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unholyhelbig · 7 months

Note

Can you do a Kate x reader fic where Kate and R are friends and R gets hurt and ends up unconscious for a while and Kate confesses her feelings? Thanks so much, love your work :)

Title: The Sun Also Rises

Ship: Female!Reader x Kate Bishop

Wordcount: 4155

Warnings: Injuries, blood, general heartbreak, gunshot wounds, yelling and Ernest Hemingway if you're an English major

[A/n: Can you tell I'm nearing the end of my quarantine by the sheer amount of content I've been churning out? Less than 24 hours and I'm free from my enclosure. Also, did not proofread this one either]

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The mission was simple. It was recon. They weren’t supposed to engage unless they were engaged first. Kate Bishop knew this was how things were intended to go, but she also knew that nothing was predictable in the field and no matter how much they prepared for things to go wrong, it was never expected when they did.

Her fingers had gone numb in the cold of the night, her ribs had a dull ache that thrummed with her heartbeat. Kate was pressed against the rocky rooftop, binoculars pressed to her eyes as she watched the abandoned building aptly.

You were on the ground, bundled nice and warm in a van that was parked half a block away. There was a non-descript logo of a cooling company painted on the side, and the meter had been paid off for the foreseeable future. It was a safe zone. It was supposed to be a safe zone.

Kate could feel a burning in her shoulders, took a moment to adjust herself on the rooftop. That was all it took, really. She hadn’t seen the flicker of movement at the base of the building, the way that freight doors were pushed open in the dark.

“Kate,” her partner’s voice came through her comm. It was wracked with static despite the fact that she sat in the epitome of tech. “We might have a problem.”

“What’s going on?”

“Four suits walking my way.”

There was a twinge of fear in your voice. Of course, you could handle yourself against four guys. It was when the weapons came into play that things became questionable. Training didn’t matter, not when bullets ripped through flesh and blood began to pour.

Kate directed her sights to the group of tracksuits that were strolling down the rain-reflected pavement. Kate tightened her grip against the binoculars until her knuckles turned white. She let out the slightest breath as they approached.

She nocked an arrow, pulling it effortlessly from the quiver strapped to her back. Her fingers were damp, still numb. But that didn’t change her accuracy. The two of you waited with bated breath.

The four men stopped a few feet away from your van, lilting their heads as if they were assessing the situation. There was a moment of quiet, it could have been a minute, maybe even two, but to Kate it felt like a century. She could feel the string of her bow cutting into her skin, the shaking in each inhalation of cold air.

“Well, fuck”

You whispered the words before gunfire erupted. Kate thinks that you sensed it before she did, and the second the first flash popped, she released her arrow into the crook of the offenders knee. But there were three more, and while she re-nocked and aimed between the ribs of the next.

There were two more shots fired and Kate didn’t have much of a moment to think. The van was littered with bullet-holes and she used her third arrow to create a line directly to you, wrapped sloppily around a lamp post.

She didn’t wait, not with you. Never with you. If there was any fear of bolstering her bow and swinging down to street level, she didn’t feel it. Both heels of her boots hit the third suits’ chest. She heard a pop that rivaled the scent of gunpowder as he dropped.

Kate wordlessly used her bow to take out the last guy, his gun lowered. Her mind was screaming, even as she smashed the instrument against a temple hard with enough force to break skin. She kicked the gun away, something that seemed of little consequence, but had dalmationed the van.

“Shit, shit, shit!”

Kate pulled open the back door of the van. It groaned in response. She could smell the sweet metal before her eyes located you. Screens smoked, laptops going dark, but taking the brunt of the gunfire. You had pushed everything from a bolstered platform, having moved it in front of you for another layer of metal before the gunfire met you.

Smart. You were always so smart, even in distress. It was part of the reason Kate loved having you as a mission partner. That- and you weren’t against playing twenty questions with her through the coms when it was just the two of you.

Kate’s heart broke into a million pieces as she hoisted herself up into the back of the van. Her boots slid on the blood that was slowly seeping across the metal floor. She fell to her knees painfully but didn’t care. Instead, she pushed the table away.

You were curled in on yourself, but despite your coiled stance, she could see the blood. There was so much of it. She could barely hear your stunted breathes, but when she homed in on them, they were fast and shallow. Kate’s fingers pressed against your pulse point. That, on the other hand, was dangerously slow.

“Y/n, stay with me,” Kate rasped out, patting her pockets until she found her phone.

It threatened to slide out of her hands, swipes of blood glowing through the screen. She pressed Natasha’s contact name. Her handler. Her confidant. She only had to say a few words, it was plaguing her voice so deeply, nothing else was needed. “Nat, I need you.”

Three bullets total had hit you. Two in the abdomen and one in the chest. The slight gurgling noise that Kate had heard in the back of the van was a good sign of life, but a bad sign for your lungs. One had threatened to collapse and really; Doctor Cho had essentially said the best thing they could do was make sure that you were stabilized.

She had used the words “make sure she’s comfortable” and Kate must have let out an inhuman noise because Yelena was at her side, gently leading her away from the med bay and towards the closest bathroom. It was an unnatural stainless-steel white compared to the broken state Kate found herself in.

“Malen'kiy yastreb, you have to breathe.”

Yelena’s words were soft, riddled with a quiet accent that held no malice. She guided Kate to the toilet, sitting her on the lid before she pulled as many towels as she could from the dispenser. She warmed water and waited until they were soaked through. Yelena shut off the water and knelt in front of Kate.

She took Kate’s chin and gently started to wipe away the dried blood on her face. Kate’s hands were saturated, her clothes caked with the drying substance. There was so much of it, so much. And while Yelena knew it would be too much to coax Kate into taking a shower, she worked with what she had.

“I should have done more. When they were walking towards her, I waited. We… wanted to see what they would do, and they opened fire, Lena.”

It was a bold move. They had somehow clocked that they were being watched and made a massive play that was bordering on pure aggression. Kate could feel anger form cold in her stomach.

“We will handle it.” Yelena moved to Kate’s hands, working away at the dark red tint. When she said that, Kate knew she meant it. There was a darkness in her eyes that mirrored the underlying sorrow Kate felt in your absence.

They sat quietly for a moment. The only sounds were the scrubbing of Yelena’s efforts and the small sniffs as Kate let her tears hit the collar of her shirt. The words, they were stuck in her throat.

“What if she doesn’t make it?”

Forbade their close proximity, and Yelena would not have heard the question, but her heart broke undoubtedly. She stopped working away at the color, now a dingy orange, something that was manageable and less gory.

Yelena knew how Kate Bishop felt about you. She would have been a terrible assassin if she did not pick up on the soft gestures, the longing looks, and the seconds that sparked between you both while you sparred; your back against the mat, Kate pinning you down with a smile that could only ring in it’s truest form.

She hadn’t admitted it yet, despite the poking and prodding that Yelena forced upon her. After all, their line of work was a dangerous one, and not a place to pine. Life was too short not to ask for what you wanted, and that was truer now than it ever had been.

“We will handle that too, Malen'kiy yastreb. Right now, you have to be with her. When Natasha was in her coma, they said she wouldn’t pull through, but she did. They also said that just being there was what helped her hold on. Talking to her. Perhaps you should do the same?”

It wasn’t a question, not really, because Yelena stood and tapped the side of Kate’s knee to jolt her from her trance. She’d stopped crying, at least, a numbness spreading through her. If she had paid attention to the blood, really paid attention, then she would crumble once more.

Yelena had helped more than she realized, and Kate made a mental note to make it up to her at some point. Despite her rough exterior, Natasha was the one who typically dealt with the feelings. Clint was impossible at it, and Yelena performed in actions rather than words, but Kate didn’t’ need someone to tell her it would all be okay, not right now.

The med bay was mostly empty when Kate returned. There was a nurse in toxic blue scrubs that glanced up at her noncommittedly when she entered, and Kate was oddly thankful for that too. Her eyes darted to your room, a last-minute edition from Tony when one of the team members had an extended stay.

It looked more like an escape pod, bright lights that were dimmed for comfort and a hospital bed. There was a chair that could recline and another one that didn’t. It was built for quarantine if needed, but the door was cracked open.

You looked so small, dwarfed by the machines that worked tirelessly to keep you alive. There was a breathing tube taped to your lips, and a needle had been pushed into the top of your hand. Your stomach and chest had been wrapped with gauze; a small bandage placed over a cut on your brow- so inconsequential.

Kate couldn’t stop the whimper that moved through her lips, but she pressed her fingers against them to stifle the sound. There were so many emotions, so much hurt and anger at herself for not getting to you faster.

She carefully stepped closer, using her stained fingertips to move a strand of hair from your clammy forehead. Kate could hear her tears hitting the scratchy blanket. There was a monitor that beeped along with your heart, and she thought it was much too slow.

“Hi there,” She whispered, taking your hand. It was cold, and she wanted desperately to warm them. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry y/n/n.”

Kate finally broke down, careful with her movements as she sobbed into the small of your neck. You usually smelled of pine, and of the slightest bit of sweat, but all she could get was metal and antiseptic.

“You have to pull through for me, okay? There’s so much we haven’t gotten the chance to do. We haven’t even been on a real mission yet, you know? Clint will never let me live that one down. Getting so fucked up on recon. Who does that?”

Kate paused and waited for your answer. She counted three beeps, before shaking her head and letting out a little laugh. It should have been her in the van, though, the thought of you at her vantage point on the horizon was unheard of.

“You know what, forget the mission, y/n. You know what we really need to do? We need to get you to the beach. God, I’m telling you, it’s just as beautiful as you imagine it to be. My parents have that house on the coast. It’s right on the water, and you can smell the salt from miles away. I’m telling you… miles.”

She let out a small sob, squeezed your hand tightly and kissed your fingers before pressing her forehead against them. She wished they were warmer, she wished you were warm.

“And the sand… people don’t really like sand because it get’s everywhere, and I mean everywhere, but y/n/n, the sun warms it all day and then at night, at night when you can’t see past the darkness of the waves and it’s not as crowded with people and kids, and dogs, you can still hold onto that one bit of morning.

“I had my first kiss there, down by the docks. I remember it so clearly. It was awful. I’m talking open-mouthed, slobbery, and just much too long even though it only lasted seconds.”

Kate chuckled at the memory, shook her head. She looked at you, at your delicate features and the small scars that littered your skin. They weren’t all from today, and she ached for you to explain each and every faded mark while her fingers traced them.

“I remember thinking, this is it? I’ve waited my whole life for this? I was only fifteen, and my life wasn’t all that long of a wait yet, but the older I get, the more I realize that that first kiss isn’t anything special. Sure, we were on the beach, and the sky was this cotton-candy type of pink. It was supposed to be perfect. But it wasn’t, because I wasn’t with the right person.”

She swallowed hard, her mouth was suddenly dry. She wished she had more time. She wished that she could spend another day with you, struggling over road-maps with a red twist of licorice hanging out of the side of your mouth. Kate craved a day where the sun was too strong, and the lemonade just the right amount of sour. She wanted to see the look on your face when you realized how vast the ocean is.

“When you get better, I’ll take you out there. I’ll take you to the beach and we’ll sit on the docks and we’ll watch the sunset. Every single night, we’ll watch the sunset, okay? But we can’t do that if you don’t pull through. If you don’t fight, I’ll never know… we’ll never know if that perfect moment exists.”

Kate cried until she drifted off to sleep, half-draped across your body in the most conscious of ways as if not to disturb you. She stirred once when the nurse came in and checked your fluids. Then twice the next morning when Natasha was there to coax her into drinking some water from a cheap Styrofoam cup.

Nothing had changed in two days, and Kate still remained rooted in her spot, shifting around the room. Clint brought her a change of clothes, and she made him turn around when she stripped and pulled on one of his t-shirts, a pair of sweatpants that were much too big.

Kate protested that she was getting enough sleep, and she would pick at the meals that they brought in for her. She refused to leave your side, sometimes pacing the length of the room in her socks as she told you all about the summer she turned sixteen and her adventures in their vacation home.

Most of the time, she would watch the slow rise and fall of your chest. She had grown accustomed to the rhythm of it. She wouldn’t take her eyes off you, looking for the faintest sign of movement. Something to let her know that you were still there.

A month in, and she was brought a cot, but still squeezed into the small sliver next to you. She watched the lights on the ceiling. Kate told you about all the places she wanted to take you; the small gas station that sold the best fried fish (trust her, it’s safe), and the fair that would occupy the last fifty yards of the pier for two weeks in July.

Two months in, and Natasha finally dared to go past the small opening of the room. She had watched from the window, and Kate hadn’t noticed. She and Clint would stand and talk for hours, taking in Kate’s heartbreak as she read from Earnest Hemmingway’s “The Old Man from the Sea” over and over again.

Natasha had shyly produced a copy of “The Sun Also Rises” before lowering herself into the uncomfortable chair in the room. Kate watched her warily, thanked her for the book. She held her breath until it burned.

“I know what you’re going to say, and I don’t want to hear it.”

Natasha’s voice was quiet, barely heard over the roar of the machines “Katie,”

“No.”

“As your handler it’s my responsibility-“

“I said no!” Kate was standing now, her voice loud. She would never dare yell at Natasha. She’d never dream of it. For the first three months of their professional partnership, she struggled to even look the woman in the eye. Natasha didn’t flinch, she didn’t say anything. “I’m not giving up on her.”

“We have to prepare for the possibility that she’s not going to wake up.”

“She’s fighting, breathing on her own now, and I’m not going to let you come in here and tell me that she’s not going to come back. You’re the last person I would expect to come in here and tell me to give up. Tell her to give up!” Kate’s voice was losing steam “If this is about resources I can-“

“It’s not about resources, Kate. It’s about you. We’ve been watching you torture yourself for months now and there’s been no sign of brain activity.”

