#so if he didn't join misfortune's keep i think he probably would have ended up in the land of the lost things

[saline-coelacanth]

Ninjago is trending so I'm gonna share a random thought that entered my mind earlier

Do you think that if Clancee didn't end up with Misfortune's Keep that he would have eventually ended up in the Land of the Lost Things since none of the other Serpentine liked him and he was considered an outsider?

[risuola]

Gojo x reader who's a student and she's 18y/o and he likes yn but yn doesn't or she doesn't wanna admit

SENSEI — F. READER x GOJO SATORU

Gojo Satoru is your sensei and everyone seem to notice that he likes you more than anyone else. Everyone but you.

cw: student x teacher, age gap (reader is 18, Satoru is 28), very brief description of fighting, public kissing — 1,4k words

a/n: thank you for the suggestion! I made if sfw but I made the ending open for part two maybe? I hope you enjoy it 🩶

» PART TWO [nsfw]

"Idiot," you grunted, your cheek was pressed against the grass as Gojo forced his knee into your back, holding both your hands in one of his own, the other keeping your head down. Another day, another training session with your teacher – you couldn't count how many of these you've already been through, but you can easily count how many sparring matches you've won. None.

"That's a strange way to ask for mercy, sweetheart, but okay," he hummed. You can tell he was grinning just by the sound of his melodic tone and you snapped at him, "I'm not asking for mercy, sensei."

"Ay, ay, so stubborn," Satoru chuckled and lifted up so you could do the same and as you stood on your feet, facing him, his hand caressed your cheekbone, successfully freezing you on the spot. The touch was so gentle that if you didn't know better, your knees would probably buckle from the sensation. But this was Gojo. The flirtiest of flirts, and the man you deeply disliked. It's not that you despised him, no, it's just the way he carries himself, the way he treated everyone around him, and most importantly, the way he treated you.

When you moved to Tokyo, joining Jujutsu High, you were barely fifteen, a first-year student that Satoru recruited himself by finding you on the streets of your small town and saving you from the mental facility that you already had one foot in, voluntarily. Before that, you tried to live your life as normally as one could, ignoring everything you saw around you because no one else seemed to see it. The curses, which you did not know were curses at the time, made you doubt your sanity for the longest time.

After moving, everything became easier – you met people who were just like you, you learned how to fight and mastered the cursed techniques in no time. Now, you just recently turned eighteen, you were pushing your last year of education, though there wasn't much more to learn, so you focused on helping younger students and if you were to be honest, this practice had taught you more than any theory could. You had the luck, or misfortune, to be Gojo's first official student – he took care of you himself, helping you to refine your control over the cursed energy and thanks to his guidance, you quickly discovered and mastered your own cursed technique, and since there wasn't much anyone could teach you at this point, you trained hand-to-hand with Satoru.

"Think you have more in you?", he asked, his thumb still brushing across your cheekbone and you took a step back. "I'm always ready to kick your ass," you bit, your eyes narrowing as you clenched your fists.

"That's my girl," Gojo grinned and you snorted at the sight. He's always so careless, never taking any of your attacks seriously, bragging about how untouchable he is, turning your wildest dreams into fantasies about erasing that infuriating smile from his face. And he was taking your fists like they're nothing, blocking and pushing them away like he's chasing a fly away when you tried to land a punch, with no luck at all. "Come on, I'm sure you can hit me at least once," he mocked, moving effortlessly, as if he could see what action your body will take before you even think about it.

"Shut up," you groaned, trying and trying, before he kicked you in the stomach, pushing you against the tree and you had no time to react before he was pressing you back with his own body. The sudden closeness made you gasp and act impulsively, but Gojo blocked the knee that buckled up, aiming for his crotch. "Nuh-uh, that's against the rules," he chuckled and you felt his breath against your lips.

"And you being on me is not?" you argued, but he was unfazed. "Who made these rules?"

"I did," of course he did. "It's only fair that the strongest make the rules."

"You and your damn bragging-"

"I'm stating facts," he cut in, and you rolled your eyes, "and you can't seem to be able to prove me wrong. Not even one of your eager punches lands."

That was the last straw – you inhaled to calm your anger, and you could physically feel your composure snapping as you looked at his smiling face. You were desperate to prove him wrong, not to defeat him, no, you're not that insane, but to just prove him that he's not as untouchable as he says. And then you recalled every teasing joke you heard from your younger colleagues – all of them seemed to come to the collective conclusion that the 'special treatment' you got from your sensei was surely an effect of his feelings towards you, and you brushed off the idea every single time. Gojo Satoru is handsome, annoyingly so, and his eyes are an absolute blessing to gaze into (when you're not his opponent in a deadly encounter, that is), and he's a kind, friendly man, very caring and protective of his students. His strengths make him invincible; he can win any fight with no effort, and everything he does, he does perfectly. He often brings you sweets, remembering your favorite flavors, and he always addresses you with a slightly warmer tone than when he speaks to any other student. He's also ten years your senior, your teacher, and he's way out of your league, so you simply chose to dislike him because allowing yourself to believe in such an absurd theory that he could fall for you would only bring disappointment.

But now, you were desperate to slam your fist into his face, to draw blood from his nose, to make him lose his balance, to get something– anything more than a swift, effortless dodge from him. Without thinking, you moved your head forward, reaching up, and he hummed in surprise when your lips landed on his. You could feel he smiled while taking control over the kiss, and you fought for dominance just a little before grabbing a handful of his snow-white, messy hair. You felt his well-built body pressing harder against yours, much smaller; the wall of muscle flush to your chest, and his large hand landed on the side of your neck, fingers curling around the back, pulling you more into the kiss. For a moment you were lost in the sensation – it felt so wrong and yet so right, and your mind became cloudy; his lips were soft and plush and perfect against yours, as if they'd been carved precisely to match yours, and it made your temperature rise to feverish levels at how skillfully he guided the sensitivity. Nothing you've ever felt compared to the feeling of Gojo's lips slowly dancing on yours, as if he's starving and now, he was allowed to devour the long-awaited meal – but he devoured it slowly, savoring the taste to remember every second of it. You whimpered as you felt his hand sliding down the length of your spine, sending shivers along it as your back arched beneath the touch.

You tugged at his hair, causing a contented purr to rumble within his toned chest, and you moved against your body's desires. You'd like to stay like this forever, careless about how everyone can see you publicly making out with your sensei; you'd like to kiss him longer, deeper, to take more of him, to make him yours, even if only for a moment, but instead you moved your hand. Curling it into a fist, you bit onto his lower lip following it up with a harsh, heavy punch to the side of his face and it landed perfectly, the contact between your knuckles and his cheek undeniable as he touched the bone. Despite the force you put into it, the blow wasn't strong enough to make him fall or even step back, but it was satisfactory for you. His face was colored with surprise as he looked down at you, and you couldn't help but grin broadly.

"New rule," he said, grabbing your hand and planting a kiss on the reddened knuckles that just made contact with his face. "No kissing your teacher during spar sessions."

"Too bad I wasn't familiarized with the rules before the fight, sensei," you shrugged, pleased with your accomplishment, and he couldn't get over the way you made the word 'sensei' sound. Suddenly he wished to hear it somewhere else, somewhere other than the school's training grounds or classrooms.

"Now I declare the end of the training."

And Satoru's lips were once again pressed to yours, taking your breath away.

