Raph stared off into the distance, letting his eyes unfocus as Draxum silently bandaged his arm. He'd known the yokai would find out about his Nexus fights eventually, but still, he couldn't help but wish it hadn't been from a wound reopening. Maybe he should have let Big Mama's doctors stitch it up instead of just bandaging it himself after all.
Draxum gave the bandages a sharp tug. "I don't know how you let it get like this."
Raph shrugged a little, as much as he could with one hand immobilized. "It's not that bad. 'Sides, I've had worse."
"And I am well aware of that, given the fact that you're missing a hand," Draxum returned drily. "What I want to know is why you didn't tell me."
"I told you I had a job."
"And conveniently neglected to mention that said job was fighting in the Battle Nexus."
"Not like you asked what it was."
Draxum huffed in irritation, probably to avoid acknowledging that Raph had a point. "And you made a deal with her of all people? What could Big Mama possibly provide for you that would be worth that?"
Could Raph tell him the truth? That he needed to have Big Mama protect something, and he couldn't trust Draxum to do the job? Because as much as Raph turned a blind eye to it, they both knew of Draxum's desire to wipe out humanity, and Raph wasn't good enough at math to calculate the risks of giving the Key into the hands of a man who so desperately wanted to cause mass destruction and telling him not to use it.
Draxum didn't seem to really expect an answer as he tied the bandages. "If this Nexus thing is an attempt of yours at self destruction--"
Raph glared at the yokai. "I ain't takin' a lecture on self destruction from you of all people."
Draxum bristled back, then suddenly seemed to deflate. "It... it worries me, you know."
And Raph didn't know, actually. Draxum didn't express things like worry, in this timeline, at least. The open, honest concern in Draxum's eyes felt too foreign now.
"I've seen what it can do to people over the years. How it twists them--breaks them. I don't want that to happen to you, Ragnarok."
Raph looked away and swallowed uncomfortably as Draxum cast a spell on the bandages, probably waterproofing or something. "I'll, uh, keep that in mind."
"Do you... want to stay for dinner?" Draxum asks, and if that wasn't an attempt, however clumsy, at reconciliation, Raph would buy a hat just to eat it.
"Sure."
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I decided to mess around with the art style of this one. Also, I am once again redesigning Raph's tattoos for this au lol.
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I wanted to see your LCSYS take on the differences in the prisoners' uniforms in the Milgram Hallucination event:
The outfits all zip in the front, even those that wouldn't in the art. Shugo wears a coat instead of a cape. Ryota doesn't have half of his uniform tucked in. Minami is wearing a skirt under her costume. (Hi Nott!) Maybe I missed some.
Hmm, that's a neat detail! Because presumably they'd have their uniforms on hand, and they should just wear those. The fact that they had to create new ones leads to a few possibilities: 1. Milgram didn't realize what a hit the songs would be, and figured they wouldn't need these random straightjackets anymore. They got rid of them after the experiment, 2. Milgram gave the prisoners their uniforms to keep and they're the ones that threw them out, not caring to remember their life of restraints, or 3. Milgram does actually face some real-world consequences for being incredibly shady, and all their possessions are currently being investigated by the government. I personally think option 3 is funniest, and enjoy picturing Jackalope planning a live concert and selling merch while simultaneously trying to cover up a huge potential scandal/legal battle behind the scenes asdfsdf.
Amane's case is slightly different, since hers has to do with her own clothes. I like to think it'd be a sign of her leaving her old life behind and starting over. When Mahiru takes her in, (with Amane's permission,) she completely replaces her wardrobe to remove any painful memories that may be attached. There are a few things she liked too much to part with, maybe including her purple hat :) When it's time to perform, Jackalope offers to find her a skirt just like her original, but she prefers to do without it.
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