Anyway prohibitedwish dark medieval mystery drama au. The story is interjected every so often by prismo and scarab arguing over what should happen next

I miss werewolf sheriff

Were-Sheriff not only having to deal with the Yan bandits, but the werewolf that bit them hunting them down and declaring themselves as Sheriff's mate. Another troublemaker like the bandits only they hop from town to town and encounters the Sheriff on their nightly patrols of the town. It's love at first sight when Sheriff immediately points their gun in their face already sniffing them out as another pain in their ass. Unfortunately for them the bullets on them aren't made of silver.

This or the werewolf being the mayor of the town. One of the few people Sheriff could trust commiting the ultimate betrayal of turning them into this monster. It ain't all bad since they're not alone. Sheriff has no clue of their true identity, but they are a bit suspicious of the knowledge the mayor has on these creatures. Still, they're plenty help and Sheriff is happy to have a shoulder to lean on..

Either way, the bandits make it their mention to put that mutt in a deep grave. Sheriff is theirs alone and they ain't gonna let some beast take them away. There's only room for one wolf in this town and one group of idiots to love and protect thsm

Maybe the fifth time is the charm? Who are you kidding

Rating: PG

Pairing: Vash X F!Reader

CW: Shooting, no sense of direction, kidnapped, hostages, almost falling to your death

Word count: 3306

A/N: Chapter 5 of Bounty hunting 101: You should be good at this

As you and your guide rolled into town, you noticed things seemed rather chaotic to say the least. You’d been listening to the portable radio and heard a request for assistance, your guide leading you towards the town. And it looked like the two of you had arrived a little too late. 

The town was in shambles, a group of bandits had raided the bank but instead of just taking the money they could carry, they’d grabbed a few hostages. A few hostages that the town sheriff admitted based on the gang the bandits claimed they belonged to were going to end up being sold. 

That hadn’t sat right with you. Not at all. Your guide turning white when you offered to go with the deputies that wanted to try and rescue the hostages. You didn’t expect your guide to come with you, and told them as much, watching the relief wash across their face. 

The sheriff might not have been a fan, at least not until one of the parents of one of the hostages offered a rather hefty reward to have his daughter brought back. Money always made people react, which you did think was funny since you turned people in for cash. Something like this though? 

You’d turn in the bandits themselves for the cash, you wanted to rescue the hostages because it was just the right thing to do. If there was a kind of person that got under your skin, it was slavers. That would never change. It would always leave a sour taste in your mouth. 

Which led to you and two of the deputies taking Tomas at dusk out of town, the lead deputy following the tracks on the van that the bandits had left in. The moons provided enough of a glow for the three of you to see clearly, following the tracks to what seemed to be a ramshackled old building partially hanging off a cliff's edge. 

No. Ramshackled sounded too stable as you and the deputies watched. Dilapidated was better, as you watched a piece of metal siding fall with a wind gust. “How long has this building been here for?” You whispered to the deputies. 

“Based on how it looks I’d have to say a while, that or these guys threw it up for a temporary camp to rob the town.” 

“I think the safer bet might be to go with it being the first option” you whisper watching as a guard moves in the dim lighting. 

“Why does it even matter? Lets get a move on!” You roll your eyes, it’s good the deputy is eager but this could end badly. 

“It matters because if it’s old, we don’t know how stable the structure is. We could sink right through metal, something the bandits would have figured out when they took over. If they made it, it could fall apart at any second which throws in a time element.” At the look both of them send you all you can mutter is one word. “What?” 

“Nice to know the Ghost Sniper is even better than they say if you can think of that in less than five minutes of us being here.” Right, I guess if you wanted it too or not the rumors about you were growing, that or common sense wasn’t all that common. 

As the three of you made your way inside, this might have been easier than you thought, a lot of the bandits seemed to be busy drinking or passed out from the amount of booze they’d drunk already. 

Creeping around you realized it was in fact, an older building, checking as you went for any noises that might have alerted the few bandits that weren’t drinking to your presence. 

As you made a turn taking the stairs you froze at the top, slowly looking around, spotting a lone bandit taking a long drag on a cigarette at the top of the stairs. Rifle pointed down towards the ground, he’s not paying much attention at all to either the hallway or the room at the top of the old building. 

Your chance comes when he steps into the room, making a comment after he finished his smoke about how he was going to enjoy making someone ‘whimper on his cock’. A comment you might have cringed about. Steps light and quick you have your rifle slung, approaching the bandit and throwing your arm around his neck, placing pressure on his windpipe and watching as his eyes flutter close and his arms drop to the ground as he slumps. 

Releasing him, and leaning back out the door you wave towards the two deputies who move as quickly as possible while staying silent and join you. Moving into the room, and find five hostages. The deputies moving towards the first four, all young women while you move towards the fifth and frown. 

Greeted by a blond head of hair you’re sadly getting to familiar with seeing and clad in a red coat, a gag stick in his mouth. Lowering down so your eye level with him “if you don’t make a scene I’ll take that gag out of your mouth.” Whispering low enough while the deputies are working to untie the others and telling them to be quiet. 

A sharp nod, and you undo the gag in short order “we really need to stop meeting like this.” A cheeky response from a man still largely tied up. 

“So why are you here?”

“Well, I might have been minding my own business” that sounds like an outright lie to you, but you’re not going to call him out on it. “Then these guys broke into the bank and one of them recognized me. So with the girls in the bank I was grabbed as a hostage, and well, a bounty to turn in.” You snort, because sadly that part is believable. Too bad most outlaws seem to keep forgetting you can’t turn in someone for a bounty when they have one themselves. 

“Aw, well I guess it’s my lucky day” you whisper standing up and petting his head “they caught you for me. All they needed to do was put a big ribbon on your head and it’d have been perfect.” 

Heading back towards the two deputies you rub your eyes “I think it might be best if we try getting out of here in groups. Each of you take two of the young ladies, that way you can slip out easier. One of you go first, then the other in about ten minutes, I’ll go last with the last guy there.” You jab your thumb over your shoulder towards Vash. 

“Why is he still tied up?” Shit. 

“Don’t worry about that. Worry about getting out.” You pause for a moment thinking “and if something happens, keep these girls safe. If you’re already outside, start heading back towards town. They’re the priority right now.” Letting the command in your tone show both deputies just nod, though you can see them throwing curious glances back your way.

The first group on their way and you hear nothing from down below, glad they hopefully made it all the way outside the old building. A building you are getting confused about what it could have been used for because of the layout. It seems almost like it was designed to hang out over the cliff’s edge for some reason. Well maybe a thought for another day. Or never.

The second group on their way and you finally move Vash closer to the doorway, listening for any sign of trouble. “So why come to help these people?” 

It’s an honest question, and as much as you’d just rather listen, the truth is if they’re caught, there’s no way you won’t hear the racket it will cause. “It was the right thing to do.” 

“Don’t hear that every day.” Sending him an annoyed side eye you huff, where does he get off on making a comment like that?

“Fine. I don’t like people being sold into slavery. Is that a better answer Stampede?” It leaves your throat as a low growl, a sign you’re not happy about having to try and appease the man. Even if the voice at the back of your head is questioning why you’re saying anything at all to the wanted man. 

“Don’t like slavery, but you’re a bounty hunter?” What the hell is with this guy, he always seems to be a walking contradiction. 

“I’ve got my reasons. And last I checked, you agreed you deserve your bounty. By the way, how did you know I’d go back to the diner and give that woman most of the prize money?” It is something that had been nagging you since the incident, he’d admitted he joined to help out a struggling family. What hadn’t made sense was why he’d dropped out in the first place. 

“Well, I could tell by your eyes. You’re one of the good guys.” That has your shoulders shooting backwards, spine straight, and face blanching. A good guy. It’s such a naive thing to say, there isn’t good or bad in most cases, just people doing what they can to survive. You would never consider yourself to be a good person, no, you just know how to survive, even if there was a time when you’d done any and everything to try and not survive. 

“I think you need your head checked out Stampede.” It’s a biting response from the corner of your eye you can see him smile. 

“Maybe, it has been slammed around a lot.” What an answer, and you find yourself grinning despite yourself. 

“Does that mean I’m going to be turning in damaged goods?” You should have known such conversations with the man would lead to trouble. As before he can answer you hear a scream of “the merchandise is escaping” from down below. How nice to call people merchandise. 

“Fuck” it hisses from your mouth before you can stop it, unsling your rifle, and running for the stairs. 

“Untie me! I can help!” You glance back at him, and two parts of you are screaming in your head. You let the part that cares far more about those girls and deputies getting away win, darting back and pulling a knife from your boot to undo his bonds. 

“Have you got a weapon?”

“No, they took my pistol but doesn’t mean I won’t make for a good distraction.” No chance to question him as he runs for the stairs, leaping over the side and screaming “don’t kill anyone!” 

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” You just scream back, what made him think just because you released him that he could order you around? Instead of the stairs you run for a boarded up window you can see. You won’t be able to get out, but you can see outside checking.

The bandits that had been serving as roaming guards and near the fence you had passed, shooting back towards the building. Rifle up to your eye you look out, one of the toma is gone, which means at least one of the deputies had made it out. Focusing your attention you start looking for the bursts of light from the bullets being fired by the bandits. Three. There are three of them. 

Reaching into your jacket inner pocket you grab the same bullets you use to knock out bounties. As low as you are, these men don’t deserve to die so you’ll send them to dream land. Left hand slamming on the magazine release you grab it and place it back into your coat, hitting the fire selector to repeater as the hand returns to it’s place on the forstock.

Right hand pulling the cocking handle back, sliding the first bullet into the chamber and hitting the handle release switch as your right hand returns to the pistol grip and you flick the safety off. Hearing the satisfying click on the round being locked in place, and lining up your first target. 

A headshot is not what you want, even this round would kill if it hit a body part like that, instead you aim for a shoulder. Deep breath in, a slow exhale as your lungs start to empty, freezing as your lungs empty just the right amount. Gently pulling the trigger, and watching the bandit slump to the ground before you finish exhaling. The sizzle of the round being ejected, the smell of burnt carbon filling your nose as you repeat the process twice more. 

All the while listening inside the building as the bandits inside in their drunken stupor seem to start to wake up. Hearing the sound of thrashing down below, now that the bandits outside have been dealt with you hit your hearing implant raising the ambient noise and blocking out the sound of gunfire. 

It sounds as through they have the deputy and his two charges pinned, racing across the floor back to the stairs in time to see a bandit climbing them. You run and slide, swinging the butt of your rifle up just after you pass under his open legs. The sound of the air leaving his lungs from the sudden pain reaches your ears as you turn on your leading leg and slam the butt of your rifle down across the back of his neck. He won’t be getting up for a while. 

At the bottom of the stairs you watch another bandit approach and start to run towards him, only to watch his eyes roll to the back of his head before he drops. Vash stood behind him, pistol in hand and held more like a blunt instrument then a gun. “Fancy running into you here.”

“Yea, fancy that” you mutter at his exuberant tone “it’s a real party.” This level has a far better view of the floors down below you, and you nod towards Vash. It makes sense why he came up instead of down. “I see you got your pistol back. Can you hit your targets from this distance?” A nod. “You didn’t happen to see the deputy and the two girls with him did you?” 

“They’re pinned just to the left of a doorway. I came up to get a better view to try and clear the way for them.” This time it’s you nodding “can you do this without killing anyone?” 

“I didn’t kill the bandits outside” you hiss at him, yeah you are certainly annoyed he seems to think he’s the one calling the shots. 

“I have a plan” and you’re surprised how good of a plan it is, agreeing immediately and heading to the side opposite Vash so you can both shoot down into the area from cover. His plan is rather simple, with both of you firing from different locations you’ll be able to force the bandits to move, allowing the deputy and his charges to escape. 

It feels strange, to be working with someone as part of a team, even if you have plans to tie him up and hand him over to the sheriff as soon as this is all over with. In the interim, you’re enjoying this. You’re both working well together, each taking shots are different times before moving again, while the other takes their shot. 

Watching at the deputy moves you start to grin, this part will be over in no time. The explosion takes you off guard, but not as much as feeling the floor beneath you starting to tilt, watching in almost slow motion as you feel yourself falling backwards. Instincts taking over as you start to run, lunging for the stable section that isn’t falling away. Only to grasp the smooth edge of the metal floor plate hanging from the side. The edge of the still standing side is just out of reach. 

The fingers of both your hands are hooked into the lip of the plate, and you make the mistake of looking down. You won’t survive a fall like this, the section still part of the building that had overhung the cliff, and you’re far too distant from the edge of the cliff to swing yourself towards it and drop. 

Using every portion of strength you can muster in your forearms to pull yourself higher to try and reach for that jagged edge just above you. Heart pounding and sweat pouring down your face as you pull, removing one hand and reaching, stretching as far as you can, the tiniest sliver to skin on your middle finger touching the bottom. 

And the burn in the one arm becomes too much, dropping down and feeling your entire body shudder as all eight fingers hook onto the edge again. Tears are starting to fall from the pain your body is in, but you won’t give up, not yet. Breathing as deeply as you can through the pain, you try once more, lungs aching and your forearms screaming in agony. This three of your fingers touch the metal but only one the top, and you’re far too weak to use a single finger to pull yourself to safety. Arm falling once more as you look down, feeling the wetness drip from your chin, a mix of tears and sweat. 

Only to feel cool metal wrap around your wrist.

“Hold on!” Head snapping up, as Vash hangs over the side, his gloved hand reaching for the other one. 

Turning the wrist he’s holding so you can grasp a part of his own wrist in your sweaty hand before releasing your iron grip on the line edge you’d been clinging to and grabbing higher up on the offered limb. A better hold and you use your legs to help push yourself up while he pulls. 