“Will you stop being so clinical about this? This is y/n.” Kate begged, her words finally broke, shattered into a million pieces. “y/n is in there, I know it. She has to be. She has to be because if she’s not, if she’s… fuck!”

Kate was frustrated and exhausted. Her knees buckled and Natasha, with her spy-like reflexes, had her wrapped in her arms in moments. She let Kate cry, both of them uncomfortably on the floor, the tile cool. Natasha soothed her, tucked Kate’s nose against her neck. There was the slightest bit of pine.

“This is all my fault,” Kate murmured when she calmed “it’s all my fault.”

It had been a week after her conversation with Natasha and Kate was still headstrong in her efforts, though the woman’s words never truly left her. She was a good way through ‘The Sun Also Rises’, nodding off between paragraphs.

Kate’s feet were on the bed, the chair expertly balanced on it’s hind legs with the accuracy of an archer. She felt herself tilting back. Truth was, Kate was tired. Not in the physical sense, though her body hurt.

Despite what Natahsa, and Clint, and probably Yelena thought, Kate would be by your side until the end of time. She’d have to forge books about the ocean that had more plot, but refused to pick up a copy of Moby Dick.

Instead, she let out a sigh and closed the book over her fingers, squeezing the bridge of her nose. She thought of the beach, of her first kiss with Mickey Voit. More than anything, she thought of how nice it would be to feel your lips against hers, to see the bright look of life in your eyes.

Kate figured she had drifted off to an uncomfortable form of half-sleep when she heard it.

“You’re not going to keep reading?”

The voice was raspy, barely above a murmur. The words were unpracticed, but they meant everything all the same. Kate nearly tumbled from her chair; the book certainly flew to the ground as all four legs returned to stability.

She must be asleep, dreaming, or dead. Your stare bore into hers, red-rimmed but there all the same. And you were smiling, God, you were actually smiling after all of this time. It was a sight she thought she would never see again.

“Come on, you were getting to the part about never falling in love.”

“Always,” Kate gripped the armrests of the seat, afraid to let go. Fearful that if she did, she’d wake up and all of this would be over. You would be gone. “I am always in love.”

You blew air from your nose and started coughing, a brittle sound that made Kate stir from her position entirely. Damned if this was a dream, you needed a doctor. She’d will herself to sleep if it meant seeing you again.

Kate called for Cho frantically and stepped back when she rushed into the room, followed by two nurses and an intern that she had come to know based on her pitying glances. Kate really wanted to punch her in the face, most times, but was never happier to see her in this moment.

“Good god,” Doctor Cho quickly went to your side.

She dazedly took your vitals, having you squeeze her finger, something you did with some struggle, weakened from your months out of commission. She pressed the tip of her pen to the balls of your feet, checking your mobility, your lucidity as she guided a straw to your lips and you took a tentative sip.

Kate stood out of the way, her fingers pressed to her lips and her eyes watching every single movement carefully. She relished in your voice, however small it was, as she answered questions.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Agent Y/L/N.” Doctor Cho squeezed your shoulder “I’m going to alert the necessary parties and give you two some alone time… this one never left your side.”

There was a call button if you needed her, and the weight of uncertainty seemed to exit the room. The two of you were alone, as you had been for the last three months. Kate hated how pale you looked; how fragile you were. She wanted to pull you close and squeeze you as if there weren’t 78 stitches across your front.

“It’s so weird,” You lilted your head to the side “I had the strangest dream about the beach. I could see it so clearly, even though I’ve never been there.”

Kate hummed, suddenly timid “That is weird, maybe it was Tahiti?”

“Maybe” You chuckled and then winced “Ouch,”

The archer was at your side in less than a second. Out of habit, she had your hand in hers, quickly forgetting that she hadn’t ever done this before the accident. She still struggled to make the right about of eye contact with you so she wouldn’t’ come off as weird.

Kate groaned “This was easier when you were unconscious,”

“Okay? Ouch again?”

“Not… like that. God, I’m sleep deprived, and totally screwing this up. You would think that three months is enough time to work out a way to talk to a beautiful woman without sticking my fist in my mouth.”

She moved to pull her hand away, but you held onto it with strength to let her know that you never wanted to let her go. She looked down at your grasp, and then back up at you with the beginning of tears in her eyes.

“I didn’t tell you the best part about being at the beach. It was beautiful, really, so vivid and calm. The funny thing is, I was always at the end of this dock and the sky was always this pink color.” You frowned, a small crease between your eyebrows “I could hear you all around me, just pulling me to the end of that dock.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm, but you were never there, and quite frankly, Katie, I was getting sick of waiting. So, one day I just jumped into the water, and it was startling, cold, but it woke me up… literally, I suppose. My point… I don’t think I would have jumped if I wasn’t trying to get back to you.”

Kate gently closed the distance between you both, pressing her lips so tenderly against yours. It took a moment for your mind to catch up, but when it did, your warm fingers found their way to her jaw, running along the expanse of her skin, breathing her in. She oddly smelled of sand and salt-water.

You whimpered into the kiss when she grazed an aching spot on your ribs and she was quick to pull back, a look of worry on her face “Sorry, oh god, sorry”

“It’s okay, just a little sore” You beamed at her, forehead pressed close to hers. “Was that better than your kiss with Mickey?”

Kate groaned, her nose cold against your cheek as she murmured “You heard that, huh?”

You had heard everything.

#kate Bishop #Kate Bishop x reader #Kate Bishop x y/n #Kate Bishop x you #Hawkeye #hawkeye fanfiction #request #Angst #Fluff #Angst with a happy ending #Marvel #Hurt comfort #natasha romanoff #yelena boleva #clint barton

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unofficial-writing · 1 year

Text

As long as I’m here

Pairing: Din Djarin x Fem!reader

Warnings: angst (if you can call it that), mentions of blood/wounds, some fluff, Din is a baddie, allusion to smut but not really, protective Din, TW: Kidnapping

Summary: Moff Gideon sent troopers to retrieve you as bait for Mando but he’s not letting that happen.

Word count: 1.2k

«̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ «̶ ̶̶̶ 　　　　 ̶ ̶ ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ »

Nevarro’s sun neared the horizon. It would be dark soon, providing a little more cover than you had now. You slid cautiously behind a building in order to avoid interaction with a group of imperial troopers that walked on the main street.

A few buildings down the alley and you started to notice the stormtroopers matching your route on the other side of the building. Your body stiffened at the realization and you turned down a series of twists and turns. Once you finally glanced back, you noticed only two out of six continued their pursuit. The rest were nowhere in sight.

Coming to the end of the alley, you ducked into one of the buildings— which you hoped was empty. As you descended the stairs, you came into a dimly lit room stacked with shelves of what looked like ship parts

As you crossed the room toward the other door, the click of blasters hit your ears and you stopped; your hands falling to hover discreetly over the weapon concealed in your thigh holster.

“Hands up,” came the irritating voice of one trooper. You scoffed, scanning the room slowly. Four were already around you and the other two came down the stairs behind you, blocking your easiest exit.

When he repeated himself, your blaster was out in less then a second and two troopers quickly fell dead where they stood. When you aimed for the third, four barrels stared you down, pointed directly at your head from only a few feet away.

“Drop your weapon!” One demanded. You cursed under your breath, lowering your weapon to the ground. The second it was out of your grip, your hands were cuffed behind your back and a cover was placed over your mouth.

You waited until you were escorted out of the building and under the slowly darkening sky before attempting your first escape plan.

You ducked under the arms that held you and prepared a blow for him. There weren’t really any good options with your hands tied and mouth covered so your escape ended in failure. You found yourself held by two troopers with guns pointed at your skull.

On the walk through town, you caught the eye of Cara Dune. She knew you but likely wouldn’t recognize you in this state and lighting. A flicker of fear twisted at you, despite your incredible ability to conceal it.

Dank Farrik, you cursed to yourself while trying to come up with an escape route. You became increasingly aware that the longer you waited the slimmer your chances got.

«̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ «̶ ̶̶̶ 　　　　 ̶ ̶ ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶»

Cara Dune sought out the Razor Crest immediately, catching the Mandalorian by surprise with her approach instead of yours.

“Is y/n here?” She asked, scanning the hull but only finding Grogu and Din.

“No she went into town.” He answered simply.

“Dank Farrik, then that was her.”

“What?” Mando set down what he was doing and turned to give Cara his full attention.

“Troopers have her, they’re—” She didn’t need to explain further.

“Watch the kid.” He said, walking down the hatch door with his weapon in hand. Cara looked down at Grogu who looked back at her.

«̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ «̶ ̶̶̶ 　　　　 ̶ ̶ ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶»

Gloved hands held you in place as you limped, dragging your feet as much as possible to ensure they had to pull you along. Your second escape attempt— which took place just before you were ducked into an abandoned-looking building— resulted in a blaster wound to the upper thigh and an injury to the head.

Your head injury wasn’t severe but you were extremely dizzy, and despite the pain you found yourself able to walk.

After traveling down a small tunnel, you stood in a cargo storage unit. Due to the dizziness and what was probably blood loss, you had to be practically held up.

“Why aren’t we just taking her off planet?” One of the troopers asked, which was met with a short-tempered response.

“Moff Gideon wants her brought up to him.” He answered. “It’s not dark enough yet, people’ll get suspicious.”

The first stormtrooper scoffed. “We don’t have to worry about suspicions.”

“I think you do.” You jumped a little at the new voice, but you recognized it instantly. Din seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. He stood across the room with his weapon pointed at the group. In response the trooper holding me pressed the barrel of his hand blaster to my neck.

“Give her to me.” Din’s tone was slow and clear. He knew exactly what he was doing.

“Come any closer and both of you die.” The three other troopers aimed their blasters at Din.

“I’ll repeat myself only once.” He didn’t hesitate. “Give her to me.” One of the troopers cocked his weapon, the movement quickly being responded with a brief flash of light and three out of four soldiers falling dead. The last stood a little more shakily, holding you in place.

The Mandalorian turned his head, his helmet coldly staring at the stormtrooper. The trooper hesitantly let you slip out of his grip, handing off your unsteady body to Din, who pulled you to him by your waist to hold you up.

“Take something of mine again,” he threatened with an edge of hatred in his tone. “And the consequences will be much more severe.”

He turned to lead you out, with his blaster still pointed at the trooper. He shot first, barely touching Din’s armor before it was countered. You both watched the last trooper fall to the ground.

Now in the empty cargo room, Din set you on a crate and removed your handcuffs and mouth piece. Sitting up rather than standing, your dizziness was much more manageable.

Din cut a slit in your pant leg, to examine the wound. “Undressing me here?” You asked in a sarcastic tone.

“Not yet.” He responded to your joke but by his tone, you could tell he wasn’t in the joking mood. You could feel his tense demeanor even through his armor.

“I’m ok, Din.” You stated, attempting to make him feel a little better.

“I know,” he replied. After a long pause he sighed. “He couldn’t get me, so he went for you.”

You knew it was normal for Din to keep his thoughts inside his head, even more so when outside the Razor Crest. This was no different.

Moff Gideon’s act infuriated him. There were two things in the galaxy that he’d lay down his life for; Grogu and you. The thought of nearly losing you to the empire was reasonably anger inducing.

You rested your hands on either side of his neck, your fingers finding the only spot on him that wasn’t concealed by armor. He instantly relaxed at your touch, raising his hands to meet yours.

"As long as I'm here, nobody is taking you anywhere." He spoke calmly now that his anger had subsided. I gave him the makings of a smile and he helped me back onto the ground, leading me out and back in the direction of the Razor Crest.

#the mandalorian #din djarin x reader #din djarin #the mandalorian fanfiction #the mandaloria/reader #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x y/n #din djarin x female reader

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transhuman-priestess · 7 months

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A High Place in El-Bariyah

The crew of the Huntington grieves the loss of one of their own, while a malevolent force in a distant corner of the solar system forges its newest weapon.

The highly anticipated continuation of The New Flesh is here.

This story contains graphic violence, sexual content, depictions of surgery, brainwashing, identity death, dismemberment, implied rape, abusive parents, firearms, anti-queer slurs, and healthily moderated but melancholy consumption of alcohol.

As always, this story is for adults 18 years of age or older, it's also the third in an ongoing series. Get caught up before you read it!

Chapter 1: The New Flesh Chapter 2: The Third Law

Remember, if you like it, reblog it, and tell me what you liked! I thrive on feedback and shares. I write this stuff for the joy of sharing it with others. Your reblog puts validation directly into my gay little soul.

January 24, 2253 1800 Earth UTC

The Hildas, 530 million kilometers from Jupiter

7 hours. It had been 7 hours since the Huntington had escaped her assailants, and Chester Silvera, First Mate, hadn’t seen the Captain in 6.

He’d just gotten out of the shower. The entire crew was in shock. Most of them had served with Jenna Powell for years. She was their friend, and despite the frequent clashes between her and Holder, Silvera knew that the crew respected and liked both of them.

Silvera surveyed his quarters, a moderately-sized suite of around 20 square meters, containing a modest bed, a small galley, a lavatory, and the shower he had just vacated. The Huntington’s crew accommodations were far from palatial, but they were home.

Chester walked to his dresser, donned a black band T-shirt (The Carowells, Jovian Tour 2250), khaki shorts, and sneakers. He grabbed his portable radio off the table, clipped the handset to his belt and the remote mic to his collar. It chirped reassuringly as he turned it on.

Keying the mic he said, “This is Silvera, anyone seen the Captain?”

A moment later, Jill Campbell’s voice crackled to life on the speaker. “Door logs say she’s still in her quarters. Her radio’s off, want me to ring her?”

“No, I’ll just walk right over, thank you.”

“No problem.”

