anna-n-hetfield

[anna-n-hetfield]

“How’s life?”

Me:

[anna-n-hetfield]

[anna-n-hetfield]

[anna-n-hetfield]

Ghost w/ Jack-O’-Lantern 👻 🎃

[anna-n-hetfield]

[anna-n-hetfield]

Surprise, Arizona

nealsummerton

[anna-n-hetfield]

I don’t want to sit on his face… BUT THE PARASITES IN ME WANT ME TO SIT ON HIS FACE!!!

[anna-n-hetfield]

Sweetheart Like You

Chapter Three

Summary: Elaine fleeing her vault comes across a man and a possible savior

Masterlist || Two

Elaine was a day and a half away from the vault. She had veered off the road about five miles back and had found a new one. She was trying to only follow roads for a little distance and then go off the road and go through different paths. Elaine didn’t know where she was going, but she figured if she could get a good distance away, she wouldn’t be found. She came across a man banging on a drum. She didn’t look at him, but she knew he looked her way. Her eyes stared straight ahead of her, ignoring him hollering after her. She didn’t register what the man was saying until she felt a rough hand on her shoulder jerking her back.

“I don’t know who you think you are, but you don’t just ignore me,” the man said. His breath smelled rotten, and he didn’t seem to know what personal space was.

“Let go of me,” she said, jerking back away from him. His hold only tightened.

“You look mighty fine, and it looks like you are all by your lonesome,” he said. “I need some help around the house, and something pretty to look at.”

Elaine wanted to gag. She just fled a vault because of that. “Leave me alone,” she said, glaring at the man in front of her.

“These wastelands are much too dangerous for you. And I can keep you safe. I’ll give you my house when I die. Even give you a few kids,” the man said. His breath stank of rotten meat, almost making Elaine puke right then.

There was a click of a gun. Elaine looked over to see a man with a cowboy hat and a dark trench coat. He looked up revealing his worn skin and lack of a nose. “Now, I believe the lady here was telling you no,” he said, a southern drawl hung in his words. “Let her go.”

The creep dropped his hold and lifted his hands up in surrender. “Sorry. Just didn’t want a pretty thing like her to be out here by herself,” he said. “Trying to give her a safe place to stay.”

“Well, she’s not,” the cowboy said. “She’s out here with me. And I don’t like my companions being harassed by freaks like you.”

“I ain’t no freak like you,” the man said.

The cowboy shot at the ground. “Now, I don’t care if you think you’re not a freak. This is going to end with me shooting you here and now or you are going to turn around and go back to wherever it is you come from. Do you understand me?” he asked, the southern accent thick in his words.

The man nodded and took off. He picked up his pace when the cowboy let off a shot.

Elaine stared at the man who came to her rescue. “Well, thank you,” she said.

“You ought to be more careful. There’s more like him out here,” he said, grabbing his bag. He turned on his heels and started to walk off.

Elaine watched him walk for a minute. Why did he come to save her? And she didn’t doubt that he was right. And she had nothing to protect herself like he seemed to. She tightened her hold on her bag and ran after him. “Hey, wait,” she called after him.

The cowboy didn’t slow down, not even looking back at her.

“Let’s make a deal,” she said. “You teach me how to shoot and fight, and I’ll pay you 250 caps.”

The cowboy stopped walking. He turned around, looking at her with a raised hairless eyebrow. “Do you even have a gun?”

“No, but I’m sure I can find one. Listen, I’m sure I’m a risk to have around, and I don’t know the first thing up here. But I can learn if I have someone to teach me. And I can pay,” she said.

The cowboy looked her over. “Sweetheart, you don’t want to hang around the likes of me,” he said.

“I don’t care how you look,” she retorted. “Please, I’ll help anyway I can.”

The cowboy looked her over again. “Fine, but you will do as I say without question. I will not wait for you; you either keep up or you are left behind, do you understand?”