It isn’t easy, but in moments he’s pulling you up over the edge and your both tumbling farther back on the platform away from the edge. Chest heaving as your heart and lungs work to try and relieve the strain your body had been under for who knows how long you’d hung there. It had felt like forever but it had probably just been mere minutes. 

Turning you watch as Vash begins to stand “I’m glad you’re alright.” Reaching down to dust himself off. “Maybe next time will be under better circumstances. Not a big fan of fighting so I’ll be on my way.” A short cheerful wave of his prosthetic and you swear he’s skipping off as he leaves. 

You don’t make a comment as he takes off, and not just because you’re still trying to catch your breath. Your mind is spinning, pressing the heels of your hands into your eyes, he could have left you to fall to your death but didn’t. What kind of enigma was Vash the Stampede, Humanoid Typhoon? 

When you finally feel like your arms aren’t going to fall off you make your way down below, just in time for the sheriff to arrive.

Later, after the dust settles, you learn that once the first deputy got back the sheriff and the rest came to provide support. As well, one of the bandits had decided to set off a few explosions that had been set at the base of the structure that hung over the cliff. For once, you didn’t hand of the portions of the bounty you’d been paid back to the town, having just refused to be paid for assistance in the return of some business man's daughter. 

You hadn’t left for the money, but because it was the right thing to do. One final thought as you left the town kept rolling around in your head. What the hell did Vash the Stampede see in you to say you were one of the good guys?

Had a fun idea for a TFTSMP AU.

Basically, Karl is just a normal college kid, creative writing major, trying to write a book, etc. His friendgroup is basically the normal SMP group but in college. But people he's never met before keep bumping into him and chatting with him about parties he's never been to before and stuff. It quickly becomes apparent that he has some type of doppelganger who has the same name as him.

They set up a meeting and Karl meets the other Karl, who's friend group is the Hunted Mansion gang, and they learn some distinct differences between the two, other Karl(HM!Karl) is more of a party person, very social, very good at puzzles, etc. His name is Karl Johnson

The two keep in contact and carry on with their lives. Until, that summer, someone invites Karl to go out to this reenactment town centered around the Wild West as a week trip. When they get out there and head into the salon, one of the main attractions at the town is the daily "robbery" of the salon by the two bandits, who both get thrown off when they see Quackity and Sapnap (who came along for the trip as well. Also Karlnapity for the win). Then the new sheriff actor, who's going to slowly phase out the last actor as the sheriff, comes in and also gets thrown off by Karl. They meet up after the "get away" of the bandits and exchange numbers as the "Karl doppelganger" chat is created. The actor's name is Karl Jackson. (Law!Karl)

They all think it's the end of it, until Karl's car breaks down while he's on his way to HM!Karl's party almost a year later. He heads up the closest drive way since he can't get a signal and his phone is basically dead anyway. When he stumbles into the mansion at the end of the driveway and tells them his name was Karl Jacobs and they tell him he's just in time for the party, Karl rolls with it. He's a broke college student and the glass of wine they shove in his hand is probably worth more then his car. He's not saying anything.

Sir Billiam was throwing a murder mystery party to celebrate something and he invited a rich man named Karl Jacobson. When he saw the outfit he immediately assumed that Karl had forgotten to bring a mask and had taken the "dress casual" a bit too far, so he lends him a suit and mask. A few hours later, after most of the "deaths" there is a knock at the door and when they open it another Karl stumbles through, apologizing for being so late, there was a broken down car out front and he had been busy getting a tow truck out to get it towed.

Cue confusion and relief as Karl learns of another Karl (rich!Karl) and the fact that no one actually died, it was just a party.

Just, Karl having a bunch of doppelganger Karl's and he keeps meeting them and writing stories based off of them.

What do you all think?

What if some rival bandits came to the city and tried to attack a certain sheriff in training and/or the bandits?

Thanks for the ask!

I don't know about "rival" bandits, because the town is far too attached to the bandits they have. Plus everybody knows that even if a group of bandits from out of town tried to take over, they wouldn't last two full weeks in town, the townsfolk themselves would make sure of it.

Let's go through the levels of defense in town:

1. Sheriff Karl: he's just starting out, kinda a newbie, but has a knack for surviving and talking his way into more peaceful solutions. Honestly, more likely to befriend any threats and make them feel bad for considering trying.

2. Bandits: as per the act of being ruthless bandits, they can shoot at the threat without warning and are far more likely to shoot at people than Karl. Might spend too much time insulting and messing around with the targets and are prone to taking dumb bets.

3. Sheriff Thompson: this piglin has years of sheriffing under his belt, good aim, and is all business. Is the tallest and strongest of the non-demonic townsfolk, can throw you through a wall with one arm, sharp shooter, bandits (mostly) listen to him for a reason.

4. Crops: can rip a person's head and spine out like the Predator, cannibal, is above Thompson because he can survive in the canyon surrounding the town and play the long game, is more likely to flat out terrify the targets out of town, that or the targets get so worked up they try and hunt him down in the canyon themselves, yah no one ever really comes out if they try and go hunt him.

5. George: is a 10-15 feet tall demon, he's not bullet proof, but it's like breaking off a peice of a plant or mushroom, it will not stop him, it will grow back, can pick up a grown man and snap them like a twig, plus, you cannot perform an exorcism on him because the revivals have made the entire town "unholy" ground, good luck with that schmuck. Only problem really is that he wouldn't interfere unless the target was another demon or they were messing with or threatening the Priest.

After Crops is let out, the rest of the town would start doing their part as well, maybe not directly fighting, but annoying and getting in the way. Prices go up to unreasonable levels, things are in low supply, "we only caught the cannibal a little while ago, I don't know anything about them." John actually has a very special collection of bottles of alcohol mixed with poison, if someone wants to be smart and tries having John drink a bit of everything to discourage poisoning, John will absolutely drink a glass, know fully that he'll wake up on Sunday and the taget won't.

That last part got a bit morbid, but I wanted to be thorough! But to actually answer your question: if an outsider comes in with malicious intent, they will very quickly be kicked out, chased out, or killed. The reason Karl wasn't pushed out was because from his pov, the bandits were causing problems and he wanted to help.

Thank you other anon for wishing me well!! That means a lot to me! 

He does but Raq doesn't actually know Rans backstory. So he doesn't know Ran has siblings. He just assumes his mom either died or abandoned him due to finding Ran completely alone and being a hybrid. Before Ran would just scream at Raq in Enderian, now both Raq and Ran scream at eachother in it. Jackie describes it as, "A screaming match to assert dominance." 

Yep, his body was already straining itself to fend off the posion and the teleporting ended up straining him more than he could handle. So as soon as he teleported them he collapsed and wasn't able to even stand. 

That just made me imagine them digging down only to look up and see Phil clambering down after them like a mole. 

After he made a scavenger hunt made out of everyone else's items. Phil found his axe in a destroyed tree trunk and Ran found his sword buried in the ground. While Sapnap found his bow hidden behind stones and Jackie was never able to find his particularly because Ranboo forgot where he hid it. 

Yes, although its very rough. 

Porkius is very very suprised and needs time to come to turns with them being there. While Porkius reacts well to Techno, Techno does not like Porkius and has threatened to punch him a few times and one time he followed through and punched him hard enough to make him fall to the ground. 

Definitely.

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Ranboo is still his ancestor! Ran feels mostly confused, startled, scared, and oddly a bit comfortable. Phil makes him feel comfortable because he reminds him so much of Watson who was a very close and comforting figure to him. But Techno kind of scares him cause while Porkius was kind to him he was also strict, so he's afraid Techno will be stricter and mean just due to how he looks. He also just kinda ignores Ranboo at first because he can't handle the fact he's looking at his now alive ancestor. 

Not really I'd say, even though they all have different enderman percentces, they have the same instincts. Though due to Ranboos memory problem, his memory of enderman culture is almost non-existent, and instead presents itself through his instincts. If any of that makes sense? 

Karl is terrified upon seeing Ran, as soon as he even hears he's here he immediately drops what he's doing and after a few questions runs off to find and confront him. Tubbo is incredibly fascinated by Ran and at first he respects Ran's boundaries and stays away from him, but as soon as Ran is walking around outside and exploring the surrounding environment, he sees that as the perfect opportunity to bombard Ran with questions. Eret (who I like to headcanon is like a medic and knows a lot more about medicine than most), doesnt comment at first and is instead focused on helping him, but after he learns more about Ran, he is fascinated by him but takes time to get to know Ran and work on making a friendship with him. No one else, not even Michael knows about Ran being there, though they do eventually find out. 

A multitude of reasons 1. He landed wrong and ended up breaking an arm and cracking two ribs due to the sudden stop. 2. He isn't used to traveling through time so time travel had the affect of making him very sick, including headaches and nausea. 3. When he was dragged into the timetravel a match in the Pit just ended and he had a few bruises and cuts that hadn't been taken care of yet, so the travel and harsh landing just aggravated them and re-opened some. 4. The harsh landing ended up also giving him a concussion. 

When Ran is finally consciousness enough he refuses to speak in anything other than Enderian. At first Phil and Techno are scared he can't speak nor understand their language. But Edward steps in and tells them he can both understand and speak it he just doesn't want to necessarily. So Edward does the communication with Ran on their behalf, he also takes the time to comfort and help him come to terms with him being there. Edward is also the one to gently push/convince Ran to actually speak to them. 

Agreed, uh, maybe From Future to Past? Idk. 

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I already have a name for this au thankfully, Tip of the Iceberg AU. (Also I wanna say real quick not every single character in the Dream SMP or Tales From The SMP will be featured in this au because it's just to many characters for me to keep track of, it'll mostly be characters I feel like I understand if that makes sense)

They end up everywhere, the Bandits end up in Las Nevadas and end up robbing the place before they bolt, running with no real direction in mind. Zack and Cletus end up just outside of Las Nevadas but they run off into the woods once they hear yelling inside the country. Isaac, Porkums, and Grievous end up in Kinoko Kingdom. Ran lands in Erets castle and accidentally breaks a window from his entrance. Jackie, Jon Jon, and Sheriff Sherman end up in Pogtopia but manage to get out (expect Jackie who is stuck and they can't get him out so they actually left for help). Benjamin lands into the ocean around the Guardian farm. Ranbob also lands near the Guardian farm but instead on land. Charles and Watson land somewhere nearby Foolish's summer home. Ranbulter and James get dropped onto Tommys Memorial Island. And Ash lands in Snowchester. (Note I believe these will be all the tales characters I'll be mostly using, but if any get added I'll probably mention where they also ended up). 

Something important though is that almost no one stayed where they landed, Ran ran off into the surrounding forest so he could focus on regathering himself and calm down without worrying about getting attacked, Benjamin just randomly picks a direction to go (North) and ends up picking up Ranbob to join him. John John and Sherman went different directions to look for help; the Kinoko Kingdom group argues before finally Porkums and Grievous head off together having elected to follow the oceans edge (they think the Kingdom is abandoned and think following the ocean will eventually lead them to a city or something), while Isaac calls them stupid and stays around the Kingdom, exploring and taking stuff; and Charles and Watson just kinda walk around though stay in the general area. Anyone I did not mention stays where they landed or is close to where they landed. SOMETHING IMPORTANT THOUGH IS THAT NONE OF THEM GET DIRECTLY SEEN BY ANY SMP MEMBERS RIGHT AWAY, its only found out what happened when Quackity accuses Fundy of stealing from him which he heavily declines. And instead says that he saw others riding out of the country so it must've been them (he saw them from a distance), and their descriptions are enough to unnerve Karl who then goes back to Kinoko Kingdom to look at his Tales from the SMP books where he runs directly into Isaac and realizes what he feared is true. 

Once Karl gets confirmation that people from both the past and future are here he immediately calls an emergency meeting and just tells everyone almost immediately that he's a time traveler so it doesn't become a problem later, they don't believe him but Isaac is kind enough to help convince them. Soon everyone is convinced and while everyone is included only a few are actually part of a active search party. Those people being Techno, Phil, Ranboo, Tubbo, Foolish, Quackity, Sam, Eret, Bad, and of course Karl. Everyone else is assigned to just keep a eye out. Not everyone is in the party because they didn't want to be or they had other stuff to be doing.

He explains the In-between and Other Side but other than that they never really interfere, if anything he gets dragged into both sides when sleeping and the two sides both push him to find everyone and fix it all.

Jackie, as per usual, is the funniest gremlin on the block.

Poor Ran!! At least he gets some rest?

Absolutely terrifying image, I pity the poor fool who witnesses it.

Pfft. Can you just imagine the chaos? Half the time it's probably just caused by his memory issues. Prank war a few weeks ago? Ranboo forgets the traps he put up, and everyone ends up with brightly colored hair, and a large amount of rabbits in their house, and he;s standing right there with them trying to figure out who did it.

It's something, so I'll take it!

Technoblade: Nearly starting wars since...uh, whenever he spawned in, I'm not really sure of the details there.

Good.

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So Ran is aware Ranboo is his ancestor? Does he have the same backstory as Brothers AU!Ran?

Does this mean Ranboo is working solely on instincts when around other Endermen or Ran? How does that work out?

And since Enderwalk has all his memories, what are Ran's encounters with him like? Is he aware of Enderwalk state, or was that lost to time? Where do their instincts lead them? Does Ranboo get a bit more hesitant towards Ran when he's leaning more on them? Or is he more open and welcoming? Can he tell Ran shares his blood?

Confrontation? Uh oh, how does that go? Especially considering Ran's possibly the only one to have a vague idea of Karl's hobby? Does it end up coming out?

