contemplative, calm NEGATIVE TRAITS. apathetic, lazy, fickle
BIRTH PLACE. Japan NATIONALITY. Japanese PARENTS. Karlheinz (Alive?), Beatrix (Dead) SIBLINGS. Sibling: Reiji (younger).  Paternal Half-siblings: Subaru and the triplets (Ayato, Kanato, Laito) EXTENDED FAMILY. Karlheinz's other wives, Christa and Cordelia. Richter (Uncle). EDUCATION. High school (likely several times over) SPECIES. Vampire NOTABLE SKILLS. musical (piano, violin)   LANGUAGES. Japanese, English FAVORITE FOOD. None
PUREBLOOD. Inhuman strength, increased speed, vision, hearing, and smell. Fast healing & healing saliva. TELEPORTATION. Can teleport instantaneously. FLYING. He can fly on a full moon. SWORDSMANSHIP. A OTHER. Very good at being used as a boxing pear when not motivated to fight.  Great at fighting polar bears. WEAKNESSES. Truly holy objects weaken him, but not by much.  Also, afraid of fire. DISLIKES.   Food that’s too sweet, worms, having to get involved and do things 
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Appearance
[*Credit: Appearance section pulled directly from the Dialovers Wiki.]
Shuu is a handsome young man with slightly curled blond hair as well as light, ocean blue eyes which he inherited from his mother.  He has black studs on both of his ears.  He is always seen with his MP3 player attached to a wire which is wrapped around his neck and with the earphones always in his ears.
In HAUNTED DARK BRIDAL, he usually wears a light blue sweater over a dark blue shirt with dark pants.
In MORE, BLOOD, he wears a blue dress shirt with a white shirt underneath and brown pants.
His school uniform consists of the black school jacket draped over his shoulders and a beige sweater with a slightly unbuttoned white dress shirt.  He wears it with the black uniform pants and brown dress shoes.
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Personality
Generally the epitome of a lazy panda that barely has the interest or energy to chew on the bamboo it’s holding.
Ever since events in his childhood, Shuu is apathetic and disengaged from life and those around him.  He neither wants to gain any interest in anything nor take any responsibility in looking after his five younger brothers and their home.  Though they tend to quiet, listen and obey when he does speak up, he will complain about having to deal with their problems.  
There is one great love in Shuu’s life: music.  And adult Drama CDs, sometimes.  But mostly music.  He’s always listening to it even when he takes a bath!  His preference is classical music.
Shuu has so little motivation that he does almost nothing, often needing to be persuaded and cajoled into actions that are necessary for him.  Seeking attention out with him despite his lack of interest in participating in the world around him will often be met with perversion and lazy harrassment.  
A man who gets too attached who would prefer not to feel any of it in the first place.
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History
CHILDHOOD. Heavily restricted and controlled, Shuu was suffocated by the expectations placed upon him.  He ran away from home and met a human boy, Edgar, with whom he became friends.  Able to run between the demon and human worlds via underground passages, Shuu ran off to play with Edgar frequently.  Reiji, Shuu’s younger brother, destroyed Edgar’s village in a fire in the hopes of killing two birds with one stone: impressing his mother and removing Shuu’s happiness.  Edgar died.
Shuu blamed himself for Edgar’s death and came to fear fire.  With continued jabs from Reiji on his uselessness and pressure to become the Sakamaki heir from his mother, Shuu withdrew further and further into himself until he would do nothing unless pushed to by Reiji.
NEAR CURRENT.  Karlheinz manipulated circumstances to keep tossing experimental sacrificial brides at his children.  None could endure the blood loss, physical and emotional torment.  The sacrificial brides were too fragile and the Sakamakis broke their toys.  
CURRENT. A single sacrificial bride is surviving and enduring: Yui Komori.  Whichever brother obtains her will become the Sakamaki heir.  Without directly entering into a “relationship” with any of the Sakamakis, she endures her stay there.
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Verses
Brief summaries of the verses for Shuu along with potential links for those less familiar with Diabolik Lovers but still want to interact with him.  For the sake of keeping things clean, encouraging community-wide and cooperative storytelling in roleplay, and not letting things get too crazy, verses will be limited.  More may be made over time as needed.
Summaries:
| DL Anime | DL More Blood Anime | Haunted Dark Bridal | More Blood | (Coming Soon)
VERSE - HAUNTED DARK BRIDAL
*This verse will be typically be the default, 'main verse'. In this, it is assumed that Yui Komori is staying at the Sakamaki household with some version of the first game having taken place. If the second game is included, it's with the idea that Yui stayed with the Sakamakis. Whether Shuu or one of his brothers winds up obtaining the Sacrificial Bride, Shuu’s life continues.
Verse Details | Tag: #V; SHUU; HAUNTED DARK BRIDAL
VERSE - MORE BLOOD
If for some reason it's absolutely necessary to differentiate between the verse above and a verse where More Blood has certainly occured, but Yui did not (at least initially) stay with the Sakamakis and instead is currently living with the Mukamis or was, until recently, still living with the Mukamis.  Rivalry abounds and attempts to procure Yui are likely.
Verse Details | Tag: #V; SHUU; MORE BLOOD
VERSE - MISC.
Posts that could take place in the Sakamaki or Mukami verses but involve duplicates (whether Yui or others) in the same scene in a manner that would be hard to pass off as typical flow for those verses.  Also includes nearly ANY time fellow characters are staying at the mansion, otherwise we’d end up with verses of 20+ additional characters hanging out in the Sakamaki villa.  
Verse Details | Tag:#V; SHUU; MISC
SITUATIONAL VERSE TAGS
#V; SHUU; UNIVERSAL
Posts that can easily be assumed to have occured in either the Sakamaki or Mukami verses, typically answering asks, etc. that aren’t directly related to events unique to their timelines.
#V; SHUU; WHAT IFS & #V; SHUU; ONESHOTS
Likely reserved for one-off threads exploring a “what if”, a romantic meme that would otherwise be inappropriate, etc.  If a meme doesn’t quite fit with one of the existing timelines, it’ll get one of these.
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Trivia
Had to repeat his third year of high school.
When you can’t faintly hear music coming from his earphones, he’s probably listening to really inappropriate Drama CDs.
Had a dog, once.
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Tags
THREAD / WRITING TAG: #echoes in the halls; shuu
HEADCANONS:  #hc; dialovers; shuu
IMAGES: #itt // shuu sakamaki
MUSIC:  #music; dialovers; shuu
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