Alright, the jack in the box is wound, and the coherence is coming to me. Halsin and the dryad, I was talking about his response if the PC indicates that he is most comfortable after a supper large enough to induce hibernation:
"Mindless gorging...? No, that is not right. I did not realize you thought that of me."
And why this keeps catching in my mind is not necessarily what he says, but how he says it (so I am commending Dave Jones' voice acting here). The rest of Halsin's responses to incorrect answers are generally even toned and corrective; firm, usually, but not inherently overly emotional. Much like a teacher correcting a student. But this one...he sounds genuinely surprised and taken aback that the PC would even suggest that. The "no, that is not right" is even firmer on its heels. And the last part...the last part, his voice is smaller. Less forward. I would not go so far as to suggest hurt, but it is approaching that territory. It comes so fast after his firm no, that it almost sounds like something that slipped by accident. Like something that was meant to be muttered under the breath, but it slipped from him because the surprise was so organic.
Alone, it doesn't mean too much. It's a slight offense to an obviously nonfactual statement. And that's likely all it is. I'm about to read too deep into this, I am aware.
But combined with the other things spread throughout Halsin's dialogue, particularly the implication that he is otherwise used to people making commentary on his physical appearance or the physicality of his being, it suggests an extra layer of hurt. An extra layer of: "I did not expect this from you, of all people." Not quite a betrayal, but approaching one.
What makes it particularly catching, is that one of the things you are able to wrench (and I say wrench because getting Halsin to share mundane personal details about himself is a production - and it makes *sense* it's a production if a. We keep in mind that Halsin himself doesn't seem all too sure who he is beyond his preoccupation - which elves are prone to but Halsin also just has...a lot on his plate that have evidently stunted his identity formation - to the point where he even claims he was forgetting who he was, and b. If he is used to questions concerning himself and his experience leading into questions regarding his sex life or his physical activities, see: the companion banter with Wyll and Karlach, he likely...doesn't really keep ready details about himself personally on tap anymore. He's so unused to people being interested in Halsin, that he's taken aback when they are. It becomes the "In the moment, I forget everything and anything I like to do for fun" mentality - no one really cares about what I like to do anyway - if you will. He even goes so far as to joking that the PC may be a doppelganger because *why else would they want to know these things*) out of Halsin when you ask him about himself is that he has a sweet tooth. That he likes honey, and people find that amusing. He chuckles, but his face falls, evidently prepping for the PC to make a similar comment (and he attempts to beat you to the joke about that, though a PC can still call that "on the nose" to which he responds that there is little point in denying oneself if it doesn't hurt anybody - indulging isn't a bad thing). If the PC instead chooses that he should pay little attention to what others think, he gives that infamous: "sometimes I think people look at me and imagine my feelings can't be hurt" line. Which implies - regardless of whether he verbalizes it or not - things in this thread hurt his feelings. Comments or assumptions about his body and his person hurt his feelings. He won't say it, but they do. The PC is likely aware of this by this point in the relationship.
Halsin does not otherwise bring up eating or food to any level of significance or directness - the sweet tooth comment was the only time (you could assume outside of canon interactions that they've had other conversations between them and that perhaps this was brought up, but we are going to base this solely in what Halsin reveals in canon). He brings up hibernation, but specifically the sleeping part of it. Nothing else.
So, the PC then potentially goes ahead and makes an assumption of him during the dryad. How'd they arrive at this conclusion, as it obviously surprises Halsin that they did? It reads, very much, that the PC is making this assumption based on the comment about his sweet tooth, his comment on indulgence, and his physicality (note: the ha ha bear and hibernation thing almost seems like an afterthought - Halsin latches *very* quickly onto the "mindless gorging" part). All things that he has shown very evident discomfort (which is ironic because the question is when he feels most comfortable) or hesitance towards (he claims there is nothing wrong with indulgence, but never seems to indulge himself beyond sex, if that. Gee, what does that remind you of?)
Halsin entrusted this individual with this information, as frivolous as it was, potentially revealed that it hurts his feelings when people make assumptions of him, and this individual then went used that information and made the assuming connection: "So, this is a big man. He said he liked sugar, so he must like to eat and indulge. It must be his favourite thing to do because look at him." I am going to essentially ignore everything else I could have possibly heard, and make a bear hibernation joke that has nothing to do with sleeping being a comfort, but emphasize the eating part.
