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mimi-vya · 4 months

Text

Sleepless Night

Tighnari x Sleepdrunk/Reader

You sighed in annoyance pulling your hair out of your scalp.

“I don’t get it! Well no…I do but still…” You grumbled in annoyance.

Your back hurt, your hands and wrist hurt from all the sitting and writing trying to cramp for your upcoming test. The Akademyia class you were in had a upcoming test which was…tomorrow…and it late night.

“I should have studied earlier…I shouldn’t have fallen asleep earlier…”

You groaned on your desk defeated, your eyes felt so tired that they felt like they were gonna close at any minute. Not to mention you had a massive headache that wouldn’t go away for the life of you.

“Should make more coffee…” You tiredly said and got up only to stumble on your desk and drop all your equipment and papers on the floor.

“Not again…” You mumbled not when your heard a laugh across the room near your door. You jolted and looked up to see who it was.

“T-tighnari!” You muttered out face turning red.

“Relax, here I’ll help you.” He offered his help.

“No! It’s okay! Just regular clumsy me…” You stated.

“Cute…” He muttered but you were unable to catch him.

“Pardon?” You asked politely.

“Nothing.” He simply said with a slight smile that turned into a smirk after seeing your confused expression.

“Are you still studying?” He asked looking over your table.

“A-ah yeah…” He picked up your paper and placed them down your desk and you did the same too.

“Thank you…well I need to go-!” You started to try and walk off but Tighnari’s hand stopped you.

“Where are you going?”

“Uh…I need to uhh make coffee…”

“Didn’t you just make a cup earlier?”

“N-no…”

He then sighed, “If you’re going to lie, at least try and sound convincing and cover up the fact that your cup is right here.” He scolded grabbing my cup from my desk with a hand on his hip.

“Haha…uhh Karkata made that for drinking…”

“For who? You or Karkata?” He asked with a slight smile.

“Karkata…” You tried lying but there was no use.

“I don’t think Karkata can drink that type of thing.” He said in tone like he was offended a bit by your horrible lie, who were you kidding nobody would fall for that lie maybe a child but Tighnari…

“Cute you thought I would fall for it or no?” He hummed.

“N-no!” You muttered out but in reality you were hoping he bought your terrible lie.

“Uh huh.”

“Okay fine…Karkata didn’t make it…I did…”

He hummed as he placed the cup down.

“Lying is bad Y/n.” He scolded like he was saying it to a child.

“I know, I know…”

“Then why did you lie?”

“W-well- because! You would stop me if I made another cup of coffee right?”

“Maybe? But now that you lied, yes.”

“H-huh! That’s not fair!”

“Fair to me, you’re the one who lied with a terrible lie to. Did Cyno teach you that?”

“No…he would probably say, “Nah, I lied because it brewed in my head like my coffee…that makes no sense…okay maybe I can’t copy his jokes but still..”

Tighnari sighed heavily, “Well it was…alright…” Now he lied, it was bad but he couldn’t say that to you.

“Just admit it’s bad…or else you’re the one who’s lying now…” You replied making Tighnari’s scoff.

“Fine it’s bad. Rather tell the truth then lie I guess in this situation. Anyways out of track.” He said then continued. And you stood there not even listening much since your head was hurting more now but then, you felt the pain in your head get worse causing you to lose balance and stumble but Tighnari’s arms were there to catch you.

“Woah, be careful. Are you okay?” He asked concern now written all over his face.

“I’m okay…just a bit dizzy…” You winced in pain a bit.

“Is your head hurting?”

You stood there silent taking in his scent finally realizing you’re resting your head on Tighnari’s chest causing you to retract back.

“Ah sorry-no no! I’m okay just a bit tired that’s all!” You tried to reassure pulling away from his embrace as Tighnari let’s go almost hesitantly.

“Tired.” He scoffed. “Your face is paler now than before.”

“I’m fine…”

“Stop lying you idiot! You aren’t fine.” He finally snapped.

“Do you think not sleeping is going to help you get a higher score on your test?” He yelled.

You stood there not knowing what to say…

“Look Tighnari…please don’t yell…” You said with a frown, your eyes were so tired.

He then gently grabbed your head. “I’m sorry…I just…when you do things like this…stupid things like this, I can’t help but worry! You’ve been locked in your room the whole time today. You didn’t even bother to eat until Collei or I came to your room to give you something…”

“I know..but I promise I’m okay Nari…” You sleepily said you were less jumpy than before hand. Maybe it was his relaxing scent..? You go up to him and place your head on his chest again.

Giggling, “Hehe so soft…so warm…” you muttered then looking at him with a sweet and cute look on your face.

Tighnari only looked at you with a blank face but then it turned a bit red and he started to frown.

“Don’t say things like that with that kind of face…” He muttered out.

“Why? It’s true. You’re so warm and soft…and I like it…sometimes it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside that I-!” Tighnari quickly covered your mouth with his gloved hand shutting you up.

“Shhh…someone is here.”

“Hmm?” You hummed tiredly and gently removed his hand off.

“Who?”

“Probably one of the forest rangers.”

You weren’t listening much and stared at his lips while he talked but you were so out of it now. Before you knew it, you were leaning in towards his lips.

“Hey are you even listening-?!” He asked before he was met with a tired “hmm?”

Before he knew what was happening your lips were slightly touching while his breath hitched a bit.

You two stood there looking at each other and you took the first move and closed your eyes and kissed him. His lips were a bit soft and you didn’t see the shock expression on his face. You stood there kissing him and after he processed what was happening. He didn’t realize when he started kissing you back.

“Master Tighnari where are you…?” A young girl called out, it was Collei. “Ohh maybe he’s with Y/n?” She told herself you and Tighnari could hear her footsteps get closer and closer.

You only huffed out of breathe when Tighnari pulled you away.

“Y/n, have you seen Master Tighnari- oh there you are Master!”

“C-Collei, is something the matter?”

She only looked at you two and how close you were to each other.

“Am I…uh interpreting something…?” She asked with her innocent look.

“Nope, go ahead Collei. Y/n here was just being stubborn as ever to go get some rest anyways mind that, is there something you need?”

“Ah okay well, I wanted to ask if you saw if anyone took—?” She continued but you didn’t put any mind on it but only looked at the hand he has on your shoulder.

Still drowsy with sleepiness, you were taken in by his scent while looking at his lips again, imagining again to kiss them.

You got up in the middle of their conversation and tippy toed to Tighnari’s face aiming for his lips once more.

Tighnari was quick to catch you and blocked your lips with his gloved hand with a panicked but frustrated expression.

“What are you doing!” He whispered in your ear as Collei rambled about something of hers that was missing and saw as well however dense about what you were trying to do.

He proceeded to flick your forehead.

“Don’t lean into me, I know you’re tired but there’s a bed right there. Anyways, I think I saw Amir taking to the storage room. Look for it tomorrow alright? It’s already getting late and I don’t want you staying up late okay? It’s bad for you.”

“I know I know…I’m just worried about it…” She muttered softly.

“I’ll help you look for tomorrow okay? Now off to bed.”

“Okay…goodnight Master Tighnari and Y/n!”

“Goodnight Collei.” Tighnari sighed as you waved her a sloppy goodbye.

After Collei left Tighnari only looked away from you and pinched his nose temple, his eyebrows frowning.

“What were you thinking?! What if she walked in and saw us huh? And what’s with you all of sudden? This is why lack of sleep causes problems! If it were someone else they might have taken advantage of you or get upset with you!” He scolded as he ignored most of his lecture and only stared at his lips once again.

“Hey! You aren’t listening again…” His tongue clicked with annoyance with a frustrated look on his eye.

Once again you only leaned it and kissed him so needly. Pushing your lips into his causing him to stumble and fall to the ground with you on top of him. You pulled away and whispered, “I need more…” While gave in with a sign and started kissing you back.

You only looked at him after you two finally pulled away, his face was beyond red. His ears were now down like a sad puppy. By the looks of it, he seemed embarrassed to be seen like this.

You only grinned in a teasing manner and grabbed his ears still sleepy.

“What? Do you not want me to see you like this?”

He didn’t say anything but his ears twitched making you giggle.

You had enough fun and were too tired to tease him further.

You got off him as he also got up on his feet, still not making eye contact with you. That’s when you grabbed his hand.

“Hey what are you doing-!”

You dragged him to your bed as you both landed on your bed, him wrapped around your arms, softly embracing him.

“Wait- I’m too heavy-!”

“No…” You whispered, “I’ll rest if you stay with me…”

Finally giving in, “Alright you win.” You then mumbled, “I love you…” And quickly fell asleep leaving a dumbfounded but smiling Tighnari.

“Goodnight, I love you too…”

#tighnari #tighnari x reader #tighnari x you #genshin fluff #genshin impact #i love him 😭😭😭#genshin fanfic

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shankschewtoy · 1 year

Note

Yo Evou!! I hath returned, my idea for this time is;

How would the monster trio, and whoever else you would like to add, react to you staying up for around 48 hours?

Basically we’re all sleep deprived, so our judgement is impaired and you get more clumsy and all that. And basic tasks become harder too.

(I’m doing it right now, so if there’s spelling/grammar mistakes, that’s why 😉😉)

Here’s a pic of my dog btw, his name is Shanks funnily enough!

Anyways take care of yourself!! 💟💟💟

a/n - your dog is absolutely ADORABLE 😭💜💜 important question tho- (is he missing an arm?)

Warnings ⚠️ - crack, g/n reader

- oh he can stay awake for literally forever because- well- he’s Luffy 💀 but he’s not normal ok? So when you stay up it’s a whole different story

- it’s hour 48, and you were way past the point of drinking tea or coffee. The dark circles under your eyes were that of Law’s, no- probably worse 💀

- you could barely keep your eyes open, and holy shit going down the stairs was dangerous asf 😭 i pray for your safety

- “Hey y/n!!! Can you make me one of sanji’s sandwiches from yesterday? I’m soooo hungry :)”

- the way you turned around and even Luffy was shocked, (you looked like pre-timeskip law college drunk, missing an assignment, drank 10 cups of coffee law)

- “WHOA-! Uh- y/n…. Are you ok?”

- “yeah mhm! Totallyyyyyy fine 👍”

- no you’re not fine.

- you looked in the fridge to see a couple extra sandwiches, and you tried to reach inside and grab it. But your depth perception was so off that you were I think a foot away from grabbing it 💀

- luffy was a saint, waiting as patiently as he could as he watched you struggle and fall asleep a couple times as you tried to grab a sandwich

- when you finally grabbed it, cutting open the paper wrapping was going to be…. A rollercoaster-

- grabbing the scissors, you literally almost sliced one of your fingers off multiple times, you had Luffy looking like this right in front of you

- man is scared for your safety. But he still let you struggle until you finally got it 😭 when you slowly handed it to him, he made you sit down and eat the sandwich

- man was literally trying to shove it all in your mouth because he thought you were just low on meat (he thinks it’s meat itself is a vitamin)

- “Y/n! Open your mouth wider!”

- *snoring*

- “DON’T FALL ASLEEP WHILE EATING I HAVEN’T TAUGHT YOU HOW TO DO THAT YET!”

- in the end, nami slapped him and made him go help you upstairs to get some much needed rest, and Luffy hugs along with it :)

- the fact that you can stay up that long is amazing to this man, and without a single nap? Damn that’s admirable 😂

- staying up for that long comes with consequences though, and they were hitting… HARD.

- “Y/n where did you go?” -zoro

- you were in front of him the whole time he just got lost and went the other way 💀

- “here..”

- you were on top of the stairs, slowly making your way down, taking wobbly steps and barely being able to hold onto the rails

- he could see that you were about to fall but the dude was just confused as to why you looked like you hadn’t slept in years

- sure enough, you skipped a step and started to fall down, skidding down the wooden steps as zoro stared like an idiot

- didn’t even catch you 💀💀💀💀 what a loser (jk)

- you fell asleep immediately after you fell in front of him, and man was so confused

- “Are you sleeping?”

- no y/n’s not sleeping, WHAT DO YOU THINK FUCKING MOSSHEAD???

- started poking you and literally trying to check if you were sleeping or not 💀 but don’t worry! He actually carried you to bed and just watched over you, even put the covers over you too 👍

- took the day off from training to make sure you were ok- because you scared the mosshead

- if there’s a time Sanji has even let you stay up this long it’s this time- this guy KNOWS mental health and sleep is super important. He’d totally make you sleep at a decent time

- but this was an exception, you had a ton of stuff to do around the thousand sunny, and the fights seemed to never end on the island you went to with nami

- when you got back oh god you looked terrible 😭 disheveled to say the least

- you were dying. Dying

- “Y/n! Welcome ba-“ HORSE WHEEZING GASP

- man had a heart attack, those dark circles sent him to the all blue and back 💀💀💀

- wasted no time in forcing you to drink water and do all your tasks for you, don’t worry, pervy cook’s on it 💪

- “Y/n, do you need some more tea? I’ll go and buy more of your favorite!”

- “Sanji- that island is… hell”

- “I would gladly go to hell for you my love”

- everyone needs someone like Sanji 💜

a/n - love anime’s ideas because I’m laughing as I’m writing them like an idiot

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superstar-nan · 5 months

Text

Fight Tooth and Nail: Ch 4 — Day 2

Summary: Michael takes you home and you have a long chat about what the heck is going on around here

Words: 5,077

Fun stuff: Descriptions of unusual self harm from a child, mention of child murder, graphic descriptions of undead bodies, canon typical violence, and mild swearing. Michael heavy chapter; he's still sassy and you're annoyed by it.

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You barely even registered when you were done vomiting your guts out. Your head was lead, your fingers and toes were tingling strangely. The room was spinning again, and you felt out of yourself. Michael was saying something you didn’t catch, his voice startled and raspy, and looking at his face made you retch again.

The ringing in your ears waned and you could understand Michael, “Oh, gross! ” You wished you could go back to not understanding Michael.

You looked down. The trashcan was made of crossed wire, so your vomit leaked out and onto the floor. Despite how it really was gross, you still couldn’t smell it over the spoiled rot in the room. You clumsily kicked the trashcan away from you (coincidentally, toward Michael, who scooted away from it), and stumbled back against the wall.

It was strange, knowing that you were out of it but not knowing what to do about it. Everything was just a bit out of reach, even the decayed hand snapping in front of your face.

“Hey, you okay?” He didn’t sound worried, only slightly impatient with his typical drone.

You swatted his hand away, “I’m—”

“ Shh! ” That time, you really were talking loud, but you didn’t realize that he was quiet until he shushed you.

“I’m fine.” You looked at the panel. Did they all need to be rebooted? Or none of them?

“Really?” Why was his voice like low, buzzing wasps? Just another thing to add to the list of unsettling things about him. “Because you’re tapping the ‘ reboot all ’ option over and over again.”

Oh. You were doing that. “I’m making it easy for myself.”

Your chin was pulled up. When did Michael get in front of you? He tilted your head from side to side, and you didn’t fight his whims. At this closeness, you couldn’t avoid looking at him, and it gave you a visceral chill traveling from the base of your spine up your back. Though peculiarly, you didn’t want to avoid looking at him. His features held a grip of morbid curiosity over you, like watching something you were forbidden to see—or rather, that was forbidden to exist. The more you looked at him, the less unpleasant he looked. Not that he wasn’t still a little horrifying to look at, but his features held an... odd, haunted allure to it. You had the sudden impulse to hold his face in your hands, to brush your thumbs lightly along the death under his abyssal eyes, and to know the grim reaper that wouldn’t take him. Would he feel it? Can he still feel?

The corpse cursed under his breath, “Your pupils are different sizes. You probably have a concussion.”

Ah. Maybe that was why you were getting poetic and strange impulses. “I’m probably fine.” You retorted, grabbing his wrist. He let you go, but he didn’t look convinced.

