#do you think they have penny bets for the kids for that kind of fight

[feroluce]

Connecting dots tonight (didn't connect shit, I've connected them, etc) because of this post about item descriptions to do with Sampo I saw a few days ago and! I feel like there are so many interesting things that could be implied from this!! Because the recipe for the High-Tech Protective Gear is given to you by Bronya (before the IPC invaded Belobog!), who says this little interesting tidbit about it:

This is an item from before the Eternal Freeze, 700 years ago. Even to the rest of the universe, it would be SORELY outdated. It cannot be made in Belobog anymore due to the loss of entire eras. It is effectively useless; this recipe had to be somewhere gathering dust, kept around solely for archival purposes. There is no reason for Sampo to know about this item or have any idea how it works and yet. AND YET. He's just running around selling knock offs!!

He shouldn't even know how to make these, but the fact that he does means Sampo either

had the blueprints from off-world before he came to Belobog (most likely but also most boring answer)

broke into Qlipoth Fort and copied down the blueprints (completely plausible - he's possibly shown doing exactly that in his splash art)

found another copy out in the ruins of the old world (also completely plausible - Sampo is astoundingly resilient against both the Fragmentum and the cold, as noted by Lynx haha)

Meanwhile, the Inferior Protective Gear recipe comes from an NPC in the underground, and when she gives it to you, she talks about building robots and the robot fighting scene sorry about the quality I didn't have screenshots for her dialogue so I had to use wiki

Which makes me feel like it's safe to say that the inferior gear is mostly being used in the underground, especially by the vagrants and their robots for fights, because...well, who else would use it? Cocolia has made it illegal to explore too far into the Snow Plains, and besides, it's way too dangerous for most civilians even WITH gear. The Silvermane Guards are funded by official sources, they have no reason to rely on Sampo for armor. So it makes sense for an underground mechanic to know the recipe; there's probably not as much market for it up in the overworld.

And if you look at the descriptions, you can see why this probably wasn't something that could be made in Belobog anymore; it requires a charging system of some sort.

We know it's not a problem with the basic materials because all three ingredients can be found right in the administrative district. But the underground only has two of them; somehow, despite being in the planet's crust, and literally crawling with robots...there is no metal down there. It isn't found anywhere, sold by anyone, or dropped by anything. And metal just so happens to be the one ingredient Sampo replaces in his knock off version.

The Inferior Gear uses trash instead, something which, going by the words of that same mechanic, is MORE than abundant in the underground- any good quality parts are extremely difficult to come by down there.

Anyway, all his shadiness aside, I love the implication that Sampo is smart enough to be able to take this item that no one else on the planet probably knows anything about, and was able to figure out what he could replace, and how, and with what, in order to make it easily accessible to the people of the underground, even without access to overworld resources. Because his version DOES work! It literally gives you the exact same amount of defense boost as the IPC one!

Someone should absolutely still knock him around for it, though, world's most slappable face fr fjkdsjfdkjafk

[yuymayd]

I know, probably, nobody will read this, but I NEED to say this somewhere. I just despise how people treat both Yang and Ruby and their development throughout the show. It almost looks like people are not watching the same cartoon as I am. Also, the fact Ruby and I have a very alike household and story of life makes everything hit stronger to me. So, I will make a small analysis of some aspects of Ruby and Yang throughout the series based on my pov and on the information we were given by the series.

After Summer left and ended up dying during her mission, everyone was crushed in pieces. As we saw in Red Like Roses part II, Ruby always had the feeling her mom would not come back home someday. To a little kid, waking up and getting to know that your worst fear turned up to be real is devastating, especially when it comes to losing someone that it's the glue of the house and is your mom. After that, Tai was so broken that he couldn't even be a functional father and Yang, who was also a kid, had to pick the responsibility of taking care of Ruby. In my vision, both Yang and Ruby blamed themselves from all of this bad situation, one thinking that because of her Summer left them and the other trying to compensate all the time for being a "burden" to others. In their household, it looks like everyone didn't use to talk about their feelings or about everything that has happened (as we saw Yang and Tai arguing in the volume 4). With all of this, it's crystal clear why Ruby and Yang have so many difficulties in talking about their struggles and their difficulties.

Ruby always felt like she was a burden to other people (and I think it's because she feels guilty that Yang had to kinda put her need before her own and she blames herself for Summer's d3ath), so she tried so hard to be the best leader and to make the best choices, but EVERYTHING was crumbling and, with more and more choices to make and with all of the weight of the world on you shoulders because everyone is counting on you, she started to lose herself and feel like she's incompetent. She truly felt like she had no value and that she was completely alone. Since the beginning, she wasn't the kind of person that would ask for help when she was struggling (she tried to figure it out by herself) and, with the situation getting more complex, she had the feeling she needed to do everything on her own. When they were in Ever After, all of her trauma hit her like a truck: the absence of her mom; Penny having one moment of living like a human and, just after that, her life ended because she needed to pass the powers; the weight of her choices, including the people who died in the middle and all of the destruction it caused; and all of her mistakes. Everything was too much for her to handle and she felt like she failed to everyone. Thinking about all of this, it makes sense why she was so broken and why she didn't have hope for things to get better. To everyone saying she was being selfish, she was not. She was really having her first real mental breakdown in her life. In this kind of moment, everything is extremely intense and it's sooo hard to see that there are people who you can rely on by your side. She's just a girl who has to fight in a very unfair battle she didn't ask for.

Now, about Yang. I've seen people from the fandom saying she is not really intelligent or even calling her stupid, but she's everything but those things (of course she can act silly and be goofy, but she's not dumb). Yang grew so freaking much when it comes to fighting and she thinks a lot before making some decision, even on battle or in her private life. This girl tends to bottle up her feelings and she puts all of her teammates and other people before her. She would sacrifice herself without even thinking twice because she cares more about other people's well being than her own (and this is something I would love to see being discussed in the next volumes). I think she does this because, to her, it's better to lose herself than losing people she loves (almost thinking she's replaceable). And, I mean, she had to sacrifice a lot of stuff for other people's sakes, especially for Ruby. Being a young kid and having to parent your younger sibling can change the way you see everything and even you own self worth. To everyone who said she doesn't care about her sister, please, watch the last three volumes again. She asks Ruby a couple of times if she was okay and, when Ruby made the theory about what happened to their mom, Yang pulled herself together after sobbing a little and pulled Ruby into a hug, trying to comfort her little sister instead of letting all of her emotions out. If Ruby doesn't talk to Yang what's wrong, she cannot do anything about it, she doesn't have a crystal ball to tell her what's happening with other people. Yang always showed to be someone reliable and tried her best to tough for everyone else's sake. Don't say she's a bad sister when she isn't.

Well, this was just my small rant about these two sister I love so much! I have more things to say about this but I think the rest is more projection :') and I'm too tired to write more hehe

[whogavemoththerighttohyperfix]

your fic’s awesome! you mentioned wanting HCs— could I have some Jane/Penny friendship with the other kids? 🌟

ID LOVE TOO!!

Penny is honest to god one of the most protective people in the friend group.

If Mischa is the mum friend, Constance is the Dad friend then penny is the bodyguard

Girl with throw you across the room with her pinky if you get to close to her friend than she likes.

She’s also like insanely strong, people think Mischa is the muscle and body of the friend group which he is to an extent but penny is in his level

Hold a grudge till she dies

They all do “I’ll knock you’ll talk” and every single time she gets stuck with the talking part

She dosent really mind though

The group had a competition on whether she was a cat or a dog person, she’s both

She has a Cat called Max and a dog called Katy, she thinks it’s funny that she switched the names

Only Noel, Mischa and Constance know how to drive but sometimes Penny will somehow get behind the wheel,

Every single one of them ended up huddling together and crying as Penny laughed like a madman

They regret it every time and say it will be the last time she goes behind athe wheel of a car in her life

She somehow does it again everytime

Made a bet that she could stay in the air using Rickys crutches for half an hour without wavering.

She stayed in the air for an hour, and won £50. She also couldn’t write for the next three days but it was worth it. She bought them all as much McDonald’s as they could eat

She can and will break into your house to cuddle

One time decked oceans dad in the face, he was high at the time so he dosent remember it but Penny says it still counts

Ok now onto general ones for each character

Mischa and penny get alone so we’ll man, she also practically lives with him. Mischa literally has a set up med specifically for her away from the one he has for the others

They’re both very cometative gamers and will curse out anyone in games no matter how much the others tell them to shut up.

One time when Mischa got into a fight with another student Penny ran up and put them into a choakhold until a teacher came and she gave him over with a smile

Mischa bought her ice cream as a thanks

If they go to the beach they always ended fake drowning eachother as in pulling eachother under the water until there both stopped and put on time out

Constance and penny are such a cute duo honest to god they’ll run around holding hands.

The both have a tendency to drag the other to look at what they want usually stuffeded animals or something though.

They’re an ungodly team at bowling, like if your up against them you better start praying for you life now cause you are getting beat 100%

Ricky and Penny were actually the first out of all of them to become friends, they were next door neighbours they had playdates even before nursery.

They practically read each other’s mind, all of them can speak with no words but then two especially, Ricky couldn’t talk and Penny didn’t like to so they can literally just stare talk

One time used Ricky’s crutches to beat up a kid who made fun of him for having to use them.

She also bought him cat and galaxy stickers for them to decorate his crutches with. He never took them off and let the others add to it

Ocean and her both basically have the same time tables at school, they spend basically every class together And the teachers hate them for it.

Ocean gives her math and English study plans and notes and Penny helps her out in PE

As in she will just pick ocean up when they’re doing a lap around the pitch because she will have an asthma attack and the PE teachers won’t let her use her in hailer

Going back to the HC that she decked Oceans dad, it was because the Choir saw him yelling at her and fuckin lunged at him.

He dosent remember a thing and she’s still kind of bitter that he dosent cayse she wants him to remember it

Noel and her get along so much better than people around them think, like Noel has a obsession with france Penny has an obsession with Italy

They both bond over it and plan to visit both country’s together. They’re saving up together

They are WLW and MLM friendship and both have beat up homophobes for the other

She also taught Noel how to fight! Cause she thought it would be fun

Noel: I don’t wanna do this

Penny: when I’m done with you, you’ll be able to choke a man to death with your thighs in heels

Noel: ok I’m in

Mischa: she can actually do that

Ocean: I know and I’m scared of Noel having that ability

Noel is literally a half decent fighter thanks to her, which is an amazing accomplishment cause man can’t do shit

[anxious-scrambles]

MY TAVS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE COMPANIONS

Dreuer

Shadowheart - initially she irritated him. Her haughty demeanour and unsubtle cultist vibes pissed him off. But naturally, he has sympathy with anyone subjugated by an unjust god (even when he wasn’t entirely sure why he felt that way), and when she confessed to being a Sharran he softened up.

She teases him more often than he teases her but he’s not immune to standing behind yer and doing an impression of her while she’s talking. Deadpan of course. And he will deny all knowledge of doing so should she turn around and challenge him.

Despite being older by almost a decade, she has almost a big sister or even maternal attitude towards him. He is a very sensitive man prone to getting himself in Situations, and she has gotten very used to patching up his old ass.

Astarion - Hated him. To the point where he genuinely tried to stake him through the heart. His arrogance and attitude were like sandpaper on skin, and Dreuer despised him.

As more of Astarion’s past was revealed, Dreuer became defensive. Still largely rude and argumentative towards one another, Dreuer slowly built up a hatred towards anyone who wanted to hurt this actual sad wet cat boy.

I think the penny dropped for Astarion when Dreuer stood up for him against Raphael in Act 2, and wasted no time and asked no questions in the hunt for Cazador.

Astarion is his asshole baby brother and if you hurt that vampire, be prepared to get fucked on by the wrath of Bhaal.

Gale - He had him at “unwelcome insertion in the occular region”. Dreuer didn’t actually understand that what he was feeling was a big stupid schoolgirl crush until it was painfully obvious, but it was there from the start.

Things were obviously slower for Gale. I mean, he was going through his own post breakup trauma, he had a lot to unpack.

Basically for a long time they annoyed everyone by being so obviously and clearly in love and yet so totally oblivious that there was a betting pool going to see how long it would take them to figure it out.

Their love language is bickering over obscure topics and being very gentle with each other because dear god they both deserve some kind, romantic love.

Lae’zel - Dreuer was largely ambivalent to his githyanki friend at first. She was a soldier doing what soldiers do.

He slept with her in act 1 when he was trying to figure out what sort of person he was, but realised very quickly that he is absolutely not the hookup kind of guy.

Their relationship turned slightly competitive, killing counts exchanged between them and occasional night time ambushes going on so that each of them could prove they were better than the other.

Gale found this very very annoying.

He misses her while she fights in the astral plane, and any note from her is treated with love and care.

Wyll - this boy is smol. A fellow warlock, a sweet baby. That’s Dreuer’s son. He’s what, four years old? Pick your sword up kid, it’s sparring time.

Dreuer, while thinking Wyll’s gallantry is admirable, doesn’t really think it’s worth it. He usually plays along though because for the love of god Wyll needs a father figure who is proud of him.

They have taught one another a lot, and will continue to do so.

Karlach - if Wyll is his adoptive son, Karlach is his daughter. As big and scary as she is he sees her sensitive side, her enthusiasm, her joy and her vivacity as things to be treasured (and envies her for them, slightly).

I’m fairly sure if Wyll hadn’t gone to Acernus with her, Dreuer would have left Gale waiting in Waterdeep to travel with and protect her. His own desires would be secondary to keeping her safe.

Halsin - a fellow old soul, an important friend and confidante. Halsin is a force of nature and Dreuer respects that greatly. It was healing for Dreuer to see people like Halsin and Karlach being such ferocious creatures while still harbouring a sensitivity and kindness.

It gave him hope.

Jaheira - excuse me that’s his mother. He is her little cub. Her Bhaalspawn son.

If there is one thing Dreuer is in desperate need of, it’s a parental figure to reassure him and support him. Someone to keep him on the right path when he’s on the road to doing some deranged shit (because we can’t trust Gale, he’s probably into that deranged shit).

There is undoubtedly no one Dreuer trusts more than Jaheira.

Minsc and Boo - … yes. They are also here.

He likes Minsc and Boo but… he can’t really vibe with them. So their relationship was very “acquaintances and then, goodbye to you.”

[crinkled-emotions]

Mmhh the prompts 😍😍 I love the shorter fics so much too!! Unbelievable how you can future so much in so little words 🙌💖

49. and 71 please? I think would be awesome for some Daderick caring taking and worry about his kid.

Good morning!! Thank you for your kind words! I was gonna write this last night but I passed out on the couch beside my dad at 10pm 😂.

Maybe we should do these like once a week- I'll post a prompt list that I find and we can do some short stories!

I am a firm believer that Rooster too passes out on his couch at 10pm by the way lmao. Also, for someone who generally specialises in emeto I've been writing a shit ton of coughs/colds lately hahaha. It's a good opportunity to expand my skills!

49. "Not with that cold" and 71. "Person A is oblivious to the fact that they are most definitely getting sick, but person B knows them well, and is definitely aware of it"

Maverick knew just by seeing the back of Bradley that he wasn't feeling all that hot. For starters, Phoenix was glued to his side. Apparently she could see it too. His shoulders were a little more hunched than usual and he seemed confused as to why everyone except Phoenix was giving him a wide berth.

Penny waved Pete over to where she was serving patrons at the bar, leaning over to whisper in his ear.

"Bradley needs you!" She said, pointing in his direction. Maverick reached across to give her a kiss, nodding.

"I got him. Thanks, Penny."

He began to weave through the crowd, giving Bob's shoulder a squeeze when he got to the Daggers. Coyote gave him a fist bump.

"Sir," they all chorused- except Rooster, who grinned.

"Uncle Mav."

"Hey kid. You feeling okay?"

"Uh... yeah?"

Despite the confused look on his face, Maverick could see the dark bags under his eyes and the slight tremble to his hands. Phoenix rolled her eyes.

"He's been sneezing and coughing all day. Sounds like it hurts."

"Thanks, Tash. Bradley?"

"What are you talking about?" Bradley turned to Natasha who rolled her eyes.

"Empty your pockets, I bet we'll see a handful of disgusting tissues that you've been reusing so we don't see you go for the box all day."

"Oh, gross, Tash," Jake called as he walked past. Natasha flicked him off, not even bothering to give a fuck.

"I feel fine, it's probably just hayfever," Rooster said. Everyone except Bob snorted.

"You've never had hay fever before, why start now?" Payback said. Rooster narrowed his eyes at him.

"Sit and twist, dude."

"Look, why don't you call it a night, hm? Get some sleep, and we'll see you in class first thing tomorrow," Maverick suggested before Bradley could fight everyone. He went to resist but Bob cleared his throat.

"You could probably do with some extra sleep. I saw you in the ready room yesterday."

"Fine! Fine, I'll... I'll go home."

Rooster collected his keys and Hawaiian shirt but Maverick took the keys out of his hand before he could go further.

"I'll take you home, hm? As much as we call it an early night it's actually nearly eleven."

"Night Mav, Roo," Phoenix said. She picked up her beer and bumped Hangman out of the way so she could get her shot at the pool table. Rooster frowned as the rest of his team carried on with the night.

"Traitors," he muttered. Maverick raised an eyebrow.

"They care about you. Want you well."

Bradley went to bed and Maverick flopped on to the couch downstairs, turning on the TV. If Bradley was that unwell he would probably get up soon looking for medicine and Maverick would have to make sure he didn't do something stupid like try to go to class in the morning. Wouldn't be the first time.

Sure enough 1am rolled around and Maverick stirred awake to his godson sneezing uncontrollably. Maverick grimaced, swinging his feet to the ground and heading down the hall to the bedroom.

"Bradley?"

"Mav?"

"Can I come in?"

"Y- yeah."

Maverick turned the doorknob and flicked on the overhead light, frowning.

"Oh, Roo..."

"I'm good! I'm good. It's just hay fever. I can still fly."

"Not with that cold. C'mon, let's get some meds into you and you can hopefully go back to sleep."

[shadowonwater]

Pokemon Scarlet Playthrough part 15: The gang gets together, beginning of the journey into the sparkling land, and Time Machines

Playthrough Masterlist

So it really is just a coincidence pretty much that Arven happened to recruit my other friends. I find it very funny that all Arven needed to do to get Nemona on board was to tell her that there would be strong Pokemon, that was all she needed, ha ha, that's my Nemona!

With Penny he asked Clavell about people who were good with technology. I figure he didn't tell Clavell why he wanted someone who was good with tech though. Arven mentioned that they were doing this to help me, and that's why Penny got on board. Arven mentioning that she's old fashioned with how she feels about debts got me thinking about Team Star's code.

So I do find it funny that I'm the only one here who's friends with everybody. Makes me think of a birthday party. Like you can have a core group of friends but the members of that group will still have friends outside the core friend group. So it can be odd going to a friend's birthday party and like the core friend group is there and makes up most of the people, but then there's a few other people there who are just strangers to everybody else but the birthday kid.

We hear Sada and she's like "oh good you're here [insert my name]. And you brought friends" So she tells us where to go. I feel bad for Arven because it looked like it wanted to say something to his mom. She's also paying more attention to me than she is him. I feel bad for him. So yeah, I'll go in the gate next, see what happens.

So poor Kori is scared because it was already hinted that something traumatic happened to it. And Sada says to ride it down to the ground. And immediately I'm like "all four of us? is there enough room?" Well I guess there was, although Penny had a precarious position.

So we get to the ground and I'm like "Wait, where's Nemona?" But the other character's are focused on Koraidon's fear. Kori's like "I'm out of here" and hides in its Pokeball. And then they're like "Wait where's Nemona?" Well she comes running up and is like "yooooo this place is awesome!" And she's right, it is.

So I noticed that 1) I can't ride Koraidon because its hiding 2) the music is fucking amazing 3) the Pokemon battle music is also amazing. Seriously I'm going ham for this music! It's fantastic! It also has got me thinking about how good the dungeon music was from PMD.

Going on, this place is so sparkly! There are sparkles in the wind, the water is sparkling. Some of the trees have crystals at their base. This place is beautiful! tbh, I was imaging Area Zero to be more like a thick jungle, but this place feels like some kind of fairy land. And I mean that, in that this place is both dangerous and pretty.

So Sada told us to go unlock the locks on her lab. I gotta say, why do people put locks on the outside of places? Locks should go on the inside unless you want to trap someone. It's just bad design. So we gotta go to the research centers to unlock them. I bet there will be boss fights. I'm guessing... Tera raids? Tera raids do take four people and there are four of us.

Also one thing I should bring up... Sada talks like a robot and I'm quite sure I know why, unfortunately. I saw fanart, and it's not like I was looking for Scarlet fanart, mind you, it just showed up in my feed because I like Pokemon. So I kinda know what's up. I don't know specifics at least.

So while walking there occasionally my friends stop to chat. But I need to pay attention or else I'll miss what their saying. The first went fine. But the 2nd time a bunch of wild Pokemon were chasing me and they kept interrupting the conversation by battling me. It's hard to read when you're also trying to dodge wild animals tackling you. I think I missed part of the conversation. :( They were all talking about how they met me though. Of course Penny didn't go into details, lol. Going to the research base next.

So I've reached the first research station but I forgot a few other comments I wanted to make. 1) there are some weird berries here that I've never seen before in Pokemon games, help to make this place feel alien. 2) When I was talking about how sparkling this place is I forgot to mention that it fits with the whole Tera thing. What with the crystal theme.

Anyway a Glimmora blocked out path. I guess it was maybe supposed to be a boss battle but I didn't even get a chance to attack. Nemona's Lycanroc took it out instantly. Is this how Arven felt when I was doing all the kickass-ing when we were fighting the titans? I was kinda hoping for a more epic boss battle with all of us, but hey there's time for that to happen still.

So Glimmora is for sure weird looking but I have one and so does Geeta (which Nemona mentions) I did happen to find it in a ordinary cave but I got the feeling it was a rare spawn. I know that they drop the material for Tera blast. Since Geeta has a Glimmora and gave me Tera blast, and that Glimmet are probably more common in Area Zero... I bet Geeta has been here before.

We unlock our first lock, and poor Arven is completely ignored by his mom again. And there's a gross dusty old bed that can restore my health if I so wish. But most interesting are the notes on the desk. It talks about a [redacted] being that tera energy seems to come from and something about it having a hexagonal pattern. I bet this thing is like Eternatus. Like something that has Ultra Beast/Alien vibes. It's be weird and spooky I hope. And like Eternatus, it's where this special energy comes from. I will continue on now.

Made it to lab two. At the point where Arven was talking about what happened last time he went to Area Zero, right after he mentioned being attacked by a mysterious Pokemon, I ironically was attacked and pulled into a Pokemon battle with Corviknight. So yeah Arven snuck in to try to find his mom but had to retreat because his dog got hurt.

I feel real bad for him. He grew up taking care of himself and learned cooking because no one did it for him. He literally had no one looking after him. Does Pokemon have child protective services? I think Arven really could have used them.

So when we approached the 2nd station we had a run in with a Scream Tail. Afterwards Arven and Penny are like "Was that even a Pokemon?" And me a Nemona are like "well yeah it's a Pokemon, it looks like one and uses moves, doesn't it" what looks like a duck, quack likes a duck. I find the game's insistence of not calling them Pokemon annoying. They are 100% Pokemon, like why is this being called into question?

If I lived in the Pokemon World and saw a Scream Tail with no context, I'd be like like "Oh, it's some weird form of Jigglypuff I haven't seen or heard of before, I wonder where it's from." Like Pokemon forms are a thing. Just because it doesn't look exactly like you thought it would doesn't mean it's not a Pokemon. My gosh!

So Sada is like, "yeah that's a prehistoric Pokemon." and "There's a time machine in my lab." And Penny's like "say sike right now." Anyway from the sounds of it Arven knew she was working on a time machine and was trying to get it working.

Reading the notes around the lab, they just talk a lot about how unstable Tera energy is. But I guess Sada figured it out eventually. In other news... warp pads! Haven't seen these in a while. I can go to the other visited Research Baes or the Gate itself. Oh right and another thing... I wonder how Arven managed to get to the ground from the gate. It's not like he had Koraidon back then.

I'll cut this post off here, but i'm going to keep playing and start working on a new post, see you soon.

[silvermuffins]

POkemon Scarlet Liveblog! Part 10ish

bc i am Getting Going even if I'm still scraming about Hades 2

first order of business: breed some ducks for friends. Gets Daya a nice date.

got a nice supply of duck eggs!

accidentally sent someone a gothita egg instead

Okay! I hav now filled in Dreepy, Sprigatito, and Gothita in my dex. Next to evolve is Crabrawler. And also Salandit. Wait how to evolv Crabrawler without Mt. Lanakila? Oh, ice stone. Okay we'll volve Monch and move right along. Phanpy nxt! xcellent, volution already. Nxt will b Cufant.

What's it man if a raid marker on the map is xtra sparkly? Oh ther's on right by a fly point, lt's find out. Shiny four stars??? I faild th raid bcaus th Tyranitar kpt spamming EQ....let's try it again. GOT IT! You'r Adgha.

stops in to say hi to mom rq. MOM TAUGHT ME RECIPES.

reexplores th inlet grotto....o this cave has multipl exits! whre am i!!!

ok i rachd th lighthouse

OKAY god we are Trying with this E key. i have been encouraged to be a curious little thing.

how DID i beat you here, Arven? I dilly dallied so much!

....knew it. He really was raised by the dog.

...The lab looks dusty. Doesn't look like anyone's done anything here in years. The computers come to life, and Sada asks for help. But is this a recording? Or a direct mssage? I stg if she's secretly dead or something....

"the great Professor Sada's glorious research" don't lik the sound of that one bit. Need the scarlet book, huh? We've already been using that. An experience worth treasuring. Tmpting, but lady I am afraid the Great Crater is absolutely off limits for the Treasure Hunt. You got legs, and if you don't you got wheels. Maybe expend half an iota of effort on COMING TO FIND YOUR SON.

cybernetic security systems???

Ohh....Mabostiff got hurt down there....Arven has ben there. Arven I know you treasure Mabostiff but w have more to find. More to see. More to do and feel and love. I'm nto doing this for Sada. I'm using her as an excuse to see it all.

HE CALLED ME HIS FRIEND. yah, that's the spirit! We're gonna go down there and punch your mom in the face! Yeah! Lt's duke it out, but also I need to rifle through your mom's shit for clues.

MOnitors covered in data. Mystrious machine. ...Bed with "Maschiff" written on by a kid. Whiteboard mess of scribbles.