How does Ran feel about having Tubbo constantly ask questions? Is Tubbo just curious, or is he trying to figure things out? Does this mean Ran ends up in Snowchester, or does Tubbo head to the Antarctic? Medic Eret?? What kind of relationship do they have with Techno and Phil to get called in and come to their aid? How do Eret, Karl, and Tubbo learn of him, if this is being kept hush-hush, and why is it being kept such?

Poor Ran, he's really gotten the short end of the stick here. So time traveling can negatively effect those not used to it/built for it? Does Karl suffer similarly?

And Edward speaks Common, then? Also, Edward!! Is he still Techno's roommate here? Does he have a little nearby area? Or does he head back to the End when he's not hanging around? Has he been helping Ranboo as well?

Sounds good!

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

Gotcha, gotcha.

The fact that the bandits first instinct upon appearing in a strange new place with no prior warning is to rob it brings me great joy. How does that go for them? How far do they get, what do they steal?

Cletus & Zack: Dunno who you are or where I am, but I don't like the sound of that, so lets bolt.

Issac, Porkums, and Grievous actually don't sound like a chaotic combination, so they probably don't cause too much trouble.

Poor Eret. Imagine just trying to enjoy your day and coming back in to see your window broken.

Jon Jon and Sherman with Jackie just sounds really funny actually. The blatant contrast from time periods and all, and Jackie's pure chaotic energy...Also, they'd both be so much taller than him. Why was he stuck though? What happened?

Another question is, at what point was everyone tossed back? Long after Karl had left, before meeting him, in the middle? Is it different for some? How do those who've met him before react? Why does Isaac believe Karl, and how does he help convince the others?

Who's found first? What happens then? Is anyone hurt? What are both sides definition of 'fixing it all', and how does being dragged in between the two effect Karl?

Work-in-Progress Wednesday

Didn’t know this was a thing, but I’m so glad it is cuz I’ve been looking for an excuse to share a little of my next fic on AO3. Most because I’m not posting it until all the chapters are finished, I’ve got too many ongoing projects as it is. This is the beginning of the first chapter. Let me know if you’re interested in reading!

Title: Long Rider

Fandom: Spy x Family

Genre: Western/Outlaw AU

Rating: M

Floorboards creaked as patrons walked in and out. The usual crowd, a group of local ranch hands, held up in the corner of the room nearest the piano. It was the most contested seat in the whole bar; secluded and quiet, seeing as how no one in town knew how to play the thing. The boys sauntered in from a long day out in the heat and stuck their fingers up in the air as both a greeting and request for booze. Luckily for them, Yor had served them enough times to not take offense at the gesture. She smiled and went to work fetching their beer.

Such was how things usually played out in Berlint, at least for Yor. The frontier town itself was young, probably no older than she was, and it still had that nice veneer of a place yet unsoiled by the ravages of the west. That wasn't to say it was perfect; no, far from it, but everyone had their place and filled it dutifully with few complaints. Yor's was behind the bar, serving local ranchers and travelers making their way through to the open plains. Berlint was the last threshold of civilization. Beyond its boundaries, there wasn't nothing but sun and buzzards.

Some of the rowdier hands snapped their fingers and told Yor to pick up the pace. They were the new ones; the more experienced men quickly smacked them outside the head and told them hush, and not just because they were being rude as hell. Yor overheard their exchange. She paused and shook her head, knowing exactly what they were talking about. With a sigh, she gathered up all the bottles and put them on a serving tray. A moment later and she dropped them off at their table with a pleasant smile before turning to walk away.

It didn't take long for newcomers to figure out she was the sheriff's sister.

People always treated her funny after that. She couldn't hardly blame them, though; Yuri had a bit of a reputation as a...firm hand when it came to dispensing frontier justice. His was a difficult job and Yor understood that, but she couldn't help but feel that he took things a bit too far sometimes. And if she as his sister could come to that conclusion, then she could only imagine what the average person thought of him. It was no wonder everyone treated her with kid gloves. God forbid they upset her and incite her brother's wrath.

Never mind the fact that she was a barmaid. Part of her job was to take things on the chin and keep a firm upper lip, especially with some of the people that strolled through her establishment. Yor had seen her fair share of fights, both armed and unarmed, and not a day didn't go by that one of her patrons didn't try to peek up her skirt for a cheap thrill. Yuri never had to intervene for any of that, because she was more than capable in handling herself and her bar. Only time she ever called him is when the dangerous sort walked in. Outlaws and the bunch. Course, they were few and far between. Even then, Yor usually kept things to herself; so long as everyone behaved, there was no point in ratting someone out to her brother.

Yor dropped the tray off behind the counter and started to wipe things down. It was slow that day. Yor wanted to keep busy though, so she went about cleaning musty bottles and rearranging them to make them look more appealing to the discerning customer. Not that anyone around here drank anything other than draft beer and whisky, but she could keep herself occupied till someone else walked in. Besides, she liked to clean. It was about the only thing she was good at besides pouring drinks (and that last one was still debatable to some).

As she went about her business, a floorboard creak alerted her to another visitor. Yor didn't turn around right away though, and instead politely told whoever it was she'd be with them in a moment. A stubborn smudge just wouldn't wipe out. Yor attacked it as best she could; her eyes twisted as she focused and she stuck her tongue out, leading to a less than flattering face. It was a good thing she was turned around...or at least it would have been, were it not for the fact that mirrors lined the wall. Everyone behind her could see everything.

"Papa, she looks funny!" a little voice giggled out from behind her.

Immediately Yor froze. That...sounded like a child? She quickly turned around and found two strangers standing there in front of the counter. One of them was a little girl who looked sweet as honey. Her face was dirty, as was the rest of her, but she stood tall and proud for such a little thing. Her pink hair was as bright as the beam in her face, and the green of her eyes rivaled any shade Yor had seen outside of pure emerald. The little girl walked out from the shadow of a much taller figure.

Papa, Yor assumed. He stood several heads taller than she (even without the boots) and wore an old, shabby duster coat like so many others. He was in the process of removing his hat as she turned around, and revealed to Yor a head of blonde hair softened by heat and sweat. Stubble textured his face after not having shaved in a few days, and streaks of dirt clung heavier to him than it did his daughter. Even with all that though, Yor still paused under the gaze of his eyes. The prettiest blue she'd ever seen. Sky blue. Just like the open air outside.

"Anya, what did I tell you about making fun of people?" the man growled as he flashed a warning look to the little girl.

"N-no! That's alright, she was just playin'!" Yor piped up, caught off-guard. "Although, um...I can't have children in here, sorry."

The man nodded. "I figured as much. It's just we've been rolling through for a while now and this is the first place we came across."

"Is that right?" Yor smiled pleasantly. "Where ya'll coming in from?"

Anya's papa shrugged. "Other side of the valley. If it's got a name, I don't know it."

"...Wait, you mean the two of you came from the west?" Yor's eyes widened when the man nodded. "Both of you?"

"Well, she's my daughter so, yes," the man replied, this time with a faint chuckle. He smiled at Yor, and she pinked a little.

Everything out past the valley was no man's land. There was enough to eat and drink of course, assuming you could hunt, but there wasn't anything else out there besides the elements. That's where bandits, natives, and travelers on their way west could be found...certainly not the place for a little girl to be out and about, even if she did have her father with her. Stranger still, why would they be making their way east? Most people would be trying to reach the far shore for a chance at hitting it rich in the gold mines. There wasn't nothing out back east.

"Well, we'll be heading out then," the man spoke up, bringing Yor back to reality. "Sorry to bother you."

He went to put his hat back on, but was immediately stopped when Yor jumped in place. "No, wait! I can, uh...make an exception. Just this once!"

Anya's papa blinked. Genuinely surprised, he eased into a smile. "Much appreciated, ma'am. Thank you."

"I want whiskey!" Anya grinned as she pointed at the bottles behind Yor. The barmaid gasped.

"When I'm dead and buried!" The man grabbed his daughter by the scruff of her dirty dress and walked her to the counter. "Sit!"

Anya's papa collapsed onto a bar chair. He quickly picked her up and dropped her into his lap, and she huffed in disappointment. Yor tilted her head at the strange pair, but couldn't stop a smile from forming at their antics. It was a refreshing sight to see, what with most of her days spent babysitting grown men before sending them off to do god-knows-what.

"Would you like a cold glass of milk, Anya?" Yor asked sweetly, which earned her an incredulous look from the little girl.

"Cold milk!?" Anya slammed her hand on the counter in amazement before looking up at her papa. He seemed just as surprised as her.

"Mhm," Yor nodded. She motioned to a door on the far side of the bar behind her. "We've got the only ice house for thirty miles, and I milked the goat this morning myself!"

"How 'bout that," the man nodded, impressed. Anya continued to stare at him pleadingly, and he smirked. "Sure. What do I owe ya?"

"First round's on the house!" Yor smiled. "And what'll it be for you, mister...?"

"Forger, ma'am." Anya's papa bowed his head. "Loid Forger."

Yor's smile grew wider. "What'll it be, Mr. Forger?"

"I'll take a scotch, missus...?"

"Miss Briar," she corrected. "But you can call me Yor!"

Firen Lhain: Chapter 207: Varmint

JNPR walked with Red along the road.

"Soooo?.." Nora asked, "You don't always get into shootouts with bandits?"

"Nope." Red said, and spat on the ground.

"But, like..." Nora asked, "Bandits exist, right?"

"You know it." Red added.

"They're not a problem?" Pyrrha asked.

"Bandits are only a problem when they are. They come out of nowhere, grab what they want, and leave. Most people don't know what's happening until their loved ones are dead."

"They like... kill everyone?" Nora asked.

"Truth be told, they don't care if you live or die..." Red stated. "They just want your things; but for them, it's often easier if you're dead."

"Are all bandits so professional?" Ren queried.

"There's two kinds of bandits," Red replied, "the good... and the dead... The bad ones don't last very long."

"Okay... but?..." Nora asked, "you can still do tricks with your gun, right?"

Red quickly drew his revolver, pulled the hammer, and shot an apple off a tree, all in a split second. "Of course I can." Red replied, before quickly reholstering his pistol. "The thing about being a sheriff is that you don't know someone's going to try and kill you before they draw their weapon. Grimm are a bit more forward in that regard." The five walked up to a farmhouse. "This here is the house of the Marigold family. Somethin' happened last night, you're job is to figure out what. I'll be here to help you if you have any questions."

Red then walked up to the door and knocked. The door opened and an older women looked out at them. She then quickly opened the door. "Are these the children from Beacon?" she excitedly asked.

"Yep." Red replied.

"Well, hello dearies. I'm Gwen Marigold." she said, and tried her best to curtsey. She then stepped aside. "Come in! Come in!" JNPR walked inside, Jaune last, ducking under the entryway. Gwen gestured for Red to move in, and he did, pulling off his hat. "Can I get you dearies anything?" she asked, and NPR looked at Jaune.

"I don't see why not?" Jaune asked, and Gwen excitedly clapped her hands and rushed into the kitchen.

"That there was the wrong answer." Red stated and then sighed. "We're going to be here a while."

"Surely we can..." Ren tried ot say, but Red just slowly shook his head.

"And just which of you fancy huntsmen are going to hurt her feelin's?" JNPR looked between each other. "Now your job is even harder; you got to ask her questions while she's trying to shove you full of her delicious cuisine."

"Anything I need worry about?" Gwen asked as she walked out with a tray.

"Just telling them how delicious your cookin' is." Red replied.

* * *

JNPR walked into the back yard, slamming the door behind him. The four of them hunched over. Nora let out an incredible belch, followed by a trio of less impressive ones. "She is a good cook." Nora stated.

"I do not believe anyone is disputing that." Ren stated, and Red walked around the side of the house.

"And just what do you think yer doing? You locked me inside with her?! Now, let's hope you're not too well fed to do some investigatin'." He gestured to the far fence, and JNPR... waddled... towards it... In the base of the fence they saw a hole. "Alright, pop quiz, how big is the smallest known Grimm?"

"At the shoulders?," Pyrrha asked, "about a metre. Height, about half."

"So?," Red asked, "if the Grimm squatted down, could he get trhough here?"

"Indeed." Ren stated.

"Now, the big question: Did he?"

JNPR all looked between each other, NPR's eyes all eventually fixing on Jaune. Jaune accepted their choice, and looked at the fence, and then the ground. The fence was broken. By the fresh damage, it seemed recently. There were scratches on the ground with fresh soil Something definitely clawed it ways in, here, something at least as big as a wolf. Jaune looked at Pyrrha. "The smallest Grimm?" he asked.

"Locks." Pyrrha stated, "Like large coyotes."

Jaune then looked to Red, "Did anyone hear anything?"

Red lightly shook his head side-to-side, "A bit of scratching. Not much else. Most folk around here know well enough to not go lookin' for trouble."

"What damage was done?" Jaune asked.

"Killed the hound." Red stated.

Jaune looked at him as he thought it over, before looking around the yard. He focused on a chicken coop. Red's eyes grew wide and developed a wicked smile. "Was the dog eaten?" Jaune asked. Red gestured off to the side, and the four quickly walked over, spreading around the bloodied dog. Jaune grabbed a nearby stick and flipped the carcass over. There were obvious bite and claw marks, but not much flesh missing. The wounds were mostly defensive. The creature came here to kill the dog, and that seemed to be it. He looked back towards the breach, and there was no signs of dripping blood... or any other physical remnant of the creature.

"Why would the Grimm kill the dog... and leave?.." Ren asked.

"To make you angry." Red stated, "Most Grimm might not have much of a head on their shoulders, but anger... anger they understand. Anger makes you stupid, makes you easy prey. Lucky for us, folks around here know well enough to not give into it. Ever year we get a team to come visit our small li'l town."

