#and the lady was like well you can't do that you have to dye it brown first

[ishikawayukis]

bought some hair dye and i'm ready to fuck my hair up (on wednesday)

[smuthospital]

🎃⭐️Texas Chainsaw Massacre x reader⭐️🎃

Art by: Minilev

Premise: You go hiking with a friend and this bitch has the audacity to leave you alone. You end up hitchhiking with some hippies, but their van gets a flat! Oh no! Good thing there's a farmhouse nearby. Maybe they can help

Note: I had this in the drafts for awhile. I decided to whip it out for halloween. Enjoy. Say one thing bad thats not constructive criticism and its a block. Tired of these fucking kids smh. Also, imagine everyone with a soulthern accent

-Dr. Smut

Minors DNI

Warning: Non-Con, side charicter death, mentions of gore, kidnapping, fem reader

"So uh..thanks for picking me up." You say with a nervous smile. You refrain from coughing as the strong smell of marijuana floods your nose. Right now, you're in a classic 70s Volkswagen van, hitchhiking through Texas. Your friend convinced you to go backpacking with her, but a quarterway through, she ditched you to continue the trip with her new boyfriend. Some junky she met at a gas station. You can't exactly turn tail and go home because she took the car, and stranded you in the middle of nowhere so, you had no choice, but to catch a ride with some hippies.

"No prob, sweet cheeks. Anything for a pretty lil' lady like yourself." The driver looks back at you for a moment and winks. You think he may like you. You cringe slightly. "Eddy has a crush on you! Ain't that right, Ed?" A girl next to you wearing a tie-dye crop top pokes Edds back a couple of times. "Well, who wouldn't?" He chuckles. You play with your fingers nervously. You've been driving along a dusty, desolate path through some empty part of Texas for a while now. You've always been perturbed by the idea of Texas. Americans and with their guns and hot temper and all. It seems you may have watched too many scary movies. You haven't seen a soul for miles, let alone a house, just tall grass and more tall grass.

The car suddenly jolts and you're all jostled around. The girl sitting next to you clings to you as the driver slams the brakes. You gasp for air, your heart pounding a mile a minute. "Huh!? W-what the!?" Edd shouts before hopping out to investigate. You cautiously slip out the back and join him. Edd lifts a spiked wire. It's still stuck in the now flat tire. "Some asshole must'a dropped it here while delivering somethin'," he says as he drops it back on the ground. It popped the back tires. You pull out your phone. No service. Of course.

"Do you have any spares?" You ask, hoping to get out of this creepy place. "Unfortunately these are the spares, sweet cheeks." He sighs. "Weren't you supposed to buy more, Ed?" Ann shouts from the window. "This is no time to argue! We have to get help!… Look, There's a farmhouse right there. Let's hope someone's home." He says, walking towards it.

You hesitantly follow them to the creepy house. "I'm gonna check the farm, you two knock on the door." Edd doesn't give anyone time to respond before he walks off. You walk up to the front door and Ann knocks. You feel like you're being watched. You shift from foot to foot nervously. A few minutes pass and no word. Not even a sound. "What the? Where's Edd? If no one was home, he should be back by now!" Ann looks around. You begin feeling incredibly anxious. "Let's go find that idiot," she says and walks off quickly, you follow behind her. You can't leave her to do it by herself so you agree. You walk over to the farm and see…the gate open.

"H..hello?" You call. "E-Edd?"…No response. The two of you cautiously walk into the house. It smells like wood and iron. You see a red smudge on the wall…weird. This is getting scary. "Ann…I think we sh-" You're cut off by a blood-curdling scream from Ann. You quickly go over to the open doorway she's looking at to see a horrific sight. Edd has been cut to pieces. You hold back bile in your throat and grab Ann. "Let's go!" You shout. She snaps out of her trance and follows you to the entryway, only for the two of you to halt in your tracks.

Standing there is a giant, his hulking frame filling the doorway. He's the scariest thing you've ever seen in your life. A mask covers half his face, and in his arms is a chainsaw. You make eye contact with the beast and scream. Ann yanks you deeper into the house, hoping to find an exit. The man follows you, hot on your trail. You see a back door and try to open it, but it's locked. Cassie then barely avoids losing her arm as she dodges the giant.

He hasn't tried to attack you yet. You grab a chair and smash it through a window. You pick up a plant and throw it at the man, who cornered Ann. He's completely unphased, but pauses and looks at you as if to warn you. You toss his warning to the wind and jump on his back. "Ann, go!" You scream. Ann runs towards the window but stops when another man shorter than the man you're currently on top of, smashes a hammer onto her head.

You hear a crack and she falls to the floor, limp. "Ann!" You cry. Your body was then slammed to the floor by the hulking, chainsaw-wielding psychopath. You whimper and crawl backwards. You hit a wall and he lifts his chainsaw towards you. You're thankful It's turned off. You close your eyes and wait for death. You feel the blade lightly touch your collarbone…and then gently move down between your breasts and to the junction between your spread legs…he rubs your thigh with the chainsaw lightly, as if thinking. You look up at him in confusion. He tosses the saw to the side and grabs your face in his large hand. He tilts your head from side to side, examining you.

"Think she's pretty, Tommy?" The man who just attacked Ann asked.

'Tommy', the giant holding your face grunts and nods. You're horrified. Does this monster think you're pretty? "Yeah, I agree, Tommy. Good thing you didn't turn her into dinner… though, I don't think you were gonna. You had your eye on her since their car landed in our road trap." He laughed. Trap!? This was all a setup!? Did he say dinner!? Your head is spinning.

Tommy looped his bur waist arm around your waist and hoisted you up, placing you on his shoulder like you weighed a small sack of potatoes. "H-hey! What are you doing? Put me down!" You shout, pounding your hands on his back, but it doesn't even look like he knows you're hitting him. You hear footsteps and look up to see an old woman looking over at you. “P-please help me” you whimper. She smiles down at you sweetly.

"Well, I do say, you sure found yourself a sweet little thing. Ain't that right, Thomas.” The hulking figure above you grunts in agreement. You cry as you realize she has no intention of helping you in the least. “She has a pretty voice too…Take care of my Tommy, girl!” She warns, glaring down at you. “Tommy. Get'er to pop out a few farmhands, will you?" All blood drains from your face. They…want you to…what? Tommy carries you down into a dark, creepy basement. You almost puke. You see dead bodies hanging from hooks and dismembered limbs and bones strewn about….is that Edd? You're carried down a hallway and into a room. The room is empty besides a dirty mattress in a corner. He throws you on the mattress and begins to undress you immediately.

You scream and try to stop him, but he's just too strong. "P-Please stop!" You cry. Tears flow down your cheeks and you hiccup. Tommy leans down and wipes away your tears, not calming you in the slightest. He strips you down to your bra and panties and takes a good look at you, drinking up your body. You can see the lust in his eyes. He grunts in excitement and removes his bloody apron. You curl your body up and hide yourself from him. He softly strokes your cheek and hugs you like you're a teddy bear. He's oddly gentle, but you feel he's losing patience. He taps your shoulder a few times, silently urging you to show yourself to him. when you don't, his taps become a little harder. He grunts in annoyance. He presses himself into you, trying to get closer. You feel his hard cock through his pants and try to shuffle back.

He grunts in frustration, yanking your arm and knees apart, forcing your body to reveal. You need to do something!…" Please,… don't hurt me, Tommy" He only stares into your eyes. You can see emotions swirl in his eyes before he lets go of you and stomps out of the room. Looks like he's giving you time to cooperate. You bring your hands to your face and sob. You look up. You have to get out of here! You hope to god you can do this. You get up and tip-toe towards the door as quietly as you can. You slowly open it and slide it open just enough for you to fit through, which proves to be quite difficult as it's very heavy. You don't know how the monster did it before.

You continue to quietly make your way down the dark hallway, missing the dark shadow to your side. You try not to look around too much at the carnage before making your way up the stairs. You find the window you previously broke now boarded up. You take a deep breath, preparing to make a run for the front door. You haven't heard anyone yet so you think you're still in the clear. You make it to the front door and just as you're about to try and open it, your body is slammed against the wall, your breath knocked out of you. You cough and groan. You feel dizzy. You look up to see Tommy staring down at you with a look of anger. Was he waiting for you to try to escape?

You grit your teeth before lifting your knee to knee him in the crotch, but he anticipates it and grabs your leg, lifting it. He makes space for himself between your legs and lets his large hands roam your bare midriff and up to your breasts where he proceeds to rip off your bra, revealing your chest to him. You whimper in pain and try to hide yourself, earning yourself a shove into the wall, banging your head slightly.

The corners of your eyes go dark for a few moments. Your head stops spinning when he leans down and slides his tongue up your cheek. His other hand reaches down and roughly grabs at your clothed cunt. He makes sounds of excitement once again. Saying you're terrified would be an understatement. You feel his fingers cup and wiggle around down there, not knowing what to do, but liking the feeling of doing it.

You again try to shove him off as best you can. He grunts in annoyance and moves the hand previously on your chest up to your throat. Your whimpers and please turn into choked gasps and gurgles as he squeezes. He gets even closer and you can feel something hard rub against your lower stomach. "Get her, Tommy, get her!" You hear from behind him. He grunts in response and tears off your underwear. He brings it to his nose and inhales. His eyes roll back a bit as if smelling the most heavenly scent imaginable.

You now realize he's probably never held a woman before and he's completely deprived of any sort of warm human touch. "Common, Tommy, gimme that! You get to have her, the least I should get is her undies!" His brother pleads. Tommy contemplates holding the small bit of cloth in front of him before tossing it back, which his brother catches and desperately presses to his face, moaning into the fabric like it's an oxygen mask.

Tommy grabs your hair and begins dragging you back down to the basement. You scream in pain and grab onto his hand for any relief as you're forced to the ground. "No! Please! Ahh Stop!" You cry out. He drags your naked body down the blood-crusted steps and makes his way back to the room you dread. He tosses you onto the mattress once again. By the time you manage to get up on your knees, you hear a clinking sound and turn to see him undoing his belt.

You crawl into the corner as he gets on his knees before you, his shadow casting over you. He unbuttons his shirt and lets it fall off. You now know that trying to inflict pain on him is futile. Muscles that scream he could crush you like a soda can. Not only is he as big as a fridge, but he also looks like an off-season pro wrestler. You can see a very prominent bulge struggling to free itself. The size of the tent itself is intimidating.

His eyes lock on yours as he slowly unzips his belt and frees his aching cock. You look away and feel his weight settle on the bed closer to you. You can feel his heavy breathing on the side of your face. He grabs your legs and yanks you beneath him, positioning himself at your entrance. You feel his bulbous tip rub up and down your folds. "Please…" Your eyes widen and you trail off as your eyes lower to what's prodding at your cunt. You want to look away, but morbid curiosity wins. It's almost unbelievable. His cock like himself, is too big. It's long, very thick and veiny. It looks like a beer can. You can just tell he's smiling under his mask.

He slowly pushes the tip in. You try to scoot back, but he grips your hips with his massive hands and pushes forward, but fails entry, seeming too big. He grunts in frustration. He tries again, this time managing to push the tip in. You scream. It hurts so bad. "No, y-you're too big!" you gasp, squirming in place. He holds your hips tighter and continues pushing forward, impaling you on his cock, all the way to the base.

Your mind blanks. You're unable to think cohesively. You're in so much pain. He lets out a groan of pleasure and doesn't wait for you to adjust to his size and just starts moving. It feels like your organs are moving around to accommodate his massive size. You look down to see a large bulge in your lower stomach. You whimper and groan as he thrusts. "W-why?" You croak. He looks up at you before lifting your knees, pressing them to your chest and leaning on you. Your eyes roll into the back of your head as you feel him push deeper into your womb, the tip of his cock threatening to push through your cervix. He nuzzles his face into the side of your neck, cooing softly to you affectionately while playing with your hair as if to say 'I love you'.

You cry beneath him, moans being forced from your lips as his hips plow into yours. Tommy grabs your breast, rolling the nipple between his fingers. You can hear him making happy sounds of some sort between grunts. He suddenly picks you up and gets off the bed with you in his arms, skewering you on his cock. He raises you up and down like a human fleshlight. You uncontrollably moan into his shoulder. His hands grope your ass as he starts to force you up and down faster. It feels good. You can't help but feel shame.

