#i may come back in like 2 hours to rant
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my cat just fucking died i can't do this anymore i fucking hate myself if i wasn't so goddamn weak i could've kept him in his final months
all of these death news in the last 24 hours is making me go insane i cant do this anymore
i want my kitty back he was so cute why did he have to get so unlucky and have a birth defect my poor baby
this is so unfair
#tw pet loss#i miss him#my cat#kitty#i cant do this anymore#it's all mu fault#cat#not posting for a while maybe idk#i may come back in like 2 hours to rant#help me
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#okay mais need to vent un peu. can't believe that i'm going to see a movie based upon the webseries that changed my life in less than 24h.#with ivl & irl friends that i love more than anything AND i'm going to sit and watch my fave characters come back to life for 2 hours!!!!#look at where you are look at where you started etc etc#like at this point i care more about the experience than the movie itself you know? it's the culmination of little 13 year old me#anyway!!! kalincka knows she will cry in her theater seat and not only bc of the movie#but also bc she gets to share her experience with her favorite people in the world. isn't this great#bref je pense que je vais arracher mon siège#kali rants
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Missed Connection 2
Summary: A flight delay causes a chance meeting between R and Jenna Ortega
Word Count: 2.1K
A/N: Laughing at the fact that I thought I could do a one shot of anything
Part 1 Part 3
“No big deal,” you grumble under your breath, fumbling with the keys to your apartment. “Oh yeah, I was just on SNL, no big deal.”
Your Uber driver, who informed you is named Dani, ranted and raved about Jenna for the rest of the ride home. She then insisted you watch Wednesday before you even thought about texting her. The words “respect on her name” and “so fucking lucky” were cried out several times. Dani refused to drive away before you promised her you would update her on the situation. It seems you were friends now. Against your will, but she appeared serious about not leaving, so you exchanged numbers and made your promises.
Your door opens, and you take a deep breath, happy to be home. The house sitter deep cleaned before he left, and you were grateful for the smell of fresh laundry the moment you stepped in. Your cat sat, perched on the shelves above your head, watching you closely.
“Hello, Mr. Burton, wonderful to see you too,” you smile up at him, and he narrows his yellow eyes at you.
You nod and drop your bags to the side, happy to see nothing had changed in his world. You trudge into the living room and flop on the couch, sliding your phone onto the coffee table. Half of you wants to text Jenna and let her know you know who she is now. The other half is absolutely mortified at the idea of ever seeing her again. You decide you’ll watch one episode of Wednesday, then hit the hay. You can decide how to approach the Jenna situation in the morning.
——
Four hours later, you’re still on your couch, valiantly fighting sleep for just one more episode. It’s 2AM, and you know you need to pack it in. She’s just so brilliant. Her version of Wednesday is quick-witted, hilarious, and naturally, insanely good looking. She’s so different from the person you ran into at the airport. She wears Jenna’s face, but that seems to be where the similarities end. Besides the straight faced sarcasm, that was a strong parallel.
Your grogginess fools you into a sense of confidence, and you finally pick up your phone. You’d already saved her number hours ago, afraid you’d lose the gum wrapper. You open a new message and type out “…” nothing. Nothing comes to mind. What do you even say to a movie star? You remember how she reacted to you calling her a big deal and decide you can’t tell her how great she is in the show. You stare at the phone, sigh, then lock it. Maybe sleep will help.
——
Your phone buzzing on your pillow wakes you up. You forgot to turn on do not disturb, and now you’re paying for it. You crack open an eye and look at the name on the screen. You note that it’s 6 AM and groan as you slide the answer button.
“Sid, are you aware of the hour?”
“Good morning, sunshine! Welcome back to glamorous LA!” Sid’s voice rings through the speaker, her high-pitched singing making you wince.
“Uuuuuugh,” is all you reply, letting her know how you feel about the call.
“So I know you just got back, and yes, I know you’re supposed to be on vacay after your Nat Geo thing, but….”
“Sid, if you ask me for a favor right now, I’ll kill you.”
“Listen! Before you say no, I may have accidentally overbooked myself, and I need a favor.”
You groan, rub your eyes with your knuckles, “You need to get a scheduling assistant dude.”
“I know, but this is big. I have a thing that got moved up, and now I can’t do this Dior shoot.”
You open your eyes, your interest piqued, “Dior?”
Sid laughs, “I knew you’d like that. Uhm, just one thing though, it’s in like two hours so-“
“Sidney, are you kidding me?!” You shoot up and leap out of bed, beginning your search for decent clothes.
“I mean, if you’re late, it’ll be on me, but I knew you wouldn’t be up yet. Can you take it for me?”
You pull on a pair of black slacks and grumble, “I swear you owe me so big, Sid, like we’re talkin' drinks on you for the next month.”
“Okay love you I’ll text you the address you’re the best byyyeeee!”
You sigh as she quickly hangs up the phone and resume your search for clothes. It had been a while since you’d photographed people since you’d moved on to nature photography. The models weren’t bad; you just found the shoots boring. Everything is staged and unnatural, beautiful people in beautiful clothes with beautiful lighting. The biggest challenge to it was dealing with managers and temperamental brand agents.
You brush your teeth and tame your hair as fast as you can, gathering your camera and equipment for the shoot and hustling out the door. You paste the address from Sid’s text into your maps and peel out of your parking lot. If you hurry, you’ll make it with a few minutes to spare.
You should have known LA traffic would play you like a fiddle. You park your car four minutes before the shoot time. You’re not sure why you care if you’re late, seeing as you’re not the one who booked the shoot. But still, somewhere deep down, you want them to like your work, and no one likes a late appointment. It's for this reason you practically sprint through the parking lot and into the studio, your equipment making it nearly impossible to see.
For the second time in two days, you’re barreling into someone, knocking them on their ass and sending you flying over their body. You hit the ground with a grunt, your precious camera safely tucked into your chest. You sit up groaning, ready to spew apologies when you see who exactly you’ve run into. You think it has to be some sort of cruel joke or karmic intervention for sins from a past life.
Jenna sits up, rubbing her head, her oversized black hoodie draped across her frame. When you meet eyes, you both freeze, baffled. You gawk at her. You know you’re doing it, but you can't stop. She stares at you, her eyes narrowed in confusion.
“Is this how we’re always going to greet each other, do you think?” She asks, a smile pulling at her lips.
You grimace, “I can’t believe my luck. What’re you doing here?”
“Uhm,” she sighs, shrugs, “Working?”
You push yourself to your feet and offer to help her up, but she’s already gathering your things and piling them neatly in her arms.
“Thank you,” you tell her with a smile, “I’m working too, a favor for a friend.”
She frowns up at you, handing over your equipment, “I thought you were a nature photographer?”
“Oh, I am. Like I said, I’m doing my friend a favor. She’s an idiot and overbooked herself, so now I have to deal with models and Dior.”
Her eyebrows shoot up, her eyes bright, “Hi, it's me. I’m the model you have to deal with.”
You choke on your spit, coughing and spluttering, “You’re kidding, right? That's a joke?”
She jerks her head back, “Is the idea that horrifying?”
You're kicking yourself internally for sounding like an asshole, “No! Not at all. It’s just…I…well, to be perfectly honest, you make me a little nervous.”
A laugh escapes her throat, and she looks down at her feet, “You managed well enough yesterday.”
“Uh, yeah. I saw your billboard on the way in from the airport. You undersold yourself a bit.”
Her shoulders sag, and it makes you regret admitting it. You scramble to fix the situation.
“But! But I can pretend I never saw it. If that’s what you want. We can just act like this is some weird meet-cute again.”
She lifts her head, smirks at you, “You thought yesterday was a meet-cute?”
You blush, your eyes wide, “Oh. I…uh, yes?”
She nods, and you can see her mull over the idea. She seems to accept it because the next thing you know, you’re following her deeper inside the studio. You spot the door Sid told you to go to and follow Jenna inside. She disappears behind a mass of stylists and a curtain of clothes with a handful of other celebrity models. You work with the brand managers and review Sid’s vision for the shoot, making your own tweaks here and there. As a whole, it goes shockingly well. Like, well enough for you to reconsider your self-imposed exile in nature photography.
When the shoot ends, and you’re packing up to leave, you’re reminded why you left fashion in the first place. A throng of people wait outside the studio doors, flash cameras held high, yelling and jostling each other. They’re choking at the bit to get the best shot of Jenna and the others when they walk out the doors, like vultures waiting for their pound of flesh. It makes you sick. You stand behind the tinted glass doors, watching the mob with clear distaste.
A voice at your side surprises you, making you jump, “Day in the life,” Jenna sighs, eyeing the crowd.
You hum in agreement, looking back out the window. “You deal with this all the time?”
“Every day,” she grumbles, her eyes tired.
You decide to change the subject, turning away from the doors to look down at her.
“You were great today. You’re a natural.”
Her eyes leave the crowd and turn up to you, “I’m glad you think so, but it’s not natural. I’ve had my fair share of lessons.”
You shrug and start to walk toward the back of the building with her at your side, “Well, it seemed natural. So that’s a good thing. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that, though, because, well, you’re here.”
She snorts, “I guess I can’t pretend being in a Dior promotion isn’t a big deal, can I?”
You give her an exasperated glance, “No. You cannot.”
When you round the corner, a man in a black suit is waiting at the back door. He opens his hand toward Jenna and dips his head, ushering her toward the exit.
“Well, this is my ride. I meant what I said yesterday, though. Text me. I’d really like to hang out, you know, when I’m not working.”
You gulp, nervous at the thought, “O-okay, yeah.”
As soon as she’s out the door, you pull your phone out, frantic to tell someone, anyone, about this. For some reason, your first thought is Dani. You get one text through to her, and she calls you immediately.
“Hey! I’m driving, can’t text. Tell me everything. Did you text her? Did you watch the show? Are you in love yet?!” Her voice comes through with road noise in the background.
You laugh, holding the phone to your ear with your shoulder as you push open the door.
“So, actually, I just photographed her at a Dior shoot. I-”
“YOU WHAT?! God, how are you the luckiest person on the planet? Tell me everything.”
And so you do. On your drive home, you tell her about not knowing what to say over text, how you accidentally bowled Jenna over again, how the shoot went, the conversation about the paparazzi, and how Jenna insisted you text her.
“So?” Dani says, and you hear a horn screeching in the background.
“So what? And are you okay? It sounds like you’ve pissed every driver in LA off.”
“Oh, don’t mind them. I’ve got a great Uber rating they can fuck right off. Did you text her? She doesn’t even have your number yet dude!”
“Oh…shit you’re right!” You yelp, not realizing that, obviously, this interaction was one sided because Jenna couldn’t reach out to you even if she wanted to.
“Okay, I know this friendship is new, but I feel like we’re close enough now for me to tell you. That's your in, idiot! You know what, I’m hanging up right now. Text her. Then tell me everything.”
The phone line dies just as you’re parking. You stare at the phone, absorbing the onslaught of information you’ve just been assaulted with. Dani may have been slightly crazy, but she was right. This was your in. You open the phone, pull up Jenna’s contact and type out a new message.
Hey! Its y/n. I just realized I have your number and never gave you mine.
Anyway, I want to take you up on your offer
I’m off for the next few weeks, so just let me know when you’re free
You stare at the phone, watch as the text bubbles turn blue and the delivered mark appears under them. You bite your lip, anxious about a reply. After a moment, you realize she’s probably an incredibly busy person and would absolutely not text you back immediately.
Jenna
Hows tomorrow sound?
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the obey me! brothers as things my boyfriend does
my absence is his fault and his fault only (lying)
ch: lucifer, mammon, leviathan, satan, asmodeus, beelzebub, belphegor
cw: none!
a/n: ,,,,heeeeyyyy,,,,,, how yall doin :D,,,,, i know it's been *checks imaginary watch* a tad bit tewww lawwng but trust! i am back! for now. next post may be in 2 years but i am now here offering this sweet freshly brewed warm and cozy content just for you! yes, you! i love you i hope you've been well. and hydrated. go drink some water. also on a final note this post is a little sth dedicated to my boyfriend whom i love so much. i may even do a pt2 cause this is the tip of the iceberg that is he.
is genuinely a nerd to the point of him watching chemistry videos to fall asleep
lucifer, levi, satan
has cried at every single romantic gesture, without fail
mammon, asmo, levi
calls himself babygirl and malewife and is the literal representation of babygirlism in a man
mammon, asmo, beel
enemy of any and all technological devices, don't ask him how the microwave works he does! not! know!
lucifer, mammon, asmo,
used the laughing emoji unironically until i informed him that the youths don't do that anymore (he is younger than me)
lucifer, satan, beel
turns my pictures into memes and stickers and he consistently sends them in our chat
mammon, levi, belphie
talks, murmurs, twists, turns, shoots basketballs, mows the lawn, discovers atlantis in his sleep
lucifer, belphie
hello kitty guy (🚩🚩🚩)
mammon, levi, satan, asmo
refuses to let me carry anything from bags to phones to jackets
lucifer, satan, beel
will eat until he can't move and then complain about being unable to move
mammon, belphie
directionless. can not navigate to save his life
mammon, asmo, beel
has cried cause of his hair more than once
lucifer, mammon, satan, asmo
looks intimidating but he's just a guy. he's just a guy yall like. he really is just a guy
mammon, beel
has the most expressive face ever. if he doesn't like sth you will know
satan, asmo, belphie
has listened to me rant ab this silly game for hours and also helped me come up w ideas for this post!
lucifer, mammon, levi, satan, asmo, beel, belphie
#obey me#obey me shall we date#obey me nightbringer#lucifer obey me#mammon obey me#obey me leviathan#satan obey me#obey me asmodeus#beelzebub obey me#obey me belphegor#lucifer x reader#mammon x reader#leviathan x reader#satan x reader#asmodeus x reader#beelzebub x reader#belphegor x reader
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apologies
so mun x reader
➳ summary: after telling mun to take better care of himself, he ends up taking care of you instead
➳ warnings: description of treating wounds, mention of guns/gunshot wounds, self deprecating thoughts, season 2 episode 3-4 spoilers
➳ word count: 1.5k
➳a/n: my offering to the tuc tumblr fandom haha fyi the reader is also a counter but was not with mun during the scenes mentioned
As you hunch over your desk, trying to get as close as you can to your mirror, you become aware of how pathetic your situation is. Blood soaked cotton balls litter the surface of your desk from your attempt to clean the injuries inflicted on you just hours ago, though you’re doing a pretty horrid job at it because every time an alcohol swab just even brushes against the open wound, you flinch away from your own hand and hiss at the pain.
You sigh regretfully, thinking about how you could’ve avoided all this, been fully healed and pain free hours ago, if you just didn’t cause such a scene earlier.
You bursted into the base, shoes slapping against the floor loudly as you made a beeline towards the table where all the counters were waiting to be healed by Ms Chu. Stopping right in front of Mun, who was looking worried at your apparent injuries, your scowl deepened as your gaze landed on his shoulder and the perfectly circular openings in it.
Frustrated and thinking of no other way to express this, you slapped your palm against the offending shoulder. Mun jerked back with a yelp and looked at you in disbelief.
“You’re an idiot, did you know that?” You began, not beating around the bush.
“Let me expla-“
“Explain what? That you let yourself get shot?” You cut him off quickly. “Us counters may be stronger than average humans but at the end of the day we’re still humans! And humans aren’t bulletproof like how you apparently like to think!”
Words were spilling out of your mouth without a second thought, your voice getting louder with every angry confession.
“Do you think of yourself as someone who can just die whenever they want? Evil spirits aside, did you even think about how your death would impact everyone!”
At this point, you couldn’t remember how the rest of the confrontation went down apart from that when you finally finished your rant he looked at you with an expression incomprehensible to you at the time - maybe he was shocked or mad or sad, either way you didn’t stick around long enough to find out as you finally gained back your sanity and dashed to hide in your room.
Maybe you’re the idiot, and not Mun.
He didn’t get shot for no good reason; he saved the chairman’s life! And you had a go at him for doing what was right. So on top of being a pathetic coward, you were also an idiot who blamed innocent people. What an amazing turn of events.
Before you could wallow in your pity for any longer, knocks on your door pull you out of your thoughts and make you turn towards it. You come eye to eye with So Mun, who’d left himself inside your room before you could even get up to open the door.
“Hey.” He begins awkwardly, probably trying to gauge your reactions to see if you were still angry at him. “You missed dinner.”
“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t realise” you say dumbly.
“I just wanted to let you know that I saved some food for you, its in the kitchen if you ever feel hungry”
You smile slightly; grateful for Mun’s thoughtfulness, even if after your tirade on him earlier.
“Thanks, Mun-ah. I’ll go eat in a sec once I’m done with all of-“ you gesture to the mess of medical supplies on your table “-this.”
Taking note of it, Mun frowns before approaching you and leaning down to assess your injuries. He immediately picks up an alcohol swab and gently cleans the cuts on your face. Instinctively, you jerk away from the sting but Mun keeps you still with a hand on your cheek.
“You know that Ms Chu can heal these for you.” He says gently, though the close proximity of your faces makes you hear it loud and clear.
“They’re not big… I don’t wanna be a bother for a few cuts here and there” you murmur in defense.
Mun’s hands pull away from your face for a moment to reach for a band-aid on your desk but you grab his wrist to stop him.
“I can treat myself, you don’t have to do it”
He huffs shortly before pulling out of your grasp and shaking his head stubbornly.
“I want to. Please?” He asks with a classic So Mun smile that makes it hard to remember why you were ever mad at him. You reluctantly nod, allowing Mun to put the bandage on your face.
It’s quiet as he repeats the process of cleaning and wrapping the rest of your wounds.
“Uh-“ You speak up suddenly, unable to handle the suffocating silence. He perks up and faces you fully, attentive.
