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cxptain-capsicle · 4 months

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Beyond the Sea | Luke Castellan | II

Pairing: Luke Castellan x Unclaimed Poseidon Daughter!Reader

Warnings: angst, fluff, slow burn flashbacks, established relationship present day, Gods being terrible parents

A/N: If you are new around here I love taking suggestions and incorporating your guy's ideas and headcannons in my series so feel free to leave thoughts in my inbox!

Series Masterlist Taglist

“So all of the major 12 gods have their own cabin where their children live. Children from one cabin can’t go into another god's cabin.” Luke explained as he walked you down the aisle of houses. “This one is ours.”

“Ours?” You raised your eyebrow questionably.

“All the new arrivals stay here, in the Hermes cabin.” Luke gestured towards a cabin that was much larger than all of the others. It wasn’t nearly as elegant as the ones around it but it felt warm and welcoming. It looked like a simple log cabin with a large front porch held by tall log columns. On the front of the house was a large green banner with a Greek symbol in the center. Over the door a semi-circle stained glass window that reminded you of the ones in the Big House. The cabin looked a little run down but that wasn’t shocking considering the amount of kids running around inside. Walking inside felt like entering a circus tent. There was yelling, laughing, singing, kids running around, hanging upside down from bunk beds. Even with the chaos it still felt cozy. The inside was dimly lantern lit, the walls were paneled with dark wood, in the center was a large fire pit that made the whole room feel like a warm hug. You followed Luke further into the cabin as several heads turned to look at the new arrival.

“Here,” Luke said as he led you to a bed and dropped the few things that you had on the bed. “This one was mine, now it’s yours.”

“You’re giving me your bed?”

“Yeah, why not?” He shrugged. “I’ll move to the top bunk, it’ll be nice to have a change.” He was humble. He was willing to give you one of the only things that was his and he didn’t want any praise for it.

“Thank you.” You meant it, and you didn’t know what else to say.

“Everyone!” Chiron announced as he trotted into the cabin doors. “Your attention, please. This is Percy Jackson. I trust you will see to whatever he needs.” Everyone stared at the sandy-haired boy awkwardly. Everyone in the Hermes cabin was used to this by now. New kid comes in, new kid gets claimed, new kid leaves, and the cycle continues. Within seconds everyone went back to their conversations although many of those conversations now included the word: Minotaur.

You and Luke glanced at each other unsure if you should say anything to the boy.

“He shouldn’t be alone.” You whispered to him. “Grover said the Minotaur killed his mom.”

You followed Luke as he made his way to the boy, who sat up quickly when we approached.

“Look, if you want to give me a hard time, just do it tomorrow.” He said before either Luke or you could get a word out. “I can't do any more today.”

“Heard what happened to you on the hill.” Luke said slowly, arms crossed over his chest. “And I just... wanted to say I'm really sorry.”

“I know what you're going through.” You chimed in. “Believe me, I really do.”

“I'm Luke.” He reached out to shake the boy's hand.

“Percy.” He hesitantly grabbed Luke’s hand.

“Y/n.” You couldn’t help but smile at him. He reminded you so much of yourself when you first came to camp so many years ago.

“Rise and shine!” Luke’s voice boomed above you. You groaned and turned away from him in an attempt at protest.

“Five more minutes.” Luke chuckled at your words but he didn’t take it for an answer.

“C’mon.” He ripped the blanket off of the bed. “First day at camp, gotta make it count.”

“Luke!” You shouted, the cold air shocking your body. “Do you make it a habit to torture the new campers?” You groaned as you rolled out of bed and began to put your shoes on. Luke was already geared up and ready to go, twitching with excitement.

“Only the ones who make it easy.” He smirked.

“Screw you.” You reached to grab your pillow and threw it at his face. It caught him by surprise causing him to stumble back, making both of you laugh.

“Maybe you’re an Ares kid?” He faked injury dramatically. “We’ll find out today.”

“What?” That piqued your interest. Ever since you arrived at camp yesterday you couldn’t stop thinking about getting claimed.

“We’re gonna figure out what you’re good at. Maybe that’ll help us figure out who your parent is.” Luke explained.

“Where do we start?” You stood up with excitement.

“Breakfast.”

The two of you made your way to the mess hall, it was much more crowded this morning than it was the previous day. Each of the tables were nearly full with kids chatting over breakfast.

“So what’s your story?” You asked Luke as you sat down with your breakfast.

“What do you mean?” He chuckled slightly.

“Your story.” You repeated. “How’d you get here?”

“Well,” He sighed. “I’ve been here for 3 summers.” He pulled at the necklace around his neck with three colored beads strung on the brown cord. “I came here with Annabeth, an Athena kid.”

He gestured over to a girl a few years younger than you sitting at the Athena table. “And Thalia, she uh- she didn’t make it.”

“Oh,” Your voice trailed off. “I’m sorry Luke.”

“Thalia died getting us to camp safely.” He continued. “She died a hero.” An uncomfortable silence fell over the table. “Then I got here, got claimed by Hermes.” Even mentioning his father seemed to send chills down his back.

“What happens if I don’t get claimed?” The thought had crossed your mind more than a few times.

“Well,” Luke shifted in his seat. “It doesn’t happen too often but, you’d stay in the Hermes cabin. That’s where all the unclaimed kids stay.”

“Well if that’s the case, I’ll need to move beds because you snored above me all night.” You teased.

“Oh no way I’ll just follow you wherever you go.” He said as he took a big bite of his breakfast. “So who are we looking for, a mom or a dad?”

“I’m not sure.” You said through a bit of toast. “I was left at a firehouse as a baby so I have no idea who my mortal parent is either.”

“So where did you live?” Luke leaned onto his elbow on the table in interest.

“Foster families, group homes, things like that.” You explained. “Until monsters would trash them and I’d get blamed for it and get moved.”

“Well, we can’t rule out any god but we’ll start out with the olympians. We’ve got a lot of work to do,”

After breakfast Luke led you all around camp. He took you to Arts and Crafts and sat you down at an empty sheet of canvas and easel with a bowl of miscellaneous fruit in front of it. Luke went around to the front of the easel and knocked the bowl onto the floor.

“I have a better subject for your painting.” He stood in front of you, placed his hands on his hips and looked to the side triumphantly. The pose of a hero. You laughed at him and did your best to capture him on the canvas. You tried to take your time but Luke quickly started complaining that his arms were hurting and urged you to hurry. The top half of the painting was pretty good, you could tell it was Luke, you even captured his smug smirk which made you smile. As you went down the painting got more rushed and sloppy but you blamed Luke for that.

“Tada.” You said enthusiastically as you took the canvas off the easel and turned it around to show him. He came up quickly to grab it.

“You didn’t fully capture my good looks, but other than that it’s pretty good.” He shrugged and you laughed and smacked his shoulder with a paintbrush. “So maybe an Apollo kid.” He took the canvas from you and rolled it up, saving it for later in his bag.

Luke continued to lead you around camp trying everything he could think of. He took you to the forge and quickly decided you were likely not a Hephaestus kid after you struggled to even make a dent in the hot metal. He took you to the archery range and despite never holding a bow before, you weren’t too bad. Artemis could be a maybe. He took you to a little training obstacle course by the arena designed to test speed and agility. You did your best but got hit by multiple bags of sand that were built to resemble flying harpies. So Hermes is a no. “Well, we’re definitely not siblings.” Luke laughed as you got hit by a sandbag that toppled you over. For whatever reason that felt very relieving to you. He took you to the strawberry fields where you propagated a few berries. Possibly Demeter. Finally Luke wanted to test your swordsmanship. You were excited for this. Only being here a day and a half you had already heard of Luke’s skills with a sword. Having been on the run from monsters basically your whole life you had gotten pretty good at fighting,

“We’ll get some swords and go to the woods to practice.” Luke told you on the way to the armory.

“Why are we going to the woods?” You questioned.

“So I don’t embarrass you in front of everyone when I beat you.” He smiled widely.

“I hate you-” You laughed but were cut off by someone yelling from up the hill.

“New girl!” Another girl shouted. As you kept walking closer she became easier to see. She was dressed in full greek armor and wore a helmet with a bright red crest. When she took off the helmet her dark curly hair slipped out and gave you a better look at her face.

“Her name is Y/n,” You swore Luke was scowling. “Play nice.”

“Am I not allowed to meet the girl we almost died trying to find?” She faked offense.

“You were in the cave.” You remembered. “You thought I was dead.”

“You looked dead.” She shrugged. “So what are you two doing out here?”“Y/n’s gonna try her hand at some combat.” Luke explained.

“Perfect.” Clarisse said menacingly. She grabbed a chestplate off the rack and held it out to you. “I’ll take the first round.”

“Clarisse, I don’t think-” Luke started but you cut him off.

“Let’s do it.” You eagerly took the chestplate and a sword off of the wall. Something about Clarisse invigorated you. Luke looked at you wearily but figured he was quick enough to stop Clarisse before she killed you. You and Clarisse were stationed about 6 feet away from each other, you armed with a sword and her with a spear. Before you even realized you’d begun she stormed forward, her spear pointed towards you. You took a step to the side to avoid being impaled and she quickly redirected the tip of her spear to follow you but you went under the head of the spear with your sword blade, sending the tip of her spear towards the sky. You took a swipe at her with your sword but she quickly deflected. While you were recovering from your failed attack she slashed the head of her spear down. You stepped back to avoid the spear hitting your face but the tip of the spearhead tore into your shoulder causing you to whine in pain.

“Y/n!” Luke cried out and he began to run to your side but you held out your hand telling him to stop. Your face flushed hot with anger. You weren’t mad at Clarisse, it was a fight and people get hurt. You had always been easy to set off especially in competition.

“It’s just a cut,” You stared Clarisse down. “Let’s keep going.”

“I like this girl.” She laughed before rushing forward again with a giddy smile before taking a stab at you. You took one hand off of your sword and grabbed the shaft of the spear as tightly as you could. She pulled and pulled but couldn’t get the spear free from your grasp. You picked your foot up and landed a hard kick in her stomach sending both of you flying backwards. Despite your best efforts you lost grip on your sword but went down with the spear. You both stumbled to your feet and when you did were both met with a blade under your chins. You with her spear and her with your sword. A draw. She laughed and lowered the sword and you did the same.

“Good to know we didn’t risk our lives for someone completely useless.” You thought that was a compliment coming from Clarisse.

“Let me see your arm.” Luke panicked as he rushed over to you. He grabbed your arm and began examining the cut on your shoulder. The cloth of your Camp Half-Blood was torn and the gash was bleeding much more than you had realized. “Let’s get you to the big house.”

The entire walk to the big house Luke muttered under his breath how it was so stupid to fight Clarisse and it wasn’t until after a few of the Apollo kids treated your wound he admitted that he was impressed. Saying that of course you still couldn’t compare to his sword skills.

I would love to hear feedback! <3

Taglist: @fudosl @lenasvoid

#luke castellan #luke castellan x reader #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #pjo fandom #pjo series #luke x reader #percy jackson show #percy jackson x reader #luke pjo #pjo x reader #pjo x you #pjo

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thankskenpenders · 9 months

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And now for something new

So, here's something I was never planning on doing, but I just couldn't shake the idea... Thanks Ken Penders is gaining a sister blog featuring an entirely different comic franchise!

Introducing... Thanks Steve Ditko, a blog where I read the Earth-616 Spider-Man comics, starting all the way back in the '60s! It's gonna be much more casual and less thorough than how I run things here on TKP, though, which I'll explain in a sec.

If seeing me post weird bits from old Spider-Man comics sounds fun and you need no further info, then just head right on over to Thanks Steve Ditko. But for longtime TKP readers, I know you probably have questions...

Number one: Why?

Spider-Man's always been my favorite superhero, and with the Spider-Verse movies kicking ass and my excitement building for the new Insomniac game, I've been in a Spidey mood. Inevitably, a thought occurred to me: Maybe I should actually read the comics that everything else is built off of and see the wildly varying contributions of all the original creators, rather than filtering them through big budget adaptations. If I can power through One Piece and all these other manga with hundreds of chapters, it can't be that hard... right?

And, well, after a few issues I quickly realized that my options were to either clog up my other accounts with random Spider-Man panels for years, or to just make a side blog. And so the side blog was born.

Two: Will this blog replace Thanks Ken Penders?

NO!!!!!!!!!

Okay but prove it

To allow the two to exist side-by-side, Thanks Steve Ditko will have a different format than what Thanks Ken Penders developed. Rather than an in-depth guided tour that critically analyzes every story beat of every issue, TSD will just be a place for amusing panels and brief thoughts as I casually read the comics at my own pace.

If you've seen me make a few tweets about reading Spider-Man recently, I'm basically just moving that to a dedicated Tumblr. It's a place for me to dump these things so that it doesn't fill up my media tab on Twitter for the next decade. (You know, assuming Twitter is still around in a decade.) There will be many issues where I only post two panels that I thought were funny. There will be issues where I don't have anything to say at all. Maybe I'll reach a run that I just cannot get into, and I start skipping around more. Who knows!

This may sound similar to what I thought this blog would be before it blew up. Aside from the simple fact that there's already mountains of Spider-Man commentary out there and therefore less of a void for me to fill, one of the main steps I'll be taking to avoid repeating the past is not enabling an ask box on TSD. I do not need people to ask me to go into ten times more detail on everything. I do not need to write seven essay-length responses to questions about Spider-Man minutiae every day. I do not need a place for people to chide me for not covering certain scenes, issues, or ancillary series.

It also won't have any kind of update schedule. I'm trying to keep it very casual. I'm reading these comics at my own pace, and if I feel like sharing a moment or commenting on something while doing so? It goes there. That's it.

(On the subject of format changes, I'm also listing the issue, writer, and penciller in the body of every post. This is a thing I wish I'd done on TKP so that people didn't misattribute every weird Archie Sonic panel I post to Penders.)

Three: So when will TKP come back from hiatus? You said it'd come back after you finished SLARPG!

I don't know! Sorry. I have a couple things on the backburner right now for TKP, but I'm not sure when I'll get back to proper updates where I read more comics.

I wanted to bring TKP back this year, and that's still possible. The main hurdle is that I want to reread my own archive (again) as a refresher, which is, uh. A lot of posts. I've developed a high standard for myself on here, and I feel like I wouldn't be doing my job right if I forgot half the ongoing subplots and character arcs and didn't bring them up in my analysis. Especially when I'm discussing the work of an author as obsessed with continuity as Ian Flynn. Unfortunately, the nature of this blog means that every time I go on another long hiatus for Life Reasons I have even more comic continuity to catch up on than last time.

(This is a big part of why I'm making Thanks Steve Ditko an extremely casual blog instead of promising to become a Lore Expert on 60+ years of Marvel.)

Mostly I've just been very burnt out this year after having finally finished a video game that took almost eight years to make. I haven't really had the energy for any creative projects, including TKP. But I feel a little bit of a spark here with Spider-Man, so I'm chasing that feeling to try to get back into the swing of blogging about comics - no pun intended.

So, basically, bear with me on this as I start this low-energy side project. But hopefully folks will enjoy Thanks Steve Ditko as its own thing, too.

Look forward to goofy shit like this

#tkp post

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the-kr8tor · 8 months

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Hiiii!

This is my first time doing this, but I have an idea for FF.