He grunts loudly and forces himself as deep as he can. You whine as you feel a rush of hot cum flow into you. Rope after rope, he fills you up. You feel so hot inside. Your stomach bloats from the sheer volume he fucked into you. He pants and looks at you, rubbing your cheek with his. He slowly lifts you off his cock, cum pouring from your abused cunt before setting you down on the mattress. He covers you with a thick warm blanket and brushes your hair from your face, stroking it with his thumb lovingly. If you knew this was gonna be a one-way trip, you would've brought some pillows.

[haystarlight]

What if mlp characters had Tumblr

🌟 smartypants Follow

I have a princess conference in the morning but that won't stop me from staying up till 3 am on AO3. Mama needs her bedtime stories

🐉 ogres&oubliettesenthusiast Follow

OP go to sleep or I will eat your crown

2,008 notes

🎈 smilesmilesmile Follow

All of you are like "would you fuck your clone?" hypothetically but, in practice, clones are too dumb to give consent and that's the real reason why I didn't sleep with any of my clones when I had the chance

🎈 totally-not-a-clone Follow

OP you still have a chance

10,000 notes

✨ great&powerful Follow

It's always "take off the evil amulet! it's corrupting your mind!" and never "oh! you look so pretty in your new amulet!"

✨ great&powerful Follow

Celestia forbid ladies do anything

102 notes

😏 sexiestvillaintournament Follow

🦋 Id-like-to-be-a-tree Follow

Um, would you guys please stop voting for my boyfriend?

🌪️ whatfunisthereinmakingsense Follow

I take it as a compliment

🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow

I am offended

500,467 notes

🍎 cmc-omc Follow

Y'all know how some families got a gay cousin and all 'em other cousins are straight? Well mah family's the opposite. Ah don't even think we got a straight cousin!

🍎 cmc-omc Follow

Mah sister says we have to assimilate other ponies into our family so the family name don't die out. She would do numbers here

5,667 notes

🌈 20%cooler Follow

GUYS I'M SO SORRY FOR THE DELAYS

I've just been on the hospital (again) cause I got zapped by lightning (again)

But I promise I'll update my Daring Do/Reader fic as soon as I can! Thanks for the patience, love you guys!

🌟 smartypants Follow

It's okay, take your time! I'll just reread the old chapters in the meantime

🐉 ogre&oubliettesenthusiast Follow

NO!!! YOU WILL GO TO SLEEP!!!

120 notes

💎 chicunique&maginifique Follow

"how are you so good at fashion" well you'd be an expert in fashion too if you'd spent 20 years in the closet

🔔 professional-theatre-filly Follow

My sister in Celestia that closet was made of glass

20,354 notes

🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow

Nothing like coming back from exhile just to find your bedroom was replaced by a whole ass forest

Some people have no respect for others belongings

☀️ cake.by.the.ocean Follow

I don't control the growing of the magical forest, bitch

🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow

Rude

☀️ cake.by.the.ocean Follow

Don't think I forgot about that time in 500 B.E. that you stole my ice cream

200 notes

🛴 the-agender-acrobat Follow

You can't hurt me I have mommy AND daddy issues I'm unstoppable

🌈 20%cooler Follow

OP do you need me to adopt you

🛴 the-agender-acrobat Follow

I would love that actually

1,554 notes

💎 chicunique&magnifique Follow

*levitates my cat out of the way so I can use the sewing machine, which I need for my job*

my cat: YOU LIFT OPALESCENCE?!?!???! YOU LIFT HER WITH YOUR WICKED SORCERY?!??!!!! YOU ASSERT CONTROL OVER HER WITH YOUR MAGIC?!?!??! OHHHHH!!! MOTHER IS EVIL!!!!!

🔔 professional-theatre-filly Follow

I agree with the cat

1,827,654 notes

🥕 Carrot-TOPING Follow

Girlfriend is out of town all week so I'm gonna dye my mane and tail green

💎 chicunique&magnifique Follow

WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING

🥕 Carrot-TOPING Follow

She's all my self control

364, 245 notes

🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow

Back in my day we tagged our fanfiction properly. There's a difference between / and & you rufians

☀️ cake.by.the.ocean Follow

Shut up old lady

🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow

YOU'RE OLDER THAN ME

30,150 notes

🩵 girlboss Follow

Sure, sex is great but does *your* husband help you check all your shipping fanfiction for grammar errors? Didn't think so

💎 chicunique&magnifique Follow

She's everything, he's just Ken

🛡️ malewife Follow

Happy to be of service 🫡

2,035 notes

[foptbw]

Timmy: Disclaimer I knoooow my notes have mispellings. I wrote it when I was frustrated and upset and mad! And sometimes words get all messed up when I'm scribbling down it too fast if that makes sense. Please don't make too much fun of me! I'm just so frustrated by this whole Odd Neighbors situation! Why do they like her more than me? Why? Why? Why? Anyway I know the Odd Neighbors are SOOOOOO weird. Even someone else mentioned even if Chester was right and they were on vacation for 10 thousands of days that would mean it would be 28 YEARS! Trust me guys the Odd neighbors do NOT look like they could be old enough to have gone on vacation for 28 years not unless they were like 5 to 10 when they went on vacation and is that even going on vacation? As for them never saying anything about hair dye, they have actually never even spoken to me! Even though I KNOW they had introduced themselves to The Wells! Thats not fair! They talk to the Wells but not me! And Mr and Mrs Wells don't even find their hair weird. Like its normal for people to just have pink and green hair even though they made comments bout my hair. Its just like how no one never ever notices how its weird for Blue lady and man to be blue! I've tried cornering the Odd Neighbors so many times but they always disappear like magic! Like as if they can turn invisible or into some item to hide from me! The only time it doesn't happen is when they are with that girl. But, I can't try to talk to them when they are with her. I'm positive they are fairies or possibly connected to my fairy parents. Fairies have a lot of connections with humans in different lore. The only time they ever let down their guard is with that girl! But I don't wannnnna try to talk to them when SHES around! I can't, I can't, I just can't do it. I'd be like Crocker. I'll never ever be like Crocker. Never ever. I don't care about fairies magic. I just… I just wanna find my family. I just want to know why I never fit in with humans. In stories fairies sometimes leave their children with humans. And changelings are often misunderstood and don't fit in with humans because they aren't humans. If I'm a changeling it would explain why my human parents thought they were going to have a daughter but had a son. Maybe THEIR real child was a daughter? It would explain why they never loved me. Why they never cared. It wouldn't be their fault. How can you blame humans for being unable to love a changeling? In stories changelings are often unable to be loved by their human parents. If I was a changeling than that means it wouldn't be my fault my fairy parents left. Maybe they had to leave. Maybe it wasn't safe for me and they thought making me a changeling would be better. But… if they ARE fairies and they ARE my fairy parents maybe they are avoiding me because I did something wrong. Maybe I did something and now they hate me? Or maybe when they came to check on my progress they were disappointed by me? If they are my fairy parents why do they like that girl but avoid me? What makes her better than me? Is it because she's a girl? Is it because she's cuter than me? Is it because she's normal? Or maybe I'm just unlovable? Too much trouble than I'm worth? Not good enough?

[sanctus-ingenium]

heya! I'm wondering, from where do you reference clothing for your art pieces? (Specifically for Inver!) I enjoy the outfits you draw your characters in

hii so for the fancier victorian-era outfits i used a whole bunch of sources but among them the metropolitan museum costume collection, this is a great online gallery of historical costume that you can search by era. you can also find illustrated fashion plates from the era to get a sense of how people styled the outfits, facial hair, accessories etc. here's one for hats i used. i also followed the twitter account WikiVictorian which.. due to new twitter policies you can't view accounts while not logged in, but it looks like they have a pinterest and also instagram?? anyway great resource, posted a lot of dresses, furniture, and historical recipes with sources & context.

(cut for length)

but those dresses and stuff are for the upper classes. For ordinary people i just googled what I knew every old lady wears: shawls

this is a galway shawl which is like. THE thing every single person wore back in the day and if you check out the wiki page it's a great reference for what patterns & dyes would have been used. from there you can find historical photos. i love photos like this which show a whole scene in context with people from multiple generations hanging out (yooo check out the Sparch in the background!!). now I know this isn't 1860s stuff, but the fact is that fashion doesn't move so fast for people like Clarion who live on a farm and have to make their simple clothing items last for a lifetime or more.

for the military outfits I mainly just googled 'military outfit 1860s' and iterated (groundbreaking). for things to be accurate i tried to pick reference illustrations drawn during the era.

i figure you might mean specifically the ancient Inver stuff so for them I used a lot of old illustrations and stuff from art history class in school. this era is more in the region of the 1500s. here is a kind of kitchy site which nonetheless has real-life examples of some of the clothing i drew. this painting is in my list of references (sorry for the stock image link but it's one of the nicest online reproductions of it) and you can see the guys on the right wearing the same léine that i've drawn Finbarr in. once you know the time period & what the various outfit components are called you can search them more easily. now the headdress i've drawn Finbarr wearing (Olivier wears it as well!) is in fact a real thing, it's the Petrie crown broken in half.

the crown is not of the same era as the other outfits because i'm not so interested in historical accuracy as much for these guys (booo).

for Olivier I searched for old French armour from the same historic era as Finbarr, I know less about the history of Brittany so kind of just copied what I saw with some small alterations (because he wears werewolf armour, which is not a thing irl).

[hopepetal]

Hi I heard about the slightest possibility of Boatem buttercups and just decided to write a tiny thing with it. Short bc I don't have the time or wrist health to write more but I love them ok

--

“I still think the dye was a little much,” Pearl commented as she wove flowers together with a masterful hand, “I mean, you're just stealing Jimmy's aesthetic at this point, aren't you?”

Grian huffed softly, rolling his eyes. “I'm showing team spirit, Pearl. And besides, you did...” He gestured toward her wings– feathered and shining a harvest gold. “...whatever that is, to your wings! That's way more than I did!”

“Should I have dyed my hair?” Mumbo asked, glancing up at the two siblings. “I mean, if you two are, well, so spirity...”

Impulse shrugged. “I already have yellow on me, so I think I'm good.”

Scar looked up from where he was helping Mumbo weave his own flower crown. “Well, I think you both look amayzin'. Just like real buttercups! Though Pearl, I'd love to know what sort of illusion magic you used for the whole look.” His eyes seemed to sparkle as he beamed. “I'm a curious man, you know!”

Pearl laughed, shaking her head. “A lady never reveals her secrets.”

“That's just unfair,” Grian muttered, “why do you get to keep secrets?”

Impulse smirked. “I think the better question is, why can't you?”

Grian shot him a glare. “I keep more secrets than you know!”

“Sure thing, poultry man.”

Grian squawked, and the rest of the Boatem Buttercups burst out laughing. “That's unfair, I've only told you four!”

Pearl set down her flower crown, raising her eyebrow. “After half of us found out on our own?”

Grian grumbled, going back to working on his flower crown. “You're all so mean to me.”

Scar laughed, reaching out and patting Grian's shoulder. “Aww, G, we don't mean it. I didn't know you were poultry man!”

Mumbo gave him a quizzical look. “Weren't you the first person–?”

“Nope!” Scar interrupted cheerfully. “Oh, Mumbo, you want to do it like this–” He went back to helping Mumbo with his flower crown.

Pearl hummed softly as she continued to make her crown, giving pointers when asked. Finally, upon finishing, she placed it on Impulse's head with a smile. “There ya go!”

Impulse chuckled, and gave Pearl the crown he'd been working on. “Just in time, apparently.”

Grian placed his flower crown on Mumbo's head, and Scar placed his on Grian. Finally finishing with his own crown, Mumbo gently set the crown he made on Scar's head.

“Perfect! Now we're all really the buttercups,” Grian declared.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for telling my mom that if she can't say something nice, don't say anything at all and if she's gonna say it, say it to their face?