“Sorry about what I said to you earlier…you did what you had to save the chairman and I blew up at you for no real reason but when I heard that you’d gotten shot, I guess I started spiralling and assumed the worse so…” you trail off and lower your head in shame, eyes focused on the scrapes on your knuckles that Mun is currently working on.
His hands clasp yours and intertwines your fingers together with his, then pulls you up to your feet which forces you to maintain eye contact with him. He’s smiling at you calmly, eyes creasing ever so slightly.
“Don’t worry about it. Honestly it’s okay.” he says in a reassuring voice. “I’m sure I worried all of you so I would’ve gotten an earful from someone eventually.”
You laugh slightly at his comment lightening your mood. Being around Mun is addictive - his warm presence pulls you in and his positivity infects you, putting a small smile on your face too.
Though, part of you couldn’t let go of your guilty thoughts and you still feel apprehensive. Mun must have sensed it because he squeezes your interlaced hands tight, stroking your hand with his thumb.
“You had every right to be mad at me. I don’t regret what I did but you're right about the fact that I didn’t think about how my actions would affect everyone else. So I guess that was pretty selfish of me.”
Mun rests his head down on your shoulder, face nuzzling into your neck slightly. His breath tickles your skin as he exhales which makes you squirm slightly.
“Could you forgive me?” He whispers into your ear.
Since he entered your room, all of his sweet actions were slowly piling up, making you feel flustered and heartbeat speed up, but this was the tipping point. You try to push away from Mun, feeling far too overwhelmed, but he effortlessly pulls you back in, his eyes twinkling.
“So~?” He insists you answer, dragging out the last syllable. You roll your eyes, feeling heat rise to your cheeks.
“Fine. I guess I could forgive you” you huff out. “But only because you’re annoying and you won’t stop until I do.”
Mun chuckles and brushes away hair hanging over your face to get a clear view of your reactions.
“You’re so cute.” he points out teasingly. He watches your nose shrivel when you scowl at him.
“And you are a little shit.”
“Hey! Is that any way to speak to your cool and amazing boyfriend who patched you up?” Mun grabs your bandaged hand and shakes it in front of your face to emphasize his point.
“I told you that you didn’t have to do it”
“And I told you that you should’ve seen Ms Chu!”
“It’s too late for that now anyways, she’s probably sleeping. I can just have it done tomorrow” you defend yourself.
“But knowing you, you’ll definitely forget!”
God, Mun could be so stubborn sometimes. You sigh before flopping onto your bed, bouncing slightly as the springs in the mattress resist against you.
“If you’re so bothered, maybe you should just sleep with me tonight so you can remind me in the morning.”
Mun gasps dramatically as if your suggestion was something obscene. You roll your eyes at his act, your point from earlier being proven - he is a little shit.
“You’re welcome to go back to your room then” you point out, gesturing to your door. Mun shoots you an offended look before pulling your blankets open to climb onto your bed quickly.
“I never said no!” He complains as he worms his way to get closer to you.
You shuffle about for a second before getting into a comfortable position, with your face pressed against Mun’s chest, head laying on one of his arms. A silence envelops the two of you again but it’s not the awkward tension from before.
This silence was cozy. Relaxing.
“Thank you, Mun-ah” you whispered, cuddling against him more. He pressed a kiss on the top of your head, silently answering you. Gently he stroked your hair, lulling you to sleep.
#the uncanny counter#the uncanny counter fic#so mun#uncanny counter#so mun x reader#the uncanny counter x reader#kdrama#kdrama fic#kdrama x reader#own works
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When he's a damn tease (Sanji version)
Pairing: Vinsmoke Sanji x [gender neutral] Reader
Check out: (Roronoa Zoro's version)
Summary: Headcanons about him teasing you because he knows you secretly like him (there are two versions)
Tags: version 1 has gentleman sanji treating you like a royalty while you're shy / in version 2, he is that too, but you make him flustered
A/N: anon requested something regarding giving sanji a silent treatment--gonna work on this next
MASTERLIST
• Maybe it’s just immense luck, because Sanji apparently just started to be more lovesick at your sight after he caught onto some of your comments, such as “I feel like it’d be safer if Sanji joined our group” or “probably the best cook out there, really”, which aren’t even too different from what the others comment, but the fact that it was you saying it had him swooning and nose-bleeding more than usual
• You don’t really know how to deal with it, so your reaction most of the time is to look down and turn your head away whenever he is being that extra
• “Oh, you’re so cute when you’re shy, (y/n)-swan!” he says with heart eyes and hand clasped over his chest
• Sanji always has that stupid grin on his face whenever you watch him fight, making sure to you’re watching him while he puts on his best show—if it’s a difficult opponent, he’ll start ranting about how he can’t lose because he needs you back home and whole
• If you’re fighting with him, he’ll do his best to help you out and be the most perfect pair, very sweet, actually
• The others are worried, at some point, that you might not really return his feelings since he is extremely invested in you—Sanji does love cooking and fighting, but it seems to gain a completely different tone when it comes to you—and you don’t respond a lot, however, the worry fades away once they notice you keep every single note that Sanji leaves for you with the dishes and how you’ll even eat whatever he prepares you slowly to appreciate every bite of it
• Sanji doesn’t stop treating Nami, Robin and the other ladies well or fancing them, it just becomes different. It’s clear by the way he starts wearing that specific shirt just because you commented how nice it suits him, and the way he doesn’t start complaining when you walk into the kitchen during his alone hours—he actually likes having your company while he cooks
• Then, he wants more attention from you, what leads to the actual teasing
• Sanji will be seeking your approval almost the whole time just to make you react and, of course, because he loves your company and pretty much anything about you. It might be the simplest thing, but he will be there helping you out because you deserve it
• “Sanji, we need you to go buy stuff, we can’t have you watching the ship!”
“...Only if I get to go with (y/n)-swan.” Sanji crosses his arms with a pout. At first, he was worried he would put negative pressure on you by saying that just to find out how amusing you thought it to be after he made a joke with it
• “You’re still here?” Zoro raised an eyebrow seeing Sanji still hadn’t left after the crew split up to gather what they needed in the new island; he was staying to watch the ship, so there was no reason for Sanji to be there, unless, of course...
“Only with (y/n)-swan!” Sanji grinned in a smug manner that immediately turned into a mess the moment he saw you.
• And of course you go, trying to hide how flustered you are because you will hear a thousand comments like “oh, it’s a beautiful city! Such a beautiful view, but not as beautiful as you” before his eyes turn into hearts and he’s melting again because it ends up getting you shy
• Prepares every single dish you want. Once, he sits down next to you with your dessert in hand, but refuses to let you hold it. “You seem so tired, do you mind if I help you out?” He holds a spoonful of it in front of your lips, and despite how it makes your cheeks burn, you find yourself accepting it, much to his happiness
• Sanji may put on a serious and smooth posture to impress you, but he’ll either be a mess in seconds—like when the two of you are hanging out—or just internally, keeping that face when he’s confronting any enemy or scaring off someone who shouldn’t be too close to you
• He will hold your hand because it seems fit, always saying stuff like “I’m afraid you’ll get lost,” or just keeping it in his grasp after he holds it just to inspect “how lovely it is” and press a kiss to your knuckles—really just treating you like a royalty because he loves it even when you’re too flustered to even hold his gaze
• Also, Sanji might find out about it if you have a weak spot for him speaking French, so he will always be slipping some words in French in whatever he says to you. It might be the simplest thing said in the right way, just a “here’s your food, mon amour,” with a soft wink, and you’ll already be dying internally
.𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟.
• Another version in which Sanji is all over you, but doesn’t know how to deal with it because your reactions aren’t that easy to read, then you actually crack a genuine smile once in a while whenever he does something and you’re the owner of all of his attention
• He might be swooning over Robin and Nami that he’ll just stop and come right to you the moment you show up, asking if you need something
• Sanji is walking around with the first buttons of his shirt undone and handing out drinks until he puts on the best grin he can to hand you yours. “Even on such a hot day, you manage to be as beautiful as always, (y/n)-swan,” he comments while you get the cold glass from the tray he holds out.
You smile in response. “Ah, true? It might be your eyes, Sanji! You seem to be handling it much better than me.”
“Maybe, but my eyes are never mistaken, that’s for sure.”
You let him win just that one time, eyeing his proud posture with a soft smirk
• Will do anything for you, whatever you want or think about (he may notice you’re bored and kick Zoro just because you think it’s funny when the two argue). You do recognize what he does, of course, but it’s fun to play around for a little, right? Tease him back
• Unlike Sanji’s teasing, yours will just lead him into situations that will actually fluster him to no end and/or never give him what he want, but it seems more like another reason for him to keep trying and trying, as if he will come up with the right response at the right time, even if you never let that happen
• “How does my dessert taste, (y/n)-swan? Probably very sweet, but not as sweet as you!”
As much as you want to let yourself get lost in his compliments and just give up already, you’re not ready to give up on playing with him just yet. “Maybe as sweet as your lips, then?” It’s loud enough for him to understand, but not to make sure it’s exactly what you said.
“Wh... What, (y/n)-san?” he mumbles, uncertain and with red cheeks, growing even more out of place when you just chuckle, never answering it
• He will get really jealous when he sees someone else hitting on you. Once, Nami decides to present you someone else so you can hang out with just to reach Sanji indirectly and you play along with it, pretending you don’t see him biting his shirt and dying in silence behind you until you question “how could I want someone else with Mr. Prince right there?” and he miserably tries to play it cool after that
• Sanji will get a little too frustrated at some point and try to make you jealous as well, but it doesn’t really go well because he thinks his flirting just doesn’t work if it isn’t with you, then he notices you’re observing him from the corner of the club and things just get worse, to the point he can barely face anyone when he’s walking away from whoever he tried to use to get to you
• You chuckle as you follow him, pulling him by the arm just close enough to whisper into his ear, “don’t play around, you know that when I catch you, there will be nothing left of you”
.𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟.
#one piece#sanji vinsmoke#x reader#x male reader#x female reader#gender neutral#sanji x reader#fan fic#fan fiction#roronoa zoro#monkey d luffy#nico robin#nami#brook#usopp#anime
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Kinktober day 3- Hate Sex: Loki
Summary: You and Loki hate each other. Can you fuck it out?
Word count: 2,346 words
It had been about 6 months since Loki had come to live in the avengers compound, and about 2 years since you were rescued from hydra and began living with them. In that time you’d both made amends and became close with the team, but not with each other. In fact the opposite was true, you couldn’t stand one another.
This feud had started off innocently enough, with you just not liking his arrogance and him liking to stir up the young midguardian woman but it’s grown worse since then. Neither of you can stand to be in the same room for too long and Nat had even made Steve change the training schedule so you 2 wouldn’t have to be around each other. Once you were even in the elevator with each other for just a bit too long and almost blew it up.
Everyone on the team had tried many times to get you both to at least tolerate each other but nothing would work. You both simply could not stand each other.
One night you could just not sleep, tossing and turning for about 2 hours before you decided to get up and do something. Your brain was not tired and your body was not shutting off so you decided to get dressed and head to the compounds gym, maybe a run or a couple punches on the bag would help.
So far it seemed to be doing the trick, but as you manoeuvred around the bag to give it another combo, you spotted him. As soon as your eyes found each other you both seem to roll them in unison.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” You spat at him, taking your earphones out.
“Well it’s a gym, darling, where one may workout, maybe that’s what I’m doing.” He retorts, words laced with sarcasm and venom.
“Fuck you, Loki! And don’t call me darling.” You roll your eyes again as you turn to face away from him and return to the bag.
Before you could make another hit however you feel a hand on your waist and see another resting on the bag. Turning around you find, Loki towering over you.
“Why don’t you like when I call you ‘Darling’, darling?” He asks you teasingly with a smirk on his face.
“Because!” You accentuate as you shove him away.
“It’s you saying it.” You reply back with just as much, if not more attitude.
“Well I suppose if it was another one of the team saying it you’d be fine? Someone you actually consider worthy of such attention.” He bites back at you.
“Yeh someone worthy, someone like Thor. He’s the worthy one, not you.” You spit back at him, knowing that would hurt him.
A snarl made its way to his face and you knew you’d won as you turned around and began to put your earphones back in, but were too late before he started up again.
“Well maybe I should save my compliments and pet names for someone who’s actually attractive. Perhaps Natasha or Wanda would be appropriate.” He bites back with just as much venom, knowing that was also a low blow.
That hurt, but you kept your head up high as you turned back to him with a smirk.
“Funny you think they’d actually want you. You’re nothing, Loki. You’re second rate and you know it, the only reason you’re even here is because we like Thor. He’s the only reason you’re not locked away,” anger now evident in Lokis face and trembling fists as you continued your assault “he’s the reason you’re not dead. Your brother, Thor, the worthy one the one who’s actu-.” Your torment filled rants was cut short as Loki smash his mouth into yours, pushing you all the way back until your back collided with the wall.
At first you wanted to push him off but in your own twisted way you saw this as a challenge. Grabbing onto his gym shirt you deepen the kiss, now opening your mouth as your tongues fight for dominance.
“You are a rude, disgusting woman!” He says now grabbing your hair and pulling it back as his body pushes against yours, using his godly strength to keep you caged in.
“Maybe you need someone to teach you some manners, or maybe you just need someone to fuck some into you. Maybe that’s why you’re such a bitch, because no one wants to fuck you.” He growled, his face now getting closer to you.
“What you think you’re the one to do it? You think if you fuck me maybe I’ll be nice to you? Maybe I’ll be compliant? That I’ll see you as a mighty god?” You ask him tauntingly with a rage filled smirk on your face.
Flipping you around before you have a second to fight back he pushes your face into the wall, his hand pulling on your hair roughly and a tight grip squeezing into your hip. Pushing his strong body against your back and ass you can now feel his very hard cock pushing into your lower back, feeling every inch of him. Without meaning to you let out a small moan and leant into his grip, your body betraying you.
“Oh haha, who’s not worthy now, little girl?” He whispers hotly into your ear, taunting you once again.
“Fuck you.” You yell back as best you can with your face being forced onto the wall.
“I will if you like. Is that what you’d like?” He asked, his hand now reaching around to grab your covered pussy, feeling just how wet you are even with your workout pants and panties on.
“Mmmhhmm it feels like that’s exactly what you want.” He moans in your ear, playing with you through your clothes and slowly but strongly humping against your back.
You both stayed quiet for a moment, the only sounds echoing through the gym were both of you quietly moaning and grunting.
Loki truly did have skilled fingers because only moments later of just playing with you over your clothes you could feel your body tingling and you knew you were close.
“Oh you dirty slut. You’re about to cum aren’t you? Do you want to cum?” He asks you tauntingly.
“Yes! Please I want to cum!” You begged, all rage now being flooded by pleasure and a need for release.
“Beg. Beg me and I’ll let you cum. Beg me to fuck you, to turn you into a good girl.” He growled in your ear, his thrusts on your behind becoming faster as did his strokes on your clit. You didn’t want to give in, you wanted to fight him and win but god damn it you couldn’t deny how hot he was and how good he was making you feeling.
“Oh fuck! Please, Loki! Please fuck me! I need you, make me a good girl. Please fuck me hard! Please! I need your cock.” You sobbed out, desperate to get some release.
“Good girl.” Was all he whispered before he took his hands away and took a step back.
Being denied your pleasure made the rage in you flood back with a great vengeance.
“What the fuck, Loki!” You shouted at him as you made your way towards him. Before you could even take a step forward though he was back on you, pushing you against the wall, hand on your throat and harsh kisses shoving your head back.
“You really think the first time I would make you cum would be over your clothes like pubescent boy? Darling I intend to give you an orgasm only a God can give you. So you be a good girl and lay on your back on the floor for me. I’ll show you why they say a have a silver tongue.” He whispered against your lips as you looked into his eyes with need and submission.
“Okay, Loki.” You said quietly, earning you a playful slap on the ass as you made your way to the ground.
Loki was quick to jump on top of you. Making quick work to use him godly strength, tearing the clothes from your trembling body, leaving you completely naked on the cold gym floor.
“Couldn’t you just have magiced them away.” You ask rudely, seeing your nice new gym outfit ripped to shreds beside you.
“Yes of course,” he says pushing a hand around your neck, pushing you further down “but then you wouldn’t be able to see my godly strength, little one.” He whispers hotly into your ear teasing you.
Before you can respond he removes his hand from your throat and drags a moan out of you as he bites down onto your neck. This bites followed by sweet kisses down your neck, to your throat and landing on your first breast. He takes your nipple in his mouth, sucking and nipping on it as your hands tangle in his hair as your eyes roll and your head falls back.
Once he’s satisfied with the treatment your first breast received he moves on to the next, giving it a similar treatment. Once he’s happy with the attention he’s given your breasts, his kisses continue down your stomach and all the way to your pussy.
He just stares at your pussy for a while taking you all in as he licks his lips and spreads your legs apart, big slender but strong hands squeezing your thighs. Suddenly he licks up your pussy and tauntingly sucks on your clit for other half a second.
“Oh, darling, if I knew you tasted his heavenly I would have shut you up ages ago.” He smirks at you cheekily as begins to lick and suck at you again.
Loki truly did have a talented tongue because less than a minute later you felt yourself about to cum again. Not wanting a repeat of last time you began to beg.
“Please, loki, please I’m about to cum. You can fuck me as hard as you like, I’ll be a good girl for you just please let me cum. Oh please let me cum, baby, I’ll be such a good girl.” You begin to babble as you can’t wait for a response any longer and you cum before you can even stop yourself. A wave of pleasure like you’ve never felt before rushes over you as you grab onto Lokis hair and scream out a moan, head falling back and eyes rolling.
Once Lokis face comes back up you begin to worry, trying to babble out an apology, still in a state of great euphoria.
“Loki I’m sorry, I couldn’t control it, I needed to cum, I’m sorry.” You begged him, worried you’d done something bad.
