Cares of a Matriarch
Apr. 27th, 2021 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerno idea where this came from and i need to be in bed but this wanted to be written first
Cast of Characters: Amaya-kai, the yakuza clan they all belong to
Miyamoto Suna (Xander), Matriarch of the Miyamoto-gumi/Miyamoto Family, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai, past Captain of the Kumai-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai, past member of the defunct Amaya-kai subsidiary Hisamatsu-gumi, nicknamed Haiena due to her irezumi, (occasionally Sunao or Nao-kun as Miyamoto's genderfluid)
Kumai-gumi, the Family formerly headed by Kumai Atae before her betrayal, now led by the troublemakers of the Amaya-kai
Inoue Yuu (Andrew), Cook, Co-Captain of the Miyamoto-gumi
Natsukawa Renyo (Buffy), Chairwoman of the Amaya-kai
Akiyama Yoko (Willow), Matriarch of the Akiyama-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai, past Captain of the Aiki Consortium, an Amaya-kai subsidiary
Cordy, as herself
Aoki Mayuho (Dani Oliver)-Member of the Miyamoto-gumi
Author's Note: In this universe, Japan is run by the women. As is the Yakuza. Every time I write it comes to my attention just how terrible of a friend Miyamoto thinks she is, which...she's got a point, but she's also wrong. She just didn't handle tragedy well, which both Akiyama and Natsukawa understand, and Miyamoto will continue to beat herself up about it appears. Sexism is the opposite direction, but no better for it. In general this version of Japan is okay with, say, same-sex marriage as long as people don't step out of their defined roles. For someone who's genderfluid like Miyamoto, this doesn't help much.
Definitions: irezumi no youkai=tattoo spirit that gives yakuza their powers
onabe=female equivalent of an okama (crossdresser/trans/homosexual), generally not a compliment. Suna should not be throwing around this word casually, particularly in the context, but she's being more than a little self-disparaging at the moment.
More author's notes: background notes
Main Points:
Buffy/Yakuza AU (Bloody Petals)
Chapter Summary: Panic attacks, for Miyamoto, mean climbing, when she can manage it.
Word Count: 885
Rating: Teen
Warning: panic attack, depression/low self-esteem, excessive swearing (legit suna's going ham on this one), minor/short internalized genderfluid-phobia/sexism.
“Hell, I thought I was over this shit.” Miyamoto’s sure she’s quite the sight, if anyone bothers to look up. The Hyena, perched on one of the tallest building she can find, crying in the rain. People would probably be scared, if they saw. That’s how they usually respond, to anything she does outta the ordinary. To be fair, it’s usually the safe assumption, stayin’ far away when she’s in a weird mood, ‘cause that’s how fools get stabbed.
She should be on top of the world, flyin' sky high. Matriarch, with a loyal, ridiculous Family, newlywed, strong. With a relatively solid position within the Clan, too, which so many would skin a woman over attainin'. Friends, or at least as close as you could get in the world of the yakuza.
But she couldn’t hack it. It just…kept pilin’ up. Surprise inspection, more Kumai-gumi shitstirrin’, runnin’ outta twinkies, gettin’ a tear in her good pair’a jeans, breakin’ that lightbulb an’ panickin’ ‘bout the mercury inside…all tiny things, insignificant, but for some reason it just felt like too much. So before she knew it, she was climbin’ the nearest buildin’. Not a good idea in the rain, really. Be easy to fall and die, even with the healing an irezumi no youkai gave. Probably giving Inoue-chan a heart attack, though. For a Miyamoto-gumi Captain, she takes it all too seriously.
But maybe she’s in good company, there. It’s definitely harder than it was when she was a kid, but usually the exertion is enough to soothe the ache. Back when…whatever tragic-ass backstory happened. Back when climbing to not be found was an escape. This time, though, it ain’t enough. The rain, nearly falling, the slight wind as she gets high up, none of ‘em are enough. She still feels like shit. Maybe she is.
She’d gone an’ abandoned her childhood friends, for one. They’d kept her in their memory, and it’s not even…she ain’t a good friend, all right? Not if she just dropped them like they were nothing—hell, if she was just the selfish brat, she shoulda stuck to Natsukawa like glue, angle for that promotion. It ain’t just embarrassment when they remember her bein’ thick, though that’s a factor, too. Naw, it’s shame, too. Like her pain’s the only thing that mattered, like she’s the only one to have ever suffered. Ridiculous. They’re convinced they’re her friends, and she ain’t so sure, ‘cause it can’t be one-sided, can it? How can they just forgive her, just like that, when she ain’t even ready to forgive herself?