"Quite a wise relationship." Ren stated.

"Sooooo?.." Nora asked, "are we going to... I don't know... hunt... the Grimm?.."

"Did you learn enough to think you can?" Red asked.

Once again JNPR looked between each other. Once again NPR ended up looking at Jaune. He breathed in deep. "I guess now's a good time to see how we are at tracking Grimm."

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha said, as she lifted up her hand.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.

"You could throw me into the air..." Pyrrha voiced.

Nora lifted up her hand and eagerly started shouting for attention. Jaune rolled his eyes, and drew his sword. He grabbed his scabbard and expanded it into a shield. He crouched and lifted it above his head. Pyrrha stepped onto the shield. Jaune used all of his strength and aura to launch Pyrrha into the air. He looked over to see Nora nearly crying.

"Leader?" she whined.

"If you go up, you won't come back down." Jaune stated. Pyrrha spiraled up before balancing herself as she looked around. "I want us all to know where we are going before you take off."

"He does have a point." Ren stated. "You do have a tendency to depart expediently."

Jaune held his shield above his head and lowered it as soon as Pyrrha's feet touched down, craddling the impact. Once she had been dampened enough she stepped down. "So?" Jaune asked.

"I do believe he is watching us." Pyrrha stated. Pyrrha then subtly turned her head to the side, Nora and Ren's heads following her gaze.

"Distance?" Jaune asked.

"About 250 metres," Pyrrha stated, "though I did not get a good sighting picture."

Jaune then held his shield up and looked at Nora. A ridiculously large grin appeared on her face. Jaune crouched down, holding the shield above his head. Nora stepped onboard and Jaune launched her as he had Pyrrha. Just after the peek, Nora opened her wings on the way down, letting the wind build up before gliding off into the distance. Jaune looked to Pyrrha and then over to a relief that had a view over the fence. Pyrrha stepped over, drawing Miló. As it moved into her hand it turned into a rifle, and she looked through the optical sight. Jaune looked between Pyrrha and where Nora was headed. He saw Pyrrha react, and looked to Ren. Ren ran towards Jaune. Jaune once again crouched down, shield above him, and once again launched a teammate into the air, this time on an arc towards where Nora was headed. He looked at Pyrrha who noticed this and looked back. She turned Miló into a short spear and ran off, circling around Jaune until she was aimed at the target, at which point she ran straight at him, being launched into the air once again. Jaune collapsed his shield, sheathed his sword, and ran to the fence, leaping over it, running off to where his team mates had gone. The obvious sound of Dust fire beckoning him. Soon after their was a large pink explosion.

Jaune thought to his earlier leap. About how he had used his aura to enhance his legs, along with something else he was uncertain about. He used this to enchance his strides to the point he was moving several yards with a single step. He quickly caught up to the group. The Locks had apparently lead them to a group of Beowulves. Certainly not what he was expecting. But that was the point of this, wasn't it?, to challenge their expectations? "Nora." Jaune said. She looked at him, and saw him once again crouching down with his shield over his head. She smilled brilliantly and ran towards him, once again being launched into the air. She rose above the canopy of trees. She used her wings to control her spin as she looked around, not seeing any more Grimm. She glided down, landing with tremendous force. She just shrugged at her leader. JNPR looked around at the dissolving bodies.

* * *

JNPR walked back, finding Red sitting on top of the fence. "So, y'all had a bit of fun."

"That's not why we're huntsmen." Jaune stated.

Red jumped down from the fence and stepped up to them. "So, now what?"

"Now what, what?" Nora asked.

"You killed the Grimm." Red stated, "You could claim your reward."

"Implying there is another course of action?" Ren asked.

Jaune stared at Red, and his team turned to look at him.

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha said, and everyone looked at her. "We could look around to see if we see any more signs?.."

"Hm." Ren affirmed, and Jaune nodded.

"Ask me a question," Red asked, "that I can answer."

"Have you seen any more?.." Jaune asked.

"Yes." Red said with glee as he cut him off. "Let's head on over."

Nanatsu no Taizai Western AU, would that be something?

Hello Anon! Thank you for the ask! I admit I’m not an expert when it’s about western AUs because it’s not a genre I know much. Also the first thing I thought about when I got this ask was this

(Someone should really stop me)

Anyway, I’ve tried to write something down! Here are some random ideas:

Meliodas owns a saloon in the middle of nowhere, he serves great alcohol but awful food and actually welcomes every kind of people: travellers, sheriffs, outlaws ... Meliodas doesn’t care. What matters is that no fight is allowed in the saloon. People soon decide that even though he looks incredibly young, it’s better not mess with him: he is actually one of the best gunmen of the country and his aim is good. (He doesn’t like to kill, but making a hole in someone’s hat? He can do that)

What people don’t know is that Meliodas’ saloon is also the meeting place of the Seven Deadly Sins, one of the most dangerous criminal gangs around. They are all gunmen, dangerous and wanted, all of them for different reasons. Meliodas is the one who found them one by one, saving them from being executed or getting them out of prison because he saw something in them, and now he leads the group. They actually help people how they can, dealing with other bandits and fighting injustices (that’s also why they are not much popular among sheriffs). 

(Also all the Sins wear cowboy hats and boots, I don’t accept criticism in this)

Anyway, the Holy Knights are lawmen who try to hunt them down.

The Commandments are part of another criminal gang and rob and kill without hesitation on the orders of their mysterious leader, the Demon King (no one knows his identity; he is actually a powerful public figure in the country and no one knows about his illegal business). Every Commandment has their reason to be in the gang, but not all of them are happy about what they are forced to do.

The Archangels are also lawmen though they have a higher rank than the Holy Knights. 

Elizabeth could be the daughter of another important public figure (the Supreme Deity) who almost gets kidnapped by the Commandments under the Demon King’s order; she manages to escape but she gets lost in the desert and stumbles into Meliodas’ saloon … will the Sins be able to bring her home safely and defend her? And will she actually want to go home? (I can imagine the Supreme Deity not being a saint either and she would surely not be happy about her daughter hanging out with criminals)

I loved the Tangled AU! Could you do a Once Upon A Time AU, please?

Absolutely!

Once Upon A Time AU

This ones a bit odd, but I actually love it. I loved this show. The first season, anyways. Once Upon A Time reminds me a little bit of me writing a fanfiction and then sort of being over it and fizzling out at the end.

But the first season is like... everything.

I love it so much.

Here we go!

Characters

Jack Kelly — Prince Charming

Katherine Plumber — Snow White

Racetrack Higgins — Emma Swan

Crutchie — Henry Mills

Joseph Pulitzer — Regina Mills

William Snyder — Rumplestiltskin

David Jacobs — Jiminy Cricket

Albert DaSilva — Ruby

Vince — Graham

Hot Shot — August

Medda — Granny

Sarah Jacobs — Abigail

Spot Conlon — Captain Hook

Hannah — Belle

Sniper — Neil

Romeo — baby Neil

Okay, so there’s a lot of characters with complicated backstories in this one. I’m only going to discuss a few of them this time around.

Racetrack Higgins (The Savior)

An orphan with a troubled past.

Race grew up in and out of orphanages and group homes, lost and alone

He is a stubborn, determined kid who grew up learning that he could rely on no one but himself

He’d always known he was different. He never fit in anywhere

He was a thief for more than half of his life and he got very good at pickpocketing and conning his way out of things

He grows up to be a bail bondsman

He’s kind of a badass.

On Race’s twenty fourth birthday, there’s a knock on his door just as he’s about to devour a single cupcake that he got after going out on a date with someone he met online which turned out to be someone he was looking for for his job

He finds a little boy with a brace on his right leg. He can’t be any older than seven.

The boy claims to be his son.

Race tries to explain that he doesn’t have a son. He never did.

The boy, who tells Race to call him Crutchie, tells Race that he didn’t know about him yet. But he tells Race that seven years ago, a girl gave him up. A girl named Anya.

The kid goes on about fairytales and how his adoptive father is truly evil and has trapped the town he lives in from its other world.

Race lets the kid in, a bit panicked for a minute before he regains control of himself and tells the boy he’s calling the police. Crutchie just tells him that if he does, he’ll tell the police that Race kidnapped him.

So, Race makes a deal with Crutchie. He tells Crutchie he’ll take him back, like the kid wanted him to, and he’ll listen to the stories that Crutchie had

Crutchie agrees

Race takes his supposed son back to this town. Storybrooke, Maine.

That’s when things begin to get crazy

Crutchie tells Race that he’s the product of true love, the son of Snow White and Prince Charming

Race doesn’t believe him. He tells him that he’s an orphan.

But the kid seems to know an awful lot about him.

Race gets sucked into this strange town after meeting the boy’s father who is odd and a little creepy

He does try to drive back to New York that night.

But he’s driven off the road by a wolf, crashing his car

He wakes up in a jail cell the next day and is stuck in this town. This town where time has just begun to move for the first time in twenty four years.

I could go on and on. Race goes and has been through a lot.

Katherine Plumber (Snow White)

a born princess and a born leader.

She had a happy childhood with her widowed mother up until it is announced that there is a stepfather coming into her life.

Her stepfather is a man she’d met before. Someone who used to be her friend. She indirectly killed the man’s first love

But she doesn’t know that

She just knows that they used to be friends

A couple months go by, after the wedding. And things are seemingly normal.

Until her mother dies unexpectedly.

And suddenly the man turns cruel and all Snow White has left to do is run as the man begins to try and kill him for killing his true love weeks before he was forced into a marriage he wanted no part of.

Snow flees to the woods, leaving the kingdom in the care of her stepfather, the Evil King Pulitzer.

She helps her people from the inside, per say, but is painted as a bandit by the royal castle and is hunted by the palace guards. She learns how to fight and steal and hide.

And one day, she steals from a prince. A very intriguing prince.

And a love story begins.

A prince and a disgraced princess. What could go wrong?

Eventually, the two are able to get married and expect a child.

It’s on the night that this child is born that the Evil King casts a curse over the land, trapping the kingdom in a land without magic, their prison being time as it does not move.

Not for 24 years.

In the real world, Snow becomes Katherine. Katherine Plumber. She’s a second grade teacher at the elementary school in town and a volunteer down at the hospital. Everyone adores her, except for Crutchie’s father, Mr. Pulitzer.

When Race meets her, she admits she’s the one who gave Crutchie the story book he’s become obsessed with. Race laughs and offhandedly asks her who she is in the book.

She says Snow White.

Race freezes for a moment but shakes it off.

Katherine likes Race. They end up becoming fast friends. Really close. And Kath eventually offers Race a place to stay after Race is kicked out of the motel he’d been staying at.

They become best friends.

She’s only twenty six.

Remember time’s frozen.

But Katherine is Race’s mother.

Just… neither of them know it.

Jack Kelly (Prince Charming)

A prince.

Well… sort of.

Born a peasant. He grew up on a farm. His father died when he was young. His mother was all he had.

Or so he thought.

But let’s not get into that now. What’s important is that Jack makes a deal with the Dark One. Pretend to be a prince, and his mother can live out her days on their farm.

He took the deal when he was seventeen.

He hates it.

The king hates him. Tries to torture him in fact, but cannot kill him, as he already lost what he calls his real son.

In reality, it was Jack’s twin brother, whom he was separated from at birth.

The king resents him but forces him to look and act the part, eventually promising him to marriage.

Jack doesn’t fancy his wife to be, but agrees, if only to get away from the king.

While on a trip with this insufferably dull woman, their carriage is robbed. By a single thief. A thief who Jack tackles to the ground.

It’s a woman.

A woman who gives him a scar on his chin by hitting him with a rock and running away.

But Jack doesn’t give up that easily.

He tracks down this thief who has taken a very valuable ring. His mother’s ring.

His name is James. He hates it. He’s called Jack for short to those who know him.

But Snow never calls him that.

“Charming” suits him.

After several adventures with this woman, ones where she saved his life and he saved her’s, after waking her from a sleeping curse, they get married and are expecting a baby.

That night, a curse falls over the land.

As Jack is rushing his newborn baby, Tyler James, to safety, he is stabbed. And he passes out just as the world goes dark.

In the real world, he is a John Doe in a coma at the hospital that Katherine volunteers at.

She reads to him every night.

And when he wakes up, he can’t remember a thing.

He has a wife. A wife thats not Katherine.

But he can’t help but see Katherine anyways.

And that stirs up trouble for the towns golden girl.

Eventually, Jack meets Race. A for a second he remembers.

And then Pulitzer is there to take it all away.

But Jack and Race are practically inseparable after that and end up becoming sheriffs of the town.

Jack is twenty eight.

Okay, since there’s so many characters and so many intricate storylines, I’m gonna stop at these three (my favorite three) for now.

I have another ask for this RP in my asks so I’ll dive a little more into a few other characters (or more on these ones) then. But if y’all wanna hear about specific characters or wanna see some scenes from the show, just let me know!

I do love the idea of this RP…

For more RP’s check out my list here!

FIC: Little Lies

Summary: A sheriff and a bandit. Nothing good can come of this.

Rated: M for language and some mature content.

Notes: Okay, this is a one shot and I will keep saying that until I believe it. 

@cheapbourbon has the best ideas for AU’s, and this is one based on her Cowboy AU. I mean, check out these pictures:

First this one

Then this one, oh, my heart

And then this

So that’s where the idea is from. This is where I went with it. Look, I can’t say how good I am at writing a western, but I’ve seen Blazing Saddles and I listened to Desperado three times while I wrote it. It’s the best I could do. ^_^

Warnings: Mentions of prostitution. Not our boys, but this is the old west. 