Can you do something where reader is like a raccoon, likes to sleep, eat, steals peoples food sometimes and then Hobie just thinks its adorable... except when reader steals his food and then when I think of Hobie getting his food stolen I think about that one tiktok "gIvE mE mA fOkKeN cHiPs!" I'll add the link but could you do something like that please? Would make my day 😭💀

Link: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMjk3y59F/

-✨️

Omg hi ✨anon! I love this prompt sm ❤️ thank you for requesting!

Pairing: Hobie Brown x gn! Reader/ Spider-Punk x gn! Reader

Tags: no use of Y/N, no specific physical description of the reader, spiderperson! Reader, cw food mention, FLUFF.

It's Fluffy Friday!

ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ

Miguel's annoyed voice rings out around his large office, chastising an equally annoyed Hobie, hands on his hips, rolling his eyes at every word Miguel throws at him. Gwen stands next to Hobie with her arms crossed head turned to the side with a frown.

Hobie's the first person to spot you crawling on the ceiling ever so quietly and slowly. Your mask is off, he sees the tip of your tongue poking out your lips in concentration.

Your senses tingle, eyes shifting to the culprit. Hobie has the faintest smirk on his lips, raising his eyebrows slightly to signal you that you're still undetected by Miguel. You give him a wink as a thank you. Going back to your heist, a warm empanada sits on Miguel's desk, ready for the taking. You think food tastes better when it's snatched right from under their noses, moreso if it comes from your boss who's currently blowing a gasket at Hobie and Gwen.

You take it as revenge for yelling at them. Crawling soundlessly, hands and feet sticking effortlessly on the smooth ceiling, you aim your web shooter directly at the styrofoam.

Suddenly, Gwen sees you, a gasp escapes her lips. Miguel stops mid sentence, eyes following her line of sight.

"We got it!" Hobie pipes up before Miguel spots you with your webs sticking to his lunch. "What was our mistake again?" Bossman pinches the bridge of his nose, starting his rant again.

You sigh, relieved. Gwen gives you an apologetic smile, slyly hiding it from Miguel. You give her a thumbs up while pulling the empanada up to you. Once safely in your grasp, you give Hobie a flying kiss. A knowing look in your eyes, Hobie shakes his head in a miniscule movement.

You shake the styrofoam in your hand, taking Miguel's attention. He turns around lightning fast, already knowing who's behind him and what they currently have in their hands.

"You–!" He doesn't waste time chasing after you, especially that empanada was the last one from the cafeteria.

"Run!" Gwen yells, Hobie guffaws, doubling over in laughter.

You yelp, laughing like a maniac. Having multiple hiding places, it's safe to say that empanada was your prize.

—

Hobie stretches his aching arm, seeking your warmth, he finds Pavitr and Miles talking excitedly in the many hallways of the society.

Hobie opens his mouth to ask them where you are, before he could, Miles sighs, pointing up with his index finger.

"Ceiling"

"Thanks" Hobie jumps up, sticking to the ceiling, he slides off a loose panel. Peeking in, he sees you curled around a fluffy blanket, eyes closed, chest rising and falling.

You look so comfortable he doesn't want to disturb your little bubble of relaxation. Your senses have other ideas though, cracking your eyes open, you smile immediately after your sleepy vision clears, showing Hobie in all his glory.

"Hi" you say softly, yawning, hugging the blanket tighter.

"Hi yourself" Hobie wipes the gunk off your eye carefully with his pinky. "What'd you take now?"

"Peter" you say nonchalantly.

"What?" He asks with wide eyes, surely lego spiderman isn't tucked next to you, or else Miguel would definitely be pissed off without his best operative out on the field.

"Spider-Cat" sure enough, you lift the blanket, Spider-Cat sleeps soundly, curled around himself. "He looked tired so I asked him if he wanted to take a nap up here" whispering, you reach out for Hobie's hand. "Then I guess he looked so cozy I joined in"

Hobie takes your hand, squeezing it once. "Room for one more?"

You grin, nodding your head. "For you, always"

—

Hobie sits with the usual gang, eyes looking for your familiar suit. The crowded cafeteria makes it hard though, red and blues rush past his vision. His lunch half eaten, bag of chips unopened on his lunch tray.

Gwen throws a piece of french fry at Hobie's face, too distracted, he fails to block it, grease sticks to his cheek. Miles and Pavitr chuckle at his shiny skin.

"Arse" He wipes it with a grimace.

Miles and Pav laugh louder while Gwen joins in. They're not laughing at him anymore though, their eyes staring at you crouched down next to Hobie, hands slowly inching their way to his chips.

"Yoink!" You snatch it, already running away, giving yourself a head's start.

"Give me my fuckin' chips!" He yells after you, boots thumping against the floor as he runs after you with a smile.

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beansprean · 1 year

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My Familiar’s Ghost part 29

Masterpost

(ID in alt and under cut)

ID: 1a. Aerial shot of an octagonal wooden gazebo surrounded by foliage and rocks, a vague dirt path leading up to the entrance. Inside, we can see ghost Guillermo and Nandor sitting adjacent to each other. Rain is pouring down heavily and the entire scene is tinged blue. Nandor asks, "Really? Not even the fecal stains on the bear?" 1b. In the corner of the panel there is a close up of Nandor rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He continues, "I thought for sure that would be it. It has been there for so many years... I admit I am running out of ideas. You do not have a long lost horse or unfulfilled orgasm, do you?" 2. Close up on Guillermo. Offscreen, Nandor calls, "...Guillermo? Guillermo!" Guillermo, distracted, jerks his head up in shock, replying, "Huh?!" 3. Wide shot of the two sitting adjacent to each other in the gazebo. Nandor furrows his brow and points an accusatory finger at Guillermo, whining, "Come on, Guillermo, you want me to help you, I am helping you! The least you can do is pay attention when I am being so selfless as to allow you to leave as you wish!" Guillermo wrings his hands together and looks away nervously, saying "Sorry, sorry, I just..." 4. Waist up of Guillermo from Nandor's POV. Guillermo pulls off his glasses and rubs his palm anxiously over his face, looking down and left as he heaves a sigh. He continues, "This sucks, you know? It wasn't supposed to happen like this." The scraps of wraith energy swirls around him, forming the shape of a cloak. /end ID

#wwdits #my familiars ghost #nandermo #mlm #ghost guillermo #nandor the relentless #guillermo de la cruz #what we do in the shadows #what we do in the shadows fx #my art #fanart #image described

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moonmeg · 11 months

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!!TW for panel 3-5// Blood

Seeing him unharmed and alive in his crib was the greatest relief. He was crying but he was alive. With a soft shush she picked the babe from the crib and cradled him in her arms.

"It's alright, little sprout, it's all perfectly fine. Mama's here.", she tried to calm him with a small rocking motion. Her eyes were fully fixated on his little chubby face and the big round tears running down his pink cheeks. It was still a bit surreal to think this was her baby. Her baby that she had carried beneath her heart for almost nine months. Cat started walking around the room while continuing her attempt to calm him. By now she had figured out how to tell his cries apart. His current cry wasn't of hunger, nor did he have an unpleasant smell about him.

"Did you have a bad dream, my love?", she asked and gently wiped the tears off his face, "Me too...". Robyn wasn't a talker just yet, but he was a great listener. While Cat had many great advisors and comforters around her, whenever she started to speak with Robyn, she realized that sometimes all it needs is someone who simply listens. Of course, she knew he doesn't understand her and that he won't remember any of what she's telling him but the idea that he did was nice enough for her to continue talking to him. So she began fighting against Robyn's cries by retelling him her own dream.

"I dreamed about your Papa. He was here and he looked so proud and full of love as he looked at you. We were all together, just as intended. We were happy.", she smiled at the image in her head. How he was standing next to her before the self-made crib he had spent months on. His hand's firm grip on her upper arm as he pulled her closer to him. His warm brown eyes carrying the love he feels for her in just one look. His proud smile towards his son, his soft touch on her cheek and chin. It all felt so real. Cat couldn't help the tear she shed upon the repeating realization that this image will never be a reality. He was gone. No matter how much in denial she wanted to be or was about it.

Caleb was gone.

"Then he appeared.", she put emphasis on "he". Cathy didn't want to speak his name, nor did she want Robyn to ever hear that name. She would rather have that name and the person it was given to be forgotten. That was his biggest concern, wasn't it? He wanted to be remembered as great witch hunter and as savior to humanity. He wanted his name in history books and an everlasting legacy. She figured, she would not give him that.

She knows she can't shut away the story attached to that person. Sooner or later Robyn would ask what had happened to his father and she wasn't planning on lying to him. But if Robyn never hears the name, even if he retells the story of Caleb's fate to friends or perhaps even his own children some day, the name would never be mentioned and slowly be forgotten. It would be "the person" and not "Philip".

Cat paused, thinking of how to continue the telling. The images flashing her mind threw her right back to that terrible day. Right back to the horrifying sight of her beloved Caleb lying in a growing puddle of blood on the floor, clenching his side, coughing...

She had tried her best to push those memories back and instead replace them with happy memories of him. It was too painful a sight to revisit again and again but she wasn't able to push it away fully.

His blood-dyed shirt, the blood strains on his chin and his arm, the pain and sadness in his eyes, the last of his strength he put into a final kiss before he exhaled one last time and lost the life in his body... she was there. She held him through it all.

She feared those moments would now be her steady company in life. They would always return and reopen the wound and she couldn't escape it.

Catherine looked back to her little son, still very much crying, as she decided to not go into detail about what exactly her subconsciousness tortured her with. Both, because it wasn't fit to tell your month old baby and because she could hardly bear saying the required words.

"I'll spare us both of telling what he did. But he did something horrible. And then...he said something so cruel about you.", she brushed her index finger over Robyn's cheek as if he knew what cruelty was said and she wanted to comfort him.

Robyn's cries lost volume but they weren't gone. He noticed he was no longer alone in the crib but that he was held by someone and he noticed quickly it was his mother so close to him. He knew her scent and he recognized her voice. Sometimes that's all he needed to calm down again: mama.

Said mama stared at him in adoration. She loved her little sprout ever since the healers told her she was pregnant. He has grown so much in just eight months and he still was. She was in awe every time anew. That's her son. Her little boy, who surely would grow into a fine young man... much like his late father. Catherine saw the world in this little life and she was proud to call herself his mother.

"He's just so wrong about you. He said you were never supposed to exist...", her brows furrowed in confusion. If Robyn was never supposed to exist, clearly he wouldn't be here now and clearly, Caleb and her would've never been able to conceive him in the first place. If, by Philip's logic, this child was the aftermath of a so-called "sin", if not a "sin" himself, surely that almighty person Caleb and his brother believed in would've not allowed Robyn to exist. She barely understood any of that topic and yet still even regarding that human belief, everything speaks *for* her baby's existence, not against it.

Robyn made a noise, striking his fist in the air as if in protest of the statement. His cries having ceased under Cathy's rocking-while-walking.

"Yeah.", Cat chuckled and validated Robyn's reply, "He's absolutely wrong.".

She paused for a moment to take the blanket from the crib and wrap him up in it. He was calm now again and it wouldn't take long before he dozed off again. So she hoped at least. Once wrapped up, she adjusted him and placed him over her chest, his head in the crook of her neck, where she was shielding it with her hand.

"You're a gift. The most amazing, wonderful, beautiful gift. And we love you more than anything else. Your father and me.", Cat smiled and turned her head to kiss his crown. She kept her lips pressed to his forehead as the clear night sky caught her attention for a while.

"I wonder what traits of yours he picked up, sweetheart.", she pulled her head back to examine her baby's face once again. There wasn't much of Caleb in Robyn's face but that's to blame on Robyn being a baby still. Of course his facial features are to grow over the years and he wouldn't have a sharp angular jaw as infant but so far Robyn has picked up more from his mother than his father.

"Maybe his hair will stay this light? Maybe his eyes are a warm brown? Or maybe it's something completely different?"

She would welcome any resemblance to her lost love and she would lie if she denied the fact she wished he looked more like Caleb sometimes rather than her when Robyn's older. She'd have her beloved's face back. She'd have his blond locks back. She'd have his beautiful brown eyes back. She'd have him back at least somehow.

Then she noticed Robyn's pointy ears - a trait definitely from her - and further spun the thoughts.

Robyn could grow into her long face and pointy chin. His dirty blond could grow into the brown of her's over the years. He could have her piercing teal eyes. He could be the spitting image of her just as much as he could be of that of Caleb.

"Maybe he barely looks like you when he's older...", she frowned upon the conclusion.

Turning away from the window, she drew a circle in the air and the curtains closed. She got back into bed, holding her infant son tightly as she still lightly rocked him back and forth. She kissed his head again. Whichever traits he picked up from Caleb and whichever from her, in the end her baby was beautiful and perfect just the way he is. He was a gift. Caleb's most precious gift. One she will protect from harm with her life. Her little sprout. Her little Robyn.

#tw: blood #tdaac #tdaac moonmeg #toh #the owl house #catherine clawthorne #catherine megpeggs #evelyn clawthorne #caleb wittebane #caleb clawthorne #robyn clawthorne #philip wittebane #toh fanart #the owl house fanart #toh oc #toh fancomic #the owl house fancomic

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violet-lazer · 11 months

Text

First Kisses : Papal Edition - Secondo

Content / Warnings : Secondo/Reader, Mature (Language, Suggestiveness), Gender-Neutral Reader, 1.5k words. Thanks, please enjoy! (AO3)

Your first kiss with Secondo.

With a good amount of trepidation coursing through your veins, you lift your hand to the door of Secondo’s office and give two firm knocks, attempting to ignore the knot in your stomach as you await a response. After a moment or two, his voice rings sharp and clear through the wood-panelled door.

“Enter.”

You gather yourself and push open the door, taking a few short steps into the room. Secondo, seated at his desk, clearly in the middle of some paperwork, lifts his head to meet your gaze. Placing his pen down, he steeples his fingers and leans forward slightly as he addresses you.

“Ah. Welcome. Do you know why I have summoned you?”

“No, Papa,” you lie.

Even underneath his paint, you see him quirk an eyebrow. He hums, reaching into a drawer, retrieving his phone and placing it on the surface of the desk, screen facing you. He beckons you to come closer, and you reluctantly oblige. Reluctantly, because you know you’re facing your own oblivion in bright illuminated text. Since last night you’ve been living in desperate, foolish hope that what is currently happening might not happen. As you lean in close to assess the damage, a small, involuntary groan escapes you. You’re looking, as you knew you would be, at the message thread between you and Secondo on his personal, private number.

This was Terzo’s fault. You’ve been known to blame many of your personal problems on Terzo, but this one was indisputable.

“Personally,” he’d said, leaning over to purr into your ear as the two of you watched Secondo conduct mass, “I think you should tell him.”

From your latecomers’ vantage point at the back of the chapel, you’d torn your eyes from the altar, from Secondo, and looked at Terzo incredulously. Oh, here we go. Terzo is doling out romantic advice again. Perfect.

“I don’t want to do that,” you’d said. You don’t. You do.

Terzo had rolled his eyes at this, and tutted condescendingly.

“Have it your way. I would advise doing something to halt your descent into madness, though. When I am battling my feelings-”

“What feelings?”

“When I am battling my feelings,” he continues, “Here is what I do. I draft a little paragraph on my phone. I go into excruciating detail about my wants and desires. Let it all out, you know. I imagine sending it to them. And then I delete it. It is almost as good as an honest conversation.”

“Right,” you’d said dismissively, fixing your attention on Secondo at the altar once again and ignoring your quickening heartbeat. What a silly idea.