» PART TWO

[blushblushbear]

I was wondering if you can do husband headcanon for Cole, Volks, and Cashew?

Thank you💕

ALL THREE OF THESE DORKS ARE SO HAPPY YOU AGREED TO MARRY THEM LMAO

Cole:

on the surface it's a very sweet domestic life

he plays the role of the loving, doting husband well

mostly cause he is actually a loving, doting husband

he's a bit strange but then again who isn't

but over all life with him very pleasant

just don't go in the basement though

that's his private space for his personal hobbies

don't worry about what hobby-- they say that the best married couples are ones that continue some level of personal life after marriage you know

he defiantly keeps the house clean

he's actually a bit of a neat freak

but he's also a pretty decent cook

he's not about to work at a 5 star fancy restaurant or anything but he can make some very solid dishes and is actually looking to learn more for you

I will say he tries to keep it all healthy though

he's not as much of a health nut as Kelby but he does constantly worry about your health

"why, if I lost you, I would have to spend every waking moment mourning at your grave until I withered away into nothing! and frankly that sounds too sad and boring to be how it ends for me"

definitely watches you sleep

sometimes stays up late just to watch you, all sweet and peaceful and helpless

is also very affectionate now that he's "claimed" you as it were

also is very open to letting all others know that you are well and truly spoken for, in case any ideas might think about wondering into their heads believing otherwise

god help anyone that has the misfortune to break into your home

he will love you until the day he dies and probably the eternity after too

Volks:

is much more openly affectionate after tying the knot

once you agreed to marry him and he knew you were the real deal and weren't going anywhere, he didn't really see the point in holding back

he actually partakes in a lot more little romantic gestures after your married, though all of them still not directly to your face cause he's still him and he gets embarrassed

little stuff like notes around the house telling you how much he loves you left in places he know you'll find it

or flowers waiting on the kitchen counter for you

or "I love you" written on your hand that you wake up to (also there might be some marker on either the pillow or your face or both oops)

also a card carrying member of the watching his spouse sleep club

he can't really cook but he makes decent money and also comes from a well off enough family so he can afford to get take out basically every night

if you cook then he will also try to learn to cook but it's very rough at first

he's very proud the first time he made pasta and it was edible and stuff

keeps his home very cozy

lots of blankets and pillows everywhere

he likes to cocoon himself up and will very much want you to join him

aside from the pillows and blankets and a few knick knacks he has very little in the way of home decor so either you have to bring all the flare into the home or you're both gonna be living pretty modern minimalist

really really really really really wants a dog

you have talked about getting a dog probably 10000 times

probably not as actively doting as Cole but he def pays attention and tries to make things happen or fix things quietly for you before they even become a problem

likes to take you camping with him, calls it a family camping trip

very into referring to the two of you (and maybe some dogs) as a family (since his kind of sucked A LOT)

is very proud to call you his spouse and will brag about it any chance he gets

doesn't get jealous too too often but he's still territorial so he WILL use any attention you get as a chance to brag about how he's your HUSBAND *points to his ring* for anyone who will give him the 5 seconds it takes for him to bring it up

Cashew:

the house is very cozy cottage nook vibes

a little hobbit hole esque

except there is def some kind of play room and/or a least a chest and something risque built into your bed room (pole, swing, whatever)

he has a library, he NEEDED to have a library

but there is also book shelves in every other room in the house as well

tries and fails to be a decent cook but now that he's a husband he's actually a little more set on getting gud scrub

he wants to be a supportive husband to you

I know I've said doting before on both other guys but yeah he is also p doting

loves your sunday rituals of snuggling up together under a bunch of blankets on your sofa and reading

he can't really cook but he knows how you take your coffee and can make it PERFECTLY

is very much one of those spouses that likes to do everything together

it can't just be you going to the store or him going to the store, you both have to do it

you can't just go straight there you have to re-group and THEN go to the store

he will act like happy newly weds with you well into your 20th anniversary

he has a lot of pictures of the two of you together all over the house but ESPECIALLY in his library/office

lots of sleepy early morning head kisses and leaning on each other as you wait for the coffee maker to get done making coffee vibes

lives you lots of notes everywhere

sometimes they're just normal house stuff ('DON'T LET ME FORGET MILK') but he's just as likely to write something romantic and sappy ('the sunlight through the trees this morning reminded me of your eyes <3')

big dorky snuggle nerd makes for big dorky snuggle HUSBAND

also he's gonna give off some slight dad vibes regardless of if you guys end up having kids

I think he's one of the only dudes who would definitely want kids eventually though??

he's very open to adopting

he wants to scoop an orphan up into your loving family and whisk them away on the strange and grand adventure called LIFE!

honestly though, kids or no kids, as long as he's with you he's happy

often looks at his ring and thinks of how lucky he is

[feminurge]

in the bg3 plots where istar isn't the durge! i think i finally figured out istar's backstory. i have no idea if it could work but also canon is mine <3

istar as talos' experiment, an attempt at stealing some of mystra's realm after her death by helm's hand (attempt he made while introducing himself as malyk, god of wild magic). he basically created her with wild untamed magic, hoping that if his first option didn't work, at least he would have a wild pawn to play with. and it did work! only for bhaal to then claim her as one of his bhaalspawns, bc he had foreseen it and thought 'what best way to resurrect myself than with talos' toy'. its pretty much canon for talos to elevate powerful mortals to divinity anyway agshbsh. he didnt fully manage tho bc istar joined bhaal after the destruction of her forest.

talos has been trying to get her back ever since, thinking she might be his chance at overthrowing the death gods and well. destroying destruction. bc hes a lil bit full of hubris. he probably hopes she'll find a way to destroy mystra, once gale's role becomes clear.

her existence would be probably mentioned in some obscure books hidden by savras' priests. she'd be named 'the stormstar that the all-seeing cannot see'. because i do keep my the witcher hc that fate and foresight are based on magic (which. works with dnd considering savras was replaced by azuth), and istar existing beyond mystra's realm means that her fate will remain undecided. but no research became fruitful and no one really knows whats up with her.

the elves in eryri recognized her immediately because talos was one of the gods they would deeply hate and fear (with malborne being a mage whose magic mostly concerned wind and storms, yet acted for balance and creation, and who was aware of the divine struggles mystra was involved in). they venerated silvanus and thought of talos as the destroyer. it was foreseen that he would be the end of eryri, and malborne thought that by helping istar and showing her not to fear her magic, he would protect eryri. in reality, the forest fire was istar's fault, but it was only a result of her reacting to the mass murder of the tribe.

anyone could recognize that her magic isn't completely mystra's. there is a level of chaos that wouldn't exist within the weave. that is why mystra never looked at the sorceress and never wished to help her in any way, despite some of istar's prayers. she isn't necessarily more powerful, but she is more chaotic. her magic is harder to predict or counterspell, it also tends to be more destructive for. everything around her.

some mortals thought of istar, during dhufeainewedd's eclipse (a period where she hunted down and killed all who had a say in the destruction of her home, and what is considered as the first trial that allowed her to join the bhaalist cult), as an avatar of beshaba. they share the same wild white hair and the same misfortune. so they sometimes call her the maid of doom, which angers the goddess a great amount. but she can't really do anything because istar's fortune isn't for the gods to decide.

[dr-drckken]

The Cure All || Self Para

Dr. Drakken's No Good, Very Bad Month.

Drakken was in a very large slump. Quite possibly the biggest one he had ever entered, and this was including both his horrific lab accident and being sent to jail thanks to a teenager.