“Can you tell me what year it is?” He asked.

“Uh,” Come on, you knew this. “2023? 2022? No wait, 2015.”

“Yeah, give me that,” He swiped the control panel from you long before you even knew it left your hands. Suddenly, a cold, wet gas-station soda cup replaced it. “Don’t fall asleep.”

You took a long sip and almost choked on it, “It tastes like how you smell.”

Michael stiffened. When did he get back to his desk?

You kept drinking anyway. Despite the taste, the cool liquid felt good on your bruised throat. Your head lolled to the side, facing the door. You should have been dead. Multiple times now. That thing —the monster would have killed you twice over if it wasn’t for someone else being there, someone who knew what was going on.

What the hell was going on? Was your best friend wrapped up in this crazy place too? Also, why was there a figure in the doorway?

For a moment that was both an eternity and nothing at all, you thought it was the animatronic and you could have screamed. It wasn’t, though. It was too skinny, but just as tall. You couldn’t focus right at first, but when you did, you noticed it wasn’t skinny or tall at all. It was a child. Small and shrouded in darkness; they couldn’t have been older than eight. Their wild brown locks obscured most of their face, and little fingers touched the edge of the door frame.

You smiled and waved at them.

They waved back, though you couldn’t if they smiled through the shadows. You wanted to ask them their name or if they were lost, but in a vague moment of clarity, you realized that a child shouldn’t be here. Your head started to pound, or was that your heart? The child lifted up a toy phone—the same one the animatronic fooled you with. You opened your mouth to speak, but you couldn’t make a noise. Just like when you were being choked.

The child stabbed themselves in the chest with the phone.

Red—Flashing—Blaring—Red—Flashing—Blaring—

Was it blood? No, the child was gone. Michael was swearing, scrambling across the different cameras. You grabbed the panel and quickly restarted the ventilation. The corpse tried to swipe it back from you, but you pulled away just in time.

“I got it,” You said.

Michael opened his mouth to argue, but his eyes couldn’t tear from the cameras for long. Whatever argument he had for you was lost the moment he returned his focus, frantically swapping through screens. You restarted the audio, and couldn’t stop yourself from looking at the cameras. Not that you could make out the monster animatronic if you tried. You didn’t have the strength to consider why it was so good at hiding from the cameras. Or why it was so good at hunting you.

Your eyes burned when you blinked. You dragged your focus to the clock. 5:47. You couldn’t tell if the night was gone too quickly or not gone quickly enough. You bit your lower lip. Without any idea of what happened to your best friend, you decided the night was gone too quickly. It was unfair.

“What time is your shift over?” Even though your voice was a whisper, it still sounded torn to shreds. You rubbed your throat. It didn’t hurt now, but you knew it would soon. Damned rotted bunny.

Sallow eyes flicked to you and back to the cams just as quickly as you leaned on the back of his chair, “You’re cognizant now?”

You tilted your head from side-to-side, testing the pain in your head. Yep, it was still painful; throbbing, dull and heavy. Though it was difficult to tell how cognizant you were, since the whole night had been a nightmare straight out of a terrible horror movie. You decided to flick the back of Michael’s ear in response. It was spongy to the touch.

Michael half-heartedly swatted at your fingers, but couldn’t keep his hands away from the cameras for long, “Six.”

You swallowed, which was functionally more difficult than usual. You restarted the cameras. “What time does the other security guard get here?”

“Six.”

How inconvenient. You restarted ventilation. “The last security guard left fifteen minutes before you came.”

“If I did that, I would die.”

He was right, but he didn’t have to be so sardonic about it. Not when you were almost killed twice, not when your best friend was still missing, and not when your only clue was in the hands of a... Wait, the kid had the toy phone just a second ago, but you shattered it early. Were you dreaming? Hallucinating? Obviously, you were...

“There was a kid here...” You mentioned, anyway.

“You were dreaming,” Even though you came to the same conclusion, you didn’t like how dismissive the corpse was.

“I didn’t fall asleep,” You said while rebooting the audio.

“Then you were hallucinating,” He said, also preoccupied with swiping and selecting and switching and searching.

You wanted to hit him again. You bit your lip.

Michael’s eyes flicked to you for a fraction of a moment before returning to the cameras. You could only imagine how chaotic you must’ve looked: body shaking with fatigue, eyes red from crying and exhaustion, lips chapped from vomiting, and you didn’t even want to know if the bruise around your neck formed yet. However you looked, apparently it was pitiful enough to make the corpse sigh and say, “The ventilation in this place—something in the air, makes people see things.”

Very briefly, you wondered if the whole night was just some gas-induced nightmare. God, you wished it was.

You rebooted the ventilation. It didn’t need it, but you did it anyway.

As you watched the cams flick through one and the next and the next, you tried to muster the motivation to attempt one last search, to do one last sweep of the place for your best friend’s phone even if it was only with your eyes on the cams. But even if there wasn’t a seven-foot tall monster of a robot hunting you for sport, you didn’t have the life to keep searching. You put your hand in your pocket and felt something smooth and cool. Your best friend’s wrist watch. You wanted to cry, but you didn’t have the life for that either.

Pushing through the exhaustion and misery, you willed yourself to look for the rotted animatronic. You didn’t care how tired you were or how broken you felt, you had to find it. You had to. If only to pour every last emotion caving in your chest into hatred, to point it outward so it at least wasn’t in you. You didn’t follow Michael’s eyes, you wanted to find it on your own.

You found it, but not through perception or wit and that burned you. The rotted, foul thing was standing right where it had been when the night started. As if it was a being with the cognizance to deceive the day shift, and by now you would be a fool to believe it wasn’t.

You were startled by an alarm going off. You quickly checked the panel, but it wasn’t yours. Instead, the alarm was the sound of a grandfather clock, and Michael’s phone was lighting up. 6:00 AM. You could’ve thrown confetti.

A bright light blinded you briefly from outside the office. It was the day shift security guard.

“Hey, Mike. Just finishing... Hi?” He said, once his eyes laid on you.

“Hi,” You replied. Michael stood up, shuffling his things. You didn’t know when, but Michael had slipped on a black face mask, hiding his more grotesque features.

“Uh, who are you?” Oh yeah, you were doing something illegal.

You looped an arm around Michael’s, leaning your body into his cold lifeless one, and he stiffened, “Michael’s my boyfriend. I’m just here to pick him up.” As you leaned into him, you were hit with a waft of spoiled cake that you promptly ignored.

“You’re, uh—to him ?” The guard seemed to be trying not to offend either of you, but it was very obvious he was shocked Michael pulled you. Good to know that even in your disheveled state you were still a few leagues above a zombie.

“Yep. Ready to go—” Your voice caught in your throat when you looked at Michael. His hollowed eyes bore into you with an unknowable emotion. You were reminded of his haunting allure you noted earlier, but fleetingly it was just haunting enough to frighten you, a small flip upturning your stomach. He didn’t take his eyes off of you even as you swallowed and managed to croak out, “ Sweetie? ”

It was deadly silent. Why didn’t the animatronic murder you when it had the chance?

“Yeah, I’m ready.” Thank god. He played along.

You gave the dayshift guard a small wave and a smile, holding Michael’s hand as you left the god-forsaken horror attraction. His flesh was cold to the touch and depressed under the pressure of your fingertips. You ignored the more visceral flip in your stomach at the realization you were touching bone.

The moment the door closed behind you, Michael swiped his hand back, but you were filled with too much relief to be offended. The air was clean, healthy —something you didn’t know you desperately needed until your lungs were filled with vitality. You felt drunk on the morning rays of light and colors that weren’t dull greens and browns. You hadn’t realized you were in hell until earth felt like heaven.

You lowered your eyes after you were able to breathe. Michael was already walking, so you followed him and said, “Thanks.” You meant it for more than pretending to be your boyfriend

“No problem,” He said, and it was strange hearing his (brittish) voice in something other than a whisper. It was raspy and scarred low but still held weight. Like a smooth narrator who had his voice shredded in a cheese grater. “You’re actually going to give me a ride home, though. The bus takes forever.”

You wondered if it was the wait or the staring from other passengers that he wanted to avoid, “Okay, sure. But I also actually need a place to stay.”

He stopped and stared at you. For the first time, you could finally discern his expression clearly. Annoyed disbelief.

You gave him your best innocent smile, which might have ended up a grimace with how exhausted you were, “I thought I’d only stay one night so I didn’t book a hotel.”

He rolled his eyes (something that was fascinating to watch since his eyes were hollowed out voids), turned around and resumed walking. That wasn’t a no. You jogged to match pace with him and when you reached him, he held out his hand. You stared at it, before Michael snapped you out of your stupor, “The keys.”

“You want to drive?”

“You’re sleep deprived, had a concussion, and look like you might fall over.” His hollow eyes scrolled you up and down briefly as he walked.

In a more stable and coherent state, you might have been offended and argued with him. Though, if you had the strength to argue, you had the strength to drive. You put the keys in his hand.

The drive to Michael’s place passed in a blur. Scenery melted across your window as you dully pressed your arm against it, your face resting in the crook of your elbow. Your muscles felt atrophied into the passenger’s seat, your mind was numbed to a dull buzz, you stared out the window and saw nothing, and after all of the impossible things and complicated mysteries that needed explaining, you could only think collapsing into bed. Your eyes were lidded and your breathing was slow. The car’s drone was just ambient enough to calm your fused mind. The relief was enough to make you sigh.

It was only when the car came to a stop that you realized you were half asleep. Michael wordlessly got out of the car, closing the door with enough sound to wake you up completely, and you followed him mindlessly.

You hardly had the energy to take in your surroundings, but even exhaustion wasn’t enough to keep you from wondering how a corpse lived. The answer? Incredibly boring. His flat was small, just enough room for one person, and minimally decorated. No pictures, no aesthetics or ornaments, no personal touch—you might as well have been in a stock photo if it wasn’t slightly messy.

Michael dropped his backpack on the bills scattered across his small dining room table. He took off his mask and hat, his dark brown hair ruffled slightly, and tossed them on the table as well. As he opened the fridge he pointed nonchalantly to the bedroom door.

“Shower’s on the right.”

You guessed that meant you needed a shower.

Michael’s bedroom had slightly more personality to it, emphasis on slightly. A few pieces of clothing were strewn about the floor, the bed was rushedly made, and empty soda cans piled in the trash bin. Though the bed called for you, you forced yourself to the bathroom anyway.

Your reflection was haunted, just as you imagined, but you didn’t look as bad as you thought you would. Eyes bloodshot and dark circles for days, but the worse feature was the ugly yellowing bruise beginning to form around your throat. It would turn blue and purple before too long, and you swore you could make our large, thick fingers in its shape. You swallowed and turned to the shower. You didn’t want to think about that.

Steam filled the bathroom after a minute of letting the hot water run. Michael didn’t have any shampoo or conditioner. After snooping through his bathroom quickly (in case he kept them somewhere weird—and because it’s fun to snoop) you found a few dark brown wigs instead. That made sense; his hair was his most living feature. He did, however, have an endless assortment of different soaps. None of which able to mask his smell, unfortunately.

You wondered if you would end up smelling like him? You picked the soap in your favorite scent and lathered your body in it.

Stepping out of the shower, the motion of peeling back on the clothes you sweated, cried, and vomited over was too much to even think about. Instead, you picked up a hoodie off the floor, one that seemed slightly too big for Michael, and slipped it on. Whatever damage you mended using the soap was undone the moment you put on the hoodie, but you were too tired to care.

You could hear the TV playing from beyond Michael’s room. You couldn’t wait for him to finish whatever he was watching and you didn’t have the energy to discuss where you’d be sleeping, so you collapsed on his bed.

You were out the moment your head hit the pillow.

───── (\ /) ─────

You woke up disoriented, aching, and somehow still drained. Weren’t naps supposed to make you less tired? Your disorientation only grew when you didn’t recognize where you were, your vision teetering back into focus.

The fog of sleep cleared when your hand touched something spongy and cold. It was Michael’s hand. Your memory of last night (morning?) came back to you. You rolled your head over to the nightstand and instantly hissed in pain. Your neck hurt like hell and just turning made it enough to throb with pain. When the pain subsided, you slowly opened your eyes. 6:42 PM. You slept twelve hours. Your head felt like you slept three.

You rolled your head, this time slowly and carefully, back over to Michael. He was sleeping in the bed with you, lying on his back with an arm nestled behind his pillow. For some reason, he was wearing his wig to bed. That couldn’t be comfortable.

You didn’t know when he came to bed with you or if he got a full night’s (day’s?) rest, but you couldn’t wait around for him to wake up. You poked his shoulder. “Michael.”

He grumbled, sleepily. He turned his head away from you, revealing parts of his jawbone visible through abraded skin.

You poked his shoulder again, “Michael.” You insisted.

He swatted at you.

You smacked his shoulder, “Michael, wake up !”

He cursed, grabbing his shoulder, “ What? What—?!” Michael’s voice caught in his throat when he turned to you, his void eyes going wide. You had to be only inches apart as you stared at him, unphased by your closeness. He awkwardly shuffled away from you, scooching inch by inch to put some distance between you too. You blanked. He was the one who decided to sleep in the same bed as you, what did he have to be bashful for? “What is it.”

“What is it?” You sat up, fistfulls of blanket in your hand as you ignored your pounding head. You tried to keep your tone controlled, but you nearly bit your own tongue in your frustration. “ What is it? A seven-foot massive bunny robot tried to kill me twice and—!”

“Rabbit,” Michael interrupted you. “Bonnie is a rabbit, not a bunny.”

“I’m gonna kill you.”

“Can’t this wait until after breakfast?”

You swiped the pillow out from under his head and tried to smother him with it. After just a second of struggling with it, he easily pried it out of your hands.

“Alright, alright,” He sat up with a groan, rubbing the back of his neck. “But coffee first. No discussion.”

Your jaw tensed, but you forced yourself to relax with a worried sigh. You stood up, “Okay. How do you take your coffee?”

The corpse collapsed back into bed, swinging the pillow behind his head with closed eyes, “Four sugars, two cream.”

You managed to navigate through Michael’s kitchen—which only had the bare necessities: minimal cutlery, meager pantry, an air fryer but no toaster—well enough to make two cups of coffee, one prepared exactly how you like yours. You organized your thoughts, figuring which questions you should ask first and how. You were having trouble sorting out the mad hell that happened last night, let alone figuring out what happened to your best friend. First you needed to know what was going on, then you could take steps on finding them.

You sat on the bed and handed Michael his mug. He mumbled a thanks and took a few gulps, despite how scalding it was. You once again couldn’t tear your eyes off of the window in his cheeks revealing liquid rushing down his throat.

“Alright,” He said with an exhale, setting his three-quarters empty mug on the bedside table. “Who are you and why did you break into the pizzeria?”

You almost started yelling at him again, but you stopped yourself. He saved your life twice, the least you could do was go first. You lowered your eyes as Michael watched you intently, his expression betraying nothing. You pulled out your phone and played the last message your best friend sent. Michael listened without saying a word.

“Someone I care about worked the night shift before you,” You locked your phone and kept it face down in your lap. You didn’t look Michael in the eyes out of fear you might start crying. “I need to know what happened to them.”

“They’re probably dead.”

Your eyes were storms as you stared daggers at him, tears forming thick droplets, “ You don’t know that. ” The venom in your voice was tempered by its tremble.

Michael was silent as you swabbed at your tears with his hoodie you were wearing. When he spoke next, he was slower, as if treading carefully, “ If you find any answers, you won’t like them. And that’s if you don’t share their fate. Go home. ”

“ I won’t, ” You said through teeth tight enough to grind. “I won’t. Not until I find them, or-or I find what happened to them and-and—”

“And then what?” Michael challenged, “What are you going to do once you find out?”

You waved your hands in the air, frustratedly, “I’ll figure out what I want to do when we get there!”