He opened the door to the hallway outside. The corridor was well-lit, and lined with short-pile navy blue carpet and fake-wood-grained wall paneling that had probably been quite fashionable 20 years ago, but now gave the ship a hopelessly outdated look. Chester actually quite liked it. The old girl was past her prime, but she had a sense of style, and you had to admire her for that.

Holder’s quarters were 10 meters down the hall, on the same side as Silvera’s, adjacent to the bridge entrance. Between their rooms was a corridor that led to the now-vacated Engineer’s quarters, the mess hall, the rec room, and the crew dormitories. As he passed the hallway, Silvera caught a glimpse of Powell’s door. It was closed, and unadorned. He thought about peering inside, but decided that wasn’t his place, and instead he continued to Holder’s room.

Silvera knocked a syncopated pattern on the Captain’s door, and was greeted with a dull, “Enter.”

He turned the knob and swung the door open to reveal the darkened bedroom beyond. A window faced out towards space, looking aft over the ore holds. The #3 bay was still open, its massive door blocking the view of the engines’ yellow-white exhaust plumes.

The captain was lying in her bed, eyes open, staring at the ceiling. She hadn’t shaved her face yet today, and her stubble was creeping in. Silvera never liked to say anything, but he always thought it gave Holder a dashing, roguish look. Right now though, she just looked exhausted.

“Can’t sleep?” Silvera asked, casually, as if this were a normal cruise under normal circumstances, and he had not a care in the solar system.

Holder just lay there, still staring at the ceiling. Silvera waited for her response. When none came, he asked, “Mind if I come in?”

“Sure,” was all she said.

He turned the lights on to their lowest setting and closed the door behind him. This was the first time he’d managed to get a good look at the captain’s quarters. She hadn’t yet put up any decorations, but she had managed to situate a small bookshelf, her favorite armchair, and a small table that currently held a laptop terminal.

“Love what you’ve done with the place,” Silvera joked, “Feels just like home.”

“Chester,” said Holder, without looking at him, “can you fucking not right now?”

Silvera smiled, though Holder didn’t see that. He knew his captain, and he knew he had to get her on her feet to keep her out of trouble. Holder was a problem-solver. She needed dirt on the tires and grease on her hands or she got restless. With the ship moving and no burn scheduled for another 10 days, Silvera had to become that problem.

“Terry, the crew needs to hear something from you,” he said, “They’ve just been through hell. They’ve lost a friend. Now they need a leader.”

“Some fucking leader.” was Holder’s bitter reply.

“You can’t be everywhere at once,” he said, “It’s not your fault Powell didn’t put the tether on.”

“Tell that to the court martial.” the captain said, rolling to face away from him.

“I will,” he said, “and so will the rest of the crew.”

Holder sat up and looked at him, “Are you sure about that? They knew her for years. They met me last month. You don’t have to be a physicist to figure that one out, Chester.”

“The crew will stand by their captain.”

Holder stood now, apparently she’d lay down to sleep in her blue khaki work uniform, “Why? Why will they stand by me? I got Powell killed, Chester. She is dead, because, I fucked up.”

“And how did you do that, hmm?” he asked, “By not breathing down her neck and by treating her like a responsible member of the crew?”

“Chester,” Holder’s voice got louder and she began pacing, “You just told me, right before all of this,” she waved her hands in front of her for emphasis, “that I had to drop my grudge against her. That we’d been butting heads for a month and that I was too hard on her.”

“Terry,” Silvera kept his voice even, “you are not the first Captain to lose a crew member to that crew member’s carelessness.”

“Her carelessness?” Holder said, incredulous, “Chester, I am the Captain, everything on the Huntington is my responsibility, the cargo, the safety of the crew, the integrity of the ship, everything!”

“You are one person.” Silvera could feel his fist clenching

“Who is tasked with maintaining discipline and order,” Holder shot back, “I failed in both. Jenna Powell is dead because I couldn’t control her,” Silvera thought he saw tears in her eyes, “I should have supervised the EVA, I should have checked the suit inventory,” she was shouting now, “I should have turned back and looked for her!”

“And gotten yourself and the rest of the crew killed?”, it was Silvera’s turn to shout now, “With all due respect, shut the fuck up, Theresa!”

Holder was momentarily speechless, incandescent with rage. Finally, she found her voice. “If you ever speak that way to me again, Silvera, I will personally make sure you’re-”

“Yes, yes,” he cut her off, tired of the show, “you’ll personally make sure I’m cleaning out waste reprocessors on Io until I’m old and gray, I’ve heard it before.”

“What is your problem?”

“You! This!” was his response, “Your crew just suffered a trauma and you’re sitting in here feeling sorry for yourself like some first-year cadet when you should be out there, tending to your crew as a captain should.” Holder collapsed into a sitting position on the bed and buried her face in her hands, muttering something Silvera couldn’t quite hear.

“What was that?” Silvera asked.

“I said,” Holder brought her hands away from her face, and Silvera could see the tears lining her cheeks, “That they deserve a better captain than me.”

Chester Silvera had been friends with Holder for half a decade. They’d met on a cargo hauler, the Venture, where Silvera had an engine technician. She’d stayed up helping him study for his command examine, and he’d been her first mate ever since he’d gotten his commission.

“Terry,” he said, choosing his words carefully, “I have served under,” he counted in his head, “4 captains, including you. Now, maybe it’s just my incredibly wise influence,” he paused briefly, and Holder cracked a tiny smile, “but I would say that you are, by far, the best.”

“Yeah, well, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.” Holder said, bashfully.

“I wasn’t finished,” Silvera continued, “I’ve never had a truly bad captain, but the ones who’ve impressed me the most have never been the ones that put on a stone face and hide behind their command. The best captains are always those who suffer alongside the crew, who laugh and cry with them. You need to be out there. They don’t need you to be their rock, they need you to be beside them in the flotsam while they’re adrift, so that when someone spots land, you can lead them back to it.”

They sat in silence for a long moment. Finally, Holder grabbed her radio, keyed it, and said, “This is the captain. We’ve had a bad day, probably the worst any of us has ever had. Let’s all meet in the mess hall at 1930. Drinks on me.”

* * *

Time Unknown

Location Unknown

Jenna wasn’t sure if she was in hell yet. She couldn’t possibly be alive in this state. Every signal her body sent was telling her that she should be dead. Her face felt like it was still on fire, her shoulder was in pieces, and she was pretty sure her rib cage was caved in, too. Every breath was agony. She had long since stopped trying to move any part of her body. Even with concerted effort at stillness, though, new pains danced and bloomed throughout her.

Time was behaving strangely, too. She was dizzy, like she’d had too much to drink. Her stomach felt like it was being twisted on an auger. Through the haze of it all, in the back of her engineer’s brain, she knew that if she wasn’t dead yet, she soon would be. She’d taken at least 50 grays of hard fusion radiation. By all accounts, she should have been dead by now.

And yet, she lived. The thing—for that was all that Jenna could call it—that had taken her from the emptiness of space had carried her over its shoulder to some kind of medical facility. It lay her on a cruel-looking steel table and cut her suit off, injecting her with a syringe of some oily substance that filled her mouth with a rusty taste she couldn’t shake. Even now, what had to be hours later, it remained.

She drifted in and out of consciousness for some time. Each time she woke, her head felt slightly clearer. After what felt like half a day, she woke and found that she could move her neck without feeling the crunching of bones beneath it. How long have I been out?

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than a wave of intense nausea swept over her. Though the pain had dulled slightly, it still felt as if she might shatter when she reflexively rolled onto her side, and wretched. Nothing came out. She braced herself with her right arm and was surprised to find that she could bear weight on it. She marveled at this only a moment before another convulsion gripped her stomach. This time, she threw up. The room was dimly lit with a warm light, but even the yellow glow could not hide the contents of her stomach as it spilled onto the floor.

Blood. Lots of blood. Some clotted, some not. Some was bright red and some was nearly black. Jenna heaved again. More vomit, more blood. Her engineer’s brain chimed in again. Sodium-24.

The deuterium-tritium fusion that drove the Huntington’s main engines took two hydrogen atoms, one with an extra neutron, the other with two, and smashed them together to form helium and heat. The helium atoms, technically they were alpha particles, were of little harm to the human body normally, though the sheer quantity of them in fusion exhaust posed a danger. The real problem, however, was the neutrons produced as a byproduct. It was them, she knew, that would seal her fate.

It was the sort of thing that had captured her imagination as a young boy in Dublin. A particle so small and nonreactive that it could pass right through solid objects. Except sometimes, it didn’t. Sometimes, the neutron would hit an atom’s nucleus square-on, and stick there. The nucleus would become unstable, rippling like a drop of water falling from a cloud, and then it would break apart. Do this to the right substances, and you could generate power, build a bomb, trace the flow of blood through the human brain. Do it to the wrong substances, the ones that made up your body, and you became a bomb in slow-motion, destroying yourself, unable to prevent your own demise.

Much of the sodium in her body had absorbed neutrons, changing from stable sodium-23 to radioactive sodium-24. While fusion exhaust had neutrons and alpha particles, both of which penetrated relatively little, sodium-24 emitted gamma rays, and those gamma rays could pass through almost anything short of lead, including the human body. As they did, they stripped the ends off her chromosomes, shredding her DNA and leaving her cells unable to replicate themselves properly. The result was that she was dissolving. As the fastest-dividing cells in her body reached the end of their lifespans, they died. Rather than being replaced, her organs were simply shutting down.

But it didn’t make sense. She had taken so much radiation she should have died within an hour. Why hadn’t she? She was pondering that question when the thing that had brought her to this room stepped through the door.

Jenna’s head was clearer now and she was better able to absorb the figure’s appearance. It had a human shape. Bipedal, standing about 180cm tall. The basic outline of it implied that it was, or at least, had been, female. Cybernetic prosthetics were not unheard of but this lay outside the extreme end of that. The thing’s joints were covered in layered segments of metal with a dark oxide coating, tubing ran over its limbs. The only skin that Jenna could see was its face. The face was almost human. Dark lines ran as veins underneath the skin, the lips gunmetal gray, as if the blood inside had rotted. There was hair, a short tangled mess of raven black. One of the eyes was distinctly mechanical, a bright, electric blue. The other was green, and looked natural.

“You are awake,” was all the thing said.

Jenna made a dry croaking sound as she tried to speak. After several seconds of halting attempts, she finally found her voice, “How...how am I alive?” It hurt to speak. She thought she might have burns on her larynx from inhaling fire.

“We have been able to repair your DNA to a degree,” the figure replied, “However the process is not sufficient to ensure survival. Do not be afraid. We will make you one with us.”

“Let me die.” Jenna begged.

“You have been selected to become an assimilator unit for the hive.” was the figure’s flat reply.

“It hurts.” Jenna felt tears running down her face, “Please, let me die.”

“Your body will be modified and augmented to assimilate others into drones for the hive.”

“Like…you? No...no...”

“Do not be afraid. Your body will be altered surgically and mechanically. Due to the extensive mechanical and radiation damage your body has endured, most of it will need to be replaced with a synthetic chassis.”

“No...god, please”

“You will remain conscious during this process.”

Jenna tried to scream but all that came out was a dull rasp

“You are afraid now, but you will enjoy it, soon.”

The figure placed an anesthesia mask over Jenna’s face.

“As your external tissue is so damaged,” it said, in that flat, synthetic voice, “we were unable to administer the nanites in the usual manner. Instead we have given you a 10cc intravenous infusion.”

“Please,” Jenna whimpered, “please kill me”

Her pleas fell on deaf ears, however, “Usually,” the figure continued, “The surgical procedures would have begun immediately, but the nanites needed time to stabilize your biological processes. We will now begin.”

It grabbed Jenna’s wrists with shocking strength and fixed them to cuffs on the table. She struggled and pulled and twisted, trying to break free, but she wouldn’t have been able to, even with all her strength in her. And she was so tired. Her heart had been racing since the thing had come in, and the adrenaline had worn her down. It wasn’t so much that she resigned herself to whatever happened, she just couldn’t keep up the fight anymore.

Jenna heard a hissing sound come from the mask as the figure reached beneath the table and twisted something. A sharp, sweet chemical aroma curled into her nostrils. As she inhaled, she could feel herself relax. For a moment she almost forgot about her troubles, but her engineer’s brain started sounding alarm bells. They’re drugging you. It had to be that.

“Please,” said the figure, its voice friendlier, more familiar now, “do not resist the gas.”

“I...I don’t,” she croaked out, “I don’t want this.”

“You do not know what it is you want.”

Don’t I? Jenna thought to herself, Maybe, maybe it’s right.

It was like falling into the arms of a lover after a long day at work. Warmth, softness. Jenna’s mind wandered to an encounter she’d had with a young naval officer she met at a Titan bar not that long ago. How her consort’s uniform had glided so effortlessly off as soon as Jenna’s quarters door closed. How her soft fingers had wrapped around Jenna’s cock at the same time she’d suckled at Jenna’s tits.

Jenna realized her pain had subsided greatly. She also noticed that she had an erection.

“Subject arousal maximized,” said the figure beside her. Jenna looked over her again. She was female, decidedly. Broad-shouldered, but delicate. An artisan’s body. How had Jenna failed to see the beauty there before? “Initiating neural reroute.”

The pain quickly came roaring back, different than it had been before. Before, it felt like her body was on fire. Now it felt like tiny teeth were chewing up her insides. She tried to scream but even as she opened her mouth, it subsided, a beautiful warmth replacing it. It was like falling into the softest bed after the most filling meal in the coziest house in the world.

The world took on a brighter, sharper appearance. Jenna could hear people talking, but couldn’t make out any words. Next to her, the figure spoke, “See, isn’t that better?” As she spoke, the woman ran a mechanical hand up Jenna’s leg. Jenna couldn’t help but curl her body up in pleasure. She closed her eyes and let herself fall into the pleasure.