My mom has this oh so charming/s habit of making rude, unprovoked comments about the physical appearance of strangers but specifically says it out of earshot of the person. One specific incident put me over the edge, but she's done this several times. Some general examples include making rude comments about fat/plus sized women wearing crop tops and/or short shorts. (Ironic, considering we are both plus-sized) Or commenting about how fucked up a stranger's dye job is, when they 100% did not ask.

She always makes these sort of comments well out of earshot of the people she's criticizing and I am willing to bet that if someday someone heard her and called her out and told her to repeat herself, she would fold immediately. I think it's completely normal to have rude thoughts, but it is unnecessary to say them out loud and if you DO say it, say it loud enough for the person to hear.

Today it sent me over the edge for some reason when she kept making rude comments about a lady who was minding her own business and loading her groceries into her car, but she dared to do that while having tattoo sleeves. So I told her that the woman did not ask, I did not ask and if she can't find something nice to say, don't say it at all. She doubled down, saying some weird sexist shit about how women shouldn't have tattoos at all, especially not visible ones and it makes her look like a cheap whore. About a complete stranger who was just putting her groceries in her car. I told her to go over there and say all of that to that woman's face or don't say it at all and that she was being rude and disrespectful to a stranger who was minding her own business, living her life.

Now my mom is mad at me. I don't think I was wrong for calling her out though. The argument was probably pointless and redundant, since I've tried several times over the years to convince her to stop voicing her rude opinions about strangers and keep them to herself. You can tell how well that worked.

[daisy-mooon]

Portraiture;

Portraits of the Emperors, and what those paintings mean to them.

Portrait Two - Shrub

Back at home, they had a thing called...

Shrub doesn't even remember its name anymore. Not exactly. She sounds the syllables out on her tongue. Cam-uh-ruh. It could take pho-toes of someone, print them out perfectly, albeit in black and white. She has one, tucked safely next to her heart in the pocket of her silky coat. She doesn't show it to anyone. Who would believe her? They don't have cam-uh-ruhs here. She tried to explain it once, to Fwhip and he looked at her in confusion so... she let it go.

She- well. The Undergrove is not empty of its people, it's only that it is filled with spirits and supernatural beings that don't understand the rules of human made empires. It's a wild place for wild things. Shrub is just the head of it, the gnome in charge of making sure other mortals don't interfere with it. Chosen by the land. Some of the more pretentious nobles in Mythland or Rivendell might huff at that, but it's true. It can't be challenged, not without a lot not of wrath on the behalf of the spirits.

Becayse the spirits are spirits and don't abide to the laws of mortal-kind, the Undergroves Empress- (Empress? The word doesn't feel right for her. The spirits refer to her as Lady Shrub, sometimes, and that doesn't feel right either) -is mysterious. There are no paintings of her. But that doesn't mean she doesn't need one. Gem says they need paintings for historical purposes, and Katherine says they need paintings for diplomatic purposes, and Joel says they need paintings for the fun of it and manages to drag her into a long winded conversation about gnomeish art practices that she only half-remembers.

But she can paint- can't she? A little bit. Well. She can make an okay flower. She more remembers her parents weaving. But there's no reason why she can't make her official portrait by herself.

Shrub takes one of the fallen logs in the grass outside of her home and splits it into two. She takes the wooden face, takes the paints that Katherine had given her and places them alongside the tubs of dye she has prepared herself, and readies her brush. It's homemade and scruffy, but it should get the job done.

It takes her a long time. Longer than she thought. How did Mezealeans do this? Katherine offered to hire one for her, one of the travelling Mezalean painters that seemed to have paint every nobleman under the sun, but Shrub is determined to do it herself. It wouldn't feel... right, otherwise.

When it's done- oh, when it's done-

It doesn't look like her.

Shrub picks the paintbrush back up. She's nothing if not resilient, so this time she buys a smaller paintbrush from the Crystal Cliffs and the grabs obsidian mirror from her bedside table, and tries again. At least, now, she has a foundation. Painters need foundations to paint on, don't they?

And she tries again.

And again.

And again, until it looks just right.

Xornoth almost ruins it once. Then Joey. Then the rain itself, because she tried painting outside and almost forgot to take it back in. But she keeps going. She has too, doesn't she?

Katherine is the first person she shows it too, and Katherine gasps upon seeing it. Katherine will gasp upon seeing anything that Shrub makes, delighted to see her crafts, but she can tell that she genuinely does love this portrait. "It looks just like you!" She cries in delight. Grinning, Shrub leans in and stares at Katherine's eyes as she talks. "Can we replicate it?"

Shrub has no qualms with House Blossoms artists making copies of the painting. "Of course!" And so it becomes the official portrait of her, and becomes worth far much more because the original was a self portrait, but she doesn't care about that. What she cares about-

Katherine has one done on a polished wooden panel and has it hung in her bedchambers. And then she has a miniature produced, one tucked inside a locket necklace that she can wear around her neck and open whenever she misses her. And then, because everyone wants to know what gnomes look like, Gem asks her to make a sketch of herself for research purposes, and then because Joel is supremely egotistical he asks if he can use one of the copies of her official portrait to create an eight foot tall mural of her. Joey wants one too, which she declines because whilst she's fairly sure Xornoth can't do anything too her through a painting she'd rather not find out. And then, and then, and then-

Shrub keeps the original in her house. It still has the tree bark on the back. A fae assistant had offered to sand it down for her, but she kept it. It feels better that way. It makes it feel weight. It makes it feel real, in a way that she struggles to feel with the grandiose oil paintings that are now scattered across the lands.

At the very least, she thinks too herself somewhat sadly, people will know what the gnomes looked like when they die out with me.

-

Historians note: Empress Shrub Berry of the Undergrove (or, as she is referenced to in spirit talk, simply, Lady Shrub or Lady Berry) is the only known gnome to exist in this world pre-Rapture. Whilst later developments in rifts, world walking and evolution meant there are now species similiar to the original gnomes that go by the same name, they are unrelated species and Empress Berry was the last gnome of her genetic species. There were no known survivors of Prince Xornoths massacre in her home dimension, and it has never been retraced.

As the only known, and last, member of her species, art of her is worth far more than other pre-Rapture art pieces. The original may be one of the most valuable pieces of art of all time, and is kept under careful care and constant surveillance to ensure its survival. All existing portraits of Empress Berry, other than a badly damaged anatomical sketch recovered in a Crystal Cliffs Others textbook, are all copied from this original, although others exist. The two most famous are the two miniatures were commissioned by her lover, Empress Katherine Elizabeth of the Overgrown, one a single locket with just Empress Berry in it and the other a double locket with both Berry and Elizabeth depicted.

[thommi-tomate]

Interview with Thomas (January 9, 2011)

By: Andreas Burkert for Süddeutsche Zeitung

Mr. Müller, where is the Golden Shoe for the best World Cup shooter?

At home, in my games room, where the dartboard and Play Station are. Everything that has now accumulated is on the windowsill. Before it gets dusty in the boxes, I'd rather put it outside.

The reason for your award, Germany's World Cup performance in South Africa, was part of every annual review. Did you watch it when this Müller suddenly walks through the picture?

Of course I've also seen Müller in a few previews. But I don't necessarily have to watch the whole thing. The year went really well and I'm always reminded of that, even if I forget about it; I can't avoid it anymore. But it's over now. I can't buy anything for it anymore. Now I have to prove myself again.

What came up in your personal review of 2010 on New Year's Eve?

It was the World Cup. But there wasn't just one moment for me, there were so many great moments.

You only made your debut for the national team just under ten months ago, in Munich against Argentina.

Yes, that was special. When I heard the national anthem, I thought: Now I've made it, now I'm really where I want to be - (A German tourist of an older age approaches the table and wants an autograph. Müller asks for her understanding that he can't now, but will be happy to do so later) - Well, since the World Cup, even those who don't know much about soccer recognize you.

Just older ladies?

Nah, nah, all the age-group are already there.

Does at least your grandma, who you greeted on TV after the round of 16 against England, have some peace now?

In the meantime, yes. The problem was that my parents, my grandma and the people here in Pähl didn't have a media manager like we did at Bayern or the DFB. But I was back home over the Christmas period and everything was nice and quiet.

People who know you well say: Müller, he doesn't take off, not even now, he doesn't drive a Ferrari yet. Don't you have a quirk? And how do you reward yourself after a year like that?

I once asked myself the same question. We have a great sponsor, so I don't need a new car. But I do sometimes walk past watch stores, but then I see that they are sometimes really expensive. Then I'd rather not, it's not worth it to me. I'm also not a bird of paradise who dyes her hair. My wife rides, which has now become important for us. Apart from that, I really do have everything. I'd have to make my own problems if I wanted to have any.

Do you ride yourself?

I tried it out a year and a half ago. Well, I didn't fall off directly, but I felt sorry for the horse afterwards. The risk is too big for me and the horse.

2011 has started for you with the loss of a title: You no longer have the thinnest legs.

You mean because of Luiz Gustavo? Well, we haven't measured his thighs yet, but it's possible. People always joke about my legs, I know they always have. But don't worry, my mother has already noticed that they don't break much. They were never a problem for me, in fact I think they helped me, even when I was younger. Because if you don't just have your body to fight back with, you also have to use your brain to run certain routes to avoid direct duels.

Is that how this urge came about? Müller goes up top, to where the ball suddenly appears?

Certain things are certainly trained automatisms. But often it's a certain instinct, a feeling for the spaces. I'm glad to have this ability.

In any case, it's difficult to compare your style with another player. Do you perhaps know one?

No, I am somehow unique. There are dribblers who are pretty similar, strikers too, but what am I actually?

Yes, what is Müller?

Hm. Well, what am I? A Raumdeuter (space interpreter) ? Yes, I'm a Raumdeuter. That would be a good title, wouldn't it?

In any case. Because, if I may say so, you do score goals, but particularly beautiful ones are rare. But you are there.

That's true, I'm not known for scoring beautiful goals. But the important thing is when it's in. I've often been accused of being lucky, but if it happens five times in a row at the World Cup, there must be another reason for it

Your former amateur coach Hermann Gerland once said: "Müller can play like shit for 90 minutes - but then he scores a goal.

The statement is correct. I consciously take risks in my game, I often try things on the direct route towards goal that are perhaps great in terms of the idea, but difficult to execute. Mistakes happen, but you have to say to yourself: no more, next time I'll try again. Reviews sometimes say: He tried a lot but didn't succeed. Yes, then it just didn't work out. I try a lot, and there are a lot of rejects. I know that, and that's why I don't drive myself crazy.

Did you get the impression after the World Cup that your opponents adjusted better to your unconventional style?

Not really. The first half of the season was a bit different, I mainly played on the right or left. It just didn't go well for the team overall, no individual player was able to break away from the trend, not even me.

Your roles change frequently. Where would you have Müller play?

I would put Müller behind the front line, which is the position at Bayern that is closer to the opponent's goal and therefore more dangerous. I can penetrate the gaps better from there. You have to be more tactically disciplined on the right and left, and the number seven position in the national team is a different right than at Bayern, because the DFB always swap sides with Mesut Özil. I need a bit of freedom to be able to play on the left or right. That's why I see myself behind the front ten. But I'm versatile and also like to play other roles.

Van Gaal said last season: "Müller always plays for me". Has this confidence made your rise possible?

He didn't even need to make that statement. Because I always had the feeling that he was counting on me.

How did you notice that, his confidence? A year ago it was said that some players were afraid of van Gaal.

Oh, I like talking like him too. He wants to create a certain amount of friction, which is why he prefers his way of talking. I really like his direct manner, we're similar in that respect

You, but also other players, were unusually outspoken in your support of the coach during the critical fall weeks. Out of gratitude?

No, there was no agreement between us, but I think everyone deliberately supported the coach. You could have asked each player individually, independently of each other, and everyone would have told you how convinced they were of him and his philosophy. Of course, in a squad of 25, there is dissatisfaction from players who don't play. But even colleagues like Hamit Altintop or even Martin Demichelis have spoken positively about the coach. And when you see what's happening here in Doha at the training camp, how they're stepping on the gas: This team really enjoys working with this coach.

Were you not worried when President Hoeneß was sharply critical and things were tight with the headstrong coach?

Not really, and after the contract extension I had the feeling that the club management was counting on him. We were all very happy about that, and the coach was also pleased that he had the support of the whole team. That's why there was never any talk of a rift between players and coach.