And there you were just a few hours later, lying on your bed, phone aloft in front of your face, typing furiously in the text box below Secondo’s name. The content of the messages between the two of you before tonight had been consummately professional- indeed, he’d only furnished you with his number last week due to the number of errands you’d been volunteering to run for him of late. But what you were writing here was the absolute antithesis of professional. You’d paused to assess your work. Utter filth. A culmination of every idle thought, every active fantasy you’d had about the man in the months since you’d first laid eyes on him.

You wonder how he’d respond if he could see this, if he only knew. Would it take him completely by surprise? You’ve been so, so well-behaved around him. It’s been nigh impossible for you to figure out how you’d even approach the idea of flirting with Secondo, and the embarrassment of being knocked back may just destroy you. So you’ve simply not bothered to try. But Lucifer, what you’ve thought.

Satisfied, you’d pressed backspace, holding your finger down and watching your most depraved dreams disappear before your very eyes-

And then you’d dropped your phone on your face before you’d finished, hitting you square on the nose and making your eyes water. Scrambling to pick it up, you’d turned it over to see something that made your heart drop out of your arse. You hadn’t finished deleting. And you’d pressed send. Possibly with your nose, which was impressive.

Immediately, without even registering how much of your message had made it to Secondo, you’d done the only logical thing and turned your phone off in a panic. When in doubt, deny. Perfect strategy. Hey, maybe you’d even get away with it.

As you look at Secondo’s screen, it becomes apparent you haven’t gotten away with it. Until about twenty seconds ago you’d been clinging onto a vague hope that the letter of summoning that had been pushed under your door this morning was concerning…literally anything else. Alas. Your crime is staring you in the face.

More specifically, what is staring you in the face is your own words. You suppose it could have been a lot worse, really. Most of the evidence was gone, and what remained-

Papa, I need to tell you how much I want you to p

“When I gave you my number,” Secondo says, dragging your attention away from the screen and back to his stare, “it was for business, not pleasure.”

“I know, Papa. I’m sorry.”

Even if you could play it off as the start of a message that wasn’t about what you wanted Secondo to do to you, you absolutely can’t excuse the fact that you’d sent it at half past eleven at night. Absolutely inappropriate for a work-related enquiry.

Secondo barely acknowledges your apology, merely continuing to hold your gaze. You fall into an uncomfortable silence.

You reckon you could make a clean exit if you vaulted out of the window. Enthusiastic sprint, hand on the windowsill, over and out. Secondo’s office is only on the second floor, you’d probably be alright. It would be preferable to this.

After what feels like an eternity, Secondo speaks again.

“Well?”

“...Well?” you repeat slowly, somewhat at a loss.

He leans back slightly in his chair, exuding nothing but sheer, relaxed confidence.

“Well? Does that sentence have an ending?”

It does. It has a very creative ending. Is he…asking to hear it? The thought simultaneously thrills you and terrifies you. There’s not a chance you can repeat what you wrote so unashamedly last night, not to his face. Not when he’s looking at you like that.

You nod. It feels less committal. Secondo tilts his head just a fraction.

“It seemed very important. If you want something, you should be direct about it. Here, I will go first. I want you to tell me the ending to your sentence. And I want you to be honest.”

Ah, fuck. At present, you don’t think you have the capacity to lie. All you can think about is…

“It said,” you begin before you can help it, “I need to tell you how much…I want you to push me against a wall and kiss me.”

You’ve done it now. There’s a wave of adrenaline crashing over you, a mix of nerves and sheer exhilaration, and your hands are trembling. You realise you’re holding your breath. Secondo’s response causes you to exhale sharply.

“And is that a sentiment you stand by this morning?”

“Yes.”

“Close the door.”

Without thinking, you obey, turning to retrace your steps. As you approach the door you hear the scrape of Secondo’s chair on the floor; when you push on the heavy wood you count footsteps behind you. The door shuts. You turn. Secondo is right behind you, and still he barely slows his pace as he closes the last remaining distance between you. You let him back you up against the door, and in an instant his mouth is on yours. Secondo kisses you fiercely, tongue pushing into your mouth, his body pressed hard against you. You kiss him just as relentlessly, sinking back against the door, desperate to feel Secondo’s weight pinning you where you stand. Gloved hands find your hips.

Eventually, you part, breathless. Secondo’s eyes are ablaze as he looks down upon you, and it might be the delirium talking but you could swear he has the faintest suggestion of a smile playing across his lips. He leans in, giving you one gentle, final kiss. Then, he shifts, taking a step backwards and releasing his hold on you. You miss the pressure.

“I would say it is worth being direct, hm?” he says. “Next time I expect you to be more forthright.”

“Next time?” you say, still bracing yourself against the door. There’s a chance your legs might still give out. Secondo hums.

“I will permit you to contact me outside business hours,” he says. “As long as you are confident in your desires. As long as you are…explicit.”

He reaches past you to grasp the doorknob, waiting patiently for you to peel yourself off the door before easing it open. Politely, he gestures to the corridor beyond.

“You are dismissed.”

You nod shakily. The past ten minutes have been something of an adventure. As you cross the threshold of Secondo’s office, you hear his voice, soft, behind you.

“I look forward to your next message.”

So do you. As you make your way back to your room, you pull out your phone and finally turn it back on. You’ll show him just how explicit you can be.

#the band ghost #the band ghost fanfic #secondo #secondo x reader

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starlazergazer · 1 year

Text

Trapped

Pairing: Anakin x Reader

Request: The reader is a prisoner of war when Anakin and the other jedi find them and saves them ending up falling in love

Warnings: descriptions of claustrophobia

Word count: 6.5K

A/N: Okay so I may have taken this in a rather different direction following more the spirit of the request than anything else so if anyone wants me to write this again staying more true to the request let me know!! I may do it anyways because I had so many ideas on how to do this and had so much fun writing it lol. But if anyone has any other requests please send them my way I would love to write them!!! Thanks y’all and happy holidays!!

You had done a lot of stupid stuff in your time here but this had to take the cake.

Stealing food, blankets, clothing? Sure that made sense, people needed basic necessities and the prison guards liked to hoard them.

Sneaking around to scout any possible escape routes? How else are you supposed to stand any chance at breaking out?

But breaking into the commander’s office? That didn’t make any sense whatsoever.

You weren’t even sure what you were looking for, all you knew was something was calling to you here, an invisible string tying you to the locked office and you weren’t sure you could ignore the connection for much longer.

And because of that when the door slid open and you were met with an empty office you had to pause, had to give yourself a second to decide where to start looking, and what to start looking for.

But the pull hadn’t gone away like you had expected it to when you walked in, it got stronger if anything, more precise. The desk.

You followed the pull without question, feet carrying you quickly across the room to the desk on the other side of it, facing the door. And your hand knew what to do, on instinct going to the third drawer at the bottom, softly pulling it open.

And inside sat a glowing cube, something unlike anything you had ever seen before. You hesitated at first, thoughts running briefly through your head wondering if it was dangerous, and yet something seemed to quiet them, to assure you that it wasn’t, that you were meant to have it.

The cube seemed to hum softly as you picked it up, holding it up to the light hoping to discover anything more about it, though there was nothing. Nothing but intricate metal work backlit by light.

Close your eyes.

The words seemed to come into your mind as if they were placed there by someone else. But that didn’t really scare you, instead you listened, closing your eyes, picturing the cube in your mind.

From there it all seemed so natural, a twist of this corner, slide of a panel, unfolding of the figure, the cube seemed to undo itself in your head.

Then you opened your eyes to see the cube in your hands doing the same, now lying flat before you, then a hologram appeared.

You nearly dropped the cube in surprise, jumping back slightly as a man appeared in your hands staring up at you.

Then the door opened.

You froze on the spot, eyes going wide as you stared at the tall man standing in the doorway now, all thoughts of the hologram immediately gone from your mind.

But his expression nearly mirrored yours, eyes wide, mouth hanging open slightly, gaze jumping between you and the cube in your hands.

And almost on queue it snapped shut, jumping slightly in the air before landing back in your hands, perfectly resembling the same cube you had found in the desk just minutes before.

“How did you-?” the man was asking you a question though all you could focus on was the way he got closer, very aware of the wall just behind your back limiting your own range of movement.

Instinctively you pulled the cube back towards you, ushering it behind your back, not missing the way the man’s hands came up in front of him at the sight of it disappearing from his view. So he was here for the same thing you were.

“Look-“ Again he was speaking but you paid little mind to his words, using the corners of your eyes to scan the room, just barely catching a door to your left in your peripheral vision.

The man had slowed his pace towards you as you hid the cube, giving you the perfect opportunity.

With the briefest look into the strangers blue eyes you broke for that door, ignoring the man’s calls to wait as the door to what turned out to be a bedroom shut behind you.

You didn’t give yourself an opportunity to take in the commander’s room as you would have liked, instead you broke for the door across the way, every instinct within you telling you to protect the cube.

You heard the door to the office slide open just as you went through the next one into the hallway, not taking the time to think about where you were going, just picking a direction and sticking to it.

You skidded around corners, bumping into walls as you didn’t take the time to slow down but threw your gaze over your shoulder periodically, catching glimpses of the stranger following you.

You came to another T in the hallway and picked left on a whim, eyes darting down the next hallway as you ran, not expecting the flash of yellow you caught as you did so, feet coming to a halt when you came face to face with an entire battalion of battle droids.

The two of you just stared at each other for a moment, each taking time to fully process the situation before you, you struggling to comprehend just how deep of shit you were in.

“The prisoner is escaping!” You heard a single robotic voice call out. And to your horror you watched as each droid raise its blaster, dozens of barrels pointed directly at you.

And you found that you couldn’t do anything about it, couldn’t do anything but stand there and brace yourself, eyes instinctively going shut.

Then you felt something crash into the side of you, sending you down onto your shoulder just beyond the corner just as a dozen blasters sounded.

Your eyes shot open to see the stranger hovering just above you, nose mere inches from your own as he stared down at you, a hint of a smile on his lips as you heaved, trying to catch his breath from the chase “Oh now you decide to stop running”

“I-uh” You weren’t sure where you were going with the sentence, relieved to see he wasn’t waiting for it either. Pushing himself to his feet he offered his hand out to you, not really giving you time to grab it before he was pulling you up to your feet and further down the hallway.

“You got me lost” he groaned as he took the first turn, never slowing down as he barreled down the hallway with you in tow, his hand still firmly grasped around your own, scared you were going to break away with the cube.

And mentally you were glad your earlier scouting of the facility served you well “go left”

He didn’t question you, didn’t think twice about trusting you before he banked hard, turning left just as you had told him, not bothering to ask for further directions, knowing you would provide them.

“Right” you told him quickly, and again he obeyed, taking the next right, getting not more than a few steps before he screeched to a halt.

You slammed into his back as he did so, your shoulder hitting his hard as you fell forward, the stranger pulling you back to him with your hand, pulling you into his chest briefly to steady you before letting go.

And you were ready to rear on him, demand what was that about, when you heard it, footsteps, dozens of footfalls too well timed to be anything but droids, headed right for you.

You swore under your breath, looking desperately back at the stranger only to see him one step ahead of you, hand out before him pointed at a grate on the wall near the floor.

The grate flew off the wall and towards his hand and he tossed it aside, giving you little time to process what had just happened before he was gesturing you through the new hole in the wall.

Without thinking you took his hand that he held out to you, letting him help you down into the vent, the reality of your situation only hitting you once you were fully inside of the vent, unable to stretch out your arms or legs.

The man filed into the vent after you, pulling the grate back over the hole to hide your exit just in time for the droids to round the corner.

“Ok we just need to wait-“ the man was whispering to you but you couldn’t focus fully on his words, the only thing registering right now was the tightness of the space around you, the feeling of the walls of the duct closing in around you making it hard to breathe, your arms and legs immediately becoming uncomfortably sore for being unable to stretch out.

“Tight spaces” you managed to get out, trying to assure yourself that the space was big enough, that you weren’t stuck.

But still you could hear the echoes of your breath bouncing back at you, each one coming faster and faster as you could feel the nearness of the vent walls on each side.

You heard the man swear softly, a hand coming up to clench yours, another coming to your chin to pull your gaze to him.

“I need you to take a deep breath for me okay?” He asked softly but all you could do was shake your head, breath coming out in short, ragged bursts as you struggled to control it, struggled to feel like your lungs could ever hold enough air.

“I need you to try” he shook his head back, giving your hand a soft squeeze as he dropped the one from your chin “With me okay” And slowly he took a deep breath, in through the nose out through the mouth, waiting patiently for you to join him.

And despite every thought screaming at you to do otherwise you forced a long exhale, syncing your next inhale up with his, waiting until you heard him exhale to do the same.

“Good” he whispered back to you after a few breaths “You’re doing good, you’re going to be okay”

And though you could do no more than nod at the moment, too focused on your own breathing you knew he could feel your appreciation, the shift in your panic, as he turned back to the grate, ducking down slightly to look out of it.

“Looks like we may be clear” he whispered back to you, looking back out of the corner of his eyes though you could see the hint of a smile on his lips “ready to go”

“Please get me out of here” you said it on an exhale, already scooching closer to him, ready to crawl back through the gate.

He laughed softly under his breath, taking care this time to gingerly take the grate off the wall and softly set it down, climbing up to his feet and glancing around before extending his hand to you, helping you up to your own feet.

As soon as you were back in the hallway you took an even deeper breath, giving yourself a brief moment to fully stretch out your limbs, feeling the space around you.

You saw the stranger watching you out the corner of your eye, not in an impatient or pitying way but almost a curious one, his head slightly cocked as he watched you stretch out.

“Sorry” you whispered, starting to move further down the hallway close behind him “I don’t do well in tight spaces”

“don’t worry about it” he brushed it off quickly with the shake of his head “sorry I couldn’t find a better place to hide”

“Believe me you never have to apologize for saving my life” you laughed quietly before calling out your next instruction “left”

Again the man followed with no questions, turning down the next hall before asking you “where are you taking us?”

You couldn’t help but let the hint of a smile crawl up your face, looking at him through the side of your eye “you’ll see”

And despite everything he laughed a little at that, shaking his head slightly but following your directions nonetheless, you leading the both of you through the twisting hallways until you started to be able to hear the rush of water, knowing you were close.

The stranger didn’t say anything as you led him through the last door, darkness creeping over the two of you as nothing but the end of the wide mouthed cave was lit, the two of you taking little time to run to the end of it and look out over the massive waterfall plunging into the ocean 60 ft below.

“That is your plan?” You heard him yell at you over the rushing water just beneath you, his expression not at all perturbed by the height but almost elated, a loud laugh escaping him as he peered down over the edge.

“Yeah” you responded with a small shrug, walking slightly back further into the cave, just barely able to make out the sounds of droids rushing in the hallway just behind you, the prison mere seconds from going red alert “can you swim?”

“Yeah I can-“ and the rest of his sentence died in his throat as he turned to look back at you, his eyes growing wide as he watched you square up.

“No wait!” it was all he could get out before you came sprinting directly at him, crashing your body roughly into his sending both of you over into the abyss.

You hadn’t regretted the decision to escape via the ocean until the moment.

Before you were so caught up in the feeling of the air rushing through your hair as you crashed down, the cold shock of water as it enveloped you, the soft sand that stuck to you on the opposite bank. It was feelings that after your 2 years of imprisonment had become ubiquitous with freedom, so far from the harsh cold of stone walls, metal shackles, and confinement.

