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 Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2022 8:57 am
Pride Season was, in several ways, the most wonderful and magical time of the year. ******** Christmas and its poorly color-schemed consumerist Hellscape full of demented, child-terrorizing snowmen, ununionized elves and their repeat felony offender Kringle overlord, and a*****e reindeer who’d delightedly bully and ostracize Rudolph for having more sparkle and fabulosity in his cute little nose than any of them had in their entire personalities, then turn around and whine at him to save the stupid holiday.
Unlike the misappropriated and nauseatingly Jesus-ified Saturnalia, Pride Season had a better color scheme (rainbows always went with everything), less capitalist nonsense (far too much, considering the Absolut Vodka labels pinned to every layer of the myriad Pride celebrations in the tri-county area, never mind all the corporate Twitter accounts with rainbow icons who gave money to right-wing lawmakers, but still: less than Christmas, and it had never been what Marsha Johnson, Sylvia Rae Rivera, or Stormé Delarverie had intended when they started some s**t with the cops at the Stonewall Inn), and far more opportunities for an enterprising drag queen to book a gig that would pay her well. From drag queen story-time hour at the library or the children’s hospital to drag bingo at senior centers to actual Pride festivals, Reiki, his drag siblings, and most of the other local talent all had their schedules packed and their bank accounts singing.
……Unfortunately, while this would’ve been exhausting enough on its own, this year, Reiki had also Awakened as a magical girl-boy right in time for the 2022 Pride Season. In addition to all the gigs he had this month on top of his normal gigs and appointments, Reiki had to squeeze in time to go patrolling. This, too, probably would’ve been exhausting enough on its own, but Reiki’s penchant for getting himself into shenanigans only seemed to exacerbate things.
As he mirrorwalked back into his bedroom after a patrol, Reiki honestly couldn’t say if he’d taken a proper break since running into Kerberos mid-last week. There’d been him, and his big, sparkling eyes, and the flowers blooming beneath his dainty feet. There’d been Arsenolite, and how he’d murdered Raymond Callahan, and how Reiki hadn’t made himself do anything to save one of his own people, someone who’d been at his show that night. There’d been Captain Phoenix Force and how, much like Valjean, he just had to be so attractive despite having an absolutely garbage personality. Even without doing shows every single night for the time being, Reiki had still had multiple rounds of drag brunch, a drag bingo, more negotiations about getting his Haus to perform at some parks and rec carnival-thing for local kids……
Honestly, it was a miracle he remembered to power down before collapsing into bed. At that, he only did that because Cersei was curled up there, waiting for him. The sudden advent of someone who was tall like her Dad roused her, but instead of lighting up like normal, she tilted her head at Reiki bemusedly.…… Oh, right. Magical glamours. Made sense that they applied to pets as well as people.
Cersei relaxed as soon as Reiki powered down, though, and once he’d flopped down next to her, she wiggled closer, nuzzling up to him. With a contented sigh, Reiki gently ruffled her fur. “Mmmm, that’s my good girl,” he mumbled, leaning over to kiss her forehead. “Thanks for always being here for me, baby.”
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Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2022 11:32 pm
Haruhi was fresh off the awakening and the little bit of training ne'd gotten from Elsa before coming home. Ne was probably still exhausted, but ne couldn't feel it right now. Right now, all ne felt was the return of the swirling anger about Reiki and what he'd done without even saying a damn thing to Haruhi. What if Haruhi hadn't wanted to deal with any of that happening in nis apartment, huh!? Not that ne actually would've been mad about that; it was more the principle than anything, because ne was far MORE worried about Reiki getting hurt than being chased out of nis home because of Reiki's enemies or something. Things were replaceable; people were not. That was the end of that. But ne really needed to get nis point across first, so staying mad it was. God, and Haruhi couldn't even imagine how ne would've felt if Reiki had come home injured to hell and back, pleading for Haruhi not to say anything, and Haruhi not understanding any of it. Well. Ne was magical as well, now, and Reiki was going to get absolutely curb stomped. Ne stormed into nis home, tossing nis work bag to the side and ripping off nis jacket as ne marched over and ripped open Reiki's bedroom door. " KIKI-CHAN, if you don't explain the magical powers s**t to me right now, I'm kicking your a**!" ne yelled immediately, only feeling bad because Cersei very much didn't appreciate Haruhi flying off the handle in here. And just to make nis point, ne flashed nis pen and powered up for a brief moment, going back down as soon as ne was sure Reiki had seen who ne was. (Because staying in that outfit any longer than absolutely necessary would suck. And ne didn't need Reiki going off about how beautiful the damn outfit was.)