Then you would actually have to persuade van Gaal to stay as long as you and the others who have now signed such long-term contracts.

I think if push comes to shove, you might be able to do something about it. However, the pressure here in Munich is certainly exhausting and I don't think you can be Bayern coach for ten years without damaging your health.

At 21, you are part of the Lahm/Schweinsteiger generation, which is gradually replacing the Ballack generation. What are the differences?

Football-wise, that's certainly a level. But I think even Michael Ballack experienced different times as a young player when it was more difficult to integrate into teams. There are now many young coaches who bring in their philosophy, with a flatter hierarchy. That perhaps makes it easier for us young players today.

At 21, you've already achieved a lot. What else is there to come?

I want to bite down hard, at a very high level. In ten years' time, I want to say that I've always played at the very top for a decade and my body has endured it, and fortunately so has my head. That's my main goal.

[thinkingotherwise]

I decided to publish the short stories about Basen that I had on my WIP list, for a long, long time, and I'm not sure I'll finish writing out the whole fic.

Basen x Fem! Seamstress! reader

First meeting HC and short stories

HC of some first interactions between the two as well as some bg info

(Y/n) BG info

(Y/n)'s very pretty and quickly catches the attention of nearby people with her light purple kimonos and gentle smile.

Because of her working mostly for Verdigris House, she knows a lot of things when it comes to conducting conversations and pleasing other people.

Inside her home, she's very disorganised and usually wears clothes with ink stains, because of her drawing new dresses. She has many pieces of materials and clothing, which are the only things that seem to be organised in her room.

She is often seen to be carrying a tube for her designs and/or a new dress in a pretty package.

She's not super strong that she could fight someone but she is strong enough to carry the materials she needs and she is agile and quick enough to run away if in trouble.

She's easily flustered and her cheeks are warm almost all the time. She doesn't wear makeup. Of course, like in Maomao's case the Madam from Verdigris wants her to be a courtesan but she disagrees, she thinks she's not pretty enough and has almost no tolerance for alcohol.

She prefers creating dresses and kimonos for other people.

She tries to be nice and kind to everyone she meets but if someone disrespects her she won't hold herself back to tell them off. She spends most of her money on new materials and clothes and with the rest she tries to help some people, that can't afford food or medicine.

Her father works at the police while her mother helps taking care of her siblings's children. Her father is very protective of his only daughter but hesitantly agrees to let her work as a seamstress for Verdigris.

MaoMao and (Y/n)

Maomao and (Y/n) are friends, as both girls while working at Verdigris met up and talked about different things usually about plants that can dye the fabrics or make the texture different.

(Y/n) is slightly older than Maomao, so whenever they meet she worries about the younger girl, especially after knowing how the apothecary tests poison on herself.

(Y/n) is sometimes called (N/n) as a term of endearment by those close to her: Maomao, the Three Princesses, Madam, and her family. She gets flustered when someone else calls her that, she especially flushes when someone she finds attractive calls her that.

First meeting

Basen was waiting for Maomao to be her attendant for another poison-connected task. When the apothecary finally appeared he turned towards the carriage but didn't notice the girl rushing with a tube and package in tow and bumped into her making her fall.

Maomao instantly recognised the girl and helped her get up while collecting the package as the girl grabbed the tube.

"(N/n), what are you doing here? Are you rushing to Verdigris?" Maomao asked.

The older girl wiped the dirt from her kimono and turned happily to her friend.

"Maomao, I'm happy to see you. No, I've just bought the new materials and can't wait to get to work on this new kimono that I thought of." She smiled brightly and took a good look at the shorter girl.

"You look happy, is it a new poison?" (Y/n) asked and Maomao joyfully nodded and wanted to talk but a cough cut her off.

"Apothecary, we need to go. I don't have time for your chit-chats. I'm sorry Lady (N/n) but we must be on our way." Basen said firmly.

The older girl immediately flustered when she heard him call her by the nickname. She stared at him taking in his pretty eyes and good figure.

Maomao giggled at the same time knowing well enough why her friend was so flustered.

"I- I see. Then Maomao you can come visit me in my workshop after you're finished. I'm sorry for stopping you Sir, have a nice day." (Y/n) said quickly and turned in the direction she was going quickly running to her workshop.

Basen followed the girl with his gaze before turning back to the apothecary who was grinning widely.

"Get in." He told her motioning towards the carriage and sat beside her.

Getting to know his name

"Master Jinshi, Sir Gaoshun, this is my friend (Y/n). She's working as a seamstress mostly for Verdigris."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Master Jinshi, Sir Gaoshun. I'm thankful you're taking such good care of Maomao."

"Wait, I thought her name was (N/n)." Basen asked confused as his gaze moved to (Y/n).

The girl flushed at that and shook her head before turning towards the younger male.

"That's a nickname of sorts that my family and friends call me."

He blushed after hearing that and bowed down.

"I apologize for calling you that, Miss (Y/n)."

"It's fine. In return, you can tell me your name." She smiled softly at him pointing the fact that all this time he hadn't introduced himself.

"Aah.. my name is Basen, I'm the second son of Gaoshun and attendant of Master Jinshi."

"It's nice to officially meet you Basen."

Gaoshun raises his brow at the conversation between the two and Maomao grinned.

"So you're a seamstress? Isn't your father a police officer?"

A voice called and (Y/n) turned towards the purple-haired male.

"Yes, I sew kimonos mostly for the courtesans but I had some made for other officials as well. As for my father, yes he works in the police."

A little private cliche moment

"Miss (Y/n), what are you doing up there?" A voice called behind the girl making her startled.

"Whaa-" The seamstress fell down the ladder as the male voice surprised her.

She closed her eyes before meeting the floor but all she heard was a grunt and she felt something holding her tightly. (Y/n) opened her eyes to be met with Basen who flushed under her gaze but his hold on her stayed and she slowly relaxed in his arms leaning against his chest.

"Sir Basen, you surprised me. Why are you here?" She questioned and he sighed before responding.

"Master Jinshi is asking for your presence"

"Oh, did something happen to Maomao? Why would he need me?" (Y/n) asked slightly worried for her friend.

"The apothecary is good, don't worry. It's something about a dress for someone in the rear court, that's all I know."

The seamstress's eyes glimmered at the mention of the rear court and she shivered at the possibility of her sewing a dress that would be worn by someone there. Basen felt the girl shiver in excitement and smiled seeing her gleaming eyes.

"Well then, let's go." The girl said and smiled brightly making Basen automatically turn towards the doors of her workshop. She then giggled and made the attendant stop when she patted his shoulder.

"I think you should let me down before we leave." At her words, Basen noticed that he still held her against his chest and quickly put her down stepping away and turning around to hide his red face.

"I'm sorry about that."

"No need, well I'm thankful you caught me when I was falling." She smiled in his direction noticing the red colouring even the back of his neck and his ears.

When he didn't say anything (Y/n) collected some of her things necessary for her work and stepped towards the doors.

"Well then, can we go, or do you need another minute?" She teased him softly and he jumped at her insinuation.

Basen coughed loudly and turned to her with a lighter blush then before moving towards the doors.

"Let's go."

[saturnplaza]

Alright, you said to ask you stuff so uh. Hmmm. Do you have a fav mcr album? Or a current fav mcr song? My current fav song is our lady of sorrows :D

Uhh. I’m really into theater, do you like theater at all? Do you have a favorite play/ musical? Mine is Chicago, simply because it was the most recent show I performed in (I was Billy Flynn! It was awesome :D) and I’m rather emotionally attached to it. I’m also very partial to Shakespeare.

What brand of hair dye do you use? I like splat just cuz the color stays in a long time

What’s your favorite subject in school? Why?

Uhhh. I can’t think of that many more questions lol 😭 I tried my best, enjoy the questions, get back to me if you feel like it lol

EEEEEEEEE THANK YOU FOR THE ASK!!

My favorite MCR album has to be either Danger Days or The Black Parade -- The Black Parade means a lot to me emotionally and Danger Days I just really love concept albums.

For songs I don't even know, it's so hard to choose. But probably Destroya, Ghost of You, and/or House of Wolves OH, AND DESERT SONG (actually Desert Song is the winner)

I can't believe I forgot abt Desert Song it's literally one of my favorite songs of all time 😭😭

I am into musical theater, and I always have been --- I've been in a few plays myself --- I haven't seen Chicago though, I will be checking it out though!! As for a favorite play of mine, I really don't know. I don't think I could decide. Most of the plays I've played in were like Disney movies.

I use L'oreal Paris for literally everything all my colors and bleach as well // which is not the best for my hair but whatever 😭😭

I'm a huge English nerd, it's always been my favorite subject

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE ASKS -- THEY WHERE VERY FUN TO ANSWER!! <333

[bitchesgetriches]

oh boy. I'm sure you mean well (and I'm saying this assuming that you are not black), but telling that anon to take the pics with pink braids was not good advice. while a few non black liberals may see no problem with unnatural hair colors and ethnic styles on black women, the typically traditional, conservative, powers that be will judge her negatively immediately. Think about all the elite, successful bw that exist in the world, they all look similar-- palatable (Oprah, Michelle, Condi Rice, Meghan markle, kamala). Hell, Michelle Obama recently said that the US couldn't handle her natural hair/braids and has only changed her style recently. If the First Lady of the United States, a woman who has proven herself as intellectually capable several times can't wear plain, black, micro braids, the everyday black woman is definitely going to be judged even worse.

This answer is going to be long, so settle in, my dear.

Something not a lot of people know about me is that my grandfather is black. In fact, I didn't even know this myself until fairly recently. This is because in his twenties, he made a decision. He was lighter skinned, with loose curls. He could pass as white. So he did.

He went to Europe when he was in the army, married an Italian woman, and brought her back to the U.S. He told her he was "mulatto" and swore her to secrecy about it. They didn't tell their children for almost 70 years. For 70 years my grandfather denied his heritage and his community and who he was... because it was safer. He made the choice to pass as white because he thought it would give him and his children better opportunities in life. He was so afraid of the systemic racism inherent in our country that he made a decision to hide who he was because he thought it would make him and his family safer.

And he was right. It's fucking heartbreaking that he was right. Because of his choice, I am dripping with white privilege. I have never, EVER felt what it's like to be on the receiving end of racism. And I never will. I'm horrified and ashamed that the history of our country is such that my grandfather thought he had to take his light-skinned privilege and run into the arms of white supremacy to survive.

All of which is to say: thank you for sharing your insight and personal experience with the controversy over black women's hair. Because of my personal experience, I think this is a blind spot for me. I don't want black women to be ashamed of their hair, and I don't want them to be discriminated against in the workplace because of it.

My emotional reaction was to say "Let your gorgeous braids fly and fuck the haters!" because I want the world to hurry up and move into the time in which racism in the workplace is a thing of the past. I don't want anyone else to feel like they need to make the same choice my grandfather did: to hide their true selves, their natural hair and skin color, for the opportunities available in a racist country.

I appreciate your message because it makes me step back and realize that this ain't about me. So I'm not going to judge anyone who feels like they need to remove their braids, or dye their hair back to a natural color, to secure a job. Do what you feel safest doing. Trust your instincts. And share the lessons you learn with us so we can pass on information that will help others.

(Also this is Piggy, aka Jess, if that wasn't obvious.)

[eventinelysplayground]

Outplayed

I kind of fell in love with the idea of Clavis's son and Sariel's daughter together and I wanted to write more of them. Clavis and his teenage son get caught in a trap set by the devil's daughter. WC approx 530, page divider again by @cafekitsune.

Behind some bushes crouched two figures keeping a close eye on the path before them.

“I can't believe you talked me into this.”

“Really? I can, after all you are madly in love with me.”

“I'm not madly in love with you!”

“You say that yet here you are.”

“Hmmph.”

“Here he comes! This is going to be good.”

“This is going to be trouble.”

“When have I ever gotten you in trouble?”

“Are you seriously asking me that!?”

“Shhhh…wait for it…”

Clavis appeared strolling leisurely down the path. He stopped suddenly in his tracks, one foot still hovering in the air. He looked around and picked up a nearby stick then poked where he was about to step and the ground gave out revealing a pit trap.

