#redd can confirm

[redwolfstabs]

Before I pass out from too much candy stolen from my sister

Here’s a picrew of BASICALLY what I did for Halloween 🥰

Because I feel like you weirdos deserve it

Happy Halloween freaks and gays 💕

[bagelbun333]

The death penalty in Ace Attorney | The fandom’s biggest misconception

Capital punishment is something we all know is a real consequence when it comes to murder in Ace Attorney, but do all culprits who commit these crimes actually get the death penalty? That’s what I’m going to go through in depth within this post!

CW and TW: mentions of death, execution, murder, suicide etc.

Also major spoilers for basically all the mainline ace attorney games!

To start off with, what exactly warrants a death penalty in Japanifornia? Murder has been referred to as a capital crime that deserves a capital punishment, which in turn led people to believe that all murder convicts get the death sentence. However, there is a slight mistranslation within that statement and it should say “murder is a charge that risks the death penalty.” “Risk” is the keyword here. While yes, it is possible murder charges can warrant the death penalty, that doesn’t mean every culprit will get executed. Like, this isn’t Danganronpa 😭 What people don’t think about is the different kinds of murder charges there are, and the differences in sentencing this can create.

Murder charges can go from:

1st Degree Murder - Premeditated/long time planning

2nd Degree Murder - Not premeditated but the intent is there within the moment/deliberate killing

3rd Degree Murder - Deliberate reckless behaviour resulting in death

Aggravated Murder - Murder when an aggravating circumstance is proven (such as kidnapping or torture)

Voluntary Manslaughter - Intention to kill but is not guilty of murder due to provocation or mental incapacity

Involuntary Manslaughter - Killing without intention within the heat of the moment

Self Defence - Killing for defence of oneself

Consensual Homicide - Assisting a suicide

Attempted Murder - Planning and failing to kill

In Japan (the country this series is initially based on) these charges have different kinds of sentences depending on circumstances. So naturally, Japanifornia must have punishments very similar to this. These are the sentences for these crimes in Japan according to my research:

1st Degree - 5 years to life imprisonment

2nd Degree - 5 years to life imprisonment

3rd Degree - 3 to 5 years imprisonment

Aggravated Murder - Death penalty or life imprisonment

Voluntary Manslaughter - 1 to 15 years imprisonment

Involuntary Manslaughter - 1 to 15 years imprisonment

Consensual Homicide - 6 months to 7 years imprisonment

Self Defence - No imprisonment

Attempted Murder - 5 years to life imprisonment

Death penalties are usually passed in cases of multiple murders, although there are exceptions where individuals have committed a single murder that have been executed because it involved torture, extreme brutality or kidnapping with a demand for ransom. It is punishable by five years to life in prison, and with the death penalty if aggravating circumstances are proven. The only exception is for juvenile offenders since the minimum age for capital punishment in Japan is 18.

With this, we can work out what kinds of charges each of the ace attorney culprits will be given. (Mostly for the Phoenix Wright trilogy since I can’t recall much beyond aa4.)

(For clarification’s sake: a “/” is used when a crime could be one or the other or both, while the “,” is used to separate different crimes.)

Frank Sahwit: 2nd Degree Murder

Redd White: 1st Degree Murder

April May: 1st Degree Murder (Accomplice)

Dee Vasquez: Self Defence/Voluntary Manslaughter

Yanni Yogi: 1st Degree Murder

Manfred von Karma: 2nd Degree Murder, 1st Degree Murder (accomplice, planned out)

Joe Darke: Serial Murders (technically spree murder, guilty on five counts)

Damon Gant: 1st Degree Murder, 2nd Degree Murder (Serial Murders)

Lana Skye: 1st Degree Murder, 2nd Degree Murder (Unwilling Accomplice in both)

Richard Wellington: 2nd Degree Murder/Involuntary Manslaughter

Mimi Miney: 1st Degree Murder

Morgan Fey: 1st Degree Murder, Attempted Murder (Accomplice in both, planned out the crime)

Acro: Attempted Murder, Involuntary Manslaughter

Matt Engarde: 1st Degree Murder (Hired a hitman), Consensual Homicide (driven a woman to kill herself)

Dahlia Hawthorne: 1st Degree Murder, Consensual Homicide, 3 counts of Attempted Murder, and 2nd Degree Murder (Serial Murders)

Luke Atmey: 1st Degree Murder

Furio Tigre: Either 1st or 2nd Degree Murder

Godot: Voluntary Manslaughter/Self Defence (defending someone else)

Iris: Voluntary Manslaughter (accomplice)

Kristoph Gavin: 2 counts of 1st Degree Murder, Attempted Murder (Serial Murders)

Those who canonically got the death penalty:

- Joe Darke

- Dahlia Hawthorne

- Terry Fawles

- Simon Blackquill

Those who canonically got the death penalty but didn’t get executed:

- Terry Fawles (he died anyway rip)

- Simon Blackquill

Those who are most likely to get the death penalty but never canonically stated:

- Manfred von Karma (not explicitly stated but heavily implied)

- Damon Gant

- Matt Engarde

- Morgan Fey (vaguely implied)

- Kristoph Gavin

- The Phantom

Those who don’t get the death penalty:

- Frank Sahwit

- Redd White (he would if his blackmail victims got leaked)

- April May

- Dee Vasquez

- Yanni Yogi

- Lana Skye

- Richard Wellington (could be a chance that he would considering his victim was a police officer)

- Mimi Miney (unsure considering her accomplice is implied to be on death row)

- Acro

- Luke Atmey

- Furio Tigre

- Godot

- Iris

To recap, the death penalty in Japanifornia is reserved for the criminals with absolutely no hope for rehabilitation, and for those who have aggravated murder charges/serial murder charges. Even people like Redd White will not receive the death penalty.

After all, Redd White did plead guilty to Mia’s murder specifically because getting arrested for one murder would be safer than having his list of blackmail victims get leaked to the press. It would be strange to confess for his own safety if he was just going to get executed anyway.

In the later games it is shown that the law is changing, and the death penalty is even less involved when culprits are convicted of murder. (Not counting charges in Khura’in, that’s different.) So it is very possible that the punishments can change overtime for those who were already convicted; meaning there’s a chance that they can be given a lighter sentence later on. There’s even a culprit in aa5 who was planning a murder but ended up killing someone else accidentally, and they were released from prison mere months after the trial. If they can released for that then surely a lot of the other culprits deserve the same treatment.

Speaking of Khura’in, that is actually more of a parody of what the fandom thought Japanifornia’s death penalty worked like. Even then, after the ending aa6, it looks like that judicial system will change for the better too.

And that’s pretty much it! The reason I wanted to go through this topic is because the whole murder = death penalty ideology is taken way out of proportion, and has been treated as a fact for far too long when it’s actually not completely true. This is just what I’ve managed to research and you can feel free to believe it or not, but I really wanted to share a new perspective on this subject. I, for one, wanted to share some hope for people; especially because I know a lot of these culprits have a lot of fans, and they deserve to have a brighter perspective on these characters. I definitely want some of these characters to return and this research really helped me feel confident that some of them have the potential to make a comeback.

Plus with the HD release of, not only the Apollo trilogy, but the Edgeworth collection in the same year, it’s more than likely that aa7 will bring back old characters! The reason a lot of these old characters didn’t make a reappearance sooner is because Capcom stood by this “no spoiler” rule for the players who may have missed out on certain games in this series. But now that we have all the mainline games in the series getting a HD release on all modern platforms, this “no spoiler” rule will most likely not be necessary anymore!

No more of this “if they’re guilty they’re never coming back” bs, let’s be more hopeful! It’s actually less likely that all culprits would get executed than the majority not getting executed. Let’s bffr!

And even if they don’t come back in aa7, we now have a more clear understanding on this messy topic, and you can feel free to use my analysis as a way to explain ace attorney culprits being able to leave prison in fanfictions, roleplays, fanarts etc. Don’t let the fandom tell you what to do >:3

Unrelated but I think this has been my first analysis post I put on tumblr and it was very fun to delve into! I may make more if anyone is interested :3c

[gailynovelry]

Having Toybox thoughts rn, don't mind me if I post the actor's core character beliefs on main;

Kelly believes that he is a bad person, no matter what anyone says.

Vio believes that he is a bad person, despite what everyone else says.

Sable believes that they are a bad person, because of what they think everyone must be saying.

Pumpkin believes that she is a bad person because of the things he has done.

Redd believe that they are a bad person because of the things she has been unable to do.

Sapphire believes that she is a bad person, and justifies it because this is a dog-eat-dog world here.

Aure is unable to think of himself as a bad person in any capacity, or his entire worldview will fall apart.

Ivory believes that she has proof that everyone is a bad person, and that the proof also applies to herself.

Furthermore, for the Playwright and the Doll (player character);

The Playwright believes that humanity's nature is so base as to make everyone a bad person, and that they are simply proving this true through the time loop.

The Doll believes that humanity's nature is not inherently evil, and that the conceit of the timeloop forces everyone involved to carry out bad actions, as influenced by the beliefs that they already have.

[prettygiri222]

okay but imagine eren seen a video of his baby momma at the club singin sexy redd’s “ FUCK MY BABYDADDY ” 😭😭 he just brings their son or daughter to reader’s mom and goes back to reader’s house and tears them TF upppp.

i can just hear him saying “ fuck yo baby who?? oh aight. ”

I had to add rapper!Eren to this cause it's something I always wanted to write😋

Eren x Black Fem Reader, PLOT + SMUT

rapper Eren Yeager's longtime girlfriend of six years broke up with him after having his first child, Duke Yeager. Eren shared a post on instagram confirming their breakup but stated that the both of them remain in Duke’s life as co-parents. the reason why was unreleased so fans speculated that Eren must’ve cheated because why else would you willingly break up with the famous rapper. his management released a statement saying it was due to conflicting schedules but it was seen as damage control so no one believed it.

during the six years of the relationship, his management managed to keep your face out of the media. but with the way Eren was constantly posting snippets of you, fans soon discovered who you were after matching physical features, traits and location that were found on his story with the ones present on your small instagram.

you two quickly became the it couple, how the girl from nowhere pulled a famous rapper gave fans hope because they saw them reflected in you. a woman who didn’t have to undergo multiple surgeries to pull the industry's finest. but after the breakup, that image fell.

his management did their best to keep things under wraps to keep the media from tormenting you but it didn’t work. when you posted a picture of yourself postpartum your dms filled with hateful comments wondering why Eren had gotten with you in the first place. you knew it was just jealous fangirls but it still got to you, especially since you weren’t all that confident in your new body and still recovering from your pregnancy. your accounts went silent shortly after.

although the breakup was mutual, the reason why was deeper than scheduling conflicts. you needed someone who was able to be there physically, emotionally and mentally. it was hard for Eren to provide that due to his career path, always travelling the world with a packed schedule. you guys did your best to make it work but after Duke came into the world you just couldn’t handle it anymore. 

Eren was a decent baby daddy and you guys co-parented well. you had full custody of him but when Eren was in town and would have time off you would send Duke over to him. Duke loved his daddy, always wanting to watch his concerts and interviews on the TV when he wasn’t there or free to facetime. Eren always made sure to send double what was asked for in child support to make sure you took care of yourself as well as his son.

that’s why when you reposted your friend’s story of you in the club all hell broke loose. people took it as a diss to your baby daddy, which it was, but not in the way they thought.

earlier that week you had dropped Duke off at Eren’s mansion. he had just flown back in from his world tour and finally had a few weeks off. despite being exhausted he called you up and asked if you could bring Duke over, wanting to spend as much time with his son as possible during his break. he sent over an uber black to pick the two of you up.

when Eren met you two at the door, Duke jumped into his arms smiling and giggling. it’s been a while since he’s seen his daddy in person. the sight made you awe. Eren turned to you and asked if you wanted to stay over so he could spend time with the two most important people in his life but sadly you declined. you didn’t want to interrupt their father and son bonding time.

Duke was almost a clone of Eren, he had his sharp green eyes, german nose and face shape. the only hints of you in him were his full lips, darker skin and coils. Duke was your little bundle of joy but he could be a handful at times. during the few times those two got to spend together Eren spoiled him rotten, whatever he wanted he got and it showed. whenever you told him no he would throw a tantrum saying how he wanted his daddy. you knew you were a good mother but hearing him say that when you were the one who took care of him every day hurt.