As a recap: Sarina had left, he'd had to re-renovate the downstairs lab into a bedroom for a pair of teen heroes who were practically strangers to him, and now he had a broken arm.

After the whole demon thing had cleared up, he had gone to the hospital to get his arm checked over. Drakken had, wrongly, assumed that the pain would be put to an end as soon as he reached the hospital. Instead he'd been forced to wait several more hours until someone could see him because apparently there were too many people who needed to be seen first.

Which was annoying. Wasn't this town full of Do-Gooder's like Kim Possible? They hadn't been able to keep the idiots of this town from nearly getting themselves killed? Ridiculous! So, as he had been forced to sit in the waiting room, he had called up the twins to make sure he hadn't invited them to stay in town only to get hurt or worse.

They were fine. Of course they were.

Then he had proceeded to call Sarina to tell her of his great misfortunes because who else was he supposed to complain to? Even if it was just her inbox.

Getting out of there, a bit out of it due to the pain medicine, he had been met with the Go twins who had come to walk him home. Surprisingly, they were pretty helpful. And nice about it. Most of the time. They seemed to know how to bite back when they needed to. He supposed that was something they probably inherited from their sister.

Drakken had spent the two next weeks doing absolutely nothing other than sitting on the couch, being sad and watching reality television. Occasionally one or both of the twins would join him, or check in as they passed through the house.

On the fifteenth day they decided that they'd had enough of watching him mope around. But Drakken proved to be a stubborn man, unwilling to move from his spot for any unnecessary reasons, every time sighting that he had a broken arm and couldn't do anything. They tried everything they could think of to coax him to, at the very least, go outside. He refused every attempt and they went to their room, calling uncle for the night.

It started all over again the next day. They even tempted him with his plot to take over the world! Surely he couldn't resist that! He had seemed so proud of that when he had first introduced himself.

"What's the point?" he asked, voice muffled as he was laying face first into the sofa. "My arm is broken, I couldn't do anything even if I wanted to."

The twins glanced at one another, shrugging. They'd given him every opportunity, now they were going to have to take matters into their own hands.

Literally.

Using their magic, they hauled him kicking and screaming off the couch and outside. Drakken could be seen being dragged around the Southern Isles neighborhood in his pajamas and fuzzy bunny slippers that afternoon.

"Come on," one of them had said, and Drakken still had yet to figure out how to tell them apart and didn't particularly care at the present moment to work on it. "There has to be something around here to cheer you up."

The other one echoed his brother before they started listing things off, going back and forth between one another as if they shared the same line of thinking.

"There is one thing," he admitted, making the pair perk up. "But we'll have to wait until nightfall, and you can't act sanctimonious about the rules we'll need to break!"

And that was how the Go twins were introduced to Vera, the three sneaking onto the Chakrobarty's farm at night to reach the barn where the cow was very excited to see her friend and the new company he had brought her. To Drakken's annoyance she liked the twins on sight, eating from their palms and sniffing at their hair as they pet her.

But it had done the trick. Drakken felt much better after spending time with the cow. Even just getting away from the house and the little town itself had been a much needed balm on the emotional wounds he'd taken over the last...well, year honestly.

He had returned to the task of helping turn the spare room into the bedroom, the work going by fast due to the boys' ability to turn themselves into a whole crew of workers. They were all sitting on the floor after carrying in their mattresses, eating their dinner, when Vera was brought up again. The conversation turned over onto pets in general.

"Did you ever have a pet?" one of them, Drakken was pretty sure it was Wyatt, asked.

"No," he shook his head. "Mother barely had enough money to take care of me when I was growing up. Then I...don't know. I suppose I was moving around too often to think of getting a pet. And, anyway, Vera isn't a pet. She's my friend. She lives on her own with her herd and works for her room and board."

"You have money now."

"Yeah! And you aren't moving around anymore."

Drakken looked between the pair of them, "Your point?"

"We should get a pet!" they said in sync.

"What?"

"A pet!" they repeated.

"What kind of pets do super villains usually have?"

"A cat!"

"A snake!"

"A bird!"

"...I have always wanted a dog," Drakken said, looking down at his food and thinking aloud. When nothing else was said he glanced up and had to do a double take at the wide eyes staring back at him. It wasn't until they shared a look with one another and the slow grins started brightening their faces did he catch on. "I- no! We aren't getting a dog."

"Why not?" Wendall, he was sure of it this time, pouted.

"Yeah, why not?"

"We already crossed off your previous reasons not to!"

"Come on!"

"Please?"

And, honestly, they did have a point. He had the means, he had the yard, he had the time. Not to mention coming home to a dog that would always be happy to see him felt like it would be the best remedy for anything that could have happened to him.

Zero had also mentioned that his boyfriend was the owner of that place with all the dogs just across the way from the neighborhood. It would also be helpful to put a face to his name. What was it again? George? Grant? ....Greg?

"Very well," he gave in, tone annoyed, though he was doing a bad job at hiding his smile as he watched the twins celebrate their victory.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

If the LOTR characters were majority female instead of majority male, how do you think the story would stay the same? How much do you think the story would change?

I mean, this is one of those where you can kind of do what you want with it.

You could either make everything the same completely or you could make it wildly different. Tolkien's world is such that, and he does say this, it didn't make much sense even for the very powerful female characters in his universe to be a part of the Fellowship. Now, this was just because the world he wrote was the world he wrote, and it didn't have to be that way but when you start getting away from that... Things get a bit loosey goosey in terms of discussing it.

So, this is kind of a weird question to me.

I guess in terms of characters themselves...

Gandalf is a Maia, being an old man is merely the guise he's shackled in. He and the other Istari could easily have been female and they would still be powerful, but bound, and still be eccentric strangers weaving themselves in and out of society.

It just might make it weirder for Men and Hobbits if an old crone is trying to hang out with them and wield a sword than an old man. But wizards being so strange already I imagine it'd be fairly accepted with just a shrug of the shoulders.

Frodo was chosen per the misfortune of being related to Bilbo and inheriting the One Ring. Frodo easily could have been a niece and the Ring ending up in her possession. Frodo, as a woman, would still find her place on the quest.

Sam, Merry, and Pippin might get looks if they insist on joining (as this is not a journey for the faint of heart, will likely involve bloodshed, and not something for female hobbits who have never left the Shire) but they were already woefully unprepared just by being hobbits. I imagine they could stubborn their way onto the quest regardless even as hobbit women.

Aragorn's where things get interesting. As a woman he would presumably not be heir to the line unbroken. Oh, the blood stops with her, but the focus would be on her having a son to reclaim the throne and not on her ruling herself. I imagine there'd be much more focus on female Aragorn daughter of Arathorn finding herself a husband to keep the bloodline alive and she would most certainly not be joining this quest out of duty to this (even if the elves are cool with the idea).

Legolas, too, rather than being a prince is now a princess. She probably stays home in Greenwood and someone else is sent in her place.

Etc. for Gimli with the added bonus that there just aren't that many female dwarves period.

Basically, those races who sent male representatives of importance aren't going to send female representatives of importance when the world of LotR is as patriarchal as it is. The elves are pretty cool with things (they have frighteningly powerful female figures through much of their history and in the third age with Galadriel still hanging about) but Men would consider such a thing to be an insult and there are too few women among the dwarves to risk their dying in this ridiculous quest among the elves.

They weren't going to send women.