“Good effort my son but you'll have to do better than that to catch me!”

“Damn it! ”

Clavis was laughing as his teenage son came scrambling out from the bushes mumbling under his breath.

“I will get you one of these days, Father.”

“I'm not so sure about that, do you really think I taught you everything I know?”

“That's unfair.”

Clavis calmed his laughter as he placed an arm around his son's shoulders.

“Come on let's go have some of my delicious cake, it will take some of the sting out of being foiled by your dear Papa again.”

Clavis and his son started to walk back in the direction Clavis had come from.

“Wait a min…”

Before his son could finish speaking the two men were drenched in what appeared to be purple dye that fell from the tree beside them. Clavis stared at his son for a minute before he burst out laughing again.

“Violet!”

The bushes rustled and out stepped a deviously smiling Violet who just shrugged her shoulders.

“I said this was going to be trouble, maybe next time you'll leave me to my book in peace.”

Clavis's son slicked his drenched hair back and then smiled wickedly at Violet who visibly gulped and took a step back.

“Well well I do hope you're still as fast as you used to be young lady because I dare say you have a fierce beast after you now.”

Violet took another step back and her grin widened.

“Come here my lovely accomplice, purple really is more your color.”

Clavis's son reached out for Violet but she jumped back then turned on her heels and began running as she laughed.

“You’ll have to catch me first Tristan!”

Tristan quickly gave chase after her laughing as he did so. Clavis watched them leave and then he looked over his shoulder at some nearby trees.

“Well now I wonder who taught her that, I certainly haven't used that type of trap in decades.”

Sariel came out from behind one of the trees and walked over to Clavis handing him a towel.

“I may have mentioned the basic idea, she is dealing with an untamed beast after all.”

“Oh I don't know about that. I think if anyone can tame a Hellcats son it would be the daughter of the Devil. I wonder what our grandchildren will be like?”

“Please don't say such frighteningly unpleasant things.”

[viceroywrites]

art credit to mischa-makowka / link to picrew here

introducing my gravity falls oc, (dr.) cecilia dela rosa

headcanons and backstory drabble ahead

age when she first met stan: 27 - current age: 58

fun facts about her:

her hair is graying so she decided to lean into it and dye her front bangs gray and keep the rest black with strands of gray

filipino-american

has two older sisters - experienced a lot of competition and comparisons between her and her sisters

shameless hcs between her and stan:

she fell for stan bc of his humor and his recklessness - he helps her let her hair down and live a little and she keeps him in check

if stan hadn't made the decision for her, she would've totally bailed him out of jail

kept and wore a gold chain that stan left at her apartment for months after he left

lectures him about drinking pit soda all the time... but has a stash hidden in her office

right back where we started from & come on eileen are their songs

nicknames: cilia, cil, angel (stan kept making the joke that she fell from heaven the night she bandaged him up)

-

stan had just been driven out of idaho after yet another scam and was going by hal forester at the time still.

stan had gotten a bit too drunk at a bar downtown, got into a fight with someone. cecilia, in her first year of med school, just so happened to be walking back to her apartment after a night out with friends when stan was kicked out of the bar, with a few bruises and gnarly cut across his cheek.

cecilia rushed to help him out, insisting they go to a hospital. not wanting to get caught and have to leave illinois already, stan protested going to the hospital. perplexed but stubborn, cecilia said in a huff that she had medical supplies to bandage him up back at her place but insisted on no funny business.

stan wasn't one to say no to the free offer.. especially to a pretty lady.

the two ended up hitting it off that night & stan, as a thank you, insisted on buying cecilia dinner - that dinner being a chicago hot dog stand. that dinner quickly turned into a friendship.

their hot dog stand dinners slowly became dates & after stan pulled the classic move at her apartment while watching a scary movie and putting his arm around her, she returned the gesture by snuggling up to him.

stan began to open up about his past and trouble with the law. surprisingly, cecilia had a relaxed reaction, wanting more than anything to help stan gain some stability back in his life.

"why don't you get a job as a bouncer? you got the muscles for it." cecilia commented with a playful grin, squeezing his bicep.

stan was practically on cloud nine from the praise but shrugged, "can't, toots. moment they do a background check, i'm done for."

cecilia gave him a deadpan look, "you think any of the seedy dive bars around the college are gonna do that? they're probably doing illegal shit themselves."

stan blinks before pulling her in by the cheeks into a kiss, "cilia, baby, you're a genius!"

"well, i am in med school."

stan ends up landing a job as a bouncer for a bit and things were looking up. until one day, the law catches up to him. on the way to work one day, stan spots a police car in front of the bar and overhears them questioning the owner outside, a wanted poster of him in hand.

stan books it in the opposite direction. his survival mode is on and he knows he needs to split town. and quick. packing his bags and loading his car, he realizes he has to leave cecilia behind. he hurriedly scrawls out a note on the back of a receipt and stops by her apartment, dropping it into her mailbox as well as a reminder of him.

cecilia comes back to her apartment after class, checking her mail to see the note.

'hey angel,

i had to skip town, cops showed up at the bar and i can't afford to get caught and end up in jail... again. i'm really sorry to do this to ya but thanks for believing in me and giving a nobody like me a chance.

you're gonna do great things and you got a whole future ahead of ya. i don't wanna drag you into this mess.

thanks for everything, maybe someday we'll meet again.

stan.'

cecilia's heartbroken, holding the note and a photo the two of them had taken during a fancy dinner she treated them to in celebration of his new job.

despite the heartbreak, she finishes med school, gets married... then divorced and decides to move out to west for a change of scenery.

cecilia works at a local hospital a few miles out from gravity falls - they end up reuniting after stan throws his back out while helping mabel and dipper with their suitcases when they came back to visit for the summer.

stan reluctantly agrees to go after much pestering from his brother who is baffled by the fact that stan has not had a check up in years.

as he's waiting, having changed into those uncomfortable paper gowns, cecilia blinks at the name on the chart, in disbelief - a name from her past. it must be a different stan pines... right? she thinks to herself as she heads over to the patient room.

she knocks on the door and hears a gruff voice that's unmistakable, "yeah i'm decent."

she opens the door and blinks as she's greeted to the man who had left her behind years ago. "stanley pines?" she questions, trying to remain professional.

"yeah that's me, doc." stan says, not recognizing her at first, "listen, i haven't been to a doctor in ages. pretty much, i threw my back out and it's not getting any better."

"mind if i take a look?" cecilia asks, sliding on her gloves as she makes her way around to stan's back. her hand trails down his back, pressing down softly before hitting the tender spot that causes him to hiss.

"yup, that's it." stan mutters and cecilia can't help but laugh, throwing caution into the wind, "you know you've had this issue with your back since you were in your 30s."

"right? i swear no doctor has said anything about it!" stan complains but pauses, "wait how do you know that?"

"long time no see, stan. not sure you recognize me after all these years... does the name cecilia ring a bell?" cecilia grins, taking a seat on the stool before wheeling over to the computer.

it takes a second before stan realizes who's in front of him. "cecilia? cecilia from chicago?" he says in disbelief.

"that's me - though i go by dr. dela rosa nowadays." cecilia chuckles, typing things down into his chart.

"god, it's been so long..." stan chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck, "hey.. i'm sorry for ditching you back then. i-"

"you don't have to explain yourself, stan. i was upset but i understood the position you were in. i'm... just glad you're alive and well.." cecilia sighs with a sad smile.

"ah jeez, cilia... sorry if i scared you. a lot's happened since we last saw each other.." stan admits.

"well... i'd love to catch up." cecilia says, pausing before turning to face stan, "take me out to dinner and i'll consider forgiving you."

stan blinks at her forwardness before breaking into a huge grin, "i know just the place, you got yourself a deal!"

stan ends up taking her to greasy's dinner where he catches her up on his life - reuniting with his brother, dipper and mabel, his travels on the stan o war II.

(sorry if this is cringe - i'm a sucker for rekindled romance)

[milarqui]

Scarlet Lady: Crocoduel

Directory | Ikari Gozen

“Because you dye! My! Heart! A rainbow of coloooooors!”

“WHOO!” Everyone cheered as Kitty Section's song ended. Everyone had gathered at the Liberty to listen to their friends' band group, and it had been quite amazing, as they played some of the songs they would release soon, but this one was very much unexpected.

“Wow, Rose,” Luka said as he turned off his electric guitar, “you wrote that for Juleka?”

“Heehee! Happy birthday!” Rose said to a smiling, blushing Juleka, then turned to him. “I'll sing you yours before we head out on Saturday, Luka!”

“Lookin' forward to it!” he replied as he began to take off his costume.

“Everyone still down with watching 'Rock and Monster Party Parade'?” Nino asked.

“YEAH!”

Lila split off from the group to approach Luka.

“And how old are you turning, Luka?” she asked, smiling.

Luka smirked down at her.

“One year older than the last year~” he sing-sang, causing Lila to pout.

“Smartass.”

----

As everyone began to split along the Liberty to do their thing, Marinette found Juleka and Rose on their own.

“It'll work out, Ju!” Rose exclaimed in an encouraging tone.

However, Juleka didn't seem to be convinced that it would.

“I don't know...”

“Hm? Is something wrong?” Marinette asked, worried.

“It's just...” Juleka said, sighing. “This is the first time my Dad is in Paris for our birthday and I really want to celebrate with him. But he and Maman don't know me and Luka know who he is.”

Marinette grimaced.

“Wow, I've... never heard you talk about your dad.”

“Well, he and my Mom don't get along, so...”

“... is he a cop?” Marinette asked, remembering Anarka's rather acrimonious relationship with law enforcement.

All while Rose just gave a nervous smile.

“Every year we 'mysteriously' get gifts centered around our interests,” Juleka said, remembering how she got a makeup kit when she started to be interested in the goth subculture, or the violin Luka was given when he started learning how to play one. “So I think he'd be up for meeting us if not for Maman.”

She sighed.

“I just want to thank him in person.”

“Why woun't your mom let you meet?” Marinette asked, curious.

“Let's put it this way. Between the two of them... my mom's the responsible parent.”

Marinette felt her eyes going wide.

“Oh.” What kind of person is he that Anarka is the more responsible? “Oh, I see.”

“Yeah, I'd like Dad to come too,” Luka added, “but he'll cause a scene if he just shows up at the cinema.”

“'Cause a scene'?” Marinette asked. This only added to the enigma of who their father was.

“How about a party here?” Adrien suggested. “It's private property, so people won't stop him, but not so private he can't coincidentally stop by! Only hiccup is letting your dad in on the plan.”

“Oh, that's easy,” Luka said, pulling out his phone. “I have his manager's number.”

“Oh, perfect!” Adrien exclaimed, ignorant of the mental collapse Marinette was suffering.

Who is this man?! His manager?!

----

“Ha! Your birthday's on the same day so you have to be twins!” Lila shouted, but Luka's smirk stopped her cold.

“Or we were born on the same day years apart.”

“ARGHHH!”

Juleka rolled her eyes at her brother's teasing.

Luka's having too much fun with this, she thought.

----

The next day, preparations for the birthday party were quickly underway, and everyone was helping wherever they could.

“Thanks for bringing the cake, Marinette!” Juleka said, preparing to hang the flags next to a window, as her friend placed the box with the cake on the table.

“No problem!” Marinette replied, just as someone knocked on a window. Luka opened to see who was calling –

“Jagged?” Marinette asked, surprised.

“Hey, birthday sibs! Bon Anniv'!” the rocker said, grinning at Luka, who helped him through the window. “I'm not late, am I?”

“Early, actually,” Luka corrected, while Marinette's surprised turned into confusion.

“What is Jagged Stone doing here...”

Wait.

She slowly turned to look at Juleka, who was looking away and trying (and failing) to look innocent by whistling.

Marinette felt her jaw drop at the shock.

“I was so pumped to get an official invite! From, uh, 'Anarka's' kids,” Jagged Stone said, unaware of the shock he had just induced in Marinette. “I had to get the perfect gifts!”

From a bag he had brought with him, he pulled a bass guitar, which he offered to Juleka.

“Juleka's Kitty Section's bass guitarist, right? I thought it'd be cool if I gave her my very first bass guitar!”

Juleka carefully picked up the present, tested it, and smiled at Jagged – at her father.