Occulture. Roaring Moon, primeval Salamence. Oh shit it aparently looks similar to what I can only assume is Mega Salamence. Flutter Mane, ghost pterosaur...misdreavus....

A fram with no photo. Picture books for kids, including one about sandwich. Heavy fridge door. Cooktop was used recently! Microwave was not. Sasonings ar expired. Sink hasn't ben usd, mirror is foggy. FUCK went outside I hope I can go back in okay ys good...okay i think I found verything

The cooktop and the empty frame stick out to me as the most important things. Time for a battle! ....PUPPY WANTS TO FIGHT ME I LOVE PUPPY

oh you always lost to nemona yeah she's kind of so much all the time. not a bad person in the least. whatever tho im fight you! not her! no matter how sh acts it's not cheating on her to battle other people

i love Arven so much. Hy! First time I've battled an opponent with a full team! ...th fuck is toedscruel made of??? wham wham wham. Come to see it, Arven also looks like the tera orb is a little hard to control.

you did pretty good Arven. Not good enough to have really stood a chance, but pretty good. And now Linny is evolving! W can switch out.

ohhh we need to recruit Nmona and Penny (who I bet is Cassiopeia) huh

tumblr cool your jets. Honstly I think Nmona would help if w just askd but you're right we probably need to earn Pnny's aid. Also my guy i hav champion rank skills by now. ven if it's not official.

yanks another stak from th earth. yanks anothr. FOUND ANOTHR. ooh Bramblberry th applin will join us.

okay maybe let's gt on with things....like dealing with Cassiopeia. Hi, Clive. I know that's not really your name. But I'm not a snitch. And I am always one for indulging dramatic reveals. Impressive hiding long pants under your shorts.

wait wha??? You're Cassiopeia? I don't buy it. ...No you're angling for a battle bfore the real big boss. You could have just asked, you know. Oh I forgot to swap Linny out. This bgm is far too pleasant to b the finale. Hammer off! Abomasnow's Wood Hammr vs Pebbles's Gigaton Hammer!

Man even Clavell has some trouble controlling the orb. maybe it's just Hard. Anyway Chank is volving, so I'll swap in som new Pokmon after the cutscene. There's no way in hell Clavell is really Cassiopeia.

No shit you're not. Yah....yeah I thought you were trying to spare me some pain. Just. Let me learn the truth.

??? Tyme?

right, so, you'r gonna handle that, right professor? WHile I go battle? Okay it's Gibl and Wingull next. But I gotta wait for nightfall. So, friendship! I have nothing for Riafort and Saguaro right now but ooooh hi Miriam! I look forward to your classes next year~

discovers a whol chunk of msagoza I didn't explore before, somehow...ther's nobody in tsi Every Which Way? Not ven the recip guy?

am on roof!

am also sleepy

okay good morning

i think it's nighttime in game by now, so I have a constellation to fight

yeah that's penny alright. It's okay swetie you hid your identity fine, I'm just genre savvy.

Huh, so you didn't decid to do Operation Starfall until that day...? Mayb the two mmbers talking about quotas and trying so hard to convinc you....mayb the outliers in th tam were what told you it had to nd....strayd too far from what you wanted. Team Star lived long enough to see itself become the villain, that's what you thought, right?

yes penny listn to the part of you that wants Team Star to live on!!! They'v been waiting for you! You could guide them back to what you want to be!

oh hey clive, I se you escapd Ms. Tyme

Penny....is just so scard of being hurt.... Penny they're your friends. You never ven met them in person but they treasure you so much they've waitd for you for eighteen months.

i know from experience that even just a year is a long fucking time to wait. it hurts. physically, it hurts. it tears you up.

Thank god the bosses still had one another, and their squads, because I know how hard that is and I genuinely do not think I would have survived without my important people.

anyway protct Penny protect Team Star

sorry penny don't mind me taking care of this wingull while I dal with you

this music is sick. thanks Giacomo!

she has entirely eeveelutions....but she can't hav all of them, I wonder what will be left out? and what will be her tera?

Her Leafeon is causing me the most problems thus far just because I have no effective counter to grass.

Penny struggles to control the orb too so I guss it's just hard?

somehow I feel like we have arrived at the only outcome nobody wanted.

wll. Humphry is evolving, so we can swap out for somthing....mayb somthing that handles Grass....though most of my options aren't gonna b a viabl lvel by the E4 huh? still I gotta think about my championship team and I know what I need. I need a ground type, dark typ, and something to handle grass. Oh, Gorp is evolving too. Gorp is Ground....might b worthwhil to kep on my team....

anyway tim to hurt

ow

Penny....

the bosses had better turn up right the fuck now to talk som snse into you

Penny.....who hurt you that you feel like you need to hide and scheme and tie everything up in operations? Can't you even trust your friends...?

fuck it I'm sharing my mom with you too

penny why ar you throwing your treasure away

awww clavell got her, at least

OH YES THEY ARE ALL HERE AREN'T THY

FRIENDSHIP, YOU DIPSHIT

jfc

clavell being a Good Adult and acknowldging how fucked up this whole situation is

HUG HER. HUG ALL OF THEM.

babies

i finally understand....Pnny's ben all twisted up with guilt, and has kpt hrself distant and alone all this time. Sh nver got to reallyse that Team Star was the best thing that ever happened to the others. There's a difference between hearing somthing said and knowing it with your heart.

All this time she was trying to carry everything herself whn the whole point was that she didn't need to be alone.

thy're all still in trouble.....community srvice huh. ...Star Training Cntrs!!! Oh my gosh....sir you're dressing a reward up as a punishment

Penny they love you and want you to be with them, why do you need my opinion.

does some tam planning before I continue. I will need to grind a bit.

kay Scoots is back on the team! And w also hav a Sandile.

awww the League is like "you know what Penny, you're a genius, so use your talents for good and we'll waive the problem"

also penny I am kidnapping you to go crater diving

god pnny is being praised that foreign to you...?

Starfall Street....complete!

now tim to grind....I wish autobattling didn't giv so much less exp

oh well grinding grinding grinding. yanks a stake.

huh, i found a cave with the elemental hyper beams. Holy shit, Wild Spiritomb! Nam you Jacks. Some Candy later, I hav a Krookodile and everyon's at least to endgame-ish levels.

Okay! To Msagoza!

We have a league to beat but first, time to see if this cav's any good. Is it a real victory road???

....litrally it's not even a cave, wow. th Pokemon up here are worth no exp. Child why are you attempting the League with just a level 14 Meowth. He has no badges. Literally what the fuck???

okay this cabbi is a bit better

this is probably th most underwhelming league leadup ever

I can probably at last take down on elit as I am and if it's too much of a struggle, I have rare candies and plenty of them

Geeta could honestly kill a man with that hair of hers.

oooh Rika is interviewing me!....this is a wirdass intrview. Oh, memory games.

"You passed the interview on your first try?" "What, like it's hard?" Nobody's done it since Nmona huh...

heeeeere goes. Oooh w're back to a specific order, eh? ha'ent done that with a real elite four since gen 4.

Other than Hassel, I'm not sure of anyn type specialties. Rika's gone with Whiscash, so we're probably looking at watr or ground. ...And it's ground! Gt out hre Daya. oooh water absorb, that's nasty....well all else being equal, I have a bird!

I do wonder if it's going to b actually back to back, or if i'll hav a chance to heal first. Oooh Poppy's nxt, and I think it might lgit be back to back to back?! OH NO i do get to heal up

also this arena is bland as fuck

oooh she deals in steel eh. easy peasy. Jupe sweeps. Oh my god the steel crown is just an axe.

....LARRY???

WHY IS LARRY HERE LET HIM REST

well jupe will sweep again and Daya has whatever Jupe doesn't deal with-- oh he's not pulling a gen 7 on me actually. Oh he's using Flying, so Jupe still sweeps.

oh okay an altaria merits Pebbles. lol okay some swapping shnanigans at the end....

Larry down! I hope I get neat glovs if I win this. Okay, Pebbles is all dressed up and ready to go!

I bet he uses dragon and if not dragon then rock because th rest of the E4 have used the Titans' typs. Either way, Pebbles is the answer. k yah it's dragon.

oh so geeta strong armed you all huh....is Paldea's league some kind of mafia?!

....wait. there was no final rival fight, and it's been a while...am i going to be fighting Nemona??? SOmehow? Like that maks better plot sense but verything seems to be Geeta....

okay yah it's Geeta.

it's fin if you can't hold back I'm a protagonist.

Espathra...and THIS is why I specifically got a dark type! Gogoat? And THAT'S why I grabbed Scoots! Kingambit? King, king...leeeet's stay in for now? Fire's gooooo oh Scoots is down. Un, when in doubt, Jupe? Kingambit down and Scoots back up! Avalugg...I have several things to deal with ice but lt's try Sotero. ...bad moves. Okay, Pebbles! Veluza, that's gonna b Cabrande territory. I hav her backd into a corner and sh has Glimmora... That sounds like th Rock/Poison type I caught earlier? Uhhh what is this thing... Let's use Daya so Daya can appear in this fight, let's Do This! Terastallize, signature move, annnd...oh my god Glimmora's tera hat is just the fucking. Olympus Colisseum.

oh holy shit. Tera STAB crit type advantage, that's uh, that's...every fucking damage modifier basically. No wonder I OHKO'd

Geeta you were mildly troublesome.

THERE'S Nemona! Yeah sure we can be best rivals or whatever now come do a crime with me. We're going crater-diving. Ah, you haven't changed a bit.

awww I'm her treasure. Nemona you realize that's a marriage proposal, right?

oh fuck hr speech there was really cute...Nemona you're actually pretty cool aren't you~ Let's go!

Lycanroc? No biggie, I have a little pink menace with a great big hammer. Orthworm is steel, I think, so get out here Jupe! Dudunsparce is normal, so yeah, Jupe, keep it up! Hee, here comes her own Pawmot, and THIS is why I brought a Ground type onto the team! Goodra? Aighty, let's get Pebbles back in here! Wait, that's five already? Aw well, okay Daya! Just like we did to Geeta!

Nemona didn't change a bit, she just became more of herself.

Now. Nemona. Crimes. Crater. First a little friendship. Thn picking up some fly points I never hit. Now! To Medali! To the Zero Gate!

damn it looks kinda beat up. Oh! New plotline! The Way Home!

Powr saving mode.... eeee Arvn and the girlsquad are going on an adventure~ God I feel so bad for Arven, it must hurtto get treatd like this in front of pople he hasn't trustd with everything...

Nemona, no. We are not going to battle the professor excitingly. We're going to beat her face in.

Oh man...this is SO cool. Are we all gonna ride Koraidon together?

That cutscene. That was everything to me. That was it, that was the essence of everything I seek, everything I long for, everything I dream of. That was the essence of why I always com back to Pokemon.

Koraidon doesn't wanna be here....buddy what happened? ...Oh shit we lost Nmona! How'd she fall off?! She was in the middle!

oh no she's fine

....somthing's off. Arven's reaction here, and his "probably" on identifying his mom earlier...

disable four locks in research stations on the way down. can do!

OH MY GO THEY'RE JUST GONNNA FOLLOW ME AROUND we're really i this together

holy shit the music

holy shit this PLACE. Is this supposd to give me Nier Automata vibes?

lmao my friends trying to compet over who's my bestest frind

i wondr what the fuck even made the crater....like. It's a cratr. Something made it, right?

WOO fighting shit! And Pnny being the straight man to our shenanigans. To the extent that she is either straight or a man, that is.

man vrything here looks so weathred

oh yah rsearch stations man NOTES. Stuff about the origin of the tera phenomenon! Ooh and a telportr.

awww my frinds are bcoming friends!

holy shit so much to explore

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

okay here's the second station

oh that is SO not a jigglypuff. Scram Tail! Jigglypuff, but Screamo!

okay base 2. once again Sada just kind of dropping eaves. Gonna give som plot? oooh ancient pokemon! ...Sada just. Has a time machine. Sh just, has one.

Wait so the ancient pokemon don't liv here naturally, sh just. Brings thm here? Then what the fuck is the cratr?

squints at this convrsation. ...the cost was catastrophic...

It is theoretically possible to travel to the past, but a human can't return to the present. Somehow I get the pictur that's involved with the catastrophic price.

i guess that's reasonable enough. Some conversations are important to have face to face. MOre specifically, within punching range.

Arven....your dialogue here.....

"Paradise will be ours to create" because THAT always ends well....unstable crystals, nrvous financial backers....

i am getting sleepy and also lost

see you in a few line breaks

screams i would like some time to myself. and some focus.

literally like three days later

cheesus christ i have no memory of this place. thre's a big rock with an item on top i can't reach bcause i can't ride koraidon.

something isn't adding up. If the ancint Pokemon were only brought here via time machine, whcih Sada only got working sometime in the last several years....why's there a picture of Great Tusk in the Scarlt Book, and what made the Great Cratr so dangerous?

man the crater goes deep.

...

watches Nemona, Arven, and Penny slowly fall off a cliff and disappear into the abyss?!?!?!?!?!?

found a cave....i have noooo idea how thoroughly i have xplored this bit of the crater...nother research station! eyyyy it's tusky boy. Penny is right that IS kind of a hug problem. Thing is they've been on the prowl for months, if Occulture is to be believed.

oh nemona this is why you're the muscle. Sada just, taking over for Arven.... Koraidon was the first pokemon retrieved from the past, huh...and, yp, confirming that it's the past form of Cyclizar.

...two specimens? why are we assuming they're family. that seems likely to end poorly. i doubt it WILL but like....it COULD. and even if they are family, like??? so were Lusamine and Lillie, look how THAT ended.

'I was expecting one new life to treasure' THAT MEANS ARVEN IT HAS TO

okay that tunnel is clearly the way forward so imma keep exploring here for a bit

hm. Okay. Intrsting history with Koraidon Arven has there, and yeah I see why he felt that way. ...wait. goddammit I ned like, a timeline of Arven's personal history, because who lived where when with whom is not adding up.

Tons of Chansey down here, it'll be great for grinding levels for the dex latr. ...Okay yah I definitely need to explore again when I hav Koraidon. Let's carry on!

WILD SCREAM TAIL I wanna catch it! ...Oh this thing is beefy. Okay just get in the ball, GOT IT alright Pita.

Man...what on earth made this place? "feels like maybe you already died and went somewhere" huh...and yeah Penny im p sure this place is the source of the energy used to terastallize Pokemon.

we must go deeper

...i guess you could say we're gonna get t the bottom of this! ...nmona, no. ...nmona. Nemona, NO. Penny is correct, as ever.

Okay if Sada took Koraidon into th cratr and hasn't com out since, how'd Arven get Koraidon's ball?

Th crystals get biggr the farther down we go...oh what fresh hell is this? What happened in here?

Sada???? U good???

So, I know the game's a bit buggy, but it looks like Sada is too? uhhhh

"That man walked out not long after the boy was born" im sorry? sorry WHOMST? Turo????

....if only. thre were two of me. sada YOU HAVE A TIM MACHINE.

th scond koraidon was broguht later and was aggressive...

"You know what you need to do." All locks released. I feel like I did a bad thing. Like I got tricked into reviving Dracula or instigating the Fall or something.

man do clavll and th othrs even know we're here

WEIRD MISDREAVUS. Flutter Mane....you'r gonna b Yooki. STAY IN TH DAMN BALL. GOT IT, finally, that took like 20 ultra balls.

Metal plate with a wird symbol, and a map of Paldea, and...thre's an enormous crystal here... you know, it would scan if th crystal crashing from space made the crater, I think?

I wonder if I can breed paradox Pokmon or if I'm gonna need to catch som mor the slow way?

what the fuck, ar thos VENTS in th crystal. What the fuck did th crystal absorb the lab?!

This is a much bigger area than thy're gonna let m explore isn't it...oh no wait. WAIT oh my.

Man it's not a Lost Continent plot so much as a Journy to the Center of the Earth plot

where am i

i find it kind of intriguing that Geeta's ace is th pokemon found in abundance all the way down here. Sorry to Arven, Nemona, and Penny, but if thy're gonna let me be the leader they're gonna have to run around, them's the rules.

chews on thoughts and questions and nihilego. glimmora. hmmmm

I am here I hav explord it is time to enter the Zero Lab. I get cell service down here? Sada you're presumably right insid you could come to the door and greet us.

okay the lab really is getting eaten by tera crystals but what is this about them optimizing the performance of machinery? If the tera orbs are made of these crystals why can pokemon centers recharge them?

well. that IS why we brought Nemona.

you dipshits. listen to penny. penny is wise. Oh, you're letting me choose? ...I guess if no is the wrong choice, the game will But Thou Must me. yep it did. but aww, Nmona that's sweet.

guuuuys this is baaaaad....OH SHIT THE OTHER ONE. Oh god it's been lockd outside the lab. Sada said the Pokemon insid would probably make a break for it, but instead, othr Koraidon went in....

they made mine sooooo expressive though like BABY im sorry I brought you here :c

THANK YOU PENNY ugh Nemonaaaaa why.

oh here the other ones come. YES DO IT NEMONA. Oh Scoots is a reliable partner now! Oh no, are Nemona and Penny running off to stop a breach?

oh no is Arvenn staying behind too!?

aaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

okay this is a weirdass doorway. oooh dislike that the exit is a hole in the wall. Sciecne stuff....oooh there's sad....eactivating slep mode....

she keeps th aggro one in a mastrball. and sh is a robot. Not hard to see this coming after the trek down hre but....wow POkemon really making some bold moves here.

the real sada is dead...in the incident....ohhh boy. oh shit she sacrificed herself to protect MY koraidon.

Stop the time machin. Sure. That's a sane thing to ask a GODDAMN TWELVE YEAR OLD to do. We're going farther down but ma'am i have snooping to do.

i am going to sic my tinkaton on this mtal lady

Pokeball lock system to defend the lab. Rocklike thing in the tube. A picture of a young boy with a Maschiff...more rocks in tubes.

down w go.... Robosada can't lav because the crystals make her possible.

primal nergy? tera?

no SHIT they wreak havoc on the modern ecosystem!!! anyone with a basic understanding of ecology could have told you that! these things are invasive species of a magnitude ONLY surpassed by literal fucking aliens!

holy shit the robot copy of the profssor has BETTER thics than the professor maybe i don't need to sic my tinkaton on her

okay this place is gorgeous

oh this is why robosada needed th help of a formidible trainer. because i DO need to sic a tinkaton on hr.

To protect my treasure....to protect the whole of Paldea!

Why yes, AI Sada, I am familiar enough with a great many Pokmon to guess at patterns and detect weaknesses even in unfamiliar Pokemon. And yes, my human brain can overcom your wealth of data using two tools: innovation, and brute. fucking. force.

Had a lot of luck play out in defeating her third POkemon...next is Sandy Shocks so I think I want a ground type? aaaaaaaAAAAAAAA. Roaring Moon...I know that one! Oh, that was it? No terastallization?

okay AI down. Time for Feelings. god she really did love Arven, didn't she? She just loved her insane dream more.

oh damn that interface screw....oh shit. Our Pokeballs are locked, other than the ones rgistered to Sada's ID...which means this is designed to allow Sada and the protocol to brutally maul intruders who cannot fight back.

som intnse M.I.K.E. flashbacks ngl

But, thankfully....I have Koraidon. So does she. It? Koraidon, the guardian of paradise. Yeah...yeah, myKoraidon is!

oh DAMN transformation sequnce! We got this, Koraidon! Let's check out your summary bc this is SO cool. Uh, be great if I had the chance to fix this moveset. Hooboy that was close.

i knew I'd hav to trastallize....and I have a superffective tera type and all, plus this will be the first time I've ever used Tera Blast...

Victory is mine

oh...sh has to slfdestruct doesn't she....oh. No. She's going to disappear into the ancint world she loves so much. To unbind herself...and to stop the machin...

whre is the button to hug arven

arven this is your cheerup crew. FRIENDSHIP. holy fuck im almost taring up.

credits roll

[rainandandy]

Szabadság tér 16 (Yelena Belova x reader)

Words: 1,117

Pairing: Yelena Belova x reader, Yelena Belova x you

Summary: While in the safe house, you and Yelena go on a grocery run, but she gets distracted by the flower stall.

Budapest is a very warm city in the summer. It was not enough that you wanted to throw yourself out of the window of the seven storey building, but enough that you annoyed Yelena enough that she fanned you with some papers. You were both holed up in a safe house in Budapest together at the time. She had freed almost all of the black widows left behind after Dreykov's demise, but her last mission had gone awry and now she was being hunted by a few different state police forces.

Even though staying inside during this weather was almost unbearable, the bath served as a mini swimming pool and the small refrigerator served as an a/c unit. On the nights when the city would quieten down, she would push the mattress to the window, so you could count the stars with a cool breeze blowing over you.

She had been given a safe house by Mason and he had stocked it with medicine, supplies and food to last her a few weeks. When Yelena's wounds became infected and she asked for you to be the only person to take care of her, he personally flew you out. Now, it had been a few weeks, and the supplies were getting low. Even though you both knew it was the right thing to do, leaving was as dangerous as it could possibly be.

You brought Yelena some stuff to disguise her with. In order to conceal her blonde hair, she wore a black wig, a hoodie, sunglasses. Who am I, exactly? Clark Kent? As you brushed the wig into place, Yelena moaned, "This won't work.". She looked fine, but you liked her blonde better because she was more fun. As you handed her the sunglasses, you complimented her, "I think you look cute.".

We'll have to get black hair dye then, I guess."

"Nono!She smirked, knowing you loved her blonde hair. She surveyed her reflection and fixed a few bits of her hair. Picking up the concealer, you made your way to the girl to fix her yellowing bruise. I always have to take care of my poor baby girl".

"You should see the other guy." She laughed and pecked your nose and lips. At her affection, your smile grew. She would be the death of you. Her hand was in yours as you grabbed your bag and walked out of the room.

“We need a safe word,” Yelena started to explain. “For what? It’s not sex, just shopping” You laughed but her sudden serious tone made you listen. “No, just in case we see something that could be potentially dangerous and it is not safe for you”

“For me? You are still recovering, you are not strong enough to fight at this point"

“No, but I can fight them off and keep you safe until you get to the safe house” She kissed the knuckles on your hand as you descended the winding staircase together. It was your instinct to roll your eyes at the idea of her becoming your white knight. The last thing you would expect is for her to put herself in danger for you, though you would do it in a heartbeat for her. "Squash! Yes, squash!"", she nearly shouted as she reached the bottom step of the staircase.

"Pardon me?" you asked, her big smile beaming at you. Our safe word will be squash. When we hear squash, we leave. You can count on her to do anything to protect you.

You and Yelena could get all the necessities you needed at the nearby penny mart, which was only around the corner from the safe house. Yelena went straight for the junk food aisle when you were inside the grocery store, even though you had made a little list on a scrap of paper of all the things you needed. Her non-hurt arm was holding a small red basket containing chocolates and gummies that was filled with candy. "Yelena no, no, no!" You growled at the spy as she rolled her eyes and stumbled over to the fresh fruit and vegetables. Foods from the list were added and ticked off as you placed them in the cart. As you saw the pale yellow vegetable, you asked Yelena, "Do we need that today, sweetie?" pointing at it.

Yelena’s eyes, who were scanning each customer in the shop, snapped to the vegetable and then rolled far too dramatically for your liking. “Not yet, but if you’re not careful, I will make you scream it later”.

After smirking back at the moany assassin, you walked over to the frozen aisle to pick up a few chicken nuggets to satisfy her. As you were close to finishing, you noticed that Yelena was nowhere to be seen. In the aisles you walked back and forth without spotting any sign of your girlfriend and your mind started to race with all the thoughts of what could have happened. It is possible that someone could have seen her and taken her just like that. There would be no way for you to track her down. She was just gone. While the panic set in, you were quickly repeating the word squash over and over to yourself.

Then you heard giggling coming from the front of the store. Walking up, it was evident Yelena was chatting with a child at the flower stand. There are roses, tulips, sunflowers, lilies, and all other kinds of beautiful flowers you can't possibly name. She took the sunflower and ran the petals on the young girl's nose, and as she giggled, Yelena's smile grew bigger and bigger.

Since she has lost so much of her childhood and she is frantically trying to cling to the memories she has of Ohio, she is only capable of showing kindness to children. She complimented the blond child, "This one smells just like you", she picked up the rose and held it out so the little one could smell it as well. As you watched Yelena interact with someone she was genuinely happy to talk to, you felt your heart melt. You didn't have to worry for a second that they were going to hurt her in any way. It was really amazing to see how open she became around children, and you hoped that she would be like that when you had kids, if you two were to have children of our own.

She smiled at you as she went over to pick up a bouquet of flowers and made her way to meet you at the cashier desk, where you were waiting. Her eyes twinkled and she winked at you, "I have a new friend.". There was a moment in which you joked to her, "I see. Maybe I'll leave the safe house and you two can play together", you responded. It seems to me like I can only play with you tonight," she said smirking, and you can bet you would have a lot of fun in bed with her.

[huihuiheart]

Unchained - Wolf! Bang Chan

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Stray Kids Masterlist

Pairing: Wolf Hybrid! Chan x Female Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff, smut

Summary: You knew your boyfriend was likely up to no good, but you assumed it was just a slight drug problem or something of the sort. At least, until he takes you with him, something you agree to only to know what kind of man you’re dating. Only to find out it’s much worse than you think, he’s been helping kidnap hybrids for illegal underground fights. Something you can’t stomach, but you also can’t just do nothing...which is exactly what the authorities would do. So you decide to break the hybrids out before you leave, only in the process you may end up stuck with a hybrid of your own.

Warnings: Hybrid Fights, Violence, aggression, domestic abuse? (an ex gets a little rough/aggressive), blood, slight gore, underground fighting, mentions of kidnapping, drugs, alcohol, betting, mentions of death, cops/detectives, gun fights, bullet wounds, unprotected sex, cursing, biting, marking (kind of, briefly mentioned), clothes ripping, Chan is impatient, and somewhat feral, bondage, oral (f! receiving), overstimulation, spanking, choking (slight).

Word Count: 14,754

Note: The story starts with you and your soon to be ex, it takes a little bit for Chan to show up...once he does though, oh boy....

Taglist: @lovesfaith​ @blessgguk​

Taeho had been your boyfriend for a long time, years in fact. That’s how you knew as soon as something was up with him. At first, you had assumed it was just something temporary, a lapse in self-control brought on by the stress of his daily life. Which is why you’d kept quiet and to yourself, to begin with, as long as you weren’t having to clean up behind the problem and he wasn’t bringing it home you assumed everything would be okay, and that it wouldn’t be long for him to return to his normal self again.