Michael sighed, long and tired. He grabbed his mug, swirled it around for a bit, and then downed the rest of his drink. He exhaled when he was done, “I’m not going to help you get yourself killed.”

“I didn’t ask for your help,” You said, stubbornly.

“Yes, you did,” He put his mug down on the bedside. “You asked me to keep him on camera eight.”

There was that ‘ him ’ again. “Okay, but I don’t need your help.”

He raised a brow, unimpressed, “Yes, you do.”

Now was the time to change the subject, “Why do you keep calling it ‘ him ’?” As if startled by your own question, you realized you hadn’t asked the ones you planned. “In fact, why is it alive? Why are you alive? And why is it trying to kill me? What happened last night?”

Michael set his jaw while you gained your breath, just realizing how worked up those questions made you. “What do you think happened last night?” He asked.

You opened your mouth while your eyes scanned the floor, as if the dingy carpet held the answer. Your brow knotted in confusion, “You call it ‘ him ’ because it’s Bonnie. Its programming makes it seem alive. You’re just really sick. It has faulty wiring. Last night was a horrible horrible accident. That’s what I was telling myself.” But even saying it now, you didn’t believe a word of it.

“Good,” He said. “You’re right.”

You trained your eyes on him, “No, I’m not.”

“For your sake, you are.”

“No.” You insisted, more determined. “I’m not.”

He exhaled sharply, “You’re too stubborn.”

“I was honest with you,” You pleaded, softening your expression in an effort to appeal to his conscience.

He set his jaw again (you could even see the grind of his teeth through his worn skin), and though his expressions were nearly impossible to read, you were starting to recognize his tells. “Don’t come back to the attraction.”

“I can’t—”

“ They’re gone. ” He said, and he didn’t know how cruel he was being. You couldn’t even tell if he felt guilty when new tears fell down your cheeks. “Be satisfied that you didn’t share their fate.”

You wiped your tears, shaking with anger and grief. You hated Michael for saying that, for pointing out something you feared more than anything. “There was no body,” You said, weakly. Even you knew it wasn’t a great defense.

“It was probably stuffed in a costume,” He said, heartlessly. “Or in an animatronic torso. He’s anything if not consistent...” The last part he said more to himself, but you didn’t miss it.

You found your voice, “What does that mean?”

When his eyes met yours, he sighed, “Don’t come back to Fazbear’s Fright, okay?”

You bit your lip and stared holes into the floor. You took a deep breath, closing your eyes and clearing your mind. Then, you nodded, tentatively.

“What do you know about the kids that went missing at the pizzeria? The one Fazbear’s Fright is based on?”

You looked back up at him before furrowing your brow in concentration, “I know a little. A bunch of kids went missing in the 80s. A lot of people thought they were murdered, but their bodies were never found. I know someone was charged, but they never found any evidence.”

“That’s because they couldn’t find the bodies.”

You swallowed.

“They were stuffed into the animatronics.”

You couldn’t help but stare, horrified. Michael was patient with you as you fumbled through your next question, “How do you know that?”

“Because my dad did it.”

You almost reeled back in shock, “Oh my god.” You said, incredulously. Maybe a serial killer dad shouldn’t have shocked you. Afterall, you were sitting and chatting with a zombie. You still couldn’t help the surprise coming from a national cold case solved. “Wow. Uh. God.”

“Yeah,” Michael was as nonchalant as ever.

“Okay,” You said, slowly nodding. “So this old Bonnie animatronic is... is one of these kids? Or their ghost or...?”

“No,” He said. “It’s my dad.”

This time, you did reel back. “ What? ”

“Yeah.”

“... What? ”

“Yeah.”

“No, I need you to explain,” You said.

“I’m not sure,” He scratched the back of his head. “That suit, the Spring Bonnie suit, he used to lure kids. It’s a springlock suit—” He shifted when he saw your confusion, “Part animatronic, part costume, held together by sensitive spring locks that snap shut. It looks like they went off while he was still inside. Can’t say he didn’t have it coming. Too bad he didn’t stay dead.”

“Oh my god,” You wrung your face with your hands. “That’s-That’s unbelievable. I can’t-... I’m in a horror movie.” You turned to him, “ He’s still in it? ”

“Yep.”

You shook your head slowly, “How is he still alive?”

Michael shrugged.

“How are you alive?”

Michael soured, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

You didn’t push him, less for his sake and more for your own. You don’t know if you could take any more ghost stories. “A child killer is- is reanimated in the seven-foot-tall rabbit suit he killed and died in, and now wants to—What? Haunt the haunted pizzeria attraction?”

Michael shrugged, “I guess.”

You threw your hands up in the air exasperatedly, before dropping them loudly on the bed.

“He’s not... himself.”

You sighed, “What does that mean?”

Michael shrugged again, but this time more unsure, “You saw it yourself. What serial killer would stop mid-kill just because they heard a child’s laughter?”

You almost shivered at the memory of it—monstrous creature over you, crowbar in hand, eyes distorting and twitching— but he was right, “There was something strange in its— his eyes. They looked too human, which was eerie enough, but when you... when you played the audio clip, it was like the robot was battling for control.”

Michael hummed at that, “I don’t think it’s just my dad anymore.”

“Your serial killer dad.” You said, more to mention the absurdity of the situation.

Michael wasn’t pleased by it, “Yes. My serial killer dad. Apparently he’s been stuck behind a plastered wall for thirty years, so maybe he just lost his mind. Or maybe the suit has some leftover code that he can’t control. Probably, it’s a bit of both. But...”

You waited in anticipation for him to finish.

He shook his head, “It doesn’t matter. What matters is he won’t stop until he gets what he wants, and he’s not lucid enough to listen to reason.”

“What does he want?”

“To kill.” In Michael’s low, shredded voice, his grim warning sent a shiver up your spine. “So it’s good that you're not coming back, right?”

“But what are you doing here?” You asked, “Are you trying to stop him?”

“You’re not coming back, right? ” He bore holes into you with those unnerving, hallowed eyes of his.

You swallowed, “Right.”

───── (\ /) ─────

Wrong.

You parked your car off to the side where Michael wouldn’t be able to see; in the shadow of Fazbear’s Fright.

At least, now that you knew what you were dealing with (a serial killer in the metal body of a giant rabbit—that still felt absurd) you could be prepared for it. And just like the rabbit, you wouldn’t stop until you got what you wanted. Answers. And if the answers hurt too much...

Revenge.

21 notes · View notes

skymoral · 5 months

Text

🩵UNFORESEEN🩵

- Prologue -

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Category: F/M

Fandom: Mortal Kombat (Video Games)

Relationship: Bi-Han | Sub-Zero/You

Characters:

Liu KangJohnny CageTakahashi KenshiRaiden (Mortal Kombat)Kung LaoReaderOriginal Female Character(s)Original Male Character(s)Kitana (Mortal Kombat)Mileena (Mortal Kombat)Harumi ShiraiGeras (Mortal Kombat)Tanya (Mortal Kombat)Original Female Character(s) of ColorOriginal Male Character(s) of Color

Additional Tags:

Black Character(s)Family FluffFamily FeelsChildhood FriendsFriendshipAngst and Hurt/ComfortBetrayalBroken FamiliesTournamentsFalling In LoveFirst LoveNear DeathRedemptionPeople Change PeopleLin Kuei Clan (Mortal Kombat)Game 12: Mortal Kombat 1 (2023) .·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

“OMFG Y/N turn off the damn ALARM ALREADY!” Someone said covering there head with a pillow.

”Ughhh”

you get up with the little energy you have to turn the alarm off the phone. You squint looking at the time on the phone, it shows that it’s 9:20 a.m

You quickly shot up, “FUCK! We’re going to be late for our first lecture. GET YO ASS UP RHONDA!” You quickly got out of bed. Snatching Rhonda’s leg that was exposed from under the cover. Dragging her in the bathroom, which Rhonda left alone being to lazy to fight against it.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

You both rushed out of your dorm room, running through the college to reach to there history class.

They peeked to see if there professor was facing the class, which luckily they weren’t. There back was turned, so you and Rhonda tipped toed inside and quickly head to both your seats, without being detected.

”Nice of ladies to join us today, I hope this doesn’t become a habit.” The professor announced as he was writing on the board.

”Yes Professor Major.” You and Rhonda said in unison.

about 30 min in the class he started going over Egyptian culture and it’s origin. Rhonda was sleep, and you had your headphones in listening to Nicki Minaj's new Pink Friday album. While scrolling through Instagram.

As you were looking at different posts, you had got a text from one of your other friends Tonya

•••

Tonya: “Hey Juicy Fruit, what you doing? :)”

“Nothing on the phone listening to music, and sitting in a boring ass class, PLEASE save a sister 😩😩”

Tonya: “Oof, damn that’s tough… Welp, I’m glad I ain’t you. Bitches like me need freedom 🤪”

”That’s because niggas like you don’t know how to act right. Probably would’ve not lasted either 😂😂”

Tonya: ”Bitch you ain’t funny 😒”

”I am, anyways will Jamika be at the shop today? I wanted to get some box braids done, I already bought some extensions.”

Tonya: “I do know she works today, I ain’t seen her yet. The shop open tho, and we don’t close until 8pm”

”Okay that’s fine, I’m a head straight there with Rhonda. After our classes, thanks boo😘”

Tonya: ”You welcome Juicy, make sure you study hard now. Don’t want my baby to flunk lol.”

”Girl Bye”

Tonya: “😂😂😂”

•••

You put your phone down, as you continue to listen to your music and take notes down from the board for you and of course Rhonda.

Knowing she’s going to ask you to do it anyway. The lecture was finally over and you slapped Rhonda awake.

“Damn you almost knocked my weave off.” Rhonda told you as she was straightening her hair, putting it back in place. You chucked a little as ya’ll head to your next class.

”Then you need a new hairstylist, as in go to a professional and not do it yo damn self.”

”Nah bitch, just keep them motherfuckin hands to YO SELF.”

”Don’t fall asleep and I will.”

”Whatever, uh oh Ex alert.” Rhonda informed you. You looked up from your phone and noticed your ex-boyfriend Oscar.

”Well what a pleasant surprise, you look stunning as always Y/N.”

”Oscar haven’t you heard a song called, to the left to the left.” Rhonda did a little dance and hand gesture to the left, for him to leave.

Oscar rolled his eyes irritated but went back to his fake smile, “Oh Rhonda I didn’t see you down there. The adults are having a conversation.”

Rhonda wanted to back hand him, but you held her hand back. “What do you want Oscar? We’re trying to get to class.”

”I just wanted to introduce you to my girlfriend. I thought you two might get along, Jovanni!” He shouted behind him, she quickly came towards the group. Hugging him then giving him a kiss.

”Jovanni this is Y/N, Y/N this is Jovanni Simpson, Babe you remember when I told you about her.”

You looked at Jovanni, and you had to admit she was a beauty. Gorgeous milk chocolate skin, with a beautiful smile. Tall with an hour glass figure, long black hair and just everything about her was gorgeous.

”Damn girl, yo baby hair is on TEN! WHO does your ha-OW!” You nudged Rhonda’s side.

”I do my own hair I’m a Hairstylist and cosmetologist on the side and studying to be a nurse. I’ll be interning to the university hospital in Miami, this year. One of the biggest hospitals in our state!” Jovanni told them, with a huge grin.

You know she wasn’t trying to piss you off or try to come off that she’s better than you, but you still take it as such.

”W-Well, my girl Y/N is… you know… AN ACTRESS!”

Everyone looked at Rhonda confused, you gave her the angry smile.

“Really!?” Oscar and Jovanni questioned looking at you. You just smiled at them nervously and embarrassed.

”Yep and she knows JOHNNY CAGE!”

”The JOHNNY CAGE! OMG! I LOVE HIM!” Jovanni bounced.

”Babe she fuckin wit u, she ain’t no actress nor does she know Johnny Cage.”

”Ha! How would you know? Its okay to admit, that I’ve accomplished more than you."

”Stop cappin! Just admit that you ain’t got shit goin for yo ass. I bet you ain’t got no proof.”

”Oh really!? I’ll show yo ass proof!” You snapped back.

”Yeah she gonna be in Johnny’s Cage upcoming, movie the movie he announced he's producing and directing called, ‘Mortal Kombat’. And you both are invited to the premiere when it comes out.”

“Rhonda hun.” You whispered to her, nervously.

”We’ll even take pictures while we’re on set and post it on all her socials.” Rhonda told the two who looked at Oscar irritated and Jovanni excited and shocked.

”Wow! Damn look at the time, we better getting going to class.” You said quickly dragging Rhonda to ya’ll class. You both quickly settled down, you slammed your head on the desk arms folded.

”Ughhhhh… Why can I never have a good morningggg… WHY DID YOU TELL THEM THAT RHONDA! I don’t know that nigga nor am I gonna be in any movie. I’m already irritated he has a hot successful girlfriend in the making… When I have no evidence, I’m a just be embarrassing my black ass for no reason…. I wanna go home…”

”Listen don’t let that clown and his thot get you down. I know what will cheer you up babe.” Rhonda pulled out her phone and put on BTS “Butter”

”Smooth like butter, like a criminal under cover.” Rhonda began singing to your favorite song and moving to the beat in her seat as they wait for the professor. You looked up smirking shaking your head as you knew she wanted you to sing along to the beat. "Gon pop like trouble breaking into your heart like that." You continued, She got up and pulled you up with her. ya'll started dancing, everyone staring at you both, you both sang " Ooh when I look in the mirror I melt your heart into two I got that superstar glow, so Ooh(do the boogie, like)."

As you both were singing and dancing, there professor came in behind them looking at them. There professor started dancing behind them badly, the whole class started laughing. You and Rhonda danced turning around and completely stopped when you saw the professor. Rhonda turned the music off laughing at the professor, he stopped looking at the girls smiling. "I've been an ARMY sense 2013." You were definitely shocked by that news, "Well I guess were both apart of the ARMY." you laughed, you did feel a bit better, he had everyone settle down for the class to begin.

It was now 12:00pm ya'll only had two classes for that day, and luckily you didn't have to work at the movie store in the mall today. Like you said earlier to Tonya, ya'll was headed to the shop to get your hair done. You were thinking you and Rhonda could go out for some drinks.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Ya'll made it to the shop and you greeted the ladies, "HEYYYYYYY!" The four of ya'll say in unison. You were friends with the girls at the salon for a month, but it's like ya'll knew each other forever. You meet them at a club Rhonda took you to, after Oscar cheated on you and you were balling your eyes out to her. So she wanted to do something to get your mind off it, so dressed up really cute but still depressed.

Jamika had complemented you on your outfit when you were at the bar, she came in with Tonya and another girl named Ashanti. You started crying again after saying thank you, and they wanted to know what was wrong. Rhonda gave them the rundown and Ashanti related with your pain, they tried comforting you and everything went well from there and ya'll became friends.

"So how long are we talking babe?" Jamika took you to her chair.

"45 inch and can it be curly at the ends, you know wavy and shit. You know what I mean, I already know it's going to be cute." You sat down giving her the hair. You already took out the old hair with Rhonda's hair.

"I got you babe." Jamika replied, getting ready to feel with what she's working with.

Rhonda sat in one of the open chairs next to you, "Ya'll ain't gonna believe what just happened on campus, I wanted to beat that boys ass so badly!"

Rhonda was telling everyone what happened, which you felt slightly embarrassed, because you didn't want everyone in your business. She even told them about the part of knowing Johnny and now she has to show proof and stuff, "I dug a hole for myself with that one." You said as Jamika was washing your hair. Jamika and the other workers looking at each other, "Is something wrong?" You questioned.

"No it's just that, We a-"

Jamika was cut off as Ashanti entered, "OMG! I'm so sorry I'm late. There was traffic and shit happened at the apartment, al-"

"Mhmm, set up please." Jamika chuckled, she put you under the hair dryer after adding conditioner.