---

it was a friday night and Eren was at his crib chilling with Duke. he had his phone on do now disturb so his time with his family wouldn’t be interrupted. it was a shame you weren’t here to spend time with them. after having pizza, soda and ice cream for dinner the boys passed out on the couch after staying up past midnight watching movies. 

his peace was soon interrupted by the constant buzz of his phone. it roused him from his sleep but Duke slept through it. after the third ring, he finally answered the phone. he was pissed that his manager was calling him knowing it was his time off but he figured it must be important for them to use emergency bypass to call.

“what’s going on?” his voice gruff from his slumber and irritation. he turned on his phone to see it flooded with notifications from instagram, snapchat, tiktok, twitter, messages, missed calls from his friends and one from his mom and his heart dropped to his stomach. he hadn't dropped anything new recently so he knew whatever was happening had to be bad.

“well… it’s about your baby mama… she uh…” his manager was at a loss for words. he didn't know the words to describe the situation to make it not seem as bad as the media was already making it out to be. he knew Eren would be pissed when he found out what happened and they didn't want to be on the end of it. 

Eren was extremely protective of his family and friends. when he saw the hate you were receiving after you posted a picture of yourself postpartum he took to twitter immediately. he did not play when it came to you, together or not together. you were the mother of his child and you needed your respect. so he was wondering why you were playing in his face like this.

“well what is it?” he snapped, already losing his patience. “is she ok? is she hurt?” he shot upright from his resting position on the couch. he opened up the group chat between him, Armin, Connie, Onyankopon and Jean first. all that was sent was a blurry video followed by a bunch of skull and grave emojis.

he opened the video and immediately recognized the faces of a few of the girls in it as a few of your friends, Sasha, Mikasa and Historia at a club. Sasha, Connie’s model girlfriend was the one to record them singing along to a sexyy red song. he wondered what the video had to do with him until it panned to you. you stood out with your brightly dyed red hair styled in a what he recognized as a wash-and-go.

“fuck my baby daddy! fuck my baby daddy! fuck my baby daddy!” you were shouting the lyrics a little bit too passionately. you had your middle fingers stuck up to the camera showing off your glittery red acrylic nails. you were clearly wasted, drunk off of whatever drinks Sasha managed to shove down your throat.

“yes bitch!” your friends shouted as you turned around to shake your ass sticking out your tongue. you were wearing a ripped mesh dress. one of your friends reached out to pull down the back of your dress to prevent your ass from showing but the dress was already leaving very little to the imagination. the pregnancy did your body good, you were a bit on the skinny side before but now your hips had filled out, your ass and boobs swole and your skin finally cleared up. you were glowing.

“I’m a fine ass bitch, I ain’t in the in the house sad!” you were feeling yourself. it felt nice to get out of the house and away from Duke no matter how much you loved him. having to take care of a baby by yourself was tiring, no matter how much Eren supported you from afar you needed him there with you.

your friends were hyping you up and your mind grew hazy from both the alcohol and adrenaline. you were far too gone to realize what you said when you yelled “fuck Eren!” instead of the actual lyrics. the camera quickly panned to the floor before the video stopped.

Eren had to replay the video countless times to process what he had seen and heard. but he couldn’t believe it was you. never in the eight years he’s known you have you ever picked up the phone to send a dig at him through social media. no matter how tough the going got, it’s what he respected about you. you always wanted to talk problems through and try to make it work. Eren clenched his fist looking at you now.

Eren knows how baby mamas like you are seen and treated in the industry. he’s seen how they're constantly bashed and embarrassed by the fathers of their children and the media. Eren never wanted that for you, he wanted to give you a ring before he gave you a baby but accidents happen and here you both were. instead of calling him or stopping by to talk you wanted to show out for the fans and diss him. it was stupid of you, he knew you were better than this.

“so it’s “fuck Eren” is that right,” Eren laughed to himself throwing his head back on the couch. sure he couldn’t be there for you and Duke all the time like he wanted but at least he tried. he was a very busy man. but he did what he had to to make sure his mother, Duke and you could have a nice and cozy life. where Duke didn’t have to worry about if he was going to eat dinner that night. “bet.”

“sorry little man but I have to go get your mommy. you’re going to go to stay with your grandma tonight, ok?” he cooed to Duke, waking him up. Duke slowly woke up and was trying to rub the sleep out of his eye. Eren loved his son very much he was the reason he kept this stressful life up. 

he enjoyed making music and performing but not during the days when he slept in the studio trying to find the perfect lyrics and beat or days where he hardly slept because he had to stay on his feet. it was a fast life and if he couldn’t keep up it would all come crashing down. and for you to make a dig at that knowing how he felt was fucked.

“Eren Yeager!” his manager shouted through the phone overhearing the whole thing. he needed Eren to keep a calm head and not do anything rash tonight. he didn’t need him sparking more outrage in the media or doing something that could potentially ruin the relationship you two had. “what are you going to do?”

“what else, I’m going to go fuck my baby mama,” before his manager could get another word out he hung up the phone. 

“daddy said a bad word!”

“...don’t tell your mom and I’ll bring you to the studio with me.”

---

you wobbled into your apartment with a sheepish grin. it felt like a huge weight was lifted off your shoulder tonight. it’s been a while since you went to the club and got so drunk that the world became a blur. you were slowly regaining memories of what happened that night and you couldn’t help but cringe knowing you would regret some of them in the morning. your phone died on your way home after you reposted Sasha’s story so you were oblivious to the buzz you had created.

when you went to unlock your door you found out that it was already open. you raised your brow but you brushed it off thinking you must’ve forgotten to lock it in your rush to leave the house. you knew the security for your building was tight, it was the main thing you were looking for when you were buying your apartment. it was a necessity since Duke was the son of a successful rapper. 

when you and Eren had split you bought yourself a nice little two-bedroom apartment deep in the city. Eren offered to pay for it but you immediately declined, you didn’t want anything else of yours to get attached to him. during your relationship you saved up a lot of money since Eren had always offered to buy you whatever you wanted and spoiled you rotten just like he was doing with Duke. he fueled your shopping addiction only wanting his girlfriend to have the best of the best.

you had a little side hustle as an occasional hairstylist and nail artist for your friends and family with the occasional new client. Eren told you time and time again you didn’t need to work and that he would take care of everything. but you liked having your own source of income it made you feel independent plus you enjoyed your job.

being able to close on your dream apartment was a dream come true and it left you feeling satisfied. you loved how everything was within walking distance, there was a daycare down the street along with an elementary school for when Duke got older. there was a grocery store right around the corner with a few outlets and public transit ran just outside the building, it was perfect for a single mother like you. 

“thought we were doing good with this co-parenting shit mama?” the second you opened the door you were greeted by a voice you knew better than your own. goosebumps covered your arms, ‘why is he here’ you thought.

“Eren?” you called out into the dark apartment. you felt the wall closest to the door for the switch and turned the light on. and there he was, Eren, your famous baby daddy. he turned his head to look at you from where he was seated on the couch. his eyes were extremely low, watching your every move. “are you ok? where's Duke?”

“with your mom,” Eren was having such a pleasant high, he felt so relaxed and calm in the dark room. he didn’t have the TV on and was just staring at the black screen. but the second the room lit up and you walked through the door with that tiny see-through dress on it dispersed. he narrowed his eyes down at you and you could tell you had just blown his high. his anger simmering underneath his calm demeanour. 

“how’d you even get in?” you never gave Eren the key to your apartment. having already been split and you always dropped Duke off at his place there was no reason for him to have one.

“front desk gave me a key after I flashed a couple of stacks,” he replied nonchalantly, like it wasn’t a crime on both parts. you rolled your eyes, this was how Eren fixed all his problems, with money. you get that when he was growing up it was something he didn’t have but now that he had it was like all he knew how to do was throw it at people to make his problems disappear.

“well if Duke isn’t here then there’s no reason for you to be,” you don’t know what you did to warrant this visit but you didn’t want to be in his presence any longer. you liked to keep your contact with Eren as minimal as possible. plus you didn’t have the energy to deal with him tonight, you were tired. hoping he would get the hint it was time to leave you walked away and headed towards your bedroom, “please see yourself out. we can talk another day.”

“nah, 'cause it’s “fuck Eren” right?” he got up from the couch and followed you down the hall and into your room. the wooden floor creaking under his weight. you didn’t have to turn around to know he was towering over you, you could feel him breathing down your neck. you tried to move away from him but he gripped your waist with a firm grip underneath and pulled you against him. “you must’ve gone crazy going so long with my dick huh? that must be it, acting like you lost your damn mind.”

“Eren!” you pulled away to look back at him in shock. “what are you even talking about?”

“don’t play dumb with me mama, your ass is all over the shade room talking about “fuck my baby daddy” ” he took his phone out of his pocket to show you their newest post. it was a screenshot of a video but it was clearly you, it was the same outfit and hairstyle you had on right now. you swiped the image on his phone in disbelief and the video played, “fuck Eren! fuck my baby daddy! fuck my baby daddy!”

“oh my gosh! Eren, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it like that, I was drunk and got carried away,” you looked up at him from the phone. you could tell he was pissed, his eyes darkened after hearing what you said in the video for the hundredth time. you were horrified, you didn’t mean to air out your personal problems and make Eren seem like a bad father. you knew how the public blew things out of proportion.

“they say drunk words are sober thoughts,” Eren stated, shrugging his shoulders. “I know Duke be stressing you out ma, let me fix it,” he stared down at you with a little smirk. he licked his lips, obviously checking you out. it's been a while since he's seen your body exposed, you always show up to drop Duke off in oversized sweaters and shirts. just looking at you like this made his dick hard, “plus you owe me an apology.”

that’s how you found yourself face down ass up in your bedroom with the man you’d never thought would step foot in your new apartment. Eren was behind you standing at the edge of the bed, his black and grey nike tech sweater was thrown somewhere in your room leaving him in a white wife beater and his golden cuban link chain. his grey sweats were down so that just his dick was out.

“mm fuck Eren! please,” you cried out. no matter how deeply you arched or angled your hips you couldn’t get him to reach where you needed him the most. he knew that but he loved watching you struggle and the way your brown cheeks jiggled after coming into contact with his pelvis. you were a sight to see, one that he deeply missed.

“you can do better than that mama,” he raised his pierced brow watching you. Eren stood completely still behind you, you had your face buried in the sheets as you attempted to throw it back on him. you were still dressed in your mesh dress but he ripped your thong off. “I saw you in that video. you were shaking that shit so c’mon, fuck me back ma.”

your makeup was staining your sheets but you could care less right now. the feeling of Eren stretching out your practically virginal walls was dumbfounding. he didn’t bother to stretch you out believing that your body was already moulded to his shape. but it’s been about two years since you last had sex. your tight walls were struggling to accommodate his humongous size.

“ ’m trying,” the lack of stimulation on your sweet spots had you in tears. the stretch was pleasurable but it wasn’t enough, paired with the shallow thrusts. you so desperately craved more so you reached in between your legs to play with your clit. Eren groaned at the sight of you touching yourself, not to mention you began to clench around him. 

“damn ma, now that’s what I’m talking about,” Eren gave your ass a harsh slap. you let out a little whine as you lost your rhythm because of it. but you soon found it again. your wetness was soaking his dick and you were basically twerking on his dick. Eren loved every second of it. 

he took one of your ass cheeks and pulled it to the side with his tattooed hand, he watched himself go in and out of your brown folds. feeling the unsteady approach of his orgasm watching as you struggled to fuck yourself on him he decided to finally grant you mercy. he languidly began to thrust into you. “go ahead and nut on this dick mama.”

 “o-okay” you stuttered out. you struggled to concentrate on stimulating your sensitive clit while bouncing back to meet Eren’s lazy thrusts. your fingers were covered in your own wetness while you rubbed little circles on your bud. each loop paired with the tip of his dick pressing against that spongy spot inside you brought you ever closer to your climax. “ ‘m so close!”

“let it out for me baby,” the pace became erratic, you guys’ release at its peak. sometimes his dick collided straight into your soft spot and sometimes it completely missed. but the feeling of him pummeling in and out of you had you convulsing around his dick. “keep squeezing around me like that and I'll put another baby in you, fuck.”

you let out broken whines as you struggled to continuously stimulate your bud. you were soaking wet that your fingers slipped around. “‘ren! ren!” you chanted, reaching out toward him with your slick-covered hand. Eren grabbed it and put it in his mouth. groaning deeply as he licked and sucked on your coated digits.

