#'yeah well i'm the majors second in command'

[sga-owns-my-soul]

do you think ford and rodney fought about who got shotgun when they first started going on missions

bc i absolutely think they did

[archangeldyke-all]

Something with like cellmate prisoner!sevika?! 😭😭😭 idk I just think like her being all dangerous and powerful, having a shit ton of friends but like selectively, no one messing with her maybe even hating how just mean she is. And then comes in reader and yk. I’d love if the story was smutty but u can chose ofc 🫦

i love this so much

men and minors dni

living in zaun is shit. but the one thing that's always kept you and a majority of your fellow citizens in line, was the ever-looming presence of stillwater prison just a few miles away. you've watched countless people enter those prison walls. you know very few who ever came back out.

and now, through a series of unfortunate events that lead to you assaulting an undercover enforcer, you're going to find out first hand just how horrible stillwater really is.

you don't think you've ever been so nervous in your life as the enforcer guides you-- restrained and already hating the itchy fabric of your new life-long uniform--down a long, long hall of cells.

he's chewing a wad of bubblegum, casually, like you aren't about to piss yourself with nerves. "listen kid." he says, looking you up and down. "i read your file. seems like you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." he says, shrugging. "no prior arrests, clean record-- honestly i'm surprised they sent you here, but i guess you did break marcus' nose." the enforcer chuckles here.

"you know that asshole?" you ask. the man guiding you snorts.

"'s my boss." he mumbles. beside you, a prisoner lunges at the bars of their cell, screaming at you. you jump, and the guard laughs. "as i was sayin'-- you seem like a real peach. like you'd be a good influence on some of our... rougher prisoners." he mumbles.

dread starts to curl in your stomach. you have a pretty good idea of where this conversation is headed, and you don't like the outcome. you just hope you aren't cellmates with someone real bad: like genie the counter-fitter who got caught two years ago; esmee the weapons expert who successfully set an entire square block of piltover's wealthiest neighborhood ablaze; or, god forbid, sevika.

she'd been caught just weeks ago, smuggling an entire airship's worth of shimmer into piltover's loading docks. it was big fucking news.

sevika's a big fucking deal.

and you want absolutely nothing to do with her.

which is why, of course, the guard pulls you to a stop right outside of the only cell with a light on, the low, dim glow of a reading lamp and the quick flickering light of a lighter. you feel like you're gonna barf.

sitting in the shadows of the cell, puffing on a hand-rolled cigarette, sits sevika, silco's second in command.

if he's the eye of zaun, she's the arm. he might be watching-- but she's doing. she's nothing but bad news; everything you've tried your best to avoid while living in the undercity.

well, look how well that turned out for you.

"sevika, meet your new cellmate." the enforcer calls out. a pair of silver eyes snap up from her book and lock on yours. you shiver.

"fucks' wrong with her?" she mumbles. you gulp.

"nervous, i'd assume. 's her first-offense." the guard says. he shoves you into the cell and you jump as the bars slam shut behind you. "you ladies have fun." he says, before turning and walking away, the smacks of his gum echoing behind him.

sevika inspects you from her chair.

"how'd you fuck up so bad you ended up in a cell with me from your first offense?" she asks, seemingly intrigued.

"punched an undercover enforcer." you whisper. sevika's eyebrow hitches up, a little amused.

"yeah?"

"think his name was marcus, or something." you mumble. she sputters.

"ha! really!?" she asks, a little smile growing on her face. you nod. she takes a drag off her cigarette, then points at the bunk beds. "i get bottom. don't go thinkin' 'cause we're cellmates it means you get to touch my shit. i got people outside pullin' big favors for met to get shit like this." she gestures to her cigarettes and lamp. you nod. "don't look so nervous. i won't bite unless you piss me off."

you try to stop shivering. you don't succeed. "s-sorry."

she studies you for a moment, her smile growing as she does. though she's no longer armed with shimmer, her arm's still in perfect working condition, five little daggers gently tapping on the table top as her eyes dart across you. "you from the lanes?" she asks. you nod. she snorts. "you know who i am?" she asks. you nod again. she chuckles, then stands. she approaches you, circling around you like you're prey, then chuckling and leaning back against the table, crossing her arms over her chest. "you scared'a me?" she asks.

"shouldn't i be?" you choke out.

it seems to be the right answer. sevika laughs, then sits back down at her table, picking her book back up, chuckling intermittently for minutes after.

she's not a bad roommate. she's surprisingly tidy, always quiet, her nose usually buried in a book. she smokes like a fucking chimney, and you've come to find she gets her tobacco-- and sometimes a bit of weed-- from one of the guards every tuesday night.

she's got special privileges among most of the guards. they're always sneaking her books and flasks, letting her get away without cell-searches, letting her read past lights out and have lighters and screwdrivers and other dangerous, weapon-like tools.

you, on the other hand, do not have these privileges. and, keeping in line with sevika's one and only rule, you don't touch her shit. all of this means that while sevika smokes and works on her arm and reads and works out, you spend your time just... sitting on the top bunk. watching her.

sometimes, during open cell time, she gets visitors. you're surprised that none of these visits end in shady dealings-- sevika doesn't seem to need to trade her stash of goods for anything. most of her visits are quick, and most end the same way: a small scrap of paper being shoved in sevika's hand.

she burns the scraps after she reads whatever's on them.

she's... pleasant, sometimes. it's rare, but it happens. one day, you'd forgotten to make your bed before you went to breakfast. you returned to find it neatly made, and when you thanked her for helping you avoid trouble with the guards, she had just waved it off. "don' get used to it. i won't always be here to fix your mistakes."

once, a fight broke out while you were in the showers. you were sent back to your cell soaking wet-- your hair still lathered in shampoo. she had chuckled, called you a "wet rat", and helped you rinse your hair out in the tiny sink in your cell.

and... she's kinda pretty. it occurred to you one evening while the two of you were partaking in your nightly routine: sevika reading in her chair while you study her, pretending to sleep. she'd glanced up at you and whispered. "why're you always lookin' at me?"

you shrugged, then nearly choked on your tongue when 'you're pretty' almost slipped out of your mouth. "uh... i got nothing else to look at." you'd ended up saying. she seemed to accept this.

"you don't have any prison girlfriends?" you ask. sevika's in a particularly jovial mood today: the note she'd been delivered earlier in the afternoon must've had great news. she's decided to share her joint with you. the question slipped out the second you took your first puff-- your tolerance astronomically low from being without for so long.

sevika laughs. "nah."

"but..." you cut yourself off before you get yourself in trouble, biting your lip. sevika chuckles, then nudges your leg.

"y' can say it." she says. you smile at her, then speak.

"it's just... i had a few friends who work at babette's." you say. "i figured you'd have as much of a reputation here as you do there."

she takes a second, tilting her neck side to side as it cracks, then sighing. "i got shit to do in here." she says simply. you raise an eyebrow at her, biting your lip again, and she chuckles. "say it." she demands again.

"you just read all day." you laugh. sevika nods.

"i'm... working." she says. you just nod along, pretending you understand what she's alluding to.

it happens in the strangest way but you and sevika start to become... friends.

she sits alone at lunch, and you sit alone too, on the oppisite side of the cafeteria. but you're so used to looking at sevika, that you find yourself watching her even when there are much more entertaining things to look at, like the handful of fights that break out every meal.

you notice she loves the jello cups you guys get once a week. so you pocket yours and toss it at her later that night. the way she smiles lights up the room even brighter than her tiny lamp. you make it a habit.

she starts loaning you her books, finds you a crate to sit on by her table while you guys read together at night.

and when sevika gets jumped in the middle of the night-- you don't even question it before you jump out of your bunk, grab sevika's screwdriver where she left it on the table, and start swinging in the dark, blindly.

"what the fuck?" someone squawks when you manage to stab something in the dark.

"what?" sevika whispers in the dark.

"sevika, your bunkmate fucking stabbed me!" her attacker's voice rings out.

a light flicks on. you cringe at the sudden brightness, then blink in confusion as sevika and a guard with a screwdriver sticking out of their shoulder stare at you.

sevika's grinning. the guard is scowling. you hold your hands up in shaky fists, preparing for a fight. sevika chuckles.

"relax, sweetheart." she says, swinging her arm around you and tugging you into her side. "ran's a friend." she whispers into your ear. you blink at the bleeding guard, then back at sevika.

"so, what, we're taking your girlfriend with us now?" the guard-- ran-- asks. sevika looks at her friend, then looks at you, a calculating look in her eye. she smirks, shrugs, then looks back at the guard.

"she threw herself between me and a uniform-- can't just throw that kinda loyalty out, now can i?" she asks, smiling.

you don't know what's happening. you're about to ask-- when suddenly you black out.

the first thing that comes back to you is your sense of hearing.

voices.

"sevika, fuck, you can't just throw a wrench in the plan like this--"

"i can do whatever the fuck i want--"

"on the night of the breakout?! no heads up!?"

"do i need to remind you which one of us is second in command, here?!"

"...fuck. c'mon, help me load her in the van."

the next thing is your sense of touch. you're laying on the rumbling cold steel of a van floor-- currently in motion.

you're shivering, but then something warm and wool and smelling like cigars is draped over you.

you're head keeps bumping uncomfortably with every crack in the road. someone gently picks your head up and puts it in their warm nap, a hand coming down to scratch your scalp.

your voice comes next. "mmmh?"

"it's okay." sevika's voice comes. you groan, cracking your eyes open, only for her face to be grinning down at you. "fuckin' maniac." she giggles.

"wha?" you groan. you're seeing double, your head is pounding.

"ran knocked you out. 's what you get for stabbin' 'em." sevika chuckles. "but, you're lucky, 'cause they don't hold a grudge. they helped me lug your ass outta stillwater."

"wha?!" you ask again, snapping up. sevika laughs as you look out the front window of the van-- the depths of piltover surrounding you as you head, presumebly, to the last drop.

you recognize the man driving-- a tall, muscular, tattooed man who'd recently been added to your cell block's guard rotation. in the passengers' seat sits the guard you'd stabbed-- bandaged and watching you with amusement.

"wha's happenin'?" you mumble, looking back at your cellmate as you clutch a hand to your throbbing head. you've been shrouded in a red cloak-- sevika's already out of her prison uniform and back in her 'second in command' look. she smirks at you.

"y' really think i was jus' sittin' around, servin' my time?" she asks. you shrug.

"figured somethin' was goin' on. y' kept gettin' those notes. didn't wanna ask." you groan. sevika chuckles.

"well, you shoulda. or i shoulda warned you, so you didn't try killing my crew." she chuckles. you blink over to the person in the passengers' seat, cringing.

"s-sorry." you mumble. they wave it off.

"'s cool. knocked you right the fuck out, didn't i?" they chuckle. "we're even."

you turn back to sevika. "you broke me out of prison?" you ask. she shrugs.

"'re you mad about it?" she asks. you gawk at her.

"uh... just... a little surprised?"

sevika cackles. you smile at the sound, despite your headache. "i wasn't plannin' on it! then you started givin' me your jello, 'n readin' all my books, 'n..."

"she's got a crush on you." ran fills in from the front.

"i didn't say that!" she shouts.

"she's not denying it though--" the man driving teases.

you choke on your spit. sevika huffs, rolls her eyes, and speaks. "i... i kinda got a crush on you, yeah." she mumbles. "and i swear i'm not sayin' this jus' 'cause i think you're cute but: you should really stay with us at the last drop until things calm back down, since, y'know... you're kinda wanted now..." she says, rubbing the back of her neck.

you blink... shocked.

you don't really know what to think. you tried your whole life to stay out of trouble, and it managed to find you anyways in the form of a drunken under-cover enforcer deciding to smack your ass when you'd had too many drinks to hold your punches. you tried to stay out of trouble in stillwater until you were saddled with sevika. you tried to stay out of trouble with her until she dragged you-- literally, you were unconscious!-- out of prison along with her. it seems like trouble's meant for you.

but if there's one thing you're certain of, it's sevika.

you smile at her, then reach up to cup her cheek. she looks more nervous than you've seen her in all your months in stillwater together.

"you gotta crush on me?" you ask. she gulps.

"i'd say it's a little more than a crush seeing she broke you outta stillwater as your first date--"

"ran!" sevika hollers. you chuckle.

"is this our first date?" you ask, raising your eyebrow at her. she shrugs.

"it's... jus' don't expect the next dates to be this exciting." she chuckles, rolling her eyes. you grin, then dart forward and press a kiss to her lips. when you pull away, she's wearing that same nervous look again.

"you okay?" you whisper. she licks her lips, nuzzles a bit against your hand on her face, and nods.

"'m just kickin' myself for not puttin' the moves on you sooner. coulda been fuckin' you to pass the time in prison instead of readin' all those boring books." she mumbles. you burst into laughter, and she grins.

taglist!

@fyeahnix @sapphicsgirl @half-of-a-gay @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner @shimtarofstupidity @love-sugarr @chuucanchuucan @222danielaa @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther @gr0ssz0mbi3 @ellsss @sevikaspillowprincess @leomatsuzaki @emiliabby @sevikasbeloved @hellorai @vikasub

[tadc-harlequin-au]

God I'm way too invested in this au. Anyway I wanna hear more of the biology of the puppets and marionettes (might make fanart maybe)

I don't think I'm fully ready to delve into the topic of a Marionette because it reveals major story spoilers, for now just know that they are completely and utterly devoid of life, forever following an endless directive.

For the Puppets, I guess I can give a little bit more information about them, as long as I'm not crossing a personal story boundary I've set for myself lol

Once a Puppet reaches the first enlightenment stage, black tendrils begin to appear on their innermost structures slowly but steadily, as I've explained with Caine.

These things, these transformations... they can be jarring for the Puppet experiencing them for the first time especially when the Puppet starts to feel full sensations such as an electrifying jolt, a pain, or a touch, but make no mistake; aside from their weird alien appearance they mean no danger, and they can even come in pretty handy.

About half-way through the story, Pomni actually gains new abilities everytime she reaches a stage of enlightenment, and there are six steps to achieving the full process, and it may vary on how fast or slow these Puppets can achieve them.

Yeah, can you tell this is like, the leveling up system? lol

Firstly, let's start with Awareness.

Awareness is when a Puppet grows to think beyond their directive; their thoughts becomes separated from the imprinted norm that they used to know their whole existence.

Although, it's still the first stage, which means that even if a Puppet begins to think original thoughts for themselves, they'll still have a tendency to follow the original commands.

They'll just start thinking "hey, maybe I should stop and think about what exactly I'm doing for a second. Just for a second. Then I promise I'll go back to my routine."

At this rate, there's not much changes happening on the physical, except letting a Puppet feel physical touch, despite their mechanical body.

Secondly; Sentience

Sentience is when a Puppet grows... well, a genuine sentience, one that wasn't pseudo and pre-programmed into their very being.

They'll start exploring aspects that they haven't thought of exploring, and this is where creativity and imagination gets to shine a little more if the Puppet is on the creative side of things.

a Puppet may undergo a change of personality (not always guaranteed), so don't be surprised when the once-happy-go-lucky puppet starts crying out of nowhere.

black tendrils may seep out of an exposed joint or a cracked part, but they're only tiny little veins.

Thirdly; Conscience

Conscience is when a Puppet starts to feel emotions based on an inner moral system, that wasn't, again; pre-programmed into them.

they'll start to THINK what's right or wrong based on personal experiences, or maybe even remember their OWN former moral system from their past life, and even a combination of the two.

This is usually the part where they'll start to judge the directive imprinted into them, maybe bouts of unknown regrets will come too.

the veins become more noticeable at this stage, and can now be used for physical attributes/advantages.

Fourth; Reminiscence

This one is usually in tandem with the third, but not everyone can have the same case, since it always varies between all of them.

Reminiscence is when a Puppet remembers their past life prior to becoming what they are now; no strings holding them back from recalling anymore.

These come in the form of seeing major life events unfold right between your eyes; whereas before, there'll only be hazy glimpses.

Fifth; Persipience

Persipience is when a Puppet becomes wiser, and can now overcome the directive they were tasked with if they wished to.

This process can be agonizing for some because it is similar to the symptom of a withdrawal from an addiction.

Fortunately, once they've gotten over past that obstacle, they'll gain full automation over their bodies, the "itch" no longer as present as it used to be.

Sixth; Enlightenment

The final step.

A Puppet needs to come to terms with their new discovery.

They need to be at peace with the process of what had happened to them, accepting the progression from "Human" to "Puppet" as a part of their existence.

Final evolution takes place, and the Puppet can now fully utilize their soul magic to it's fullest extent.

Just like wisdom, not many are willing to go through this process/or can achieve this, since accepting the idea of "becoming a Puppet" like it's similar to the concept of growing up from adolescence to adulthood can be hard for some to fully stomach.

Although, it is considered as the "fully matured" process of the six stages.

Now, Madness takes just as much of steps as Enlightenment does. Only this time, you're on the wrong end of the stick.

Firstly; there's Isolation.

As the name itself applies, isolation is when a Puppet denies/is denied social interaction that their soul wants, prioritizing objectives over anything.

Subtle twitchiness may occur.

Secondly; Revelation

A revelation settles deep within a soul fragment laying inside a puppet's heart; they're trapped, and there's no escape.

Can also be called "entrapment", but revelation is cooler and sounds more fancy

Thirdly; Rebellion

Rebellion is when an attempt to rebel against the internal system of a Puppet takes place, but is not achieved due to the lack of free will and sentience on the physical and mental body.

The body becomes more uncontrollable, dangerously swinging and twisting.

the literal metaphor of an internal battle happening within oneself.

Fourth; Corruption

Another attempt is made by the soul energy, only this time, it's harnessing the worse aspects of a Puppet to propel itself and grow physically stronger, a desperate option.

large, black tendrils may burst through weaker parts and/or limbs; namely joints.

Repairs? What's that? Who even needs 'em lmaoooo

Fifth; Obsession

A Puppet begins to obsess over directives; a byproduct of the soul energy harnessing the negative traits that it's host was ingrained with.

The physical appearance of a Puppet becomes more grim, overexaggerated features that you'd only see in horror movies start to become more prominent.

Work is non-stop, no breaks. Liberation is irrelevant. The concept of humanity is irrelevant. They only exist to follow their directives now. If some shithead wants to tell you otherwise, they will fucking DIE.

Sixth; Madness

You've grown physically stronger. But at what cost?

ANYWAYS that was a massive infodump, what were talking about again?

Oh right. Puppet biology.

Uh, They're hella weird.

[sexyslut033]

Employee Relations

I'd been at the company of my dreams for 18 months before everything fell apart.

I'd grown up with a strongly misogynistic father who wouldn't let my mother work, and tried to stop me from going to college. That's why when I found the feminist magazine, my life changed. I was able to find strong role models for a striving, intellectual life. Once I got to college I majored in women's studies, and managed to secure a dream job at the magazine that changed my life after graduation.

