#he does have a stable job and no interest in medice

[lover-of-mine]

Guy friend: no because I'm having problems with this new girl I'm seeing

Me: let me ask a question that's gonna determine the rest of this interaction because if you're about to tell me this girl is up in your business in a way you don't like and her birth year starts with a 2, I will be forced to side with her and tell you to date someone with a fully developed brain like yours

[shedelulululu]

Inspired by this video which has haunted me for years (it's a very disturbing story told very jovially) I suggest you watch it but the tldr here is athletes trust their team doctors and don't ask questions about medications they're given!

So new team doctor! Mel King and NHL player! Frank Langdon cw: intentional drugging, sabotage via medications (below the cut)

Mel King does not get into sports medicine because she has a crush on the players. It's bothered her from the time she took to the ice herself at 3 years old that her interest was always centered around men. She plays into college, she's good enough to get a scholarship to an okay school, she's not good enough to go pro, she made peace with that long ago -- it's not until recent that there was any money in women's hockey and it's still not that good. She didn't think she had it in her to coach, she wanted something stable, she liked helping people, she's one of the few athletes to take advantage of the fact that her classes were paid for, and so majors in biochem and kinesiology, and kisses a lot of ass in order to get a residency in orthopeadic surgery, a fellowship in sports medicine, and abuses every connection she's made since the time she was born to earn herself a position affiliated with a team.

Mel King does not work for the Pittsburgh Penguins because she has a crush Frank Langdon. Really, she tried to get a job with the PWHL, she had friends in the league, but there's only a handful of US teams and none of them were hiring and while she has no doubts about being able to get a visa to work in Canada, the paperwork it would require for Becca too would be too much. She applied to work with every NHL team with an open position, she poked around her networks for anywhere they could squeeze her in, she even applied to a couple teams in other sports (that she restricted to staying in California). When she got the call from the practice associated with the Penguins offering her a job, she didn't think twice, she said yes.

She had one crush on one hockey player her whole life, she usually preferred the swimmers and tennis players, she ran into him once at party while she was doing her fellowship at UCLA (a couple of the Kings players took a liking to her and invited her out sometimes), they flirted a bit, well she certainly was flirting, but eventually he got pulled away, as is to happen when you're the second line centre and attractive in a way that makes you wonder why he'd pick a sport that could so easily ruin his face. It's not like anything could happen now anyways, he has a girlfriend, Abby, typical hockey WAG profile (blonde, long hair, perfect body, modest instagram following but not too large -- that was saved for athletes in sports people actually cared about like Basketball and Football) and she was nice to all the staff, even made sure to bring people cupcakes on their birthday. She had posted some vaguely antivaxx posts, Mel tried not to think about it too much, there was something in the water with women with a certain level of wealth.

He doesn't remember her, which is fine. He calls her Dr. Barbie, which initially she hates (does he really not respect her just because she's a woman?) he eventually catches wind of this and clears up that he has the utmost respect for Barbie (he saw the movie three times in theatres!), and she catches on that he has other oddly Mattel themed nicknames for the other doctors she works with (Dr. Hot Wheels -- he did have a red sports car, Dr. Bob the Builder -- ortho joke?). Sometimes he'll try a reckless trick shot in practice and point to her saying "this one's for you!" Which she can only assume to mean she's the one tasked with ensuring he didn't tear his ACL or rupture his patella in the process.

At first she's horrified to learn how much he trusts her -- or maybe she's horrified by her own reaction. She gives the players ambien as they disembark their flight in Seattle, in case they need help sleeping that night. The next day is an earlier game, 3 PM on a Sunday, there's a very early morning skate which she hangs around for, but mostly she's going over her game day checklist on the bench. Suddenly she hears the sharp sound of skates stopping in front of her, blue eyes wild and peering down at her "The pill you gave us yesterday is for sleep right?" She tilts her head to the side, "Yes" he grins back "Perfect you're the best". She doesn't think anything of it, until 10 minutes until the first period, she notices Frank's not skating right. His edges less precise, his body unresistant to hits. She then notices the players talking between the benches, clearly gesturing to Langdon. She should tell the coach to pull him from the game immediately, but she's not sure he'd listen, she doesn't think he trusts her judgement yet (he thinks she's overly cautious). In between periods she pulls him away from the locker room into the away exam room, and does a quick cognitive assessment, but she's already put the pieces together. "Langdon, did you take the pill today?" "Yeah, I always struggled to take naps when we play the west" "Langdon, the medication you took was an Ambien" he's slurring his words, "Yeah sure okay and?" She realizes then, after pulling him from the game and babysitting him that he trusts her unconditionally, and he might be a little stupid.

It's not Mel's fault she overhears a lot of 'locker room talk'. Honestly she tries to tune most of it out lest she develop animosity towards the players she's paid to treat because they talked about this 'rocket' that 'took both of them' and how the others should 'take her for a spin'. The guys with girlfriends and wives are no more respectful she's learned, some of them -- a lot of them -- cheat, others treat it all like a game, showing off what they have, one upping each other. Frank Langdon, while more tolerable than the others, is no exception. "Cap, what do you mean you just go home and pass out after every win? I'm so keyed up after, not even going out tires me out, I go multiple rounds with Abby after it's the only thing that wear me out. I'm pretty sure she only allows me to fuck her in her sleep now because she's too tired to keep up with me". So if after the next win she corners him before he leaves the arena with 'something to help his recovery' that totally kills his libido, she's just a doctor treating symptoms that her patient expressed concern with, nothing more. So when she's seated next to the WAGs at the next team dinner (which is a sexism thing because the other doctor travelling with her is next to the coaching staff) and overhears Abby complain that Frank never seems to want to touch her anymore, she doesn't smile (too hard).

Langdon doesn't make the All Star team, he honestly doesn't want to, it's extra work for a little bit of meaningless glory (it's not the fuck stanley cup or an olympic medal, why would he care?), and he'd rather take the vacation time. When he tells Mel his plans, she's surprised to hear that instead of jetting off to the Bahamas or Mexico like some of his teammates, he's visiting Abby's family in Louisiana. He tells her that she comes from a Big Oil family, they look down on him which he thinks is ridiculous because unlike their daughter at least he has a job and it pays fucking well thank you. She gives him two unmarked bottles of pills, tells him to take one of each in the morning during his trip. She doesn't bother giving him an excuse for why he has to take them, he never seemed to care anyways. The pills themselves will be mostly harmless for him, together they might interact to make him more irritable, on edge, prone to aggression, but it's not like he's ever minded side effects before. They don't come back from All Star break broken up, but he does ask her if it's possible to return a custom ring. She's happy to help.

Abby is absent from their next travel game. Frank Langdon is decidedly not morally above his teammates. She was invited out to the bar after this win, one of the rookie's girlfriend's (Cecilia Eze) had taken a shining to her and begged her to come out (she was a college sweetheart, she had a remote job and was studying for law school on the side, she didn't dislike the other WAGs but she felt she had way more in common with Mel than them). She watches as Frank disappears into the bathroom, followed by a woman with shocking red hair. Cecilia, who never got sick while drinking (oh to be 23 again), but did easily lose her filter, giggled when she looked between the bathroom and Mel "the guys look at you sometimes yknow? Have you ever noticed there's a line up of minor issues on days you're working?" Mel furrowed her brow, she was surprised when her coworkers notes were much shorter than hers but she never thought much of it, Cecilia barrels on, "There's this stupid bet, I berated them for it btw but I think they just took a note to be more discreet around me, about who is going to get you first." Mel raised a brow, shocked, she was pretty sure, but it's not like she really tired around them, she asked "Who is in the lead?" Cecilia barks a laugh "Well for a while it was Barzy because they never see him with girls over, they're too stupid to figure out he's gay, in second was Shensy because he had the most obvious crush on you even though you can barely even stand to talk to him for longer than a minute. But now that things have gotten rocky with Abby and Langdon..." she clasps a hand over her mouth "Oh I really shouldn't be saying this, Abby's been nothing but super nice and welcoming to me. But I mean..." her eyes dart back to the single stall bathroom door "Anyways, it's not a big deal, I don't think any of them think you'd actually agree, it is funny when they take home girls that could be your carbon copy though"

Mel doesn't think she's a calculated person, she recognizes the opportunities in front of her and takes action. After a particularly grueling bag skate, Langdon approaches Mel about optimal recovery and training workouts. Naturally she suggests pilates. Frank contemplates her suggestion "I'm not like against pilates, I know it's not just like a girl thing or whatever, I've been to a couple classes with Abby" he winces at her name "they're hard, but every instructor has this annoying fucking attitude I can't stand." Mel taught pilates in undergrad, it was good extra money, fit well with her classes, and she was able to score a position at the campus gym so they were really accommodating. So she offered to workout with him, they could start with just stuff on the mat and if he liked it they could talk to the team about getting a reformer set up. She goes back and forth between pharmacology texts, research articles, and online anecdotes, when deciding whether to give him a microdose of shrooms or opiates before every session. She just wants to make sure he feels good when they're together.

It's nice this routine they start to develop, pill, pilates, and drinking smoothies while they walk his dog in the park when they're done. "My bosses are really getting on my ass for all the extra hours I spend with the team. I'm super behind on the surgeries I'm supposed to scrub in on outside of working with the team." She reveals to him one afternoon. The next day she's informed that she's been relieved from her regular duties and she will now serve as Frank Langdon's personal physician in addition to being one of the team doctors. "You didn't have to do that for me" Frank laughs "Good. Because I didn't. C'mon you have to know you're my favourite. I did this for me."

They both dress really slutty (for work out wear) and get overly handsy during these pilates classes okay! What is she supposed to do? Not slot her body between his legs and help deepen his stretch? Not bring her hands around his hips to fix his position? Avoid tilting his chin forward so he doesn't injure his neck?

Cecilia let's it slip that Abby is frustrated that Langdon is never around anymore. She's worried he's fucking his new workout partner. Mel nods along, afraid if she speaks up it will become apparent that she's the partner.