“Thank you.”

Jagged acted as if he had been struck straight in the heart by Juleka's cuteness.

But he quickly recovered from it, and pulled a vinyl from the same bag.

“And for Luka, this original edition LP from Crocoduo, the group I had with your mom–“

“JAGGED STONE, YOU SCALLYWAG!”

Everyone jumped in the air as Anarka Couffaine screamed, her eyes glaring at the rocker.

“A-Anarka!”

“No stow aways on my ship! Disembark right now!” the twins' mother shouted as she walked up to the group.

“H–How'd you know I was here?! I was so sneaky!” Jagged declared, shocked.

“Your tour bus is parked on the dock, you one-hit wonder!”

----

On the dock, the class approached Jagged Stone's tour bus, stunned – mostly because all of them could easily recognize it.

“Whoa...” they all said, as Penny Rolling greeted everyone.

“Hey.”

----

Inside the Liberty, things were a lot more tense.

“You have some nerve gifting the album that split us up!” Anarka shouted, marching up to Jagged Stone.

“'Split us up?!' You mean the album that gave me my life back after you left me!” Jagged replied, brandishing the vinyl disc as if it were a weapon, only for Anarka to grab the other side and pull.

“You're the one who left me!” she said.

“No, you!” he replied.

None of them aware of the black butterfly flitting its way down until it touched the disc – which turned black.

“A-AKUMA! AH, SHIT!” Marinette shouted as the disc cracked and both Anarka and Jagged showed the signs of Akumatization.

Juleka and Luka sighed.

“Happy birthday to us.”

----

Hawkmoth was stunned.

It was the first time he had a two-for-one deal.

And both of them were people he had Akumatized in the past.

There was only one thing he could say.

“What? You two again?”

----

Captain Hardrock and Guitar Villain quickly took to the skies, facing each other.

“Ye selfish sea dog, ye sailed off on yer own cruise leaving two matey's behind!” the pirate-themed Akuma shouted.

“You're the one who destroyed our duet and played on without me!” the dragon-riding Akuma shouted back.

“Aw, man, you can get Akumatized again?!” Alix complained.

“Even after Scarlet Lady purifies the butterfly?” Ivan asked, remembering how he got Akumatized twice from the same butterfly.

“Well, that one florist gets Akumatized a lot–” Rose reminded her friend.

“BOOOOO!” Nino yelled, ignoring how his best friend was slowly sneaking away.

Elsewhere in the dock, Marinette was doing the same, while Juleka and Luka watched their parents duking it out in the skies of Paris.

“So much for keeping things a secret,” Luka lamented.

----

“GET BACK HERE, YOU BILGE RAT!”

“TRY AND CATCH ME!”

“Chloé! Akuma!” Tikki exclaimed, but when she turned, she saw Chloé was deliberately looking away.

“So it is.”

“Time to goooo,” Tikki tried to push her.

“Oh, what's the point?!” Chloé complained. “It's not like I can fly up there! Even though I'm a Ladybug hero!”

She turned to Tikki.

“Make me able to fly!”

“No~”

----

As the two Akumas fought, Chat Noir and Marigold managed to reach out to them and attempted to make them stand down.

“I'm the only one who gets to slay that villain, alley cat!”

Unfortunately, the Akumas were so fixated in their fight that they didn't like the interference, and one of Captain Hardrock's cannonballs struck Chat Noir before he could knock Guitar Villain out.

“WAH–!” he shouted as he fell off the dragon.

“I'm the one who gets to sink that ship, you wasp!”

While Guitar Villain hit Marigold with his guitar before she could inutilize one of the ship's engines – causing her to fall off as well.

“AHHH!”

Fortunately, both heroes reached a safe place, but the two Akumas were too high to reach.

“C'mon, Guitar Villain! We've got a duel to finish!”

“You heroes just wait there!”

Marigold and Chat Noir huffed, trying to work out how to stop them, while Scarlet Lady finally arrived.

“Ha! You totally got ignored! Losers!” the so-called heroine exclaimed.

“We're ignoring you too,” Guitar Villain reminded her, causing the heroes to give a knowing look at their 'partner'.

“HEY!”

The Akumas flew away, intent on continuing their fight, while Scarlet Lady angrily pointed at them.

“No fair! We don't have wings or a flying ship!”

Marigold snapped her fingers and turned to Chat Noir.

“Hey, that's right! What about the space potion?”

Chat Noir smiled.

“You're right! Let me just...”

He started to pat his pockets, but then he realized they were not as full as they should have been.

And he turned to Marigold.

“I... I forgot them at home.”

“M–Me too.”

“Pathetic.”

The heroes tried to come up with a plan to deal with the lack of materials, when they saw the twins shouting at their Akumatized parents.

“Do you have to attack each other?!” Juleka screamed, clearly upset.

“Stop pulling others into your drama!” Luka called them out.

The two heroes quickly realized they had had the same idea, and nodded at each other.

“I think this 2-for-1 special calls for a 2-for-1 special, Goldie!” Chat Noir said with a wink, which the Bee Heroine returned.

“Ooo, I think something nice and loud would suit just fine!” she replied, and Chat Noir extended his baton.

“You got it!” he shouted as he jumped away with his weapon.

“Where's he going?” Scarlet Lady asked. “Did he realize he's useless?”

“Nevermind that,” Marigold replied, grabbing her arm. “You and I are gonna protect civilians until he gets back.”

“NOOOOOO!” Scarlet Lady uselessly (as most of her efforts) yelled, unable to free herself from Marigold's iron grip, while Juleka turned to her brother.

“Maybe we should pitch in and help.”

----

“Master Fu!” Adrien said as he entered the old man's house, which was shaking from the sounds of battle. “There's–”

“Two Akumas? I noticed,” Master Fu replied, already opening the gramophone so Adrien could choose a Miraculous. Much to his surprise, he picked the Snake Bracelet and another one. “This is getting risky, Adrien. Five heroes?”

“Well, I only need one Miraculous if you have some space potion lying around,” Adrien replied, making Fu raise an eyebrow.

“And what happened to the one I gave you?” he asked, amused.

“Uh! Well! You can't expect me to carry weird colored cheese with me all the time, can you?” he excused himself, only for Plagg to spring up from behind his shoulder.

“You could if you weren't a COWARD!”

----

While Chat Noir made his way back to his partner, things were getting heated up in the sky, as the Akumas traded accusations, while, below them, Alya, Mylène, and Lila observed.

“You only ever cared about your music! That's why you dumped me when you started climbing the charts!” Captain Hardrock shouted, pointing at Guitar Villain with her large cutlass.

“Whoa,” Alya said with a grimace.

“Omigod the tea,” Lila added.

“Have you caught sea madness?! You dumped me! And didn't even tell me you were pregnant, and blocked me from my own kids!”

“WHAT?!” Alya shouted, feeling like her glasses were breaking apart from the shock, as Mylène looked on, stunned.

“Ohohomighod the tea!” Lila exclaimed.

----

Luckily, Chat Noir arrived soon, and the first thing he did was to walk up to his partner and kiss her hand.

“Welcome back to the party,” Marigold graciously said.

“Please, I am the party,” Chat Noir replied, discreetly passing her the new Miraculous he had picked.

“Did you remember to bring a gift?” she asked, grabbing the richly decorated wooden box.

“Only the best for my honeybee,” he said, smiling at her, before picking Luka up. “C'mon, Luka. Let's go recite our scales.”

Luka looked at Chat Noir with a surprised face.

Meanwhile, Marigold was tossing her top to hook it to a nearby roof and grabbed the other Couffaine sibling, who was shocked.

“Let's go, Juleka.”

“Wuh–HEY!”

Both heroes flew away towards nearby roofs... leaving their 'partner' behind.

“What about me?!” she complained.

(Nobody cared)

----

As soon as they were in a secluded place, Marigold pulled the box Chat Noir had brought her and offered it to Juleka.

“Juleka Couffaine, this is the Tiger Miraculous, which grants the power of Exaltation. You will use it for the greater good,” she said.

“M–Me?” Juleka stumbled. “But I'm not–”

“After helping with Captain Hardrock and Silencer you still don't think you're a hero?” Marigold asked with a smile, making Juleka blush.

“You remembered...” the girl said. It was enough for her to accept opening the box, revealing a panjas bracelet – and a light that flew around her before transforming into a small creature that –

“ROOOAR!”

“Wah–!” Juleka yelled, jumping back from the shock and falling to the ground. The small creature flew closer to her.

“C'mon, let's wreak havoc!” the Tiger Kwami said, grinning.

“O–Okay...” Juleka mumbled, still in shock from the sudden appearance.

“Huh?” the kwami continued, leaning his head. “You say something? Louder!”

“Okay,” Juleka replied in a normal tone.

“LOUDER!”

“OKAAAAAY!” Juleka finally shouted, making the Kwami fly back.

“WHOOOOOAH! Nice and loud! Perfect!” she said, smiling. “My power won't work if you don't feel it!”

Juleka nodded, putting on the bracelet on her right hand.

“Next, just say, 'Roarr–'”

----

“STRIPES ON!”

----

“Alright, ready when you are,” Viperion said, his transformation complete, as Chat Noir looked on, slightly worried.

“You're okay going against your parents?” Chat Noir asked, but Viperion shrugged.

“Going against authority is the Couffaine way,” he replied. “Even your parents.”

Chat Noir nodded – it was an idea that really spoke to his own soul.

“That's such a good way,” he agreed.

----

“Chat Noir!” Marigold said, as she and her new partner landed next to him, Viperion, and Scarlet Lady.

“Ah, the gang's all here!” the Cat Hero happily exclaimed, while Scarlet looked on with disgust.

“Gross, you got another cat?”

“The name is Purple Tigress,” the new heroine replied, while Marigold turned to her oldest partner.

“Chaton, I need you to throw us as high as you can!”

“Sure thing!” he replied, extending his baton as far as he could and telling the two girls to stand at the other end of it. “Me and Viperion will keep protecting citizens!”

“Ew!” Scarlet Lady said, running after Marigold and Purple Tigress. “Then I'm coming with–”

Too late, as Chat Noir pulled with all his strength and sent the Bee and Tiger Heroines flying – while whacking Scarlet Lady in the face.

“AH!”

Chat Noir grinned before walking to continue the work of helping innocent people.

----

The Akumas were so absorbed into their fight that, while trying to stop them was hard, stealing their Akumatized objects was another matter entirely.

“Ahoy, Captain Hardrock!” Marigold cheekily greeted her as she grabbed one half while dodging her slashes. “Yoink!”

“HEY!”

“Time to turn down the volume!” Purple Tigress said as she spun around Guitar Villain, who couldn't make heads nor tails of the new heroine as she grabbed the second half of the disc.

“OI!”

“You're ruining the music!”

The duo quickly jumped to the end of the flying ship and –

“HA!”

“HNGH!”

– snapped both halves of the disc over their knees!

But... nothing happened.

“... where's the Akuma?” the heroines asked themselves.

----

Chat Noir saw that both heroines were holding onto the end of his baton and contracted it.

“Aaaand they're back,” he announced, but when they returned it was obvious something had gone wrong. “It didn't work?”

“No!” Marigold shouted, observing the disc pieces and trying to find some clue in them. “I don't get it!”

“Me either,” Purple Tigress admitted.

“I saw the Akuma go in before it was broken–” both Viperion and Purple Tigress said at the same time, and they gave each other a glare.

“I got it!” Marigold interrupted. “We put them together and then break it!”

She grabbed Scarlet Lady's hand.

“Hurry, use your Lucky Charm!”

“Don't boss me around,” the Ladybug 'heroine' said, but still she created the magical object they needed to solve the problem.

“Purple Tigress, use your power to keep them at bay!” Chat Noir said, but the Tiger Heroine was doubtful.

“W-What if I miss, or, I can't pull it off?!” she asked, scared of failure. “Roarr said I had to 'feel it'!”

“Hey,” Viperion gently said. “Second Chance.”

Purple Tigress looked at him in shock.

“Now no matter how many times you need, I'll make sure you get your shot,” he said, smiling. “But I bet you'll only need one chance.”

Purple Tigress smiled back at him, and, encouraged by his support, turned towards the dueling Akumas.