"Hey Ashanti I think ya girl Y/N need to talk to you about something." Tonya shouted to her. "Sure! Wassup girly?"

Tonya pulled her to her whispering in her ears, Ashanti nodding understanding. Ashanti came and sat next to you after setting up her spot, waiting on a client. "So I heard the run down from Tonya, I can help you meet Johnny." She smiled, you looked her confused, "How? You know Johnny?"

As you were getting your hair done, Ashanti told you of how she met Johnny and how they became friends, as well as a date she had a couple weeks ago with one of Johnny's friends. You were so amazed and shocked that you knew them for a month and they never told you this. They didn't think it was there place to say anything and didn't know if they should, plus you were busy with school. You couldn't believe that Mortal Kombat mumbo jumbo was real.

"Johnny told me there having a big get together in a place called outworld next weekend. He invited me, I can ask to see if I can bring any plus ones." Ashanti smiled at you, you wanted to spring into a hug so badly. But remembered who chair you were in, you gave many thank you's.

"I'm up for meeting some cute sexy men." Rhonda said laughing with Tonya.

"You got a cute sexy nigga right in front of you baby." Malcolm blew a kiss and winked at Rhonda. Who only rolled her eyes laughing at him

"So my cousin told me about this bomb ass club down in chinatown. She said is fire, so are you ladies up for a little fun in China tonight after we get off! Malcolm you closing today." Jamika told the girls, Malcolm nodded.

"Girls Night! It's been a minute sense we last had some good fun... Now the question stands... Who paying?"

"NOT IT!" Jamika, Rhonda, Ashanti, and You said in unison quickly. Leaving Tonya to take the bill.

Tonya shaking her head working on a clients hair, "You hoes get on my nerves."

"Tonya make sure to bring me something back, when ya'll done, you know what I like." Fredrick asked her, she nodded.

"I gotchu big poppa."

You were excited, I think you need to let loose again and have some fun with the squad. You definitely gonna snatch a few eyes in the club.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

You wore a cute short black dress, stopping at you're thighs. Strapless just enough to show off your ladies, making them more define. Makeup on hair in a up due and 6 in heels.

Rhonda looked just as cute with her tight leggings and tight crop tight with big poofy sleeves. She had a green and gold look going, You were black and gold of course. The classic style, you were very simple but cute.

Jamika volunteered to drive all of you to the place, she picked you and Rhonda up at 8:30. She was supposed to be there around 8 but Tonya wasn't ready and still getting dressed. "Ya'll already know black people don't never know how to be on time for shit." Jamika said taking a smoke from her blunt before driving off. If ya'll wanted to have fun, ya'll first was going to get high for it.

Ya'll made it to the place, and you had to admit it was poppin. The music was on point and everyone seem to be having fun. You just hope the drinks ain't shit that is your best friend in any place, and you headed straight there. There girls followed you and everyone grabbed a shot of vodka.

"TO GIRLS NIGHT!" Jamika shouted, you and the ladies toasted to that. The burning feeling in your throat felt amazing, you're hoping to find someone nice while here if possible. Some of you took more shots, you having the most. Ashanti already told you and the ladies she'll try to be the most sober one, so everyone else can have fun and be white girl wasted.

Your song came on and you and the girls was dancing to the music, you were having fun as you were lost in the music. Then you accidentally bumped into someone, "Ooh sorry, got to into the music." you apologized, your were a bit tipsy and high but you could've sworn they said something in a different language.

He turned back to you as he was done saying something to his friends, "It's alright, I hope you are enjoying your time um..."

"Y/N! The name's Y/N." You said that louder than you wanted to as the music calmed down, he had an Asian accent and the cutest smile when you told him your name.

"I was going to get some fresh air from the crowd, would you like to accompany me?" He gave you another sweet smile, all you did was nodded slowly. The liquor kicking in stronger, he held out his hand for you to grab and you took it without hesitation.

You don't know why you weren't more caution about following a stranger, but he didn't seem like a bad guy to you and maybe it could lead to something fun.

As you made it outside, the cool breeze felt nice. He took you to the side of the building, he pulled you close to him. Kissing you hard, your eyes bulged out as you tried to push him off you but then you felt something go in the side of your neck. He finally pulled away, you were becoming dizzy. Before completely blacking out, you should've known better than to go with some weird ass man.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

You were slowly regaining consciousness, you had a massive headache. Hangovers are not your thing, as you moved you felt that you were tied up. You moved harder and when your vision cleared you see a bunch of other girls tied up.

You sat up looking around, you were in a car. Your mind immediately ran 80 miles per minute, you didn't know what was going. "W-W-Where am I? W-What's happening." You asked one of the women in the cart with you.

"We're being sold to the Red Dragon Clan, to be a concubine to the head of the Red Dragon." One woman answered you.

You were in the midst of human trafficking and being sold to see random bastard as his personal whore. FUCK THAT!

”We need to get out of here!” You slowly stood up, not trying to make your headache worse.

”And do what, there is no way for us to get out. The door is locked, nothing is in here and they have the keys. So you might as well make yourself comfortable little girl.” One woman looked at you irritated, you can tell she was was trying to make the situation worse.

”I’m sorry, If I don’t want to be sold to someone that wants to SCREW ME TILL I PASS THE FUCK OUT! LIKE A DAMN RAGDOLL! If you aren’t going to give any ideas then please SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

All the girls in there looked at you with wide eyes, not saying anything behind that.

You had to calm down now, you looked around. You could tell the cart is wobbly, one thing she was right. There isn’t anything they can use to get out, except maybe… You looked towards the door, it looked weak and worn out. There was 10 girls in here including you. Only 4 big women, so only one option. You’re praying it works but it’s the only option, and you need to be quick.

”Okay! If you want to get out of here, you have to help me. This cart is not stable and the door looks worn out, if we all slam our weight on that door. Maybe… Just maybe it’ll break and we can get out of here.”

”While there in the middle of the road?” One girl said.

”It‘ll draw more attention if it’s in open place. They wouldn’t be able to risk being in the public eye.” You answered the quiet talking girl.

”And if it fails?” The agitated woman from before asked you.

You sighed, “Then we can have fun getting fucked to death. But if you’re only going to say negative shit, stay your ass over there. Those that want to at least try, stand up.”

They all looked at each other, you were happy to see all of them stand up. You had the biggest and thickest ones up front. Everyone in formation, “Ready… 1… 2… 3!” You yelled.

All the girls slammed on the door having there arms tied they slammed and put all there weight on the one side. Which made a loud sound, and the cart slightly leaned. The door bent a little.

The ladies could hear them talking, so you all didn’t waste no time doing it again. As it was working, and you all did it one last time. The door finally breaking open and all the girls rolled out, cart swinger hard to the right. Making the car lean with it and flip on its side.

You looked around, and noticed you were definitely far from home. You don’t know how long you were knocked out, but you prayed your friends knew you were missing and called for help. If help knew where this was. It didn’t seem like a place with not really anyone around to help you out here.

The men were getting up trying to get out the car. “RUN AND SCATTER!” You yelled to all the girls. You didn’t have to tell them twice.

You ran kicking off your heels, you dipped out as fast as your little feet could run. You heard the men not far from you, you continued to find somewhere to hide, as you were yelling for help. You don’t know why you’re not running towards a city but a forest. You looked behind you as you couldn’t see or hear the men following you.

You slowed down to catch your breath, as you doubled checked behind you. You bumped into someone, quickly turning around and gripped your throat. He looked as though he was dressed in Ninja attire Red and Black.

You were trying to break free as you were losing oxygen. “You’re the reason our pets got away. The master will not be pleased.”

”P-P-Plea… P-Please…” You tried to speak will trying to catch your breath. Tears coming out of your eyes, as your grip became weak.

”As punishment you will die.” He told you, and you couldn’t believe it was going to end like this… You wondered why this was happening to you. You didn’t believe you were a horrible person, but horrible things usually happens.

”I don’t want to die.” You squeaked out what you believed your last words would be.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

A/N: Sorry Bi-Han isn’t in the Prologue :) but he may show up in the next

I hope you ladies like it, I worked a hot minute on it and will be combining the other stories and adding ya’ll friends from the other stories💅🏾

A03: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/53070346">Unforeseen</a> (3533 words) by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoralSky">MoralSky</a> Chapters: 1/? Fandom: <a href="

#mortal kombat #bi han sub zero #reader insert #bi han mortal kombat #fem reader #fanfic #bi han mk #black reader #bi han x reader #bi han fanfic #original characters #bi han x black reader #black fanfic writer

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honeydots · 2 months

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Xander & Soleil Father-Daughter Support

tried my hand at what i'd imagine their in-game support would be c: accompanying fanart here!

C-SUPPORT:

Soleil: *Sigh* Xander: … Soleil: … Soleil: *SIGH* Xander: Is it really so much to ask that you focus, Soleil? Soleil: But this is boring! There’s way too much to do. Xander: Perhaps if you would participate in your duties as a princess rather than flirt with the women in town, you’d have more time on your hands. Soleil: Humph. I still don’t get why I had to get locked in here with you. You could’ve at least given me a pretty tutor! Xander: On the contrary, this method has brought me success before. Xander: I dealt with your father’s philandering in precisely this way, and he stopped toying with the feelings of women all together. Soleil: You know why he stopped flirting with girls? You got MARRIED, Papa! Xander: Study. Soleil: Ugh. Fine. Xander: … Soleil: … Soleil: You’re looking sleepy. Xander: I’m not. Xander: You won’t be getting out of this early. I won’t leave until you’re finished. Soleil: Yeah, because you’ll fall asleep and it’ll take me all night… Xander: And what was that? Soleil: Nothing! Just working. Xander: … Soleil: … Xander: … … … Xander: Zzz… Soleil: Oh wow. He’s actually asleep. Soleil: I don’t wanna wake him up. I guess I could leave now! Soleil: Though… I might need a nap, too. My eyes seriously hurt after staring at all this. Soleil: Hmm… Soleil: …Zzz…

B-SUPPORT:

Soleil: Papa! Xander: Hello, you. Soleil: Hi! Listen, I have big, big news! Xander: Oh? And what’s that? Soleil: I’m getting married! Xander: You’re what? Soleil: Yup! Isn’t that something? Xander: I… To who? Soleil: Who? Oh, well. It’s a… Secret. She’s really shy. Xander: …Is that so. Soleil: Uh huh. So, um, anyway. You don’t need to keep tabs on me anymore, because I’m gonna be completely faithful. Just like Dad, heh! Xander: Ah. Of course. Xander: Though, Soleil. You understand, as you’re a princess, that there is a certain procedure which must be undergone when it comes to marriage. Soleil: Huh? Xander: It isn’t something as simple as putting a ring on a finger, it’s a royal affair. Xander: You must introduce her to our family formally, as well as engage her in the courtship process—there’s etiquette to be learned, and we’ll have to make completely certain she doesn’t intend you any harm. Xander: Not just anyone can marry a princess, you know. Soleil: Oh. Soleil: Um. Okay. Yeah, okay. Soleil: I’ll… Introduce you to her. Sometime soon. Xander: Thank you. We’ll be expecting her. Soleil: …Okay. I’ll, uh, go tell her! Bye! Xander: Goodbye. Xander: … Xander: ...That girl.

A-SUPPORT:

Soleil: …Hi, Papa. Xander: Soleil, what’s that expression for? Soleil: I, um. I need to confess something. Soleil: There’s no girl, I’m not getting married. I just didn’t want you to know I was out flirting again. Soleil: It was all a ruse. I’m really sorry I lied, I probably got everyone so excited. Xander: Soleil… Xander: Thank you for telling me. Xander: Though you don’t need to worry, I didn’t tell anyone. I knew from the beginning that you weren’t really engaged. Soleil: Oh, man. Was I that obvious? Soleil: …So I’m in huge trouble now, huh? Xander: It’s true that your actions aren’t exactly becoming of a princess. But I would like to clarify something with you. Xander: I’m not particularly upset that you’re flirting. But I’ll be strict with you if it gets in the way of your duties, as it has been. Xander: It was just the same with your father—he was causing trouble, and I felt I needed to step in to prevent it. Xander: You don’t need to lie to me. If you’d like to to spend your free time with girls, you’re welcome to. But it mustn’t continue to hinder your learnings and responsibilities as a princess of Nohr. Soleil: Oh. Soleil: Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. I really thought you were going to be angry with me. Xander: No. I only want you to understand. Soleil: I think I get it. No, I KNOW I do. Soleil: I admit that I was putting things off for a little too long. Soleil: I’ll do better, I promise. I’ll devote more time to my princess things. Xander: I’m glad to hear it. And thank you for being honest with me. Soleil: I’ll make sure I tell you when I really get married, okay? Xander: Alright. But not too soon. Soleil: Well of course not, Papa! I haven’t met all the women in the world yet!

#long ass post under the cut warning #xanlow #(implied)#i was trying to write this how supports tend to be written in-game cause i think it's rly charming~#also throwing my hc that soleil calls xander 'papa' at u. im throwing it go catch it!!!#(how it goes in my head is siegbert also used to call him that when he was small but eventually switched to father)#like i said i might make like. a proper edit of this sometime. or make a little mod for myself and maybe record a video of it?#we'll see!!! we shall see #dots writes #<- is that a tag i have?#whatever. gjdkfsjdf #dots on the soapbox

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breakfastteatime · 1 year

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Alrighty friends, here we go, Breakfast Tea's Battle Scars Review. Putting it under the cut because spoilers, and also my levels of spiciness are at maximum. Lots of swears ahead! I don't tend to write book reviews (hi, unpublished author over here) but, uh, this is for science!

For the record, I have NO IDEA how these tie-ins are commissioned. So, for example, I don’t know if the author came up with the plot and it was okayed, or if she was told “do something with A, B, C and D and make it a book” so I appreciate that she probably didn’t have as much freedom as a fic writer.

Also, yes, I did get to the point where I was skimming chunks of the book, so if I'm factually wrong, feel free to correct me, but know that it won't make me like the book any better because my issues are layered and numerous👍

Also also, this is pretty stream-of-consciousy so go with me, okay?

Finally, there’s *one* spoiler that I’m guessing will tie into the game re: Greez.

Okay, let’s GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Plot Summary (warning, I haven't done a good job summarising it hahahahahahahaaa)

The plot is - the crew go to break into a Haxion Brood base because reasons. While they're there they find a bunch of stormtroopers, one of whom is actually Fret, who wants to defect because she's sick of the Empire. Merrin is instantly attracted to her which, okay, sure, fine, to the point of becoming completely giddy around her. Also, Merrin's been struggling with her powers because of all her trauma from Dathomir (a very good a legit reason but, uh, didn't we do that with Cal in the game ANYWAY AHEM) but DON'T WORRY, SHE JUST NEEDS TO HAVE SEX WITH THE RIGHT PURPLE LADY BECAUSE SHE’S ANGRY AT THE EMPIRE TOO AND SEX WILL SOLVE ALL OF MERRIN’S WOES AND LITERALLY ALLOWS HER TO ACCESS HER MAGICK AGAIN WOO! Oops, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Fret then reveals she's not actually a stormtrooper but used that as a disguise to escape because don't you know it, she's got intel that will lead them to something called the Shroud, which will essentially make anyone who has it invisible. Think cloaking technology from Star Trek. That's the best comparison. So, if the rebels have this, they'll be able to undertake sneak attacks, but if the Empire has it, BAD NEWS. ANYWAY, the crew go to the person Fret’s working with who claims he’s anti-Empire too and he’ll use the Shroud for good and everyone agrees they’ll go get the schematics and bring them to him. Off they go and find said Shroud schematics after Merrin totally gets her powers back after receiving some sexual healing (no, really), only to discover the Shroud’s schematics aren’t written down but are instead secure in Fret's oops-not-dead lizard girlfriend Irei's head... and she's vaguely Force-sensitive because OF COURSE SHE FUCKING IS. Oh and the Fifth Brother is here too because he naturally wants the Shroud and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

The Mantis crew are all totally at odds with each other because it turns out despite living and working together for years they’re all after totally different things but have never said anything until now, which would be interesting if Fret wasn't there being all self-insert OC. And anyway, don't worry, the crew gets over it. Oh, and Greez loses an arm protecting Cal and Cere from the Fifth Brother about halfway through.