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Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2022 11:45 pm
Groaning softly, Cersei burrowed closer to Reiki as if begging Her Person to protect her from the loud noises. As much as she didn’t like them—Reiki didn’t blame her, either, because they rather made him want to throw something at Haruhi—he also trusted nem to calm down soon. Or at least to express nis displeasure in an inside voice for the sake of the Best Girl, who did not deserve to suffer just because Haruhi was annoyed with Reiki.
Good thing he’d flopped into bed with his glasses still on, though.… Meant he didn’t need to fumble around for them just to see Haruhi’s new outfit. “Awww,” he said blearily, “I think you look nice.…” A sentiment with which Haruhi clearly disagreed, but—“I am sorry the Mirror gave you such exposed shoulders. That can take some getting used to, for sure, but you really do look nice. ’s very art nouveau.… How’re you adjusting to the heels on those boots? Are your ankles feeling okay?”
None of which actually did anything to explain anything for Haruhi—which Cersei expressed for Reiki by nosing at his jaw and giving him a Pointed Look. Whether she intended it or not, the sentiment of I know you’re better than this, Dad came across quite clearly. So, sighing and rubbing the bridge of his nose, Reiki nudged, “If you want an explanation, I’ll need you to clarify what parts, specifically, you want explained?”
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Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2022 11:59 pm
Haruhi's eye twitched. Ne took a deep breath through nis nose and went over to sit on the edge of the bed, petting Cersei's back as a way to keep nemself calm. Well, calmer than ne was than when ne walked in the door. "I appreciate your concern, but that's not my focus right now," ne answered in a clipped tone, intending on talking about how horrible the outfit made nem feel later. "My focus right now is how... how did you become this? Why did you immediately start lying to me about stuff? I know you had to have. Was that guy that you went to the hospital for.... was he one of us? A comrade who died? Why didn't you talk to me?" Of all the things, Haruhi supposed it was the lying that hurt the most. Not being trusted... it broke nis heart in a way that made nis throat tighten up and tears rise to the surface, but ne blinked them away.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 12:33 am
A very large part of Reiki wanted to demand that Haruhi please press the pause button on this conversation until after Reiki had had time to sleep……but everything about Haruhi’s tone and body language said that Reiki was on exceptionally thin ice as it was. Pushing his luck would, in all likelihood, only serve to hurt one of the people he loved most in the world.
So, deep breaths. Try to keep everything Ojiisan ever tried to teach you about patience in mind—as much as you can manage, idiot. Nudging some of his fringe off his face, Reiki said, “Well, the alien cat-girl who kicked me a couple nights after it happened? The way she and Eternal Sailor Kerberos, the patron saint of cute sluts, talk about it, it sounds like I—we—just……always were Senshi? But we didn’t get Awakened until now or something? Which Soya-hime says is because the Order cats—the ones like her but they’re on Daphne and Kerberos’s team instead of ours—well, Soya says they were negligent and, like, abandoned us or something? Which……I still don’t know why? But, like, I dunno, Kerberos has some alien space friend who’s like, thousands of years old, and he got abandoned even longer, I’unno, you’d have to ask him for the whole story.… You’ll know if you run into him. He’s about Levi’s height, but pale, really dark blue hair, glowing space-magic tattoos, thotty hot pants and a Party City harem girl costume, with an aggressively bright aura.… Will answer to both ‘Blossom’ and ‘Blue Steel,’ if you call him either.”
Groaning softly, Reiki nuzzled at his pillow. “…And if you do meet him, don’t you dare try to tell me he reminds you of me. Never. Never in a million years, don’t even think it.”
Several of those questions, though, were significantly more serious and required Reiki to at least attempt to rein in his attention span. If he didn’t, then he’d just continue……not actually answering things effectively. “But……no. The guy who died wasn’t one of us, not on anybody’s team. He—” Reiki’s breath hitched, and felt like it didn’t come unstuck until Cersei leaned up to lick under his chin. “His name was Raymond Callahan. He was a science teacher at Meadowview. Nariko, Tatsuya, Hinami, and Ayame probably all had him? Junsei, Erika, and I missed him. Anyway, some ******** Dollar Store knockoff of Hawkeye called Arsenolite stole his starseed—which, by the way, is your actual soul, I think?—and I froze up? And now I don’t want to talk about him because, between high-concept magical girl bullshit and Pride Season, I’m too ******** exhausted to have another crying meltdown about it. Not until after I sleep.”