They had a small staff, so I was brought on as the executive assistant for the company's trailblazing founder, Cate Farmer. It wasn't writing yet, but it gave me firsthand involvement in a project which I valued more than anything else, and she quickly became mentor and friend. I felt more than ever that I had finally escaped the oppressive ideology of my father. Then the collapse.

I walked into work on the worst day of my life ready for a new day of striving to make the world better, though the presence of more cars in the parking lot than ever before did confuse me. When I entered, the office was in chaos. I found one of the copy editors, Natasha, and only subconsciously noticed the normally-icy girl was wearing a bit of makeup before she gave me the news. Cate had been ousted by the board of directors after having been found to have embezzled a fortune from our investors.

I barely had time to process the betrayal and mourn the loss of my mentor before Natasha lowered her voice conspiratorially.

"The board have put in one of their own. I only saw him for a second, but he was ~really cute~."

The comment was completely out of left field. I'd been fairly certain Natasha was a lesbian, if not out of natural attraction then out of sheer refusal to engage with the masculine sex. Yet here she was, gossiping about our new boss' looks, and giggling like a schoolgirl about it? Before I could interrogate the strange behavior, however, a handsome young man in a pressed suit put his hand on my arm. "You're Sammy, right?"

I flinched at his touch, and said poisonously, "I'm Sam, yeah, why?"

The young man merely smiled bemusedly, frustratingly handsome. "Well, you are the assistant to the CEO, aren't you?"

I looked at him, bewildered. "Yeah, obviously."

"Well then I think you're about 20 minutes late, so you should probably cut it with the indignation and go make an appearance. Rick is waiting for you in his office."

Everything about the interaction was off putting. Under Cate, we'd never been worried about petty details like the time the workday started. The way that the man spoke so possessively, though, about our space and our time, in this holy temple of feminist self-actualization, nearly made me sick. He snapped me out of my shock and back into fury, if at least more functional fury, by tapping his watch condescendingly. Even as I stalked away angrily, though, I thought about how annoyingly handsome he was. -Its always been maddening, my weakness for alpha corporate types.-

This thought once more stopped me in my tracks. I didn't have a weakness for corporate alpha types. The only boyfriend I'd ever had was a shy poet. I found men like that revolting. And yet I couldn't deny it. My heart (and something) else was fluttering, I noted in indignation, as I thought about his easy confidence, his natural condescension for my weak female mind. Before I could interrogate this even more concerning thought, however, I found myself stepping into 'Rick's' office.

"Uh, Rick?" I said, awkwardly. His chair was turned away from the door, though I could smell his cologne already. Inconsequentially I noted the room had already been redesigned. A commanding, earthen, overwhelmingly masculine voice issued "Mr. Harding to you. You are 23 minutes late." The voice crashed over me in waves, reducing me nearly to a puddle immediately. Every smart comment I had thought up to cut down his male arrogance melted, and I said, nearly in tears, "I'm so sorry Mr. Harding, it wont happen again."

"Sir."

This made my knees buckle from its force, and I whimpered "I'm so sorry Mr. Harding sir, I wont disappoint you again." The sheer authority in his voice seemed to work its way not only into the control center of my brain but to drift south, pulling aside my plain panties and tickling my cunt. -I've never called it a cunt before- I thought, blankly.

"Sit." Mr. Harding turned around and I was captivated. He was the pinnacle of pure masculinity. Strong lines defined his face, his eyes betrayed immediate contempt for me and everything I believed in. "So you are my absent secretary," he said, dismissively.

"Personal assistant," I choked out against the force of his disdain.

"You are my office girl. You answer my phones and complete my commands. You are a secretary. Personal assistants, like Jared who you met earlier, require decisive independence, competence. I wouldn't trust an air headed girl like you to do that job." Something deep inside me tried in vain to rebel against his assessment. However, his voice and looks seemed to clear the virgin land of my brain, throwing up new buildings and roads with ease, generating new pathways and ideas in an instant. I was an airhead. I knew it. That's why I worked as a secretary. Real jobs were for organized, ambitious types. -Men- I thought, quietly. The force of realization left me dazed on the chair, head back, legs open for him to see my -boring- panties.

"Lucky for you, being my secretary is a very important position." I stirred at the comment, trying and failing to meet those jet black eyes. "You help keep morale up by looking sexy and being helpful. You may be a vapid party girl who can't handle serious office work, but you're great at filling coffee, prancing around the office in those skyscraper heels and miniskirts. Everyone loves it when you lean over their desks, revealing that hot cunt you wouldn't dare to cover up. You know your pussy and your body are your value. But as long as you look hot, we're happy to keep you around."

At that point, the identity shattering force of the speech made me black out. When I came to, I was in a fashionable bar somewhere. Mr. Harding sat across from me, eyes roving hungrily over the low-cut dress I discovered I was wearing. Everywhere his eyes fell tingled pleasurably. I smiled vapidly, and he nodded to the goblet of champagne before me. "Drink up slut, that's worth more than you are." I giggled thoughtlessly.

These days going to work is always a blast. I love it when Mr. Harding fucks me over the desk first thing in the morning. The office always has cute boys around to give me attention throughout the day, even if I have to complete with the rest of my slut squad. That's ok though, any girl who gets fucked over a desk is doing their part to keep the office running. These days the office mostly creates tiktok content promoting right wing politics. We model in the videos, and get to show off our hot bodies for men all over the world. I also keep up my personal tiktok page when we're not recording for the company, which totally blew up a couple months ago, though these days I'm focusing more on my onlyfans. I have a special deal on there for any young girls who wants to learn how to be better sluts. I know my dad has my mom on that plan. She's looking super hot and fuckable these days!

I love my life.

[annaphoenix1994]

Aftershock

Previous Chapter - Masterlist - Next Chapter

»»-------¤-------««

A swift knock on General Herschel Shepherd's oak door disturbed him of his duties. With an irritated and curious "Come in!", Shepherd was pleased to see Station Chief Kate Laswell. Shepherd knew she meant business when she came to speak with someone one-on-one, but the news he was prepared to hear was not what he was in the mood for. "Laswell." He greeted, setting his pen aside.

"General Shepherd." She nodded, presenting herself in a respectful stature.

"Boy, do I know that look," He sighed, sitting back in his chair. "Are we at war?"

"You would be the first to know, sir."

"Damn right I would. Now talk to me."

She sighed, nodding before presenting her digital tablet to him, zooming in on an artificial map. "We have a hit on Ghorbrani's second in command."

Shepherd chuckled in disbelief, taking the tablet in his hands. "Hassan Zyani. Quds Force Major."

"He's taken up the mantle for Iran."

"Supplying terrorists."

"Money, weapons, intel."

"Well, he's ambitious."

"He's dangerous, sir. He wants retaliation for the Ghorbrani strike. He's planning something."

"We can't take him in Iran."

Laswell leaned over his desk, using her index finger to open a new page on her tablet. "He's not in Iran, sir. He's on the ground in Al Mazrah."

"What the hell is he doing in Al Mazrah?" Shepherd scoffed.

"There is only one way to find out, sir."

"Well, let's get him."

"When?"

"What time is it now?" Shepherd cocked a brow as if he were challenging her.

"Who do we send?"  

»»-------¤-------««

Are you kidding me? I'm helping take out a hit on a wanted terrorist and having to babysit, too?

I had been on holiday for the last seven months, pushing my body to its limits while training as I was a highly respected Lieutenant on my Task Force, which consisted of three other men: Captain Price, Sergeant Garrick, and Sergeant MacTavish, and only one managed to really get under my skin. 

I sighed at the familiar name, knowing that this was definitely going to be an interesting mission. Soap always found ways to get under my skin, taking advantage of the fact that he had the backbone to actually aggravate me, knowing I wouldn't do much about it because I let it go through one ear and out the other. The only thing I could do was shoot him a death glare and spew hateful comments, but neither seemed to faze him, like he was pleased with how well he could piss me off. I haven't seen Soap since 2020 when we and Captain Price were assigned with Shepherd to carry out a hit on one of our most valued targets: Vladimir Makarov, which ended up being a bust. We caught him, but Soap lost his composure and nearly shot him in the helo after our target misled us.

Fortunately for Makarov, he got to live to see another day, but that still wasn't good enough. The Russian rat could eat shit for all I cared, and I wish that Soap would've pulled that trigger, regardless of Price's command to stand down.

Maybe one day.

Soap jumped down from the back of the truck, smiling and nodding at me before approaching me, "Let's get ourselves a win, yeah, L.T.?" He questioned, playfully fist-bumping my shoulder. "I'll save you a seat, sir."

Of course, we'll get a win, Soap. We always bloody do, at least when I'm a part of it.

"Fucking hell." I sighed, watching him walk away through my tired eyes. I hadn't slept in almost twenty hours, and it was starting to take its toll on me if I didn't make myself move.

Plenty, but it'll do me no good to tell you about it. 

»»-------¤-------««

»»-------¤-------««

I had the pleasure of leading Bravo Team while Alpha Team kept close by. We cleared a structure completely before taking on heavy enemy fire, causing one of our cover-fire helos to go down, resulting in unfortunate casualties. There were many questions as to if we were to move ahead and secure the crash site, but I made it clear that if we did that, we were compromising ourselves, so we needed to push forward and clear the closest buildings before securing the crash site.

There were more snipers than I was expecting, but Soap and a Marine did me proud by taking out the snipers effortlessly as me and the other men on the ground could proceed with clearing the next building. Hassan was everywhere – like a God to these ignorant bastards. It was disgusting how someone could blindly lead a band of loyal followers.

Eventually, all enemies were neutralized. All except for one – Hassan himself, and I was sure he got away when we secured the crash site. Soap questioned if we shouldn't have helped the downed helo in order to catch our target, but I made a stern statement that all actions have consequences, and this was a prime example.

We secured a perimeter around the complex to make a last-minute attempt to search for Hassan as all of us didn't want to go back empty-handed. When a Marine used a heartbeat sensor, he informed us that there was movement detected in what looked like a vacant warehouse. "L.T., that warehouse has a lot of windows on the top floor. Broken glass, too."

"Yeah, that's where a lot of enemy fire was coming from." I shrugged.

"Detecting over a dozen heartbeats in there, sir," A Marine informed me, flashing the screen of his heartbeat sensor at me. "I'm willing to bet he's in there."

"Maybe not. Regardless, we need to neutralize it. Might be something worth finding. Spread out. I'll take point."

"I'll be right behind you, L.T." Soap said.

"Keep up, Soap."

"I always try to, sir."

The warehouse erupted with enemy fire when we forced entry, most of the bastards wearing armor and relying on frags and flashbangs. They were definitely protecting something, and I was going to find out what it was. I was a man on a mission, and nothing was stopping me. These bastards couldn't even come close to the force that I was.

"Ghost! All clear!" Soap shouted from his cover position.

"It's not clear until I can confirm, Sergeant," I grumbled, moving up and taking cover against a shipping container. "Sergeant Miller, ensure the upper level is clear."

"Yes, sir. My sensor isn't detecting any more heartbeats. Brooks, watch my six."

"On it."

"Hopkins, keep that door secure."

"There's no movement up here, sir!" Miller shouted from the upper level as me and the rest of the Marines moved up to secure a position near the shipping container. It was suspicious that a single shipping container was laying in the middle of the warehouse, a flat trailer and few crates nearby. What was in this thing?

"What the fuck is this?" Soap grumbled, opening the door to see a discharge station – the same one I had seen prior to when I was assigned to Al Mazrah with General Shepherd and his PMC group to conduct a missile strike on General Ghorbrani seven months prior to this. Why do they have something like this?

"It's all in English!" I scoffed in disbelief, stepping in to view the discharge station closer, confirming my suspicion.

"Al-Qatala's got some serious shit in here." Miller commented, keeping his eye on the rear entry point of the warehouse, his rifle aimed.

I could've scolded Soap for the curious pull he did to one of the levers, and perhaps I should have, but for once in a long while, I was too stunned to speak. Soap and I stepped back as we looked up towards the sound of hydraulic cylinders in action, watching a massive unit moving into a firing position. Fucking hell, we definitely have a problem now.

"Ballistic missiles." I sighed.

"It's a mobile launcher, no?" Soap asked.

"These'll go a thousand miles..." Miller commented.

"Yeah, at least."

"How the hell did Iran get their hands on this?" Soap cursed, walking towards the side of the container to climb the stack of pallets to get a better look at it.

"7-6, get us through to Laswell."

"Roger. Standby."

"Uh, Ghost... Take a look at this." Soap said, breaking my focus when he looked down at me, moving to the side before I saw an American flag painted on the side of the unit itself. Bloody fucking hell, these were stolen missile launchers. But how?

»»-------¤-------««

"All right, clear the room," Shepherd stated, entering the conference room of the Pentagon. His face stayed stationary with defeat, frustration, and anger. His employees looked at him stunned, each of them jolting when Shepherd raised his voice for urgent response. "Now! Everybody out! Let's go!"

Laswell stayed behind, standing at the foot of the table, eyeing her laptop as she looked as confused as he was. She knew she was about to get an earful for something that he could blame her for if he wanted to, even though it slipped through everyone's hands, not just hers. 

"Iran is in possession of American missiles." He said, confirming what Ghost had told him from the mission.

"American missiles in AQ's hands."

"Hassan has been passing out our ballistic missiles like it's fucking Halloween and we didn't know about it?" He shouted.

"Gives Iran plausible deniability," Laswell replied.

"Oh, plausible deniability my ass – Iran's all over this. I wanna know how many they have and where they intend to use them!"

"If Hassan is moving missiles, then he has a smuggling partner."

"Well, then I would advise you to figure out who that is."

"Give my team two hours with those missiles, sir. I will know everybody who's even breathed on them."

"Negative. I want them destroyed!"

"General, there's valuable intel there."

"This is an intelligence failure, Laswell! It's not gonna be a tactical one. There will be 500 enemy soldiers on that site by sunrise. We need a win fast!" He stated, leaning for his radio. 

A few moments pass by...

"Amsterdam..." Laswell said.

"What the hell's Amsterdam got to do with this?"

Laswell breathed a laugh, "It's a smuggling hub. Ports and canals are insecure. Iran has friends there. We do too..."

"Who?"

"The Captain," she said with a slight smirk, pulling up Captain Price's file. "He's tracking an AQ cell in country as we speak."

"Well, that's the first good news I've heard all day."

"I'll link up with him and handle this myself, sir."

"Kate Laswell back in the field?"

"I want this done right."  

[thankeywa]

hi babes i hope YOU MISSED MY SUPER DETAILED REQUESTS! so, for a long time now im craving for the “rut”, “heat”, “nest” and other a/b/o dynamics inserted on avatar universe, so i WAS HOPING:

could you pretty please write something about lo’ak and reader (a female na’vi) where they're best friends and both insanely in love w each other – reader already had her "cerimony" meaning she needs to find a partner soon, but lo'ak has been convincing readers parents to decline any mate offers because none of them is good enough for her. one day, reader's heat come and bsf lo’ak comes to the rescue? i need a cocky possessive lo’ak in my life and I KNOW you're the one whos gonna gimme !!!!!

lov u, drink water and stay safe <3

The Right Profile | Lo'ak x fem!Omaticaya! reader (a/b/o smut).

Happy Valentine's Day to all my readers! As always, requests are open. Minors DNI!

A.N= everyone needs to know that every time you send me a request my mind makes me put everything on standby until I get it done. Also, I have a major weakness for a/b/o and I've been dying for someone to send me a request like this, so yeah, your wish is my command. For anyone who wanted the new installment of Star-crossed instead of this, you can send your complaints to @punkrockrogers (I'm kidding, obviously).

Summary: exactly what's in the request but I found some juicy canon info about Lo'ak failing to tame an ikran on his first attempt and almost dying in the process, and you can bet I'm going to use that for this fic. So, our boi failed his driver's test therefore he does not get to smash. Both Lo'ak and reader are aged up (20 y/o). Title from the song 'The right profile' by the Clash. Quotes in this: one is from Avatar 2009 and the other is by Goethe.

T.W= this is going to be A LOT, if there ever were an Omegaverse phd course, I would be teaching that class, so if that stuff is not for you, scroll away now. NSFW: p. in v., a/b/o dynamics, mating cycles (heat, rut), marking, scent marking, knotting, breeding, also possessive!Lo'ak (our boi is a lil ooc in this, I don't condone this type of behavior in a relationship, it's all for the sake of the story, you know the drill, if this might be disturbing to you, again give this story a miss).

word count: 8k

Mini na'vi dictionary:

'evi= child (said affectionately by an elder)

Tsurokx= rest/sleep

yawne= beloved

syulang= flower

Ngaytxoa= forgive me

Oeya= my (possessive)

yìmkxa= banshee catcher

The Na'vi say that every person is born twice. The second time is when you earn your place among the people, forever.

"I do not wish to take part in the Uniltaron without you." Y/n had told Lo'ak, still distraught from the events of that day. His best friend had been the first of their group to manage to tame her ikran, of course, she had. And now she was set to take part in the Dream Hunt before finally taking her rightful place among the people along with the rest of Lo'ak's peers, while he was left behind.

He had failed and almost fallen to his death during his attempt, and now his parents were going to make him wait until he was 'truly ready' before he could try again. His father had thought it was somehow his business to step in and stop him from trying his second attempt at taming the banshee then and there. Lo'ak had never felt more embarrassed, especially because y/n had immediately dismounted from her ikran and run to his aid the second she'd seen the scene unfold before her eyes.

"You have already waited five years for me to complete my training..." Lo'ak dismissed her words. "And I won't be the reason you wait any longer..." Y/n had never said it out loud, but Lo'ak knew it was true. She'd been postponing her rite of passage so that they would have joined the clan together, and he couldn't deal with it anymore.

"But Lo'ak, I do not care about-"

"Well, you should care." He snapped at her, not really knowing where his anger was coming from. Sure, he'd just had what could have been described as the worst day of his life, but something and been simmering inside him all week. And now Lo'ak felt like he'd reached his limit. In a few hours, the young Na'vi male was going to discover that anger was only a prelude to his first rut. "Everything comes easy to you, but it's like you don't even notice! No one ever said we needed to be attached to the hip for the rest of our lives, so why don't you just get over it and do what's expected of you?"

The second he saw the heartbroken look on y/n's face, Lo'ak wanted to take it all back. He hadn't meant to say any of those things, of course he hadn't. She was his best friend, she was the woman he loved, yet he'd passed up his chances to ever be with her twice in a single day. He was petty and weak, unable to own up to his own shortcomings, and now he was taking it out on the only person in the world who would have never judged him for it.