Uuuuh what else….??? Oh! Right, Fret’s dealer dude. They realise he’s bad, they defeat him. Boom. Can’t be arsed to go into more detail than that (also I was totally falling asleep reading this part, my bad???).

Fret and her ex(?) get back together (kinda??), leave the Mantis after the whole Shroud thing and the Fifth Brother are dealt with, Merrin opts to not go with them and Fret’s like “Oh, yeah, I see what you have with Cal” and Merrin’s like “??? Cal’s like that with everyone.” Interpret that at your discretion.

OH OH OH and Cere totally goes off to find some Jedi circlet thing that is LITERALLY A VIDEOGAME ACCESSORY USED TO BOOST STATS which is (unintentionally??) hilarious but fuck that it’s so completely lost in the rest of it, as is a lot of Cere’s desire to create a legacy for the Jedi.

The Good!

Hooray for LGBTQ+ representation!

Fight scenes are good when the action is happening.

Cere's characterisation is okay???? Like out of all of them, she feels the most in character... kind of???????? I get her motivation, and it feels fairly close to what I think she's gonna be up to in the next game. But her decision to… wait… sorry, this was meant to be positive. ARGH! Alright, let’s move on…

I really like the concept that, since the end of the first game, they’ve all been on the run from the Empire and the Haxion Brood. Excellent concept! I’m guessing Survivor will give us more.

I also really like the concept that the crew all want different things.

SPOILER!!! Greez loses an arm. This scene was pretty good and believable – Greez wants to save Cal and Cere and he makes a terrible sacrifice to do so.

The Everything Else

👎 Wish that LGBTQ+ rep was in a better written book. I do read romance sometimes (or, more accurately, books in which romance occurs) and I am not opposed to instant attraction. But I like it to be a bit less fire-hose-of-HAWTNESS to the face. It basically feels that Merrin has a week-long relationship with someone in which sex solves all her problems??? There's a lot of stuff in this book about why Merrin can't go to her actual friends with this (she's a Nightsister, dammit, and no one can understand how she feels but Fret is angry like Merrin is, therefore instacrush, lust, sex and AAAAARGH), but wouldn’t it be much more narratively satisfying if the people who support her through her troubles are the ones she has long-term relationships with??? Near the end Cal does become this person to her but it feels a bit awkward. Almost like he’s stepping up because Fret left. 👎 Merrin’s struggles here, while absolutely understandable, feel like a rehash of Cal’s entire journey in the game… except Cal sorts his shit out one way, and Merrin shags her way to better mental health. I mean, get yours, Merrin, but it feels like an odd choice, because… 👎 Fret, Merrin's love interest, feels like such an author self-insert it actually made me uncomfortable. Lady, I don't wanna read your fantasies!!!

👎 The plot doesn’t have room to breathe because there’s too much going on. And while I’m here, the Shroud feels completely universe breaking because while the prototype they wind up making is a fake and becomes a bomb, the fact that Irei designed it to hide herself (she’s Force sensitive, remember??!?!?!) means it could potentially work and literally change the Star Wars universe... But Irei’s a total non-entity in the rest of canon sooooooooo this universe breaking macguffin is pointless, making the plot largely pointless??? Or did I miss something when I got to the skimming part? WHATEVER. The Shroud thing… Aaaah, I’ll get back to that later… 👎 There’s too much authorial voice masquerading as the characters. In other words, I didn’t hear the characters, I just heard the author coming through loud and clear. (and okay, yeah, every time I have a character suddenly be British makes me guilty of this too BUT I like to think it’s not as bad as this. HEY! LET ME HAVE MY DELUSIONS ALRIGHT?!). For example, Cal goes off on this whole *thing* about the Fifth Brother's hat, which doesn't feel like him at all. At no point in the game did he go off about Trilla’s helmet (which he compares the Fifth Brother’s hat to) or trade really petty insults. He has his whole bravado thing going on, but not “dude, your hat looks STOOPID.” Seriously, it’s about a page of him being uncharacteristically cocky and sassy (more on Cal’s characterisation later). This authorial voice tendency makes everyone feel the same, especially when you’ll read one thing in Cal’s POV, move onto Greez’s, and Greez will think the exact same thing. There’s very little differentiation in character voice. The banter is BAD. 👎I'm not saying JFO isn't funny because it has some lovely moments (“Wait, do you have feet?”), but they are light touches. This book's 'humour' is like having an anvil dropped on your head. This is the book where subtly came to die until the VERY end where there’s some nice moments with Cal and Merrin… except it’s ruined by Cal CONSTANTLY thinking about how he needs to protect his family… Which brings me onto… 👎 This book is so repetitive. If Cal referred to the others as 'Family' one more time, or someone else said they wanted to make a dent in the Empire’s hull, I'm not sure my e-reader would've survived. I actually counted btw – pg 77 of my ebook edition has the word family on it 7 times. SEVEN TIMES. The word crops up 39 times overall and once I noticed it, I couldn’t stop. The phrase ‘making a dent’ appears 9 times and again, once I noticed it, I couldn’t stop. Oh editor, where are you?

👎 It’s also inconsistent in its storytelling. For instance, there’s a moment where Merrin and Cere go off on a mission together and Merrin reflects on how well they always work together… and then later on she goes off with Fret and is like “It’s so nice to not be alone for a change!!!” And while this is probably in reference to how her and Cal tend to approach missions from different angles (literally – above and below), it’s one of those instances where something here needed editing – e.g. actually Merrin and Cere have never done a mission together, therefore that’s nice, and so when she goes off with Fret she can be like “wow, twice in one day! I could get used to this!” It’s shit like that made the whole thing so frustrating. 👎The structure is bad. Midway through an otherwise good action scene, the POV character will stop to think for so long they would have been killed. It really disrupts the flow of the battle. The pacing just screeches to a halt. It’s the same whenever the characters reminisce on the events of the game, but I’ll come back to that. Stick a pin in it! 👎 The book also does a several days later flashback that wrecks the pacing. We’re at this moment of tension – they’re about to break into a compound but oh no – the access codes from Merrin’s girlfriend don’t work because GASP she lied about abandoning the Empire! Cue tension! Cue drama! Cue… romance in a ‘several days earlier’ flashback. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH. Honestly, poor, poor Cal the first time he gets to use his own room again. Echoes EVERYWHERE. He’s gonna go as red as his hair every time he looks at Merrin and everyone’s gonna get the wrong idea. Sorry, what was my point? OH RIGHT! Pacing! Pacing BAD.

👎 BEEDEE WUN. Get. In. the. Fucking. Bin. 👎 Speaking of our beloved BD, he is here, but he's referred to as 'Cal's droid' or Cal is referred to as his master, which... no. Absofuckinglutely NO. At one point, Merrin (who presumably has known BD for 2-3 years at this point), thinks of BD as Cal’s ‘strange but cute little droid’. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT?! They are friends. Best friends. Cere, when thinking of the crew, her family, states there are "four and a half people" on the crew. BD IS NOT HALF A PERSON, AND ALSO OH GOD THE HISTORICAL CONNOTATIONS OF THIS ARE SO BAD, HOW THE HELL DID AN EDITOR NOT PICK UP ON THIS?!?!?!?

👎Cal's characterisation is NOT good. He is so inconsistent outside of I MUST PROTECT MY FAMILY. MY FAMILY, THE CREW OF THE MANTIS, WHO ARE MY FAMILY. I WILL DIE TO PROTECT THEM, MY FAMILY, THE ONLY PEOPLE LEFT TO ME THAT I LOVE, THE MANTIS CREW. Which, for the record, works as a motivator for him, but not when it’s done with all the nuance of a sledgehammer to the knees. When Merrin's busy having sex in the engine room (you know, where Cal sleeps, the guy with psychometry), he is initially naive to the point of stupidity. “Oh golly gosh, Merrin’s sealed the door, I guess that means her powers are coming back!” He was on Bracca for 5 years. I think he knows what goes on behind closed doors. When he realises what's happened, he is both totally blasé (the Jedi don’t have relationships so he’s never thought about it), and also jealous in a way that can be interpreted in one of two ways, depending on your shipping leanings. He's either jealous because Merrin is HIS woman (oh, no, sorry, I mean GIRL. Fucking HATE it when adult women are called girl), or he's jealous because Fret is inserting herself into HIS FAMILY, THE CREW OF THE MANTIS, THE FAMILY HE WILL DIE FOR when she’s a lying liar who lies. He’s *so* petty he refers to Fret as a ‘gal’ which, again, UUUUUUUUUUUGH. Oh, and he's seen an echo revealing Fret to be a liar, but he's not going to disclose it to the others because he doesn’t want to hurt Merrin when she’s finally happy and able to use her magick again and yet Fret might be about to kill his family, the crew of the Mantis, the people Cal will literally die for. Because they’re his family. PICK A MOOD, CAL. Actually, wait, I’m not done with what’s been done to Cal…

His characterisation makes me want to weep. He gets annoyed with Cere for wanting to find a Jedi relic despite... the entire... first game... being... about... this... exact... thing????? I think the author was going for “well, Cere wants to create a legacy for the Jedi so their history is not lost to time!” whereas Cal wants to (say it with me!) ‘put a dent in the Empire’s hull’ which, okay, there’s an interesting contrast, but Cal is someone who is inherently linked with the past so why is *this* the conflict between these two? It’s not quite working for me, probably because it’s just not central enough to the plot. If *this* was what we dug into, it would probably work really well. Unfortunately, we’re not here for that.

Cal also says shit like “What’s the problem here, team?” like he’s in middle management.

👎 The book is set somewhere between the two games and is purposefully vague, which *would* work if these characters *felt* like they'd spent years together instead of the author telling us they have. Relationship-wise, it feels like we're maybe a couple of months out from the game because the book wastes so much of its word count going back over events from the game… which happened years ago at this point! My guess is it was written with people who hadn't played the game in mind, which again just makes the pacing suffer. Plus, we’ve got five people who’ve lived together for years (they’re a family, a crew, they love each other like family, they will DIE FOR EACH OTHER!!!!!!), and yet all of them see their mission differently. Y’all have been at this for YEARS but it’s only now that you realise you’re not united?! This would work if we were closer in time to the original game… but years down the line?! And again, this is a GREAT concept! SO much to work with there… except we’ve got sexy purple lady and lizard lady in the way of what could’ve been an amazing character exploration of CHARACTERS WE KNOW AND LOVE. STICK ANOTHER PIN IN IT!

👎 The author struggles to integrate game mechanics into a n ovel. BD-1 will just randomly hand Cal stims because hey, I guess that’s what he does in the game????????? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 👎 The author hasn’t heard of show, don’t tell. Stop bloody telling me that Cal loves his family and show me – give me a scene where they sit down for a meal together. Give me a scene where Cal sits with Greez after he’s injured. ANYTHING that shows me rather than smashes me over the head with one of the 39 uses of the word family.

👎 Cere really randomly refers to Cal as her Padawan when he’s busy getting his arse handed to him by the Fifth Brother. Cal’s honest, he knows he didn’t beat Trilla because he was stronger than her, but this is YEARS later. Has he not gotten stronger in that time? SIGH. Also, Cal might be mentored by her but he’s not strictly speaking her Padawan? Okay, now I’m just nitpicking… 👎 WAIT, ONE MORE! Cal refers to Master Tapal as Master Jaro. That just irritated me.

How I’d Rewrite It

So, let’s take the pin out and examine the lack of character exploration (except for Merrin who we do get to have a good look at in a weird way). The main issue I have with this book is Fret and Irei get in the way of what could have been a really good character-building piece for the five characters we know and love from the game.

So, wanna know how I’d write it? Simplify and FOCUS:

The Mantis crew are infiltrating a Haxion Brood base because they’ve gotten their hands on a precious Jedi relic that the Empire are also after. While there, Cal and the others find the relic but are attacked by the Brood and the Empire. A defector (Fret) finds them and says the Empire is using the Fifth Brother to hunt for the Shroud’s schematics and its inventor (Irei), who’s in hiding. Fret gives them the name and location of the broker who will pay the crew for retrieving the Shroud and Irei – a man linked to the Rebellion known as Luthen Rael. He’ll also give them Irei’s location. While trying to escape, Fret gets shot and killed by the Brood or the Empire or WHATEVER and the crew feel somewhat obligated to carry on with her mission because the Shroud is a double-edged sword. Cere’s hopes of starting her great Jedi legacy have to be put on hold, Merrin’s still worried about her powers because she’s lost and doesn’t know if she’s getting the vengeance she seeks, Greez thinks finally Cal’s going to stop going for bigger and bigger gambles, Cal’s excited to be doing something really important, and BD-1 is happy to see a new world and meet new people. Also, there’s no breaking into anywhere without him, and they need to move fast.

Great, we’ve got our ticking clock – get the Shroud before the Fifth Brother!

However, because the crew’s been run ragged due to being hunted by the Brood for so long, they’re starting to make mistakes and Cal’s taking bigger and bigger risks with little pay out, so the crew goes into the mission at odds with each other. After BD hacks his way into the systems and locates Irei, Merrin gets her to safety. Cal and Greez get hurt when they go up against the Fifth Brother because Cere, convinced she needs to try and save him from the dark side because he too was once a Jedi like Trilla, tries to save him and it backfires horribly. They all manage to escape and get to the Mantis, fall out because they all want different things. They take the time needed to figure that out and reunite, take Irei to Luthen (they get out just in time when the Fifth Brother comes back again), Cal and Merrin fight him off together because Merrin’s got her powers back because she has a purpose again (working for the Rebellion) and off they go to the next adventure.

Your subplots are essentially the same:

Cal wants to stick it to the Empire and help as many people as he can, while keeping his family safe, however he needs to understand that doing this randomly is essentially pointless (which… okay, I have issues with this too but if I go off on that you’re never getting the next chapter of the Big Fic. I’m working with what I got, friends!!!)

BD-1 is just happy to go wherever Cal goes so long as he gets to scan new stuff and slice new systems!

Cere wants to build and protect the Jedi’s legacy by gathering everything she can of their history. She *is* tiring of the seemingly hopeless battle against the Empire and *wants* to put down roots, and she *needs* to be honest with Cal about this (who, once he got over his “you can’t leave me, Cere!” initial reaction would be absolutely fine with this??? HEY, WORKING WITH WHAT I’VE GOT!)

Merrin wants to regain her powers, and she needs to come to terms with the terrible trauma she experienced, but she can do this not through what is ultimately a fling, but by being honest with Cal, Cere, Greez and BD and working through it with her family. You tie it into the plot by having them working for the Rebellion, which means Merrin finally feels a purpose because it’s through the rebels she sees that she’s not the only one who suffered great loss and, like them, she can do something about it. And hey, maybe she hooks up with Irei in a much subtler and less SEXUAL HEAAAAAAAAAAAALING way because she wants to.

Greez wants to stick with his family, but he needs to be honest with Cal and say if they’re going to keep doing this whole kicking it to the Brood and the Empire, they’ve got to be smarter about it.

Basically, by cutting out all the OC bullshit, you focus on the crew we all know and love from Fallen Order without some rando OC being there to FLY THE MANTIS. Get the FUCK out of there! If I didn’t think Fret was a self-insert before, her getting to fly the Mantis sealed it for me.