Only, this all started six months ago and it seemed that if anything whatever it was only got worse. He disappeared more often or showed up at odd times of the night without warning. He never brought any signs of what he was doing home to you, leaving you to wonder if he was cleaning up at his own apartment before surfacing again or if he got into something you hadn’t quite considered before.

Whatever it was, you weren’t sure that you could continue to live in mystery. It was killing you inside not knowing if he’d even show up again or if he’d be dead. Or what if you got a call from the authorities saying he had gotten into trouble while drunk or high. You needed to know what was happening to know if he needed professional help or if you could at least talk some sense into him, for your own sake just as much as his. So you sent the text, asking him to come over to talk while you collect your thoughts.

Taeho comes in and smiles at you as he sets his keys down and gets settled in your familiar apartment, “Hey babe, what was it you wanted to talk about?” 

You take a shaky breath, willing yourself to find your earlier confidence again now, “I wanted to talk about how you’re sneaking around all the time now. It worries me.”

Taeho pouts a little, before chuckling and coming over to squish your cheeks some, “Are you worried I’m cheating on you baby? I could never. You don’t have to worry about that one bit.”

“I wasn’t worried about that being what it was.” You frown slightly at how dismissive he seems to be about the whole thing, “My thing is just that if you’re having to sneak around then whatever it is you probably shouldn’t be doing. I’m worried that whatever it is will cause bigger problems and maybe you won’t come home one day or something. So what is it? Drugs? Alcohol? You can tell me...”

Taeho sighs, pulling away slightly to run a hand through his hair, “You’re right, it’s not exactly legal. It’s not like that though baby, it’s not an addiction. It’s no big deal either, it’s just a way I can make more money for our future. So don’t you worry your pretty little head about a thing, okay?” 

“If it wasn’t a big deal you’d trust me with the details, instead of hiding everything from me and leaving me to have a heart attack when you show up at four in the morning.” You counter firmly, not having any of his excuses.

“How about this? I’ll think about it, and when I leave today I’ll leave your key. That way I can’t get in and scare you in the middle of the night? I have to give you advance warning then?” Taeho bargains and you can’t find it in yourself to argue, nodding softly, and letting things seemingly return to normal for the evening.

It had been about a week after your conversation with Taeho that you got the text. The one where he finally conceded to your wishes. Though now as you read and reread over the arrangement your gut twisted, not sure if this was such a great idea. What exactly had you gotten yourself into? 

Still, you were insistent on figuring out if your boyfriend needed help or not, and there was no way you could do that at home without any of the details. So you got ready, throwing on something simple, just jeans and a hoodie in hopes of being able to be somewhat hidden wherever you ended up. Though you weren’t sure if that would be possible, maybe just being with Taeho would draw attention to you. Either way, it was too late to go back now as Taeho let you know he was at your building. 

Getting into the passenger seat you could swear Taeho could hear your pounding heart. He paused looking at you for a moment as if debating himself if he was actually going to do this, before sighing softly and starting the car up again.

“You don’t have to come, you know. Once you know about this, there’s no going back. You can’t claim you were never involved anymore, if someone finds out you know stuff you could get into serious trouble. Otherwise, you have to stay quiet about it okay?” Taeho looks you firmly in the eyes as if warning you of what was to come. You simply nod though, staying quiet and unmoved waiting for him to drive off.

After about fifteen or so minutes he pulls into an empty lot near a metro station, turning the car off and getting out. Gesturing for you to follow his lead as he heads down into the station, one you weren’t familiar with as this wasn’t considered the best part of town.

“Stay close, or there might be some trouble,” Taeho whispers, offering you his hand to take as you go down and into the station, standing on the platform. 

You quickly notice that there’s no station security here, only one or two homeless and no one else. Taeho waits for the next train to pass, before jumping down onto the tracks and holding his arms out to help you down as well. You’re hesitant, more so now than before with your location, but follow him. 

Taeho notices and tries to ease you some, “Don’t worry, the cameras here are down and the next train doesn’t come for a half-hour. We'll be fine.”

His insistence leads you to follow him down the track in the direction that the train came from until you find a little maintenance platform hidden in the side of the tunnel. He helps you up before following, into the little abandoned inlet, opening the door and leading down the stairs to a basement section. Leading you through a few turns until you came to a door with a man standing outside, no doubt guarding it against any unwanted visitors. 

“Hey Jeup, she’s with me.” Taeho nods to the man who looks over you for a moment, before getting the door for you both and stepping aside to let you in.

Slipping down one last set of stairs you’re in a dimly lit large room, the center area spotlighted as crowds form around it. Money and drinks being thrown around. You spot more than one questionable substance in the area. Three men walking over to you and your boyfriend.

“Hey Taeho, I wasn’t sure you were gonna make it.” The man leading them chuckles and claps your boyfriend on the back, “And you brought a guest.”

“You know I wouldn’t miss this match, it’s big and it’s my fighter. Of course, I’d be here.” Taeho chuckles and you feel your stomach churning as you start to put some of the pieces together. “Yeah, this is my girlfriend, Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you Y/N. I’m Jian, and this is Ungjae and Changbin. They’re two of my best. Though your boyfriend certainly brings in a pretty penny too, he’s found me some of the best fighters. Gotta keep the crowds entertained after all.” The man laughs a little, the other men smirking. 

You feel slightly relieved knowing that it won’t be your boyfriend who is fighting, but still, you have an unsettling feeling about this. You knew that underground fights of any sort were bad news, your lack of details about these only worrying you further. Did they even have any care about rules here?

“She’s kinda shy and new to all this.” Taeho jokes with the men, slipping his arm around your middle. 

“Well, we’ll be seeing you around Y/N. We have a fight to get set up though.” Ungjae nods before the three leave through the crowd. 

That very crowd parting for you and your boyfriend as you come through, people recognizing Taeho, “ If you don’t want to look then just tell me, but otherwise you need to keep quiet.” 

His whisper is harsh in your ear, yet you can barely make it out over the commotion that the crowd is giving as another man slips into the center area to announce the upcoming right as two others push large covered cages into the area. You feel the sickening feeling in your gut bubbling up at just what you’re about to witness. Assuming it would be some kind of fight between animals, ones you might not be able to look at the same way again after today. 

The feeling only gets worse though when the cages are uncovered to reveal two hybrids, their names being announced through the microphone the man is holding. The names mean nothing to you though, even if you could have made them out over the pounding of your heart in your ears. The crowd seems to love it, however, the fighters being two of the big ones here. A wolf hybrid on the left and a lion hybrid on the right. 

“Chan, the wolf hybrid is mine.” Your boyfriend whispers, before sighing as he sees your frightened, or rather appalled look, “Don’t be like that baby...they’re just animals, not like us. If you really can’t stomach it though, go to the back and buy a drink. I’ll get you when it’s over.” 

You shake your head slightly, not sure what you’re going to do. When Chan looks over though, and into your eyes, you almost feel like you’re going to cry. Leaving back through the crowd to go find a drink like Taeho suggested, knowing there was no way you’d be able to stomach what was about to happen. You also weren’t sure there would be a way to stop it either though. 

You down your drink quickly, hoping that along with the cheers of the crowd will be enough to drown out the sounds of the fight. You’re out of luck though as the growls, cries, snapping of jaws, and bones sound clearly through the room. There no way you could drown that out, or the guilt gnawing at you, yet what could you possibly do? You were clearly outnumbered and out forced by people who saw no problems with any of this. Plus you knew the authorities rarely gave more than a slap on a wrist to people who mistreated hybrids. You were so lost in thought that you didn’t realize someone was coming over to you.

“You can’t stomach it, can you?” Changbin asks leaning against the bar near you, “It’s okay, neither can I.”

Your brows furrow as you look at him, “Then why are you even here?”

Changbin leans in and sends you a flash inside his jacket, where a badge is hidden, before moving to whisper to you, “I’m undercover...hybrid division...and I’m trusting you by letting you know this because I can tell you don’t belong here and I don’t want you to end up in any worse of a situation. So if you’re willing to listen to me, then we’ll help each other out here. Okay?”

You glance back into the crowd to ensure that Taeho is still occupied before nodding at Changbin, “Okay, but what can I possibly do to help you?”

“Well...I’m not going to lie and say it’ll be easy or safe...but I’m hoping you’ll help me break the hybrids out. I can’t get it authorized by higher-ups yet, because this ring is bigger than just what you see today. We still need information, so I can’t risk exposing my identity to them.” Changbin starts, taking a turn at checking to see if you two had drawn attention, “I have a copy of the keys to their cages though and on the back way out you’ll pass by them. What I want you to do is break up with Taeho or at least just insist he point you the way out, it’s crucial he doesn’t go with you. Then get as many cages open on your way out, but be quick. Afterward, call me and let me know everything is okay. I’ll have someone check in as protection just in case. Whatever you do though...don’t take any of the hybrids to your house. Can you do that?” 

You debate with yourself for a moment, not sure if you could follow through with what he was asking. At the end of the day though, you’d managed to follow through on getting yourself into this situation and you couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. You find yourself nodding again, holding your hand out for Changbin to slip the keys and paper with his number into. Items that you’re quick to hide in your pockets. Everyone thoroughly invested in the fight as it comes to a roaring end. The fight was closer than anyone could have predicted, as the cheers exploded and the winner helped back into his cage...what’s left of the loser being carted off who knows where. Changbin disappears into the crowd before anyone loses interest in the ring and spots you two talking, leaving it up to you at this point.

"Babe! I won! My fighter won! Plus I bet on him, do you understand how much I just made for us?" Taeho comes over and tries to crush you in an excited hug, only to be confused as you push his arms away. "What is it, what's wrong?"

"I...I can't be here right now...I can't be with you....not knowing that you're doing this. I...I need to leave right now and I don't want you with me...ever." You get out backing up as you shake your head.

Taeho sighs and advances towards you, "Come on baby, there just animals, what does it matter?"

You scoff, "You say that like it makes it better? If you were dogfighting I'd still be disgusted in you. Besides the only person acting like an animal here is you. Now point me the way out and don't show your face to me again."

Taeho shakes his head pointing towards the back like Changbin had earlier, "If you go that way it's a straight shot out. Don't expect me to just drop this conversation though. I'll give you time and then we're gonna talk about it. I can't just not talk to you about it."

You knew you didn't want that, but you were afraid of what the repercussions of making a scene right now might be. So you simply nodded, shoulders slumping in defeat as you headed out the door leading to the back way out. Creeping your way through the damp hallways, the smell of mold and sewage rampant but something you ignored as you came to the first cage. Checking around once more before quickly unlocking it and starting to work your way through the room hoping to get them all. You were almost done when you heard the sound of voices approaching, signaling that you were about out of time. Turning to leave your eyes locked with the same pair from the ring, only now they held slightly less life in them. Chan having been torn up pretty badly in the fight he'd just been in. Looking like he likely stood no chance if you left him here to face off what would no doubt be an infection in one if not many of his wounds later.

So you worked fast to open the cage, ignoring the growl from the wolf hybrid as you moved to help him out. You knew he likely hated you and for good reason, you were a stranger in this environment that had only brought him suffering and pain. You could worry about the dangers of helping him later though. For now, you just needed to get the two of you out...and fast.

“I promise I’m trying to get you someplace better than this, but if they get us then we’re both dead. So I’m gonna need you to help me out.” You whisper to Chan as you slip his arm around your shoulders, your own going around his center to help him out. Moving as quickly as the two of you can ignore Chan’s grumbles as the voices get louder and start to sound somewhat pissed, worrying you that they’d caught onto your acts.

Slipping out the back entrance you make your way down the street, tossing the keys you’d used in some random trash can so that if they caught up to you no one would find any proof you’d done what you had. You were starting to panic though, Chan needed help...you couldn’t just leave him. Yet, Changbin had explicitly said not to take any of the hybrids back to your house. Doing the only thing you could think, you used your free hand to try and call him on the number he gave you, slipping into an alleyway to let Chan sit down to rest. 

Changbin taking long enough to answer that you weren’t quite sure he would pick up, “Are you alright Y/N? Is something wrong?”

“Changbin, I got all the cages open...but one of them was hurt from the fight...I think you called him Chan. I helped him get out, he needs more though... I’m worried he’s gonna die or something if I leave him. What should I do?” You whimper over the phone taking turns watching between the street and Chan for his well-being.

“You didn’t take him to your house, did you? They have trackers Y/N...if they spot him at your house there’s going to be a whole slew of problems.” Changbin panics over the phone as you hear a car door close, “In fact where are you? I’m on my way to help.”

“I’m still close to the station...too close I’m afraid. In an alleyway.” You urge Chan up again before he can get any worse helping him to slip out the alley and start away again.

“I’m sending you directions now, to a doctor who specializes in hybrids and a friend of mine. Start heading there, I’ll follow the same path and when we cross I’ll pick you and Chan up.” Changbin says, starting up his car, “Oh and Y/N...be careful. I’ll be there soon.” 

When he hangs up, you pull up his directions starting to follow them as Chan grumbles again making you sigh, “Listen...be as bitchy and growly as you want later, but right now your life and mine are on the line so shut it and just come with to the doctor so he can help you.”

“I never asked for anyone’s help. Especially not yours, so why don’t you just run along now to someone who actually gives a fuck. It’s not like you really did anything for me. Fight to live in there or fight to live out here, what’s the real difference.” Chan snaps at you, his harshness stinging slightly despite you knowing it’s his history with people and not you specifically. 

“I’m not just going to leave you to die! I don’t care if I have to drag you there I will, but I don’t think that either of us wants that.” You insist already somewhat dragging him along, despite him holding some of his weight still.

“Why the hell not? Why would you possibly want to help me? Do you want a little pet or something? Cause that’s not happening princess.” Chan scoffs waiting for you to announce some underlying motive behind your actions.

“Because I couldn’t live with myself if I just left you. It’s not right. Leaving someone who’s hurt...who you can help all alone to suffer and die. I’m not someone who wants you for a pet. I want you to have a life, which is definitely not on the table if you die. So let’s get you your health back first and then worry about any other obstacles to you getting a full life after that’s resolved, okay?” You don’t get a verbal response from Chan, considering he had no idea what to say. Not used to being treated like an actual person before, his heart softening some at your conviction, it proving you truly had pure intentions. You get some form of an answer though when he straightens up slightly, cooperating further in your helping him.

Chan’s body language changed again though when Changbin pulled up, not trusting him in the least. His gut trusted you, however, and that’s what won out, convincing him to get into the back of the car with you. Letting Changbin drive you two off to an unfamiliar place. One he also was not fond of with how sterile and medical it smelled, only used to that from whenever those who fought them needed something done...like putting in the tracker that was now going to need to be taken out.

“Minho! We need help! He has a tracker though, so take care of that first and give it to me...I’ll make sure you all have plenty of time here.” Changbin calls into the clinic another man popping out to lead the way.

Minho makes quick work of the tracker in Chan’s arm, handing it to Changbin who runs off with it after apologizing for getting you into this mess and leaving you and Chan to find another way home. Before Minho is laying Chan back and getting things ready, putting in a drip iv since he was both dehydrated and it was the best way to give him painkillers at this point. 

“He’s going to need someone to look out for him while he recovers,” Minho tells you, starting to stitch up an injury. Chan watches him closely, wary of the situation while he slowly starts to fade out of consciousness due to the meds.

“I can keep an eye on him, I might not do a perfect job but I’ll try my best.” You nod at Minho before smiling at Chan, “You just rest up now, and get better. It’ll all be okay, I promise.”

Chan’s not sure where he is or how much time has passed. all he knows is his eyelids are heavy and his brain foggy. Trapped in a haze from the meds the previous night, yet fighting past it as the smell of food wafted throughout the apartment. His brows furrowing as he sits up, in an unfamiliar bed at that. Not that he was used to any bed, even still knowing that this was someone else’s set his nerves ablaze. 

What calmed him though was picking up your scent, this was your bed...yet your scent wasn’t strong enough to imply you slept beside him last night. His assumption confirmed as he looked around and spotted a much less comfortable-looking armchair converted into a makeshift bed while a fit aid kit sat on the night table between the chair and where he slept. 

Chan is slow about getting out of bed, being careful of his injuries and the remaining effect of the medicine, yet unable to ignore the call of food. Letting it lead his way to where you were working in the kitchen, mouth-watering at both the sight and the smell as he watched you closely. He wondered to himself if he’d have to sneak any of that for himself though, would you share with him or would you give him something less grand like everyone had before. He couldn’t deny that you treated him differently, yet everyone had their limits...didn’t that?

“Are you feeling alright?” You ask, having spotted him when you finally looked up, “If you’re in pain you can sit down and I can get you something for that really quick. The food is almost done anyway since you shouldn’t take them on an empty stomach.” 

“I’m feeling alright at the moment actually, better than after most fights like this to be honest.” Chan admits quietly, slowly stepping closer, “Is that for me too?”

You chuckle and nod, “Yeah, there’s no way I can eat all this by myself. Besides I thought that a good high protein breakfast would help you get some of your energy back and help you recover some more. Sound good?” 

“That sounds...that sounds amazing. Thank you.” Chan is flabbergasted, practically in awe of your attitude towards him. As if he was just any other person to you.

“Alright go sit then, don’t strain your injuries. I’ll bring it to you in a minute.” You shoo him away with a smile. Chan’s face is graced with a tiny smile of his own as he moves to listen without much fight for once, looking around to take everything in as he sits at the table. Joined by you with the food after not too long.

“If you’re still hungry afterward I can always make more or you can help yourself to whatever is in the kitchen. Just try not to eat too fast. Minho said sometimes the meds can make your stomach a little sensitive and I don’t think it would be good if you got sick right now.” You advise him as you take your seat, “So...I never actually asked, what’s your name?”

Chan’s brows furrow as he looks up at you after quickly shoveling his first bite of food in, “I mean you know what they called me...Chan...”

You shrug, eating some of your food, ”Yeah, well that’s not what I asked is it? I didn’t ask what they called you, I asked what your name was.”

“Christopher...my name is Christopher.”

The day seemed to pass fairly well, Chan slowly getting more comfortable in your apartment, not that you minded. You encourage him to rest from time to time and let him clean up and put on some clothes you’d run out and gotten for him. Occasionally checking your phone to see if any news came up about what you had done or Changbin texted you anything just in case.

You knew something would come up from last night though you would be naïve to think otherwise. Especially after what Taeho had told you before you left. The chaos coming crashing back into your peaceful little bubble when a fist pounds against your door. Chan’s eyes darkening as he looks over at it, already recognizing the scent on the other side.

“Y/N! Open this door right fucking now! We need to talk!” Taeho yells through the door, making you tense and panic. Your hands shake slightly as you give Chan your phone.

“Chris, take this and text Changbin what’s happening, he’ll send help. Go hide in my room or something, don’t let him know you’re here, or that information might get out.” You whisper to him, knowing that he’d have no problems hearing you. 

Chan debates for a moment, not wanting to leave you...especially if you were going to face your pissed-off ex-boyfriend. Yet, he knew it would be better if the information about what you had done didn’t get out. For your sake, as much as his, he knew these were dangerous people, and Taeho was by no means the worst of them. So he went and disappeared into your room, texting Changbin, who he still didn’t necessarily trust, but if it would help and keep you safe he would do it.

You crack the door open and sigh softly at Taeho, “What the hell do you want? I thought you said you’d give me time before showing up to talk about this again?”

Taeho huffs, forcing the door open, not caring if it stays that way as he advances on you, “Yeah, well that’s before you made the dumbass decision to break all of them out.” 

You back up as he moves closer, body language screaming aggression, and you hope you can either convince him to leave or help gets here before anything can happen, “What are you even talking about, Taeho?”

“Right after you left, all the hybrids were broken out. You really want to tell me that wasn’t you? After you were oh so disgusted by what was going on? I go out and make us good money, and you turn around and do this to me...well guess what, now it’s my ass on the line, so you better start talking before I turn it around onto you. I will throw you to the wolves if I have to for my own sake.” Taeho hisses, backing you against a wall with no way out.

“Sure, I was disgusted, but how would I even have managed to get them out, Taeho? Huh? They were in cages. What could I do?” You counter trying to push him off, but he doesn’t budge.

“They were, and then someone changed that. I’m guessing it was you, considering everyone else there has been there for a good while.” Taeho shoves you back against the wall.

“Once again, how would I have opened the fucking cages, Taeho? What? Did I just see some bolt cutters lying around and decide to take matters into my own hands?” You purposely throw out a made-up way of opening the cages, and it gets him to give you a little space to breathe at least.

“No...they were open with keys.” Taeho’s voice softens slightly, taking a step back enough to let your now sore back finally come off the wall.

“How would I have gotten my hands on those keys? The only person I would know well enough to be able to sneak them off was you? Were your keys missing? Cause that should be your answer right there? Now, if you’re done throwing out baseless accusations, get the fuck out of my house and go look for whoever the person with a new moral compass is.” You shake your head, hand rubbing slightly at your back.

“Oh, I’m not leaving just yet. I have a feeling you know something at least. Even if you weren’t the one who was behind it, and I’m going to figure out what it is.” Taeho insists, looking around your apartment before spotting two sets of everything laying around, “Who else is here, Y/N?”

“No one, what are you talking about?” You play it off, and he rolls his eyes.

“Two cups of coffee I wouldn’t have batted an eye at, but two take-out meals when you’re on your current healthy eating kick...not so much. Before you make up excuses, I can see that both boxes are empty. So save it and tell me who the fuck is here with you.” Taeho hisses, and when you scoff he grabs your arm, squeezing painfully tight, “I don’t have time for games.”

“Let go of me. No one is here, and even if someone was, that’s not your goddamn business. I don’t want you in my life anymore. That means I can have whoever the hell I want over here, and I don’t have to justify shit to you about it.” You respond, trying to pull out of his grip.

Taeho shoves you behind him, cursing under his breath, “Whatever, it is my business cause I’m the one who’s going to have to pay for it if this comes back to you. If you don’t want to tell me, though, I’ll go figure out who’s here myself.” 

“No, the fuck you won’t.” A voice sounds from the entranceway to your apartment. Changbin standing there and walking in, “It seems like you’ve done more than enough damage here Taeho, let’s take this outside.”

“Changbin. So you’re the one, huh? Bet Jian would love to hear all about this.” Taeho chuckles, crossing his arms and scoffing at the other.

“Oh, but he won’t hear a peep.” Changbin counters showing Taeho his badge, “So you can either come willingly, and we can talk terms that are a better deal for you. Or you can make this a whole lot worse for yourself than it already is.”

Taeho huffs before cooperating with the detective, making you wonder just how often he already got into trouble to be able to go along without much direction at all. You truly didn’t know the man he was, the man you thought you loved...who you thought loved you. You were distracted for a moment, though, when Chan rushed out to you, quickly helping you up and looking you over.

“I knew you had been involved! You’re the one who took my fighter!” Taeho screeched heatedly, making Chan’s attention snap to him. His gaze burns through Taeho as he growls towards the man moving to advance on him until you get between them.

“Whoa, easy Chris, don’t do anything to him. He deserves it, but it won’t help you any right now. There are too many people who would use it against hybrids, you and others. Besides, there’s plenty of charges on him right now that he’s going away no matter what, you won’t have to see him ever again.” You insist on trying to be logical, despite knowing that Taeho deserved anything that Chan had intended to do at this point. He had practically asked for it through what he did.

This is why you walked over and slapped him in the face, leaving a mark that would fade by the time anyone else was around, but still giving him a taste of what he deserved, “For the record, though, Christopher doesn’t belong to anyone. You’re just a dumbass who can’t look past his own selfish desires to treat people like they deserve.” 

Chan looks at you stunned before pulling you back to him as Taeho suddenly decided to get aggressive again, trying to get to you. Changbin dragged him away to take care of it.

“I’m going to have my last partner come check in on you and make sure it’s safe for you guys to stay here. He’s one of the few people I trust to look out for you guys in this situation. His name is Hyunjin, I’ll send him over. Until then, keep the door closed and locked.” Changbin tells you before he’s entirely out of your apartment with Taeho.

You gently place a hand on Chan’s shoulder to assure him you’re okay before pulling away to close and lock up your apartment. Chan never far behind as he follows after you still concerned.

“Are you alright?” Chan finally speaks up in a soft tone, and you hum looking at him a little confused.

“Yeah, I mean where I got hit still stings some, but I’ll be fine.” You nod, forcing a small smile to try and ease his worries. Chan gently brushed his fingers over where Taeho had grabbed you harshly, already knowing bruises were forming.

“I meant emotionally after all of that...still you don’t need to lie to me about it.” Chan counters yet does not sound angry or cross with you despite calling you out like that.

“You’ve been through more physically and emotionally. I’ll be fine.” You brush it off with a small shrug, moving to walk away and to the kitchen. Your responses only worry Chan more.

“I was used to that by now, though. You’ve just had everything come crashing down onto you all at once after he lied to you about it for who knows how long. That’s a lot, and you don’t have to tell me anything about it if you don’t want to, but you don’t have to force yourself to be fine for me either. Even if we’re both broken right now, that’s okay...maybe...maybe we can help fix each other...together.” Chan’s voice drifts from concerned to hopeful. He’s not sure he has any idea what he’s doing. He just knows that you don’t deserve this, and you’re making him feel for once like he doesn’t either.

You sniffle, turning towards him with a fresh round of tears in your eyes, “ You know what, Chris...I’d like that.”

Besides going to work pretty much all of your time was spent with Chan in your apartment. Your heart breaking for him, he was free from the cage but stuck here until everything could get worked out. You’d gotten closer to Changbin and Hyunjin, Chan slowly coming to trust them with you. The two guiding you through the process that would lead to the numerous court cases looming over you. Minho occasionally popped in as well to check on Chan and make sure he was adjusting to life with you okay. 

“So the date for the case to determine if Chris can safely stay with you or not is locked in for next week now. Before then, we want you both to meet some people, one is a hybrid. He wasn’t in fights like Chris, but he was in a rough situation too. The other person is the one who helped him get a life back, like how you’re doing. They had to go through similar trials as you two will, so they might be able to give you some insight on how to go forward. That being said...Chris hasn’t really been around another hybrid outside of the fights, so just take it slow, it might be a bit uncomfortable for a while.” Changbin tells you while Chris and Hyunjin are in the kitchen working up something to eat. 

“That would probably help a lot actually. You and Hyunjin have offered a lot of help, but we’re still kind of drawing blind here. Having someone who can kind of guide us on the specifics would probably help a lot with the anxiety, to say the least.” You sigh softly, and Changbin chuckles a little, nodding in agreement.

