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sinisterexaggerator · 2 years

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Shriv Suurgav meets Cad Bane at Maz’s Castle

Sketch commissioned from the AMAZING Stormytitan!

This is a scene from my WIP: To err on the side of caution; or, “Look! I’m taking another enormous risk!”

Chapter 1 is posted, more to come! [AO3]

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Shriv recalled having one too many Parkellan Slings, finding himself up on his soapbox, talking to anyone who would listen about the atrocities of the Empire and the travesties they had committed against Duro and his species.

“Who does the “Emperor” think he is?!! – A dried up Sriluurian raisin if you ask me.” Yes, he stooped that low. Shriv wasn’t one to unjustly pick on someone for their personal appearance, but this guy deserved it.

“Star Destroyers – pfft. More like compensation for something, amiright? Just how big can you make them, hmm?” Shriv wouldn’t know what that was like.

“And why would you give your infantry white armor, anyway? Anyone can spot a Stormtrooper from a mile away – what about the element of surprise? Is that supposed to be some kind of power move?” Honestly, either this guy Palpatine was a genius, or a masochist who liked to watch his own soldiers die – maybe both, considering plastoid was a terrible aesthetic and functional choice in terms of battle armor.

It seemed Shriv was getting under a few people’s skin or microscales - his friends had warned him to keep it down. He didn’t listen, naturally, turning on a Duros in the corner who had his feet propped up nonchalantly while chewing lazily on a toothpick. A little droid had been idly chattering away into his inner ear until Shriv felt the need to interrupt to get this man’s sentiment. They were the same species! Surely he would back him up!

“Hey, you! Old-timer wearing the excessively large hat! You get it, right!? It’s kriffed up what they did to us!” It was beyond a normal or acceptable circumference as far as hats would go, and Shriv couldn’t understand why he’d want to conceal himself behind it; it’s purpose – did it have one? Did he think it added something to his already distinctive, somewhat threatening appearance?

I’d look kriffin’ asinine wearing something like that! - Why do I feel like I know this Duros? - Just where the hells does this guy shop? Where do you even BUY a hat that big?

Normally, he wouldn’t have been so brazen in referring to an elder Duros in such a careless, ill-mannered fashion, but alcohol did something to Shriv; that’s why he usually stayed away from it. People already seemed to think he was no fun to be around, and much less so when the filter that so loosely bridled him vanished resolutely into the ether somewhere at the consumption of a few distilled beverages.

That toothpick swiveled to the corner of this Duros’ mouth, his neck craning upward as he took in Shriv with a gaze that scrutinized, his brow ridge having curved inward to impress a scowl across his face. “S’a nice haat.”

Oh, so that’s why he wanted to hide … He had one mean mug, though Shriv wasn’t that put-off by him, at least at first. He wasn’t anymore terrifying than those stories of the cannibal arachnids they told back on Duro, anyway.

Thank Maker they all went extinct before I was born…

“Did I say excessively large hat? I meant just the right size.”

Apprehensive? Sure. Overly cautious? Absolutely. But afraid?

The Duros had shifted, placing his feet upon the ground. He unfolded his arms and stood, rising like a gangly scarecrow to a height that would tower over a field of corn and him the crow. Shriv swallowed, realizing he had two blasters holstered at his hips and something he hadn’t noticed before; forearm gauntlets with a plethora of buttons; too many to take a count, and rocket thrusters attached to his … boots, apparently. There was a menace in his crimson, horizontal eyes that chilled Shriv’s green blood by a few degrees, his instincts driving him to take a step backward for no reason other than he was invading his personal space.

Ah, kriff, you’ve done it now.

OK, yes. Afraid.

Well, not so much afraid … but maybe more like, intimidated.

“I mean, it makes sense if you think about it, as you have such a large head. You need a bigger hat.”

A few people had glanced around; some laughed. Maz tsked, thinking this idiot was going to get himself killed before the sun came up.