But now standing in the center of the jedi council chambers, 12 sets of eyes staring down at you as you could hear the water smacking the floor as it dripped from your hair, you wished you had chosen a drier escape route.

“So you were the one who got the holocron from star’s end” you could hear to monotony in the man’s voice as the one in the center addressed you, clearly as confused as to why you were here before them as you were.

“Yes sir” you answered meekly, stealing glances back towards your rescuer, Anakin you had learned his name to be, who just look on with a smug smile, the glowing cube you’d taken from the wardens desk clutched causally in one hand.

“Yes” Ankain echoed you, never breaking eye contact with the man before you, a sort of game occurring between their hard stares sent back and forth you couldn’t quite crack “but that’s not all” and with no warning he tossed the cube to you.

You caught it no problem, the jedi council collectively sitting up in their seats as their gaze anxiously followed the arc of the cubes path through the air, visibly relaxing when it landed safely in your hands.

“Open it”

You raised a brow at his command, eyes never leaving Anakin’s as you silently questioned. You’d only opened it the once, by mistake, you had no idea how you had done it.

“Skywalker what is the meaning of this?” the man in the center asked with a dejected sigh, clearly with as much faith in your abilities to open the cube as you had.

Anakin, however, didn’t respond, his eyes cutting to meet yours, a soft smile and an encouraging nod sent your way before he spoke “just do what you did back in his office”

“I don’t know what I did in his office” you whispered the words back, as if you had any chance of concealing them from the council sitting before you.

“Close your eyes, focus on the cube” Anakin instructed you softly, words spoken only for your benefit “you can do it”

You looked up to see the council eyeing you expectantly before looking down at the cube with doubt. There was no way to tell if it was even you that opened the cube before, but Anakin hardly gave you any way out. So you closed your eyes.

You formed the cube in the mind, feeling its weight anchored in your hand, concentrating on as much detail as you could until you felt the weight of it slowly leave you, hovering in the air just above your hand, because though you couldn’t see it you could feel it do so, could sense it.

A twist of the corner, that was what instinct told you, the cube In your mind obeying obediently before showing you the next move, then the next, the puzzle cube unfolding within your mind until it was nothing but a flat plane.

Then there was a voice, the same voice you’d heard before in that office, greeting you.

You opened your eyes to the same hologram, speaking directly to you from the now flat cube hovering inches above your hand, and you were so caught up in your own awe that the next voice to speak startled you.

“how did you do that?”

You jumped at the sound, the cube tumbling from it’s spot in the air and crashing to the ground, hologram gone, cube now a 3D shape once again, 12 sets of eyes eagerly on you as they sat on the edge of their seats.

“I-I” you stuttered at first, unsure where you were going with the sentence before it came out “I don’t know. I just…felt…it”

The man in the middle shifted back in his seat, hand coming to his chin in thought as he just stared at you at first. “A child this force sensitive could not have gone unnoticed”

Your eyes cut back to Anakin with a raised brow, “Force sensitive? I’m not-“

“You are” Anakin cut you off with an eager nod, eyes darting between yours and the man in the center’s “You have to be, it’s the only way to open the holocron”

Your brows bunched together as you looked down at the cube, almost afraid to touch it again “I can’t- I would’ve- I would’ve known if I was”

“The question is no longer if” the man in the center boomed, drawing your attention back up to him “but how. How did you escape our detection, how do you still have such sensitivity without formal training”

“I want to train her” Anakin piped up at that moment drawing your attention back to him, your head spinning just trying to keep up. “I’m ready to take on my own padawan”

“No” the man’s answer was quick and final, the man giving the idea barely any consideration before answering, “she is too old, it is too dangerous to teach her our ways now”

“It’s too dangerous not to” Anakin countered quickly, clearly already ready for this objection “her abilities clearly aren’t going to fade, our best option is to teach her the path of the light side”

And this seemed to catch the man off guard for a moment, his eyes casting to the other jedi around him as a silent conversation took place before you, too many quick glances for you to ever hope to try and follow along before he was speaking again.

“On that part you are right” it seemed painful for the man to admit this to Anakin though Anakin’s smile grew at the words, “you may train her, however this does not make her a padawan nor you a master, this is nothing more than a side project and you are to do no more than teach her what will keep her from the dark side”

Anakin seemed to deflate slightly at the words, clearly this answer not entirely what he had wanted but the smug smile still remained, he clearly felt he had still won this time.

“Thank you master” At this Anakin bowed to the man and you instinctively did the same, following wordlessly behind Anakin out of the chambers, completely unaware of just how radically your life was about to change.

“You can do this” Anakin spoke to you in a soft, encouraging tone “just close your eyes and try again” and a part of you hated him for that tone, for how easy he made it seem, for how easy the task seems, lift the rock from his hand. You had opened a holocron, twice, why was lifting a rock so much harder?

But deep down you knew why it was that way, why it had to be this way.

You’d come to understand the force as an essence, existing all around you, and using it to your advantage was as easy as opening yourself up to it, lifting an invisible barrier that existed between you and it. And little things, small intuitions, sensing presences or people, that required the barrier to lift just a little, but actual telekinesis? That required a lot more, and you didn’t like what came with completely opening that barrier.

Not that Anakin knew that.

But as you looked at him you felt your resolve start to break, large blue puppydog eyes looking at you with complete encouragement and belief in your ability, and you just couldn’t let him down.

So you convinced yourself this time it would be different, it would be better, and with a deep breath you closed your eyes and slowly opened the barrier.

For a brief moment there was nothing but the force, as if invisible strings pulled you to the rock in Anakin’s hand, a simple pull on one of them and the rock was floating. You heard his cheer in the back of your mind and felt your lips turn up at the sound.

Then there was a flash across your vision, an electric whip flying through the air, a woman’s scream, a dark cell, then a small child huddled into the dirty corner of a room. You felt your breath hitch within you as you recognized the room, recognized your cell, and again part of you felt trapped, like you were back there, locked behind bars, little hope of ever escaping, of ever seeing the sun again. Then the child’s eyes snapped to you. All thoughts left your mind immediately as you met her gaze, unsure of how she could see you, unsure of how you could see her.

“You won’t leave us right?”

And you didn’t have an answer to that, because you had already left them, had already gotten out, had already left another person to occupy your empty cell.

“I-“ the words died in your throat before they could escape as you weren’t sure what to say, weren’t sure if you could say anything.

The sound of the door opening snapped her attention from you immediately, a set of armed droids waiting on the other side of it.

The girl was already shaking her head, trying desperately to pull herself further into the corner, tears welling in her eyes as she repeated “no” over and over again.

The droids ignored her cries completely, only stating their orders to her as if she were listening “it is your time for questioning”

The girl screamed, tried to kick back at them as they approached, tried to keep them off of her but she was just a little kid, there was only so much she could do.

You were rooted on the spot, unable to move even as she tried to reach for you, even as she called your name as they dragged her out of the room. You watched her disappear around the corner, given barely any time to wonder where they were taking her before you were slammed back into your body, again on the floor on the jedi training room, desperately gasping for breath, eyes rapidly scanning the room trying to ground yourself.

Then you felt a hand on your shoulder, another on your chin pulling your gaze to meet his, Anakin knelt down in front of you forcing out deep slow breaths, showing you what to do. And you were back in that air vent, not in a bad claustrophobic way but in a comforting one, a grounding one, again Anakin was there when you were drowning teaching you how to breathe.

You forced out the slow breaths in time with his, Anakin’s eyes never breaking from yours as he continued with the unnatural rhythm, waiting till you seemed to calm, waiting until you were ready. Then he carefully brought his legs in front of him to sit down, crossing them so that his knees touched your softly, leaning forward so his elbows rested on his thighs. “What happened?”

Your posture collapsed on the spot, your head going into your hands as you took a second to remember, to process what had just happened, how you had felt so out of your own body and yet still you.

“I-I was back in the prison” you started hesitantly, not daring to meet Anakin’s gaze as you spoke “They were torturing people I think and there was this girl. She could see me, she begged me for help as they dragged her out of her cell for questioning and I just sat there”

It was silent for a moment as your mind reeled, trying desperately to remember if there was any more to it before Anakin spoke in a sad, soft tone “They’re called force visions” he took a deep breath “they’re known for being unreliable”

You shook your head, gaze snapping to his as you straighter slightly “no this felt real, too real to be a vision, it felt like this was happening right now, real time and I couldn’t-“

You let the words hang in the air and Anakin knew what you meant, not stepping in to say anything as you thought, as you spiraled a bit more. “I left them there”

“you got out” Anakin’s rebuttal came quick but you didn’t let it hang in the air for too long.

“I left them there” You repeated, looking up at him with a small shake of your head “I had a jedi on my side and basically run of the place and I was so caught up in my own escape I didn’t even think about helping any of them get out. Who does that?”

“A survivor” Anakin’s answer again came quick but you were already shaking your head, gaze casted across the room as you refused to look at him.

“A coward”

His hand came to your knee immediately, pulling your gaze back to him as he leaned a little more forward, urging you to listen to him. “you are not a coward”

“I left children and elderly people, innocent people, to rot in a cell while I escaped. What right did I have to get out over any of them?”

“There was just two of us” Anakin objected sadly “we couldn’t have gotten them out if we had tried”

And it was like something had clicked within you, your posture straightening back up as your gaze cast back to his, a ghost of a smile playing on your face “so we need to bring backup next time”

Anakin’s eyebrows scrunched as he looked back at you, hesitantly retracting the hand from your knee as he spoke “next time?”

You nodded eagerly, already pushing yourself up to your feet “I need to speak to the jedi council”

“I want to free the people of star’s end”

The words didn’t seem to shock the council, you were under the impression that not much did, but still a silence fell over them, each member taking a moment to look at one another, sending silent messages between one another before master windu addressed you.

“You are not a jedi, you can do as you please miss L/N”

And though a part of you felt deflated, the council was playing obtuse on purpose, wanting to force you to ask out loud for their help, you saw Anakin from the corner of your eye, his tall proud stance just behind you, always having your back, and instead tried to mirror him.

“I am asking for jedi assistance with this master Windu”

Again the council shared a look, a silent discussion taking place before your eyes, before slowly each gaze returned to you, each’s expression as stony and serious as before.

“Star’s end is a separatist stronghold far too expansive for the jedi even with the clone army at it’s side to take it without many casualties”

You could see Anakin adjust his stance ever so slightly at his words, physically switching from offensive to defensive, and a part of you got angry at that, angry that you were having to prove to the jedi why the people unjustly locked in cages deserved to be free, angry that Anakin already seemed to feel this was a losing battle.

“Those people in star’s end are republic citizens, loyal to the republic in every way, the very people you all are sworn to serve and you are just going to leave them to die?”

You tried to control the anger in your voice, tried to bite it down knowing yelling at the council would get you nowhere, but couldn’t help yourself as your voice grew louder, your words coming out in rapid succession.

“We cannot serve the people of this republic if our army is dead” you could hear master windu’s own anger in his voice but you knew it wasn’t anger for his supposed forced inaction or anger in the loss of innocent lives, but rather in you, for daring to counterriot him, to argue with him in front of the council “we have a war to win miss L/N, that supersedes all else”

“The people in those cells were prisoners of war” you could hear the desperation in your own voice but in that moment didn’t care “soldiers in your war, they will gladly fight with you again all you need to do is unlock the cells. Give them a chance to help you free them”

“The answer is no”

“What if I went back in undercover”

You could see Anakin’s posture go rigid on the spot, for the first time his head snapping to you, his gaze fully falling on you as you spoke.

But in that moment you couldn’t take a second to focus on anything but master Windu’s face, the way it crinkled ever so slightly in thought, and you knew that was your chance.

“I know the schedule, the layout, how to fit in seamlessly-“

“Wait” Anakin’s voice was barely more than a whisper, his body coming inches closer as he took a step towards you, hand outstretched to grab you by the arm as if to physically stop you, but you just stepped forward, out of his reach, and continued on as if you had heard nothing.

“I still have the uniform, friends on the inside, I even know how to get in without being noticed-“

Anakin quickly gave up on trying to stop you, turning directly to the council this time, taking a step in front of you as if to shield you from them. “Master windu please excuse-“

The master silenced Anakin with a simple look, Anakin’s own words dying in his throat on the spot as he stared up at the council, gaze breaking desperately to his master’s silently begging him to do something.

Obi-wan, however, could do nothing as Master Windu turned to you, giving you a small nod before speaking “what do you propose miss L/N”

And you took a second to step away from Anakin, taking care to not meet his eye contact as you did so, your gaze never breaking from master Windu’s as you continued carefully, continued with a plan you hadn’t even realized you had formulated.

“I sneak in, unlock all the cells and the front gates giving a clone army not only unfettered access to the grounds but an entire army already within the prison” and you could see the hesitation on his face, the hesitation on all of their faces “the clone army needn’t do anything until the gates are open, and if I fail you can simply turn around. No harm no foul”

The council shared another look amongst themselves and you could see Anain’s eyes desperately scanning the room, clinging to every bit of silent conversation he could make out.

“If you are caught-“ Master Windu spoke again and you could see Anakin flinch ever so slightly at the words, his gaze whipping around to you once again as he slowly backed up to the edge of the circle, acknowledging finally he had no say in this decision, on either side. “You cannot disclose the location of this clone army should this be the plan. You cannot give any indication of the jedi’s involvement”

“If I am caught” you repeated back to him, trying your best to keep the triumphant smile off your face “well, master Windu, you said it yourself I’m not a jedi. Just a prisoner trying to escape”

You’d been sitting crossed legged on the floor for over an hour at this point, no longer even pretending to try and practice his exercise.

He’d hardly spoken a word to you since the council meeting this morning, no more than leading you to a training room and telling you to sit down and lift the rock in front of you while he paced.

Back and forth in front of you, none of the usual “good job” when you did it or light instruction when you failed to, just pacing.

At first you had prepared yourself for his blow up, waiting for him to yell at you, to lecture you for being irresponsible, for not talking to him before bringing your plan to the council. Instead you got silence, an impending doom hanging relentlessly over your head as you waited for the inevitable.

But a person could only wait so long.

So you had abandoned the rock lifting half an hour ago, doing nothing but sitting on the floor watching him go back and forth. And you weren’t sure if he even noticed. And quite honestly you were sick of waiting.

So one last time you closed your eyes and concentrated, easily using the force to pick up the fist sized rock in front of you, and hurling it directly at Anakin.

Anakin spun on the spot and lifted his hand effortlessly, the rock halting midair in front of him, floating there for just a second as his gaze snapped from the rock to you on the ground before it fell to the floor, hitting the hard stone with a soft thunk.

And it was only then, beneath that glare, did you start to question if that was a good idea.

“Really?” It was more demand than question “After what you pulled this morning you think throwing rocks at me is a good idea?”

You just shrugged, pushing as much nonchalance into your expression as possible “you haven’t talked to me in an hour”

Anakin sighed in complete exasperation, a hand running through his hair before coming up to pinch the bridge of this nose “And what do you want me to do?” he asked, his voice too soft for comfort “yell at you? Tell you how dumb and reckless of a plan this is because you already seem to know that considering you didn’t bother to fill me in before addressing the council”

“I didn’t know I was going to propose that” you were quick to defend yourself, pushing yourself up to your feet, feeling at a slight disadvantage on the ground “I was desperate! I just needed them to work with me so I offered the only think I could think would help”

“Offering yourself up as bait” he crossed his arms over his chest, looking at you completely unimpressed “You went in with a complete plan and points to back up that plan that doesn’t happen on the spot”

“So if I had just filled you in beforehand you’d be okay with it?” you asked him with raised brow, already knowing his answer.