“You two are always so damn loud. No one can get a word in edgewise!” she growled as her right fist shone in purple, swirling energy – and jumped. “How is anyone supposed to settle things when you won't listen?! It's time for you two to SHUT THE HELL UP!”

She reached the flying ship, still engaged in fight with the dragon, and her clenched fist struck the former.

“CLOUT!”

The energy collided with the ship, and the explosion of energy suddenly sent both Akumas flying arse over teakettle... much to the shock of Chat Noir and Viperion, who watched the entire thing with wide open eyes and an inability to look away.

“Ready, Chat Noir!” Marigold happily declared after using the Lucky Charm – a roll of adhesive tape – to put the disc back together.

“C–Cataclysm,” Chat Noir said without looking away from the Clout explosion.

----

Once everything was fixed up, Marigold took Purple Tigress aside, and she returned to her civilian identity of Juleka Couffaine, who carefully took the bracelet and put it back into its box.

“Thanks for trusting me, Marigold,” she said, giving the box back to the Bee Heroine.

“Whoo! That was awesome!” Roarr said, floating and smiling at her temporary wielder. “It's been a while since I've felt this refreshed! Feels good to let it out, right?”

“Yeah, it does!” Juleka exclaimed, before she remembered the other thing that had happened earlier, and turned to Marigold. “... um... you should know... I figured out Viperion's identity. And he probably knows mine.”

“Oh...” Marigold replied, before she started to get covered in a cold sweat. “I–It's fine. Probably.”

“Are you sure?” Juleka asked. “You don't look fine.”

“Nah, it's probably cool.”

----

Unfortunately, while they may have been deakumatized, it hadn't brought peace, because Anarka and Jagged had resumed their argument from earlier.

“You shipwrecker! This was your fault!” Anarka screamed.

“You're the one off-key!” Jagged screamed back.

“Oh my god, SHUT UP!” Juleka interrupted, fed up with the shouting. “No one cares who's fault it is, so drop it and at least be civil!”

Both adults pulled back and looked chagrined in the face of the girl's wrath, and Anarka pointed at a suddenly shy Jagged Stone.

“J–Juleka, there's something you don't know about this ship rat–”

“What, that he's my dad?” Juleka asked with a deadpan face.

“You knew?!” the adults shouted at the same time.

“I've always known,” Juleka replied, crossing her arms, while her friends reacted in different ways, from Rose's smile to Alix sticking her tongue. “And now so does all of Paris.”

After a few seconds of silence, the adults turned back to each other.

“This isn't something we can be civil about!” Jagged shouted. “Bob gave me your letter! It said you wanted nothing to do with me! It didn't even mention the kids!”

“Have you swallowed sea water?!” Anarka accused. “Bob gave me your letter and it said you wanted nothing to do with me! Right after I told Bob I was pregnant–”

As they listened to what the other was saying, Anarka and Jagged realized something that was missing.

The neuron they needed to realize what had really happened that day, sixteen years before.

Their growing fury turned so incandescent, that Jagged Stone and Anarka Couffaine looked like they were about to fire a Kamehameha at something – or someone.

“BOB!”

----

In one of the many streets that populated the fair city of Paris, a certain music producer (who, in his free time, also was a walking excrement) called Bob Roth felt a shiver running down his back, as if someone had stepped over his (shallow) tomb.

“Why do I feel a sudden chill...?” he asked himself.

Not having any pattern recognition, he didn't give it the importance it required.

----

Anarka and Jagged's brief foray into Saiyanism ended, and both of them collapsed into the Liberty's deck, as they realized what they could have avoided if they hadn't trusted the wrong person.

“I feel so dumb...” Anarka mumbled.

“All this time...” Jagged mumbled.

“This day has been so weird,” Alya declared, and everyone else nodded.

“Alright, everyone!” Penny said, clapping her hands and catching everyone's attention. “Let's not forget, we're here to celebrate! Let's get back to it!”

Everyone cheered in agreement, and Anarka and Jagged were shaken off their brooding: standing up, they hugged each other.

“I'm sorry, Nanarky,” Jagged said.

“I'm sorry too, you old pirate,” Anarka gently replied.

“Let's figure this out later,” Jagged added, before looking at his ever-faithful assistant. “Penny.”

“Already on it,” she said with a grin that wouldn't have been out of place in a sea predator or in a law firm.

----

Jagged offered to play with his children and their group for the party, and they all agreed: playing with Jagged Stone, famous rock and roll star, AND father of about half the group? No one was crazy enough to pass on the opportunity!

“I know I have a lot of time to make up for...” Jagged said as they adjusted their strings, “but I'm gonna do my best to play to your tunes.”

“I know it'll be a beautiful duet, Dad,” Luka said, hugging his father.

“You're speaking my language,” Jagged replied, and Luka let him go so Juleka could glomp him.

“I love you, Papa,” Juleka added.

“You rock my world, too.”

“Please don't get back with Maman.”

“Pretty sure that ship has sailed,” Jagged sentenced.

----

The party was now in full swing. With Kitty Section having done its part, now it was time for DJ Nino to put on some of his music, and everyone was now cheering in unison to the new tunes.

That was when Lila corralled Luka.

“A-HA!” she shouted, and Luka turned to look at her, as she gave a knowing grin. “If Jagged Stone is both you and Juleka's dad, then you have to be twins!”

Luka looked back at her, and shrugged.

“Guess you got me,” he admitted, and Lila smirked.

“Ha! Yes! I win!” she said, walking away. “Nothing gets past me!”

Except the smirk Luka was now bearing, and which she missed because she wasn't looking.

You still haven't figured out my age, though, he thought as he tried to contain his laughter.

----

In one of the most expensive and famous restaurants of Paris, the aforementioned music producer-slash-walking excrement was sitting down at a table, ready to partake in a delicious lunch.

“Enjoy your meal, M. Roth,” the elégant waitress said, and walked to her waiting place while Bob opened his Loco laptop in order to check his business.

Sadly for him, he was doing this as he drank from a glass of Perrier water, and the moment he saw the latest email he had received, he spewed most of what he had drunk and began to choke on the rest.

“M. Roth?!” the worried waitress asked, while in the screen of the laptop glared three large lines that spelled doom for the producer.

Notice of Termination

Penny Rolling

You're fired, Bob.

----

Robostus

@zoe-oneesama How far can Clout fire Bob Roth? Answer: Not far enough.

Apologies for taking so long in writing this chapter! It's been quite the month, between work, personal projects, real life issues... I never found the time nor the boost I needed to get back into writing this novelization! But, between the one-shot I wrote (only if (a) you are a RWBY fan and (b) at least 18 years old) and a request from @sassy-but-sweet-purrrincess29, I got back into the saddle!

I hope to be able to finish Season 4 before the end of year, and continue with a similar tempo as earlier. Please, bear with me (also, we've got the events at the end of Style Queen, and I really want to write that scene!).

With this chapter, we've reached 477 pages, 191,219 words, 1,030,945 characters!

See you soon!

[mystical-flute]

Checkered: Chapter 6

Also on AO3 || Buy me a Ko-fi

There was no sense of time in the Field of Reeds. Days blend into weeks bled into months bled into millennia. There was a time when it had been possible to sort of gauge how long it had been, when her children and grandchildren had met her here, but once everyone she had known in life had joined her, everything had bled together

She had known since coming to the Field of Reeds that she would eventually go back to Earth, to help guide the spirit of the Puzzle to come to home, where he had belonged for thousands of years.

The problem with this was that she wasn’t sure who the Spirit of the Puzzle even was. She knew someone had been sealed away, but who he was or what even happened had been lost, and Osiris had not been forthcoming in the answers. How was she supposed to help the Puzzle’s spirit get to the Field of Reeds if she didn’t know who they were and what even happened to lock them into one of the items?

But here she was, standing in front of the veil between the living world and the world of the dead,

"You will be an excellent guide, Azila," her husband said, leaning to press his lips against her forehead. "I wish you luck. See you soon."

Azila nodded. "I will be back as soon as I can."

It was a rare gift, to be able to travel to and from the realms, and she intended to embrace every second of it that she would.

Stepping through, Azila found herself in a dark room, lit by only what was coming in through the cracks of the fabric covering the window.

A shifting noise caught her attention, and she glanced over to find a bed with a sleeping young woman inside it. Her wrist was out from under the covers, and there was the Bracelet, visible in the moonlight.

Azila smiled. So it was another young woman who ended up with her bracelet. Though it was dark, she could see that there were… very similar features between the two of them. The shape of their noses, wavy hair, though this girl was missing the blonde strands Azila was currently sporting.

Strange, she had stopped dyeing her hair long before she went into the Field of Reeds. Why would Osiris had dressed her like this? So many mysteries to unravel, and yet she was supposed to help escort the Spirit of the Puzzle onward?

She looked around the bedroom, seeing what looked to be a large, ornate lantern on the bedside table next to a small rectangle with a string attached to one end. Next to the window was what Azila assumed was a work desk, with a strange closed rectangle with another long string attaching itself out the back of the rectangle and into the wall behind the desk. Against the wall was a large shelf full of tomes. The girl liked to read! How lovely!

Azila moved over to the shelf to take a look at the tomes.

Geography, mathematics, Japanese history (Japan… is that where she was?), Ancient Egyptian history -

"Ancient? Well I'm sure that can't be right…"

"What the hell? Who are you?!"

Azila turned to find the young woman sitting up in bed and switching the lantern on. Interesting - so she could do it without fire? Still, Azila gave her a polite smile. "Oh wonderful, you're awake! My name is Azila. I was sent down here to help the Spirit of the Puzzle discover who he is, and train you in the art of shadow magic."

The girl blinked at her several times, then rubbed her eyes and heaved in a breath before picking up the brick and staring at it. "I'm dreaming. It's three-thirty in the morning, I have brunch with KC at eleven, and I've got exams next week. I'm on edge. This is a dream."

"You are most certainly not dreaming," Azila scoffed, making her way over to the bed just as the girl flopped back down and switched off the lantern. "Young lady, I mean it. This is not a dream, and it is important that you listen."

The girl let out a groan and opened her eyes. "You don't have to sound like my mom when you talk to me y'know."

Azila chuckled softly. "Forgive me. I spent most of my life as a mother and grandmother. It comes naturally."

"Okay, okay fine. If all of this is real and you're really a ghost come down from on high, who exactly are you and who sent you?"

Finally, the girl was amenable to discussion, and Azila smiled as she settled - or settled as much as a spirit could - on the end of the bed. "As I said, my name is Azila, and I was sent down by the god Osiris to help guide the Puzzle's spirit to the Field of Reeds."

The girl gestured to the door. "Well, he's in the living room with my cousin. Have fun."

Azila chuckled again. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. The truth is, I don't even know who the Spirit of the Puzzle was. Just that I have to help him… somehow."

"Oh my god," the girl muttered, putting her head in her hands and rubbing her temples. "If you don't even know who he is, how are you supposed to help him?"

"He owned a Millennium Item, so he must have been someone important to those of us in Court. That is why it is important that he come to the Field of Reeds… there are so many people waiting for him."

The girl stared at her in sleepy confusion. "So, let me get this straight. You have no memory of this guy, but you think he's super important that you and a bunch of other ghosts have been waiting for him in the afterlife. And you're only here because Osiris told you to?"

"Yes, now you're getting it!"

"You picked the wrong girl to try and help you with this," she sighed. "I'm not even going to be living here in a few months."

Azila shook her head. "Whatever you might believe, you will be involved. The Items do not choose their owners lightly. You are meant to wield the powers of the Bracelet. Besides, have you not noticed that we look similar despite being born years and years apart?"

The girl blinked again, but turned the lantern back on to get a better look, squinting in confusion. "Your hair… you have wavy hair like me, the black and magenta like me… but you have a streak of blonde framing your face, like the men in my family. I don't understand. Why do we look alike?"

"Fate. It is the most powerful force in the world. And I will teach you - "

"I knew there was another soul here."

The girl blinked in surprise at the sudden arrival of another, the room door cracked open. "Yugi, I'm fine. Go back to bed."