“Not you in particular, I just meant … Duros. Duros would need larger hats compared to other humanoid hat wearing species with heads not as large as… ours, though you are the first I’ve seen to wear such an unusual piece.”

Oh boy, you really backed yourself into a corner with that one.

“Not unusual in a bad way… Of course, I think my head’s even bigger than yours if it makes you feel any better! It’d just make me look…ridiculous. That’s to be expected… not that… you look ridiculous.”

The other Duros had stood there, glaring, but not saying a single word. He bared his fangs in a display of irritation before he removed his toothpick and callously flicked it on the floor.

Well, that’s a bit unsanitary…

His fingers had moved; latched onto the edge of his no-fight holsters lined with fresh gas cartridges and power cells – he had enough to take out an entire army. Shriv wondered what he required all that ammunition for.

“You know, you kind of look familiar. Have I seen you somewhere before? Wanted posters, maybe?”

“Master Bane, remember the rules! Maz does not approve of fighting in her castle!” the little droid piped up.

Holy karkin’ snot! That’s why he looks so familiar!

“On closer inspection, I’ve never seen you before in my life …”

Shut. Up. Just shut up, Shriv!!”

“Can’nit, Todo. D’ere wouldn’t be’a fight … just’a quick death, dat’s all.”

Take a deep breath. Deeeeep breath.

“I am so sorry. I meant no disrespect. I am not deserving of your time, believe me – just a worthless Duros pleading for his life at this very moment - in case you were unaware that’s what this is - me, pleading, before none other than the greatest bounty hunter of all time. - It’s a pleasure to meet you, by the way… A living legend with an impeccable sense of style might I add.” The first part was true, but he could only hope the sarcasm dripping off his lack of lips in regard to his fashion choices was masked by the flighty, psychological response that was kicking on in the background. Surely Cad Bane could smell his stress levels.

“You could rival my old buddy, Lando! He favors a cape, though. Ever thought about wearing one?” Now he was just rambling; past the point of redemption - he talked too much – stream of consciousness – Shriv could hardly help it; sometimes his internal dialogue just … escaped. Something he might find himself needing to do rather abruptly in the next few minutes, give or take – that, or patiently await his demise.

“I suppose it might uh… just get in your way… not very … useful…”

Lando’s cape sure as hell isn’t useful.

“This fellow’s all right, Bane – just doesn’t know when to be quiet! You should listen to your droid. He’s smart.” Maz had stared the other Duros down without a hint of fear. Shriv applauded her, mentally, realizing he needed to reign himself in a bit and that he was perhaps lucky he wasn’t dead already.

Cad Bane had growled low, a sound issuing forth from the recess of his throat. He turned to Maz, regarded her, then back to the man who couldn’t keep his trap shut as the droid named Todo chirped.

“Well, at least someone appreciates me.” Shriv felt like he could relate to that.

Try to cover your tracks a little better this time, huh Suurgav?

“What I meant to say before all that other stuff was … Duros just can’t catch a break, huh? You look like you’ve got a few stories to tell! What do you think about all this?”

Cad Bane had not hesitated. “Duro’s a sscughole – but de Empire will fall as Empire’s al’ways do – you sso angry, mebbe y’should step up t’da plate an’ quit yer yappin’ – get off yer chubbies an’ make yerself wurth sometin’ since you’re so… wurthless.”

“Well, when you put it that way…” Shriv had homed in on his accent; it was unique. He thought he must be from some dreadful place like New Tayana that he had never had the pleasure of visiting - he was a “Capital City Slicker” and somewhat grateful for it. He had been “raised right” without any of his wants or needs having to go unfulfilled, yet far from spoiled – to use Human terminology, perhaps he was “middle class.”

“You might be onto something, er, sir.”

That’s two in one day … It -has- to be a sign.

He had watched sheepishly as Cad Bane paid his tab, tipped his giant hat to the proprietor of the establishment. His little droid followed him outside as he called back to Maz, waving his fingers in the air above the wide brim of that ungainly bolero atop his head. “Keep outta trouble, lil’ lady – an’ teach dat boy t’learn when t’shut up b’fore he gehets ‘imself mur’dered in ‘is ssleep.”