He took a second to just glare at you, knowing what you were doing, that you were baiting him “of course not” he sighed “but we could’ve come up with something better”

“We couldn’t have” you shook your head, noting his softer tone by this point, daring a step forward “this is the only plan the council would have approved”

And he did nothing but shake his head softly for a moment, big eyes staring back at you telling you that he knew you were right, just not ready to admit it right. “I could go with you” he tried

And you had to laugh softly at his expression, taking yet another step closer until you were right in front of him, a hand coming up to cup his cheek softly, Anakin not yet giving in, refusing to drop his arms from in front of his chest “you couldn’t”

He sighed dejectively, finally dropping his arms, one hand coming up to grab the one cupping his cheek, giving it a soft squeeze before pulling it away, never letting it go “you know you don’t have to”

“Ani-“ you started to object before he cut you off

“I mean it” his eyes bounced back and forth between your own “You got out, you don’t have to go back to that place”

“I left them there” you replied softly, retracting your hands from his “I got distracted, didn’t think, just wanted to get out and I left them all there, I have to go back”

And you could see him wanting to object again, to repeat that it wasn’t up to you to save them but you were prepared to stand your ground and you think he saw that too. So all he said as he stared back at you was “are you sure”

And you nodded, a soft smile rising to your lips “I’m sure. I can do this Ani”

And he chuckled softly at you, nodding reluctantly “I know you can. But you get into trouble I don’t care what the council says I will come for you”

“I know you will” you laughed again at him, taking both of his hands in yours, giving them a soft squeeze “you got me out once, I trust you could do it again”

“But nothing is going to go wrong” he persisted though you could see the smile reluctantly growing on his lips as he tried to remain serious “you’re going to release the prisoners and open all the gates”

“then I’ll come find you” you nodded.

“Good” he whispered before pulling on your arms, crashing you into his chest as he wrapped them around you securely “I’ll see you at the gates” he whispered softly into your hair.

“I’ll see you at the gates”

#anakin x reader #Anakin Skywalker #anakin x you #anakin skywalker imagine #anakin imagine #anakin fic #anakin x y/n #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin skywalker fic #anakin skywalker x you #anakin skywalker x y/n #star wars f #star wars imagine #star wars x you #star wars x reader #star wars x y/n

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cecilysass · 2 months

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Shine On (2/16)

Read on AO3 | Tagging @today-in-fic

Chapter 2: Nice Catching Up

Farrs Corner, Virginia Eighteen days later February 20, 2015

Mulder meant to finish the job before she came over. But it got away from him, like everything seems to these days.

So when she finally comes back—the long-anticipated visit home—there are still stacks of books all over the living room, all these untidy towers of hundreds of books. Cryptid encyclopedias, profiling and behavioral analysis monographs, texts about mythology and religion, science, art, language, history. They’re everywhere, chaotic, precariously balanced, piled, heaped, stacked.

“In the middle of a project, Mulder?” she asks as she walks in, gazing blankly around the room.

“Yeah,” he says with forced enthusiasm. “I’m finally reorganizing the books.” He says this like reorganizing the books is something they’d long planned to do, instead of a recent, impulsive middle-of-the-night idea. “I’m organizing them by topic so I can find things more easily when I need them. Good idea, right?”

“Sure,” she says, staring warily at the piles. He hopes she’s not noticing how many of her books still remain in his collection. “Good idea.”

The way she says this chills him, because it’s just so polite. The same distant tone of voice she used sometimes way, way back, when they were brand new partners in the Hoover building.

“Can I take your coat, Scully? Did you want something to drink?”

“Oh,” she says, running her palms anxiously down the front panels of her sleek pale blue coat. “I don’t think so. I don’t mean to stay long. I just need that box of bedding.”

“It’s right there,” Mulder says, gesturing behind a tower of books. “Behind the psychology section.”

“Right,” she says, craning her head to see it. Her eyes meet his again, and they’re soft and reluctant. “Then… I should probably go.”

“No,” he calls out quickly. A furrow appears in her brow. “I mean … please. Scully. Just stay and have a drink. You haven’t been home in so long.”

“It’s not my home any more,” she points out softly.

“I know,” he replies. “Really. I’m not confused about… anything. I just want to talk to you. Sit down for a bit. I have tea. Or that apple cider from Trader Joe’s you like.”

She seems to hesitate. “There are books all over the couch.”

“I can move them. Hold on.” His voice is calm, but inside he’s churning. He moves to the couch, begins moving books. “Just stay a while.”

Her lips lift into that small, closed-lip smile he’s missed so much. “Okay. Just a little while.”

***

She’s clutching her mug of tea, telling him about work, and he can’t help but notice how physically straight and formal she is right now. It almost looks like she’s bracing herself, worried the couch is going to trap her somehow, like it’s going to try to bundle her up in his Aztec blanket and hold her there.

Mulder doesn’t like this body language. It looks too much like she doesn’t live here anymore.

“So things are really much the same at Our Lady of Sorrows,” she finishes. “Some good days, some bad.”

“It sounds like overall you’re still satisfied at the hospital then,” Mulder says.

“Yes,” Scully says, nodding. “I’d say that’s accurate. I wouldn’t rule out doing something else someday though.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, Mulder,” she says, another tiny smile. “But you know. You have to stay open to extreme possibilities.”

He returns her smile. “And uh… all the other parts of your life are good, too?” He can’t bear to ask her any more directly than that. He picks up his own mug and takes a sip to give himself something to do.

She bites her bottom lip. “Yes,” she says. “Yes, I have a nice new house. Very contemporary. I get together with friends from work occasionally. I see Mom regularly.”

He wonders what she means by “friends from work.” He knows what it meant back when they were “friends from work.”

“What about you, Mulder?” she asks. “What are you doing these days?”

“I told you,” he says. “I’m reorganizing the library.”

“Besides that.”

I miss you terribly everyday. I spend hours cataloging each one of my mistakes. I ponder all the big questions, like: is there any future where I might be with you again? Is there any alternate reality where I could have made you happy? Is there any world where we have our son and live together as a real family, and that grief that’s always in your eyes isn’t there?

“I write articles,” he says. “I’m thinking about a book.”

“That’s great, Mulder,” she says. Again, that false encouraging tone.

If she still lived here—if she was still his Scully—she would have considerably more to say about these messy piles of books and this aimless underemployment. She would have some dry comment. She would be suggesting constructive ideas. She would be pushing him to do better.

This Scully sounds like a stranger. Like she has no place in his life to have an opinion. Like she has no place in his life to care.

There is an awkward pause.

“Well,” she says. “I think it’s probably time I take off.”

“Oh yeah?” he says. Don’t beg, he tells himself. “You sure?”

“Yes,” she says, looking around for a coaster on the coffee table and setting her mug down. She stands up, smiling courteously. “It’s been very nice catching up with you, Mulder.”

The innocuous sentence hits him like getting socked in the stomach. He feels his face flushing red hot. He swallows, unable to politely respond.

“Okay,” he says, too shortly. He stands, too. “Sure. Ever so nice.”

She’s lifting her coat from the coat rack, but turns around to regard him stoically. She seems to debate asking her next question. “Is there a problem?” she says carefully.

Mulder hesitates. He knows he shouldn’t say anything else. Just let her go. Let the visit end pleasantly. “No,” he says with effort. “I … guess not.”

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No, it’s only …” No. He just can’t hold it in. “Look, I’m sorry,’” he snaps. “It’s just … it’s fucking hard to hear ‘nice catching up with you, Mulder’ come from your lips.”

“It is nice catching up with you.”

“We didn’t used to be people who ever had to catch up,” Mulder says bitterly. “We used to know everything about each other, we used to be everything to each other, and excuse me if I just can’t stand talking to you like we’re old college chums.”

“You invited me to stay and have tea.” Her pitch has dropped a full octave. “You suggested we talk. I was doing what you asked me to do.” Her voice breaks midway through her sentence, and he realizes she’s got tears in her eyes. She closes them, evidently trying to calm herself. “I have to go, Mulder.”

“Yeah,” he says, his voice trembling. “Yeah, okay.”

“I… I’ll see you, all right?” she says, practically a whisper.

“Will you?”

Someday there will be a last time, he thinks. A time visiting him will just be too much trouble. A time she’ll decide her attention is better spent on other things, on other people.

“Of course,” she says. She walks over and picks up her box of bedding. “Of course I will. I always will.”

He watches her turn and hurry out the door. He remains frozen in place near the couch. He doesn’t trust himself to do anything to respond. Not to say good-bye, not to walk with her to the porch, not even to wave. He might do something unbelievably stupid, like tell her he still loves her. Or try to stop her from leaving. Or shout obscenities at her in anger.

Instead, he focuses all of his energy on listening. He listens as her car door opens and closes, her engine starts. There is the rough clatter of her tires down the gravel drive. Faintly, he can hear her car door opening and closing again as she lets herself out the gate and closes it up again. Then finally there is the sound of the motor of her car growing gradually more distant. Far away from him again.

Mulder lets himself sink down again on the couch.

In a flare of angry self-hatred, he kicks the towering pile of novels nearest him. They tumble sloppily into a messy heap on the floor. He watches this destruction morosely and thinks about how good she smelled.

He wishes he’d remembered to wish her a happy birthday.

***

About thirty feet outside, between two bushes, Jackson sits, hugging his knees, his back pressed uncomfortably against the wooden frames of the side of the farmhouse. Between the branches of the bush he has a clear view of the red-headed woman driving away.

It’s not a very good hiding place. All day long, since he arrived this morning, he hasn’t had to worry too much about hiding. The man inside—the man who lives here— has been distracted, concerned about the woman’s visit, thinking almost nonstop about what she’ll say and do. Jackson’s been able to circle around the house cautiously, trying to examine everything with his eyes and with his mind.

Which is good, because he’s nervous.

Just now, if the red-headed woman had looked up towards the house as she rushed out the door—if she’d turned back to give it one last careful look—she’d easily have seen Jackson there, crouched, watching furtively at the side of the house.

But she didn’t look back. Not even once, quickly.

She only wanted to get in her car and go, go, go. Her mind was so loud Jackson didn’t even have to really use his shine. Her mind broadcast inside his brain without him trying at all.

Jackson watches her car closely, holding his breath, until she’s completely driven away, until he can’t see any sign of her car anymore.

She’s pretty, Jackson reflects, even for a mom-aged lady. Her car is nice, fancy, like she’s got some money. And even though she’s not a kid, even though she’s an adult, with an extremely complex mind— it’s easy to know her thoughts. The easiest it’s been for anyone he’s ever met.

What’s really weird, though, is that with her, it’s really more than thoughts. Something strange was happening with Jackson and her feelings, too.

He felt these little explosive bursts of her emotions, wracking his own body unexpectedly like fireworks and then quickly fading. That’s never happened before. It’s interesting, but it’s also upsetting, like having your own emotions pushed aside by someone else. Her feelings fade, but they don’t entirely go away. They leave a kind of residue for a minute or two.

And just now? She was very, very upset, in about fifty different ways Jackson can only barely sort out. She was angry, for one—angry at the man inside for not being fair to her. She was really guilty, hoping she’s doing the right thing by leaving. She was sad, so sad, wishing she could go back inside and be with him again. Jackson wonders why she doesn’t just go back. He felt her wishing hard for something she thinks is gone now. She’s grieving it. Almost like you grieve for parents that have been shot.

And mixed up in all of this, Jackson feels how much she loves the man inside the house. That’s just this big, enormous feeling, like a tsunami of emotion. More than he can cope with, really. It makes his head hurt. He rubs his temples slowly, trying to massage the feeling away.

Jackson knows who the woman is, of course.

He recognizes her, at least her mind. He wonders if that’s why he is able to feel her feelings and see her thoughts so easily.

It feels weird, seeing her. He always thought that if he ever met his birth mom, he’d want to talk to her right away. But he doesn’t have any urge to chase her down the driveway and introduce himself.

He’s just so afraid. It’s hard to understand, because closed adoption or not, he thinks she’d want to talk to him. In his visions, she’s usually calling for him—not his name, but a name he somehow knows is supposed to be him. So he thinks she wants to see him. She seems to want it very badly, at least sometimes.

But what if when she looks at him, it’s with the same huge sadness she’s feeling about this man inside the house? What if it isn’t what he imagines, meeting this woman? He doesn’t want all that right now. He can’t handle it.

Besides, he’s not supposed to see her. That isn’t why he came. She wasn’t the name he was given.

He doesn’t recognize the man inside, the man she fought with a few minutes ago. When he reaches out to poke his shine into this man’s mind, it’s like a forest at night: it’s dark, disorienting, full of paths that lead unknown directions. He sees a few things he understands: the woman’s face, their conversation just now, the man’s devotion to her, his anxieties. But he sees lots he doesn’t understand, too. The man is very complicated. And broken, Jackson thinks. He has cracks that make his thoughts difficult to follow.

He knows the man’s name. Fox Mulder. He wishes he knew more about who he was, exactly.

Because that’s the man he’s supposed to see.

***

#xfiles fanfic #the x files #x files fanfic #fox mulder #dana scully #x files #xf fanfic #msr #jackson van de kamp

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basedkikuenjoyer · 3 months

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Jojolands: A Charming New Addition

Well that was quick. We start off with some backstory, you know shit gets real when Araki opens with a geography lesson. We did end up recruiting the new guy! As people have pointed out, early villain turned ally with a lost little sibling fueling his backstory is immedately reminiscent of Polnareff which is neat. But here he is, the one and only Charmingman! Which of course its a musical reference...to The Smiths. Eh, I thought they were pretty pretentious even before Morrissey went all racist so not my favorite nod in this part. That's Dragona and you'll have a hard time topping my love for Smooth Operator. Coast to coast, LA to Chicago...

Where was I? Oh yeah. My lack of fondness for The Smiths aside, and I can at least respect that's a solid reference with some lyrics that play nicely into his backstory, Charmingman is a welcome addition to round out the five-man band. I loved the aesthetic of his stand in action and am more than ready to see more. This bit of him and Jodio was so fun too, immediately asking what kind of music he likes instead of other more pertinent questions. I still have high hopes Jojolands will feature my favorite core cast. And his backstory reinforces the sibling dynamics that seem to be a core idea for this part. I'm also not fully up to date on Part 8 but we have a potential rock human? Also gotta note we're keeping up this theme of hostile police which is pertinent to a modern day American setting.

Moving on, I love this dude. Just materializes out of the aether when a cutie is talking about souvenirs. Accurate. And lookit! The fancy schmancy watch made its way back to Dragona just as hypothesized. The lava rock works in mysterious ways. A lot of this chapter was getting us back home and introducing the new guy, but especially with talking about similar concepts in Egghead for One Piece it is intriguing we skipped over the conclusion to the fight and we have this bit of weirdness. But where that really came to a head...

Aww yeah Meryl Mei! It's not just that she's pointing out oddities in their return. There's an ominous edge to this, I don't know how much we should trust this lady so it troubles me that Dragona seems to be the one closest to her individually. How does this one girlboss do so many different jobs? Worth pondering given this series has a huge running theme of bad guys with time powers. Just something to think about. Hope she's not wicked because I do like Meryl but you could have a great twist having her pull the rug out from under the gang.