Oh, she thought, I guess you know how to treat a girl.

We have much experience in providing pleasure. Jenna’s eyes shot open. She had heard the woman, not with her ears, but in her head.

The neural transceiver is already functioning? The woman said, You are a promising candidate.

Jenna’s engineer brain was working double-time in thick, deep mud. Neural transceiver?

Jenna could hear the voices again, more clearly now, and realized that they, too, were inside of her. Though every rational fiber of her being screamed to pull away, her curiosity overtook her, and she reached out.

It was like stepping through a door into a crowded amphitheater. Sights, sounds, smells, textures, tastes, movement all seemed to stream into her head from everywhere at once, as if she were both infinite and singular. She flew around the ship, it was smaller than the Huntington. She saw dozens of people and yet felt only one presence. Her mind flicked through them all, letters and numbers appearing with each figure before finally slowing to a stop in the room where she was. The assimilation chamber. Sigma-26 stood above her, warmth on her face. The nascent drone on the table, what had it’s name been?

Deep within Jenna’s mind, a part of her began fighting, kicking, screaming that this was wrong, that there were people out there who missed her. Jill and Karl. Iris and Phoebe. Chester Silvera and Jack Thorton. And Theresa, her captain. Holder hadn’t left Jenna out of spite, or anger. She had been doing her job. She had been trying to keep the others safe and alive.

And yet, the drone now in her head thought, she didn’t even try to save you, did she? She could have tried to scoop you into an ore bay, or given you a few more seconds to make it to the airlock. Instead, she left you out there, adrift. The hive found you. The hive took you in. The hive healed you. Shouldn’t your loyalty lie with them?

Jenna didn’t care. She knew that it wasn’t Holder’s fault. She resisted, trying to pull herself back from the warm light of the Hive. She could feel them working their way into her head. She felt the Hive push into her memories. No, not those!

She was 10, a boy in a flat in Dublin. Her mother has taken her sister, Penny, to the doctor. Her father is asleep, and she’s snuck into Penny’s room. She’s trying on Penny’s dresses when her pa walks in. She’s never seen him so angry.

She was 14, in the boys’ locker room at school. Everyone is showering but she can’t bring herself to take off her shirt. 3 of the other boys corner her. She hides the bruises from her parents.

She was 20, a student at University College Cork, sitting in a doctor’s office. The doctor is writing her a prescription for estrogen. He seems uncomfortable, but says nothing.

She was 21, seeing her family for the first time since starting hormones. Her mother opens the door. She’s confused, but polite. Her father sees her and screams to get out of his house, that he won’t have a faggot for a son. She leaves. It’s the last time she sees her family.

She was 27, on shore leave at Olympus Station, orbiting Mars. She’s leaving a bar, alone, again. After a few minutes of walking, someone hits her hard in the back of the head, knocking her to the ground. The man shoves a chrome handgun in her mouth and says if she makes any sound he’ll blow her tranny brains all over the decking. She thinks about her mother.

She was 28, assigned to MV Huntington, her first posting as chief engineer. The crew are kind to her, but none seek her out. She never grows close to any of them.

She was 30, her new captain wears a nickel-plated .45 on her hip. Jenna’s heart races and suddenly she’s back on Olympus. She runs to her quarters and vomits. The new First Mate knocks on her door. She opens it with tears running down her cheeks. He asks her what’s wrong. She cries for 10 minutes before she can say a word. When she finally speaks, she begs him not to tell the captain. He promises he won’t.

She’s 30. Her face is burning, she’s floating through an abyss, abandoned and alone.

Thinking back on all of these things, the last bit of Jenna Powell, the part that was fighting and screaming for her humanity, grew weary. She had never desired power, or money, or the secrets of the universe. The only thing she’d ever wanted was home. She’d never had it.

The last part of her let go of the cliff it clung to. It fell, backwards, through an infinite abyss. And where it had been, only the drone remained.

“I am a drone of the hive.” she said, “Shape me to a razor’s edge.”

* * *

1930 Earth UTC

MV Huntington mess hall

Captain Theresa Holder stood just outside the entrance to the mess hall. The crew was seated in 2 rows at the long table, nine on a side. Chester was sitting on the left side nearest the empty chair at the head.

The Captain had not told the crew to wear anything special. She didn’t like the formality, and the crew, in turn, had donned their ragtag Sunday best. Jill Campbell wore a navy blue polo. Karl Miller had tied his hair, normally past his shoulders, into a tight bun. Iris Owens was actually wearing a dress. A bright, neon-pink dress with a skull printed on the front, but a dress nonetheless.

Holder, for her part, was wearing her blue dress uniform. Deep navy wool with brass toggles, her captain’s pips on her shoulders. The Civil Navy did not award medals to be worn with dress uniforms, and so on her left breast was a patch that simply said “HOLDER” in light grey letters above the embroidered silhouette of a Shinkelobwe-class ship.

As she entered the hall, Silvera stood, “Captain on deck!” he barked. The crew stood with him. Holder stopped half a meter beyond the threshold. Funerals at sea were one of the times that regulation permitted her to wear the pistol strapped to her hip. Despite this, she made a show, while the crew watched, of removing the belt and hanging it on a hook next to the door. She pulled the pistol from its worn leather holster, and racked the slide back. She had not loaded it prior, and so manually locked it open before replacing it in the belt and turning to the crew. “At ease,” she said, and the crew sat.

She walked, not to the head of the table, but to the foot. She remained standing, and spoke.

“We are here, tonight, our number one too few,” she began, “We have lost our colleague and friend, Genevieve Powell.” She paused, she hadn’t written anything down and was struggling to remember the bits she’d thrown together in her mind as she’d shaved and showered.

“Look,” she said, dropping the air of pretense she’d held before, “Nobody comes out here expecting to die. We didn’t join a combat fleet. We didn’t sign up to be shot at or blow up troop depots or raid supply outposts. We’re miners.”

She looked around at the crew a moment before continuing, “And miners die. It’s been happening ever since humans started digging holes in the ground. Tunnel collapses, methane explosions, tidal shifts. But what happened today, that’s not something, I think, that any of us expected.

“Jenna and I didn’t exactly get along. It feels a bit ghoulish to be up here, praising her, to tell you the truth. Like I’m taking credit for something I didn’t earn. But I need you all to hear this. What happened today, it’s my responsibility. You all performed admirably in a situation that none of us was prepared for. This morning, you were asteroid miners. This evening, you’re heroes, all of you. None more so than the woman who should, by all rights, be sitting at the head of this table.”

Holder gestured in the direction of the empty place setting, “Jenna Powell died trying to get you all to safety. When you tell your friends and families about today, don’t sing praises of your captain. Heap your praise on Jenna Powell, whose loyalty and courage cannot be disputed. Chester, the bottle.”

Silvera stood, grabbing a bottle of whiskey that he had placed on the floor next to his chair. He walked towards Holder, and handed her the thick, ornate glass vessel.

Holder broke the seal and uncorked the bottle. She walked around the table, gently pouring a finger of the amber liquid into each crew member’s glass. When all had been served, she poured herself a glass, and holding it in her left hand, raised it. “To Jenna.”

“To Jenna,” the crew replied, smiles and tears all around, and drank.

After downing her glass, Holder placed it on the table and picked up the bottle. She held it high and said, again, “To Jenna.”

“To Jenna!” the crew said once more.

And with that, Captain Theresa Holder silently drained the rest of the bottle out onto the floor of the mess.

Timecode Error: Format Not Recognized

Hive Interdictor K-14

The drone lay on the table, no longer restrained. Her tired flesh would soon be discarded, replaced by metal, composite, and plastics.

Sigma-26 stood above her, “The radiation has severely damaged your body,” she said to the new drone, “your augmentations will be rather more extensive than most.”

The new drone silently confirmed receipt of this information. 26 began hooking life support tubes into the new drone’s neck. The plan was already clear in her mind. She was eager for it, eager to leave behind the flesh that had confined her and become one with the hive. To feel the electricity run through her wires and hear the thrum of motors and pumps.

26 approached, pulling down an armature from the ceiling that held a large band saw. Wordlessly, she turned it on, and began lowering it towards the new drone’s hips. The blade bit into the damaged flesh of her right leg first, right where the femur met the ball of the hip.

The new drone heard the hive through the wire, It is not clear yet how much of your body will need replacing, it said, the process will proceed in stages to ensure stability.

The blade ground through the new drone’s leg, spitting bits of meat out to the side. As it struck bone the motor bogged down slightly, and the drone felt a high-pitched vibration through her entire being. Waves of pleasure overtook her, the ecstasy of death and rebirth. The nanites in her system worked to seal off the femoral artery and other blood vessels, protecting the brain from losing its precious supply of oxygen. The external life support systems were not yet needed, but that time would come soon.

26 removed the severed limb from the table and began amputating the other leg. Another fine mist of gore sprayed out. It felt so good, the new drone felt itself grow hard as the last bit of skin was severed.

In order to assess tissue damage, the hive spoke again, we will need to access your abdominal cavity. The life support systems will take over now.

Wordlessly, 26 plunged a scalpel into the new drone’s abdomen, just above the pubic bone. She worked it around to the right hip, then back and down almost to the table. She turned then and cut upwards, under and around the lower segment of the rib cage. The new drone’s cock was nearly bursting now, and she gave in, releasing herself, firing juices all over her stomach.

When the scalpel had circumnavigated the new drone’s belly, 26 reached in just under the sternum, and peeled the skin back. It pulled and twisted and sucked, a mass of skin, fat, and muscle a few centimeters thick. It, too, was tossed aside. Another drone came in the door and retrieved the severed legs and the skin flap, whisking them away to a reprocessing terminal.

26 examined the new drone’s organs. The new drone could not see them, but could hear the hive as it wordlessly assessed the situation. The radiation damage was too severe. Her body, even with most of the skin and organs removed, was too damaged to remain.

Full submaxillial amputation necessary, the hive declared.

26 grabbed a port with several needles on the end of various bores. She gently cupped the new drone’s head in one hand, lifting it up, before gently pushing the cable in to the base of the skull. Nanites in the port flooded in, connecting themselves to nerves, building microducts to carry oxygenated blood to the brain after the next step.

When the connection was complete, 26 reached into the open abdominal cavity and began paring out organs. She started with the bladder and intestines. The new drone watched as meters of glistening tubes were removed from her. She could feel herself becoming lighter. The stomach came next, along with the pancreas. Each cut was like an orgasm in and of itself. A blast of pleasure that washed over the new drone like fire consuming kindling.

Her liver and lungs were removed. The new drone could feel her brain stem panicking, trying to force her to breathe with lungs that could not draw air. It was driving her mad, she could feel pressure building up behind her genitals again, and once more she fired off, her glistening seed spurting into the now-empty cavity.

At last, all that was left was her beating heart. It was pounding so fast, and her body was so much lighter now, that she actually thought she might be popping off the operating table under the power of its palpitations. The new drone met 26’s eyes as the latter reached for the band saw. 26 switched the tool on, its blade accelerating to full speed almost instantly. In anticipation, the new drone opened her mouth wide.

26 brought the saw down between the new drone’s jaws. It first caught her cheeks, tearing into them and spraying blood inside her mouth and out the side. She could taste it, the hot, metallic taste of her own body, the last thing she would ever taste. As the blade continued downward it met her mandible, the blade shrieking inside the new drone’s head. It passed out the back side of the bone and immediately dug into the drone’s throat. Blood spurted down it. The pleasure of it all was overwhelming. Finally, 26 angled the blade to pass up through the top of the spinal column, just below the brain stem.

As the blade exited at the end, the new drone felt her body disappear. A nuclear bomb of pleasure went off in her, her eyes rolling back in her skull. The few muscles that remained, as well as the stumps of mandible that had not yet been removed thrashed wildly, for 12 minutes and 22 seconds. When the last wave of orgasm subsided, the new drone opened her eyes.

26 was standing above her, smiling. She felt her hivemate grasp her on either side, and lift her up. It was a curious sensation. She felt so light, so free. Wordlessly, 26 strode over to a person-sized case standing in the corner of the room.

Behold, said the hive, your new form.

The mechanical body was slightly taller than the new drone’s old one. It was sturdier too, with a more muscular look. On top of the neck sat a mechanical mandible. There was no skin, that would be artificially grown over it after assembly. 26 carefully placed the new drone atop the stack, and, using a scalpel, cut away the last bits of her original jawbone.

The artificial mandible responded without command, screwing into the joint sockets on her skull and connecting artificial muscles to mechanical ones. Soon, the drone could feel small actuators gripping the blood vessels inside her and making permanent connections. 26 stood back and watched the process. Finally, she reached behind the new drone and removed the life support tube from the plug. The new drone became momentarily dizzy during the changeover, but 26 was quick to connect the body’s hookup to the port on the skull.

Step forward, came the voice of the hive.

The new drone complied. Wordlessly, she turned around, facing herself away from 26, who began fixing armor plates to the back of her skull, covering up the sensitive port. When 26 was finished, the new drone turned back to face her. She stared down at her new hands, sleek and metal. She flexed her fingers, feeling the power of them. A full diagnostic ran automatically, the results appearing in the corner of her vision, confirming all systems were functioning as designed.

“What is your designation?” 26 asked the new drone.

The new drone looked at her, and said, “I am Sigma-38, assimilator unit.”

Welcome, Sigma-38, came the voice of the hive, we will do great things together.

#ivy michaels #ivy michaels writing #dronekink #assimilation kink #cyborg girl #robot girl #empty spaces #nsft #trans nsft #nsft text #horror #roboticization #forced roboticization #roboticisation #forced roboticisation #robot fucker #hivemind #hive mind

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hanilessa · 10 months

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Hiiii can i rq a platonic tartaglia with a child!reader. like imagine the fatui kill her parents cause they were in debt and try to kill her too so she runs and while she’s running she bumps into tartaglia? tyy

i feel like tartaglia would protect her cause she wasn’t at fault for the debt

` Author’s notes: hii, darling! thanks for your request <3 i'm sorry i kept you waiting. i hope you enjoy reading!!