An’ Cordy-kun. Would she be here, all other things considered? If she had a choice, really had a choice, would she be with Miyamoto? If they all saw what a scared little boy she was inside, would they still choose her? If they didn’t see her all manic and confident, would they keep followin’ her like she was the Pied Piper, or would they all wander off, uninterested anymore?
What’s wrong with her, that Aoki-chan’s easy enough t’ accept, but she can’t muster that same understandin’ fer herself?
Weak, she snarls at herself, earning only an unimpressed squawk from a crow. The Amaya-kai has no need for a weak yakuza, an’ without that, who is she? Bein’ a geek ain’t nothin’ special, even in America where they don’t throw around otaku as an insult? What value does she have, other than her position? The Clan needs a loyal, strong Matriarch, an’ all right, half of that’s right, but it ain’t like loyalty an’ strength can’t coexist. Crossdressin’ freaks? Look at where they live; they got onabe bars around. Cordy-kun just needed an organization strong enough to protect her. Sure, it’d be risky, possibly callin’ down a war, but she coulda sold her skills to the Amaya-kai. She didn’t need a sham of a marriage. Her own family don’t need her, just someone like her, and the Hisamatsu and Kumai minted enough of those. A puppet could fill those shoes—hell, some’a her gals could do that, easy as winkin’—
The hell?
“Suna, are you up here?” Well, if that ain’t a punch in the tits. If Cordy-kun’s tryin’ t’ give her somethin’ else t’ panic about, she’s doin’ a pretty good job. Her husband’s actually climbin’ up, though at least wearin’ a suit, not a stuffy kimono.
“The hell?” she mutters, but it’s under her breath more than anything. She tries to respond, but the words won’t come.
She slips, though, and Suna’s heart’s jackrabbitin’ in her throat as she makes a mad dive. Still, Cordy-kun’s not intimidated in the slightest. No fear. Even as she has to be pulled up by Miyamoto's sweaty, shaking hands. People say the Hyena's inhumanly fearsome, they clearly ain't seen Cordy stroll inta a fight club or nearly fall off a building.
“I can read souls. You think a little thing like acting all mysterious is going to stop me from figuring it out? You can thank Inoue-chan for giving away that you hide on buildings, by the way.”
“Imma stab her a lot,” Suna mutters, but leans into her husband's open arms and doesn’t stop Cordy-kun from further ruining her suit with rain and tears as she pulls her into a hug and lets her cry on her shoulder.
Cast of Characters: Amaya-kai, the yakuza clan they all belong to
Miyamoto Suna (Xander), Matriarch of the Miyamoto-gumi/Miyamoto Family, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai, past Captain of the Kumai-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai, past member of the defunct Amaya-kai subsidiary Hisamatsu-gumi, nicknamed Haiena due to her irezumi, (occasionally Sunao or Nao-kun as Miyamoto's genderfluid)
Kumai-gumi, the Family formerly headed by Kumai Atae before her betrayal, now led by the troublemakers of the Amaya-kai
Inoue Yuu (Andrew), Cook, Co-Captain of the Miyamoto-gumi
Natsukawa Renyo (Buffy), Chairwoman of the Amaya-kai
Akiyama Yoko (Willow), Matriarch of the Akiyama-gumi, a Direct Family of the Amaya-kai, past Captain of the Aiki Consortium, an Amaya-kai subsidiary
Cordy, as herself
Aoki Mayuho (Dani Oliver)-Member of the Miyamoto-gumi
Author's Note: In this universe, Japan is run by the women. As is the Yakuza. Every time I write it comes to my attention just how terrible of a friend Miyamoto thinks she is, which...she's got a point, but she's also wrong. She just didn't handle tragedy well, which both Akiyama and Natsukawa understand, and Miyamoto will continue to beat herself up about it appears. Sexism is the opposite direction, but no better for it. In general this version of Japan is okay with, say, same-sex marriage as long as people don't step out of their defined roles. For someone who's genderfluid like Miyamoto, this doesn't help much.
Definitions: irezumi no youkai=tattoo spirit that gives yakuza their powers
onabe=female equivalent of an okama (crossdresser/trans/homosexual), generally not a compliment. Suna should not be throwing around this word casually, particularly in the context, but she's being more than a little self-disparaging at the moment.
More author's notes: background notes
Main Points:
Buffy/Yakuza AU (Bloody Petals)
Chapter Summary: Panic attacks, for Miyamoto, mean climbing, when she can manage it.
Word Count: 885
Rating: Teen
Warning: panic attack, depression/low self-esteem, excessive swearing (legit suna's going ham on this one), minor/short internalized genderfluid-phobia/sexism.