They're out in Los Angeles, it feels full circle to be at a house party hosted by her favourite Kings player with her new team. She was talking to Frank, figuring she should finally let it slip, "You probably don't remember this, but we actually met here for the first time" "Oh I could never forget that night--" she was unceremoniously dragged into playing beer pong with the host, annoyed it interrupted their conversation but as the game went on it was freeing to hang out with someone friendly and so unencumbered by the dynamics of her job. Her partner had his arm around her, going for a shot and missing, she can feel it when Langdon enters the room, eyes boring into the side of her skull. Her partner finishing chugging his beer, takes notice of him "Hey! I hear you're the guy who stole King from the Kings" she groaned, they were always saying cheesy stuff like that when she worked with them, Mel coughed on her own beer, "Uh, I don't think you guys really get a say in that." Their opponents laughed at her, "Oh Mel, when it came to you we made our voices heard. I guess some pockets were deeper than others." He gave a pointed look towards Langdon, who didn't even have the decency to look sheepish. In a haze she finishes out the game, winning despite her partner, and drags Frank towards an empty hallway. She hands him a water bottle, "drink this, it'll help your hangover". That wasn't exactly true, but she finally had him where she wanted him and she needed to stick the landing here and now, lest the moment be lost. MDMA is perfectly safe when drinking alcohol. Now she just needed to get him alone so there was no one else to touch when the effects kicked in.

He was all over her that night, but he struggled to get it up long enough to fuck her. When they were back at home she stared longingly at a bottle in her medicine cabinet she swore was her boundary, a line she'd never cross, but a girl had needs and she was tired of playing the long game. Really, it would be recreational use to give it to him unknowingly, its not like he cared about all the drugs before, never interrogated her the next day, never avoided her. Gamma-hydroxybutryic acid was just a scary name for a little guaranteed fun.

When the league drug testers come around by surprise she swaps his sample with her own.

[pampushky]

i hate the air he breathes his foolish decrees

Alpha! Lando Norris/Omega! Lauda! Reader - chapter 2 - 5k

woooo welcome to part 2 my loves! sorry for the slight wait. I've been doing hot bitch shit (my actual job). but now we're back. enjoy the fuck out of it. TW: no mention of abuser other than as him. mentions of abandonment and severe physical trauma in the form of a house fire. lore drop on the main character too!!

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Mid-March 2005. Los Angeles.

Niki gets a call from an unknown number that wakes him up from a deep slumber, and he hardly has any time to think as he’s pulling a sweater over his head and forgoing a hat entirely. It’s his third day in as your legal guardian, and you’re already transferred to a state-of-the-art hospital in Los Angeles, across the country from where you’d lived previously. A newer set of mountains. A city to the hamlet you’d once known, hidden away in the foggy mountains of North Carolina.  

As he blearily walks into the hospital lobby, there’s already a small team of doctors waiting for him, explaining rapidly what's happening to you as they walk him up to your room in the burn ward. You’re in the best hospital for burns on the continent— Niki had made sure of it. Had paid for the flight over here two days ago, with a medical staff on board to keep you stable during the five-hour flight. 

The doctors swarming around your unconscious form resemble vultures. The burn center director explains everything to him when they finally get to your room. The rapid medical treatment nearly made you present early. Freakishly early, by all standards. It’s understood to have been a panic response by your body— because you're on the brink of death in the burn ward, your hormones so out of whack that for whatever reason, your brain had gone, ‘Oh, yes, it’s time to do that now.’

Studies had shown that those in areas where the risk of death was high often presented much earlier, with other cases that also supported something known as “panic presentation”. You’re an extreme example of the latter. But it had never been seen to this degree. You need to be knocked out for several days, going comatose while a team of doctors works around the clock to save your life while it seems likely you will melt away like the first snowfall on a sun-warmed road as it seems new complications get piled onto your case file every day. The way the doctor talks about you makes Niki feel like you’re more of a specimen meant for study, and not a pup who’d just lost her Dam. 

Marlene has already decorated the sterile room to reflect more on a child’s room. And wherever there’s an empty space on a table, she’s placed down vases full of fresh flowers. Flowering dogwood. That’s what the state flower was of North Carolina, and however early in the season for blooming it was, she managed to find fresh ones every day. Now, Marlene was back at the hotel, settling a new wave of interest about your identity while Niki tried to figure out what he was going to do with you when he's lead into the room.

You’re already on several new medications to prevent you from presenting early, having them inserted in through an IV and eventually, to be taken as a pill when you could swallow. You'll be on these same medications until you’re seven or eight, when they can start to consider weaning you off of them to let you present then because it’ll be safer. Niki hates the idea of you presenting even then. You should be almost fully grown when you present. Not— not still a pup. With baby teeth still in your mouth. You should be wrestling. Learning to access your canine form, and causing mayhem like his sons had. 

So he does what he’s been doing for the past five days. Niki sits quietly by your side in your private room. Holding your tiny hand while a machine breathes for you, not even five years old, and fighting for your life. Completely unaware of the complications your existence has thrown straight into Niki’s lap, dredging up old, old wounds that his sons have yet to recover from.

Because the great complication is that you’re his biological grandchild. 

Through a son, a beta, that neither Lukas nor Mathias had gotten to know. Or Niki, for that matter. But here you are. The only link to that son. To the ultimate undoing of his marriage and mating, his infidelity thrown back in his face in the form of a sedated, traumatized pup that can’t understand him through his accent.

Left without a dam, your mother. Lost to the roaring flames of a housefire that you’d somehow survived. Part of Niki wants to know how his son had ended up in the area, and if there are any other new descendants he should know about. So he petitions the court to gain access to your files before he legally adopts you, and he stares down at them before finally lifting the cover of the manila folder and starts to read.

All the files seem to stare right on back at Niki as he continues to pour through them, officially five minutes and nine seconds into being your legal guardian. They’re meticulous, just as expected— it had become standard for anyone who’d had so much as a visit to a hospital to create a DNA profile, especially after they presented. His affair child’s profile stares back at him, with what he can only assume is an up-to-date photo. Male. Beta. Signed away parental rights before birth. Austrian nationality. That’s all you have to go on for your biological father’s identity. 

That’s all that linked Niki to you, and how the social worker had managed to contact him. All other positive matches from your father’s side are his former mistress as your biological grandmother and his two sons with Marlene as your uncles. There are no other pups listed for his affair child. No other grandchildren that he has to worry about. Your dam’s profile is more complete. A smiling picture of her holding you as an infant, left by her family.

Female. Omega. Deceased. American nationality, born in Banner Elk, North Carolina. 

And under that:

Dam’s pack signed away pack and next of kin rights to the pup. Relevant health history is accessible through the International UN DNA database. Pack requested no contact order until the pup has reached legal age, or unless the pup does not survive her time in hospital, so they may bury her in the family plot with her Dam.

This makes a chill run down Niki’s spine. Your pack had… signed you away? The only people who had been familiar to you— and they had signed away their rights as though you were more of a burden than anything, only asking for you back if you were dead. It makes him shudder, as he looks down at your tiny body again, for what must have been the thousandth time since he’s been introduced to you. Since he’d so quickly agreed to become your legal guardian, your legal sire. Covered in bandages and hooked up to dozens of wires. 

The social worker explained that signing you away was them not wanting to pay for the massive medical bill, along with the scandal your birth had caused in the small community. Your Dam was unmated, and even worse, unmarried, raising you on her own in a less-than-up-to-code cabin her late father had left her, further out in the mountains, a thirty-minute drive into town. 

The matriarch of her pack had been well-regarded in the area— it was an open secret that she was looking for any excuse to remove you from the picture. This just happened to be the perfect excuse. How was she going to be able to pay for your medical costs on her own when it was just her? All the advanced treatments you’d need— it would be too much in her old age.

When told about the Children’s Health Insurance Programs that could easily provide care for you, your grand-dam had just made a sour face and told the Social Worker she was still signing away her rights. Her surviving children were quick to follow her lead.

What a backward system. Niki had growled to himself, pacing in the room. Reading the reports from the insurance company he’d managed to legally bully his way into receiving from your biological family. 

The cabin had burnt down in nearly an hour. You’d been trapped under a metal bed frame when the roof collapsed in on itself. When they’d found you, it had been a recovery effort for bodies. And despite it all, you’d survived, your whimpering and crying alerting the firefighters that you were alive. Severely burnt, with the old mattress and polyester blankets having melted and dripped across your little body as the embers settled. Half of your body severely burnt from where the flames could still reach you. Crying out for your Dam even as you were airlifted to the nearest hospital with a functioning burn ward.

Going over your files has become a habit for first past three days. Ever since Marlene had gone silent when Niki told her that he was going to adopt you, before brusquely starting to order furniture and calling countless contractors that a new pup-friendly room be added to his house in Hof. He’s lucky to at least be considered a friend of his former mate, otherwise, he would be stumbling through his second round of parenting. He looks down at the newest addition to his pack. You. Four and a half. With burns covering an incredible amount of your body. Nearly 45% percent of your torso, completely mangling one of your legs, crawling up your neck and dancing across your jaw. Now lying in a medically-induced coma to conserve your energy. 

You wake up nearly two days later. Five days into Niki’s tenure as your legal sire. Unable to scream. Eyes fixed on Niki as your little chest heaves with the effort it takes to breathe. You pull at your IV and try to snap at a nurse who tries to stop you. But your eyes are still fixed on Niki, likely horrified by his burns. You were glancing at your own bandaged arms and body as if to gauge how you would one day look. 

There is a wild look in your eyes as you look at him. The way you tremble as the doctors try to explain everything. It hurts Niki’s heart, especially with the gasping noise you let out before they sedate you again when you’re still not responding well to anything. Niki wants to wrap you up in his arms and never let you go. You mumble something out as you drift away again, tears in the corners of your eyes. Foggy eyes on the extravagant bouquets of flowers on the tables beside your bed and across the room.

Where is my Dam? 

Early February 2024. Woking.

Your right leg was acting up again. It always did when you were stressed. The fire had mangled it— and that was putting it lightly. Not bad enough to amputate, because that would be too easy, and they didn’t want to send your body into even more shock. So you had your crispy, chicken-fried, useless leg. You could put some weight on it now, after nearly twenty years of intense therapy and correcting surgeries. But it was still incredibly weak. All twisted, mottled skin and a full knee replacement.