So, yeah, he's a little taken aback - incredulous, you might say. A little hurt. Resigned, almost. Because at that point, you can make a very logical assumption that Halsin came to a very quick snap realization that perhaps this person was not so different from the others as he thought. That it always eventually comes back to that. What else was he expecting? When has it ever been any different for him?
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⊶Keepin' it ℝeal⊷
I've been really into the marines/government folks lately, and I know they aren't the type to easily be swayed when it comes to making up their minds 🥰🥰🥰
Rob Lucci, X Drake, Rosinante
accidentally ~2.4k words (in total)
some hot and heavy themes, but...
if you know me by now, ya know ͡° ل͜ ͡°
Lucci
Being in the presence of such a profound and intimidating man was no easy feat – each glance he cast your way felt like a finger pistol straight into your heart, and when you realized you were still breathing, his occasional seductive smirks laced with poorly contained lust put your heart to the test time and again.
You knew he didn’t necessarily lack patience, but more so he didn’t care for any delay.
That much was evident when he set the round snifter down onto the table with a little less delicacy as he had earlier before, when the night was slightly more young; the remainder of the amber drink being drained effortlessly as it marked the final obstacle between you two getting to the main event of the night. Dinner by candlelight was nice and all, but it was evident that it was you who he hungered for based on him undressing you the whole time his eyes laid upon you. The one of many smirks that’s been tugging at the corner of his mouth finally widened into the mischievous smile he seemed to be suppressing all evening.
Imbued with a new sense of urgency, Lucci stood before you, almost taking out the table as if it stood in the way of his cravings, his desires. He loomed over you with no intent to leave until sated.
“Y/N, I’m done wasting time.”
It didn’t take much to get past the sheer chiffon that draped your shoulders and barely covered your chest; a clean and effortless swipe of a finger cleared the way, and you couldn’t decide whether his deftness reminded you of his feline tendencies per his devil fruit or if it was thanks to the expediency of what his job called for.
Either way, no longer did any of your pesky clothing obstruct Lucci’s visage as the sight of your undergarments seemed to make his jaw drop onto the floor – joining some of your damaged clothes thanks to his impulsive handiwork.
However, the desirous scrutiny you were once under seemed to twist into.. a daze? disgust? disappointment? On most occasions, you were rather proficient at reading the taciturn man, but in this moment, it was hard to tell..
“Leopard..print?”
Lucci’s eyes lingered only a second more on your feline-inspired lingerie before meeting yours – looking for confirmation in his disbelief. You couldn’t help the small smile that was breaking free from containment, as you took this as a good sign; that he couldn’t believe you would do this for him, and you wanted to show how devoted, how serious you were about all of this.
Your smile beamed into a grin as you spoke.
“I knew you would like it- ”
“I don’t.”
“…huh?”
You were taken aback by the harshness and brevity of his statement. Your grin wilted into a pout as you tried to make sense of his disapproval.
How could he not like it…?
“But it’s your- ”
“Exactly. Y/N, do you- ” he cut himself off before steeling his point across through a narrow glare. “I will ask you this one thing, but regardless of the answer, you will leave.”
The space between you increased, but the heaviness of the room remained.
“What if I wore a human suit? Used your hide as undergarments?”
The hesitancy in giving a reply and the dryness of your throat gave away your non-answer, and he could only move to wring his tired brow from the impending headache coming his way. “Leave.”
“T-to be fair, you kind of already are wearing a human suit since you are a- ” you attempt to reason but he was hearing none of it.
“Go.”
“BUT YOU ARE WEARING A HUMAN SUIT! WHAT IS YOUR SKIN COVERING??”
“Y/N.”
“…and you could have worn my ass,” you mutter under your breath as you collect yourself from the table and readied to leave. “Wore my ass OUT- ”
“NOW.”
a/n: sorry that I like watering down his meanie behaviors but if you tried any of this fr fr you would be dead lmao just sayin
X Drake
It wasn’t often that the two of you were able to be alone, away from it all - away from the world, away from the navy, away from the…
Riiiing….ring
Well, almost completely alone.