He had insulted Cad Bane and lived to tell the tale. “Was that a – was that a threat? Should I be… worried?” he had whispered to the pirate queen.

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verdantglow · 2 months

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My roomie & I were talking about instances in media where a character is playing with dolls of their friends/castmates & I thought of this scene & then, uh, somehow, this???

#joel smallishbeans #etho #hermitshipping #but in the sense that hermit is doing the shipping lol #boat boys #SmallEtho #not main tagging Gem ‘cause this really does fit right in that grey area where I’m unsure if okay #so gonna err on the side of caution & just not

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warpedpuppeteer · 1 month

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Schrödinger's Buddie. We think Buddie is both going to be canon but also not.

#most buddie shippers #torn between two worlds #me definitely #i think they won't #but also think they would #obviously they would is what we want #but still #err on the side of caution #or however that goes #buddie #911 abc

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mirrorofliterature · 5 months

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there's something very amatonormative about the way booker sees the world

he tells nicky and joe that they had always had each other, whilst andy and booker only had themselves and their grief and that's uncharitable and an amatonormative way of looking at the world.

yes, nicky and joe are in a long-term romantic and sexual relationship that is very solid, but that doesn't negate like... their platonic relationships?

when booker says that, it is so damn self-absorbed and naive and amatonormative

does he not realise that nicky and joe have always been with him too? that nicky and joe lost quynh too? sure, andy lost her lover but look at nicky and joe when they tell nile about quynh - they loved her and her loss deeply fucked them up.

booker's betrayal is so, so selfish and amatonormative. and sure he had his reasons - grief, alcoholism, depression - but those are not excuses, but explanations. I'm on the side of 'booker is a character and what he did was understandable and he clearly needs therapy' but 'holy SHIT let nicky and joe feel BETRAYED because they were and shouldn't have to moderate their reaction to protect ickle booker' - like the amount of work booker needs to put in for a proper reconciliation is astronomical.

anyway I digress. by saying 'you always had each other', booker is being an amatonormative little shit who downplays both nicky and joe's platonic relationships, I love and care for the other immortals, including him, but also that they have suffered loss too - their families, and how their first meeting wasn't exactly serendipitous.

anyway! booker's framing of nicky and joe is deeply fucked up, stemming from amatonormativity and booker's worldview of competing grief. like booker.... grief sucks but it's not a competition, y'know?

anyway! this is a Reading TM of booker's worldview vis a via nicky and joe that I've felt strongly about because booker just like. is so self-absorbed in his grief that he cannot recognise and appreciate what he has, nor can he recognise that nicky and joe's lives haven't been sunshine and rainbows because they're in a romantic relationship.

like bro. they love you. go to therapy.

#the old guard #meta #booker #anti booker #well more like #booker critical #but I like to err on the side of caution #amatonormativity #kaysanova #nicolo di genova #yusuf al kaysani #like they lost their families and quynh too y'know there's no monopoly on grief

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ssomepersonn · 5 months

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OHHH THE BEASTS

#my art #wyndrnka #sohrylla #it started as a skull study and it ended as colored oc art you know how it is #skull #eye strain #idk if the first one is considered as such but i prefer to err on the side of caution #they sure are guys!! hope nothing bad happens to them #ocs

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the-himawari-otome · 3 months

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[Shuuen no Virche] Fanbook Doodles Translation

Requested by @blupengu for a translation of some of the Lucas-centric doodles found in the back of the official fanbook! Might not be 100% accurate due to having to decipher handwriting 🙏

･ﾟ･:,｡★ pictures under the cut for spoilers ★,｡･:･ﾟ

Lucas and Scien - page 128

Notes: Scien's whole schtick is reference to a famous line from the old drama, "太陽にほえろ!" (Taiyou ni Hoero!). Yusaku Matsuda (the actor) yells "なんじゃこりゃあ!!" (nanjakoryaa: ~what the hell is this) after getting shot in the stomach. You can watch the scene here on Youtube to fully understand the reference!

