#actually I changed my mind this is cool. someone give me an outlaw name and challenge me to a quickdraw

[comicaurora]

watching new followers accumulate from seemingly no known direction like a gargoyle-perched vigilante

[naitiaclo960writings]

Day 6 - Mask

(Warnings: Alcohol drinking (consensual tho))

Dean almost cursed his brother for dragging him into this Halloween party just to abandon him ten minutes later for the pleasure of Jessica Moore’s company. Even though they’d been married for two years, those two were still disappearing to go get laid somewhere and Dean really didn’t want to be around when that happened. It wasn’t for him, thank you. And really, a Halloween party? He was over 30 and he didn’t even know that adults were still celebrating this kind of thing like any other Saturday night.

But he was apparently wrong considering the crowded dance floor of that theme bar. Everyone had played along, zombies moving their bodies among vampires, witches and werewolves. Some had opted for more classic costumes such as the nurse near the bar or the clown close of the toilet and from whom Sam would surely stay away. As for the DJ, he was on stage in his pirate disguise, giving the microphone to the beatboxer alien from time to time. The atmosphere was still friendly and it’s not like Dean had anything else to do with his October 31st evening, but he didn’t particularly want to meet anyone tonight.

His Batman costume didn’t seem to be as popular as he would have liked and the only girl who had noticed him all night long — a kind of giant pumpkin stained with blood, nothing very appetizing really — had mixed him up with "this guy from Avengers". Yet his mask was proudly on his face, his eyes surrounded with black make-up, and his cape flew according to his movements as his ears pointed towards the sky. Dean spent $50 on that suit and it wasn’t to be mocked by an uncultivated pumpkin.

Leaning against the bar isolated from the dance floor, Dean sighed, grateful to have at least some alcohol to comfort himself with. He had decided to swallow a few more drinks before going back to his apartment to watch TV when, suddenly, someone came to pull him out of his morose thoughts by bumping into him.

"Oh, really sorry." A low male voice apologized. "I should have looked around before I came down here."

Dean turned his surprised gaze to a man wearing a pretty convincing cowboy suit. Though judging by the wide headscarf on his eyes, he certainly personified an outlaw, a bee pin as a sheriff’s badge. Dean raised his eyebrows, moving to make room for the stranger.

"No harm done." He replied with a casual smile, tightening his grip around his shot of Alabama Slammer.

The cowboy came to take the place next to him before ordering as well, his blue penetrative gaze back on Dean.

"Very successful, the Batman." He said, obviously open to make conversation.

The stranger glanced at him for a moment, from top to bottom, and Dean could not restrain a feeling of pride taking hold of him. He smiled more while turning completely towards his new companion.

"Finally, someone with actual knowledge in this bar!" Dean exclaimed with amusement. "I swear, the next person who calls me 'Captain America' gets hit".

"What, someone dared to make that comparison?" The cowboy marveled in a laugh.

"Oh, you have no idea what I’ve heard." Dean lamented before drinking his shot further, savoring it more than the previous ones. He focused his attention on the cowboy and arched an eyebrow. "Your costume is really cool too, a true rodeo pro with that."

Another clear laugh escaped from the stranger’s mouth, surpassing the music that resonated further on the dance floor. The cowboy’s order finally arrived to him as he answered.

"Me, I don’t know. But William Brooks was certainly a fine gunfighter, that’s right." He replied before dipping his lips in his glass of pure vodka.

Dean eye’s widened, his smile growing bigger and bigger. There were so few people who knew that name, it couldn’t be a coincidence. Of course, for a huge fan of old western movies, the comparison was obvious, but he had to be sure.

"William Brooks as…?"

"Buffalo Bill, exactly."

Dean uttered an exclamation of joy.

"Awesome! Buffalo Bill is one of the best outlaws of his time, his adventures are amazing!" He said as he looked into the cowboy’s blue eyes.

"I know, he is my favorite mercenary!" This one replied in an equally cheerful tone.

Dean felt his night was suddenly changing. Maybe if the cowboy stayed here and talked to him, he might consider staying longer and enjoying the party.

"Dean" He said, raising his glass to the cowboy.

"Castiel." He replied with an easy smile.

They clinked their glasses before swallowing them bottoms up. Finally, without either of them really realizing it, hours —and the shots— flew at an incredible speed. What Dean thought was another tasteless evening turned out to be a very good time as he and Castiel talked. Sam and Jessica even came to him around 1:00 in the morning to tell him that they were going back home and Dean had just said goodbye to them before returning to his exciting conversation with Castiel about the best horror movies. Castiel, to tell the truth, seemed rather cowardly, but he listened to each of his words with particular attention which did not fail to warm Dean’s heart.

Neither of them particularly wanted to dance, happy with their own part of the bar and the distant music as the place gradually emptied. Around 1:30, however, their harmony was disrupted by a third person who was obviously already well drunk. Without being invited, a man in his forties, dressed in a chicken costume, came to interfere in their conversation with a lot of hearty laughter and inappropriate remarks, clearly hitting on Castiel while royally ignoring Dean yet less than a meter away from him.

When the man asked Castiel for his number for at least the sixth time of the evening, he rolled his eyes. Despite all the more or less subtle refusals from Castiel, the man did not seem to get the message and the good mood of the cowboy was gradually flying away as the stranger became touchier. Dean had held himself back until now, not wanting to make a scene and risk embarrassing Castiel, but when the stranger passed a hand stinking of cigarettes around his friend’s shoulder and that Castiel flinched, he decided that it was going too far.

Dean grabbed the stranger’s arm and push him away from Castiel, the man stumbling before catching himself at the bar.

"Hey, man. Get lost. I won’t tell you twice." Dean growled while standing in front of Castiel.

"Wow, easy pal!" The stranger replied, raising his hands in front of him, frowning. "It’s just a fra… fri-friendly discussion here."

It was more than obvious that the alcohol had reached what was left of his brain. Dean did not move an inch.

"Why don’t you go make friends somewhere else, pal?" Dean said in an icy voice. "Get out of here."

Eventually, the man grumbled, but walked away without further ado. Dean turned back to Castiel who raised an eyebrow in his direction. Dean pinched his lips. Great, did he just ruin his chances with him just because he wasn’t able to contain his emotions? Well done Winchester.

"Okay, so it’s not just a costume, is it? You’re a real caped crusader." Castiel finally joked with a happy smile on his face.

Dean relaxed and laughed with him, returning to his place near the bar.

"That’s it, keep laughing. Somebody had to save you from that ambush cowboy." Dean replied, returning to his empty glass.

"Save me, eh? Who says I wasn’t ready to draw at all times?" Castiel pouted.

Dean rolled his eyes.

"No offense, but you could barely aim straight with all the vodka you’ve been drinking." He teases softly, smiling at Castiel.

"Mmh, point for you." He mumbled.

And Dean couldn’t have put it better. Castiel did not stop at this drink and Dean was truly impressed that his friend had not yet vomited the contents of his stomach on his shoes. On the contrary, Castiel seemed to be a happy drunk and, although his words were increasingly incoherent, he also became more tactile. Dean didn’t mind, laughing at his friend’s behavior. He couldn’t really blame him for overstepping his bounds, even a skilled party boy like Dean was sometimes fooled by alcohol.

However, around 3:00 in the morning, the bar began to kick out the last customers and Dean found himself with a drunken Castiel completely slumped against him on a bench in the streets of Chicago.

"And it was just crazy because… because his dog wasn’t even white, you know? And then…

"Cas?" Dean gently cut him off, with a small smile on his face. "I think it’s time to go home. Do you live around?"

Castiel pouted. Dean could not help but think that, even when being completely drunk, Castiel was no less pleasant and attractive. The headscarf had still not left his eyes, blocking his face and hiding it from Dean’s curious gaze. Only two orbs of a brilliant blue continued to stare at him with an absent look, almost swallowed by the black of the pupil.

"… Mmh, maybe?" Castiel mumbled before slumping a bit more against Dean, sleepy.

Dean raised an eyebrow, looking around for his car.

"Okay… Okay, I’ll walk you out, right? What’s your address?"

Once again, Castiel grumbled before shrugging and stared at the pavement with intensity, as if it was whispering all his secrets to him. Dean bit his lip and swore inwardly. It was out of the question for him to leave Castiel alone outside in such a state or to take the risk of calling him a taxi. 

"Well, come here buddy."

Dean grabbed Castiel by the waist and guided him to the end of the street. The journey to his car was not easy, but in the end he managed to put his companion in the passenger seat before taking the wheel. Fortunately, the alcohol had already somewhat faded in his system but he took the time to drive slowly. Dean glanced uneasily at Castiel from time to time, now leaning against the window and observing the landscape in silence. He had become mute, which gave Dean time to think.

What the hell was he doing? Driving a completely drunk stranger home was like the beginning of a very bad situation. Was it considered kidnapping? Dean nervously licked his lips after another look at Castiel. They didn’t know each other that well yet, and the last thing Dean wanted was to scare his friend.

But at a closer look, he had no other choice. Castiel was unable to take care of himself at the moment and it was not an option for Dean to take the risk of putting him in danger. What if he ran into the other jerk at the bar and took him home? No, Dean didn’t want to think about it. At least he had a warm bed and painkillers waiting for him at home.

When they reached their destination, Castiel was even more apathetic than when he left the bar. He kept mumbling anecdotes that Dean was supposed to understand as he was helping him up the three floors to his apartment.

A bunch of encouragement and much patience later, Dean finally closed the door of his home behind them. Castiel immediately took an interest in his AC/DC key ring for a minute before looking around. He seemed to frown under his mask.

"Pepper?" He suddenly called.

Dean frowned too. Was Castiel looking for someone? Dean lost some of the color on his face. Was it his girlfriend? His wife?

"Who is Pepper?" He asked without being able to help himself.

Castiel seemed confused for a moment before shrugging and mumbling.

"Goldfish."

This time, Dean really had to hold back a laugh at the stupidity of the situation.

"Okay, well, I’m sure Pepper is doing just fine. Now you’re going to go wash up and go to sleep." Dean sighed by dragging him further into his apartment, shaking his head.

When they arrived in the bathroom, it was more than obvious that Castiel was equally incapable of doing anything without help. Dean sat patiently on the edge of the tub while his friend stared at him with fascination, complimenting every little detail with a slurred voice. Finally, Dean knelt before him and began to take off his boots. Castiel did not protest, so Dean did the same with his socks, his long black leather coat, his belt, his gloves, his hat and everything else until the cowboy was only in jeans and shirt in front of him.

However, the headscarf was still in place and Dean hesitated before removing it. The piece of fabric was large and covered at least the entire upper part of Castiel’s face, hiding what he perceived to be prominent cheekbones to go with his square jaw. He swallowed. Castiel was simply focusing on an invisible spot near Dean’s ear when he finally decided to untie the knot behind Castiel’s face to remove the mask.

If Dean had believed that Castiel’s eyes were mesmerizing until then, it was nothing compared to the irresistible portrait that had just appeared before him. Dean held his breath for a moment while he allowed himself to admire each piece of skin offered to his sight, Castiel totally oblivious of the red appearing on the cheeks of his host.

He didn’t know after how long he was able to get out of this state —"No kidding, stop looking at people like that, Dean, you’re gonna scare him" he told himself— but he managed to get rid of the costume and make-up in turn before escorting Castiel to his room.

His friend was now more than silent, letting himself be pushed around when Dean laid him out among the blankets. The effect was almost immediate: barely wedged in his pillows, Castiel closed his eyes and his face relaxed. He fell asleep a few seconds later after turning to his side. Dean smiled softly, unable to prevent this urge of tenderness from growing in his chest at this sight. As a precaution, he decided to leave an empty basin and painkillers on the bedside table before letting Castiel sleep.

He’d take the couch tonight.

* * *

Dean awoke to the sweet sound of someone puking his guts out in the bathroom. He sighed. He had not had enough sleep to his liking and the filtering light in his living room kept coming to attack his eyes. Aware that he could not go back to sleep anyway, he decided to go and check on his guest. Dean more or less effectively dragged himself to the barely opened door of his bathroom before gently knocking against the wood.

"…Cas?" He called out in a hoarse voice. "Is everything okay?"

The bathroom became silent a moment after his words before a barely human grunt resounded. Dean sympathized with him.

"I know." He replied gently. "The towels are in the right cupboard if you want to take a shower. And, uh, I should have clean toothbrushes in the first drawer. Take your time."

Another grunt, this time softer, rose again from the bathroom and Dean closed the door before moving on to the kitchen. Ten minutes later, he heard the shower turn on.

When Castiel was finally able to appear in the kitchen with a slightly more presentable face, though still sick, Dean had already had time to prepare the coffee and a pancake batter.

"Morning sunshine." Dean joked, glancing behind him and trying not to look at his friend again for hours." Was yesterday’s rodeo a little too much for you?"

Castiel stared at him with wide eyes before coughing. Dean turned around, raising an eyebrow.

"I, uh… Hello." A silence. Dean smiled kindly as Castiel looked everywhere but in his direction. "Okay, this is going to be really awkward, but, uh... did we… you know?"

Dean adopted a confused expression before blushing until the roots of the hairs, mortified. He really had to learn to choose his words more carefully if he wanted to stop finding himself in these kinds of awkward situations.

"No!" He hastened to rectify. "No, by rodeo I meant... Well… You drank a lot yesterday and I didn’t know where you lived, so I drove you here. The only thing that happened was you calling for your goldfish." Dean let out a little laugh. "But you slept in the bed and I slept on the couch. My sore back is proof."

Castiel seemed to relax a little before finally getting closer. He still seemed a bit embarrassed, probably because of everything he had imposed on Dean the night before, but at least his shy smile had come back to illuminate his face.

"Thank you. I would have hated not to remember that if we had spent the night together." He replied by looking up at him, and Dean could already say that it was not really a joke.

"Oh." That was the only intelligent answer he could come up with.

All this had the talent of relaxing the atmosphere while Dean served a large cup of coffee to Castiel, throwing him soft glances from time to time. His friend took the cup between his fingers before blowing gently on the surface of his coffee.

"I don’t know how to thank you." Castiel said as Dean went back to his pancakes. "If I invite you next time, do you think you can forget all the embarrassing things I probably did yesterday?"

Dean felt a pleasant sensation in his chest as a fine smile bloomed on his face. Castiel seemed almost in the right place in his kitchen, drinking coffee as if it was the most natural thing to do in the world. He nodded slowly, feeling his zygomatic pulling his lips up.

"Yee-haw cowboy." Dean huffed.

Castiel shook his head, amused, while Dean was simply delighted to learn that there would be a next time.

"On one condition though." He quickly added.

"Yes?" Castiel asked, curious.

"Undisguised this time." 

And just like that, this wonderful laugh was back, filling the room with a light and warm atmosphere.

"Deal."

* * * @winchester-reload Hello! Again, I wrote more than I should have written for this story but I’m pretty happy with the result, even though it gave me a hard time. Hope you enjoyed it!

You can find the whole series on Ao3

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[norwegianfriedokra]

When does a person deserve not to be honored anymore?  Aka be the Kool Aid Guy

If one is the culmination of all the deeds in one's life, in the grand scheme of things there would need to be a scale that weighs it all.  At least, for history's sake.  All people in this world do good and bad things.  All people are a product of their upbringing and the culture in which they came from. That said...When do future generations have the right not to honor previous generations? Or more accurately, when do future generations have the right to condemn previous generations?

Could you find any one person in history that is faultless when reviewed by today's standards? Personally I think it would be slim pickins, and even then give it a decade and they won't be acceptable anymore.  

I have done things I'm not proud of. I've said mean things, I've hurt people. There are people in this world who don't like me, and people I don't like.  But what's going on right now isn't just choosing not to honor people, it's choosing to condemn them instead. In the US, everytime I see an opinion posted I ask myself how much that person actually thinks about what they say.  I know that sometimes shit comes out of my mouth, stuff that is simply coughing up what others have already said.  That doesn't make it accurate. 

Societies change, and different things become acceptable over time. I get that. But something I find incredibly important about history is that all of it be studied.  The good and the bad.  The naming of buildings or the erection of statues, they are all decisions made by the victors, or societies that have forgotten who they were and simply leave them standing (see Roman statues of former emperors for example). 

I have done a ton of reading about Thomas Jefferson, I've even visited his home in Virginia.  I find him to be an incredibly interesting man. But despite my interest I recognize that to get upset about the renaming of a building is silly. For some people his name may bring up feelings that others get from buildings named after former members of the Nazi party.  As long as people aren't saying we should outlaw his books, or learning about him, I would rather rename a building.  

Freedom of speech, I feel, is the most important thing in this entire conversation. There are those whose speech was not included when certain buildings were named.  US Society is now attempting to include those voices. I hope the US becomes more successful in including other opinions and voices, other thoughts.     

Choosing not to honor previous presidents or prominent figures in history is one thing.  Choosing to condemn something entirely...that feels different.  Humorous that my thoughts regarding beliefs are more fluid, but when it comes to something that influences the survival of the planet I get more stringent.  

I guess what I'm saying is don't shut down other voices.  Keep freedom of speech paramount to the conversation.  If you tell someone to shut up and recognize that your opinion is the one and only you only create dissension.  If you post things that are incredibly one sided, you are only accelerating a full stop on discussion.  That's all I see on social media nowadays.  People are so polarized they can't see straight anymore.  

Be the white flag seen through the dust and grim. Keep your mind open, do your best to seek out constructive discussion. When you create walls, even just on social media, everything escalates. What we need is the real american hero, the Kool aid Guy.  Breaking down walls and feeding the children some sweet, sweet sugar flavored water. Be the Kool aid Guy.  (Picture me now sitting in a corner, knowing full well there is some other meaning to the Kool aid Guy that is racist that I'm unaware of. Ah well, I tried to make a cool reference, and it's freaggin' hawt in Frankfurt today so all I want to do is cool off, and I loved Kool aid as a kid in hot East Texas).

[iam-kenough]

Will  you ever notice me? Arthur Morgan x Original Female Character

Summary:  During they wandering in deep snowstorm, man from van  der Linde gang found odd looking girl and Dutch decides to take her  to  camp to see if she can be any use, leading life of outlaw with them.  Quickly, new girl develops feelings towards Arthur, but he sees her just  as a kid…and she won’t take that! It’s an original character story  that starts in the place where Arthur, Dutch and Micah were supposed to  first meet with Sadie. Instead she’s already with them.  