` Characters: Childe, fem!reader

` Warnings: mention of cruelty

You were completely lost. Feeling like a small and powerless person in this cruel and frightening world was completely unbearable. You trembled as you hid behind large wooden boxes, sincerely hoping no one would find you here.

The furious downpour darkened your thoughts even more, the cold water hit your fragile body like a whip, making you tremble with cold and fear. You didn't know where to go. Thoughts tangled like a ball of yarn, you looked around in the hope of finding at least someone who could help you.

With bare feet you walked along the cold stone of the road, and sharp stones dug into your small legs. It was hard, painful and scary, but you promised your parents that you would survive, no matter what.

You should have moved very quietly, because the Fatui followed you from your home to the port to demand that you pay the debts that your family had.

You were still a young child, and you couldn't earn money yourself. The only thing you could do was steal bread and fruit from the market while the merchants were distracted by other customers. Therefore, you had nothing to pay them.

Sniffing, you carefully made your way through the narrow passage, heading for the rescue ships, which will probably take you to a place where you can start a new life. Heavy drops hit your face, mixing with salty tears, and this makes it very difficult for you to move forward, but you try not to give up.

You catch a glimpse of the ship's mast and a sigh of relief escapes your lips as you make one last dash to run up to the ship, when suddenly your arm is grabbed and roughly pulled back.

A frightened scream escapes your throat as a Fatui soldier, grinning wryly, unceremoniously lifts you off the ground.

"Gotcha!" Fear crawls through your body like a snake that coils around your neck, blocking access to saving oxygen.

You try to resist, squirming in the strong grip of a soldier, but your strength isn't enough to resist an adult trained man. You're just a child after all.

"Please…" Tears flowed from your eyes in streams, all your strength gradually dried up. "Let me go…"

"You must pay your price." The soldier answered you and took out his weapon, but he was interrupted by an explosion of the hydro element, which knocked the weapon out of his hands.

It was very unexpected, so the taken aback a soldier loosened his grip, and you fell to the hard ground, painfully hitting a stone.

"It's you who must be the ones who will pay the price." A menacing voice was heard from the side, and you gathered your last strength to raise your head and see who was your savior.

Not far from you stood a man in gray clothes with a red mask on his face. His ginger, wet hair swayed in the wind, and this set him apart from the gray and gloominess. You clenched your fists in fear.

"S-sir?" The soldiers stepped aside in fright, moving away from you at a decent distance.

An unfamiliar man with a mask on his face pointed his bow at the soldiers and said, "You have a minute to disappear from my sight, or you will be the next to experience the power of my bow."

The Fatui soldiers trembled and hurried to obey the commander's order, and you could watch them scatter headlong in different directions. When all the voices and steps finally subsided, you turned around in fear to an unfamiliar man who was slowly approaching you.

You tried to crawl away, scared and trembling, but you ran into a stone wall. There was nowhere to run. When the man noticed your actions, he tried to calm you down, letting you know that you no longer need to be afraid.

"Hey, darling, you have nothing to fear anymore." He removed the red mask from his face and you could look into his eyes. The blue azure of his eyes met you with incredible tenderness, and for the first time in a long time you were able to feel some relief.

The man held out his hand to you, and with slight hesitation you put your small palm into his strong hand.

"Let's go, I must feed you well."

#tartaglia x reader #childe x y/n #childe x reader #tartaglia x y/n #genshin x you #genshin x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin imagines #tartaglia imagines #childe x you #childe imagines #tartaglia x you #genshin men x reader #genshin men #genshin impact imagines

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bluegalaxygirl · 4 months

Text

Celestial Wedding (ZoLu X Reader) P2

Plot: Reader gets taken as revenge for Luffy and Zoro's defiance against the Celestial Dragons, they were just going to kill her to make an example but now theres a wedding????.

Warning: Bad language, Blood, Violence, Drugs, kidnapping, forced marriage and salivary.

Thank you to @herwritingartcowboy for the suggestion. Reader is Female and a gunslinger, Zoro X Luffy X Reader, Poly relationship, established relationship.

P1 - P3 - P4 - P5 - P6 - P7 - P8 - P9 - P10 - P11 - P12 - P13 - P14 - P15 - P16 - P17 - P18

The cold breeze felt nice but the blinding sunlight hurt the captains eyes, with a groan Luffy opens his eyes only to shield them with his arm blocking out the bright morning sun. "Luffy" Chopper runs over seeing the captain finally awake, Luffy turns his head at the noise and sits up noticing Zoro laying next to him just starting to wake up too. "Are you ok?" The Doctor asks stopping in front of Luffy who places a hand on his head realizing his hat is gone, jumping up he looks around soon spotting it on the floor close by so with a sigh of relief picks it up and putting it on "Yea i'm good. Is everyone ok?" The captain asks looking around the deck seeing most of the crew awake. Robin sat with Nami as they watched over a sleeping Usopp who had quite a few cuts and bruises while Sanji sat close by a bandage around his head while smoking a cigarette. Franky was repairing the ship while Brook brought over some equipment for him, a groan caught the captain's attention looking down to see Zoro sit up and rub his head starting to look around as well. A sniffle made the two look over at Chopper who had his head down trying not to cry while he clenched his fists to his side "They took Y/N" Their breath caught in their throat making Luffy scan the deck again seeing your not on the deck, how did he not notice you were gone? Zoro stands up and scans the deck as well putting his swords back on his side before noticing Robin walking over.

The black haired woman stops next to Chopper with a sad look "Where is she? what happened?" The swordsman asks remembering you were with Robin most of the fight, Luffy steps closer his fists clenched to his sides as anger boils inside him, not only did they attack his crew, damaged the sunny, but they took you too. "I'll explain it to everyone" Robin sighs with a sad look before walking back over to the others who have finished what there doing and sit down to listen and figure out a plan. The only person still not awake was Usopp who along with Brook weren't knocked out by the gas but by physical force. "Robin" Luffy sits next to Zoro crossed legged his fist resting on his knees becoming impatient. "I'm sorry Captain. Those men took Y/n, i'm sure they were bandits but some of the things they said where odd and their weapons had symbols on them, I know i'v seen them before but i can't put my finger on it" Robin places her finger on her chin as Nami pulls out a piece of paper and a pen from her bag handing it to Robin "Can you draw it?" The navigator asks watching as the woman nods and starts to draw the best she can. "Oh no my Y/N-chan" Sanji holds his hands to his heart earning a growl form Zoro who more than hates the cook fawning over you "What the hell happened?" Zoro growls turning his attention to Robin, those guys gave no indication of who they where, he couldn't tell if they were pirates or bounty hunters, so they didn't have much to go on if they were going to find you.

Robin hands the paper back to Nami who looks it over, Brook bending down behind her to have a look at the drawing of four circles each one having a star in the middle. "Me and Y/n were't fully out so i heard quite a few things. Their goal seemed to be only Y/n and it seemed like they need her in one piece and unharmed" It brought a sense of relief to Luffy and Zoro hoping you wouldn't be too badly hurt "But i... I don't want to believe it but some of the stuff they said indicate that they might be working for slave traders" An eerie silence fell over the ship, most of the crew in shock but Luffy clenched his fists tighter and gritted his teeth in anger, he remembers what happened on Sabaody and how they treated slaves. If looks could kill the people who did this too you would drop dead even though their miles away while Zoro glares at the ground, his eyes burned with the desire to kill. The silence was broken by Brooks gasp, Nami jumped at the sudden sound and turned to smack the skeleton for scaring her only to see the terrifying look on his face "Urm guy... That symbol is part of the Slave traders but, I remember seeing it on Punk Hazard too, they were responsible for taking the kids and giving them to Caesar" Franky looks up in surprise before standing a look of shock mixed with anger " Wait a minute man, marines took the kids not Bandits" Luffy stands stopping the upcoming argument "I don't care who they are, all i need to know is where they are" Zoro nods at his captains words standing up and placing a hand on Luffy's shoulder.

The crew knew their captain was beyond mad so nodded and stood along with the swordsman "The Marine Commodore in charge is part of the G-5 if i remember correctly" Nami places a finger on her chin trying to remember as much as she could as Luffy's hand goes to her shoulder "Then thats where we're heading" The captain lets a big smile show causing the navigator grab him by the shirt "What?" she yells in his face as Chopper cowers behind her "We can't attack a marine base that big" The doctor yells earning a laugh from Robin and Zoro "We're going to get Y/N back." Luffy's stern voice stops Nami form shaking him anymore, she stares at him hoping it was a joke, but she knew it wasn't, with a sigh she lets go "Ok, I'll set course" Luffy nods at her before turning to the rest of his crew "Lets get our strength back and find Y/N" The captain yells getting the rest of the crew to nod, with a small chuckle Sanji nods and heads off to the kitchen to start cooking. Once everyone had left the deck Luffy sits down next to the still sleeping Usopp, he hated seeing his friends hurt, but he's confident in their skills and even though the sniper can be a cowered he's still willing to fight for the crew. Zoro watches his captain for a minute before sitting down next to him and taking the mans hand "Luffy" The swordsman manages to get the captain's attention, Luffy prying his eyes away form his injured friend to look at his first mate with a small smile.

Seeing the worry on Zoro's face Luffy knew he had to say something. "Y/n's strong she'll be fine" The captain was mainly reassuring himself with those words and the swordsman knew it but nodded and wraps an arm around Luffy pulling him into a hug "I know" Zoro whispers rubbing the captains back, the Sunny starts moving changing course to head to the G-5 base, it'll be a big battle but their main goal is to find those with the blue stars and hopefully they will have information. Luffy sighs and moves to sit on Zoro's lap letting the green haired man hold him form behind, the captain relaxes against the swordsman's chest "Everything's gonna be ok" Zoro whispers into the captain's ear before kissing his neck and laying his head on Luffy's shoulder. Usopp groans while rubbing his bandaged head and sitting up, the snipers eyes land on Zoro and Luffy "Hay, your awake" Luffy smiles over at his friend who looks around the ship "What happened?" Zoro groans into his captains shoulder not wanting to answer the question but Luffy filled the sniper in on what happened and where their heading "What? a marine base? are you sure about this Luffy" Usopp asks getting closer to his friends face, Luffy nods with a smile but that smile soon fades as Usopp tries to convince the captain not to do it. "Where getting her back." The sniper tenses at Luffy's tone and demeanor change, feeling a heavyweight wash over him as his captains eyes go almost black. Usopp simply nods knowing there's no way of convincing Luffy, he just hopes he doesn't have to fight.

With a swift kick the bandit that tried to get closer flew into the metal bars hitting his back and yelling out in pain. The other bandits growled watching as you stand ready to hurt anyone who gets too close. You were almost at the Red line, and they wanted to make you look presentable but now that you've regained your strength you refuse to do anything they tell your or at least make it harder for them to do anything it. "What is taking so long?" The captains voice calls out walking down the steps before sighing at the mess you've made, several men where either knocked out or groaning in pain while others where standing around trying to find an opening. "Can't you do anything right? Just sedate her" The captain yells making the few who are still left standing jump in fear at their captains angry tone "We already used two needles" One speaks up as the Captain walks into the cell eyeing you, the man was right, the first guy managed to stab you in the leg with a needle but luckily not much went in, the other guy got you in the arm but you didn't react fast enough. Despite feeling tired and weak, the adrenaline running through your veins helped you stand your ground and fight off anyone who got close. "Give it here" The Captain holds out his hand to one of his men who hand him their needle and taking a step back as to not be in is way. "Now be a good girl and do as your told" The captain smiles gripping the needle in his hand.

Glaring and letting a slight growl leave your lips you back up pressing your back against the wall mainly so you can push off and kick him if he gets close enough. The captain steps closer his eyes scanning you over trying to see what your next move is but stops just far enough away to where you can't kick him, the thought of charging at him did cross your mind but you knew you wouldn't be able too with the short thick chain your currently attached too. "I'm guessing you know where we're going then... you should learn early on that defiance isn't acceptable" The captain takes a few steps closer but you wait until he grabs your arm to pushing off the wall you kick will all your might, your foot landing on his stomach but to your surprise he grab your leg and turns to the side pulling you closer. You gasp at the feeling of a sharp needle going into shoulder as his other hand lets go of your leg and grabs your neck slamming you back against the wall knocking the air out of your lunges. While trying to get some air back you try fighting him off you, grabbing is hand thats around your neck and trying to pull it off while using your foot to push against his stomach. Despite your effort the captain keeps his tight grip waiting for the drugs to kick in, it doesn't take long for your arms and lets to feel tired and weak along with your head starting to feel fuzzy. "There we go.. that wasn't so hard now was it?" The captain asks letting you go and watching your legs give out form under you, sitting on the ground you pant a little trying to regain focus as a fogginess clouds your mind.

The captain turns glaring at his men before leaving the cell "Hurry up, we're almost there" His men nod rushing over to you to start their work, one grabs your arms pulling you away from the wall while another un-cuffs your hands, this would be the perfect opportunity to escape but there's no way you can run let alone stand with your legs feeling numb. They wash your skin and hair before dressing you in a white short dress and finally put shoes on your freezing cold feet "What do you think?" One man looks you over before turning to the other who hums while thinking his eyes scanning your figure. "Tie her hair up, they seem to like it more when their neck is exposed" The man finally speaks putting new cuffs on your hands before holding onto the short chain its attached too. The cuffs aren't as thick as the last ones but with how tired your body is, it feels heavy making it hard to hold your hands up for long. The other man nods tying your hair up before helping you stand and making sure your steady on your feet, your legs where still weak but luckily you can stand and regain your balance quite easily. With a growl you elbow the man holding you in the side making him yell out in pain stepping away and holding his ribs, the one holding your chain pulls you towards him knocking you off balance, but he grabs your neck shoving you back into the wall. Their eyes burn with anger but you can't help but let a small smile show, even in your tired state you can still somewhat fight back.