If anyone is, it'd be the elves, and there'd probably be much side eyeing from Boromir and Gimli wondering why the woman is sent along (until that woman sings down a tower and then they quake in terror because she's an elf witch!)

[cowboahhoe]

The Viper - Arthur Morgan x Reader

A quick imagine, could do more parts if you want?

Warnings: mention of abuse

Summary: upon fleeing an abusive relationship, the reader finds themselves being chased by lawmen, bounty hunters and a few members of the Van Der Linde Gang after a night in Valentine.

(gif credits to whoever owns it)

———————————————————

The last few months had been far less than ideal for you. You were on the run from the law, just you and your horse Nellie. You hadn't ever foreseen your life going this way - you had always been for all intents and purposes a good girl. That was until you had met your first husband, Blake. Your birth father had decided that money meant a lot more to him than his only daughters life, so he had sold you to the highest bidder which seemed like an outdated and abusive practice; even in 1899. Blake had money in oil, and used you as arm candy but had no real love or respect for you. You were nothing more than a maid, house wife, punching bag and toy for his sexual pleasures for far too long. One fateful night your fuse had been lit, and you fought back. A shroud of red flooded your body as you pointed his own pistol between his eyes - finally feeling power against the vile man who had held you captive for a year, and you felt no remorse in applying pressure to the trigger.

The next few moments went by in a blur, you had packed a bag with all the money yourself and Blake had around - alongside necessities such as food, and weapons. After packing your loyal horse, you had faded into the night. Leaving Saint Denis, heading west. You knew there would be repercussions for your actions but there was no way to tell just how intense the manhunt would be for you, nor how large the price on your head would be for one small murder. $500 for your return to Saint Denis alive meant that you'd come across your fair share of bounty hunters in your time living off the land; you quickly realised you could only trust yourself, and your horse. This brings us to your lonely (but free) present day.

You sit in the saloon in Valentine nursing a whisky, your third of the evening. You'd been in an around the Valentine area for a few days and knew it was only a matter of time before you had to move along and set up somewhere else. Perhaps Rhodes? Although you quickly shake the thought from your mind - that may just be too close to the scene of the crime. Just as you suckle the final dregs from your glass, you spot a curious group of men walking into the saloon. You daren't take your eyes off of them, memorising every feature behind every person in the group, you want to be able to recall their identities should you need to 'silence' them. One man wore a black hat, black hair slicked with pomade and nearly down to his shoulders. He wore a black coat, and a black vest with a red breast pocket. This man seemed to have an unmatched charisma; this much you could tell simply from the way he stood. This wasn't an innocent man. Then again, who is? Next to him, a slightly smaller, scrawnier gent. With grey hair, and wearing a blue vest this man seemed to have kinder eyes, which may just be part of his play. Finally, a rugged man wearing a black hat, detailed with brown rope - you noted the bullet hole in the rim of the hat. He wore a tattered, dirty blue working shirt, and wore worn black trousers with cotton suspenders tying it all together. Although, with this man you struggle to focus so much on the clothes that cover his broad frame and pay particular attention to his features. Sandy brown hair, a messy - somewhat scratchy looking beard. The beard had a few holes in, which seemed to be due to the placement of some scars; the most prominent of which was on his chin. Then there came those eyes. Even from across the saloon you could tell they were bright blue with a twinge of green. The handsome man simply dipped on his beard whilst the other two men spoke quietly to the group, he didn't seem like the leader of the trio by any means, but it didn't seem that was important.

Just then, blue eyes looks at you and makes eye contact while taking another swig from his beer. For a moment, you're worried he may have recognised you but that fear quickly diminishes when he simply nods his head your way and turns his attention back to his friends. With new found courage, you move toward the bar. Intent on ordering a new beverage when you hear the black haired man pull something from his satchel, and start speaking to the man with grey hair in a hushed tone.

"Hosea, I told you. She's the viper, the one they want in Saint Denis... our boy John was right. We hand her in, it's a good honest days work" the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end, as you realise your time in Valentine is over - that and you need to play the next few minutes very wisely.

"I don't know Dutch, doesn't it seem unfair we're using a woman's bounty to help us flee our own misfortunes with the law?" Scrawny replies, suddenly he has become your favourite of the bunch. Blue eyes doesn't chime in at all, but you can feel his eyes on you as you stand at the bar, awaiting a cue to either whip out your pistol or flee the scene.

Adrenaline pumping through your veins, you decide the best solution is to try and slip away whilst the group argue about your fate. You know that they're outlaws, and if there are three outlaws coming after you... then you probably don't stand much of a chance. You make a beeline for the entrance, and whistle for your horse as soon as you reach the open air feeling the eyes of Dutch, Hosea and blue eyes on you as you make your exit. The unmistakable shuffle of boots accompany your exit, and you know that the men are right on your tail - the discussion of your fate seemed to be silence by your exit and only one objective remained. Get her.

You hop on the back of your horse, Nellie. She's an Arabian White and so you prayed that whatever horses this band of thieves had were slower than your girl. In seconds, you were off. You had made a instant decision to head in the direction of Emerald Ranch, hoping to lose them on the way then loop back round and head west toward Strawberry - although admittedly tactic wasn't at the forefront of your mind. Fight or flight had well and truly kicked in and you knew you needed to get away, far away. The thunderous chorus of hooves colliding with the hard ground rung through the night as the three horses chased your dear girl a cross the plains of the heartlands. Admittedly, you should have gone up through Cumberland forest as there was more cover to hide and slip away undetected. Though you had come across bounty hunters, and lawmen you had never come across a group of outlaws intent on handing you in and so the city girl who lived within you shook in her boots, and used instinct and not her brain when plotting which escape route to take.

"We just wanna talk miss" Dutch called in the dark.

"Like fuck you do Mister, I heard y'all talking about taking ma bounty" you curse back; relying a lot on your horses innate sense of direction to guide you through the hills and trying to guide her to help you both disappear. One of the men take a shot at the floor near your horse, probably trying to spook her but being that your horse is tough as nails she barely bats an eyelid.

"C'mon miss we really don't wanna hurt ya" an unfamiliar voice shouts. You realise this must be the man with blue eyes, his rough voice matches his rugged appearance well - although you don't have much time to think about the dreamy mans voice as you hear the whirl of a lasso from behind you.

You duck, and make unpredictable movements on Nellie in order to avoid the grip of the rope around your body. You feel silent panicked tears roll down your cheeks as you realise your luck had run out; not knowing your fate with these three outlaws. Just then, the rope whips itself around you and you're pulled from your seat and thrown against the floor. Your head collided with a rock, making you see stars as your horse comes to a stop and stands beside you as if waiting for you to get back up. She doesn't realise this is likely your final ride. The three men come to a stop, and blue eyes hog ties you with the lasso before turning you onto your back.

All three men stood over you, as you shook and tears leaked from your eyes.

"take me then, I don't regret what I did to him. He deserved it more than anyone I have ever known" I spit with venom.

"My dear, did the countless bounty hunters, lawmen and innocent folk who got in your way deserve the same end?" Dutch replies. Bending his knees to move closer to your face so he is crouched over you as you lay on the dirt staring up at the night sky.

"If someone tried to have you swing for self defence and would you roll over and let them take you? Or would you fight?" You respond. Looking the man right in the eyes. Giving him the coldest look you can muster up while your cheeks are stained with tears. Dutch chuckles, looking up at Hosea and Blue eyes with a jovial expression.