Also on AO3

~~*~~

 Edge slowed his horse to a trot as the town of Ebott appeared over the horizon. Dust kicked up at their heels as she carried him past the smithy on the outskirts and the inn, past the general store where the shopkeeper hovered in the doorway. There were people walking down the streets; ladies with baskets, carrying their dry goods and laundry, and men watching him pass as they smoked their cigars.

He stopped in front of the saloon and dismounted, hitching his horse with a gentle pat. Took off his hat and slapped it against his thigh, knocking off as much trail dust as he could. The silver star pinned to his vest gleamed dully in the afternoon light.

Even this early in the afternoon, laughter and tinkling piano music came through the door. Some of that noise trailed off as he walked in, eyes taking him in, assessing. Not so much in the back corner, at a table where a rowdy group sat playing poker. All the Snowdin boys, and the table was covered in half-drunk mugs of beer, cards, and poker chips.

Rus was sitting in the chair facing the door. He laid down his cards and he gave the whore sitting on his knee a gentle shove as Edge walked up, patting her rear as she sashayed away. “why, hello there, sheriff. come to play cards with us?”

Edge didn’t bother with a greeting. “The stagecoach was robbed this morning on its way into town.”

One of the dogs began to growl low in his throat. He stopped when Rus gave him a quelling look, one that eased back into a smile when he looked back at Edge.

“that a fact?” Rus asked. He shook his head mournfully. “seems like lots of miscreants out there these days.”

A chuff of laughter went around the table along with mutters about fifty cent words and Rus only grinned the wider, winking at his table mates.

“Seems like,” Edge agreed sourly. “Funny thing, the driver described a horse that looks a lot like yours.”

“now that is a funny thing,” Rus propped his chin on his hand. “sheriff, i am flattered that you think i would have the cunning to pull off something like robbing a stagecoach in broad daylight. but the fact of the matter is, i’ve been here all day, haven’t i, boys?” 

A murmur of agreement went around the table, along with bared teeth disguised as smiles.

“and ladies?” Rus called. “haven’t i indulged you with my presence all this glorious morning?”

“That’s right,” Edge turned toward the sudden voice behind him, his hand reflexively twitching towards his gun. Muffet herself walked up to them, the edge of her long, ruffled skirt in one hand. The others she trailed over Rus’s shoulders, lingering to rub a thumb over his collarbone.

“see sheriff?” Rus said easily, leaning into Muffet’s hands. “couldn’t be me. sounds like someone made a mistake.”

“Sounds like someone did,” Edge gritted out.

Rus picked up his cards, though his eye lights lingered on Edge, along with his smirk. “hope you catch the scoundrel.”

“I’m sure I will.”

That brought out another low growl, stifled again by Rus’s glare. He added, teasingly, “sure you won’t play a round of cards?” he gave his knee, the one the whore had been sitting on, a pat.  “we have an extra chair.”

Edge didn’t reply, only turned on heel and walked back out.

“see you around, sheriff,” Rus called after him. The laughter and music soared again behind him.

~~*~

Music was still spilling from the saloon that night when a figure walked through the darkness, skirting around any lighted windows as it crept through the blackness. Behind one building, the figure stopped at a door, opening it on silent hinges and slipping inside.

Rus hadn’t gone two steps when he froze at the feel of a gun barrel pressed to his back. Slowly, he raised his hands.

“that ain’t a very nice way to say hello,” he drawled.

“How about this?” Rus grunted as he was forcibly spun around, Edge pressing him hard against the wall and kissing him fiercely.

A low moan was stifled between their teeth, and when Edge finally let him loose, he panted out, “been thinking about this all day.”

“Yeah?” Teeth grazed his collarbone and Rus whimpered at the lovely pain, fingers digging in to Edge’s shoulders “Would have thought Muffet's whores would’ve satisfied you this afternoon.”

“jealous,” Rus breathed. “you should know better. i ain’t so much as seen a whore’s bed since the first time you took me to yours.” He shoved Edge back enough to make an x over his chest. “cross my heart.”

“Same way you promised you didn’t rob the stagecoach this morning.”

That made him pull back with a frown. “i didn’t.”

Edge only shook his head, “You can’t keep doing these things, Rus.”

“i done told you, i didn’t.” His smile faltered, fading. “you don’t believe me.”

“I never know when to believe you!” Edge snarled.

“guess i deserve that.” His expression hardened. “don’t need you to believe me for this.”

Rus reached between them and roughly undid both their trousers, shoving his hands into Edge’s and gripping him with ungentle fingers. It wasn’t enough; Edge wanted to push him into the wall and take him, demand answers from him until he gave them with gasping cries. He didn’t try, Rus would never allow it, not right now. Instead, it was quick and rough, belts jangling and their hands ungainly bumping. There was the barest moment of vulnerability when Rus came, his face tight and his sockets screwed shut, a faint, low sound pulled from him. That, at least, Edge knew was true.

He wished he could leave his imprint on Rus’s heart as easily as he left his seed on his fingers.

That vulnerability faded too quickly, left him with nothing but Rus’s easy grin. He pulled away, wiping his hand clean with a dusty bandana. Edge wondered tiredly if it was the same one he’d used to cover his face during the stagecoach robbery.

If he’d done it. If.

Rus dropped it on the floor and his grin fell away with it.

“i’m no liar,” Rus said low, “i own my sins.” He laughed then, and it was bitter as poison. “least i used to. now i’m your little lie, ain’t i. can’t have the good people of ebott know the truth about their respectable sheriff.” He swept off his hat and gave Edge a mocking bow. “i’ll see myself out.”

He turned away and Edge found his voice, rough and weak as it was. “Rus. Don’t make me hunt you down.”

Rus stopped, kept his back to Edge. “you saying that as a sheriff or a lover?” Edge said nothing, and Rus’s shoulders sagged. “yeah, that’s what i thought. see you around, sheriff.”

Edge waited until he heard the door close and only then did he pick up that dirty bandanna. Could be that this was proof. Could be that if he showed this to the stagecoach driver he could say whether or not the robber was wearing it.

He wiped his own hands clean and threw it in the fire, watched the thin fabric turn to ash and smoke.

Silently, Edge poured a whiskey and sat with it in his hand, not drinking, staring at the fire until it burned down to coals, leaving him to the dark.

 -finis-

Vampire Hunter D: Blood & Sacrifice

Chapter 3: TIME’S RUNNING OUT

Leaving Deana where she slept, the two hunters headed for the other end of the station. Sequestered from the office rooms, there were four separate holding cells, one of which held the unconscious Two-Finger. First D called out the man's name. When he didn't receive a response, he banged on the cell door. Even Devan called out, nearly shouting. Still the man didn't move. However, there was a slight perceived change. The human eye wouldn't have been able to catch it, but a dhampir's could. Either he was still unconscious, or Two-Finger was playing opossum. D reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a single caltrop. Positioning it in his hand between his forefinger and thumb, he fired it, the bit of shrapnel flying fast and hard.

Hit in the ribs, the bandit jolted off his cot, rolling onto the floor with a pained and startled scream. "What in the holy flyin' fuck!"

"Get your ass up," Devan said, giving the cell door another knock.

"What the hell for? I don't even know you!"

"No, but you do know someone else," Devan said with a glare. "The dhampir who lead the hunt you were apart of here in Hampstead. One among many sitting in a Capital jail cell for a crime you and your buddies committed."

Two-Finger shook his head in confusion. Crime? What crime? He left that town the instant he got paid, although he did hear his fellow hunters griping about the whole ordeal with the woman in charge. Sure they had spoken in anger about getting back at her, but he didn't think they were serious. What could they have possibly done?

"You touched in the head or something?" Devan was taken aback, "It's been broadcasted across multiple news outlets. Where've you been to not know?"

"Honestly?" Two-Finger scratched his head, "Every bar in this sector...boozin', whorin', gettin' high... I ain't seen or heard a news report in weeks."

"Two towns, Hampstead and Stonewall, hundreds of people murdered in a single night. Everyone's in an uproar about it."

The bandit's jaw dropped, "My god... You...you sayin' they actually did it?"

"Yes...and we need your help."

                                               ***

From what Two-Finger knew, his former compatriots were fond of patrolling this side of the outer Frontier looking for work. The same few sectors, back and forth. There was rarely a shortage of people looking for help to rid their towns of monster infestations. But, when there was such a shortage, these hunters would concoct a plan in secret to ensure a select town would have such a problem that only they could solve. In the beginning, Two-Finger was more than willing to participate. He had his vices, a lot of them, and they all required money. But eventually, it became too much. Perhaps the conscience he'd been dulling decided to evolve, because he'd been growing tired of making people suffer just so he could throw back some top shelf liquor and pay women to let him between their legs. Then they came upon Hampstead, just another town ready to be relieved of what little it had to offer. This was the final straw. Of course, the hunters wanted him to stay. Sober, Two-Finger was the best archer they'd ever come across. As such they were quick to reassure him that so long as they stuck to the plan, nobody would be killed. Round up some lessor dragons, set them on the town, wait a day and see what happens. They even made sure to pull out the dragons' fangs. However, they didn't expect the townspeople to hire another hunter who happened by, nor did they realize that the dragons could regrow their teeth so quickly. Nothing about this plan worked the way it should have, and in the end it was watching a child being mauled to death that made Two-Finger back out of the group. Once he got his pay, he was done with these men. However, that in and of itself begged the question: if the child's death bothered him that much, why didn't he leave sooner? Simply put, so he could give back a portion of the money that was being taken, enough to help the grieving family and give the child a decent burial. He entertained the idea of blackmailing the others into giving back all of the money, or he'd let slip the truth. Although, that would've only ended badly for him. Two-Finger was of questionable morals, but he wasn't stupid. As sorry as he felt for the child's death, nothing was going to change that, and he still had his own life to worry about. Better to leave while he had the chance, off to the nearest roadhouse to forget the whole incident ever happened. Cue his current situation, locked in a cell and being glared at by a couple of unnervingly pretty young men. Thanks to his side of the story, though, he was free of the impending ass kicking. And not only would they let him out of his cell, but he could also partake in the search for his murderous cohorts. Was there a chance for compensation? It was likely the officials back in the Capital would pay him for his efforts, according to the tall man in black. Money, and the chance to enact some needed redress. Where was the dotted line for him to sign?

As if the previous altercation with the two hunters never happened, Two-Finger jumped to his feet, "Let's get the bastards!"

Knowing their habits as well as he did, Two-Finger listed their targets' usual stops and hideouts. Typically the devious group of hunters roamed about this same area spending their recent earnings, much like he did, so they couldn't be too far away. This brought the list down to two possible locations - a cave set in the nearby mountain range, or an abandoned chateau. This peaked Deana's interest as she lounged with a hot cup of coffee, having been woken up after the bandit's release. Did he mean the chateau on the bluffs a few miles shy of the border to the inner Frontier? But that was a Noble's abode, chock full of defenses that would kill them upon approach regardless of whether or not it was abandoned. It was this fact that had kept her from adding it to her list of places to explore. But, for the hunters this was precisely the reason it was chosen as a hideout, once they circumvented the security and reconfigured it for their own purposes. The reasons aside, the last point of order came into focus. Who would go where? D and Two-Finger would take the mountain cave, while Devan and Deana went to the chateau. Under the cover of night, they left the sheriff station and headed away from the town.

Traveling the winding forest trails, D and Two-Finger rode on horseback; the bandit sitting behind the hunter as his damaged motorbike was ditched out in the wilds after he was taken in. For the past few miles, the man in black had been silent, barely acknowledging his presence. Where was all the vim and vigor he had during their first meeting?

"So, uh," Two-Finger said with a slight cough, "that dhampir lady hire you or somethin'? I ain't ever seen hunters goin' after other hunters before...and you and that other bloke seem pretty driven to find my ol' partners."

A moment or so passed, then D replied firmly, "She's my wife..."

"I see," the bandit's eyes went wide. "I guess I'd be doin' the same as you if it was me own wife. And your partner?"

"He's not necessarily my partner," D said succinctly, "He's my son."

"And the l'il bit? A cutie like that...rather dangerous to be bringin' her along."

"That's my daughter you're referring to," D's voice had a noticeable bite. "Touch her and you're dead."

"Alright, alright," Two-Finger replied, raising his arms up in defense. "Protective papa, I get it." "It's not me you should be worried about. Now be quiet, I can see the mountain base coming up."

Two-Finger nearly choked on his next set of words, "Well, aren't you a prickly pear..."

D pulled the reins of his horse, stopping by a thick set of trees. Once the steed was hidden from sight, the unlikely pair continued on foot. Some yards later the forest path came to a bend, and from there the base of the mountain came into view. Rocks and boulders of every size littered the ground, the formation of some the products of various landslides. If there be a cave here, like Two-Finger had said, they'd make excellent cover. Without the right knowledge or guidance, one might never find this cave. Thankfully D had such a guide, as well as his own tracking skills to rely on. Though the bandit lead the way, the young man's nose caught the faint smell of smoke, and his eyes the sight of tire treads in the soil even though they'd been hastily covered. Moving around a heavy boulder, the two men stopped. A light flickered nearby, and multiple voices could be heard. Some brought up the massacres, and the rest evidently found them funny, most notably the apprehension of their former huntress leader. D reached for his sword, ready to confront these hunters head on. However, Two-Finger stopped him.

"Oy, not so fast," the bandit whispered. "These guys are plenty crafty, and rarely let their guard down. Best we get the drop on 'em, yeah?"