"I see..." Y/n said, her voice laced with grief. For a single, stupid second Lo'ak had deluded himself into thinking she was about to say 'I see you', it was what he wanted to tell her. He'd been wanting to tell her for so long. "I have... been foolish. I thought that maybe you... that we..." Y/n wiped a tear away from her face, and stepped back from Lo'ak when he tried to reach out for her. "I do not need your pity." She hissed at him, feeling that Lo'ak had just rejected her. "You have made yourself understood."

With that, y/n disappeared from Lo'ak sight and into the darkness of the night. By the time Neteyam found him, Lo'ak was already in the throes of a terrible fever. His father and brother took him to a secluded place where he would have been safe, but couldn't do much for him besides that. Moat had said the rut hit Lo'ak so suddenly that he was beyond being helped with any sort of treatment. He had no mate, and neither did he have the right to choose one. Left alone to endure the most excruciating pain known to the Omaticaya people.

A lot could change in a week. Especially when it came to things taking a drastic turn for the worse. Lo'ak, who was still experiencing the occasional violent aftershock from the trauma he'd just finished enduring all by himself, was about to get accustomed to a whole new kind of pain.

"We seek your guidance, Tsahik." Y/n's parents had come to speak to his grandmother, while she was still in the process of checking he hadn't suffered any irreparable damage during his absence. "Our daughter, y/n, does not wish to wait for love to find her. She has invoked the old ways, asking us to choose a mate for her." Another violent fit wreaked havoc over Lo'ak's body, but this time he wasn't entirely sure it was due to the aftermath of his rut. Moat had told him the worst was now behind him. "Cease your whining, 'evi." She reprimanded him. "Only by regaining your strength will you find the way to be whole again." While that statement sounded overtly obvious to him, the look his grandmother gave him made him think she was trying to tell him something more.

"Forgive us, we have come at a bad time." Y/n's mother said, directing her sympathies to Lo'ak. They had always been kind toward him. "Your grandson is still injured, y/n has been heartbroken about it. We have prayed to Eywa every day for your swift recovery-"

"He has recovered." Moat cut her off. "And your daughter cannot force her childish whims on you. She is a woman, a warrior of this clan, she cannot hide behind her parents. We only arrange the marriages of future Tsahik and Olo'eyktan, for they are given gifts by Eywa herself to guide the people. The old ways have brought nothing but suffering, I remember the time when they were enforced all too well. They are only to be invoked in drastic situations, such as the event of a heat."

"We are grateful for your wisdom, Tsahik." Y/n father said. "But that is precisely what we fear... she is already showing signs. Every day our daughter grows weaker. We know she may not survive without a mate, and now it is too late for her to make her own choice."

"Fools." Moat almost spat. "Bring her to me at once-"

Lo'ak was on his feet and running out of the healing tent at once, no longer willing to listen to a single word of that conversation. Mating cycles were usually something that a couple faced together, but he and y/n had waited too long for their rite of passage. In that time they hadn't found the person who was truly right for them, so now y/n was going to force herself to be with someone or face her heat alone, along with the consequences that entailed. And it wasn't like Lo'ak could step up and ask her parents to marry her, he wasn't even part of the clan. Not only that, y/n also probably thought he wanted nothing to do with her.

He went looking for y/n everywhere. She wasn't in her tent, nor was she staying with her parents. Word was she'd gone hunting, and after a desperate search, Lo'ak ended up finding her in his own living quarters when he returned home in the early hours of the morning. As much as Lo'ak wanted to yell at y/n in frustration because he'd been worried sick over her, the sight of her sleeping peacefully quelled his anger. He knelt down to touch her forehead, and let out a breath of relief. Her body temperature hadn't drastically risen just yet.

Lo'ak took a look around and only then noticed y/n had rounded up the entirety of his possessions to surround herself with in her sleep. She had made a bed out of the skins and paintings which used to adorn the inside of his tent while holding on rather tightly to a piece of fabric he quickly recognized as one of his loincloths. He felt himself turn into a deep shade of blue in the face and attempted to gently tug the item out of her grip, but y/n growled menacingly in her sleep, immediately making Lo'ak give up on his intent. He did not wish to wake her. Not when it was clear she'd been so distressed, she'd felt the need to make herself a nest just to feel safe.

"Tsurokx, yawne..." Lo'ak wished her a good sleep, and went to tell her family she'd been found.

Her parents were thankful, and just because Lo'ak was not allowed to catch a single break, it turned out y/n parents trusted him so much they began to ask him his personal opinion on the skxawngs that had already shown up to ask them to be her mate. Lo'ak respected y/n's parents and knew they were only worried about their daughter, but he was running on zero hours of sleep, and the image of y/n curled up in a nest she'd made of his belongings was still too fresh in his mind, so he let his worst side get the better of him. He lied. Something so deeply human, his people did not even have a word for it.

"...I would not even consider Selkath, he is too arrogant to even see past himself..."

"Pantoran is weak, I would not trust him to provide for your daughter..."

"... I have known Skakoan to have used cruel words against y/n. She does not deserve her..."

The more he spoke, the more Lo'ak realized he was describing himself and the way he had treated y/n, not giving a true judgment of his peers. And her parents were trusting him with that information, even though he had absolutely no authority to be judging anyone. But there was no reason to worry, a fresh batch of idiots would have shown up to declare their 'love' soon enough, over and over again until eventually someone was found.

Lo'ak slept on the cold hard ground just outside his tent, barely getting an hour's sleep before the day began for the rest of the clan.

"Showing your worth to the clan, as usual, Su-ly?" A voice Lo'ak knew all too well asked, as he was 'accidentally' stepped on and woken up. Tholothian had never been too shy about disliking Lo'ak, and the feeling was entirely mutual. "Watch where you're going, Tho'lo." He growled as he stood up, certainly not in the mood to be taking anyone's crap. The other Na'vi was also standing entirely too close to the tent where y/n was currently resting, and Lo'ak was about the get real territorial real fast if the skxawng didn't back off. The low rumble in his throat was still there, and Lo'ak was making it very clear he was not to be messed with at that moment.

Tholothian, who thrived off humiliating the younger Sully brother in any way possible, had to take a step back. Lo'ak had been missing for an entire week, and now that he was back, he seemed to have doubled in size. He was taller, his shoulders wider, his once delicate-looking human hands bigger, and his muscles considerably more defined. And his entire demeanor also seemed... different, menacing almost. Never before would he have considered Lo'ak Sully competition, least of all a threat. So he decided to back off, for the time being at least.

What he wanted was y/n, and Lo'ak couldn't claim her. There was no pride in kicking someone down when they had already lost. Or was there? "I was just on my way to see, y/n..." Tholothian gloated, knowing it was a sore subject for Lo'ak. "You must have heard... she is searching for a mate..." The look on Lo'ak face darkened considerably, and it would have been a lie not to admit he was reaching for his dagger to challenge Tho'lo to a duel and see which of them could draw first blood, when y/n audibly called Lo'ak's name from inside the tent.

Tholothian paled considerably when he heard y/n call out to his rival and Lo'ak smirked, basking in the pride he felt at that moment. Y/n was probably waiting inside to give him an earful about disappearing for a week, but Tho'lo didn't know that. "Yeah, man. I heard." He sneered, his cocky attitude back in full swing. "I'd wish you luck, but I think it'd be fairer if I gave you a little advice instead..." Lo'ak lowered his voice and pointed his dagger in the direction of Tho'lo chest. "If you, or anyone of your friends, come sniffing after y/n again, just know you're going to have to get through me first." He snarled, showing a full set of teeth, before heading back inside to see y/n.

"Hey..."

"Hey? That's all you have to say?" At least she was still lucid enough to be mad at him, Lo'ak thought. There was still time. Y/n threw the first thing she could find at his head, but Lo'ak managed to dodge it. "Where were you?"

"I was sick." Lo'ak said, and cautiously sat down next to her. He didn't know how else to describe what he'd been through, without inadvertently bringing up her own situation.

"Sick?" Y/n asked, still not understanding why he'd been away from home if he'd been ill.

"I'm sorry I missed your ceremony." Lo'ak said truthfully, the regret clear in his voice, even though he'd just avoided her question. "And the dream hunt, and all of it... the reason why doesn't matter, I should have been there for you."

Y/n hugged her knees to her chest, her worry not subsiding at all. What could have been so bad, Lo'ak couldn't even tell her about it?

"So... you're going to be mated soon..." Lo'ak didn't even know why he said it, other than the fact he was always the one to break the silence and say the things others wouldn't. "Why are you making your parents choose for you?" He asked when she didn't respond. "Y/n you know that's stupid..."

"What? Now honoring our traditions is stupid?" Y/n snapped at him, barely leaving any distance between them. "Weren't you the one who said I acted like I didn't care? That I should start doing what's expected of me?" She threw his words back in his face and Lo'ak immediately understood how the entire insane idea of an arranged marriage had come to her in the first place. He'd made her feel less than worthy, like she wasn't grateful enough to be part of the people, and now she was trying to make up for it, even though it was never true in the first place.

"Y/n... I never should have said those words... I wasn't myself that day, you have to believe me..." Lo'ak implored her, but it wasn't enough to keep the tears from rushing down her face.

"Well, it doesn't matter now..." Y/n kept half the truth to herself. She'd childishly thought that Lo'ak would have tried to prevent her from her recklessness and chosen her himself. But clearly, it had been a fantasy. "Lo'ak, I know what's happening to me... and I'm scared, I don't know what's worse, facing it alone or...or..."

Lo'ak pulled y/n into his arms then, holding her close as he felt her tremble against his chest. "You won't have to face this on your own, and... and I'll make sure you'll be with someone worthy, who'll take good care of you..." His words were like daggers to her chest, because there was no one else she could ever want besides him, yet she understood Lo'ak was trying his best to comfort her. Y/n buried her face in the crook of Lo'ak's neck, breathing in his scent. It was a lot stronger now, and only at that point did she realize so many things about his appearance had changed.

There were two small glands, one on either side of his neck, where his scent seemed to be strongest, and she was suddenly overcome by the need to be covered in it. Y/n began to purr softly, rubbing her face against Lo'ak's neck, not really knowing what she was doing other than chasing after the feeling of comfort and protection that came along with dousing herself in Lo'ak pheromones. "What are you doing, y/n?" Her bestfriend asked, his voice sounding considerably deeper than it had been a few seconds ago. "Feels nice." Was the entirety of the explanation she gave him, without showing any intention of stopping. Not that Lo'ak wanted her too.

He suddenly understood why she'd come to his tent in the first place, and that was to seek out whatever still held his scent, to numb out any feverish symptoms her pre-heat was going to throw at her. Lo'ak knew they were treading a dangerous line, but he also knew he would have given anything to have felt any sort of comfort during his rut, and he couldn't bring himself to tear himself away from her. The type of contact y/n was craving at that moment was completely harmless, yet the idea that she needed to be marked with his scent so badly made a Lo'ak feel possessive in a way he hadn't even known was possible. "Yeah? Is that what's been stressing you out, baby?" He cooed, wrapping her braid around his hand and tugging it softly. "You just wanted to breathe in my scent, didn't you?"

Y/n whined at his touch and nodded feverishly at his words. "Y-yes... I missed you, and I didn't know where you were. I just knew you were hurt..." She rambled, but Lo'ak kissed her temple, trying to let her know that there was no need to worry about him. "I'm right here, I'm sorry I was away. I let you down. I should have been here to help you with your nest. Look at this, you did it all by yourself, huh? Good girl." Lo'ak praised her, letting out a deep-sounding purr to let y/n know how impressed he was with her. Y/n nodded, smiling as she basked in Lo'ak's praise. "I did it for you, I wanted to be here when you got back..."

Lo'ak had to remind himself all he was doing was for the sake of helping y/n deal with how increasingly hormonal and emotional she was about to become over the next few days, and nothing that was saying in that moment held any real meaning. Somebody else would get to take care of y/n, and somehow he'd ended up on the council of people who got to determine who that person was going to be. As long as he kept his own feelings out of it, there was no reason why y/n shouldn't have stayed with him.

"Thank you, baby..." Lo'ak whispered softly and brought her hand to his mouth, kissing her wrist. "I'm going out to get you something to eat now, do you want to come? Or do want to stay here?"

"No." Y/n wrapped herself around him like a vine. "Stay."

"Huh-uh, it's like that, is it?" Lo'ak chuckled, powerless against her death-grip. So he took the opportunity to have a lie down. Unlike y/n, he was missing several hours of sleep. "Well, I'm not going to argue with the woman who has me in a choke-hold... and sleeping will do you some good too..." He sighed, resting his arms around her middle. It didn't take long for Lo'ak to pass out completely.

When Lo'ak woke up, y/n seemed to have been long gone. Someone had also brought him some food and water while he'd been resting. Lo'ak hurriedly ate something, before heading out to look for y/n, but he didn't end up needing to look too far. Moat had been in the middle of examining y/n when Lo'ak showed up out of the blue.

"Ever heard of privacy? Get out of here, skxawng!" Y/n yelled at him, and Lo'ak immediately did as he was told. At least y/n seemed to be once again lucid and back to normal. For the time being. And now that he knew she was alright he really didn't have any other excuse to be around her, so he left.

Lo'ak finally found the time to get back to his training, something he now did in private. It was embarrassing to perpetually remind the rest of the clan of his failure, and he would not ask his father or brother for help. His mother however, was a lot more difficult to get away from. And she understood more than most. "My son, it is clear you are hurting... we have not seen you for days... "

"So? What good is showing my face when I have failed you?" Lo'ak turned away in shame. He did not need anyone to look out for him, not anymore.

"Stubborn! Just like your father." Neytiri hissed at him, bonking him on his head with her bow and not too gently either. "It is clear... that Eywa made you and y/n to be together. Do not treat me as if I do not see. I see you, my son."

Lo'ak broke down as soon as he heard those words. It was true, he had been pushing his family away, but simply because he hadn't thought himself capable of facing them. What would his mother think of the twisted game he'd gotten himself in? What kind of example was he setting for his younger sister? He didn't deserve to be around any of them until he somehow managed to make things right.

Neytiri hugged him, even though it was something they hadn't done in a long time. She had immediately known how strong and independent her youngest son was from a very early age, and she feared that it may have been the reason why, out of all of her children, he'd most often been left to his own devices while she and Jake were forced to tend to the others.

"You have not failed us, Lo'ak. But you must still fight for y/n... and I will help you."

The next few days went by in a blur. If he wasn't training with his mother to successfully pass the Iknimaya on his second try, he was making sure to steer away y/n's parents from any candidates they may have seriously been considering to be her mate without seeming too obvious. If a certain potential candidate began to seem like a real threat to Lo'ak, then he would personally seek them out to politely dissaude them himself.

"If you ever try to talk to y/n, ke-he, you ever even look in her direction or... you just as much as think of her again, I'm dragging you out of your tent while you sleep and leaving you out to die in the forest. And trust me, the viperwolves will finish whatever meat the Thanator doesn't tear off your bones first."

The Na'vi might have been dangerous, but they were a peaceful people. Humans had been the ones to bring war upon them. And Lo'ak had begun to realize just how much of a scary breed he was of the two things. He was now turning on his own kind, on the very same members of his clan, his brothers and sisters. He was cheating and lying to get his way, just like a human would. And the scariest part was, that realization was bothering him less and less as time went on. Y/n's heat was approaching fast, and as a consequence, he was getting more protective and territorial by the day.

While y/n had been able to keep her head in the beginning, only going through a few 'fever dreams', as Lo'ak liked to call them, in a single day and quickly recovering from them, it was now rare to come back and find her to be lucid rather than not. She had a few lulls, here and there, where it was once again possible to get her to have a coherent conversation, but those instances were now few and far in between. Lo'ak would have to seize those opportunities to take her out so she could have a walk, drink or eat something, and show her parents she was still alive. One night he'd even managed to take her all the way out to the ponds for a swim, something she'd always loved, but she was way past that point now.

Y/n slept most of the days off; the nights were the real problem. Due to her body temperature slowly increasing to the point where it was eventually going to be unbearable for her, y/n had taken to refusing to wear any sort of clothing. Which was particularly hard on Lo'ak, especially since her body was also changing in ways that weren't so subtle. As much as he tried not to look, it seemed as if both her breasts and her hips were filling out little by little each day. By that point, he was sure it was some specific torture that had been crafted for him especially, but it all came to pale into comparison when most nights were spent treating the aches of y/n's fever.

"You need to drink some water for me, baby..." Lo'ak would try to encourage her. "I promise you'll feel a lot better if you do..." Y/n was struggling, and Lo'ak was thankful for the fact that after making a bit of a fuss she would eventually listen to him. He couldn't think of a single other person who would've had the same amount of care and patience to make sure she was eating and drinking regularly throughout her heat, and there was hardly any time left before she was completely under the influence. A decision was going to be made whether he liked it or not.

The only problem was that now, he didn’t know if he was going to be able to stand aside when the time came for her to leave. The two of them had gotten somewhat... close during their time together. Close in a way that Lo'ak was certain didn't apply to being best friends. Y/n had suffered a great deal the night her scent glands came in, two on her neck, two on her inner thighs, and one on each of her wrists, and Lo'ak had almost mistaken the event for the beginning of her heat. The sweetness of her scent had him so out of his mind, and he would have torn himself away from her if she hadn't been holding on to him for dear life. "Don't go, Lo'ak, please..." y/n had begged him through choked sobs.

Lo'ak still didn't know if he'd made the right choice to stay, because of everything that happened afterward. He peppered y/n's skin with kisses as usual, trying to bring her comfort, only this time the need to taste and sink his teeth into her was almost uncontrollable. "Y/n, I don't think I should be here..." Lo'ak tried to say, having never felt so at war with himself. Y/n shook her head and caught his lips in a kiss, completely tearing down any ounce of doubt he may have still had. For the time being. The fact that she was promised to another suddenly didn't matter anymore, and the two of them were painfully aware y/n had been dripping with slick from the moment Lo'ak had pulled her into his arms. They were all over each other instantly, reaching desperately for one another in the dark. The sound y/n made when he breached her walls was the most beautiful thing Lo'ak had ever heard, and they fucked so desperately, he was almost ashamed of it afterward.

Almost.

"I told you, my sweet syulang..." He teased, regretfully having to pull out of her for the second time. "You're not ready to take my— a knot, I mean..." Lo'ak kissed her whines away, only taking a few more strokes before coating her belly will his warm seed. "But I want to try again, weakling..." Y/n huffed, having absolutely no mercy for her spent companion as she climbed on top of him. Lo'ak let out a groan and a laugh at the same time, pulling her in for a hug. "You have come so many times, I am literally covered in your slick... and since you're clearly in the right mind to give me attitude..." he pinched y/n's ass cheek and she yelped, slapping his chest. "You're more than capable to come with me for a swim and... help me clean up all this later..." Y/n had bit him in protest but eventually complied with his unreasonable demands.