Authors notes: It’s another chapter and you  can find the rest of chapters on my blog if you want to read more of my  fanfiction. Hope you gonna enjoy it. Word count: 2558 Chapter 9 Arthur woke up and he wasn't ready to open his eyes. Discovering it was all a dream was more than possible and he still wanted to linger on sweet, sweet fantasy. Iris stirred right next to him and he opened her eyes. He was her big spoon as she was sleeping in his arms. Now he reminded himself. He had her not only once but few times since she discovered it's fun. She was hot for him all night and he needed to be proud of himself. He was a real gentelman down here but he couldn't say that eating her out wasn't something amazing. He had never done that before, just knew it's really nice and he almost forgot about it, because Mary was too nice and well-raised to do such things. They usually had sex without any light too. Thinking about all of it made Arthur realise that for the first time in many years he woke up with morning wood. His eyes almost got back to his skull when she stirred again, rubbing her ass against it. He needed to go away. Do something proper. So Arthur decided to have a bath and shave his face while she still slept. He didn't know he wanted to face anyone from camp, but her and for one second he was thinking of running away from here to be alone with Iris. - You ugly bastard - he muttered to himself in the mirror, shaving right after he scrubbed his body making sure he's clean and fresh for what was coming this night. It was before midday and he was already thinking in what position they gonna do it first. He decided he gonna let her choose. - Morning - he heard voice behind his back and small hand caressing his bicep. - Ain't you the sweetest morning girl - he murmured and caressed her arm back. - I've got something for you - she smiled at him shyly - you need to swallow it without any questions - she said as she showed him spoon of something that was green and had strong herbal smell. - What's that? - Arthur asked, his brows rasing. - A medicine - she replied mysteriously - I said you can't ask, cowboy. You still should rest in your bed after what happened to you. - Told him the same as soon as I saw him - said Dutch, sitting near them and lighting up a cigarette. - Are you gonna in bed with me? - Arthur joked which made her blush. - Mr Morgan! - she scolded - just eat it. And drink this! - Iris handed him a cup of gold tea with honey. - And what's that? - he said, his face twisting in disgust when he tasted herbal paste on his tongue - is it also disgusting? - Oh, I can have it if you don't want it, Arthur - Dutch chimed in, knowing what a treat Iris has. - He's gonna drink this down despite the fact liking it, Dutch. It's for his health. Arthur didn't wanna argue about it and he started to drink. It was surprisingly good. - It's tea? - Yes, with honey. Is it good? - It's actually amazing. Never had that before. - Now you gonna have it quite often - Iris patted his head. She still didn't tell him she knew his sick. She decided to surprise him with results rather than promises. - No idea what I did to deserve that but thank you - Arthur smiled at Iris with small sparks in his eyes. Arthur Morgan would never admit he liked when she cared for him, even at the start of their relationship. At first she just shared food with him if she had anything extra and she asked him if he slept good. Now will at that extra care that he gained he felt amazing. He was starving for affection. With that thought he also started smoking a cigarette. - No way, Mister - she said and took it away, putting it out with her shoe. She also grabbed pack from Arthur's hand and quickly hid it behind her back. - Huh? - If I'm gonna see you smoking a cigarette even once again, we gonna have war and I promise that. - Ah, those women, ain't I right, son? One night of sharing bed and they think they own us. - Fuck you, Dutch - she said without any hesitation, causing Arthur to cough. They all knew he did it to cover ugly laughing - you not gonna give him any of those either - Iris's lips became thin, white line immediately. - What is it all about, huh? - Arthur tried to catch up - I feel like I missed something? - Just...just do what I ask you, and Arthur? I just want you stop smoking, drink that and have your medicine everyday. It's not bad thing to ask for after all what happened? Arthur was surprised. He was smoking since he was young, around 20 years now. He thought that it's gonna be difficult to quit, but seeing Iris's face made him to want at least to try. He was sure he haven't tell anyone but Dutch and Hosea about his condition, not even calling it by names but using metaphors and context, so her harsh reactions on him having a cigarette was weird. But she couldn't know. He nodded slowly and seeing sign of relief on her face was a gift. They first sex this night was something else. It wasn't only something new to experience, at least for Iris, but it showed how badly Arthur Morgan fell for her. He realised he wanted to do nothing but that, now, tomorrow and in ten years. Even if it made pervert out of him. First steps were stressful but as soon as Iris got relaxed she showed Arthur her true side. Which was being young, horny woman. Arthur almost doubted he's gonna be enough for her, with his extremely low stamina but at the same time he was oh so happy. It turned him on to know she was getting wet every time he touched her while they were naked. He was nibbling on her neck, on her breasts and on her nipples. It was third time they changed position this night. They started missionary but as soon he found out she's even more frivolous than he could expect, he decided he's gonna give her the most naughty sex he could think of. Iris was riding Arthur's dick, with her eyes shut and mouth open. Her breasts was bouncing, up and down and it was almost hipnotising to him, all he was thinking about now was her fast paces. He couldn't hold himself back and as soon as she started moaning and trembling, having an orgasm he pulled out and wanked himself at her breasts. - Oh God - she moaned. - Jesus- he groaned. Iris fell at his side, landing on her back. It was probably the nicest feeling she didn't know she could feel. - How was I? - she asked, looking at Arthur, as he tried to ease his breathing. - Look at me, darlin' and you gonna know - he leaned on his elbow to look at her. Iris didn't respond, just blushed and covered herself with blanket. - Aren't you a naughty girl, eh? - he whispered in low voice to her ear, causing shivers running down her spine. And from this night it was like this everyday, as soon as they got to bed Arthur did everything to make love to her the best way he could. To devour her. But it wasn't only in bed, he did everything to catch her off guard anytime he could. At some point he was sure there wasn't place they didn't fuck at. His tent, her tent, leaning against the tree or doggy style, bending Iris against rock or a log while they were away from camp to hunt. He was horny as hell and it was new to him to desire someone's body this much. He loved to talk dirty to her ear and calling her hot names muttered under his breath. Iris was caring about him every day, feeding him with herbs, tea with honey and her love. Where he was there was her, to hold on his arm, or caress his cheek. They were finally happy, together and at peace. But life was life, not a fairytale and it all started to fade. As soon as she discovered Arthur's lungs are better now and he doesn't need to be looked after this much it has loosen their ties. Iris also discovered that loving him is hard thing somehow, Arthur didn't like doing nothing much more than sex, he wasn't talking much. Everytime there was a question he wouldn't answer they ended up fucking. At first they were glued to each other and it lasted weeks but soon Arthur started disappearing, not saying about him getting back to bed at night. She reminded herself as he once told her, that life normal person who sleeps everyday in the same place wasn't for him. Iris tied to be considerate. She was aware that this hot romance will become more balanced with time. But then, she remembered about person who tried to make Arthur regular, obedient man. Mary. Something hit her out of the blue to search for clues as she was sitting in Arthur's tent while he was away again. At first it felt really bad to lurk through his belonging and she was looking around if no one will discover it. They wouldn't mind since everyone knew already that Iris Rhiannon and Arthur Morgan were a thing. But it felt bad to do so anyway and being caught red handed. In a wooden frame hidden under his bed was photo of Mary, her portrait. It looked like Arthur had it for a long time but he wasn't keeping it under the bed all the time, it wasn't dusted. It meant he was probably looking at this photograph before his sleep every day and it hurt her a bit. She could understand that although it was hard to understand. But she tried to stay cool and be true to her words which was promise of loving him even if she and Arthur are gonna be only friends. She put the photograph away but then she felt something under her fingertips. A piece of paper? She looked under the bed again and in the darkest corner he discovered an envelope. But not one, it was almost a hundred of them. Letters from Mary to Arthur Morgan. But they could write all of them in the past, right? Deep breath. Arthur probably keeps them to remember his past and that's okay, you not gonna read it, Iris. Another deep breath. Checking one wouldn't hurt anyone, right? Iris picked the one that look the most recent to her, looking at the ink and paper condition. Her heart dropped low and loud as she saw all the words in front of her. He was seeing her. All the time. Arthur even was with Mary right now. But it wouldn't be that bad if he only helped her with few things, however it appeared like he still was her obedient dog. And there was only thing Iris didn't know if she gonna ever forgive. Him lying to her instead of facing consequences as break-up. Anger? No. Fury? Maybe. She couldn't tell. High pitched sound was getting louder and louder, ringing in her ear. Her pupils became bigger, pumped with adrenaline as she threw letters back under his bed. Without any thinking she just grabbed a horse and got away, galloping through the night. Mrs Grimshaw was right telling girls not to wander alone, she was telling it over and over. Gunshot rang in Iris's ears as she looked at her stomach as it become red, flushing down with blood. Someone shot her. Doctor's office smelled like alcohol and formaline. Iris's didn't mind though. It was one of those weird but pleasant smells. Just like smoke or freshly cut grass. - What a time we have to shot and rob a lady, eh? - Person who did that was surely disappointed, doc. They did it for one dollar and fifty cents. But you are right, it's a wild world. Doctor gave her a gaze with a faint smile. - Am I gonna live? I've been shot before but I don't like that look of yours. - You gonna, miss. You had great luck to survive shot considered lethal. - But? - Excuse me? -There is always a but, especially when it comes to human health. So what is mine? - I menaged to make you safe and sound and it gonna heal properly...- man suddenly grabbed her hand - but because of how much blood you lost you couldn't keep the baby.  I don't think you could have any more of them thanks to person who did that to you. A...baby? It felt like doctor was talking to a stranger, not her. You can't have any more of them. It wasn't only the fact she just lost her baby not knowing about being pregnant in first place. She lost ability every woman around her had. Iris was to you to think about children, she never did. But now...It was Arthur's baby and she didn't know she would keep it or if she was able to take reponsibility for it.  But it felt bad. Now she didn't had any good reason for some man to love her in the future. Love...This word was weird. She used it not a long time ago to describe her feelings towards Arthur. Future? Why would anyone be with her in the future? She couldn't imagine it anyway. Not after her first love disappearing just like that. When she was sitting in the camp it seemed like people were talking to her. But she couldn't listen through that ringing in her ears. Her eyes were quite empty too. From that day it was just like that. Like a timelapse. She was sitting, not moving, not eating and life around were going on and on, people were walking around, trying to get to her. But they couldn't. -Iris? Hey! - it was Dutch's voice. It seemed to be far away though. But it wasn't important now. So I walked into the haze And a million dirty waves Now I see you lying there Like a lilo losing air, air Black rocks and the shoreline surf Still dead summer I cannot bear And I wipe the sand from my eyes The Spanish Sahara, the place that you'd wanna Leave the horror here (...)I'm the fury in your head, I'm the fury in your bed, I'm the ghost in the back of your head

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alrighty, let’s recap this bitch!

LAUNCHPAD! I’VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH! PLEASE COME BACK!

I looked up when National S’mores Day is (because I’m a nerd) and it is August 10. So either the photo later was mislabeled or, more likely, Launchpad got the wrong info

Huey with the little baby scouts is TOO CUTE!!

I wonder if Violet’s there. Probably not because she would have been hanging out with Huey if she was. Or this episode was meant to come before Challenge

It’s a baby beagle boy! I wonder if he’s there of his own will or if it is part of some plan

He scared away most of the kids! Now they won’t get to enjoy s’more-y goodness

His s’more sounds DOPE AF, though it probably would give you INSTANT DIABETES

“Aw, not even a modern robot.” MY SWEET SON!

I know it was the bully saying it, but Huey should chill a bit when it comes to doing things EXACTLY and PERFECTLY. It’s just gonna cause stress

 BOYD IS BABY AND I LOVE HIM

“Would you like to be friends?” “Sure. Wow, that was easy.” If only it was always that easy

I don’t know if Huey has the JWG as memorized as he thinks, going by Challenge and Quack Pack

“We’re just kids.” “Definitely!” *uses laser eyes to light fire*

This episode does a good job showing what a trigger word/phrase is like, though I’m not sure if that was the intention

I like that a squirrel with a burnt tail scurries out of one of the trees. It’s the attention to detail that helps elevate this show

Instead of jumping out of the way or hiding Huey jumps straight onto Boyd to try and help him. Huey already sees Boyd as someone worth protecting

The kid that just runs across the screen while his hat is on fire is great

Not sure why they took the time to change before going to Gyro but whatever

BOYD IS ADORABLE AND I LOVE HIM

“I’m more than an intern, I’m a scientist.” I feel like this might be hinting at Fenton’s arc for the season, possibly wanting to be seen more as a scientist than a superhero

I’m gonna pretend that using sunglasses on someone who is shooting lasers out of their eyes is a Cyclops reference. And they look pretty dope too

At least Fenton knows when he is in over his head...this time

Gyro trying to climb up on the table to avoid Boyd was kind of funny. And then him protecting himself with Lil Bulb

“Which one?” Manny is DONE with this shit

“Boyd? What idiot called it that?” Even when he’s not there, Gyro can still burn Mark lol

I figured 2-BO was a reference to something but wasn’t sure what. Apparently it’s a bit of a play on the name of Astro Boy’s in-universe creator’s son. Neat

 Huey stays in between Gyro and Boyd to protect Boyd

Fenton’s face cracks me up. There are NO THOUGHTS in this man’s head lol

“You were an intern like me?” “Nothing like you.” Damn Gyro, why so salty?

I don’t know why Fenton is so surprised that Gyro was an intern. I feel like that’s a pretty standard thing

LOVE IS STORED IN THE BOYD

It make me sad when Gyro mentions how many times Boyd’s core programing was altered. Poor baby doesn’t really get a say in what happens to him

“ROAD TRIP!” Huey, you do these kinds of things ALL THE TIME. I feel like he should be used to this by now

“YOU’RE not going. GIZMODUCK is.” Does Gyro see Fenton and Gizmoduck as separate entities or is this just a no, but yes type of joke?

Huey standing up for Boyd is so sweet. They barely know each other but Huey trusts him

When the episode doesn’t have the theme song you KNOW shit’s ‘bout to go down

I wonder who’s flying the plane. My guess is Launchpad because Della would have been cooing over Huey making a new friend and go into embarrassing mom mode. He probably went of on his own adventure or did tourist things like buying collectables. Or maybe Gyro flew them there. Who knows

As many people have said, the art direction and animation for this episode are BEAUTIFUL. I love the pink tint the lighting has in most of the episode

SAILOR MOON CONFIRMED CANON

I bet Mark Beaks is a Sailor Moon fan

I like that the in-universe Sailor Moon is a bunny because Usagi is Japanese for rabbit

I love that going incognito nowadays means you wear a hat, a hoodie, and sunglasses. Boyd looks good in red (though red is my favorite color so I might be biased)

Gyro-takes one step and the fuzz shows up. NOICE

I like detective lady. She has a cool design

Huey and Fenton are awful at acting casual

“Crimes?” Oh my sweet Hubert. I’m pretty sure most if not all of Scrooge’s employees have had run ins w/ The Law

Gyro is like, move I’m gay

“I’m here on a very important...field trip.” ALL THE KIDS NEED A GYRO FIELD TRIP LIKE HOW THE GAANG GOT ZUKO FIELD TRIPS

Lil Bulb said FUCK THE POLICE

I wonder what it actually says

Fenton just watches as the inspector chases Lil Bulb

Seriously though, Fenton does a bunch of silly stuff in the background and this episode warrants a rewatch SOLELY for him

How did Lil Bulb know where to find them? And how did he shake off the inspector? I want to see his little adventure

FOR SCIENCE!

“Blah!” *arm armor attaches* I want this joke to come back

Fenton and Huey INSTANTLY nerd out. I love them

Fenton being a Gyro fanboy is ADORABLE

“AH, DUST IN MY EYE! The dust of GENIUS!” What a dweeb lol

I like that Fenton keeps the arm on for the whole scene

Poor Boyd, he looks so scared

Huey going into protective big brother mode

Doofus continues to be equal parts hilarious and disturbing

Where are their parents? Like, someone should be looking after these kids! ESPECIALLY DOOFUS!

“Do you need a hug?” I SURE FUCKING DO

Mark is such a prick lol

“NO WAY, A ROBOT BOY! DREAMS DO COME TRUE!” YOU DON’T DESERVE THAT DREAM YOU COCKWAFFLE

SOMEONE HUG THIS CHILD! BECAUSE I CANNOT!

“Seems like the little guy’s had it tough.” MY POOR BABY

Lil Bulb gets SO PISSED he blew a fuse

You really shouldn’t have left them alone, Gyro

Why does Fenton automatically jump to superhero for Boyd? I mean the theme of the episode is letting Boyd choose who he wants to be so of course Fenton would have his own idea of what Boyd should be, but why go straight to superhero? Do you want superbros, Fenton?

Huey already realises this might be a bad idea, because he’s more concerned about Boyd as a person rather than Boyd as a machine

“IN RETROSPECT WE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE USED THE FIRST HOLE” Fenton, you dumbass genius

Dr. Akita’s setup made me laugh. I DIED when he “enhanced” the image

I recognized the character on the chips though I don’t know their name. I’m more of a western animation fan, so many of the references probably flew pass me

BOOP

I also have a key on my laptop that flies off (it’s the u key)

I LOVE BABY GYRO! It’s so cool they went with his og look (minus the red hair) to show him younger

I LOVE THE OUTLAW COUPLE! SO COOL! SO HOT!

Huey is so DONE with Fenton

I love the stupid G pose he does. PLEASE HAVE HIM DO IT AGAIN. PREFERABLY WHEN DW IS NEARBY

Such a polite boy

“My bones are metal!” This line and Boyd’s catchphrase of “Hi, I’m Boyd/2-BO, a definitely real boy!” reminded me of Olaf. The end of the episode gives Boyd even MORE Olaf parallels

Gizmoduck sliding by those boxes was cool

How did Gizmoduck get himself unstuck from that alley?

I loved the double take the female outlaw does

Huey is TRAUMATIZED

I legit thought Boyd was gonna light the oil on fire the first time I watched and I was like that won’t help

“So, what do we do now?” “I...don’t know.” This is why you don’t leave babies alone to fight criminals

Boyd reminded me of Calculester from Monster Prom when he asked the lady to return the money

STOP LEAVING THE CHILDREN ALONE! THEY ARE BABIES! THEY AREN’T EVEN TEENS!

“Why do we always fight when we’re on vacation?” Because this is Ducktales and there is no such thing as a normal vacation

Lil Bulb just kicking his lil feet

The “lab” safety poster made me chuckle. Then I remembered Akita is also a dog and I laughed more

LITTLE BABY GYRO GRADUATING! My guess is his professor/dean/principal influenced him on a personal level and is partially the reason Boyd is a parrot

Lil Helper blueprints. Nice reference to the og series

Has anyone talked about the poster with the cogs and the dogman in old-timey clothes that says GIZMOS on it? I think it’s a Dr. Who reference

IDEALISTIC GYRO AND BOYD IS TOO CUTE!

How did he NOT notice the second hole in the wall?

That is a surplus of handcuffs. Do you think she uses them for...fun times?

“I’m just a guy! With very bruisable skin!”

Poor misunderstood Gyro inventions

Boyd just politely waves at everyone

Huey is WAY calmer than I would be if I got lost in an unfamiliar city

Boyd says FUCK WORK

 I love Huey stimming. Really hope Disney will let them confirm in words that Huey is autistic

Is it more common for two kids to wonder around by themselves in Tokyo? Because as an American I find it super stressful and would want to find their parents so they could be safer

THE BUNNY! AND THEN THE KITTIES!

Do cats just take buses on their own in Tokyo?

CHERRY BLOSSOM TIME BITCHES

“And I know what you’re thinking, what about ninjas?” I am ALWAYS wondering about ninjas

I like that Huey finally has a friend who shares the same interests and doesn’t mind info dumps

“Boyd, I don’t think you’re a killer robot. You’re just a kid.” “Aw, that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” T_T

I CAN SHOW YOU THE WORLD

I like Boyd’s motief

Akita is us after the quarantine

When he complained about being stiff I was like mood

I like his Green Goblin disc thingy

The other people don’t give a shit about Boyd just FLYING DOWN WITH HIS ROCKET FEET!

Gyro shows up *dramatic wind*

His tablet has a duckie on it. I wounder if they have a Mac/PC thing going on with Waddle and what brand the duckie represents

When the adults argue and Boyd gets all sad and scared I FELT THAT

Huey doing his best to keep Boyd calm and defend him SO PURE

OH GOD HELP THIS POOR CHILD!

HUEY IS A GOOD BOY AND A GOOD FRIEND

“Because of you I’ve become an outcast.” I feel like you did that to yourself

ANIME HAIR POOF

ngl, that shit was TERRIFYING

“You don’t have to do what Akita tells you. Do what I tell you.” So close

“INTERN! FIGHT BETTER!”

Huey must weigh NOTHING if Gyro can pick him up

Akita’s tail looks like a cinnamon roll

Huey always finding that hidden info

The gibberish Gyro says is great

BOYD SAYS IT BECAUSE GYRO TOLD HIM THAT!

THAT HUG!!!

HOW DARE AKITA HURT BABY GYRO AND SWEET BABY BOYD?!

PROTECTIVE PAPA GYRO

NEEEEERRRRRRRD FIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT

“You’ll never invent anything worthwhile.” LIL BULB HAS ENTERED THE FIGHT

Are doggos recyclable?

HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGS

Blue eyes=good robot

ANOTHER HUG

Be Only Yourself, Dude

I like that basically Gyro admitted that he was like Fenton if Fenton hadn’t had support

“That’s not technically how doctorites work, BUT I DON’T CARE!” Do you think Gyro doesn’t have his doctorate or do you think he assumed Fenton already had one?

“The hugging is a ‘just for today’ thing.” YOU CANNOT STOP THE HUG TRAIN!

“Leave. Now.”

Are they gonna go to the plane?

This season has been consistently knocking it out of the park! I’m a SLUT for backstory episodes, so I enjoyed this one a lot. I loved seeing Gyro when he had hope and faith in the world. It SUCKS that Akita took that away from him. Hopefully Gyro will see things slightly less cynical now. Fenton was a dweeb the whole episode and I love him for it. Boyd is SO SWEET AND PRECIOUS and in NO WAY deserved the treatment he got. I have a feeling there is more to Boyd’s creation/Dr.Akita that we’ll get later on. Huey was ADORABLE this episode. It’s really sweet to see him hangout with someone who gets him. Everyone deserves to have at least one friend like that. The fight scene was GORGEOUS! SO FLUID! I really loved this one and I hope we get more Team Science episodes because these characters play really well off each other. 

[aurelacs]

Ten of Wands

An Ezra/F!OC Red Dead Redemption AU

WORD COUNT: 4.9k

CONTENT: some canon typical violence, mentions of spousal abuse voyeurism, hunting

A/N: Shit’s heatin’ up thank u very much. Also this is the most I’ve written in one go in years please clap.

This is set in the Red Dead Redemption universe, however there’s no spoilers for either game, and you don’t need to have prior knowledge of the games to understand the fic. I’m just using RDR for the setting and the time period (1899). Hope you enjoy!

chapter list | masterlist | read on AO3

III. The Heirophant

Annie arose in the large, plush bed convinced she had dreamt the night before, but her hair was still wet. Her skin still smelled of the rosewater she bathed in the night before. It was the first bit of luxury she ever had in her life. The dream sat in her mind, bouncing like an echo or an old memory trying to stay relevant. The figure was faceless, nameless, unknown, but the blonde patch and her mind said otherwise. It felt improper. It felt wrong. She wouldn’t deny that it made her blush.

She brushed her hair out and placed it in braids before leaving her room. Ezra was waiting for her in the sitting area by the front desk. As she descended the stairs, she noticed a small look on Ezra’s face, one she couldn’t read. His eyes widened, the corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. He was so involved in his own thoughts that he scrambled to stand up as Annie reached the bottom of the stairs.

“You look, um. You look good. I am assuming the rest served you a world of purpose.” He was bouncing from foot to foot, clearly eager about something. “Are we ready? I have a bit of a revelation for you waiting a little away.” 

Ezra rode the two of them about a mile outside of Strawberry before slowing down near a clearing by the Owanjila Dam. Hitched onto a tree was a beautiful Appaloosa with a grey-spotted coat. The mare was nibbling at a small branch as they approached. The horse was already saddled, its mane and tail clean and shining. Something about her felt off. 

“You stole her.”

Ezra didn’t even hesitate as he walked over to the mare. “I did steal her.” 

“I am trying to start my life anew. I don’t get there by stealing a horse.”

“Well, in the eyes of the law, I am the one that stole the horse, so please consider this new chapter of your life further untainted.” 

Annie remained by Ezra’s horse. The more she thought about the situation, the further her blood began to boil. They were both wanted, both on the run, and he chose to steal a horse? When did he steal it? Where did he steal it from? Did he make a trip back to Valentine while she slept? His bounty might be full of petty crimes that he could serve time for a leave, for her getting caught guaranteed a rope. It felt like a betrayal.

“Where did you get that horse?” Annie stormed up to him in a fit of confidence the likes of which she had never felt. She stared him in the eye, daring him to tell her Valentine so that she could ride off with his horse, leave his roundabout way of speaking, his smirk, his stupid blonde patch in the mud that caked their shoes. 

“That is not of import.”

“It is to me.” 

“Is that roses I smell on you? I find it befitting-”

“Do not change the subject.”