Still, we're back home and ready to likely embark on something new. I liked the trip to another island, fun picking up a new friend and working Rohan in the way we did. The panels of him tossing money around on the beach to study the lava rock were classic Rohan weirdness. Personally I hope we get a couple of chapters now to play with the characters a bit. Flesh them out more. Usually Jojo's parts spend a little time on that after the first big leg of the story it seems. Something like Jodio & Dragona taking their mom Barbara Ann out and having to deal with a weaker stand battle could be solid or just letting them live their lives as some weird things happen. We have such a good group and setting I'd hate to spring too fast into heavy plot stuff while we're still figuring this part out.

#jojolands #jojo's bizarre adventure #jjba #jodio joestar #dragona joestar #charmingman #meryl mei

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spookiifi · 1 year

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Wrath and Fear (Alt!Gabriel/Reader)

After spinning out of control, you and your friend abandon the car to seek shelter in an abandoned house. What’s the worst that could happen when you’re stuck between Mandela and Bythorne County?

A fair warning that this fic contains gore, body horror, religious themes, manipulation, victim guilt, angst, gaslighting, susbriel being...sus, m.a.d.

I do not condone any relationships in this fic as most of them are incredibly toxic.

I tried to make it as gender neutral as I could

Enjoy the madness and remember, nothing is worth the risk~

ao3 link!

One of the best locations for you and your friends to get stranded was on the highway between Mandela and Bythorne County; Both cities crawling with alternates. Your car’s tires finally gave out and you were lucky to be alive on that icy road.

“It’s two in the fucking morning.” You could hear your friend punch the hood of the car, swearing loudly.

“Causing more damage isn’t going to solve our problem. On my car as well, thanks.” Tugging your heavy coat closer around your body, you joined them in front of the headlights. “We may as well freeze to death since no one’s coming.”

“I mean, I did see a house a few blocks back. It looked pretty vacant. Dry, too.” They glanced at you, then at the ruined vehicle that had a new dent in the hood. “It’s worth a shot.”

“Oh? I thought nothing was worth the risk!” You narrowed your eyes as a blistering wind bit at your face. “I don’t know what’s worse. Freezing to death or being torn apart by alternates.”

“Shut up and start walking.”

So began your journey for shelter.

“It looks decent enough.” A dilapidated house with broken in windows, missing shingles, and a second story. “Minus the windows…and caution tape.”

Oh no. You’d seen this happen way too many times in horror movies. You didn’t get a say in the matter as they dragged you towards the door.

The next thing you know they’ll be saying, “Hey gang, let’s split up!”

“You take the stairs, I take the living room?”

Oh, fuck me sideways.

“Don’t give me that look. Every mirror’s broken, and the tv’s were banned weeks ago. I doubt a musky old house is going to kill us.”

You deadpanned them before sighing loudly. “Fine. But you are so paying for the snacks and drinks during our next 7-11 run.” Snatching the second flashlight from their hand, you marched up the wooden stairs.

This was too cliché. You hated it.

An air conditioning panel caught your eye.

‘Hello, beautiful. Heat, sweet heat.’

The heat could still be working, only one way to find out. Carefully, you reached out one gloved hand to the electric box, only to feel the sting of electricity travel through your hand.

Your flashlight clunked across the floor as you skittered back.

“Bro, you good?! One of the lights just popped!”

“Power surge. I’m fine but my flashlight’s broken.” You hissed in pain, getting to your feet again. “There’s no heat or lighting.”

A shadow moving out of the corner of your eye caught you off guard. Just relax. It’s just your exhausted mind. Yeah, that’s all.

A clap of thunder made you drop to your knees.

“Bro, you good?”

“I said I’m fine! Are you deaf?!”

Laughter that sounded similar to your friend is what you got in response.

You wanted to kick yourself for believing this was actually a good idea. Cursing yourself out wouldn’t help at all, so you high tailed it for the door. Tripping over the shadow that you previously saw earlier, you went plummeting to the floor, splitting your lip open in the process.

“What’s wrong? Scared of the dark?” The dark creature with many eyes spoke in your friend’s voice. Who knew if they were still alive. “Aw, how sad. So tiny and weak.” It reached for your throat, elongated broken fingers inches away from your face.

Alternate food. What a way to go.

By now, you were a sobbing mess. Your ears rang from the static the alternate produced, resorting to tucking your head between your legs like a scared animal. “Just fucking do it, man!” You waited for your demise. “Do it! I don’t care!”

Everything stood still. The static whispering stopped, being replaced with warmth and a bright light.

“There, there. The monster’s gone.” A softer voice broke the silence, resting their hand on your shoulder. “You’re okay, dear.”

What stood in front of you looked like something out of a religious painting. A man with flowing blonde hair knelt down in front of you.

“Am I dead? Did that thing murder me?” You looked around the room for it, only to find a clump of black gel and limbs lying in the corner. Family guy pose His elegant wings covered your view from most of the wreck.

“No, my sweet lamb. I’m sorry you had to endure that...mess.” He gently wiped your tears away. “Thank goodness I reached you in time.” This so-called angel knew your name, and it felt strangely nice to hear it on his tongue. It was as if he were talking to an old friend.

“But this is impossible. I’m not religious in any way.” You glanced up at his towering frame. “You’re…Gabriel? Correct?”

“Quite the scholar, I see.” The one true savior nodded in acknowledgment. “One doesn’t have to be religious to be visited by angels, or archangels.” He chuckled. “All will be explained in time, lamb. I just need one thing from you.”

Gabriel squished your confused face with two fingers. “Simply join me, and you won’t ever live in fear again. I can protect you.”

Your eyes widened. “But my friend downstairs. I have to!-” But Gabriel stopped you from getting up.

“Are they really your friend? They left you to die all alone. In the dark.” His wings practically shielded you from the world. “Think it over. Would a friend treat someone so cruelly? I can save you from this torment, dear.”

“What if the alternates kill them?! Can’t we save them, too?!” You tried to move out of Gabriel’s grip. He glared at you sternly, then his eyes softened.

“It’s too late, lamb. They’re already gone.” He sighed. “I’m sorry it had to be this way.”

“No. It can’t be. I still have time!” You went pale in the face and felt yourself grow light headed. Tears welled up in your eyes again. “I did this. This is all my fault.”

“Do not blame yourself. They brought you here in the first place. Come, now. This is no place for a kind soul like yours.” Gabriel held his arms out, embracing your trembling form. “Don’t cry for the wicked.”

On the inside, the alternate grinned. “I would say they’re in a better place but that’s really not for me to decide. Now, we’re finally together, and that’s all that matters.”

Enjoy being his new favorite obsession

#alt gabriel x reader #archangel gabriel x reader #alternate gabriel #archangel gabriel #my fics #the mandela catalogue gabriel #tmc gabriel

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mychlapci · 3 months

Note

Taking a break from beating my head against my google docs to say that I think single mommy Sentinel Prime would probably stop after the third bitlet. It’s the perfect number, after all! The have siblings to play and squabble with, but not so many that he can’t lovingly dedicate himself to them completely the way a good mommy should. And this is probably fine, what with him being on reduced hours and cumming his brains out on the regular—until his youngest is old enough to go to daycare. Then he’d go back to his old, irritable, irritating self pretty quickly. His coworkers would quickly get together, scheming behind his back and coming up with a plan to get that mech pregnant again and KEEP him that way.

I imagine there’d be some kind of government sponsored fertility campaign after the loss of the Allspark… Maybe even benefits for carrying. And I imagine there’s probably some baby fever thrown into the mix, after having Sentinel running around pregnant and with bitlets nursing off of his tits. The office would agree on who would knock him up first, the lucky mech ‘hesitantly’ asking if Sentinel would maybe consider being a surrogate carrier. And Sentinel, missing being pregnant and probably gloating internally about how everybot must know what a perfect carrier he is, would agree.

It wouldn’t even be difficult to get Sentinel Prime pregnant again. He’s dripping at the mere thought of being round with another bitlet, and his slutty, fertile spark would split one off in no time. The applicator, of course, would be necessary for home-use. They aren’t in a relationship, after all. But it’s simple enough to load cartridges for that. In the office, however, all his coworkers are pleased to note the return of the soft, pretty carrier who begs so sweetly for spike. Of course that valve belongs to the sire and whatever partner(s) they may or may not have for the duration of this pregnancy, but hey! Free show. Mommy Sentinel needs transfluid and he is GOING to get it, panel opening enticingly to let him waggle his dripping valve at the sire when and wherever. Begging for another load as he drools onto his desk, clutching at the edge as that spike fills him just right. Constantly simmering with charge, desperately aroused at the idea that other mechs think he’s so good a mommy that they want him to carry for them. Overloading hard when the sire cups his belly or pinches his swollen, sensitive nipples.

And when this pregnancy is over, his coworkers will be drawing lots to be the next lucky bastard to pump their spike into that plush, needy valve. Anything to keep Mommy pregnant, since Sentinel gets unbearable otherwise. His days of doing field work are well and truly over, but he can’t be too mad about it. He’s too charged up all the time to really even notice.

mhmm Bots are falling all over each in a race to impregnate Sentinel. It's not just the financial bonus for adding to the population - the thing is, a pregnant Sentinel is a happy Sentinel, and not happy in that annoying, gloating way, but really happy. In the way where he’s mellow and mostly focused on rubbing his pregnant belly and topping up on transfluid. They need to keep him pregnant to make him bearable. Sentinel definitely misses being pregnant, so when bots approach him asking him if he would like to be a surrogate, he’s more than happy to smugly announce that yes, of course, he’s got a very good gestation chamber, as can be seen by his three beautiful, well-behaved sparklings (I think they would be such menaces, but Sentinel wouldn’t admit that to himself)

Soon enough, all is right in the world once again - Sentinel is at his desk, his pussy squelching around the applicator as he dutifully does his job without bothering anyone. He's easily distracted by a spike now, meaning that if he mouths off, the sire just has to whip it out and pound his valve until he's dazed and rubbing his baby-bump constantly, staring at his work dumbly <33

When he goes home he takes care of his kids like a good, attentive mommy and then later at night, he makes sure to top up on a little more transfluid....

#i'm starting to get obsessed with this scenario again #valveplug #pregnancy mention #single mommy sentinel #texty

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charliedawn · 4 months

Text

Defective Good

Part 2

Three days after the destruction of Hosnian Prime, JR-6025 still couldn’t get over the massacre she had witnessed…It made her sick. There hadn’t even been a scream. In the flash of an instant, they had all disappeared. She made her way to one of the space alcoves on the ship, where she knew nobody would come looking for her and she looked up at the stars. Hosnian Prime was gone. A missing piece of this blue immensity. She looked far ahead at the immensity of the universe and tried to imagine her life on each planet.

On one, she was a farmer living a pastural life surrounded by whatever animals the planet offered. She had seen some of the farmers on the green lands of Gazeia.

On another, she was an elegant lady of high society with a glass of champagne in her hand—like some of the First Order allies. She always admired their elegance and beauty.

Or, she simply imagined a life where she was free. She wondered…what it would feel like. She then let out a wishful sigh—not expecting anyone to hear her. However, she felt his presence before he even uttered a word. JR-6025 looked up to find the General standing there and stared at him for a moment in surprise before looking away promptly. She wouldn't be accused of staring too long at the man who had just killed billions of people without the blink of an eye...

"My apologies, General. I thought I was alone." She then stood up and bowed her head in respectful acknowledgement. "I will leave right now."

"At ease." He scoffed before entering the alcove and looking around curiously. "What are you doing in here, trooper ?"

...Thinking about treason.

"I came here for some quiet time." She replied instead. "I have already fulfilled my morning duties so...I thought l'd come here. But, I can leave if I am bothering you ?"

General Hux looked up to see what she was staring at and saw nothing but the vast emptiness of space. He frowned before shaking his head.

"No. You can stay." He replied and JR-6025 had no choice but to stay put. They stayed in perfect silent for a while until he broke it. "I can imagine why you’d come here. It is indeed quiet. A nice change of pace from my usual run-ins with Lord Kylo Ren. It gets especially frenetic and loud around him. I had to leave my own office due to him throwing a fit earlier."

Her eyes widened at his words and wondered if Kylo Ren had once more threatened the General’s life. But, General Hux didn’t seem that concerned. JR-6026 looked back at the big see-through panel before them in order to focus on anything else than the General's presence. She knew she shouldn't worry or even be concerned about a superior, but she couldn't help it. Kylo Ren would one day go too far and kill General Hux if it continued on. She then thought about Lord Kylo Ren and his many mood swings. If only the man had a space to unleash his anger fully…Maybe, it would create a safer work environment for everyone working on the ship ? She breathed in deeply. She was a stormtrooper and many of her colleagues had already suffered through his rough temper…

"Hypothetically speaking, I would recommend Kylo Ren to have a room to himself so he may release his tension without affecting others." As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Who was she to offer advice to the General ?! She looked away promptly and tried not to imagine the General's response to her impertinence. But he didn't seem to mind and actually considered her idea. He rubbed his forefinger against his chin in thought.

"Not a bad idea, actually." He admitted after a moment and then pondered some more. It wasn’t such a bad idea—but it was getting Ren to agree to use such a room that would prove a challenge. He could ask Supreme Leader Snoke. He would surely agree after the victory General Hux gave the First Order.

JR-6025's eyes snapped in surprise. She had imagined he would have shot her down for even suggesting it and drag her body to the compactor already...She coughed a little before nodding in agreement.

"Right."

General Hux smiled before looking up at the stars from one of the sky-view windows of the Starkiller base. And at some point, JR-6025 caught herself admiring the man's profile. She had never seen him so close before, and she had never seen anyone like him either...She had seen many different faces, but none could compete with General Hux's. Somehow, she could see the pain carved within his mind. His red hair the only proof of the bleeding wounds he had yet to close...the ones who kept him going. Neither of them moved or attempted to break the moment. They stayed perfectly still until he took the decision to speak up again.

"Tell me, soldier...Is there something in particular you are looking for up there ?"

She was surprised by the question at first, but then smiled enigmatically under her helmet before replying.

"...Aren't we all, General ? I imagine my own perfect life out there. How about you ? What do you see ?"

He looked up at the billions of stars stretching far beyond what his human eyes could possibly perceive...What did he see ?

"I see a world that will one day bend to my will. A galaxy where no being shall rise against me and no world shall offer shelter to the enemy." He replied truthfully and her eyes widened. She was thankful for the helmet covering her face—for it might have given away her true thoughts about his...plan. For a few minutes, she had succeeded in forgetting of the man's true role within the First Order. But, she was quickly brought back to reality.

General Hux was the First Order. He was its leader and its very essence was engraved in his heart. But for just a moment, she tried to imagine him as something else…someone else.

She saw the path that could have been—but never would be.

It saddened her.

General Hux took a deep breath before turning his eyes back towards her—his eyes seemed to read right through her as he asked. "How does that compare to the world you see, soldier ?"

She hesitated on whether or not she should answer. This was General Hux after all. The youngest General in the First Order and capable of detecting the faintest lie within seconds. She gulped at the thought alone. On the one hand, she was perfectly aware that if she shared her true feelings with General Hux, she would surely end up floating aimlessly into space. On the other hand, she had no choice but to answer. He had so openly confessed his goals to her, and she didn't want to sound in any kind judgmental as to his...aspirations.