"Darlin' im gonna give you a choice. You can go to Saint Denis and swing, or... you can come join us. We're a group of misfits and outcasts and we're always in need of more guns. You'd have to earn your keep, of course but from what I've heard you've had no issue wrangling an income for yourself."

"Dutch is that really wise? We have plenty of people to feed we could just let the poor lady go?" Blue eyes replies to Dutch. Causing him to whip his head up.

"Enough, Arthur! She can help in ways most of those women back at camp won't, besides - If she outstays her welcome we could always take her on a trip to Saint Denis." He smiles down at you while making his threat.

"I'll go with you." You reply begrudgingly. Whenever you can make it happen, you'll escape their camp. But for now this beats swinging.

"Well then, Arthur would you be so kind as to place this fine lady on the back of your horse?" Dutch says, walking over to his own beautiful steed.

"I have a horse of my own I can ride!" You shout back to him as Arthur removes me from the floor and places you face down on his horse.

"I know, but I don't want to risk you cutting off before meeting everyone and seeing how we do things. I happen to think you'll like it once you're not all tied up" he laughs. Arthur makes sure you're well seated before getting on his horse and coaxing it into moving to follow Dutch and Hosea. You whistle for your own horse who follows behind, with all your belongings.

"I'm sorry about this miss, uh, miss..." Arthur begins. Making it clear he knows you as only your pseudonym of 'the viper'.

"Y/N, just call me Y/N Viper" you respond, already out of breath from the movement of the horse pressing up against your chest and stomach. Compressing you're ability to breathe.

"well miss Viper, we have quite a ride ahead" Arthur replies, you huff in response and Arthur chuckles. Kicking the horse into moving a bit faster so as to catch up with Dutch and Hosea. You glance back at your beautiful horse and watch as loyally follows behind you.

Rolling your eyes, you exhale again.

This is going to be a long night.

________________________

Needless to say I hope you liked this? Can do additional parts if you want, or I mean if you have any ideas please feel free to let me know. I'm not sure how tumblr works so idk comment or message any ideas or recommendations or anything if you feel like it.

ALSO do let me know if you think this is trash because I’d rather know I just was having a touch of fun writing a little bit this evening. I’m also pregnant and my brain is completely useless so I really appreciate feedback 💖

Thanks so much 💖

[three-houses-text-files]

manuela/seteth

c-a support + paired ending

*warning: contains character spoilers

c

Seteth: Manuela. A moment? Manuela: Oh, hello, Seteth. M: I must apologize, but I am quite busy. Perhaps we could talk another time? S: I have already confirmed that you have no urgent business. I would like to hear your explanation now. M: My explanation? For what? S: Allow me to be more specific. Where were you, and what were you doing, last night? M: Oh, my dear Seteth. You must relax that worried brow. Those forehead creases will ruin your beauty. S: Just answer the question, please. M: What question is that? The one you already know the answer to? M: Last night, I had a bit of fun, and a bit of drink. Less of one and more of the other, sure. But... S: How much you drink is not my concern. S: But you are an adult who is tasked with the supervision of children. You should not be causing trouble for the students. S: It is unacceptable for you to expose them to your disgraceful behavior. Even more so to impose upon them the labor of cleaning up your mess. M: Oh, don't oversell it. All they did was walk with me back to my room. S: From what I hear, you had to be carried. M: I'd like to think I'd remember that. If it happened— and it probably didn't—it's not as if I'm heavy. Nobody hurt themselves. Did they? M: Come on, Seteth! Loosen up. M: If you're so worried about how I'll behave, why don't you join me for a drink sometime? M: I mean, I only get in trouble when I drink alone... S: If it will help to improve your behavior, I would not object to accompanying you from now on. M: Well, that sounds just delicious. What are you doing tonight around— S: But first, I will lecture you on all of the intricacies of proper behavior in the supervision of children. And until I am done, you will not drink a drop of alcohol. S: If you agree to those conditions, I will join you. I will even drink with you. Alcohol has little effect on me. M: That is just... You know, getting lectured by you is, well, I think the word is "torture." Yes. That's it. Torture. And I won't have it. M: I'm going to go get a drink and try to forget this ever happened. S: How is it that you imagine yourself the tortured one?

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b (i?)

M: … S: It seems I am not the only one here. Manuela? M: Oh! Seteth. Hello. S: This is quite the surprise. I would not expect to find you here outside of ordinary prayer time. M: Praying? No, no. I was just...resting. Whenever I'm in the infirmary, I simply cannot get out of doing work. I need a place to sit and close my eyes. S: There is no need to hide it. It is obvious you were praying quite solemnly just now. M: No, I was— Oh, I was just enjoying some old memories. That's all. M: In fact, I was just thinking about when my parents first brought me here as a child. M: I wandered off from my parents because I heard a beautiful voice. It was a woman. Singing. Somewhere just out of sight. M: I began to sing along, hoping she would hear me and that we might meet. I never found her, whoever she was. Yet it was she who taught me I could sing. S: Interesting. I had never heard that. But I suppose, if you were only a child, this would be before I arrived at Garreg Mach. S: In any case, if that singing voice helped you find your way, then that is a wonderful thing. M: I’ve never told anyone else, but I believe it was the goddess I heard. And that day, she gifted me my singing voice. M: And I thank the goddess for leading me back here after I left the opera company. S: You know, when you speak of the goddess in this way, it is as though you are an entirely different person. S: If you were to behave that way more in your daily life, I would have a much higher opinion of you. M: That’s very sweet coming from you, Seteth. M: Should I take that to mean that you like your ladies pious and respectable? S: One little compliment and you completely lose control of yourself. What am I to do with you? M: Oh, it's a joke. Look, I'm just no good at serious conversations. M: Although I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested in knowing what kind of woman does get your attention. S: As thanks for the touching tale you have shared, I will satisfy your curiosity just this once. S: My preferred woman is kind, quiet, and proper. But above all else, she is straightforward and honest. M: Quiet? Proper?! There's no need to be cruel, Seteth!

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b (ii?)

S: ... M: Seteth? S: Hello, Manuela. Is something the matter? S: You surprised me, is all. Though not as surprised as you, when you found me here before. M: I've never seen you offering up prayers so solemnly. S: I suppose I do typically make an effort to come here when no one else is around. S: Many look to me for guidance. I do not wish to disturb anyone's prayers with my own. S: But I did not come here only to pray. M: Really? Then what were you doing? S: I was swearing an oath to Saint Cethleann. S: She is a special figure to me. It's become part of my routine to swear this oath before her likeness. S: More than any other, she wishes for a peaceful world. I believe it is my duty to grant her wish. (pre-skip) S: She is a very special figure to me. That is why I swear my oaths to her likeness. S: She wished, more than any other, for a peaceful world. I will grant her that wish, at any cost. (post-skip) M: I had no idea you held such a passionate secret devotion, Seteth. M: The legends of Saint Cethleann do depict her as a kind, proper, and honorable woman... M: And she was so gentle and quiet. Really kept to herself. It's no wonder you're infatuated with her. S: I t-think you may have misunderstood me. M: It must be very lonely to be so in love with someone from the distant past. S: She is very special to me, yes. But not in that way. M: You don't have to hide it from me, Seteth. I can keep a secret. M: But people from the past are gone. No matter how much you care for her, she can't love you back. M: Now then, if you turned your eyes to me...I could respond to your deepest, most powerful feelings. S: You are completely mistaken!