“don’t worry mama, I got you. let it out for me,” Eren leaned over your arched form and whispered in your ear. his husky sending shivers down your spine as he talked you through it. you listened to him feeling the wave of pleasure overwhelm you, the sensation in your stomach bursting.

“f-fuck, fuck!”

“shit,” when he felt himself about to burst he pulled out of your pussy's compelling grasp. he watched the lewd scene in front of him and used it to jerk off. he groaned out stroking his soaking dick. your pussy hole remained gaping after he pulled out and your liquids were spilling on your sheets. after a few strokes, he released all over your back onto your mesh dress staining it.

you plopped down onto your empty bed exhausted. the room filled with the sound of laboured breathing as you guys tried to catch your breath. the sound of Eren shuffling around could be heard soon after. your heart ached at the thought of him leaving you so soon but you closed your eyes, ‘it’s for the better’ you thought. you wanted a few moments of rest before you went to wash up.

but Eren wasn’t finished yet, he was shedding the remaining articles of his clothing leaving him naked. your eyes opened feeling the bed dip under the extra weight. before you could protest, Eren had already climbed on top of you, grabbing your legs and having them pushed over your head, “we’re not finished yet.”

this time Eren took the lead, he had ripped off your dress leaving you completely naked and exposed to his eyes. he had you folded over like a pretzel leaving you open for him. your legs were bent so far over your head you could see the top of your pussy and watch as Eren thrusted in and out of your overstimulated hole from above. the pleasure made you want to slither away but Eren’s strong hold kept you still.

“E-eren!” you were losing your mind from the stimulation. “too much! it’s too much!” you cried out. you reached out to push against his rock-hard abdomen. you didn’t want him to stop, not when you were so close to your second orgasm of the night but it was too much. he was being so rough with you. you didn’t think you had it in you after motherhood to be manhandled like this.

“nah, you can take it. you’re a big girl now, dissing me at the club with your friends. be glad I’m even fucking you since I’m such a “bad baby daddy.” Eren mocked you from above. he didn’t even flinch as you tried to push him away. he smiled down at you watching how easily you got fucked out. moans were no longer coming out your mouth, more like strangled sobs and whines that were being forced out after each deep thrust of his. the head of his dick battering your insides and abusing your soft spot left you tremoring underneath him.

“imsorryimsorry,” you babbled out. your mascara and eyeliner were running down your cheeks and your lipstick was smothered but you couldn’t look any prettier to Eren. he enjoyed watching as your tits bounce around. he brought his forest green eyes back up to you watching as you bit your quivering lip.

“how’d that song go again?” Eren sarcastically asked. with the number of times he replayed that video he had the lyrics, beat and rhythm all memorized. “something like this right?” pap! pap! pap! Eren changed the rhythm of his thrusts, the sound of his balls clapping against your ass and the squelching sounds of your pussy mimicked the bow bow bow of the song. he angled each thrust to deliver a particularly harsh hit to your g-spot.

without warning an intense feeling of pleasure erupted in your stomach. “imcuming!” you cried out. you could feel a liquid flow out from your pussy, completely drenching Eren’s dick. he quickly pulled out to watch you squirt, a sight he immensely missed. the translucent liquid gushed out of your hole soaking the sheets as well.

“you said fuck your baby who?” Eren smiled down at your fucked out face. you couldn’t even answer him with the overwhelming pleasure rendering all of your senses useless. your head was thrown back and your face furrowed, coming down from the high of your intense orgasm. “oh aight.”

I think I got a bit carried away🤭

[milquedraws]

ohh... she's really gone and done it,,, she's really animal crossingified laviyuu......

ACNHxDGM character database below:

LAVI (species: rabbit)

-peppy!! when you first meet him, he'll act like any other peppy villager (friendly, bubbly, dreams of grandeur etc etc) but as your friendship levels up you get to see sides of him you wouldnt see otherwise....

-loves fashion (confirmed by hoshino) and accessorizes daily, loves receiving gifts from you and will often gift a rare piece of clothing/furniture back!!

-regarding dialogue about his eyepatch...

finds ways to dodge the question or leave the conversation, but ask him more than three times in a row and he'll go silent. "..."

the more you ask, the lower your friendship level with him will go

-can often be seen in the museum or in redd's art ship, will give information/history about an animal, plant, insect, or artpiece if prompted

-often gives book recommendations first thing in the morning!

KANDA (species: wolf)

-crankiest villager of all cranky villagers, insanely hard to get him to join your island unless you bring something useful to his sword, mugen

-first days of dialogue consist of "hmph.." and "leave..!", with conversations often being forcefully cut short

-likes receiving fruits if you visit his home, but kicks you out if you interact with mugen

-as your friendship levels up, he'll open up more and more (maybe even playfully banter with you!) until one day when he mentions someone called "alma"....

if you are to ask about alma, your friendship level with him will go down and he'll refuse to go outside for two days at most. i wonder why..?

if you dont ask about alma, he will slowly open up to you.

-has no interest in decorative gifts (except maybe lotus flowers...) but appreciates practical things like food or furniture

-can often be seen napping under a tree, don't dare to hit him with a net!

[hischierdevils]

Tequila Girl | J.H.

note: this was inspired by my night out in jersey after the devils clinched

summary: you and your friends go out to a bar to celebrate the devils and act a little devilish yourselves

warnings: alcohol consumption, slight violence, mentions of blood

wc: 2.5K

“The Devils clinched, baby!” You announce excitedly as you walk into the bar in Hoboken with your two best friends behind you. The people standing near you start cheering and hollering with excitement as you make your way to the bar.

The three of you sat on the glass behind the Devils’ net during the game against the Senators and you’ll never forget the way The Rock exploded when they announced that the Devil’s had clinched a playoff spot.

“I’m paying, I'm paying!” Your friend Sam pushes you out of the way as the bartender comes up to you to take your order. She tries handing the bartender her card and he looks at the three of you confused.

Your other friend, Elle, pats Sam on the back. “You have to order our drinks first, babe.”

Sam looks at you wide eyed. “Tequila time?”

“Tequila time.” You confirm with a grin. They both hate tequila but agreed to do a shot with you if the Devils won. The three of you went to Redd’s before to pre-game and do a few green tea shots. Each of you had three high noons during the game as well and Sam is already drunk. Elle is close behind her but you’re barely feeling a buzz. “Four shots of tequila, two vodka crans and a vodka sprite.” You tell the bartender.

“Four!?” Elle holds up four fingers as she looks at you in shock. “Who’s the fourth one for?”

“Me.” You laugh as Sam rests her head on your shoulder. “I need to catch up to you two.”

“Y/n getting drunk? This isn’t going to end well.” Sam murmurs. Having the highest tolerance, you’re usually the one taking care of everyone else at the end of the night but you want to celebrate tonight. Your boys clinched a playoff spot. That’s something to drink to.

The bartender pours your shots and hands you your drinks before taking Sam’s card to pay. “To the Devils!” Elle announces as you all cheer with your shots. You down your first one before reaching for your second one.

“Let’s go baby!” You pick up your drink and start dancing in your little area as the song changes. Man! I Feel Like a Woman starts playing and the three of you dance around the bar in your own little world.

The tequila works its magic and hits you quickly, you can feel yourself relaxing as you dance around with your friends. After four songs, you finish your vodka cran and place your empty cup on a random table. “I have to go to the bathroom.” Sam announces, grabbing your hand and handing her drink to Elle.

“I’ll be right here.” Elle tells you as you begin to lead Sam to the bathroom. You nod to her in acknowledgement. You all have unspoken rules in your friend group, Elle watches the drinks, you take care of Sam when she has to go pee every five minutes and Sam is the one that carries the purse with everyone’s things in it.

When you and Sam reach the bathroom, she has to wait in line to get into a stall. You stand in the corner by the sinks, waiting for her. As you adjust the Jack Hughes jersey on your body, a girl walks out of a bathroom stall and sneers at you.

“He’s so overrated.” She says as she goes up to the sink and begins to wash her hands. Ignoring her, you turn and look at yourself in the mirror to make sure your makeup still looks good. You’re properly tipsy now so it takes all of your concentration to fix your hair. “I bet you he gets injured the first or second game in the playoffs. He’s too small and not a very physical player he’s going to-”

“He’s 5’11.” You growl without looking at her.

She stops washing her hands and turns her body so she’s facing you. “What did you just say to me?”

You look at her in the mirror. “I said he’s 5 '11. He’s not that small. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Sam comes out of her stall the same time this girl reaches over and rips your hoop earring right out of your ear. She smirks as she holds your earring in her hand. Sam’s eyes widen. “Y/n, no-“

Sam’s pleas fall on deaf ears because you’re already swinging your non-dominant hand toward the girl's face. Your fist connects with her brow bone, your finger slicing open from her eyebrow piercing. She drops your earring in surprise and you pick it up before turning to Sam. “Go ahead and wash your hands. She’s done.”

The girl runs out of the bathroom as you put your earring back in your ear. “Did that really just happen?” Sam asks as she begins to wash her hands. You shrug, a little unsure yourself.

Elle is in the same spot she was when the two of you left her, swaying back and forth holding both drinks in her hand. “Y/n got in a fight!” Sam tells her excitedly.

“With who?” Elle’s mouth falls open as she hands Sam her drink back.

“Some girl in the bathroom.” You shrug, looking over at the bar. “I need another drink.”

“Y/n, wait! Is that why you’re bleeding?” You ignore Elle and walk up to the bar, squeezing between two different groups of guys.

“Can I get a shot of tequila and another vodka cran?” You ask the bartender when he walks up to you. You pull your phone out of your pocket, intending to go on it while you wait but you get distracted by the picture of Jack on your lock screen and stare at it instead.

The bartender hands you your drink and pours your shot for you. “It’s all set.” The bartender tells you as you try to hand him money.

“What?” You look at him in confusion but he just points to the group of guys to the right of you before walking away. You don’t even glance at the men as you make your way back to your friends. You find Elle leaning up against the wall vibing to the music with her eyes closed. “Some guy bought me a drink.”

“Slay bestie queen.” Elle opens her eyes and gives you a lazy smile.

You giggle and take a sip of your drink. “Where’s Sam?”

Elle points to a table a few feet away. A man wearing a blue sweatshirt, jeans, and a white backwards hat is sitting on a stool. He looks vaguely familiar to you but you can’t really make out who he is because Sam is standing between his legs, kissing him.

“I need another drink.” Elle announces. “Let’s do shots too.” She drags you over to the bar and orders you both another drink and green tea shots.

“I have a drink.” You hold up your nearly full vodka cran.

“Chug it.” Elle shrugs.

You sigh, pulling the straw out of your drink and setting it on the bar. “Fuck it.” Bringing the glass to your lips, you start to gulp it down.

“Y/n!” someone yells your name and you jump in surprise, causing cranberry juice to drip on your white air force ones. You shake your head before continuing. Elle cheers you on as you finish the rest of the drink and set the empty glass on the bar.

“Your man bought us drinks again.” Elle giggles as she hands you your green tea shot.

“Cheers to that.” You both do your shots and then move away from the bar so you can dance. After a couple songs, Sam runs up to you.

“Pee time!” You hand your drink to Elle and lead Sam to the bathroom. There’s no one else in there so you both take a stall before meeting again at the sinks. “I made out with a hot man!” Sam tells you excitedly as you make eye contact with her in the mirror.

“I love that for you.” You giggle. “Where’s the jersey you were wearing?” You ask her once you realize she’s only wearing a red t-shirt and the large 91 is missing from her back.

Sam looks down at her outfit and then looks at you. “I asked him to hold it so I didn’t ruin it.”

“You gave a random man your jersey?” You look down at your own jersey in shock. You’d never give yours up.

“He’s not random, y/n.” Sam rolls her eyes at you, attempts to at least. She ends up moving her head in a circle. “He kissed me!”

“Are you gonna go kiss him again?” You ask her as the two of you make your way out of the bathroom.

“Heck yes I am!” she charges ahead of you into the crowd of people and you lose her as you weave in between people.

“There you are.” A man stops you, placing his hand on your arm to keep you still. “I was getting worried about you.” He’s wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, a black hat pulled low over his eyes. He leans into you to talk directly in your ear, sending shivers down your spine.

“You’re pretty.” You respond as you look up into his blue eyes. His cologne smells amazing and you take a deep breath so you can breathe him in.

He chuckles and brings his hand up to brush a stray lock of hair out of your face. “Thanks, gorgeous.”

