Chapters: ½
Fandom: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Nina Kovan/Bonita Stone
Characters: Nina Kovan, Bonita Stone
Additional Tags: Vacation, Shore Leave, Day At The Beach, Smut, Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Fluff and Smut, Not Beta Read
Summary:
It wasn’t often Spartan’s were given a vacation, but every once and awhile they could squeeze one in. Naturally, Kovan and Stone are more than happy to take some private time to themselves, indulging in the simple things in life - and each other.
my halo 5 opinion is more nuanced than this but i finally was like "fuck it" and tried cloud playing it. ran the first 3 levels of the campaign.
regardless of any complaints i have about the direction of the lore and writing choices, halo 5 has my favorite gameplay of the whole series and i am not fucking kidding.
my halo 5 opinion is more nuanced than this but i finally was like "fuck it" and tried cloud playing it. ran the first 3 levels of the campaign.
regardless of any complaints i have about the direction of the lore and writing choices, halo 5 has my favorite gameplay of the whole series and i am not fucking kidding.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Relationships: Nina Kovan/Bonita Stone
Characters: Nina Kovan, Bonita Stone, Erik Bender, Robin Dimik
Additional Tags: Heavy Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Canon-Typical Violence, Rubicon Protocol Spoilers, Canonical Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Not Beta Read
Summary:
Having some time to think, Spartan Nina Kovan reflects upon the last ten years of her life alongside Bonita Stone.
Stripping out of their dress blues and back into their fatigues, Fred watched Kelly out of the corner of his eye as she began to vacuum seal the clothing away. She shifted her weight from side to side, restless and impatient over something, out of all of the Spartan's she was one of the ones who telegraphed her feelings the most.
Fred mused that the last time they had likely dawned their formal uniforms was sometime back on Reach, but he doubted that was what was bothering her. Between the memorial and Osman offering Blue Team access to their files of their life before, Fred had to admit it was a lot to digest. Outside of requesting reassignment to their next mission, Fred wasn't sure what else he could do for his fellow Spartans. Linda was handling things with her typical stride, but again, Kelly was a different story. Glancing over to Linda for guidance, the only reply he got was a shrug as Kelly continued to stare down at the dress shirt in her hands absently.
Padding over, Fred leaned against the wall nearest to the woman. "You good?"
There was a soft sigh, Kelly's dark eyebrows pinching together as she closed the bag she had been fiddling with. "I'm fine."
"You're a terrible liar and you know it, Kelly." Fred replied, some humor in his tone.
Kelly paused, contemplating her words before turning out to the room, as to include Linda in their conversation. "It's hard to believe that John is actually gone."
That admission alone rung out like a gunshot. Fred pursed his lips and Linda stared down to her hands.
"I wont lie and say that I never expect him to die, I know better, we all know better, but..." Her shoulder's slumped. "I never thought I'd be the last member of the original 'Blue Team.' I didn't even get to see him die like I did Sam, nor did I get to say a proper goodbye. I remember waking up next to Grace, getting ready for our next fight and then I'm suddenly with Halsey crash landing on Onyx."
It was raw and honest, as much as a Spartan could be. Fred wasn't sure what to do with the information, also lot in his own mourning. Though, he couldn't help but to feel for the woman. John had been her closest friend among the Spartans, not only that but she'd been outright kidnapped, torn from an operation, leaving her comrades to fight for their lives. He knew she carried that guilt, even if it wasn't her fault let alone choice. It would likely haunt her as so many other things did.
Kelly had been prescribed sedatives several years ago, suffering from some kind of night terrors, writhing in her sleep. She had spoken of it on occasion, usually haunted by those she'd watch die, such as Sam and Kurt. Kelly was nothing, if not resilient, not letting it interfere with her life beyond rest, however now she had scores of more faces to add to the list. She'd watched Kurt die a second time after only finding him after years apart, not to mention Will taking a Hunter to the grave with him and the young Spartan III's being slaughtered after being fresh out of training. It would weigh on her - it was weighing on her. Now with the news of John disappearing off into slipspace, likely crushed into dust, it was multiplied.
Looking between Fred and Linda, Kelly continued. "At least he will be in good company, seeing Sam again, and all the rest."
"And he wasn't alone in the end either, wherever he is, Cortana is with him." Linda tacked on, her own commentary on the situation, an offer of comfort. "Who knows, maybe he will end up like me, in a cryopod out there somewhere."
"That's a whole lot of space we'd need to cover before we'd find him." Fred said, ever the realist.
"It can't hurt to keep our eyes peeled where ever we end up next," Linda shot back as she looked to Kelly, offering a small reassuring nod.
And that's how it became an unspoken plan.
Wherever they went, they searched the stars for their friend, knowing it would be largely fruitless, but it was what they each needed, a small ritual like eye-spy on a road trip. Each of them humming Olly Olly Oxenfree hoping to hear it echoed back.
John who picked random flora and fauna throughout his training on Reach and gave one to each of his closest friends. The current members of Blue Team still have theirs, preserved and dried, John still has the one he gave Sam
I think regularly of how Kelly and John clung to each other as they watched Sam die. Out in space, realizing their mortality, losing their friend. Really sad that scene wasn’t in the animated show they did
Thoughts About The Humanization of Spartan II's and III's
I think its a bit absurd when people complain about Spartan's expressing or having feelings in both the games or novels. Especially given that that is a large part of the original trilogy (Cortana and Chiefs relationship namely) and also the later trilogy after Bungie left. I can understand that in the original games and novels this fact was less explicit, but its an irrevocable fact its still present. The Master Chief's inherent humanness in spite of his feats is what makes the series so good. This is even furthered when he and others like him are forced to face this reality.