Elaine nodded. “Yes, sir,” she said.

He cringed. “Don’t call me that,” he said.

“Then what should I call you?” she asked.

“The Ghoul, or if you must Ghoul,” he said.

“Well, nice to meet you, Ghoul. I’m Elaine,” she replied, holding out her hand. “I won’t pay you until you have completely trained me.”

“Deal,” he said, not bothering to shake her hand.

***

The Ghoul was still wondering what made him save his new shadow, but she was going to pay him to train her which was going to be easier said than done. She didn’t even have a gun to practice with. Though he was curious as to why she was out here. She had too pretty of skin to have grown up in the wasteland. She was a vaulter even though she wasn’t wearing a blue and yellow suit.

“Why are you called The Ghoul?” she asked. Curiosity always killed the cat, it seemed.

“Because that’s what I am,” he replied.

“But that’s not really a name,” she pointed out.

He glared over at her. “Sweetheart, it’s not nice to question me like that,” he said.

The girl sighed and shook her head. “Sorry,” she muttered.

The Ghoul didn’t reply. He didn’t care that much, and he just picked up his pace. He didn’t have the time to wait for her. He needed to get to Filly to get that scientist. If he had to teach a girl how to shoot, it would be on the way. Those caps she offered was a lot, and he could use it.

“So where are we heading?” Elaine asked.

“This way,” he replied. Knowing that it was every bit of a nonanswer.

He smiled to himself listening to her grumble to herself.

[anna-n-hetfield]

Sir...-

[anna-n-hetfield]

My latest cartoon for @GuardianBooks.

[anna-n-hetfield]

Fallout | Behind the Scenes: Costumes (x)

[anna-n-hetfield]

Sweetheart Like You

Chapter Two

Summary: Elaine’s parents present her with what she has been dreading.

Masterlist || One || Three

Elaine stepped through the door to find her mother and father at the dinner table. There was a paper before her father who slid it towards her. “This is from Mr. Russell Jackson. He has offered 400 caps for you,” he said.

She looked down at the letter and saw the man’s writing. Elaine didn’t bother reading too deeply in it. She knew who Russell was, and how hot his temper ran at the meetings. He honestly scared her with how he yelled when he didn’t agree with what the rest of vault wanted or did when he was in a good mood. There were times when he got violent. Elaine’s hand went to her mouth and shook her head. “Choose someone else,” she pleaded.

”This is the best offer we have received, Elaine,” her mother Marie said.

”No one has even come close,” Harvey agreed. Her father looked at her with disappointment. “And he is a good man. He will be able to feed and take care of you well. He has even agreed to allow you to teach like you so wish to.”

Elaine looked at her father in shock. She didn’t know what to say. Of all the people that they chose, it had to be the one that scared her the most. She heard the door open and the sound of her brothers coming in. They surrounded the table and saw the letter. The oldest Shawn looked over at her and then at her parents. Then the younger Eric approached and grabbed the letter.

”You’re getting married,” Eric said. “And to a rich one.”

“Shut up, Eric,” Shawn said, taking the paper from him, wrinkling it in the process. “Our sister is being sold off.”

”Shawn, it’s a good thing. Elaine will be married and taken care of. She will soon have kids,” their father said. “This is to be celebrated.”

Her brother glared at Harvey. “I doubt Russell will let us see the kids,” Shawn retorted. “Why not let her decide want she wants?”

Their father shook his head. “The both of you need to grow up and understand that this is how we have always done things. There has never been anything wrong with it, and it will be how you find your spouse,” he said. Anger rang thickly in his voice.

Elaine’s mother stood, drawing the attention away from the impeding fight. “Elaine, I have something to show you,” she said as she grabbed her arm. Elaine was pulled along back to her room. She had a feeling that she knew what it was going to be, and she really didn’t want to be presented to the dress that was on her bed. It was white and puffy and had lace. It was what was worn by her mother and her grandmother before that and her great-grandmother and so on. This was the family heirloom from her mom, the only one Elaine would ever receive and didn’t want.