“Their names are Felix and Jisung. Their schedule is pretty open, we just weren’t sure where you’d be comfortable meeting, so we didn’t invite them over yet.” Changbin explains, pulling out his phone, and you shrugs softly.

“Well, we’re still not wanting Chris to be spotted, so just invite them over it’ll be fine.” You wave him off. Having three guys constantly around your apartment kept it pretty chaotic anyways, what were two more, right? “Speaking of that, though, any idea when the other cases will be?”

“The bust on the ring is happening in a few days, before the first case but not much. Just enough to not put a bigger target on you both by being out in such a public place. It’s just a matter of how long it’ll take to build the case after that. I’d expect it to take about three weeks from the bust, a month at the absolute latest. The hybrid rights case is scheduled for just over a month from now, at this point anyways. Those dates could change, though.”Changbin’s huff tells you he’s no stranger to changing court dates, not that you and Chan are either at this point. Changbin slipping his phone back into his pocket after texting Felix and Jisung your address.  

You nod, processing the information he’s just shared with you, “Okay, as long as the bust happens before our court date, I’m not too worried. I just want everything to be as safe as possible.”

Changbin sighs, his lip between his teeth and face concerned, “Either way, it won’t necessarily be safe...or pleasant...There are going to be people who are very against what you and Chris are trying to work towards.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m not going to back down from doing the right thing because of that, though. As long as the people who started this whole mess are behind bars and not trying to shut us up, I’ll be alright.” You insist, Changbin nodding, but you can tell he’s still worried about you, “Besides, I’d say we have a pretty good support group.”

Chan pops out of the kitchen, beaming proudly at you, “Hey Y/N! Come look at this!” 

You hum, standing to follow the excited man into the kitchen. You watch as his ears twitch, chuckling as you notice him intently eyeing the kitchen timer. Hyunjin, looking up from where he leans against the counter and snickering as well.

“You can open it and look at them, it won’t ruin anything. Besides, sometimes the timer isn’t exactly right anyways.” Hyunjin tells Chan, who shakes his head adamantly. 

“No, they need to be perfect. Besides, they’re almost done.” Chan insists, waiting for the ding to launch forward, grabbing the oven mitts so he can pull out whatever is in the oven as there’s a knock on the door. Changbin calls that he’ll get it as Chan pulls cupcakes out of the oven, “Look! We made cupcakes! And we can make a lot more too!”

Chan’s excitement dropping almost immediately, head whipping towards the door. His expression is sharp and concerning you. You look between him and the doorway with furrowed brows.

“What is it Chris, what’s wrong?” The slight waver in your voice draws Chan’s attention to you for a moment. A feeling of guilt bubbling in his gut at worrying you like that.

“Don’t worry. It’s just a cat.” Chan snorts, only confusing you more until you see Changbin appearing with two people. One of them being a cat hybrid, his tail flicking anxiously behind him until he spots the cupcakes.

“Did you bake those?” The cat hybrid perks up, mirroring Chan’s earlier excitement. Chan looks between the cupcakes and the other hybrid, still wary but eventually choosing to interact with the cat hybrid.

“Yeah. I’ve never baked anything before. Hyunjin was showing me how.” Chan slowly answers, and the other man nods along.

“Well, they smell really good. You should go ahead and try them. I bake a lot, and usually something that smells this yummy is.” The cat takes a step away from the cupcakes giving Chan a bit more space to go towards the cakes. Chan hesitates for a moment before holding one out to the other hybrid, much like a peace offering.

“I’m Chris,” Chan speaks, still watching the cat closely but slowly trying to let him in with the same compassion as you had first shown him.

“My name is Felix! We’re here to help you with some of the details for your case, but if you want we can be friends too! I could show you just how many different kinds of things you can bake!” Felix eagerly offers, making Chan light up a little more as he nods along. Slowly adjusting to the fact that, like people, not all hybrids are threats to him either.

You look at Jisung and smile softly, “Thank you for coming. I think this will be really good...for both him and me.”

The day of your first case finally arrived as you stood in front of Chan, fixing his tie for the umpteenth time, trying to calm your own nerves. Chan gently takes your hands into his own, trying to comfort you some.

“I’m nervous too, but it’ll be okay. Everyone is going to be here to stand up for us and help us out.” Chan reassures you, squeezing your hands gently before letting them go as your lawyer arrives.

Seungmin looks between the two of you, “It’ll be alright, just remember what we talked about and it’ll be okay. They’re going to try and throw you off and get under your skin, so don’t let them. Just stay calm and answer like we practiced.” 

You and Chan nod before following Seungmin into the courtroom and following him to your place. Passing by where your support group sat, everyone, having cleared their schedule to be here for you even if they weren’t going to need to testify. You glanced back at their smiling, encouraging faces from where you were seated between Chan and Seungmin, before taking a shaky breath to calm yourself. Changbin had told you that you were lucky to get the judge you had, Yang Jeongin, he could be a tough judge, but he was fair when it came to hybrid cases. He treated them as a person, one who could speak for themselves and had a right to do so, which is more than many judges would right now. 

Your hand held Chan’s under the table, letting Seungmin do his job knowing that you and Chan would likely be the last ones questioned based on how everyone prepared you for today. So far it seems accurate as Changbin was called up first.

“So Detective Seo would you please explain to everyone how you can to know the defendants?” The prosecutor asks, and while you knew that the question was coming you still felt your nerves spike at that moment. Chan’s history and how you all met was something you knew could either make or break your case today, and you could only hope for the best.

“I was working undercover as part of an operation to take down an illegal hybrid fighting ring. Chan happened to be one of the fighters that they held there by force.” Changbin answers calmly, trying to leave you out of it. The prosecutor is having none of it though, looking between him and you for a moment.

“And what about Miss Y/N? How did you meet her?” They continue to question. Chan picks up on how your heartbeat speeds up, squeezing your hand softly to try and calm you down.

“Her boyfriend was a part of the ring and brought her one night to show her what he did for a living. She wanted out that same night but was concerned for her safety. So -” Changbin goes to defend you, but the prosecutor cuts him off.

“So if I understand you correctly Miss Y/N was unable to read her boyfriend of many years. So how can we be sure she’d know if Chan was going to do something or not? If she can’t be trusted to speak up to someone she was so intimate with, how can speak up to someone she’s known for barely a month?” The prosecutor inquires rhetorically to the judge, before going to sit again.

Seungmin shaking his head and standing to take his place at questioning Changbin, “ Detective Seo it seems the prosecutor cut off the rest of your earlier statement, could you please finish it for us?”

“Sure, since she wanted out, but was concerned for her safety. I suggested how to handle things with her boyfriend at the time and gave her a number in case she needed police protection of any kind. On the way out she released the hybrids and afterward we met to give Chan medical aid.” Changbin finished and Seungmin nodded along as if in thought.

“Would you say this is the kind of thing you see often in your job? Where a criminal’s significant other gets pulled into situations such as this?” Seungmin’s next question is something you weren’t expecting but it gave you some hope of redemption.

“Without a doubt, a lot of criminals are excellent liars so they can keep what they do a secret for a long time. Then when they do finally reveal that world to their significant other they tend to put a lot of fear into them. Mostly to ensure their own protection. Scaring them into not speaking up or anything. Usually, it’s entirely justifiable too. When these people threaten things, they mean it. For example, in Miss Y/N’s case, her boyfriend forced his way into her apartment, invaded her privacy by trying to search her home, and even used physical force to try and coerce her into things after that night where I helped her get away. Had things escalated again we would have had to move both her and Chan to a safe house.” Changbin answers and Seungmin nods.

“So really, Y/N’s morals speak for themselves. As soon as she realized what was going on she freed the hybrids and stood up for what was right even at the price of her own safety.” Seungmin concluded before they let Changbin down from the stand. Him giving you both a small smile in passing.

Minho getting called up next. Putting the pressure on Chan now instead of you, not that it really helped your anxiety too much right now.

“So Dr. Lee, you first met Y/N and Chan when they came in after that fight to get him medical attention. Is that correct?” The prosecutor starts simple, before continuing after Minho voices his confirmation, “ Would you share with us some of the observations you made of Chan at the time?”

“I observed that his injuries appeared to be repeated injuries, likely from years of fighting. He also appeared to be dehydrated and not properly nourished, along with being somewhat agitated. Something not uncommon for someone in that amount of physical pain.” Minho explains and the prosecutor nods.

“What of his mental health? Did you make any observations about that?” The prosecutor presses and you know where he was going. Seungmin and Changbin had warned you they might try to argue that Chan needs to be in a facility after the way he’d been treated in the past.

“I am not authorized to make any observations other than basic of that sort. That being said I can request that a patient of mine go to receive a psych evaluation if I notice things seem to be an issue, based on the basic knowledge of that field I have. When Chan came in I deemed that was unnecessary. I simply suggested that both he and Miss Y/N look into therapy for various reasons as it might help.” Minho answers and that’s enough for the prosecutor to run with.

“Your honor, as you can see the doctor suggested therapy without that medical professional in their life can we actually be sure that their mental states are in a place where they would be safe in a home together?” The prosecutor presses before Jeongin dismisses him and invites Seungmin to question Minho if he chooses.

“Dr. Lee, could you please share with us your reasoning on why each of the defendants might benefit from therapy?” Seungmin inquires and Minho nods.

“In Chan’s case after all he went through it might be prudent to talk things out after them being bottled in for so long, or perhaps to find some underlying PTSD after what he went through. Allow him a way to adjust to having a free life again. In Y/N’s case, it would be due to what her boyfriend of the time did. How he lied to her and then betrayed her trust and even brought harm upon her. Since they have not known each other long, even if trust is there they may not have learned how to fully communicate or might not want to burden the other, which is where a therapist could assist.” Minho responds and Seungmin thanks him, allowing him to leave. 

That’s when the real worries set in as the prosecutor sets his eyes on the pair of you, calling Chan up to be questioned first. Saving you for the very end.

“Chan, can you share with us what you remember of your life before the fight happened?” The prosecutor’s questioning Chan about a touchy subject and you know it, not knowing much yourself about his life before the fights.

“I don’t remember much. My parents weren’t around for long, they were sold off when I was little. When I got a little older that family got a new hybrid, a younger one, and threw me out. It was pretty much the streets and then being taken to the fights.” Chan does surprisingly well at staying calm you notice, more so than you would likely do in his shoes.

“So the fights weren’t the first stroke of bad luck you’ve had in life then?” The prosecutor’s question makes Chan roll his eyes.

“Well I was born a hybrid, so no not really. Bad luck tends to follow us around in this society.” Chan huffs softly, slightly more irritated at that question. Making the prosecutor smirk at getting under his skin for a moment.

“How would you say that has impacted your daily life then?” The prosecutor presses further but doesn’t get what he’s looking for in immediate action as Chan calms down again.

“To be honest, it haunts me. A feeling of guilt knowing that you did things you didn’t want because there wasn’t a choice. The pain of losing the few friends you had. The memories of the things you’ve seen and lived through.” Chan answers and the prosecutor nods, turning him over to Seungmin.

“I just have one question for you Chan, that’s it. How would you say that Y/N impacts your daily life?” Seungmin questions and for the first time today, you think you see Chan genuinely smile some.

“Well for starters she taught me not to hate all humans, along with a few other friends I’ve made. Which is another thing she taught me how to make friends again, I don’t have to be afraid of losing them. Or be afraid that all humans will treat me the way I have been before. For once I’m actually happy and she’s teaching me about the world. How to be a part of society and stuff, well as best we could while hiding out until the ring was taken care of and it was safe to go out. I can take care of myself and others even for the first time in my life, plus I feel like I have a life now.” Chan smiles at you and if this were any other time you might let yourself get emotional. 

You know that right now you have to stay calm though. That you have to keep it together considering that you’re going to be called up next. 

“Miss Y/N, do you have any history working with police or anything similar in nature to your current involvement?” The prosecutor asks and when you respond with no he continues, “What about history when being around or working with hybrids?”

“No, I don’t have any history with that either.” You respond softly, worried that any answer you give might just be what changes things for you and Chan again.

“Then this must all be quite daunting for you, isn’t it?” The prosecutor continues and you shrug softly.

“I mean...at first it was yes. I’m used to it now though. I feel better too, knowing I did what was right and helped people as best that I could.” You respond honestly, knowing that he was just getting started.

“So would you say you have it all figured out then? That you know how to handle anything that comes up with Chan perfectly?” The prosecutor presses.

“Well...no, but-” You go to defend yourself, yet he cuts you off before you can finish much like he’d done earlier with Changbin. 

“As you can see your honor, they don’t really know what they’re doing when together. They have good intentions, yes, but there are too many unknowns between the two of them.” The prosecutor takes his seat. 

Seungmin comes up to you, offering a small smile, “Miss Y/N can you please finish what you were saying before the prosecution interrupted your statement?”

You give a small nod, “I was going to say that while I don’t know what I’m doing perfectly that’s normal. I’m human, I’m naturally imperfect. Mistakes happen, but I’m willing to try my best, and if a mistake does happen to take responsibility for that. Just like with anything else in life.”

Seungmin hums, “Since you mentioned responsibility would you mind sharing with us what has been on your plate this last month or so? What all have you been responsible for?”

“Sure, it wasn’t safe to be out too much either of us. Especially Chan though, in case someone from the ring spotted us and followed us back. So I would go to work, pick up any groceries on the way home. Or just anything that either of us needed. Then at home, I would make sure we’d eaten and taken care of anything needed for the detectives or the doctor so that I could take it to them the next day. Or arrange an appointment at a time when we could discreetly get Chan there in a safe way.” You answer easily, used to the routine after so long.

“And you did this every day?” Seungmin continues, making you nod softly.

“Yeah, every day except for Sundays. Usually anyways, Sundays we tried to relax or I would try to teach Chan something new.” You respond and Seungmin smiles helping you down and letting you know that you did well. 

“Very well, we’ll take a thirty-minute recess to review everything that has been presented. Afterward, we’ll have closing statements, followed by the verdict.” Jeongin announces before the recess begins. 

One of the guys brought you both water as they all tried to encourage you, saying they thought it would turn out well for you both. You still weren’t as positive though and Chan could tell, squeezing your hand he leans in.

“It’ll be okay. No matter what you did your best and we can be friends either way.” He whispers his reassurance and you find yourself giving a small smile for his sake.

Thirty minutes was both too long and not long enough. Dragging it out made you more anxious and yet you weren’t sure you wanted to know what the verdict was. You tuned out the final statements, not processing that at this point. Your focus was solely on the judge as you waited to hear what decision had been made.

Jeongin clearing his throat and looked between both sides of the room before beginning to speak, “After analyzing everything and deliberation it has been decided Bang Chan will be allowed to remain with Y/L/N Y/N, however, they will attend 12 hours of mandatory therapy to assist with these new circumstances.” He nods at you and Chan, “And I’ll see you both bright and early for that case against the hybrid fighting ring. Until then, stay safe and don’t cause any trouble.”

You look at Chan stunned, until he happily pulls you into his arms and hugs you with a laugh, “I told you that you didn’t have anything to worry about!” 

You chuckle and nod, “ You did, but still it’s a lot.” 

Seungmin smiles at you both, “I’ll see you later to discuss the other cases, until then just enjoy this. Detectives Seo and Hwang will escort you home. I believe they had something to discuss with you anyways.”

“Come on we’re going out the back. There’s a crowd out front and they won’t be too happy when they heard what the verdict on your case just now was.” Hyunjin tells you both before leading the way. Changbin following behind you both just in case.

“Okay, what was it that you two wanted to talk to us about though?” You question as you follow their lead easily.

“Ah, about that...it seems someone who works with the ring is still out. So for your safety, we’re going to be moving the both of you to a safe house until after the trial, unless we can secure the suspect sooner.” Changbin admits, sighing softly, “You can get your things from home, and then we can take you there.” 

Chan helped you to get your things out of the car and into the safe house. The two of you sitting on the couch while Hyunjin and Changbin made sure the house hadn’t been compromised in any way before letting you both get settled. They had taken care of your work and everything for you so that you both could get to the safe house and made arrangements for anything else that would be necessary while you were in the safehouse. 

Hyunjin rubs the back of your neck as he comes over, “So since we didn’t have much time to get this together this place only had one bedroom...one of you can probably take the couch, but even off shift at least Changbin or I will be here to supervise the officers and make sure you’re both safe...so we might be sleeping here too. I guess basically what I’m trying to say is there’s not enough beds or couches for everyone.” 

You blush a little, but wave him off, “I mean Chris and I are probably okay sharing a room if you and Changbin are okay taking rotations on the couch or something...if that’s okay with everyone else?”

Chan chuckles and nods, “Yeah I don’t mind, that’s pretty much what we did at the apartment for a few weeks anyway.” 

Hyunjin nods and sends you and Chan off in the direction of the room to get settled. You finish up before Chan, sitting on the bed and watching him finish up. Chan looked over at you and laughed softly.

“So what do you want to do now? Read a book?” Chan snickers flopping down beside you.

“I don’t know that we’ll find any entertaining ones around this house.” You laugh a little yourself, “Probably should have thought about that a little bit more when they said we’d have no phones or internet for three weeks.” 

“Yeah probably, we’ll find something to do, for now though, I’m gonna go let them know that we’re all good and see if there’s anything else we’re supposed to do before trying to gain some semblance of normalcy here.” Chan smiles at you, reaching out to gently brush your hair out of your face before getting up to leave the room again. In effect, leaving you all alone for now.

After a moment you got up, glancing towards the window. You thought for a moment before deciding to take a peek through the blinds. Nothing that would risk you being seen, just enough to take in your surroundings for now. Hearing the door you turn to face Chan with furrowed brows.

“Get away from there, it’s not safe to be around the windows.” Chan calmly says watching you step away and picking up on your confusion, “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Who are the men that just showed up outside the house? Are they more officers?” You try to keep your voice from shaking. The way Chan’s eyes widen at you your question doesn’t help the uneasy feeling bubbling in your stomach though. 

He quickly takes your place, ears twitching as he sneaks a lookout. Before grabbing you and pulling you out of the room. Startling Changbin, Hyunjin, and the others who were there to protect you.

“Four armed men just pulled up. I’m guessing by the look of them that they aren’t with you.” Chan growls out before his ear twitches again, hearing a sound from outside.

He’s quick to drop to the ground with you in his arms. His body wrapped around you for protection as gunshots rang out. His hearing gave him a split-second advantage to get you two in a safer area, even if it still wasn’t a good place to be in. Hyunjin and Changbin round the corner to meet you not long after, guns are drawn and keeping an eye towards the front.

"Are you two alright?" Changbin asks while Hyunjin covers you before having to reload. When both of you voice that you're so far unscathed he continues, "There's no way we're making it out the front with how many guys there are. We're going to have to go out back before they can surround us. When I tell you two to go, run. Outback and look for a car. Don't look back and if we aren't right behind you then just go. Head straight to the police station and let them know what happened."

"Alright." Chan nods, grip firm on your arm, ready to get you out of there as soon as Changbin tells you both to run.

"Go now!" Changbin tells you as for him and Hyunjin lay down cover fire for your escape. About the time you reach the door you hear him cry out in pain though. Looking back you see Changbin hit the ground, leg bleeding from a gunshot wound as Hyunjin tries to cover you and drag him towards the back door.

"Chris they're not gonna make it." You gasp, causing him to glance back as well.

He's quick to shove you out the door, growling out a demand, "Go. Find a car. We're right behind you."

As much as you didn't want to leave them you'd never heard Chan speak to you like that before and your body was on autopilot, listening to what he told you to do right now. Searching outside before finding a somewhat trashy car abandoned between the fence and a rotted out shed. It didn’t matter much what it looked like though as long as it ran well enough to get you all to safety. Wasting no time you run over, yanking open the rusty driver’s door. Sliding in you scour the area for keys, thanking the heavens when you drop the visor and they fall into your lap. Wishing with all you have as the car stalls that you’ll get lucky again. You pause for a moment, before trying again as you see Chan helping Changbin out the door, followed by Hyunjin. Right as panic was setting in the car roared to life, letting you pull forward to let the other get in.

“Drive. I’ll guide you straight to the hospital. Don’t stop for anything. I’ve called it in, so we should be getting an escort meeting up with us along the way.” Hyunjin tells you his arm out the window, firing at the house still.

You waste no time peeling out, following Hyunjin’s direction until the flashing lights of cop cars end up ahead of you and lead the way themselves. Pulling into the ER in a flurry of chaos. You and Chan try to follow Hyunjin and Changbin in, only to have cops stop you, insisting on taking you to a new safe house.

“I’m not going anywhere until I know he’s going to be okay. Besides. Do you even know how they found the last safe house? Until you know I’m just as safe here as I would be at a safe house.” You counter, holding your ground with a stern look.

“We’re. I’m staying with her, and the detectives.” Chan adds, hand moving to rest on the small of your back and guide you through the group of officers and into the hospital. 

You sat waiting in the room with Hyunjin and Chan, staring down at your hands still waiting for word from the surgery Changbin had been in to remove the bullet and repair the damage. Chan’s hand sliding over your shoulder as he offers you a cup of coffee.

“I have a feeling you won’t really be sleeping much tonight, so you might need this.” Chan’s voice is soft, his gentle side showing through again and it almost brings you to tears. Looking between him and Hyunjin who both seem rather calm, nursing their own cups.

“How can you be so okay right now? We don’t even know if he’s going to be okay.” You whimper. Chan shushing you as his arm slips further around your shoulders pulling you closer to him, his warmth surrounding you like a blanket.

“As much as it sucks...what’s happened, happened. There’s no changing it now. We have to live with it now, there’s no other option. It’s hell, but you get used to it...well in your case I hope you never have to, but some of us get used to it.” Hyunjin sighs softly, looking down at the black liquid in his cup as he swirls it, “As for Changbin, he’s gonna be okay.”

“How can you be sure?” You ask, Chan, rubbing away your tears almost as quickly as they’re falling.

“Because...it’s Changbin...and because he has to be okay.” Hyunjin gives you a small forced smile, almost as if he was trying to reassure himself along with you.

Your shoulders slumped, bag dropping to the ground as you and Chan entered the safe house. Hyunjin trailing behind as he checked the perimeter once again.  

Changbin looks up from his spot on the couch and chuckles softly, “The day went that well huh?”

You sigh shaking your head, “Did you hear the verdict yet? The judge had us leave before they went into deliberation so that hopefully we could get through the crowds and back here quicker. Even out the back way though it took us an hour to even get past the protestors...I was really worried...I expected more people to be there for hybrid rights, but it seems like everyone was on the opposite side today.”

“Sorry I couldn’t be there with you guys today. After the second day, the judge said they wouldn’t need me anymore and that I should rest instead.” Changbin frowns, “People were supporting hybrid rights though, they were just on the opposite side of the street. So they must not have been visible the way you went out...they were certainly much calmer than everyone against them anyways. I’m glad you guys got back okay.”

You chuckle humorlessly, “Next time, I’m the one taking the bullet.”

“Oh don’t worry there won’t be a next time.” Chan shakes his head lightly, heading to the kitchen to get you both some water, “How’d the physical therapy go today Changbin?” 

“Average for physical therapy...it’s hell in the moment, but after a bit, things go back to normal.” Changbin shrugs as Hyunjin joins you three inside. His radio is going off as the station contacts him.

“Turn the TV on, they’re about to announce the verdict,” Hyunjin informs the rest of you.

You go to stand by Chan’s side as he puts down the bottles, turning to look at the television from his place in the kitchen. Changbin quickly turned it on and changed the channel to where they’d be able to get the announcement. Your hand clutching Chan’s tightly, gnawing at your lip. Finally releasing your breath when the guilty verdict was announced, most of the group getting a sentence of twenty years to life, a few with less or opportunity for probation. That would be something to take care of when the time comes though, for now, the fact was that they couldn’t get to you, Chan, or any of the other hybrids now.

You throw your arms around Chan before realizing what you were doing. He’s quick to slip his own arms around your center though as if it was the most natural thing for the two of you to do. Chan nuzzling at your hair taking in your scent, one of his biggest comforts since all of this started. Before he’s pulling back to look into your eyes, brushing your hair out of your face.

“You’re safe now! And free!” You beam up at him, a few tears of joy glittering in your eyes as he smiles back at you.

“No we’re safe now, and free to do whatever we want without worry or looking over our shoulder.” Chan’s eyes never leave yours as he finds himself leaning in. 

His eyes flick down to your lips before meeting your eyes again. His lips brushing against yours as he pauses for a moment, searching for any hesitance from you. Instead, you close the last of the space keeping you apart, pressing your lips against his. A kiss he’s been waiting for...that you’ve both been waiting for, and now that it’s finally here neither of you is holding back any longer. Chan’s lips devouring yours, craving more of your taste already. The two of you pulling away only to breathe, not even care about your audience currently. Panting as you look wordlessly at each other, cheeks flushed with heat.

“Two down, just one to go. Afterward, you’ll be free to do that in public too.” Hyunjin chuckles as you and Chan finally look to the two detectives whose eyes long left the television in favor of you.

“I’m not worried about it...I have a good feeling about all that’s to come.” Chan honestly responds before beaming at you again, “Especially some things.”

You didn’t like sitting behind Chan in the courtroom for a change. You didn’t necessarily like sitting in the courtroom at all, but at least beside him, you could hold his hand as some form of comfort. Felix glances at you from his spot beside you, gently grabbing your hand to give it a small squeeze.

“He did really good, and he’s fine even with you back here. I’m sure it’ll be a good verdict.” Felix whispers his assurances to you. Chan’s ears twitch as he picks us the conversation and glances back at you, winking at you with a small smile.

“You helped out a lot too Felix. I don’t think we would have been able to do this without you, especially when you were a good example up on the stand. So thank you.” You squeeze his hand back, making him shrug.

“Hey, anything for family. Though now that you guys are like family I hope you know you’re stuck with us now.” Felix giggles making the others agree quietly.

“For good at that.” Jisung adds chuckling softly, “But you two better quiet down, the judge is coming back.” 

You’re rigid, but also practically trembling in anticipation as you wait to hear the court’s decision. Knowing that no matter what you’d always stand by Chan’s side, yet wishing for a positive answer for his sake either way. 

Jeongin cleared his throat, pausing as he always did before announcing the verdict, “This court has decided after deliberation to grant Bang Chan full citizenship and rights. If he so chooses to legally change his name from what was given to him in a hybrid facility he can do so at the same time as he signs the citizenship papers. This court is dismissed.” 