“Shh shh, don’t worry, darling, you did wonderful.” He told you as he stroked your face.
His sweet and calm demeanour didn’t last long however as he grabs you by your throat once again and flips you over. Pushing your head down into the ground and shoving your ass up in the air. You moan as you feel his hard cock against your ass, this clothes now removed by his magic.
“Didn’t think I’d forget to fuck you did I? You naughty little girl. I’m gonna fuck you so hard you’ll never want to be mean to me again. Make you into such a good girl.” He growls in your ear as you try to rub yourself against him.
Before you can begin begging however, he’s shoved him cock all the way inside you, forcing your body forward.
“Fuck, you’re already my good little girl, your pussy was so wet I could just slam right into you.” He taunts as he begins to fuck you at a godly pace and power.
His hands dig into your hips so hard it hurt, no doubt leaving bruises and pain you’ll feel tomorrow. He truly was a god, the roughness of his thrusts not calming down, not even once. He fucks you full speed and force for what feels like a splendid eternity.
Your head begins to go dizzy as you can feel your orgasm approaching, sensing this Loki reaches around to lightly touch your clit, his speed and power not letting up once though.
“You’re close are you, my good girl? You gonna cum for me? You want to cum for your king? Be such a good girl for me?” He asks you sweetly.
Loki had been hitting all your right spots and fucking you so hard that all you could manage was a weak nod of your head, as another moan left your body with Loki pushing down harder on your clit.
“Oh is my good girl too cock drunk to answer? To full of pleasure? Don’t worry, my darling, I’ll let you cum. Come on, little girl, cum for me.” He says only now panting as he gets closer to finishing himself.
Mere moments after his words of encouragement you scream out a moan of absolute delight and pleasure as your eyes roll back. You feel a burst of wetness between your legs as Loki holds onto your hips and fucks you even faster, now cumming himself.
He roars out a moan as he finishes inside you, both of your cum mixing together.
Before you can fall to the floor Loki quickly pulls out of you and scoops you up into his arms. As you feel the warmth of his chest and his racing heart beat you realise he’s transported you under the covers in his nice warm bed.
He’s cleaned you up nicely and holds you lovingly against his chest as he kisses your forehead and strokes your arm.
“Are you going to keep fighting me now?” He asks playfully.
“Well if being mean gets me fucked like that then I might have to.” You joke back.
“Hmmm,” he sighs “how about being nice and seeing what I give you then, sweet girl.” He whispers to you seductively as he squeezes your ass before you both drift softly off to sleep.
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Holy Shit I Just Realized Something (toh finale spoilers and Badly Structured, Massively Long Rant up ahead)
when we first meet willow in early s1, she's in the abomination track and as we all know she is Struggling. abomination magic just doesn't come as naturally to her as plant magic, which is fine, but it isn't being addressed by the school.
soon enough she gets switched over to the plant track as she wishes- i don't remember the exact details of the episode, it's been a little while, but iirc principal bump shows up after willow covers the entire inside of the school in vines and basically goes "no, i'm not punishing you, instead i'm switching you to the plant track because you're clearly more skilled at this type of magic."
which none of us really thought about, right?? maybe some of us were like "hm, that was a bit abrupt" but we didn't think too much of it because we didn't have much of an idea of bump's character yet.
not much later, it's revealed that bump himself is a part of the abomination coven. (it's not exactly Discussed but his sigil is visible in some shots, like this one.) he is bound by sigil to be restricted to abomination magic and nothing else.
one slightly less relevant detail that i find interesting is how he doesn't Look like an abomination coven member, and so he seems a lot less invested in his status as an abomination witch. now you may be thinking: ferret, that's a moot point because 1. not every magic user is going to have their preferred type of magic/coven/track whatever implemented into their design and 2. princy b wears his Principal Robes every time we see him up until the finale, so it would be difficult to implement those details into his design anyway.
now, that second point is actually, uh. Fair. but as for the first point, allow me to explain
here are two prominent abomination coven members, darius deamonne and alador blight
both of them are pretty obviously abomination coven members right off the bat. darius, being a coven head, has a Shit ton of purple in his design to indicate this (and that's not even including his hair). with alador, this is toned down, but it's still obvious by the permanent abomination goo stains on his coat (and also by the fact that he apparently doesn't wash his hands after working on the abomatons /lhj). these two are specialists, in different ways, of course, but ultimately their skills lie in abomination magic, and neither of them have expressed a wish to try other types of magic at this point.
but here's the thing. as far as i can tell, bump is Not a specialist. while he is a skilled abomination witch, we rarely see him make use of the fact except for during fight scenes- he doesn't seem very invested in it. plus, when we see him during the epilogue, he's enjoying a new hobby, which is...
...plant care, much like willow! :)
(side note i love the holes in his hat for frewin's horns)
now, of course you could interpret this as bump simply discovering a New hobby between where wad left off & the epilogue. but to me, this says that all this time he was held back from his passion for plant care for multiple reasons, for example his job as the principal of hexside definitely put a strain on him in terms of how much time he could spend doing things for himself. but now that he's retired, and the coven system has been dismantled, he can spend more time doing things that bring him joy, just like many others in the epilogue.
this means that when he saw what willow was capable of back in s1, and transferred her to the plant track, he was really saying "i see you're struggling, and i won't let you go through what i went through by forcing you to go down a path that isn't yours." and god he means so much to me for that.
anyways end of rant, if you're here reading this i sincerely congratulate you for getting this far without passing away . i am very unnormal about hieronymus bump and it shows.
(also, PLSPLSLSS reblog this if you agree i spent like an hour here sitting here typing this all up on my phone at 1am AHDKDJFJE)
#toh#the owl house#toh spoilers#the owl house spoilers#toh speculation#principal bump#principal bump toh#hieronymus bump#willow park#willow toh#alador blight#alador toh#darius deamonne#darius toh#only mentioned them briefly but why not tag them as well#anyways i love bump more than i can begin to express#ferret rambles#sorry this is mostly incoherent but tbf on me its past 1am on a school night and ive been sitting here brainrotting for over an hour
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(SORRY FOR NOT RESPONDING)
BUT YEAH like the comment said the first part on the fluttershy one
IVE ALREADY STARTED WORKING ON IT SO YAYYYY LMAO
You and Adam went way back, ever since eve ate the apple and Lilith left him for lucifer. You had taken over caring for the garden and with you and Adam being the only ones allowed back in the garden. You were quiet and didn't talk much to other angels just the animals and plants.
You were sitting in the garden surrounded by animals and plants. You had grown attached to the animals in the same way they had grown attached to you. Your dress was covered in soil stains and small bites taken out of the bottom from goats and sheep. You were humming and spinning happily in the ankle tall grass as you plucked ripe fruit from trees and bushes and even the apple tree, though the apples were made into fertilizer instead of eaten. It was calm and therapeutic almost. This was your heaven.. not those busy streets, just you here alone with nature. That was until you heard a Crack of twigs, and normally you would brush it off but it seemed like the weight was too heavy, you turned around sharply to be met with Adam just a few feet behind you. You immediately stopped dancing your face bright red in embarrassment, " A-Adam!! What are you doing here?" You raised your voice a bit at him. Adam smirked. "awwe don't be shy, girly, keep dancing." I liked the show~" Adam teased, and you felt like you were gonna collapse in on yourself. You shook your head no repeatedly, causing Adam to laugh loudly. "Be careful. You'll snap your neck doing that." You stopped immediately embarrassed from him, calling you out like that. "What did you need, Adam?" You asked softly. Adam shook his head "always thinking that you know me, yknow women aren't supposed to think " Adam said walking closer and poking your forehead roughly causing your head to jerk back from the pressure "Adam please.. I have stuff to do.." you muttered, holding Adam's hand and pulling it away from you. Adam shook his head "Alright alright but don't say nothing when they threatened to burn the witch, I wanted to talk to you about feelings," Adam said begrudgingly "feelings? I uhm.. I don't know much about them but I can listen?" You said softly before sitting down and patting the ground in front of you. Adam sighed. "There's this chick, I've known her for centuries, and to be honest, I really like her its.. hard to be mean to her? It's hard to say mean things and to push her away." Adam ranted, taking deep breaths every now and then. You then put the pieces together " I know how you feel I like this guy he's uhm really mean sometimes and doesn't always treat me the best but he's there" you said meekly before bringing your knees to your chest as you got a bit embarrassed.
Now Adam may be dumb at times but this time he clicked on quickly and smirked scooching a bit closer to her "and if this handsome and oh so amazing man asked you out " Adam nudged you a bit teasing you. With a small nod you hinted that you would say yes. "I'll pick you up tonight we can have dinner at my place alright?" Adam smirked a bit and got up holding his hand out for you to help you up, you took his hand as he tugged her up off the garden floor.
It was a few hours later when Adam went by your door to pick you up (yk that dress fluttershy wears when she turns human? Yea that one) you were wearing a dress waiting just outside your door for him to come get you. Adam turned the corner right before your door and he froze seeing you "woah.. damn butterfly didn't know you dressed up that nice " Adam smiled at you.. a genuine smile.. no mask between the 2 of you
"You look amazing too adam.."
#hazbin hotel adam#x reader#hazbin adam#adam x reader#hazbin hotel#jaded works🪶#tw mysoginy#tw sexism#garden of eden#first date#confession
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A Very Long and Very Rage Written Rant about people talking about the FNAF Movie because I am seeing some takes that make me want to bash my head into a wall.
Very quickly an apology to my followers on here that followed me for Sonic. I would post this on my main but if you read my username I don't really have the time to do that right now. Very sorry for clogging up your TL.
Anyway, I am about to use very aggressive and targeted language. I am not hating on anyone specific but I am going to be saying sentences like "Are you dumb? Why are you like this?" Tumblr is my void and I am going to scream. I know some of the things I say may not be common knowledge. However, in this rant, I am going to pretend that it is. I am going to swear a lot. I am going to be talking about fist-fighting people whom I disagree with.
Just know that once again, this is a rant. Not a "please stop saying blah blah blah blah." I am not going to go out of my way to attack people. Which is, once again, why I am screaming here.
"Why the big warning?" BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE ON MY MAIN BACK WHEN I COMPLAINED ABOUT PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE RED EYES YELLED AT ME. MY POST WASN'T MEANT TO TARGET ANYONE SPECIFIC. I WAS MEANT TO BE YELLING AT A MADE-UP DUMMY I MADE IN MY MIND!
With that out of the way, it is time to scream.
OH MY FUCKING GOD SOME OF THE THINGS YA'LL ARE SAYING. I have never felt the urge to rip through my fucking screen and grab some of yall by the throat. I want to bodyslam you onto the ground and pummel you to death.
Let's begin with a recent complaint I saw about William having no motivation in the movie and how they should have given him his motivation, let me tell you something bud.
They did. They did give him his motive. However, this is a 2-hour movie and they didn't dive into it. It's almost like they're making a second movie or something? OH WAIT THEY ARE! THIS IS THE FIRST MOVIE! THEY ARE ESTABLISHING ROLES!
They want you to grasp from this movie that:
William is a threat.
Mike is doing his best and is not going to pick up on everything.
Abby and the missing kids are, indeed, regular-ass kids who aren't going to understand fully the situation they're in.
Vanessa is a traumatized individual who wants to please her father and was manipulated into helping him because, you know, THAT IS HER DAD.
They are setting up the basics so people know what to expect from the next film. They will, most likely, be going into William's motives then. But as of right now, they are setting the roles that each character is going to take.
I don't know how some of yall ain't getting that because it is the most clear as day thing to me but that may be because I am aiming to be a writer down the line.
Time to aim at the other complaint I've seen which is that Vanessa is an Afton complaint. All I have to say to that is, whoah, it's almost like the movie takes place in an alt-universe from the games. And even if Vanessa is an Afton in the games who gives a fuck? She isn't Williams's direct child if that's the case and it just ties her in with the old characters. A popular thing I have seen a couple of times is that sometimes people portray Gregory as an Afton. So what's so wrong about Vanessa being an Afton. I am genuinely curious here? What's wrong about her being an Afton.
Some of yall come up with the most stupidest ass complaints I swear to god.
"But Micheal is meant to be the Afton-" Tell me how that would have worked in this movie. Tell me how Mike would not have recognized his own father if he was William. Also, I like that the movie implies that his dad is probably Henry.
"How does it imply that?"
I don't know, why don't we look at the career office scene again where William reads Mike's last name and recognizes it. He wants to tie up his loose ends.
And Mike? Mike is a loose end.
It just makes sense and it goes into the last complaint I saw about the movie.
The "I always come back line doesn't make sense," complaint.
THE REASON WHY IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO YOU IS THAT YOU KEEP PLACING IT IN THE WRONG CONTEXT YOU FOOL, YOU ABSOLUTE BAFOON. YOU'RE PLACING IT IN THE GAME'S CONTEXT. NOT THE MOVIES.
If I am fucking right about the fact that Henry is a Schmidt in the movie then that means William has always been a part of Mike's life. He has been haunting Mike since he took Garret, he influenced Mike to get a job at Freddy's, and he was the reason why Mike met Vanessa.
When he said he'd come back, he wasn't talking about coming back from the dead.
He meant it as he'll come back and make Mike's life a living hell.
Anyway rant fucking over, yall pisses me off. Good day.
#sorry for fnaf posting#fnaf#fnaf sb#fnaf movie#fnaf movie spoilers#five nights at freddy's#Five Nights at Freddy's Movie#Mike schmidt#william afton#fnaf vanessa#fnaf vanny#fnaf gregory#fnaf abby#vanessa afton#rant#I loved the movie#hate yall though#/j
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Stolen Lullabies
Summary: When war returns to Pyrthian the inner circle finds themselves on the losing side. In a desperate attempt to turn the tides three brother perform a forgotten spell to call forth a great power through time and space. What happens when that ‘great power’ is a human girl who knows nothing of magic? Will she be of use or has destiny abandoned them?
Word count: 4.5k
Part i (Prythian Version)
Part i
New York ver.
Este let out a deep breath as she analyzed her outfit for what felt like the millionth time, observing her pieces over and over again. One minute she hated everything and the next she thought she was God’s gift to earth. Being a perfectionist has its downsides, especially when running behind schedule. She could probably add and take away accessories, try on different shoes, or switch out the jacket over and over again for hours.
The leather mini skirt she had on was her favorite of the night and the studded belt and silver chain that hung off her hips were the perfect add-ons. The top was a beige mesh corset that made Este’s modest chest more boisterous, she also had a long leather jacket that cleared her skirt and landed at her mid-thigh. With her neck and wrists layered in silver jewelry, she threw on some suede calf boots that matched her corset. Her hair was falling to her mid back in tight black curls. With her outfit out of the way she began to play around with her hair: up, down, half up-half down.
The sound of the phone ringing pulled her attention away from her reflection and had her diving into her bed to grab the cell phone that lay atop. It was her manager, no doubt asking where she was. She swiped across her screen to answer the FaceTime call.
“There’s my favorite pop star!” Shayla’s voice rang loudly out of the iPhone speakers. Shayla, the aforementioned manager and team leader, had been taking care of Este for the past couple of months since she signed with her Music company. Signing with the company was a dream come true for Este, after 2 of her songs went massively viral on nearly every platform she was offered a 15 million dollar deal that she immediately accepted. The company was most indulgent with artistic freedom, whether her demos were rock, hip-hop, or alternative, they accepted it all with open arms. After spending the last couple of months perfecting her first EP it’s finally dropping tonight at midnight. All of the effort put into her outfit was for the release party, Shayla tried to offer up a stylist but Este declined and ranted about being ‘authentic.’ “Are you ready for me to pick you up?”
Este shook her head, “I’m still figuring out my hair and I need to do my makeup. I’ll be ready soon Shay-Shay La-La”
“Uggghhhh, I swear to god you were born late,” Shayla exaggerated, “but seriously you don’t need makeup, and just leave your hair down it’s literally gorgeous.” Shayla was always dishing out compliments so Este just shook her head with a small laugh and pushed her single blond curl behind her ear before nodding. “I’m coming now to get you.”
“No!” Este responded slightly too quickly, earning a confused face from Shay. “I just mean it’s only a couple blocks… I want to walk.” Este’s stomach had been doing flips all evening and she blamed it on nerves but some primal part of her told her this anxiety was different. Like it was warning her of something that was on its way… something big. She wanted to be alone for as long as she could to ground herself before mingling with artists, executives, influencers, and whoever else may be at her party.
“Oh… everything all right?” Though they hadn't known each other too long, Shay knew that when Este insisted on going for a walk it meant her soul was feeling heavy.
“Yea… Yea! Just nerves you know,” Este did her best to make herself sound perky and excited even though she felt like her stomach was about to fall out of her ass. “I need the walk to bring myself back down to earth and I'm actually about to leave now!”
“I thought you-” Shay narrowed her eyes and brought her phone closer to her face, Este just smiled as she was being observed. “Okay, okay.” Shayla saw right through her but decided to leave it, Este thanked a metaphorical god for this. “I’ll see you there princessa!”
Este kept from breathing out a relieved sigh and responded cheerily, “Perfect see you there!” She went to hang up but a nagging question lingered in the back of her head and stopped her from pressing that big red button. “Actually um,” she paused, not knowing how to ask casually, “Did my mother ever get back to you? Do you know if she’ll be there?”
Shay took a minute before responding, the hard line that her mouth was set in gave Este her answer. “She read the message but she didn't RSVP… I'm sorry Este.” Este just shook her head as Shay went on, “But hey! There is going to be like a million and one people there who are excited for you and proud of all the work you've put into this.” Shay was nodding, trying to get Este to agree with her, “Let’s have fun, yeah?”