Marie let go and grabbed the dress, holding up to Elaine. “You’re going to look so beautiful,” she said, tears forming in her eyes.

“Mom, please, stop this,” Elaine pleaded, trying to pull herself out of shock.

“Elaine, that’s enough. I know you’re scared. It’s new and different, but it’s for the best. I was the same way when I first learned that I was to marry your father, but I learned that I worried for nothing. Plus, Russell will take care of you, give you kids, and keep you here. I didn’t want my daughter being taken from me to where I would never see you again,” she said. “Your father has given me that much.”

Elaine shook her head. “You don’t want to lose me, but you are okay with handing me over to a man who has slapped a woman on the council because she refused to be alone with him. You think that you will still have me around once my spirit is ripped from me?”

“Elaine, you don’t know if that was the reason. Russell isn’t who you think he is. He is a very kind man. He has helped our family in more ways than you can imagine. He doesn’t want to diminish your spirit. He has just taken a liking to you,” she explained.

Elaine started to cry which pissed her off. She couldn’t believe that her mother was allowing this to happen and was ignoring her daughter’s worries.

“Don’t cry,” Marie said, moving to wipe away the tears.

Jerking back and slapping the hand away, Elaine glared at her mother. “Don’t touch me,” she growled. “Get out!”

”Elaine, please…”

“Get out!” Elaine shouted. Her anger was boiling over.

Marie stepped back and huffed. “You can throw this tantrum all you want, but you are to be married to Russell Jackson,” she said, turning on your heels.

Elaine didn’t flinch when the door slammed shut. She turned and grabbed the dress and started to rip at the skirt and the bodice. Any piece that could be torn was. It was in scraps on the floor at her feet. Elaine looked at what remained of the dress and thought of the elevator to the vault door. She wasn’t going to be married, and she didn’t care what her mother said.

***

Everyone was asleep by the time Elaine was in front of the elevator. She thought about what the elderly woman had said to her, but anywhere was better than here. Elaine hit the button and climbed on once the doors were open. She didn’t care what was up there it had to be better than whatever was here.

The ride up to the vault door wasn’t that long, but Elaine felt like it wasn’t going to work. She could just imagine her mother waking up and going into her room to see the torn up dress and that she wasn’t in there. Elaine purposely left the dress there in full view. She wasn’t going to hide it. Didn’t want to. She wanted her parents to see it.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. She stepped out and tugged her bag higher up her shoulder. It was just a few bottles of clean water, some food, and the bag of caps that obviously came from Russell Jackson. She was going to snoop through the gardens to see if there was more for her to take.

She stepped out and saw the large vault door. She didn’t hesitate to run to the control board and open the door. The loud rumble of the machine worried Elaine. She bet that someone would wake up to that, but she wasn’t going to let anything to stop her.

The vault door was finally fully open, and Elaine didn’t wait around to see if anyone was coming after her. She wasn’t going to stay here. She stepped through the threshold and looked around in the night. The garden was nestled up against the vault’s side. It looked picked over already and had a fence around its entirety with a lock.

“Well, damn,” she muttered.

Elaine started to walk down the hill, following the path. She knew that she would have to eventually get off this path. She didn’t want them to find her, but she didn’t know where to go.

***

The Ghoul stepped out of the cemetery, thinking about the bounty that those three had presented him. They were fools, but they woke him up and gave him a path. He knew that he was going to have to trek across to Filly in the hopes of finding that scientist, but he was going to get that prize. The crunch of his footsteps was the only sound in the dead of night. He passed by old homes and buildings that were slowly falling apart.

Though he was only slightly curious what everyone wanted with this man. What was so important? But a paycheck was a paycheck, and he wasn’t one to look too closely at anything.