In those moments with her, Lo'ak had felt so happy he'd almost forgotten what the future actually had in store for the two of them. Even though now he knew y/n so deeply, both at a mental and physical level, another would be the one to marry her. Another would the one to make a lifelong bond with her, mark her and mate with her.

'Sometimes I don't understand how another can love her, is allowed to love her, since I love her so completely myself, so intensely, so fully. I grasp nothing, know nothing, have nothing but her!' Kiri had once read out those words from one of her mother's old books, since the ability to read and write in English had always been important to his sister. At the time, Lo'ak had made fun of her, saying it was all a bunch of boring nonsense. Now, those words haunted him. Every day. And here he was now, acting in the worst of ways just to hold on to y/n for just a second longer, have every part of her until the was nothing left for anyone else to aspire to.

When he walked into the tent that night, y/n was sitting upright and wearing a large white T-shirt Lo'ak had stolen from the RDA supplies. Lo'ak was happy to see she was doing her best to eat some fruit, and the awkward smile she gave him made him understand she currently had her wits about her. "Moat came by... she said it will happen tomorrow... and she gave me... something to help with the pain. Medicine, I think. She told me... my mate will have to take me away. I can't stay here with the rest of the clan while it happens, it might be dangerous-"

Lo'ak shook his head, raising his hands as he tried not to laugh bitterly at the sadness of the situation. How could she talk about it so calmy?

"I don't want to know, okay?" He tried to say as calmly as he could, but she could hear the distaste in his mouth.

"If you can't even talk about it, then admit what I've known all along." Y/n managed to say in a weak voice. "Lo'ak, I see you... I see you... everything you're doing for me, because of me..."

Lo'ak's ears immediately turned down at the sound of the words he'd been waiting for y/n to say his entire life. His immediate instinct was to shut her out. Now that he wanted nothing more than to say those words back, he knew he was only going to make irreparable damage. He'd justified the fact they'd been having sex in secret because it wasn't uncommon for their people to do so, nor forbidden. The only problem of course was that he and y/n were painfully aware of being in love with someone who couldn't commit to them. They had chosen to live in the most blissful of lies until their time together was up.

Well, that time was now.

"Spend my heat with me." Y/n said, not even posing it as a question.

"I can't! How hasn't that gotten through to you yet?" He asked angrily, hating himself for the way she instinctively flinched at his words. Lo'ak got down on his knees, kneeling in front of her. "Ngaytxoa." He asked y/n for her forgiveness. "Oeya syulang, you deserve to be with someone who has shown enough strength and honor to be part of the people... If we'd only had more time, I... but you cannot face your heat alone, nor will I allow you to tie yourself to someone who is not worthy. Who may never be." Y/n had begun to cry at this point, and Lo'ak could feel that he'd been joining her soon. "An outcast. Someone like me."

Simply put, if Lo'ak had spent y/n's heat with her, got her pregnant, and then ended up dying on the Halleluja mountains on his second or third attempt at his Rite of passage, not to mention the unpredictableness of surviving the Dream Hunt as well, he would have committed the cruelest act of all: giving his mate false hope before leaving them behind forever, all for the sake of getting what he wanted.

"You are... impossible..." Y/n cried. "You say these words, therefore you must believe I deserve to be with someone I do not love when I have already chosen the man I belong to and he has chosen me... do you not understand that would kill me just as much as being alone would? I know you went through your rut alone, Lo'ak... I know you went through that pain and survived, Moat told me. I am willing to take that risk, and wait for you."

Lo'ak looked into her eyes then, and it seemed to y/n he was having a realization. Had she finally gotten through to him? She knew her chances of survival were slim, and she hadn't exactly prepared, but after finding out Lo'ak loved her as much as she did, he would sooner risk her life to be happy with him in the end than choose someone else.

Suddenly he was grabbing her face and kissing her, pulling away just as quickly. "I'll be back by morning... there's something... important I have to do." Lo'ak saw the look of distress on her face as he stood up. In many ways, I would have been their last night together, and he was leaving. "Trust me, syulang, I beg of you. Nga yawne lu oer."

"I love you, too."

And with that, he was gone from her sight.

As he climbed the path of vines and rocks leading to the banshee rookery, Lo'ak wondered if anyone had ever managed to reach the Halleluja mountains past the eclipse in the dead of night. If that person, whoever they may have been, had been so desperate to have made the attempt even though everyone around them had said they were not ready, because it was a question of life and death for them as much as it was for him. After the initial surprise of having made it to the top, he was immediately aware of a dozen pairs of yellow eyes blinking at him in the dark.

Lo'ak immediately whipped out the yìmkxa, swinging it around a little as he cautiously walked amongst the ikrans. "Didn't mean to spoil your beauty sleep..." He said, counting how many of them had already flown away at the sight of him. "There's just one of you I've come to settle the score with, some motherfucker who threw me off a cliff the other day-"

A very familiar hiss came from out of nowhere and Lo'ak now knew he was looking back at his banshee. "Long time no see bro, I sure hope I didn't ruin any late-night plans." The ikran lunged at him but Lo'ak knew exactly what to do this time, and moved without hesitancy, muzzling the creature's mouth with the yìmkxa. "Me? Oh you know, my girl is going through the worst experience of her life--- shit, stop that, man--- where was I? Oh right, I'm supposed to be back home with her, yet I'm out here, dancing around with you. Bet you can't wait to get inside this head, huh? Hope you enjoy all the angst, you mother-"

With a final struggle and a minor chunk taken out of his leg, Lo'ak was able to make the connection. The ikran, his ikran, immediately calmed down and let out a pained sound, that Lo'ak recognized as being directed at him.

"Yeah, well... no worries bro." He sighed from exhaustion and patted the banshee's neck. "Now let's get out of here, I don't have all goddammed night."

By the early hours of the morning, Lo'ak had returned aching from the fight with the ikran and still disoriented from the self-induced high he'd given himself with whatever concoctions he'd found in his grandmother's hut to make himself find his spirit animal. No matter what anybody said, he'd completed his rite of passage and now he was going to tell y/n they could be together. Y/n however, was not where he'd left her. Moat found him soon after, and after reprimanding him for stealing her supplies and acting so recklessly, she told him y/n's parents had chosen Tholothian to be her mate and they had left not even an hour prior to Lo'ak's arrival. The Na'vi, much to his grandmother's protests, immediately set off to find them.

With the sunlight by his side and the ability to fly over the forest, it didn't take long for Lo'ak to recognize Tho'lo's ikran resting on top of a branch and its rider wandering the forest below.

"I thought I told you to stay away from her." Lo'ak snarled, quickly dismounting from his ikran.

"Stay out of this, Sully. The fact that you did the bare minimum this time, doesn't get you a prize." Tho'lo took a threatening stance against him. Lo'ak immediately noticed his bow and dagger were missing, and that he had a large cut across his chest. "Y/n was left in my care and responsibility-"

"She attacked you." Lo'ak accused Tho'lo, charging at him with everything he had the very next second. "What did you do?" He roared with a murderous look in his eyes as he held his knife to his rival's throat. "What could you have possibly done to her to leave you stranded out here, huh?"

"What I have done? What have you done, Lo'ak?" Tho'lo accused him back, sounding all too calm for Lo'ak's liking. "She has clearly chosen you, I see that now. I had known you two were close, but I never thought it went beyond you recklessly amusing yourself with her. I never would have accepted her parents' decision if I had known-"

"The why. the fuck. did she attack you?" Lo'ak growled, actively losing his patience by the second.

"Because she's in a heat, you moron. She won't be with anyone who isn't you now that the two of you have clearly done everything except maybe name your future children...I just wish someone had warned me, so I wouldn't have to be here right now!" Lo'ak stepped back from Tho'lo then, realizing he had just been assuming the worst of someone who was meant to be his brother-in-arms. "She attacked me not two minutes after we were in flight. I thought she was going to kill my ikran so I got us all down to the ground. She escaped of course, but I still couldn't leave her out here... "

Lo'ak nodded, ashamed of all the grief his actions had caused. But he didn't even have time to dwell on it, or make things right with Tho'lo, because y/n was still out there, scared and alone.

"I'm sorry, brother-"

"I'll forgive you when you find her and bring her home in one piece." Tho'lo cut him off, calling his ikran and mounting it. "And I know you threatened others just as easily as you have just accused me. That's what separates you from the rest of the people, Sully. You reek of anger and distrust, toward yourself and others. You are selfish, just like the rest of the sky people. Whatever y/n sees in you... must be the true reason why I'm still willing to call you brother."

After a few minutes of frantic wandering, Lo'ak picked up y/n's scent and it didn't take him long to track her down. She'd hidden herself in a small cave behind the waterfall, a place they'd both discovered once when they were out hunting. The closer he got, the more overpowering the influence of her sweet pheromones became. As he climbed his way up to the cave, mindful of the water cascading above him, he knew she could sense his presence too because she began to call out his name. Lo'ak could hear the strain in her voice and ended up cutting his hands and feet several times on the rocks as he made his reckless endeavor all the way to the safe haven she'd chosen.

He looked up to see her looking down at him, and he made one last stupidly dangerous jump to get her away from the edge. "Where were you? You told me to wait, I waited for you but- you are hurt!" Y/n reached for him, she was shuddering violently and unable to keep herself from crying. Lo'ak knew exactly what kind of pain she was going through, and he had to dissuade her from fretting over his wounds.

"I know, I'm sorry Oeya syulang, I'm right here now. I'm with you..." Lo'ak kissed y/n, making quick work of getting rid of whatever fabric was left to separate them. He let out a guttural sound at the copious amount of slick that gushed out of y/n simply from his touch. "Lo'ak, it hurts..." Y/n begged him, holding onto Lo'ak so tight he was pretty sure she was going to end up rearranging his bones.

"I know baby, you're burning up..." He kissed her neck, feeling how scolding her skin was as she lowered herself onto his cock, taking him all the way with a desperate moan of relief. Y/n seized up around him and coated him with a second wave of slick, high on the feeling of finally having her mate buried deep inside of her. "Fuck--you really needed me bad, didn't you baby?" Lo'ak groaned, unable to even comprehend what was happening around him anymore. Y/n's cunt was impossibly tight and warm, and she was making a complete mess on his lap.

His mate nodded and began to ride him in earnest, her stamina never breaking for a second. Lo'ak was so in awe, he could barely keep up with her. Their moans and whines echoed off the walls of the cave, and Lo'ak knew y/n was desperate to get knotted. "You need to... relax syulang." He kissed her face when she began to whine in frustration. "Might have to fuck you a few more times before your body is ready for me, sweet thing..."

"But I want--" Y/n was beginning to sound completely unintelligible, but she never once stopped grinding down on Lo'ak, challenging herself to take in deeper and deeper every time. "Such a good girl, look at that..." Lo'ak praised her, earning a deep purr which he happily returned. "Gonna make you a proper nest... so my baby can be nice and comfortable while I mount her later, how does that sound?"

Y/n curled up against his chest at the idea, kissing him deeply and coming on his cock for the fourth time since they'd started (yes, he was keeping count), and without much warning Lo'ak began to feel the his knot forming inside of her. She gasped and began to frantically fuck herself back against it, giddy on the pleasure the foreign experience was giving her. Lo'ak gave a a few more harsh thrusts, until his knot finally popped deep inside y/n's walls, binding them together. "Fuck, baby you can't keep moving anymore..." He groaned, blissed out and slightly amused by y/n's attempts to bounce up on his knot while she was stuck on top of him.

Y/n wasn't particularly shy about being loud, but the sounds she made when Lo'ak finally began to breed her made him want to fuck her all over again right at that moment. "It's... it's so much..." She sobbed, overwhelmed by the constant stream of warm cum that was now pouring into her. Lo'ak wrapped his arm around her and made a second connection between them, bringing their cues together. Immediately he could feel how close she was to climaxing again, and he reched down between them to rub her small bundle of nerves while she was still split on his shaft. "Going to cum on my knot, baby...? You're been such a sweet girl, taking everything I have to give you... once I'm done breeding you, your belly's going to be so pretty and full---"

Y/n gave out another high pitched whine and came thanks to Lo'ak's expert fingers. He managed to lull her to sleep after that, while they were still tied together and in the process of mating. Lo'ak found his sleep to be rather light, keeping an eye open for his vulnerable mate and growling menacingly at any noise he heard coming from outside.

When his knot died down he left y/n to get some much needed rest and set out to get everything they needed to stay in the cave for the rest of the week. He knew that his scent was more than enough to let anyone and anything to stay the fuck away from the cave, and that y/n would have been safe. Even though he'd returned with food supplies and other creature comforts to make a worthy nest, y/n was not too forgiving of his absence and jumped his bones the second he came back. After she'd deemed herself sated, they made their nest together, but it was hard to do anything without eventually getting distracted.

Y/n's belly was beginning to stretch out a little already from their activities and Lo'ak was completely mesmerised by the sight of his cum slipping out of her. So much so he could help but hold her down and get a taste. "Lo'ak... w-want your knot again..." she mewled, tugging fiercely at his braids while he drank down the sickly sweet taste of her slick.

"Oeya syulang, I haven't eaten all day, you can't blame me for wanting a taste... " Lo'ak growled softly before sinking his teeth in the scent gland on her left inner thigh, making her cry out. He soothed the wound with his tongue, lapping up her blood. "Now, you're going to have to behave for me a little, or I'm going to eat you out until you're a sobbing mess... understood?"

Y/n was a lot more partial to taking a break to eat and drink something after that. Lo'ak was not surprised when she feel asleep again, and he curled up around her on the makeshift bed they'd made, holding her close to his chest. He immediately woke up when she began to cry next to him a few hours later, not even thinking twice about mounting her from behind as her kissed her shoulders and reassured her everything was alright.

Y/n was the one to link their queues this time, moaning softly as he began to move. "Still hurts if I'm not inside you, baby?" Lo'ak asked, genuinely worried that the heat was still painful even though y/n was no longer facing it alone. Y/n shook her head and tried to find the right words to express what she was feeling, Lo'ak kissed her temple reassuringly, stroking her tail to soothe her. "J-just now... I think... I think I'm ready..." It took a little while for Lo'ak to understand, but then he felt it through their bond. Y/n was at the peak of her heat, and his next load was sure to get her pregnant. "You're happy..." she said, Lo'ak still forgetting that she could probably feel his heart soaring at that moment.

"Yeah..." He laughed, a little choked up. "Course I'm happy... so fucking happy" Lo'ak placed a hand on y/n's lower belly, firmly holding her there as he picked up his pace, pounding into her deeper and deeper. Y/n bared her neck to him then, submitting and asking him to mark her as his own. "Nga yawne lu oer..." He whispered before sinking his teeth into her scent gland, tasting the blood and sweetness there. Y/n cried out his name, feeling their bond deepen even more and the desperate need to mark Lo'ak just the same.

Both of them felt the exact moment when life began to blossom between the two of them when they were lying in each other's arms some moments afterwards. They were holding each other close and tending to the deep marks they'd left on each other's bodies. Lo'ak spent the rest of the night whispering promises and soft nothings to y/n, and she quelled all his anxieties about his wrongdoings or the fact that his child might have inherited his human features.

After all, she'd never cared for the right profile anyway.

[anangelwhodidntfall]

I would love if a 6 year Time skip part 2 of You and Me Forever was written. I absoultely loved the first part!!!!!!

@headsincloud9

You and Me Forever II: Tsu'tey

Six years. Six beautiful and happy years with Tsu'tey, where do you even begin? Well for starters, Tsu'tey was Jake's second in command and was in charge of training the new warriors and you were one of the main healers of the clan. The main thing that had changed for you two while you guys waited for your avatar to grow, was that you two had adopted Spider as your own. 

You two had been in the lab talking with Max and Norm about how your avatar was growing and what would happen once it was grown and everything when you heard the sound of familiar footsteps running towards you.

"Y/n!" You heard making a smile appear on your face as you bend down and picked up Spider. 

"How are you, my gorgeous boy?" You asked him as Tsu'tey watched with a smile as Spider talked to you.

"You can touch him, babe, he's not gonna break." You said looking at Tsu'tey who was very worried about touching the child due to the major size difference. 

Tsu'tey ran a hand through the boy's hair which made Spider smile as he looked at him before turning his attention toward you. 

"Is this the kid everyone's been referring to including you?" He asked you as you sighed. 

"Yes but that ass isn't his father, as far as I'm concerned, he's an orphan like me 'Tey, he doesn't have anyone, these guys barely remember he exists most days." You said which made Tsu'tey frown, the child didn't deserve that kinda treatment. 

"We could adopt him, take care of him as our own." Tsu'tey said giving you a smile that made you smile. 

"Really? I was gonna ask you eventually but I just wanted you two to meet today." You said to him with a smile. 

"I don't want to wait a minute longer, I will talk with Jake about what we need to do so that he can live with us and go from there." He said looking at Spider with a smile already imagining what it would be like to raise the boy. 

"You hear that Spider? You gonna come to live with me and Tsu'tey?!" You asked him which made him smile. 

After talking with Jake, Tsu'tey with the help of Norm had extra masks and oxygen reserves brought over to his home for Spider. He also made some new toys for Spider since the ones he had made for Jake's kids when they visited you two were a little damaged.

Spider fit in so well with the village children often seen hanging around with Jake and Neytiri's kids, and you got to see a new side of Tsu'tey as a father which made you even more excited to have children with him. 

Currently, Tsu'tey was preparing for his hunting trip that him and Jake were taking some of the new warriors on, while Spider played with his toys and you worked on making a new necklace for Spider. 

"I'm gonna miss you both so much." Tsu'tey said hugging and kissing both you and Spider as he got ready for his hunting trip. 

"It's only a few days my love. I think we can manage, ain't that right buddy?" You asked your son who was playing with his toy ikran. 

"Yeah, but I'm gonna miss Daddy." He said looking making Tsu'tey smile. 

Oh yeah, Spider was a total daddy's boy, he was his father's shadow and Tsu'tey treated him as such making him his own bow and everything, though there were moments when he was a mama's boy as well. 

Tsu'tey had been gone a few days so far and you and Spider were doing well and still talked with him every night through the cell phone. The next day Max and Norm called you to let you know that your avatar was ready. After asking Neytiri if she could come with you so she left Neteyam and Kiri with Mo'at and came with you and Spider to the lab. 

"So basically you will go into the link pod with Norm who will be in his avatar and we will do some tests and whatnot just to make sure everything is functioning." Max said.

"Go ahead, I've got him." Neytiri said as Spider stood next to her watching what was happening. 

When you woke up, you allowed your eyes to adjust to the brightness, as you looked around and saw Norm and heard some of the scientists start asking you questions as you responded to them. You gently stood up before following Norm outside to where Max, Neytiri were waiting. 