Ezra sighed. The horse was stolen, but he didn’t take it from the Valentine stables, and he wasn’t the one to steal it. He explained to her that his purpose in Strawberry was selling information on stagecoach itineraries to postal workers, who would sell the information to outlaws interested, and then give Ezra a cut of whatever they took. According to one of the outlaws, his partner had taken a liking to one of the horses on the coach, and Ezra chose to take the outlaw’s old horse in lieu of cash. Her name was Lucille. 

“Look little - little lady. Next time I would greatly appreciate a ‘thank you’ before you try and rip out my throat over a kind and honest gesture.” 

“I will thank you when we reach Armadillo.”

Ezra scoffed. “This is an exciting side of you I have not seen before. Perhaps staying at the hotel was a bad idea.”

This time Annie did smack the hat off of Ezra’s head. Before he had time to respond, she hopped on Lucille, and began to ride back in the direction of Strawberry. She rode slowly to allow him to catch up. His hat was still off and hung on the horn of his saddle when he pulled up beside her, hair sticking out in various places, some pieces waving over his forehead. Annie couldn’t help but think the look was kind of charming. He had shaved during their stay in Strawberry, the stubble gone from his cheeks, leaving only his mustache. It made the symmetrical bald patches on either side of his chin less noticeable. 

Ezra had them follow a path along the Upper Montana River instead of riding on the main roads. He felt it would be too risky, saying that the stagecoach robbery he helped organize was executed a little too close to Strawberry for his liking. The sun warmed her face as they journeyed on. When the land necessitated it, they crossed the river and settled on the roads the rest of the way to Blackwater. The surrounding area resembled what Annie saw in her dream all that time ago: a mixture of desert and wheat fields, so different from what she was used to in Valentine. 

Blackwater was the most advanced town Annie had seen yet. Most of the roads were worn down dirt paths like Valentine and Strawberry, except for the one that ran through the middle of town, which was cobbled with light stones and lined with poles with wires Annie had never seen before. Ezra directed them to the saloon on the corner of Main Street. 

“I might be a minute. If you hear screaming or hollering or otherwise concerning noises, pay it no mind.” Ezra tipped his hat at Annie and sauntered into the saloon.

The clientele clashed with the decor of Blackwater’s only saloon. While the decor suggested something along for a higher class, everyone from the local drunk to the actual high class businessman filled the place, surrounding the bar and card tables. Annie sat on a couch opposite the bar, opting to fold her hands in her lap and simply wait for Ezra to finish his business. She wasn’t even sure if she would be able to hear any “concerning noises,” as customers slowly began to file in as the afternoon went on, and a man began to play the piano. 

An hour since they first entered the saloon, and Ezra was nowhere to be seen. She knew he had disappeared up the stairs, but hadn’t heard anything since. No one had paid her any mind as she continued to sit patiently on the couch, not ordering anything or acknowledging anyone. Her goal was to keep her head down in any way she could. 

Annie’s head shot up and over to the stairs when she heard a thud echo through the saloon. At the bottom was a well dressed man, badly bruised and crawling towards the exit. At the top was Ezra; a small smirk of amusement etched on his face, similar to the one he was wearing when he and Annie first met. His pistol was out and in his hand, but at his side and remained there as he slowly waltzed down the steps. The entire saloon had silenced over the spectacle, the creaking stairs the only sound to be heard. Annie felt stuck on the couch. It was like she was a slave to the sight of a form of Ezra she had never seen before. 

“Mr. Martin, I was under the humble impression that we had a deal. And I intend to honor it.” 

Mr. Martin continued to crawl backwards to the door to no avail as Ezra reached him in an instant. Annie could almost see the sweat beading on his forehead. Even his mother wouldn’t have been able to recognize him: both eyes were nearly swollen shut, his nose broken, an ugly bruise grew above a large welt across his jaw. Annie glanced over to Ezra and saw that his right hand was in no better shape than Martin’s face. No one moved a muscle as Ezra crouched over him. 

“The next time our paths cross, you will pay what you owe me or I will put a bullet in your head and sell your corpse to the first buyer to clear your debt, are we at yet another agreement, Mr. Martin?”

“I-I-I gave you all I have.” 

“And it is not enough,” Ezra cooed. He cocked his arm back and Mr. Martin flinched. “You have reached the end of my patience. I am giving you another month before you learn that, unlike you, I am a man that makes good on my word.” 

Ezra stood up and holstered his pistol, leaving Martin on the floor, his eyes never leaving Ezra’s back. Annie didn’t realize that she hadn’t broken eye contact with Martin until Ezra cleared his throat beside her.

“Birdie,” he said, holding out his hand. Annie didn’t take it. Instead, she stormed out of the Blackwater Saloon and rode off in a general direction that she hoped led out of the town. Blackwater’s one cobbled road sounded off in her ears as the sound of Ezra coming up behind her grew closer. By the time she decided to slow down and give him the chance to fully catch up, the sun had started to slip under the horizon.

“There is a clearing a few more miles from here, by the lake. If you slowed up, I’ll be more than happy to lead us to it.” 

Annie relented, slowing Lucille to a trot so that Ezra could pass her. The anger inside her continued to boil as he guided them to the clearing and began to set up camp.

“You could have killed him!”

“If I wanted him dead, he would already be in the ground, I can assure you that.”

“There was no need to make a scene. Someone could have gotten the law. They could be coming after us right now.”

“The people of Blackwater know better than to come between a man and his debts.”

It infuriated Annie how Ezra kept his cool. Never raising his voice, never so much as a sign that he was as angry with her as she was with him. If he was, it was the one thing he kept to himself. Not that she couldn’t have secrets of her own. She still wasn’t sure if Ezra actually believed her about her husband, even with the bounty poster in his hands. And still had the… dream from Strawberry. An inkling she kept held to her heart, one she had mulled on over and over as the time passed. She knew it was getting to her, dwelling. Annie could feel it in how her eyes lingered on Ezra too long, how when she wasn’t thinking about Armadillo or her husband, or merely surviving, her thoughts were on him.

How her heart annoyingly skipped whenever he called her ‘little bird.’ 

These thoughts, this way of thinking, emerged after Strawberry and took hold of her in ways she couldn’t help but cling to. What kind of man was he, outside of this life? Had he helped someone like he was helping her before? How did he like his coffee? What would he be like as a father? Thoughts that never crossed her mind with her husband.

Maybe, at some point, Annie did love her husband. Some time when he was still courting her, making sure he went a little overboard. Too many flowers, staying out a little too late. Overly grand gestures that weren’t red flags then, and even now Annie struggled to see them. To properly recall just when the levee broke. By comparison Ezra’s gestures, if they were such, were subtle, quiet, the direct opposite of the boisterous personality he put on. Never rushing her, never raising his voice, holding out his hand to help her stand up or get off her horse, a hand she never took but he always offered. Even with what he did in Blackwater, she sought to find the spark of cruelty she saw in her husband and came home empty. It plagued her: were these the gestures of a man who had interest in her the way she might have interest in him? Or just the gestures of a man with a soul. 

Annie emerged from her tent to prepare dinner when something in the lake caught her eye. A figure with their back turned, far enough out that the water reached their waist. It was Ezra, bathing. On first instinct, Annie wanted to turn her eyes, or run back to her tent. Instead, she kept watching, too caught up in what she was seeing to give in. 

He was beautiful. 

The moonlight bounced off of his tan skin in a way Annie was sure would be blinding had she been closer. Even from the distance, she could see some of the scars that laced his back from prior exploits. She watched as the muscles in his back danced as he stretched to massage an ache, or rub the water through his hair. He turned around and she ducked back inside, hoping he didn’t catch her. Annie paused before peeking again. Ezra’s front was facing her, droplets of water running down from his hair to his neck, his collarbone, down the trail of his sternum and over the small crest of his belly until it came to rest at the small patch of hair under his navel that she could tell continued under the water. She could barely make out how his face grimaced when his hurt hand made contact with the water. Her cheeks flared so warm she was convinced they would actually catch aflame. 

Ezra grew closer to the shore and Annie scrambled to get the stew started. It wasn’t much, but she figured it might be a little more filling than eating what little was left of the venison Ezra caught. He made his way over to the fire, white linen shirt hanging loosely and unbuttoned on his shoulders. He dug around in his satchel and pulled out clean gauze. Annie watched as he struggled to wrap it around his hand on his own.  

His deep eyes shone with concentration, illuminated by the fire light, and she caught herself taking too-long glances every other minute as she tended to their meal. When he finished, he cleared his throat, a move Annie found out of character for him.

“Might I request your help in buttoning my shirt, little bird?” He held up his bandaged hand as though she may have forgotten. “I myself am not much of a fan of this manner of dress. It feels… far too vulnerable for a man of my persuasion.” The look on his face told Annie that it was the truth. There was a certain discomfort in the way his lips tightened in a straight line, a tenseness in his shoulders over the knowledge of his exposure. 

“I told you not to call me that,” Annie said, standing up, trying to hide the smirk that betrayed her statement. Ezra rose to greet her. He held his arms out about a foot away from his torso, as if to say ‘I’m not going to touch you.’ 

“You’re right. My apologies.” She started to work her way up his shirt. The way they were standing allowed the fire to wrap around his skin, giving it the appearance of an indelible warmth. It took everything in Annie not to look down and watch as his belly rose out and in with each steady breath, or remark on how she couldn’t see his hip bones make delicate peaks below his skin in the lake. She found it hard to deny herself a peek at the same dusting of hair that disappeared under the waistband of his pants. Who was this woman she had become?

“Why do you call me that?” Her knuckle accidentally brushed against his skin as she fastened a button in the middle of his torso, and a string of electricity shot through her hand. The feeling was equal parts guilt and relief. When she looked up at him to gauge a reaction at the contact, she saw that he was looking straight ahead, focused on the horizon behind them. 

“What? ‘Little bird?’” Annie nodded and Ezra opened his mouth as though to answer, then paused. He didn’t respond until she had finished buttoning his shirt.

“It’s because you call to mind a hummingbird, always flitting around, always moving. But why would that matter if you do not want me calling you such?”

“Just a curiosity.” The fact that the first time he called her ‘little bird’ was when she was frozen in place in Valentine was not lost to her. “We’re running low on meat as well.” 

Ezra settled back onto his bedroll with a small grunt. “Then it is good fortune for us that the only thing Mr. Martin could provide was a map with prime hunting locations. You need to learn how to shoot, anyway. I don’t doubt the MacFarlanes would find it suspicious if a woman who is interested in falling under their employ did not know her way around a gun. And not just pointing a shotgun.” He winked at her. 

Annie’s sleep was plagued by dreams and nightmares that choked her. In the beginning, she found herself in Ezra’s embrace, forehead pressed against hers and rocking them slowly back and forth to a song that wasn’t playing. A feeling of weightlessness washed over her, and her chest swelled to the point where she thought it might burst. It was calm, serene, like her mind was telling her that it was her destiny to be in his arms, that they were made for her, when her husband appeared, angrier than she had ever seen him. Redder with rage than he had ever been. He pulled her down from the sky by her ankle and sent her crashing down to the soil beneath them. He didn’t lay a hand on her except for that, but he screamed and screamed until his voice was hoarse, and Annie couldn’t find a way to wake up. 

The sun had barely risen when Ezra decided to wake her by poking his hand into her tent and waving around a bowl of the leftover stew. There hadn’t even been enough time for sleep to have crusted over her eyes, or for her mind to shake the feeling that her husband had broken through her dreams and was waiting for her on the other side of the canvas tent. She chose to eat her leftovers in silence, away from Ezra, hoping to quell the floating feeling in her chest and the ghost of her husband’s ire. Ezra had already packed up the rest of the camp and urged her to hurry before the sun rose.

“Deer like to feed in the early morning. If we find them before the sun is risen, they will be less likely to see us.” 

Annie followed Ezra on horseback as he pored over the map, trying to decide which marked area would give them the best opportunity. He settled on a spot in the middle of the Great Plains, near a small settlement called Manzanita Post. Half of Annie’s sight was filled with rolling fields, the flaxen grains already reflecting the dawn to the point of blindness, the other with dense forest that filtered out what little sun was to be had. 

“Before we get started, we should teach you just how to shoot. If you had pulled the trigger back in Valentine, you would have positively obliterated your right arm.” 

Ezra pulled the rifle from the horse’s saddle and modeled at Annie on how to hold it. “You want the butt to rest in this part here,” he motioned underneath his own shoulder, “so that you don’t hurt yourself from the recoil.” When he passed the rifle off to her, she simply held it in her hands, not confused, but hesitant. 

“Everything all right?” To Annie, holding the gun felt wrong. Thinking about settling it into the meat of her shoulder and pulling the trigger with no threat sat awkwardly inside her. A deer wasn’t her husband, or a lawman, or the only thing that stood between her and freedom. This felt more cold, more calculating than what happened back at her home. She shook off the question.

“I would do it, but as we both well know my trigger finger is somewhat out of commission for the time being.” Annie nodded and hiked the rifle into what she believed was the correct position. She looked over to Ezra for approval. He eyed her stance over once, twice, before approaching her and asking permission to touch her. She nodded once more. 

Ezra pushed himself flush against Annie, his chest to her back, arms against arms, as he molded his body to hers to better assist her. It was the most physical contact Annie had in months. Her heart was beating so fast she was sure there was no way Ezra couldn’t feel it through her back. Ezra placed his right hand on her right arm to help adjust the positioning. The gauze did nothing to alleviate the sheer heat that came off of his skin. A burning sensation that overcame every inch of her flesh as the fingers of his left hand danced around her wrist to straighten it. His instruction fell upon an unfocused mind as the blood in her veins pulsed so loudly it was all she could hear. The sturdiness of his body all she could think about. If she turned her head slightly, she could kiss him, was the first thought she had once the shock wore off. He could bury his curved nose into the crook of her neck and inhale her scent, nibble her earlobe, tease her until she begged.

Annie yelped as Ezra tapped his foot between her ankles, shocking both of them to the point of separation. Her daydream had sent her whirling, mind too hazy at that point to even want to hunt,  to do anything more than to take him in the middle of the forest. It was a miracle she hadn’t dropped the rifle. Ezra looked at her, concern flashing across his face.

“I’m sorry, birdie, was it me? If you aren’t ready I am sure I can figure something out.” 

“No, no, I just… lost focus.”

Ezra had her reposition the rifle, this time keeping his distance as he adjusted her stance and the way she held the gun. If he felt that touching her was a necessity, he would ask, and touch her like she was a porcelain doll one wrong move from cracking. By the time Ezra was finished, the gun felt comfortable in her hands, like it was an extension of herself. He suggested first firing into a tree, to test her aim. 

“You need to keep your breath steady. When you go to fire, hold your breath, and exhale when you pull the trigger.” 

Annie did as he said, and the bullet swiftly pierced through the thin tree’s trunk. She turned to him and saw his hands raised in the air in celebration. He insisted on her taking a few more shots “to turn her misplaced pride into assured confidence.” When Ezra thought she was ready, he hitched Lucille onto a tree, opting to take his horse with them instead. 

They ventured into the wooded area, Ezra’s eyes scanning the ground for tracks or other hints of recent activity among the forest floor. He kept his arm outstretched in front of Annie to encourage her to tread slowly and quietly. Annie couldn’t hear a sound, no twigs snapping or birds singing, as though the forest’s density stole all signs of life in its wake. Ezra gasped quietly.

“It’s shit.” He pointed out the dung on the ground and continued to move in the direction he thought best. His feet moved more quickly as he found more signs more frequently: a tuft of fur on a tree, a group of broken twigs, actual hoof prints. Almost by instinct, Ezra grabbed on Annie’s shoulder to stop her as he caught sight of a deer  grazing about a hundred yards away. It was a buck, and far larger than Annie could have ever imagined. Its antlers were magnificent, large and complex, almost hypnotizing as she continued to stare. Ezra coaxed her to crouch. It made them smaller and reduced the risk of the buck potentially seeing them and running off. 

“You need to make sure your aim is perfect, do you understand, little bird?” Annie nodded, too deep in concentration to correct him, focusing too hard on making sure her heart rate didn’t spike too hard from the name. She adjusted herself once, twice, three times until the rifle practically melted into her. The buck paused from grazing and looked up, and Annie took her shot. The recoil ricocheted through her body and almost blew her clean off her feet. When she gathered her bearings, the buck was on the ground. This time she raised her hands in celebration, an ecstasy coursing through her that she couldn’t compare. Ezra wrapped his arms around Annie’s waist and spun her.

“That was phenomenal, birdie! Annie Oakley only wishes she were as skilled with a rifle as my bird.”

Ezra, stunned at what he let slip, immediately placed Annie down and made his way over to the buck. Annie joined him and eyed her work. The shot was clean, right through its head. She felt a surge of relief at the thought. Ezra began to talk about breaking it down, keeping the meat, selling what they couldn’t use themselves. He told her he would teach her how to do it all when they returned to their camp. His cheeks, when he looked back up at her, were red. Annie helped him tie the buck onto his horse and they rode back to camp. 

His silence worried her. It grew louder the closer they got. He didn’t look back at her, didn’t say a word as she watched the carcass wade with the rhythm of the horse. Ezra seemed to perk up when they made it back. It gave him a reason to talk, something he’d never needed before. Cutting the antlers was gruesome, skinning the buck even more so. By the end of the ordeal, Ezra was back to himself, and Annie had to help him in and out of his shirt, which was covered in blood.

Ezra looked over the map, tracing their path to the nearest settlement “We can sell the pelt and antlers at the butcher in, uh. Oh.” 

“What’s wrong?”

“Not a thing. The closest butcher is technically Armadillo, unless you would like to sojourn back to Blackwater.” 

“I can sell them in Blackwater as long as you stay put.”

Ezra laughed, his smile widening at the sentence. It was infectious and Annie felt the corners of her mouth tick upward. She had never felt this before. A smile to pair with a smile, a want deep in her belly. 

“Fair deal, birdie,” he answered. Ezra looked at her with the anticipation that she would chastise him once more for using the pet name, but it never came, and he smiled again.

It was resolved, she thought. In the morning, before she made her way back to Blackwater, she would let Ezra know how she felt. If he didn’t feel the same, he had the time to leave to keep whatever bond she might break somewhat intact. If he did? The thought scared and thrilled her at the same time. It would be a first. To feel something as intensely as what smoldered inside her be matched and mirrored. The subliminal kind of fear that comes with being known and loved. She craved it, let the thought of it fill her with joy and mix with the confidence she felt as she ate the venison she hunted herself. She wished Ezra a good night, hoping that he heard something in her voice that would tell him that tomorrow would be different. 

Annie wasn’t even able to fully settle into her slumber before she awoke with a gun pointed in her face. A man she didn’t recognize stood behind it, hair cropped short and slicked back with pomade, beard well trimmed, his smile gleaming in the low light. In another life, in a different situation, he would be handsome. 

“Mrs. Annie Grey, if you come with me quietly, I won’t kill you.”

She couldn’t find it within herself to cry, or even react. The shock, the resolution, an ember that had gone untended for so long she was sure it had been extinguished. As she exited her tent, she looked over to where Ezra slept, anticipating that she would find him with a bullet in his head. Instead he lay there, still asleep, though a second bounty hunter had a gun pointed at him as collateral, to ensure her silence. The one who had intruded in her tent saved her the humiliation of hogtying her. He waited until she had mounted his horse before tying her hands behind her back, and securing the other end of the rope to his horse’s saddle. 

Even as the three of them rode off, Ezra didn’t wake, and Annie didn’t scream. 

Tag List: @aforces @borderlinedindjarin @immundusspiritu

[waterfall-mirage]

So I wanted to write some theif Chat Noir and Marichat and came up with this

Sorry if the spacing is off this is being Sent from iPhone™️

A criminal.

Explained simply by the dictionary: a person who has committed a crime. A lawbreaker, delinquent, villain, culprit. These are all words you’d associate with someone who lived a life of crime.

So clearly- speaking in an obvious term- one should not get themselves into any trouble of the outlaw type. Yet somehow the bad luck seemed to find Marinette everywhere she went. She didn’t know when the infatuation had started, but she could remember seeing him on the news a few weeks ago when she had gotten home from her internship with Agreste fashion. She had to stay late as Natalie had requested her to revise some upcoming fall designs. As tired as Marinette was there could possibly be no way she could turn down an opportunity to add her own touch to such a massive collection.

Stepping through the door she lazily threw on some sweatpants, let her hair down from a tight headache inducing bun, and flicked on the small box t.v that sat on her kitchen counter. There was a low humming noise from the device as it tuned to find a channel. Marinette rolled her eyes, she needed to save up for an appliance that wasn't almost older than her. She turned away grabbing the pink kettle off of her stove filling it with some water. Another classic dinner for a starving artist, instant ramen. Pulling her bowl and chopsticks from their designated spot she listened into the news channel. Chat Noir had struck again, this time a watch store. The helicopter cam followed him as he seamlessly bounced between the roofs of homes. Marinette stepped forward from her position of leaning on the stove trying to get a better look at the tiny screen. Dressed clad in black as usual the unknown street cat did what he does best vanishing in between two buildings, a considerably dark alley even for seven o’clock in late summer. The helicopter hovered for a moment before the screen changed back to Nadja Chamack. Marinette let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Turning back to the stove to finish her meal. Chat Noir was a force to be messed with, he had already stolen three paintings from the Louvre successfully, rumours saying his fourth was nearing soon. The police have no clue on where to look or how to find him. Nicknamed by the public Chat Noir was “the vanishing kitten”. The name undermined his work, so he claimed he was going to step it up a notch.

Although Marinette never agreed to be a part of it.