There is a GOOD CONCEPT buried in the depths of this book. It’s just, y’know, not to my taste.

Alright, I think that does it for now. PHEW! That feels better ^_^

#battle scars spoilers #the spice must flow

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jessicas-pi · 1 year

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I Am A Little Addicted To The Incorrect Quote Maker.

Anyway. Twin Blades And Beskar (Lifeswap) AU?

Inquisitor: Well, aren’t you all a rag-tag group of adventurers with unclear goals and good hearts! Oh, let me guess: you’re out to save the galaxy! Kanan: Well, actually, that sounds like a pretty fair assessment. Sabine: More or less, I guess... Ahsoka: That sounds awesome! Let’s do that! Ezra: I’m new here, but I am open to the concept. Hera: I thought that’s what we were doing, guys, come on!

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Sabine: My aesthetic is "would be suspected of witchcraft by small town citizens."

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Ahsoka: Throw lamps at people who need to lighten up, and throw handles at someone who needs to get a grip. Kanan: Throw a refrigerator at someone who needs to chill. Sabine: Throw scissors at someone who needs to cut it out! Hera: Throw a clock at someone who needs to get with the times! Okadiah: Throw matches at someone who needs to get fired up! Ezra: Throw a brick at someone to kill them!

---

Ahsoka, making coffee: This is going to fix everything.

---

Sabine: Rules were made to be broken. Kanan: They were made to be followed. Nothing is made to be broken. Ahsoka: Uh, piñatas. Chopper: Glow sticks. Ezra: Karate boards. Hera: Spaghetti when you have a small pot. Sabine: Rules. Kanan:

---

Ezra: I hope no one lowkey hates me. Ezra: Highkey hate me. Hate me with every fiber of your being. Ezra: Go big or go home.

---

Chopper: Drink your school, stay in sleep, don't do milk, and get 8 hours of drugs.

---

Hera: Just be yourself. Sabine: Really? Hera, I have one day to win over Ezra’s clan! Sabine: How long did it take for you guys to like me? Okadiah: Couple of weeks. Kanan: Six months. Chopper: Jury’s still out. Sabine: See Hera? ‘Just be yourself,’ what kind of garbage advice is that?!

---

Okadiah: Imagine if someone handed you a box full of all the things you lost throughout your life. Ahsoka: It would be nice to have my sense of purpose back… Hera: Oh wow, my childhood innocence! Thank you for finding this. Ezra: My will to live! I haven't seen this in years. Kanan: I knew I lost that potential somewhere. Sabine: Mental stability, my old friend! Okadiah: Force, could you lighten up a little?

---

Ezra: Of course I have a lot of pent-up rage, you fool! I've been the same height since I was twelve!

---

Okadiah: If you got arrested what would be the charges? Ahsoka: Theft. Hera: Disturbing the peace. Kanan: Aggravated assault. Sabine: Arson. Ezra: All of the above. In that order, probably.

---

Ezra: So, what’s Sabine's type? Kanan: Awkward, overprotective, oblivious, terrible sense of humor, Mandalorian. Ezra: Sounds kind of like me. Too bad she loathes me. Kanan: Did I mention oblivious? Ezra: Yeah, why? Kanan: Just making sure.

---

Sabine: If I die, you can have what little I own. Ezra: Wait. What do you mean "if" you die? Sabine: My unending existence is fueled by pure spite, that of which the painful experiences of life have rendered me full. Ezra: Ezra: *Sighs* You need a therapist.

---

Chopper: All of your existences are confusing. The Spectres: How so? Chopper: Your presence is annoying, but the thought of anything bad happening to any of you upsets me.

---

Kanan: If you put 'violently' in front of anything to describe your action, it becomes funnier. Kanan: Violently pilots. Hera: Violently lightsaber trains. Ahsoka: Violently sleeps. Ezra: Violently murders people. Okadiah: Violently worries about the previous statement.

---

Sabine: Sometimes I wonder if I’m hearing voices. Sabine: Then I remember that’s the last bit of sanity I have trying to get me to fall asleep at a reasonable time.

---

*The squad's reaction to being told they're the chosen one* Hera: I will not let you down. Ahsoka: Sounds fun. Kanan: K. Sabine: Like kriff I am. Okadiah: Do I have to be? Ezra: Please manda I am so tired

---

*after a perilous life-or-death escape/rescue* Sabine: Oh, gods, I could just kiss you right now. Ezra: ... Ezra: Neat. *later* Ezra, lying face down on his bunk: I said "Neat," Kanan. Who says neat? It's not neat to say neat but I said it anyways because I'm kriffing stupid. Kanan, reading a book: Don't beat yourself up too much, kid. Everyone gets nervous sometimes. Did Oke ever tell you what I did when Hera confessed her love for me? Ezra: Didn't you thank her? Kanan: *closes the book and looks at the ceiling* I thanked her.

---

Kanan: I have met some of the most insufferable people. But they also met me.

---

Ezra: Capitalizing every word in a sentence is vomit inducing. Sabine: Enjoy Your Trip To Puke Land, Boy!

---

Hera: I think my guardian angel drinks.

---

Ezra: The only thing I'm guilty of is being adorable... ...and also assault with a deadly weapon.

---

Sabine, at the slightest provocation: I came into this galaxy screaming and covered in someone else's blood and I'm not afraid to leave the same way.

#twin blades and beskar au #sabezra #incorrect quotes #jedi sabine wren #mandalorian ezra bridger #i am going to be so insufferable with this incorrect quote thing you have no idea

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arievanille · 2 months

Text

shadow crest dr story : ch.one

[ note: this dr is based HEAVILY around divergent so if you notice any similarities then there you go + i also haven’t written anything in a while so pls don’t be mean if this is bad. ]

[ note 2: this isn’t proofread so if there’s mistakes sorry, also there’s a lot of commas used so sorry again, divider by @saradika ]

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

I waited in line with my headphones in, the soft music playing as I focused on the people around me. Everyone had their own way of releasing their nerves for the field trip by talking, scrolling on their phones or focusing on not falling asleep until the bus came here.

It was the start of my junior year of highschool which meant at the start, everyone would be going on a class field trip to explore their options for college early. It was a fairly nice program but that thought disappeared once sitting here waiting on a bus that I swore wasn’t going to show up.

“Hey uh- do you have a charger? My phone is at a low percent and I know the bus has charging thingy’s” a girl next to me said, without realizing I had headphones on. I turned towards her, my eyes widening once seeing she was talking to me. I yanked my earphone out, “What? Are you talking to me?” I questioned, blinking at her as she laughed slightly, shaking her phone in her hand “your charger? Can I use it?” She repeated, her voice simmered now after her laughter.

“Oh.” I nodded, going in my bag as I paused my song, getting my charger out and handing it to her, “here, just- don’t forget to give it back” i uttered, hoping in someway I’d actually receive my charger back without having to search for whoever this girl was.

“Oh don’t worry- I was actually hoping we could sit together?” She asked, her eyes staring dead into mine as she studied my facial expression to see if I was going to deny in anyway. The question hadn’t registered to me fully as I heard the bus start to pull up, my eyes on hers then on the bus, “Sure. I don’t mind” I replied back and she nodded, both of our attention going on the bus now.

The teachers announced which buses we’d all have to attend depending on what class you were in, to both of me and the girl standing next surprise, we were getting on the same bus.

Thank God. I thought as I let out a sigh of relief.

Everyone soon started moving to their buses, i walked as quick as I could to get on the charter bus, the girl from earlier following close behind until we got to our seats in the middle of the bus.

“I’m Riley by the way” The girl, known as Riley spoke, introducing herself as I chuckled slightly, realizing we haven’t introduced our self. “Arie.” I smiled and Riley nodded, plugging her phone in the charging port.

We both paid attention to our own actions, as I looked out the window when the bus started to move, the bus slowly shaking as it pulled off from the school.

The bus ride was shocking silent during the first half of the ride, we had about a four hour ride and for the most part it wasn’t too rowdy or stuffy in here. I looked around for a bit, noticing that Riley was fast asleep, her arms crossed as I noticed that was something she probably did to make herself feel safe in situations she couldn’t control. My eyes traveled around to all the other students, another sigh drawn out of my lips as I laid back; deciding I should try and nap like everyone else.

The bus ride came to a stop, my eyes immediately pierced open as I turned to look outside seeing we were at a gas station. I turned back over to Riley, gently shaking her awake. She stirred awake, asking if we were there yet and to her disappointment, I assumed we weren’t.

She sat up seeing teachers and students getting off to use the bathroom or get something to eat. Riley turned to me, “do you have money? My mom gave me a fifty to use if I needed a pay phone” She admitted with a humorous smile, a smile lighting on my face as well. “Not nearly as much as you do but yeah I do, why?”

She nodded, looking outside “I could go get you something? I kinda owe it to you since you lent me your charger” she was slightly joking but I could tell she honestly didn’t mind getting me something.

“I’m fine with anything, really” I replied as Riley hummed, nodding as she got up, assuring she’d be back soon.

Watching Riley left made me feel lonely for some reason, I had only known this girl for possibly three and a half hours and it felt like I knew her forever, perhaps I had been to comfortable around her, well- that and she offered to buy me something to eat which was quick way to win my heart.

I continued watching as she walked with her hands in her pockets in the store, I noticed she hasn’t talked to anyone but me which made me wonder if she was new to this school or not, I hadn’t seen her around ever but just about everyone at this school could say the same about me.

After a couple minutes students kept piling back in the bus, I glanced at the line of students walking to get in their seats and my eyes found Riley’s, her eyes beaming as she held up two bags of sour gummy worms and two gatorades.

I found myself laughing at her rather child-like road-trip snacks.

She slowly made it back to our seats with a giddy smile, “can you believe these snacks are only a dollar fifty? It’s like we’re in another world” she bursted with a little laugh. I laughed along with her, “oh and I hope you don’t mind the grape Gatorade, everyone hates it so I hope you’re not one of those people” she simmered as I took the Gatorade with no hesitation.

“I don’t mind it, never had it” I set the drink down and the gummy worms as she giggled to herself, begging to get on her phone.

The rest of the bus ride consisted of random talks about inflation and random celebrity crushes Riley had which also made me realize how extroverted Riley was compared to me who would rather sit the rest of the ride in silence, I didn’t mind her conversation though.

We both ended up falling asleep again, the bus ride continuing longer than the teachers told us it would last,

I jolted awake once hearing alarms blasting loudly through the bus, once I looked around I noticed Riley had awaken as well as the other students. Soon my eyes traveled outside I noticed we were in a different city and it looked nothing like the college we were supposed to be at.

The teachers started yelling loudly for us to wake up and exit the bus. Riley and I quickly started packing, both us horrified of what was happening. Our eyes met for a moment and i sighed, not knowing if anything we both were to say would help the panic that was resound right now.

We both got our stuff and got in the lines of students that were exiting the bus, Riley stood behind me and I gently held her hand, swallowing as we both started to reach the beginning of the line, the teacher asked me to reach my hand out as I noticed she had some sort of stamp, but it looked like the modern technology we used back home.

What exactly was going on?

I hesitantly held my arm around, feeling her press the cold metal to my skin as I glanced into her eyes seeing they turned white for a quick moment, I tore my eyes away, a chill running down my back she pressed a button and it burned a number onto my skin.

419.

I yanked my arm back, wincing as I saw the new engraved number on my wrist. Before I could say or do anything else she issued me off the bus, my feet slowly stepping off the bus as I looked at Riley, she seemed more afraid than I was, her hands shaking as the teacher stamped her.

Riley walked off the bus and i took her hand in mine again, walking as we slowly crept up to the students in front of us. I kept my eyes on her number, ‘420’ it read, at least for now we’d be close together for the time being.

As time went on there was people that walked out with red and black military wear, they had guns longer than my arms and they all looked indifferent, like they weren’t entirely human.

My eyes couldn’t help but wander around as I noticed we were no longer in the places we called home, we were in new surroundings and this was the last thing I was expecting.

A man walked out, several of the red and black army men walking behind him.

“Hello all! I’m Mr. Hamada, and I’m guessing you all are from America yes?” He laughed, staring at the one hundred students in front of him. “Lovely, absolutely beautiful that you’re all here today but- I’m afraid you’re not here for a little tour, no” He spoke loud and clear, almost taunting in a way. “You’re here to become my test dummies!”

He further explained and the crowd made noises of disapproval, everyone all more horrified the more time went on. I looked at Riley whose eyes stayed glued to the ground, she seemed afraid, almost like there was no hope in her demeanor.

I squeezed her hand and she glanced up at me, i mouthed “it’s okay” to her and she smiled weakly, her sorrow starting to slowly become contagious.

“Oh relax my dear humans, this won’t hurt you it will help you, after all the citizens of shadow crest aren’t like the humans you once knew and loved”

His words felt targeted, almost like he was trying to convince us of something we knew nothing about.

“Let’s get started shall we! Let’s start with everyone who’s number is one through twenty!”

Both me and Riley’s eyes widened, not only did that mean us two but it meant we were the first amongst other students that were going to be the first to be studied and tested on.

The other students started walking to get transported and i began to walk but Riley stood frozen in her spot, I turned to her with a frown “Riley.. we have to go” I whispered to her, trying to tug her until I realized she was panicking, her body unable to move due to fear.

“Hey,” I removed my hand from hers, going to cup her cheeks as I pulled her head up to mine “you’re okay, I won’t let them do anything to you okay? I promise” I assured her with gentle tone as she nodded in my hands, I removed my hands and held her hand again walking to get into the car that transported us.

When we got out the car it was a big lab away from the city we were just in, since we were the first car to get there, two ladies walked us in the building walking us to a bathroom area.

“Please walk in and remove your clothes, once done showering you are to get your new clothing and go to the main area, thank you.”

The lady said with a bright smile, her hand pointed to the door where me and Riley had to separate. I sighed, talking my hand out of Riley’s “I’ll come look for you okay? Don’t worry” I reassured her and she nodded as we both walked into the bathrooms, the door shutting quickly after we entered.

I removed my clothes, breathing harsh breaths as I didn’t know what was to come. I put my clothes in the ‘clothes here’ bin, watching how it set my clothes ablaze.

I walked back to the middle of the room, waiting for the next move. After a second of silence the water turned on, pouring from above as I immediately got suffocated with water, I panicked slightly; wiping the water off my face as I looked up, trying to find the source of the water, as soap started to flow out as well, cleaning me in the weirdest way imaginable.

What the-

After minutes of the soap and water almost drowning me, it stopped, blowing a harsh warm air as I felt overwhelmed by this cleaning process. The air stopped and I swallowed, coughing slightly as I wondered how weird this day could get, what even was that?

I looked around and saw the same ‘clothes here’ area with new clothes, this time it wasn’t my clothes, it was a training suit of some sort, nonetheless I put it on with no hesitation, my head going back to Riley to see if she was okay; it was the only thing on my mind.

The door opened once I finished and I immediately put on the shoes, feeling them adjust to my ankle and foot, that was the last thing that weirded me out, there was no room for me to question anything at this point.

I walked out and immediately headed towards the main room, seeing Riley standing there along with all of the other nineteen kids, i huffed, of course I was the last one out.

“So wonderful for you to join us” a short women rejoiced. I immediately walked over to Riley, swallowing as I held her hand again, her hand ice cold as if she had been standing out here for awhile.

The woman brought an artificial smile on her face, glancing at all of us. “Today is test day, one by one, you’ll each go in there and we’ll test to see if you have powers or not, if so then you’ll go in a quarantined room with the others who have powers, if not you’ll be sent to a cell where you’ll be going home, sounds fun yes?” The woman briefly explained, the same smile on her face, “let’s begin” her voice sent a painful shock into my ears.

This was really happening, and there was no way to stop it.

The women and others she worked out with started calling names, forcing the students to walk into the testing room. It looked horrid and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get out of this, then my thoughts went back to Riley.