Managing to catch his breath and rubbing his side the bandit glares at you "Gods lady do you want to die? You know who your going to right? a celestial dragon" The man rubbing his side grows threw gritted teeth, you knew where you are going but it didn't matter, you had to get back to your crew, to Luffy and Zoro. "I belong to no one but my Captain and my crew" you glare as the mans hand tightens around your neck pushing you harder into the wood, his eyes burn with anger before letting you go watching as you take a much-needed breath and bringing your hands to your neck to rub it. "Stupid girl" Both man growl the one holding your chain pulling it hard forcing your hands away form your neck before walking out the cell dragging you along with them. Walking up the steps you shield your eyes from the blinding light until they can adjust, the cool sea breeze sends a shiver down your spine and your exposed logs but it feels a lot warmer up top despise the cold wind. "Much better" The captain smiles walking over to you and placing a thick black collar with a blue ball embedded in it around your neck, you try to step back but the man holding your chain shoots you a glare while pulling you closer so the collar can close and lock around you. "Listen closely, girl" The captain grabs your face while holding a black detonator with a big red button on top of it bringing it closer to your face and waving it a little.

You gulp a little knowing it's a bomb collar but you didn't know there were different ones. "This collar works a little different, since your being difficult and are fighting back i have no chose but to put this one on you. I won't get paid if your dead so a chained collar is out of the question." You know the type he's talking about, all the slaves have them, if the chain is broken the collar around their necks explodes, It stops the slaves from running away. Since you have a tenancy to fight them every step of the way even knowing who your going too it makes sense not to have one on you, in case you deliberately brake the chain. You wouldn't do that though, you want to get back to your crew alive and in one piece, but they don't seem to be taking any chances. "It doesn't matter where you go or how far away you are, this will be able to tell your new owner where you are and if he decides that your no longer worth the trouble then they'll just press the button and BOOM" The captain yells in your face before shoving your face away making you stumble a little, the man around you laugh a little but your focused on the detonator in the captains hand, it has a small screen on it with a blue dot. So far you've been focused on only getting out and getting back to your crew but now it doesn't seem possible at least not on your own. "So don't go running off ok?" The captain smiles grabbing your chain walking you off the ship pulling you along behind him, with a sigh you nod knowing you need a new plan but the only thing you can think of is survived until your crew finds you.

Stepping off the ship and onto the red port you look up to see the large red line that splits the earth in two, the red earth so high it goes beyond the clouds. You didn't get a good look at it the first time you passed under it, having to go under and to Fish-man island in order to get over to the other side, being pulled along you soon stop at strange looking yellow elevator with the world government's symbol on it. It makes you sick that this place is home to the world government and the celestial dragons, how can they preach about justice and saving lives while slavery and torture are going on right next to them. Stepping into the elevator the Captain forces you to sit by pushing you down by your shoulder while some of his men follow. "Now be a good girl and stay quiet" The man glares waving the trigger around as a reminder, you only nod in response and look down at the floor as the elevator doors close. Getting higher and higher into the air your anxiety and fear raises up with it, your leg starting to shake a little but you as your dress moves up your leg a small smile appears on your face. The tattoo on your thigh brings you hope knowing your crew will always be there for you even if their miles away, it helps you stay calm and remind you that your strong, you can get threw this you just have to not show any emotion around the dragons. You can't let them see how your feeling and you can't give them any bad looks, If you want to live you have to turn it off, it's going to be hard at times and you'll want to scream at them or cry but you can't, once your crew comes to get you then you can fight them but for now you just have to stay calm.

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batsarebetterthanpeople · 18 days

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ok what do you think every character in ofmd's highest dnd stat is?

Oooh ok let's get going. Ed and Stede are both very long and the others are rather short.

Ed- ok so I think Ed is definitely maxed out in both intelligence and wisdom. I think he's actually got a surprisingly low charisma. He just has expertise in intimidation and proficiency in deception and maybe persuasion. But more likely his player is looking at that persuasion skill and asking can I make an intimidation check instead.

Now if I was playing a d&d game and the assignment was play Ed in d&d I would give him a high charisma because I would stat him out as a lurker of the deep warlock BUT I think in canon where they're all rogues and fighters his charisma is ass.

Stede- Stede's difficult to stat out. I think most of his stats are probably pretty bad but he has the lucky feat. And some other means of making sure he roles well. He's not dexterous, I'm not sure on his strength, his constitution seems middling, his charisma is hard to pin down because everyone initially hates him (implies low) but he frequently wins people over with the power of friendship (implies high) but I'm leaning towards low on charisma because the winning people over is through persistent whimsy rather than true people skills. They become begrudgingly fond of him because he's impossible to get rid of rather than because he's charming is what I'm saying. He's a good problem solved he thinks on his feet and he's got a good insight which makes me think high wis but also every survival check he makes fails in comical ways so maybe this is another situation of his proficiencies tricking me into thinking he's got a higher wis than he does. The one thing he does have going for him is that he's pretty book smart so I have to go with int by process of elimination, but again, maybe strength, that's kinda the dark horse stat for him he doesn't show it but he doesn't fail any strength rolls either. He knocked a guy out with a punch tho so maybe strength. But his defining trait is problem solving so maybe wis? Idk. Not Con Cha or Dex tho those ones are definitely negative modifiers. If I had to guess middling wis, middling but slightly higher int, most of his proficiencies are in int and Wis skills, medium to high strength but he never uses it.

Jim- Dex. I will not elaborate.

Olu- I generally see Olu as the Jack of all trades build. He's a well rounded individual. None of his stats are all that exceptional but he's good to have around because he's got no negative numbers, and can do it all if push comes to shove.

Lucius- Charisma. He's an artist and his most used non-technical skill is being good with people.

Zheng- Charisma. I feel like this doesn't need any explanation.

Archie- fighting your way out of a snake takes grit, not being digested, and quite a few successful checks to not pass out while holding your breath. Constitution.

Frenchie- Frenchie is very cerebral, but not very book smart. That being said artificers are intelligence casters so I'm going with INT.

Pete- strength or con. He's a silly little guy but his mental stats aren't great and he's not giving me dex vibes either. Human fighter build.

Fang- Strength. See him breaking a guy over his leg and him holding onto the side of the ship with the goat in hand for an hour at least so Ned Low wouldn't find them.

Roach- survival and medicine are both Wis skills and historically my DMs have made players role wisdom for cooking checks.

Wee John- Strength but Charisma is definitely second.

Buttons- Druids are Wis casters.

Swede- drank poison. Lived. Con.

Ivan- he wields an Axe which is a strength weapon so probably strength.

Spanish Jackie- Charisma or Dex, but she displays more charisma.

Calico Jack- Charisma definitely.

Anne- Charisma is the one we see her use but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say her Dex is better.

Mary R.- Strength on the Ivan principle. Definitely not charisma

Mary B.- Commoner stat block with proficiency in painters tools

Izzy- Strength. But much like Stede this is a process of elimination. His Constitution is the worst Constitution we see in OFMD (Izzy the spewer), his Charisma is ass (see everything about him) his wisdom is so bad he can't succeed on an insight check to save his fucking life (and his life has depended on it) intelligence is not so good, Dex is good given how often he lurks in the corner unseen and appears places and the thing he does to Stede's shirt in 1.02 but the beginning of the duel with Stede is the most clear instance of a character using a versatile weapon with their strength stat I've ever seen so I think his strength is probably equal to or better than his dex. Also all the things we see him teaching Stede in 2.05 are strength and dex skills so I think that's where his skill set is.

Damn this crew is not a dexy bunch. Jim said "I'm playing an assassin rogue that throws knives" and everyone else said "alright let me not step on your toes then"

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breakfastteatime · 9 months

Text

Today's request is 'Sparring' for @thirteenmyspacegirl

One of the benefits of having one lightsaber that turns into two is Cal can train with Cere. Naturally he returns Cere’s half to her for which she is clearly grateful – and nostalgic. He doesn’t need to tell her she’s leaving echoes all over it; she knows him well enough by now.

He spares her blushes by not telling Greez or Merrin. BD knows, but that’s because BD can be totally trusted.

Cere’s style is very different to Master Tapal’s, mostly on account of her only wielding one blade. He can tell she’s holding back initially, finding herself again in the forms and exercises that had once been second nature. Cal’s under no illusion either – if she really put her mind to it, she’d wipe the floor with him.

However, Cere’s skills are not completely unknown to Cal. Sometimes he can match her blow for blow because Trilla never shook off her master’s teachings. Cere’s not as flashy as Trilla, but teacher and student are not always dissimilar.

…And then Cere will do something completely unexpected where Trilla would show-off, and the next thing Cal knows, he’s on the defensive, being pushed back and back and okay yeah, Cere really is a Jedi Master and Cal definitely, definitely isn’t.

Anytime they’re somewhere sufficiently isolated, they spar. They’re currently on a moon orbiting a mining world last night, training before breakfast, with BD-1 watching on from the ship’s ramp. Cere is a good teacher, open to creativity and improvisation in a way that Master Tapal was not.

“How did you keep up your skills while you were on Bracca?” Cere asks as they run through a series of Form I exercises. The idea is to disarm but not injure the other. It’s how they start every time, and Cal knows going back to childhood basics is helping him.

“I didn’t, not really,” Cal says. “Most of what I know I either remembered from training, remembered watching at the Temple, pulled out of an echo, or figured it might work.” He dodges Cere’s slash for his hilt, sliding around her and attacking from behind. She blocks with ease. “Maybe I should create a new form, call it ‘Do Whatever Works’.”

“It’s worked well so far, but we can tidy it up,” Cere says. “Some of your moves leave you far too open. It might work on a stunned or weaker opponent, but a Force-wielder? Absolutely not.”

It’s a sad fact of life that, despite training with a Jedi Master, the focus of Cal’s training had always been defence against blasters and long-range weapons. The Jedi didn’t anticipate facing other lightsaber wielders regularly outside of contests in the dojo. Cal remembers Master Tapal speaking in those final days about how the Force felt clouded, shallow. Cal was simply too young and inexperienced to –

“Focus,” Cere calls.

She forces him back into the moment with an arcing upward swing. Cal slides back, reaching for the Force to get a read on her movements. Cere launches into a series of precision stabs, aimed at all the places she’d need to hit to disarm him. Tempting though it is to unleash a few Ataru moves and launch himself over her head, the point of training is to master one form before using another. Cal limits himself to dodges, parries and the occasional attack that Cere dodges and parries even more effectively. He can sense her urge to let loose too, really show what she can do, if Cal will just give her the right opening. Unfortunately for her, Cal was raised by Master Tapal to uphold the strictest of self-discipline, meaning if they are training Form I with all its faults, they are going to stick to Form I.

And maybe that’s it. Maybe that’s the key to this. Sheer, dogged persistence. It’s taken him this far, and he’s got youth on his side. Cere’s always complaining about her knees. Cal has no such problems…

…unless his wrist is playing up.

Alright. Today’s the day. He’s winning this.

Cal sinks into the Force, feels it flow through him. He feels his emotions rising, demanding victory. It is Master Tapal’s voice that rises to challenge him.

“Emotion – passion – is good in battle when it is in service of a noble intention, Padawan, but when that emotion becomes pride, becomes desperation to win or anger at the thought of losing, that is when you risk losing to yourself long before your opponent lands a single blow.”

Calm suffuses Cal, body falling into rhythms learned in earliest childhood. His blade’s voice sings out as he defends himself, blow for blow, until at last, there it is, a flicker of creativity, and then his body weaves itself under Cere’s Makashi blow and his hilt crashes into hers, knocking it to the ground.

“And there is the lesson,” Cere says, calling the lightsaber back to her hand. “Forms exist for a reason, and sometimes the oldest ways do work the best.”

BD-1 whoops from the ship’s ramp. Cal turns to him, unable to wipe the smile off his face. “I did it!”

Cere’s amusement doesn’t quite cover her competitiveness. “How about best two out of three?”

Before they can get started, Greez clomps down the ramp. “I’ve got breakfast ready and I ain’t taking ‘in a minute’ for an answer. You two have been at it for hours, and there’s only so long someone can listen to all the buzzing and swooshing before their sanity is threatened.”

Merrin appears at his side. “I agree,” she says through her breakfast roll. “It is too loud.”

Before he can argue, Cal’s stomach gives a loud gurgle. He sighs, takes back the other half of his lightsaber from Cere, and agrees that maybe breakfast would be a good idea. BD-1 hurries over and tells him he did a great job.

“Thanks, buddy.” Cal pats him on the head.

Cere follows him aboard the Mantis. “You’re definitely learning,” she says. “But tomorrow, we move onto a new style. And maybe change the rules.”

“Feeling creatively stifled, Cere?” Cal teases.

“It would appear so. Don’t get cocky yet, Cal. I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“Who’s getting cocky?” Cal asks as he pours himself a mug of caf. “That was my first win in fifteen sessions. You’re probably having a bad day.”

“I am not having a bad day,” Cere says.

“Oh, so I’m just better at Form I than you.”

“We can go again, Cal. Any time. You just say the word.”

“Hmmm, sounds like someone’s emotions are getting the better of them. Perhaps meditation would be wise.”

Cal races back off the ship before Cere can launch a tray of breakfast rolls at him.

#fic requests 2023 #star wars jedi: fallen order #jfo headcanon #jfo minific #cal kestis #cere junda #bd 1 #greez dritus #merrin

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simsamsum2023 · 8 months

Text

Intertwined Pt 2: Unspoken truth

Pairing: Loki x Female Reader

Summary: You and Loki are bound together as soulmates through red string. You are also given poems to help you figure it out along the way.