Your cheeks flush as excitement bubbles up inside of you. “I’ll be right back.” You tell the cute guy before running over to Elle and Sam. “He called me gorgeous!” You tell them excitedly.

“Who did!? Tell me now!!” Sam starts jumping up and down, waiting for your answer.

“That guy!” You point to the pretty man who is standing with his friends a few feet away. All of them are clearly looking at you so you wave to them. The pretty man waves back. “Isn’t he cute?”

“Oh bestie boo.” Elle sighs and hands you your drink back. “Take this and go flirt with your man.”

“Flirt with him?” You shake your head. “No I can't, he's too pretty.”

“Go stick your tongue down his throat.” Sam gives you a little shove, pushing you toward the man.

You tumble into him but he quickly wraps an arm around your waist to keep you steady. “You okay, baby?”

“I’m good.” You say as you lean into his warm chest. “My name is y/n.”

He laughs before taking a sip of his beer. “I’ve been waiting for you to come say hi since I got here.”

You look up at him, still too mesmerized by his eyes to figure out what he means. “What’s your name?”

He blinks at you a couple times. “Are you messing with me? Or are you that drunk?”

“I’m not drunk.” You insist as you try to stand straight up. “I’m moderately functional.”

He chuckles and looks over at Elle. “How much has she had?”

Elle bites her lip as she leans against the wall. “I have no idea. More than us.”

He squeezes your hip and you lean fully into him, allowing him to hold you upright. “You’re very cuddly.” Your murmur into the skin on his neck. He places a kiss on your forehead and before you can react, Sam is in your face.

“You two are so cute together! Oh my gosh. Aren’t they cute Dawson?” Sam turns to look at the guy she’s been making out with all night.

“Very cute.” Dawson confirms as he wraps his arms around Sam’s waist and squeezes her.

Pretty boy laughs. “It’s about time you two got together.”

“Shut it, Hughesy.” Dawson shoves the guy you’re leaning on, sending you both back into the bar.

“You’re all adorable.” Elle speaks up. “I love you guys so much.”

“I went to a hockey game tonight.” You say, more to yourself than anyone else. The events of the night are starting to slip away from you and you want to remember everything.

“Oh, yeah?” Pretty boy asks. “Was it a good game?”

“The best game.” You smile widely as you think about it. Pretty boy bends down and rushes your nose with his.

“I scored for you baby.”

Before his words can even sink in, Sam is yelling. “Someone hit Shara and he has a baby at home!”

“Jack, can you close my tab?” Dawson asks as he tries to get Sam to calm down.

“Jack?” You whip your head up to look at the guy that’s holding you up. “You’re Jack? I punched a girl for you!”

The smile drops from his face. “You what?” You hold up your hand with the cut on it to show him. He kisses the cut gently before kissing your cheek. “You’re a menace but I love you.”

Butterflies erupt in your stomach. “You love me?”

“How’s it feel when your girlfriend gets so drunk she forgets that she’s your girlfriend?” A man that’s suddenly holding Elle up laughs.

“It’s kind of cute that I get to flirt with her all over again.” Jack laughs as he signals the bartender to close the tabs. “She’s coming home with me either way.”

You look over at your friends who are both being supported by Jack’s friends. “I’m so sleepy.” You announce.

“We’re going to go home, baby.” Jack assures you as he starts handing out receipts to the correct people. “Sam, do you want to go home with Daws or stay with Y/n and I?” He asks.

“I’m staying with him.” Sam, who’s clinging to Dawson like he’s a life preserver, says with her eyes closed.

Jack kisses the top of your head before looking at your other friend. “Elle, Mike is going to help you to the car okay?”

“Okay.” She smiles dreamily at Mikey as he pushes them both off the wall.

The six of you are a sight to behold as you leave the bar a little after one am. Jack makes sure all of your friends get home safely before he takes the two of you back to his apartment. “Are you going to have sex with me?” You ask him hopefully as he helps you undress.

“Not tonight baby.” He kisses your bare shoulder before sliding one of his t-shirts over your head.

You pout as you turn to face him. “Why not?”

He laughs and pulls you in for a hug. “An hour ago you didn’t remember we were dating. You’re drunk, y/n. You need to go to sleep.”

“It’s the tequila's fault.” You insist. “Can we cuddle at least?”

“Of course we can my tequila girl.” He chuckles as you both climb into bed. You settle with your head on his chest and he kisses you softly before making sure you’re covered up. “I love you.” You’d respond but you’re already asleep.

Tag list: @mikayladavis @cammie1634

[stump-salsa]

A short defense of Tom Nook - not everything I have to say, but I still want to say it nonetheless. I commented it on a YouTube video if you recognise it from anywhere.

In the old games, Tom Nook was freshly hurt from his time in the city - Redd had just scammed him of everything he owned! He had moved to the city to try to accomplish his dreams but he was too pure and kind hearted to thrive in a place like that. Sable will tell you all about it in Wild World, and sometimes you can even get Tom talking about it himself.

“Sweet, young Tom Nook...

His call to arms, his ethos, was

"Dreams before money!"

He was so pure that people wondered if he'd survive this crazy old world. I did too. Every night before falling asleep, I would wish him...

“Please keep Tom Nook's pure spirit protected,"

I'd whisper in the darkness.

"Keep him safe from the apathy that breeds in the alleys of the big city...”

I don't know why I've told you so much about Tom Nook and I...

All those memories of our shared youth must bore you.

Please forgive me."

- Sable

He returned to his hometown with “my tail between my legs” to start all over again. So he didn’t have a house! No money, barely any possessions. In Animal Crossing e+, a version of the game that only released in Japan with some bonus features, you can bang on his door three times with a shovel or axe and force him to let you in. He’ll be in a little nightgown and cap and carry his pillow around, walk super slowly, buy things for less and sell things for more.

This is probably why he seemed more ‘mean’ in those older games. He’s trying to protect you from getting hurt like he did! He’ll even directly say he thinks his real job is to teach young people to not make the same mistakes he did.

“...Young [name]... I bet you think...

...that all I think about is money and how to make more of it, hm? Don't you?

[select Well, yeah.]

Well, perhaps you're right...

But I'm absolutely, 100% OK with that, hm? Indeed!

I like to think that it's my job to show you young people how hard life is!

As an adult, it's my responsibility. It's my TRUE job, if you will, hm?"

- Tom Nook

He donates 90% of his profits to an orphanage 3 towns over from his hometown, and I believe he has a hospital wing named after him - though don’t quote me on that.

And, just to add, while Timmy and Tommy aren’t his biological sons, he did find them and raise them himself!

That man is a SAINT. And I’m not even mentioning the fact that his loans are interest free, but YOU can earn interest on bells you keep in the ATM, and the fact that his loans aren’t even very expensive at all.

Bells are equivalent to Japanese yen (confirmed by the Switch items in New Horizons - the number of bells they cost is the same amount of yen they sold for when first released). Your house in New Horizons comes to around 5.6 million bells (or yen) in the end, which is equivalent to around £29,000 or about $37,000. That is an INSANELY low price for a beachfront house on a nice island like that! He’s mental to sell a house that cheap! He’s an angel.

[summerstrash]

thinking about Maddie and how the modern way of handling her story feels kind of...defanged, a little — it's clear to me, at least, that Duggan was using Dark Web: X-Men to try and absolve Jean to the audience with regard to Maddie by retconning in the idea that Jean advocated for Maddie's resurrection offscreen in Hellions #4, and having Maddie be pacified by Jean sharing some memories of raising Nathan with her.

But the thing is, to me, I don't think that's the right move, thematically or characterizationally, for Maddie, and I straight-up don't believe that Jean did advocate for Maddie before the Council, because if Wells had intended for us to think that, he would have had Scott say something like "we tried, but..." when talking to Alex, and he notably does not.

Like, Scott can't even agree verbally that Maddie was a person when Alex asserts it. He just apologizes to Alex, implicitly for the pain this is causing him. Am I really supposed to believe he and Jean really pushed back on the decision not to resurrect Maddie, when he can't even verbally confirm that she's a real girl in private?

Moreover, I don't think that getting those memories from Jean can fix the hole in Maddie that came from losing her family and her life to Jean, because Jean and Maddie are different women, and that's always been the point! That's the thing Maddie's always trying to prove. She's her own woman, not just some subordinate aspect of Jean — how can she possibly be satisfied or healed by Jean's memories?

Maybe it's a balm at first, to know what it was like when Nate was a toddler, to have a memory of what his little boy hugs and cuddles felt like, to hear his laughter echo in the wasteland while Jean and Scott were Redd & Slym, but —

That's still always a constant reminder, isn't it, that Jean got the experiences, and she has only been gifted these echoes?

I don't think Maddie should have to be pacified by that. As much as the events of Inferno (1988) and the revelation of Maddie's origin were not Jean's fault, per se, she can still be faulted for how she handled her own dynamic with Scott in the run-up, and, even if it's not Jean's "fault," I don't think Maddie should ever have to forgive the woman who stole her life, or the husband who abandoned her for a ghost and his own fixations.

Basically I think Maddie should be allowed to do whatever she wants to Scott and Jean specifically, forever.

[crescentblossom66]

First Train on the Moon Part 2

Here's part two. It's significantly longer than part 1, but I think it turned out great. I took elements from the science express and beta train rush and even alpha version of Grooves makes an appearance. I hope you liked the second part of your delayed birthday present @nasubeenwithcat

Everything was a blur, people were panicking and freaking out. The passengers were, like him, being lifted into the air by some unseen force. Connor couldn't believe his own eyes when he caught a glimpse of the outside. He saw the rails...which was highly unusual as the train normally obviously ran on those. “Everyone, stay calm! This is probably just a temporary thing!” He hoped so, yet very much doubted it. It was likely the doing of the science owls. As he struggled to get anywhere, now that he was floating basically at the ceiling, he thought that Redd, who normally tended to the science owls...when he actually did his job, might know more. Wait! Redd! He was outside earlier!

With a new found worry that only piled up onto the fear he was already feeling, the black-clad bird pushed himself toward the caboose tearing open the door. “HELP!” The sight he was greeted with made the breath in his lungs hitch. His red-feathered brother was gripping the railing of the caboose tightly, his legs being pulled up as if a harsh wind was coming from right under him.

The yellow owl extended a wing, making sure to stay inside the train cart, grabbing the frame of the door with one talon while reaching his other out to toward Redd. “Redd, grab me wing!” The red owl had gritted his beak as he looked up at his older brother with despair and fear, reaching out one wing to grab the offered wing.

“Connor, am I glad ta see ye!” After missing a few times, due to turbulence, Connor managed to pull Redd into the cart, not without getting dangerously close to slipping off the door frame and being sucked out into the air. “Thanks fer savin' me. I thought I was gonna meet me maker out there. What the peck is goin' on!?”

“I was hopin' ye knew somethin'!” They could still hear the people panicking over in the passenger compartment. Redd was shaking with panic when Connor grabbed him by the shoulders, trying to get him to focus. “Yer the one who's around the science owls fer the most part. Have ye heard anythin', anythin' that can help us figure out what we're dealin' with here?”

After composing himself by taking a few deep breaths, Redd spoke in a shaky and fearful voice. “An anti-gravity device. I-I thought it was hogwash, but...” It all but confirmed the suspicion that the science owls had something to do with it.

“I'm gonna try and see if I can get other there.” Trying to keep a level head in this situation, the yellow owl made his way over to the passenger cart to reach the one that the owls used for their experiments. On his way there, he found Walter as he was passing through. His gaze shifted to him briefly, the relief of seeing his brother safe clear on his face to him only, as he addressed the crowd..

“Stay as calm as you can. We will resolve the issue posthaste. Please make sure to stay away from the windows and find something to hold on to!” Walter tried his best to keep the passengers calm with moderate success while Connor squeezed past him, finding his green feathered brother who obviously wasn't doing too well. Greg was flailing around wildly, nearly slapping the bird that opened the door to the science room with a wing. Telling Greg to calm down when he was panicking like that was a fool's errand. He painfully recalled the day that the yellow clad owl had curled up in a ball, weeping like a chick when the news of their fathers illness reached him. It took him at least a year to recover to the point that he could function again after their pa's passing. He reacted the same after hearing that their fifth sibling, Alfred, had gone missing after spending some time in Subcon Forest. His cooking was sorely missed, just as much as his optimistic attitude.