“Yes! Lots of fun,” Este’s enthusiasm was too over the top to be natural and they both knew it. “I'll see you there,” was the only other thing she said before quickly hanging up. The sigh Este was holding in finally shoved out of her mouth as she shoved herself off the bed and out the door, into the street. The wretched smells of the city attacked Este the moment she stepped outside earning a scowl.
New York was the perfect place for an upcoming artist but having been raised in the country side- Este had a natural distaste for the city. The sounds kept her up at night, the smells nauseated her, and the trash was…everywhere. While she loved walks through the city it seemed she never had an enjoyable one; always getting catcalled or stepping in something she didn’t want to identify. The worse part of it all was every single experience, whether she liked it or not, was locked away in her mind and kept in mint condition.
Though today Este’s mind was too busy to think of all the things she hated, she had that horrible nagging feeling eating away at her gut. Maybe that nagging feeling was her mother’s fault, she pondered.
Este had always been the apple of her mother’s eye, the perfect, gifted genius. Her mother would refer to her as “The mind of a generation” and tell her that she was going to revolutionize science and bring the world into a new era. No one ever attested to that notion, Este had an eidetic memory that much more resembles hyperthymesia and an IQ of 186. She was indeed amongst the greatest minds of her generation.
Everything changed when Este started making music. It became an obsession that consumed every waking moment. She had always loved music, having a taste for every genre, but her intense studies never allowed her indulgence. Her world changed when she met an unimportant boy who taught her how to hold drum sticks. He was totally useless other than the few free lessons she got out of him. After she dumped him where she found him, she began learning multiple instruments and how to produce music in a matter of weeks. It soon became all she did, she even began to neglect her schoolwork. Her mother reprimanded her many times, at the time she was 19 and a 3rd-year doctoral candidate, telling her that she worked too hard for too long to throw everything away for a “silly hobby.”
She tried to tell her mother that the silly hobby was her passion but was shot down every time. She insisted that Este had a duty to her gifts and it was her job to make the world a “better place” somehow. It was then she realized pursuing the scientific field was her mother’s dream for her and not her own. Everything came to a head when Este announced she was dropping out of college to focus on her music. If her mother ever was going to give birth to a cow, it would've been that day. The reaction consisted of screaming, crying, a couple of broken household items, and words that could never be taken back. One explosive fight later and she hasn't talked to her mother in 8 months, not when she got signed, not when she was featured on a top-charting song, and not even on her birthday.
Her mother had made it known how disappointed she was, claiming that she was throwing her life away and she wanted nothing to do with it. She said she would only talk to Este if and when she “came to her senses.” Her father didn't take her side either but he had given up on her when she made it clear she wasn't using her genius to further the American military-industrial complex. Her older brother… well after being compared to Este for the entirety of their life she couldn’t blame him for walking out and rejecting the entire family completely. The only one who stood behind her was her younger sister but May had idolized her ever since she was old enough to understand the term “greatness.”
Este shook her head hoping the thoughts of her familial drama would dissipate. She shoved her hands in her pocket and commended the version of herself from an hour ago that threw a lighter and spliff in there. She put the joint between her lips and as she lit it she scoffed thinking about how her mother would react to her newfound habit. The world would gain another cow.
Her pace slowed to a leisurely walk as she enjoyed the burning sensation from the marijuana and how it numbed her brain and body as well as mask the smells of the city. Her brain felt uncontrollable at times but the effects of the drug slowed down her cognitive function enough to feel normal.
The hotel where the party was being hosted was less than 4 blocks away but Este decided not to take the straight shot. She still had 45 minutes before people would be showing up and figured that was enough time to take a spill around the plaza so she did exactly that. As she walked around she focused on the bustling crowd, the wind that pushed and pulled the foliage, and the many sounds of the city. The weed now infiltrating her system had mellowed her out enough to actually be able to enjoy her city and not have a cynical response to everything in her path. So the walk did what it was meant to, she felt lighter and less stressed as she sat on the edge of the fountain to finish off her spliff before heading to the hotel.
She opened her phone and was faced with the paper she had made it halfway through, even though she wasn’t studying it anymore she still loved science. When you spend years of your life completely devoted to something it’s hard to leave completely in the past. The paper was published by the DOE detailing their breakthrough in nuclear fusion ignition, this controlled reaction was the future of clean energy on this planet.
She read the details of the intricate lasers, they contained 2.05 MJ of energy and when shot at a nucleus made up of two light nuclei the fusion reaction produced 3.15 MJ of clean energy. She had a particular interest in the experimental design, reading up on the diagnostics, target fabrication, and the computer simulations that were used. As she read the back of her mind was coming up with ways to apply this breakthrough to day-to-day life, the cynical part saying the US military would probably be the first to apply the concept to some unnecessary war machine.
“That one seems to like you,” a gentle voice came from her left. Reluctantly dragging her attention from her phone, she lifted her head to see an older, stout man. He was probably in his late sixties and based on the bag of nuts he was throwing around for squirrels she assumed he was enjoying his retirement. He had a crooked finger pointed at Este’s feet and when she looked down she noticed a single squirrel circling her her. There was a plethora of squirrels around the old man but this particular one did seem to like her.
“Hmm, looks like he does,” Este chuckled in response. She stood up and took a few steps and the squirrel seemed to follow her, she was laughing now. The influence she was under had her laughing a little harder than she should but she didn't care, the squirrel was adorable.
“Here,” was all the old man said as he handed her a small handful of nuts, Este took the nuts in her hand and thanked the old man before sprinkling some on the ground. The squirrel ran around greedily gobbling up every single nut. She placed a small pile on the lip of the fountain where she was just sitting and her new little friend jumped right up and went to town.
“Oh my gosh,” Este gushed as the joint hung lazily off her lips and she pulled out her phone for a photo. She giggled as she snapped away, getting plenty of angles to show off to whoever would pretend to care at the party later. With the phone mere inches from her face she noticed through the screen some abnormal movement in the fountain behind the squirrel. “Woah,” she let out as she dropped her hands and focused fully on the fountain, cursing the laziness that kept her from putting in her contacts as she had to squint. “Does it usually do that?”
“Well, most squirrels only come up to people they know have food but-” the old man was in the middle of answering before Este shook her head wildly. She stepped closer to the fountain and the sight became more clear.
“No, not the squirrel. The fountain,” Este grabbed the joint and used that same hand to point at the water that was moving rapidly now.
“Oh- Huh?” The old man glanced over his shoulder at the water before shaking his head, “Do what?”
Este looked at the man incredulously, the water was glowing now. It looked like someone had melted gold, added about 50 pounds of glitter, and was now mixing it about the fountain. “That!” Este exclaimed, pointing again, “Swirl and glow.” She moved closer still until she was leaning over the lip looking at the wild water.
The man stood up this time before turning to look again, “What are you getting at!” The old man threw his arms in the air as he exclaimed but Este was barely even listening. A harsh wind was coming from the water and blowing her hair about wildly, the wind seemed to wrap around her and pull her in closer. The water was humming, a melody that felt familiar but she knew she has never heard. It was inviting, and comforting, the sensation felt perfectly safe as she reached a hand out to touch the top of the liquid gold. She could vaguely hear the old man raving about smoking too many funny cigarettes when all of it was drowned out the moment her finger came in contact with the water.
The sounds of the city turned to warbling as she was yanked into the fountain, but she never hit the bottom, she just kept falling. The warbling turned to whooshing as she fell faster and faster. The water felt thick and warm as it encompassed every inch of her being, All of the exposed skin had the sensation of pins and needles, she tried to reach her hands out to grab something, anything but the dense substance made any voluntary movement nearly impossible. She couldn't do anything except let herself fall, so that's what she did.
The end was closing in as she seemed to slow and the warbling sound came back, Este was fully expecting to fall next to the fountain but when she fell on her ass it wasn’t onto concrete.
Este groaned after she hit the ground, it wasn't a hard impact but enough to hurt. She rolled to her knees and as she was pushing herself up she noticed the cold wet floor. It was covered in jagged rocks and puddles. She pushed herself up and looked around. It was hard to see, but she made out that she was… in a cave? There was cold wind blowing off the rocks, water dripping from the ceiling, and a damp earthy smell all around.
Este felt her heart rate rise as she looked around, it was incredibly dark and stuffy. The smell caught her off guard and the breeze had her clutching her body. The light from the swirling water she just appeared from was above her head on the ceiling of the cave and the glow was fading. The only thought in Estes' brain was confusion. She looked down at the joint that was somehow still lit in her hand and noticed she was completely dry. The fountain and the old man were nowhere to be seen.
Okay, she thought, hallucinations?
She looked at the joint again before aggressively throwing it down and stomping it out. “Jesus Christ,”she muttered as she stomped. When she turned around she realized she wasn't alone, her body reacted instinctively and she jumped back, letting out a yelp at the sight. There were three men in front of her, three very large men. Este herself was tall, standing at 5’8, she was still a good foot shorter than the shortest one. With the glow gone, she could barely make out rippling muscles and… wings?
Her eyes bulged before squinting, the only light now was barely glowing red and blue LEDs that were strapped to two of the men’s chests. She couldn't make out anything other than the outline of their body, not their facial features or whatever those huge things on their back were.
“It’s a girl,” echoed off the wall. It was a deep and rough voice, an intimidating voice that held a hint of confusion. Este instinctively took a step back. “A tiny girl.” The voice now had a slightly mocking tone and Este’s blood ran cold. Her head filled with terrible and violent visions of what three strange men might do with “a tiny girl” like her.
Stumbling backward her back hit the wall of the cave and she felt trapped, the part of her brain that hadn’t switched to fight or flight was grappling for an explanation. The majority of her brain was trying to come up with a next move, if she ran their long legs would catch up to her in a near instant, but if she stayed…
She clocked the silhouettes once again and decided fighting was off the table. She tried to control the shaking that had taken over her body as she pushed her brain to come up with something, anything. She contemplated screaming, throwing rocks, and biting sensitive body parts when the middle one spoke.
“Don’t worry,” this voice was smooth and silky, it sounded comforting but Este��s logical brain wouldn’t fall for it. She could vaguely make out hands that were held up in front of him as he took a step forward. “We brought you here… to help us.”
Este didn’t bother to try and understand what the man was saying, her a-million-miles-an-hour thoughts were halted. Something else had caught her attention. A black mass had begun moving behind the men. It looked like it was seeping out of the cave walls, twisting and swirling in an unnatural way. Her eyes would have caught it if its darkness wasn’t so potent.
The mass was darker than dark, so black that it stood out against the rest of the inky environment. Este’s shaking became more violent as she watched the mass, it seemed to grow and was now surrounding the men and pooling unnoticed at their feet. Whatever comfort was in the second man’s voice was stolen by the eeriness of the creature.
“We won’t hurt you,” he stepped forward again and Este didn’t care, her focus stayed behind him. She saw something in the mass, she squinted harder trying to understand what she was seeing. It looked like the mass was producing sharp blades, tens of them layered on top of each other. No. Not blades. Teeth.
She meant to speak, to ask about the ominous mass but her voice betrayed her. She was only able to point, to gesture to the thing moving around them. She made out three heads turning over their shoulders and took the opening.
Este ran. She didn’t know if she was running deeper into the cave or towards an exit but she didn’t care. She just cared to put distance between her and that thing, getting away from those men was a plus. Behind her, she heard a low “Shit,” that matched the first voice. There was also the unmistakable sound of swords unsheathing.
“What the hell? What the hell? What in the hell!?” was what she screamed in her head as she was taking off. She had weird dreams but swords and monsters? She hadn’t conjured anything like that since her juvenile years.
Ester cursed the heels on her feet, not only were they slowing her down but they were loud. That thing or those guys could easily just follow the sound of her steps. She didn’t let up though, she pushed herself as hard as she could, thanking Shay for buying her that gym membership.
She glanced over her shoulder to see how much distance she had gained but upon glancing she saw the man with the blue LEDs was a few paces away from grabbing her.
The shock of seeing him so close made Este stumble and trip over her own frantic feet. A second yelp fell from her lips but she never hit the ground. Strong arms wrapped around her torso and she was pressed into a steely warm body.
A terrible scream tore through her throat, and flailing began “Help! Help m-“
Este was cut off when a large hand firmly covered half of her face. The action was so rough it restricted her airflow from her nose and mouth. Knowing it was futile she still tried to break free anyway. Nails digging into the foreign skin and legs kicking about wildly. She tried to drop her weight and fall out of his arms but he held firm.
She felt a warm breath on her ear that covered her neck and shoulders in goosebumps as it carried a harsh shh. “Screaming like that is going to get us killed.” This voice was a new one, rich and heavy. It was the kind of voice that conveyed an intuitive pensivity. The kind of voice that would stop people in their tracks and drag their attention to whatever was being said.
The coolness of the cave was lost on Este as her body raised many a degree. Her rational brain told her it was the lack of oxygen and the energy she was exerting in her struggle.
She had two options: give in or pass out. She was sure the man knew this too. Deciding not to be unconscious in the company of a strange man she started smacking his arm ferociously. The man uncovered Este’s nose but not her mouth. She jerked her head about trying to get him to uncover her mouth too but he responded simply, “Sorry, I can’t take that chance.”
Este took greedy breaths through her nose and the mildew smell was long gone. It had been replaced with a plentiful teakwood scent, a sweet honey-like undertone, and an uncured resemblance to a freshwater stream. The relaxation was involuntary, her tense muscles relaxed and this time she was dead weight against the chest instead of trying to fall away from it. The man let out a low hum that reverberated through her body and eased her soul. She closed her eyes and took a few more deep breaths before pensively grabbing the hand on her mouth. The man must’ve clocked the change in Este’s demeanor because he let his hand fall away.
She turned and was faced with a chest, craning her neck she couldn't make out any details of his face. He was encompassed in darkness with only the faint flickering blue light to illuminate the bottom of his face. She could see strong cheekbones, full lips, and a sharp jaw but the rest was just shadows.
“Where am I?” Her voice came out as a faint whisper. His body heat was rolling onto her in waves and she had to physically hold herself back from sinking back into the stranger’s warmth.
“We’re-“ he started but then his lips fell into a thin line as he assessed her, “It’s a long story.”
A man of few words. Normally Este would appreciate that but now she was in a strange dark cave with a strange dark man and any story is better than the one she was concocting in her head. She thought up a schizophrenic break, a weird new drug that was slipped to her without noticing, or maybe a bizarre and realistic dream.
“I’m sure I can keep up,” Este spoke firmly. No nice smell or body heat was going to keep her from rationality. She wouldn’t go with him, at least not willing, without an explanation that made sense.
“We need to get out of here,” he pushed past her, clasping a large hand around her wrist, essentially dragging her behind him.
“What? No! I’m not going anywhere with you.” Estes' volume had increased so showed her sincerity. She tried to rip her hand away but alas his grip was strong. Although she was sure wherever she was being led was better than here her stubbornness wouldn’t let up. She dug her heels into the ground in an attempt to keep from being dragged any further.
He turned around and she didn’t need to see his face to know he was annoyed, it was dripping in his voice. “Either you can come with me or I can throw you over my shoulder and you can come with me. How do you want to do this?” His grip on her wrist tightened and he yanked her arm pulling her close to him again.
She pushed back against his chest and he let her step back, ‘how courteous’ she thought sarcastically. “I’m not going anywhere with you! I don’t know you, or where the hell this is, or what the hell is going on. And if you’re not going to tell me tha-“
He cut her off with his hand again, grabbing her and turning her back to his chest again as he assessed the cave. “Shh! Don’t make a sound. Don’t even breathe.” His voice was so low she wasn’t even sure it could be considered a whisper. It was quieter than the dripping sound coming from somewhere deeper in the cave and she’s sure she wouldn’t have heard it if he wasn’t so close. His demeanor had shifted and that scared Este, not necessarily of him but of whatever caused the shift.
She tried to assess their surroundings as well but her eyes couldn’t make much of anything out. The man took a step forward, the action forced Este to step too, and when she did her heel clacked against the floor. They both froze at the sound and Este looked down at her boots, cursing them. Este wasn’t sure why but she knew she just fucked up. It was confirmed by the stranger's sharp breath and newly rigid body.
When Este looked up she saw the mass, the creature from before. Or maybe it was a second one. The teeth, the swirling darkness, it was all much closer than the previous one. This time without a wall of men in between, this time she was the wall. A primordial fear seeped into her bones she couldn’t help the shaking. She had premonitions of what that thing would do to her, and she was sure the stranger would throw her into it for a chance to save himself.
His grip loosened and she took that as confirmation of her fear, a soft sob stole from her lips as she felt the hot tears of fear prickling her eyes. That thing must be attracted to sound because the sob was enough for the mass to start rushing forward. It was swirling in on itself as the dark mist cleared the the short stretch between them.
The man did indeed shove her but not into the mass. He shoved her out of the way into the cave wall. He must’ve underestimated his own strength because she hit the wall- hard. Her head made contact first and the last thing she heard was a sword unsheathing as unconsciousness engulfed her.
A/N: Here we gooo, part i(New York version) from Este’s perspective. I’m excited to write this multi part fic and if one person enjoys it I’m happy😭
If you got this far I love you and if you want to check out part i(Prythian version) you can find it here
Also to all my NYC homies I’m so sorry, i really do love your city but it’s important for Ms. Este to dislike it, pls forgive meeee
Masterlist
#acofas#acomaf#acosf#acotar#acowar#azriel#azriel fanfic#acotar azriel#azriel shadowsinger#Cassian#Rhys#rhysand#azriel spymaster#azriel fanfiction#azriel fic#nesta archeron#feyre archeron#elain archeron#acotar cassian#acotar rhysand#a court of thorns and roses#acotar x Taylor Swift#azriel one shot#azriel x reader#azriel x you
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A Body of Stars
Ongoing series
Synopsis: With a galaxy at war, it’s hard to distinguish the stars from the metal of UNSC ships. You were told about the war that waged between the UNSC and insurrectionists; your planet opposing them since you were born. Your enemy was meant to be the UNSC and the Spartans they created, specifically John-117 - the Master Chief. Except, all isn’t as black and white as you were raised to believe, and the galaxy holds secrets far darker than you could’ve imagined.