D stepped back as Two-Finger adjusted his gear. The longbow at his back was set, along with the crossbow holstered at his hip, with plenty of ammo in their respective quivers. The bandit then double checked his limbs. His arms and legs were fine, the tumble from his bike banged him up some, but otherwise no worse for wear. His prosthetic limbs, however, garnered a closer view. His right arm, underneath the tattered sleeve and glove, was nothing but steel-encased cybernetics. On his left hand, chunks of his natural flesh were missing. The pinky, ring finger, and thumb were gone, leaving only the fore and middle. And like the other parts of his body, these missing parts had been reconfigured with cyberwear. After such losses, one might quit the life of a bandit. But Alexander "Xan" Hibble was never one to listen to reason. Easy money had always been his game, and he wanted to keep playing. Thus Two-Finger was born. However, with the present circumstances, he'd at least consider going straight - more or less. Hopefully their little plan worked. Two-Finger would engage the hunters, then when the time was right, D would come in for the take down. As D stood by, the bandit approached the cave opening, passing through the jumble of parked armored cars. There they sat, a dozen road worn brutes cackling at each other's jokes by a small bonfire. Then upon hearing a sudden intruder, they whipped out their weapons.

Two-Finger cracked a smile as he put his arms up, "Easy, mates, it's just l'il ol' me."

"What's in your head? Thinkin' you can just waltz back in here,  traitor ..."

"Eh, that's a fair cop, I'd say..."

"Too right. You bailed on us! And now it's lookin' like you want back in. Fuck off."

"Oy, oy...settle down, man. In my defense, you swore nothin' bad would happen. And how well did that turn out, eh? It may be as black as coal, but I still got a heart don't I? I needed a break is all."

This particular hunter stared at Two-Finger, his gaze narrowing steadily. Clearly he was scrutinizing every word.

"Look," Two-Finger cleared his throat, "Ollie - mate, I get it. But let me make it up to you. I heard about them towns, and figured that was your handy work since you lot were lookin' to get payback on that dhampir wench. But from what I hear, the police are still lookin' for the culprit. They're willin' to pay handsomely too. So I say, if they want a ruthless dhampir hunter to arrest, don't just give 'em any ol' hunter-"

"What're you drivin' at, Xan?" Ollie asked suspiciously.

"Bring 'em the most ruthless dhampir hunter of them all. You know, that D bloke. Betcha your Aunt Fanny they'd fork over gobs of money for him."

At this Ollie's brows rose in thought, as did the rest of the group as they lowered their weapons.

"Huh...you think so? Might be worth a shot." Ollie rubbed his chin, "You think he'd be an easy target?"

"I dunno, mate" Two-Finger replied, "Here, lemme ask him." Then the bandit, keeping his sights on the men, shouted over his shoulder, "Oy, D! You think you're an easy target?"

Before the men had a chance to move, a shadowed figure rushed in from the darkness. Black raiment fluttering in the flurry of his own wind, the imposing hunter stood with his gaze alight in a hellish glow, his long sword at the ready. Ollie looked to Two-Finger, who had his crossbow aimed point-blank toward him. It seemed the man's suspicions were on the mark.

"Traitor," Ollie spat.

"Maybe," Two-Finger ginned. "But I'm not the one who slaughtered whole towns and framed an innocent woman...one, who just so happens to be me man's lady. Oy, D, we bringin' them all in?"

"We only need one." D's voice dripped with venom as he raised his sword, the hunters in turn brandishing their arms again, "You want a fight? Then let's fight. Come at me."

Read more of this chapter here

Chapter Rating: Mature Pairing: Touka Kirishima x Haise Sasaki (Tousaki) Genre: AU (Godless/Western)  |  Word Count: 3117 Chapter Warnings: Swearing and alcohol usage AU: Heavily influenced by the Netflix series Godless. This world of the wild west is new to everyone and everyone sure as hell wants to make this place their paradise. But how can a paradise be full of bandits, murderers and people who claim to be the law? Chapter: 1/? Chapter Note: $1,500 in 1860s is worth roughly $20k today. ________________________________________

With a heart beating wildly out of control, the woman awoke with a start. Not only had her dreams been filled with terrors of the past, but… there was water on her face? Before she had time to actually process why there were little droplets littered over her features, there was suddenly a heavy stream poured on her face.

Sitting up, sputtering for air, Touka’s wild eyes looked around only to land on a smug face. Fucking Ayato.

“Oi. Shitty sister. Wake up. We’re hungry.” The man spoke, his fingers still wrapped around the handle of the bucket. Without thinking twice about the consequences of her actions, Touka swiped the bucket from her younger brother’s fingers and swung it at him. Narrowly missing his head and hearing a hollow thud sound from behind him, both siblings froze. Ayato was the first to slowly turn around to see Yomo’s usually stoic features twitching with pain. Direct hit.

A sharp hiss escaped from between Touka’s teeth as she abruptly stood, but not without swinging her pillow at her brother. This… was unfortunately not the first time. “Touka…” The voice growled, his usually calm voice raising.

“Hey! It’s not my fault, he dumped water on me ag-”

“Just. Don’t do it again.”

“If Ayato doesn’t do it again, I won’t.”

“Don’t do it again.”

“...Fine.” Touka grumbled as she shot a glare at her brother who still held a nervous look on his features. He wouldn’t forget about that easily. But that tense look only lasted a moment as Ayato then turned to his sister. “Well?”

“Don’t ‘well’ me, you asshole. You can cook for yourself- unless you want to finally admit that you can’t cook for shit.”

“I’ll make it myself then. Don’t blame me if there’s a fire again.”

“I will blame you.”

With that, the two siblings parted as their bickering ceased at last. While Ayato tried his hand in the kitchen, Touka walked over to the foot of her bed and opened the old chest that lay there. Pushing past the dresses that she was expected to wear, the violet haired woman brought out a pair of breeches and a fitted flannel. The flannel had been her brother’s until he had grown out of it and the same went for the breeches. However, the trousers were just a bit too large for her. This was an easy fix thanks to the worn suspenders she easily buttoned to the pants.

Returning to the head of her bed, Touka withdrew a knife from the post of her bed and gave it a twirl before finding it’s sheath and wrapped it around her left thigh. If she was somehow forced to wear a dress, this was usually her go to weapon. But she wasn’t forced to do anything on her ranch, so the woman reached for her holster, the gun still embedded in the conditioned leather. It was a Colt 1871-72 Open Top- her father had given it to her at a young age. He wanted her to be a strong woman and always joked that men would bow before her with both this gun and her attitude. It might sound strange, but she felt like she was always closer to him when she held this gun.

Straightening her shoulders, Touka pushed open her door and walked out to join the two men, struggling in the kitchen. Ayato gave a glance before letting out a small snort. “Why won’t you ever dress like a proper woman?”

“‘Cause we need a man in this house.” Touka shot back, sitting down at the table and kicking up her feet as she watched Ayato look cluelessly at the eggs he had brought in from the coop this morning. It was always fun to watch him try to cook when it was painfully obvious that he didn’t learn a single thing from her. Unfortunately, she wasn't the best cook either, but at least her food was edible.

With a disappointed huff, Touka dropped her feet and walked over to the rough stove they had managed to buy with their already sorry funds. Pushing Ayato aside, the woman raised an eyebrow as she looked down at the egg whites and yolks burned beyond salvaging. “You suck at this.” She quipped.

“It doesn’t help that I have a shit teacher.” He scoffed as he watched Touka scrape the burnt eggs away and break a couple new ones over the soot covered pan. The woman then poked at their breakfast with an old but clean wooden spatula. Everything they had here was inherited from their parents.

Motioning at Yomo to give her the cup of water he was drinking out of, the man gave a small sigh but obliged. Taking the cup, the woman dumped what she assumed was two or three tablespoons of water onto the hot pan and eggs before grabbing a pan lit and putting it atop of the frying pan.

“Why’d ya do that? I dun want any soggy eggs.”

“You’re a fucking idiot.” Touka taunted as she reached out to smack Ayato with with spatula. “It helps so you don’t burn the eggs, and they also come out fluffy. How’re you gonna get a wife if you can’t cook?”

“Because the woman should be cooking”

Smack.

“You’ll never impress Hina with that attitude.”

Those words seemed to fluster Ayato as he crossed his arms in a defensive position. “Yeah? And what about that sheriff that stops by? Don’t tell me you don’t see the look on his face when he sees you?”

“What? Arima? Horse shit.”

Hearing Ayato mutter a few choice words at her, Touka only rolled her eyes in response and she returned the cup to Yomo. Waiting a minute or so, the Kirishima picked up the lid and watched as steam rose and quickly fanned it away. Putting the lid away, Touka grabbed a plate and dumped the half dozen eggs onto the plate before splitting them up onto other plates with bread.

“Eat while I make coffee.” Touka ordered as she began to pull out the beans and went to work. While they were helpless without her, she didn’t know what she would do without them. This thought only brought a small smile to her lips.

Returning to the table with three cups of coffee, Touka sat down and began to pick at her food. It didn’t take long to finish because it wasn’t much of a meal, but at least it was something. When they had silently concluded their breakfast, Yomo gathered the plates. “Why can’t you be more like him?” Touka directed at her brother.

“Fuck off.”

And that was the last words she heard from Ayato before he slipped on his boots, grabbed the Henry 1860 and walked out the door. Looks like he was going to be useful today and hunt them some game. Meanwhile, the small herd of horses in the round pen out front needed some looking after while Yomo took care of just about everything else.

Putting on her own boots, Touka opened the door and was hit was a strong gust of dust. Slamming the door behind her to avoid getting any more particulates into the house than necessary, the woman couldn’t help but wish for some rain. Until then, she had a job to do. Squinting out towards the herd, the woman noticed the mares fighting over their position again and the stallions eyeing each other as though waiting for one of them to make the first move. She really needed to fix the fence so they had some more space to run.

Grabbing a bale of overly dried hay, the woman hauled it over the fence before repeating the process three more times for the thirty or so horses. They really needed more space. After that job was completed, Touka trudged over towards the well and began to fetch some water for the horses, so she could fill the trough as much as she could. Then it was time to work on the fences once more. The day was filled with these long, enervating tasks, and each time hardly varied from the other. But it kept them all busy.  

In the midst of the tasks today while Touka decided to take a break to quench her thirst, the Kirishima saw a horse coming their way on the horizon. It wasn’t the plain bay that Ayato rode, but instead a grey. Whoever it was, they weren’t welcome on this property. Backtracking towards the house, Touka let out a curse as she recalled that Ayato had the rifle. Guess her revolver would have to do.

Retrieving the slick gun from her holster, the woman held her ground as she watched the stranger approach, the barrel of the gun trained at her target. It was a minute or so until she realized who exactly was approaching, an agrivated huff escaping her lips as she dropped the gun to her side. Waiting for his approach, Touka kept shaking her head.

“Miss Kirishima.” The white haired man greeted with a small tip of his hat.

“Arima.” Touka responded shortly to let him know that she wasn’t fond of his visit. Luckily, he easily read her reaction and decided to keep their conversation short- like they always were.

“Gotta a new warrant out. Thought I would inform you of this man.” Arima spoke as he reached back into his saddle back and grabbed a flimsy piece of paper with a rough sketch on it.

Narrowing her eyes at the paper, Touka rested her hands on her hips. “Okay. You can go now.” She spoke, annoyed by his presence.

“Ken Kaneki. Please, at least, remember the name. The man is up to no good and has many dogs on his trail.” Arima spoke, dropping the paper to the ground before backing his horse up to be on his way. Thank god. But if the man had dogs on him, that meant he probably betrayed his own group of bandits. Interesting.

Watching as the sheriff finally let her be, Touka glanced down at the paper in the dirt. Ken Kaneki, huh? What kind of reward were they looking at? Pacing up to the paper, Touka brushed off the dust with her foot and a look of surprise rose to her features. One thousand five hundred dollars. While it may not sound like much, it was enough to fix up the property nicely.

Regardless, Touka couldn’t help but feel confused as to why Arima insisted on checking on her family. They were a good few miles away from the small town, yet he stopped by. Was he waiting for the day he would stumble across their corpses? If that was the case, he better wait a lifetime because the woman wouldn’t die easily. She may be a woman in a man’s world, but she held her ground.

By the time Ayato finally returned home, the cool dark blanket of the night began to settle down on the ranch. Touka was the first to greet him, examining his catch. He had managed to kill a couple rabbits. For some reason, Touka was fond of these small creatures and everytime time Ayato returned with their carcasses, it pained her. But they needed them to survive and she had no right to be picky.

“Why can’t you ever catch a deer?” She teased as she examined the rabbits. Frowning as she noticed one of the rabbits had a large hole in it’s hide from the bullet of the rifle. It would be difficult to salvage this one, but again, they had to.

The frown Ayato gave her told her that there weren’t any deer. The more skillful hunters severely depleted out the population. Without another word, her brother took his catch to the back and began to process of skinning and drying the meat. Meanwhile, it was time for Touka to make a final sweep of the property.

Arming herself with the rifle that Ayato had left with her, Touka kept one gloved hand on the barrel and the other bare, tracing the cool metal of the trigger. It wouldn't be the first time if she found a stray coyote lurking or a man with ill intentions. With both those incidents, her rifle was her only ally.

Following her usual path, Touka made sure to poke at some of the posts to make sure they were able to stand if they happened to be pushed by a strong gust. Frowning as a small post toppled over with the pressure of her hand, the woman let out a small sigh as she kneeled and placed her gun on the ground. Digging at the base of the post with her hands, Touka pulled the post up and tried to steady it in it’s makeshift hole. Letting out a grunt of effort as it tried to fall once more, she froze as she heard something out of the ordinary. The sound of hooves thundering towards her. A lone horse- either it was a large creature or it held a rider.