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a

S: Manuela. About what we discussed earlier...with regard to Saint Cethleann. S: I feel the need to correct your misapprehensions. M: Oh, I won't expose your passion to the light of day. I told you I can keep a secret. S: That's not it at all! How can I make you see... S: I suppose there is no other way. Allow me to tell you a very old story. M: What kind of story? Is it about your past? Because there's a story I could enjoy hearing. S: I once had a wife. She passed from this world, a very long time ago. M: … S: She was wise, kind of heart, and always smiling. A most wonderful woman. S: Not long after we married, we were blessed with a child. A girl. M: You had a wife and a daughter? Why would you have kept that secret? S: To protect my daughter. S: That has been my foremost concern, ever since I had the misfortune to lose my wife. S: It is my daughter who resembles Saint Cethleann. That is why I make my oath to this statue. M: Hmm… Your story doesn't sound right to me. I don't mind saying it.  S: Why is that? M: When you talked about your ideal woman before, your description was almost exactly Saint Cethleann. M: Now you're telling me your daughter is a perfect match? S: It is not an exact resemblance. My daughter, for instance, is neither proper nor quiet. S: In any case, even in matters of love, an ideal seldom lives up to reality. That is the way of the world. M: Do it again! Say "the way of the world" with a serious face! M: You’re so stern and proper, but you really can be quite funny. I love a man who can make me laugh. S: My wife used to say the same thing. I never quite understood what was so funny. M: I sound like your late wife? Don't tell me... I actually resemble her, don't I? Mirror image, I bet. S: Absolutely not. Though... No. Unthinkable. M: The way you say it, I suppose I must resemble her a little. Well, isn't that an honor. M: Say, Seteth. Have you ever considered remarrying? You know, just so you're not alone? S: It is not a thought that has ever crossed my mind. I have been too preoccupied with fatherhood. M: It’s been a long time since your wife passed, right? You should start thinking about it. M: There could be someone who finds you handsome. Someone close by. Maybe even right in front of you. S: Whatever you said just now, I didn't quite hear. S: But to remarry—I'd never even considered it an option until you brought it up just now. S: My daughter will not want to remain by my side forever. Perhaps it is time I thought about it. (flayn doesn’t die?) S: I suppose my daughter would not have wished for me to remain alone forever. (flayn dies?) M: I’d be happy to help you mull it over, if you like. How about tonight? We could go out for a drink... S: Are we back to this again? S: Oh, very well. Just see that you do not drink too much. I would rather not have to carry you home.

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paired ending

After the war, Seteth remained at the monastery to rebuild the church. Several years of hard restorative work later, he received a letter from Manuela. She wrote that she had traveled to a small, war-torn town and opened up a school for children. Reminded of the beauty and compassion in Manuela's heart, Seteth was moved to leave the monastery and join her there. As they worked together to manage the budding institution, the couple fell in love and eventually were married. It is said that their students were overjoyed.

[justlurkingintheshadows]

The true evil of RWBY

We all know Salem is meant to be the big bad and Ozpin (who we now know as Ozma but will be referred to as Oz to make like easier) is the one meant to be the good guy, tasked with destroying her, however I find him to be questionable, in fact volume 5 kept lowering my opinion of him ever further. My friend and I like to roleplay and make more of a character out of characters, you'd expect us to have Oz as a good guy and Salem as a bad guy but actually it's quite the opposite, Salem is generally our favourite character, she's a fierce beauty and we know barely anything about her (or at least before V6 we knew nothing but hooray for lore) we've come up with our own headcanons, we usually see her as a fair boss or loving mom, and Ozpin barely has a second thought, maybe sometimes we've thought of him as an ex love, or the opposite side to her but really we don't think about him much, reason being because we don't particularly like him, don't get me wrong he has a great character but like I said, I find him questionable and I'll tell you why in just a moment. Chapter 3 of Volume 6 showed us exactly what happened over a thousand years ago with the Gods of Light and Darkness and Salem and Ozma and answered a lot of our questions, but it got me thinking about who the real villian is, of course it's Salem but when you break down the four characters you begin to realise it's not all black and white...

The Gods

So we finally got to meet the brothers we've heard of only in stories by a campfire. The God of Light (GoL) and the God of Darkness (GoD) are two new interesting characters we had the misfortune of meeting, and yes it is misfortune. Good ol' GoL denied Salem of her love, refusing to bring him back, that's fair, and GoD brought him back but later destroyed him when he found out he was Salem's second choice after his brother, that's also fair, except he brought him back without question in the first place, likely appreciating that someone actually came to see him (but I won't get into the precious GoD headcanon). For her actions Salem was cursed by GoL with immortality, and told she must learn the importance of life, and this turned out to be the biggest mistake he ever made and you'll see why in a bit.

Upon Salem's betrayal GoD destroys THE ENTIRE planet, instead of simply taking away all magic (Salem's too), or condemning Salem to external purgatory, or literally anything else, instead he just decides to effectively Thanos snap the entire planet because one bitch did a thing, thousands of completely innocent lives, gallant warriors, and dutiful worshippers gone in a second, and GoL just let's it happen like yep this is completely acceptable. I understand the idea was to punish Salem with a failure so big that there is no possible way she would ever be able to undo it but they still kept Salem there... With hope that she could change and see the importance of life... But if there is no life how can she learn it's importance...

And then there's the fact they just up and abandoned that entire planet, then destroyed the moon as a f*** you, because there was no need for that really.

If you thought the world was a lost cause why not wipe the slate clean and start anew, why would you ever trust humans to set aside their differences and unite themselves, humans are incapable I mean look at our Earth for example, there will always be something they find to cause conflict, and everyone will never get along, it's impossible, and how can there be any good without the bad to balance it, there was likely conflict even with the Gods there so what hope is there without them... Well actually I believe that hope was Oz and Salem...

Salem

Now sure Salem was an arrogant demanding bitch when Ozma died and she called the Gods monsters for taking him away from her again and again even though they were probably just trying to keep the natural balance of life and death in check, and I know she kinda rallied the humans to try to take down the Gods but really... It's not that bad. I know that sounds insane but hear me out, her punishment could have been a lot worse, and she could have found another way, I mean she could certainly take her time to come up with a plan that's for sure. She got punished with eternal life, now for some that would be a blessing, getting to live forever, never having to fear death, and of course watching everyone you've ever loved fade away around you as their lives come to an end and yours keeps on going... doesn't sound too fun actually... But this was her punishment for betraying the Gods, and she had to learn her lesson, learn the importance of life, you'd think with eternal life that would be a synch... WRONG, the worst thing you could ask of an immortal being is to learn about the importance of life, what does life mean to someone who never dies? It means that no matter what mortals will come and go but you will stay forever as you are, you're guaranteed to outlive anyone and everyone you meet, losing people constantly, it makes you bitter, so you isolate yourself to avoid getting attached and losing them as you know you will again and again, and you become detached, mortal beings have no place in your life because they can never match you, especially when you have magic and they have nothing, why should you care about them when you are in every way superior, you even control their deepest fears (since Salem is basically Queen Grimm thanks to GoD's Grimm pits), and Ozma's own curse makes learning her lesson even worse, he's the only person she loved, and he is cursed to die and be reborn, into a different body, the only death she would care about is his, and if he keeps coming back even as a different person death eventually doesn't bother her, Oz will always come back, and that's a constant so why should mortal death matter when it's not the person she loves. On top of that she is definitely affected by the Grimm desire to destroy things, so she can never be 100% held accountable for her actions after she fell into the pit.