Pairing: John - 117 x F!Reader
Genre: enemies to lovers, strangers to lovers, slow burn, eventual smut, Halo TV series/Mass Effect mashup
Warnings: mentions of war, violence
Word count: 11.7k
A/N: Alright. As hyper fixations go, the Halo series (and let’s be real, Pablo is a menace) has my ass in a chokehold. That being said, season 2 was amazing and made me want to work on a small fic that blended the series and my love of BioWare’s Mass Effect. Mass Effect is my favorite sci-fi space game about galactic war, friendship, love, sacrifice. I could rant but I won’t. There will be mentions of certain ME things in here, like the reader having biotics, to go along with the lore of the halo series. So, without further ado: its back story time. I hope someone out there enjoys this and as always, thank you for reading 🖤 much love, Jenn
Year: 2521
•Shadow Sea cluster•
•Lera system•
Destination: Laconix
ETA: 13 hours
The Midsummer Night came out of slip space without a hitch.
Not that he’d been worried. It was one of the few things that Captain Jacob Keyes hadn’t worried about during this current mission. What, or rather who, currently worried him was standing less than ten yards from him and came in the form of his ex-wife. He risked a glance where Dr. Catherine Halsey was hunched over with her nose deep inside another holopad.
Those holopads had been one of the many reasons why their marriage fell apart.
There was no doubting the brilliance her work contributed to the scientific field or the war effort. All of her research was the stepping stone humanity needed in terms of augmentation and the human genome. The contributions Halsey and her Spartans made towards this never-ending battle against the covenant saved lives, but, and it was a big but, Jacob knew that Halsey’s methods were questionable, at best. Hell, he’d been a part of those questionable decisions, driving the helm, while she did what she deemed was necessary.
Vital.
So, Jacob Keyes knew without her ever having to say a word that something was off. The Midsummer Night and the Pegasus holding Halsey’s darling Spartain-III’s were meant to go for a routine extraction. Intel indicated one of the leaders in the insurrectionist rebel groups, Kahn Montrello, was located on a planet within the Lera system of the Shadow Sea cluster. It was a typical snatch-and-grab unless they were met with resistance.
Halsey requesting to tag along was more than just a surprise. It was suspicious. Jacob knew Halsey didn’t do anything without purpose.
“Tell me again why you’ve insisted on inserting yourself into a routine mission dealing with insurrectionists?”
Halsey hadn’t even looked up from the damn holopad to acknowledge he’d walked over.
“I’m just here to gather some data while the Silver Team is dispatched to help your marines on the ground.”
Jacob’s boots scuffed against the metal of the bridge as he moved closer to her. His eyes on Catherine’s back - willing her to turn, to acknowledge him - as her gaze held tightly to the readings she’d taken from a tablet from her lab. The data was transferred to the larger scale computer in the bridge’s main console. Halsey’s eyes roaming endlessly through data Jacob himself knew he’d never understand without her help.
“Come on, Catherine. That may be the bullshit you fed Parangosky and the other admirals, but don’t feed me the same lies and expect it to go down smoothly.”
Halsey broke away for the briefest millisecond from whatever data she was reading. Her eyes skimmed over him before returning back to what was more important.
Research in the name of human exploration always was.
“It’s not bullshit. Data collected in the field is highly valuable for furthering my research; proof to Parangosky the Spartan research is worth her continued funding.”
“That’s a nice speech, Catherine, but I know that any collected data during the mission is recorded and sent back to your lab for analysis. So, when are you going to start telling me something honest?”
Honesty.
Asking Halsey to be anything other than secretive was like asking a tiger to get rid of its stripes. Jacob knew even if she told him - really shared - it still wouldn’t be all of the actual information. Key pieces of information - the most valuable - would be forever stored within her; leverage for another day.
Whatever it was she could see on those holopads had her sky blue eyes wide in excitement. Halsey wouldn’t be able to contain it - hide it - for much longer. If the small rise at the corner of her mouth was any indication, all Jacob needed to do was push a little further. Find the right words to spark a rush of hypotheticals that might turn out to hold some truth. If she didn’t crack yet, it would take one more well-placed question and she would cave.
“Jacob,” her voice was breathy, tinged with unrestrained joy. “I think I found something.”
“What are you talking about, Catherine? Found something?”
More cryptics. More hoops.
A sigh heavy with years of fights - conflicts - departed his lips and Halsey rushed to recover some ground. Her body quickly took back the space he left to place her hand gently on his bicep. The grip was soft but demanding that he stay close; pleading with him not to pull away.
Halsey needed him.
“A few weeks ago the UNSC sent over old documents from companies they’d disassembled. Conatix was one of them.”
It wasn’t hard to spot the confusion that deepened the lines in the crease of Jacob’s forehead and scrunched up his nose. His eyes roamed her face searching for a tell, but if Halsey had one she’d never show it.
“Conatix was an old UNSC factory that produced our warships-“
“Yes, I know.”
“Why would you be interested in anything about warships?”
Halsey scanned the room to make sure no one was watching - no eyes lingering on the two of them - before she directed her attention back to him. The caution that darkened her eyes shifted with a spark Jacob knew all too well.
Halsey had found something. Really found something.
“Usually, nothing of value would be of interest in old documents and schematics for warships but, while scrolling through the files I stumbled upon an encrypted file.”
“UNSC documentation is always encrypted when it’s being shipped out to-“
“To be destroyed, yes I already know that, Jacob,” Halsey cut in. Her body directed back towards the holopad that she carefully picked up. Her fingers darted across the screen hunting for the files in question. “But this was different. It wasn’t schematics or calculations - it was redacted - sealed documents about an incident.”
No sooner had she started Halsey was finished. Her hand reached out to give him the holopad and waited patiently for him to take it.
“Go ahead.”
Jacob looked around the ship's bridge to make sure no one was watching. He needed to be careful, not necessarily for Halsey’s sake, but for that of his crew. He should’ve known - did know - Halsey had a habit, a bad one, to go above the chain of command to get what she wanted. That leverage she saved for a rainy day coming in hot to throw around pawns and pieces as she saw fit to get her way.
Cautiously, Jacob secured the holopad from her and started looking at the documents, or what little he could see. Almost with every swipe all he saw were broken links and documents with holes of information missing. Sentences that formed into two words with the rest gone or replaced by shapes and numbers. An elaborate break in the code.
“I was able to decipher most of them. Get back what information they tried to hide-“
“Catherine,” he whispered her name in warning, not for himself, but for her.
“Jacob - this wasn’t about warships or weapons or schematics. Something happened. A ship they’d used with element zero - eezo - had leaked out over a few colonies. A hole in one of the port engines that wasn’t caught in time.”
“Catherine,” Jacob pleaded again, “This isn’t news or anything that concerns you or me.”
Halsey wasn’t going to back down. He knew she wouldn’t. Not when the sheer joy of finding something undiscovered was close. The science behind furthering human evolution. The moment he realized what this was - what he held in his hands - Jacob knew his eyes were saucers. The sudden shock of realization stunning him to the spot.
“Children, Jacob,” Halsey practically laughed. “The pregnant mothers who were infected by the particles gave birth to children with eezo ingrained into their nervous system. The abilities these files claim they saw…it’s like nothing I’ve ever read.”
In her excitement, Halsey reached out and took a hold of his arm. The startled warmth of her touch was enough to knock Jacob back out of his daze. His eyes skimming one more time over impossible things he saw in diagrams Halsey recreated.
“Even if that was true, you don’t even know if any of them are still alive or where they are.”
With her lips curved up in victory, Halsey plucked the holopad from his hands.
“Yes I do. We’re headed there now.”
————-
“You get caught staring up at the sky again and Caster is going to throw a fit.”
“When isn’t he throwing a fit?”
Your question wasn’t meant for an answer. The words barely made it above a whisper while you kept watch on the green hued light that streaked across the sky like a river. Calling it green felt like you were doing it a disservice. You knew it was more than that - the way it moved with purpose across the endless blue above. The different shades that reminded you of the grass on which you stood and dark as the forest that surrounded you.
“Come on,” Thao called over his shoulder. Your name calling from his lips like it would be enough to coax you forward. “I want to get back to actually enjoy what little of my day I have left.”
“You can enjoy it now,” you reminded him.
It took a few more seconds - another millisecond after that - for your eyes to turn back to the world around you. The snap of a branch somewhere off to your right informing you Thao had taken off without waiting for you to catch up.
“Not when my friends are back at the colony having fun without me. And I’m out here looking for dumb ass yaks.”
A small tut of disapproval clicked at the roof of your mouth. Your stride easily brings you closer to the shorter eleven-year-old boy. It allowed you to gently ruffle his hair. Your efforts were greeted by a grunt of annoyance with his hand grabbing at your wrist to gently shove you away.
“And just think, you would be there now, doing whatever it is you troublemakers do, if you and your friends hadn’t set a flare off inside Caster’s hut. And don’t disrespect the yaks.”
Thao’s eyes disappeared inside his head as your elbow gently nudged his shoulder. You must be making some kind of progress, because this time he made no move to push you away.
“Old man deserved it. Always hoarding the chicken eggs.”
“He owns the chickens.”
“So?”
“So,” you drawled, “it means he owns the eggs. Owning the eggs also means he gets to distribute them however he sees fit.”
“How is that fair? You know he gave Lydia and her kids three eggs last week? Three eggs. What is a family of five supposed to do with that? It’s not right.”
You knew what Thao meant. You understood the feeling of anger that burned into sadness and ultimately to the ash of defeat. Kahn allowed those who proved useful in the fight against the UNSC to have a majority hold on most of the items in the colony. Those who allowed themselves to be shuffled around an unseeable chessboard like pawns.
Willing to die, to give up everything, at his disposal.
All in the name of fighting a government who grew more powerful everyday. The UNSC sharing their own videos of propaganda that showed thousands upon thousands of soldiers equally willing to die for a cause, and Spartans being the unmovable force needed to shift any battle back into the UNSC’s favor. It was this very reason Kahn looked for those desperate enough to join, to do anything he asked, to win.
A devoted father agrees to be a walking bomb to blow up a UNSC building? His family is rewarded with food, wood, and blankets to help make it through the harsh winters. Attempting to infiltrate a building to release a virus, whether you were caught or not, Kahn took care of your family. It could be with livestock, guns for protection, or even the yaks whose pelts made the biggest profit at the markets.
Every loss of life was just another reminder of the men and women who slowly disappeared from the colony. A senseless loss of life. You were still trying to figure out what it was for; what purpose you hadn’t been able to see, because for every life lost in the pursuit of justice against the USNC, their numbers only grew. The colony's numbers, however, weren't so lucky.
“You could turn this war around.”
“I won’t kill for you, Kahn.”
You swiftly whipped your head to the side to rid yourself of the memory. Your eyes narrowing on the green rolling hills on the other side of the treeline. That was where you would find the yaks grazing. You gently patted Thao’ss shoulder - for whatever comfort it would give - before you moved forward to take point.
“That’s because it isn’t fair, Thao.”
“See! Even you agree,” Thao huffed out your name. His small body broke into a jog to match your hurried step. “If anyone in the colony would be able to kick his ass, it would be you.”
Your feet were turning before you’d even realized it. Your body answered the piercing spike of adrenaline in your blood with your hands shooting out to grab his shoulders. The action made you crouch a couple inches until you were face-to-face with Thao. Your eyes scanned wildly across his features reading nothing but uncertainty.
“Don’t ever say something like that out loud again, Thao. Do you understand me?”
“I was only saying-“
“I know what you're trying to say. The answer is no, and if Kahn or any of his dumbass lackies ever heard you even mention something like that we are both as good as dead.”
“But-“
“Tell me you understand!”
If anyone asked why you felt the sudden surge of panic ripple over your skin, you wouldn’t be able to say, or place where it stemmed from. Technically, the both of you were out in the safety of the mountain fields and away from the prying eyes of Kahn’s dictatorship. Lost behind a sea of forest, the rolling fields of green, and poppies that puddled around you like blood.
You’d seen what Kahn and his insurrectionists were capable of. Any whisper - false or not - and the person went missing. Kahn ruled the colony with the fear generated by the UNSC, but cultivated his own like the boogeyman.
“Yeah I get it. Whatever.”
Thao shrugged out of your hold and turned away from you. His pre-teen feet stomped a path out of the tree line and out into the field. A sigh left you, worn and heavy, as you watched his retreat.
I Should’ve been softer…
You let out a huff of air as a hand scrubbed over your face. It was supposed to be a simple ‘herd the yaks back to the colony’ type of day. Not grovel to one of the only people - kid or not - who wasn’t afraid of you.
It was your turn to jog after his retreating form. Quickly, you noticed that he didn’t even look up to acknowledge your presence. He wasn’t sending jokes about being an old lady (you were twenty-four, thank you very much) whose brittle bones could snap under the strain of being a person. You would’ve taken being called an old lady than suffering through the silent treatment.
Gently, you nudged his shoulder with your elbow. When he didn’t turn you tried again and again until, finally, you were rewarded with him turning an annoyed side-eye in your direction. You gave him your best apologetic smile and carefully looped your arm around his shoulders to bring him in close.
“I’m sorry. Okay? I was kind of an asshole.”
“A major asshole.”
“Okay. I’ll accept that major part but only for today.”
“If there was an asshole award, you would’ve taken home the prize-“
“Okay, geez. I get it.”
You both settled into a comfortable pace with your arm still draped over his shoulders. Your mind raced back to the last time you’d been able to do this. Thao had been younger - shorter - and with the rate he was growing, you soon might not be able to reach him. Soon, Thao might not care for your company.
“You know, I am surprised you didn’t fracture an ankle running after me at your tender age.”
“Alright, that’s enough for today,” you grumbled in mock annoyance.
You ended up having to shove him away just to try and hide the smile that threatened to lift the edges of your mouth. The sound of Thao’s laughter at your weak attempt at being mean - he 100% knew it took way too much to even make you raise your voice - made the crack of a smile begin to form.
The yaks were about another ten or so feet ahead of you both. Their massive bodies moved in slow steps while they grazed along the long grass. You weren’t sure if it was their adorable long bangs that made it impossible for them to notice you right away (doubtful) or if they just didn’t consider either of you a threat (possible). Either way, they didn’t startle as the two of you closed the remaining distance. Didn’t jump up to try and kick or gore either of you with their horns when Thao produced the ropes from his satchel.
It took a grand total of ten minutes, maybe less, to have all seven of the yaks securely held in makeshift collars from the rope. Their large bodies begrudgingly followed the two of you as you gently pulled the lead, forcing them to give up their meal of dewy grass and follow you back through the treeline.
“You know,” Thao cautiously began, his eyes skimming between you and the trees. “This might be a lot faster if you just…ya know, float them up.”
“Float them up?”
“With your blue magic.”
This time you weren’t able to hide your smile as you shook your head.
“It’s called biotics, Thao, not blue magic.”
“Blue magic sounds waaaay cooler than ‘biotics’. Who even came up with that lame name, anyway.”
“You can thank the good folks at Conatix for that one.”
One of the yaks pulled back on its lead forcing you to give a slight tug back. You could understand if they were tired after eating, but you really didn’t have time in your schedule for yak naps. A huff of air came from the nostrils of the yak to drive home that it wasn't happy not having its nap. Or maybe it was the berry bush it was after, either way, napping and eating stops were prohibited.
You weren’t aware the conversation had died until Thao’s voice interrupted the silence.
“Is it true that you were born like that?”
His question was timid - afraid he would upset you. You were used to the questions; the stares. You remember sitting with your parents in a room, about Thao’s age, when Conatix came back around trying to clean up their mess. Said mess being spilling eezo from their ships across planets that later infected children. While some pregnant mothers had children like you, exposed to element zero in the womb creating a nervous system made of eezo, a majority were far less lucky. Children born riddled with tumors or horrific physical complications that left them in pain their entire lives.
You were supposed to be a lucky one.
One of the lucky ones they’d been trying to take back with them to their laboratories. A lucky one meant to be bought by a substantial fee that your parents quickly declined. It was the last choice they ever got to make for you before they mysteriously died in a tragic accident off-world.
“Yes.”
You didn’t feel lucky and maybe it was the way the words crumbled out of your mouth. The way they sat suspended in the air in a swirl of regrets and dead wishes that Thao knew you didn’t want to talk anymore. Not about your past or anything that reminded you that what you are - who you are - has felt like one big burden. You wondered, most nights, if there was a possibility that curses could be born.
————
The rest of the walk back was filled with an awkward silence. You weren’t sure if it was one you’d made by your lack of response, or if Thao no longer felt like talking. A part of you feared the image he’d held of you since he was young, full of mystery that made you seem cool, was slowly becoming destroyed. You knew it was a matter of time before it happened.
You were an anomaly.
Children saw you as magical, while adults believed you could perform some kind of mind control or read their thoughts. It was the main reason Kahn wanted you to join the resistance. Who wouldn’t want someone who could read thoughts and control minds on their team? You’d know when and where attacks could happen and make them blow up their ships from the inside. Unfortunately, for Kahn, the only thoughts you could read were your own and, as of right now, they were desperately shouting at you not to lose one of the few friends you had left.
Even if they happened to be a young boy who was notorious for being the most talkative kid in the colony.
With a few more steps up the hill, you both came to a stop at the top of the hill. You took in the thatched roofs of the huts that lay scattered in a misshapen circle of rows. The outer ring of homes were made of clay and the only splash’s of color came from designs being painted on the sides of homes or flowers planted in the yard.