This transponder snail has been giving you the creeps lately; for a government issued communication device, it sure had a way of…malfunctioning, as of late. The slight and almost inaudible ring of the snail did not go unnoticed by you, but it definitely went unnoticed by Drake - who already promised that nothing could get in the way of him getting to you now as he pinned you to the bed between his arms.
He just mustered up enough courage to finally touch you without fainting on the spot, and just as you were about to congratulate him by directing his hands to the prize, of course there would be a distraction to keep that from happening.
A gangly stalk veered in your direction from across the room on the dresser as Drake somehow didn’t take any notice, which garnered a creeping smile from the not-so-discreet gastropod. It was obvious that he’s been pining to touch you as your blouse started to inch its way up due to the guidance of some grabby hands, but you just couldn’t work in these conditions.
“It’s watching us.”
“No it isn’t, it’s just there.”
Drake, despite being a super-secret covert double agent, didn’t bother to ask what you were even talking about as he attempted to continue on with his exploration. As much you wouldn’t mind, you did, however, mind having a spectator.
Growing a bit bold from the non-attention of Drake, both eyestalks found their way to your persons as Drake vied for you full and undivided attention by locking you down into an embrace, sealed with a kiss.
Right as your shirt was beginning to give up on concealing what wasn’t already visible-
“Is someone hacking it – is it eavesdropping?”
Very and visibly annoyed that you won’t stop talking through a kiss, Drake sat up halfway onto an elbow to see what was so important to interrupt.
“It is a living creature, it, uh, moves from time to time.” The conversation tested his patience as Drake tried to politely assuage any concern and worry you had into undivided attention back to him.
As soon as he redirected his focus back to you, the snail whipped its spindly eyestalks back to you at an unnatural speed for a typical snail. It was at this point that you knew something was definitely up with this thing.
Sitting up immediately on the bed – causing poor Drake to lose his balance down to the floor – you point an accusing finger at the snail, which also happened to be at the exact moment it decided to act natural.
“DRAKE. IT WAS WATCHING. I WANT IT GONE.”
“Y/N, I can’t just get rid of it,” Drake huffed in frustration as he pulled himself up from the floor – the building aggravation evident in the speed of his speech. “It’s my only means of communication and I can’t just turn it off or on like talking about it.”
“Well, I can’t be turned on until you turn it off.”
“Are you..are you suggesting I kill it?”
“W-well no, just cover it up or something – I don’t want to see it, see me.”
“Then it will suffocate and I can’t hear it ring.”
“Don’t you stuff that thing in your pocket all the time?”
“It’s close enough I can hear a call.”
“Drake its so ugly and slimy and if it as much as look at me one more time, I’m dousing it in salt.”
It was at that point that sad eyes wandered to meet Drake’s, confirming that its feelings were hurt. Also because a glance towards you meant that death was imminent.
Almost as if a bait-and-switch of sour-then-sweet when it came to the two of you, Drake immediately fell for the dejected eyes of the snail over your malice towards it.
“Y/N, you need to apologize.”
A steeled tongue – much different from the one prodding around in your mouth moments ago – spoke as if you committed a crime against the government personally and demanded amends.
“What is happening- ”
“Nothing until you apologize.”
“Not happening.”
The heat that once simmered the room chilled off into tension as the three of you sat in silence at an impasse.
“…did you really just include the snail as a person in this argument??” you ask incredulously, crossing your arms in front of your chest in offense that your current reality right now is being ruined by a damn snail with wandering eyes and your lover is apparently siding with it??
“It’s sitting right there and you were the one to rope him into this.”
“Drake, I don’t care what you do but I want him out of here!”
“Say less.”
Drake stomped over to the dresser where the crestfallen snail sat – whisking the transponder snail up with a loving but brisk scoop and stormed towards the door.