Felix hugs you before helping you make your way up to where Chan is, “ Congratulations. We’ll see you this weekend for a proper celebration, but until then you two have fun...and be safe.” 

You playfully smack his arm at his suggestive teasing, “Whatever. We’ll see you guys this weekend. Be careful getting out of here, it’s crazy outside.”

The others nod as you move to Chan’s side, hugging his side as he looks over the papers. Changbin and Seungmin there as witnesses to sign the papers in addition to Chan and the judge.

“Congratulations. Is there a new name you’d like to legally have?” Jeongin inquires pointing to the blank area where Chan could put in whatever name he’d like to take on.

“Christopher. Christopher Bang.” He smiles at you knowingly as he writes it down before they finish signing everything. 

You both shake hands with the judge as he congratulates you both again. Before doing the same with Seungmin, thanking him excessively for all he did to help you both.

“Alright, let's finally get you two home again...it’s been a long month.” Changbin chuckles, leading the way to the car that already had all of your stuff in it, ready to be taken back into your apartment once again.

The car took quite a beating on the way out. Those against the decision throwing things at it in protest, until those who were there in favor of equal rights for hybrids stepped in to help your car safely get out and away from the irate group. Your head falling to rest on Chan’s shoulder relieved that all this was finally over and went well so that you could be home and back into your routine once more. Though no doubt with a few changes now too...not that you’d give them up for anything.

The drive took longer than expected, but you made it nonetheless. Kicking off your shoes as you step into the familiar and yet somewhat forgotten home. Stepping deeper into it knowing that Chan was following behind, stretching and checking your phone that was now in your possession once more. Eyes still glued to it as you turned around towards Chan again.

“What do you want for dinner tonight?” You question scrolling through apps for your favorite takeout places.

“I know what I’ll be having,” Chan growls out, in the same voice he had when he told you to leave the safe house. The voice that lit a fire in your gut and had your eyes snapping up to meet his darkening ones.

You don’t get much time to read the feelings filling his eyes though before he takes your phone and puts it aside so as not to distract you anymore. Closing the little gap remaining with a searing kiss. Not having any patience or games, having waited long enough for you by now. Something your heart, mind, and body wholeheartedly agreed with as you feel your arousal starting to pool between your legs. Chan easily picks up the scent of it and nips somewhat harshly at your lower lip with a rumbling growl.

Chan’s arms slip around you and lift your, heading back towards the bedroom, “Fuck, I’m so glad this isn’t illegal anymore...not that it would have stopped me anyway, but still.” 

Your giggle is cut short by his lips finding yours again. This kiss is much shorter than the last, but not less heated. Simply ending when Chan tosses you back onto the bed, crawling over your form as his eyes take you in.

“Remind me why we didn’t do this sooner? It’s obvious we both wanted it.” Chan’s question is wanting an answer, yet he’s not making it easy for you to give it as he nips over your neck soothing the little marks with his tongue and lips. 

“Because...because we weren’t alone...the others were right outside the room and could have come in at any time.” You pant, already getting more worked up by his actions. Chan’s growl turns into a chuckle as he notices your legs spreading on instinct, already so eager despite still being fully clothed.

“You say that like I would fucking care. I didn’t care if they heard...or saw because at the end of the day you’re mine and it would have just proved that to them...besides I might have been gentler if I had not had to hold back for so long. I don’t know that I can anymore though.” Chan’s teeth are still against your throat, drawing out soft mewls from your lips and teasing you by rutting his clothed bulge against your thigh.

“Then don’t hold back. You’re always talking like you’re the big bad wolf and like I should be so scared of you, so show me what the worst you can do is.” You taunt knowing him well enough to know that just that little bit will be all it takes for him to fully snap. 

His hands gripping onto the hem of the dress you wore to court today, ripping it down the middle with no concerns other than getting to your skin beneath it. Giving you no time to argue as he nips over your chest now. Your hands are moving to try and work on pushing off his suit jacket and gripping at his hair. 

Chan pulls away snarling at you and pinning your hands, “I don’t think so kitten. You made me wait, so now it’s your turn to wait. And it would be in your best interest to do so too, cause little disobedient kittens don’t get what they want.” 

If the scent of your arousal building at the way he grumbled out that threat didn’t give you away to him then the growing wet patch on your panties certainly did. Chan licks his lips and smirks softly at you before deciding to make things a little more challenging for you, tossing his jacket aside. His tie, however, he lays close by on the bed for when you inevitably snap and disobey him. He tugs his shirt off next, with almost as much force as he had your dress, sending buttons flying across the room. His mouth on your chest again, hands gripping firmly at your sides for a moment before trailing up over your form to remove your bra. 

Chan pinches one of your pebbled nipples, earning a quiet hiss from you, “Hm so sensitive for me, aren’t you? Trust me you’ll only be getting more sensitive as the night goes on.” 

He nips at your other nipple, before suckling softly, fingers eager to give your other nipple equal pleasure. His eyes locked on your face for a reaction as he switches sides, growling in his chest around your nipple when he watches your hands moving down towards him again, his only form of warning to you. 

Chan knew if he kept it up though it would only be a matter of time before you gave in and touched him again. He was counting on it. Trailing his mouth lower as his hands ripped your panties off and out of his way. Tongue darting out to flick over your clit, raising a brow at you as your legs fall open and hips twitch up towards his mouth. His hands are quick to hold you firmly in place before fully pressing his face against your core, tongue curling deep into you with little growls and grunts sending vibrations through your core. Chan intent on getting every drop of you on his tongue as he possibly could even as your arousal builds more and more, slicking up his face. 

He’s mildly impressed at the fact that you manage to keep your hands to yourself even while trembling in need on the precipice of your impending orgasm. It only encourages him to go harder though, sucking on your clit as he suddenly presses two fingers into you, curling them perfectly against your spot. What finally sent you over that blissful edge though was when his teeth grazed over your clit with the tiniest bit of pressure. 

Through your fucked out haze of pleasure you didn’t realize you’d reached down and weaved your hands into his hair until a few moments after Chan had helped you through your release. Looking up at you all too pleased with himself at getting you to finally snap and touch him again. 

He grabs your wrists and moves your hands away from him again, “I warned you kitten, now get on your hands and knees.”

“But Chris-” Your whining gets cut off with a sharp cry as he swats at your thigh.

“No buts, now do it before you get yourself into more trouble kitty,” Chan growls, this time it’s a bit more playful though. Letting you know this had been his plan all along and things were going exactly how he’d hoped. 

His fingertips tap down your spine as his other hand grabs the tie he’d laid aside. Before doing anything else though his hand crashes down on your ass, hard enough to leave a lasting sting but the pain bleeds into pleasure and it makes him snicker when he can tell you liked it. His hands gripping your wrists to bring them behind your back and tie them together with his tie.

“Filthy little kitten, now you have no choice but to listen.” Chan taunts spanking the other cheek now, before kissing over the sensitive flesh before biting instead.

His desire to fuck you senseless is on the verge of driving him to insanity, but now that he’s had a taste of you he won’t be satisfied unless he makes up for all the previous times he’s wanted a taste of you too. His hands gripping your ass and spreading you open more to give himself unrestrained access to you. Not wasting another second before his mouth is on your core again. Using to his advantage every sensitive spot he learned from your first orgasm while also looking for more to bring you to your next. Pulling away after that one to lap up what he’d missed that had dripped down your thighs, knowing he wouldn’t have the restraint to hold himself back for much longer. He was sure he’d be able to bring you to a third orgasm before that little thread of restraint left snapped though. The determination makes him return to your core with fervor. Like a man starved...which in a way he had been, just not starved of food, just of you.

You’re still trembling from your third and latest orgasm when you hear shuffling behind you before his tip is running through your folds. Collecting your wetness before pushing in as slowly as he can bear for your sake, wanting to let you adjust and not hurt you. His hands gripping at your hips before moving, slowly at first, once he hears your soft moans starting to fill the room, however, he picks up the pace. His hips slapping against your ass, watching the way it moves and enticing him to spank you again. The action makes you clench around him, crying out and clawing at the tie around your wrist at his hard thrusts and the way his hand meets your ass, making him quickly repeat the action, growing out as you clench around him again.

“Fuck...you’re so fucking perfect....so filthy and you love how I’m treating you right now don’t you kitten? Go on, scream my name, let everyone know how good I’m treating you.” Chan grips at your bound wrists, pulling you back into each of his thrusts. His other hand reaching around to rub at your clit, “Shit, you’re going to cum for me again aren’t you? Gonna cream all over my big fucking cock, huh? Do it kitten, but don’t think the night will be over just cause you do.” 

This time when you cum Chan doesn’t slow down for a second, if anything he does the opposite. His hand leaves your wrists to slip around your throat and pull you up against his chest. Angling his thrusts to brush against your spot each time as he feels himself getting close to his own edge, but refusing to go over it without you cumming again too. His hips stuttering as he feels your pussy spasming around him on the brink of release once again.

“It’s okay, kitten. Let it go. You’ve done so good for me.” Chan whispers in your ear, nuzzled against your neck as he encourages you to fall into a world of pleasure one final time tonight. He bites down on your neck, roaring out against it as he cums shortly after, riding you both through your highs.

His hands carefully undo your bound hands as he gently lays you down on the bed, slipping away to go get a washcloth. He’s gentle as he cleans between your legs before grabbing a sweatshirt and some panties for you, in just sweatpants himself. Chan leans in gently stroking the hair away from your face, kissing your forehead.

“I’ll help you get cleaned up more later...for now though...how about we seriously think about dinner?” Chan chuckles before blushing a little, “Not that there’s really anything to talk about though...considering I already ordered your favorite. My timing is damn good too, I scheduled it for five minutes from now.”

You laugh, shaking your head slightly at him and playfully smacking his shoulder, “Five whole minutes? Hm you mean you had time to make me cum again and you didn’t?”

Your teasing makes Chan growl and playfully nip at your ear, “Careful what you say kitten, we still have a whole night at our disposal. Who said anything about stopping before sunrise?”

He gets up to go answer the door at the knock, winking at you before his eyes rake over your form again, licking his lips. You two would certainly be celebrating and making up for lost time tonight.

[falloutjay]

Stan x anxious/compassionate reader (kind of has a little canon divergence)

After giving up on Wendy (around Season 12), Stan and us start dating, we were always worried about him (no we weren't dating him out of pity, we were just a very anxious person). Some people find of clingy, others find us adorable but We've never left his side:

Ex: We were by his side helping with whales (Whale W)

We were the only one who didn't leave him when he got depression (You're Getting Old/Ass Burgers)

Next to Heidi, we became social pariah because we didn't want to dump Stan (this even made Wendy guilty)

But him moving, really gets to us, the coronavirus makes it worse. We get worried about him, then we start getting worried about everyone else as everything falls apart (Kyle, Kenny, Eric, Butters, Tweek, Craig, Scott, etc.) And we pass out of stress. About waking up in the hospital, we find out, everyone was worried about us. And Stan is the most worried of all, he spends the whole day with us. We tal-no vent about all the happened to the both of us. By the end of it, we agree that whatever happens we'll do it together.

Guess whos back! :D

Well, while it's not my best work, in my humble opinion, I sure hope you enjoy and like it. Again sorry for the delay! ಥ_ಥ

And if it's not that clear, because I know I can write a little cryptic, there is a time skip. You can either have all the show events happen when they are children and have the time skip between Covid and the memories or between you getting together as kids and the memories. Choose however you like! ^^

_________________________________________

Stan x anxious!compassionate!Reader

Tiny eyes watched the scene unfold.

Normally, Wendy was the one to break up with Stan, but not this time around. Stan was actually telling Wendy that he had no interest in her anymore.

“What changed Stan?” Wendy asked, obviously confused.

“I think I like someone else… I don’t know yet…”

Wendy gave him a smile.

“I wish you all the luck Stan, say if you need anything!”

“I will.” And with that, Wendy took off to be with her friends, while Stan turned a corner and told Kyle and Kenny how it went.

Cartman was there too, but he only wanted to know if she cried, because “she would deserve it.”.

You closed your locker and felt your heartbeat like crazy. Ever since you changed school a few months ago, Stan captured your little ten-year-old mind.

He was kind and showed you around when you had no idea where to go. It was a little crush you developed, and you never felt as scared and excited as now, since that Stan had broken off with Wendy.

This newfound feeling almost made you dizzy but you quickly snapped back into reality when you heard your name.

“Y/N?” Stan asked and waited patiently for his answer next to you.

“Oh, sorry, I was thinking, what did you want?”

“Would you maybe like to hang out some time?”

Stan almost got a heart attack when you suddenly squealed but was happy when you managed to get a high-pitched “YES!” out.

“Okay, what are you betting Kenny? Some Pennies or a dead rat?” Cartman almost fell from his chair laughing about his shitty joke, while Kyle and Kenny rolled their eyes.

“Don’t you think it’s weird how clingy they are?” Kyle asked his blonde friend, while they kept watching you and Stan, who were seated at a separate table at lunch.

“Honestly, I think it’s pretty cute.” Kenny said with his muffled voice.

You held his arm and hugged him from the side, while he happy kept on eating his lunch.

Eric, who had now calmed down from his laugh attack eyed the couple critically. “I’m giving them a month max.”

He said lazily and looked around. “I say longer than a year.” Kenny said, throwing a crinkled five-dollar note on the table.

“You two are horrible.” Kyle shook his head before he threw 10 dollars on the table.

“Four months.”

Kenny was a happy man after a year, because despite everyone believing you two would eventually break up, you never did.

You were always by his side, no matter what.

His desire to desperately save whales with the help of a braindead ship crew?

You were always right by his in the interviews he gave.

His horrible depression that even drove Kyle away? No chance, you stood strong and helped him through the whole thing and even help reuniting the gang.

Even during the protest against Skanthunt42, you chose to sit this one out, despite you absolutely hating that the troll photoshopped a dick into your mother’s mouth.

At least you and Heidi got close due to you guys both becoming social outcasts. When Wendy heard this, she was impressed by your dedication and felt somewhat guilty for obviously not trying as much in her former relationship.

Everyone admired your patience and endurance. No matter what obstacle came, you managed to get through it.

“You don’t need to be sad, Y/N. I won't be that far away.” Stan said, holding your hand.

“B-But it's outside of town. You need ages by bike to get there and vice versa.” You said, holding back tears.

Randy walked past you and you desperately pleaded to him.

“Please Mister Marsh, please stay in town!” Randy put the box he carried into the car, before turning to you.

“Real sorry, dear Y/N. This town is…How do I put it… Absolute shit and I really want to get away.”

He patted you on the head and went back into the house to get more boxes.

“Told you, you cant talk to him.” Stan said and shrugged.

“But it’s unfair. We won’t see each other as much anymore.” Stan pressed a kiss onto your cheek, which made you blush intensely.

“Don’t. Worry. I will make time for you.”

With that in mind, you didn’t feel as sad, when the car with the Marsh Family in it left for their new home.

“I will make time for you, my ass.” You mumbled while you sat at a bench near Starks Pond. Letting out a deep sigh, you leaned back and just enjoyed the warmth of the setting sun.

Covid was one hell of a bitch and just had to have this big impact on everyone’s life. Stan and you now saw each other less and less.

It was just a horrible feeling that tainted your heart and made you worry a lot.

Maybe he was feeling just as bad as you are, maybe even more?

Maybe he just didn’t want to tell you how he felt?

Were you maybe a bad partner? Your mind began racing and your train of thoughts became unrailed.

So many bad thoughts manifested themselves and it made you almost gasp for air.

“I need to check on him.” You mumbled getting up from the park bench.

You began walking and you kind of hoped that maybe just the walking would get your mind in check, but sadly it didn’t. Involuntarily you had to think about all the other stuff that happened during this horrible time.

The precious Broship was more fragile than ever. You had become such good friends with Kenny, Kyle and Cartman over time that it hurt you a lot too.

You also saw Covid take a toll on your other friends, like Craig and his group, who now took Cartman into their gang after the split up.

However, that came to be…

The girls were also pretty divided, so hanging out with them meant picking sides which wasn’t your thing, you kinda just want them to get along again.

Everything felt like it was falling apart. Your parents had fights ever so often, all your friends had problems and your beloved boyfriend was stuck on that stupid farm.

God how you hated that stupid farm and Randy.

When he gave you one of those plushies that looked like him, you functioned it into a voodoo doll. But sadly, it didn’t seem to affect him, no matter how many needles you rammed into it.

Your heart felt heavy, and it seemed hard to breathe, but you brushed it aside.

You had already reached the busy streets of South Park and mingled between the newly vaccinated people.

Everywhere you looked, the people seemed happy.

Everyone was happy except you and the people around you… Maybe…You were the problem?

You shook your head. No, you didn’t allow those kinds of thoughts.

You much rather think about Stan. How you miss him and how amazing your dates were.

Oh, how much effort he put into all the small things… Well… At least he did.

Now that you thought about it when was your last date?

It feels like it had been ages. It has been ages. Everything had been ages. Going out with him, hanging out with your friends, your family not fighting… How long has this been the new normal? You can’t help but wonder.

Your heart clenched again. “Stop it, stupid heart.” You mumbled under your breath.

An exhausted sigh escaped your lips when you thought about how you maybe had to walk all the way up to the farm… It would take ages, but you really craved being held by the person you adored so much.

So, you continued walking down through the street when an elder lady stopped you.

“Excuse me, but you look rather sickly, are you alright?” Confused you raised an eyebrow. Did the vaccines make them delusional?

“No, I’m fine.” You answered, somewhat snippy, even when you didn’t know why you were so agitated.

“But you look rather pale, maybe you- I am fine.” You interrupted her and continued your path.

Were all people in this shitty town stupid or- The thought could not be completed, due to you suddenly losing consciousness.

When you woke up again, you immediately recognized one of the Hells Pass Hospital rooms, once your eyes had adjusted to the bright lights. Around the bed were your parents and more importantly Stan and his mother.

“Thank God, you’re awake again!” Your mother said when she went for a hug.

Confused you asked why you were here.

“Well, seemingly you were so stressed out, that your body basically shut down.”

Somewhat shocked you looked around. Was it really a surprise to hear that? Not really, but it still felt odd knowing that it happened.

“Well, I’m glad you’re fine, Y/N.” Misses Marsh commented and smiled warmly at you. She had always liked you and you felt the same. She was always nice to you and you felt like she was the only one with a brain in the family…

Feeling a sudden sensation of warmness on your hand, your eyes darted down to it. Stan held you hand while answering something your dad had asked him.

“Well, Sharon, you wanna accompany us to get some hot chocolate for us all?”

Your mother said with an odd wink, which made you and Stan roll your eyes.

The three adults left the room chatting happily. Stan looked at you with a stern expression, which kind of surprised you.

“I swear, whenever I think I couldn’t get more worried about you, your parents call me, to tell me that you’re in the hospital.”

“Worried? About me? I should be worried about you?” You laughed to which Stan shook his head.

“Listen, everyone has been super worried about you since you seemed so down and just exhausted. Like, Kyle already called me earlier to ask if you’re awake again. I don’t know why you worry about me; I am really fine babe. Promise.”

With that said, the door opened, and your parents came back inside.

“Y/N, the doctor said they would like you to stay the night, so they can check that you’re really alright.” Your father informed you and you were immediately annoyed.

Well, you had no choice but to oblige. Your parents left after an hour, wanting to get you some clothes and other things you’d need.

Sharon also bids her goodbye and so you and Stan were left.

And just like you wished, you got to cuddle with him. He held you close, and you vented to him, how worried you were about everything and everyone, while he told you just how worried all of your friends had been since you were acting so out of character.

“Even Cartman?”

“Yup, even when he would never admit it.” Stan laughed. He held your hand tight, and his content smile never left his face.

“I think we should talk more about feelings and being worried and all that. I know I’m not all that good at it, but I don’t ever wanna have to visit you in a hospital again.” Stan said, giving your hand a squeeze.

“That sounds good. But you gotta accept, I worry a lot, because I care a lot about you, okay?” You said sternly and Stan nodded. You two looked fondly at each other and just enjoyed the time you got.

“Together forever?” You asked and he whispered “Forever.”, before he pressed a sweet kiss onto your lips.

[darealsaltysam]

what your paladins main says about you

a comprehensive essay by a paladins player of right around 4 years

this is like really long so i’ll make it under the cut so my followers don’t have to scroll through this if they don’t wanna

(for context i’m a current maeve main, i used to main skye and sha lin and played tyra a long while ago)

.

Androxus

it’s not a phase, mum

“i don’t care we don’t have healer, i’m really good at him i swear”

you ult every time it loads in and you die before the final shot

your favorite mode is siege because you can fly up and shoot the whole point on ult

you’re usually really stand-offish and don’t communicate much and/or a 13 year old boy with anger issues

.

Ash

you are level-headed but in a scary way

you will hold the point solo even if it costs you your streak

“get on the point” “guys get on the point” “attack the objective”

you’ll ult to save yourself 99% of the time

good leader

.

Atlas

you probably used to main lex or androxus before he came out

“he’s like a flank, but a tank, he’s great!”

you chase after solo kills instead of sticking to the point

healers hate you, flanks and damages fear you

your favorite mode is death match

.

Barik

you’re a former/current tf2 player looking for something fresh

you don’t like working too hard so you spam turrets on the point and hope for the best

“healer stick to me i’m boutta ult”

actually really nice between rounds

but you don’t communicate much mid-game and kind of do your thing

.

Bomb King

you’re a really old player. you have the beta makoa skin and you were there when lex was first released. veteran’s discount.

your favorite maps are the old ones and they barely show up any more

the team always underestimates you

“who plays bomb king in 2021 lol?”

you need a hug

.

Buck

“wait, he’s a flank? i thought he was a tank??”

you’re also a veteran in the game

you’re a dying breed. i like never see you. do you even exist?

you’ve been here since like the first day of the game

buck gets so many skins and you want all of them but the best you have is a random recolor

.

Cassie

sweetest person alive

“we can do it guys! let’s try to all rush the point this time!”

you are the bane of every flank

the opposing team hates you, your own team kind of doesn’t notice you’re there

*casually gets a pentakill*

.

Corvus

you know those weirdly political kids who like ww2 and know the details of every tank to ever exist? yeah that’s you

but like that’s corvus. as a character.

but no one ever plays him.

like i never even see him do you exist???

you are a cryptid.

.

Dredge

yo ho you’re a hoe

no seriously the other team views you and they FEAR you

“yeah i just got a penta kill” “YOU WHAT?” “eyes on the point mate don’t get distracted”

hella good at the game and hella casual about it

you like onslaught on the one sea map the most

.

Drogoz

another veteran, are we?

you’re either useless or can wipe out a whole team in seconds. there is no in-between.

you always have a really cool skin.

dovahkiin, dovahkiin...

“i don’t care about the point i gotta get them trips”

.

Evie

you bought her because you thought she was cute, admit it

*turns into ice right before dying* *turns into ice right before dying* *turns into ice right be

your personality type is identical to her. no question about that.

always buys faster reload and better speed

strangely good communication with the team

.

Fernando

gay gay homosexual gay

“he’s kinda hot if you look at him the right way”

fernando is the tank for gay people

you are gay people

i don’t have much more to say

.

Furia

mum energy. not as much as inara mains, but still, mum energy.

will protect every member of the team with your life, even the flanks

you’ve been maining her since she was first added

i bet you didn’t even know she’s canonically seris’ sister

“we’ve literally failed to capture the point the last 3 times we might as well give up and go to another game”

.

Grohk

“yeah i have a gremlincore tumblr blog, how could you tell?”

i honestly have no words

you’re kind of like a catboy but a racoon

do you even heal the team or do you just pretend

you were there when lex got announced and thought he was cringe, now everyone finally agrees with you

.

Grover

he was your first purchased character and he’s stuck around ever since

he’s the only healer you can play well

“i am groot lmao”

you would never say a word to your team

would give your life for the tank but that’s about it

.

Imani

daenerys targaryen on drugs

your favorite anime is my hero academia

your husbando is todoroki

you see where i am going with this

“team protect me i’m gonna ult” *dies 5 seconds into ult*

.

Inara

BIG MUM ENERGY

your team is your family. you will protect them with your life.

can only hold your own with a good healer so you have good teamwork going for you

*cutely places wall in front of your ult*

useless in tdm so you stick to onslaught, siege and koth

.

Io

are you a furry, furry, or a furry?

“victow! dont ult on my tweam pwease! uwu!”

you 100% find her attractive in some way shape or form

you are either a 30 year old redditor who enjoys loli content or a 16 year old teen who is playing a shooter for the first time

she’s kind of cute, i guess

.

Jenos

i can never tell if i’m going to absolutely destroy you or if you’re gonna kick my ass

*cutely holds you up so the whole team can shoot you to death*

kamehameha

you’re a healer??? i guess???

your character has such deep lore and i bet you don’t even know half of it

.

Khan

one day you were playing and your team desperately needed a tank. you picked the first one you saw. suddenly, you’re lian’s foot stool

despite 2 layers of heavy armor, you’d still let this man walk all over you

“this skin is really cool, wish it wasn’t behind a pay wall...”

YEET

you actually know the game’s lore, for some reason

.

Kinessa

i never trust people who are good at a sniper. if you’re bad that’s natural and you’re 99% of the population. if you’re good you are definitely up to something

you’d sell your sister for 5 pennies if you could

you’re missing from the team all game and somehow have the most kills

“we have a kinessa???”

you are an urban legend to your team

.

Koga

someone’s been watching naruto

you are so shit at the game. like i’m sorry. no one’s good at koga i’m so sorry

how do you have so many skins for one character???

you’re always missing from the point

healers hate you. so does the enemy kinessa.

.

Lex

quit the game /nm

“who mains lex in 2021??? lmao???”

wall hacks, aimbot, and it’s all legal for you as an ability. you are a hacker in a world of puny vanillas. you like it easy so you go for the easy min max character. have fun getting hated

you think he’s hot and press on his loading abilities just so he can scold you and you can hear him being mad at you

*bonk* go to horny jail

.

Lian

"she could step on me”

you used to main some sort of healer but switched over when you got sick of everyone being needy

you can hold a point all on your own for a really really long time but the moment your team gets there you start flunking

you wish you had more skins for her

you don’t

.

Maeve

so imagine this. it was like 2018 and you were just chilling playing the game. you kept getting killed by maeve. in every game. she was in every game you went to and she kept killing you over and over and over again. you got frustrated, snapped, and bought her to see if you could do the same to others. you are now the maeve in every game. the cycle repeats.

your whole team doubts you but then you casually get a quad kill and they just sort of look away

you die a total of two times each round and 99% of the time it’s because you go too fast and fall off the map

you repeat everything she says in her accent because you think it’s cute

“welcome to ze meant streets, kitten!” “can you shut the fuck up” “i hate to cut and run, he-he!”