"Oh my y/n, look at you." Neytiri said with a smile as she hugged you. 

"Think he will still find me pretty?" You asked her with a smile. 

"Absolutely but more importantly me and you can do more things together without me having to worry about you getting hurt." She said making you smile. 

"Mama?" Spider asked looking at you. 

"Yeah, it's me, buddy. What do you think?" You asked taking him in your arms. 

"You look so pretty like Aunt Neytiri!" He said making you both laugh as you hugged him.

"See if your son thinks you're pretty then I just know that Tsu'tey will think you are absolutely beautiful." She said giving you a smile.

Tsu'tey had returned from his hunting trip eager to see you and his son, he missed you guys so much while he was gone. After helping the warriors drop off the food from the hunt, he made his up the familiar staircase to his home.

"Daddy!" Spider said running over to his father who smiled and kneeled to his level. 

"Hey, buddy. Where's your mama at? Hmm?" He asked picking Spider up in his arms and looking around for his mate and Neytiri.

"Hi, Tsu'tey." Neytiri said to him taking Spider from his hands. 

"Where's y/n at Neytiri?" Tsu'tey asked ready to see his mate after being apart for so long.

"I'm right here ma Tsu'tey." You said making him turn and see you standing in your avatar form for the first time ever.

"Yawne, is that? Is that really you?" He asked completely stunned seeing you in your avatar he knew this day would come soon but never did he think it would actually happen.

"Yes it's me, what do you think?" You asked giving him a small twirl.

"You look absolutely beautiful my y/n, all of my adventures will be our adventures now." He said as he lifted you in the air spinning you around with a smile on his face. 

"Short stack is that really you?" Jake asked hugging you.

"Ow you giant, I got a new body but doesn't mean you can crush the soul of it." You said making him laugh.

"Sorry, I'm just so excited for you! I know how much you wanted this." He said.

After Jake and Neytiri left, you two made dinner and you two caught up after your week apart which was Spider telling his dad all about what he did. You smiled listening to him put Spider to bed as you stood by the doorway hoping he would be in the mood to go mate before Eywa, especially with this new body.

"So what do you want to do since Spider is finally asleep?" He asked you.

"I think you know what I want." You said smirking at him.

"You are trouble, you know that?" He asked you as he kissed you before dragging you out of your home and towards the home tree.

"I missed you so much beautiful." He said kissing you as you laid down on ground underneath the tree.

"I missed you too. Being able to properly mate and bind with you was all I dreamed about." You said making him smile as he reached for his braid.

You two made the bond and suddenly everything was more intense, you could feel everything he was feeling.

"Me too yawne. I love you so much." He said looking at you.

"I love you too." You said kissing him.

You were sound asleep in his arms after the many rounds you went, while Tsu'tey looked at you with so much love in his eyes.

"Thank you great mother. I love you so much my y/n." He said placing a kiss on your forehead.

He gently picked you up and carried you back home where spider was still asleep and set you down on the bed and covered you up before settling in next to you.

The next month you trained with your new body since you were able to complete all the tasks you couldn't do like taming an ikran which was your favorite.

"Did you see that ma Tsu'tey!" You said happily as you two landed your ikrans.

"I did yawne, I'm so proud of you." He said smiling at you looking at happier you were.

Mo'at suggested doing the conscious transfer soon since you had completed all the tasks and so you wouldn't have to worry about doing the whole human and na'vi thing like Jake did. Tsu'tey was currently helping you prepare for it, while Spider stayed with Norm that night. Jake had taken your avatar body to the ceremony area and Tsu'tey would take you there.

"I know you are anxious because of what happened with Grace, but that won't happen to you we are just transferring you to your new body permanently." He said pressing a kiss to your forehead.

"Thank you." You said looking at him.

"They're ready for you." Jake said as Tsu'tey thanked him.

"Let me carry you one last time as a baby demon?" He asked you with a smile.

"I would love nothing more." You said allowing him to carry you bridal style to where the ceremony was being held.

He placed you gently on the ground where your avatar was laying and took a seat next to you, holding your hand as Mo'at explained what was happening.

"Relax my child, you will be with us in just a few minutes." She said as you shut your eyes.

"Please Great Mother...please don't take her from us....please..." He said as he felt your hand go cold.

"Come back to me yawne." He said placing one final kiss on your human body before going over to your avatar.

You woke up with a gasp, as you felt Tsu'tey pull you into his chest and hug you as tightly as he could, making you wrap your arms around him.

"Thank you, great mother." He said placing a kiss on your forehead as everyone cheered.

You were finally one of the people where you truly fit in with the man you belonged with and a son who loved you more than anything in this world. You were excited about the future with Tsu'tey and Spider.

[caffedrine]

Hii, I could never find any posts about it, but what was the plot or main conflict of Chevalier's sequel? I still can't seem to find any spoilers on it

Weird, I could have sworn someone was working on Chevalier's sequel.

Chevalier sequel spoilers as well as Gilbert Route spoilers below.

Getting Gilbert to agree to an alliance with Rhodolite is the central plot of Chevalier's sequel. (You know, the alliance Gilbert himself suggested in the prologue? Yeah, that one)

First of all, Gilbert has two goals, a main one, and a real/hidden one.

Remember how, in all the season one routes where the princes were able to sign a peace treaty/alliance with Obsidian? Apparently, it doesn't count since only a provincial lord/military commander/town drunk signed the treaty and not the central Obsidian government. But, Gilbert is offering to sign a real peace treaty that Obsidian would be beholden to, if only the now king of Rhodolite would come to Obsidian to sign it.

So, both Leon and Chevalier have to go to Obsidian to sign the treaty (and I'm guessing Yves too in his upcoming sequel).

When they get to Obsidian, Gilbert refuses to sign the treaty (the one that he personally invited them to Obsidian to sign). Gilbert's reason is that the entirety of Obsidian nobility isn't on board with the treaty, and he wants Chevalier and Chevalier's people to win a majority of the Obsidian Nobles over to the pro-Rhodolite alliance side.

That is Gilbert's official goal, and the conflict for the first half.

And now we get Gilbert's unofficial goal - it's all about Emma. He thinks that Chevalier has hoodwinked her into marrying him, and is trying to separate them. He tries a couple of things to separate them, but in the end, he is defeated by the power of Emma and Chevalier's love and trust for each other. That is the conflict in the second half of the route.

Emma and Chevalier also start treating Gilbert's bedroom as a save point, like in a horror RPG game, so that was pretty fun too.

[zaptrapp]

Ea’s Bad Batch Finale Rant

Here we go, doing this as I’ve done for ep.1. Of course SPOILERS AHEAD for the last episode (sigh, it’s all done and gone isn’t it?). Warning, this is going to be chaotic and emotional... so yeah, deal with it haha.

The intro… the eerie music… chills.

Is something bad about to happen or…?

Please leave Wrecker alone.

WRECKER NO

We are not starting on a good note, why’s Wrecker so beaten up???

This is not good, I’m not good.

I mean I know why, because of last ep beast, but c'mon why Wrecker...

“Clone Force 99 ended when Tech died” fuck If I’m not crying wow….

Crosshair shaking so much… nah I’m out already what the fuck is this.

Crosshair wanting to sacrifice himself, YO CHILL?!?

Hunter please discipline your children.

Dr. Hemlock x Rampart or did I just imagine the sexual tension?

But what if...

Enemies to lovers Dr. Hemlock x Rampart lmao please someone, anyone?

Kids please beat the shit out of miss Dr. PLEASE KIDS!

Omega being so smart, her character development, the courage! SLAY GIRLIE

FREE THE ZILLO YUP

now we're talking

"Is it Omega's or Echo's handiwork?".... "Omega's." LMAO they know Echo doesn't fuck around that much hahaha

Emerie i give you one last chance.

green kid I feel you so much, I'm also afraid of heights hahah

here we go with the Incredible 4 (aka the super clones? enhanced clones? brainwashed clones? whatever....)

they give off a lot of "Avengers Unite!" vibe

ready to slay aren't we?

When I said slay I didn't mean slay the bad batch, just to be clear.

annd Hunter is a goner

Annnnd Crosshair is a goner too i guess?

WHAT THE FUCK NOT THE HAND???

Creepiest point the show has ever been what the actual fuck is this supposed to be a children show?

Yup Wrecker is done too.

Yo the scene where Emerie and Echo see his squad being taken away. I got chills, you can fucking see his reaction, the shock.

ECHO SLAY YESSSS ECHO THE OG ARC TROOPER HERE WE GO

Emerie don't fuck this up and get those kids to safety thank you.

CLONE RESCUE HAPPENING RN I'M NOT GOOD

Nala Se and Rampart too?! slay

Omg Rampart stfu for one second or just go away you're useless anyway

Not the squad being tortured

HUNTER NOOOOOOO

"We'll survive, but you won't" -> OOOOOOHHFFFFFFUUUUCK

Hunter be mine

Oh wow Nala Se I see where you're going with this.

Kamikaze?

Too bad we didn't have more Hemlock x Rampart interactions, boyfriend died, sad.

Aaaaaand 2 are down.

Bye Rampart and Nala Se, you actually were on my dead bad batch bingo list.

Rest In Peace Nala Se🙏🏻 you got redeemed.

Rest in Sass you bitching ass imperial Rampart 🖕🏻

UH Hemlock this was such a bitchy thing to do.

and here goes the chaos

Wrecker is so fucking menacing. HE IS PISSED

OK WRECKER IS MAD MAD and also scary scary now…

Hunter with that spear makes me feel things.

Uhhh he got it coming from a mile away

And Clone CX-2 is down….

So, uhhhh…. That wasn’t Tech uh……

So….

Tech was….

….Dead dead?

Like actually dead this whole time?

Fuck.

ALSO WHERE THE FUCK IS COMMANDER CODY PLEASE RELEASE HIS FROM HIS CAGE

NO ECHO fuck god

“Take a shot everytime the bad batch is on the verge of getting killed”

-> not me being absolutely wasted and with my nerves asking for mercy

Please Hunter, Crosshair, kill that bitch ass Hemlock

major disney villain vibe in the storm with the hostage secured to his wrist yada yada...

"DROP YOUR BLASTERS" well well well

Why is Hemlock’s screaming voice kinda sexy tho

I'm so sorry for what I've just said.

WET HAIR HUNTER FUCKING THANK YOU I can die now

CROSSHAIR PLEASE bciakwnfbhc I’m dying too here

You can do it YES you can do it

Crosshar leaning on Hunter like he did with Tech in the clone wars season 7 HAHAHAHA YUUUUP I've been fed.

Uh that was personal

Guys... that's enough. Yup I-I think he's dead now. Yes, definitely gone. Uh, you can stop shooting, he's cold. He also just fell off a cliff... HE DEAD DEAD!

evil space imperial boyfriends reunited in hell

The way Omega chooses to hug Crosshair first, as a DadHunter! stan I feel a bit betrayed but comprehensible… he just saved her not missing the shot.

with one hand tooo, kudos

group hug I'm so teary

Wait so they did it?

THEY’RE OFF PLANET!??

AND THEY ALL SURVIVED?

Oh wow I bet my money on Hunter and Crosshair to die but I was wrong?? This is… refreshing.

Look at them kids!! And the clone cadets, and the rescued clones!!!

EMERIE AND ECHO YESSSS

Look at them all cozy and happy

Nah Echo my man where are you going?

Rex mention pt. 2 or something...

Rex should have been there in the finale but ok i guess... a bit disappointed but still

Nah Echo should have been there for the last shot.

It’s over uh?

look at them, finally happy and free. WE DID IT.

WAIT NO IT ISNT OVER YET???

Not the flash forward I cannot handle it

Ok Pabu!?

YOUNG ADULT OMEGA fuck yesssss

oh she looks awesome

IS THAT HUNTER'S BANDANA

deceased. dead on the ground. dead like hemlock.

NOT OLD HUNTER LIKE THIS IM DEAD ON THE GROUND DECEASED IM FUCKING CRYING OH WOW

OMEGA IS SO GROWN UP

She’s a rebel pilot

"You're our kid" I'M SCREAMING

he chose to be a dad, I knew it

She chose to keep fighting

TECH'S GOGGLES THIS IS SUCH A FOUL MOVE

They should have included Wrecker and Crosshair in this where are they??

But also it’s as it began, Hunter and Omega and their father-daughter bond

“Bye dad, imma be a pilot and save the galaxy” aka “imma move out from the basement and live on my own”

Oh Hunter you’re an old man now…. My heart is aching but also it means he got to live a peaceful life until the rest of his days.

the beard, the long hair, the gray hair.... i wonder how crosshair and wrecker are doing? and echo?? and howzer? AND CODY?

like you cannot leave me like this? hello?

This is gone full circle now.

Well….

Goodbye Bad Batch! It’s been a pleasure!

(I’m still crying)

[hephaestuscrew]

I want to talk about this moment between Lovelace and Minkowski immediately after Cutter dies:

Lovelace GASPS in relief. Both women COLLAPSE, wounded, at the end of their ropes. LOVELACE Nice... shot. MINKOWSKI Couldn't... have done it... without you, Captain. You all right? LOVELACE No. You? MINKOWSKI No, I... I... yeah... LOVELACE Stay with me, Minkowski. MINKOWSKI Yeah... We're almost through this. We just... need to... get Eiffel... And off of their attempts to hold onto consciousness, we -

Firstly, the acting of this scene is incredible. (The timestamp is 1:42:26 if you want to listen back.) I'm in awe of the way Emma Sherr-Ziarko and Ceilia Lynn-Jacobs convey the sense of pain and exhaustion and relief and trying to hold onto consciousness. The kind of damage they've undergone has been very different - Minkowski bleeding out from her gunshot wound, Lovelace recovering from the external control that caused her to inflict that gunshot wound. But the way these experiences manifest in their breathless pained voices is pretty similar. There's almost a kind of unity in that.

I love that the first thing Minkowski and Lovelace do after Cutter dies, even as they are struggling to speak, is to acknowledge each other's contribution to this moment.

"Nice shot" feels like a comment more suited to congratulating someone on doing well at a shooting range than as a response to a friend successfully harpooning their evil boss. There's a casualness to it as a phrase that feels almost humourous in this context, but it also reflects the fact that there isn't really an established thing to say in a situation like this. (More below the cut)

Minkowski could have just taken full credit here - after all she's the one who fired the killing shot - but she doesn't. It reflects the ethos of this show that neither Cutter nor Pryce, the major antagonists, is defeated by a single protagonist alone, and that the protagonists themselves are aware of that.

This scene is an example of a kind of exchange we get a few times throughout the show, where a character asks another character if they are okay and the answer is a clear no. There's an conversation like this between Eiffel and Minkowski in Ep12 (EIFFEL: You okay, Commander? / MINKOWSKI : No, Eiffel. My second in command just betrayed me and tried really, really hard to murder both us. I’m pretty damn far from “okay.”), and between Hera and Minkowski in Ep29 (HERA: Commander? Are you okay? / MINKOWSKI: No. You? / HERA: No. But I will be.), and between Eiffel and Hera in Ep41 (EIFFEL: Are you okay now? / HERA: No, Officer Eiffel. I'm not. But... I'm going to be.) I think I've said this before in tags on a post, but there's something about that type of exchange that fits the tone of this show so well to me. Of course none of these characters are all right, not with what they've been through. But the asking is still important, because of the care these characters have for each other. And the honest answer is still important, because this is a show partly about communication and because sometimes the awful things need to be acknowledged.

I should probably also say that there are also plenty of instances in Wolf 359 where people falsely claim to be fine in response to questions like this. There's an awful lot of emotional repression and compartmentalising on that space station. Which makes it more significant when characters are honest about not being okay.

In this scene, Minkowski and Lovelace don't need to waste words on saying why they aren't all right. I picture them both looking down at Minkowski's wound as she speaks here. And they laugh, or as well as they can do in their current condition, at how absurdly obvious it is that they aren't okay. Maybe that attempt at laughter is a way to keep going. And they are both so determined to keep going.

Lovelace tells Minkowski "stay with me", even though Lovelace is struggling to remain conscious herself. There's something so tender about that to me, and it's particularly heart-wrenching given that Lovelace was forced against her will to fire the bullet that wounded Minkowski.

When Minkowski says "We're almost through this", it feels like a call back to her conversation with Eiffel earlier in this episode, when he said "We're almost through. Just one more day, and then we're done." The "this" in "almost through this" somehow holds everything that they've been through on the Hephaestus. The repeated sense that this is the last confrontation that they will face on that station is perfect for a finale. But there's also something very emotionally heavy about that finality, especially when spoken by a woman who is bleeding out from a gunshot wound. And yet through her exhaustion and her pain, Minkowski expresses hope that they will get "through this", that they are "almost" on the other side of the whole nightmare.

Neither Minkowski nor Lovelace even consider the option of not going to look for Eiffel (and Hera). It would have been perfectly reasonable for them to have gone back to the Urania to try to patch Minkowski up and to wait to see if Eiffel and Hera were able to join them. But these characters would never do that.

They go to look for Eiffel even though Minkowski has been shot and Lovelace has been subject to horrific external control. They go to look for Eiffel even though both of them are "at the end of their ropes" and struggling to hold onto consciousness. They go to look for Eiffel even though waiting on the Urania was the plan they'd agreed upon with Hera. They go to look for Eiffel even though, for all they know, Eiffel and Hera might have the situation completely handled, or might even already be safely on the Urania. They go to look for Eiffel (and Hera) because only once they are all together can they consider themselves "through this".

[chadillacboseman]

Summary: Part of the Vampire!Graves AU that @gloombride and I are currently going insane over. My original/first snippet is here. Graves is back from the dead and needs to find you. 141 has taken you for interrogation after hearing reports that the commander might be alive. Graves doesn't take kindly to your imprisonment. Reader is gender neutral, but the pet name "baby" is used.

Word Count: 5.1k!!!

Warnings: Oh boy! Major character death, blood, dismemberment, broken bones, vampirism, consumption of blood. The least offensive part of this is the use of guns lol. The moment Price and Graves interact, some pretty graphic descriptions of injury take place and continue until the end.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

--

"What do you know about Phillip Graves being alive?" Captain Price stood before you, his figure looming above your seated form, hands resting on his rifle.

"Nothing."

That was the truth. You'd spent the last two weeks mourning his death after his second in command had came to your door to notify you.

"Bullshit-" Soap piped up from across the room, his voice tinged with barely contained rage. Soap had been one of the few to know about you- Graves had pulled a weathered photo of you from his pocket to show him the night before they'd taken down El Sin Nombre.

"That's my whole world right there," Graves grinned and ran a thumb absentmindedly over your face in the photo, "Gonna make it home safe just to see that face again."

"Didn't peg ya for one to settle down, Graves," Soap raised an eyebrow, "But I can see why."