That’s what had made it so easy for him. That’s what had made it easy for him to chase you down as you tried to leave every situation that saw him near you. Easily able to keep pace with your shambling, stress-induced walk as you choked on his scent. 

Your upper thigh twinges. The needle pierces your skin all over again. That was the only reason you’d been able to walk away without experiencing a true heat from whatever drug he’d hit you with. The bad, mangled leg of yours. Your downfall and savior. 

The halls are winding, but you can vaguely follow the way to your office from previous talks. You call Lewis the moment you get to the room. There’s already a brand-new mini fridge sitting on your desk, likely from the accommodations you’d listed in the countless documents you’d had to sign when you got hired. 

There’s a few people unboxing your items and they look a bit shocked to see you back from what was supposed to be a much longer meeting.

“Ms Lauda—”

“Leave, please,” you whisper while pacing across the room, trying to calm yourself down. You can feel your scent-blocking, adhesive strips tingling. Your scent glands, especially the damaged ones, threatening to blister from the stress of what just happened. You were going to be sacked for certain. Not only had you yelled at the driver you were meant to work with, you’d also thrown an empty can at him. “I’d like some space.”

The workers, your new assistants, you realize, hurry out, not even catching your mumbled thanks as you tuck yourself into a corner where you can’t be seen from the door. So much different than Williams. So much more support. Lewis doesn’t pick up immediately, but just as you’re about to call again, his contact photo appears on your screen. 

“What’s wrong? Are you okay—” Is the first thing you hear, like the protective older brother he’s always situated himself as in your life. “What room are you in? I still haves ways to get into the classified parts of the MTC—” 

“I’m going to fucking kill Lando Norris,” You growl into the phone, and Lewis lets out a relieved noise, before breaking off into a fit of laughter, his voice more distant as if he’s trying to muffle himself. “Don’t laugh! That fucking brat, I should box his goddamn ears, showing up nearly an hour late to what was supposed to be our initial meeting—” 

“Ah, yeah, sounds like Lando!” 

“Fuck off, Lewis,” You whine, and he has the audacity to laugh even harder, because your accent slips, as it always seems to do when you’re with your immediate pack. You can hear him shuffle a bit. “I’m gonna kill him.”

“No, you won’t.”

“No, I won’t,” You concede to him with a soft sigh. You hear the chortling barks of Roscoe in the background of Lewis’s call. “I’m gonna do my job. But I’m gonna hate it. Unless I get switched to Oscar.”

“Don’t sound too hopeful.” Lewis chides on the other side of the phone, and you hear the doorknob jiggle, followed by a soft knock. “Sounds like you have some work to do.” 

He hangs up before you can say something in response to him, leaving the gentle knocking on the door to slowly drive you insane. Likely Andrea or Zak, telling you that you were going to be let go for committing a minor assault against their star driver. 

And you're right, it is Zak. But he looks more concerned than angry with you, immediately putting his hands up in a placating manner when you open the door as if you’re the one with all the power and he’s not the CEO of McLaren Racing, your ultimate boss. Your boss’s boss. The one who bulldozed his way into getting you on the team because he’d seen your work to get at least a modicum of respect back to Williams, and, in his own words, got a good vibe from you.

(And maybe Niki had been in his ear a little bit about it, but when Niki Lauda spoke, people had a habit of listening rather closely to whatever he said.)

“Mr. Brown,” You start formally, leaning down in a way that is traditionally seen as submitting and a very, very formal way to apologize before he starts to squawk in surprise at it all. 

“Don’t– What are you submitting for— are you alright?!”

The last thing you expect is Zak fretting over you like you’re a pup. He’s gently squishing your cheeks with his hands, checking you over, and you can see his nose twitching, as if he’s checking your scent for any signs of distress. Only to look confused by how… clean, you smell.

“Are you— are you still hurt from everything?”

“No, I just,” You take a step backward, and hold up your hands just like he had just been doing for you a few seconds ago. “It’s easier to hide my designation when I smell like this.”

He just looks confused at your explanation but doesn’t seem to question it.

“And you… want to continue hiding it?”

“Preferably.”

Even as you say it, you can see a bit of pity in his eyes. You know his mate is an omega. He has a pup who’s an omega. Both of which he supports wholeheartedly. You’d seen all the articles. Part of you is jealous. Another part just wants everyone to stop caring about what your designation may be. Why should anyone care what you are? 

You’re proud of yourself, regardless of your designation. You’re not some prize to be won! You can stand on your own two feet, you can take care of yourself. You had more than shown that—

Zak is hugging you. Rumbling softly like any parent would do for a distressed pup.

“You don’t have to justify it. I just need to know so I can make sure that no one else is told, aside from our medical people.” He whispers, and you sag against him. Relief fills your mind. “What— what do people think you’ve presented as?”

“Alpha. Like Vati. They think I’m an Alpha.” 

“We can work with that,” Zak pulls away, looking at you. There’s only worry in his eyes. “Can I ask one more thing?”

“Yeah,” You sniffle, not realizing you’d starting to tear up as you look at him. “What is it?”

“Why…. did you throw an empty can of Red Bull at Lando? You’re not in trouble, I just want to know why.”

You flush, and Zak just starts to laugh. 

McLaren is much, much different than Williams.

Lando has been sitting in a chair while Oscar screams at him. Andrea has disappeared. It’s been ten minutes and all he wants to do is curl up and die and apologize for commenting on your voice and being late and not charging his phone and really, every other thing that he’d done wrong, ever.

Yes. He is technically the older one. No, he shouldn’t be acting like such a pup over this.  

Yes. He should know better than to comment on things that people can’t change or help about themselves.

Yes, Oscar, Lando was aware that you had survived a very traumatic house fire that nearly killed you. No, it’s not okay that he called you a robotic bitch. No, he didn’t read the email about the apparent triggers that you had from this event. Frankly, he wasn’t even aware that they had emailed those to him. That seemed like a bit much.

“I mean seriously, Lando! This is ridiculous! Fucking calling her that!” 

It feels like he’s being lectured by his Dam again, her words blending English into Flemish until he can’t tell what she’s saying, just that she’s pissed at him. Instead, it’s just Oscar’s accent getting thicker and thicker until Lando’s certain he’s never heard anyone sound so furious with him, and that’s really saying something. 

“I get it,” Lando whines, letting his head slip so that he can press his forehead against the table. And he does feel bad! Really! “I didn’t know she’d respond like that!”

“Wonderful excuse to be a fuckhead, champ,” Oscar drawls, eyes narrowed. His arms are folded. He looks unimpressed. He smells more, now than ever, of rotting oranges. Lando can imagine the maggots. “I’m shocked you didn’t comment on her designation as well.”

“She’s an alpha! And she smells so medicine-y,” Lando wrinkles his nose, lifting up his head enough to glare at the omega in front of him. Oscar’s face is a blank mask of annoyance, with a flicker of some other mystery emotion. But he can at least tell what he’s thinking because he can smell his displeasure from across the room. It’s all rotten oranges, burning rubber, and singed hair. “C’mon! I didn’t know it’d set her off that much, man!”

“Commenting on traumatic events tends to do that to people.”

“How was I supposed to know it was traumatic?!”

“Wow, you really didn’t read any of the emails,” Oscar lets out a low huff, sitting across from Lando in one of the plush office chairs. “We’ve been in talks with her for weeks!”

“You were in talks with her, maybe,” Lando says snidely, narrowing his gaze at the omega across from him, “I didn’t think I needed a new race engineer, yet here we are. But you seemed awfully interested when you heard she was looking for a new team.”

Oscar scoffs. His cheeks turn slightly pink. “No, I wasn’t. She’s a good friend. I thought she’d be a good fit for the team.”

“Oh, so this has nothing to do with the fact that you have such an obvious crush on her? I bet Logan even helped set you up,” Lando knows he’s been a dick again. But he’s frustrated. He’ll get lectured by his therapist for this later, and he’s okay with that. He just needs to make Oscar squirm a little for his high-and-mighty attitude. “You want her pups, I bet. Already have the first three named.”

“Fuck off,” Oscar snarls, and Lando decides to keep digging a bit more. “It’s not like that! Besides— I’m courting someone!”

An awkward silence settles between the two. Oscar’s flushed pink. And Lando starts to grin. All evil like, in Oscar’s opinion. Gleefully, in his own. 

"Oh, but it is!” Lando chimes, his voice all sing-songy. He’s in full older brother mode. He knows exactly what to do to push Oscar’s buttons now that his teammate has shown his weakness. He’s done this with his sisters. And Oscar’s probably used to being the one doing the tormenting, as his family’s oldest pup. “You like her!” And then, with a very dramatic gasp, “Oh, you’re probably courting her! No wonder you wanted her here!”

Without so much as a warning, the Australian driver leaps at him with a snarl the moment the words are out of his mouth. They’re both tussling on the ground, before it turns into the two of them in their canine forms, snapping and snarling at each other. This is when Andrea decides to make a reappearance, looking a bit startled to see a mousy-brown wolf and a dark-brown wolf rolling around on the floor of the conference room. Oscar is large for an omega in his canine form, but still smaller than Lando. Lando is wirey, not as bulky as many would expect an Alpha to be. It’s rather evenly matched, considering how often the two of them are training. 

One moment, Lando has Oscar pinned. Another, Oscar has him pinned. Snarling and biting and kicking until the door opens again, and now it’s Andrea, Zak, and yourself watching the two of them wrestle until you fearlessly walk into the fray and grab Oscar by one of his hind legs.

Oscar turns human again immediately, hitting the ground with a loud ‘oof’ while Lando scurries away, watching as you start to lecture the other driver as he stands up. Your tone is hushed, but it’s clear that this seems to be a common occurrence between the two of you. You’re leaning over him, and the rumblings of annoyance and displeasure are clear as day.

Lando can’t help but smirk as the other man makes fleeting eye contact with him as you sit on his side of the table, taking your place as his engineer, despite your obvious contempt for him. 