The middle ring was meant to be for men like Kahn and his commanders; men and women of importance so that they lived closer to the final, smaller ring, of storefronts and farmers. The middle circle was left open and featured a large walkway down the center of town and out into the hills.
Kahn specifically had the colony built this way. The walkway was the most important, because Kahn believed it was good for his people to be able to watch those that fought for their freedoms return from another victory against the UNSC. You knew it was more about parading around having people kiss his ass than for uplifting any kind of morale.
It was the same path that Thao and you took now as you brought in the yaks from the mountains. You knew it wouldn’t be long until you got them back inside their pen and with the irritated snorts and tugs on their leashes, the yaks knew it too. The sound of multiple small feet came rushing in on Thao’s side and the faces of a few village children came into view. They made sure to stop just before they got in the way of a yak.
“Thao, can you come play?”
“Not yet. I have to finish this choir for Caster.”
A lot of groaning ensued and you felt your free hand reach over the back of a yak. Your fingers waving for him to give you his leashes. Thao’s brow raised in question and you only answered him by pointing at the leash and waving him again to hand it over.
“Hurry up and give them to me before I change my mind.”
You were trying to be grumpy. The way any elder in town would complain about the youth of today being too soft and not knowing the meaning of hard work and blah blah. You were sure they were all just stuck in super grouchy mode from having to be an adult with responsibilities for too long. And because of that, you knew, instead of looking grumpy, a smile was already brightening up your face. Thao’s face lit up in response and his eyes darted - unsure - from up the path and back to you.
“Are you sure? Caster -“
“Will never know that you didn’t help bring them all the way back. Now, like I said, hand over the lead before I suddenly have a fit of amnesia.”
He didn’t need further prompting. Thao’s hand smashed the remaining leashes into your waiting palm and turned on his heel to run off with the other kids. A soft, “thank you,” calling out behind him.
You didn’t waste any more time watching their retreating backs as they tore down a small alleyway between huts. You had your own things that you still needed to finish today. As you continued on your way, you greeted people who were outside in their gardens or hanging up laundry. Some of them returned your greetings of, “Hello,” with grunts with their backs turned to you or hurried inside. Apparently, if they didn’t look you in the eye or were behind the safety of a wall it kept you from using your mind control powers.
You were willing to bet Kahn had something to do with that latest lie about your make believe abilities. If you wouldn’t fight for him, why not cause a little mass panic in your presence. You being the monster and him, the hero, forcing you to toe the line. No ‘mind reading’ unless it was for the ‘cause’.
As you neared the pen in front of Caster’s shop, you started to rotate the leashes tighter in your hands. You were positive if the yaks felt a slack in their leash, they would attempt a revolt. They also weren’t the biggest fan of the metal pen of broken down ships Caster created to house them; the metal of an old hatch door from a USNC frigate - rusted and covered in moss - groaned as it opened. A sound the yaks knew well and instantly sent their hooves stamping into the muddy grass.
“Alright, ladies, I don’t want any trouble. It’s time to get your butts back in here - whoa!”You shot around with a start as one of the yaks gently bumped its nose against your back sending you forward towards the pen. “None of that,” you mumbled. Your index finger pointing at your chest then back to every single one of them. “Your home, not mine. Now go.”
With a cautious glance over your shoulder you took a step forward leading the herd inside. It wasn’t until you’d begun to remove their leashes that the familiar sound of a man clearing his throat brought your gaze up to search the fence. It didn’t take long for you to find Caster leaning against it. An arm hanging over while the other held up whatever self-righteous bullshit questioning he was about to spew.
“Where’s Thao?”
“He helped me bring them here, Caster. I sent him on his way once we reached the pen.”
“That’s not what he was told to do and you don’t have any authority to change orders.”
Every word reached you like a slap in the face. Caster’s irritation was evident with the click of his tongue. You tried to keep your face neutral; your gaze fixed on one of the yak's as your fingers ran through the tangled fur. You gave one final pat to signal your departure before you walked back to the pen’s exit.
“I wasn’t aware Thao had to be the specific individual to deliver a bunch of yaks inside the pen.”
“Bullshit,” Caster snarled your name. His body closing the distance between you as you stepped through the pen entrance. “You can try and play dumb with me all you want, but we both know you aren’t that damn dense. Thao can’t shut up even for a second in his sleep, and you’re trying to tell me the boy magically didn’t complain the whole time he was with you?”
Caster invaded what little space you had once you stepped fully out from behind the pen. The door hadn’t even closed yet before Caster rushed you, attempting to trap you between him and the metal. The cold gray of his eyes roamed your face waiting for you to break at his intimidation.
One of the Shadow Sea’s three moons would have to explode first before that ever happened.
You jammed the cool metal of the pens chains into his chest. You didn’t bother to see if he would catch it when you released it. You knew he would, and when Caster did, you made sure to take a step towards him forcing the older man two options; hold his ground or back up. You weren’t surprised when he did the latter.
“You’re right, Caster, I’m not that damn dense. Close up your own fucking pen.”
You didn’t give him the chance to reply. The first step you took forced him to take another step back, your shoulder ramming into his as you pushed your way past him.
Could you have gone around?
Yes, but, no matter what, it felt a lot better being petty for a couple of seconds than pretending for a second you cared.
It didn’t take Caster long to find his bearings. The sound of the chains rustling in his hands and a slew of curses thrown at your back were the first to greet you before he yelled after you: “Just wait until Kahn hears about this!”
“Yea, yea,” you mumbled.
You were willing to bet no matter how the exchange between Caster and you went, Kahn was always going to hear how it went. Good or bad. Caster yelled something else at your retreating back. You responded with a wave and continued back down the main path before you veered off course into a smaller path. It was one you knew well since you were a child. One you knew led to your grandparents' hut.
Smoke rose from the clay chimney and you knew, before you entered through the doorway, you’d find your grandfather working to dry his latest clay pots by the fire. Your grandmothers weathered fingers working tirelessly with a needle and her beadwork scattered over the small table. It was only a few days before everyone with goods left to try and sell them at the Market. You moved through the small space stopping to kiss the top of your grandmother’s head before you gently took over for your grandfather.
“And where did you run off to this morning?”
You didn’t have to look up to feel the weight of your grandfather’s stare. His scrutinizing eyes waiting for you to give him a response knowing full well it wasn’t going to be the one he wanted.
“There is no need to worry, grandpa. I was nowhere and everywhere all at once.”
“That sentence alone turned what little hair I have left white.”
“All of your hairs’ already white.”
“Precisely my point,” he groaned.
The soft chuckle of your grandmother cut through the tension in the small room. Your eyes now directed to the open flame and focused on turning the pot slowly with the tongs. The last thing you wanted to hear on top of giving your grandfather white hair and an early grave was ruining a pot he’d worked on most of this morning.
“Would you two stop it? I’m sure she has a perfectly good explanation for why she was missing this morning. Don’t you dear?”
Your grandmother sent a coy look in your direction and you couldn’t wait to completely crush her dreams. While your grandfather believed in hard work, your grandmother believed in finding a good spouse who could provide for the imaginary great grandchildren she’d already named.
Either that or joining the resistance.
“I was out helping Thao rally up the yaks that ran away this morning.”
A sigh so heavy escaped from your grandfather’s chest that you could’ve sworn all your ancestors before you joined him.
“And there it is.”
The soft call of your name forced your attention back to where your grandmother now sat idle. Her hands placing the beadwork and adjoining needles on the table. Her small frame turned on the bench to make sure she had your full attention.
“I’m happy you want to help but you already know Kahn will-“
“Will throw a bitch fit. Yeah, yeah, I know.”
A smack on your arm sent you jolting back in surprise. Your eyes cautiously roaming over to your grandmother to see if she was going to hit you again. With how tightly her lips were pressed together, you had a feeling, with some of the things that came from your mouth, the possibility of her doing it again was imminent.
“Whether you like him or not, Kahn is our leader.”
“No, he is your leader. Kahn will never be mine. A real leader doesn’t sacrifice their people to gain information or so they don’t get locked up inside a UNSC prison.”
“And do you think there is someone more fit to lead if he was gone? Who do you think would run the rebellion?”
“Plenty of more competent individuals could step forward to take his place if he wasn’t aro-“
You realized you sounded like Thao who, hours before, you’d shushed him into complacency. Your fear for his safety was paramount over how right his words might have been. And here you were doing the exact same thing inside your grandparents hut.
“Enough!”
Your grandfather wasn’t known for raising his voice and when he did it was usually out of desperation; a fear that surpassed anger that delved into worry from the unknown. You could see it now etched into every wrinkle that creased in the sagging skin of his sunburnt face. The way he tried to hold onto the anger before it was swept away by something he wouldn’t voice in fear of giving it a name.
“Whether you like it or not, Kahn runs this settlement. He is the only one working here to free us from the tyrant that is the UNSC! At least he is doing something, which is more than I can say for my own granddaughter!”
“Ernest,” your grandmother’s voice cautioned.
“So you want me to just let him use me like some kind of weapon?”
You no longer cared about holding the pinchers over the fire or the clay pot - your grandfather's life’s work - held delicately between them. As you stood up from the stool you dropped the pinchers and the sound of clay cracking tapered over your shuddering breathing for just a moment. You moved away from the fire towards a corner of the room closest to the door. The thunder in your ears drowning out the shouts of your grandmother; your eyes coming in and out of focus as you tried to ease the panic from your veins.
It would only take a second - a fatal second of panic to fill the room with a cobalt hue of flame that would ruin everything.
“Kahn offers you a way to use your gift, to teach you how to use it, and better help our people and you spit in his face!” He hissed. “Your parents gave their life for the cause-“
“And what has Kahn given!?” You hadn’t meant to scream. Each word laced with a grief stricken with rage that only bloomed brighter over time. “He asks families to give their husbands, wives, their children to fight his battles and what the fuck does he do for us?!”
“Why can’t you ever see that you can help save us? Kahn can help teach you how to control it.”
“Help me control it or control me?”
“You ungrateful child.”
His words hissed through the air and buried themselves in the hollow of your chest. Your feet involuntarily took a step back, ready to flee the hut, ready to find peace in the hills of the forest when the collective raised shouts of the villagers rang out from behind the walls.
“UNSC vessels spotted!”
It was the distraction you needed to escape the hut. The shouts of worried men and women pushing you to rush outside and greedily take gulp after gulp of fresh air until the flare, the warmth, of your power began to dig back inside your skin. When you dragged your gaze away from the grass you were greeted with villagers running back and forth. The ones who sprinted down the open lane back out towards the open forest only ended up coming back moments later.
You made your way out into the crowd, weaving in between the bodies to get to the heart of the circle their bodies created. They all stood in large huddled groups; mothers clutching their children and the able bodied men moving in front of them, in front of everyone, to try and guard them. The villagers who tried running down the main road were coming, as if herded, back to the center of the village. You didn’t understand why they were all running back to the middle.
This was a kill zone.
Strategically the worst place to be for any of the resistance fighters if they were going to make any attempt to fight back. It wasn't until you made it to the middle that your earlier rage turned to ice as you watched the UNSC marines, and four very big fucking Spartans, make their way up the middle.
If Spartans were here you knew no one stood a chance. A fight would be suicide. You needed to get back to your grandparents. You needed -
“Attention settlers of the Lera system of Laconix: I am Captain Jacob Keyes of the USNC. We have viable intel that led us to believe that you are harboring a fugitive by the name of Kahn Montrello - a known insurrectionist. We are asking for your cooperation in this matter. We can resolve this matter peacefully, with no need to resort to any unnecessary violence.”
“Screw you! You have no jurisdiction here or any outer colonies.”
Fred. That was his name. Maybe. You didn’t know - couldn’t remember. Your brain couldn’t think past your own rushing pulse or speeding thoughts. He was just pushing past the crowd with angry shouts and limbs flying while he moved towards them. You watched as he made his way towards the marines like a man on fire, and was met by a Marine who burned brighter. The butt of their gun cracking against his cheek sent him spiraling to the ground.
You weren’t sure if you were already panicked or if the sight of blood seeping through his fingers caused it. No matter what the real reason was you knew there was no getting around whatever came next. Like a swarm of locusts, the marines fanned out and moved forward. Their bodies corralled the villagers tighter together and kept any hope of escape at bay.
It was the perfect time for Kahn to make his appearance. His form practically glided from between a lake of terrified bodies frozen in fear, clutching one another, as he opened his arms in welcome.
“You say you wish us no violence, only want our cooperation, and yet attack a simple working man.”
“You need to stay where you are or you will be taken down with force,” a marine answered, their gun trained on Kahn who continued to take careful steps forward.
He responded with his hands showing he wasn’t armed. Kahn made a show to come to a stop in front of Captain Keyes.
“Maybe that was advice you should’ve opened with, Captain Keyes.”
Kahn was treating this like a joke. He was wearing that easy smile of his displaying he didn’t have a care in the world. He was either suicidal, genocidial in willing to let them completely kill the colony or, you realized with a sickening drop in your stomach, Kahn had another plan.
“And you are?”
“I’m Malcom. Another humble merchant who lives here.”
Liar!
The panic that settled like lead inside your gut dropped heavier, threatening to upend whatever was left from your morning breakfast. You didn’t have to guess what his plans were, because Kahn was laying them bare for everyone to see. The only difference between you and everyone else is that whoever he chose to sacrifice for the name of his ‘revolution’ would be met with silence.
Captain Keyes outlined Kahn’s frame with suspicion and a pebble of hope was thrown your way. Maybe he could sense the lie that costed Kahn’s words. Maybe it would be enough for him to call bullshit.
“Okay, Malcolm. And what is it you’re wanting?”
“I want nothing, Captain. I just want to show you exactly who you are looking for.”
Kahn never intended to point the finger at himself - why would he when there were dozens of men brainwashed to think their sacrifice mattered. You followed his finger like everyone else drawn to the imaginary string he pulled and waited to see what poor fool he chose this time.
Except this time - no…NO!
It was your grandfather who took a step forward out of the dozens of bodies. The wooden tip of his cane met the ground with a depth of a shovel digging a grave with each step. Your grandmother reached out her arms - called for him to come back - but he continued to make his way forward. His head held high like he was making a decision everyone should be proud of.
“I am Kahn Montrello. The man you seek.”
Captain Keyes took one look at your grandfather and you could see the disbelief reflected in his eyes. The way they darkened further on a decision you, or anyone else, would ever be made aware of until he made it.
“I’ve never known an insurrectionist leader to give themselves up so willingly.”
Thank god Captain Keyes was smarter than he looked. Your grandfather, however, wasn’t backing down. He squared his shoulders and planted his hands coolly over the hilt of his cane. His head held high enough for his next words to strangle him.
“Any leader should be willing to give themselves up for the safety of their people. Is that what you can offer me, Captain Keyes? The safety of my colony if I come willingly?”
“What are you doing?”
You were sure it was the panic that surged you forward. How you found yourself taking step after step until you were out from behind every last villager and into the clearing with Kahn and your grandfather.
“Stay back!”
“Don’t take another step forward!”
You were vaguely aware of the commands being slung your way. The arms that lifted weapons as you took scrambling steps towards your grandfather who only looked on with distaste.
“Go back with the others. I won’t tell you again.”
It was the voice he’d used countless times since you were a child. A voice that radiated with authority that now only showcased his age. A part of you wanted to follow his orders and run to your grandmother’s side. To be a good granddaughter and comfort her the way she needed.
But she wouldn’t need comforting if Kahn wasn’t such a fucking coward.
“No!”
He hissed your name as he nervously looked out over the marines. At Captain Keyes.
“Be good and do as you're told.”
“I won’t let you do this!”
“And I don’t need your permission-“
“What about grandma? You’re just going to leave her like this?”
“I wasn’t aware Kahn Montrello had grandchildren?” Keyes quipped.
You could see your grandfather open his mouth to reply and you made sure to cut him off before he could say another lie.
“That’s because he doesn’t because Kahn -“
“Apologies, Captain Keyes,” Kahn cut in. “This girl is unwell. Ever since she lost her parents -“
“Don’t you dare speak about them.“
“-she’s been desperately trying to cling to anyone willing to call her family.”
You weren’t aware you were moving forward until you heard the shouts from the marines; the gasps of fear from your own people. You were vaguely aware of the tingle of heat that moved like a shockwave from your fingertips up your arms until it consumed you. In another time, a different life, maybe you would’ve been aware that your biotics had flared to life and enveloped you in what looked like cobalt flame.
A fitting image for the one Kahn so lovingly painted for you. An unhinged woman filled with crazy fantasies and a desperation for family.
The only thing you could focus on was Kahn who stood before you. The coward who easily was willing to give your grandfather up to the UNSC knowing what they do to insurrectionist leaders. The unspeakable torture done to collect secrets, and their executions televised on every available feed for all to see.
With the thought of your grandfather’s future weighing behind your eyes you lashed out. Your hand rising forward to catch Kahn midway in taking a step back. Your biotics held him suspended in the air. You were vaguely aware of what sounded like your grandfather calling your name. The wood of his cane crunching through dirt and leaves to rush to you.
There was more shouting - orders being relayed and metal clicks of safeties being released - and you knew chaos was about to ensue.
“Spartan’s your orders are to grab the insurrectionist known as Kahn Montrello. Marines focus on providing backup and subduing any and all threats.”
A wash of relief rippled through you. The UNSC had come to their senses. They must have realized Kahn for the liar he was. Captain Keyes caught on that the rouse Kahn created with your grandfather was all a lie.
Except that wasn’t what happened.
The marines who fanned out around the clearing were now moving in towards one sole target: you. The Spartans who Keyes sent forward to capture Kahn weren’t headed in your direction, but towards your grandfather who was visibly shaking as he watched two of the UNSC’s giants - their most powerful weapons - move towards him.
“No! You have it all wrong! He isn’t Kahn!”