Lucas, Scien and Adolphe - page 133

Notes: the little comments on the side are Yves, Hugo, Mathis and Jean waiting for their turn to have their injuries treated. ROUGHLY:

Yves: Mathis is next!

Mathis: Oh no, me and Jean are fine! You should get bandaged first!!

Yves: Huh?

Hugo: Hey, your wounds are opening!!!

Yves: Oh, they are!!

Scien: Calm down, Claude 1 & 2 and Courrune 1 & 2

Yves: Come on Scien, you should start calling us by our names now~

Lucas, Mathis and Scien - pages 134-135

Notes: the little comments on the side are Yves and Adolphe arguing. This was extremely hard to make out, but I think, ROUGHLY:

Yves: Geez, no matter how much you don't want to eat my food, you shouldn't drop your plate.

Adolphe: ...Did you see?

Yves: Yeah, I saw you drop your plate!!

Adolphe: You didn't see it then...!

Yves: See what!?

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[DO NOT USE OR REPOST MY WORK W/O PERMISSION, THANK YOU]

#shuuen no virche #virche evermore #lucas proust #mathis claude #scien brofiise #virche evermore yves #virche evermore adolphe #please forgive my very amateur typesestting but it was fun to try 😂#also friendly reminder that images from paid content like this shouldn't be posted or shared in the open!!#I say that but tumblr is relatively 'safe' since the companies arent on here and monitoring #or at least as far as I know #but twitter is definitely a big no no #all that is to say please err on the side of caution when sharing content like this :) thanks!

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cj-the-random-artist · 6 months

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Made a secret life impulse doodle (heavily inspired by the skin made by @lolli-popples because its absolutely 11/10 gorgeous)

I gave him a flannel and an extra piercing for the vibes lol

Enjoy doodle

#secret life spoilers #traffic smp spoilers #secret life smp #impulsesv #just some late night marker doodle that I made because art is hard lately #lucky me the sketchbook I used was Bristol paper so no marker bleed I feel powerful #also. lolli popples. if u would like to be untagged lmk but u very heavily inspired this so I figured I’d tag ya for now if that’s ok :D #also tagged as spoilers cuz idk if they’re actually spoilers but I figured ehh I’ll err on the side of caution for now :P

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iraprince · 2 years

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the hisoka tax has been paid, and justice has been done.

thank you so much @blueshark15 for commissioning me, but most importantly for committing to the bit

#would this count as putting character hate in a tag.#i'll be gracious and err on the side of caution #hxh #shizuku murasaki #fanart #commission #my art

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anarchywoofwoof · 7 months

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if you ever say anything mean about yourself ever again i will know about it and you're gonna be in big trouble so don't do it

#text #i have my ways #or maybe i don't but are you seriously gonna risk it #have you seen this blog #i would err on the side of caution is all i'm saying

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nebuleer · 1 year

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uhhhhh kind of suggestive maybe?? hes just Very manspreading but i thot better to censor it on main

#spamton #deltarune #deltarune fanart #addisons #my art #digital art #suggestive #cw suggestive #the full image is #somewhere uihrguirhei #i like to err on the side of caution when it comes to censoring Saucy art #i dont think ive ever had to cw something before i hope im doing it right sdfgfhh #honestly love drawing him blushing and 😏 looking its so fun HEE HEE *swings my legs back and forth like a himbo*

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sinisterexaggerator · 2 years

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Shriv Suurgav thoughts: Nerd level ( headcanons?)

he's good with computers /machines and he's a hell of a pilot mechanic strategic analyst MATH computational navigation also he's studied female anatomy to know how to please a woman even though he's kind of afraid of them ( not in general, just in the sexual kind of way - being flirted with for instance ) oh i bet he's watched hours of pr0n and he's embarrassed because it's mostly human based

i bet he can take apart a blaster and put it back together in 30 seconds or less

ohh and he works out a little bit >_> - he's a beefy cake

also expert jokester

but dry humor mostly.