“Hell, I thought I was over this shit.” Miyamoto’s sure she’s quite the sight, if anyone bothers to look up. The Hyena, perched on one of the tallest building she can find, crying in the rain. People would probably be scared, if they saw. That’s how they usually respond, to anything she does outta the ordinary. To be fair, it’s usually the safe assumption, stayin’ far away when she’s in a weird mood, ‘cause that’s how fools get stabbed.
She should be on top of the world, flyin' sky high. Matriarch, with a loyal, ridiculous Family, newlywed, strong. With a relatively solid position within the Clan, too, which so many would skin a woman over attainin'. Friends, or at least as close as you could get in the world of the yakuza.
But she couldn’t hack it. It just…kept pilin’ up. Surprise inspection, more Kumai-gumi shitstirrin’, runnin’ outta twinkies, gettin’ a tear in her good pair’a jeans, breakin’ that lightbulb an’ panickin’ ‘bout the mercury inside…all tiny things, insignificant, but for some reason it just felt like too much. So before she knew it, she was climbin’ the nearest buildin’. Not a good idea in the rain, really. Be easy to fall and die, even with the healing an irezumi no youkai gave. Probably giving Inoue-chan a heart attack, though. For a Miyamoto-gumi Captain, she takes it all too seriously.
But maybe she’s in good company, there. It’s definitely harder than it was when she was a kid, but usually the exertion is enough to soothe the ache. Back when…whatever tragic-ass backstory happened. Back when climbing to not be found was an escape. This time, though, it ain’t enough. The rain, nearly falling, the slight wind as she gets high up, none of ‘em are enough. She still feels like shit. Maybe she is.
She’d gone an’ abandoned her childhood friends, for one. They’d kept her in their memory, and it’s not even…she ain’t a good friend, all right? Not if she just dropped them like they were nothing—hell, if she was just the selfish brat, she shoulda stuck to Natsukawa like glue, angle for that promotion. It ain’t just embarrassment when they remember her bein’ thick, though that’s a factor, too. Naw, it’s shame, too. Like her pain’s the only thing that mattered, like she’s the only one to have ever suffered. Ridiculous. They’re convinced they’re her friends, and she ain’t so sure, ‘cause it can’t be one-sided, can it? How can they just forgive her, just like that, when she ain’t even ready to forgive herself?
An’ Cordy-kun. Would she be here, all other things considered? If she had a choice, really had a choice, would she be with Miyamoto? If they all saw what a scared little boy she was inside, would they still choose her? If they didn’t see her all manic and confident, would they keep followin’ her like she was the Pied Piper, or would they all wander off, uninterested anymore?
What’s wrong with her, that Aoki-chan’s easy enough t’ accept, but she can’t muster that same understandin’ fer herself?
Weak, she snarls at herself, earning only an unimpressed squawk from a crow. The Amaya-kai has no need for a weak yakuza, an’ without that, who is she? Bein’ a geek ain’t nothin’ special, even in America where they don’t throw around otaku as an insult? What value does she have, other than her position? The Clan needs a loyal, strong Matriarch, an’ all right, half of that’s right, but it ain’t like loyalty an’ strength can’t coexist. Crossdressin’ freaks? Look at where they live; they got onabe bars around. Cordy-kun just needed an organization strong enough to protect her. Sure, it’d be risky, possibly callin’ down a war, but she coulda sold her skills to the Amaya-kai. She didn’t need a sham of a marriage. Her own family don’t need her, just someone like her, and the Hisamatsu and Kumai minted enough of those. A puppet could fill those shoes—hell, some’a her gals could do that, easy as winkin’—
The hell?
“Suna, are you up here?” Well, if that ain’t a punch in the tits. If Cordy-kun’s tryin’ t’ give her somethin’ else t’ panic about, she’s doin’ a pretty good job. Her husband’s actually climbin’ up, though at least wearin’ a suit, not a stuffy kimono.
“The hell?” she mutters, but it’s under her breath more than anything. She tries to respond, but the words won’t come.
She slips, though, and Suna’s heart’s jackrabbitin’ in her throat as she makes a mad dive. Still, Cordy-kun’s not intimidated in the slightest. No fear. Even as she has to be pulled up by Miyamoto's sweaty, shaking hands. People say the Hyena's inhumanly fearsome, they clearly ain't seen Cordy stroll inta a fight club or nearly fall off a building.
“I can read souls. You think a little thing like acting all mysterious is going to stop me from figuring it out? You can thank Inoue-chan for giving away that you hide on buildings, by the way.”
“Imma stab her a lot,” Suna mutters, but leans into her husband's open arms and doesn’t stop Cordy-kun from further ruining her suit with rain and tears as she pulls her into a hug and lets her cry on her shoulder.