But the biggest point is - Salem was right.

Her suggestion that they forget about the Gods and become their own Gods was sound, sure the gods helped them but it's not like people knew of that now, the Gods abandoned them when their experiment failed and left the saving of the planet to the guy who knew the person to spark all this... Oz and Salem were beings of infinite potential, one can never die, the other will always be ressurected, and both have magic, a thing which no one possesses anymore, following them would be wise, they could have led the humans to a new kind of salvation. Now of course destroying those who don't comply is a little extreme but if Oz talked to her then he could have let her see that there was no need, why force people to follow you when they'll do so of their own accord, and if they don't believe then that's their loss, it's not like they could actually DO anything about it... They couldn't take the two out, they'd always exist, and they have superior power and displayed mastery over using their gifts to destroy Grimm, seriously why wouldn't you want to join their side!

I'm not excusing things she did I'm just saying she was right, and things would be incredibly different in the present had Ozma just talked to her, which brings me smoothly over to him...

Ozma

The glorious Oz, originally Ozma, we know him best as Ozpin, and now as Ozcar, but of course based off the wizard of Oz who was at the end of the story a big fat fraud... Huh... his roots don't seem to really work in his favour...

"Blessed" by the God of Light to experience death in every form and to join with another's soul to be reborn in a cycle that will last for eternity. Really it's more of a curse, dying over and over and over and over and over again doesn't seem too fun, but boy did he come to learn the importance of life because surprise if you have to experience death and live in another's shoes you really start to appreciate what it means to live. No wonder Salem will never learn her lesson, the Gods didn't do her any favours... the same Gods who abandoned their people because their "experiment" failed... and left the saving of the entirety of mankind to one guy just because he knew the person who basically "caused" everything... Whom the Gods created by providing eternal life... because he died and she wanted back but the Gods wouldn't allow it... and their solution was to have her live forever and eventually bring him back to her anyway and have him always be reborn... Seems they contradict themselves too...

Anyway point being Oz didn't seem to have things in his favour from the start, and it only got worse from there...

Turns out Oz has ALWAYS had that issue about not telling people things, it seems his most constant flaw that even thousands of years of dying and taking host of a new body couldn't fix, I mean I understand him to an extent but right at the beginning he didn't tell Salem about GoL's conversation with him straight away, and when he did he kinda just left it at that and didn't talk any more about it... And Salem didn't even seem to really mind (her eyes white showing she was in control and chill), that is she didn't mind until he tried to leave with their kids (eyes turned black with Grimm anger) and the fact he had to have his weapon didn't help him - I'm still not excusing what Salem did though, but they both killed their kids, caught in the crossfire, fatalities of the destruction they both caused.

Before I skip to Ozpin and Ozcar I have a gentle reminder here for you, this revelation came to me when I saw a post about how Ozpin has made more mistakes than everyone combined and one being the fact he had sex with Salem... A Grimm Salem... Multiple times (the exact wording being "Putting my dick in /that/ for starters") however that appendage wasn't his own, you forget at that point he had been shoved into a random guys body and immediately took over and controlled his every action, we know he had barely any care for his vessel or "host" (if we want to start the whole Oz is a virus rant) at the beginning because Jinn tells us that after his fight with Salem he EVENTUALLY learned to live in harmony with the soul who's body he shared... after ruining the lives of a countless many... we also know or rather assume he only suppresses the other soul rather than takes over completely as learned from Ozcar (and potentially Ozpin too), which means there was a suppressed and confused other soul wondering what was going on and being forced to take a back seat watching Ozma do whatever he wanted in a body that didn't belong to him, I can't imagine him actually being ok with this random and extreme series of events, this man watched as Oz made a family with Salem without even a fleeting thought for the man's own family that he no doubt had... And then Oz got this man killed in an unnecessary battle... what a glorious hero...

Anyway grazing over the numerous lives Oz ruined and all the other sh!t he no doubt did that brings us to Ozpin, though we know fairly little we know enough to say that he has a bad habit of doing things like playing the pronoun game, providing half truths, and of course not telling anyone what they actually need to know - "You have silver eyes" yes she does... What about them? (Hype for getting that answer this volume) - he fails to inform people of what matters, preferring to leave that until later when people have already died (including himself, so he is now Ozcar) and people are desperate... Except oh wait sorry he doesn't even tell you then, he holds back mostly everything with the excuse that you don't need to know, and even when he 'tells you everything' you STILL find out he was holding something back... Classic Oz I guess

Now we're on Ozcar and you see that he has a second bad habit of taking over control forcefully, he hasn't learned harmony with the other soul at all, this given how he's lived for the past thousand or so years shows that he hasn't changed, sure he may be 'better' than he was before but he still very much has not changed. Even when he and Oscar apparently talked about that he took over anyway in an attempt to prevent people learning about something he didn't tell them (shocker) except this time the vessel fought back (something I doubt many if any have done before)

All in all he is an extremely questionable character with even more questionable motives.

But as much as it may seem like I'm dragging him through the dirt I won't deny the achievements he HAS managed, the academies for one major thing, it really helped out the world and there'd be a lot more fear and chaos had he not intervened in such a major way, doesn't explain why he likes to throw kids off of cliffs or any of that but still, I'm sure he has his reasons, don't expect him to tell you them though.

He truly has made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on the planet...

~~~~~~~~

When you really take a look at everything you begin to realise that the Gods kinda set them both up to fail, whether they knew it or not, imagine how different things would have been had a single thing gone differently, and how easily things could have changed

~~~~~~~~

And thus concludes this post, I hope I didn't miss anything (but if I did then oops)

Now I don't know about you but I would totally go up to Salem and tell her she was right, if Tyrian doesn't murder me the immediate second I show up, I've been leaning towards her side more and more since Oz pulled that sketchy move of controlling Oscar without permission (though I do realise death was a possibility it was still sketch) at least she doesn't build your hopes up only for you to discover they're lies, she seems like she'd tell you what's up. But that's just how I've committed think of her I suppose, she is an amazing and beautiful character, who we still don't know all too much about even with this lore... I really hope this means we get more backstories for more villians, I want to see a baby Tyrian.

But I digress.

[acescreations]

Moody Manipulations - Patton

[Part 2 to the Connected Youtuber Ego Universe(CYEU) stories I'm doing on Amino.]

Characters: Logan Sanders, Patton Sanders, Virgil Sanders, Roman Sanders, Thomas Sanders, Elliott (Cartoon Therapy), Kai (Cartoon Therapy), Lauren (Cartoon Therapy), Missy Sanders [background character], Pranks Sanders [refrenced], Mitchell (Cartoon Therapy) [mentioned]

Warnings: Patton has a really bad day, cries, and hides his emotions, Patton also has a retail job I feel like I should mention that, Mitchell is implied to be a little b*tch, Patton gets verbally abused

Word Count: 1798

It really didn't take me long to figure out what my emotions do. Whenever I was happy, things went right in the world, and when I was sad things went wrong. At first I thought it was a coincidence, but the correlation was too obvious to be chance. After that, I always did my best to stay in a good mood. I'd do things I enjoy, and avoid people and things that upset me.