You released the hold you had on Kahn. No longer was he held suspended in the air as you sent his body flying towards the marines. Your feet were digging into the soil, pitching you forward in a hard sprint, as you barreled blindly towards your grandfather. You could hear him warning you to stay back - ‘stay away’ - but you never were good with doing what you were told.
The closest Spartan,only identified by the numbers 028 on her chest, was almost on him. They were so close it would only take a couple more inches and this Spartan would grab a hold of him and you would lose him. Forever.
You were running on pure adrenaline. Your vision honed in on nothing else but the hand of the Spartan that reached out to grab at his arm. If they got a hold of him, that was it. You called on every cell of energy in your body, your arm drawing back - nerves frying - as the eezo inside your body compacted in the space around you, changing it into a powerful ball that you launched with a scream. The Spartan barely had time to react when the cobalt sphere of element zero slammed into her suit and sent her flying back.
“Riz!”
You had a split second to make half a shield before the second Spartan’s fist slammed against it. The impact snapped like a shockwave of its own. The force of impact sent your feet sliding back against the dirt. The sound of heavy footsteps following your rolling body forced you to spring to your knees as you called on another surge of element zero and sent it flying like a fastball.
It slammed into the Spartan but, unlike the first one, it barely slowed them down. The impact crackled against the air and the force field around his armor allowing your biotics to push them back only a few feet. It was all the feet you needed to scramble on all fours to your grandfather, who was kneeling in a heap in the dirt.
As soon as you slide in next to him, you put up a small force field - a bubble of blue that encapsulated you both just in time before bullets bounced against the shield. Gently, you secured an arm underneath his shoulders and tried to lift him up to you. All while your right hand stayed pressed against the barrier you’d created. Your arms shaking with the strain of holding back another round of gunfire and the slamming fists of a very big, very angry, Spartan.
You were running out of time. The strain of keeping the barrier up, of using powers you usually never touched, left a noticeable trail of perspiration to crown your forehead. If you kept this up much longer, you knew the nosebleeds would start soon.
“Come on grandpa. We have to get up now. We gotta get you out of here.”
“Just let them take me, deheyah*.”
A heavy wave of memory, weighted with emotions thick and stifling, threatened to knock you off balance. The last time your grandfather had ever called you that, was before your parents died. When you were allowed the luxury of childhood innocence and the imagination that the world held the beauty of magic before it was destroyed by the gravity of reality.
“That’s not going to happen, grandpa. I won’t let it happen. I can’t lose you too.”
Your body jerked with the next slam of a fist against the barrier. The impact sent a shutter down into the marrow of your bones and snapped at your nervous system. The pain was immediate and tore a gasp from you.
“You will never lose me. I will always be with you. Wherever you go. Whatever you choose to be.”
“No.”
You shook your head violently forcing him to reach out to steady you. The soft leather of his hand cupped your cheek quieting your protests and forced you to keep your eyes on him.
“I’m sorry for what I said. Earlier. I just - I just wanted what was best for you. I always have. But…only you know what is best for your life. Never stop fighting. Don’t be afraid of who you can be.”
“Why are you talking like this? This isn’t goodbye grandpa. Come on, I have to get you back to grandma. She’s going to be pissed if you just stay here.”
But it was, wasn’t it? You’d felt it when your hands touched the layers of shawls that draped over his chest. It was wetter than it should’ve been. His eyes glassy and unfocused and struggling to keep them on you while he spoke. Somehow, you’d been a few moments too late when the bullets came your way, and those few seconds allowed the hollow point of a bullet to find a hole in the center of his chest.
Blood covered your left hand as another sharp synopsis of pain resonated through your nervous system. Spartan 028, Riz, was back up and hammering away at the sphere of the barrier you’d created. The pain should’ve been unbearable but nothing compared to the last gasp of air that shuddered from your grandfather. It couldn’t compare to the feeling of his body, lifeless, and sagging towards the earth where the weight forced you to place him.
None of this would’ve happened if Kahn wasn’t a coward. If he didn’t use people, the very people he claimed were his. People he swore to defend and liberate - for his own gain.
The anger swelled brighter inside like a raging flame. Every beating your nervous system took holding up the barrier became a dulled sensation as you struggled to breathe around the loss of your grandfather.
The Spartans had stopped but didn’t move back. A woman was off to your right. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Smiling like she was friendly but the mock kindness didn’t reach her eyes. They were bright with excitement; the way hunters spotted prey. A scientist finding a new object to dissect.
“…I’m Doctor Halsey.”
Of course she was. She wanted to dissect you. The same way the scientists from Conatix tried many years ago by trying to buy you from your parents. She was saying your name but she had no right to it.
This Dr. Halsey.
False smile given under false pretenses. Just like Kahn has his fancy glittering speeches that kept hopes high and results low.
“We don’t want to harm you. If you are willing to come peacefully we promise we will leave the colony immediately. No further bloodshed needs to happen.”
The part of you that wasn’t soaked in grief agreed. It was the best call to make - the right call. It promised no more suffering would happen. It meant your grandmother would be safe.
Your grandmother. A woman who lost her son. Her husband. Now her granddaughter. Who would watch her if you left? The thought alone sprang a sharp refusal to your tongue until you stood, your eyes cast down at the warm body of your grandfather. In that moment, whatever reasonable human being you used to be ceased to exist. The only thing left was rage.
Dr. Halsey must have noticed. No longer was she crouched to be eye level with you. She returned to her full height. Her hands placed out in front to shield herself, as if that would be enough to stop what happened next.
“Whatever you’re thinking - don’t.”
Your reply came in a scream that crawled its way from the pit of despair that had lodged itself inside your heart. The loss of your parents, the death of your grandfather, and for your grandmother who would be alone. You used that hurt, bitterness, and rage and used it to erupt your shield into a burst of biotic energy that detonated like a bomb. The sheer force alone sent the Spartans back.
It wasn’t enough but you only needed a minute or two. Just enough time for you to send your biotics crackling along the air in a line until it grabbed a hold of Kahn and pulled him like a slingshot of force back towards you. When he was close enough, you dropped your left hand that you’d use to control the pull of his body, and cocked back your right arm, your palm open, and launched it forward. The slam of the biotics hit home at the center of his chest launching Kahn back through the scrambling crowd of people, with the sickening crack of his sternum mixing with the scream that tore from your throat.
It was all the time you had before the Spartan marked with 117 came into view. His armored fist closes in like a warthog at full speed against your cheek, sending your body spiraling into the dirt. You could feel the earth shift with tremors as he moved to follow you. You could taste the blood from the hit and wondered if your jaw was broken. If you just lost a whole row of teeth.
“John, Incapacitate her only! I need her to be brought back with us. Alive.”
For a glorious moment, your blurred vision swirled only with the uninterrupted view of the sky before the cameo green of Master Chief, savior of the galaxy - or John - 117 - helmet came into view. A joke was brewing on the back of your tongue, covered in humor and blood before his fist came crashing down your line of sight, and the world became blissfully quiet.
_________
You found that the darkness wasn’t as quiet as you’d hoped.
The impact from the punch the Maater Chief, or John - 117 as that woman called him, had launched you into what felt like a nightmare. Held hostage by a paralysis of your own mind. Unable to change the forms of what you saw. The images were vivid. The sounds carried a weight that sat heavy like lead in your skull. It made you miss the pain of being conscious.
You weren’t sure if the screams that bounced around inside your head were real or if they were just a part of the nightmare. Over and over your broken mind played out the moment a Marine’s bullet found a hole inside your grandfather's gut.
No matter how fast you ran, if you launched yourself in front of him, you were never fast enough. Each step you took sunk deeper into the earth as if your legs were trying to race through quicksand. Your own biotics mysteriously grew quiet - refusing to work for the first time in your life.
No matter what the outcome never changed. Your grandfather was gone, and there was no time travel to head back and change that startling fact.
A sickening lurch, one you knew meant a ship was coming out of slipspace, sent the contents of that morning’s breakfast swirling in your stomach. You barely had time to register that it was real, the nausea, and that you were really about to throw up. You’d barely rolled to your side before said breakfast displayed itself onto a very shiny metal floor.
As soon as you finished, you rolled back onto your back. Your eyes fluttered open to take in the fluorescent lights, the cool slated metal ceiling that matched the walls and floor. It was definitely a cell, and you most definitely found out much too late that your wrists were tied behind your back.
When you were sure you weren’t going to upend anymore of your breakfast, you slowly began to maneuver to sit on the only bench they’d laid you on. The pain in the sockets of your shoulders informing you that you’d been like this for quite a while.
You were still trying to gather your bearings when the sliding doors to your right opened. A woman with blonde hair stood at the forefront with a Spartan, the dusk green armor of John - 117, standing protectively behind her. When she moved, he moved. You couldn’t help but consider her a puppeteer and the Spartan the puppet. He didn’t move unless she did and you doubted he would be doing any of the talking.
She entered the room with a cautionary smile and clinical eyes assessing you before she even entered. It was easy to tell she was a scientist and, more than likely, a very experienced one in whatever it was she specialized in.
“Hello, Subject Cobalt,” she said brightly. Her smile never faltered once. “I’m glad to see that you are alright. My name is Doctor Halsey. I’ve come to do an assessment on you and make sure you didn’t sustain any life-threatening or mind altering issues after what happened back on Laconix.”
Subject Cobalt?
Was that supposed to be you?
You eyed her warily as she took her first step inside the cell. The heavy footsteps of Mjolnir armor followed closely behind. If she suspected you were jumpy - a rabbit in headlights, as the old ones used to say - Halsey never showed it.
A few more steps and she was beside the bench. Another breath and she was sitting beside you. The smile on her face beaming and hollowing out her eyes with rapture at what she must have considered a new species. You made a fine new specimen for any scientist, you would imagine. A nervous system full of eezo that lit your body up like an Earthen Christmas tree and the power to wield it like a weapon.
Doctor Halsey was practically giddy beside you.
“I’m going to do a few simple tests to verify cognitive function isn’t impaired. To do so, I’m going to need your assistance. Do you think you could do that for me?”
Your eyes scanned over her as you considered your options. It turned out to be a very short list that was available to you. The only option being to go along with what she asked.
“Okay.”
That one word was all the go ahead Halsey needed to cause her megawatt smile to go up a notch. She must have thought you would be resistant to following orders and she wasn’t wrong but, from where you were sitting, this seemed like the lesser of two evils.
“Splendid. First, I’m going to run this pen horizontally and vertically. I need you to focus on the tip of the pen, and follow it as closely as you can.”
“Okay.”
Doctor Halsey lifted the pen up to eye level, a few inches away from your face, and waited for your eyes to train on the silver point. You hadn’t expected an examination as soon as you woke up. You weren’t sure if you should’ve felt happy or worried about it. If you were one misstep away from becoming a lab rat.
You’d been so deep in thought - your mind considering all the outcomes and possibilities of this interaction ending well - that you completely missed her first question.
“I’m sorry. Can you repeat the question?”
Another smile. Another deflection. It was enough, however, for you to notice the tightness in the fine lines of her face. It was so small you could’ve missed it.
“Of course. During your biotic episode on Laconix, I noticed your nose started bleeding. Does it do that every time you use your biotics?”
“No.”
The tightness again. This time it was the edges of her smile - suspended in that mock sweetness - that reminded you of your mother. Waiting for you to give more detail without prodding and realizing, rapidly, you feared incriminating yourself. The pen dropped into her lap. Her eyes roaming over your face for a sign - a tell - that she could exploit.
“You aren’t in any kind of trouble. I’m merely trying to help you -“
“Is that what you’re trying here, Dr. Halsey? To be my friend? To tell me I’m not in any danger when you took me off my planet against my will?” You inquired. Her mouth was still suspended open, forming around a word cut short by your desire to not hear anymore bullshit. “It feels like there is more going on than what you’re sharing.”
She schooled her face - even her eyes - to remain emotionless. A perfect blank slate to display only what she wanted without giving away what she didn’t.
“Alright. I watched you. At first, you seemed in control, but after the third or fourth time your biotics displayed themselves, and you overextended their use, you suffered an epistaxis - the nosebleed. Further scans done here in the ship’s medical bay presented signs of swelling and hematoma on the brain. A few hours before you woke up, I had them run another analysis and both are gone. Which leaves me to believe it only occurs upon exhaustion.”
She watched you as she spoke. Her gaze searching, prodding, for signs of whatever reaction she expected but wasn’t getting. You would’ve loved to offer up whatever it was she wanted, if only you knew which specific one she was hunting for.
“Tell me. Do you get migraines?”
“What is this?”
“I don’t understand.”
“That’s a lie,” you shot back.
The tone in your voice matched the anxiety rising in your chest. It caused your words to be rougher than intended, alerting the Spartan in the corner who took a step towards you. Only the rising hand of calm - control - from Dr. Halsey kept him from taking another step.
“I think you understand more than you’re willing to tell me or, at least, not wanting to show your whole hand, anyway. You’re a scientist, right? Probably super smart. Smart enough you probably come from some UNSC lab from Reach or Illium?”
“Reach.”
The carefully constructed smile was back on her lips, but this time you could see a spark of something brighten up the soft blue of her eyes. You were doing something she didn’t expect, but her scientific mind found it fascinating. No doubt logging it away to draw it open later somewhere quiet to dissect.
Your lips pouted around her admission. Reach. One of the top three planets, if not the first, for all private and commercial research filled with legal litigation and NDA’s to protect organizations and UNSC labs from the courts of public opinions. It was how Conatix got away with doing what they did to you and the other kids scattered across the galaxy. Only taking notice when it seemed like something that could benefit them. You weren’t stupid. Halsey had taken one look at what you could do - what you did - and only two things came to mind: control or destroy.
You hadn’t figured out exactly which one you were to Dr. Halsey yet.
“Are you going to kill me?”
Halsey didn’t necessarily give you a reason to think it was an outlandish guess. Everything - everyone - was expendable when it came to science and the betterment of humanity. Or whatever the UNSC’s science team's new slogan was.
“Why would we kill you?”
You tried to shrug off the growing anxiety that sat coiling inside your gut.
“To experiment on me. Take me apart and see what’s buried underneath, so to speak. Isn’t that what you people do.”
“You don’t realize what you are, do you? The advancement of human genetics - biology - that is flowing through you.”
“What’s flowing through me is eezo and it cost hundreds of children their lives.”
“Yes, but for one out of a hundred children there is something remarkable. You. The one out of a thousand. A stepping stone towards humans having a place amongst the vast and ever growing populace of space. I don’t want to kill you, Cobalt. I want to integrate you into my program.”
“What program?”
You wondered if madness was contagious. If you asked anyone else, they might have dismissed your words as too harsh. No doubt calling Halsey’s display of excitement for simply that, but you could see her eyes. Underneath all that perfectly concealed pleasant exterior was an intelligence that was willing to break the norms - rules - to get to whatever she needed.
“I run the Spartan program. Granted, you are well past the parameters to become a Spartan, no, I…I want to make a subunit. I think Cobalt, we can help each other, and not only help each other, but possibly end this war.”
UNSC propaganda.
That’s what the war was. Everyone in the outer colonies knew it was just a fancy attempt to stop the growing surge of colonists from joining the insurrectionists. Halsey sensed your doubt before you disregarded her words with a shake of your head.
“No. The covenant is just a UNSC nightmare story to try and get the outer colonies to toe the line. To allow themselves to be governed under your jurisdiction.”
“I can promise you. It’s not.”
“Of course you would say that! You’re a USNC scientist for Christ’s sake!”
“John.”
Somehow, you’d forgotten that big hunk of tin was in the room. Halsey kept you focused on her - solely on her - that when the Spartan took a step forward, the reflection of the room mirrored in his visor, you almost jumped out of your skin.
In his hand was a holopad that he deposited into her waiting palm. Halsey didn’t waste time logging in. Her fingers tapped wildly across the screen with a speed that left you dizzy. When she found whatever it was she’d been looking for she extended the holopad out for you to take.
“This was transmitted to us only a few hours ago.”
Warily, you watched her. Your mind debating if you should take the holopad or tell her to fuck off. It was more made up videos or fancy speeches, you were sure of it. The grim lines of her face, however, left you wondering just how certain you were. It was her turn to place the holopad in your hands. Your gaze on her a few more seconds before it dropped down to the video that played on the screen.
Bright beams. It’s what you noticed first. Beams that erupted from the sky with such brilliant clarity you knew it could only be one form: plasma. You couldn’t understand - comprehend - what you were seeing.
Plasma on that scale was impossible. It should’ve been and yet, you watched as it sliced through the planet's barrier, through molecules, and simple things like trees and mountains. Everything it touched turned red hot like lava from volcanoes you’d heard stories about that were on the original human planet of earth. While the plasma beam continued its destructive course, the magma it left behind flowed behind.
You didn’t understand until you did.
You knew that mountain. You’d glanced at it many times on walks to neighboring villages for trade. Attempted to climb it a thousand times as a child.
“What is this?”
Your disbelief was met with something you couldn’t place from her. Halsey didn’t offer up sympathy. She offered up an understanding of watching everything you love disappear in a wave of destruction. But how could she understand the hollowness, the sinking feeling of dread that gripped your heart and threatened to make it stop?
“It’s Laconix. Shortly after we left the Covenant arrived. They glassed the planet.”
“Glassed? I - I don’t. I don’t understand.”
You were going to hyperventilate if you weren’t careful.
“It’s gone, Cobalt.” That’s not my name. “The Covenant doesn’t take prisoners. They destroy everything. Kill everything. Your planet is gone.”
Gone.
Gone.
Your home. What was left of your family - your people - your community. Gone. In less than 7.8 seconds of holopad footage.
“But you can avenge them. You can fight for them and to protect every other planet still left out there in the galaxy and I can help you do it.”
Deep down a part of you knew this had been her tactic all along. If reason didn’t make someone join your cause, then using their emotions against them would. You should’ve seen it coming. Took the time to ask more questions but the growing hole in your soul moved on from shock and grief was rocketing towards unbridled rage at lightning speed.