The sweetest of dreams were brought to her that night. A wonderful extravaganza of her showing off her very own fashion line at Agreste fashion. The theme was 1960’s era mixed into modern fashion. Blissful, teals, reds, ivories, yellow, pinks dancing along with patterns, skirts, and thigh high boots washed over her. An Airy white translucent button up blouse with bell sleeves paired with a deep red pencil skirt. She could feel her dreamself twitching to start the sketching process. However, instead of witnessing her dream unfold she was unfortunately startled out of it in her dark room. Marinette rubbed her eyes as the sirens of Paris’ police department whizzed by flashing red and blue lights briefly through her windows. Groggily she reached over smacking her night table until her hand came in contact with her phone. Squinting at the brightness the phone displayed the time of two in the morning. She groaned pulling the pillow over her head to try to drown the noise out. Until she heard a thud from her balcony. Blue eyes opening behind the soft pillow Marinette’s heart dropped at the sound.The wind must’ve knocked one of her plants over, that's all. She sat up peering over to her french doors there was nothing to be seen in the pitch blackness of the night. Marinette let out a sigh of relief, what was she thinking? She placed her pillow back in its original position laying back down.

“C’mon, Marinette” she whispers to herself. “Get a grip”. She closed her eyes once again.

Chk. Chk. Chk.

Then she hears it, a slight rattle. A familiar rattle, the same rattle she’d dealt with when she first moved in trying to unlock the door. She now knew there was a slight left turn jiggle she had to do to get it to unlock. But clearly this intruder isn't one of the friends Marinette told this trick to. She panics jumping out of bed, she has no place to hide in a studio apartment. In the dark she blindly reaches for any sort of weapon. Her small hand grasps the baseball bat her dad had given her as a defense weapon when she moved out. Of course at the time she laughed at it but still hugged her papa anyway, joking that she’d take up baseball soon. Her blood goes cold, what an awful thing to come true, she thinks.

The rattling stops Marinette lets out a mini sigh, maybe it was a Chat Noir copycat that just wasn’t cut out for the robbing life. She lowered the rod down her shoulders sinking a little. “Whew” she manages to let out.

Then the door swings open. Marinette holds back a scream lifting up her weapon “Whoever is trying to get in here I don’t have much but I will defend my life for it!” She pathetically calls out in no particular direction. Marinette can’t see much of anything until she spots them. Two glowing green eyes in the darkness of the room. She lets out a tiny shriek waving her bat around, she feels a “thwoop” in her hands. In fear of the unknown Marinette swings her arm frantically towards the wall her fingers just barely smacking the light switch. The baseball bat which she thought she had acquired was actually an umbrella, that was now spread. Still holding her guard Marinette lifts the “weapon” pointedly towards the black figure in her partially lit apartment.

A chuckle leaves the cats lips as he walks towards her. “Aw, Princess opening up so soon? We just met” he smiles coyly at her. The hairs on the back of Marinette’s neck rise. Up close Chat Noir is handsome, which Marinette decides is very unfair as she’s currently being robbed by him. However, she’s also certain he couldn’t be much older than her as well. Which gave her a bit more confidence to tell him off. As he approached she jabbed the umbrella at him which humoured the cat as he lifted his hands up in the air as if he had been caught in the act. A devilish smile displayed in amusement. Chat Noir began to move in closer and she got a better look at the thief. His golden hair disheveled in front of his face casting a slight shadow over his viridescent eyes which seemed to glow. There was a black mask covering his upper face from cheek bones to brow. Black cat ears were perky twitching as he moved as if picking up on things. He had a small black pouch tied around his waist which seemed to be full. Marinette speculated it was used to stash smaller items such as jewelry or watches as he had stolen earlier that day. His boots were somehow quiet as he maneuvered towards her. She tried to keep distance with the umbrella at arms length but quite true to his cat nature he slipped through the barrier. Red and blue lights flashed outside her apartment once again. Marinette left with only a few options left resorted to the cry for help. As she parted her lips the cat seemingly doubled his speed to prevent what he knew was about to happen his leather clad hand covered her mouth in seconds.

“Shh they’re coming.” He coo’s pointing upwards and winking as the sound of a helicopter chopped past them. Marinette noticed a puff of air that had left his chest. A sigh of relief most likely. “Chat Noir, charmed to meet you” He turned to her, sneaky green eyes burning a permanent image in her mind. He gently removes the umbrella from her grasp lifting her hand to place a kiss on her knuckles. Marinette makes a face in disgust retreating her arm back to her side.

“You are?” Chat continued on pretending Marinette had not just clearly shown she wanted nothing to do with him. A smile so sweet perked up his features even the baker’s daughter felt her stomach protest. Marinette confused, and quite frankly still scared gathered the courage to fiercely bark back at the mangy cat. “None of your business, now leave!” She crosses her arms over her chest. He sighs in a feigned love sick kind of way placing the back of his hand against his forehead gloved fingers curled. “Such a shame I don’t get to match such a pretty name to an even prettier face” his body language shifts and a devilish glint in his eye shows he’s toying with her, playing with his prey before he feasts. “However, I think Princess suits you well.” Chat practically purrs. Marinette can’t help the shiver that runs down her spine. Her cheeks heat up and she curses her body for being weak to even a compliment from a criminal.

“Relax, okay?” He spins the now closed umbrella between them. “I’m not here to rob you, i'm here for refuge” Chat states matter of factly before turning away from her and walking around her apartment like he owns the place. Spotting the kitchen a little “oh!” leaves the self proclaimed non-burglars mouth as he struts over to the fridge. Marinette who was previously frozen to her spot comes back to reality. Well who does this mangy cat think he is? She stomps after him shutting the fridge. Chat Noir mewls pulling his thumb out of the closed fridge door suckling on the injured digit. “I don’t know who you think you are, but you don’t just go around taking refuge in random peoples homes!” Marinette whisper yelled pointing at him. Chat rolls his glowing eyes still sucking on his thumb. “Now look at me im involved in your stupid crime” she pokes his chest which she refuses to admit is very hard at the moment. He gives her a deadpan as if to say “yeah, yeah, i’m listening”. This enrages the bluenette further.

“And give me my umbrella back!” She swipes the black umbrella from his greedy paws. Marinette marches over to the still open french door the cool August night breeze flowing into her apartment. “Out!” She calls pointing with the umbrella. Chat grins a cheshire smile appearing ear to ear. Marinette isn’t completely sure how to feel about his demeanor. A snicker leaves him and his shoulders bounce as if to show his amusement.

“Oh, i’ll go” Chat smirks walking towards her from the shadows of the kitchen.

“But I like you princess” he firmly states. Chat Noir saunters towards her in true cat fashion in long strides of his legs. Marinette's heart rate picks up as he nears. What is going on with her? He’s close, too close Marinette decides. When she takes a step back it’s into the door she realizes she can’t get enough distance between them. His nose mere centimeters from her face she blinks, once, twice, his glowing eyes still boring into hers.

“So I'll be seeing you again” he whispers. Marinette’s breath hitches, hands pressed to the glass door behind her. He salutes her with a wink “Goodnight, Princess, see you soon!” With that he leaps off of her balcony and into the night. Wide blue eyes stare at the bright white moon. Her hands clutch her chest wrinkling her newly made pyjama shirt. “Oh Marinette what have you gotten yourself into now” she whispered into the night. Marinette slid down the door continuing to keep eye contact with the moon. Safe to say she didn't sleep well that night.

[dead-inside-mcgee]

Beyond that door - Part 2

The lesser evil

Summary:  Chase sits in silence, feeling embarrassed for no particular reason. He doesn’t even think about the fact that he never gave the man his name.

Word Count:  2028

Taglist: @rabbitsartcorner @caori-azarath @murder-schmurder 

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Tonight we bring you exclusive interviews with our latest mayoral candidates. Starting with a young man coming from right here in Septic City, let me introduce you to Mr. Jameson Jackson!” 

  “Thank you Miss. Cook.,” Jameson said with a sharp, British accent. 

  No matter what you’re wrong. 

  “Now Mr. Jackson. You claim that you grew up here in this city, but your accent is British. Why is that?”

  “Well you see, my parents were British, and they had me after moving here. I simply just inherited it from them.” His voice is slightly shaky, and cracks occasionally. He clearly wasn’t made for public speaking, but he holds himself together. 

  “Interesting. Now time for a big question. Why are you running for office?”

  “Ah, now that would be a good question. Well let me think.” 

  There’s a pause. 

  “Well there’s a few reasons.” Jameson states. “When I was young I grew up without a voice. Nothing I ever said mattered. I grew up believing that nothing I ever said would matter. And I look around today and see people just like me believing their voice means nothing. So my goal is to give those like me a voice and make sure they are heard.

  “There is also the fact that I’ve always been looked down upon in my own family. My brother is a famous voice actor, my father runs a business, my mother is a reporter, and what have I done? Have any of you even hear of me before I ran for mayor?” 

  There’s a few awkward glances before the candidate continues. 

  “I want to accomplish something big. Something that people will remember me by. But most of all, I want to do what I believe it right.” 

  “You know Mr. Jackson, they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” 

  “And that’s very true! Many people who wanted what was right, did terrible things to get it. Because they thought… it’s what they had to do…” His tone shifts, along with his expression.

  “Umm… Well that’s very interesting Sir. The people would also like to kno-” He cut her off. 

  “I will not be answering any more questions.“ He states and walks off, followed by a few baffled reporters. 

  ***

Chase flicked off the TV and joined Marvin with observing their guest. After tying him to a chair the doctor passed out again, and after failing to wake him, they decided to just wait until the potion wears off. 

  “Nothing interesting on TV?” The witch asks. 

  “Not really.” He sighs.

  Marvin glances around. “Want to play a board game or something while we wait for him to wake up?”

  He glances at the clock. “Actually, I should be heading home. It’s late, I have work, and I need a new phone.”

  Marvin nods, trying not to look disappointed. “Can’t you take a day off to help watch this guy?” 

  He stands. “As much as I’d love to, it’s not worth the trouble I’d get into.”

  “Okay… At least keep an eye on that guy, Anti, you work with.” 

  “Will do!” Chase makes his way up the stairs and is greeted by the cool night air. 

  It’s about two am, his work starts at eight. If he got home in ten minutes, he could squeeze in at least five and a half hours of sleep before he has to get ready. 

  Oh, who is he kidding? There’s no way he’s going to fall asleep tonight. 

  He wonders around the town, he never noticed just how quiet it was at this time, especially considering how big the town was.  

  Chase finds himself in a small Cafe. He decides to grab a very early breakfast. 

  The Cafe is empty except for the cashier and a man in a bowler cap sitting in the corner. 

  Chase just gets a coffee and a fancy sandwich a plops down at a table. 

  He notices the man seems pretty lonely, so he gets and asks if he could sit across from him. 

  The man nods. 

  “Cool.” Chase sits down and eats. 

  “Tell me,” the man begins. Chase notes that he has a british accent. “What’s a man like you doing out at a time like this?” 

  “I could ask you the same question,” he says through a mouth full of food. 

  The man laughs. “I had a rough day. Or I guess a rough yesterday. Couldn’t sleep.” 

  “Same.” Chase blinks, noticing just how familiar this man seems. “Do I know you.” 

  “Not personally I assure you. You’ve probably seen me on TV.” He lifts off his hat. 

  Chase chokes. “You’re- you’re-!” 

  “Jameson Jackson, at your service.” He holds out his hand. 

  He takes it, his face flushed in embarrassment. 

  “You’re a cyborg, aren’t you?” Jameson says, examining his arm. There was a very faint line where the robotic part met the skin, but Chase thought no one would notice, especially with the mask. 

   “Don’t worry,” he continues, “I won’t say anything. I just tend to notice things. Are you using a mask of sorts?” 

  Chase nods, no longer trusting his voice. 

  “Interesting. I always thought masks were very interesting. I never understood why they were outlawed.” 

  “How did you-”

  “How did I see through it?” Jameson chuckles, letting go of his hand. “Like I said, I tend to notice things. Masks aren’t perfect.” 

  The politician stands up. “Have a lovely day, Mr. Brody.” 

  Chase sits in silence, feeling embarrassed for no particular reason. He doesn’t even think about the fact that he never gave the man his name. 

***

Marvin never liked the silence. The fact that he was used to it didn't change that fact. 

  He liked Chase. For many reasons, he was friendly, and worked hard, and always loved to fill that silence. But he was also stubborn. Even more stubborn than Marvin himself. 

  When Marvin was forced underground, he cut Chase off. He wanted to keep the man safe, and if cutting him off was the way to do it, then he would. 

  But stubborn, persistent Chase, found his way back into Marvin’s life, and this time Marvin couldn’t so easily shut him out.

  The witch was snapped out of his thoughts by a thump and a yelp. He turns to fine his guest had managed to tip over the chair. 

  “Wh-where am I?” Henrik asks. His voice was groggy and high pitched, like he wasn’t used to talking. 

  Marvin fixes the chair upright. “Somewhere no one will ever find you.” 

  The man shivers. “What are you going to do to me?” 

  “Nothing bad. I just have some questions. Can you answer some questions?” 

  Henrik nods, trembling enough to make the chair creek. 

  Marvin pulls up another chair and sits in front of him. “What’s the last thing you remember doing?” 

  “I remember reading. And then sleeping…” 

  “No memories of holding the mayor hostage or threatening to blow up a hospital?”

  Henrik blinks. “Noo…?”

  “Damn it!” He bites his lip and stands up to writing something on the whiteboard. “I was hoping you’d have… something.” 

  “I’m sorry?” He shifted uncomfortably. 

  “”It’s not your fault.” Marvin pulls out a book and flips through it. “Sleep potions tend to cause slight memory loss, and I doubt you were, well, you, during either of those situations.” 

  “I’m confused. Who even are you?” Henrik looked around, his voice a little shaky. 

  “Right, manners.” Deeming the other man harmless, he snaps his fingers and the ropes fall away. “My name is Marvin.” He puts the book back up and holds out his hand. 

  Henrik takes it slowly, his eyes flickering to the myriad of scars that doctorated Marvin’s hand and arm. He then notices how many scars he has on his own hands. 

  The magician notices his gaze. “Do you know how you got any of those?”

  “Papercuts.” He states, but he doesn’t sound so sure.

  “If you say so.” Marvin shrugs and lets go. 

  Henrik slowly shifts to sitting on the floor, finding that more comfortable. 

  Marvin watches him and sighs. “Do you want to play a boardgame or something?”

  He shrugs and Marvin pulls a random box off the shelf.

***

Chase ate lunch alone, as usual. Sure he’d only worked here for a few days, but it seemed like no one really liked him. Maybe he wasn’t friendly enough, or maybe he was too friendly.

  Whatever the matter, he was alone.  

  There were benefits to the loneliness. For one, he could sit back and listen to music instead of having to make conversation. And he could be sloopy without being judged. 

  He was completely fine with eating alone, are hardly lonely, he told himself. 

  He slipped on his headphones to mute his thoughts for a moment. He didn’t pack much of a lunch, just some cold leftovers from a week ago. Not that he was in the mood for anything else.

  Right as he was about to get to the good part of a song, someone tapped his shoulder. Chase grunted and turned off his music. 

  “Do you mind if I sit here?” The man asked. 

  Chase blinked, taking a moment to register his face. He gulped, his face heating up. 

  “I- uh- s-sure.” 

  The man gave a toothy grin and sat across from him. 

  “You’re Chase Brody right?” 

  Chase nods. “And you’re- you’re Anti right..?” 

  Anti chuckles. “Actually, it’s Anthony. But Anti works too. How are you?” 

  “I’m fine,” He squeaks.

  “You sure?” You look a little red.” Anti raises an eyebrow. 

  “Yeah. I’m ok, it’s just a little warm in here.”

  “I can ask someone if they can turn down the temperature.” 

  “No- no. I’m fine.” Why was he getting so flustered right now?

  “Sorry if this is a little forward, but can I have your number?” 

  Chase chokes on air.  “Yes. I mean no. I mean my phone broke last night, so I don’t have a number right now. But I have plans to get one soon.” Marvin said he’d get him a new one, right?

  “Hm, alright. Maybe later tonight I can take you out and get you a new one.” Anti smiles. 

  This time Chase really chokes, going into a coughing fit. 

  “I- I’m fine.” He says between coughs. “I appreciate the offer, but no!” 

  “Oh well. We should go out some time though.” He glances at the clock. “Welp, I gotta get back to work.”

  “But the break just started.” Chase called, but Anti already disappeared. 

***

Marvin signed, pulling out the Monopoly rules again to try and explain them. They were sitting on the floor, an array of pieces and Monopoly money spewed about. 

  “You don’t seem very into this game,” Henrik comments.

  “I’m not really. Monopoly is just boring.” He tossed down the instructions and started putting the game up. 

  “Are you okay?” 

  Marvin paused. “Why do you care.” 

  “Because I’m a human being with basic empathy that can tell when something is wrong.” Henrik stated, crossing his arms. 

  Marvin said nothing, sliding the game back on the shelf. 

  “Fine. You’re right.” He slumped back onto the floor. 

  “So. What’s wrong.” 

  “I’m not about to spill my feelings to someone I met about…” He glances at the clock., “Ten hours ago, that could be a murderous asshole for all I know.” 

  He gulped, turning away. 

  Marvin groaned, putting his face in his hands. “I didn’t mean it like that.” 

  “Yes you did, don’t lie.” 

  “I don’t think you’re the bad guy. Or a bad guy in general. I just have too many feelings, and like I said, I’ve only known you for so long.” 

  “I understand.” Henrik looks down. 

  “I just sent my friend to investigate someone, and I'm worried that he'll get hurt. Especially since he doesn’t have a phone, which is my fault and-” 

  The doctor reaches out to touch his shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look. 

  He wipes his face, laughing weakly. “Oh, this is pathetic.” 

  “Don’t say that!” Henrik snaps. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk?”

  “What are you, a therapist?” 

  “I’m a doctor, but I did dabble in psychology,” Henrik says with a prideful grin.  

  “Fine. If you really wanna hear about my issues.” 

[journal-of-an-outlaw]

Price to be Paid

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

AO3 Link

Chapter 6

Waking up was a chore. Your head was pounding from the almost all night party, and you groaned while you pulled your blanket over your head. Who thought it was a good idea to sleep outside? Damn the sun and its infernal brightness. 

Little Jack was splashing around in the water barrel near your tent which woke you up. He was holding a little wooden boat and pretending it was crashing through the make believe waves. 

After you debated with yourself, you decided to move back to your tent. You dragged the bedroll past Jack who just stared, and slowly threw the soft padding into your tent. Someone outside laughed but you couldn’t care less who it was. All you could think about was sleeping off this damn hangover. 

A few hours later you felt vaulgey better and decided to grab some coffee. The sun was halfway through the sky, but it wasn’t like anyone else had noticed the day was creeping by; only half of the camp was conscious. Hosea was eating lunch at the main table. 

You grabbed a cup of coffee and sat at the old campfire. No one had bothered to light it yet and you stared at the ashes. 

“Jesus, YN. You look like hell.” 

Charles stood above you. Looking up was painful and you couldn’t bend your neck for too long. You grunted and motioned to the spot next to you, causing Charles to laugh softly at you. The splitting pain in your head was now just a constant throb that you could try and ignore while the two of you talked.

“I was hoping I could hunt today, but everyone here looks like shit. No offense, but you included.”

“I feel like hell, so none taken.” The thought of being on a moving horse made your stomach turn, so you drank your coffee in peace. “I’m happy hunting with my bow, but I can’t go today. Could you wait until tomorrow?” Charles contemplated, and finally agreed to wait until the next day to ride out. You wanted to get some supplies from Valentines anyways. 

A little while later, John emerged from his shared tent with Abigail and sauntered over. 

“YN! How are you today?” You groaned again as the loud voice rattled around you brain making it hard to think. “I’m heading into town to look at some livestock, y'all need anything?”

“Actually, I’ll join you John. I need some supplies for hunting." You stood and stretched, then dumped the remaining coffee into the old fire. 

The two of you walked over to the horses, and he jumped onto his brown bay and you hesitated. “John, mind if I ride with ya? I’m looking to buy my own horse in town today.” He held his arm out without hesitation and pulled you up. 

The ride in was short and bumpy, and you tried not to vomit all over John. The hangover pain was almost gone by the time you were dropped you off on the main road which was a blessing, and you waved as John rode back to the outskirts to look at the livestock scam he had started cooking. 

When you walked into the general store, a familiar ding met your ears. The shopkeeper smiled and waved you over. “Come, see this new coffee brand we have!” You browsed the wares and picked out what you needed. A few cans of food, some oil to clean your bow, little objects. Nothing that you couldn’t carry back incase the horse was gone. 

While in the shop you treated yourself to a bag of candy as well, thinking you deserved some sweets for that wicked hangover.

After you popped a piece in your mouth you walked into the stables. “Hey, mister! Is that gray mare still available?” The man waved you in and motioned to the stall she was in. You rushed over and she was just as stunning as you had remembered.

Standing tall, the mare bent her nose and nibbled your fingers for a treat. Her coat was soft and shiny under your fingers as you stroked her neck. At full height she was 16.2 hands with her head high above your own. Her grey body gave way to a white tail and mane, and small socks around her hooves.

“For a pretty young thing like you? I can do a price of $9.50.”

Despite the inappropriate look, it was a good price so you paid him and left. She rode beautifully and you were so excited to finally have a horse of your own. “Heyaw!” You kicked her sides and she started galloping out of town and you headed north. 

The landscape changed more mountainous under her light feet. You debated what to call her. Names from your novels ran through your head, some better than others. Greek Gods? Other gunslingers? You finally settled on Eclipse. Something about the mysterious phenomenon called you. She galloped on and on, never faltering as you tried to test her limits. Finally you stopped to rest near a beautiful stream bed and let Eclipse get a drink. You brushed her and hoisted your skirt up to your knees to wade into the cool water for a few moments and ease your mind. 

Over the past few months your life had changed so much. Leaving Blackwater, living with a gang, killing someone, it was all a lot to process. You were smart, resourceful, and brave. Three things your always admired about yourself. Seeing the change and growth you've already made, there was no way you could ever look back at the life you left far behind.