I have to admit, staying happy became a lot harder. It almost seemed like a job at this point, since it was my responsibility to be happy. I still tried my hardest despite this, and when I was happy, hearing about all the good things happening in the world put me in an even better mood. Though that did go both ways, and hearing about bad things happening made me more upset, so I eventually decided to not look at the news when I was already uspet.

This was all a pretty good strategy for keeping my mood up, but one day everything went wrong, and I had no idea how to stay happy then.

I was heading down to my job at the local retail store and I bumped into someone on the street. "Whoops! Sorry about that." They said nothing, and just kept walking. I was surprised I didn't see them sooner. They had a head full of messy green hair along with bright blue eyes. I didn't really think much of it, after all, it was a busy street, people run into each other all the time. Once I got to my job, I saw my best friend getting his stuff. It looked like he was leaving, but we were supposed to be on the same shift today. I walked up to him as he was putting his hat on. "What's going on Chase? Are you leaving?" He turned to me with a sigh. "Yeah, I just got fired. I have no idea how I'm gonna pay for my date with Stacy now."

"Oh, geez." I was pretty disappointed myself. I always looked forward to the days when we worked together. "Well, good luck on finding a new job, I guess." Chase nodded as he walked past me. "Yeah, I guess."

I sighed as he left. This job was going to get a lot harder without him here. But, I still had my job to do, so I put on my name tag and I clocked in.

After a while of uneventful work, a woman came in and slammed a box of party supplies onto the counter. "I need to return these," she demanded.

"Okay ma'am," I said, a little nervous, "do you have the receipt?"

"No, but I don't need this anymore. I never needed it, so give me a refund on it!"

"I'm sorry, but can't return anything without proof of purchase." I had never had one of these conversations before, and this lady was really intimidating.

"I'm not keeping stuff my husband bought as a prank! Of course you teenagers don't care about how much money all this costs, you probably get handed money just so you can spend it all on stupid parties, don't you?"

Of course, I didn't actually do any of that, but she didn't know that, and I wasn't allowed to tell her that. "I want to help you, but I can't give you a refund on anything without a receipt."

The woman let out a frustrated growl. "I don't have time for this." She stormed out of the store, leaving the box on the counter. I allowed myself a sad sigh as I picked up the box and moved it off the counter, putting on a brand new smile as the next person in the line brought up their stuff. "Good afternoon, did you find everything you were looking for?"

~ ~ ~

By the end of my shift, I was exhausted. I wanted to call someone for a ride home, but my phone had died, so I had to walk. To make matters worse, I saw a cat that had been hit by a car on the side of the road. By that point, I was barely holding back tears, although I kept telling myself to stay cheerful, which only made it harder. I decided that I'd have a few cookies to cheer myself up when I got home.

I walked through the door, and saw Logan and Thomas sitting on the couch, watching the news. Obviously, it was all bad news. Logan turned off the TV as they both turned to me. "Bad day?" I must have looked pretty upset, because I never told Thomas about what my emotions do, but something must have prompted him to ask that. I just shrugged. I didn't want to talk about it, because I felt like I'd break down in tears if I did. I walked past them wordlessly and went into my room to change out of my work clothes. When I walked back out, I was determined to improve my mood, so I put on a smile and went to get that cookie, but I opened the cookie jar to find that it was empty. "When did we finish the cookies?" I asked to anyone who was listening. Thomas spoke up from the living room. "I'm pretty sure Lauren finished them with Roman and Virgil." I wanted to be upset about this, but I was determined to stay positive.

It's okay Patton, you can just make some more. That should be fun, that should make you happy.

I began taking out ingredients, but it turned out we were out of a flour, sugar, and eggs. That was definitely a disappointment. I told myself I'd be able to get through it anyway.

After that, though, was when I completely lost composure. Elliott walked out of their room, their shoulders hanging as they sat down next to Thomas on the couch. Logan looked up from where he was reading on the other end of the couch. "Mitchell left another message today." I overheard them saying. My heart broke in sympathy for my parent, and I quickly walked out of the kitchen and into my room, barely even trying to hold back tears anymore.

As soon as I was alone in my room, I collapsed to the floor, letting out all the sobbing my day had been leading up to. I don't know how loud I was being, but after wiping tears from my eyes, I looked up and I was surrounded by my family, all with faces of varying levels of concern and sympathy. Once my crying slowed, Virgil, eho was sitting in front of me, said "Hey, what's wrong?" I lowered my head onto my knees. "Bad day," I muttered, overcome with guilt for how many people I must have gotten hurt today. "Patton," I heard Logan say at my right, "you can't keep getting upset at yourself for being upset." I shook my head. "No, you don't understand," I said.

"I'm pretty sure I do, and Patton," Logan continued, "you're going to have your ups and downs, and it'll be less... disastrous if you just let the bad days be just a little bad. The world can take a little bit of misfortune, believe me."

I looked up at him, confused. "Are you saying you-"

"Yes Patton, and for your information I regularly keep up on the news so I can tell how your feeling. And yes," Logan continued, "everyone else knows too."

"Oh." I looked around at everyone, unsure of how I never found out.

"So why don't you just tell us what's going on today?" Virgil asked, scooting over to sit next to me. I shrugged, not really sure when exactly my day started going terribly. "Well on the way to work I bumped into this guy, which I really didn't mind that much, but after that I found out my friend got fired," I then just started stating everything that happened that day. I didn't mean to, really, I just started talking and then I couldn't stop myself. Once I was finished, Roman gave me a thoughtful look. "What did the guy on the street look like?" I blinked at him, confused as to why he was questioning that. "Well, he had blue eyes, and really messy green hair."

"What was he wearing?"

"I dunno, this big wavy coat?"

"Roman," Logan sighed, "what does this have to do with anything?" Roman didn't answer, despite everyone beong equally confused. He just stood up, muttered something about "Marvin" and walked out. "I have a hunch about something, I'll be back, hopefully with good news." Thomas sighed and shook his head after Roman left the house. "That boy, honestly. Anyway, how about me and Elliott go get those ingredients you were needing? You can just stay here and relax."

"No!" I said, a little too frantically. "I-it's just," I mumbled, "you could get hurt."

"It's fine," Logan said. "Camden's got an eye on the TV, and things are improving. They should be able to get there and back safely." Camden was the name Logan gave his familiar. I slowly nodded, and Virgil stood up and grabbed my hand. "All right, now you come here and watch some TV." I stood up and followed him as he led me to the couch, Logan, Kai, and Lauren following behind while Thomas and Elliott got ready to go to the store. Me and Virgil sat next to each other on the couch, Logan sitting a small distance away while Kai and Lauren sat near us.

After a while of watching Steven Universe, Roman burst back through the door. "Patton, you will have to worry about this misfortune no longer!"

"O-okay. Um, what did you do?" I asked.

"Well that person you bumped into, I'm actually acquainted to him. He calls himself Marvin the Magnificent. He claims to be a magician, but for as long as I knew him he couldn't do any actual magic. Turns out he got magic powers through a deal with a demon or something, and he had to agree to curse you with misfortune." He sat down on my other side, so now I had one sibling at both of my sides. "I talked him into releasing the curse," he said, probably more casually than what the situation would call for.

"Okay, thanks then," I said, despite Roman already being immersed in the show. We continued watching until Thomas and Elliott returned with the baking supplies, then Virgil, Thomas, and Lauren joined me in baking cookies. Once I tasted one of the cookies from out of the oven, I figured that the day wouldn't be as bad as it had been.