“Now, let's get to business…” Andrea sighs. You keep your eyes ahead. Hands folded neatly in front of you. Letting his words blur until you feel Oscar gently tugging on your arm. He looks concerned, and you smile tiredly at him. Only just remembering the promise of cuddling in his nest with him when this was all done. 

You don’t even care if you look or act nothing like the Alpha that Lando thinks you are. You just slump against Oscar with a grumpy half-whine as he hoists you over his shoulder. The other driver lets out a loud snort at that, and your friend only glares at him, about to say something else before you bring one of your hands to tap his cheek lightly.

“Just get to th’nest,” You mumble, leaning against him. Your leg aches. You don’t want to walk. “Wanna get th’blockers off.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Oscar sighs, glaring at Lando over his shoulder before walking past with you in his arms. You don’t care about how it looks. You’ll deal with it later. And before you know it, you’re curled in the world’s comfiest nest, all in shades of orange and black. With the comforting scent of sweet tangerines and charcoal. Oscar hands you a nice little bottle of micellar water to help get the sticky adhesive of the blockers off, much more gentle with your skin than you ever are with yourself. He’s even soaked cotton rounds to make it a bit easier to apply, gently rubbing them across your scarred glands to clear any remnants of the adhesive off of your skin.

The smells of mountain rain and fresh baked peach cobbler mix with Oscar’s scent as you stretch, rubbing your cheeks tiredly.

You let yourself relax then. Sinking deep into the soft pillows as Oscar comes to spoon you from behind. A commonplace action, and had been since he started to get more and more bold with you in his attempts to court you. 

You can hear Oscar start to Facetime someone, probably Logan. But you honestly don’t care all that much— he’s there, and you’ll give your friend a full debrief, of course, after you’ve fully rested. 

“Your leg acting up?”

Oscar nudges you, and you grumble, trying to press your face further into the plushness of the nest, voice muffled by pillows. “Who cares if it is?”

“I do.”

“So do I!” Logan chimes in from the phone, and you roll over enough to glare at him. “Did you take all your meds, mouse?”

“Unfortunately, yes. So I’m afraid you’ll just have to put me down at this point—”

You don’t even have time to respond as Oscar cuffs your ear. You let out a dramatic whine, actually letting yourself act on your instinctual noises. Nothing hurts, of course. Oscar’s always been gentle, making sure nothing actually hurts when he wrestles with you or cuffs your ears. 

“Did you have to get my bad ear?” You whine, looking accusingly at the Aussie who just grins down at you, cuffing the same ear once again. “I’m gonna tell Lewis.”

“He doesn’t scare me, and besides, he’d probably agree with me! All, ‘C’mon, Mousey, that’s not how your therapist said to cope with your trauma—”

“That’s a bit scary, how accurate that was,” You prop yourself up to glare at your dear friend, only to smile broadly at him. You can’t help it, really. He manages to make you smile, even when you feel like shit. And even when he cuffs your right ear by mistake, after swearing he won’t do it again.

In truth, the ear looks almost melted. It’s usually carefully hidden by your personal stylist, with hair masterfully combed over it. The skin around it— luckily missing your scalp— was mottled and pink. What was left of your ear was little more than a small ridge of skin and cartilage at this point, and was much the same in your canine appearance, just more dramatic without all the fur. The upper half of your ear was utterly gone, along with most of the lobe. It was the ear you were deaf in. 

“Can it even hurt if you’re deaf?”

“Yeah! Doesn’t mean it’s gone numb to the feeling,” you pout, looking at him as he sets his chin on your shoulder. Logan giggles from FaceTime. He’s set up somewhere, Williams blue all around him that makes you avert your gaze but continue talking to him nonetheless. “Ugh. Logan, I almost killed Lando.”

“She threw a can of Red Bull at him,” Oscar clarifies, to his rather shocked-looking boyfriend and courting partner. To his credit, it takes a few seconds before Logan starts to cackle.  

“It was empty!” You protest back, but there’s a wide smile on your face as you hazard a glance at your former partner. “He was being a little bitch!”

“Should I be offended I didn’t get the same treatment my first day?” Logan’s voice crackles and his face is frozen on the screen with a mix of a confused look and smirk, before serenading both of you with a jumbled, robotic mess before the call abruptly ends. 

“Stupid wifi,” Oscar mumbles, pulling the phone away to text his boyfriend to see what happened. You just settle back into your side of the nest, closing your eyes and letting yourself drift off while Oscar’s comforting scent wafts over in you waves. You could just about fall asleep when there’s a gentle knock at the door, followed by Andrea poking his head in. 

He blinks at the two of you. You blink back at him, already knowing you won't be able to take a much-needed like you had originally planned.

“Ah! Ms Lauda— can I speak with you for a second?”

“Can I do it from here?” you try to press yourself deeper into Oscar’s nest. You’d need to find a place to make one here— a nice, private room. Somewhere you can easily reapply your scent blockers and can fully surrender to your instincts until you were comfortable with more people knowing about your designation. “Took off my blockers.”

“Of course. I just wanted to check in, make sure everything was alright after… how the meeting went.”

There’s a hearty pause. As if he can tell you’re thinking over your words carefully.

“It certainly… went.”

“Ah. And… no other comments?”

“I meant what I said. You baby Lando.” You shift slightly. Tiredly. Giving the team principal the trademark Lauda stare from where you’re comfortably curled into the nest. So soft, yet so harsh at the same time.

“Then it’s a good thing you’re here to fix that,” Andrea smiles politely at you, and ducks out of the room without another word. You just settle deeper into Oscar’s nest, wondering what in the hell you’d gotten yourself into. The only thing on your mind when you finally manage to fall asleep is how much you miss your mother's fresh peach cobbler.

tags: @the-holy-trinity-l @laura-naruto-fan1998 @amalialeclerc @st0rmzi3 @poppyflower-22 @hiireadstuff @seonghwaexile @mrsmelinda

[deezee112]

Concept twst AU Squid Game

( Before you guys read this, let me tell you that English is not my first language. If I type something wrong, you can tell me and I will fix it. )

P.S. MC is clearly written as a woman, height, history, and personality, but does not specify physical appearance.

GN!MC

First of all, this AU takes place in a timeline before MC enters the twst world, so I think it would be interesting that before MC meets them in the twst world, MC meets them in the real world first.

And another interesting thing for me is that in the world of twst, they are rich, have a good status, and have a stable job. But in the real world, they have a lot of debt and are poor. (ruggie is still as poor as ever)

I think when MC came to play this game, it was because of the debt he had, maybe from his family or whatever he wanted.

But I think MC has some history similar to 120 (I can't remember her name) that she used to be a special forces soldier So I think she might be several times taller than the average woman, maybe over 180, and might have a figure similar to a man.

And in this AU, Grim and ortho are humans, so I guess they also have debts.

I think this game timeline can be viewed in two ways as part 1 or part 2. So you can imagine that you are in part 1 or part 2.

And of course as I said MC is number 456.

And here are the debts they probably have ( me and my friend discussed this And I randomize the numbers so most of the numbers I randomize.).

Riddle Rosehearts

Player : 101

Debt : Financial ruin after trying to uphold impossible standards as a perfectionist lawyer.

Trey Clover

Player : 277

Debt : Financial ruin after trying to uphold impossible standards as a perfectionist lawyer.

Cater Diamond

Player : 345

Debt : Overspending on his fake social media persona left him bankrupt.

Ace Trappola

Player : 089

Debt : Lost everything gambling after being scammed by friends.

Deuce Spade

Player : 112

Debt : His desire to help his struggling family led him to loan sharks.

Leona Kingscholar

Player : 150

Debt : Reckless spending and failed investments drained his family’s fortune.

Ruggie Bucchi

Player : 223

Debt : Grew up in poverty and borrowed money to support his family but fell deeper into debt.

Jack Howl

Player : 309

Debt : Took on debts to pay for college but was unable to keep up with payments.

Azul Ashengrotto

Player : 175

Debt : His once-successful luxury food business collapsed under competition, leaving him with unpaid loans.

Jade Leech

Player : 051

Debt : Co-signed Azul’s loans and got dragged into the fallout.

Floyd Leech

Player : 052

Debt : Recklessly spent money on gambling and lost big.

Kalim Al-Asim

Player : 304

Debt : His once-wealthy family was conned out of their fortune, leaving him penniless.

Jamil Viper

Player : 174

Debt : Took on Kalim’s debts to protect him but is bitter about the situation.

Vil Schoenheit

Player : 091

Debt : Fell from fame due to scandals and lawsuits, losing everything.

Epel Felmier

Player : 333

Debt : Family farm went bankrupt, and he took on loans to try saving it.

Rook Hunt

Player : 404

Debt : Spent exorbitant amounts pursuing his artistic hobbies, leading to financial ruin.

Idia Shroud

Player : 012

Debt : Crippling gambling addiction tied to his love of online games.

Ortho Shroud (Human)

Player : 102

Debt : Ortho’s debt stems from medical bills, failed technological projects, and personal loans that he took out to try and keep his family business alive after their passing. These debts were exacerbated by his desperation

Malleus Draconia

Player : 065

Debt : Lost his family fortune due to mysterious circumstances, now a recluse.

Lilia Vanrouge

Player : 184

Debt : Took on debts trying to help others but was betrayed

Silver

Player : 217

Debt : Inherited debt from his family, despite trying to live modestly.

Sebek zigvolt

Player : 324

Debt : He owes a large sum of money to a powerful group that used his debts to manipulate and control him.

y/n

Player : 456

Debt : No personal debt but Need money to pay off family debts

Grim (Human)

Player : 067

Debt : Gambling addiction left him deeply in debt after losing his family’s inheritance

Che'nya

Player : 297

Debt : A combination of gambling debts and reckless investments in travel and lifestyle.

Neige LeBlanche

Player : 209

Debt : His extravagant lifestyle, including luxury purchases and costly beauty treatments, left him in crippling debt after his fame faded.

Rollo Flamme

Player : 315

Debt : Lost his fortune after an unsuccessful business venture in the entertainment industry, now trying to regain his family’s lost wealth.

Ernesto Foulworth

Player : 234

Debt : A high-stakes gambler with an obsession with luxury cars and expensive hobbies. His addiction led to his financial downfall.