.

Makoa

you have the plushie skin or the beta skin, otherwise you don’t main and only play casually stop lying to yourself

“attack turtle go brrr”

you’re really good if you get paired with a good healer

otherwise you’re useless

you wish you could get better teammates because you could really thrive with an organized group. but on paladins you won’t get that, i’m sorry-

.

Mal’Damba

i always forget this guy is even in the game

you’re definitely under 6 foot IRL

you have an older sibling you always fight with

you’d love to have a snake irl

you’re really chill outside of the game, but when playing you hella rage

.

Moji

you are so precious

but also such a little shit

you annoy me but i also want to give you a hug

“let’s go guys!! to the point!! wheee!!”

please never change but also get out of my sight

.

Octavia

you always main the new character until the new person drops

somehow always have enough credits to buy the new champion whenever they come out

you don’t like having a stable main cuz you get bored

you like hanging out at the training rage

hate siege and love team death match, you like your games quick

.

Pip

you are the worst and best thing to ever happen to this game

you only pick him to heal yourself and hardly ever heal your team

no one notices you there until you ult

then you get focused

honestly you just seem like you wanna do your thing and i can respect that

.

Raum

you probably go to therapy or desperately need it

“BIG MAN BIG. HE IS BIG. BRRRR”

you always love the demons in media

you like being in charge of the team and wreck the point any time you are there, you like fighting on your own but having a healer nearby is nice too

you probably have daddy issues

.

Ruckus

you think ruckus’ and bolt’s dynamic is cool and that’s one of the main reasons you started playing him

he’s the only tank you can play

you used to main either inara or ying at some point but chose violence instead

really short irl. you physically relate to ruckus and spiritually to bolt.

“funny goblin man :)”

.

Seris

certified girlboss

you can hold an objective all on your own or heal your whole team no problem. either way you are SLAYING

“alright. who’s ass am i kicking today?”

mum energy is inferior to inara but still kind of there

i’m like 50% sure you have a foot fetish

.

Sha Lin

*pointing and chanting* incel, incel, ince-

whether that’s about you or the character you can decide

you like minecraft bedwars on the side

“if i don’t get this headshot i am literally going to spontaneously combust”

really useful when there’s no other long distance people - otherwise a nuisance

.

Skye

AWOOGA *jaw drops to ground, eyes roll out of head* BOOBA BOOBA BOOBA

you bought her for the tiddies, didn’t you?

she’s actually really satisfying to play once you get the hang of her, but can be real tough on rough days

you need a break i think - maybe play some other game for a bit?

*casually gets team kill with ult*

.

Strix

you own at least one pretty knife

you played him when he was unlocked on rotation, fell in love, and spent a whole evening collecting credits to buy him fully

“haha bird man”

i’ve said what i said about snipers. if you’re actually good at him you are hiding a body somewhere. i fear you.

why does everyone ship him with viktor????

.

Talus

little furry child

he reminds me of tommyinnit because he is small and annoying

if you play him you are tall and intimidating 

i’m friends with a tall scary talus main

i can’t say bad things please spare me

.

Terminus

you always ult at the worst time and just get killed again 5 seconds after

“hey losers watch this” *goes on the point, dies, revives, kills one person and dies again*

you’re only a good tank if you cooperate

you don’t

on your own you’re a pretty good player

.

Tiberius

*sigh*

you think the cat is hot, don’t you?

“his accent is kinda cute tho hehe”

you saw that one ending scene in zootopia with the dancing tigers and it CHANGED you

you are probably a furry. if not your awakening is coming. be ready.

.

Torvald

you’ve been playing this game for too long

you’ve seen skins rise and fall. you’ve seen nerfs and buffs. you’ve seen reworks and remakes. you are ancient. older than the dragons and wiser than makoa. respect.

people see you on the opposing team and get really annoyed

“the point is really crowded, we can’t move in” “don’t worry guys, my ult is charged up”

you’re really good at all the characters but you like this guy a lot because you think he’s funky fresh

.

Tyra

you’re either new to the game or have been playing for too long

either way you can KICK ASS but you need to keep behind your team to do the most damage

flanks are the bane of you, especially the fast jumpy ones

you really want one of the cooler skins but you can only ever get the basic ones. such is the curse of maining one of the OG characters.

“bite me”

.

Viktor

you are level 100+ guaranteed, and everyone fears you

“oh shit they got a victor. flank focus him”

you probably play COD and CS:GO normally and wanted to go with something familiar and easy. your skill from the other more advanced games DWARFS everyone else

but why are you playing “guy with gun 132″ in a game with magical elves and fairies. like come on bro.

you don’t have any in-game friends because paladins is your guilty pleasure game you would never admit to

.

Vivian

“step on me” syndrome cranked up to 100%

this woman could spit on you and you’d still respect her more than your own mother. good for you

“i’m not a simp. i’m just tier 3 subbed to pokimane ironically”

you sweat the game hardcore. former victor main or he’s your secondary.

you’ve got her on level 50+ at least

.

Vora

like the maeve mains but somehow worse

bought her out of spite or played her while she was on rotation, now here you are grinding credits for her a day after she became unavailable

honestly you’re really good at the game i have nothing else to say

you enjoy the newer characters more than the OGs - you’re either a former vivian or lian main

you miss the play of the game feature in the game because you’d get all of them with this girl

.

Willo

you seem like the moji mains at first but show your true colors soon after

“fuck you” x50

you are a trash talker on max overdrive. you need to sit down, do some breathing exercises and have a drink.

you hate your own team more than the opposing guys

when you see a willow on the opposing team you make it your sole goal to eliminate her as many times as humanely possible

.

Yagorath

i bet you didn’t know she was canonically female until you read this

you don’t like sweating too much so you pick the tank that leaves you heavily relying on your healers and damages

you can hold a point really well so you like siege and onslaught

“are vora and yagorath connected in the lore somehow and do i really care?”

you have a friend who you always party up with to be your healer, otherwise you might switch to another character

.

Ying

“tanks love me, flanks hate me”

you are too powerful. literally. how are you so strong

you’ve mastered the most difficult healer in the game. the others are really easy for you to play but you have trouble with seris

motivate your team a lot but start shading and trash talking if they don’t cooperate

you’ll gladly play someone else for a long while and like taking breaks from her

.

Zhin

this is your first main after switching over from overwatch. we can smell it on you.

you’re really annoyed with his personality and voice lines but the character is too good to play for you to pass him up for that. you respond to his voice lines aloud very aggressively to let him know he’s an ass

“YES ZHIN HEALERS AREN’T USELESS YOU SELFISH PRICK”

you try your best but you’re not a great team player

infinite trips on a good day, die repeatedly without kills on a bad one and you switch over to vora or skye for a bit.

.

this took me hours to write out pls leave reblog and note thanks uwu

[thoughtfullyyoungduck]

Birthday

Summary: could you do a hs losers x reader where the readers new to town and hates her bday bc each year her past friends and family had always forgotten or did nothing so when richie finds out her bdays coming up he tells the losers and they all plan a special surprise party and richie saves up and gets her something super special and the losers r all like wow he’s never gotten anyone anything like this b4 so she finds out that he likes her or something so it’s like the best bday she’s ever had

Richie bikes swiftly passed you, faster than he usually does, which can only mean he’s trying to surpass you. You barely refrain from flipping him the bird in public, as you too throw your weight into peddling. It’s no use, Richie is more athletic than you by a long shot, and he’s been practicing with Eddie for track. You’ll never be able to catch up with him with no viable effort.

‘You asshole,’ you yell out to him, noticing an elder woman pledging through her yard too late to stop your exclamation. She regards the both of you with malcontent, stabbing her hark too brutally in the soil of her allotment for it to be a coincidence.

‘Not my fault your short legs can’t reach the peddles.’

You growl, lifting up from your saddle to race faster, but Richie sees you do it and does nothing but laugh.

Any other time you might give him hell for it, but today, you are in no mood to indulge in Richie’s escapades.

It’s your birthday, and while for most that equalizes a fun day stacked with presents and cake, to you it stands for a day full of misery.

Your birthday is cursed. And no, that is not you being dramatic. At your ninth birthday, your cake got slammed into floor, therefor ruing the gift your parents had been working on for weeks, and which was their only present.

At age ten, you fell off your brand new bike into a ravine and had to go to the hospital to get eleven stitches. On your fourteenth birthday, you and your parents got into such a huge fight they send you up to your room and forbad you from sneaking down at any point in the day.

There are more examples to back up your claim for the terrible birthdays, but you have tried to desperately block them all out, so you won’t rehash them.

That’s why your so peeved that Richie is forcing you to the quarry.

‘If you could tell me where I’m supposed to be going to bet u could find a short cut and be there faster than you.’

‘Nice try Dora, I’m not telling you anything. It’s a surprise.’

‘Alright, I get two attempts. If I can’t guess where we’re going, I’ll do your homework for a week.’

‘And if you do guess it?’

‘Then you owe me a favor and no matter for what reason I cash it in, you don’t get to complain.’

‘Fine, bring it miss know it all.’ Richie slows down to slide next to you, the wind picking up as the two of you descend down the mountain. His smile is mischievous and cheeky, probably too confident to think you’ll be able to reckon the spot he has in mind.

If only he knew that you had limited the possibilities to two places, the exact amount of guess you were granted.

‘Hm, are we going to the arcade?’ Your first theory is. Richie doesn’t have anything on him right now, except pennies that have been rinkeling inside his pockets the entire bike ride, the only thing he needs to go to the arcade.

Richie smirks, and shakes his head. ‘Try one my dear, may I say that the odds aren’t in your favor right now?’

His impressive ego in the way he taunts you with the right answer fuels your desire to be right. ‘Are we going to the Barrens?’ You sing, smiling wide as Richie’s shrinks.

‘Eh, no?’ He says, but he sounds petulant. ‘Fuck this shit, what gave it away?’

‘A girl never reveals her secrets’, you say covertly, forgetting momentarily about the agitating day. You suspect that might have been Richie’s intention.

It’s not like the Barrens is such a stretch in the first place, the losers and you have made that place your own, but you do hypothesize that he may have planned something special for you.

Your theory turns out to be true, as you can spot a long table at the end of the dirt path you and Richie are currently riding on to get to the clubhouse. The table is stacked with a variety of candies, your favorite, drinks that are sweet enough to rot your teeth, something Richie should be more aware off - having a dad who is a dentist-, and a giant cake with eight candles on. Each one representing a loser.

You say nothing as you approach, in a sneaky way torturing Richie a bit more before revealing that you’re at the verge of tears of this nice gesture. Richie slows down his speed by dragging his shoes along the dirt, glances darting nervously towards your face.

‘I know you said no parties, but how else was I supposed to show off my rocking dance moves?’

‘Do you mean the moves you make that look like you’re dying?’ Stan chides, him and the rest of the losers rolling up behind you two. They’re all walking next to their bikes, and Bill’s hands are smudges with cake residue he somehow missed while cleaning up. They didn’t want to be here before you and ruin the ‘surprise’, but it’s clear everyone has worked hard to organize this for you.

‘Fuck you Stan the man, the color green doesn’t fit you.’

‘Happy’, Bev grounds out, leveling Richie with one look, the way only Bev can, and then address you. ‘Birthday.’ She hugs you despite you still holding your bike, and you let it clatter to the ground with a loud bang.

‘Thanks Bev.’

‘Happy Birthday’, the other losers also call out, because there’s just too many of them for each to wait their turn.

‘We hope you don’t mind we don’t have any presents, we spend basically all of it getting ingredients for the cake, which we had to redo- twice.’

They don’t offer any other explanation about why the cake had to be remade two times, but by Eddie’s scowl you can fill in the blanks.

‘No, honestly, this is already too much.’ It is too much, but their efforts are so kind and heartwarming that you have to bit back a happy squall. No one has ever bothered to organize anything for your birthday, whether it be purchasing a two dollar present or even ordering a cake, but these people that you had met less then a year ago were willing to scramble together all the money they could, just so they could turn your day special. Thank god for moving to Derry.

For the first time in years, your birthday has brought smiles and laughter, and no tears and weeping moods.

‘Nonsense my dearest young lady, this is but a blip on our radar, a speck of dust on the tv, nothing compared too-‘

‘Can we please cut the cake now? Before something else goes wrong with it?’ Eddie glowers, refuting to wait for an affirmative.

‘Don’t forget the candles,’ Ben says as he follows Eddie to the table. You’re about to join them, when a hand on your wrists stops you.

‘Hey, Y/N? You really don’t mind this right? I know you said you didn’t want anything but I know how nice it is be caught off guard with something like this.’ Richie rubs the back of his head as if that makes him see any less anxious. It’s incredible how smart someone can be while simultaneously also being so dense.

‘Richie’, you say as you smile, unable to hide it any longer. ‘It’s amazing, thank you so much. If there is any way I can repay you I’ll do that. I’m really happy with this.’

‘That’s good, not that I was worried about it, who isn’t a fan of everything I do?’

Rolling your eyes only spurs Richie on, but it’s become an automatic response now, you can’t help but do it.

‘Oh, I almost forgot. I did get you another gift. Two actually, if you count my huge dong as one.’

‘Gross Richie, why do you always have to add something sexual to everything?’

‘It’s my game babe, love it or leave it. Anyway, here is the gift if you want it. If you don’t that’s fine too.’

‘Don’t get all shy on me now Rich’, you tease as your bump your arm into his while grabbing the package. ‘I’ve just gotten used to your antics.’

The package isn’t heavy, but it also isn’t light. It’s wrapped in enough layer that you can’t feel what’s inside of it just by holding it, but that was probably Richie’s intention. That or he is simply horrible at wrapping up.

While you carefully peel off each layer, you begin to speculate on what it could be. It could be a gag gift, but Richie looked sincere, and his eyes behind his glasses are magnified in true anticipation, a gag gift wouldn’t illicit that response.

As soon as the final layer is detached, you gasp, armored by the actual gift. It’s a blue bracelet, covered in butterfly pattering. You once mentioned having a similar one as a kid that you loved but lost one day while playing outside and had been sad about for weeks.

You can’t believe Richie had kept it in his mind, and had gone out to look for it.

‘Richie… I don’t even know what to say right now.’ You exclaim, squeezing the bracelet in your hand tightly, a blush covering your face. Richie’s mimics yours. ‘Thank you’, you say while reaching out to him and kissing him on the cheek. Richie face burns a brighter red.

‘Yeah… glad to be of service.’ His mind is ball parks away, and he is left dazed.

‘Come on Y/N, it’s time for you to blow out the candles.’

You go easily, letting your hand linger around Richie’s, deciding mentally that you’ll do it tonight before you go home. Your birthday has already been better than anything you could have imagined, and maybe it has one more miracle left to give. If Richie says yes to your question about going on a date, then this will truly have been the best birthday you have every had. By the love struck expression Richie is walking around with, you have an inkling as to what his response might be.

You blow out your candles, but you don’t need to make a wish. You already have everything you could possibly want.

----

‘Off course that asshole buys her a gift, but never returns the money I loaned him so long ago. I’m not a fucking bank.’

‘I think it’s cute.’

‘No, Eddie is right, I’m also waiting on my refund.’

‘It’s adorable he bought her something, he really can’t hide his crush anymore.’

[razorblade180]

Interdimensional Moms part 2

Part 1 <-

Yang:Okay Weiss, your turn.

Weiss:What!? Why me?

Blake:Because you’ve been bouncing in your seat all through Yang’s story. You clearly want to gush about your kids.

Weiss:Pffft, What!? Nooooo, a little. Hehehe I can’t believe I’m that obvious. *smiles*

Ruby:Aww look at you, I never believe Weiss Schnee could look as warm as campfire.

Yang:And wearing mom jeans!? Little jealous that you still look completely gorgeous. Why does mom energy make you prettier?

Weiss:What can I say? I’m great. As far as my universe goes, I argue that I’m the strongest mom!

Blake:Such a bold claim.

Weiss:I carried twins! *points to self* this body handled two buns in the oven!

Ruby:Couldn’t be me. *shutters* I’d sooner loose an eye. Speaking of eyes, your scar has a friend. Got this whole upside down cross basically.

Weiss:Oh that? That’s uhhhh- how would I even explain this?

Yang:And your hair! It’s short!

Ruby:Yeah you’re just a surprise all over.

Blake:Guys, let her start from the beginning!

Ruby and Yang:Oh right. *covers mouths*

Weiss:(Yep, they’re the same sisters anywhere.) Thank you Blake. Now then...a good starting place? Well I suppose I could lay the ground work of Jaune and I getting better acquainted. It was about two weeks into reaching Atlas. Winter learned I got impaled and berated me not giving any kind of thanks. Since I had waited so long to do so, words wouldn’t do for her standards and she made me take him to a proper dinner. I think it was that night we actually talked openly to each other. A piece of me was annoyed at first because I thought he’d get the wrong idea again. But...he didn’t. He was just happy to spend time with me. That’s when I realized he had changed a bit *red* and apparently I changed too. Sigh, because that annoyed feeling was actually me forming a crush.

Blake:Looks like you changed more than he did. I think we can all agree that we’re pretty rough to deal with at Beacon in the beginning?

Yang:Hell yeah!

Ruby:Preach! Hehe, but it meant you grew the most too.

Weiss:Hey! You’re all assuming that I was terrible! Who knows, I could a Saint compared to your Weiss. Maybe I was a sweetheart at Beacon.

RBY:.....

Yang:Were you?

Weiss:*red* I’ll never tell.

Blake:(That’s just a no...) Two weeks into Atlas huh? I bet feelings raged whenever the whole place was under attack huh?

Weiss:W...What attack? Barely anything happened in Atlas.

Blake:Excuse me?

Ruby:Pfft what? You’re joking right? There wasn’t any threat of things falling out the sky or war threats?

Weiss:No? We showed up, put the relic in vault, and took time fortifying things while planning with Ironwood. The most exciting thing was a grimm wave and two of Salem’s goons showing up at a ball, but we handled that.

Ruby:....I...that’s...oh my head.

Blake:So what you’re saying is time in Atlas was a piece of cake?

Weiss:Well I had to deal with my father and and a lot of other family drama so I wouldn’t say it was cake. It was actually very stressful.

Yang:Well I think we found the massive shift between worlds. Atlas was different. I would say I dealt with anything like falling kingdoms. Atlas for me was one long Mission Impossible sequence. Espionage, jail break, fake deaths, but please continue with your love story.

Weiss:You sound a little envious. Anyways there isn’t too much of anything to tell in that part. Dates, fighting together, sibling healing, I was disowned publicly, Penny was being amazing-

Blake:You were disowned?

Ruby:(Penny is...alive? Huh, well, imagine that?) .....

Yang:*whispers* You okay Rubes?

Ruby:Yeah, processing. Hey Weiss? Not to control the narrative or anything, but how is your Ruby exactly? I get the feeling she’s quite different from me somehow if things like the adventure in Atlas are different.

Weiss rubbed her chin. She could tell the Ruby in front of her was pretty perplexed by the differences so far. In fact, Weiss could tell mentioning Penny made them all flinch a little. It was safe to assume they all hadn’t heard that name in a very long time. It made her feel a little bad. Did she somehow get a more ideal world?

Weiss:I think I might be able to answer that if you could humor me by getting a little further into my world’s reality? I don’t know how but I do get a since the two of you might have a key difference.

Ruby:I’m all ears.

Weiss: Blake, I’ll circle back to being disowned a little later. It’s one of the biggest reasons I am who I am now. Let’s see now, ah, the plan. After Atlas was infiltrated it was hard to save face to the rest of Remnant. That was until the world learned about Salem. It was a secret that was doing more harm than good at this point. On that day, our journey really began for us. Team RWBY wasn’t just four girls and their friends. It was one of four four girls commanding troops, organizing meetings, rallying others. We were the face of a revolution: along with JNPR of course.

Ruby:The world just...believed in Salem?

Weiss:There were plenty skeptics, but it’s harder not to believe it. Pen- our winter maiden, showed off magic. Then the others on our side followed the example. We had two relics to show off from the start, and a variety of ways to explain questions throughout history that nobody could answer before. We gave humanity’s suffering a face. People were more than eager to cling to it. From that point it was hard for Salem to make a move that wouldn’t give further validity to our story.

Ruby:An army huh, lead by us?

Weiss:Yep, mainly you when it came to the battlefield. You were anxious at first and definitely made moves that you regretted. But...after some time and experience, you stood tall in front of dozens to give a speech the night of the final battle. I still get chills. There wasn’t an eye that wasn’t on you. A person who didn’t want to march into battle with you. I don’t think I ever seen you more sure of where you were meant to be.

Ruby:Is that so? Hmm, I think...I think I get it now. Your Ruby must’ve stumbled quite a bit, but had people by her consistently. It was other’s strength that enabled her to get stronger. How old was she when the war was over?

Weiss:It ended on her twenty first birthday.

Ruby:Makes sense. An army isn’t made in a day. Plans and caution for everyone involved. A united force like that sounds like a thing Oz dreamed of.

Weiss:Actually, it was. My world beat Salem by gaining the relics. The gods witnessed the effort the world put in and stripped her of immortality. It was actually thanks to you that Salem went peacefully. Instead of damning her to a cruel fate, the gods let her pass on to her kids per your request. After that, gods and magic came back. Both are still mysterious. The gods are hard to find and there’s only one person born with magic so far.

Yang:Magic is a thing there!? That’s so unfair! Just imagine me with more fire!?

Weiss:Like you need it!? You’re already like a generator. Life after Salem wasn’t any calmer really. Terrifying grimm lurked where their could, an entire new way of life had been dropped on society, and even the world itself seemed to react. Weather has been more intense as of late. There was a lot things to keep people busy. Ruby being her usual self, started hunting. Blake used the momentum of faunus and humans working together to further her equality agenda, and Yang helped both of you out.

Yang:Look at me! I’m a great girlfriend and sister!

Blake:*mumbles* There at least.

Weiss:Yeah. Oscar and Penny decided to embarrass more of normal lifestyle, mostly. Penny went back to being protector of Mantle, but had way more free time to be a normal girl. Both of them had gotten really close over the years and eventually married.

Ruby:*wide eyed* Awwww, good for them! I always had a feeling those two would hit it off.

Weiss:They weren’t the only ones. You may have been busy, but you always made time for Whitley. The two of you were dating since our original trip to Atlas. There wasn’t a problem that either of you didn’t come to me for. You know hard it is to navigate other people’s relationships when you’re lost in your own? The blind was leading the blind. Worked out though. You were probably the prettiest bride out of all of us. Then again, you went ours and literally took notes.

Ruby:Hehe, that sounds exactly like something I’d do. You haven’t talked much about the charmed life after the war for you.

Weiss felt her face heat up. She placed her head on the table as if she gave up on something.

Yang:Yeah! Give us the scoop!

Weiss:Charmed isn’t what I’d call my life exactly. I was disowned, completely cut off. Even though I made my own mark in history, it’s not like people were gonna roll out red carpets. The world had to rebuild, and I needed a roof over my head. Thus began the modest life of Weiss Schnee, owner of a two bedroom Argus apartment. Fancy clothes a food were no more. Just clearance sales and two for one. Honestly, I didn’t hate. But that’s mainly because I wasn’t living alone.

Blake:Jaune?

Weiss:Living back home was just as unappealing for him as it was for me. That and the fact that I couldn’t cook for shit was concerning, to say the least. Moving in and splitting rent just made sense. We weren’t dating yet technically, but.....it didn’t take long for the relationship between us to...expand.

Yang:I cannot believe a Weiss Schnee finally caved to tall blonde and scraggly. I should be jealous, but I’m strangely proud of Jaune’s achievement. It’s like the first time I lost to him. I was upset, but man did he work for that win.

Weiss:Took about a month before all of you had learned just what the living situation was like and man did you three let the teasing begin? *smiles* it was fun though. If I had to wrong about something then I’m glad it was about me not thinking a person is reliable. Especially since they’ve bailed me out of trouble many times. Normal life had its pitfalls. We were constantly working to pay rent. Sometimes one of us had to work harder. Getting sick was disastrous, of long term assignments. What’s the relationship I have with Whitley in the other worlds?

Ruby:Casual. The two of are always throwing ideas back and forth to help the company.

Blake:The two of you are fine. I’m not too sure how much you actually hang out, but you both are pretty snarky whenever you’re together.

Yang:Thick as thieves. That man was always shifting money and finding sneaky ways to let us know when important things popped up.

Weiss:Good, that’s really good. *exhales* I can’t count the times he sent money without father knowing. I’m glad we reconnected. Without his and everyone’s help, I don’t think I would’ve managed. Especially when mom died...

Ruby:Oh. I...I’m sorry to hear that.

Weiss:It’s bound to happen when you drink the way she did. But yeah, didn’t handle it any easier. Between that and stressing over money, I really got overwhelmed often. I was very glad I didn’t live alone. Even if I didn’t want to talk about things, Jaune was always there to listen. I think it was around that time I realized just how in love I actually was with him. He makes me happy. That idiot must’ve known how much of a weakness I had for him. It was only a few months later that he proposed.

The simple memory of Jaune asking her under a street light on a cold yet peaceful night, made Weiss’s face a healthy shade of red. A gentle smile was all she could make thinking about it. A smile that left everyone stunned. They had never seen Weiss look so warm. So genuinely filled with love, happiness. To think she was once called Ice Queen? This one really did look like an Angel. Weiss quit daydreaming and got a little embarrassed.

Weiss:Uh, sorry! I guess I little mushy there. I’ve been told I’ve gotten pretty sappy through the years.

Blake:I think that’s beautiful.

Yang:Seriously. I’m...speechless really.

Ruby:A hardworking Weiss that struggled making ends meet. I gotta say that you look good doing it.

Weiss:Yeah well, that time has passed. My father got sick and in an attempt to “clear his conscious” or whatever he was feeling, he put me back in the family. I only saw him once when he was on his deathbed. Truthfully, I don’t visit my parent’s grave. I wanna say old emotions don’t get stirred up, but there’s certain feelings towards people that just can’t die I guess.

Yang:That’s fair. Who knows, maybe you just need a decade or two?

Weiss:Hehe, perhaps. However, before I got my fortune back, I was granted an either better one. Two in fact. That sly knight of mine managed to overachieve like he always does and give us a boy and girl.

Blake:I got a sneaking suspicion that you weren’t upset?