It was late that night when you got back into camp. Your new horse Eclipse made you so happy, and she whinnied appreciatively you finally took her saddle off for the night. She joined the other horses to graze easily.

Heading back towards your tent you ran into Jack again. He eyed the candy you had bought so you shared a few pieces with him happily. He giggled and shyly looked at you. “What are you hiding, Jack?”

“Momma and Pop said you were dancing with Uncle Arthur.”

“We did dance, but don’t worry it didn’t mean anything.” 

He smiled. “My Pa and Ma met when they danced. Are you going to marry Uncle Arthur?” 

You gagged on the candy you had just popped into your mouth, and were completely mortified when Arthur himself walked over to the two of you sitting near the overlook. 

“Jack! Are you bothering that nice lady?”

“No, Uncle Arthur. Just eating candy.” He smiled at you coyly, and ran off when Arthur started chasing him. Arthur came back to plop down next to you in front of the log. 

“Candy?” you offered. He reached in and pulled out a piece. “I’m a sucker for candy, can’t ever say no.”

“Really?” he looked at you, “I never took you for having a sweet tooth.”

You laughed and pulled the bag back to yourself. “I went into town today with John. Got that mare I’ve had my eye on.”

Arthur looked back at the group of animals and you pointed out Eclipse. He nodded approvingly. "I know you said you'd go, but no one was up for much of anything this morning. Nearly showed John my whole breakfast again after that bumpy ride into town."

"'S no bother. Glad you got it worked out. I, uh, didn't get up for a long while this morning. Damn whiskey nearly killed me. Although ridin’ anywhere with Marston will usually end with the same result." 

You wrinkled your nose at the mention of the drink. "Whiskey always makes me sick. Can't stand it at all." 

He chuckled softly, "Can't be a real outlaw until you have at least one awful whiskey night, YN." 

"Maybe sometime. Takes awhile to get over a smell like that though…" 

Unknowingly your hand fluttered to your ribs, a phantom ache from where your father liked to land his drunk fists. It had been months since his last episode and all the bruises had long since faded. But the memory still lingered and you thought it always would. 

Arthur turned to face you, then suggested you move somewhere away from the main camp. You settled on your favorite stop to look out to the valley as the moon climbed up the sky, and sat down on a log.

“YN...why you still here?” he said it cautiously, like you would bolt at any moment. It struck you wrong and you stood to leave feeling this was going badly, but he put his hands up and continued. “Not like, here here, but...you coulda gone back to Blackwater after your side healed from the bullet. What’s kept you from that?”

Finally understanding, you sat back down and put your head in the palm of your hand to think. 

“I...I’m not sure. I guess I could have gone off on my own, not that I woulda lasted long,” you laughed shortly, “but I love this...family you have here. Sometimes I feel like a voyeur, wishing to be more than just halfway accepted.” The next part felt hard to admit, but you rushed forward anyways.  

“My home was nothing like this. In fact it was the opposite. All I ever wanted was to be on the other side of that little window at home, looking in and dreaming what could be instead of lying awake in the dark in fear of it. I would give anything to unknow what that version of family felt like. To keep walking and let that moment of life just pass me by.” Arthur watched you with an inscrutable expression. 

“I like to see the good in folks, Mr. Morgan. I try real hard to believe that people are born good, and hold that in their heart. Not that I’m naive about life, sure. I know I'm living with a group of outlaws. Michah laughed when I said something similar, but ain’t it important to believe in something? To truly believe?” 

“Miss Moore, you almost sound like Dutch. 'Course we ain't all good, but I think you are gonna get along here just fine if you keep believin’ like that,” his face was hard to read, but Arthur had a flush in his cheeks that you knew wasn’t from a drink. 

The two of you moved closer, your confession hanging heavy in the air about the goodness in men’s hearts. 

Arthur dipped his head and you angled your chin up to his, all the while feeling your heart beat like it was about to come right out of your chest. His hand moved to cover yours, and in that heated moment Pearson chose to beat a metal dish with his wooden spoon. 

“Food’s ready! Come grab it while it’s hot!” 

“Jesus!” The word burst from your lips. Pearson had popped the bubble of you and Arthur, and the moment was gone. Your eyes held the gaze you had been sharing, and a small half smile formed on your lips. Arthur squeezed your hand in his then rose without a word and walked off. 

It took a few minutes to compose yourself but not long after you followed, hungry for the stew cooking away. Abigail was near and she called you to join her at a table.  

“How did John’s livestock scam go today? He was kind enough to bring me into town but I never heard how it ended.”

She stirred the soup around before answering. “I’m not too sure. He won’t talk to me about such goings. I’m not honestly sure if I want to know.” 

“I’m sure it’s for some silly reason like keeping you safe, Abigail. He’s a good man.”

Abigail sighed heavily, watching Jack run in the background of the camp. “For all our sakes, YN, I hope you’re right.” 

Much later in your tent you finished one of the books you had found in town. A silly little novel, but in the glow of the lamplight the romantic ending made you feel safe and warm. As you lay down you ran your fingers over the cover that was illustrated with a rose. 

“YN? You still up?” The voice was no more than a raised whisper coming from outside the flap. You sat up and warily moved towards the entrance. 

“Arthur? That you?” Pulling back the tent flap slowly revealed the tall man crouching to meet you. “What can I do for you?”

“I just...uh...didn’t want you to think I was tryin’ to take advantage of anything earlier.” Sheepishly he pulled on his coat, glancing around to make sure no one saw you two meeting this late. He may not have to fight for his moral standing in this camp but you sure did. 

Slowly, you responded, watching his face the whole time. “Nothing truly happened, Arthur. Just talkin’. Caught up in the, uh, moment was all.” 

“‘Spose that’s so. You going hunting with Charles tomorrow then?” You nodded back at him. “I want to see how Eclipse runs out on the big fields. And I wanna shoot that bow again.” 

“Well, you be careful then, you hear? Don’t want to be going on any big rescue missions.” 

Smiling back, you felt your chest swell a bit at the kind words. “I’ll try then, not to be kidnapped or taken off. I’m sure Charles will be a fine hunting partner. Plus I can fight real good if I need too, mean left hook no one sees coming.” 

Arthur chuckled. “Alright. Night then, YN. See you in a few days.” He tipped his hat and jaunted back towards the center of camp, leaving you to drop the flap and head to your bedroll. 

“Mr. Arthur Morgan...huh…” You traced the rose on the novel again, this time picturing that it was a handsome face. Giggling, you sat up and blew out the sole flame of the lantern, plunging the tent into darkness to get some rest. 

The next morning Charles was waiting for you by the horses. You had dressed in pants for one of the first times in your life and loved it. The flexibility alone was enticing enough to make you want to throw your dresses and skirts off the overlook. You chose dark jeans, a blue shirt, and brown boots and satchel. The red bandana you picked up yesterday was tied around your neck to protect from dirt or lawmen's eyes, depending on the situation. 

While walking over you finished tucking in your shirt and attaching everything in its correct place, watching Chalres pat Eclipse and feed her a treat. He didn't say much in the early hour except a wave while you loaded up your horse. 

“Ready?” You nodded, and the two of you kicked off. 

The plan was to hunt for three days. It meant a lot of riding and shooting and you couldn’t wait to build up the muscles in your shoulders, giving you better control over your shot. Focusing on the rocky path took a lot of focus, so the first few hours of your ride were quiet. Every hour the horses would get a chance to rest and eat and you walked to stretch your legs. 

Heading up north was all new territory for you. Charles seemed comfortable enough, and was happy to discuss the local fauna. 

“This one here? Red Cedar tree, can grow to be massive and every part of it is usable. The needles can make tea to help many sicknesses, and Native Americans use the trunks to make canoes as the wood never rots.” 

You rubbed the needles in between your fingers, wondering how the tea tasted. Charles went on to talk about other traditions of his people and how they made use of everything around them.

Finally you arrived where Charles wanted to camp. The ground was dry and free of rocks were you set up your tent, far from the view of anyone passing through. 

Night passed quickly and you rose early to begin hunting. Stalking a group of deer, you brought down two after a long chase. Eclipse ran swiftly over the hills and Charles commented on how well she was doing, listening well to your commands. His own horse Tamia was a bit smaller, but just as quick. 

A lone stag caught your attention and you veered left to focus and take aim. The bow was getting heavy in your outstretched arm and your anchor point of the corner of your mouth was a bit wobbly, but he soon joined the other deer you were bringing back to camp. Finally satisfied you both worked your way through the woods back to your site. 

Sitting around the fire that night, Charles taught you how to smoke meat and make it last. It was much better to store it versus try to eat it all right away in this life of constantly running and moving around. 

The next day was much of the same. Hunt, rest, smoke meat, hunt some more. Nothing truly exciting happened until the third morning as you packed up camp. 

“There’s lots of strange gangs around this country. I’m not sure gang is the right word, but I’m not sure what to call them. Down south is the Lemoyne Raiders, east is the Murphys, then of course the O’Driscolls and…well us I guess. Van der Linde gang.” Charles was pouring over a map of the area, and drew large circles where he warned of other groups. “I think there’s more but not as large as us.” 

“Lotta folks to look out for, then. I’ve never heard of most of them to be honest, but you missed the Skinner Brothers out near Blackwater,” you took his pencil and drew a circle around the area they used to terrorize. “Took a lot of good folks. Burned farms. Finally some group came in and cleared them out but it was bad a few years back.” 

“Heard of them, but never knew where they started. Huh,” he observed the circles you had drawn, then continued on. “This is where we’ll stop for supplies on the way back and to sell pelts. Long ride from Amarino country down to Valentine.”  

Agreeing on where to stop was easy, but getting there was another problem. A bridge was out along the way which added a good hour to your journey. Both of you were cranky and tired by the time you rolled into Valentine, quickly selling the pelts and leftover meat that was of no use to the gang. 

“Alright Charles, I’m ready to head home,” you paused and looked over. “How fast you think Tamia can run? Faster than Eclipse?” 

His eyebrows raised. “You challenging me to a race, YN?” “Damn straight,” you replied confidently, and dug your heels into Eclipse causing her to sprint off. 

Pealing laughter followed the two of you as the town gave way to the green muddy fields, and eventually the wooded aread of Horseshoe Overlook. Nothing felt better than the rushing wind in your hair and the sun warming your face. You debated throwing your arms out wide but didn’t want to look silly. 

Both horses were magnificent, and you admitted defeat when Tamia pulled ahead at the last moment. 

Eclipse huffed as you swung yourself down and nudged your arm playfully. She was ready to relax and eat with the other horses, so you took your hunting spoils and patted her affectionately. 

Walking over with the deer you met Pearson who was ecstatic. “Look at this folks, a real feast ready soon!” He eagerly took the meat from you and Charles and shooed you away so he could begin to prepare it. 

“Well done, YN. I would hunt with you again anytime,” Charles clapped your shoulder and walked off towards his tent. 

All you wanted to do was bathe and sleep so you started towards the river. 

“YN! Need some company?” Mary-Beth came running up besides you, not so secretly hiding from Ms. Grimshaw. “Sure, let’s get you out of here before she notices,” and the pair of you took off running down to the river. 

Tily and Karen were doing the wash when you arrive, and they all greeted you cheerily upon returning from the hunt. 

“How did you two get on then? Hunt anything more excitin’ than deer?” Karen play snarled and lunged at you, making the group laugh. “Charles is as stiff as a board around women Karen and you know it,” Tilly countered. 

“Oh, I’m not -” Mary-Beth cut you off before you could finish. “Charles! No, I saw YN getting cozy with Arthur the other night when they thought no one was lookin’.” You playfully hit Mary-Beth’s arm in response and the whole group was set off. 

“First ya’ll dancing, then hiding on the lookout, whatchu really come to our gang for anyways!” Karen laughed while she said it, but you did fear they all thought of you as just a hopeless romantic. 

“There is more than just goin’ after men in this life, and I intend to explore those avenues first. Just so happy to be free. And sides ain’t he got a girl?” you replied while washing your arms. 

The other moaned. “Ugh. Mary Linton. She beckons, and he calls. Been years since he last saw her but still thinks of her I’m sure. It’s hard finding someone in this life that agrees with it, that’s why she’s been gone all this time. Her daddy threw a fit at who Arthur was,” Tilly informed you. 

“I heard he went and rescued Michah from some town east called Strawberry,” you tried to change the subject. 

Karen roller her eyes. “Damn fools shot up the whole town and can probably never go back.”

“I know Strawberry. Small and backwards place. Used to think I couldn't go when I was young on account of me being allergic to the fruit.” the girls laughed at your answer, and as you slowly felt cleaner. 

Eventually the chores were done so you left the river with the group. They carried the baskets up on their hips and you watched the colors dance in the wind. It was a sight to see the clothes hung in trees to dry out for camp. 

Arthur came into camp that night in a blaze, not able to focus on anything. Something about a letter and going into Valentine, but no one could tell. Hosea had a knowing smile but refused to spill information to any gossips in camp, and Arthur left in a hurry once again. 

Laying on your side in your bedroll, you tried to finish the next chapter in your book but you eyes kept sliding shut and your head bobbed around. Finally you admitted defeat and stood up to stretch and blow the lantern out, but someone was muttering around your tent. 

“H-hello?” you whispered cautiously, not sure who was out there. A loud bang and a stream of curses alerted you that it was Arthur back from his night ride. Muttering around, you caught wind of a word that made your silly jealous heart run cold. 

“Mary.”

[janeykath318]

Pike x Tilly Old West AU

Old West AU: Person A’s parents sent them out west to marry person B, who is the only sheriff in the area.

Sylvia emerged from the train feeling tired, dusty, and shaky with nerves. Clutching her bag tightly, she looked around the platform for the man who was supposed to meet her. It was not a very busy station compared to the one back home, so she didn’t have to worry about getting lost in the shuffle, thankfully.

She didn’t have any idea what her soon to be husband looked like, just that he’d be wearing a sheriff’s badge. How she hoped he was handsome! Her parents had assured her he was a very honorable gentleman, and his letters had been very nice, but it would be nice to live with someone you could actually stand to look at.

[[MORE]]

She’d only waited a few minutes when she saw a man approaching her, sunlight glinting off of the badge on his chest.

She instantly grew nervous again. This was him. This was the man she’d traveled cross country for. Sylvia hopes she didn’t look too bedraggled.

“Miss Tilly?” He asked.

“Yes. Sheriff Pike?” She squeaked out through a throat that suddenly didn’t want to work. One of her wishes had definitely come true, It appeared. He was very good-looking.

“At your service,” he said, giving her a smile. The dimples that appeared made her heart skip a beat. Oh, my.

“Welcome to California. Is this your luggage?”

Tilly managed a nod.

“Yes. One trunk and two bags.”

“Very good. My wagon is nearby and we’ll have them loaded shortly, if you don’t mind waiting a moment. There’s a bench over yonder.”

He pointed toward said bench and Tilly nodded, not looking away from him. Pike was.....in a word, stunning. Despite his longish greying hair and beard, his face did not look old and was generally very pleasing to look at, especially his very striking blue eyes. Now that, she could get used to. He was tall and lean and carried himself with a cool command that obviously garnered plenty of respect, judging by the way people greeted him in passing.

She watched from the bench as Pike and another man loaded her trunk and bags into his wagon, then he returned for her.

“I hope your trip was uneventful?” He asked as he gave her a hand up into the wagon.

“It was,” she confirmed. “But very long. I resorted to attempt to Sherlock Holmes my fellow passengers, with mixed results.”

Pike cracked another smile.

“An admirer of the great detective?”

“Very much,” she declared. “I have all of Doyle’s works packed away in my trunk.”

“So that’s why it was so heavy,” he said, a teasing glint in his eyes.

“What can I say? I am a woman who loves literature,” she replied cheerfully. “My mother was exasperated with how many I packed, but I had the room, so in they went.”

“A good hobby to have,” he replied. “I too, enjoy a good book, though sadly I rarely get the time to indulge.”

“I imagine dealing with scoundrels and outlaws is quite taxing, especially having to cover such a large area.”

He shrugged.

“It can be. Some days are worse, some are quiet. It’s not a heavy populated area, so the crime rate isn’t out of hand. I don’t think your father would have allowed you to come out here otherwise.”

“Certainly not,” Tilly sighed. “He’s very protective of me. I wanted an adventure though, so he put me in contact with you. He trusts you.”

“Quite significantly.” Pike looked at her gravely and she sensed he considered her coming quite momentous.

Tilly went quiet for a bit, thinking over the whole “about to get married” part of the journey. He was certainly putting her at ease about it, but still, it was a life changing event. A few townsfolk waved at them as they passed, greeting Pike with a “Howdy, Sheriff!” And staring curiously at Sylvia.

“Do they know?” She asked.

He nodded.

“Yep. Word spread faster than a prairie fire. I did my best to dissuade them from overwhelming you with calls, but I can guarantee that once we’ve been before the judge they’ll pour forth to congratulate us. I love them, but they’re nosy as all get out.”

Pike shook his head with a fondly exasperated smile and drew the horses to a stop in front of a simple white house.

“This is it,” he said, alighting from the wagon to tie the horses up. “Home sweet home. I had a wise woman make sure it was acceptable to house a lady. Being A long time bachelor, I admit was rather careless in certain areas.”

“So you mentioned in your letters,” Sylvia said with a laugh as he handed her down. Her breath caught a bit as he locked eyes with her in that moment. “By the way, please call me Sylvia. After all, you’re about to be my husband.”

Her cheeks went pink saying it and Pike’s gaze softened.

“Sylvia. A very lovely name. It suits you. I go by Chris.”

Once her trunk was unloaded, he showed her over the house, which though much simpler than she was used to, was really quite well designed and cozy. She appreciated the little touches that gave it a more homey air, such as a vase of flowers on the table and dainty curtains over the kitchen window. All in all, it was a very nice place in which to start a household.

“It’s lovely, Chris. I think I’ll be happy here,” she told him.

“I know it’s a far cry from what you’re used to, but I’m glad you like it.” Pike looked very relieved at her reaction.

“Oh, I do. Speaking of which, what plans did you have for the ceremony?”

“I have already alerted judge Archer and As soon as you’re rested and refreshed, we’ll have it done. Is that agreeable?”

“Yes,” Sylvia nodded, pulse quickening at the prospect. The sooner they got it over with, the better, and she could start relaxing again.

“I will leave you to it. Una, my sister-in-law, is coming over to make sure you have something to eat. Is there anything else I can get you?”

Sylvia shook her head and removed her bonnet, feeling unruly strands of fiery red hair spring up. Chris’s eyes got a bit wider.

“Yes, Chris. It is as red as I described to you. And no, I don’t need anything else right now, thank you. I will see you later!”

She grinned at him and disappeared into the bedroom, Chris staring after her with a highly amused look on his face. She was going to shake up his world, and he was actually looking forward to it.

After Sylvia had eaten, washed, and dressed in the elegant blue gown she’d brought for the wedding, Una helped her do her hair. Taming the wild red curls was not an easy task, but they managed to succeed, with a multitude of pins.

She donned a pearl necklace from her mother and then critically inspected herself in the mirror, making sure everything was tidy.

“You look beautiful, Sylvia,” Una told her with a smile. “Christopher will be charmed.”

“He’s been so kind to me. He certainly seems to be taking getting married in stride,” Sylvia observed.

“Oh, I think he’s been gradually falling in love with your soul through your letters and now that he’s met you, well, the spell is complete. Just three years ago, he would have never agreed to this, now.....well....he’s singing a different tune.”

Sylvia giggled. She liked the thought that she’d been able to show Chris that marriage wasn’t misery or a burden. She opened the small brown box she’d just taken from her trunk and smiled at the contents. For better or worse, they were going to be joined in matrimony.

When Chris came to collect her, she smiled brightly at him, heart thumping at how handsome he looked, having donned a dark suit for the occasion.

“You look beautiful, Sylvia,” Chris breathed in her ear, making her shiver a bit and blush again.

“Thank you,” she responded, taking the offered arm. “You look extremely handsome yourself. It really isn’t fair to the other men around town because Nobody else is even worth looking at when you’re around. They must be very jealous.”

Chris chuckled.

“I wouldn’t go that far, but thank you. Ready to be wed?”

She held up the little brown box.

“Even down to the rings father sent with me. He said they belonged to your relatives.”

Chris’s eyebrows rose and he took the box and carefully opened it.

“Oh, my. He found my parents’ set,” he said softly, admiring the gold bands within. The smaller one contained three tiny pearls. Sylvia thought it was very romantic that they would be using family heirlooms, and was glad the pearl ring had fit her (yes, she’d tried it on).

“Your Father is very thoughtful. I wish he were here to thank him. I thought these had been lost in the estate sale.”

“He hopes to come visit us this summer,” Sylvia told him. “I know he was thrilled to be able to recover them.”

“As am I,” Chris sighed. “Well, we don’t want to keep the good judge waiting. He gets crotchety if he’s behind schedule.”

He winked at Sylvia and she grinned back as she took his arm. Let the adventure begin!

Judge Archer was not grumpy after all and he greeted the bride and groom quite cheerily.

“So you’re the lucky lady! Pleased to meet you, Miss Tilly. You’re getting a fine man in our Christopher. Very good man and the soul of integrity.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Sylvia managed, fingers tingling from the handshake.

“And you, Christopher, take good care of her. She’s come all this way for you.”

With this admonition, the judge proceeded to begin the ceremony. It was short and simple, witnessed only by Una and her husband. Sylvia felt a little shy during it, but it was a nice feeling to have his hands in hers while they made their vows.

The rings were exchanged, and then Archer declared them husband and wife.

“I didn’t know whether to leave out the kiss the bride part, but you’re free to now should you so desire,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Chris looked at Sylvia, who had turned a bit pink, but was looking back at him hopefully.

“Well?” He asked.

“I’m game if you are,” she responded.