Skully J Graves

Player : 103

Debt : A failed actor with mountains of debt after gambling away his small inheritance. His pursuit of fame turned into an obsession with keeping up appearances.

Imagine MC playing Six-Legged Pentathlon with Azul.

[witchofthesouls]

The Donor Clause AU just simmers in the back of my head, so just some extra tidbits:

No one is surprised that Tarn developed a new addiction, but his is an intimacy one rather than a sex addiction.

Part of it is the broken Seekerkin-coding doubling down on the behaviors that soothe the sociality quirks and fulfillment of emotional needs for a healthy and stable life. Part of it is just baseline Tarn... for the same emotional needs.

Including but not limited to: looking forward to shared shower time after a hunt, cuddles, helping with fuel overproduction, field byplay, shopping together... just doing things where he spends a lot of time together

A lot of side-eye about the field byplay since Camiens and Decepticons have different ideas of social tolerances and space. Nurse is very used to constantly brushing and modulating fields and doesn't 'shove' aggressively nor shore up against others. You're downright openly 'Hello neighbor!' compared to standard Decepticon practice. By Camien standards, you're a little standoffish. But Camiens would consider those of Cybertron suffering from a type of illness from loneliness and a critical lack of community care (Camien cultural framework with medicine).

You think you're being neutral and polite, nor do you think of anything about Tarn's EM field that settles on you outside the ship. It's a common social byplay among Camiens as Tarn does the Camien equivalent of 'checking on you'/'associated with our group' connotation. You're thinking he's just being overly fussy and anxious (which absolutely checks out), and you really don't mind since Tourniquet did have similar bouts. Tarn wants to ensure that they're off limits and he's taking his donor duties and Conjunx rites very seriously. Meanwhile, the rest of the Decepticons are seeing Tarn deliberately stamp himself across the family in giant glyphs that scream MINE and DO NOT TOUCH...

If Nurse is doing an open class for basic first aid, then Tarn is literally there. Dutifully taking notes, while the potential medbay mechs that Hook bullied ordered to attend are shaking at their booths and trying not to drop dead from raw fear and terrified anxiety should you call on mech for an answer or a volunteer.

Nurse is the aggressive biter and marker. So much so that Tarn doesn't feel compelled to pick open the bruised cables and bitten protoform of his neck due to how constant you work it over. It's like a permanent collar.

Tarn's 'I'm doing a fantastic job' German Shepherd energy versus Nurse's 'my own body has betrayed me' black cat vibe

Tarn definitely reads aloud Megatron's works, including the earlier ones of poetry, as bedtime stories. Your lullabies are a mix of hymns and nursery rhymes about poisons and Camien mythology and folklore.

Kaon is the one who organizes all of the anniversaries. He ships them like FedEx. The kids love Uncle Kaon and the Pet, so it's not a hassle as he kicks them out and taps into the security systems of the 'romantic' dinner at a restaurant.

The reason why Camien Nurse uses English expletives is due to language traveling off of Earth via alien visitors. Although Caminus didn't have any contact with Cybertron and its allies, their organic neighbors do have ties to maby nomadic traders and research travelers that did treat the Milky Way as a passing point. It just tickles Camiens the right way as the word 'fuck' has so many uses.

Vos joins casual excursions with you and Nickel. Not only do you have experience with textiles and know how to barter across a multitude of alien languages, but he gets to enjoy an outing where he can openly the historical usage of drills and blades and not have other mechs scrambling away. He wanders if this it's a femme-thing, a medic-thing, a colonist-perspective, or just coincidence as Nickel menaces him with a rusty drill over his interest in equally rusted hooks. He's delighted over it.

The split-spark twin with the teething issue develops a mouthful of needle-sharp denta. So much it crowds out their mouth, and they persistently chew on things. 'Tiny Pet' used to chew on the Justice Division's digits, but ever since they hit the toddling stage, their teeth developed the strength and length to actually slip through the gaps of the armor by the joints and puncture protoform. Because they're usually docile, they like cuddling on a lap to chew on a mech's armored forearm for as long as possible.

The bitties are really popular on the private server. Tesarus' online friends still DM for updates over the only sparklings around and mechs coo over tiny frames and 'Chewy's' nightmare-inducing yawn.

[parasitical-if]

hello!! i wanted to say that i really love your story so much! i wanted to know, if the characters were in a modern day setting on earth (and not living in a space cow lol) what would their lives look like? would august still be working in the medical field? would el be a mechanic or would she be more interested in electrical work? jasper strikes me as the type to be in love with his car lmao

This ask actually comes at the perfect time since I've been turning around a college au in my head recently lol. Sorry that it's not exactly your ask, but I hope it adheres to the spirit of it!

(I also had WAY more to say about this than i thought lmao so essay under the cut)

Jasper is, like, a transfer student from a sister school who transferred for reasons they refuse to elaborate on. I totally see them as an initial engineering major who changed their major to business after two years (and who would have wanted to study something like english or art, if not for parental pressure!) Also, yes, total 'obsessed with their car' person. Not, like, a Car Person, they just really love their car. Probably in greek life and plays some sort of non-contact sport like soccer or volleyball.

August 100% gives stressed premed. that person who is trying to Do Everything; 4.0 GPA, internships etc. Probably has an honor society that he's high up in, but not in charge of - say, vice president - and that he puts an inordinate amount of effort into compared to the president. Religious? Maybe, up to your personal headcanon, but all I know is that he's the type of person who throws himself entirely into school and then when he graduates has a year or so of existential crisis before trying to apply himself into the workforce in the same way.

Icarus has two interpretations. if we're really sticking to the modern AU reality, then they're something like the Dean of the school, or maybe a tenured professor. Fairly fed up with their students, but that doesn't mean that one doesn't impress them every once in a while. If we're leaving reality a little behind then - bear with me - they're, like, the AI that a lot of students on campus use to cheat. ChatGPT type thing. Except, unbeknownst to everybody else, they're gaining an odd sort of consciousness, and they're getting very fed up with their lot in life. Sorry this is ridiculous I just could not imagine them as human lol.

El would've gone for an engineering major, I think - maybe mechanical or electrical, or if she's feeling extra, something like biomedical or environmental. I think she'd be way more chill and lowkey on campus than someone like, say, August, but she's still no slouch when it comes to grades. Casual everything else - plays a sport like tennis casually, part of a few orgs casually, but she has one niche thing that she's very into. Something obscure like squirrel-watching club or her Zombie Apocalypse class that she puts an unexpected amount of passion into.

T is a double major in the humanities - something like English and Anthropology or Philosophy and Political Science etc etc. Living out their best dark academia lifestyle. Makes a point to study explicitly what they enjoy, not what will ostensibly be a stable job market or lead into a high-paying career (heavy judgement on Jasper, if they ever meet, lol). Joins a normal amount of clubs and a normal amount of orgs and puts a normal amount of effort into them. Odds on them to be the type of person who struggled a bit in high school, solely because they were bored and constrained, but really does well in college and the wider world beyond.

[brofightiscancelled]

okay ill bite why do u hate kaoru sakuraba sidem aside from the fact that they went from hokuto as a main blue to downgrade to kaoru. to make it less awkward that I’m asking abt sidem on ur osomatsu side blog, what sidem idols would u assign to each matsu ?

i think sideM should collab w osomatsu-san and put them all in Beit so they can all get JOBS!!!!!!

anyways i hate kaoru from idolmaster sideM. i need all my osomatsu-san side blog followers to know that i hate this man. "i need a lot of money fast to pursue an extremely niche medical research track, which is why i quit my stable and high paying job as a surgeon to become an idol while having no soft skills, physical strength or stamina, or interest in getting along with people" are you Stupid??

he's not even using his idol clout to spread awareness of the rare disease he's trying to cure (like SEM does) so it can secure funding, he sees it 100% as a job and refuses to have fun, he is actively unpleasant and uncooperative in every interaction with his coworkers because he's trying to "rise to the top". it seems like the only thing he has going for him are his looks and that he kind of liked to sing when he was a kid. why not become a model at that point when you have the personality of a wet tree trunk. or better yet why not STAY A FUCKING DOCTOR!!!!!

also, i don't like meganes, so write that down.

[winteryreads]

a lesson wahoo! -boothill x reader

synopsis: boothill gives you a lesson on a horse! Mention/cameo from my oc, Airlia, since she is a teacher in here too! 

warnings: me saying “shit” twice (thrice), but none, fluff!

word count: 672 (holy shit, go me)

author’s note: this idea was based on me missing my english riding days! also think of this as a modern au! except boothill is still almost entirely robotic! smth smth medical advances smth smth! ;) hope you enjoy! 

ever since you started seeing boothill, you noticed he smelled strange? it was almost farm like, if that makes sense. so when he slipped up in a conversation once and mentioned he was volunteering at a ranch giving lessons to children who were interested, you had to see things for yourself. 

boothill takes you to the barn with him after getting (lovingly) tired of you begging to come with him. so when you got there, you were in awe of how good the ranch looked. 

“Mr. Boothill!” and next thing you know, a kid, probably 7 or 8, comes running up to your boyfriend. he gives the almost metal man a big hug. 

“hey, sport!” boothill laughs. 

“Mr. Boothill, Ms. Lia said i would be ready to start posting trotting the next time i ride! oh, who’s this?”

“that’s awesome, bud! this is my partner, (name). they’ve been beggin’ to come with me to meet the horses. (Name), this is Phai, one of the kids I teach.” 

“nice to meet you, Phai!” you said. the little boy smiled and nodded before scurrying off. probably to go tend to the horse he was not near, oops. 

“sweet kid, i tell ya. probably one of the most talented ones at this program.” boothill says proudly, “come on, let’s have you meet who you’re riding today. glad I told you to dress in jeans and you listened.” 

so off to the stables you went. you met various horses and a few ponies, but there was this one horse who caught your attention. her name was Coco. an older bay (dark brown with black on her legs and a black stripe on her back) mare with a cute little stripe going down her nose and four little socks on her legs. deemed the sweetest, safest, and most bombproof horse the ranch had to offer.

