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week 1 - post-mm reveal.
[ well that sure was a whole load of bullshit that happened back there. raven hates, more than anything, being a pawn of someone else's master plan. she knows what it's like, and she thought she'd broken free from those chains -- turns out she was wrong.
and the chains these people have are sturdy. strong. and yet, raven refuses to die in this place, especially now that she knows the stakes involved here.
raven's especially on-edge after the mastermind meeting is over. sorry, shiro. ]
and the chains these people have are sturdy. strong. and yet, raven refuses to die in this place, especially now that she knows the stakes involved here.
raven's especially on-edge after the mastermind meeting is over. sorry, shiro. ]
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Simply put, Shiro isn't sure he'll be sleeping well tonight. He's exhausted, down to his bones, and he's still getting used to being in a body. Everything feels so unreal. At first, he hardly notices how on-edge Raven is; he's so caught up in feeling too much all at once, but... ]
Raven.
[ His voice is low, shaken. ]
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she doesn't know how to feel. she just feels angry. so when shiro approaches her, she bristles. she grits her teeth, looking away. she shuts her eyes. her brow is furrowed. ]
What? Here to ask me about how I'm doing again?
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No, because that's about the worst question I could ask you.
[ His voice is steadier now, but it's quiet. There's something almost broken in it; usually, he'd be able to keep that in check better, but...
God, he's so tired. ]
Just here to lend an ear if you need it. Or to help you find something to punch, if that's what you want instead.
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How -- [ she sounds incredulous. she does nothing to hide her panic, either. ] How can you say that?
[ then...she just starts sounding angry again, but she's at least not yelling... ]
Offering your kindness so freely to someone who may just stab you in the back later. Taking your chances on a bunch of strangers you've only just met who are fully capable of doing the same. [ ... ] What are you doing?
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Shiro glances away from her, but only for the briefest of moments. ]
Maybe you will. And maybe you won't. I can't be one hundred percent sure, can I? [ He knows. ] I'm taking a chance on people... but if I turned my back on someone because of what they might do, without knowing them well, I wouldn't be the man I am today.
[ He fixes her with a look, and he doesn't back down. He's tired. And that paranoia he tries to stifle threatens to claw its way to the surface... and yet. ]
Kindness is more powerful than a lot of people realize.
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[ she grits her teeth, clenches her fist at her side. ]
My tribe is dead. [ my daughter is dead -- is what she wants to say, but she bites her tongue. even now, in this great moment of weakness, raven is too prideful to admit that she loves yang. she knows she does, but exposing that weakness in front of a complete stranger...
yeah. no can do. ]
I'm sure you've lost people you've fought for, too. Kindness didn't save them. What makes you think it's going to save anyone else?
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[ And it burns, cuts deeper than any wound he's ever sustained, to know that they're gone. They'd been dragged into a war they never should've been a part of, because of him. Once, a man with his face had vowed to bring them back home.
So much for that. They'll never see Earth again. They'll never exist again. ]
Nothing could have saved them. Not pushing people away. Not kindness. Even if everyone we know and love is dead, I doubt they'd want me to stop showing compassion to those in need. [ A pause. ] And even those who might not need it.
It's better than being thrown into-- [ the gladiator pits, dark and loud with the cheers of people who see him as nothing more than the champion, heavy with the scent of blood and-- ] --this and resorting to slaughtering each other.
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what that means will come to her in time. right now, she's too fixated on her confusion, how many thoughts are running through her head. nothing could have saved her tribe, qrow, taiyang, yang. and now that they're gone...
what does she have left?
you really only have yourself at the end of the day. ]
...
[ there's a brief look of hurt and confusion that flashes across her face before it contorts into anger again. what he says...reminds her of what tai would have told her. qrow and yang, too. she hates that a man she's just met is already hitting her where it hurts. ]
We don't have a choice, Shiro. This world -- this entire scenario they've crafted for us -- is every man for himself.
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[ He's firm in that belief. When it came down to it, Shiro had always chosen kindness when he could. Space battles notwithstanding, that is; Shiro isn't a fool, despite what Raven had said. But kindness...
It had paved the way to meeting Keith. To helping Keith find a place where he belonged. To saving Matt. To finding and reforming Voltron. Again and again, Shiro can't count on two hands how many times kindness has been the right choice. ]
I used to be a leader. And when the going got tough, banding together--it was the only way we got out of some serious, deadly situations.
[ Like on Naxzela, when they had--no. That wasn't him, was it? For a moment, he's shaken again, but he gathers himself and looks at Raven again, with distant eyes. ]
Without the bonds I'd made... I wouldn't be standing here.
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but raven isn't going back on her word. showing kindness, showing weakness to people who can and will exploit it isn't an option. is shiro one of those people? he doesn't seem like it, but who knows. she can't trust anyone here to not play along with this stupid game. ]
Then what do you suggest? We all hug and make friends with one another and pray that the power of love and friendship will magically get us out of this mess?
[ she narrows her eyes. ] The only thing I need to do here is survive. That's what's kept me standing here, all this time.
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So. ]
Of course not. Expecting everyone to magically get along isn't just unrealistic. But being at each other's throats and laying the hostility on thick--that won't help this hell we're in.
You can survive... and still reach your hand out to someone. I know that more than well enough.
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raven grits her teeth again, snarls a little before she turns away. she can't look at him when she's at her weakest. she ducks her head, hands balled into fists at her sides.
she shakes her head. ]
Extending a hand has never done me any favors. I didn't need it back then. I don't need it now.
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Would Keith have ended up like Raven?
He shakes that thought off. Pushes it far, far down, because if he thinks of Keith or anyone right now, when he's so vulnerable and raw, Shiro isn't sure he'll be able to keep it together. ]
That's up to you. I won't force it.
Just know that the offer's on the table indefinitely.
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here, where she's the only one left. ironic, isn't it. even with salem and her faction gone, raven feels more afraid and alone than ever.
kindness, selfishness -- none of it matters, does it? she doesn't trust the lady or rembrandt to bring anything back. and with everyone gone...
all she has left are her instincts. all she has left is the subconscious drive to keep on doing what she's always done, even if it hurts people in the process.
the only thing shiro hears before raven walks away is a quiet, heavy sigh. ]