“You.. okay?” My voice was quiet, barely over a whisper as she eyes me, nodding slowly. “I’m scared- what if I go home?” She trembled, fear seeping through her the more this went on. I turned to her, biting my lip as I caressed the back of her hand “then we’ll go together and we won’t have to be here anymore yeah? Don’t stress okay, everything’s going to be okay” I consoled her with a gentle smile, assuring her that I was here no matter what.

That was the thing. I hardly knew Riley and the promises I was making have her hope. I felt if I couldn’t keep the words I was saying then what type of friend would I be? Would she even declare us as friends? When did I feel so protective of her?

Riley squeezed my hand now almost as if she could hear my inner thoughts. We both smiled at each other, then frowned once looking away. We both knew that this could be the start or the end of whatever was going on, and there was nothing we can do to control it.

“Numbers seventeen through twenty please come in” another lady said and Riley visibly stilled, i inhaled a scared breath, walking slightly as both me and Riley walked into the hallway of the testing room.

“Ms. Lemuel? This way” the lady smiled at me and my eyes flew to her wings, I hadn’t realized but- perhaps I was staring at some sort of fairy? It was odd, but it wasn’t the worst thing that I’ve seen.

I let go of Riley’s hand, nodding at her as I walked in the room turning around to see Riley again, wanting to say something but the door shut, my reality sinking in as I swallowed.

“Let’s begin your illusion test”

also riley reveal : her name is brittany raymond!

#arie writes #shifting #shifting antis dni #reality shifting #shifting blog #shifting community #shifting diary #shifting methods #shifting motivation #desired reality #shifters #kpop shifting #desired life #shadow crest dr

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neva-writes · 10 months

Text

🧡‘Sudden proposals’💚

The bright sunlight filtering through the windows hurts his carmine eyes. He narrows them in a futile attempt to protect them. Now, in the hallway that leads to his and his boyfriend’s apartment, he doesn’t bother to pretend that he isn’t exhausted as hell. He can barely drag his legs through the door, it’s as if they weigh a ton. His witching-hours’ espresso is already gone from his system, and all he wants to do is to cook something, eat and fucking sleep. He doesn’t have the energy for the first one, though. He settles for falling deadbeat on the couch, the wrinkles on his pro-hero uniform and the stains on the furniture be damned.

“Kacchan?”

Ah.

Izuku.

He thought that he was asleep.

“M’here bunny,” he voices out groggily.

“Hey there,” Deku welcomes him home and sits down next to him.

“T’far,” the blond grumbles.

“Hmm?” Izuku tilts his head.

As if possessed, Katsuki immediately pulls him closer and embraces him tightly. He rests his head on his lap and hides his face over his white T-shirt. The hero inhales deeply, and the scent of their cherry laundry detergent fills in his lungs with comfort.

Izuku laughs lightly and runs his fingers through his spiky hair.

It feels so damn good. Can they have this forever?

Katsuki sighs contentedly.

“Rough night?” Deku asks.

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go to bed. I wanted to sleep a bit more for my graveyard shift, anyways,” the greenette tells him.

“That sounds good, but…” A sudden loud growl interrupts him.

“But you are hungry,” Izuku completes his sentence.

Three years ago, he’d probably have felt embarrassed, maybe even deny it despite the clear as fuck evidence. Now? They are so familiar with little things like this.

“Uhm… Could you… Could you prepare me a snack before? I know that you are probably even more tired than I am, and that you have a shift later, but right now I feel so drained, and—”

“Of course, handsome. No need to ramble like me,” the greenette kisses his temple and moves him over carefully so he can stand up and go to the kitchen.

Katsuki’s heart swells with affection.

Izuku could feel his boyfriend staring at him the whole time while he prepared him a simple meal.

The moment he placed the bowl on the table, Kacchan grabbed his scarred hands.

“Uh… I swear I washed them,” Deku exclaims.

“S’ not that, idiot. I just wanted to say that I appreciate you so much,” his boyfriend conveys with seriousness.

Ok, what’s going on? Did Kacchan get hit on the head earlier during patrol, or what?

“Eh, I don’t do much,” he responds shyly with a light blush on his freckled cheeks.

“You do. I love you so much,” Katsuki utters.

Izuku doesn’t know what to answer in this sudden intimate moment. He opts to lean into him and give him a sweet kiss, one that his partner deepens when their lips part.

“I love you too,” Deku replies, all drunk from Kacchan’s attention.

“Will you marry me?” The blond questions him.

“Pfft. Yes. Even if you are joking, yeah. I’ll marry you, Katsuki.”

“I’m not,” Kacchan retorts defensively.

“Huh?”

“I’m not joking, Deku. I’ve meant it all this time since we started dating. Hell, I meant it since I was four years old. Or don’t you remember when I told you that I wanted you to be my wi—”

“Okay, okay, I get it!” A flustered Deku shrieks as he covers Katsuki’s mouth. “S’just that…”

“Nothing, Izuku,” the blond bites his crooked fingers faintly. “You are it for me. It has always been you. No one else,” Katsuki says full of determination.

“I feel the same, Kacchan,” Deku confesses with tears pooling in his beautiful verdant hues.

Katsuki encircles his waist and kisses him one more time.

Izuku wraps his arms around his shoulders and pecks his jaw.

“I’ll propose again when I have the ring. It’ll be more romantic,” the blond promises.

“That is if I don't beat you down to it,” Deku challenges him.

The blond gasps, offended.

"Don't you dare, you little shit!" Katsuki roars and Izuku cackles.

Both end up tickling each other on the floor.

Later, as Izuku lays on Katsuki’s bare chest, he can’t help blurt out a question that is bugging him out.

“Ne, Kacchan…”

“Hmm?” The blond answers, half-asleep.

“Can we not get diamond rings?”

“Ya’ don’t like ‘em?”

“Nah… They’re overrated. Could we have adamantium bands with our names engraved on the inner side?”

“Whatever you want, baby,” he responds with a soft carmine gaze, and kisses his forehead.

“Mmkay. Goodnight, Kacchan. I love you,” Deku says.

“Love you too, ‘Zuku,” he yawns and closes his eyes.

“Kacchan…”

“Hmmmmmm?” Katsuki groans.

“Your feet are cold,” Deku complains.

Katsuki huffs. “Too bad, nerd. You are stuck with me,” he buries his face on Izuku’s hair and cuddles him even more.

The blond can feel his fiance’s smile against the skin of his neck.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Deku murmurs, kissing the scar over Katsuki's heart.

🧡-Fin-💚

#bkdk #ktdk #bakudeku #proposals #fluff #domestic

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piss-pumpkin · 2 years

Text

Lullaby (golden guard x reader)

Reader is a member of the CATS and Raines apprentice. Pre hollow mind.

1.7k words

You walked through the castle halls with purpose. In truth you’re had nowhere to go and nothing to do, but peopled assumed you were important and didn’t question you. A purposeful stride was one of your most powerful weapons.

Everything was in order, and the coven heads would enter the emperor’s mind tomorrow. Raine was busy, and there was no more planning to be done, so you had the night off.

Being a coven head apprentice, you had your own private chambers in the castle. Though it felt more like a fortress lately.

Despite freedom to do anything, you wanted to practice. Big things were coming, Raine had told you everything. You needed to be sharp, and hone your skills. You were amazing already at such a high position, but you were surrounded by the exceptional. You needed to be even better then the best witches around to stand a chance.

Once you reached your room, you closed the door and picked up your violin. Before Raine, you only knew piano. They had taught you a few string instruments and the flute for portable convince, but you still needed to be better with those. You tucked the body under your chin and readied your bow.

♪♪♪♪♪

You finished the piece, and took a gulp of water. You prepared to run it again. It was a fighting song, fast and nimble, that would help your allies in battle. You needed to perfect it, and even more, pour emotion into it to make it more powerful. You readied you bow, and took a breath.

Just as you were about to start, there was a knock on your door. “Uh, y/n? Am I interrupting?” a muffled Hunter asked from the other side.

He certainly was, but you let him in anyway. Violin and bow in hand, you opened the door. “Hey Hunter, what’s up?” You looked at the clock, “kinda late, isn’t it?”

He scratched the back of his neck, “yeah that’s kind of why I’m here… can I come in?”

You stepped aside and closed the door behind him when he came through.

“I’ve never been in your room before…” he said, looking around in awe. His hands brushed up against your piano. “How did you even get this in here?” He muttered. It was definitely a big piano.

“So, I ask again, what’s up?” You ask. Not that you don’t like having him here, but it was unusual. He typically was working. Raine didn’t trust a bone in his body, and didn’t pay him mind. They encouraged you to do the same, but you were drawn to Hunter. He was the only other person your age in the castle, of course you wanted to talk to him. Somehow you befriended the golden guard, a feat nobody expected.

“I’ve had a lot on my mind lately…” he said, deflating. You moved over to your bed and sat down, patting it next to you so he does the same. He slumped down and looked over at you. You did your best to stay quiet, and give him a space to vent.

”I just want to make my uncle proud.. but I don’t know. I don’t know if I ever will.” He flopped down on his back. “And I went outside the other day, I think I made friends, but I don’t know. They found out I’m the golden guard though.. they probably hate me now.”

“Are you sure? I feel like they wouldn’t hate you for that.”

“I’ll try talking to them. Darius set me up a penstagram account.” He said tiredly.

”Oh hey that’s sick, follow me on it,” you said, whipping out your scroll.

He yawned, “You have penstagram?” He was rubbing his eyes.

“Yeah. Hey are you good, you look real tired there.” You asked. He looked half asleep, and the other half dead. Long day, you thought.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just came here for a little break, I have to do some research on wild magic soon.”

You laughed, “Hunter, you are literally falling asleep on my bed, and your gonna do some homework later?” You didn’t believe him. He was probably going to fall asleep at his desk again.

He scrunched up his nose and scoffed at you. “Yes I am, what of it?” His eyes were wide open as he spoke, highlighting the bags under them. “And aren’t you supposed to address me as ‘Golden Gaurd’? I’m your superior, remember.”

“Ha, shouldn’t of told me your name then, cuz I am literally only ever going to call youThe Golden Guard in front of he scouts. It’s too late, you’re Hunter now” you shrugged. He was barely your superior anyway, you weren’t emperors coven.

He pursed his lips and grumbled. “I’m not even tired.”

“Yes you are, I can see it.” His eye bags were such a deep purple. “Here here here, you need sleep.”

“No.”

He left you no choice, “Then I’ll force your hand,” you said mischievously. You stood up with a smirk. “I was practicing a few things before you got here, so I may as well practice on you now, the price for interrupting.”

You knew the piece you were going to use on him well, it was piano. You’d rather not use an experimental song yet and mess it up and be embarrassed.

“Where are you going?” He asked curtly as you walked away.

“Oh, nowhere, it’s of no interest to you,” you said overly suspiciously. You sat down at your piano bench and cracked your knuckles.

“Hey hey, what are you doing?” He followed you up. You watched him stand up from your bed and you could see how little he’d rested. He moved so slowly trying to escape the comfort. When he finally did manage to stand, he looked back at your pillows so wistfully.

He sat next to you on the bench. “I order you to tell me what you’re doing.”

“Oh no! Orders!” You cried out quietly. You lifted your fingers and began playing. It was a mostly slow and peaceful song that you used to put people to sleep. Mostly. It also happened to be one of your favourites. “Don’t worrrrrrry about it.”

You thought for sure Hunter would do something, like try to stop you, but he didn’t. He just watched your fingers glide across the keys as you made the music. You poured your magic into it.

It was a longish song, and a few minutes in you felt something it your shoulder. You hadn’t been looking at Hunter in a while, and when you did, you saw he had fallen asleep. Aha it worked. You succeeded, you made he golden guard get some rest. You kept playing the piece.

At the climax, the sound was deep and loud. You were mindful of Hunters head on your shoulders trying not to move that arm too much. You had closed your eyes as you reached the swelling of the finale, muscle memory and magic guiding your hands.

You didn’t feel Hunter stir from the noise until the song quieted down, and then quickly ended.

He stared at you, star struck. “That was amazing. The song that is- not putting me to sleep.” He said, blushing.

”Thanks! It’s a favourite.” You said cheerfully. “You realize you need some rest right?”

“… yeah.” He begrudgingly admitted. Your sleep spell made him even more tired, having sweet sleep and then having it torn from him. “I’ll do my studying tomorrow.”

Hunter pressed a key on your piano. “Heh, you make it look easy.”

You snicker, “I make everything look easy.” You glanced back at the Instrument. “Hey you have trouble sleeping right? Want me to play you the song again, but skip the loud part?” You were aware of Hunter’s insomnia, and a spell seemed like a good way to get him to bed.

“Uhh, okay,” he looked around. “But uh, this is your room.”

You waved your hand. “Oh you can just stay here for tonight. I’m happy to help you out, you need some rest.” Come to think of it, Hunter had been going non stop lately. He seemed to be thinking more outside the castle too. “You can have the bed if you want, or maybe once you’re asleep I’ll push you over and take half.”

He got quiet, and blushed fairly on his ears. “… okay.”

You smiled. “Aight, get over there.” You gestured with your neck for him to get off your bench and let you play. He silently stood up and walked over to your bed. Awkwardly, he sat on it before laying down. It took him a moment to remember blankets, and put them on himself.

”Before I start, do you want be bed to yourself, cuz i can go to another room or sleep on the floor if you want.”

Hunter shook his head, “no, uh it’s your room. It’s… okay. We can share if you’d be comfortable. If not then I should be the one on the floor.”

“Oh shut up and listen to music.”

You started to play, and the slow hypnotic melody soon lulled Hunter to sleep. You stopped playing half way through, avoiding what woke him up last time.

He looked oddly peaceful while he slept, you had to admit. It wasn’t a sight to see often. His unruly strand of hair rose and fall as he blew it up as he breathed out. He’d be sleeping a good while if you did the spell right.

You pulled the blankets up and snuggled into the sheets on your side. You soon drifted off yourself.

———

Neither of you ever talked about how tangled and cuddled the two of you were when you both woke up. That was never to be spoken of again. He didn’t want to admit it, despite fully flushing whenever he thought about it. He didn’t look you in the eyes the whole day after. You had mostly the same reaction, despite playing it much cooler. You decided not to tell Raine that you had a thing for your friend, the golden guard. At least not for now, maybe you’d get their advice later.

#golden guard x reader #golden guard #the owl house #the owl house x reader #toh golden guard #toh #hunter my beloved

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bonezone44 · 1 year

Text

Ezra and Cee

Summary: A short series of scenes immediately following the movie.

Word Count: 3,4k

Tags: Chosen/Found Family, PTSD, Ezra being a sweetheart.

Author's Note: finding people's drabbles about the two of them makes me want to share my own. I wrote this a while ago in an attempt to do an Ezra x Reader (Ezra x OC) story, but I scrapped it.

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“They won’t let me leave,” Cee says flatly.

Ezra is still blinking himself awake, attempting to distinguish the colors and shapes appearing in his vision. He reaches up to wipe his eyes only for there to be nothing. No arm rising. No hand approaching his face. No fingers pinching his lids. He looks down affronted before remembering–that arm is gone now. Laid to tragic rest in a red tent on the green moon of Bakhroma.

“They won’t let me leave.”

“Leave? What?” He looks over to see her slouching in a hard plastic chair. For a few moments, she too is merely color and shape until his mind catches up with his eyes. “Where are we?”

“We’re on the Basin. We caught the slingback just in time and I called for a medic as soon as we got here.”

Ezra nods. “Good. Good. Th-thank you, Cee.” A cough sends him curling toward the wound in his abdomen. Right. That, too.

“Yeah, she barely missed your lung. They said you were lucky you didn’t bleed out before we got back.”