"It is...quite ambitious. But, worthy of a general of your rank." She looked up at him and thought of the world she was imagining. She was ashamed to admit to herself that she didn't want the First Order in that future she saw. She did want order and peace but, once the First Order would gain control over everything...she would try to retire as soon as possible. Or, she would die before seeing the end of it. "I believe that in my own perfect world, everyone would have what they want."

In my perfect world, I would just live. She almost added, but didn’t. General Hux smiled to himself while listening to her and seemed satisfied with her response.

"A remarkable dream, soldier. I would almost call it noble." He smiled in mild amusement as he gazed down at her. "So, you would see the First Order winning ?"

She nodded in agreement.

"Yes, sir. I believe in a world without..." She was about to say fear—but realised that the First Order WAS fear. "…without disorder."

The word tasted bitter in her mouth. General Hux hummed to himself before stroking his chin pensively.

"Your vision doesn't sound all that different from mine. I too would like an end to fear and conflict. I seek a world where all are treated equally. That being said, some would call my methods extreme, would you ?" He asked with his eyes drifting back towards her—testing her. His eyes staring straight at her—ready to call her out on any negative comment she might make as to his…questionable methods.

She wanted to tell him that if he wanted to govern a galaxy, he'd better make sure the galaxy still exists for him to rule over it...but she didn't. She could smell the fly trap from here and immediately gave him the answer any good stormtrooper would.

"I do not know, sir. I am still just a soldier. I do not have an opinion as to your methods—nor am I allowed to question your judgment." She looked up at him and tried to sound nonchalant as she added. "As long as they serve the First Order."

He seemed rather disappointed by her answer, but she knew it was only because he was expecting some kind of traitor's answer. But, she didn't want to end up in a cell—or dead. She was being cautious, and General Hux could only admire her dedication. Even though, he insisted and even moved to block her path as she attempted to leave.

"You are allowed to have an opinion, soldier. In fact, I encourage it. If you have any remarks or comments to make on my methods, now is your chance to voice them. I won't get offended."

She almost scoffed. He spoke honey, but she could taste the poison hidden underneath. She wouldn't be caught and sentenced to death just because she couldn't shut her mouth...

"I have nothing to say." She replied shortly and firmly. She then looked warily at him—judging his reaction closely. Everyone knew Hux to be very opposed to any kind of criticism. Had she indirectly signed her death warrant ?

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her—but didn’t insist.

"Very well then. You may leave. Thank you for this very…enlightening conversation." He stepped aside to let her pass. She nodded in acknowledgement before taking a step forward towards the exit—her thumb rubbing circles on her inner wrist.

"Oh, soldier. One more thing before you go." She stopped dead in her tracks to look back at him and General Hux then told her with a thin-lipped smile. "I would like for us to speak again. Soon."

She was taken aback for a second before nodding shortly. "Yes, sir."

He nodded back courtly before turning back around to look up at the stars. She left.

——————————————————————

A few hours later in Supreme Leader Snoke’s office:

"Very well done, General." Supreme Leader Snoke praised him upon his arrival. Armitage bowed his head—restraining a proud grin. He had worked hard to get the Starkiller base operational sooner than planned. He knew that his efforts would come baring fruits after all the time and money spent...Seeing Kylo Ren so quiet beside him left him with a sweet aftertaste to his overall victory.

"Long live the First Order." General Hux greeted and Snoke nodded in acknowledgment.

"At ease, General Hux. I am most impressed by your recent accomplishment. I have hence decided to grant you a wish."

A wish ?

"It has been brought to my attention by one of my soldiers that we have suffered through a drastic loss in troops and equipment due to Lord Kylo Ren’s angry outbursts." General Hux thought about it before a smug smile drew on his lips. General Hux bowed slightly before glancing at Lord Kylo Ren and JR-6025’s words came back to him. General Hux would prefer that Ren be thrown out or his ship, but he knew that he couldn’t ask that to Supreme Leader Snoke. So, he asked for the next best thing. He then concluded. "Hence I would like to ask that multiple rooms be set for Lord Kylo Ren to...express his rage. And that he used that room for relief instead of turning this ship into a wreck. As to not damage the equipment—or any foreseeable valuable property of the First Order."

Kylo Ren froze as he heard his words and slowly turned his head towards General Hux at the outrageous request—internally seething with rage at the nerve the General was displaying by such a ridiculous suggestion. Supreme Leader Snoke himself seemed surprised by his request—especially from the General who had never seemed to care about making any such a request before. All General Hux had ever asked for when given rewards usually involved himself and additional power. But this…

"I see...Well, I shall grant you your wish, General Hux. Dismissed."

Kylo Ren was even more outraged as Snoke seemed to actually entertain the idea. The sith was about to protest, but one look from Supreme Leader Snoke and he was rendered silent. General Hux turned around to leave—a victorious smile gracing his features on his way out...knowing he had just reduced Kylo Ren's image to a toddler with no self control. He didn't think Snoke would actually agree, but it seemed by his reaction that he had been rather impressed by the suggestion.

He stepped out and smiled to himself.

The way Kylo Ren had tensed beside him when Supreme Leader Snoke had agreed had brought General Hux more joy than the destruction of Hosnian Prime. He looked back at the door when Kylo Ren was still surely being scolded by Supreme Leader Snoke and chuckled before walking away...

He then decided to send an invitation to JR-6025 to join him in his office. Once he reached his quarters, he waited for JR-6025. He didn’t have to wait for very long.

She knocked at the door and General Hux invited her to come in.

"JR-6025. I...have asked you to come to thank you personally for your advice. And to tell you that the Supreme Leader was highly pleased by your idea concerning Kylo Ren."

She seemed surprised—but nodded nonetheless.

"I am glad my idea helped you. Truly."

General Hux was stunned for a moment before he smirked and nodded. She really was a stormtrooper. She wasn't even upset by the fact that he had presented her ideas as his. She seemed genuinely glad. But, he did want her to be rewarded for her minor service.

"Tell me, JR-6025. Do you truly not wish for anything ? As a general, I could improve your life significantly. Any particular request ?"

JR-6025 thought about it for a moment before shaking her head negatively.

"No, sir. I only wish for the First Order's success." She then pondered for a moment before adding for good measure. "And yours..."

General Hux seemed taken aback by her words and smiled before sitting down in front of her.

"Don't you have anything you truly desire, trooper ?" He asked—curious now. He had already dealt with stormtroopers who had asked him for things before...Money, better accommodations, promotions...He found it hard to believe she wouldn't ask for anything.

Or, was it a trap ? Was she waiting for the opportunity to tell Supreme Leader Snoke, or take his place ? He smiled. Right. It would make sense. He would have a weakness to exploit. She would be the same as him...

However, he was unaware of her own inner turmoil.

JR-6025 couldn't possibly tell the General about her dreams...or the wish to fly away, leave the First Order and discover the stars. She wanted to escape the war.

But, she knew it was impossible.

"Whatever could help the First Order win, sir." She answered instead dutifully and he nodded understandingly. He seemed a bit disappointed by her answer, but JR-6025 knew it was only because he had hoped to have some type of leverage on her—to manipulate her. She actually admired his ingenious mind and his conversation wasn’t unpleasant either.

In another universe, maybe would have they even been friends ? She stood up and waited for him to dismiss her. But, she then hesitated before finally whispering.

"The sun."

He barely managed to catch her say those two little words and glanced up at her.

"Did you say something, soldier ?"

She immediately regretted speaking up and General Hux’s eyebrow raised in curiosity. He was offering her the chance to be honest with him. And she wanted to. But, she only shook her head and shrugged.

"No. Nothing, sir."

It wasn't important...

"Hm." He seemed to ponder for a moment before he decided to step forward towards her, standing close with his hands clasped behind his back.

He leant in towards her, as if he was speaking with someone he had come to trust.

"You may speak freely to me."

JR-6025 felt this urge to open her mouth and tell him the truth.

That she didn't believe in the First Order.

That she only wished for the peace and quiet they promised.

That she was only a child when she was found and trained to become a stormtrooper...

But instead, she answered as truthfully as she could without sounding like a complete traitor.

"My thoughts are irrelevant."

She was trying to put as much distance between the two of them and shut her emotions off. She wouldn't let the General—out of every commander on the Starkiller base—know of her most inner thoughts. So far, they had only exchanged a few useless pieces of information without going into the details. And she did wish she could trust him, but she couldn't—not the person who almost led the entire First Order army.

His next words surprised her however.

"If you do not try to share your thoughts, how will you know ?" He raised a quizzical eyebrow at her, his expression suggesting he wouldn't give up easily. She smiled weakly and tried to hide the fact that she was shaking. She opened her mouth to tell him a lie—but realized she couldn't.

"I wish to catch the sun." She finally confessed. It was odd to think that Kylo Ren could use the force to read her mind, but General Hux didn't need the force to get the truth out of her. It was almost shameful how easily he had pulled it out of her. He tilted his head quizzically at her response.

"Is that a metaphor, soldier ? Or do you really wish to catch the sun ?" He took a step back and his expression turned to mild amusement. "Because if that is the case, I am in the regret to inform you that it is not possible. Even if you could somehow land there without being burnt alive, you would have no way of returning to your ship. I wouldn't want to let a valuable soldier like yourself die in such a foolish, unnecessary way."

"It is a metaphor, sir." She confirmed and smiled. "As for its meaning ? I am not quite sure yet."

"I see…Why do you like stars so much then ?" General Hux asked and JR-6025 seemed to think about it before shrugging.

"I suppose some may have grown tired of the sight of the stars but...I haven't. They are the map of the universe." His expression softened slightly as he thought about it. It was a rather nice vision of the stars...It was true General Hux hadn't really taken the time to look at them before. Their beauty had become almost absurd to him. He had become immune to it. He had fought on many stars, destroyed them and he was well aware that they held no magic. He remembered the many nights at the Academy when he had wished for the stars to give him a good father.

The stars had remained silent.

JR-6025 looked at General Hux and for some reason, her heart felt heavy. How much did one have to sacrifice to climb as high as he had ? What was the price to remain on top ?

JR-6025 remained silent.

She remembered when a few months earlier the news of FN-2187 escaping had spread. General Hux had been dragged through the mud because of it. Actually, the whole company had. Maybe was it the reason Supreme Leader Snoke had let Lord Ren’s actions go unnoticed and unpunished for so long ? She then wondered what would be General Hux’s reaction be if she was to tell him the truth ? If she confessed that she was happy that a stormtrooper had escaped. She had smiled inwardly at the news of FN-2187's escape on the day where it was confirmed, but she had also felt sorrow at the news of his participation to the Resistance's efforts. He had had the choice the walk away, but he had decided to stay and fight with their enemy.

Didn't he understand that blood spilled on both sides ? Didn’t FN-2187 understand that staying would only make the First Order even more enraged ? Fuel the flames of war ? She shook her head before letting out a long sigh. She still hoped he was going to be alright...

"You're right, soldier. So many stars to conquer." General Hux put a hand to his chin as he stared up at the starry ceiling and tried to remember the last time he had truly enjoyed the sight of the stars. Unbeknownst to him that JR-6025 was pitying him. General Hux hadn’t surely been born with the hatred and battlelust she was now seeing. He hadn’t been born the First Order. But, he had grown up to become the First Order. She had to constantly remind herself of that fact. She had to constantly remind herself to be careful and cautious about her words and actions. She couldn’t allow herself to become a traitor in his eyes. As she knew better than anyone how traitors ended. She would be executed before long. But, she would also become another failure in General Hux’s eyes. Another soldier he failed to recognise as a failure in the system…

And that thought—for some reason—didn’t suit well with her.

"I wish to bring glory to the First Order. Even though I am rather uncertain as to the probability of that ever happening." JR-6025 said after a while—even though it was the furthest from the truth. She wanted to get away from the First Order. But, she didn’t have FN-2187’s courage. So, she would keep pretending and believing that days would get better…

"Do you really think so ?" General Hux replied before looking at the stormtrooper. "My dreams were once considered impossible too. But here, I am. At the head of the most powerful army in the galaxy."

His expression became a little softer as he looked at her. He seemed to be considering his next words carefully.

"Perhaps your dreams are less impossible than you think."

She smiled and nodded. Even though, she knew that there was no humanity left in General Hux. His face cracked into a thin smile as he offered her his hand. And she wanted to believe that he wasn’t just the monster—another victim of the First Order.

"…That world you see ahead…" General Hux said and faced her fully. "…Am I a part of it ?"

Her eyes widened at the unexpected question.

She didn’t want to lie to him.

But, how could she do otherwise ?

He offered her his hand—his dark glove a stark contrast against her white one. She stared at his hand before replying—making sure her voice wasn’t shaking.

"Of course, General Hux."

She let her hand linger a few seconds longer than necessary...his hand felt warm and almost burnt her through the gloves separating them. It was as burning hot as his eyes that she could feel drilling holes into her skull. He finally let go of her hand, and it was his time to watch her walk away—a smile still on his face. But, his smile seemed fake.

She didn't realise at that moment, but General Hux felt her hand shake uncontrollably in his. He could feel her lie through that brief moment. He understood perfectly of her true thoughts concerning the First Order and what she was referring to when talking about the sun. He had spent years separating the true First Order believers from the fake. And even though, the fact that she had so openly admitted it was almost laughable.

But, it was General Hux's decision to either report her, or make use of that information. So far, she had been useful and somehow complying. And she was afraid. The fear in her would keep her in line—or so he thought. He dismissed her and she quickly left.

The hand he had used to shake hers balled into a fist as he realised...She was defective. And now, her fate rested in the palm of his hand. He looked at it and smirked ominously. He clasped his hands behind his back once more and looked up at the stars...

If JR-6025 thought she could live in a world without the First Order ? Without him ? Then, she was highly mistaken.

He would gain her trust. He would use her. He would make her believe in this world she saw.

One way or another, they would both get there.

And once there, he would DESTROY her.

Because there was no future within the First Order for mistakes or defective goods.

#fandoms #imagine #fanfic #star wars #general hux #kylo ren

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poisonousquinzel · 1 year

Text

Harley Quinn (2021 - ) #28: Dawn of DC arc | Writer: Tini Howard | Artist: Sweeney Boo

Covers ♡

What did you want to expand on with this well-established but ever-growing character?

Boo: I feel like Tini is showing new facets of Harley. We get more in-depth with who she is inside and what she wants to be. It's hard not to fall in love with her.

Preview Panels | By Sweeney Boo ♡

What were you most excited to pick up on from Harley's current continuity?

Howard: Harley has friends, a girlfriend, and a good head on her shoulders. All good stuff to pick up and shake around really hard. No, truly, it's a huge relief to have Ivy there. I'm a longtime lover of those two as a couple, and the fact that it's there and real for us to engage with as storytellers is fantastic. It's so freeing to be able to tell that story, and we're working closely with Willow and the Ivy team so that we always know we're on the same page with the girls. It's not unlike how I talk to Chip about Catwoman and Batman. It's all hilariously like my little fan-fiction writer days, kind of delightfully so.

Boo: Her friendships and relationships, especially that one famous girlfriend of hers! *wink wink*

Tini, what were you most excited to see Sweeney bring to life on the page?

Howard: That's a huge spoiler, but I'll say this. Working with an artist like Sweeney is what's given me the freedom to pursue where we're going with this story. We really needed a human rainbow, just an exciting kaleidoscope of an artist who can jump the hell right off the page while also nailing the mundane, little jokes of Harley's life. Sweeney Boo's that artist. Oh, there's a lot of Bud and Lou in this run, too -- I love the way Sweeney draws them.