“Hang in there, Greg. I'll find out what's goin' on.” He could only see the unbridled fear and pure terror in the green bird's eyes. Connor couldn't even imagine just what kind of horror scenarios were torturing the mind of his younger brother. All he got as an answer was a quiet whimper and a nod.

As soon as he reached the room. He saw the science owls high fiving each other and cheering as they floated in the air. “Success!” One of them yelled, raising a fist in the air triumphantly. “After years of persistent failures, our unyielding resolve finally bore fruit!” As he got closer, he could make out the same device that the owls were working on when he walked through the compartment around an hour ago. So this was the culprit for the mass hysteria that was now plaguing their train.

Even though burst of anger were not a common thing with him, he now felt his blood boil. Not only did they endanger the other passengers, but they also caused more stress to his brothers. But the thing that angered him the most is that they did to the train, the same train that his father had spent years to build, the very same one that his father had taught them how to operate and run, the only thing that the old owl had left them after his death. The train, his home, was now floating around in midair. “Hey, ye peck necks, get us back down ta the ground! Yer scarin' the passengers and yer messin' with a family heirloom here!” The sheer volume and rage in his voice made the science owls flinch and turn their heads toward him, looking like deer caught in headlights. “Get us back ta the ground, NOW!”

If the sudden flip in personality from kind and easy going to rage-filled and imposing wasn't going to make the owls shiver, it was the fact that he looked looked like he was going to tear them to shreds with his own talons. “Uh...yeah...about that. We didn't build in a way to reverse the effects.” For a moment Connor just stared at them like they were from another planet, the sheer incompetence of the normally intelligent lab-coat-wearing birds was leaving him speechless.

“What! Ye mean ta tell me that ye build a strange thingamajig that is able ta break the laws of physics by makin' a train float, yet ye didnae think of a way ta stop it again?!” He balled his talons to fists, trying hard to regain his composure. “Any way ye can get us back down?”

“One of the owl, clearly the one science owl that couldn't read the tension in room, spoke up.”We're not just going to switch it off, now that we managed a breakthrough! We're advancing birdkind at a rapid pace and you're trying to make us quit now?!” Some of the other science owls were trying hard to make the agitated science owl stop talking after seeing that the train conductor they were arguing with was starting to lose the shred of composure that he had worked hard to retain.

“TO PECK WITH SCIENCE!”

Kicking the device was undoubtedly a bad decision as the moment he did so, it started to go into some kind of overdrive, flinging him and the science owls to the ceiling, slamming him against it and make him and the owls yell out in pain as they got briefly felt like their bones were going to snap. He could see everything spin briefly as a moment later they were flung around violently before everything stopped and he fell to the the left wall of the train which had now become it's ground.

Everything ached, he felt like his whole body was broken as he groaned and tried to keep the unconsciousness at bay. He was more or less able to, sitting up and blinking until his vision returned back to normal. He looked around, the science owls were out cold and the equipment they had that wasn't mounted to the floor was either broken or dented. He was lucky that none of it hit him as they got whiled around. He froze when he took a glance out the now shattered windows, they landed in some sort of city, yet it wasn't one he was familiar with. Groaning again as he forced his body into cooperation, he got to his feet and went to check on the other carts. He noticed Greg, whose had was bleeding from a slight cut, together with Redd and Walter who were tending to Greg and the passengers respectively. “How's Greg, Redd?”

Redd looked up at him, feeling relieved after seeing Connor in one piece. “That cut isnae to bad, it knocked him out cold though. Hope he still remembers us once he comes to.” Redd gave a solemn chuckle, trying to ease the fear with some humor.

“Everyone who's hurt, please move to the left side of the train while those of ye who are fine go to the right.” Walter instructed the people, holding his injured left wing, ignoring the pain that spread through it like a wildfire every time he moved it. “Connor, good ta see ye, can ye help me check on the passengers?” Connor nodded, starting with the mother of the small boy he helped earlier who was trying to be brave by telling her that they'd be okay.

After everyone was more or less cared for after Redd got the first aid kit, the three brothers who weren't currently blacked out ventured outside the train. As Redd took in the bright lights and neon signs, gaping in awe and letting out a stunned 'Wow', Walter's gaze was transfixed on their train, contrasting his brother's excited and awestruck expression with one of deep sorrow. “Would ye look at this place, this is the bomb!” Redd walked off, leaving Connor who shared his white-feathered brother's sentiment.

“We'll try ta fix it, Walt. As long as the engines are nae too busted up, we can repair her.” Connor put a wing on his brother's shoulder causing the slightly older owl to flinch and hiss. “We better get ye patched up.”

“This is a disaster, Connor. This is our livelihood, never even mind the last remaining memory of our pa.” He took Walter back past the exiting passengers who looked around, trying to figure out where they had stranded. He helped his found that Walter had dislocated his shoulder, so he did his best to put it back in its socket without causing the other too much pain. The loud yelp the eldest brother let out woke up Greg who more or less jolted and sat up straight before immediately bringing a wing to his head as the injury he sustained in the crash stung.

“What...What happened? All I remember is everythin' spinnin'. Am I dead? Are we all dead!? Oh no! Is that city outside purgatory?! Oh nononono! I donnae wanna be dead! I never managed ta find me a lovin' wife!” The green bird put his head in his wings, shaking which caused both relief and sympathy to wash over the other two. At least Greg was still his old self...his very easily frightened and anxiety-ridden self.

Connor went over to Greg, checking him over. “Yer nae dead, feather brain.” He gave a relieved chuckle which wasn't returned, but caused Greg to look up at his brother. “We're all alive, Walter, Redd, ye and I. We ran inta some trouble with a strange thingamajig that the science owls created, caused the whole train ta float and land in some strange city. Redd went ta explore it.” Greg tried to take all that information in, nodding along yet clearly too overwhelmed to understand all of that at once.

“First things first, we have ta assess the damage done ta the engines.” As Walter said 'damage' Greg looked around for the first time, nearly screaming at the sight that greeted him.

“The whole train's destroyed! How did this happen?!” Connor put a wing on Gregs shoulder, trying to stop his younger brother from spiraling yet again.

“One thing at a time, Greggy. We'll fix 'er up.” The assurance seemed to help somewhat as the green bird calmed down a bit, but was still very much out of it. “We cannae expect Greg ta just recover from the shock. I gotta say even I'm feelin' rather exhausted and I'm achin', so are ye, Walt.”

The white owl wanted to argue, but one look at his brothers made his words get stuck in his throat and he instead took a deep breath to clear his mind. “Alright...We'll find some place ta stay fer a few days. Tomorrow we'll figure out how ta repair the train.”

“A'ight. I'll go and look 'round fer a bit, figure out where we are and where the peck Redd went ta.” Walter nodded and helped the still rather upset-looking Greg out of the train.

Connor looked at the literal train wreck one more time, thinking on how ta fix this mess before he started to walk down the streets. He soon found that wherever this place was, it looked more modern when the cities he knew. Fancy cars were running down the street, bright neon signs lit up the tall buildings, and the smell of food from restaurants and fast food joints entered his nose. All he knew were rundown streets with many holes in them, old wooden buildings, and the most that was done for advertising were fliers and billboards. He felt horribly out of place, especially since the residents of that city were glaring at him like he was some kind of circus attraction. Said residents appeared to be penguins, those were rare, so it was strange to see so many in one place, in fact, the whole city appeared to be full with them. The train must have crashed in a rare penguin city. “Excuse me, uh...where exactly are we?” He decided to ask the friendliest looking penguin he could find who looked at him like he just asked the dumbest question ever.

“You're on the moon, dude. Do you come from a different planet or something?” The moon! How the peck did they end up on the moon?! Connor only managed to mumble a quiet 'thanks' before he walked on, walking into an alley briefly.

“How the peck did we get here? How are we going to get home?” Noticing that he was panicking just as bad as Greg, he calmed himself. At least no one was seriously harmed and he now knew where exactly he was...even if he would have rather been somewhere on the planet. He walked back to the street, he still had a brown clothed brother to find. He had an inkling where he was as soon as the bright neon signs of a club pierced his retina.

The train was normally quite loud, but this place was ear-deafening. Loud music everywhere that had a loud and strong bass and instruments he didn't even recognize. Connor looked around past the many dancing and half-drunk guests, he found his brother sitting on one of the stools near the bar. “Redd, what the peck are you doing here? We gotta figure out a way ta get home and yer getting' wasted?” The look of absolute annoyance and irritation didn't bother the red owl who started at him with unfocused eyes.

“Ah, good ta see ye me dear brother. This place 's mighty fine, aye?” Between the loud music and the heavy slurring of the word, Connor could hardly understand a word that his brother was saying. “Have one o' these foamy drinks, they're just the best.” Redd looked like he was struggling to even remain seated at this point. How many of those weird colorful drinks did he have?

Connor pulled Redd to his feet and had to catch him before he fell on his face. “There's no time fer this nonsense, yer gonna come back with me. Walter and Greg are worried about ye.” Some of the more sober patrons of the club were turning their heads at them, watching Connor drag his brother toward the exit.

The red feathered bird was having none of this. “I'm nae comin' I wanna stay 'ere. I like this place, the train's borin'.” Redd flailed around hitting his older brother in the face with his talons balled to fists. Not expecting this, the yellow bird stumbled back, holding his beak where the more or less unwanted attack hit him.

The black suit wearing conductor reached out a talon. “That's just the alcohol speakin'. Ye love the train same we do!” The hand he tried to put on his younger sibling was pushed away as soon as it made contact.

“Yer speakin' nonsesen! It's not the same anymore!” He was slurring his words more, but aside from the anger and the clear haze in the eyes of his brother was something that looked more like sadness and anger. A sadness that Connor wrongly attributed to his brother's longing for a different life away from the train. It angered him to see Redd, who was always lacking off and hardly helping, now dismissing his whole family. Connor had always supported him, same went for Greg and Walter, even if both of them showed their support differently. Greg tried despite struggling with his anxiety and Walter was harsh because he cared about Redd and wanted him to do better. It ended up in a small fight, the patrons watching the two brothers fight each other, punching and shoving each other.

“I hate that train! It's bad now!” the younger brother yelled as he slammed his older sibling against the counter of the bar.

The other grit his beak and kicked the legs away from under him, using his drunken state to his advantage. “Why are ye like this! We're all tryin' ta support ye, yet all ye do is make life harder fer us!” Neither bird noticed that someone was approaching them. “Ye slack off all the time, ye never do yer work! All ye ever do is complain!” Connor was panting, stopping now that the anger left his body somewhat after informing Redd about his shortcomings.

A loud and booming female voice behind him caused him to turn around. “What's going on over here, darlings? This club has a serious 'no fighting' policy.” It was one of those penguins, but that one was a lot taller than the others. They wore a red jacket and had shades in the shape of stars. Even among the club-goers in their fancy clothing, this penguin stood out like a sore thumb.

Connor flinched a bit under their gaze, not sure how to respond...he did just start a fight in the middle of an establishment, clearly not one of his finest moments. “Uh...ye see, I was just 'ere ta pick up me brother Redd. We have some business ta attend ta.” He still wasn't sure about the gender of that penguin, they looked masculine, but spoke in a more feminine voice.

“What business, darling? Could you be one of those strange birds that crashed into the bank in the center of the city? A bit obvious and on the nose for a bank robbery, no?” Even though the penguin chuckled, Connor wasn't quite sure if it was a joke or not.

Normally he was more confident and not afraid of others, unlike Greg, but being the center of attention and stared down by a large group of unfamiliar birds caused even him to feel a lump in his throat. “We just wanna get back home, none o' us mean any harm.”

“I donnae wanna go home!” Redd butted in with his own comment.

“Not now, Redd!” The yellow owl shot him a glare before looking back at the group of penguins.

They started to whisper among each other and some nodded while others frowned. The tall penguin speaking again caused his to flinch a bit. “We on the moon are always happy to help others, as long as you don't start any trouble. Do I have your word that you will not mess up our beautiful city, darlings? I have enough work on my flippers being a celebrity, you know.” The penuins around the red-jacket wearing teal-colored bird cheered and called out a name 'DJ Grooves!' it was like they were chanting it while the apparent DJ smiled and waved a hand. While Redd, drunk as he was, also started cheering, nearly tripping over his own feet, Connor was far less impressed. Not only was that penguin eccentric, but also rather full of themselves. At least they offered their help, the sooner they could leave the moon, the better.