Eyes rising Touka let out a surprised shout as a large shadow of a horse was nearly upon her even though the sound of the hooves seemed farther off than they actually were. Crawling back a meter or two as the horse charged in her direction, the impact was imminent. The velvet body of the horse was easily split by the barbed wire as it charged through, snapping the old and rusted cables, but also earning itself some serious injuries.

She hadn’t noticed the man on the horse’s back until the horse had fallen, the body of a lean man tumbling to the ground as the horse forced itself to its feet and began to run once more, spooked by something. Naturally, it noticed the herd in the round pen and charged towards her horses. But she wasn’t worried about the large horse now, she was worried about the man on the ground not too far from her.

Ignoring the ruined fence, Touka quickly got to her feet and grabbed the rifle before closing the distance between the two of them. The long barrel was pointed at the man as she was now hovering over him. There was blood soaking through a wound on his arm and another on his thigh. She didn’t know or care at this point about how he was. She needed to know who he was and why he was here.

“Who the fuck are you?” The woman growled as she glared down at the man with narrowed eyes. The man’s hat had fallen beside him to reveal a mess of black and white hair and fairly glazed eyes. Whoever he was, he probably didn’t know who he even was after that fall or even because of his inflicted.

“I’m not gonna repeat myself again. Who are you?”

In response to her demands, the man seemed awfully confused and only tried to block the view of the rifle with his dirty hands. He was only able to keep his tried arms up for bit before they fell at his sides, obviously exhausted.

Eyeing his body, Touka noted that there were no obvious weapons on his body and ultimately decided to take her aim from the stranger. He wasn’t fit to fight back and like hell she would just let this man go now. He damn well owed her a new fence.

Dropping the gun, Touka didn’t say a word as she hooked her arm around the man and began to drag him towards the barn. He needed to get out of the cold but she wouldn't bring this man in her house.

After hauling his body towards the barn, Touka pushed open the door and brought him inside. Looking around for an appropriate place to put him, the woman dropped his limp body against a pile of hay before leaving for a second to light the lanterns around her so she would be able to see and to inform Ayato and Yomo of this man.

Dropping a nail over one of the small flames, the woman didn’t hesitate to unbutton the stranger’s shirt and take it off to get a better look at the wound. Hearing small whines of protest from the man as each time she moved his body seemed to hurt him, Touka lifted his chest forward to see if the wound still had a bullet lodged in it. To his luck, the wound was clean of metal. But he wouldn’t like what was to come.

Rising, Touka found the nail she had left on the flame and handled it with her gloved hand before turning towards the man, the glow of the hot nail reflected in his eyes.

“This is gonna hurt like a bitch.” Touka spoke before placing the hot nail over the wound. The sickly smell of burning flesh arose between the two as the man suddenly let out a loud cry of pain. Before he could do anything, Touka was able to move him forward to place the hot nail over the other end of the bullet wound. At this point, the man didn’t make another sound. Placing the nail back over the flame, the woman moved her hand under his nose to see if he was still breathing. To her surprise, he was. Guess that was supposed to be a good thing.

With her features unchanged throughout this process, Touka withdrew her knife and cut the fabric around the wound on his thigh. This one didn’t seem to be as life threatening and didn’t require to be cauterized as it looked like it had clotted. Luckily, Ayato came just in time with a shot of whisky in his grasp. He knew what she needed.

Taking the shot and dumping it on the thigh wound, Touka began to tear the man’s shirt into strips of cloth to cover the wound with a bit of pressure. Tying off the ends, Touka stopped her job and finally rose to her feet to look at what she had done. To be honest, she didn’t realize how well built his body was until her eyes gazed over him now. She had to guess he was in his mid to early twenties- but neither of those things mattered. For now, he just needed to wake up in the morning.

Tossing a saddle blanket over his body, Touka blew out the candles before vanishing into the dark. This wasn’t the first time she had to treat an injured person who stumbled on to her ranch, but she had a feeling that this time would be very, very different.

Dragon Ball 012 - THE ONE WITH THE MONKEY

This is it, isn’t it.  This is the weremonkey episode.

Screw the previous episode summary, skip the themesong, I CAN’T WAIT ANY LONGER!  Let’s liveblog Dragon Ball!

Considering we saw the dragon get summoned at the end of the previous episode… no.  They’re not going to make it in time.

Do not let him look out that window.

Ah well it’s overcast, you’re probably fine.

For now.

The stakes are so high right now that Yamcha doesn’t even seem to realize how close to Bulma he is.  Their shoulders are touching and he’s not freaking out.

Man, they put a lot of effort into making this moment look big and important.  I don’t think it’s ever going to be treated with this much weight again, but this first time has to be special.

Aaaaw.

DID WE MENTION THAT IT IS A FULL MOON

DID WE MENTION

Pilaf gets this little imagine spot of himself as supreme ruler of the world as he’s about to make his wish and really, I share in his excitement.  I want this for him.  Pilaf for mayor.

Now, if he’d just made his wish instead of standing around imagining this, this show would have turned out very differently.

“Sup guys, whatchu’ want?”

Bulma and Yamcha despair that it’s too late, Yamcha shocked that the world is about to become this madman’s plaything and Bulma in defeat that despite all her hard work and suffering her wish has been taken away, but Goku doesn’t accept it.  He repeatedly fires Kamehamehas at the wall, trying to break out.  As far as Goku’s concerned, it’s not too late until someone makes a wish.

Oolong, the Plan Guy, is about to save the day.

Interesting how quickly the goals have gone from “we want our own wishes” to “we don’t care anymore, as long as Pilaf doesn’t get HIS.”  There’s a degree of selflessness to how they’re desperately trying to salvage the situation.

Just as Goku finally manages to break through the wall (you know, now that it’s plot convenient), and Pilaf begins speaking his wish, Oolong leaps forward and screams the first wish that pops into his head.

You could have bought that at a store, Oolong, you didn’t need a magical wish granting dragon.

To be fair, the wish itself didn’t matter.  The point is that Oolong prevented world domination, and this is his crowning moment in the story.

Hey, you know this whole situation could be avoided so easily if the dragon only granted a wish to the person who actually activated the balls, but that would make too much sense.

This whole group is acting like a TEAM now!

“Yo cool, deuces.”

Nobody told Goku he wasn’t gonna get his dragon ball back after the wish.  :C  Oh Goku.

“THAT’S IT WE’RE KILLING THEM ALL”

You guys.  You were so close.  :C :C :C

I feel like Goku is just very Done with this whole adventure.  He lost his grandpa’s dragon ball, he’s not having fun anymore, he’s hungry and tired and his heart’s just not in it.

Yamcha goes back for him.  Yamcha does care.

Shu, who apparently has the power to control dogs (but not the ravenous wolves from episode two?) summons a pack of vicious dogs to hunt our heroes down!  They’re not, like, supernatural, powerful dogs or anything.  They’re just normal dogs.

Yamcha’s dragging Goku.  Awww.

Luckily, Goku’s vicious vendetta against animals kicks in.  GOKU KILL COUNTER IT’S GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK

Goku kill counter:  Sentient fish, talking dinosaur, like 100 wolves probably, one centipede, mohawk tiger bandit, Shu’s empty robot suit, Shu’s pet dogs.

Just for comparison with our villains of the arc:  Pilaf, Mai, and Shu’s kill counter:  nobody.

Yamcha also gets in on beating up the dogs.  Why did you send the dogs, Shu?  What made you think dogs would be effective?  Goku and Yamcha are going to SLAUGHTER those dogs.

Those dogs are going to SLAUGHTER Oolong and Puar.

Boy, I sure am glad that we’re up here and those dogs are down there and that they’re the sheriff and that we’re frozen up here and that we’re down there and I just remembered we’re up here.  What I wanna know is

How are we going to get to the window!?

Mai and Shu suddenly attack, and they look awesome doing it.

Yamcha hits that dog with another dog, but while he’s doing that, Mai and Shu take Bulma hostage.

“No!  Not that girl I just met!  You fiends!”  Seriously, take Puar hostage, it’d be more effective.

Really though, I like that this episode plays Yamcha as the protagonist.  Goku’s pretty much been benched to give Pilaf and the Squad a fighting chance, so the cinematography is all focused on Yamcha’s actions and motivations.  It’s cool to see that.  For one episode, YAMCHA was the main character of Dragon Ball, and we all need to appreciate that.

DID

WE

MENTION

Captured again.  This time with an adequately explained reason as to why they can’t just break down the walls, THANK YOU.

Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw… Goku.

Bulma gets into more of the worldbuilding for a bit.  I wonder if you can destroy the dragon balls while they’re made of ordinary stone?  Not that you’d WANT to, but you’d think it might happen by accident at some point.  Some guy with a tractor plows over one, and poof.  Death as a concept regains meaning in your universe.

Yamcha just casually announcing his phobias to the group.

I kiiiiinda get the feeling Pilaf is a liiiiittle ticked off at them for some reason.

You know, I know it’s just a convoluted deathtrap for the sole narrative purpose of allowing Goku to see the sky, but it’s absolutely in character for Pilaf so I’m cool with it.  Also that is DARK.

Their panic turns quickly to a desperate struggle to get out before the sun rises, and this is DARK.  This is Pilaf suddenly becoming a legitimately threatening villain.

Death and kisses!

DID

WE

MENTIIIIION

Pilaf’s drinking a coffee and it’s cute.  Look at these baddies just hanging out in the castle rec room.  They’ve got a ping pong table.

Here we go.  This is it.  This is the scene.  We’re HERE.

Ah yes, the scene where we learn that Puar is secretly a werecat wait no.

“…And that’s the backstory as to why I hate animals!”

No but who’s gonna tell him?  :C  :C  :C  :C  :C  :C  :C  :C  :C

REALIZATION HITS

“This explains so much and yet so little!”

This.  Is an OMINOUS SHOT.  Can we all just appreciate the way this scene is directed?

Like okay, this shot right here positions the camera so that Goku already appears to tower over the others.  It’s angled to focus on his tail, which while usually still, is animated in constant motion throughout this entire scene.  The audience realizes what’s about to happen at the same time as the characters, and now the camera work is just working to build the tension higher and higher until the other shoe drops.

“HEY GOKU DON’T LOOK RIGHT HERE AT THIS THING RIGHT HERE THAT I AM POINTING AT AND DRAWING ATTENTION TO, DO NOT LOOK AT THIS SPECIFIC THING, YES THIS ONE.”

I can actually remember the exact tone of Bulma’s english voice actor from watching this episode as a kid, when she pointed at the moon and screamed “It’s right ABOVE you!!”

This is a good frame of animation.

“Well, Oolong, now that you mention it…”

“YEAH, KINDA.”

YEEEES

YEEEEEESSSSS

You know, this show came out around the correct time for this scene to be a direct reference to the transformation sequences in “The Howling.”  And this looks a LOT like “The Howling,” so I gotta wonder if it’s a deliberate reference or just a coincidence.

But anyway YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS

It’s a fun detail that Mai and Shu sleep in beds right next to Pilaf’s, the only difference being that Pilaf’s bed has a fancy little canopy.

The episode ends as Goku smashes through their little prison cell and starts wrecking Pilaf’s castle, and DANG I have been HYPE for this, I remember how COOL this was when I was a kid, and it did NOT disappoint.  Giant weremonkeys are AWESOME.

We’ve got one more episode of the Pilaf arc, so I’ll meet you right back here to watch Goku’s rampage as we continue to liveblog Dragon Ball!

(YEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS)

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Burt Reynolds, wisecracking celebrity of 'Smokey and the Bandit' and 'Deliverance,' dies at 82

Burt Reynolds, the wisecracking celebrity of 'Smokey and the Bandit' and 'Deliverance,' dies at 82

Burt Reynolds, who reigned as Hollywood’s wisecracking, accurate-ol’-boy field-office champ in the late Nineteen Seventies and early ’80s in films together with “Smokey and the Bandit” and “The Cannonball Run” and made popular culture history as Cosmopolitan mag’s first nude male centrefold, has died, his agent told the related Press. He becomes 82. For 5 years in a row — 1978 thru 1982 — Reynolds was the No. 1 box-office megastar, in movies inclusive of “Hooper,” “beginning Over,” “The cease,” “Sharky’s gadget” and “The nice Little Whorehouse in Texas.” but his extra-than-50-year profession turned into widely recognized for its peaks and valleys, as Reynolds became the primary to concede. “My profession isn't always like a regular chart. ... Mine looks as if a heart assault,” he cracked in a 2001 interview with Canada’s Globe and Mail. “ I counsel rankings of young actors because they recognise I’ve stepped in pretty much every landmine along the way I may want to.” Reynolds has been in Hollywood operating in tv and movies for more than a decade earlier than landing his breakout film role in “Deliverance,” the 1972 drama directed through John Boorman about 4 men whose weekend canoe experience down a treacherous river in backwoods Georgia takes a suddenly dark flip. as the macho leader of the group who proves lethal with a hunting bow, Reynolds received sizeable word for his strong performance inside the film, which becomes nominated for an Academy Award for a nice picture. but with the aid of then, as Reynolds advised The times in 1972, he had decided to trade his display photo “from standing round searching virile and imply” and alternatively “take the risks and be funny about it.” And it’s the captivating, lighter facet of Reynolds, amply seen to the public for the duration of his frequent speak display appearances on the time, that became him right into a celebrity. The darkish-haired, ruggedly handsome actor, along with his trademark mustache and distinctively infectious laugh, went directly to famous person in a string of films, along with “White Lightning,” “The Longest Yard,” “At long remaining Love,” “lucky lady,” “Hustle,” “Gator,” “Nickelodeon” and “Semi-difficult.” “In a maximum of his roles,” Playboy magazine found in 1979, “he portrays a sort of macho pixy who regularly doesn’t take himself or maybe the film he’s in very critically.”