Weiss:Not for one second! I love my babies. My darling little Nick and Summer Schnee. One named after our grandfather, and Jaune and I are both really thankful for all that Ruby has done for us, so our daughter got named Summer. It meant a lot. My Ruby...she can’t have kids, or I should say getting and staying pregnant is extremely difficult.

Ruby:...*sniffling* These aren’t tears by the way. Just dust.

Weiss:My Ruby cried.

Ruby:Oh I bet! That’s some powerful stuff. Probably ugly cried too. Someone please say something? *misty eyed* Fuck, man that was a lot. *puts hood up* give me a sec, please keep going. *holding Yang’s hand*

Yang:Weiss, weren’t you a little scared about your living situation?

Weiss:It was a weird thing. We talked about having a family before hand. Money was always a concern, as well space; but I also knew that I did want to have a family of my own one day. So when the day came that the nurse told me I was pregnant, I should’ve been more worried. I wasn’t. All I felt was joy. Maybe it was because I had faith we could handle anything. We did have you all to help. Yang, you might as well be a superwoman honestly. You have been so amazing throughout my life.

Yang:Aye! I really love this other me.

Blake:What about me?

Weiss:You remain the most sensible person in my life and I thank you for it. Everyone else is crazy.

Blake:Yeah that’s pretty on brand. *smiles*

Ruby:Picture please?

Weiss gladly pulled out her scroll and showed off her children. It was quick to see both of them had gotten their father’s dorkiness. They stood in front of the camera playfully winking and were pretending to take a bite out the gold medals they had around their necks. It was crazy how much Summer looked like her mother, but clearly had Jaune’s eyes. Her brother on the other hand had the Schnee eyes and messy Arc hair. The two looked like barrels of fun. Then there was the man himself, Jaune Arc. He looked from the one in Yang’s photo. His hair resembled his days traveling to Haven and he was clean shaven, but he was noticeably healthier. It wasn’t even a physical thing much, though he did look good. He just seemed more vibrant.

Yang:Mine is cuter.

Weiss:Yours looks like your dad with the scruff.

Yang:Can you not?

Blake:How old?

Weiss:Sixteen. Little devils want sports car. I’m not dealing with that. Nick is really good at figure skating and is the oldest, so he’s the heir. Summer decided to be a little like her mother and pursue singing. Doesn’t have my voice though, but her range is better than me. I’m jealous. Both of them are always pretty decent in a fight if I do say so myself. Sigh, they grow up so fast. They still have a lot of growing to do though. Teenagers...

RBY:Preach...

Ruby:Everything okay though? Nothing too tough going on?

Weiss:Can I lie and say yes?

Yang:Hey I unpacked my baggage. Unload yours.

Weiss let out a large sigh. She looked at her kids lovingly, but had a smile that seemed...somber. All of her energy was brought down a bit and it showed.

Yang:Umm if it’s too much-

Weiss:It’s fine. It might be a little therapeutic to talk about it. Personally, I don’t I’m doing all I really can do. When they were very young, we all took a trip to go skating at a frozen lake. While I was there I found this strange ice dust that I’ve never seen before. Nick and Summer had gotten into a fight and by accident, Nick set off the dust. The shrapnel from it hit everyone, but Summer had it the worse. I’m talking it was lodged in her in multiple places. Not to mention the blast sent her flying into the water. I was hit so hard that I nearly blacked out. Thankfully, Jaune was the furthest and dove into the water while I managed to get Nick. He avoided a lot of it due to distance and was winded more than anything.

Ruby:Christ...

Blake:How young?

Weiss:Five. We rushed so fast to the hospital as soon as we could. The dust in Summer was freezing her until Nick activated her semblance and most of the shards got used up. Still, Summer ended up hospitalized for almost a year. Surgeries, comas, seizures; it was difficult to put it lightly. That picture doesn’t show it but she has puncture scars across her body, and a slight scar under her jawline she covers with makeup. That dust, though highly dangerous, it also healed her eventually. Summer had virtually no chance of survival. Not even counting the organ damage, that water should’ve put her into shock. But...she made a full recovery, on paper.

Yang:On paper?

Weiss:Several years later, Summer came in contact with the dust again and she...changed. Her eyes looked like mine, her light blonde hair went white, and she went mad. Her scars glowed with the dust that was still in her system and Summer started attacking everyone. I saw my twelve year old just use ice that was cold enough to burn. My extra scar is from me trying to restrain her. In the end it took my gigas pinning her down before she came to her senses. Summer had no memory of it. She said all remembered was feeling cold and hearing her own laughter. It wasn’t long after that it kept happening. Any time she got cold, this other...thing would come out. It eventually called itself Shiva.

Blake:Shiva? So...it’s a multiple personality?

Weiss:We don’t know. There’s so many inconsistencies. We got her checked up by the best and every test was normal. Her brain looks normal. But any time Shiva comes out, her blood turns blue and all she wants to do is hurt us. Shiva and Summer are even aware of each other now. There’s almost no day where Summer doesn’t hear Shiva in her head, wrestling for control. Between that, people at school who hate her, the scars, everything; Summer has become pretty reserved. She barely wants to go to school and she’s depressed most days. Nowadays she doesn’t open up about it outside of therapy. I...I can connect with her. Not in the way that matters.

Yang:I...shit, I don’t know what to say to that.

Weiss:That’s okay, few do. We’ve gotten good at preventing situations that get Summer cold but it’s through trial and error on something we know nothing about. Even with how far we’ve gotten, there’s a looming fear in everyone’s heart. Make no mistake though, that doesn’t stop any family from loving her with everything, but the mental strain of it all is more than anyone should deal with. Nick is kind soul. He blames himself for this and is constantly doing all he can to be there for everyone and put on this brave face, but he suffers inside. For a time, he went to therapy. Your sister almost killing you is a visceral experience. Getting him to sleep and take a break is like telling a fish not to swim. He is pretty open about this though, which helps a lot. It’s just...how do convince somehow they’re good enough when they think they’re not?

Ruby and Blake:You can’t....

Weiss:Exactly. It’s so...*tearing up* How am I failing at helping my kids worse than my own mother?

Yang:And that’s where I draw the line. *stands up* Now I can’t begin to fathom dealing with a a situation like this, and what I’m about to say is gonna be a little hypocritical but I really don’t care. Weiss, the last thing you are is a bad mother. I could tell immediately from the way you are that there hasn’t been a single as a parent that you haven’t made a choice without your kids in mind. I get feeling like there’s a gap that disconnects you from there; but the fact you keep your arms stretched out to bridge it makes you mother of the year in my eyes! Don’t believe for a second you’re a bad mother. Your the gold standard!

The room filled with silence for a moment. Weiss felt a lump form in her throat as she fought back tears that she eventually had to wipe away. She tried letting out a small laugh, but with it came more tears that ran down her face. Weiss couldn’t tell if it was from Yang’s words, or the stress. All she knew was that right now, she felt very thankful for being here.

Weiss:Damn it Yang, making me cry is something you’ve always been good at. Maybe that’s why I look up to you so much?

Yang:*red* Y-You what?

Weiss:My Yang, I downplayed just how much I adore her. Her daughter, Veronica, she’s got her fair share problems that stresses Yang out, but I never see her stop trying to connect with her. Even when she’s sad it’s like it’s only for a second, then you’re trying twice as hard. It’s amazing. If I’m being honest, and this is embarrassing, but I kinda picked up a mother from you. You’ve always been a bit motherly.

Ruby:She’s right.

Blake:Mom energy since day one.

Yang:Really? *rubs head* I was just being myself. Never really thought about it. Now then, wipe those tears! It’s upsetting that you look pretty why you cry. Meanwhile I look like a hot mess, and not in the fun way.

Weiss:*wiping face* Oh please, I don’t wanna hear that from someone who’s never needed make up. Those genes of your went to Veronica. Kids a genuine beauty. She’s just angry all the time.

Yang:Yeah that sounds appropriate... Weird to think I have a daughter that’s not Yujin. Wish I could see her.

Blake:Me too. Though I think I’d be overwhelmed seeing all my different kids. I’d probably want them all.

Ruby:My hands are full with ones I have and I wouldn’t say I’m juggling them well, so I don’t need other kids from universes. I’d be so stressed.

Weiss:Especially if they’re violent.

Ruby:Yeah, that would bad....

Weiss:Phew, I do feel a bit better. Even though I said all those things, my family still had good times. It’s not tense and we joke around like everyone else. As a family, we’re happy. We just have shit we gotta sort through.

Blake:Rich or poor, life has certain things that hit everyone. Is Jaune doing well.

Weiss:Yeah, he gets through to Summer pretty well, and he’s typically calm when it comes to giving guidance. He had his fears, but that’s why I’m here. We confide in each other.

Blake:May you and everyone else find a light at the end of the tunnel.

Ruby:Hey Weiss. Does....actually, never mind. Forget it.

Yang:We both know that’s not happening. Spit it out.

Ruby:I was just about Shiva. I’ve encountered weird things in my world, but this is unique. I was wondering if you have any positive experience with her.

Weiss:Not a single one. Here since of enjoyment in the displeasure of my children is a thing we disagree on. Though....her eyes, they do throw me off. For some reason, they don’t match her joy.

Blake:Maybe that part is still Summer. Eyes are the window to the soul and all that jazz.

Weiss:Maybe? I hope the kids are okay right now. I wonder what they’re up to?

xxxxx

Summer:WHAT’S UP VALE!!!!!!!!

A massive crowd screams “what’s up Summer”in excitement. Flashing lights and chanting fans’s voices make the sold out venue shake with their passion. Summer can only bask in it. There’s no better feeling than when she’s on stage. She looks to herself excitedly. This one was extra special. Nick comes out on stage with a base around him and a second microphone.

Nick:WE CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!!

The crowd chants louder. Summer responds by starting a rift on her guitar. She faces Nick with a smug look. Yes, having him on stage is always a joy, but that didn’t mean Summer wanted him hindering or stealing the show.

Summer:Well look who’s here!? Atlas’s favorite son! Think you’re ready to play with the kids up here. This isn’t your normal stage.

Nick smiled. He responded by playing the bass and letting the audience speak for him. Summer was chessing fool. Slowly she bopped up and down, urging him to do the same. It wasn’t long before they in sync. Drums, piano, and other background musicians began building up the tune as planned. The twins whipped around to face the crowd.

🎶Get down! We won't let you go!

This time, can you bring us down?

Back up! fly far through the sky

BLACK ROVER!

Let's go! All together now

And at last this world can't slow us down

For now, let's dye it all in black

BLACK ROVER!🎶

The two stood back to back...

🎶As more join and stand beside me,

The void doesn't feel so empty!!!!!

I know there is much more in store

Let's open that door -!🎶

Nick looked over his shoulder and saw Summer doing the same thing. This was gonna be one for the books. Jaune watched from backstage with one of the stagehands.

Stagehand:Should we tell them to save their energy? This charity event is six hours.

Jaune:Nah, let them have fun.

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

Home Sweet Home: Kill ‘Em

Summary- 3.1k Andy Barber x You. You and Andy almost have it all, married and with a jointed family consisting of Andy’s teenage son Jacob, as well as your two younger children John and Cassidy. Looking to add another member, your family is in need of a bigger house, a forever home. You find just the place, 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville Long Island.   

Home Sweet Home

Written for @optimistic-dinosaur-nacho​ Spooky Scary Stories challenge. Divider by @firefly-graphics​

Warnings- Fighting, child endangerment, violence. 

A/N- I chose Amityville Horror for the challenge because its one of my favorite Spook Stories growing up. When reading you will find a lot of similarities to the 2005 Movie, some of the scenarios and dialogue are specifically from that film. Other parts of it are from the book itself. The family name was changed for my own personal reasons. Happy Haunting!  🎃

A/N 2- Thank you Everyone who stuck with me through this and have made comments about the story! You all are the very best, and I appreciate all of you. 

Chapter 4 / Masterlist 

The next morning you woke up groggy and looked over to see Andy’s side was untouched. “That idiot must have stayed in the basement.” you say with a groan, and move to sit up, rubbing your face. Grabbing a robe you slip it on, and head out of the bedroom. You peek in on Cassidy as you pass her room, and see John is in with her. Together they are sitting on her bed playing together and you step into the room. John looks up when he hears you and clears his throat. “Are you and Andy still fighting?” 

“Oh baby, I don't know. But it will be okay, I promise.” You tilt your head to kiss the top of his head and Cassidy squirms a bit. 

“Is Andy mad at us? Jody says he is.” She looked miserable at you, since she loved Andy like he was her father, and didn't want him upset with her. You reach to hug her and smile. 

“Andy loves you very much, I know he does. He isn't mad at you. He's just being a grumpy bear lately.” you wink and that seems to ease the kids. “I'm going to go downstairs and make breakfast, come down when you're ready.” 

Leaving them to play, you run into a sleepy Jacob headed to the bathroom. 

“Hey Jake.” You pause him and he rubs his eyes to look at you. “You okay?” 

“Yea, Y/N. I'm gonna go see Sammy later to see how she is doing.” He smiles weakly and you approach him and give him a hug. 

“I bet she will really like that. Also bring her a little something. Maybe flowers or a teddy bear. Us girls like to know we're being thought of.” you suggested while unknowingly lifting your hand to your ear lobe, rolling Andy's diamonds before smiling. “I'm gonna go risk seeing how your dad is, wish me luck.” 

Jacob snorted before going into the bathroom. “You are gonna need it.” 

Downstairs you went into the kitchen to see Andy sitting there, just staring at the wall. You worry your lip before deciding to take a chance, and moving a chair to sit next to him. 

“Andy can we talk?” You reach to take one of his hands in yours and he pulls it away without looking at you. 

Great, he's still pissed off, you thought while pulling your hand back. “Somethings not right Andy.” 

His eyes dart to you from the corner of his eyes. “What do you mean, something isn't right?” 

“Something with this house, it's not okay. It hasn't been in a while. I think… I think we should leave, sell this place and move.” You finally confess the thought that has been on your mind for a while now. Andy’s head whips around to look you up and down, and you could see the way they were red rimmed like he was once more sick. “God Andy, you look terrible, are you okay?” 

“Fine, never better. You can't just run away from your problems Y/N.” He bit out, and you recoiled a bit at the harshness of his tone. 

“Please, Andy. Lets just go. You're not well, and you haven’t been since we moved in.” You are blinking back tears now, worried for Andy and it was hurting to see him like this. Gone was the man you married, and everyday he was turning colder to you, to Jacob and the kids.

His head whipped around again, his eyes roving along the wall. “Y/N, you hear that? Someone is whispering.” You shake your head confused, and Andy whispers under his breath. “Catch ‘em…” His hands come down hard on the table and you jump, flinching away from him. “Gotta find that noise, these houses are big big projects Y/N, we can't just walk away from.” His hand snakes out and grabs yours, squeezing painfully, and you jerk it back from his hold with a cry. He sneers at you. “When did you get so fucking stupid Y/N?” 

Your mouth gapes open, and wipe away the tears. “W-What?” 

“We have everything in this house Y/N, every fucking god damn penny for Christs sake. I don’t even have a proper place to work and get the fuck away from all of you cause of this house.” 

“I don’t care about the money Andy!” you protest and he pushes away from the table, and goes to turn on the stove to put his hands over the flames. 

“I don't care about the money Andy.” He mimics you. “My money Y/N, mine. I made all the sacrifices for you to have this fucking house.”

You are fisting your hands together trying not to scream at him. “Andy we are losing each other here, don't you see? Turn off the stove and talk to me.” 

He jerked the stove knob off and twisted to face you. “YOU WANTED THIS GOD FORSAKEN HOUSE Y/N, NOW YOU GOT IT.” He snarled out, thumping his fist against the counter, and you jumped, hiding your face in your hands. All three of the kids had at some point come downstairs and were standing in the doorway witnessing it. Andy’s eyes roved over them with a look of disgust, then back at you, and he shook his head. “You all are so fucking pathetic. Home sweet home.” He went down in the basement, and Jacob went past the kids and shut the door, tempted to throw the lock to keep his father shut down there. 

“Y/N, are you okay?” Jacob sympathetically comes over and takes Andy's seat. You lift your head and wipe at the tears. 

“Yea, yea I’m okay. Jake, I think I'm going to take John and Cassidy to my moms for a little bit. I just can't keep doing this right now. It’s killing me, it’s killing me he's become this person who I don't know. I have had news I was going to tell him last night, and I don't dare now.” you hung your head and Jacob leaned forward, taking your hand in his. 

“What kind of news?” he tilted his head in question, and you lifted your head to look at him, giving a little sad smile. 

“We’re pregnant, I was going to tell him before we went to bed, but with everything going on.” You wandered off, and Jacob gave a smile. 

“Y/N, that's great news. Dad will be happy, I just know it.” his hand gave him a squeeze in reassurance. 

“I don't think he will be.” You sigh and let go of his hands, wiping your face. “If you want me to drop you off at Laurie’s, I will.” 

Jacob looks back at the basement door and gives a nod. “I think it's for the best right now. Besides, it's been a while since I have spent time at Mom’s.” 

Downstairs Andy paces back and forth, now the figure that has been tormenting him is following, no longer hiding. It slides up his back and clings like a second skin, whispering repeatedly in his ear. 

Catch ‘em, Kill ‘em.  

Andy repeats it to himself, his mind sinking further into madness. “Catch ‘em, Kill ‘em.” His head snaps up the stairs, and he sees the glowing red eyes, and the form takes shape at the basement door. It's forked tongue sticking out, while hissing his name. “Andy, Catch ‘em, Kill ‘em.” 

Andy smirked, advancing up the stairs. Each step alternating. Catch, Kill, Catch, Kill. He shoved open the door to see the kitchen was empty. Going into the entrance, he paused at the steps, listening. Your voice is distinct while talking to the kids. 

“Just your clothes and sleeping toys, everything else stays.” you said, and Andy starts up the stairs, pausing as he sees John packing in his room, and then Cassidy is in her room gathering her stuffed horses off the bed. Finally he ends up in the master bedroom, seeing you frantically gathering clothing from the dresser. 

“Running away I see, typical.” Andy spat out, his tone filled with venom and disgust towards you. 

“Don’t Andy, we're going to my mothers for a few days, Jacob said he wants to go stay with Laurie. We all need a break from each other.” you are so matter of fact about it while folding your shirts. Andy doesn't even pause as he stalks forward and when you turn around to go back to the dresser, he is right there blocking your path and he backhands you to sprawl against the floor. 

You yelp in shock, and he's on you with his hands wrapped around your throat, squeezing till you start struggling, pounding on his arms to get him to let go. He’s shaking you hard enough so your head bounces off the floor. “You were going to run away and not come back bitch, think you can get away from me? I OWN your fucking ass.” he snarled in your face, spit flying from his anger, and you can just see black dots. From somewhere you hear John screaming Jacob’s name, and it all starts to fade out. “Don't worry, I will take care of the kids.” 

Dropping your body, you roll away coughing and gagging while Andy pushes up and goes to look for the kids, who both had run to Jacob’s room. Jacob is squatting next to them, listening to what was going on, when he caught sight of Andy stalking down the hallway. Cassidy looked as well and screamed. 

“Jody! Jody is on his back!” Cassidy for the first time looks at Andy and Jody in fear. Jacob couldn't believe what he was seeing. Just over Andy's shoulder was something following him, looming over him with a grotesque face, fangs bared which Andy also was baring his teeth at the children, glowing red eyes flared and both Andy and Jody shouted at the same time. “Catch em, Kill em!” 

“Run guys, get out of the house!” Jacob pushed the kids towards the stairs, and they started racing down. Jacob felt Andy’s hand grab the nape of his neck and drag him back to slam him forward once more. Sending Jacob flying forward and colliding with the other two children, all three landing in a heap at the bottom. 

He scrambles up, trying to get John and Cassidy on their feet when Andy is about to start down, but you moments earlier had gained strength to get moving. Racing forward, you grab the back of his shirt around whatever the horror is that is clinging to his back and yanks backwards to try and stop him. 

“Andy! Stop! Those are your kids!” you scream, and he whips around, grabbing your arm to wrench it viciously, and slams you into the wall. 

“No no no. Those little ones are not my fucking responsibility. But I will be sure to take care of them once I get my hands on their necks.” He grinned coldly, the creature clinging to him hissed again. “Catch em, Kill em.” 

You sobbed as he fists a hand to hit you with and you sob out. “Andy, fuck Andy don't. I’m pregnant. With your child. Don’t hurt me.” Below you can hear the door open and the only thing you can think of is at least the kids escaped, because from the look in Andy’s eyes, you weren't going to. 

But they cleared a bit, he blinked in surprise. “You are what?” His hand loosened from the first about to pummel you.  

Taking a shuddering breath, you say again. “Pregnant, we're pregnant Andy. You are going to have another child.” Hoping beyond anything that it would be enough for him to break out of whatever the demon spawn grasp. It finally clicked for you that it must be Jody. The thing your daughter had been conversing with. Jody screamed in rage, and Andy turned cold again, his and once more locking into a fist. You heaved a shove at his chest to break loose while he seemed confused, and started to half run, half stumble down the steps. Andy's heavy footfalls are not far behind, and you try to get out the door, but it slammed shut on you. Twisting to get away from Andy, you race into the living room where Jacob is prying open a window. 

“Y/N! Hurry!” He reaches in and grabs your arm, helping hauling you out. Andy grabs your leg, and you kick out with the other one, catching him in the face. You felt the crunch of bone where his nose gave way, but he let go enough for Jacob to continue pulling you towards the car. 

He too is stumbling out the window, and when you look over your shoulder, you put on a burst of speed down the driveway, and both of you dive into the front seats. Your hands shaking, you grab the keys from the visor and try to get the car to start. 

“Hurry! Y/N, he's coming.” Jacob yells, and you cry out. 

“I'm trying! Oh god, Andy STOP!” In the backseat John and Cassidy are screaming in fear and you get the car in drive, slamming on the gas pedal while you are screaming at your husband. The sudden surge forward happened to catch Andy, sprawling him across the hood, and then shooting him forward to land in a heap. You slam on the break and stare at him, your mind whirring so fast you cant believe your saying what's coming out of your mouth. 

“Jacob, there is rope in the trunk, get it. We have to get him out of here.” 

“Y/N, are you crazy?! Dad was just about to kill us!” Jacob shakes his head in a no and you pop the trunk. 

“It's the house Jacob, it's not your dad's fault. We have to hurry before he wakes back up though.” You urge and are going out your door to check on Andy, and Jacob hesitates, and then follows, grabbing the rope out of the trunk and racing back. 

You roll Andy to his stomach and yank your unconscious husband's hands behind his back and once Jacob comes over, you tie them as quickly as you can. Beneath you Andy starts groaning, and he’s saying something. But it's slurred, and you get up to grab his shoulders. “Come on, let's get him in the trunk.” 

It felt like it took forever, Andy was so heavy and you both struggled getting him around the car. When you start to push him into the trunk, you see a shadow figure lurking just at the edge of the house, still chanting “Catch ‘em, Kill ‘em.” 

With a heave, you shove Andy in, and he twists, wild eyed. “Y/N, Y/N, Baby, just fucking kill me, I’m not going to stop. It's trying to take me again.” You look down at him, and shake your head, your tears streaming down your face. 

“I’m getting you out of here Andy.” Slamming the trunk shut while Andy starts screaming your name. Ignoring the thing lurking along the shadow of the house, you get back in the car and whip it around, 112 Ocean Avenue House in your rear view. 

You drive, as fast as possible away from the town. Once you feel you are far enough away, you go to a hospital and get the whole family into the emergency room, including a half out of it Andy. “Please, please I need help. My husband was hit by a car.” You try to stumble Andy in, but he collapses, weakened from the whole ordeal. 

There is a noise, it's annoying Andy as he starts to come back. It was a buzzing in his ear and a steady beep. He can tell he's not in his bed, this mattress was much too hard. His thoughts race all before he gets the energy to pry his eyelids apart. Trying to remember what happened. It was hazy, he remembered being in the basement, his mind heavy with the liquor and rage at his family, at you. You were leaving the house and him. After that he didn't want to remember, it was a sickening drive to choke the life out of you, the kids, and Jacob too. 

Andy eventually blinks his eyes open, and the first thing he sees is you sitting by his bed, holding his hand. “Y/N?” he says hoarsely, and you nod, squeezing his hand with a smile. 

“Hey Andy, I’m right here.” you say and he lifts his hand to cup your face, tracing your bruises gently as his eyes well up. 

“Oh babygirl, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” He drops his hand and you shift from your seat to sit on his bed and cup his face, now the tears were soaking in his beard and you could see he was remembering everything that happened, what he was almost made to do. 

“Andy, hush baby hush. I knew that wasn’t you.” You ease down, your head on his chest, and he buries his face on the top of your head, still crying unable to help himself. He could have lost all of you, in seconds. He fought it, tried to. But that thing, Jody was stronger then he was, and shame filled him that he would have killed all of you. Uncontrolled sobs wracked his body harshly, harsher than that cough ever done to him. He clung to you for a few minutes till the overwhelming emotions backed off, and he eased his hold. 

You shift a bit to sit back up and take his hand in yours. “Andy we got out, all of us. You're in the worst shape, Jacob and the kids are all perfectly safe. We never have to go back to that place.” 

Andy shook his head, fear filling him at any of you returning. “God fuck no. None of us are ever going back to that house. Destroy it. Tear it down.” 

You nod, your fingers tracing his hand and you smiled. “Hey, I have some good news. Something to make today a bit better.” You take his hand and press it against your belly. “You're gonna be a daddy again.” 

His fingers flexed slightly, and he moved to sit up with a shudder. “Oh fuck, I didn’t hurt you there did I?” His other hand cupped your face and you shook your head. 

“No, actually when I told you, you snapped out of the control. How I knew it wasn't you. You did your best to stop it.” your hand rubbed over his pressed against your stomach. “I'm going to go get the doctor, let them look you over.” You kissed his forehead and moved off the bed, leaving the room. Andy eased back against the pillows. You were sure he was fine before you closed the door all the way, heading towards the nurses station. On the way, you had to pass the room that had the children in it, and as you were passing it, you distinctly heard Cassidy’s voice chant. “Jody, we can play Catch ‘em, Kill ‘em later, right now I want to watch Blue’s Clues.” 

Your throat closed up, and when you eased the door open, there was Cassidy sitting in the middle of the bed sipping on her juice box. 

“Hi Mommy, Jody’s back to play!”

[laulink]

After listening to Friend (and crying. A lot.), I decided to try my hand at analysing the song’s lyrics and what they could possible mean for Penny, Ruby, and the story going forward. So let’s get started.