After returning to the train, he found Walter waiting for Redd and him. He seemed to have calmed down significantly, sporting his regular cold expression instead of one of uncertainty and worry. “Good to see you back.” His sharp gaze fell on Redd. “So, I take it our dear youngest brother went fer a drink while all hell broke loose over here?” Connor just nodded, still a bit angry at Redd.

“How's Greg?” As soon as he asked the question he could hear the sound of a wrench tightening a bolt. “Already working, eh?” Walter nodded. “I got a wee bit o' help from the locals, they're gonna help us get back home.”

Walter sighed in relief at the news. “That's the best news I heard all day. It'll take a while, but we'll make it. I made sure that the passengers are safe and cared fer in the hotels. Those science owls will pay fer all the damage, I made sure o' that.” Walter's gaze hardened which caused Redd to laugh out, nearly doubling over.

“Hahaha! They got a scolding from ol' Walt! I'm sure they got so scared they wet their feathers!”

Connor sighed. “This'll be a long week, eh?”

[blackgoatredlamb]

CHATTING WITH THE FORMER DEATH

Characters: Mae Borowski, Redd Morris (Narinder) Setting: Roof of Gregg and Angus' Apartment Building, Late Afternoon Topic: The Dredge of Living and Dying, also Cult encounters

Words: 891

"So, do you like-" She pauses in thought- "mope on the roof a lot?"

"In a sense," says Morris.

"What does that even mean?" Mae Borowski asks, puzzled.

"…"

Two cats sit by the edge of an apartment building, gazing at nothing in particular. The sun had just set on Possum Springs, with the orange glow barely peeking from the hillside. Faint ghosts of stars coalesce in a dark fabric.

If they wait long enough, they could see the star sign of Mundy appear soon, Mae notes. Judging by how slow this conversation's going, it would be in no time at all.

"What are you doing here anyway?" she questions, "in Possum Springs I mean."

"Do you want a metaphorical answer, or literal?"

"Ok, can you like, stop with the vague shit you've got going on here?!" Her volume raises to the first floor. "Literal, I guess."

"Mhm. I came here because…" The pitch-black cat takes a while to answer. "Just because."

"Like, saving money and stuff?"

"Just because," he repeats, "or at least, Mallory had wanted to."

"The sheep?" She remembers Gregg mentioning that Morris had a partner who moved with him. She hasn't seen them yet, since they worked in mornings. Some short-stack like her, yeah.

"Yes, that pest of a lamb." Though monotone, it was spoken with an endearment she thought impossible from him. "They… had some work to do here in town. I was only along for the ride."

"Huh, I can't imagine moving just to work somewhere at all. Much less for someone else. The only places I've ever been were here and college. Also maybe that road trip with my parents that one time."

"Mmm." He breathes out a mist of cold. "And how is college faring for you?"

"Dropped out." She blurts out without thinking. Straight for the throat, goddamn it.

"I see."

God, this sucks.

Right now, all she wants is to leave this asshole be for the night, but this might be her ace-in-the-hole for her ghost investigation. Germ said he saw him lingering out by the chain-link fence every now and then, looking towards the trees. Just gazing for a few minutes before returning home.

Eyewitness. That's the word. She needs an eyewitness to confirm her encounter. She could prove that it wasn't some dream she had.

If only this fucker doesn't keep on refusing to answer her questions.

"So…" She taps rhythmically on the pavement. "You see any… ghosts?"

"I see them all the time." He takes out a cigarette and lighter from his pockets, filling the air with that cigar smell that Bea carries around with her all the time. He offers her a stick, which she refuses. "In life and in death."

"Uh." She waves away the smoke that's trying to enter her nose.

"Ghosts that have no business pestering the living world, always haunting some forgotten crevice of society. Never alive, nor really dead. Those kinds of ghosts."

He takes in the first breath of smoke. It dances, glittering in the dying sunlight.

"Um," she tries to interrupt.

"Though one dies, there's an imprint left in the dredges on the separating line. A true purgatory where the soul leaves, yet a body remains alive, operating as you would a machine. The world's grey area is dissolving, tainting the extremes with traces of one another."

His voice trembles slightly.

"It disgusts me, how they could never pass on with peace. Sure, they could return alive or dead, but it is in that middle ground, where agony could be your only drug for existence. Could you imagine that, living with a husk of your former self?"

He doesn't even notice her in his periphery, only looking towards the horizon where the stars faintly glow. His cigarette bends from his grip.

"Can I..?"

"Oh, sorry." He seems to snap out of his spiel, returning to the present. "What were you saying?"

"I mean, uh… I mean a literal ghost," she fiddles with her thumb before confirming, "like, 'phase through walls' type of ghost. Specters, or some shit."

He raises an eyebrow at that statement.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I mean, ghost!" She blurts out, "A, um, guy who can pass through walls, and kidnapped a kid or something?"

"Kidnapped?" His eyes open in alarm.

"Yeah, last Harfest."

"…" He takes a drag out of his stick. "So I was right."

"What do you mean, right?"

He lets the cigarette burn for a bit, before speaking once more.

"Thank you for telling me this, Miss Borowski." He snuffs the flame from under his boot. "But for your own safety, I suggest you sit this one out."

He turns to leave through the rooftop door.

"Wh- Hey!" She calls out from the edge, "At least give me an answer, asshole! Fuck you!"

He gives her the finger as he disappears into the apartment building, which she gives back in earnest. An old reliable insult.

She lies on the floor of the roof, despondent. Can't anyone tell her what the hell's going on?

"Raaagh!" She pulls her hair in frustration. "How does he even know my name!?"

The night sky looks cloudy and pale, with scattered rays of moonlight illuminating the sparsely populated streets. A handful of rats jump out of the window where Mallard P. Bloomingro rests in peace. A wonderful, not so scary night.

She should get back home.

[thatwordybirb]

4, 8, 10, 16, 20, and 23 for the ask game :D ‼️‼️💥💥💥

Thank you kindly! Heck, hope the one I sent you made it through. >< Alright, let's see:

4. say something nice about a ship you don't ship (it can be another ship in your fandom, a mutual's OTP, etc)

Um... hm, off to a rough start there! I'm not super aware of ships I don't sail, to be honest! I guess... after wracking my brain for five minutes, I really cannot see Hawks and Endeavor from My Hero Academia together, but I will say this: there is one dedicated animatic artist on Youtube that makes it enjoyable to watch.

8. you hope more people will come to appreciate ___ (a ship, a trope, an episode, etc)

My immediate first thought was, erm, Nezunori - as in, Nezu and Toshinori, also from My Hero Academia. >///> I think I am literally one of only two people on the internet that has even thought of that ship. In the middle of writing a novel-length fic where that is one of the (many) focal relationships, and I'm really hoping people like it once I start posting chapters, even if they don't start sailing the ship themselves. Got the first 6 chapters done!

10. a blog (mutual or one you follow) that has made your fandom experience brighter

Well... yours, honestly! Your alt is the first fandom blog I came across after my many years of not engaging with fandom at all since... well, my experience with the latter-day MLP fandom soured. Your art responses to my silly and stupid little prompts meant a lot to me, and helped make this rediscovery of a forgotten side of myself a lot more fun.

16. a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

Oof, also a tough one. I would have to say "everything about Tom Nook." There are Redd's overtly, ~flamingly~ homosexual passwords in Wild World, of course, that hint at their relationship (another novel-length fic I'm writing, have the first 13 chapters done). A lot of folks know about that, though. What I have in mind specifically is that I don't think anyone caught onto the fact that Tom Nook gives the player advice to never, ever, loan money to a friend... and the secondary fact that his only confirmed ex-friend is Sable, whose parents died when she was young and left her destitute and struggling for a lot of her life. Which paints a very tragic picture of poverty and money destroying Tom's relationship with his childhood best friend.

20. your very first fandom!

I think it was either Halo or Pokemon? They were around the same time in my life, but I thiiink it was Pokemon. Read so much fic and even joined the FFN forums for it!

23. the fandom you're curious about because of a mutual

Rainworld! @trashmammal69, that's thanks to you~! Apologies if it wasn't okay to @ you! Still need to actually set aside time to play it, though. My life keeps being on fire. x.x

Thanks again for sending this, and if my ask I sent you never made it through, let me know!

[beardedmrbean]

A man has been charged after a stabbing spree that left four people dead and several injured in Rockford, Illinois.

Four people were killed, while seven others were injured, in the attack across “multiple scenes” at around 1.15pm on Wednesday.

Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd said her department received multiple calls and that when officers arrived, they found three victims deceased, while another was declared dead on arrival in the hospital.

Those killed were a 15-year-old girl, a 63-year-old woman, a 49-year-old man and a 22-year-old man.

“We have a suspect in custody who is being interviewed at this time,” Chief Redd said on Wednesday, adding that they did not have any other suspects currently.

On Thursday morning, it was reported that 22-year-old Christian Soto had been charged with multiple counts of murder/intent.

Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana told reporters that they were dealing with various addresses in the area.

One victim had multiple stab wounds to her hands and face, the Sheriff said, adding that a Good Samaritan who came to help her had also required medical treatment.

It was reported one of the victims was a mail carrier, with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service confirming this toThe Independent on Thursday morning.

“The Postal Inspection Service can confirm that a United States Postal Service (USPS) letter carrier was one of the victims in yesterday’s incident in Rockford, IL,” a spokesperson said. “At this time, there are no additional details we can provide, as this is an active investigation. Postal inspectors are working with the Rockford Police Department in this investigation.”

In a statement released to My Stateline, Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara said city leadership was shocked by the “horrific act of violence.”

“We can report that the suspect is in custody and the threat has been neutralized,” Mayor McNamara said. “Now that he is in custody, our primary concern is ensuring that our community members directly impacted by this violence are supported throughout their healing and recovery.

“We have multiple jurisdictions working on multiple crime scenes to develop an understanding of what transpired in an effort to prevent this from happening again. We will continue to provide updates,” the mayor said.

While law enforcement are expected to give an update around 11.30am local time, a vigil to remember the victims has been planned for 2.30pm at the intersection of Charles Street and Eggleston Road in the city.

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.

[voidsdamned]

Wicked Natures - The Ghoul/OC (Female Character) Chapter Eleven

Summary: Bounty hunters are frequent customers at Mulholland's Saloon, and Rue's taken quite a shine to one gunslinger in particular: a cantankerous, old Ghoul in a tattered duster. Witness her unabashedly lust after him in all his irradiated glory (as we are all currently doing), as well as navigate the precarious relationship she unfortunately has with local law enforcement.

Minors, do not interact.

Content Warnings: descriptions of violence, mentions of prostitution, the usual swearing.

Enjoy.

Chapter Eleven: Golden Opportunity

Drunk. High. Maybe both. Deck Craven is not himself when Rue meets him and his boys -Lucky and two she doesn’t know that she’s ever seen before– at the end of the drive. His eyes are glazed in the lowlight of the lantern he carries, and he doesn’t seem as firm on his feet. His body moves with the mild, night breeze.

When she bounds up to him, the first thing he does is pull her into a firm hug –not one of his usual light touches– and his hand travels up through her hair, netting. Rue goes statue still, her soul and breath leaving her body. This is new. New and terrible and unwelcome. Horrifying when he buries his face in her hair and sniffs. Rue’s ninety-percent certain he looses the softest of groans.

Rue wants to evaporate, to hurl, but the best she can do is pretend it didn’t happen and hope it never happens again. And it really better not. She draws closer and closer to the end of her tolerance, her sanity, and she needs both a little bit longer. But they -she- won't last if this is how he's going to be. If this isn't a one-off caused by him being off his ass on something. 

She casually attempts to pull herself from the hug, but Deck doesn’t allow for that. His hold on her shifts, becoming an arm draped casually over her shoulder, and he guides her along like that, smiling down at her and asking her how her day was.

The touch is like thorns against her skin, but Rue grits her teeth and bears it. Smiles away as she tells him a skewed version of events that leaves out the Ghoul. All the while, her brain plots out various murder scenarios to help her cope. 

Rue has tried to kill Deck Craven three times –well, four, if she counts the night Lucky spilled the beans, but she doesn't like to. That was a catastrophe, a complete failure. Deck wasn't anywhere around, but Louie Redd was; and he, unfortunately, bears a great resemblance to the sheriff. Rue's rampaging brain had her trying to strangle the innocent man, and after... well, Rue doesn't know what happened after, but Len Thomas told her he fished her out of a water tank that night. Hal confirmed it later. Rue pretends it didn't happen. 