Sweeney, what were you most excited to illustrate based on Tini's script?

Boo: Drawing Harley's apartment! There is no better way to get into someone's head and get a glimpse of who they are until you see where they live. I wanted to get crazy and really play with that! There are so many intimate scenes of Harley being at home and being cozy with Bud and Lou. It's just so adorable.

Can you share with us what you are most excited for fans to see and experience with this chapter of Harley's life?

Howard: I think Harley's a really unique character, especially for queer women right now, because she's not being forced to be aspirational. She can be foul-mouthed and disastrous and troubled and weird and also be a great character we're always rooting for. Our run is really about Harley coming to terms with her position in the DC Universe at large, about what your career path is if you're too big for primetime but not up for the Justice League or the Legion of Doom. It's also a love letter to the funniest parts of the DC Universe. To me. If there's one thing I think a Harley Quinn book needs to be, it's funny, and the DC Universe is so weird and can be so, so funny. Like, think of the five funniest things that are [actually] important DC plot points, and I guarantee one of them is in this run.

Boo: Harley's trying to do her best, even if sometimes she hasn't the most honest of ideas. I think seeing her trying to grow is very relatable, but for her, it might involve big hammers and dynamite.

#harley quinn #harleen quinzel #dc comics #poison ivy #pamela isley #harlivy #pretty sure the Variants are by Ryan Sook - Dan Mora -- & Steve Beach #but literally no where has posted these and credited the artists and I don't wanna say its X person if I'm not confident in it 💖#and none of them have posted anything #I've been checking for a few hours and no update

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l0nesome-dreams · 20 days

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Last Line Challenge

Rules: in a new post, show the last line you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you feel like).

taged by @whiskygoldwings

(I hope I’m doing this right 😂 I’ve never participated in a last line challenge before! + I don’t really know who to tag 💀✨)

I’ve been feeling extremely unmotivated to draw or write within the past few days despite wanting art of my kiddos. I scrambled through my documents and found some lil snippets of dabbles I’ve got sitting around. Here is one about the dragon hybrid Voorpret AU:

Voss gave Lee a leg up into the ceiling.

“Okay next,” Voss motioned for Vance to come over to him, helping him up into the ceiling with Lee, “Jeez vod what have you been eating?” Vance poked his head out from the missing panel in the ceiling.

“Do you want help up here, or do you want to stay in the hall so the science freaks can come do experiments on you too?” He said resting his chin on his hand.

There was the sound of a door opening down the hall which alerted Voss still standing in the hall.

“Okay okay I take it back! Just get me up there!” Voss whispered loudly.

He backed up a bit getting a running start before jumping into the air grabbing hold of his batch mates arm. Vance dragged him up, closing the panel before anyone could see them.

“You’re one to talk vod’ika. You weigh a ton.” Vance said a grin forming on his face as his brother looked up at him.

Though his face was covered Vance knew Voss was deadpanning.

“Come on you two we can sort this out later. Right now we’re trying to find Voor.” Lee said, crawling further down the vent system.

The two clones followed suit crawling after her.

“Hold up a sec,” Lee checked her vambrace, the location of where Voorpret was being held blinking softly, “we may need to get into the halls again the vents don’t seem to go that far, or at least this system of vents.” Lee sighed, continuing to crawl forwards.

They could still travel a bit further until they reached the end of the vents before they’d have to move around in the halls. This compromised their plan, but whatever shape Voorpret was in was what would determine their plan of escape.

“How much further we-“ Vance was cut off by an agonizing scream.

They all stopped in their tracks.

“What the kriff was that?” Voss whispered.

Lee looked down at her vambrace again.

“I don’t know, but let’s keep moving so we don’t find out.” Lee said, her voice laced with fear.

When they did reach the end of the vents, Lee slid the panel aside and Vance lowered Voss down into the hall.

“Where is everyone? I haven’t seen a soul in this facility since we’ve been here. You sure this is the correct location?” Voss said, catching Lee as she hopped out of the vents.

“Positive.” Lee said while removing her blasters.

Vance hopped out of the vents into his brother’s arms.

They moved against the walls keeping quiet. The trio was starting to feel uneasy at the idea that no one was here. This was a Separatist facility, they were typically crawling with people.

“This is the room.” Lee whispered, pressing the panel to open the door.

When it slid open the trio was greeted by a massacre. Blood was splattered across parts of the walls and what looked to be a trail of blood that had been dragged from the door panel to behind an examination table. Bodies were laying around, some unrecognizable, limbs torn off, faces nothing but blood.

“What happened here?” Vance said, flicking on his light that was attached to his helmet.

“Whatever did this,” Lee began as she stepped further into the room examining the mess, “wasn’t human.”

“They should’ve known better to keep wild animals in this place, let alone in cells like these,” Voss motioned towards the destroyed holding cell, “We’d best leave, it’s probably near by.” Voss said.

“We need to find Voorpret quick before whatever did this gets a hold of-” Vance was cut off by a creaking sound.

They all whipped around adrenaline rushing through their bodies. Nothing was there.

“I don’t like this guys.” Lee said backing up from where the noise had come from.

She felt a drop of something cool hit the back of her neck. She looked up and nearly screamed.

A mangled body lay over the pipes above her head Voorpret hovering over it staring down at Lee. His eyes were practically glowing, and they held an expression not that of a human, but rather a beast. So animalistic that even Lee couldn’t see through them to Voorpret himself. Pure lust for blood coursed through his begin, and something new that sent pleasant tingles through him when he caught the scent of his love. He was being driven by pure instinct at this point and no one would be able to stop his pursuit.

Lee backed away from him slowly as he climbed down from the ceiling a low, guttural growl emitting from him.

“Voor? What’s gotten into you?” Lee said, putting her blaster away and holding her hands up, “Voorpret please stop. You’re scaring me.”

He continued stalking towards her, Vance and Voss armed and ready to engage their threat.

Voorpret lunged at Vance who proceeded to fire stun shots at him. Voorpret easily slid right past them, scaling the wall again.

“Run!” Lee shouted, pushing the other two troopers out of the door nearly tripping over Voss’s foot.

They bolted down the halls of the facility splitting up. Voorpret went after Lee without any hesitation ignoring the blaster fire from his brothers.

“LEE!!” Voss yelled as she took off down the hall, Voorpret in tow.

Lee rounded a corner not daring to look back. Voorpret slipped when he came around the corner, skidding into the wall then clamoring back up to his feet in a desperate attempt to catch his prey. Lee slammed her fist into the control panel, closing the door between them in hopes Voorpret wouldn’t be able to get to her. He obviously had no interest in either of his brothers, but Lee had no idea why he was after her specially.

A loud scraping sound echoed through the halls as Voorpret grabbed hold of the door. Lee staggered backward as the clone began prying the door open. She took off again reaching a dead end in a large examination room. She scrambled around finding a medical cabinet to hide in breathing heavily as she heard Voorpret’s claws tapping against the cool durasteel floor. She clasped her hands over her mouth praying he wouldn’t find her.

“Oh mesh’la where’d you run off to with that pretty face of yours?” He purred, sounding awfully close to Lee’s hiding place, “You smell so good, I promise I won’t hurt you love. I just want to breed you.” He clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth.

Lee panicked, what did he just say!? She stopped breathing when he stopped outside of the cabinet, tracing the outside of it.

“Where are you hiding lil one?” He cooed, walking off again to Force knows where in the room.

Everything went silent for what seemed like forever then Lee inhaled sharply when Voorpret was staring at her through a crack in the cabinet.

“Hey mesh’la.” He opened the cabinet grinning wildly at her.

"Voorpret, please no. This isn’t a good idea we’ve only just-“ Her words caught in her throat, face heating up at the way he was looking at her, “you know what I’ll just come out there.”

Lee carefully stepped out of the cabinet instantly Voorpret’s hands went to the wall on either side of her head caging her in. He would’ve already killed her if that was his intention, clearly he had something completely different in mind.

“So compliant for me.” He said, his hot breath fanning across her face.

He no longer had blood on his face, but the wild look in his eyes still shown through.

“Lee!” Voss came charging into the room, Vance right on his heels, “We thought he surely killed you but, oh.” Voss shut up the instant he laid eyes on the situation.

Voorpret was licking a stripe up the column of Lee’s neck, one thigh between her legs.

“I’ll handle this, just get back to the ship and I’ll meet you two back there.” Lee said, grabbing hold of one of Voorpret’s horns and tugging his face away from her skin, “Just please leave before he changes his mind and kills the both of you.” Lee said, shoving Voorpret off of her.

The two troopers reluctantly left Lee to fend for herself closing the door behind them. Lee grabbed her blaster, switching it over to stun.

“Voorpret you need to snap out of it. You’re not thinking straight,” Lee said, pointing the blaster at the hybrid as he stalked over towards Lee again, “Stay back Voorpret, or I’m going to have to stun you.” She hissed, backing away from him.

Voorpret grinned wildly, tail flicking back and forth, amber eyes locked on Lee’s.

“You know that has little to no effect on me Lee,” he said, voice sweet as honey, “I’ll just hunt you down all over again. Just put it down and let me have you.” He said, his hands twitching towards Lee ever so slightly.

Lee refused to lower the weapon and when he took another step towards her she fired a stun bolt at his chest. Like he’d said it had absolutely no effect on him. Lee let out a shaky breath when Voorpret returned to his original place directly in front of Lee…

(it gets a lil spicy after that, so I’m not gonna bother posting that at the moment 😂💀)

So uh yeah… he’s a lil crazy, must be that dragon in em. RIP Lee, your efforts and sacrifice will always be remembered 🫡🫣

I don’t really know how writing about others ocs works, but man I really wanna see how people write about these hooligans.

#Let’s try this again #last line challenge #something new?#Captain Voorpret #Commander Lee #writing #shenanigans #I definitely proof read that…didn’t

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final-girl96 · 7 months

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Broken World: Chapter Sixteen

Flashback

The whole city was in total chaos. People were running in every direction, and screams and gunfire filled the air. The dead were up walking and stumbling around; how was this real life? They decided Atlanta was the best place to set up a refugee camp. Who's ever idea that was, was a fucking idiot. Things didn't take long to fall apart. Infected people got in and “turned”, they bite others, killing more, turning more people, and before anyone knew it, the whole city was being overrun.

The military was trying to get it under control, but it was no use. There were too many of them. There was a shoot to kill an order. That's exactly what I was doing; shooting the dead. It wasn't natural; the dead were walking around. I made it back into the precinct, killing anything that got in my way. I could hear the jets flying over the city, and shortly after, just as I scrambled under my desk, explosions rocked the whole city. They just bombed the city.

Center For Disease Control

Dr. Edwin Jenner. That was the man standing in front of us closing the doors behind us after a few of us ran out and got our bags. He led us to an elevator where we all piled in; It was a tight squeeze. Daryl was pushed back into the corner with his back to the wall. I was directly in front of him and almost touching him but not. Everyone else filed in though and I got bumped causing me to stumble back more and into Daryl. His left hand landed on my hip to steady and my whole body was on fire. His hand left just as fast as it came. Jenner walked into the elevator, waited for the doors to close, and then pressed one of the bottoms on the panel.

I could feel how tense Daryl was behind me; I was just as tense. I also hated being in such a small space with so many people. “Doctors always go around packing heat like that?” Daryl asked. Jenner had an M4A1 in his hands. He looked down at it then back at our group. “There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough.” He looked down at Carl and smiled at him, “Except you, I’ll have to keep my eye on you.” The elevator doors opened and everyone got out.

We were led through halls, up metal stairs, and down another hall into a circular room with computers and a large screen on one wall. “VI, bring up the lights in the big room,” Jenner said, and the lights turned on. “Welcome to Zone 5.” We looked around to see an empty space. Nobody was here. “Where is everybody? The other doctors, the staff?” Rick asked. Jenner turned and looked at him. “I’m it. It’s just me here.” I shook my head, staying back from the group. “What about the person you were speaking with? VI?” Lori asked. “VI, say hello to our guests. Tell them… Welcome.”

“Hello, guests. Welcome,” An artificial intelligence voice said. “I’m all that’s left. I’m sorry,” Jenner told us. He then led us to a room where he took our blood. That was the agreement, he would run tests to make sure none of us were infected and we could stay. I sat in the chair and gave him my arm. He gave me a weak smile, cleaned the skin with an alcohol wipe, and stuck me with the needle. “You don't look happy to be here,” he said. I raised an eyebrow, “What makes you think that?” I asked. He finished filling a vial with blood and pulled the needle out, replacing it with a gauze pad. “You hung back from the others, didn't seem too surprised to know I was the only one here.” I hummed, leaned forward a little and said, “That's because I know no one would be here. I saw what happened to this place.” With that I stood up and went to stand near the door.

Jenner took Andrea’s blood for a sample. As she stood up she started to stumble a little until Jacqui caught her. “Are you okay?” Andrea nodded her head and held onto her. Jacqui looked at Jennerx who was looking a little concerned. “She hasn’t eaten in days. None of us have,” she explained. He looked around the room and nodded, then he led us to the kitchen where some of the women started to cook up dinner for everyone with the help of some of the men. There was plenty of wine and even some whiskey. When everything was done we pushed a few tables together and sat down. Jenner sat at a separate table close by.

Rick was pouring wine into Lori's cup when Dale said, “You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France.” She held up her glass and took a sip. “Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then,” she said. “What’s it gonna hurt? Come on. Come on,” Rick said, trying to convince her. She agreed and gave him a little bit. He tasted it and scrunched his face up in disgust. Loro poured the rest into her glass. “That’s my boy. That’s my boy. Good boy.”

“Yuck. That tastes nasty,” Carl said. There were some laughs and chuckles from everyone. “Well, just stick to soda pop there, bud,” Shane told him. “Not you, Glenn,” Daryl said. Glenn looked around at everyone and laughed awkwardly. “What?” He asked. “Keep drinking, little man. I want to see how red your face can get,” Daryl said.

I leaned back in my chair at the end of the table beside Glenn, wine glass in my hand, swirling the dark red liquid around in the glass. Someone clinked thier glass and looked up to see Rock standing, glass raised. “It seems to me we haven’t thanked our host properly,” he said. T-Sog held his glass, “He is more than just our host,” he said, taking a drink. “Hear hear!” Dale cheered. Everyone held up a glass to toast Jenner with them. “Here’s to you, Doc, booyah!” Daryl shouted. Rick thanked the doctor and a cheer of booya's went around.

Everyone went back to eating and chatting until Shane interrupted it all. “So when are you gonna tell us what the Hell happened here, Doc? All the—the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?” He asked. “We’re celebrating, Shane. Don’t need to do this now,” Rick told him. I let out a scuff. "Whoa, wait a second. This is why we’re here, right? This was your move—supposed to find all the answers. Instead we—” I took a deep breath, “We found him. Found one man, why? I mean I told you this was all a waste of time,” I said. I wanted to know too. I wanted to know exactly what happened. I knew this place fell the second the city erupted into chaos.

“Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted,” Jenner said. I just kept looking at Rick, giving him that “I told you so” look. “Every last one?” Shane asked, narrowing his eyes at the doctor. Jenner was silent for a few seconds and then said, “No, many couldn’t face walking out the door. They… opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time.”

“You didn’t leave. Why?” Andrea asked. Jenner looked up from his glass to look at her. “I just kept working, hoping to do some good,” he said quietly. Silence fell over the group. “Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man,” Glenn said to Shane.

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