The passing glance that you expected from Drake didn’t come from him, but instead from the transponder snail as it continued to eye you down with a knowing squint – confident of its security in Drake’s arms as he passed you by.
a/n: this really reminds me of the stupid trope of your pet/family photos/ungodly collection of squishmallows watching you while you try to have some personal time but there’s just too many eyes watching you, man. Also, this man is gonna blow his cover because those transponder snails are marked by the Marines and its so obvious pffft. Also also, those poor transponder snails know too much and its not even their fault lmao
Rosinante
Tonight, you really wanted to test the limits and see how far you could go and how long he would let you.
You two were already breaking the rules - with you being in his barracks and all – but to violate the noise ordinance with offensive and suggestive noises? You were just asking for a dishonorable discharge. And with no thanks to your service.
Over an hour had passed and you two were still going at it. Or better yet, you were still going at it whereas Rosinante was running low on patience and composure – ironically enough.
“Y/N, can we please just settle do-”
“Wait, after this one, because I really need to know after this one to make sure you aren’t playing me,” you insisted before moving on to the next thing on tonight’s itinerary.
“Please just trust me on this, Y/N. If the 50ft rope of firecrackers, the TV at max volume with the already illegally louder-than-normal commercials, incredibly out of tune bugle, and the rinky-dink blender full of peach pits and ice didn’t alarm anyone, I assure you, I assure you, we will be fine.” Rosinante emphasized the running list of noise pollution with a finger count that was about to get longer as he awaited your next escapade.
And it didn’t take long.
“Sengoku smells like eggs!”
Rosinante was taken aback, that’s for sure, but you couldn’t tell if the crimson creeping up from his chest to his face was from him trying to stifle any laughter back or him possibly being offended – seeing as how Sengoku was pretty much his dad.
The thickening silence was practically palpable as it weighed you down, along with the heavy and unrelenting glare that Rosinante hurled at you.
Although there was quiet, it wasn’t the same empty quiet as times before, like when the blender was whirring or the TV blasting. There was a medium in the air, but was it…Rosinante’s annoyance?
“Admiral Sengoku.”
You forgot your formalities when making a childish insult, and to someone as dear to Rosinante, at that.
“It’s ‘Admiral Sengoku smells like eggs’,” Rosinante asserted, but soon realized his faux pas once the correction blurted from his mouth, and even more so when he made the declaration a little louder than he intended.
The both of you were stupefied that that would even come out of his mouth and the each of you swung an accusing finger at another – both of you surprised but also to prove a point; you awaited to see if his sound barrier was legitimate and that no one heard his little announcement, and Rosinante pointed in shock that he would even let that come out of his mouth and hope no one heard that because he definitely let his guard-
CRRRRRSSSSSSSHHHHHHH!!!!!
Reminiscent of a giant, jolly refreshing pitcher of red sugary drink, the golden and much more angrier counterpart of the Kool-Aid man crashed through the wall – actually demolishing the entire side of the barracks in which a handful of other marines resided – much to the misfortune (or…fortune, if you’re into Sengoku balls or whatever I don’t know pffft) of being on the lower floors of the residence hall and waking up to peer into a golden loincloth.
“Rosinante, I smell like what?”
Rosinante could only gulp back a response since it was obvious that actually giving one would more than likely be worse; he was an honest man and couldn’t help himself – especially when it came to Admiral Sengoku. The best he could do was stand at attention and hope the fringe of hair covering most of his eyes could protect him.
“Not only violating ‘Light’s Out’ with unauthorized guests, but also violating the noise ordinance ON TOP OF disrespecting your superior with-“
“Eggs.”
Like two owls turning their heads smoothly on a pivot in unison, Rosinante and Admiral Sengoku faced you with as many definitions of the word ‘incredulous’ could give.
“That’s what Rosinante said.”
Sengoku blinked back with slight surprise that you would actually repeat it and Rosinante with the inevitable fact that he’s definitely the one taking the fall for all of this and you’re definitely digging a deeper hole from him to be buried in.
“He said you smelled like eggs. ‘Admiral Sengoku smells like eggs.’ Yeah. WELP. Guess I’ll be going now, don’t want to break any more rules than I have already, sir. Good night <3”
You decide that instead of trying to reason with a hulking golden man that is easily 30ft tall, it would be best to let a father and son talk things out without you getting in the way of things.
You leave them to their peace and quiet.
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