Word count: 4.6k

Finally recovering from another episode of poems, you gained composer and looked towards Loki. He stared back at you with confusion in his eyes and you thought you saw his lips curve into a smirk. You were pulled from your thoughts when Steve started to talk.

"You know, last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everyone else, we ended up disagreeing" As he spoke, he took more and more steps closer to Loki.

"The soldier" The villain started to chuckle.

"Can I just say Mr Loki, you remind me of a green goblin" You stood beside Steve and Loki's smile dropped.

"A green goblin?" He almost seemed offended and you just nodded your head. "Guess you two are out of time"

"Oh, we're not the ones out of time" Steve replied and behind you Natasha zoomed closer in a ship. She pressed some buttons, which then opened a compartment to lower a gun type weapon.

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down" The woman you remembered as Nat said on the PA.

"Well that ain't gonna work. While you're at it, you might as well ask him to leave earth" You spoke into an earpiece to talk to the woman and she didn't reply to your sarcasm.

Loki then fired another blue shot. This time to the ship behind you. Natasha steered and dodged, while Steve threw his shield at the villain. The shield came back to him like a boomerang and the man ran and hit Loki over the head with it.

When he didn't fall down, you ran and threw a punch, only to have your wrist get caught. You looked up at the villainous man before you and saw that his eyes were so green, they looked like shining emeralds. You hadn't realised that Loki also stared and Steve punched him again. You were both shook from whatever was happening and Loki and Steve started to hit each other with their weapons.

When Steve was knocked to the ground, you ran up and did a high kick. Loki dodged out the way and the two of you carried on sparring. Only, it was more like you were performing a dance.

"You're a good fighter darling" Loki said as he blocked another punch.

"You're not so bad yourself" You replied with a playful smirk as he grabbed your wrist and you twirled around. You decided to use the full of your power and you reached to touch the side of Loki's head. When you did, Loki just grabbed your wrist again but didnt remove it from its place.

"How did you get here?" Loki realised what you were doing and tried to stop himself from speaking.

"The Tesseract acted as a gateway and I walked through" He replied and then silently cursed himself for being suaded to answer you.

"And why is it, you're here?" You wanted him to answer one more question. You wanted to be of use to Fury and not let him down. However, Loki pushed your hand away before your powers could betray his silence.

"Not this time miss mischief" The male smirked at your annoyed expression.

The dance fighting continued until you were able to land a punch. Part of you meant to punch him like that, but another part felt horrible.

You were going to continue, when you heard rock music playing from the ship and something flying over. The closer it got, the more you saw that it was someone in a red metal suit. They lifted both their hands and shot golden blasts at the horned villain. He flew back to the ground against some concrete stairs and you slightly winced.

The flying figure landed in front of him and he stood in a fighting stance, with weapons popping out from the back of the suit. Steve and you joined him.

"Make your move Reindeer games" The figure spoke in a muffled voice. You laughed and everyone looked at you.

"What, it was funny. Although I like green goblin better" You shrugged and when you looked down, you saw Loki trying to hold back a smile.

Loki proceeded to move his hands apart and slowly, his armour disappeared. Almost like magic and left his heads up as if he was being arrested. In return, the figure also lowered his weapons.

"Good move" Loki stared at you intensely as Steve sighed.

"Mr Stark" You whipped your head around.

"Captain" Was the suits reply.

"Wait! That's Mr stark under there?" You pointed to the suit and Steve gave you a cold stare.

"Yes, it was in the debriefing package that you said you read. Did you not?" The man before you folded his arms and waited for your answer.

"I skimmed it actually" You looked away in embarrassment and Steve just rolled his eyes.

"Either way, good to meet you kid" Stark put his metal arm out and you shook it with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too, big fan of your work" The man chuckled before restraining the villain and loading him onto the ship. You walked behind with Steve.

"So, you're just gonna start acting like a dick to me" You snapped quietly.

"Let's not do this now, we're on a mission" Steve answered you shortly.

"To do what? We won against the villain and now all that's left is dropping him off. Plus he's harmless right now" You whispered back harshly.

"Still, lets not right now" He sped up in front and you huffed with annoyance.

Once the ship took off, you sat next to Loki and stared at him. Steve and Stark stood near the cockpit, all while giving you a confused glance. Stark had finally removed the mask on his suit and looked just like you imagined. He had brown spiky hair and a goatee.

Loki never looked in your direction, but you could tell he knew what you were thinking.

"I don't know anything about what we saw" The man turned to you with a sort of sad smile and you found yourself focusing in on his emerald eyes again.

"I wasn't thinking about that" When in actual fact you were and now you were looking at every detail that formed on his face.

"Don't try to deceive me, you're not the only one that can read minds darling"

"don't call me darling" You chuckled.

"Why ever not?" Loki spoke with such a soft tone, that you felt small Goosebumps on your arms.

"Because, you don't know me and i don't know you"

"Trust me, there'll be plenty of that in the future" The male gave you a wink.

"Sure" You smirked.

"Only to agent y/n" You heard Natasha whisper into her headset.

"I'll be right back green goblin, don't go anywhere" You patted the villain on the back and he smiled softly.

"I don't like it" You heard Steve say.

"What don't you like?" You asked and the man slightly glared at you.

"I don't like the fact that you're acting all chummy with that guy" Steve pointed to Loki.

"Are you jealous of a villain? Cause last I checked we weren't anything, exclusive" The last word rolled on your tongue like a bad taste.

"I'm not jealous" The blonde retaliated, but you could clearly see him clenching his jaw as if to stop himself from throwing any punches.

"Then what is it?"

"It has never been that easy. He packs a wallop" That's when you chuckled.

"Still, you are pretty spry for an older fellow" Stark joins. "What's your thing, Pilates?"

"What?" The question caught Steve off guard.

"It's like calisthenics. You must've missed a couple things, doing time as a Capsicle" Stark finished and you snickered at the new nickname until you calmed down.

"Nah, goes to the gym and punches the bags till they fall off" You reply without thinking.

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in" The blonde ignored your response.

"You told me you knew and that it was in the debriefing" You yelled.

"I lied, just wanted to mess with you" The male shrugged.

"Well, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you" Stark answered.

Before you knew it, lightning was shooting out left, right and centre around the ship. It was almost like it came out of nowhere. Everyone looked to Loki and he had an expression that made him seem uncomfortable and worried.

"What, scared of a little thunder?" Steve asked.

"I'm not overly fond of who follows" You questioned his meaning and soon heard a thump on the top of the ship.

"I swear if that's an enemy of yours, I want no part of it Loki!" You stated as you threw your hands in the air. Stark put on his mask and opened the end hatch.

"What're you doing?" Steve asked and a tall figure dropped on the platform.

"Stark is apparently being hospitable and letting this asshole in" You gestured to a man who wore some type of silver armour and a red cape. He had long hair, which was blonder than Steve's and a stubble. "Sorry sir, would you like anything to drink?" You sarcastically gestured for the man to enter and bowed.

Tony stood in front and the stranger smashed an unseemly large hammer into his chest, leaving him to fly backwards. The man then moved over to where Loki was and pulled him up to face him. They stared for a few seconds before Loki was dragged out the ship.

"Get back here, we need him!!" You yelled as you chased them to the platform and stopped when they dropped out.

"Now there's that guy" Tony said as he finally stood back up. You stormed back over and punched Steve in the arm.

"Is he Asgardian?" Nat asked from her pilots seat.

"A friendly?" Steve asked.

"Is he an accomplice?" You asked.

"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost" Was all Stark replied with as he started walking back to the end of the ship.

"Hey, we at least need a plan tin can" You shout as you followed the suited man.

"I have a plan and don't call me that" You could imagine him rolling his eyes.

"I'm coming with you then" As Stark started to fly to the ground, you jumped after him and grabbed his foot.

"Are you kidding me? Let go!!" Stark yelled down to you as he lost his balance.

"No, I said I was coming" As you spoke, you started to lose your grip and then all together, fell from the sky.

You plummeted to the ground and screamed as much as you could. Looking up, it didn't seem that Stark realised you had slipped. You continued to scream until you felt a pair of strong arms grab you in a bridal style and flew to the ground. It wasn't till you looked up, that you saw the man who took Loki and that you were stood atop a mountain.

"Are you alright?" The man spoke with concern and had had ocean blue eyes.

"Huh, so you do have manners" You plopped out of his grasp and saw Loki in front of you. "Two of you working together or is this some kind of rivalry?" You pulled your lips into a tight line as you heard Loki laugh.

"Ha, that's funny. No, this runs deeper than rivalry darling" He smiled wickedly.

"We're brothers" The man behind said and your eyes widened.

"Sure we grew up together, but I was always a shadow to his greatness" You saw the slightest bit of pain wash over Loki's face before it disappeared into darkness. "I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it..."

"Who showed you this power? Who controls the would be king?" The blonde walked closer to Loki and grabbed his shoulders.

"I am a king!!" Loki yelled and you flinched.

"Not here!" The man yelled back and you walked beside him.

"Loki, where is the Tesseract?" You asked softly as you carefully placed a hand on his cheek. The villain looked at you with sadness and then a smile.

"I don't have it my dear" The blonde beside you went to throw a punch and you stood in the way, taking the hard blow. Before the male took a step forward, you saw Stark fly into him and past you and Loki.

You dropped to the ground and clung to your cheek. The pain caused a ringing in your ears and your cheek felt hot and tingly. You felt arms hold you by the shoulders and then someone lift your chin up. Tears began to prick at bottom of your eyes, threatening to drop. When you finally looked up to see the figure, you were surprised to see Loki and that's when the tears ran down.

"Why are you crying my dear?" He wiped your cheeks softly and smiled.

"Why didn't you run?" You spoke between cries.

"I'm sorry? I don't think I follow"

"Why didn't you run when that guy got flown to god knows where?" You looked at him quizzically.

"Because you're hurt" He furrowed his brows as if it was the most obvious answer and you grinned. "Now let me see" Loki whispered as he took hold of your hand and moved it away from your cheek.

"Is it bad?" You muttered and the man shook his head.

"Just red, but should go down soon" The male stroked the redness of your cheek and you felt the ease of where the pain used to be.

"Thank you, Loki"

"Anytime, darling" You playfully pushed his shoulder.

"Thought I told you not to call me that"

"And I thought you knew, I don't listen to anyone" The male chuckled and locked eyes with you. You both inched a little closer and then heard a loud crash, snapping you to look away from one another.

Loki coughed behind you and you took in a big sigh. Hearing a few yells you turned to see that at the bottom of the cliff, Stark and the blonde were in the middle of a fight. The guy with the hammer, lifted it high and conjured up lightning.

"You have got to be kidding" You gritted and Loki laughed at your reaction. "What you laughing at green goblin?"

"No reason" He shrugged as the guy then shot the lightning towards Tony, frying up his suit. However, he shot right back.

Tony flew at the blonde guy and they continued to fight as they drew further away from you.

"Guess they forgot I'm here" You threw your arms up and slapped your lap.

"I'm sure they'll return" Loki stood up.

"Leaving already?" You stared at him wondering what to do now.

"If I stay, I'll get caught and I've had enough of that for one day" He smiled widely and you too stood up.

"What makes you think I won't stop you?" You folded your arms over your chest and Loki walked up to you. He leaned in and his lips brushed against your ear.

"Because you wouldn't of stopped me if I had kissed you moments ago" His voice was barely a whisper and his breath felt hot against your skin.

You could of sworn that the redness from where you were punched grew even redder. You tried to respond but your voice had hitched and you just stood awkwardly as Loki turned away and fled.

Soon, you heard a sort of explosion and carefully ran down a narrow path that led to the bottom of the cliff. You ran and made it to the guys before they all thought you were dead.

"Miss me" You grinned widely and Tony shook your hand.

"Thought you were dead pipsqueak" You rolled your eyes at the new name.

"At least it's better than Capsicle" You laughed as you looked to Steve.

"Midgardian, we haven't formally met. I'm Thor" The blonde who saved you smiled.

"Nice to meet you, I'm y/n" You smiled back.

"As much as I like meetings like these. Here's a question agent, where's Loki?" Steve asked harshly.

"He got away from me" You lied and then you heard Nat on your headset.

"We've located and restrained Loki, come back and we'll head to Mr Fury" The woman spoke and the line went dead.

Steve held onto Tony's hands as he flew up and you held onto Thor. It didn't take long for your small group to reach the ship and when saw Loki, you gave him a sad smile.

You never said a word until you reached the larger ship that Fury was on. A few guards had come to collect the villain and escorted him through some doors and your group made its way to the bridge. Everyone was listening in to Nick and Loki's conversation through a PA.

Although everyone was listening, your mind was elsewhere. You would be too, if it wasn't for the man who almost kissed you. You felt for your lips and tried to imagine what it would've been like. Soft and sweet or rough and heated. Banner spoke and it snapped you from any thoughts that should be like forbidden fruit to you.

"Really grows on you doesn't he?"

"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?" Steve asked the man that stood deep in thought.

"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not from Asgard, nor any world known" He sadly looked around the room of your group. "He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth, in return, I suspect, the Tesseract" He finished.

"An army, from outer space" Steve looked to the group and then you.

"He's building another portal then" You roll your eyes.

"That's what he needs Erik Selvig for" Banner finished.

"Selvig?" Thor looked at the man quizzically.

"He's an astrophysicist" Banner replied.

"A friend" Thor responded.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell" Natasha mentioned with a sadness upon her face.

"And one of ours" You mentioned.

"I want to know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here" Steve wondered aloud.

"Then let me go in and find out" You stood in front of Mr Capsicle.