he's like... the best of both worlds?? half jock half nerd and very humble. umm... self-degrading

I bet he follows politics. knows what is going on at allllll times ALSO HE GONNA BE A DADDY HUGE DAD VIBES

hmm if shriv collects something i want to say it's model starships. like, he puts them together.

he always wanted to be a pilot he will see something zip by and be like THAT'S A YT 492727ZED STELLAR ENVOY!

ok the end

@madam-o @virtualexpertanchor

#shriv suurgav #shriv #duros #headcanons #to err on the side of caution #fanfic ideas #I am a $lut for Shriv #nerd shit #star wars #star wars battlefront 2 #battlefront 2 #danger leader

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pendragonsclotpole · 4 months

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for some reason i’m getting a ton of those “ao3 should/should not be an app” posts in my feed and i just need to say, you guys are fighting the wrong battle

what we need is the ability to assign or +1 certain tags to emphasize when a fic is giving us what we want. like some of you have never spent three fucking weeks searching for the perfect soulmate au on a search of the general “soulmates” tag, only to find it in the shape of some three chapter, 50k fanfic with 100 kudos and only three tags to its name but none of them even vaguely related to the word “soulmates” and it shows

#all i’m saying is #if we could get a function where other users could add public tags to fanfics that are never accurately tagged #the world would be a better place #im not saying ao3 should give us free reign #like obviously knowing the whole mdzs tag debacle #ao3 should err on the side of caution #but what if we could just select from an official tag list and then we could click on a fic #and see that 20 other users marked it as that one soulmate trope you love #it would be magical #i could filter by that or something too #have it appear in the search #ao3 #if you’re listening #ignore the calls for apps #heed the calls for tags #all the tags #fanfic #fanfiction #archive of our own

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sensitiveheartless · 2 years

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*jazz hands*

I finished the "Dazai goes feral" AU

This one is a bit more intense than my other stuff, so do mind the tags if you decide to check it out! Take care y'all

(It still has a happy ending because I can't not)

@feralrookie, this is the one you asked about, so here it is if you'd still like to read it! :0

#hopefully i tagged it correctly #this is the first thing i've written that's needed content warnings ajkdfksdjfksdj help #I decided to err on the side of caution #blood cw #senhart's writing #my art #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd dazai #bungo stray dogs

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apatchworkstar · 6 months

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I'm Not Scared is a super Fuuta song wtf

(also heads up before you click the link- there's some suicide imagery so uh. If you're sensitive to that stuff, there's a heads up?)

#An idiot Star takes to the stage!#milgram #Fuuta Kajiyama #suicide mention #(??? Idk if this counts too much but I'd prefer to err on the side of caution)

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errorryx · 1 year

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the lamb & the knife

read on ao3 | limited life, pearl & cleo, 1.8k words

a gratuitous fanon interpretation of cleo and pearl's sixth episodes based on this post, because i was feeling silly. cleo summons a war goddess for revenge purposes, and pearl isn't willing to sacrifice her cat.

warning for brief gory/visceral descriptions (i put the zombie in zombiecleo)

“Just a heads-up,” Cleo called across the small canyon between their bases. “Tonight I’m going to summon the goddess of war to my service.”

Pearl had been watching them approach from the top of her hastily-constructed stone wall. She’d never heard of a goddess of war, but it might explain the war paint Cleo had been sporting the last few days. “What does that mean, exactly?” she asked.

“Oh,” Cleo said, tilting their head. “You don’t know?”

“No, I don’t.” It felt like a trap, but as usual, Pearl’s curiosity got the better of her. She hopped down from the wall, ignoring the pain of impact in her soles as she climbed up the tiny gorge. “Can you tell me about it?”

Cleo grinned sharply, like she’d won something. “It’s very simple,” she said. “At moonhigh, I’ll call on the goddess of war to take over my body and enact my revenge. I’m going to draw a circle, make an offering, and win her favor.”