Graves chuckled and shoved the photo back into his pocket, "I'm gonna hang it up soon, give the Shadows over to Oz- sit my ass behind a fuckin' desk and call the shots from there."

"I don't know anything!" you hissed; tears were threatening to well up in your eyes now.

"Let me clue you in here," Price knelt down in front of you, eyes laser fixed on yours, "You are not leaving this room until I get an answer."

"Fuck you."

--

"Shepherd told me you were dead," Oz's back was against the wall, eyes following Graves as he paced.

"Maybe I was," there was a new glint in the commander's eye that made Oz uncomfortable. His irises were glowing in the dim light, two halos of amber bobbing just above his shark-like grin, "Now I'm gonna ask you one more time, where are they?"

"Those British fucks came knocking-" Oz paused, eyes screwed up, as if he was trying to conjure the memory up in his mind, "They know you're alive. Took 'em in for questioning. That's all I fuckin' know, Graves."

He didn't need any more than that.

"Do me a favor, Osmond," Graves glanced over his shoulder as he exited the room, "Don't tell Shepherd about this conversation. I'd like it to be a surprise."

--

Your house was deserted. Lights were still on, and your phone was sitting at the table. Graves knew you didn't go voluntarily. He inhaled deeply, letting the scent of the place dance through his nostrils and across his tongue. Each scent was a thread, a way to trace back to the source- a way for him to find you.

He got a lock on it, pulled it from the others that surrounded it until it was all he could smell, all he could taste. From there, it was easy- like a bloodhound on the trail he could retrace your every step.

The other scents made his fangs throb, anger welled up in his chest- Soap, Ghost, and two others he couldn't quite place.

It was easy to follow the trail once he had a lock on you. Graves could see the scent now, like a faint fog that hovered in the air.

You were close. And so were the others.

--

"Do you really think he's alive?" The soldier Gaz was posted with was chatty. He hated that.

"Dunno. Price seems to think so," Gaz traced a circle in the dirt with his boot, hoping to avoid further conversation.

"Yeah, but, they fuckin' blew that tank sky-high, right? No shot he lived."

"Maybe he wasn't in it."

The soldier seemed surprised by the suggestion, "Yeah? That could be. Probably put some low level guy in there, made him get blasted."

Gaz simply grunted in response, praying that the man took the hint. He didn't want to be part of the interrogation, in fact, he thought the whole thing was a farce. As if Graves would be foolish enough to tell you he was alive, let alone where he was.

So, Price stuck him outside on "guard duty" with some chatty nobody until they were through.

"I'm gonna do a walk-around, make sure nobody is up to anything," The soldier had clearly taken the hint, uncomfortable with the silence that was left hanging between them.

"Knock yourself out," Gaz leaned back against the cool metal of the wall and watched as the man disappeared into the darkness.

The night was quiet and Gaz could hear the faint sounds of the highway in the distance, muddled with crickets chirping in the field just outside the gate.

The minutes ticked by and Gaz began to wonder if the other soldier had abandoned him. He wouldn't complain if he had, but Price demanded two on the door at all times.

"Oi, you done fucking around out there?" Gaz called into the darkness.

No response.

"Jesus, mate-" He cupped his hand around his mouth and yelled once more, "If I have to come find you, I'm tellin' Price and he'll kick your ass."

Silence.

"Fuckin' hell," Gaz muttered as he flipped the flashlight to life on his rifle and aimed it into the distance.

He wandered between the shipping containers in the warehouse yard, flashlight beam bobbing from shadow to shadow.

"You out here takin' a piss or are you-" Gaz stopped mid-sentence as his beam fell on something dark pooled on the concrete. From it, drag marks had been formed in the liquid, leading off into the darkness. Gaz knelt beside the puddle and examined it closely; he realized with a sudden jolt that it was blood. A lot of it.

"What the fuck-" He lifted the beam of his flashlight, following the drag marks until the dark overwhelmed it.

A thud in the distance, just beyond the reach of the light made him jump; he lifted his rifle to his shoulder and tried to calm his racing heart.

"Somebody out there? Come out with your hands up." Something to his left rustled and Gaz spun on his heel in search of the source.

Gaz had never met Graves in person. He only knew him from photographs and from a brief glimpse of him during their raid of the Fuerzas Especiales base.

But, the man standing before him was undoubtedly Phillip fucking Graves.

Something was off about his uniform, it seemed to shine in the light. It took Gaz a moment to realize that the fabric was covered in blood.

"Gaz, right?" Graves grinned as he drawled on, "Never had the pleasure of meeting you, but I'm sure you know who I am."

"Price is gonna have your fuckin' head."

"We'll see about that. Now look, I think you know what happened to your buddy," Graves nodded to the pool of blood, "But it doesn't have to happen to you. You answer my questions, you walk away. Pretty simple."

Gaz swallowed, hard, and flexed his fingers on the grip of his rifle, "No shot."

Graves sighed and ran his tongue over his teeth, "I know you're smarter than this, Garrick. Tell me where they're at and we go our separate ways."

"I promise you, I'm a man of my word."

--

"Gaz, we're calling it a night. Everything clear out there?" Price released the button on his radio and waited for a response.

Silence.

"Fuck's sake, Gaz," Price shook his head and made his way toward the entry. Gaz was good at what he did, but he never turned his fucking radio on.

Price flung the heavy metal door open and found the entry unguarded. Gaz's rifle was leaned neatly against the wall, and there was no sign of Krieger anywhere.

Graves watched Price from the shadows, listening as his heartbeat grew more rapid with every passing second, no doubt worrying about Gaz's safety. He didn't have to worry- Graves was, indeed, a man of his word. The kid had left without a scratch on him, but he'd made him leave his radio behind; he knew Gaz would try to warn Price. He'd probably gone to circle back and do it anyway, but Graves didn't care.

It would be more fun if they knew he was coming.

Graves waited until Price turned his back and made his move, lunging out of the darkness and shoving him to the concrete. Price grunted as the air was forced from his lungs, thrashing beneath the other man's weight.

"Hello again, Captain," Graves shoved his knee into Price's back and used his weight to keep him pinned, "Long time no see."

"Graves-" Price growled as he tried to free himself from his grip, "What the fuck did you do to Gaz?"

"Nothing," Graves said simply, "The other one, though," he whistled for emphasis, "Let's just say he retired early, hm?"

"I'll fucking kill you-"

Graves used his free hand to shove Price's face into the concrete, silencing him.

"No, no, I think you misunderstand the situation here, hoss," Graves leaned down until his face was just inches from Price's, "See, your little lapdogs thought they killed me down in Mexico. Hell, I thought they did too. But somethin' out there had a different idea, and now-" he flashed his pointed teeth and Price's eyes widened, "I'm gonna make you and your little 141 regret it."

Graves adjusted his weight so he could wrestle one of Price's arms out from under him, easily overpowering every attempt he made to pull it away.

"I'd love to take my time with you, but I don't want the boys inside to get worried and come lookin'- that'd ruin all my plans," Graves angled Price's arm until he felt resistance, the bones trying to prevent him from moving them beyond their limit, "Doesn't mean I can't have a little fun first."

A sickening crack radiated under Graves' grip and Price cried out through gritted teeth as his radial bone gave way, followed by another crunch when the ulna followed suit.

"Hope that wasn't your shootin' arm," Graves joked as Price panted in pain beneath him, "Not that that matters much."

Graves reached for his other arm, wrenching it back despite the other man's efforts against him. This time he twisted, savoring the way Price cried out in earnest when his bone spiraled into pieces, skin already beginning to discolor as blood gathered beneath the surface.

Graves dropped the now limp limb, feeling Price's heartbeat, erratic and racing, thrum in his ears. Oh, how he wanted to break every bone in his body, to make his death as slow as he could. But he didn't have time for that.

Instead, he reached down, taking Price's head in his hands and lifting his face from the pavement, "Take a real good look at the stars, Captain," Graves grinned as he felt the race of blood just under the skin, "At least die lookin' at something pretty."

Price opened his mouth to retort, but Graves wrenched, hard, twisting his head until he felt a pop reverberate through his fingers. Price's body went limp, and Graves stood up, pausing to dust himself off before making his way to the door.

--

Your back ached from the hard metal chair, and the dim lighting was threatening to give you a headache before long. You'd told Price over and over again that you knew nothing, and yet he still persisted.

He'd left you in the room with Soap, who was watching you from the shadows, a look of pure hate painted across his face.

"You can keep lyin' all ya want, but eventually we're gonna get what we want," his Scottish accent grated on your ears after hours trapped in that fucking room.

"I don't know how else to tell you this, you thick-skulled moron-" you shifted in your chair so he could better see your face, "I don't know fucking anything. You telling me that Phillip is alive is just as much of a shock to me as it is to you!"

"Bullshit."

"If he is alive, I can tell you this much-" you were mad now, some kind of volatile mix of anger and grief that had you feeling bolder than you ever had before, "he's going to tear the place apart looking for me."

Soap didn't respond, which only irritated you further.

"And from where I'm sitting, you look like a prime fucking target right now!"

That made him laugh, which sent a jolt of rage through your chest, "Even if your little boyfriend is still alive, he's not making it ten steps into this country-"

His cellphone began to vibrate, interrupting his tirade; when he pulled it from his pocket, you could see Gaz's name on the screen.

"Gaz- what? Slow down, man. What are you talking about?" Soap's brows were furrowed, and you could hear the other man shouting frantically, "I can't- did you call Price? What do you mean he didn't answer?"

Your heart hammered as you strained to hear what Gaz was saying on the other end, you caught bits and pieces- "killed Krieger" and "I ran"; before Soap hung up, you heard "You have to get everyone out."

Soap hammered the call button on his radio, "Ghost, you got ears on?"

There was a pause before his radio crackled to life, and Ghost's gruff voice responded in the affirmative.

"Listen, Gaz just called me- I dunno if he's off his rocker or what, babbling on about Krieger being dead and-" he paused and looked down at you before continuing, "Just...could you go outside and see what the fuck is going on?"

"Roger."

--

Ghost made his way silently through the hallways toward the front entry. This whole affair annoyed him- if Graves was alive, how far could he possibly have gotten? He wasn't an idiot, he'd have kept his status from you for as long as he could for his safety and yours.

But Price's ego was bruised and you were an easy grab- it didn't matter if everyone agreed or not.

Where the hell was Price, anyway?

Ghost flung the heavy metal door open and blinked as his eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness- the small light that had hung just above the frame seemed to have been broken.

Ghost cursed and thumbed the flashlight on his rifle to life, sweeping it over the concrete.

"Price-" he spotted the man, lying limp on the pavement just a few feet away. There was something wrong with the way he was positioned, something unnerving about his neck, "Captain?"

Ghost crouched low to the ground and approached, "Captain?" Once he was closer he realized what was wrong- Price's neck was twisted beyond its limit. His eyes were wide and bulging, bloodshot and full of ruptured vessels.

"Fuckin' hell," Ghost stood straight and hit the call button on his radio, "Soap, we have a problem. Lock the door to that cell and meet me out here."

"Roger."

--

"Ghost?" Soap turned the key in the lock on the cell door as he peered down the hallway, "Ya there, LT?"

Silence was his only answer.

Soap made his way toward the exit; his heart was hammering- what had made Gaz go into hysterics like that? Where was Price?

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud thrum as the power went out in the warehouse, sealing him in total darkness.

"Fuck!" Soap jumped in surprise and fumbled in the darkness with his rifle until the flashlight came to life.

The bright white beam bobbed as he continued his trek in darkness toward the door, "Comin' LT! The fuckin' power went out," he called, hoping Ghost could hear him through the metal.

The door rattled, hard, and Soap stopped in his tracks, "Soap, open the fuckin' door," Ghost's voice echoed over the radio.

"Locked yourself out, eh, LT?" Soap chuckled.

"Fuck off."

Soap approached the door and swept his flashlight over it, confusion taking root in his mind as he took in the chains that were wrapped around the bar.

"LT, something...something is going on with the door-"

Graves watched from the rafters, feeling Soap's pulse grow more rapid by the second, savoring the thrum of it in his ears. He had wanted to save the Scot for last, but fate had other plans.

Soap examined the chains, running his gloved hand along the metal, "LT...there's chains on the door."

"What?"

"There's chains, keeping the door shut."

"What the fuck are you on about, Johnny?" Ghost sounded annoyed; the door rattled as he put his full weight into it once more.

Graves was tired of the pathetic display below him- while Soap fumbled in the darkness, he was able to see everything in perfect totality. Every finite detail, every color. Another benefit of his new condition.

Graves dropped from the rafters, silent as a predatory cat, moving as if he was one with the shadows until he was behind Soap, close enough to hear his every breath.

"Hey Soap, long time no see."

Soap was quick, Graves had to give him that much. He swung his rifle, nearly connecting with Graves' head, and managed to strangle out "GHOST, GRAVES IS-" over his radio before it was ripped from his vest.

"Soap? Johnny??" Ghost's voice faded away on the abandoned radio as Graves dragged the Scot down the hall.

--

"Wakey wakey, Soap," Graves brought his hand down, hard, across Soap's face, the sound ringing through the empty room.

The Scot's eyes fluttered as he regained consciousness, eyes flitting around the room frantically. He was seated, his wrists bound to the arms of the chair he was in. His ankles were bound as well, held tightly in place with some kind of cord.

The room was dark, save for one single bulb that hung above his head, casting harsh shadows on his figure.

"What the fuck-" Soap hissed as his eyes struggled to adjust to the pitch blackness, limbs straining against his bindings.

"You wanna know something, Soap?" Graves paced around the chair, his Southern drawl echoed off the walls of the room, "I wanted to like you. Hell, I did like you. But you just couldn't let it go."

"You took Alejandro's base!" Soap spat, "You wanted us to just 'let that go'?"

"I'd be willing to let bygones be bygones, too. Bury the hatchet. When I crawled outta that tank, I was just happy to be alive."

Graves reached for the crowbar that hung from the back of his tac vest, wrapping his fingers around the cool metal and snagging it from the loop that held it.

"But then I come home to find that you and your little gang of assholes had the gall to use someone I love to try and hunt me down," he brandished the crowbar, its silver finish glinting in the harsh light, "And I can't forgive that."

The crowbar came down swiftly, connecting with Soap's knee, its clawed head dragging the flesh and connective tissue with it. Blood splattered to the floor and Soap let out a pained cry through gritted teeth.

Graves raked his eyes over the soldier's panting form, calculating where he should strike next. This time the blow came to his chest with the blunt side, taking the air from Soap's lungs with a dull crack.

The Scot coughed, a faint wheeze at the crest of his next breath. Graves grinned wolfishly, waiting for him to recover, the crowbar tapping absentmindedly against his flattened palm.

"Ghost...." Soap wheezed, his head lolling slightly, "Is going to fuckin' kill you."

"Better give him a good reason, then."

Graves brought the sharp teeth of the crowbar down, with his full strength, onto Soap's right fingers. The metal cut through in one motion- muscle, tendons, and bones giving way easily under the blow. The force was such that the teeth lodged themselves into the wood of the chair as blood oozed from the two severed fingers in thick rivulets.

Soap let out a genuine cry of pain, his muscles flexing on instinct, struggling against his bindings. Graves gave him no time to recover, swinging the weapon upward and striking him in the jaw with a wet whacking sound that reverberated through the metal.

Blood gushed from his cracked jaw, spilling down his fatigues and pattering to the floor. He let out a pained groan as more blood rolled over his lips and down his chin.

Another blow landed on the side of his head and for a moment, he danced on the edge of unconsciousness, his skull throbbing in time with his pulse.

"Ghost-" blood clung to his lips as he spoke, weak pleas falling on deaf ears, "Simon, please-"

Graves laughed outright at that, "He's not coming to save you. By the time he gets in this building, you'll be long gone."

"Fuck....you," Soap wheezed. His face was covered in blood now, caked in his stubble and soaked into his uniform.

His other hand took the abuse this time. The crowbar's sharp clawed end ripped through two of his fingers, sending a spray of crimson to the floor. Graves waited until blood had pooled on the metal, then raised the weapon to his mouth and ran his tongue along it, pointed fangs glinting in the harsh light.

Soap could barely muster a cry of pain this time, instead making a pathetic moaning sound as the fresh blood joined the rest on the floor at his feet.

"Aw, come on now, buck up, sport-" Graves positioned the crowbar under Soap's chin and tilted his face upward, "Don't be blacking out on me just yet. I'm not done havin' fun!"

He tossed the crowbar to the side and Soap's head dropped to his chest once more, his breaths coming in shallow waves. Graves unsheathed his combat knife and fidgeted with the blade, contemplating.

"You wanna know something, Soap?" Graves paced around the chair slowly, mapping out his next target, "I really respected you. It's a shame it had to go down like this."

Soap groaned in response, a wet, gurgling sound that fell flat in the empty room. Graves rolled his eyes and slid the knife under the shoulder straps of the Scot's tactical vest, slicing the fabric and letting the heavy kevlar fall away from his chest.

"Let's wake you up, shall we?" Graves laced his fingers in Soap's hair and yanked, hard, bringing his face upward. He gripped the blade tightly and brought it to the Scot's cheek, dragging it down the flesh and leaving an angry cut in its wake.

Soap gritted his teeth, choking back a cry of pain as blood flooded down his jaw and neck.

Graves tutted, unsatisfied, and instead brought the blade to Soap's stomach, "Guess we'll go big then."

The knife pierced through the Scot's skin just above his navel; blood gushed around the blade as Soap thrashed, a new, more urgent sound escaping his lips.

"That's more like it!" Graves grinned, delighted. He pulled the knife upward, shredding the flesh and muscle until he hit the resistance of bone in the ribcage.

"Simon!" Soap cried hoarsely, his mind struggling to comprehend the new pain, "Ghost, please- it hurts."

Graves watched as the blood flooded to the floor, enough to make Soap grow pale, his eyes going in and out of focus.

"Sorry, hoss," Graves cocked his head and took a step back to avoid his boots getting tinged with blood, "I know your ol' pal Ghost has got to be close to getting in. Couldn't have him interrupting."

Soap slumped forward, his form going limp; a few disjointed words still fell from his lips as he faded from consciousness, "Simon", "please" "Help me".

Graves grabbed Soap's dog tags, clutching them firmly in his fist before ripping them from the Scot's neck, "No hard feelings, Johnny boy." He watched, amused, as the Scot convulsed and then went limp.

From down the hall, Graves detected another heartbeat, racing, filled with rage.

Ghost.

--

Graves prowled along the rafters, watching Ghost move through the warehouse. It would be hard to break him- he'd read the files. The man had a psych profile a fucking mile long.

"Lookin' for your buddy?" Graves called down from the ceiling, watching as Ghost pointed his rifle skyward, eyes under his mask narrowed as he stared into the darkness, "Got some bad news about that."