"Y/n, I don't think we should focus on Loki right now" Banner defended.

"Well you guys can focus on other situations, I'll focus on Loki" You stormed out to the hall and heard footsteps behind you.

"You do know he killed 80 people in 2 days right?" Nat warned and you continued walking.

"Y/n, wait!" Steve yelled as he grabbed your arm to turn you around. You shook it off and stared daggers into his gaze.

"What do you want Captain?" You spat out the last word and Steve winced.

"I'm sorry, about before. I never once thought it was just fooling around"

"Then why lie to me? Why hurt me like that?" Every question was finished with a tear staining your cheeks.

"I don't know, maybe I didn't want a repeat of what happened to me last time" Steve looked at the ground and your heart broke. You felt for his cheek and smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry, but you have lied to me one too many times now, it's best we just leave it in the past now"

You turned to walk away again and this time, Steve pulled you back and locked his lips with yours for a brief second. He let you go and without another word left to head back to the bridge.

You found the room that was holding Loki and with a deep breath, you walked in. Seeing Loki had somehow put your mind at ease and made you question what you were doing.

"Hello daring, miss me already?" The mischievous man smirked towards you.

"Always the charmer aren't you?" You smirked back and walked closer to the cage. "You gonna tell us anything about your intentions?" You looked at him hopefully.

"Sorry dear, I can't do that" His smile faded and he continued to stand tall before you.

"Can't, or won't?" You folded your arms over your chest as the god before you thought long and hard.

"Won't I'm afraid" He shrugged.

You pressed some buttons that opened the door and when you walked in, they shut automatically.

"Will you tell me anything that's the truth" You pleaded and the man smiled weakly.

"I like you miss mischief" He smiled as he caressed your cheek and you did the same.

"Then tell me why you let yourself get caught" You smiled slightly in hopes he'll allow the power to force his truth out.

"Sorry darling, that doesn't work on me anymore" The man smirked devilishly as he lightly touched your hand.

He gazed deeply into your eyes as he inched in closer. He then placed another hand upon your hip and pulled you in to meet him in the middle. Your breath hitched from the fast movement and you locked your eyes onto the lines of his lips. You threaded your fingers through his hair and pulled him in to close the remaining gap between you. You pulled away just as quick as you went in.

"I'll continue to play your little game, green goblin" You winked and walked out the prison cell.

"Touché, my dear" The villain laughed as you left to head back to the bridge.

Everyone turned and stared you down when you returned.

"Where've you been agent?" Tony asked and you shrugged in return.

"Thought I could get info from greenie" You answered.

"Anyway, me and Banner are going to do some tracking, you in to have fun?" Stark patted you on the back as the two left the room and you ran after them.

You mainly looked at the sceptor and listened as the two men geeked out about the science of it all. Tony also shocked Banner on the side and you laughed.

"You really have got a lid on it haven't you". Stark seemed impressed and you heard the yelling of Steve behind you.

"Is everything just a joke to you?" His voice boomed in the room.

"Steve, it's okay just calm down" You stepped in front of him.

"Funny things are" Tony put out bluntly and you turned to glare at him.

"Not helping" You spat.

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship, isn't funny. No offence doc" Steve's glance was cold.

"Why don't you leave and cool down for a bit?" You tried to push the tall male through the doors, but failed.

"You need to focus on the problem Mr Stark and y/n why don't you leave instead" Steve spoke harshly.

"Because I don't want to" The glared at the man and looked back at Tony.

"First off, leave y/n alone. Second, what, you think I'm not? Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us?" Starks questions made you stop and think what you hadn't thought before until now.

"You have a point"

"I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables"

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Steve questioned.

"He's a spy Captain. 'the' spy, his secrets have secrets. Bugging her too, isn't it" Tony pointed to you and you nodded slightly.

"Not as much as Einstein here" You chuckled and you saw Tony's lips twitch up a little.

"What about you doctor?" Steve asked as he faced Banner, who sighed.

"'A warm light for all mankind' Loki's jab at Fury about the cube" He started.

"Yeah, we heard it" You pointed out.

"I think that was meant for you" Banner turned to Stark. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news"

"The Stark tower? That big, ugly..." You elbowed him in the arm to shut up and Tony gave him a sort of sad glance. "Building in New York?"

"It's powered by an arc reactor, a self-sustaining energy source" Banner continued.

"So, your saying, it could run itself for like what, a year?" You asked.

"It's just a prototype" Tony shrugged it off. "I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now"

"Then why didn't S.H.I.E.L.D bring him in on the Tesseract project?" You pointed out the big question.

"And what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?" Banner joined.

"I guess I should look into that once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secure files" Tony starts to walk out as he looks at a tablet in his hands.

"I'm sorry, did you say..." You look at Steve.

"Just let him do his thing, maybe he'll find something useful"

"Jarvis has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours, I'll know every dirty secret S.H.I.E.L.D has ever tried to hide"

"If you get caught, you're screwed" You laugh nervously.

"Maybe, blueberry?" He offers you a container of the fruit and you gladly took a few.

"And you're confused as to why they didn't want you around" You glared at Steve again.

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome" You laugh at Tony's comment and Steve rolls his eyes.

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed"

"Have you questioned him about his motives yet?" You glance at the tall blonde in front of you.

"No, but I'm sure you have" He smirked, but in a dark way as if he knows what happened in the cell.

"Like I said, my power doesn't seem to work on him anymore" You said simply.

"Anyway, we have orders and we should follow them"

"Followings not really my style" Tony answered.

"And you're all about style aren't you?"

"Okayyy, I'm gonna leave you boys to do whatever the hell you're doing and I'm gonna rest up" You patted Tony on the shoulder and left for your room.

The walk to your room was long and you were able to think about the events that took place. Starting with the poems, the red string that connected you to Loki and then the kiss. Although it was short, you still felt the tenderness of his lips, they were soft and kind.

Once in, you sat at the edge of the bed and opened browser on your phone. You finally typed in about red string and found that it appears when soulmates are finally united. Then you realised, if you and Loki shared the same strand of red string, it meant you were...

The excruciating headaches returned and you screamed in pain. Then you heard the familiar voice call to you.

His raven hair, like midnight's cloak,

Frames a face with secrets spoke.

Fair features veiled in cunning disguise,

A master of chaos, with clever eyes.

A hue of green adorns his sly disguise,

A colour that holds secrets, worth the prize.

Like the lush grasses in a hidden grove,

Or the envy that fuels his plans, bold and rove.

The poem was longer than before and more descriptive. The headaches stopped and you heard yelling outside your door. Getting up slowly, you walked and opened it to see the guys and Nat standing there panicked.

"What's wrong?" You asked innocently.

"We heard you screaming, is everything okay agent?" Natasha asked as she checked your body like Steve had before.

"I'm fine, I just saw a spider. It's gone now though" It was the most logical answer you could come up with on the spot.

Everyone looked at you suspiciously, but all left anyway. You thought more on the new poem and you knew what the unspoken truth was. Loki was your soulmate and you are linked for eternity.

@huntress-artemiss

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novaonhere · 7 months

Text

See You Later

Relationship: Cal Kestis x f!reader

Summary: Cal ends up being one of the causalities to the Ninth Sister.

Word Count: 1.4k

Warnings: Death, cussing, mention of blood, bullets

A/N: GET THE TISSUES, apologies,

Prompt: “Hey, at least I loved you till my very last breath, right? Like I had promised.”

(gif not mine)

————————————————————————

You sit beside Gabs, making small talk about dinner plans as you wait for Cal and Bode to finish interrogating the Senator. You and Gabs exchange many smiles and laughs, starting to share inside jokes.

You and Cal have been with this crew for a while, which happily surprised both of you. You haven't had a stable crew for a hot minute and were happy falling into a better routine with people you cared about and trusted.

This was the same crew that showed you and Cal how DESPERATELY in love you two were and finally just locked you in the ship's bathroom until you told each other. It was one of the twin's ideas, but they wouldn't tell you which one. Since then, you and Cal have been all over each other. It's been a few years since your first kiss, and things have been running smoothly, relationship-wise.

You fell in love with him more and more each day, especially since you both live a life-or-death type of lifestyle. You never know when your last day is with each other, so you make each one count.

Senator Daho Sejan sulks behind Cal and Bode, one smiling back at the girls and one giving a quick small grin. You nod to your boyfriend, knowing he isn't in realization mode just yet.

"I'm thinking we make your famous stew, (Y/N)," Gabs smiles, slinging an arm around you as you make your way toward the front of the ship. You laugh, reciprocating the friendly gesture. Cal's eyes lighten up by Gabs's words.

"Oh, we definitely should stop by the market then," Cal smiles, catching up to you. He slings an arm on your free shoulder, placing a kiss on your temple.

Of course, any nice moment in your life had to be interrupted by an explosion. Unfortunately, this one was too close for comfort. Boxes of ammo and weapons exploded in front of the crew, launching everyone backward. Everyone equips their weapons, waiting for disaster. A large ship lands just feet away from you as everyone branches themselves behind some intact boxes. Breathing heavily, you, Cal, and Gabs look at one another, the color leaving everyone's faces.

Bright lights shine down onto the crowd. You and Cal throw up your hands, trying to block the light, but keep a hand on your sabers, ready. Three ships enter your line of sight, one slowly lowering to land on the platform in front of you. The Senator takes this as a moment to shake his way in front of the crowd.

"What took you so long?" He cries out, stomping his way up towards the shadowy figure slowly emerging from the ship. "While you've been chasing shadows, I have been-" A burst of red light appears and in an instant, lands on the Senator. No, pierces through the Senator. Cal takes his free hand to push you behind him, watching the Senator slowly be dragged to the dark figure.

The figure grabs the Senator by the shoulder, hoisting him up. The red light from the saber illuminates their face.

"The Ninth Sister..." Gabs whispers out, pain and anger behind those words.

"You've been caught harboring a traitor," She says, clutching onto his shoulder harder. The Senator doesn't flinch, probably already dead. He retracts her saber back into her hand, flinging the corpse to the side. She turns to the group, both you and Cal in fighting stances.

"KESTIS!" She calls out to your boyfriend. He doesn't move a muscle but trying to Force you behind him. Confused, you try to push up next to him.

"Together," You state, making sure the rest of the crew was safe.

"Take care of everyone else," He frowns, glaring daggers at the beast. "She's mine." You nod, trusting your boyfriend.

"OPEN FIRE!" She calls out. In an instant, bullets are whizzing past your head as you duck for shelter. The twins call out and go charging before Cal can stop them. You turn to your right, reflecting bullets from one of the ships that were aimed at Gabs.

"GET INSIDE!" You call out to her. You dare peek to the ship seeing the boys trying to fire at the ship, but with the amount of armor, deemed a bit useless. As she stands up to move, she yells out. You don't hear what has been said, but feel her tackle over you. Two bullets graze way too close to your ear as you both fall onto the floor.

"Thanks G-" You choke. Gab's eyes aren't filled with light, the corner of her torso burnt and bloodied. You scream out, tears brimming your eyes.

Cal watches the scene play out as he also deflects bullets. In a fit a rage, he runs towards the Inquisitor. Everyone is screaming for him to get back, it's not worth it, yada yada. All you could hear was the two sabers bouncing off each other. Time seemed to have stopped, and this overwhelming coldness drifted over your body. Bullets flew past you, surprisingly, not hitting you at all. It wasn't until Bode pulled you back into him that you came back to reality.

The reality of a bright red light.

The reality of that light illuminating through Cal's chest.

Without much thought, you snatch Bode's gun and take two shots at the Inquisitor's head. Unfortunately, one bounces away, and one only skims her ear. She calls out in pain, retracting her saber and fleeing.

Cal's legs have yet to give out, but are so bent they're practically on the floor already. You drop the blaster and run. You've never ran so hard in your life, you thought your lungs were going to fly out of your back. Sliding up to your boyfriend, he collapses into your touch. You vision is blurred from tears as you brush his hair out of his face. It was wet with sweat.

His breathing is ragged and unsteady. His eyes are wide and staring up at yours. You look to his torso, but the sight only makes your cry out harder.

"(Y/N)," He whispers, shakingly reaching a hand up to your face. Tears pour down your face, watching the life slowly leave the redhead.

"No, Cal," You sob out, holding him tightly in your lap. "You can't leave, not now, not ever. I love you." Your lips quiver, your hands shake. His eyes start to roll back then focus on and off. "PLEASE!"

“Hey, at least I loved you till my very last breath, right? Like I had promised.” Cal smiles weakly, dibbles of blood coming out of the corners of his mouth. "I love you, do what needs to be done." And with that, he becomes cool to the touch.

Your sobs echo through the space. Your chest becomes heavy, your eyelids droopy, your face and lips chapped. You hold him tightly, bringing your face down to his, resting your forehead on his.

Bode and Bravo watch, arms crossed and winced. It took all of their willpower to start the dreaded walk over. To make it real, and not a shitty part of the show. Bode tried to separate you two but you kicked and screamed like a toddler. When he was finally able to separate you, you flung yourself into his embrace, wheezing and hiccuping from the lack of oxygen. Bravo picked up who used to be Cal, and followed you two to the ship.

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You place a singular petal on Cal's chest. Bode and Bravo helped you set up proper burials for those who had died, and they left you to be alone with Cal for one last time. You shakingly place his light saber across him, letting one of his hands rest ontop of it. You stare at him, his face abnormally white, the freckles stood out even more. His hair was pushed out of his face, and his nose seemed more crooked than ever before. His eye bags had sunken in, as if he was ready for the best sleep of his life.

Leaning down, you place a long kiss to his forehead. And with that, you took a match and lit underneath the table. You couldn't bear to watch.

"See you soon," You hiccup out, trying to hold it together. Slowly, you turn around and head back towards the ship.

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A/N: Great, now I'm depressed.

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