As for the biggest and most important question, though……Reiki awkwardly reached over Cersei and fumbled about trying to squeeze Haruhi’s forearm. “…I didn’t want to lie to you, Ruhi. And it’s sucked, doing it. Even by omission. You, and Mom and Dad, and Yuki, and Junsei, Obaasan and Ojiisan, Uncle Mitch—but point first, would you have believed me if I told you about it? Point second, fairly garden variety superhero explanation about enemies and danger and blah blah, I know you’re gonna rightfully quibble, but I did want to protect you. And poooint—”
Reiki cut himself off with a deep yawn, then groaned into his palm. “……Point third: Levi and Soya-hime took me to the Black Mirror right before ******** Pride Season, and a b***h has barely had enough spare brain-space to stay on top of remembering to eat so he won’t backslide. Which doesn’t invalidate your hurt feelings or mean you’re not allowed to be angry with me, because you are? I just……”
Another groan. “I barely slept after watching Arse-hole-face-inite commit murder on Judy Garland’s birthday. Got up. Went to drag brunch. Went to story-time hour. Had barely enough time to breathe, take Cersei for a walk, take a shower, and get DoorDash, then went and did a nighttime show, and hit a patrol on my way home. That was my Saturday. And most days have been like that since I ran into Kerberos. I’m sorry that I haven’t had the brain-space to even think about talking to you about this? And I’m sorry that it’s hurt you? But……I haven’t. And I like getting paid. And………can you pretty please get me one of the tiny waters from my mini-fridge? A b***h just talked……way too much. Even for a b***h’s standards.”
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 8:00 pm
Haruhi, very seriously, made a mental note of Kerberos's name and intended on meeting him so that ne could accurately decide for nemself if Kerberos reminded nem of Reiki or not. Because ne would not be told what to do, no sir. "Okay, I'll get your water," ne said with a sigh as ne stood. The fight was leaving nem and ne, too, was exhausted from the long a** day. So ne got water for Reiki and for nemself, heading back into the bedroom to sit more gently on the bedside, reaching out to tousle Reiki's hair. "Okay. I'm sorry I came in swinging when we're both tired as all hell," ne said, "And, well... I want to protect you, too, because I know how ******** up you get in June from all the s**t you run around doing." At this, ne arched a pointed brow. "And hey, look at me. Magical, too. God, I ******** hate my outfit, niichan! And me! The senshi of SUNBEAMS! Have I ever been positive a day in my life, Kikichan? Have I? And now here I am, all magical like sunshine and ******** rainbows, and I am somehow even more mad," ne ranted, nose wrinkling, "And oh my god, heels. No. ******** 'em. I've been a Senshi for five minutes and ******** them. And the skirt's so short, I'm gonna tear my hair out. And. The. ********. Boob. Bangles. Titty sprinkles. Dobanhonkaroo decorations. URGH." With that, ne thunked nis head into Cersei's side and whined.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 8:48 pm
“’s okay,” Reiki told Haruhi genuinely, taking his water and a moment to decide if he was going to sit up to drink it or not.… Probably better to sit up, as much as Reiki really didn’t feel like it. Shifting to do so made Cersei huff discontentedly, but she calmed back down as Reiki slumped back against his headboard. Cracking open his water, he sighed. “I know you’re only upset because you love me……and because me being evasive if not outright lying tends to be, y’know? Really, really bad?”
With that acknowledged, Reiki settled in to just……drink his water and let Haruhi vent. Being magical and getting Awakened sounded, all up, like it had been a terribly stressful experience for nem.…… Ne must not have gotten princess-carried to Mirrorspace and led to the Black Mirror itself with all the drama and showmanship that Levi could manage.…… How unfortunate. Then again, perhaps Levi was tired, too. That could explain quite a lot, if one thought about it. Gently, Reiki reached over to tousle Haruhi’s hair in return. Seemed like ne needed some gentleness in nis life right now.
“Well, I can’t guarantee that getting any gel inserts will, like? Actually work? For your senshi boots? But if you want, I can work with you on that? Learning to walk in them, I mean.” Huffing, he nudged his glasses up onto his forehead so he could rub an eye more easily. “Honestly, the Mirror should’ve been way nicer to you with your shoes.… Giving someone who’s used to flat heels like that? Is basically dropping a baby in the deep end of a wave-pool like ‘Okay, Jessica, figure it out.’ Like, I wouldn’t have a problem with them, but…you’ve seen some of my shoes. My ankles have practice, they’re stronger.