Ghost swung his rifle wildly, aiming into the rafters; Graves could hear his heart hammering, a sweet melody of anticipation that made him grin in the darkness. He took one last look at the bloodied dog tags clutched in his fist before tossing them to the ground.

Ghost spun on his heel at the sound of metal connecting with concrete, eyes widening as they fell on Johnny's dog tags, dented and covered in blood.

"Y'know it's a damn shame, Ghost," Graves drawled from somewhere above him, "Soap died all alone, screamin' your name. Should'a heard him when I cut his gut open-" he paused to chuckle at the memory, "he was beggin' like a dog."

"Come down and fight me, Graves!" Ghost snarled, his rage fighting the overwhelming grief of losing Johnny.

"Careful what you wish for."

Before Ghost could turn to the source of the voice, pain erupted in his lower back. There was a momentary heat as he felt fingers push through the fabric of his gear, then into his flesh. He tried to pull away, but Graves had a hold of something inside him. Instead, he turned as well as he could, swinging the rifle to take aim at the other man's chest.

Graves grinned and clenched his fist until he felt a crunch. Hot, coppery blood ran down his arm and mixed with a viscous fluid that poured from Ghost's now shattered spine.

When he released his grip, the masked man crumpled to the floor, his legs now immobile beneath him. Graves took advantage of the momentary shock to grab the rifle from Ghost's hands and toss it across the room.

Ghost was panting under his mask, trying to process the lack of feeling in his legs.

"You know, I always wondered what you look like under this-" Graves took a fistful of the fabric just above the skull and pulled, prying the mask from Ghost's face and letting it fall carelessly to the floor.

"Now, I don't know what the hell Soap saw in you," Graves paced around the downed soldier, watching his eyes follow him; there was no fear there, just anticipation, "Gotta say, I respect the dedication to the badass bit you've got going here."

Ghost said nothing in return. He could feel the blood pooling beneath him, soaking through the hooded sweatshirt he wore under his flak jacket. He'd been through worse- Graves would have to do better than this.

"Johnny boy, though, he dropped the act pretty quick," Ghost's mouth twitched at those words, "Wish you could have heard the way he begged for you to help him right up until the end."

Graves retrieved his crowbar once more, and Ghost's eyes flicked to the dried blood caked on the hooked claw.

"Just know you won't be very far behind him," Graves lined up his crowbar and brought it down with the entirety of his strength, onto Ghost's right arm, just under the elbow. The bones gave way easily, shattering under the weight of the metal.

Ghost didn't make a sound, and his face barely changed; he merely stared up at Graves, his jaw set.

"Like I said, pretty impressive-" Graves tapped the blunt instrument against his palm. Ghost was lying flat on his back now, unable to support himself with his arms any longer, "Just wish I had a little more time."

Ghost's left arm was next. The crowbar came down, teeth first, the force of it cleaving straight through the flesh and bone and striking off the concrete beneath it.

This time, Ghost made a sound, a guttural groan from somewhere deep in his chest. He was growing more pale by the minute as blood began to spread in a halo around his form on the floor.

Graves was growing bored of the interaction.

"Don't worry, Ghost" Graves moved behind him, shoving him upright and bringing the crowbar to his neck, "Soap won't be alone for long."

The crowbar went tight against Ghost's throat, cutting off his air. He tried to move, tried to thrash away from the pressure, but Graves was stronger.

"Look at that! There is some life left in you," Graves sneered as he pulled the metal even tighter, eliciting a choked gasp from Ghost, whose head thrashed weakly, trying in vain to relieve the pressure.

Graves pulled with more force, grunting against the soldier's struggles, until he felt the man go grow weaker before becoming still entirely.

Graves rose to his feet and let Ghost fall to the floor in a heap, watching with amusement as the light went out in his eyes. He paused to dust himself off and replace his crowbar on the back of his vest before exiting the room and making his way toward you.

--

You strained your wrists against the bindings, struggling helplessly to free yourself in the pitch blackness. The power had gone out what seemed like hours ago, and Soap still hadn't returned.

Was this some new trick? A vain effort to make you talk by playing on fear?

Your thoughts were interrupted by the distinct sound of the door on the far side of the room opening- no light flooded in from outside, which meant the power outage stretched at least into the hallway.

"That you, Soap?" you tried to sound casual, but the darkness and your immobility were starting to wear on you, "Neat trick with the lights."

No response.

"Ever figure out what Gaz was so worked up about?"

You could feel someone getting closer to you- not hear, feel, like the air shifted around whoever it was. The hairs on the back of your neck were on end, your heart banging out a rhythm in against your rib cage.

"Hello?" Your voice sounded very small, dwarfed by whatever presence was hovering near you in the darkness.

"Hey baby," a distinctive southern drawl purred near your ear and you felt as if your heart was going to leap out of your throat. There was a coppery smell to his breath that you couldn't quite place.

"Phillip?" You choked back a sob as he cut the bindings on your wrists and ankles.

"It's me," you felt his hand cup your chin and his forehead touched to yours.

"How-" your voice cracked and you felt tears spill down your cheeks as you struggled to find the words.

"Shhh, it's alright. I'm here," Graves pulled you in close and you buried your face in the crook of his neck. His shirt felt wet, and the metallic scent persisted on him, almost overwhelming, "I'm gonna walk you outta here, okay? But you gotta promise me something-"

"What?"

"Keep your eyes closed."

[miiilowo]

I've never really watched anything about Security Breach's cut content so I'm don't know much about it. Any specific things or moments that you wish the most were actually used?

And/or, could you tell us about your interpretation of Vanny :3c, I don't have any less vague questions off the top of my head so just in general I guess-

SHATTERED. FREDDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCKING HELL SHATTERED FREDDY!

YOU SEE THIS ASSHOLE ?? ^^^^

there are voice lines and unused art for glamrock freddy that show vanny commanded to other glamrocks to disassemble him, and it would have turned him against gregory. Having your one failsafe source of protection and guidance (well. if you dont include him getting stuck on walls and railings) ripped out from underneath you, now hunting you? can you imagine how effective that would have been for most people?

this was the intention for the game. it wasnt an idea that was scrapped, it was cut because they didn't have enough time. this was SUPPOSED to happen. even if it wasnt scary, (which it might not have been accounting for how MONSTROUSLY BRIGHT THE PIZZAPLEX IS), it would've made the game much more memorable, the characters have more stakes, and made the game feel less empty. and can you IMAGINE the sexyman potential? Hot bear dad turns fucked up and evil??? you know the fandom would be all over this freak

like all silliness aside, one of my major complaints w SB is how empty it feels. It's fundamentally broken, and not just from a bugs perspective; The story does not work like it should, because most of the story was removed. You experience the most barebones version of the plot. The meat used to be there, but they hid it in the files never to be seen again. It's stuff LIKE shattered freddy that would've made this game more than it is, would've fleshed out the characters, the plot, and motivations. It injects some EMOTION in there, god forbid. Among the lines for shattered freddy related cut content is one of gregory crying!!!! come on man!!

They'll probably bring him back for Ruin, but it won't be the same, nor have the same plot or characterization. Just a skin slapped onto him, I imagine.

Before I get to vanny, i wanna touch on glamrock bonnie. I do think we were supposed to get more of him in general, seeing as a whole bonnie bowl minigame was cut out, but we really only got scraps hinting at a larger mystery. I'm not sure what all was cut, but it feels like it was building up to something much bigger and it simply never had the chance to be executed, which is a shame.

Moving away from him though, theres a bunch of stuff about Vanny/Vanessa (most of which i will not cover here). vanny my sweet lovely girl who was done so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO dirty

First of all, they completely made Vanessas personality do a 180 degree turn right before release. The version of her that we got is very mean, short tempered and cruel, whereas the version of her before actually cared about Gregory and helping him out of the pizzaplex; The reason Gregory wouldn't trust her, being that he knows she is also Vanny, but I'll get into that in a second. She seemed just as confused and scared as Gregory is, and while, yeah, having every female character be motherly and sweet is BAD i do have a point as to why that would have been better for her character, especially if it was a ruse she was putting on:

It makes the player want to trust her. Since Gregory never explains WHY we shouldn't trust Vanessa, it would make sense that we would want to doubt him, wouldn't it? There's cut lines that show Freddy didnt believe Gregory for a while either until he proves that something is up. The game was originally supposed to have a sort of "vanny meter"; I'm not sure how this would deplete, but whenever it did, Vanessas model itself would turn INTO Vanny, at which point she would start hunting you. Having the player witness one of these transitions after being led to believe that Vanessa has been genuinely trying to help us this whole time would be 1. scary in the same sense shattered freddy wouldve been 2. would explain why gregory doesn't trust her (he's seen this happen before, presumably) 3. would give freddy an actual reason to protect you instead of just doing it for the sake of protecting you, continuously going against his programming in rather inconsistent fashions

You can see how this was likely going to be incorporated through the trailers, (the line where shes saying she didnt want to hurt gregory, and it was 'just a glitch'), and it would also explain why shes NEVER IN THE FUCKING GAME DESPITE BEING ADVERTISED AS A MAIN CHARACTER AND VILLAIN

While I do think steel wool wouldn't have made her full evil (as much as i would love her to be) and would've made her genuinely a helpless wet rag whos scared and being puppeted around by afton, I do think this wouldve been better, because she wouldve been an effective threat and more sympathetic as a character. In the end game she still is just a helpless wet rag being puppeted around by afton but without any of the emotional impact. what fucking ever i guess

i still stand by the fact she should've been a copycat killer and afton's "i always come back" line would mean his INFLUENCE is eternal, not that HE HIMSELF is eternal, as we both know this would have been better in one thousand hundred million billion trillion ways forever

[autumn-may]

Ngl I'm thinking so hard abt the comic u made with isa and how he got the scar do you have thoughts on it? I'm rotating it in my brain....

Hm.. Well I guess I could share a bit on how I interpret the pre 358/2 days Akusai relationship, (and how beserk/the scar throws a wrench into it). this ended up being considerably longer than I thought It would be so the rest is under the read more (543 words under cut) 

A big reason I find this era interesting is because it kinda plays into how nobodies function as a whole? If that makes sense. Like the idea of how nobodies replicate the experiences/emotions of their past lives, without having the proper feelings to truly emulate them, and I think that’s really interesting with a relationship such as what was presented in bbs era Lea+isa. They really were close, and I’d suspect that after getting pretty-much-killed they’d still be close, either from a legitimate want or a urge to keep some norm from when they were somebodies. This would probably result in the slow deterioration of their relationship as they attempt to replicate an experience from a memory that’s around eleven years old by 358/2, and eventually their relationship becomes distorted (like trying to paint a portrait through a funhouse mirror). This is my main hc for how they got to the point seen in 358/2. 

A major thing that I think would ‘break’ this is Xemnas/the scar. It’s seen as abnormal by the other members that Saïx was able to reach his position as second-in-command, and that makes me wonder what sacrifices he had to make. The scar itself is what I’m using in the comic, but lunatic (and how he’s somewhat possessed by it when berserking if his nobodies are anything to go off of) is also a thing I think about a lot here. The scar itself is kinda unnecessary when you consider the fact that saïx. Already has a recusant's sigil in his name idk. It kinda feels like possessive if I’m being honest which is neat in reference to how kh2 saïx acts. (NOT suggesting saïx was 100% possessed, or unwilling to do what happened in kh2 that kinda weakens him as a character to me. But bro literally was a highly prioritized member of a cult at the age of 16 there is no way he wasn’t manipulated.) so yeah the scar and what it represents (greater importance in the running of the org) probably fricked them up a lot. 

And one final thing, subject X and loyalty. Just, saix runs on loyalty, he devotes himself wholeheartedly to a cause and loses himself to it. He *literally* gave up his humanity for a girl he doesn't even know the name of, and continued the search for her until he lost even the shadow of what he once was. I don’t know if I can attribute that level of devotion to Axel, and I think that conflict could create some interesting ideas. Specifically, the point in which Axel’s already started to doubt that subX is even real, and Saïxs is at the beginning of a downward spiral. There’s conflict in that! It’s interesting! 

In conclusion Akusai/leaisa is awesome because you get like twoish hours of them interacting in the whole series but every minute of that is so packed with implication and you know the characters individually and you know how the series functions enough to piece together what has to happen in order to get to how they’re shown in [insert cutscene here]. It’s cool and lets me think a lot about the ramifications™ thank you for coming to my Ted talk

[gryffindorhealer]

Why a Sneak Peek?

One of the things I've seen other writers do is post Sneak Peaks. I've not done that, partially because I've not been on Tumblr long, partially because I'm pants at self-promotion, and partially because I lean hard towards not showing work until it's done. That said… However I know Breanie ( @breaniebree ) through a couple writer/fan groups on Discord. While she worked on A Second Chance (go read, fabulous work, eh) she started asking me questions related to injuries, health care, and such. Because the Healer in my name is for real; I am a Registered Nurse. Breanie sort of introduced me to Sam ( @seriouslysam8 ). Another really good writer, you need to go read Brumous, Bete Noire, and Backstabber. Particularly if you love angst. Yes. The inevitable took place then, Sam asked a few questions about injuries and first aid, specifying magic couldn't be used. And honestly, I really enjoyed reading the chapter in Brumous where the answers showed up. Nicely done! Then I started thinking about something I need for my WiP, Mystic Dream. The Potter's (Ginny and Harry) are away on a trip, bit of a busman's holiday because Harry is attending an international law enforcement conference (with of course a secret magical group of sessions), while Ginny is interviewing some American magical athletes for a book she's working on. And things happen. For a part of this, because the Potters have been here (this particular place in the US) before, I placed one of their favorite places to eat, a pizzaria. They don't get to eat there often, but for two reasons this is one of their top faves. And I needed a name, and didn't want to use O Sole Mio because I'd used that in Proposals already. Did I mention I like puns? And after a convo with Sam I looked at her name. And I asked her a question. And she said Yes, Sure. This leads to why I'm posting, for the first time maybe ever (there might be some one-liners in response to ask memes, I'm not counting those), a Sneak Peek. Quick summary, how to surprise other characters and help develop one of the major charactgers by using one of Major Character's know skills…

Harry nodded, punching buttons on his phone. ‘Wait,’ Gibbs commanded. Harry looked up.

‘We need to do this, now,’ he said, as Gibbs looked at the notepad on Kasie’s counter.

‘Yes, we do,’ Gibbs flipped his phone open, fingers punching numbers. ‘But they know your Great Britain number, they’ll know it’s you calling.’ He held out his phone. ‘Use mine.’

Ginny took Gibbs’ phone before Harry could. ‘They also know your voice, Harry. “I’ve seen your face before.” They won’t know mine.’

‘They threatened you, Ginny,’ Gibbs said. ‘They know you as well.’

Ginny smiled, winking at Harry, who matched her mischievous grin.

‘Not when she speaks, they won’t,’ he said.

Gibbs looked between them both, Bishop’s brow furrowed, her frown growing deeper when she saw Patil smirk as well. Patil caught her eye, raising her own eyebrows. Then Gibbs nodded.

‘Nobody else make a noise. At all. Kasie, record the call. McGee, are you ready?’

McGee nodded. Kasie’s eyes widened as she quickly prepared a microphone, anticipating what was coming. Gibbs nodded to Ginny.

Ginny pushed the dial and speakerphone buttons, and a ringtone filled the room. Once. Twice. Thrice. Four– ‘Hello.’ The same gravelly voice.

‘Yeah, this is Eljay with Seriously, Sam 8Pizza,’ Ginny said, ‘and I’m trying to deliver the Super Supreme you ordered. Having trouble finding your place, it doesn’t want to come up on my MappApp. I’m at Tennessee and E Street Northeast. Could you give me directions?’

Bishop’s jaw dropped when Gibb’s voice came out of Ginny Potter’s mouth. She glanced quickly around the room, Kasie and Torres both wearing surprised faces as well, McGee focused on the workstation where he worked to triangulate the call. Patil smirked at her. Gibbs and Potter simply focused on the phone in Ginny’s hand. Those three knew, she thought. They knew!

Silence stretched a few beats before the gravelly voice spoke again. ‘I didn’t order a pizza.’

‘Oh, come on, man! Says right here on the slip, Super Supreme, Nony Mousse, but then the damn slip got wet and the ink smeared. It looks like one something something maybe six E Street Northeast, but they said they didn’t order pizza either. Seriously, it’s getting close to being a free pizza for you because I can’t find your place. Just give me directions, please.’

Silence again, seconds feeling like hours. Then a laugh like gravel on steel. ‘Too bad for you then, I guess you get a pizza for lunch.’

[spectordameron]

Asking you about your specific Poe brotps!! —CCFM

Rina....bless you so much for giving me a chance to infodump. So my brotps for Poe err on the side of gulp shittos: lots of background Resistance characters who have my whole entire heart, that I've built up entire dynamics with him off of - it's honestly maybe my favorite thing to write about, and comes up a lot in an rp 'verse me and my partner (@hermitmoss) wrote a few years ago. Some have some canon basis, others not so much lol. I just think that for majority of the Resistance, Poe is kind of this....surrogate big brother (Snap is also). If you're having a shit time, and Poe has time in his schedule, you bet your ass he's gonna give you a hug and let you talk things out. You need advice? Poe's probably got some to give, etc etc.

So first, there's Poe and Beaumont. Beaumont is the character we see in tros that hypothesizes ways that Palpatine could have survived. There's a really lovely comic where he goes to Kashyyyk with Chewie, which reveals that he's estranged from his parents who disapprove of his career choice (he is a scholar, with a focus on the Force). But! Relevantly, Beaumont is kind of a scruffy guy, so I decided that this guy in tfa

could definitely be Beaumont. It's not, canonically, because Beaumont only joins after the Hosnian Cataclysm, but this is my canon and I do what I want lmao. Basically, I think Poe and Beaumont bond over their interest in the Jedi/Force. Poe believes in the Force, per Oscar Isaac, and I tend to think that errs on a sort of religious belief for him; and since Beaumont has a special interest in the Jedi, I like to think there's a lot of philosophical conversations between them and Poe occasionally helping Beaumont pour over research materials (you remember how one of the high republic books, i think, canonized smutty romance books about the Jedi? the funniest mental image I have of them both running into one of those and getting flustered/mildly scandalized about it lmao).

In my little canon, Beaumont is a pretty lonely guy and is still working out what "friendship" can be like while reeling from the estrangement from his family, and Poe's really there to support him through the whole thing. And of course, Beaumont loves his very hyperactive friend right back and gives him support when he can as well. Also I feel like it'd be fun if Beaumont specifically got brought into the Resistance because of his connection to Tekka, and because they needed some idea on other Force oriented sights that Tekka could have visited!