“Happy to oblige,” he murmured, and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her lips. Considering they’d only just met in person, he was stunned by how right it felt. He pulled away for a moment to look at her earnestly, admiring once again her beautiful smile.

“That was nice,” Chris murmured. “We should do that more often, Mrs. Pike.”

“I agree, Chris,” Sylvia whispered back.

[adamarinayu]

Now that we're on this hiatus, do you mind telling us what you thought of each episode?

Okay, I know I’m super late to answer this but here I am! I’m not gonna go too in depth on them, but I do want to talk about them.

Treasure of the Found Lamp!

This one was amusing, and I absolutely love what they did with Djinn. I’m so so so glad they changed his name, too, as “Dijon” always bothered me, even as a kid. Also, the story of the lamp was very heartwarming! And seeing Selene again was fun, especially as she had to run around and we find out she’s a terrible liar lol (so she definitely had nothing to do with Della’s disappearance, I think we can all finally put that theory to rest).

The wild goose chase aspect was funny, coming from both sides, and I still think the actress on Ma Beagle’s TV looked vaguely like a character from PKNA so. But Djinn did not pull punches and them Beagles at least got hurt XD

Also. It kinda has a “the greatest treasure is family” vibe to it.

The Outlaw Scrooge McDuck!

As someone who loves Scrooge and loves Goldie, but is indifferent to Scroldie… I still loved this episode. It was great! It was also absolutely hilarious. And Gyro’s time traveling was amazing. Especially Scrooge’s sudden moment of realization when Gyro returned lol.

Louie’s gonna befriend Goldie! That makes me excited. I bet they’re gonna teach each other things that we haven’t even thought of (ie Louie values his family, while Goldie doesn’t even have a family. Maybe Goldie will officially join the Duck-McDuck family not through her strange but obviously antagonistically-romantic relationship with Scrooge, but through her friendship with and tutelage of Louie? Maybe he’s the one who shows her the importance of family and offers her a place in their family… it doesn’t mean giving up adventure, it just means always having somewhere she can call home, and people she can trust and rely on!).

I’m iffy about Jeeves’ redesign, and also his somewhat betrayal of Rockerduck, but I’ve never been like a hardcore fan of the two of them so it was easy for me to move on. I am curious, though, just how they’re gonna come back… guess Gyro’s not quite done with time travel shenanigans.

The only real gripe I have is Sheriff Marshal Cabrera. DON’T GET ME WRONG, I absolutely loved him. He’s a beautiful babby boy. But at the same time, he’s literally just. Fenton. I know he’s like. Fenton’s great grandfather (or maybe uncle, idk) or something. There should absolutely be similarities yes, but it felt like someone had taken the characters and placed them in an old west setting. That being said, I do love him, I just wish he’d been slightly more his own character. Like, maybe a little more like a mix of M’Ma and Fenton! Idk.

The 87 Cent Solution!

…….. You really want to know?

Okay, the episode was good. It was funny, and I enjoyed seeing Glomgold’s timestop shenanigans.

But the funeral scene? That wasn’t cool. I saw the “not really dead” twist coming, I think we all did, but no one thought to tell Donald? Donald thought that, so soon after finally making amends with his uncle, he had lost him for good.

And I get it. It’s meant to be a gag. It’s supposed to be funny. But it kinda really soured the rest of the episode for me. I hate to say that too, because it was a good and funny episode… I just… I can’t believe they did that to Donald. :(

The Golden Spear!

AGONY. Agony is how I feel about this one. Della made friends with the Lunarians! Actual friends! And then Penny made a bad choice, and Lunaris… damn you, Lunaris, you traitor.

All the things Della listed off, wanting to do with her kids and brother and uncle… they’re things the others have already done without her. That hit me in the feels.

AND THEN DONALD- AGH, I CAN’T EVEN. Poor Donald. He’s so stressed and his family loves him so much and just wanted him to have some peace. But alas, it was not to be. And now the fandom cries.

… Even if he really shouldn’t have climbed into that rocket but y’know. He didn’t MEAN to press buttons….

Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!

Della reunites with her boys and no one realizes Donald is gone. And we see Della trying to be a mom, and kinda failing miserably. But she’s trying, and she’s learning!

ALSO THEIR WOULD-BE NAMES HFBVSHKFCS

It really put to rest one of my biggest fears, that all of the triplets would accept her immediately (Louie showed serious hesitation through the entire episode, definitely coming from his place of insecurity that Dewey and Huey don’t share) and she’d be super-mom. She makes mistakes, and it’s acknowledged that she seems to be trying to be one of them rather than be their mother. It does feel awkward at times, and alien, like the boys are trying so hard to think she’s doing great when she’s really causing harm, but in the end when it comes down to it she’d do anything to protect them, and gives them the choice of letting her into their life. She doesn’t try and force her way in (as she kinda did at first, but came to realize this isn’t easy for them either).

Right now she feels kinda more like a cool aunt than a mom, but she’ll learn.

Raiders of the Doomsday Vault!

IS LUDWIG’S CONSCIOUS TRAPPED IN THE VAULT?! HE REACTED TO AND INTERACTED WITH THE PEOPLE OUTSIDE.

Anyway Scrooge and Glomgold’s parts were absolutely A+ hilarious. Della and Dewey bonding, they’re so much alike, but we see Dewey’s insecurity flare up- how he wants to impress Della, feeling like he has to earn her love. Even though she’s already loved them for ten years, even without ever knowing what they looked like.

Della has a moment of realization here, too. She looks down and realizes Dewey is in a dangerous situation. She realizes that Dewey is in danger. She questions if they’re doing something crazy, clearly thinking maybe we shouldn’t be doing this, but when Dewey quotes her “I’m your son, I can do anything!” she instead chooses to encourage him, not wanting to discourage him and possibly cause him to fall.

And then of course, her “exit strategy” thing. I honestly kinda feel like it’s a bit of an ass pull, but it at least makes a little sense. When you’re being hunted by a monster on the moon, you always want to have an escape route planned. Scrooge sees that, even if she’s the same ol’ Della she was before, she’s still changed. Ten years still changes you.

Friendship Hates Magic!

New Girl! New Girl! Violet’s pretty cool. At first she comes off as one of those “um, actually” people, but since I’m one of those “um, actually” people it’s pretty whatever to me lol. And Lena’s back! I’m super excited about that.

Lena gets a little jealous-possessive but who can blame her, Webby’s one of the few people who have always believed in her. And Webby spent so much time we never knew about trying to find ways to bring Lena back, to the point that it’s like clockwork.

The whole “being tormented by her own mind” thing was actually frightening in a way, and I’m just glad it all turned out alright. And now Webby isn’t just a fourth triplet, she’s the central member of her own trio. It’s great!

The Dangerous Chemistry of Gandra Dee!

Admittedly another plotline to be seen from far away. A good episode full of secondhand embarrassment, but dang Huey’s LUNGS.

I love Gandra’s design and personality. It’s pretty durn great. I love it! I just have one gripe. Warning, this is a bit of a rant.

Why can’t we let characters be feminine? By this I mean traditionally feminine. Dresses, makeup, shopping, high heels, giggling, soft and compassion and gentle and things I’m not, pinks and lilacs, etc. Yes, Webby’s favourite colour is pink and she likes glitter and wears skirts, she is pretty feminine. But she’s the only one, besides Roxanne Featherby (Featherly? I don’t remember, and that’s only arguably because of her clothes), to be even slightly feminine, and even then it can be argued she’s not all that traditionally feminine because, well… she’s the bruiser of the group. Which there’s absolutely nothing wrong with! A feminine bruiser absolutely works, and I love it, but looking at it from certain angles…

Most of the (non-villain) females, besides Webby, show next to no traditionally feminine qualities- Goldie is the closest, when she dresses up for special events or for schemes. Which I don’t mind, per se, I don’t have many traditionally feminine qualities either, but you’d think at least a few would. The original Gandra Dee, who I am glad they changed mind you, was very feminine; she wore her hair long, wore dresses, enjoyed makeup and manicures, etc. She was traditionally feminine, AND smart. (even if I never liked how they drew her face (the eyes and beak look weird imho, DT17 pulled it off better), and I felt like she left much to be desired *cough*…)

There is nothing wrong with having traditionally feminine characters. There is nothing wrong with having characters who enjoy dressing up, or putting on makeup, or shopping, etc. The problem with traditionally feminine characters comes in when it’s done for sex appeal, or you have a woman running from dinosaurs in 6 inch heels (yeah I’m calling that out) or there’s a feminine character there only to be dragged on by the others for their feminine characteristics.

Anyway, rant about that over. I still love what they did with Gandra, but I’m just noticing this trend where female characters aren’t being allowed to like traditionally feminine things. Yeah, there are absolutely a lot of girls who don’t, but there’s probably an equal amount who do! And there’s nothing wrong with showing a competent, traditionally feminine character. :/

The Duck Knight Returns!

DARKWING DUCK DARKWING DUCK DARKWING DUCK NEGADUCK AAAAAAAA

Need I say more?

Okay, Launchpad is a sweetheart and let’s be honest, we knew the moment we saw him that the other guy at the signing was Drake Mallard.

I love that they kept the “Darkwing Duck inspires Drake Mallard to become Darkwing Duck” aspect of DW’s origin story, while twisting it around so that time travel and paradoxes don’t occur. Also! We still get Jim Cummings as Negaduck, while also getting a new VA for Drake Mallard/Darkwing Duck- someone who does a pretty good job at sounding like them, too. So now Negaduck, who is no longer Darkwing/Drake Mallard from an alternate universe, has his own distinguishable voice!

… And I still think Negs is gonna have an unhealthy obsession with Launchpad, thanks to the “my fan” comment. I figure that’s how we’ll get Nega Launchpad, but who knows! There’s so many possibilities!

Anyway Gosalyn, yesterday please. Gimme.

[whenimgoodandready]

Adrienette, Lukanette, Adrienette, Lukanette, Adrienette, Lukanette, Adrienette, Lukanette, Adrienette, Lukanette, Adrienette, Lukanette, Adrienette, Lukanette, ADRIENETTE! LUKANETTE! ADRIENETTE! LUKANETTE! IDK!? STOP BADGARING ME FANDOM!!! Even Marinette is indecisive about it! She’s just a dumb teenager who doesn’t know what she wants!..........does she?

*Desperada-Marinette and the girl squad were hangin’ out at Julekas house boat listening to Kitty Section rehearse and Marinette and Luka get cozy with each other. It also looks to be that the squad is starting to jump onboard with the Lukanette ship. Well, Adrienette isn’t goin’ anywhere so how much longer are they gonna support something that hasn’t even set sail yet!? Adrien and Kagami show up (having ditched fencing practice) and Marinette quickly leaves Lukas side to not give Adrien the impression she likes Luka. Oh, Marinette, what are we gonna do with you? She even says they’re “just friends” too🤨.

Jagged Stone arrives and he tries to get Juleka and Lukas mother back into the band cuz they had “history”. Oh! Thing is, he fired his guitarist, Vivica, and now he’s looking for a new one. Hmmmm, a new guitarist? Like, someone who knows rock n’ roll? And who’s young and talented? Marinette knows a guy like that! IIIIIIt’s Lu-Adrien!? Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! 🤦‍♀️. Marinette WTF!? Adrien is a classical pianist! I highly doubt he’s strummed a guitar! She knows damn well Luka is a better fit and yet she’s still trying to give Adrien hints she wants him! Okay, Marinette, I know how much you want Adrien, but you can’t just ignore talent when you see it from Luka.

Just then, Vivica shows up in her akumatized form calling herself Desperada! OOOOOH! So she’s that mysterious villainess I saw in “Gamer 2.0”! Well, thanks for the closure! (I’m talking to you person in charge of episode scheduling 😑). Desperada, I like that name, reminds me of a Rihanna song. Thing is, it’s more like a Western name and she didn’t really look “Western”. I mean, she kinda did with the whole musical skeleton make-up look, which is pretty cool, but nothing really “Wild Wild West” to me. It was more like something outta “The Book of Life” or “Coco” with that sugar skull thing. I’m a little fan of westerns where there’s a female outlaw that’s why. Her powers were using any instrument like a gun to capture people in her guitar case with a pic of them appearing on it as a sticker. Let’s just say if she wasn’t a musician, she’d make a bada** sniper!

Anyways, Desperada captures everyone except the love triangle kids and Ladybug is given the lucky charm to bring in extra help from Master Fu again using the snake miraculous! The snake miraculous!? OOOOOH! We saw who that was! (“Party Crasher”), some people in the fandom were right about it too! And now, ladies and gentlemen, the holder of the snake miraculous, (drum roll) Luk(trumpets begin to sound)-ADRIEN!? AGAIN!? (trumpets die out). WTF!? WHY!? Okay, I get it, he did save Luka when Desperada almost got him and as we know, Marinette/Ladybug doesn’t know Adriens Cat Noir, but still! Adrien agrees to it thinking he’ll win over Ladybug in a new superhero form since this time, she knows who he is and becomes “Aspik”...........(turns to the trumpeteers) you guys can sound I guess, (trumpets sound, but not enthusiastically). Okay, thank you.

So um, the snake miraculous is a bracelet of a snake swallowing itself, a Kwami snake like being named Sass (remember him from “Sandboy”!? He’s kinda like the leader of the Kwamies), a harp weapon and its power is “Second Chance” where they can go back a few minutes in time by turning the snake head on their bracelet back and it’s not a one hit power! It can go on as many times until the snake head gets to the end! It’s almost like Bunnyxs power except hers is more serious and can go back (and fourth) many times and it’s more fragile. Huh, I always thought the snake miraculouses power would be hypnotism, but I’m thinking too much “Jungle Book” here (what do snakes have to do with time travel!?). That’s cool! So it’s just Ladybug and Aspik vs. Desperada. It. went. TERRIBLE! Ladybug kept getting captured again and again and again and again and again AND AGAIN! And do you know why!? Cuz Aspik over here was too busy trying to woo Ladybug and not focusing on defeating the bad guy! That’s why!

ENOUGH! Adrien quits cuz he’s had it with being a f**king failure as it’s been 25,913 times! 25,913 TIMES!? 25,913 TIMES!? 25,913 TIMES!? 25,913 TIMES!? DAMN ADRIEN! YOU SUCK! Ladybug finally sees she’s wrong again! So Adrien suggests Luka take the miraculous instead. HALLELUJAH! Ladies and gentlemen, the real holder of the snake miraculous, Viperion, a.k.a. Luka Couffaine! (trumpets sound and end with a big finish!). Now this guy, this guy! Does a hell of a better job than “Aspik” did and it only took him a few tries! Humph!

I apologize for my wild outbursts there, I’m a very passionate writer and I speak what others are afraid to say. I’m like a voice for the people. I’m sure that’s what all of you were probably thinking way in the back of your heads there about the plot that occurred in the episode. I’ve settled down now and I’ll explain more. Ahem, first off, the girl squad are now leaning towards the Lukanette ship cuz they’re probably sick and tired of all the Adrienette nonsense and want something new. More importantly, they think this ship better since Marinette is more comfortable with Luka and how he’s more liberated than the sheltered Adrien. Fair point. The character Vivica/Desperada was based off a fan who won a contest at comic con and was originally supposed to be a veterinarian until they changed it to a guitarist (she looked so cute!). I heard about that, they also said she was supposed to be a fan of Cat Noir and was upset that he wasn’t getting as much recognition as Ladybug. It would’ve been nice cuz according to my Love Chart (which I legit have), nobody and I mean NOBODY likes Cat Noir, so cut him some slack and give him at least one fangirl! C’mon! Adrien failed at being the snake miraculous holder, but it’s not because he sucked (25,913 TIMES!? That’s like 3 months!), but it’s cuz there was no black cat hero to assist Ladybug! It was just Ladybug and Aspik and no Cat Noir! I thought they would’ve realized by now that they can’t defeat the villain unless it’s both of ‘em (plus a third or fourth party if necessary) to stop ‘em! Sure Ladybug defeated Style Queen by herself, but at least she had a “black cat” like someone there to help! It has to be Ladybug and Cat Noir! Good luck/Bad luck, Yin/Yang! That’s the idea! The reason why they didn’t see that was cuz they were both blinded by love! Marinette/Ladybug mostly picked Adrien to be the snake miraculous holder cuz she thought, “OMG! I’m gonna be fighting crime with my crush!” and Adrien/Cat Noir said yes cuz he thought, “Maybe she’ll love me this time if she knows who I am!” :P. Even Plagg thought it was a bad idea cuz he knew they needed Cat Noir and they weren’t even focused on Desperada and just trying to court each other! You’d think Marinette/Ladybug would’ve listened to her own words about Adrien being a distraction in her life (“Chameleon”). Speaking of courting, during one of Aspiks failed Second Chances, he confessed to Ladybug that he was Cat Noir (cuz she knows he’s Adrien as Aspik) and we only see a brief look of shock on her face before she’s captured again. Wonder what was quickly goin’ through her head at that point? Flashbacks of all her moments with him as himself and Cat and how she acted like both herselves in front of ‘em realizing how stupid she’s been? Lol! The shocks gonna be more wilder when it happens though and I’ll be there to see it. Ladybug really should’ve picked Luka first cuz at least he was bold enough to step in and distract Desperada to save Ladybug like he did as Viperion. Poor Adrien though, now he’s gonna think his Lady is too incompetent to be a hero. Well, not a “snake” hero at least, but a different animal hero if only she knew. The problem is Marinette is indecisive. She doesn’t know what she wants which is why she can’t choose between Adrien and Luka. Tikki and Kagami can see that and the latter even points out how Marinette needs to make up her mind already! Actually, according to the Season 3 canon episode order, this is actually the start of the mid episodes which means things won’t get more complicated ‘til the end. Especially when the last few episodes are more focused on the love issues. Currently, we’re dealing with plot right now, but we’ll eventually get there.

[kaiba-fangirl]

Fill in the questions/statement as if you are being interviewed for an article and you were your muse

Tag 10 people to do this meme, (repost, don’t reblog)

TAGGED BY: not @rogueprinceconsort =P & I know I’m not a RP blog, but I am a fanfic author so I still do the same kind of stuff, just everyone at once with chapters, so I’m sure ya won’t mind... idk itching to write Seto but his mind is all over the place in Ch7 of And You? (AO3/FFN), & I know I’ve missed a bunch of personal tags in the past, so, well, I’m here now. TAGGING: anyone 1. WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

“Seto Kaiba.”  (海馬 瀬人 Kaiba, Seto)

2. WHAT IS YOUR REAL NAME?

He narrows his eyes, already suspicious. “Legally, that IS my real name.”

3. DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU WERE CALLED THAT?

“I was born Seto,” he answers flatly, then smirks. “The Kaiba family name I earned for myself and my little brother at the age of 10, when Gozaburo agreed to adopt us thanks to my, superior negotiating skills.” [Seto after Egyptian Pharaoh Seth. Kaiba for, apparently, hippocampus/seahorse.]

4. ARE YOU SINGLE OR TAKEN? “Taken. Happily married to the number 1 female duelist, Mai Valentine. She’s now heading the new Fashion Tech and Merchandise Department at Kaiba Corp.” [but he’s also still looking >.>]

5. HAVE ANY ABILITIES OR POWERS? “Just bleeding edge technology development and superior dueling skills,” he shrugs smugly. [and hacking.] [You also accidentally activate latent magical powers every so often, dumbass. Sure he’s a genius. A genius that weaves techno-sorcery into everything & commands gods without even knowing it.] “Anything else you may have heard about magic or spirits or real monsters, is all just nonsense hocus pocus. It’s sensationalists trying to make our amazingly life-like holographic projections seem dangerous.”

6. STOP BEING A MARY SUE/GARY STU. “Heh, doesn’t that just mean born talented? You should be so lucky.”

7. WHAT’S YOUR EYE COLOR? “Blue,” he chuckles childishly. “It was probably what first drew me to, you know, Blue-Eyes, when I was young.” [It’s not. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon was his magical monster of light ‘girlfriend’ in Ancient Egypt in a past life of his 3000 years ago.]

8. HOW ABOUT YOUR HAIR COLOR? “Chestnut.”

9. HAVE YOU ANY FAMILY MEMBERS? “Living, my little brother, Mokuba, and now my lovely wife.”

10. OH? WHAT ABOUT PETS? “No pets. I barely have time for having two people in my life now it seems, and that’s even with Mokuba off travelling.” [any pet energy is expended on more Blue-Eyes White Dragon themed everything]

11. THAT’S COOL I GUESS, NOW TELL ME ABOUT SOMETHING YOU DON’T LIKE. “You wanna see a REAL Gary Stu?! As in, there is no reason he should have made it this far?! Joey fuckin Wheeler. This loser stole his way into my tournament, then has the nerve to even challenge me for 3rd place as if that meant anything, and he still ends up 4th even?! How! He operates on pure luck, and leeching off his ‘friends!’ His deck is a mess, I mean have you even seen his lineup?!?!” [Well that would all be redacted. Now, since this is for an interviewer for a published article...] He calmly and thoughtfully looks off at a spot on the far wall behind the interviewer. He purses his lips and furrows his brow, genuinely distraught, drawing from a direct encounter. “I’m actually more concerned than ever about the state of refugees- whether they have that official label or not. Around the world. Especially the children. These children don’t know what’s going on, and people say they care about children, but they really don’t. They’re not thinking of those kids- of refugee kids. Of poor kids. Of orphans or abused kids. And the way these refugees are being treated, those kids are getting hit with all those things at once. Ya know, I- I was fortunate enough to have that opportunity to be adopted, in a strong first-world nation, but I know what it’s like, to know that the grown ups are just using you, not listening to you. You’re nothing to them; maybe pawns. Now, I’m doing all I can, as president of Kaiba Corp, but there is still only so much we can do. We’re not making tanks or any weapons at all anymore-” He chokes at the thought of a tank staring him down specifically, compared to the latest news. He clears his throat to manage. “Not since the day I took over. We may not be contributing to that military industrial complex anymore, but the state of refugees today is still just as bad if not worse. Now they’re using weapons outlawed by the Geneva Conventions, and in countries that pride themselves on freedom and opportunity. Pteh. It’s madness. It’s evil.” [...aaand that just became the cover story] [We’ll be back after after a short break.]

12. DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES/ACTIVITIES YOU LIKE DOING? “Besides dueling, uh, tinkering. Reading. Hacking into random databases I shouldn’t be in.”

13. EVER HURT ANYONE BEFORE? “Next question. Don’t even print that, or you’ll be hearing from my lawyers. And they don’t play so nice.” [By ‘lawyers’ I’m pretty sure he just means goons.]

14. EVER… KILLED ANYONE BEFORE? "No.” [Gozaburo.]

15. WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL ARE YOU? "Dragon.”

16. NAME YOUR WORST HABITS. "Tch, I wouldn’t have gotten to be president of a multi-billion-dollar corporation if I had bad habits.”  [That is literally his worst habit. Also how he got there is because of all his bad habits.] He chuckles at what he’s about to make fun of. “Then again, some people think that working too much is a bad habit.”

17. DO YOU LOOK UP TO ANYONE AT ALL? "How could I when I’m already on top?”

18. GAY, STRAIGHT, OR BISEXUAL? "Irrelevant.” He smiles menacingly. “Card games are more important anyway.” [Bi and trying to figure out how to tell his wife. Then again once he does that, the press will be easy. Possibly also grey ace or demi, since he does enjoy the physical aspects of being married & his crush.]

19. DO YOU GO TO SCHOOL? “Graduated high school early and then went right back to work as CEO, at the time. I don’t have time to waste getting a piece of paper to validate my knowledge that I’m already putting to use at Kaiba Corp everyday. --but I certainly support everyone staying in school as long as they can. Kaiba Corp offers a free college tuition program for any employee, paid ahead of time, and schedules can be worked around class and homework time as needed.”

20. DO YOU EVER WANT TO MARRY AND HAVE KIDS ONE DAY? “I never thought I would want to marry, but I have always assumed I would want to adopt. Now I am married, and we both want to adopt. Someday. It needs to be when I can have time for them...” [and he’s wondering why you are supposed to only marry one person...]

21. DO YOU HAVE ANY FANBOYS/FANGIRLS? “Yeah,” he laughs, genuinely embarrassed at this level of pure idolization, “I find it endearing to see people dress up as Yugi and I at events.”

22. WHAT ARE YOU MOST AFRAID OF? “Losing my little brother.”

23. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY WEAR? “Full-length pants, tight fitting turtlenecks, boots, and a trenchcoat. More leather and straps and buckles, the better.”

24. DO YOU LOVE SOMEONE? “Of course. My little brother and my wife.” [and Joey]

25. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WET YOURSELF? [he just makes this face:]

[but possibly the last time he did hard drugs]

26. WHAT CLASS ARE YOU? (HIGH CLASS, MIDDLE CLASS, LOW CLASS) “Highest class.” He winks, for the spotlight.

27. HOW MANY FRIENDS DO YOU HAVE? “I don’t need ‘friends’ outside of my family.”

28. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON PIE? “Finally, an intelligent question!” he laughs rudely. “My thoughts are that we should change the standard approximation for π to something closer to 3.16. That’s what I use in my calculations, and I find things just seem to work out better for me because of it.”

29. FAVORITE DRINK? “I’ve started drinking a lot more water, and I think that’s pretty much all I drink lately.”

30. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE? “It’s comforting being in my office, knowing where I belong, knowing that with me there, everyone I love is safe, knowing how I got there, and being proud of all I’ve accomplished, but...” [sometimes anxiety about it being Gozaburo’s old office creeps into his mind like an evil spirit or ghost...] “But more than that, I enjoy the wild freedom of just taking my Blue-Eyes jet out with some good music playing.” [oh my various gods he will always be an emo teen at heart <3]

31. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SOMEONE? He scoffs. “Yes, I am genuinely interested in my wife. Mai is an amazing person. And- Ah, and, um, next question?” [and Joey!]

32. WHAT’S YOUR BRA CUP SIZE AND/OR HOW BIG IS YOUR WILLY? “What kind of magazine is this for, anyway?” he asks as an aside, then thinks up a ridiculous enough response. “Ever hear of Zorc? I’d say that’s roughly one-third the size of mine.” Under his breath, he scoffs in disgust. “Imbeciles.”

33. WOULD YOU RATHER SWIM IN THE LAKE OR THE OCEAN? “Er, a private pool, thanks. Too many paparazzi anyplace else, and I wouldn’t want to close off anything from the public.” [I hear there’s a river in Egypt he lives in though]

34. WHAT’S YOUR TYPE? “Independent. Strong. Great duelist. Someone who knows what it’s like at rock bottom, but still managed to claw their way to the top...” [he spaces out off to the side]

35. ANY FETISHES? *zoom out to room full of Blue-Eyes White Dragon themed EVERYTHING* “Nah.” [*insert Will Smith presenting his AO3 tags]

36. SEME OR UKE? TOP OR BOTTOM? DOMINANT OR SUBMISSIVE?

[Switch! But “And You?” is stuck at a T rating, sooo...]

37. CAMPING OR INDOORS? "The fuck- you’re giving me whiplash with these questions,” he mutters. “Camping sounds nice. Real camping. Mokuba and I used to build forts and play outside a lot. I should ask him if he wants to go on a camping trip when he gets back. I doubt- well, no, I think Mai would like that, too.” [And Joey can cook them “candy bars!”]

38. ARE YOU WANTING THE QUIZ TO END?

[yoolee]

if lee wrote otome | #6 Spaghetti Hot Mess-tern (in Space)

The whole genre of Westerns is problematic at best, and I recognize that without knowing the best way to address it, and I want to at least acknowledge that before diving in here. My grandpa and I would watch them when I was little, and then college introduced me to Firefly and y’all, I’m sunk on Space Westerns, so here we go.

Premise:

At the raggedy edge of the galaxy is a planet that’s little more than rocks, dirt, rattlers and folks with nowhere else to call home. Some came to get as far from the law as they could, some ran out of money on their way to somewhere better, and some folks are just plumb crazy enough to like it. It’s where you can’t trust the lawmen to be on your side or their own, where missionaries sing from street corners and saloon girls pour you a whiskey and charge you for two. Money talks here, not that anyone’s got much of it. It’s the end of the line (maybe even yours)

Heroine:

The new sheriff in town. Or, well, planet, as the case may be. From the inner planets—far more technologically advanced, far more rightly reined in by law and order—she knew she wanted to be a part of the big picture from a young age. A promising, brilliant cadet, she was on track to be the top graduate, assigned to the cushiest position, when a test of obedience showed that she is not above taking the law into her own hands, and with her own interpretation. She’ll do whatever it takes to keep peace and order, even if it means being a little shady. There was a massive scandal, and now she’s being shuttled off to a backwater planet no one’s ever managed to keep lawful—but you can bet she’s going to. A competent, cool-tempered diplomat who believes, despite the evidence, that there’s a small dose of reason in everyone’s heart, and has made it something of a personal mission to bring those bits to the surface of the people in her new home, and such is her stubborn, creative nature, that through hook, crook, or xanatos gambit, she often succeeds. And when she doesn’t, that’s what laser guns are for.

Supporting Cast

THE DEPUTY: A trembling, timid coward. There’s just no way around it. They are paranoid and pessimistic, morosely convinced of their own ineptitude. The depth of their terror is outmatched only by the size of their heart, which is squishy and generous and so terribly large that it often gets them into trouble (or terrifying, horrible situations like facing down outlaws). It’s their heart that is filled, perhaps more than anyone else in the abandoned planet, with a veiled courage, because while every bone and drop of blood in their body hollers at them to run for the hills every time they’re called on to do their job, somehow, it always gets done, because the thing they fear most is failing the people who depend on them. Equal parts relieved that they’re finally getting a sheriff and horrified that she’s not exactly as upstanding a citizen as was expected – and that she’ll get herself killed trying to clean the place up.

SALOON OWNER: Though she’s fond of playing the damsel-in-distress, she is anything but. It just suits her to not be seen as a real threat. She is as sweet, loving, and feminine as she presents herself, but she’s also independent, rational, and when the time calls for it, absolutely ruthless with a level-headed calm in the protection of her property, business, and people of interest. She runs a tight, tidy ship so that she can afford to be charitable and generous when she chooses too, and her friendly free-spirit belies a shrewd mind for business and making deals that are inevitably skewed in her favor, and though her feistiness is dressed in a firm sophistication, make no mistake that it’s there. Luckily for town, this poised lady is steady believer in spreading the good stuff around (not the least because it keeps everyone on her side when it comes to outside threats), and she’s considered something of a motherly figure to more than a sizeable chunk of the town.

THE REGULAR: A former fighter with his heart ripped right out of him. He’s been drunk for a decade and seems determined to stay that way. He functions surprisingly well for someone who always has whiskey on his breath and in his blood, which probably has something to do with building up a tolerance. Gregarious, friendly and good-natured, he’s the town fool and he doesn’t care. He has a plan to drink himself to death and just hasn’t gotten there yet, and if he can make a few people laugh in the meantime, well, someone oughta be able to. Sober—not that you’ll ever see him as such—he’s a steel-eyed soldier who survived four years of hell strictly on the basis of skill with his weapon, and as hard as any bounty hunter in the territories.

THE MAGNATES: (also possible LI’s MAYBE)

‘Railroad’ Baron: sole control of transport around the planet - actually a decent human being, but running a rough, tough business so can’t always give into bleeding heart because it would mean going under.

Port Authority: sole spaceport on and off the planet - greedy, greedy, pays off just about everyone and since no one ELSE has any money, they’re all too eager to take what’s offered. Leader of what amounts to a bunch of space pirates that they allow to dock - and wreak havoc on nearby systems - with the excuse that no one ELSE is paying to land on this rock

Arms Dealer: cold, cold, cold as ice. Takes advantage of the desperation, limited oversight, and lack of options to build an empire out on the middle of nowhere. Works closely with Port Authority, even though all three are in uneasy alliance at best, mostly only united in keeping the sheriff out of their business.

The Mine Owner: Majority property owner of the lesser-explored reaches of the desert planet, they’re keeping it under wraps just what’s under those mountains - and what they’re making from it. Philanthropist, but slippery slippery.

Love Interests

THE POSTULANT: An aristocrat from the inner planets, stranded out in space after a bad business deal destroyed her family and they had to hide from the debtors. Ladylike, but back her into a corner and you’ll find she’s as feisty and scrappy as her brothers (the saloon’s piano player and an outlaw, respectively)—not that she’ll ever admit a day in her life that they’re related to her. She may love them, but her position in the town is precarious enough without letting it get around she’s got a drunk and a criminal as her only living kin. She hasn’t got a penny left to her name, so she falls heavily back on manners as her strongest defense, and has the elegance and propriety of any lady in town, though she longs for her spoiled, pampered life back on her home planet, and daydreams about it frequently. She has moments of clever, curious sarcasm… when she’s not being a prissy miss. (sibling to Accidental Outlaw)

THE ACCIDENTAL OUTLAW: In over his head and going downhill fast. A funny, friendly artist by nature, he got tired of being teased for his love of painting as a kid and insisted someday he’d be big, bad, and tough. Only now he’s living it, and he just wishes he could be home again with a brush and a pad of thick paper. But on the raggedy edge of space, with the gang he runs with, that’s an attitude that will get you killed. His skill with his hands has shifted from holding a brush to pulling a gun, his eye for detail keeping him alive and alert. Each day he gets a little bit harder, a little less laid-back and easy- going, but his kindness hasn’t been stomped out yet. When he can, he tries to smuggle a few credits to his sister and brother, though for their own safety they can’t claim him as a brother anymore. And sometimes, when everyone else asleep and it’s just him and his horse, he draws in the sand, and remembers what it was like. (sibling to Postulant)

THE ‘BODYGUARD’: Competent. Frighteningly, efficiently, competent and doggedly persistent. All of which, perhaps, would be admirable traits, if it weren’t for his rather (to all appearances) complete and entire lack of a moral compass. Cold to their core, utterly ruthless and unswayed by social order or cries for mercy, their cruelty is almost casual, as efficient as anything else they do, and they’ve taken lives in the name of their employer without so much as batting an eyelash. When called upon to be by that employer, they are als adaptable – able to change themself into whatever is needed: thief, an enforcer, a smuggler, a searcher, a bodyguard, a body burier or a straight out murderer. Doesn’t matter, one way or another. Perversely loyal, in their own way, but to whom and why is something only they know. Runs too cold to have any temper to speak of, and their even-keeled approach to everything can be unnerving. (works for Arms Dealer)

(may swap gender) THE SMUGGLER (idealistic outlaw): Reckless, selfless, arrogant, sly as fox and chivalrous as a knight, always ready to stand up and for those whom authority ignores or oppresses. She is clever, heroic and undaunted by the law, and, due to her talent for making frequent escapes from perilous situations, often arrogant and a little too sure of herself. She is good-natured and merry, a generous optimist at heart who would give her last credit to a hungry traveler if she so much as heard their stomach grumble. She is incredibly idealistic, and while outlaws aren’t often noted for their morals, she has hers, and sticks to them. She has a knack for disguising herself, and charisma aplenty to convince other to go along with her. When she wants something, she can come up with a plan as wild as she is, and so far, she’s had incredible luck in making them come to pass…(officially works for Port Authority, but is spiting them)

THE HOMESTEADER: Prideful, stubborn, organized—some would say obsessively so—practical and quick-tempered, a control freak who insists on doing things exactly right, in their precise way and in the proper order. Everything has a place and its place is particular, and woe to the unwary who tries (intentionally or otherwise) to disrupt that structure, particularly when it comes to their farm. Harsh, unforgiving, and abrupt as the land they live on, their mercurially tempestuous nature is somewhat legendary in town, as is their minute attention to details no one else will notice. In fact, the whole town might have written them off as an unhappy hermit, save for their habit of taking in and caring for strays no one else wants, though they’ll and grumble about it the entire time. That soft side, though, is reserved strictly for children and small animals, and those rare, few friends who sometimes get a taste of it through snarling stubbornness. Anyone stupid enough to think that those small kindnesses by a small-time farmer make for a weak target will find themselves sadly mistaken—they guards their farm and their charges with double-barrel shotgun and an aim as spot-on as their attention to detail.

THE INVENTOR: A self-taught genius, who learned from scraps and clips of lectures when the planet actually gets intergalactic service. Mostly designs weaponry, because that’s where the money is, and they’ll compromise their morals and ethics a bit if it means they can afford to buy equipment and build their dreams. Incredibly creative, prone to talking to themself as they work, able to make do with scrap parts and trash. Has a bit of a complex about the fact they never went to formal universities. Quick-tempered but also super, super easily distracted. Less reckless than they used to be since one of their inventions took off part of an arm. They learned how to make their own prosthetics/assistive devices and are constantly fiddling with them. Really just wants to be left in peace to invent but also likes to explain, at length, all of the exciting STUFF everything can do so is in constant war with themself over introverted and extroverted tendencies.

See the rest here or if that doesn’t work, from my masterlist

[ii-thiscat-ii]

Hmmm, DVD style commentary? That sounds cool! And like an interesting read. Hmm perhaps for the You're Trapped In Here With Me fic? And incandescence? And maybe the Alvie Rosewood Affair? If you got em

Sure, I can do this. It’ll be three different posts though, so I hope you don’t mind that.

You’re Locked In Here With Me

(DVD-style commentary is provided for the author’s own amusement and should never be expected as a given. Please do send requests though.)

The title of this is a reference. If I know TAU right, I know for sure someone’s caught it, because it’s obvious and well-known, but no one has said anything yet.

The idea came about because it is hilarious and @fenerismoon is good at making jokes, and I wanted to put them in a fic. Most of the jokes are his. I still take credit for the words.

“I hereby open the case against Tyrone Larch. Mister Larch, you stand accused of twenty-seven charges of first-degree murder and one charge of cult activity and demon worship. How do you plead?” 

Set the stage immediately. We’re not surprised about the first part, but we are surprised by the second.

Again, Dipper is pretending to be human. This time though, it’s not because he wants to try living a normal life. This time he just wants to fuck with people, which is the perfect setup for a crackfic.

Literally any of the nonsense that usually shows up in crackfic can here be explained away by ‘overpowered demon in a mischievous mood’. It gives me a lot of leeway for crack, crack, and more crack.

I’m not too happy about the courtroom scene to be honest. I like some parts of it, but the whole witnesses thing ould have been handled better, and there were ideas I like that I didn’t manage to fit in. Particularly the part where one of the cops tazed him on the way out of the building, and he just kept laughing, so they kept tazing him.

Still annoyed I couldn’t get that in here.

I do like the fact that Dipper killed a bunch of people with a gun just because he wanted to. Actually, I enjoy the image of Dipper going ballistic with a couple handguns and a slasher smile, laughing all the while. That idea existed long before this fic did.

And of course Dipper fights the charge of demon worship while entirely ignoring the murder part. He’s not ashamed of just having murdered a whole bunch of cultists, but he certainly isn’t a cultist himself!

Oh, if only the judge knew…

And then he goes to jail. Mostly because he finds the idea interesting.

The last thing the prison warden expected early next morning was to have David Halver request to see him on the subject of changing his cell.

I don’t know what Dipper did to David. I don’t know what David tried to do to Dipper. All I know is that whatever you imagine is probably funnier.

I am fond of the prison warden, though. He’s just trying to do his job, and then Alcor the Fucking Dreambender decides to make it more difficult for him.

“Eh,” he shrugged, “I’ve a good sense of taste. Let’s see…” He took a bite of the so-called mystery meat and waved his fork around contemplatingly. “Okay, there’s a lot of mink in here, and definitely a bit of frog, though it’s mostly rat, I think. Maybe some seagull. And oh, nice! Someone’s lost a finger in here!” 

I’m annoyed that I used ‘in here’ twice in the same piece of dialogue. This is why you proofread, people!

Anyways, Dipper’s having fun, and the Circle makes an appearance. One of the things I like best about this universe is that it’s so large in both space and time it’s easy to add whatever laws you want. If I want the relatively harmless circlers to end up in the same place as a 27-times murderer, I can do that. If I later want them to be a completely legit religion, I can do that too. In this one, they’re outlawed, which means Dipper has to clear them out of the way before he can make real shit.

I like to think he does care for them, if only because they’re so devoted to the more human parts of him he can’t help but feel responsible for them. In this fic, that means they don’t get shanked and that’s about it.

He did not say much. A few words here, a carefully disguised insult there, a few insinuations and implications, all said to the right people at the right time. It did nothing now, but he could practically smell the ever-present tensions rising, and he left the cafeteria that day with a full stomach and the sense of a job well begun.

I like this. The more subtle applications of omniscience, if you try, could possibly be to know exactly what to say to the right person at the right time to make them stab someone three days down the line. The implications of this are terrifying, but luckily, this is a crackfic, so no one we care about gets hurt.

The second cellmate was a convicted child molester. It did not end well.

I had to. It’s TAU, after all.

The rest of them nodded, and he opened the door again and yep, curtains. There were also floral sheets on the beds instead of the usual white ones, and a cosy chair with a book open on the armrest in a corner. Larch himself stood by the side table under the window, watering a potted plant. He was supposed to have none of those things.

This part was fun. Dipper might be in prison, but that is no reason he shouldn’t be comfortable, right?

The marijuana plant was for the lols though. Most of what he does here is for the lols, but that one most of all. The guards have already started to understand that nothing he does makes any sense, in context of the laws of nature or the laws of man.

The prison riot. Shooting people in the face is fun. Making people stab each other in the face while he sits and eats popcorn is even more fun, he realizes.

He’s not… entirely sane in this fic. He’s not all the way down, but he is at a point where he finds his own amusement more important than other people’s wellbeing. It might actually be that this incident lets him wind down ehough that he can come back to sanity.

They had to pass through three locked doors on their way to his cell. The last door opened to a plain, white room with little more in it than a simple bed. Tyrone Larch was relaxing on that bed, calmly reading a book he was not supposed to have. As the door opened, he looked up at the closest guard. 

“Was there anything you needed?” he asked. 

You can just hear him laughing on the inside. He’s not actually trying to pretend he’s not a demonic trickster god here, he’s just having fun and waiting until they give up.

“Then what is this?” asked the guard, and raised his hand holding the key he had gotten from Larch.

“That’s a banana on a string,” said the warden.

It was.

Case in point. This joke is actually entirely my own and I am very proud of it. Did Dipper intervene and exchange the key for a banana at the last second? Was it a banana all along, and he’d just made it look like a key, or tricked the guards into thinking it was a key? Who knows! Either way is fun.

This is also the point the warden actually gives up and decides to figure out what the fuck is actually going on, after which the fic is more or less over.

All in all, I really like this fic. I think it was just as long as it needed to be, with just the right mood and just the right focus on just the right characters. I can’t promise I’ll ever be able to write crack like this again, but if I get the chance, I’m taking it.

And then he was gone, along with his book and the view from the window. The window stayed, though, now showing some kind of grey void.

And of course the prison gets a memento. Namely, a prison cell they can never use again because it has a portal into the void on a wall.

Sooner or later, someone is going to find out about this, and Dipper is going to have a hell of a lot to explain.

[oqpromptparty]

OQ Prompt Party Week

Hi everyone! I set up a Tumblr because I thought it would be the easiest place to post all of the prompts for the OQ Prompt Party week. 

If you’d like to take part, just select any of the prompts from the list below and write a fic, make a video or create some art based on it. Please note that more than one person may choose the same prompt.

You may submit new stories or include the prompts in any of your existing verses.