Her official first attempt happened a few weeks later. After convincing Doc Nguyen she needed Med-X for recurring migraines, Rue saved up enough doses to kill a man twice Deck’s size. When he came to dinner one night, Rue laced his food and his drink. She gave him every drop, and then she watched in barely-contained rage as he kept laughing and talking and walking around. He went home in probably better spirits than he arrived, and Rue wanted to spit fire.

Her second attempt was... dumb. She caught a nightstalker (which took a lot of raw meat and cooing), released it in his house, and spent the next month feeling guilty and stupid because of how many holes got pumped into the poor thing that never stood a chance. She should have realized that from the get-go.  

Her third attempt was simple. Straightforward. A knife in hand, she flung herself at him and tried to slit his throat from ear-to-ear, not caring what happened to her if she failed. And she did fail. Molly tackled her, knocked her lights out, and the whole incident was written off as her having another fit.

After that, Rue stopped. People were paying too much attention to her, reporting her every move to Deck, and the way they started treating her…. She could tell people were wary, waiting for her to snap. They’d speak gentle to her or not at all, and Deck became so much more smothering. Ridiculous. It took weeks of pristine, good girl behaviour to convince him to give her, her pocketknife back, and Rue's been playing the part since. Because she realized her revenge would have to wait for something... perfect. 

A golden opportunity.

Tonight would be if Deck’s goons weren’t here. He’s off his a-game, leaning heavy on her, and Rue can imagine slipping her pocketknife from her bag and taking it to his neck. To his eyes. Mouth. Ears. She’d take it to every inch of skin. She’d cut off his dick and balls and shove them in his mouth and leave his desecrated body to the coyotes and scorpions. She’d rough herself up, too. Roll in the dirt. Give herself a few cuts. She’d arrive in Dust breathless and bloodied, a tale of rabid wildlife and a valiant sheriff who gave her a chance to run falling from her lips.

But with the dick and balls in his mouth….

Rue has to rethink how she would eviscerate him.

“So, it was just you, Mrs. Ira Jean, and her wife all day?” the sheriff asks, head knocking against hers, drawing her from bloody imaginations.

Rue forces out a chipper, “Yep! And the dogs, chickens, and brahmin.”

“Huh, coulda sworn I saw you by the fence with someone….”

Rue's heart stutter-stops, but she's gotten really good at fibbing. She's quick with it. “You did! That was Paulie.”

The man essentially draping himself over her stiffens. His voice is a tight question, “Paulie?”

“Yeah, he’s a scarecrow. I was playin’ him a song on my fancy, new guitar.”

The tension immediately melts out of the man, but Rue’s heart takes a moment longer to beat normally again. Her brain won't stop buzzing, though. It stays on high alert, even when the sheriff laughs, his head knocking against Rue's once more. 

“You oughta play me a song,” he murmurs, voice all soft and hopeful. "Imma much better crowd than a scarecrow." 

“’Course I will.” Though, Rue would rather slit her own throat. “But maybe we make it back to town first? I’d hate to draw any critters in.”

The sheriff finally draws himself upright, drags himself off Rue with a shoulder squeeze. He shoots her a starry-eyed smile that she’d love to see bloody and carved open. “That’s probably a good idea.”

She smiles back. “I have those sometimes.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the first time in months, Rue is right on time for her shift at Mulholland’s, and only because she’s so goddamn excited to show Hal and Lara her new, most-prized possession. She already has the guitar in hand, fingers flying across the strings when she bursts through the saloon’s double doors. The sound of The World We Knew fills the empty space and causes the man behind the bar to jerk upright.

His complete surprise fast melts into an easy grin that goes dreamy the more she plays. His fingers thrum against the bar in time to the music, and when she plays out the final notes, he gives her a small round of applause and a, “Damn. You’re good.”

Rue tries and fails to be humble, her smile and the, “Fuck yeah I am,” coming across as incredibly cocky.

Hal shakes his head at her, and then cocks a curious brow. “You just picked that song at random, or did ya know I like Sinatra?”

“Oh, I know. Ya play that big-band station every time we’re slow,” Rue says, matter-of-fact. “And ya always know all the words.”

“He’s just got a… romance about him?” Hal tries to explain. “Most everything he sings got some kinda lovin’ or longin’ to it, and honestly, I’m a sap for that shit.”

Rue tips her head, adjusting the guitar so that it rests against her back. She leans into the bar. “Nothin’ wrong with that. Kitty Kallen makes me feel all sappy, and more often than not, I’m gonna cry if I hear Nat King Cole.”

Hal sighs, a longing sound as he drapes against the bar. “God, he gets me, too….” He shakes his head again, perhaps at himself. “You have a good time yesterday?”

Rue nods too much. “The best time. I got to bottle feed babies. Mrs. Rosa lemme name all her chickens –she made the tastiest dinner I’ve ever had. It was flank steak and peppers and rice and spicy. And I found this guitar, and Mrs. Ira Jean lemme keep it. Its name is Baby Destiny ‘cause it used to belong to Baby Destiny.” She pulls in a breath, flattening herself over the bar top and looking up at Hal with a sun-shaming smile. “Thank ya so much for walkin’ me out –for helpin’ me convince Deck. Next time ya wanna duck out for some cozyin’ up, I won’t even ask for muffins.”

The barkeep’s bemused grin fades with an intense rolls of his eyes. “I dunno if I can even get away with that anymore. Thinkin’ Lucky must’ve snitched on me. Deck gave me a talkin’ to ‘bout ‘abandonin’ my post’.” Hal snorts, derisive. “Comin’ at me with that military shit. This ain’t the fuckin’ Brotherhood. …It’s been years since I seen a vertibird, but I fuckin’ wish one of ‘em would pass by here. I’d flag ‘em down and let ‘em know we got a whole unit of their piece of shit deserters lordin’ over the place.”

Rue’s bolt upright, eyes wide around as the moon. “Deck’s Brotherhood?”

Hal cocks his head. “Ya didn’t know?”

She shakes her head furiously, curls fanning all about her. “But that explains so much.”

The barkeep’s grin is wicked, the glint in his eyes conspiratorial. His voice lowers several octaves for him to reveal, “He’s also fuckin’ blitzed on Med-X eighty-five-percent of the time.”

“That also explains so much.” Rue sinks back down, hands drumming on the bar. She speaks quietly, too. “Got any dirt on Adel?”

Hal looks to the rafters, brows scrunching in thought. “It’s not really dirt, but….” He eventually comes out with a, “She moans when she pees –like an old man with a fucked-up prostate.”

Rue snorts, the sound blooming into a cackle. “And how do ya know that?”

“Molly told me.” He tips his chin. “Now you gimme somethin’ good.”

“I dunno that I got anything good….” Rue hums to herself, mentally going through her stores of shit she’s overheard that won’t get her in too much trouble when it inevitably gets back around. Any of it could be bad, honestly. Even the little stuff like Tam seeing Ms. Mayberry on the side or how she’s heard that Wade Betts is a chicken fucker. “Oh, I think Billy Tate has a crush on ya. Is that good?”

A spark of interest goes off in the barkeep’s coal eyes. “Uh-huh.” His lips twist impishly. “That’s real good to hear.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lara is next on Rue’s list of people to show off to, and she has just the song picked out for the honey-eyed brunette already –one of her favourites: Little Things Mean a Lot. But when Rue opens Lara’s door, her hands still just before she can go to string picking.

The brunette is slumped over her vanity, face buried in her arms and the softest of sniffling coming from her.

Rue burns at the sight and sound, immediately closing the door behind her and locking it for good measure. She crosses the floor quickly, guitar going across her back and her knees to the floor beside Lara’s chair. She places a hand on Lara’s leg; the brunette jolts, head snapping to look down at Rue with red, puffy eyes that glisten horribly.

“I can get whoever gotcha,” Rue offers, smile gentle. “Just tell me who and gimme a lil' time.”

Lara’s lips wobble, and before Rue can blink, the brunette’s thrown her arms around her neck to hug her tightly. “It’s everything, Rue!” Her voice breaks, hitches. “Warner’s headin’ out Monday, and it sounds like he won’t be back for months. And I wanna go with him, but my fuckin’ contract! There’s still so much on it! I can’t pay Adel what she’s figured up in time! And… and… and, Rue, I don’t have a single customer tonight. I haven’t had more than one or two all week, and I think it’s on real purpose. Like Adel don’t even want me tryin’ to make the money in time.”

Lara squeezes so tight Rue can barely breathe. Rue squeezes back just as earnest, raging internally. She can’t stand the way Lara shakes, how hot her tears are as they soak through her blouse. And to hear what Adel’s doing? Rue’s damn sure it is on purpose, and it's got her wanting to tear the viper's throat out with her teeth.

But there’s one thing that sticks in Rue’s head, something weird and she hasn’t heard of before. She asks Lara, “They made ya sign a contract to work here?”

The brunette stiffens, and she slowly releases Rue from her death-grip hug. But her arms stay on Rue’s shoulders, fisted in her blouse. Her honey eyes leak fat tears. She looks away, ashamed. “Daddy couldn’t pay his debts. He made a deal with Deck that I’d work here ‘til it was paid off….” Lara releases one of Rue’s shoulders and shakily drags the heel of her hand against her eyes. “But I swear, that man must’ve been rackin’ up more the entire time I’ve been here. There ain’t no way I still owe seven hundred caps on a two-thousand cap debt -even with the cost of the room bein' deducted from my pay. I been here for three years.”

Rue’s vision goes red, her voice that deathly kind of quiet. “Eladio fuckin’ sold you?”

“I-I went along with it,” Lara’s voice breaks again, and she begins to smooth Rue's hair, as if sensing the rage boiling up. “I wanted to help. I-It was the only way I could think of to help.”

Rue pulls in a deep, deep breath. Her eyes close, mind focusing on those hair pats that are ridiculously soothing. She exhales slowly, telling herself to be angry later and to focus on Lara. She pops to her feet and reaches for brunette, pulling the sobbing girl into her side where she pets and coos and assures her that everything is going to be okay.

Rue’s going to make it okay. Lara’s leaving with Warner on Monday, and no one’s stopping her.

“How much do ya have?”

“Two-hundred and fifty-two,” Lara sobs.

“Warner got anything?"

“Two hundred of that is Warner’s.” Lara does a lot of sniffing. “The rest he has, has to go to the trip. They ain’t payin’ him ‘til we get to the Hub.”

Rue accepts that with a nod. She might have four hundred after what she gave to Artie. She’ll have to go home and count it, and then she’ll have to work her ass off this weekend –charm the asses of everyone– to make up the difference. She’ll be flat broke after, but…. It’s worth it to her. Lara’s worth all the moons and stars to her.

She kisses Lara’s hair before reaching for a brush on the vanity and taking it to the brunette locks. She carefully, slowly, begins to work it through Lara’s hair from the ends up. “Here’s how we’re gonna do it,” she says quietly, smiling at the shaking girl in the mirror. “I’m gonna bring you a sack of caps. You’re not gonna fight with me ‘bout it. You’re gonna take it, and you’re not gonna mention it to no one –not even Warner. You’re gonna be distraught and miserable for the rest of the weekend, and come Monday mornin’, you’re gonna go to Adel’s office, sit down and count ‘em out right in front of her, and then you’re gonna leave. No matter what she tries to say, ya leave. Understand?”

Lara’s eyes are wide around as dinner plates, her mouth moving like it wants to say something, but she just can’t get it out. Rue watches the honey-eyed girl’s throat bob. Her mouth shuts. She nods.

“And anything ya got that ya wanna take with ya, sneak it to me. She’s likely not gonna give you a chance to grab any of your things.”

Lara immediately goes scrambling for something in her vanity, popping out a false bottom in one of the drawers. She pulls out a bundle of letters tied off with twine and a necklace that looks like it’s made of coyote teeth and a little, yellow, desert flower trapped in resin.

Rue opens up her bag for Lara to place the belongings in. “T-These are real important to me. They’re all I need other than some clothes -I’ll give ya the clothes tomorrow. Is that okay?”

“Perfectly,” Rue assures, resuming her methodical brushing out of Lara’s hair before she begins on a pretty braid that starts at the crown of her head. She moves on from the topic. It’s settled in her mind, and it’s not wise to keep talking about it. “Can I tell ya ‘bout Mrs. Ira Jean’s?”