Now, I can understand some people might take issue with it being more explicit and how it is demonstrated in the various pieces of media, but that is a PREFERENCE not an inherent reason to say humanization of Spartans is bad. For example, even in the Nylund novels, the Spartan's still had their own personality quirks and humanizing moments, such as Chief and Kelly at Sam's death, or Chief when he talks to Mendez after the augmentations, or even the entirety of Ghost's of Onyx and the characters in it are examples of this. If the Spartan's did not have these moments or traits, they'd be one dimensional and boring, because again, what makes them so awesome is that they're not robots, they are people. You could say they are deeply broken and wounded on top of brainwashed, but they're still people.
Personally, I think its good that we see this side of the Spartan's, even in its more explicit forms since it fleshes them out and makes them distinct. It makes even more sense now when you consider that within the lore we have now moved past the major war the Spartan's fought in, therefore now they may have time to branch out and consider who they are, now that they aren't consumed by the weight of defending humanity from extinction. Plus it just makes for better stories and ways to reflect upon the series.
The humanness of Halo has always been key and to complain about it kind of misses the point of the games and the extended universe in my opinion.
In addition to this at the end of that book as well, the whole thing about tying Naomi’s worth as a romantic partner to her ability and lack of desire to have children is INSANE. Like instead of talking more about her traumas from being a Spartan being the root of it — nope she’s a woman therefore baby machine
Thoughts on the Kilo-Five Trilogy. I’m really disappointed given how hyped up it was to me, some saying it was peak Halo writing, which had been exciting given that it in part follows up my favourite Halo novel, Ghosts of Onyx. Now I’m not a die hard Eric Nylund fan, I think his books were a good entry point and are very strong, but there’s plenty of other novels that follow his that are also amazing. However, Karen Traviss’ writing falls completely flat to me and her books have not aged well (there are some really questionable statements made in those books)
Things I did not like:
-true to what I’ve seen others say online, Traviss does not seem to like pre established characters, which is fine, however the way in which she goes about expressing this dislike does not work for me. For example, I have no qualms discussing how Halsey is a horrible person, but it becomes so much of the sole focus point of the novels it’s like nails on a chalkboard after awhile. Meanwhile as this is done, Mendez is damn near let off the hook entirely for some reason
-Glasslands struggles because the authors writing style likes to have the characters constantly moving, so keeping Blue Team trapped in a single place for the duration of the novel results in really awkward decisions and lack of direction
-To go along with the previous point, it feels like Blue Team + Spartan III is only there because their story line needed to be tied up and it was contractually obligated.
-Until the second and third book, Kilo Five themselves do very little, things feel stagnant after awhile
-There are some really dumb narrative choices made in Thursday War, like Jul’s escape from Trevelyan. Like. What. There was no better way of getting to the same end goal.
-After Thursday War Jul just gets entirely forgot about and replaced with a group of Kig Yar who die by the end of Mortal Dictata.
-Holy shit the initial scene of how Naomi got kidnapped was wild. Steffan I do not care how mature you think your six year old is, do not let her ride on public transit alone, get off your ass and go pick her up, especially after her mentioned SHES GOTTEN OFF AT THE WRONG STOP BEFORE.
-Osman isn’t utilized nearly enough as a character imo.
-Other general gripes with characterizations that bothered me.
-overall these books struggle to execute the ideas to their fullest potential and also have a really hard time tying up story lines in a satisfying way.
-Cannot understate this, some lines and scenes did not age well what so ever.
Things I liked:
-For the most part I really enjoyed the core cast of the Kilo Five crew
-Has really interesting ideas, such as ONI instigating a civil war, in addition to the general overarching gray area nature of these novels
-Has moments of really good social commentary
-Phillips in that fucking temple man, most fun I had reading those books. Taking a normal dude and throwing him in the middle of a civil war and having to watch him understand the weight of what he is part of was great.
-Touching on the human side of the Spartans and the de-programming of Naomi, super important to me that this aspect gets brought up
-I liked the concept of Naomi facing up against her dad and having to come to terms with that
-The character relationships between the Kilo Five crew actually feel fulfilling and nice
Things I wish were different or there was more of:
-More time with Naomi and her POV especially to show her progression and realization of her being human and how what happened to her wasn’t right
-Osman actually showing her own skills and showing that while she may doubt herself, she’s still qualified to be an admiral
-More time learning about Black Box’s brain donor, I found that neat, wish we had a tiny bit more but not a whole lot more
-A refocus on the civil war effort throughout Mortal Dictata to some extent, I get why gears were switched but still
-IMO Naomi’s dad properly dying would have been more fulfilling to me, however the scene with Vaz and Naomi at the end of Mortal Dictata was good.
-More about Jul and hell, even his kids, in the third book, I get that he was going to Requiem to kick off the events of Halo 4 but that could have been easily expanded upon and would make things feel more unified.
Overall these books were rough to get through, they had a lot of good ideas and interesting concepts but they were just a struggle to have fully explored and illustrated in a satisfying way. Albeit nothing in the Halo universe is particularly meant to be satisfying, but still, that’s just my take on these books.
the Johnny in the green tank top big cheesing is an image that lives with me … as a scots transmasc who loves to wear chains the energy you captured has broken down my vague body goals down to the bare essentials (muscled but also approachable,,, a buddy even)
Thanks for all the art always it brightens my day!
🥹🥹🥹🥹😭😭😭😭😭😭 what a true honor to hear this, thank you for telling me… I hope he lives on with you BIG cheesin' forevermore ☀️