Darkness like Midnight

Moonless there’s no light

Another lonely day

Is ending

Searching forever

Waiting but never finding

The only thing

I dream of

The warmth of a smile

That stays for a while

The face of a friend

That won’t leave

Alright, that’s a lot to begin with, but the whole segment can only, truly be understood after hearing those last four lines, so let’s break it down.

The first two thirds of this part is about Penny’s life before she met Ruby. She was all alone, every day, as “another lonely day” implies. This loneliness is characterised by darkness, the moonless night at the end of the lonely day, meaning that even at night, Penny finds no light to brighten up her existence.

The mention of “Midnight” is interesting here, because Midnight is the title of the episode in which we discover Cinder’s backstory and this episode is, to say the least, quite dark. Plus, there are some parallels to be drawn between Cinder and Penny : both of them have been chosen by authority figures (Salem and James) and given a destiny and a role by those same figures (Protector of Mantle, destined to save the world, for Penny and the Destroyer of Humanity, destined to bring the current world of Remnant to an end by helping Salem with her plans and gathering the Maiden powers for Cinder). According to those first few lines, we could also parallel their upbringing : both of them were alone with no friends for a long time, then one person appeared and brightened up their existence (Ruby and Rhodes), going so far as to give Penny and Cinder hope that they could escape the chains restraining them and start making their own choices (staying at Beacon for Penny and becoming a Huntress for Cinder).

In other words, you could say that, in this first line, Penny is telling us that she was in a similar place to Cinder when Cinder was a child. Of course, I expect Penny’s needs were attended to and she was most likely not a victim of physical abuse like Cinder was, but the lack of friends, the loneliness and the restraints around them and their every movement is certainly similar.

Then comes the last third of this first extract, the one about the thing Penny chases : a friend who would stay by her side and smile with her. The last two lines, “The face of a friend/That won’t leave” seems to imply that Penny has some semblance of friend already, but that the friend(s) in question leave and don’t stick around long enough for the relationship to properly develop and be given meaning to.

This line made me think of Ciel Soleil, to be honest. Ciel was Penny’s “teammate” during the Vytal Festival, yet they weren’t seen together all that often, mostly right before, during and after the match against team CRDL. Despite this, Ciel was obviously very much aware of Penny’s strength and abilities, having even planned for their double match to end in less than a minute (if I remember correctly). That means that Ciel saw Penny fight a few times and, if you add that to the fact that James couldn’t have just added her to a random team for the Festival with no explanation whatsoever to the team or their classmates, that probably means Penny more or less attended Atlas Academy with Ciel and two other teammates, so her presence in the Festival wouldn’t be strange.

However, we know Atlas Academy’s stance on friendships among teams and we saw how socially unaware Penny was during her first meeting with Team RWBY and how happy she was to find someone who would call her a friend. So it isn’t a stretch to think that none of Penny’s teammates were really friendly to her, keeping their relationships professional, to her dismay.

Moving on !

I heard a song once

It posed this point of view

That wishes made on stars 

Are likely to come true

So here’s my secret

At bedtime every night

I searched the sky and hoped to find 

A star who’d send a light

To me

The one thing I need

Just one kind soul

With a heart of gold

Then my dreams became real

And I finally feel not alone

Do hugs always make you feel this warm ?

A big chunk again, but this one will be easier to break down.

This part of the song tells us that Penny’s dream was to have a friend, even “Just one kind soul” to ease the loneliness. Her best bet for that was to make a wish on a star and yeah, that’s awfully cute, because all of us, when we were kids, were told that kind of story, but it’s also sad that Penny’s only hope to find a friend was to be granted a miracle from a star far away. And, given that the previous part of the song mentioned a dark night sky with no light (“Moonless, there’s no light”), we also know that there weren’t a lot of stars for Penny to wish on, or in other words, that her chances of her wish being granted were very small.

However, the miracle happened ! Ruby appeared and made Penny’s dream come true ! The one kind soul with a heart of gold who would be her friend !

The line about hugs making you feel warm doesn’t really fit in the narrative of their encounter and Ruby’s impact on Penny’s life, however, since the first time Penny asked Ruby this question was in V8, so much later in their relationship. To me, it mainly serves as the first line to really establish, with no possible doubt, that this song is sung from Penny’s point of view and that the friend she is referencing is Ruby, as this question is extremely specific and exclusive to the two of them.

My dreams came true

The day that you appeared

And called me “friend”

An answered prayer

A chance to

Share the world

To be a girl

Who finally felt alive

Refrain ! It’s all about how Ruby’s appearance indeed made Penny’s dreams a reality : she got a friend, someone she could explore the world with, talk to about it, ask questions to and discuss with, but most of all, someone with whom she could finally feel like a girl instead of a weapon, a living being instead of a machine. We know, from her reveal in V2, that Penny was very self-conscious and uncertain of her own humanity, that she knew a lot of people would see her as nothing but a robot and that she was half-believing they would be right to. Her relief when Ruby assured her she was a real girl was “crushing”, to say the least x)

And this feeling of being real and alive, she got it all thanks to Ruby and Ruby alone. None of the other heroes would have tried to become her friend if not for Ruby, so she’s really the starting point of almost all of Penny’s most important relationships.

I’m so excited

We’ll do so many friendship things

Paint our nails, try on clothes, talk about cute boys

Attached but not by Strings

Another callback to V1 with “Paint our nails, try on clothes, talk about cute boys”. The nostalgia is hitting hard. But, most importantly, we have our second V8 title : Strings. The episode in which Penny’s “strings”, the ones linking her to her swords, her robot body itself, reminded us that her allusion is Pinocchio, a puppet who was given life to, but who was still a puppet for most of the movie. Penny is a living being, but her robotic body was hackable, and because of that Watts was able to use a string (the connection between her and her swords) to plant a virus inside of her, starting her descent toward her tragic end.

In the context of this song though, the meaning of this word is not quite so dark. Penny is speaking from her V1 point of view, the point of view of a girl who just met her first friend, while all her previous relationships were mainly based on her condition as the first synthetic being able to produce an aura : the soldiers keeping watch over her because she’s a precious project, the scientists working on her so she could achieve her maximum potential, Ironwood who chose the Penny project over all others so the result of this project would protect and save the world... Penny was attached to all of them and they were all attached to her, but not by feelings : by the strings of work and duty, in both ways. Ruby was the first person who attached herself to Penny and let Penny attach herself to her for other reasons, purely out of affection and desire to be friends. She was the first person Penny was free to attach herself to as well : one of the first choices Penny really made for herself. No strings attached, yet still together because they both want to be.

And when you’ve got problems

Whoa ! Then I’ve got problems too

You’ll never face this world alone 

I’ll be right here it’s you

And me

Protectors of each other’s what we’ll be

First two lines are about Penny being ready to share her friend’s burdens, as friends tend to do, and this sentiment motivates the promise she makes in the next four lines, but here’s the thing : we’re still hearing Penny’s thoughts and point of view from V1. And since V1, she’s failed to make good on this promise twice : at the end of V3 and now at the end of V8, by dying, leaving Ruby alone to fend for herself, no “protector” there to guard her back and share her burdens with. Despite her best intentions, Penny cannot make good on the promise she seems to have made Ruby (or internally made, most likely) back in V1. 

Now, that’s the pessimistic opinion. If you look at it from a more optimistic point of view, you could say the exact opposite thing, at least when it comes to her V3 death : Penny went so far as to overcome death to come back in V7 and by Ruby’s side. She’s done it once, and you can expect that girl to do it a second time, because she made a promise to her friend and she’s going to keep it.

You saw my soul

Through the nuts and bolts

You’re the friend I can trust

Helped me see I’m not just a machine

And is this what “All the feels” mean ?

And now we are entering the realm of V2 references ! Basically just a retelling of Penny’s big reveal and all the times Ruby has reassured her that she’s a real girl since that first time, though to be honest, I’m not sure where the last line comes from. I don’t remember hearing either of them talking about “all the feels” and even my digging in V1, 2 and 3 didn’t help, so if anyone has an idea, hit me up, ‘cause this has me stumped.

I’ve been combat-ready since the day Dad made me

Now I’ll fight for something more

Might sound wholesome but strangely

I’ve got friends I’m fighting for

This part is now about the events of V7 and 8, I believe. Everyone was friendly to Penny back in V2 and 3, after her help at the docks, but I am not certain they would have considered each other actual friends, with how little time Penny was able to spend with them, aside from Ruby. So her referring to the multiple friends she is now fighting for fits more with her situation and relationships from V7 and 8 as well as character arc in those volumes, especially since she never fought for her friends in earlier volumes (with the exception of the fight at the docks, but even then she was fighting mostly for Ruby, not really for the others). In the last two volumes however, especially V8, she had to choose between her allegiance to the military and the safety of the people she cared about, her friends as well as the people of Mantle.

But I found that humanity

It came with sacrifice, a pact

To shield you from the wicked even if I can’t

Live for real it was worth it to know you

And now we are hearing Penny’s point of view in her last moments in V8 : the moment she sacrificed herself and died a second time.

As I understand it, Penny’s humanity, her feelings, her love for her friends, is what pushed her to sacrifice herself : because she cared for them, she didn’t want them to die at Cinder’s hands, and she knew that would be what would happen if Cinder got both sets of Maiden powers : she would be unstoppable by non-Maiden and non-SEW characters. So, to “shield [her friends, and especially Ruby] from the wicked (Cinder and Salem)”, she decides to sacrifice herself to make sure that the Winter Maiden powers end up in good hands. She makes this decision knowing that she is sacrificing her life and won’t be able to live “for real”. I think this means that a part of her will survive, the part of her who will live on in Winter (and, to some extent, the part of her that will stay alive in her friends’ hearts), so she will “live on”, if only her memory and will, but even if she can’t have a life of her own, she doesn’t regret sacrificing her existence if it means protecting her friends, and especially Ruby, because knowing Ruby had made her life worthwhile.

What Penny is saying is that, if she could choose between staying alive in a world where she never met Ruby and dying in this world where they became friends, she would choose becoming Ruby’s friend and dying, because their friendship is what made life worth living for Penny.

My dreams came true

The day that you appeared

And called me “friend”

An answered prayer

A chance to

Share the world

To be a girl

Who finally felt alive

We end the song on the refrain, which isn’t all that uncommon, but has a bittersweet taste after the last part of the song : just after Penny says that she doesn’t regret dying if it means saving her friends, because Ruby made her life worthwhile, the refrain reminds us that having a friend was her dream, what she prayed for every night, the source of every good thing in her life and the one thing that made her feel alive.

So, what does this song mean for Penny And Ruby’s characters now and going forward ?

For Ruby, who was the recipient of the song, it’s hard to tell, but I think that the lines about Ruby and Penny being there for and protecting each other give us a hint : Penny failed to make good on her promise for the second time now and left Ruby alone, again. If Ruby’s feelings for Penny are half as strong as Penny’s feelings for her were, this is going to break her, especially now, after everything Ruby went through in just two days and the small breakdown she had with Yang a couple of episodes ago. Ruby is in an emotionally vulnerable state at the moment, she can’t run from her trauma and not address it like she usually does, and she will have to face whatever feelings Penny’s death will ignite in her. Considering her horror and denial when Penny asked her to kill her and take the Maiden powers, learning that Penny still died, after all their efforts to save her, is going to do a number on her.

For Penny and her arc, it is hard to say. On one hand, the end of the song make it sound like Penny is alright and at peace with her death and its circumstances, that she considers it a necessary sacrifice to save her friends, just like what Vine did in the same episode. Both of them were at peace with this decision because they knew it would take an immediate, extreme danger away from their friends and keep them safe for a while. On the other hand, there is still this promise that Penny made to herself/Ruby that she’d always be by Ruby’s side to help her face the world and her problems and the fact that she made good on that promise before by coming back to life, something that Ruby didn’t expect at all, beating the odds once, meaning she might be able to beat them again. It is odd to have a song containing this promise play right after a scene making it clear that the promise was broken for the second time and might not get fixed again if the intent was not to have Penny come back and make good on it once more.

I’ve seen the argument being made that the song is cheery and happy, unlike Cold which sounded like a eulogy, and that this difference might hint toward Penny coming back to life. However, this argument doesn’t seem viable to me because the song, as we’ve seen, focuses on all the happiness that Ruby brought to Penny’s life, how thankful Penny is for it, how that happiness made Penny’s sacrifice worth it and how this brought her peace instead of anguish and regrets. Not to mention that Cold was a song from the point of view of the survivors, not the one who had died : I’m pretty sure that if Friend had been from Ruby’s point of view after learning about Penny’s death, it would have been far less cheery.

So I really don’t know what it all means for Penny, except that her feelings for Ruby are incredibly strong and might be the key to her revival this time, if it happens.

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Motion Sickness Chapter 55

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Neo had confirmed the presence of an elderly woman that only Winter Schnee was allowed to see. She took her tea green so I did in fact get all the information I wanted. Fria was her name. And she was the winter maiden, at least if Tyrian could be taken at his word, which in this case, why not? Did it really matter if she was winter or summer? Not for my purposes.

Aside from Tyrian's location, Aurum had informed me of another of Merlot's laboratories in a place called Mt. Nibel. It was above a small dust mining town that Neo and I reached on a combination of train and foot.

He also promised to put me in contact with a group of ex-workers who could tell me about the General's secret project. A group called Avalanche. They had some little favors they needed from me first but they'd talk. At least according to Aurum. They just needed a little help with something first. No biggie for someone like me. I was a favor guy. I was a problem solver.

Nibelhiem had all the usual dust amenities and I took the time to resupply my dust where it was cheap. Cheapest in all the world. Especially with the embargo driving up supply and decreasing demand.

They were practically giving the stuff away and I had my pick of crystals from a vendor near the mountain.

"Burn and shock crystals. Uncut is fine." He nodded. The uncut ones were a little cheaper. Not that it mattered much to me. I still was swimming in cash even after the train rides and the private airship.

"You headed up the mountain?" He asked as he set crystals on his counter.

I nodded. "And a bit of weight, please." He nodded and he pulled out a purple crystal and set it next to the array of yellow and red crystals.

"Well you might need a guide if you're goin' up the mountain. You got a place in mind or are you just out hunting?"

I took them and put them in my crystal pouch. They clanked together in the pocket and I'd need to consider a new way of carrying them to make sure they didn't blow up on me and destroy my face in the process.

Nothing bad had happened yet but that was no reason to tempt fate where I was concerned. I had the worst luck. Like the absolute worst.

"What do you think Neo? Do we need a guide to take us up the mountain?"

She pursed her lips in thought at me. She raised a finger. I took that however I wanted.

"We're headed to an old laboratory up there. You ever hear of it?" I asked. "Run by this guy named Merlot at some point in the past?"

"I haven't but I'm willing to bet you could find a guide who has in a young girl. She's been training to be a huntress up here. Her name's Peach Locheart."

"And do you know where I might find this young girl?"

"She's usually in her teacher's dojo. Zangan's his name."

I nodded my head. It was entirely possible a guide would be necessary up in those mountains. The wind seemed to course over them fast enough to whip up a blizzard and even trained huntsmen like yours truly could get lost in that kind of weather.

It was unlike the last laboratory which we sort of knew the location of based on our conversation with Godo. I was coming in here a little blind.

"She's not like a kid, is she?" I asked. "My friend here isn't fond of kids." I gestured to Neo with both hands.

"She's a bit on the younger side. Mature for her age, though, if that helps." He pointed the way to Zangan's dojo down the street.

I thanked him for the advice and the dust and made my way there.

There was a young girl in a pink combat skirt firing off kicks against a dummy punching bag. She was maybe fifteen, old enough to kind of understand the world. Old enough to start to be a huntress. An older gentleman turned to look at me as I walked in.

"Howdy," he greeted unironically. He actually said howdy this far north. "What brings you in here?"

"I'm headed up the mountains, into Merlot's old laboratory. I need a guide to take me there. A dust vendor outside recommended someone named Peach."

"That's me," the young girl delivered a punch and a kick to the bag for emphasis.

"She can take you up the mountains. I've never heard of a laboratory being up there, though."

"He must mean that old white and grey bunker up there." Peach cut in. "I've seen it. Never been inside though."

"What do you say kid, want to take me up there?"

"What's in it for me?" She asked. I liked her style. She was more worldly than Yuma had been. Less of that naivety. It would make her harder to trick but that was at once a good and a bad thing.

"I have Lien. Set your price," I told her.

"I don't need Lien." She punched the bag in time with her words.

"Everybody needs something, kid. Everybody has a price."

"I'm not a kid either. You said you were buying dust?"

"That's right." I palmed a crystal from my pocket and showed it to her.

"You know magic, then? You're a hunter." She took in the massive weapon at my back. Her eyes flicked over my shoulder.

"Only a little. I'm better at using it to set explosives," I informed her.

"Teach me."

"Hmm." I hummed at that.

"I don't need your money but I'm going to be a huntress. I need to know about dust if I'm going to be any good. You teach me how to use it to make explosives and you've got a deal."

She held out a wrapped hand.

I reached out and shook it.

"You've got yourself a deal, little miss."

She flushed a little red. Maybe she was nervous.

"Peach…" Zangan warned. "Be careful. And you better go ask your father."

"Not to worry sir, I'll keep her safe," I told him. "She seems like quite the student."

She rushed off out the door behind me to do as her teacher bade.

"She is. She's very dedicated. You know how it is with the young'uns. They want to be hunters so bad they'll miss the forest for the trees. They don't know what it'll cost."

That most hunters died young. I understood.

"We don't all get to live to be as old as you are." He was only forty or so. Middle aged.

He grunted at that. "How old are you kid?"

"Twenty."

"And the Miss with you?"

Neo held up a warning hand.

"Neo? I'm not sure. She doesn't talk. Plus it's rude to ask a lady her age. We've been traveling together for a while now, though."

"Well don't be shocked if her father wants to meet with you before he sends you off with his daughter. He's not a huntsman himself but he understands a little."

"But not the whole picture."

"They rarely do. Rarely can." He leaned against the counter in front of the dojo. "He's paying me a pretty penny to teach his daughter. She's hungry for it. You met the type?"

I thought of Yuma Kisaragi and I thought of little Ruby Rose. Plus there was me, myself, before I knew my memories were fake and my dreams were dead.

"Once or twice."

"You ever seen it work out well?" He seemed to be genuinely asking me. Like he wasn't sure himself.

"They're alive." I managed. "So it's sort of too early to tell."

"They your age?"

"Yes sir, one. And another is your Peach's age. A little huntress to be out of a place called Wutai. You heard of it?"

He shook his head.

"It's a small town. Down near Mistral," I went on.

"That where you're from?" He asked.

"Near Mistral? I suppose. But I was trained and raised in Vale, though." And that was the truth, near as I could tell.

"Been all over, have you?"

"A bit."

"The traveling mysterious huntsman type. I ought to hate your guts."

"Sir?"

"You ought t' know. Be careful with my apprentice. You should know how young hearts are. You were one more recently than me, as you pointed out."

I ran a hand through my spiky hair and sighed. That seemed to be good enough for him because he nodded.

"I'll look after her. Nobody will get hurt on my watch," I swore.

"And if someone is?" He leaned over at me.

"I'll bring her right back here."

"There ain't a hospital in town."

"She's a huntress. She has aura."

"Huntress in training. You know they're not the same thing."

"I'll be as safe as I can be. I'm promising to train her in explosives for gods' sake. There's only so safe you can be. Besides, if you think she'll be good enough by being trained in a dojo, you've got another thing coming. Does she want to make it into one of the Academies?"

Zangan nodded.

"Then she needs to fight Grimm. A lot of them. The sooner the better. I trained at Beacon. Initiation started with launching us into a Grimm infested forest."

"Lords above. So young..."

"Seventeen isn't that young. There was even this prodigy that was her age there and she was better than me. Still is. Well maybe." I wasn't sure how I still might stand up against Ruby. I was fucking dangerous. If she plateaued, then I might have the edge on her.

Peach came back with an older man in tow.

"Father this is...um…" Her pink eyes flickered to mine. Oh to be young. Ever.

"Cloud Strife, sir." I shook his hand firmly and saved her. He was a touch shorter than me with brown hair unlike his daughter's blonde. And his eyes were a dark red. But eye colors could be weird in Remnant. Ask Yang.

"I hear that my daughter wants to take you up the mountain in exchange for some training."

"That's right. I was going to show her some of what I know about dust."

"You mean… like magic?"

"Maybe a little. I know some but my real experience is in using it to make explosives."

"Peach…" he trailed off looking down at her.

"Dad I need to learn this kind of thing. He can show me. Sifu-Zangan doesn't use dust."

"Never needed it," Zangan grunted.

"You’ve never killed any big fish, then," I said. “Big. Game. Goliaths and the like.”

“Tha’s a dangerous sport.”

“Hunting can be. There are sharks in these rivers.”

He looked away and I thought of Tyrian and Raven. There were also big Grimm which would be difficult to kill without dust. The Nuckelavee was like that, too.

"Well what do you think, Zangan?"

"The kid seems trustworthy." He shrugged. "He can teach her things I don't know. It might save her life one day. He also attended Beacon. He can let her know the sort of life she'll be in for at the Academies."

"Beacon… were you there when it went down?" Peach's father asked.

"I was," I answered easily.

Peach looked up at me with her bright pink eyes. "You were at Beacon? What was it like?"

I laughed at her curiosity.

"Peach." Her father warned. I waved him off.

"It's alright. My time at Beacon was the best. It was a lot of hard work though."

"Did you fight big Grimm?" She asked.

"I did."

"I knew it." She pumped a fist. "He fought real Grimm."

"I can show her some of what I know. I can teach her how to fight them."

"You had to fight Grimm while you attended?" Her father asked. "Or just when the academy went down?"

"Both," I waved a hand and answered. "Initiation was us fighting Grimm."

"I see…" He looked deep in thought. "I don't want you fighting a lot of Grimm. The idea makes me uncomfortable."

"I'm going to be a huntress. That's the whole point."

"You're right. Of course you're right."

"And I've been that high up in the mountains before. I've fought Grimm like that. It's just Beowulfs and Creepers. I'll be safe. It's all a learning opportunity."

"Very well. Mr. Huntsman, Strife, was it? You'll look after my daughter?"

"No harm will come to her. You have my word."

She pumped a wrapped fist in the air. "Dust explosions here I come."

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We made our way into the mountains, out of Nibelhiem, and needed to set up our tent for the night. It was not as long into the journey as I would have liked. In typical Neo fashion she sat and watched me set up everything and cook dinner.

"So how do you set up explosions?" Peach was shaking with excitement. "And will you show me some of your magic, too?"

"It's not real magic," I explained. "You'll occasionally run into a real dust sorcerer. Someone who can do all kinds of things with dust. I just know how to use it in its raw form. Primal. I don't even know how to eat it"

"Eating it?" She laughed.

"It's not actually eating it. It's putting it in your body so that you can use the power. You can actually eat it I suppose or you can just stick it in your flesh and it sort of slides into you. Into your aura."

"But it's still magic, right?"

"A little. But it's like comparing a first aid kit to a hospital staffed with doctors. I'm a bit of a neanderthal."

"Oh I don't believe that. You seem smart."

"You've only just met me. Give it a minute."

She laughed again, her eyes were bright. "Show me how to use dust to make explosives."

It was easy enough. I showed her how to set it up with a circuit, a battery, and a switch.

"The switch is the complicated part. You might want to learn about how radio signals work if you want to be able to blow them up remotely."

"But that's it. Just a circuit and a crystal and that's it."

"It's not rocket science. It's really simple. You can pretty easily make a landmine like this. Just bury it with a trigger on a plate underground and bing-bang-boom. You've got yourself a trap. I cornered a pretty big Grimm like that once."

"What else can you do?"

"You can throw it really hard."

She gave me a questioning look.

"Look you just throw a dust crystal hard enough and fast enough and it works. It explodes and unleashes the effects."

"That sounds too easy. It's supposed to be all hard and complicated."

"Well it shouldn't surprise you. They have to move it around all safe in containers for control. Too much disturbance and the stuff just goes off. Even in powder form."

"But you don't use it in powder. Because you can use it raw."

"That's right. Let me show you."

I handled a yellow crystal and crushed it. Lightning ran up my arm and I cast an arm forward. Lightning struck the tree from my open palm and burnt a hole in it and part of the tree to ash.

"Wow…" she breathed. "That's what you meant."

"Yeah. It's not quite what a real dust sorcerer can do but it's closer. I just unleash the power a little more controlled."

"And that's not the same as eating it."

"No. And I can't show you because I'm not a dust eater, either. But as I understand it you can just shove the crystal through your skin or into your mouth and the crystal becomes a part of you. It changes your aura."

"I see. Can I try?"

"Which one?"

"That blast that you just did, not eating it."

"Sure. Why don't you try fire? It's very dangerous so after you crush the crystal you'll be able to feel the power. Then you've got to let it go or it'll explode in your face. It's still risky."

I handed her a red uncut crystal and she held it up to the light. She was looking at how it shone unlike any other substance in the world. The light always came through it red. It always seemed to bounce around impossibly inside the meta-material.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded.

"I just crush it then I let it go?" She asked.

"Pretty much. You'll be able to feel the power. It'll feel hot, like your arm is on fire."

She nodded.

She crushed it and murmured, "I can feel it. I feel the power."

"You need to let it go!" I told her urgently. She was just standing there with the power coursing through her.

She tried but the flames blew up in her face and knocked her on her ass. Her jacket was singed slightly, revealing her tank-top underneath.

"I told you to let go."

She wiped her ash cover hands off on her pants. "Thanks. I wasn't sure how though. Can I try it again?"

"I messed up my first few times too." I handed her another red uncut crystal.

She inhaled deeply. Then she crushed the crystal and I watched the flames run up her arm. Then she cast her arm forward and a fireball shot free. It struck the same tree I did and the pine roasted for a pleasant smell.

The snow was coming down hard enough that the fire wouldn't spread. It was too damp and too cold.

I pumped a fist. I wasn't an incompetent teacher. And she hooted.

"That's how it's done," she called out into the night.

"Well done."

"Can I try it again? With the lightning ones maybe?"

"Not tonight, no. You might like to change now. I hope you brought a spare coat."

She looked down at her arm. "Oh shit, I didn't even notice. The heat of it all. Yeah I have a spare one."

She walked over to her bag and changed her coat.

"Thanks Cloud, you really helped me."

"It was no problem." I smiled. This felt like real good. It had been a long time since I felt that. What with all the murder and chaos and all. It made me feel like I was a good person again. Even if it was just for a moment.

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-WG