“Right,” Pearl said, as if this was all very normal. Maybe it was. Maybe she’d been out of the loop this whole time, while people had been summoning goddesses left and right under her nose. “What kind of offering are we talking about here?”

Cleo barked a laugh, making Pearl scowl. “If you’re thinking of trying it for yourself, Pearl, I doubt you have the sort of thing she’s looking for.”

“Which is?” Pearl pressed.

“Spoils,” Cleo said. “Yours or another’s.”

Spoils. Pearl frowned. “How am I supposed to get spoils in a game where people don’t drop their stuff when they die?”

“Oh, not that kind of spoils,” Cleo said dismissively. She rested her hand against the awful crevice in her side, then began to slide her fingers in. Pearl quickly looked away. “This is exactly what I mean. If you can’t even look at what I’m trying to show you, you don’t have much hope of obtaining a war goddess’s favor, now, do you?”

“Did you already forget who won last time?” Pearl asked. “I’m not sure why you think a war goddess would give you the time of day when I’m here. How many people have you killed again?”

Now it was Cleo’s turn to scowl. “We’ll just have to see who’s got the better offering, won’t we?”

Pearl lifted her chin. “I guess we will.”

“Between you and me…” Cleo took a step back, still clutching her side, and slowly began to draw something out from within—some kind of awful blackened tube, smelling strongly of rot and mildew. Pearl nearly gagged when she finally figured out what it was, but she pressed her lips together and held her breath instead. “I think I’ve got the upper hand,” Cleo said. “That’s what a goddess craves, you know. Carnage.”

She turned on her heel and walked back to the clock tower, her own entrails dangling in the dust behind her.

Pearl made a sputtering, disgusted noise, scrambling back to her tower. If Cleo was going to make an offering to a goddess, she’d just have to beat her to the punch.

She ran down the stairs of her strip mine, pausing at the spot that led to the ravine where she’d killed Jury—Judge Jury—whatever stupid name Jimmy had given the frog. She didn’t remember. All she remembered was watching the poor stupid creature fall to its death when she’d kicked the ground out from under it. She hopped down to the floor of the ravine, digging around in the rubble until she found—

Nothing. The frog was nothing but dust. Bodies rotted so fast in these games, she doubted she’d be able to use anything from another player, not unless she happened to kill them right in the center of her circle and do the ritual immediately after. Or maybe she could do it while they were still alive, but she’d have to find something that would sit in her circle long enough to make it work.

Pearl grimaced. She knew exactly what she could get to sit in the center of her circle and not move, but she didn’t like it. She went back upstairs to draw her circle, making it as even and symmetrical as possible, then starting on the inside. Summoning circles were meant to have five-pointed stars inside them, weren’t they? She started on the first point of the star, dragging her stick of chalk almost all the way to the center, before realizing she needed a reference point in the middle. She drew a tiny circle and connected the edges of her first point, then started on the other four.

Once she was finished, Pearl set down her chalk, dusted off her hands, and looked over at her unsuspecting cat, who watched silently from across the room. “Pspsps, Froggy,” she called quietly, “come here, baby.” Froggy’s head perked up, and she delicately rose to her feet and trotted right over to Pearl’s side, curling up in a ball at her feet. “That’s right,” Pearl told her adoringly. “Such a good kitty.”

Froggy gave a gentle purr and closed her eyes. Pearl scratched gently at her kitten’s ears and under her chin, watching Froggy’s breathing gradually slow into sleep.

Pearl sat back with a sigh. It would be a simple task to nudge Froggy into the circle, but she still couldn't bring herself to sacrifice her cat. Besides, there was a decent chance that she’d done something wrong, or that Cleo had made the whole thing up just to mess with her. She got to her feet, letting Froggy rest. “Goddess, if you’re listening,” she said, “could I get some kind of sign that I’m doing this correctly? Anything, really.”

She took a look at her circle. From this angle, her improvised pentagram didn’t look much like a star after all. With the smaller circle in the middle, it more closely resembled a flower with five pointy petals.