“As for sunbeams……” Quirking his shoulders again, Reiki made a non-committal sound. “They don’t have to be all positive. Vampires certainly don’t like them.… And they can blind people. I mean, think about staring right into a solar eclipse for example? That’ll burn your eyes out, right? …And they can make it very hard to sleep? …Speaking of, after you get some, you’ll brain might be more helpful at coming up with creative approaches to sunbeams and using them to spread all of your delightfully endearing cynicism.”
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 9:01 pm
"I need you to know if we both weren't completely exhausted, at the end of more than a few ropes, and really messed up right now, you'd be getting a rabbit-punch to the shoulder for being all 'but vampires hate sunbeams, tho'," Haruhi groused without heat directly into Cersei's side, before finally dragging nemself into a sitting position and sipping at some of nis water. "I'll see if the gel inserts might work, that's an idea," ne mused, humming thoughtfully. "After we sleep we can try shopping. And... ******** you for calling my cynicism cute." Ne made a very weak little slap against Reiki's shoulder. "You bet your a** I'll come up with evil uses for it. So evil. The worst." Ne was studiously ignoring how tired ne was, and now silly ne got when ne was tired.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 10:02 pm
“Well, they do,” Reiki pointed out immediately before dragging his hand down his face. This nudged his glasses, and as they slid back down into their proper position, he huffed. “And sorry not sorry ’bout calling your cynicism cute. It’s one of my favorite things about you, honestly…and a much needed counterbalance to my relentless, insistent, and often not-very-good-for-me optimism. Plus, who else is magnificent enough to make sunbeams evil?”
Another long sip of water……a moment to consider, and then, he added, “…Also, did you describe the chest sparklies on your outfit as ‘dobanhonkaroo decorations’ or did I make that up? …Either way, it seems rude of your outfit to do that to you, like? Jeez, why would you do that, it just seems like a really good way to give people dysphoria, right?”
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 10:41 pm
Haruhi rolled nis eyes at Reiki, but hid a smile behind drinking more water. It was nice to have nis cynicism described as a good counterbalance, even a whole favorite thing. Not even ne was cynical enough to give a good ol' "bah humbug!" to that, not to nis cousin. It was just... sweet. Thankfully, ne had finished drinking nis bottle of water before Reiki's next question startled a laugh from nem. "Yes, yes I did," ne said, chuckling, "I'm glad you chose to appreciate my alliteration. I had to work on that one." Then ne sighed a bit, giving Reiki a sad smile. "Yeah, though... But what can I do, other than get stronger and ********' pray? The bangles, uh... let's just say I can't rip them off the underlying cloth." The situation was so ridiculous. Holy s**t.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:13 pm
“Mmm, yeah, I think the bangles might be some kind of uniform thing, actually?” Finishing off his water, Reiki set the bottle aside on his nightstand. And with his only incentive to sit up gone, he was going to slide down again, thanks, wiggling until he got back into sweet, sweet, comfortable horizontal-ness. “I’ll show you later, but my outfit has, like, silver bracers on it? So does Levi’s. And two more senshi like us, Sailor Sappho and Sailor Bélénos? Sappho has silver bracers, and Bélénos has gold ones.… So, I feel like those are just……a thing we all do, y’know?”
Still, one point did deserve to be acknowledged, and as he rolled onto his side, Reiki agreed, “Yours are more intricate than all the other examples I’ve seen, though.… But maybe as you get stronger, they’ll change to be more your aesthetic.” Since he was down here anyway, he took the opportunity to give his Best Girl a kiss on her cute little nose. “Anyway, as much as I love my outfit? I’m in the ‘get stronger and pray’ sort of place with my magic right now, so…at least you’re not in the boat alone?”
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2022 12:14 am
"Bracers...? Oh, no, those are... like, fine, I guess. Pretty. Not my style of pretty, but I'm okay with them. And the leggy things," ne said, "I was trying to imply that the boob bangles are, uh. Not very attached to anything underneath. C Ould use a little more cloth there." Ne chuckled a bit, rubbing Cersei's back and then patting her side twice before standing up. "We'll take this boat together, now that we're both in it," ne said firmly, "I'm not leaving you behind, niichan. Except to go the ******** to sleep, because I can't sleep in the same bed with you and the dog."
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