“ya like Coco? everyone does.” boothill smiled at the mare. he opened her stall door and put a halter and lead rope on her head before leading her to the main aisle. she was then connected to the crossties and patiently waited for some tack to be put on. boothill took the time to explain what each piece of tack was, but before you did that, you groomed the mare and gave her some (bribery) treats and pets. grooming came next. after that was tack. boothill put everything on the mare, starting with the saddle pad, then the saddle, then the girth, and then finally came the time for the bridle. he showed you how to put it on Coco, and once that was done, he led you and Coco to a nearby field and helped you get on.

“Yer gonna bend your knee, put your left left foot in the stirrup, and then swing over. ready?” 

you nodded. here goes nothing. and once you were on, Coco did not move. she waited, like a good mare. 

“Next thing yer gonna do is put your heels down like this,” he demonstrated, “then gently nudge the back of your heel into her side to get her to walk. we’re just gonna walk around today, since it’s your first lesson.” dear god that reassurance was helpful. and off you went. 

“yer gonna use your reins to steer, shorten them just a hair and bring her over to me, make sure to stay sitting up straight and have yer heels down.” 

that was a big ask, but whatever. you went for it.

holy shit, you did it.

“there ya go! let’s do that a couple of times, don’t wanna wear ya out too much, since we gotta take care of Coco afterwards.” 

and you did the same exercise a couple of times, then moved to walking in big circles before calling it quits. you let Coco have the reins on the way back to the barn as boothill walked with you and the bay mare. 

“great job today. ya ready to rinse her off?” 

oh shit, there’s more? oh well, at least you’re having fun. 

©2025 lia-lillies. do not repost, copy, translate, modify, or use for AI.

[letters-from-himring-hill]

The Current Party (And Friends) (Updated):

Morwen, aka Walking Situation: Will no longer die if something breathes on her wrong. Despite this, continues to get into near-death situations with disturbing regularity. Has now almost died four times in two weeks, most recently owing to getting punted into a different plane of existence and encountering a level 400 monster. (She exploded it. She won. She was level 11 at the time.) Tired Of This Nonsense TM. She no longer has to separate Sock Police and Trauma Baby every few hours, but all the energy that was spent on that is now going to trying to persuade Sock Police to go to sleep, Trauma Baby that he has inherent value, and Smol & Angry to attempt some infinitesimal degree of chill.

Gavrel, aka Sock Police: Still a walking murder machine. Has probably had at least three breakdowns in the past two weeks. Frequency of breakdowns still related to frequency of Morwen almost dying. Continues to badger Morwen about meals, and, when she's injured, about naps. Despite this, has now gone for three days without sleep and appears to intend that to continue for another day. Does not seem to care that his nervous system is on the fritz due to being repeatedly struck by lightning and is ignoring medical instructions about how to recover from this.

Atticus, aka Dumb Trauma Baby or just Trauma Baby: Still functioning as the youngest sibling of the group. He no longer hates Sock Police - as Morwen found out in a thoroughly heartbreaking manner when he was injured and begging for Gavrel to save him - but he thinks he does. He may still think he's responsible for Morwen, but he's also figured out that Gavrel has a better chance of getting her to do what he wants her to, and will shamelessly take advantage of this. He no longer pushes all of Morwen's buttons - though he does push some of them - because there is a new, even more annoying, younger, and angrier teenager in town.

Smol & Angry: Might be Atticus' girlfriend. Might be his archnemesis. Might be both. We're not clear on that and neither is she. She is 300 pounds of vengeful fury in the body of a 5'2 15-year-old. Actually desperate for a way to stop being so angry, but refuses attempts to talk her down. Finally had a desperately needed breakdown only to start casting lightning bolts everywhere and apparently get attacked by a [redacted] monster in the mental realm, which is what led to Morwen fighting it. Lost four years of her memory in the ensuing fight, and is now madder than ever about it. Morwen is unclear on which she needs more - a good smacking, or a hug.

Furniture Man: The Team Dad TM. Initially came along because he's in charge of a city and wanted to know what kind of queen Morwen was going to be, and because she happened to be going to talk to the same people he wanted to talk to, and hadn't been able to find. However, the found family is inexorable, despite the fact that he, by virtue of species, routinely sets off everyone's prey instincts. (He's so ominous. He's so incredibly ominous. This is not preventing him from being assimilated into Morwen's found family.) He's now trying to adopt Atticus and Gavrel because they both sorely need a stable father figure in their lives, and is giving Morwen and Gavrel relationship advice because they remind him of him and his love interest. Morwen has decided he's her political mentor, as well. I'm not sure he knows what to do with that, and can't ask, because he's currently unconscious after pulling Morwen out of the mental realm.

The Doc: Sort of the oldest brother of the party, both by age and role, but a very gentle one. In a party of formidable warriors and one grimly terrified newbie who's going to fight everything, he's the healer, and boy howdy does he have his job cut out for him. Trying in vain to make Sock Police and Trauma Baby hold still long enough to actually heal from their many injuries, but he's got an ally in Morwen. Between the two of them, they might even be able to make Gavrel sleep...if they're very lucky.

(original post found here)

@scleroticstatue @exploding-the-wine-cellar @kanerallels @awwyeah-rambles @sunflowergardens-world

@sweetcardamom

[mutantrenegade]

Making this it's own post cause a friend mentioned this might be better standalone. So something that always annoys me a bit when talking about how men will pick patriarchy because it benefits them is that I think that statement misses a big part of the picture. I don't think the benefits men gain from patriarchy really outweigh the costs.

And not to downplay or dismiss the very real violence and danger and abuse our society directs at women. Women very much have it worse in a patriarchal society, but just because men have it better under a deeply misogynistic society doesn't mean men have it good under said society. Because a lot of that violent misogyny doesn't help most men, it makes it easier sure and women are harmed, but beating your wife/girlfriend/children isn't really going to result in a man getting a raise, more access to medical care, more friends, a better car, etc etc. It's just shifting a lot of anger to another source. A man angry that his boss works him like a dog every day that comes home and beats his wife because dinner wasn't on the table in time isn't helping himself by harming his wife. He's fallen into the propaganda that it's okay to be worked down to the bone just so long as that woman he owns does her fucking job and because she's an imperfect human that's never going to be reality.

And again, NOT TO DOWNPLAY THE VERY REAL HARM THAT IS BEING CAUSED TO THE WOMEN/CHILDREN IN THIS SCENARIO, but the man here isn't really being empowered as much as it feels. He's being beaten down into a mold that says everything will be fine for him if he's racist enough, misogynistic enough, angry enough, and obedient enough to the people reaping the benefits of his labor. And it's all bullshit. Few men are gonna benefit from white supremacist patriarchal ideas while the rest are going to be forever turned into bitter angry rage machines who are trapped in a mindset that the only thing holding them back is how well they train their women. They are going to still be held under the same shitty oppressive system we all live under, and now they have no ability to express their emotions in a healthy manner and some of them are even gonna become serial abusers, rapists, or even murderers all in support of a cause that doesn't care about them and never did.

I've talked to men who buy into this mindset and generally when you tell them that straight white men have it easy in this world, they will essentially come back at you with something that boils down to "if straight white men have all the power in this world then why does my life suck so much?" And when you are talking to someone who hasn't fully bought into the alpha male andrew tate maga lifestyle and is otherwise a perfectly normal dude. He's gonna look at his parents who probably have a stable retirement fund, long lasting jobs, disposable income, etc etc who are telling him the problem with today's society is feminism and wokeness, and it just pushes him yet another tic right.

Yes. Women's lives are in danger under the patriarchy, and that is in fact, the most prominent and important thing to stop. But it does so by grinding men down into robotic tools of violence and labor that will be crushed by the same blood oiled machine they help build. Feminism is in men's best interest because maybe yes it makes it harder for them to get jobs, wives, etc, but it also creates a world where they aren't as bound by those ideas being they only things that prove they have any worth as a human.

And idk but that feels like it's in their best interests in the long run

[sunflowersunite]

very random ask... but why not, right😉

What do you think Eren and Mikasa would study in school and eventually go on to work as, if they lived in a modern AU!

Hey Satsuki! Very good question, this one, I loved thinking about it 😃 it might come in handy in case of a modern AU and random asks are always welcome of course

So here's the deal: Mikasa is extremely skilled when it comes to working out. Nobody does it like her. She could study martial arts and hear me out: she'd go on to become a rescuer. Saving people from under the rubble after an earthquake, or maybe even a firefighter. With rock climbing as a hobby.

I like this idea and honestly nobody can stop her if that's what she wants to do. However as I was looking through similar posts to get inspired, someone suggested that she'd prefer to lead a stable life, so she'd find a job that would fit that lifestyle like business or medical professions. That's also something to consider, and one can take their pick for their own modern AU.

Now, Eren. As a student, he'd have no idea what to do. He feels this void inside of him, this uncertainty that comes with having nothing to fight for (he's free, right? That's all he ever wanted. He has no purpose in life now that he was born free)(I'm getting inspired by the school castes AU for his personality lol)

He'd go through a period of uncertainty but search for a profession nonetheless because, well, he has to find one. Eventually he'd study something that allows him to help people, deep down that's what he wants. He's not the smartest student but he's determined enough to study and become a nurse with Armin's assistance and Mikasa's faith in him.

Then he'd travel all around the world to perform his duties with organisations like the aot world's MSF. Carla always worries about him but she doesn't have to for long, because Eren returns home to focus on Eldian studies, after he's seen his country's place in the world and the people's opinions on Eldians.

He continues with his endeavours though, exploring, climbing mountains, and Mikasa eventually rescues him from under the snow because he overestimated his abilities once (meet cute 😁 then she'd scold him for being reckless and they'd spend time together with Eren pale and blue lipped and heartbeat down to 60 bpm, very romantic)

This post served as a source of inspiration so I'm linking it here :) it was certainly interesting

Thank you for the question! So, what do you think? Did you have any professions in mind for them?

[kindheart525]

chucky got any game or

Yes he does!