Artists & Video makers may use any of the prompts, but there are some Art/Video specific ones at the bottom of the post.

I have condensed some of the prompts that were a little too long... and feel free to take some liberties with some of the more specific prompts!

If you have any questions, please tweet @OQPromptParty

OQ Prompt Party week will run from 21st - 27th August. Please don’t post anything until then.

Prizes: 

Everyone who posts a prompt for all seven days of the OQ Prompt Party week will be sent a limited edition, one of a kind Outlaw Queen button/badge. These will never be available again, so don’t miss out! 

Each day there will also be the opportunity to win another prize. You will be entered into a prize draw and the more prompts you write, the more times your name will be entered into the draw. I will announce which prizes will be available on each day soon. 

There will also be a separate prize for most prompts included in a single one-shot/chapter (crack!fic encouraged). 

And now! Without further ado, here are your prompts: 

Prompts: 

Friends with benefits

Pride & Prejudice AU with Regina in the role of Mr. Darcy

Hospital AU with Regina as the Chief of cardio (nicknamed ‘The Evil Queen’, work addicted, hates everyone, on call room = sex) and Robin as a Nurse (follows the rules, has a crush on Regina, makes out with her in the on call room, lives in campervan in the forest) 

DarkOQ go to New York (aka real World) for their honeymoon and then stops by Storybrooke to check on Regina.

Regina kidnaps Robin to prevent him from marrying Marian.

Regina finds out her fiancé (can be any ouat character) has been cheating on her with her sister on her wedding day! She runs away to a different city or county & meets Robin.

Regina meets her soul mate online.  But is reluctant to meet Robin in person for fear of ruining what they already have.  Will Robin be able to change her mind? And what happens when her friends try to force her hand?

Robin, Regina and the Evil Queen... perhaps maybe Robin meets one, then meets the other... doesn't quite realise straightaway... ooh they could be twins!

Regina as a headmistress and Robin being a billionaire whose son Roland, goes to the school where Regina is the boss.

Robin being Regina's personal trainer, because Regina wants to work out before her wedding but we all know that wedding won't happen now that they met.

Regina mothering Roland (it'd be awesome if Robin witnessed at least a part of the scene)

Robin actually dies in 5x02 and after seeing Robin getting taken to the underworld Regina chooses to follow. It's the author's choice whether she goes alone or with the storybrooke clan.

Regina owns a Dessous boutique and Robin comes in quite often to buy stuff for his imaginary girlfriend in Regina's sizes and her taste because he just wants to talk to her and work up the courage to ask her on a date but Regina thinks him weird bc why would he flirt with her and buy all this shit for his girlfriend. Later she finds all the unopened bags with stuff in his apartment.

Wonder Woman scene at the healing lake thingy. Regina sees a (naked) man for the first time.

"you can't just run around and threaten to kill everyone." "Oh but you never told me that so how would I know?"

Dark Robin contacts Regina when he doesn't know how to deal with the EQ after a particular fight.

Ink Heart AU Whenever Regina reads a story out loud, characters come to life. She vows never to read out loud again.  One day she comes home to find Robin Hood in her son's room. Henry confesses that he shares her strange gift.

"The poor guy at table 4 has almost ordered the whole menu just so he can look at you and you didn't even give him a smile. How about when you slip him your number instead of ask what dessert he wants."

Troy AU (Robin as Achilles and Regina as Briseis, evtl. Hook as Paris and Emma as Helena) when her temple is plundered Robin saves priestess Regina from the hands of the Spartan men.

Roland spills something over himself in Regina's vault and now any time he lies he turns further into a donkey (like in Pinocchio).

(early OQ) Regina comes home and finds the television is dead because it has tons of arrows sticking out. "What on earth did the poor TV do to you?!"

Missing Year body swap AU with Regina and Robin

Homeless AU "You gave me a dollar every day for three years and now I had a bit of luck, I have a job and I really want to pay you back."

"have you by any chance seen my vibrator?" "What's that?" *Explanation* "Ooooh, that thing. Yes, used it to fix the ____."

Regina and Robin meet Daniel/Marian in the Underworld

Cora didn't get the sheriff but the real Robin on Regina's birthday.

Regina meets the baby of DarkOQ for the first time

It's cold and OQ share a blanket

OQ's first camping trip with the kids and Regina turns out to be a natural at _______.

Robin isn't really dead, he's caught in the book of "Adventures of Robin Hood" and tries to get (a message) back to Regina.

Henry decides to throw the author's rules over board and rewrites his mom's happy ending.

It's Regina's first bday after Henry is gone and she feels lonely. The doorbell rings and a little Roland is waiting there with a half eaten cupcake for her (ofc he says it wasn't him, but the icing on his cheeks says it all).

OQ go skinny dipping in the water and when they come out someone stole their clothes.

After missing year just after curse broke. Regina asks Robin to pick up some tampons for her from the store. It turns into quite an adventure because Robin doesn't know what they are.

AU A: "sorry you're sitting on my sun lounger. B: oh and since when is it yours?" A: I clearly reserved it before breakfast with my towel - which by the way you're sitting on! so get your butt off my sun lounger or else."

Robin spills a drink on Regina.

Your OTP is covering up a murder.

Robin doesn’t die instead is resurrected somehow and in NYC as a dark Robin. Things from the finale happen. Regina kills the EQ but she doesn’t die because her soul is tethered to Robin or something like  that. EQ and evil Robin find each other. Regina has to find a way to kill EQ or reunite with her and save Robin from the darkness.

Robin dies or so they believe, but in actuality a villain has given Robin a memory curse and he remembers nothing of his life with Regina. Regina helps him remember.

Regina and Robin go look for Daniel’s grave and they happen to find  both his and Marian’s stone. Both tipped over and Regina and Robin  share an emotional moment.

Groundhog Day AU with OQ.

A fic based on the movie Sabrina.

Regina drunkenly confesses to Robin about the lion tattoo and pixie dust. Robin misunderstands and thinks she doesn't want him around her

Regina picks up the newest book by her favorite writer. Another best  seller that she can’t get enough of. What she doesn’t realize is that  the heroine from those books is inspired by her and the books were  written by her sweet, handsome but oh so shy (at least in RL) neighbor  Robin.

Regina and Marian are single moms, neighbors and best friends. When Marian dies she leaves Roland in Regina’s care. A  few months later Robin moves in next door. While unpacking his things  he discovers a picture of a very pregnant Marian and remembers their  night together before leaving for England. There is a date on the back  of the photo and he does the math. He is a father and his son is closer  than he thinks.

Through a glitch in the system (or was it?) two strangers find  themselves married to each other. (somewhat inspired by the movie  Accidental Husband).

Regina’s house/apartment is on fire. Lt. Robin Locksley and his  men save her and Henry. She goes over to the firehouse to thank them  properly and ends up inviting Robin for dinner.

Robin as gladiator and Regina as his domina. (pure smut)

Robin proposes to Regina with a little bit of help from the Storybook and Henry.

The smuttiest smut you’ve ever written in your life.

Robin is taking dancing lessons to surprise Regina on their first  wedding anniversary (since their wedding dance ended in a disaster when  he broke her toe) and Regina thinks he is cheating. She even follows him  with Tinkerbell to find out with who.

Robin and Regina are roommates. Robin accidentally walks in on her getting out of the shower. Regina returns the favor.

Regina drags Robin along with her for a little shopping. Their last  stop is Victoria’s Secret and things get “hot and steamy” in the changing room.

Regina and Robin are  single parents (Henry and Roland are the same age and go to class  together) and have clashed a couple of times during parent/school  meetings. She thinks he is immature and irresponsible. He thinks she is  overprotective and overbearing. A school camping trip comes up and  both go as chaperons (not their idea). Henry and Robin bond and so do  Roland and Regina and they both start seeing each other in a new light.

Regina as a soldier. She comes home from her second tour in Iraq. She  is not the same woman she used to be after all the things she has seen  and  all the things she has done. She wants to get her life back on track.  Along the way, she meets Robin who is battling his own demons and  understands her better than she thinks.

Robin trying to stop EQ!Regina like Xander did with Dark Willow on BTVS.

Robin picks up a hitchhiker named Regina. Things get interesting while on the road.

Henry and Roland are friends (they are about 10 years old). Roland  really likes Henry’s mom Regina and Henry thinks Roland’s dad Robin is  pretty cool. They decide to play cupid.

Henry makes sure that  several things in his house break and Robin (a handyman) has to come and  fix them. Hopefully, his mom’s broken heart as well.

Regina,  single mom, mayor and workaholic is in desperate need of a new housekeeper/nanny after Henry has scared off yet another one. Robin,  widower and single dad who’s life has not been easy after losing Marian  is in desperate need of a new job and home for him and his son Roland.

After a blackout, heavily pregnant Regina ends up stuck in an elevator  (or another place, whichever you prefer) with a stranger. Unfortunately,  her water breaks and Robin has to help her deliver her baby.

Regina is Mary Margaret’s childhood friend and maid of honor. Robin is  David’s best friend from college and best man. The first meeting  between the couple’s best friends doesn’t go as planned and ends in a  disaster with a very upset MM and a disappointed David. Regina and Robin  are forced to put their differences aside to ensure a happy wedding day  for their friends.(If there is a part with them having to take dance  lessons and things heat up during that I won't be sad.)

Regina and Robin as thieves: It is the 3rd time he had outsmarted her and stolen from right under  her nose. Only this time he is a bit careless with his disguise (at  least that’s what she thinks) and she manages to see the lion tattoo on  his right arm which helps her track him down. Her plan is to steal  everything back from him. His plan is to steal one last thing from her:  her heart.

Robin, a single dad, saves Henry from being run over by a car, but gets hit himself in the process.  Regina is so grateful she helps him and Roland while Robin heals.

Robin is a disgruntled former employee of Cora Mills who, in a moment of desperation, kidnaps Coras daughter, Regina.

Robin, somewhat of a ladies man, gets the shock of his life when a  social worker hands him a baby boy, telling him that his mother had died  and that she wanted the baby’s father to take care of him. Robin doesn’t know what to do and asks his neighbor Regina for help.Regina  is reluctant at first. She doesn’t like him. Thanks to him Henry has witnessed his conquests walks of shame on a regular basis which always led to awkward questions.

Robin can’t explain the feelings he has for Regina. One night he  overhears a very drunk Regina and Tinkerbell (Tink already knows that  it’s Robin and drops a few hints without giving him away) talking about  the man with the lion tattoo and it all starts making sense.

Robin cuts in line at the supermarket. Regina is not having it.

Robin is so used to sleeping in the forest he won't fall asleep in houses etc because of the missing forest noises (birds, frogs...)

instead of Neal, Pan's shadow Robin and Roland to Neverland.

Author Henry by accidentally mixes up some of his comics with the stories he's supposed to be writing down. ... therefore somehow Regina and Robin trade places with some comic book characters.

Regina used to be a teen Popstar, now a few decades have passed. Life has happened etc and she's asked to be back on stage for a show to celebrate the decade she's been famous in. They want her to share the stage though with a few men who used to the British boyband "The Merry Men"

AU based on the film "one fine day"

Enchanted Forest, s3, OQ secret candlelight dinner.

David, Killian and Robin talking about things from the land without magic with King Arthur (and Merlin). Gadgets, things that vibrate (including sex toys and phones), birth control, underwear…

Robin asking Regina what certain things are (for) after having been to the store/supermarket/pharmacy like roller skates and birth control.

Robin is a wedding planner. Regina is divorce lawyer.

Robin and Regina are actors in the same movie or tv-show who are in denial about being in love with each other. Their friends on set try to trick them into discovering their feelings

OQ’s first baby.

Robin is a counselor/psychologist who helps people with anger management. Regina is a particularly difficult patient of his.  they both develop feelings for one another.

Roland looses his first tooth

Robin teaches Regina how to shoot an arrow.

Regina teaches Robin how to ride (assuming he doesn't know how to)

Robin meets Cora/Henry in the underworld

Regina tells Robin that she's infertile.

Roland and Henry prepare a surprise birthday party for Regina.

Roland’s first tantrum with Regina

Roland can't sleep so he sneaks in Henry’s bedroom. When Regina and Robin wake up, they find a fort has been built in Henry’s room and the two boys sleeping soundly.

Just like she did with Henry when he was younger, Regina shows Roland how to garden and he insists in having his own plant to take care of.

Henry and Robin spend a day/afternoon/or/night alone for the first time.

Robin asks Henry to be his best man

Regina asks Roland to be his flower boy

Regina is sick, her men take care of her

Family vacation/road trip

Roland is scared of something (darkness, or whatever) and he is ashamed. Henry tells him that until this day he is still scared of (insert something)

Regina snores while sleeping with Robin.

Robin doesn't know how to work a toaster.

Robin tries to steal Regina’s cab.

Sex goes horribly wrong and they laugh about it

Roland loses Robin's bow

Kissing in the rain

Modern day AU where they are cosplayers and meet at a Comic Con

Roland wants to be the evil queen for Halloween

Sex on the kitchen table

Robin accidentally gets Regina the flowers she hates most.

Robin is allergic to something and Regina accidentally feeds it to him.

Robin and Roland miss Regina and video call her.

Regina takes Robin and Roland to the beach for the very first time.

Henry decides he wants to be a vegetarian so Regina and Robin follow suit as moral support, but they're secretly sneaking bacon, chicken wings and pepperoni pizza into their room.

Regina and Robin talking over what Zelena did to him.

Robin and Regina putting her heart back in after Zelena took it for her spell.

Regina remembering Robin is still chained to a tree after the shattered sight spell is over.

Regina and Robin take roland for ice cream for the first time (Roland being introduced to her). Leading to the scene we saw of them walking hand in hand, on the way to grannies.

Missing year: Snow ships oq! And however that manifests, maybe Regina realised she's been trying to match make with the two of them? Snow goes to Robin to talk about Regina cos she's worried?

Regina thinks Robin may be cheating on her with his ex Marian... until they introduce her to Mulan, her girlfriend.

Party of Five AU. Henry has to take care of the Hood-Mills kids after OQ dies.

Canon divergent oneshot where Robin crashes Regina's wedding hoping to steal some jewels and fancy plates but ends up stealing her instead.

Roland finds two kittens, they love Regina the most.

A walk in the woods / on the beach.

Cuddling during a flight.

Robin & Regina hide the dagger…

Robin is a comic-strip artist and an owner of comic book store. He creates a new super heroine inspired by his favorite customer Regina, who he admires from afar.

How the EQ responds to Robins proposal/first time they see each other after the arrow.

D!OQ first kiss.

D!OQ stealing from the rich together so kinda bandit EQ.

Robins birthday....Regina bakes him a cake and probably has some other surprises for him!!

Regina asking Robin to move in with her.

How S3 should have ended...no Marion coming back nonsense. Them having a nice family dinner at granny's and Regina asking Robin if he wanted to go home with her,for their first night together.

Any domestic OQ kitchen chores with Regina in one of Robins shirts.

Them having a conversation about her cutting her hair, why did she do it, him running his fingers through it.

Henry catching them in a compromising position somewhere.

Regina watching Robin sleep the morning after the vault before she gets up and dressed.

A lot more vault blanks filled in. Did she question/was there any conversation after the initial kiss? Where'd they go? What exactly happened?

Regina having a hard time on Roland's first day of school.

Any and all oq wedding scenarios.

Robin seeing Marion in the underworld (or getting to do anything in the underworld).

Jealous Robin in Camelot.

Hogwarts AU where Robin is the Gryffindor Guy who falls for the Slytherin girl Regina.

Regina and Roland use magic mirrors as walkie talkies.

Robin is called to the principal's office after Roland gets in a fight with a kid who said mean things about Regina.

Sliding Doors AU.

Roland opens a lemonade stand.

Robin has to sub in for Regina at a Parent Teachers Association meeting for school.

Robin discovers bacon. (bonus points for sexy kitchen shenanigans)

Henry protects Roland from bullies.

Regina is bad at camping but then saves Roland from bears.

Robin and Regina watch Game of Thrones together. Robin thinks Regina would have given Cersei a run for her money. Also Regina's dragon is cooler than Dany's dragons.

The Notebook AU

Dark OQ masquerading as real OQ.

Regina gets drunk and wanders into Robin's camp late at night...either to yell at him, or fuck him (or both).  she ends up breaking his tent.

Regina owns a bar and Robin is a regular who has a secret crush on her.

Robin and Regina meet at a singles vacation resort, have a blast together, and agree not to see each other when vacation is over.  But then someone breaks that agreement....

Bandit!Regina and Robin get captured by Nottingham and have to find a way to get out of the cell.

Wish Nottingham also comes over to the Enchanted Forest with Wish!Robin and The Evil Queen.

Regina and Robin meet at the principals office after their children are caught fighting.

Robin has amnesia.  He falls in love with his Regina, his doctor.

Regina and Wish!Robin get married in the EF.

Despite cursing herself with infertility, Regina becomes pregnant.  She talks to Robin about her confusion as to what this means.

Regina and Robin meet at a grief counseling session.

Blind date.

Regina or Robin suffers a sex related injury.

Regina's hair is curly and Robin likes.

Henry asks Robin for advice on girls.

Roland tells Regina that he is scared that someone will take his papa away.

Roland asks Regina to be his mother for "Bring Your Mom To School Day"

Regina enchants Roland's birthday cake so whatever he wishes for comes true.

Skype sex.

Regina and Robin meet in a club.  There's instant attraction and smut ensues.

Henry is a child actor who gets fired by some douchey TV producers, Regina and Robin comfort him.

Henry and Roland have their first fight.

Regina gets hit by a car and Robin is a good samaritan who helps her.

Missing year. A drunken Regina confesses her attraction to Robin.

Robin gets drunk and tells John he thinks he's falling in love with the evil queen.

MissingYear sick!Regina with Robin taking care of her.

s7 setting, cursed Robin (with another name), Seattle university professor, goes out for a drink after a rough day at a bar he usually avoids as he knows many of his students frequent there, making eyes to the 'zesty and feisty' bar owner. When he meets her, he understands why... What he doesn't understand is why his heart flutters the moment she speaks to him nor does she get why a strange tattoo on his arm seems strangely familiar.

Based on BBC's Sherlock, Regina as Irene Adler and Robin as Sherlock Holmes, but with their own unique touch to it... What happens when insane consulting criminal Gold hires a well known dominatrix to take out the world's most genius detective? How does her mind that matches his own manage to make him feel something he had never felt before???

He's a loner, willingly avoiding human contact and emotional connection after the unexpected loss of his wife (and child... I know I'm bad). He's given an AI program that talks to him as if it were a real person. Her voice intrigues him, her responses are clever and witty... She sounds so real.... If only she were. Is she?

Just Like Heaven au. He's in a coma. She's moving in to his apartment, but his spirit seems to have other ideas. How can they coexist? And can she bring him back?

Henry jumps from realm to realm searching for Robin's soul. When he crashes Cinderella's carriage, he discovers this new realm hides way more surprises than he thought... Like exiled souls that search for a way back.

Bandit Regina gets arrested under Prince John's command... Funnily enough someone she considered her rival occupies the cell right next to hers. Can they work together to escape? Can they trust each other with their freedom and life?

Grown up (and quite magical) Robyn discovers the truth about her conception and the unfair loss of her father... Needless to say, she holds a huge grudge, but when she faces Regina about it, she discovers how deeply her aunt has been hurt over that loss and how she hid her pain all those years…

After Robyn searches for her brother, the two share a talk about their past, their father and Regina.... She listens from afar, tears running down her face, as she recalls so many moments in which she felt she'd be truly happy like she always planned with him... Funnily enough, he listens too.. And makes sure she knows he does. And that his children do too.

House MD AU. She's his boss, he's a smart pain in the ass yet the most brilliant mind she has in her hospital... And one of her oldest acquaintances as well. When she searches for a way to have a child and tries in vitro... He's the only one she trusts with the injections... But he objects to her having a child with someone she doesn't know... Will she listen?

Robin meets Regina in Seattle and they fall for each other again not recognizing who the other is. When the curse breaks (and we all bawl our eyes out with them cause they found each other after three billion years) robin reveals he has a huge thing for Regina in curls... After he does, she embraces her natural wave almost permanently.

Outlaw queen adopting a baby

Hood Mills family getting their first pet

Robin telling Regina he can't have children.

Regina coming out as bisexual or pansexual.

Robin proposing to Regina in the forest.

Robin getting his first job in Storybrooke.

Robin coming out as bisexual or pansexual.

Regina teaching Robin how to use modern things.

(AU) Robin didn't die, he ends up in the new town (and is cursed too), meets Regina and he can feel the connection but he can't remember anything. They develop a relationship and break the curse with a true love kiss.

(Young OQ AU) Regina is dating Robin and she can't wait to go to prom with him but something happens and she can't go so Robin organize a romantic dinner in her garden.

Sunday morning breakfast

Dealing with Regina's period [ex. cramps, moodiness, extra horny, etc.]

Midnight snack

Bartender AU [one owns the bar, the other is a bartender, sparks fly, love unfolds, etc.]

Robin & Regina meet & fall in love in their 50's.

“South Pacific" AU.

There are a few prompts for certain writers that I will send out individually.

Video specific prompts:

The Winner Takes It All - Regina, Robin, Zelena/Marian

Bluebird

Sanctuary (Nashville OST)

Uptown Girl

Art specific prompts:

Banner to use for the fic Happiness Can't Be Arranged by grayautumnsky (OQ meets Jane Austen)

WW2 AU by grayautumnsky - Robin is a Nazi soldier during the occupation of France. If this were a manip (doesn't have to be), the pics of Sean from Timeless would be perfect. As for Regina, when I think of her in this fic I always picture the character Sira from The Time In Between (which is set during WW2).

Regina & Robin reading legends about him (a canon scene which we've never seen). And if I can ask for anything else: I'm so weak for DimplesQueen, I'd love to see a drawing of them&Robin

Robin & Regina go on vacation.