Maybe it was a sign from the heavens, or maybe it was just her habit of lunacy when the moon was high, but Pearl was struck by sudden inspiration. She climbed up the ladder to the chest room.

BigB was sound asleep on the floor above her, and Pearl could just barely hear his quiet snoring. She tiptoed over to one of the chests and lifted the lid as slowly as she could so as not to disturb him. For a moment she contemplated drawing a second circle, right around BigB’s bed, but she decided against it. Maybe as a last resort.

She only found three flowers in the chests: a poppy, a rose bush, and a lilac. If she were a goddess, Pearl didn’t think she’d be very impressed. Since there were five points to her star, she grabbed a couple dark oak saplings to complete the set. Somehow it just felt right.

By the time she returned to the ground floor, she’d developed a recurring yawn and her eyelids were growing heavy. Pearl never seemed to get enough sleep in these games, and this time was no exception. She knelt down in the center of the circle and arranged the flowers and saplings, one at each point of the star, leaving a space for herself in the center without really thinking. With a shrug, she lay down and stretched out across the stone and gravel floor.

If the goddess wasn’t impressed by the flowers, maybe she’d be impressed by Pearl offering not just some useless internal organ, but all of herself.

Or maybe it would just get her killed. Pearl didn’t know what to expect, but either way, she’d made her peace with it. She was much too tired to stay awake until moonhigh, but she hoped the goddess would accept her offering anyway.

She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

—

“Cleo.”

Cleo grinned, looking up from where she knelt in front of her meticulously-drawn summoning circle. “Hi, Gem.”

“Cleo, what is wrong with you?” Gem stood in the center of the circle, the partially-decomposed intestine dangling from her pinky finger. “Why did you give me this? I don’t want this! Couldn’t you have slaughtered a fattened calf or something?”

“It was just to get a rise out of Pearl,” Cleo said. “Who may or may not be attempting her own ritual tonight, so you’d better hurry up and grant me your favor before you get pulled off to her place instead. Knowing her, her offering might be even worse than mine.”

Gem wrinkled her nose. “Alright, you’ve got my favor, then. Who do you want me to kill? Pearl, I’m guessing?”

“Eh.” Cleo shrugged. “Pearl’s not a priority. It’s Etho I really want dead.”

Gem’s eyes lit up and her hoof stomped eagerly against the ground. “Say no more.”

“He’s also my husband,” Cleo warned. “Or ex-husband. It goes back and forth.”

“Horrifying.” Gem stuck out her hand, and Cleo took it, rising to their feet and stepping within the borders of the circle. “You’ve got a sword for me, right?”

“Of course.”

Gem embraced them, folding into them until she disappeared completely. When she next spoke, the words came out of Cleo’s mouth.

“Then I’ll be sure to collect child support,” she said. “One way or another.”

—

BigB woke in the middle of the night from some sort of humming sound downstairs that shook the whole tower. He jumped to his feet, immediately searching for his sword, before looking across the room at Pearl’s bed, empty and untouched.

His shoulders sagged with relief. If Pearl wasn’t asleep yet, it probably meant she was the one making the noise. But he just as quickly tensed up again, because he couldn’t think of anything she might be doing that would cause it. What if she was in danger? “Pearl?” BigB called, beginning to climb down the ladder. “Where are you?”

“Down here,” chirped a voice from below that was definitely not Pearl’s.

When he got to the bottom, BigB turned around to see Pearl standing in the center of a large flower drawn in chalk on the floor, with flowers in her hair and a very peculiar sparkle in her eyes. “Pearl?” he asked hesitantly, backing up a few steps.

“Not quite,” Pearl said, her lips moving in time to the voice that wasn’t hers—a voice that, now that he thought about it, sounded familiar. “Come on now, BigB. Don’t you recognize your queen?”

—

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#pearlescentmoon #zombiecleo #ldshadowlady #geminitay #bigbst4tz2 #limited life spoilers #tw gore #tw body horror #it's played for a laugh but i'm tagging it anyway to err on the side of caution #my stuff #my writing #lml

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