The night was cool for the summer, and there was the distant sound of animals or what was once animals. The Ghoul knew better than to wander into those woods, but he had a feeling that this bounty wasn’t going to just be a bounty.

[anna-n-hetfield]

The Ghoul/Cooper Howard | Daddy

[anna-n-hetfield]

Masterlist II

Cooper Howard/The Ghoul

Sweetheart Like You

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

[anna-n-hetfield]

Sweetheart Like You

Pairing: Cooper Howard/The Ghoul x OC!female

Summary: Elaine’s vault practices arranged marriages, and she feels trapped. What happens when the bride offers start to come and her father choses the worst one?

Warnings: arranged marriage, mention of abuse.

Author’s note: The Ghoul isn’t in this chapter just yet.

Masterlist || Two

Growing up as the only daughter was hard on Elaine. Her father had high expectations for her like staying presentable for the suitors that would be coming around. Her mother had told her that one day a man would offer them the right bride price, and that she was to marry him. Her two brothers worked the fields in their vault, and they were constantly flirting with every girl there or from the nearby vaults. But she wasn’t even allowed to say hello to a boy her age for fear of looking impure.

Elaine was expected to dress as modestly as possible. The only time that the woman were allowed to wear the vault suits was when there was a vault meeting and when they went to the surface for the gardens. Honestly there were only a few who went to the gardens which were the gardeners, and Elaine was a teacher.

Elaine wanted to find love and end up with the right one that she chose, not her father. She didn’t want the fights that her parents had, and she didn’t want to not know who she was going to spend the rest of her life with. So when the offers started to come in, she begged her father to let her choose. He just shushed her and said, “This money is for us since we will be losing your income. I must decide on the highest price, not your feelings.”

”But I should have some say in who I’m with,” she argued. Her brown hair fell in her face.

Her blue eyes looked at her father’s aging face. His hair was losing the brown and going more and more gray with each month. It was going to be long before it would all be gray. His matching eyes met hers, shooting daggers.

”Elaine, you will marry who I tell you to. There’s nothing to worry about. All of these offers are from people in this vault, so you will at least get to see us,” he replied with anger in his voice. His dark eyebrows were drawn tight, showing his frustration.

“I don’t know them. What if they are mean? What if they hit me?” she asked. Her hands were clenched at her side. Elaine knew that this was pointless. Her father couldn’t be reasoned with. It had always been his way or no way. It was how he got on the vault council after all.

”Then you don’t give them a reason to be mean or to hit you!” he yelled, slamming his hands down on the table. “Now, stop arguing about this with me. This is the way things are done. Your mom didn’t get to decide, and neither will your future sisters-in-law. That’s just how it is done!”

Elaine’s mouth fell open in shock. She had never seen him like this. The anger in his body kept him tense. Backing away from him, she left his office and headed towards the door to leave the dorm. Elaine wasn’t going to stay here with him in a rage like that especially when it is directed towards her.

Her pipboy dinged with a message from Jacob Lawrence. He was an electrician that she had been talking to and somewhat flirting with. She had seen him at several vault meetings, and he had approached her after one of those meetings when she happened to be alone. Everyone knew that you didn’t just approach an unmarried girl without going to their father. Elaine had hoped to see if it could work with him, but she didn’t know how much the bride offer would for her would be.

Meet me in class.

The message was simple and meant to be that way. If someone saw it, it could be easily explained off. She would be disowned entirely if the whole vault knew that she was meeting up with a man. Plus, she didn’t know how her father would react. The best case would be that you would just remain unmarried, but be on your own. The worst case, you would be sent to the wastelands off of the entire vault grounds. Elaine wasn’t prepared for that yet.

Elaine let that thought go as she turned down the hall and opened the door to her classroom. Jacob turned towards her, and the smile on his face almost made her forget about what her father said. She ran into his arms, hoping that her father wouldn’t notice she was gone right then.

”What’s the matter?” he asked, his rough voice a whisper in her ear. His dark hair brushed along her skin.