Azila stared in horror as the figure approached. "No, it is not fine. Look at his forehead. The symbol there…"

The girl focused on the spirit (it was a spirit in charge, not a human, she could tell), before her eyes widened and she got out of the bed. "Wait - hold on. Who are you?"

The spirit grinned, though Azila could see - and sense - nothing but malice. "Consider me a guardian angel. I will determine if this spirit is actually safe or not."

"Where's Yugi?"

The spirit shrugged. "He is resting. He had such a tiring day. Everything with Ushio was exhausting. Surely you know that, Reika."

The girl - Reika - shuddered. "How do you know my name?"

The spirit tapped his temple. "Yugi's memories are available to me."

"Well get out of his head and get out of my room."

"I will… just as soon as I make sure this spirit means no harm."

The room began to warp, and Azila instantly felt the old, familiar tug of the shadows and the games they played. Reaching out with her hand, she could feel the power of the bracelet radiating, tugging and pulling and wanting to be free. Reika was woefully unprepared for this, especially against an opponent as unstable as… whoever this was.

"You are not the only one experienced in the Games," Azila said, her fingertips brushing against the bracelet and drawing its power to her, felt the DiaDhank form on her arm. She didn't want to - she really didn't want to - but she would summon what she needed to if it meant stopping this boy. "I will be your opponent and prove to you that I am not the hostile spirit here."

The Puzzle's spirit laughed. "Are you implying that I am?"

Azila raised a brow. "Yes."

"Interesting," the spirit said, tilting his head before flicking his wrist.

Reika went sent flying back onto the bed, the covers wrapping around her and binding her down onto the mattress despite her struggles.

"What do you have in mind for this Game?" Azila asked.

"I call it Truths and Lies. We each write down facts about ourselves and one lie. Then the other must guess which is the lie."

Azila raised a brow. It sounded simple enough, but these games never were. "And what does the loser get punished with?"

"Banishment."

Azila tilted her head in confusion, unsure if the spirit had played many of these games or if he just hadn't played one with another spirit. Azila hadn't either, but she was fairly certain neither of them would be able to be banished. She was at the mercy of a god, and he was bound to the puzzle itself.

But she knew the rules of a Shadow Game, and so she nodded, taking a seat at the table that had materialized in Reika's bedroom. "I accept your terms. Let's begin."

The pen she wrote with was strange, not nearly like the ones she used when she was alive, but she managed to write down her list.

I am a Great Royal Wife

I am a healer

I am the youngest of seven children.

The spirit laughed as he picked up the paper. "Do you want to lose? Clearly the lie is that you're a Great Royal Wife!" The shadows swirled around him, but she kept her gaze even with him as she spoke.

"I was the eldest, and I only had four siblings."

"'Only?'" came Reika's mutter of disbelief.

The shadows swirled around her, and as the Puzzle's spirit looked at her in horror, she only gave him pity.

"I do not know your name, nor do I know who you were in life, but I make a promise to you that I am only here to help you, so that one day, you can gain entrance to the Field of Reeds with your memories in tact," Azila said carefully. The shadows did not move from around her, but stayed pointed at him in warning. "I do not wish to bring harm to any of the humans. Nor will you be banished. We must work together to find out what is happening."

The Spirit looked at her, no longer looking manic, but instead quite sad, and very, very, young. "You… want to help me? How?"

"I do not know. But I do know that our god Osiris was the one to send me down… you are meant to come home to the Field of Reeds, I promise. But you cannot do so if you keep running around harming people with the Games. That was never what these powers were for."

Not exactly true, but the less insanity there was surrounding them, the better the world at large would be.

The spirit nodded, and the shadows began to vanish, freeing Reika from the bedding. Azila watched as the human scrambled off the bed with wide eyes.

"Yugi?" she whispered when the shadows completely disappeared, and the spirit retreated back into the puzzle in a flash of gold.

The boy, Yugi, snapped his head up in surprise. "Reika! What - "

(The spirit and Yugi were disconnected… interesting)

"This… is going to be a very long conversation that we can finish tomorrow but… you need to know that what gramps told us about the shadow games is true. They're real. And… your puzzle has a ghost in it."

Yugi stared at her. "Wait, the Shadow Games? So that means Ushio playing in the dirt and thinking it and the leaves were money…"

"He was being punished for his transgressions," Azila said, coming into Yugi's view. "I have seen that game used before, on con men."

Yugi blinked. "Who - "

"My item has a ghost attached to it too. This one is Azila. She wants to help us figure everything out," Reika explained, rubbing at her eyes. "But we really should get some more sleep."

Yugi nodded, but hesitated in turning around. "I… don't want him to take control of my body again."

"I will keep watch over you," Azila said. "I am well-equipped in the art of the shadows as well. You will be safe to sleep, I promise."

Yugi nodded and began to make his way out of the room. Azila turned back to look at Reika, who was sliding back under the covers.

"Thank you, Azila…" Reika said.

Azila smiled. "You are very welcome. Get some rest."

And with that, she followed Yugi out of the room.

-

"Yugi, I've got some books on Ancient Egypt in my room, if you want to take a look at them. See if you can figure anything out about… all of this," she said the next morning, glancing at Yugi with a shrug.

Yugi nodded. "Thanks Reika. Do you mind if I invite Anzu over too?"

"Of course not. Just don't make a mess and don't eat all of our food. The takeout menus are in the drawer next to the stove if you get hungry again and I'm not home," she replied as she made her way to the door. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

She paused at the mailbox upon realizing it had mail in it, and felt her eyes widen when she saw what exactly had been sent priority.

A letter - from the University of Kyoto.

Reika practically sprinted to her car and tore the letter open the moment she was alone.

Dear Miss Mutou,

Congratulations! You have been accepted to the University of Kyoto's Music Education program -

She stopped reading. That was the only sentence she needed for now. The rest would come later, after brunch, after the weird conversation with Yugi about the Shadow Games. For now, it was time to be a member of the Young Five.

"You cut it close this morning, Miss Reika," Lector said as she rushed into the restaurant's private room. "It's not like you."

Reika bowed deeply before she made her way to the table and took a seat next to him. "Apologies, Mister Lector. I received some big news just as I was leaving and I needed a moment to gather myself."

"Oh? Good news I hope."

"Yes sir. I got accepted to Kyoto for their music education program."

Lector grinned. "Well that is excellent news Miss Reika. Congratulations! I suppose that means all of you now know what your plans are for after graduation."

"A toast is in order then," Seto said. He was sitting at the head of the table and radiating an aura of being in charge despite five men in the room having decades on him in life and work experience. A wave of his hand, and servers were arriving with wine and sparkling cider, quickly placing them on the table. "To the Young Five. May the dedication and commitment they have shown to KaibaCorp carry them into their future endeavors, and may they excel at all they choose to do."

The glasses clinked together gently, and she took a sip of the cloyingly sweet liquid.

"Hey Reika! What's that design on your bracelet?" Mokuba piped up.

She blinked in surprise, momentarily forgetting what she was wearing. "I - oh, it's an artifact my grandfather brought me from one of his expeditions in Egypt. He gave it to me when I was nine."

"Hold on, didn't you tell me years ago you said you wouldn't wear it unless Yugi finished that puzzle?" Noah asked with a frown.

"And I kept my word. He finished it last night."

Noah stared at her. "He did? It was taking him so long I never thought it would happen!"

"Heh, yeah, neither did I."

"Is it true? Do they actually have powerful ancient magic? Your grandfather mentioned that once, didn't he?"

Mokuba's eyes widened, but Seto's rolled. She already knew how this conversation was going to go, but she soldiered on.

"Ah - right, that's the rumor," looking at Mokuba, she continued. "The bracelet and Yugi's puzzle are part of a set of ancient objects known as the Millennium Items. There are only eight of them in the world. Each one is said to contain powerful, dark shadow magic."

"Really?" Mokuba gasped. "Like what?"

"Mokuba," Seto said sharply. "Don't be ridiculous. None of that is real."

Mokuba frowned and turned back to Seto, but Noah rolled his eyes.

"It's real," she murmured, leaning closer to Noah. "The Shadow Games, the spirits… all of it. We don't know what it means but… gramps wasn't just telling us scary stories."

Noah's voice was low and level with hers. "What are you going to do?"

"Research, I guess. Deal with whatever comes our way. I don't think this is something e can avoid, Noah."

"You are correct. It is not."

She rolled her neck in an attempt to shake off the uneasy feeling of hearing Azila's voice in her head.

"Reika?" Noah murmured.

"It's fine," she said. "I'm fine."

So why were her hands shaking?

—

"Are you sure you don't want your father and I to check on you?" her mother asked, worry clear on her face even on the small cell phone screen.

Reika groaned and rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'm fine, I promise. The nurse said almost everyone gets a cold this time of year."

After not being sick once during the first semester of university, luck had not been on her side going into the second, and instead of being able to attend Yugi's first non-tabletop duel, she was being forced to watch it via streaming.

"You can call us at any time if you need us. We'll be on a train in seconds," her father added. "With food and medication."

She didn't have the heart to tell them Seto had already sent her a large care package with just those things. "I know you will, and I'm fine for now, I promise. I've got soup and honey. and tea. It'll tide me over until tomorrow. I'm going to be watching the duel tonight so I'll have something that makes me happy."

Her mother sighed. "Don't stay up too late! Go straight to bed once the duel is over."

"I will, promise."

Or not.

With a sigh, she ended the call with her parents and connected to the stream Noah had sent her to watch the duel. Yugi and his friends were just entering the arena, with the Young Five already sitting in the stands with Mokuba and Noah. Seto was standing in his spot at one end of the area already, a manic grin on his face.

She had been worried about him for a few days, even when they'd managed to get together for dinner for his birthday, he'd been wild-eyed as he talked about the future, and about the upcoming Japanese dueling tournament, and it had all felt so off.

Seto was always a passionate about whatever caught his interest, but his face, and the way his pupils seemed to shrink as Yugi stepped into the arena, told her something was wrong.

"I think you'll find our brand new duel arena to be quite exciting Yugi! And how lucky you are to be one of the first to test it out!" Seto laughed.

"There is a heavy energy around him," Azila said, materializing into the room with a frown. "It feels dark but… not in the way the shadows do. Has anything happened to him lately?"

She shook her head. "No, not that I can think of. Mokuba and Noah haven't said anything either." Mokuba, of all people, would have told her if there was.

"Odd… he was not like this before, was he?"

The duel began, both players making their first move.

"No, he seemed okay, until a couple of days ago," she said, coughing into the crook of her elbow miserably.

"Have some tea, and a spoonful of honey." When Reika gave her an odd look, she shrugged. "I was a healer before my marriage. There has been much changed in the world since my death but those two have remained."

Reika rolled her eyes as she got off her bed and moved to the small kettle already filled with hot water. While waiting for the tea to steep, she did indeed take a spoonful of honey. With that done, she returned to her bed with a mug of chamomile, leaning back to watch the rest of the duel.

It… was not going well for Yugi. He was down to four-hundred points to Seto's one-thousand, and Seto had all three of his beloved Blue-Eyes cards on the field. She could tell Yugi was using Grandpa's deck, so what other tricks could he possibly have…?

Surely not -

"You are pathetic Yugi, and so is your deck! So go ahead and draw your last card so I can end this duel already!" Seto still had that manic grin on his face, that seemed to only grow with each turn taken.

"Pathetic? The only pathetic thing I see here is you, Kaiba! My grandfather's deck may not be the strongest, but it does contain - "

It was.

"The unstoppable Exodia!"

Grandpa was a lot of things, but a fool was not one of them. He had stacked his deck for strategy, not just for strength, and it seemed that was a lesson about dueling Seto had forgotten.

The other Yugi was standing in Yugi's place as Seto's life points hit zero. "You have so much hatred in your heart, Seto. It has started to cloud your judgment. But don't worry… I can help you. Mind Crush!"

The Eye of Anubis flashed on Yugi's forehead, and Seto fell to his knees, his eyes clearing, pupils returning to normal.

And the feed went black.

"Reika…" Azila asked. "Are you certain there has been nothing wrong with Seto recently?"

Reika's heart was in her throat. "I - I - "she glanced up, spotting the calendar hanging on the wall across from her bed.

October thirtieth.

"Oh shit," she whispered. "Today is the anniversary of Gozaburo's death."