Lara, teary-eyed and smile watery, nods. “’Course ya can.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The number of caps in Rue’s glass jar is a little less than she thought, but with how busy the saloon has been, pulling together the missing caps for Lara is fairly easy. Rue does as she always does but turns her sweetness and charm up to an eleven, making tables howl with laughter; and though she doesn’t normally flirt with any of her patrons, she does throw in a few winks that might end up biting her in the ass later. But she doesn’t care. She’s going to get Lara out of Mulholland’s –out of Dust.

By Sunday night, Rue has everything she needs and a little extra. And while she would like to slip that little extra to Lara, Rue remembers she actually does have to eat and live and such. She pockets the excess and sneaks the remaining funds to the brunette. They don’t talk about their plans as they make the hand off. Rue only winks and leaves for the night. 

It is a sleepless night. Her brain is too active, plagued by a mix of worry and excitement. Rue ends up not sleeping a wink and sitting on her front porch where she passes the hours by tracing the shape of the Big Dipper and coming up with those of her own. When the stars fade and dawn comes on, she snatches up Lara’s rucksack and heads into town where Rue finds the caravan the brunette’s meant to leave with making ready in the town square.

It’s a large caravan, the biggest Rue's ever seen in Dust: five carts full up, each drawn by a team of two brahmin. Every cart has two drivers and at least one guard assigned to it, and the weathered wood is stamped with an unfamiliar logo: a red-and-white sort of swooshing that reads as, "Crimson Caravan." Rue has heard of them before, but this is her first time actually seeing them. They don't normally come out as far as Dust, and it makes her wonder if the small town is on the up-and-up with such a big name stopping in.

Everyone is making ready, checking harnesses and that loads are secure. There is a lot of chatter, a lot of energy in the air, but there is an outlier: a very quiet and sullen man that stands taller and broader than the rest. His black-haired head is always turning to look over his shoulder –back the way Mulholland’s is– and when Rue finally catches sight of his face, she sees he wears the saddest of expressions.

Her brain vaguely recognizes him as Warner. He’s come into Mulholland’s often enough, but she’s never really served him. He’s always been an upstairs patron, only ever there to see Lara.

She really hopes he’s not the one that doesn’t wash his dick, but his personal hygiene seems fine enough. His hair is brushed and his clothes kept enough. Shirt tucked in. Boots clean. He looks like he washes his dick, and he looks like he can take care of Lara with the muscley build and the .357 repeater on his back.

Rue marches right up to him, offering a hand and a smile. “My name’s Rue.”

It takes the boy a moment to realize she’s even there –that she had spoken to him– but eventually, he drags his gaze from behind him to look down at her in brow-scrunched confusion. “Uh… er… Warner.” He takes her hand and shakes it, and then gives a little jolt, gaze snapping up from their conjoined hands. His green eyes are questioning, hopeful. “Wait? Rue? You work with Lara, don’tcha?”

“Not anymore,” Rue says with a wink, shrugging off the bag she’s held onto over the weekend. She hands it over to Warner. “You take care of her, yeah? I think she’s real special, and I’ll hurt ya bodily if I ever find out ya didn’t do right by her.”

Warner nods excessively, taking the bag from her carefully and shouldering it. And shit, Rue didn’t think anyone could beat Hal at puppy-dog eyes, but Lara’s beaux pulls out the glossiest, roundest of eye expressions. “She’s comin’, huh? Really?”

“Sure is.” Rue peers down the street, spying a familiar figure marching briskly towards them.

Warner looks back, and he takes off without a moment’s hesitation, sprinting full tilt down the street to scoop Lara off her feet and spin her ‘round and ‘round. Rue watches him pepper her laughing, crying face with kisses, and then he just holds her. Long and tightly until they come apart, both red in the eyes.

They come walking back Rue’s way hand-in-hand, Lara pulling away to then run at Rue. She opens her arms wide to accept the love barreling her way and only just manages to keep them up right when Lara connects with her.

Giggling and squeezing, Lara tells her, “Adel pitched a fit. She tried to say I couldn’t leave yet, I had to wait for someone to fill my spot, but she couldn’t show me where it said that in my contract. And then she started shoutin’ and throwin’ shit, and I just told her she had her seven hundred caps and she could suck my dick.” There’s a victorious smugness infecting Lara’s tone. “But you were right, she wouldn’t let me set foot back in my room. She chased me out with a bat!”

Rue can imagine the fit, the look of rage upon Adel’s face, and it warms her very soul. “I’m real proud of ya. Fuck. I wish I coulda seen her.”

Lara pulls back from the hug; Rue lets her go. “I’m sure she’ll still be plenty ornery when ya go in tonight.”

Rue gives a devilish grin. “I’m gonna see if I can work her into a heart attack.”

The brunette matches her smile, but it dims. Lara swallows thickly, and her honey eyes well up all over again. “Hey, I’m gonna… I’m gonna miss you lots. You’re… you’re one of the best people I know.” Lara draws in her wobbling lips. “And I don’t know how I’m ever gonna repay ya for this.”

Rue’s throat goes tight, and her eyes sting. But she can’t cry. She doesn’t know if she’ll be able to stop herself if she starts up. She knows her smile goes all watery, and she can certainly hear how her voice wavers, but she doesn’t give the tears a vote. “I’m gonna miss the hell outta you, Lara. You’re the only one ‘round here that plays pretend with me. I… I’ve really liked knowin’ ya.”

Tears slip free to race down Lara’s sweet face, and she engulfs Rue once more, hugging her fiercely. Like she doesn’t want to let go. For a moment, Rue doesn’t want her to. She doesn’t want Lara to leave Dust, and the urge to cry makes it hard for her to breathe.

“Maybe when we come back through,” Lara forces out in a tight, wet voice, “you can come with us?”

Rue buries her face in Lara’s shoulder. She forces everything down and away. She blinks and blinks and breathes, and when everything is nice and tucked away under an unreadable smile, she pulls back and promises, “I’m gonna come find ya for myself, and I’ll be your awkward third wheel ‘til ya get sick of me.”

[leffee]

“Sunil?” Penny said.

Sunil turned to face his friend, but still keeping note of anything in his peripheral vision, “Yes, Penny? Is something the matter?”

Penny and Sunil walked down the sidewalks of Downtown City.

“It’s just… you’re in a band, right?”

“I mean, as we are currently on our way to one of my rehearsals?” Sunil gestured to the guitar case slung over his back, “Yes, that is correct. I am indeed in a band.”

Penny chuckled, “It’s just, I was wondering; could you tell me a little… about your bandmates?”

“Hm? Okay then, I suppose. Hmm… well, there’s Shivers, our drummer. You remember him from before, right?”

“The guy who tried stealing from the pet shop for no real reason? Him?”

“Yes. He is working on it, however, and has made good progress.”

“That’s awesome! Wow, I sure am glad to hear it.”

“We also have Tootsie. He’s our bassist. I quite like him, actually. Very chill. You may actually remember him too from the time Zoe mistook him as her sister. I am not quite sure how that happened, considering how different they actually look from each other…”

Penny nodded along, “And then who’s next?”

“Our lead singer, Scarletta.”

Penny squealed quietly in excitement. She hoped Sunil hadn’t noticed.

Sunil continued, “She runs everything, makes sure we’re all doing everything right. She’s quite new in town, so I imagine that you afe not as familiar with her.”

Before Penny got to excited, she’d have to confirm something.

“Okay, but… Scarletta… who?”

“Hm? Uh… Scarletta Redd, I believe. Why so?”

A quick beat, as Penny thought about what to say. She figured there wouldn’t be any harm in telling Sunil. Part of her wanted to save that conversation for later. She eventually decided on;

“Nothing. That’s all I needed to hear.”

===

I wanted to write this scenario so bad but never knew where to put it cause I’ve never given info abt the band other than a few dms. And I also wanted to try putting smth into your askbox. So here i am :DD

That tootsie and gail thing is 100% a self diss on my own designs,,

Ah yes, welcome to my inbox! For the second time actually, but still, it is absolutely the right place to send whatever stuff you want especially if you don't know what else to do with them.

So yeah, I now get even more to know about the stuff with Scarletta and Penny (and sometimes Sugar Sprinkles, not here. They're just some sort of trio in a way). This little thing makes me think that they're both going to Sunil's rehearsals, so Scarletta will be there, yeah? So different things and emotions might be awoken, condiering the different scanerios of how they split and what emotions were involved. Though from this context Penny at least is positive about this possible meeting.

And the Gail and Tootsie thing xD. I just... they have pretty different skin complexions, huh? No worries though, I say Zoe just saw him from behing, no skin exposed in any way because of it so I suppose that would make sense, yeah? I mean as long as they don't interact.

I think that's all I can say here. Thank you for sending me this, I always try to make sure I put some real effort into those replies knowing that it takes effort to write the actual thing, so hopefully that was satisfactory and feel free to send any other stuff you'd like my way.

[paceplace]

Wait when was it stated that Redd didn’t like the fight between the cogs and toons? Sorry, I’m new to the game so I wasn’t around for Break the Law

the introduction lines for his boss fight** has him saying how his father is suffering due to the toons antics, as well as how he refuses to let him suffer in silence because of it. there's also this blogpost which, while short and is rehashing what i said before, tells us how he chose to deal with the situation while btl was active. i also believe redd's feelings about btl was briefly talked about in the "Who is Atticus?" podcast posted on clash's youtube however i would take that with a grain of salt as i haven't listened to that in awhile and i don't wanna comb through it atm. i do remember we were given some backstory regarding the two, however, which can help bring perspective and i recommend giving a listen regardless.

** = i can't exactly share what he says here bc fandom wikia doesn't allow me to take screenshots due to security policy + it's a pain to format a copypaste version here on mobile but if you search up "redd heir wing wikia" you can read what he says in full.

but yeah he does Not like the toons at the start/during btl and i'm pretty sure he feels the same way now. whether he also hates cogs inc. for not helping atticus in his time of need is up for speculation but it makes sense for me personally if he did harbor resentment towards the company, imo. aside from this, it's confirmed by ottoman during his '21 dialogue he's out there somewhere and some people have speculated he's been doing his own investigation work regarding atticus's death (+ potentially elvis's disappearance) going off one of the panels in "hired help" comic that shows someone with atticus's pictures on a corkboard which, again, is just a theory though i'm pretty sure is true but we'll have to see

[protesilauslegacy]

// "Studying Until Midnight" Thread with @alphavelvetcake //

When Techno had offered help and assistance out to a familiar face - an individual that xe helps study - they weren't entirely sure what material they were going over. It happened in a frantic rush, remembering Redd approaching over whilst in a conversation with Quackity. It seemed they was having problems and needed to catch up with work that dangled far behind, unable to have a days rest, requesting Achilles for assistance. Quackity glanced between the duo before Techno gave a confirmation of helping the other out, it was the decent thing to do plus Redd is a quick learner. People seemed to view Achilles as a strong mentor figure or as the scary monster that went around in useless circles.

Rumors are pointless nowadays and yet the blog was something that loved chatting up shit. It was bizarre given the circumstances but as of recent? Techno hadn't heard anything being spoken about so that was a good sign.

Waiting in the library, they had arranged a day over some simple text messages and Achilles waited.

Waited.

Waited.

And Waited.

It was roughly 30 minutes after the time the duo were meant to meet up. It was actually a little concerning. Xe sent a text message over but no reply as of wait. Achilles is a pretty patient person and time ticked. They weren't expecting Redd to show up at this rate and was proven wrong when a familiar figure slumped downwards in the chair opposite them. Looking worn out and exhausted, Techno raised an eyebrow. Whilst xe couldn't speculate properly what had happened, Redd looked way too tired, out of breath and overall purely exhausted. The individual had gone into the shoulder bag to pull out a protein bar, sliding it over to them as well as a bottle of water. Quackity gave xem extras and figured xe could use the food and drink. Even if it was little, it'd be something. He was slowly collecting his breath and Techno waited, sending idle texts to Quackity considering she was curious about the scenario that displayed. Techno told her. Hands tapped against the phone until pocketing it and speaking up finally. "How you feeling?"

Now, Achilles isn't one for words, words were difficult. At least verbally. So, there had been silent communication, actions speaking louder than any sort of language. "When you're ready, we can start studying, alright? Take your time." Achilles spoke softly, eyes flickering through the library. They were tucked away in a secluded area, a corner that Techno had found middle of first year and now always camped whenever possible. Even when other bodies loved harassing Achilles with unnecessary questions. Though, for now, xe pulled a book out, the material they had supposedly meant to study and started to catch up, ensuring that the info was stored in their head.