That maximum drastically carried out to his role in “Smokey and the Bandit,” the 1977 movement comedy wherein Reynolds, because the Coors beer-bootlegging Bandit opposite Jackie Gleason’s pursuing redneck sheriff, looks immediately into the camera at one factor and smiles on the target market. Leonard Maltin’s “movie guide,” says “Smokey and the Bandit” are “about as diffused as the 3 Stooges.” however audiences observed the black Trans Am-using Reynolds’ automobile-chase film impossible to resist, and it got here in 2nd simplest to “celebrity Wars” as the yr’s top-grossing movie. “I’ve become the No. 1 box-office big name in the global no longer due to the films but despite them,” Reynolds instructed Playboy in 1979. ��Critics instructed human beings they’d be fools to see the films, however, humans went anyway.” As for his enchantment to moviegoers, he stated, “I think it’s because I have the ability to make human beings happy and to have them say, ‘i love him.’ … I like to play this individual who’s not pretty all there, who steps down from his truck and scrapes the manure off his boots and who are always combating for his dignity. He’s anti-established order, he’s humorous and he’s an individual to cheer for — a hero.” Reynolds becomes this kind of massive superstar inside the ’70s that even shaving off his moustache won attention. Minus his trademark facial hair, he acknowledged in a 1978 interview with the Washington publish, made him “appearance much less attractive.” “Now,” he joked, “I look like I make love inside the bedroom and not at the residing room ground.” Burton Leon Reynolds Jr., who was one-area Cherokee on his father’s facet, was born Feb. 11, 1936, at domestic in Lansing, Mich. A decade later, the circle of relatives moved to Riviera seashore, Fla., wherein Burt Sr., a difficult and strict world struggle II veteran, worked first as a widespread contractor and subsequently became chief of police. “I used to be completely rebellious, being the leader’s son,” Reynolds recalled in a 1992 interview with the Saturday night put up. “I used to be continually in trouble.” What saved him from himself, he said, turned into turning into a celeb athlete. referred to as a speedy fullback at Palm seaside high college, he earned a scholarship to Florida state college. but his goals of gambling professional soccer ended after he tore the cartilage in one among his knees for the duration of a sport in 1955 and reinjured the knee in a close to-fatal automobile twist of fate later that year. After recuperating, Reynolds enrolled at what is now Palm seaside community university in which, at a professor’s urging, he auditioned for a production of “Outward sure” and wound up prevailing the 1956 Florida kingdom Drama Award. Reynolds changed into a struggling young the big apple actor before turning into a contract player at generic in 1958. He had his first brush with fame co-starring with Darren McGavin in “Riverboat,” a 1959-sixty one television adventure collection. He went on to play the recurring function of half of-Indian blacksmith Quint Asperin “Gunsmoke” from 1962 to 1965 before starring in short-lived series of his personal — the police dramas “Hawk” (1966) and “Dan August” (1970-seventy one).

via the mid ’60s, Reynolds additionally had began landing starring roles in films inclusive of “Navajo Joe,” “100 Rifles,” “Sam Whiskey,” “Shark!,” “deadlock” and “Skullduggery” — normally the sort of films that, he’d comic story, “they display in prisons and aeroplanes because nobody can go away.” “he is the simplest film celebrity who didn’t come from a success play or a large film,” former lady friend Sally discipline, who starred with Reynolds in “Smokey and the Bandit” and 3 different movies, instructed variety in 1997. “He simply came crawling alongside, clutching and punching and digging his way.” Reynolds’ appearances on television talk shows inside the early ’70s, together with numerous stints as a visitor host on “The this night show,” helped turn him right into a countrywide superstar who entertained viewers along with his self-deprecating humorousness. His talk display appearances all at once paid large profession dividends. indeed, it became after seeing Reynolds guest web hosting “The tonight display” that director Boorman determined to cast him in “Deliverance.” And a “tonight show” look with Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown caused Brown to invite Reynolds to come to be the mag’s first male nude centrefold. “Why?” he asked her. “because,” she said, “you’re the handiest one that may want to do it with a twinkle on your eye.” a chief pop culture event, the April 1972 centrefold featured a grinning Reynolds with a cigarillo clenched between his enamel as he lay on a bearskin rug with one outstretched arm discreetly placed among his thighs. The magazine trouble providing Reynolds, who said he had fortified himself for the picture shoot with belts of vodka, offered out at once. The convergence of his talk show appearances, the Cosmo centrefold, “Deliverance” and a high-profile romance with singer Dinah Shore, who became twenty years his senior, put Reynolds on the display commercial enterprise map in high relief. One drawback became being swept up in rumours surrounding the drug overdose death of David Whiting, the manager of his co-famous person Sarah Miles, at some stage in the filming of 1973 Western “the person Who Loves Cat Dancing” on a place in Arizona. And at the same time as later dealing with the pain and other results of getting his jaw by chance shattered during a combat scene while making “town warmness,” the 1984 comedy with Clint Eastwood, his ensuing drastic weight loss spurred rumours that he had AIDS. In what he described as two years of his “own private hell,” he also had to triumph over a dependency to the prescription sleep aid Halcion. by using then, Reynolds’ excessive-flying career changed into on a downswing way to a number of box workplace disappointments. during the height of his career in 1979, Reynolds opened the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre in Jupiter, Fla., wherein actors consisting of Martin Sheen, Carol Burnett and Julie Harris executed. He additionally released the Burt Reynolds Institute for Theatre education. whilst continuing to make films in the past due Eighties, Reynolds returned to tv — playing a Florida private detective on “B.L. Stryker,” which ran from 1989 to 1990 as a part of the rotating “ABC mystery film.” He then starred as a small-metropolis Arkansas high faculty soccer educate in “evening colour,” a 1990-94 CBS sitcom for which he gained an Emmy in 1991 for extraordinary lead actor in a comedy series. Reynolds went on to obtain a Golden Globe Award and an assisting actor Oscar nomination for his performance as a porn film director in the 1997 drama “Boogie Nights.” in the resulting years, he regarded in extra than 50 extra films and television collection, along with the 2005 remake of “The Longest backyard.” “He is a genuinely thrilling career due to the fact he went from not being taken significantly to being taken seriously back to no longer being taken significantly,” film historian Jeannine Basinger told The times in 2010. “It’s the type of an exciting progression due to the fact he was someone of intelligence who understood a way to manipulate his very own picture, and he did that very, very effectively.” however “at a time when he came into his maturity and virtually did some superb performing” in smaller parts in extreme films along with “Boogie Nights,” Basinger said, “it just didn’t cross everywhere for him adore it ought to have, and he didn’t get that sort of golden years of function maturity that his skills entitled him to.” Reynolds’ 1963 first marriage to British actress Judy Carne ended in divorce in 1966. In 1988, he married Loni Anderson, with whom he followed their son, Quinton. the wedding ended in a relatively publicized divorce in 1994. Celebrity, Entertainment, News from Blogger https://ift.tt/2wMWPlS via IFTTT

Top Of The Table – Western Legends Sandbox video games are one of the most popular styles of play for a good reason. By engendering player freedom, and encouraging a variety of activities, players feel tremendous agency over the unfolding story and action. That same sandbox approach has sometimes proven challenging to implement well in the tabletop gaming world, especially since board games almost always involve multiple players who must all be able to move through the same dynamic open world – a notoriously challenging problem to solve, in both tabletop and video game spheres. Luckily, there are more than a few standout successes in the board gaming world, and the recently released Western Legends stands tall among them. Tapping into the thrill of Old West shootouts, cattle wrangling, outlaw hunting, bank robberies, and more, Western Legends is as close as I’ve encountered to a definitive cowboy-themed board game. Whether you’re riding a high from the recent release of Red Dead Redemption 2, or you’re just a lifelong fan of the genre, Western Legends nails the fantasy. In every game session, players control a familiar face from western mythology; figures like Billy the Kid, Annie Oakley, Wyatt Earp, and Bloody Knife fill the roster, and each has their own special abilities and equipment they bring to the start of the game. Your character sets out across a fictional stretch of mesas, creeks, and mining towns, filled with opportunities for adventure. Rather than a specific end game goal, each of the two to six players in the game is simply trying to garner “legendary points (LP),” acquired through a wide array of activities and exploits. Whether you commit a bank heist, prospect for gold, revel at the cabaret, or confront a bandit on the open range, everything feeds your goal of acquiring LP or the money that will help you along your path to legend. Western Legends features a ton of beautiful components, including physical "gold" nuggets, and a cardboard standee representing the goods for sale at the general store At its core, Western Legends plays on the push and pull between law and outlaw that is at the heart of so many western stories. Are you working with the marshals to bring down bandits, save the innocent, and establish order? Or have you become a wanted man or woman through theft and murder? Both paths are viable, and are monitored on the board through dedicated tracks. The Wanted track offers a quick and dirty path to LP, with regularly accruing points for each new infamous action undertaken. The Marshal track is a slower path to fame, with many of the points for your good deeds not showing up right away, or even until the end of the game. However, the great thing about the process is how balanced and fun it is to take either path. Subsequent replays feel fresher and more exciting, since many of the choices you might make are different depending on your approach to the law. The game even supports dramatic flips partway through the game. Maybe you’re sick of being the buttoned-up marshal, and one day you decide to rob the bank. Welcome to the Wanted track! The Wanted/Marshal tracks also set up a wonderful dynamic for player-versus-player competition. While there are plenty of non-player bandits to chase across the board, you can also hunt each other in pursuit of justice. In turn, that means every gaming group can customize the degree of direct competition and player conflict they prefer, simply through their choice of how to play. The unpainted minis look good, and you get to choose which one represents your character in each game session Whether in a duel with another player or attempting to elude the NPC sheriff, Western Legends features a perfectly in-theme mechanic for conflict resolution. The game comes with a customized set of poker cards, with the general system in place that the highest card wins in a fight. But in addition to showing a numerical value or a face card, all the cards also feature bonus actions that can factor into an interaction. Sometimes, these are reactions to pull out in the midst of a fight, like the Bulletproof Jack card, that cancels any wounds you might otherwise have suffered in a shootout. At other points, the poker cards in your hand can be played to enhance actions on your turn, like the Saddle Up card that lets you move to any town space on the board. Regardless, the poker cards lend a fun flavor to the unfolding game, as you look around the table and everyone is carefully studying their cards, just as if you were all in a saloon at the card table. Get wounded, and the size of your card hand shrinks, reflecting the way your injuries limit your options. Incidentally, the game even features the option to head into town and actually play and bet in poker games to win more cash. One of the reasons that Western Legends works so well is the wealth of options available on each turn. The board is scattered with icons depicting your activity choices. Heal up at the doctor’s office. Wrangle cattle to the rail station. Visit the general store to buy a new rifle. Rob another player you encounter on the road between towns. And on top of the turn-to-turn actions, at any time there are also story cards that come into play as designated events occur. For instance, after a certain number of Wanted or Marshal points are accrued by anyone, you might attract the attention of the Burrow Gang, who sweep down off the mesa, and must be fought off by outlaws and lawmen alike. Whether it’s a story card or a chosen activity, any given exchange is relatively straightforward; it’s the array of potential situations that keeps the game exciting from turn to turn. The large board allows freeform movement and helpfully tracks each player's progress as an outlaw or lawman That same advantage leads to about the only thing that can hold up the fun in Western Legends – keeping track of what to do in each situation. The game offers a handy player reference aid, but there’s a lot to keep track of. In some other games, players may be used to ignoring that kind of player aid card; that’s a bad idea in this case. Panning for gold requires that you roll a special set of dice, and then know or reference what each result means. Fighting a bank guard is just a little bit different from fighting the sheriff. And what exactly is the difference between robbing another player and dueling them? To counter this, make sure to spend a few minutes before the game having every player look at their player aid sheet, and knowing where to look for different pieces of info. The game will flow far better. In addition, take advantage of the customizable game length option to cater to your group, which sets how many LP trigger the end game. I found that a short game for a mid-sized group could be completed in under two hours, an average-length (my preference) between two and three hours, and a long game could easily stretch past three. Choose wisely based on your group make-up, and how late in the evening you start your session. Behind the clever mechanics and action interplay implemented by designer Hervé Lemaître, Western Legends also stands out for its evocative illustrations by Roland Macdonald. The earth-toned colors and figure art recalls Old West photography and catalog illustrations of the period, and helps the whole game feel cohesive and era-specific. Macdonald's illustrations add vibrant flavor to the already theme-driven mechanics I’ve played several board games that focus on specific elements of the cowboy experience, from the train robberies of Colt Express and the cattle herding of Great Western Trail, to the dexterity-based shootouts of the raucous Flick ‘em Up. But no game I’ve encountered has taken such a broad and sweeping approach to the Old West fantasy as Western Legends. By letting players wander freely across the map in any direction, and take up any part of the cowboy experience they’re excited about, play feels remarkably open-ended and flexible. Add in the morality component, and Western Legends emerges as a gaming experience of dynamic choices and sudden reversals, in which emergent storytelling between players takes center stage. And beyond its engaging theme, Western Legends is a potent example of how open-world multiplayer sandboxes can not only work, but capitalize on the presence of other acting players. 2018 has been a standout year for great tabletop games. Click into the Top of the Table hub from the banner below, and check out some of the recent games we’ve featured. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, drop me a line, and I’ll be happy to help you find the right board, card, miniature, or role-playing game for your friends and family. Source by [author_name] #games #gamer #gaming #game #play #koragame #freegames #onlinegames