Ezra lies his head back onto the pillow, a small amount of sweat beading along his hairline. His head throbs and his stomach is twisted in knots. He focuses again on his breath–shallow through his chest. It feels as if there’s still some dust clinging to his lungs.

“I told them you’re my guardian, but now I can’t leave without your permission.”

“Your what? I’m your… I’m your guardian?”

Cee shrugs. “I had to put something on the forms.”

His eyes flash to hers and his heart starts racing. “The pod–”

“It’s docked. I don’t know if there’s anything on it worth selling.” She looks toward the door of the room. It’s closed, but still she whispers. “They keep asking me questions, but I don’t know what to say.” She looks scared.

He goes to reach his hand out to her in a show of comfort, but again, he must remind himself that his hand is no longer there. He offers an assured look instead. “Don’t you worry, little birdie. I will speak to whoever needs to be spoken to so that we can be free and on our way.” He closes his eyes. “I only need… a-a-a few more moments to rest my body.”

Cee groans as Ezra falls back asleep.

The next time Ezra wakes, his body feels just as leaden. His lungs feel tight and he coughs, but there is no sharp twitch in his abdomen. Instead it has been replaced with an aching, rippling warmth. He looks around the room searching for any of his possessions. He remembers getting into the pod in his flight suit, but if the doctors had to perform surgery, they would have cut through it. It was too big and beat to shit anyway. Cee still dons her flight suit, he notices, as she slumbers in the chair. He calls her name a few times until she rouses.

“You find any numbers on that pod?”

“Numbers?”

“Yeah. Chips. Chits. Coin.”

She squints. “Oh. Uh. Yeah.” She pulls out a long, flat black stick from her pocket. “I don’t know how much is on it, but I was able to get some food with it.”

“I need clothes.”

“What?”

He groans and clears his throat. “I can’t walk outta here in this paper doll dress.” He points, with his left hand, at the stick. “They got a gift shop around here?”

“Yeah.” She looks tired. “It’s next to the cafeteria.”

He nods. “Good. Go see if they got some pants and a-a-a shirt. And maybe some—” He grimaces, but presses on. “ …undergarments.” Before she objects, he adds, "I would not ask if it were not pertinent.”

She shrugs. “Okay. What size are you?”

“I don’t know,” he looks down. “This size.” He uses his left hand to gesture at his body. “Probably the same size as your dad.”

She stares at him hard. “Fine.” She stands up and leaves.

He doesn’t remember his last stay in a medical facility, but he knows they like to be paid before departure. He also knows that not every exit is supervised. And if luck continues to be on his side, he will be able to make it out before the nurse shows back up.

Poor Cee. She doesn't even know Ezra’s family name let alone blood type. Their last two cycles on the Green had been so hectic, all they had was whatever they carried on their backs. No identification. No wallet.

No aurelac harvest.

He bites his lip.

‘ You’re my guardian, ’ she said. That was not something he had anticipated happening. A young girl becoming his ward. A young girl whose father he had tried to divest of a parcel pod. He briefly wonders what would have happened to Cee if he had been successful the first time, taking his escape and leaving Damon stranded without a single regret. He wonders if she would have been stranded with him or if they would have made their way to the mercs and procured transport that way. It is likely they would have made it out fine.

Unless they ran into the Saters first. The leader, Oruf, believed that Cee’s arrival had been divine providence. And while Ezra wholeheartedly disagrees, he can certainly understand why they would have felt that way. A young girl, the same age as Oruf’s son, showing up out of the black and happening upon their settlement. What are the odds?

Then, he wonders how Cee’s father, Damon, would have handled it. Damon would have never given Cee up. But he wasn’t the wiliest fellow that Ezra’s ever come across. He was smart–but only to a point. He wonders if the Saters would have killed him and taken Cee. Perhaps Damon was destined to die on that moon–his greed and pettiness overcoming his common sense.

Perhaps Kevva and the divines had played a role. Only the goal did not favor the Saters and their misguided ideology. Perhaps the goal was to save Cee. Save her from a father who made her climb inside the body of a Jata Bhalu at the tender age of twelve with no cap on her head to keep the blood from her hair. He wonders if she even wore goggles or gloves or if her father (and whoever else butchered the beast) threw her in there with no regard for her well-being. Maybe the man saw her merely as an extra set of hands to help put numbers in his pockets.

Damon had brought Cee with him to the Green, a place where no child ought to be. Harvesting aurelac was dangerous. He had seen grown, steady-handed adults lose their lives on that testy terrain if the chems weren’t balanced just so.

Ezra sighs. He’s not sure why it all happened. Only that it did. And now he must continue to honor his offer of protection. Cee is still too young to sail the ocean on her own and if he has been deemed her guardian, even just on a medical form, then she he shall guard.

Cee knocks before she enters the room again. She hands him bright blue pants, covered in a repeating pattern of the red spacesuited tardigrade, Puzu, a gray thermal shirt, and a package of underwear.

“Shoes?” he asks.

“Your boots are under the bed, but that’s all they gave me when they took you to get… you know…” She stares at his stomach, thinking of the patched wound beneath his hospital gown.

He hums. “That flight suit never fit me right but I am pleased to still have my boots. They were an investment .” He nods to Cee. “Now go see if there’s a way we can slip out while I get dressed. Then we can head back to the pod.”

“Should you be walking already?”

He clears his throat. “My legs were not the wounded appendages. Now go .”

She rolls her eyes and steps out of the room.

He dresses and puts the extra pairs of underwear in the pocket of his ridiculous pants. The hospital socks are scratchy and strange, but he is pleased to return to the familiar comfort of his work boots. The process takes longer than he would like with only his left arm, and he has to stuff his boot laces behind the tongue instead of tying them in a knot, but it is a fact of his life now and he does his best not to frustrate himself over it.

He checks the room. Nothing left but clothing tags and a plastic bag.

He pokes his head out the door and sees Cee leaning against the wall, bored.

“There’s an emergency exit around the corner that I watched a few nurses use when they went out to smoke.”

Ezra tenses. “We need to avoid the nurses, Cee.”

She arches her eyebrow. “We could go out the front door instead.”

Ezra groans. “Just… just go check first, alright?”

She pushes from the wall and heads to the exit. Ezra keeps his head on a swivel. He is within sight of a nurses’ station but it’s about ten rooms away and they seem preoccupied. Ezra hopes they are, anyway.

“Hey,” Cee interrupts his surveillance. “We’re clear.”

“Clear,” Ezra repeats out of habit and follows her out.

Although an unlikely possibility, Ezra keeps his left hand on his gut wound to keep his innards from falling out. The walk from the hospital to the freight station is a long one down a maze of metal corridors and they get a few looks and stares from passers-by. Ezra pays them no mind and Cee seems just as unbothered.

It's a testy walk up the steep ramp into the pod, but Ezra manages. Once inside he takes a quick survey of his surroundings. He barely remembers Cee dragging him in it on the Green. Time had become a painful throbbing blur of images. Dizziness. Nausea. The feel of a hammer pounding in his skull repeatedly.

Now it is quiet. His discomfort is mild. He breathes clean, recycled air.

Cee is still at his side.

Unfortunately, the pod was empty. He steps into the large metal storage space that had been stripped to hold oversized specimens of aurelac. There was dust. Loose bolts rolling along the floor. Missing panels.

Ezra sighs. “Where'd you find the stick?”

“The what?”

He points. “The stick.”

“Oh. I found it up in the pilot's bench.”

“Show me.”

She climbs the ladder at the back of the space and opens the hatch. She fumbles onto the bench and Ezra climbs up behind her. He sticks his head through the opening and is hit with the memory of their flight from the Green, when the pod was bursting through the atmosphere toward the freighter. His mind travels back to that moment when the adrenaline in his body disappeared and he was left with a cold, raw emptiness. Victory had not tasted very sweet with a gut wound and a missing arm.

Cee opens up a compartment next to the viewport and a few zippered bags fall out. A boxy plastic case tumbles down as well.

A stuttered cough brings Ezra back to the here and now. “Open ‘em. Lemme see what's in there.”

She unzips each bag and Ezra fiddles through. There are flight cartridges, port IDs, a bottle of eyedrops–which Ezra pockets. There's a pod manual and a small blank notebook.

“Can we sell any of this?”

He shakes his head. “Nah, that stuff’s not worth a lick.” He purses his lips toward the plastic case. “What’s in that?”

She grabs it. “It’s just for the manual–” Her eyes go wide when she looks inside. “It’s… I–” She angles the box to show him.

Inside the unassuming case, lined with a soft black fabric, are thick prisms of green Karolclan jade. Ezra swallows. Stunned. So sure his eyes deceive him. He picks one out of the box and holds it close to his eyes. The prism is cold and lightweight. On the broad side is a carving of a jaguar’s face with menacing teeth and round, goggle-like eyes. He doesn’t know why this case was in the pilot’s compartment. Maybe it belonged to one of the mercs. Maybe it was Mikken’s payment or maybe it belonged to that strange Karolclan noble himself.

He looks back at the case. There’s dozens of them. Identical in size. Varied in opacity.

“What?” Cee looks hopeful.

Ezra laughs so hard, he starts coughing and tearing up. He drops the jade and groans, holding his stomach in.

“This is good, right?” She’s nervous. So so hopeful.

Ezra can’t see it, but his face is bright red. “It’s very good,” he chokes out. He’s ecstatic. Confused. Overwhelmed. The aurelac harvest would have earned them six and a half points each if things had gone to plan. It would have settled a few of his debts and allowed him a nice, long stint of comfort before he needed to look for work again.

The Karolclan jade would earn them twenty points each. Easily.

He breathes in a slow, cool breath. “We’re gonna be rich , little bird.”

//////////////////

Ezra and Cee sit in a rented room. Ezra is on the bottom bunk of their beds. He counts the remaining jade and the chits earned from what they had sold already. Cee sits across from him on a small footstool eating a bowl of hot noodles.

“Now Cee, I have no problem splitting this payout right down the middle for the two of us. It seems only right. But we need to talk.”

She tenses.

“I need to get you back to your family.”

“I don't— it was just my dad.” She rolls her eyes. “And sometimes my uncle but if he finds out about this money, he's going to take it away from me.”

He sighs. “And your mom?”

“She's been gone.”

“Alright then, what do you want, Cee?”

“What?”

“What do you want? You wanna go back to school? You wanna go back home? Where is home for you anyway?”

“My father and I had a place on the Pug.”

Ezra snaps his finger. “Well, alright then. Let's go to the Pug.”

“No.” She says quickly. “That's where my uncle is. He–no.”

“Well, you gotta go somewhere.”

She pauses, hesitant. “Where are you going?”

He sighs. “I don't rightly know, yet. This opens up a plethora of opportunities. For both of us.”

Cee’s shoulders curl in and she bites her lip. “Is it enough to go to the Ephrate? Maybe I could go to school there or something.”

Ezra purses his lips. “The Ephrate?” He hums. “I haven't been through there in a stint.” In a way, yes. The money is enough. But Ezra is used to spending his numbers differently. More happily on the Fringes. Numbers last longer out there and twenty points would have him swimming in a steamy, hot bath of hedonistic pleasantries. But Cee has her heart set on the Ephrate and shit, after what she’s been through, Ezra figures she deserves to get whatever the hell she wants.

He smirks. "We can go to the Ephrate on this."

She looks about to cry. "Yeah. Okay." She pauses. “Wait, we ?”

“Yes, we. ” He glowers. Clears his itchy throat. “I’m not letting you run off on your own with pockets full of points.”

“But you should… you should be able to do whatever you want.”

“I’m not leaving you alone, Cee.”

“My dad used to work contracts and leave me alone all the time,” she responds meekly, eyes focused on some distant memory.

The more Ezra learns about Damon, the better he feels about the man being dead. “Cee. I am not leaving you alone.”

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

In the rear of an empty restaurant, in a small windowless room, Cee and Ezra huddle over a series of forms. Ezra flips through the pages, still fighting the lack of dexterity in his left hand.

He hums. “Alright, little miss. Would you like to be my niece or my ward?”

“What? What’s a ward?”

“You know. Uncle, niece. Guardian, ward.”

“Oh.” She shrugs. “What does it matter?”

“Well, things might be a little easier if we share a family name. It is not a requirement, of course, but it might help.”

She stares at Ezra, considering. Her face twists into a grimace. “I am not calling you uncle .”

“Ward it is, then.”

“But…” she swallows.

Ezra waits patiently.

“If I keep my family name, can my real uncle find me?”

“He can.”

“I don’t want him to come after me.” She glances over her shoulder to the woman in gray coveralls leaning against the wall, expressionless. She whispers. “I don’t want him to take my money.”

Ezra smiles. “You wanna make up a last name or something?”

Her face brightens like she’s been waiting for this moment her whole life. She takes the paper from him and writes in her new name. Step-by-step she continues to fill out the form with Ezra’s guidance.

Once complete, they hand the papers over to the woman, along with a handful of chits. She pockets the money first and then begins transcribing the paperwork into a small, white computer. The keyboard clicks loudly like an old-world typewriter and there’s a long, gravelly buzzing noise that sounds when she finishes. She has Cee stand against a blue square hastily painted on the wall and takes her picture. A few minutes later, Cee is given a new identification.

“Thank you, Denise,” Ezra smiles at the woman. “Always a pleasure.”

Denise grunts.

They exit out the back door.

//////////////////

They stay in a rented room close to Cee’s new school on Hohepa Station. It’s close enough that Ezra escorts her to and from campus every day. It’s expensive and small, but it is convenient. Their relationship grows tense the longer Ezra goes without working, without acting.

Some days, while Cee is in class, Ezra will sit and stare off at nothing–numbers and possibilities rolling through his mind in an endless spiral. He has never had such a large quantity to his name before and he tells himself he doesn’t spend it yet because he wants to bask in the joy of such abundance.

Ezra has always been a man of action. He is decisive, quick, ambitious. And in the past, all that enthusiasm had the same glittering goal–acquiring enough wealth to experience true freedom.

But now he has that wealth. He has that long-sought-for freedom. And he is frozen in place with no ground beneath his feet, no steady path to follow, and no gravity pulling him to some final destination. Anytime he tries to look ahead, there is nothing but sparse fog, vague and ephemeral. There is too much for him to do. Too many things to choose from. Too many ways for his numbers to deplete–one little drop at a time.

One morning, Cee and Ezra are snapping at each other before they make it out the door. Ezra is fighting with the zipper of his jacket.

“Just get the prosthetic,” Cee groans.

He looks up at her, hard. “As we have already discussed, many times over, prosthetics are not perfect replacements. It will not work the same as my hand once did.” He grits his teeth and clenches his fist. “I am perfectly capable of adapting.” He tries one more time before ripping the jacket off and slinging it to the floor.

Cee glares. “I don’t know why you have to walk me every day.”

“I am keeping you safe,” he spits.

“You're not my father!”

He stops. Breathes. It isn't like her to talk that way, knowing damn-well her safety was not a priority of her father's. “I know I am not your father, but that doesn't mean I don't care for your well being.” His lips curl in his teeth. “I am keeping you safe.” The words come out staccato.

“We're not on the Green anymore, Ezra!” She throws her arms out. “We're not sharing tubes!”

He stares at her. Silent. Soft. Still. She's right. There is no flight suit. No plastic helmet. No filter around their necks. He swallows and sits down at their small square table, only big enough for two. “Alright, little bird.” He waves her off. “Go on. Fly free.”

“Thank you,” she answers and her shoulders go slack with relief.

He rubs his thumb along his brow. “When you're ready to land, I'll still be here.”

“I know, Ezra.” She says in a whisper. “I know.”

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Author's Note: I like to imagine that Cee bought him those Puzu pajama pants as a joke. The thought of Ezra having to wear them in public is hilarious to me.

#ezra prospect #prospect 2018 #i love ezra with my whole heart #ezra and cee #my writing

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