When you glanced back up at her, Halsey knew she had you before you even spoke.
“What do you need me to do?”
As always, thank you so much for reading. Comments and reblogs are always appreciated.
#A Body of Stars#ongoing series#halo the series#halo tv show#master chief#master chief x f!reader#master chief x reader#master chief x you#master chief fanfiction#john 117#john 117 x f!reader#john 117 x reader#john 117 x you#john 117 fanfiction#pablo schreiber#enemies to lovers#strangers to lovers#slow burn#halo tv series/mass effect mashup#mass effect#reader is referred to as subject cobalt
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Omg a cute L POV where reader is part of the Yagami family and there comes the time when the cameras are put in the house . So L is surveying reader and sees her secretly smoke at night and put on music and start dancing by herself . He finds it endearing and attractive and begins to like her .
I love how you write fluff ❤️
Thank you so much, lovely! This is adorable and I really want to do it justice so I hope you like it :)
~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Justice can get really boring. Being the world’s greatest detective may seem like an exhilarating and rewarding job but most of the time, it’s paperwork and surveillance and more paperwork.
Right now, L was bored out of his mind. Watching Light study and giggle to himself as he wrote down math answers orwatching Sayu squeal at grown idols on the TV was not very entertaining.
The only person in the Yagami household that was relatively interesting was Y/n Yagami, but half of the time she was out with her friends. When she was at the house, it was between the late hours of 10pm and 6am, and she would be sleeping like a normal person.
Tonight was a Thursday. Usually, you would be out at your friend’s house or seeing a film but you were tired of the drama in your friend group and decided to stay home. College was exhausting anyway, and listening to Kami rant about another failed date was not something you wanted to do.
So for a few hours, you’d read some of your favorite book series, rearranged your desk, took down posters, put the same posters up again and laid down on the floor. It was obvious you were nearly as bored as L was.
At about 1:37 in the morning, you pick up your phone and text someone. At about 2:04 in the morning, you slide out your window and grab something from a car that stopped outside. At about 2:16 in the morning, you’d changed into a T-shirt and boyshorts and propped open a window.
You lit and inhaled a poorly-rolled blunt, huffing out the window with a stupid smile. You turned to your old cd player that sat next to you on the window ledge and popped in your City to City Gerry Rafferty album. You skipped a couple songs and found Right Down the Line.
You unfold your legs, rising from your seat and swaying your hips as you hum. The music fills the small, quiet room, spilling out of corners and overflowing when it hits your roof. You tap the lit blunt on the edge of your window as you go, watching the ashes fall out like snow. They drift away like forgotten memories, stars that fade into the sidewalk and street.
The song reaches your favorite part and your lungs taste the distinctive warmth again as you inhale. You exhale in the form of the lyrics, raspy at first. It’s decently loud because of how low the music is playing, they flow out like water in a stream of smoke.
L watches entranced, his heart swells with every spin on your socked toes, every inhale on a smooth hand and every jut of your shoulders and hips. Your hair spills over your body as you move, and it’s not graceful, infact it’s jerky and unstable and you might fall at any moment.
But you look ethereal. Your eyes flicker closed and open through your dance, there’s a soft smile that plays on your lips who surround the blunt that’s now died to merely a stub. You notice a moments later, when your hands travel from your thighs to your torso and feel you up aimlessly.
Flicking it out the window, you run your fingers across your body one last time and collapse on your bed. You shirt comes up to right under your chest and you stare at your ceiling longingly. L’s heart skips a beat when your eyes meet a camera and narrow. He doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of your glare, even if he knows it’s not really directed at him.
Thankfully, you shake your head and let it fall to the duvet softly. Your hair spreads out around your head like a mermaid, and your stupid grin comes back. L thinks you look stunning.
When your hips continue to gently move against your mattress, L grows a smile to match yours. You look cute like that. Really cute. And he really wouldn’t mind seeing you in person.
He discards that thought but it lingers anyway, right next to your knowing eyes that shine when they catch the glint of a camera lens.
#oph.posts#oph.anons#oph.thoughts#oph.quickies#l lawliet x reader#l x reader#death note#l x reader fluff#l fluff#l lawliet fluff#l lawliet x reader fluff#l sfw#deathnote fluff#death note fluff
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Brain rot rant #2
So...
I thought of something while in church.
(Yes)
What if fem!reader actually got pregnant and told law?
I'm sure at first he'd be in denial then maybe 10 screenings later he's finally believing it.
Maybe he'd lock himself in his office for a couple of hours, crying if this was a good or bad thing only to come out with a determined conclusion that whatever the situation may be, he's ready to face it.
So yeah, once he does accept it...
He buys a shit ton of books about pregnancy, throw you some pregnancy "do you know"s that you definitely wish you didn't hear and starts buying some vitamins cause the baby takes the nutrients from the mother.
Once a bump starts to form, he'd have his hand over it all times of the day, literally.
He even handed his work over to Bepo and Shachi just to take good care of you.
"I wonder if it's a girl or a boy... Wait! What if it's twins?!" He excited himself with that thought every night that he can't sleep and then looks at you, wondering if you'd be able to give birth to twins.
And a couple of months later, he found out, it was twins!
He suddenly pulled out a notebook filled from back to back baby names he thought of.
Both for girls, boys, and/or gender neutral names like Alex or Jesse.
He let you pick the names while excitedly sitting next to you as he watches you flip through the pages and pick two names.
Let's say you picked Isla and Lincoln for the names
"Those are pretty names" he will say
"You thought of them, I just picked them." You'd laugh as he'd kiss you and the bump.
At birth however, he had a gut feeling that the girl would be the first-born.
And he was right again!
While Bepo and Shachi held your hand and comforted you, he was the one who helped you deliver, obviously since that's his child and he's more experienced.
When he finally cleaned both up, he can't help but admire them...
Of course he let you see them before resting but after that, he placed them on their little hospital beds for now to be monitored and then moved into the nursery he NEVER told you about.
The nursery was just in front of your room.
Post partum of course made you grumpy that he didn't tell you, but of course he just kissed you and reassured it was a surprise made you forgive him.
He had helped you take care of the baby until you were healed up, he even stayed up all night reading some nursery rhymes and children's story books to know if they're good quality enough.
Let's just say little red riding hood didn't made the cut to him.
I mean seriously, a wolf eating both the grandma and little red riding and a hunter cutting the wolf up? No. Instant no for him.
ESPECIALLY Hansel and Gretel. You know the story goes.
You just laugh everytime he rants how children's stories are this brutal while you breastfeed one of the babies as he holds the other.
All in all, he's a great father.
Isla, the little girl, wanted to know how to hold a sword, he made her a little wooden sword himself and taught her how to wield it.
Lincoln wanted to learn how to play an instrument, he bought him a ukulele and taught him how to.
And at your wedding, Lincoln's the ring bearer and Isla as the flower girl.
He marveled at how cute they looked. Literally.
#random#night thoughts#trafalgar law#law x reader#trafalgar law x reader#one piece#trafalgar d law x reader#trafalgar d water law#law x y/n#trafalgar law x y/n#trafalgar law smut#trafalgar d law#trafalgar one piece#trafalgar law x reader smut#trafalgardwaterlaw#law x you#law smut#one piece law
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So, this is just me ranting about how much i do not like Anakin and Padme as both couple and individuals, but mostly as a couple. Long post
No hate to anyone who likes them, or for the actors who had play them, nor to George Lucas who created them. Let's start.
1. How they met
So The Phantom Menace starts. Padme is elected Queen of Naboo, and the Trade Federation is attacking the Planet, long story short cuz we all know it already, she has to run away but get stuck in a far planet. There she meets 9yo Anakin who is a slave, he's kinda smart and capable with machines. They help him win a race and the boy is set free but his mother has to stay behind. He's sad cuz he miss his mother and finds a good friend in Padme. Until there all is cool, they are both children.
2. Where their relationship really starts.
10 years had passed. Anakin is 19 and Padme is 24. He's send to protect her. They arrived in Naboo and when Padme is just trying to help with the situation Anakin starts to underestimate her and gets angry every time she shows him he needs her to be a succesful mission, I know he's a jedi and he may be the one to know better about protecting people, but if he really knew better he would know that a person that has live there for years is going to know better than him and he just seems angry and proud and can barely bring himself to admit she knows better than him. Then they get into a picnic and spend a good day just talking and playing, BUT Anakin literally started sharing VERY authoritarian and f*cist views and Padme is just like “you are so funny”. First time Padme ignores Anakin being abussive, or possesive or violent or any other toxic behavior. He kisses her and then a few hours later he literally says to her “I'm in agony for the kiss you should have never given to me” if that's not manipulative behavior i don't know what it is, she tries to tell Anakin to think clear and send him away, but then a few days later, Anakin commits his first massacre of women and children and admited to her all that and she's just like “to be angry is to be human”. She literally saw him in one of his most violent behaviors and just shoved it away. Second time Padme ignores Anakin violent behavior. They leave Tatooine, fight side by side, survived and married each other a few days later. Padme literally marry Anakin just days after he tells her he killed children.
3. The Clone Wars.
They have good moments and they had bad moments. But then a year or two had passed and Padme is helping fighting the war within the senate. Things happens and Clovis comes back to Padme's life. He lies and she believes him. Things scalate and she starts working with Clovis, at this Anakin literally tells her “as your husband I demand”, he may be right about Clovis, he was not one to trust, maybe Padme was wrong, but thinking that cuz you are married to someone you can demand something from the other is just wrong. First time Anakin despites Padme's work. Things gets even worst when Clovis tries to kiss Padme and Anakin walks in the middle of it. He was right to be angry and to get him away from her. BUT what was not right is him going full Vader mode trying to kill him, the moment he hears Padme asking him/them to stop, Anakin points at her and says “YOU DON'T HAVE A SAY IN THIS”, he doesn't care about Padme or protecting her or respecting her, it was about him and his jelousy, it was him, saying “she's mine, you are mine”. He never even asked her if she's right, he even thinks she was part of this, that she was cheating on him. Then Padme tells him a bunch of truths but it's for nothing cuz a few days she forgets everything and forgives Anakin. Third time Padme forgives Anakin toxic behavior.
3. Anakin fall.
So, Anakin is back in Coruscant after being away for a while. Padme waits for him and they reunite. Padme tells him she's pregnant and regardless of what many post says about Anakin smiling when he realizes he's going to be a father, he literally has the worst look ever, he's worried and even upset at what Padme is saying and he only pulls up a smile when he realizes she's looking at him and waiting for his reaction.
Then, they go back home, he gets nightmares about Padme dying, and he is worried about her, of course, any partner would be worried too. But what's not okay is that, he doesn't care about his child, he never thinks about the baby when he's seeing Padme die in childbirth. He only mentions their child until Padme asks him about the baby, and he only answer “I don't know” he doesn't even question himself about them, again, he just cracks a smile and sweet words when he sees Padme worry about the things they talked. Days pass by and Padme asked Anakin to speak to the Chancellor in good faith to stop the war so they can start fixing everything that is bad and Anakin snaps at her with “dont ask me to do that, do it yourself in the senate”, so, he gets to demand but she doesn't get to ask something from him? What a man Anakin Skywalker is. Second time Anakin desdain Padme's work. Sith happens and starts Order 66, he doesn't leave a single soul alive. Not even the children. He comes back fully turned and tells Padme he's leaving on a mission. Obi Wan goes and talk with Padme telling her everything, he literally tells her “Anakin killed children” and she answers “he wouldn't” when she knew he would CUZ ANAKIN LITERALLY TOLD HER HE ALREADY SLAUGHTER CHILDREN BEFORE. Fourth time Padme ignores Anakin violent behavior. She reproches Obi Wan he just wants to kill him like OF COURSE, he had literally massacre in cold blood hundreds of man, women and children, he's fully dark side mode and he's still the most powerful force sensitive being. At this point Anakin deserves to die, he needs to die cuz he could literally bring the entire galaxy down if he wanted and she knows, and still she doesn't care about anyone else but him and her (I mean of course having to accept your husband and father of your unborn children needs to face consecuences for his actions is hard but after all the inocent blood he droped i think any good soul would accept it as hard as it would be).
Then she runs to him, Padme tells Anakin everything Obi Wan told her about him, and he never denied it. So Padme starts yo realizes the true, now she knows it was all true, and even after she knows that Anakin massacre children and his fellow men and women, she stills asks a children-murderer-Sith to “run away with her and HELPS HER TO RAISE THEIR CHILD” who in their sane minds would ask a man who AGAIN, killed children to help her raise their baby? WHO? Fifth time Padme is willing to ignore Anakin's violence. Sith happens and Anakin thinks again she lies and chokes her. No matter what, a healthy couple would never end in one trying to kill the other, NO MATTER WHAT. Anakin choking Padme was just his last violent, toxic and possesive act against her.
Then to conclude everything, she goes into labor and Luke and Leia are born. But she's heart broken for Anakin, she's so heartbroken she doesn't want to live, cuz everything that happened. And for the ones who would say “you can't blame Padme for dying” the medical droid literally said she was fine but she didn't wanted to live anymore. She was more worried about Anakin “wheres Anakin?” than for her child(ren). Her last words are not even for her children, they are for Anakin, she literally believe there was still light in a man who literally had his hands wet with children blood. I do believe Padme didn't really care about her children, she barely gives them names but is never concerned about their wellbeing or anything.
And don't get me wrong, I can understand people losing every sanity they had left after Order 66
Ahsoka was attacked by her own men, men she saw as her brothers, good friends, who fought side by side with her, who help her train, she barely get out alive, and she had to see how all these good men were turned to puppets, had to see how every man died, not even as free men, and it took her 1-2 years to step back into the fight.
Obi Wan same thing, he had to see how men he trusted turned against him and try to kill him, only to come back and see one of the people behind all this crimes is the young man he had trained since he was just a little boy, even with all his pain he is willing to fight Anakin, maybe not kill him cuz he thinks leaving him burned was going to be enough to stop him, but he literally fight him, he has to see how his family was slaughter, how his home was burned down and how his brother betrays him and them all, and it took him 10 years to step back into the fight and overcome his grieve.
Bail Organa, the man saw as the Clones attacked the Jedi Temple, saw it burning, saw how they killed a child as he couldn't do anything to stop it, he saw his life work falling into pieces as he wasn't able to stop it, and he never stoped fighting, the moment he scaped the Temple, he jumps into help any jedi he can find, rescued Yoda and Obi Wan, helps Yoda scape from Darth Sidious, and helps Padme get medical treatment, he jumps in to adopt an orphan baby, and just a couple days later he offers Ahsoka help and comfort. Months pass, years pass and he never quited the fight, he always kept going, he never stoped, even when even a year after Order 66 he still dealing with trauma.
#star wars#i really debate myself about posting this#but it really makes me so insane seeing how fans romantice anakin and padme#they were so toxic#as both individuals and couple#and no not everything was palpatine's fault#they both made choices as adults which lead to their 'tragic' ending#tragic cuz ofc is sad to see everything falling down but i just don't think is tragic#padme and anakin#anakin and padme#anakin skywalker critical#padme amidala critical#padme critical#ahsoka tano#obi wan kenobi#bail organa#leia organa#captain rex#anti anakin skywalker#anti anakin#anti anidala#anti padme#long post
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Personal thoughts / rant time below cut :
It's been a while since I had a good cry but last night was a big cry. I was thinking about how my fam were all talking about our performance reviews and my mom said she got 5/5 from her boss, and nothing less was expected given she works like 16 hours a day and is generating millions of dollars for her company that was on the verge of bankruptcy. My sister has hers yet to come but she too is extremely quick and has been working exceptionally hard at her job despite so many changes in her team forcing her to take on more responsibilities and learning on the fly.
Meanwhile I joked i got 3.8 or maybe 3.5 on my review out of 5. My manager has 4.2 listed as minimal expectations so pretty clear I'm performing below standard. Didn't really want to think about it so much when I had my performance meeting a month ago but it was the first time I mentioned it to my parents.
They got quiet and asked my sister to get me a new job since clearly I'm not reaching "my full potential". Not really sure why she keeps saying that when it's blatantly obvious I am in fact, not very much good at anything. She asked If I got a raise and I asked why would I get one?
I may have gotten a couple hundred dollars increase (from like 40,500 to now 41,100 salary I think as of this year. Was never discussed to me but I just check my employee portal and I think that it went up but not sure If that was considered a raise, or the company wanting to help all employees with housing).
Either way, my parents are also aware I do don't really do anything most days of work. I wander around the house because I "don't have much work today" and it's true. I get done with my assignments and then can "study" courses that are part of my long term goals (which I spend pretty much all in office days doing because I'm bored) but that gets me exhausted since I haven't the capacity to "study" and genuinely retain information since high school really.
Anyway my parents have been telling me everyday to look for a new job, and also look for a masters degree (in anything but clearly business), and also look at volunteer work, and consider getting a second job on the weekends. She suggested a career coach but I've backed off from that because what use if they ask me what I want to do with my life --because my genuine answer is nothing.
I've barely given any of it thought because I just don't want to. I have no motivation to improve. I dont have dreams or goals in life. No abitions or passions. My "hobbies" dont really bring joy--they just distract me from my responsibilities. I'm clearly not good at anything and it feels like an insult every time my mom lectures me (every day for 2 years now) about my "potential" and "gifts and skills I need to share with the world" so i need to find a new job that challenges me becuase I'm so "smart" and "too advanced".
I have to avoid eye contact with her because it physically hurts to be told such BS especially since none of my family even know why my job or company is / does. Ma'am if I had such potential, it'd be in use. Plz stop.
Anyway. Big cry last night and scribbling in my journal what a useless (and fat--let's not forget fat) fuck I am and have been and always will be.
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