Y’all might not believe this, and even Chucky himself doesn’t believe it sometimes. As a younger man he definitely did not have game. He could hardly get past a crush or a talking stage, let alone a full relationship. He didn’t have the confidence or self-sufficiency needed for a stable partnership, and nobody wanted to date a guy who still asked his mom for permission to go out despite being well into his 20s. (And even Dottie was tired of him relying on her this much.) Any positive and engaging traits he did have seemed to go out the window whenever he tried to make a move as he always let his fears get in the way. He never went out of his comfort zone and he suffered for it…until recently.

Enter Till.

An elder care worker, they met Chucky while working at the nursing home Dottie lives in. It started with just passing by each other while Chucky was visiting his mom, and soon progressed to chats in the kitchen away from the old folks where they could get to know each other better. And then Till starts inviting him out to do things! Simple activities like seeing a movie or watching one of their water polo matches but “Oh my gosh is this a date? Is this something friends just do or do they LIKE me like me?”

They also share some more vulnerable moments together:

As a nurse for the elderly, Till is mostly used to the ups and downs of the job. Watching patients pass on is pretty typical and expected, but that never makes it easy. Most of the time they can deal with it and compartmentalize for their other patients but it does get to them. Especially since their own parents died when Till was fresh out of college and they know how deeply that loss aches. Here they are having a moment after the death of a patient as Chucky comes in to comfort them. This was a big moment in the development of their bond.

Chucky really likes Till and realizes that if he keeps being a wimp like he was before, then he would very easily lose their interest. The thought of being in their life and being more than friends inspires him to finally start working on himself for real. He tries to put himself out there, pick up some hobbies—talks to people at Till’s water polo matches and eventually puts together a DND group, for example. He starts doing some things without his mom’s permission (but always tells her about them afterwards). And he takes the initiative to ask Till out! He gives them a simple bouquet of flowers and stumbles through a confession but it means a lot to them, as it was all heartfelt. And from there they’re officially an item!

Till, despite also approaching their midlife, never had all that much success in love either. They’ve had some partners but they never got very far, and a job in the medical field didn’t make dating any easier. So Till and Chucky get to experience many firsts together! The two of them make each other feel young as they fall hard and fast for each other, and before they know it they’re progressing to further steps of their relationship.

Till’s bug family loves Chucky too!

As Chucky’s creator I know I joke about him being ugly and weird lol but that’s exactly what a lot of people say about insects too, leading them to be very misunderstood. Till sees their charm and beauty just as they adore Chucky! To them he’s perfect 💙

Till belongs to my close friend @yellowandanxious4eva who first posted them here! Please give them lots of love! 💛 We have been planning this relationship for awhile and I’m so excited to have had the opportunity to post about it.

We’re still working on designs but get ready to see some little Dompler babies soon! In the meantime we’re always planning new things for their relationship so please feel free to send in some asks about Chucky and Till!

[coolingrosa]

Can you elaborate on your interpretation of canon ink being a level 2 of support?/genq

Level 2 support usually requires more supervision and assistance with tasks. It doesn’t mean everyone on the level 2 support spectrum would be requiring support all the time, but rather may need it for different situations or at least need to live with another to keep them stable. While they can still live their life on their own, they may struggle with immense social cues, repetitive tasks, and diving too deep into their special interests rather than focusing on the life around them.

I see canon Ink on this side of the spectrum bc I believe his job is his special interest. And due to the fact that a lot of people don’t tend to get along with him in his canon, and he puts his special interest above the friends he DOES have. it definitely gives me the vibes that he’s on level two support. Of course, he is an adult, so he’s still capable of caring for himself and basically to teach him to do so. However, with his family interactions, it’s very clear he never DID get that support. He has a hard time keeping his job to himself and tend to info dump at random about different aus. He’s also easily swayed WITH his special interest. Underverse definitely isn’t canon, but I do know Jakei spoke with the Undertale creators to make sure some actions were correct, and Comyet has said most of Underverse Ink is accurate. Him being manipulated by XGaster using his special interest, something he relies his whole existence on and is incomplete without, is also good evidence. Hell, in the truce prologue we see that Ink isn’t dying. Nobody is creating any more, of course, but he’s alive and he’s still able to have his vials.

But because nobody is making anything new, he feels incomplete and freaks out and makes decisions and choices he normally would never.

Ink definitely needs emotional support and regulation as he’s capable of having breakdowns that are also linked to his trauma that will cause him to shut down. But he will also have meltdowns if too many AUS get destroyed under his watch and will either throw up (which is funny to some but to me has always SCREAMED horrible anxiety disorder) or will hyperfixate on fixing it or freak out. Having to deal with these emotions on his own, never being taught that him never being able to sit still when freaked out is him craving stimming to regulate, never having anyone to lean on to help him deal with it, and also making reckless decisions he’s ultimately regrets later out of panic are all reasons he needs support.

And support does not always mean medical help. The Star Sanses living with him and making sure he eats and keeps a routine and stays on track is support. Him having Dream and Swap to help him during his meltdowns or to join him when he leaves the house to get stuff done is support. Him having them around so he doesn’t do anything reckless or make bad choices is support. I don’t think Ink would benefit from medical attention as not all people do. Sometimes they just need people in their life to understand them and help them through the struggles of life so they can have that to fall back on if coping on their own comes up short.

But bc he NEEDS this support to truly thrive, and without them, will likely fall to pieces and never eat, make bad choices, have multiple meltdowns on his own, and also not be able to stick to a solid routine is why I think he’s support two. He does need somebody keeping an eye on him and helping. Letting him do his own thing, of course, since he is an adult, but also there just in case and in the background while he does his life.

[nightmareb1tch]

The Sparrow academy in my season 4 rewrite, Part 2

Number 4: Alphonso

He would probably not know how to fight due to every hit being bounced back to him. He would probably not WANT to fight due to never really knowing what pain is like and not wanting to take the risk. Also his power in the past melted his skin and muscles. So he keeps the safest job around, a store clerk. Due to there being no superheroes, there is also less drama in stores now. Also unlike a lot of store and retail workers, he is nicer and doesn't understand why people are so grumpy. It doesn't hit him until one day he comes home tired from some dude yelling at him and sees Ben and Jayme in his house, who used the spare key that he gave Jayme. He decides not to yell at them and instead vents to them about the long day he has had on the job. When he meets Allison, he is very suspicious and just walks away from her, leaving her completely confused. He is probably the most normal out of all of them... If you count being paranoid about your skin melting normal. (Being "Normal" does not mean Mentally Stable!) He still gets fandom hot flashes and feels like his skin is on fire sometimes. He also sometimes doesn't know when he is overloading himself and kind of blacks out during those times, staring at the ceiling or whatever happens to be in his sight at that time until he gets his bearings.

Number 5: Sloane

Sloane works at a library to pay her bills and has taken in Fei. She now has a hyperfixation on space thanks to Luther which she talks about constantly in front of Fei. She gives Fei her medication to make sure that her anxiety and sleep problems are managed. She is seeing a therapist about her issues and tries to get Fei to go with her, but knows that she already has some deep rooted issues and probably would shut down her therapist every chance they get. She finds Fei's protectiveness over her endearing while the rest are wondering what the fuck is up with Fei. She is very annoyed at S!Ben and has to contain her anger to not kill this man. She often wonders throughout the season how the Umbrella Academy was so blessed with a sweeter Ben. She of course has contact with all of her siblings, even Christopher. Marcus was shocked when Sloane brought in a completely human Christopher who could speak English. Sloane is of course the only one of these siblings who actually thought of getting therapy while the others are like "Therapy? But isn't it normal to have Autophobia so severe that you'd literally die than be alone for 5 seconds?" and Sloane is like "See, this is why you need therapy!" In the past she has struggled without her siblings when she first landed in the reset timeline, pulling her hair out constantly within those couple of years and having to work extra shifts at the library to distract herself. She can sometimes fall back into "Old Habits" which everyone is concerned about, so Fei tags along with her everywhere she goes for that reason, and just to keep her sister safe.

Number 6: Jayme

She is a street fighter who likely uses the chaos to feel the closest to when she was fighting with her team, and the thrill of doing so. In the beginning, she really doesn't realize what she is doing is self-destructive. She also fights until someone knocks her out, leaving people to have to drag her ass out. She regrets it in the morning, but at night it's the only thing she thinks will ever get her close to the feeling of being useful. Until she met her female love interest (let me cook) she would often wake up still in the alleys from last night. She often falls asleep during the daytime due to being out so late, and her girlfriend is not very helpful, as she also stays out late to fight as well. The Sparrow siblings basically have to confront her for doing this as a means of trying to prove something, and her girlfriend enabling it as she is also self-destructive. She had met S!Ben from one of her late night street fighting gigs and they basically had a rematch of their constant fights. They nearly killed each other until her girlfriend had to break them up. Even though her girlfriend is not perfect, she strongly believes that family should stick together, and not try to KILL each other. Jayme has to drink more water than the average person everyday due to the shortage of her power also meaning the shortage of her saliva. If she doesn't drink enough water her mouth becomes very dry to the point where she nearly chokes. She dyed her hair into green streaks and got a nose peircing, which S!Ben immediately called "Emo". (fuckin hypocrite)

Number 7: Christopher

He got a human form, and has vitiligo. He loves to socialize and hates the thought of being alone, so he often tries to be at every social event possible to deal with the fact that he can't find his siblings. When he reunited with his siblings people notice his sassy side coming out more, like telling S!Ben to shut the fuck up and ROASTING Klaus's ass. He sometimes forgets how to move, and his siblings are like "WALK!" and he's like "I FORGOT HOW!" so every once in a while one of his siblings has to pick him up. When he first landed in the reset timeline with his human body, he couldn't move, or talk normally, so he was admitted to a care center and has to attend physical therapy so that him forgetting how to do certain things doesn't become a huge problem. His ability to talk and move properly gets affected by how stressed and angry he is at that time. Like he slips into his old dialect at the bar when some girls ask about his vitiligo and he gets nervous and starts speaking in his old language from when he was a cube. The looks the girls give him only makes him more nervous. He still has a kind of... alien accent and it slips in constantly in conversations, almost sounding like he is speaking the old language when he's not. He sometimes forgets how to move certain body parts at random times for which his siblings have to direct him. Throughout the season, his siblings help him by going to physical therapy with him. When he finds out that his siblings have been walking past them this whole time, he is shocked, but not surprised, saying "What, did you expect me to still be a cube?"