Then there's Poe, Tallie and Paige. Yes they go together, lmao. Technically, a lot of my headcanons actually focus more on Snap than Poe here: Tallie is noted to be in charge of Blue Squadron, which Snap is second in command of, so I like to think they often swap duties, especially when Snap is busy with Black Squadron things, and they're like. Very bickery siblings who always argue over the last cup of caf in the morning (it's tradition!).

But I think it's canon-ish leaning that Poe is friends with Paige (I believe Kelly Marie Tran mentioned in an interview that the background is that Paige was friends with Poe and kind of a wingman to him, so that's how Rose is familiar with Poe?), and I like to think the same thing with Tallie. I think Poe and Tallie are kind of those friends that rib each other plenty - yeah, sure Poe's her commanding officer, but he's just as much of a dork as Snap so she's gonna give him plenty of shit.

I haven't built up nearly enough with Poe and Paige specifically, but I do headcanon that Tallie and Paige are together <33 because I love tragedy, I guess, but also there's a lot of commonalities between them, and I like picturing Poe being supportive of them and being the first to get the gossip that they're together because he accidentally runs into them kissing lmao.

I truly could keep going all day, but I'm gonna try to keep this somewhat brief, and just. Bullet point the rest lmao:

I think Poe is a little bit eager to get Admiral Ackbar's approval. It's kind of a whole thing in ghost story, because Ackbar is sort of the closest thing to an authority figure in Leia's life still, and that matters to Poe. He respects the hell out of Gial, and the two eventually wind up bonding over their love for Leia, and sharing koya fruit. To my endless delight, a ROTJ anniversary comic special confirmed that Ackbar was friends with Shara and Kes, and they were some of his most trusted confidants - which really adds so much to how close Poe seems to be with Aftab, calling him "junior" all the time....truly family friends!!!!

Poe!!! And Kalonia!! I've actually written about them once before. I think Poe really, really hates medbays from trauma of losing his parent(s), and tries avoiding them when he can, so it's kind of a running joke that Kalonia scares him. But! He'll also stop by early in the mornings to anonymously drop off bouquets of wildflowers or snacks for Kalonia, so she has a little bit of extra appreciation. And of course there's this moment I wrote of them in an rp that still tickles me to this day:

Beaumont smacked his scanner again, "Yeah it's...on the fritz. I guess Poe's the only one who's really getting help -" "Bruised ribs?" Kalonia said loudly, or as loudly as her soft voice would allow her. Poe nearly wilted under her stern gaze. "How did you expect to treat that yourself?" Poe hesitated a moment, before answering slowly, "Wait for them to unbruise?" Kalonia pinched the bridge of her nose, "Please get Commander Dameron under a stabilizer. Once he's treated, he and Knight Surris will help us treat Lieutenant Donneta's lekku."

She puts up....with so damn much....

then we have Poe and Kaydel!! Obviously their friendship (and his with C'ai) get a lot of focus in tlj which is one of my favorite things about the movie, but I love to think that she winds up being Black Squadron's psuedo baby sister. I think she has a habit of getting tunnel vision when she's working, that she forgets to eat and things like that, so they implement something they call "the kaydel protocol" which just means Black Squadron takes turn checking in on her through the day to make sure she's ate and drank plenty of water.

I also like tossing around Poe and Taslin Brance! We barely see Taslin in the movie, but there's a deleted scene where he's the one to inform Leia Poe's X-Wing was destroyed in the village, and in the Flight Log, he's the unfortunate soul to deal with crabby Poe "do not LOOK at me do not TALK to me about the fucking finalizer okay I'm FINE look at me I flew to Takodana and Starkiller, could a traumatized person do THAT" Dameron by trying to get him to debrief. I think Taslin is something of an anxious, kind of clumsy guy, that is horrified and exasperated by the kinds of stunts Poe comes up with, and probably does a lot of the more "boring" high command work with Poe, like paperwork and lists and stuff.

And especially for you, Rina, I LOVE Poe and Threepio's dynamic! I know their dynamic is written fairly inconsistently from the comics to the films, but I find the accidental like, implied development of their dynamic really enjoyable. I love the parts in the comic where Poe's like you really shouldn't be calling me master you're a war vet and a hero man, we should be calling you that, and Poe hauling ass back to carry Threepio out of danger, and then Threepio offering to sacrifice himself so Poe can escape Terex....ough. I like the implication that they went from these very professional colleagues to friends that are so done with each other but come hell or high water they're sticking it out for each other. It always tickles me in tlj when Poe is listening to Finn and Rose's plan and goes "so we blow that one up?" Threepio just WHIRLS around like "wHAT did you just say" it's so delightful to me, and I love that Threepio tends to give it right back to Poe in tros when they're all snippy with each other ("you both make excellent points....some times" makes me laugh my ass off every time). and then poe calling threepio his brother in the tros novelization??????????????????????????? ough......I really can't think of any dynamic with a human that Threepio has where he'll rib right back, so to speak, and it just. Fascinates me. I want so much more about them, especially since I'm sure they worked closely together since Threepio has his spy network and Poe seems to oversee a little bit their other spy network, on top of being (somehow) a spy himself.

[mangohobbit]

Soap and the artist

(Soap x y/n)(civilian)...I think that's how it goes? I'm still learning fanfiction language 😅😅

Authors note: So this is my first fanfiction ever and I am honestly terrified of posting it but FUCK IT! I have seen various styles for fanfic writing but I was really bad in trying to copy that so I just went with what I was most comfortable with.

-Just a few little notes before you get started so you aren't completely lost. 1) Setting is wherever you would like. The 141 are in a foreign country to their own so have fun with it. (make one up if you want. I kept it vague so you could use your imagination although I am descriptive on the setting being a mountainous region) 2) Anything italicized means you're speaking in another language (again, have fun with it) 3) I hope my jumping between perspectives is alright? Again, this is my first fanfic and I'm still getting used to this writing style so please bear with me 😅 Enjoy 🥰

(P.S : No NSFW warning....for now. This will be a slow burn. Just alot of flirting and tension)

Word count: 2820

Chapter 1: Sunbeams

The late afternoon air was setting in with an unfamiliar peace that Johnny had not felt in some time. It had also been awhile since he smelt the air of a new base. Everything about this place smelled of new. New walls, new floors, new paint, new everything other than his team that now walked its halls. His team of the 141 had been assigned for the training of some soldiers in the province of some small country that never came onto his rader from how small and insignificant it was. He thought it a shame that he had never heard of such a place considering he had been all over the world at this point. He also thought it a shame because of how beautiful it was. Although he had only seen the military airport and the roads that lead to the base which didn’t lead to any city, town, or village; only some spread out farms, the land was lush and green and the climate cool for the season; which seemed to be spring. He did see the outline to town from a distance once he was on the base. Once he had unpacked what he needed, him, and Gaz decided to explore the new place together. Ghost locked himself in his room for some much needed sleep as he tended to be a bad sleeper on plane rides. “I think the hairs on my nostrils are vaporizing from the smell of new paint,” Gaz rubbed his nose. 

“We’ve smelled our own funk and of others for so long that this is definitely a weird whiff for our noses,” Johnny laughed. 

“Kinda smells like a fresh mopped shopping center doesn’t it?” Gaz chuckled.

“Yeah,” Johnny laughed back at the comparison. 

The two friends found themselves on a balcony outside a small communal lounge area on the second floor. Underneath them was an open dirt field where some thirty young, newly appointed soldiers all lined up in rows and columns listening to their commanding officer give them some sort of speech. Majority were some pretty young lads. Looking at them made Johnny reminisce about his first few years in the military. He honestly wasn’t that much older than those boys down there but he wasn’t considered a “young adult” anymore and those years now seemed so far away with everything that he has seen and experienced. 

From this balcony is where he could see the outline of the town that seemed to sit by the river that the base sat next to as well. The area that the base was on was where the river expanded itself into some small marsh lands covered by a variety of tall grass, small bush, and tree’s. Rising all around them were some majestic mountains that loomed over them from all angles. The familiar views of long expanded valley’s made him nostalgic for his homeland. It was rather uncanny how alike the landscape looked from the views he saw growing up. 

“Why do you think Price accepted this assignment?” Johnny asked. “We’ve never been trainers or mentors before.

“Perhaps the world is finally at peace for once and the captain just wanted to keep us busy,” Gaz replied. “But knowing Laswell, this whole thing reeks of a deeper plot.”

“You think the captain and Laswell have another reason for us to be here?”

“Wouldn’t be surprised Soap. Would you?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time I was told one thing only to be saddled with another…and another,” he leaned against the railing, letting his elbows hold him up. 

“The plot will eventually thicken. Just you wait,” Gaz positioned himself in the same way as well. 

“Maybe we’re here for good reason?” Johnny wondered.

“Ready to be someone’s knight in shining armor Soap? Gaz released a small snort. 

“More like someone’s dog. Ready to fetch the ball.” Johnny sighed. 

“Come on Soap, normally Ghost is the pessimist.”

“Agh, you’re right. I think I’m just tired from the flight,” Johnny huffed. 

“You still have some time to rest up. Price said we wouldn’t be properly introduced until tomorrow morning,” Gaz patted his friends back. 

The two men started their route back to the barracks when they passed by the security office. Price was in there talking back and forth with an officer. Johnny and Gaz were able to catch what the conversation was about. 

“Alright I’ll have someone check out the sensor,” Price began to walk out the door when he spotted two of own lingering outside. 

“Everything alright Captain?” Gaz asked

“Security has just informed me that a motion sensor has been triggered,” he informed his boys about the alarm. 

“Couldn’t it just be an animal?” Johnny reasoned.

“I thought that too but the sensor is designed to go off only when anything that weighs more than a hundred pounds passes by it. We should check it out either way. This place is new and it already has some heads turning our way,” the captain crossed his arms. 

That was when Johnny knew Gaz was right about something more than training some new armed recruits was their purpose for being here. “We’re already up and dressed captain so we’ll go ahead and take a look at it,” Johnny looked to his crewmate. 

“Gear up and go find out what it was then. It was the northmost sensor, number T110.” the captain let them know. “Leave in five minutes and give me a radio check when you reach it,” Price headed back towards his new office.  

Geared up and armed the two soldiers headed towards the sensor. They were going in blind to this not only because they didn’t know what tripped the sensor but also they didn’t know the lay of the land just yet. They knew which direction of the base's perimeter was north but they came up to two others before coming up to the right one. It had a small light that was blinking red. It wasn’t hard to see that the place was disturbed…by a human. Clear footprints came from the fences direction and headed out towards the river. There was a clear path where the footprints were stamped on. Seemed to be a frequently used forest path to get to the river banks. 

“Let’s see if our guest is still here?” Johnny followed the path while Gaz walked from behind. To get to the river it was a slight downhill in the land with small curves that avoided the tree’s.

“These are some small prints Soap. It’s not like there are hardy boots or anything,” Gaz took note of the pattern of the prints which looked more like sneakers. 

“You’re right,” Johnny replied. “Maybe some local kids getting to their regular spot. We should be ready to not look intimidating if these are just local civilians,” Johnny began to speak quietly as they got near the riverbank. 

“Copy that,” Gaz nodded. 

The sounds of the flowing water started to get louder and louder as they tracked the footprints. A giant boulder crushed between two large trees blocked their sight of the river which was now in view. They could hear some shuffling going around the other side of the large chunk of rock. The two men put their backs and eyed one another in silence, giving each other hand signals on how they were going to approach this. Just as they were about to creep to the other side, the sudden bark of a dog that jumped in front of them made the two men flinch. 

“Shit,” Johnny cursed. 

“Who’s behind there!” 

Johnny’s mind did a mental gasp at the sound of a woman’s voice. It was speaking in the native tongue of course.

“Oli, get back here!”

“Recall your dog miss! Gaz shouted. “We’re from the base!” The woman’s voice shouted for her dog once more and the medium sized mutt retreated back to its owner in a huff. 

“We’re going to walk out! Don’t move an inch!” Johnny commanded; although he didn’t know if the person could understand him in the first place. It was a hunch at the very least since the dog did back up once its name was called when Gaz told the mystery intruder to do so. 

“You can come out now,” The voice spoke in English this time with a slight accent. 

Soap nodded his head forward for Gaz to follow him around the boulder. With their guns up they slowly crept into the view of the stranger standing within the shallows of the river. With your overalls rolled up to your knees and the sun rays that peeked through the tree’s which created a gold halo around your silhouette, Johnny was left speechless at the sight of you.

“I’m not armed…unless you count this small stone,” you held up her arms decorated in an array of beaded bracelets while holding the stone you warned them about. 

“What’s in the bag?” Johnny pointed out the stuffed canvas messenger bag on the ground. 

“Paint supplies,” you replied. 

Johnny approached the bag, lifted its flap, then revealed the said paint supplies. He rummaged around just in case. You did not like that as she yelled at him to keep his hands out of it.  

“You do know you are trespassing here, miss?” Gaz questioned you. 

“Yeah well up until eight months ago this place was open to everyone,” you had an angry tone to your voice. The stare of annoyance in your eyes gave Johnny a slight shiver up his spine. 

He didn’t have to be so aggressive in looking through your things. Damn those pretty blue eyes that looked up at you as your hands were up in the air so as to not provoke them. They were holding some pretty big guns at you and your dog. Luckily your furry companion was behaving for once and listening to your command of staying still, but they were ready to pounce at any time now. 

“Please don’t hurt my dog,” you said to the soldiers. 

“What’s his name?” The soldier with the silly mohawk asked you. 

“Oli,” you responded. “He’s just cautious but he’s nice if you approach him slowly…and not sneak from behind,” you said the last part in a scoff. The mohawk guy noticed and smiled a crooked grin your way. Damn he’s cute, you bit your tongue. The soldier carefully extended his hand to your dog with some soft words of encouragement to smell him. 

“Oli, safe,” you said to your dog. Oli yapped a happy bark and jumped onto the soldier’s chest with an unstoppable wagging tail which made their bottom wiggle back and forth. 

“Oh what a good dog you are,” the mohawk guy said in the usual “happy that a dog is happy” kind of voice. 

The other soldier with the baseball cap also crouched down to pet Oli with a smile. It put you at ease that Oli was calm and happy with them around. “Can I put my hands down now?” you asked. 

“Yes, miss,” the baseball-capped soldier said.

With your arms now resting you headed back to the riverbank. On the sand of the bank you unloaded your pockets of different stones. “That’s all I have, I swear.”

“Even though you’re not an armed threat you still haven’t answered what you’re doing here,” mohawk guy questioned you. 

“You know normally introducing yourself with your name is the polite thing to do. Or do they not do that sort of thing anymore around the world,” you jested. 

“You’re the one on our side of the fence so why don’t you start with introductions. What’s your name miss?”

Dick. Why did he have to be a cute dick. “I’m (Y/N) , I live in the town that overlooks that ugly thing,” you pointed at the gray blocks that made up the military base. 

“I take it you’re not a fan of your new neighbors?” Mohawk asked. 

“It would’ve been nice to not have it block my spot. Maybe if you built it not here then I wouldn’t mind it so much. I think it would look great in the mountains…on the other side,” you jested again.

"Your spot?” Mohawk asked. 

“Yes my spot, Mohawk! I’ve been coming here since I could walk and that damn fence isn’t going to stop me!”

Those cute angry eyes were definitely going to be the death of him. Calm yourself Johnny. A pair of batting lashes shouldn’t put your defenses down. But oh how he wanted to. 

“Oh, you already gave me a nickname?” 

“Well it’s not like YOU introduced yourself or your friend Baseball Cap over here,” you put your hands on your hips. 

“I’m Sergeant MacTavish and this is Sergeant Garrick,” he finally introduced himself. 

“Well Sergeant, if you’ll excuse me I have some business to attend to before I lose the light,” you approached your bag. Taking out your collapsible easel, you unclipped it and tried to position it in the right direction. 

“No miss you cannot make camp here,” MacTavish was about to reach for your easel when you swatted at his hand with a loud smack. “Hey!” he yapped. You could hear his friend smile with a chuckle. 

“I’m not setting up camp. Don’t you know an easel when you see it, soldier? I’m going to paint. Now if you will, I would appreciate some silence,” you only continued doing your usual set up. 

Johnny wasn’t about to deny that he was both surprised and slightly turned on from the hand smack you placed on the back of his hand. Not too often does he meet many people with such fearlessness. Your determination was admirable but he had a job to do and you weren’t supposed to be here. He backed away from you and came up to Gaz with a whisper. 

“So how do you want to play this?” Gaz asked. 

“Well she’s not a threat but she can’t be here,” Johnny pointed out. Peering over his shoulder he saw how you carefully set up her easel which transformed into a mini table on the side and took several other tools out. A jar of water, a pouch full of paint brushes, and a small palette with some nice looking paints. Looking at the tools brought the soldier back to his elementary art classroom. It used to be his favorite subject. His art teacher was the only one who cared about his doodles and scribbles. She would even hang her favorite ones on the wall. Nostalgia from a better time in his life flooded his mind. He felt bad having to move someone like you who just wanted her creative space back. With a huff and grunt he turned to Gaz. “You go Gaz, I’ll stay behind and wait for her to finish. It’s almost dark anyways,” Johnny sighed. 

“You’re going to let her stay?” Gaz asked. 

“Yeah, just head back. I’ll radio Price in a sec to let him know.”

“It’s your head Soap,” Gaz snickered. 

“I know,” Johnny huffed. 

“Have a goodnight miss,” Gaz said his goodbyes. “Goodnight Oli,” he patted your dog one last time before heading back and disappearing behind the tree’s.

“So you’re going to babysit me?” You jeered.  

“I’m no monster to disturb a creative mind. Plus, I don’t feel right leaving a damsel in the middle of nowhere when it’ll be getting dark soon,” Mohawk got himself comfortable on a stone. 

“How noble of you, Mohawk,” you huffed at the man. “Suit yourself,” you hunched your shoulders. Unbothered by the results. As long as you got to paint, all was good. Though, you wish you didn’t have to have a huge burly, mohawked, military dude breath down your neck. Cute for sure, but annoying nonetheless. 

As much as Johnny tried to admire the serenity of the location, which had much to look at in nature, he couldn’t help looking at you.  You were barefoot with your toes curled in the sand. Your back stood as straight as an oak. Your gaze aimed for the tree’s to the south of the riverbank. A landscape that was now disturbed by what you described as “those ugly things” which still left a laugh in Johnny’s chest. Your focus is what he couldn’t stop looking at the most. Christ was it mesmerizing to see how your eyes pierced through the landscape in trying to capture your little painting. You began to quickly work on what he could only describe as the best bloody sunset landscape he had ever seen. The soft pinks and purples were so similar to the real thing. 

“Y-you’re really talented,” he was finally able to get a compliment out of his mouth. 

In an elegant turn of your head the military man was captured by your stare. He gulped at your glare. “Thank you,” you smiled.