Elaine was shocked a bit by the fact that he seemed to know something was up with her, but how did she explain this to Jacob? He never really seemed to think much about the bride offers or at least he didn’t bring it up to her.

”The bride offers are coming in, and my father has said that he isn’t allowing me to have a choice or at least some say in that matter,” she replied, tears starting to form.

Jacob’s arms tightened around her. “Hush, I’ll put in a good bid. One he can’t refuse,” he assured her. His hands rubbed her back as he held her.

Elaine sighed heavily. “I don’t want the whole bride offer thing. I want to be able to freely choose who I marry, not who my father chooses,” she pointed out.

Jacob pulled back and looked at her confused. “But that is how it has always been done! Every vault does it,” he explained. “It’s tradition. I promise your father will choose me.”

Shock was an understatement. Elaine had never talked about this with him before, but this was his response to her worry. She opened her mouth to say something as she pulled away from him, but didn’t know what to reply with. How would someone respond to that? Jacob seemed okay with the tradition.

A bell rang announcing curfew. She pulled back and said goodnight to Jacob. When he offered to walk her back to her place, she shook her head and said, “What would people think if they saw us together and you escorting me?”

He blushed and nodded. “You’re right. But you will see. Harvey will find that I am the best option,” he said, clearly trying to assure her.

They stepped out of the classroom while looking around to make sure no one was around. There was a sigh of relief from him when there was only them. It may be easy to say that he needed help with something academically, but her being 25 and the bride offers coming in. It would be too suspicious, and it would get back to her father. It wouldn’t benefit her to anger him anymore that he already was.

”Goodnight, Elaine,” he said, heading off towards the dorms.

Elaine watched him disappear into the halls for a second and wandered over to the elevator that lead to the surface. What was it like up there? Were there still people on the surface? Did they arrange marriages like they did here in the vaults or did they just do what they wanted? She looked down at her pipboy seeing a curfew warning pop up. She felt like breaking down in tears. How was she the only one who felt like this?

The other girls always seemed excited when the bride offers started to come in. Always talking about the best ones and who they hoped their father would choose. She even remembered one gushing about how her father let her look at the applications before choosing. Yet, she was the one that had been dreading this, and as she looked back at the elevator, she wondered just how bad was it on the surface.

***

The next few days, Elaine had been avoiding her father which was easy enough with him locked away in his office. She went to work, pretending like there was nothing wrong. And on her way back to the dorm she went by the elevator. She would stop and stare at it for a few minutes. Today though she wasn’t alone.

”Life up there is dangerous.” The voice came from behind Elaine which made her turn and see an elderly woman with a cane walking up to her. “It’s much safer down here.”

”I don’t know why you say such things,” Elaine said, trying to hide her inner feelings.

”I know that look. Running away may sound good, but you can’t possibly know how much more desperate people are up there,” she replied. Her weathered skin showed that she had to be a gardener when she was younger. “No one is safe up there.”

”But at least they aren’t being sold off by their own,” she muttered under her breath.

The elderly woman shook her head. “Just know that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side just because it looks like it,” she said as she started to walk off.

Her pipboy dinged. Her mother was calling her home, saying that there was something exciting waiting for her.

[anna-n-hetfield]

Lee Russell is a chaos demon in a sweater vest.

[anna-n-hetfield]

Okay, so I have an idea. How does a girl running from an arranged marriage goes to the surface and somehow crosses path with The Ghoul? Either her father paid for her to be found making it sound like she was kidnapped and wants her home safe but finds out her father arranged the marriage she was fleeing? Or she runs into him in Filly and he takes pity on her when someone was harassing her and has her tag along and learns that her father has sent someone to find her?

I’m so obsessed The Ghoul fanfics on here like I need more. Like I may write some myself maybe. Hopefully it’ll help me get out of the writing slump I have been in for a while now.

Tell me someone would be interested in it!