[solianapaeris]

women are conditioned to believe that if you treat a male well, that he's going to reciprocate and reward you with marriage and by being a loving and attentive partner.

Women are conditioned to give everything in a relationship and not grt anything in return.

Socially women are told not to have any expectations of males. Women are told that males don't like talking to us or listening to us because we have nothing interesting to say, so don't expect your male partner to listen to you.

Women are told that males are hyper sexµal and his sexµal needs are uncontrollable. So we have to be sëx kitten pδrn stars in the bedroom and do everything that he wants, when he wants so that he doesn't cheat. And if he does cheat on us, it's our fault for not fulfilling some need of his.

Women are told that males have it harder socially and need to be encouraged to get jobs that pay enough for them to survive on. Women are told that they have to motivate a male to do better for himself and want better for himself. It's a woman's job to make a male give a sh!t about the quality of his own existence.

Women are told that while males are smarter than us and more "logical", their big male brains can't waste time on remembering to take care of their medical needs and social obligations. So it's our responsibility to tell them to go to the doctor, eat healthy, and take their medications. It's our job to remind them of their parents and siblings birthdays. It's our job to plan and remember what gifts to buy for their friends and family on special occasions. It's our job to remind him of the events that his friends invited us to as a couple.

Women are told that males aren't "emotional", yet we have to be responsible for understanding all of their emotions and not making them too angry or too sad. Eventhough they have zero emotional regulation and zero emotional intelligence because society doesn't require them to. So we have to play eggshell therapist because he'll refuse to get professional help for his emotional short comings. So it's our job to "fix" him.

Women invest everything into males and they patiently wait for a "reward" that never comes. Onces the relationship is over, they fester in rage thinking about everything that they did and how they have zero to show for it.

While the male is healthier, more financially stable, closer to friends and family, all because of what his ex woman provided for her.

While women usually let themselves deteriorate physically, socially, financially, emotionally, and mentally as they sacrificed everything to make their male as happy as possible.

Women aren't at fault for how they're socialized. However, women are at fault for being in denial and not listening to other women who already experienced this. Women are at fault for not peeping a game that is centuries old.

No woman should be doing this to herself

[4ce-of-2pades-inkwell]

I’ve been watching/listening to those SCP videos on YouTube while I draw Cuphead stuff, so it was only a matter of time before I came up with a crossover AU:

Dr. Manuel Animi is a young but talented scientist rising up through the SCP Foundation. He has a particular interest, fascination, obsession even, with SCPs that break the laws of reality, or that are beyond comprehension. Merely out of scientific curiosity, of course, nothing more... He spent many years working with eldritch beings such as… well, I can’t remember any off the top of my head, but things along the lines of what Cthulhu was expected to be, not his SCP reality. Dr. Animi had a better capacity than most for withstanding the dangerously incomprehensible, a mental tolerance for things that would drive an average person to insanity, but he was still human, and many times was affected to the degree of needing prolonged therapy or even intense medical treatment to recover. He would always return to his work with a passion as soon as possible, but eventually he was banned from working with any SCP classified as a significant mental hazard. His superiors claimed he had reached the lifetime exposure limit that was protocol (similarly to scientists working with radiation), and they cited his hair, which had changed from red to pure white as a result of the horrors he had seen, as proof he had been at this long enough to be at risk of permanent mental damage. They claimed his relocation to other SCPs was for his own safety, and that they did not want to lose such a bright scientist, but this was a lie. In truth, Dr. Animi’s obsession with these eldritch beings and mind-breaking ideas concerned them. They saw a high probability that Dr. Animi would not stay content with his permitted research, and would attempt to use the anomalies for his own purposes, becoming a threat. In short, he liked his work too much. If he had refused the ban on his area of study, he would have been deemed too far under its thrall, and would have been terminated. So Dr. Animi now works with other anomalies, though is not satisfied with his current work, and is biding his time for an opportunity to reenter his preferred field.

Chase Animi is a gambler. Addicted to it. This has caused him to go deep into debt, and in and out of prison. Any attempt to keep a job or build any kind of stable life is sabotaged by this addiction. He’s miserable, but he can’t stop. He falls in with shady crowds trying to pay back the money he owes, starts conning people for their cash, gets caught and put in jail again. He is not having a great time. One night, a bar fight gets a little too heated, and results in three men dead by Chase’s hand. If this isn’t enough of a crime to earn a death penalty, then he somehow does something else to earn his sentence. He ends up a D-class at the SCP Foundation. He is given cleaning duty for The Sculpture for several months, and as all goes to plan during that time, he survives without incident. Soon though, he is sent in to observe an SCP that affects a person’s mind—though he doesn’t know that yet. This is where he first interacts with Dr. Animi, who has just convinced the higher-ups that he should be allowed to study mind-altering SCPs again, if only ones of significantly less power and danger to himself. Chase doesn’t recognize the scientist that happens to share his name. But Dr. Animi recognizes him.

They’re twin brothers.

The two had parted ways years ago after an argument. Manuel had just joined the SCP Foundation as a scientist, and tried to convince Chase to apply as well, so they could stick together. Chase was furious with Manuel for wanting to retreat from society into a group of crazy all-powerful scientists, and for not telling him sooner that he was planning this. Chase wanted nothing to do with the Foundation or any organization like it. Manuel warned Chase that if he didn’t join the Foundation in some way, he would have to be given amnestics to forget its existence. Chase said that was fine by him, and that if Manuel wanted to leave him so badly, then he would be more than happy to forget his brother entirely. So Manuel, also caught up in anger, did exactly as he asked, erasing any trace of himself from Chase’s mind and leaving his brother for good, devoting his life entirely to the Foundation. Chase’s life, meanwhile, fell into disarray. It is possible that the careful amputation of such a constant presence in every single one of Chase’s memories negatively altered his mind in such a way that predisposed him to his addiction. With the sudden lack of something he had depended on all his life, he needed to depend on something else…

Dr. Animi recalled Chase from his current assignment before its effects could take a stronger hold, and through application of his recent research, was able to produce a near-total recovery. Dr. Animi then told Chase that they were brothers, and explained what had happened to cause his amnesia about their shared past. Chase was furious with Dr. Animi for destroying his memories of him, and disgusted that he would not only commit unethical experimentation, but do it to his own brother. Chase refused to speak to Dr. Animi further, but Dr. Animi still wanted to help Chase. He knew there were a few rare cases of D-class not only surviving their ordeals, but being allowed to reenter society and live ordinary lives. Only a handful of cases, out of innumerable casualties, but if Dr. Animi played his cards right, he could save Chase.

There was an SCP that had been discovered earlier that year (let’s say this takes place in 1973 I guess), SCP-666. That one that tempts people with addictions. Very few D-class had been tested with it so far, and all had died as a result of succumbing to their addictions, but Dr. Animi had a theory about the nature of SCP-666, and he was going to bet his brother’s life on it. He contacted the team studying SCP-666 and recommended Chase as a test subject, highlighting the strong gambling addiction that had been the root cause of every crime Chase had ever committed. The team had tested subjects with substance addictions, but had yet to try addictions of any other nature. They accepted Chase as their next subject.

Dr. Animi insisted on being the one to deliver the D-class to his destination. Chase refused to speak to him, but Dr. Animi whispered that he was doing everything he could to save Chase’s life. This was his best chance at not only survival, but escape. If Dr. Animi was right, SCP-666 was not a death sentence, but a test. Any D-class subjected to it who was not already an addict had seen no ill effects—666 did not compel a person to act against their will, at behaviors that were not their own, but merely encouraged existing addiction until it reached the point of death. If Chase could resist 666’s temptations, he may be released alive, and in order to study the long-term effects on his addiction, Chase would need to be introduced back into the wider world, where he could be monitored in his natural environment with its usual available temptations. Dr. Animi would convince the Foundation, somehow, that Chase could not be exposed to any other SCP without destroying a valuable research subject. All Chase needed to do was not die from SCP-666. An even more difficult task, as there was not much opportunity to gamble in containment, and Chase was feeling withdrawal. Dr. Animi had a theory, but the facts (which Chase was not supposed to be told) said that everyone who had faced this SCP had died. So why not live it up one last time before he went? What did he have to lose? What did he have to go back to? And yet, this addiction had destroyed his entire life. If he was going to meet his end… what if he could win, just once, over that all-consuming force? Win something not through luck, but through skill, through willpower?

Well, he’s going to try. He doesn’t anticipate an outcome where he survives. He’s not doing this because he believes he’ll be freed, in any sense of the word. He’s doing this to spit in the face of 666-1, and prove to himself that he has control in his life, even if that life is about to end.

Also, there’s one last thing you should know about Chase. See, that mind-altering SCP he did a brief stint with? Well, I looked pretty unassuming. Just a plain white cup sitting on a table. Chase didn’t know what he was supposed to be looking for. And he certainly didn’t realize when he started talking about me in the first person. My effects can end pretty badly for those exposed. Usually, they end up drowning themselves, often with tea. But Dr. Animi caught Chase’s symptoms early, and managed to talk him out of being a danger to himself. He was unable to be convinced that he was not, in fact, a cup like me, but Dr. Animi twisted this belief into something safer. Chase had arms and legs, right? And eyes and a nose and a mouth? He repeated this often, making Chase locate these attributes on himself, until he finally believed it to be true. He was a person, who had different needs than a cup. But he was also a cup, there was no talking him out of that. Dr. Animi could only do so much. Instead, he worked with Chase to develop a persona that became his new self-image, a persona that was, of course, still a cup, but functioned a lot more like a human. Chase once again understood himself to need sleep and food and air, and to be susceptible to death under many conditions that an average non-person cup would thrive in. And despite an insistence that his hair be constantly damp with tea or milk or coffee, Chase was deemed able to live normally again, thanks to a little outside-the-box thinking on Dr. Animi’s part. After all, Dr. Animi understood that you don’t necessarily have to see the world in a way that makes sense to anyone else to live a good life. You don’t have to be one hundred percent “sane.” Sometimes your life can even be better if you let yourself go a little crazy…