#drabbles from a crossover I'll never officially write

[georgi-girl]

Babble: Track Four

Rated T for swearing. 

Back woods legit,

Don’t take no shit,

Chew tobacco 

Chew tobacco

Chew tobacco 

SPIT! 

After a while, Chief Brady started pressuring Miguel to start practicing with the lyre. Whenever he touched it however, he felt an uncomfortable shock in his fingertips. He sat on his bed, staring at it. Riley paced in circles on the floor. 

“Want me to try using it?” she asked him. 

“I... don’t think you need to. I think if I wear gloves, I’ll be fine.”

They heard a plick plick sound. They looked around and saw the screws unwinding from the air-vent grill. The entire thing fell to the floor. Out popped Zodiac’s face, smiling at them. Both teens freaked out. 

“Dios Mio!” Miguel screamed in his native Spanish. 

“HOWAREYOUDOINGTHAT??” Riley screamed as well. Zodiac shushed them both as they slithered out of the vent and landed on the floor. “Took us a while, but we figured out where to find you.” 

Riley sat down panting. “I, I, I thought that crawling through the vent thing was a myth, that you couldn’t do it in real life.” 

“Not everyone can.” Zodiac stretched their arms and legs. “But we can. It helps that we’re good at contortion and don’t have claustrophobia.” 

“Anyway,” they clapped their hands together. “We found the room where they keep the security tapes. What say we watch them together?” 

“But...” Miguel gestured around, “What about us showing up on tape?” 

“Not to worry.” Zodiac looked over at Miguels’ camera. “We have a spell for that.” 

@@@@ 

The first tape they watched was from New Year’s. It showed everyone in the common room after the daily playing. Gristle walked up to Chief and looked at the lyre. 

“What happens if you pluck the strings one at a time?” he asked.

“Let’s find out.” She plucked the red string. Renee shuddered and sighed. Her whole body glowed bright red. She became taller, sharper, scruffy, becoming a mauve-skinned woman dressed in fishnets and a white tank top. Everyone heard an electric guitar in their heads. The strange, mohawked woman turned to Gristle, red-eyed and snarling. “BERGEN MAN WHORE!!!!!” She screamed and ran towards him. He tried to run away, but she grabbed him by the neck. Before she could do anything to him, she shuddered wildly. Chief Brady had actually tased her! The woman collapsed on the ground, shifting back into an unconscious Renee.

Miguel and Riley were stunned by what they saw, unable to form words. Zodiac rubbed their chin like an intrigued scientist. 

“That’s fascinating.” 

“Was that a troll?” Riley asked. 

“She turned into a troll?” Miguel asked. 

“Yes. Wait No!” Zodiac gave several answers at once. “She didn’t look like a troll. Unless! Access to our plane allowed access to take on human form… Fascinating.”

@@@@ 

The next day at the afternoon gathering, Miguel experimented by plucking the orange string. The whole harp turned orange, and so did Loop. In the place where Loop sat, there sat a long-haired orange skinned woman with legs ending in giant horse hooves. She got up and stomped to the nearest patient. “How’d you like to be someone’s dinner?” She grabbed him by the ear. “How’d you like to be MY dinner!?” 

She managed to grab a dinner knife and pin him down. “Yippie-Ki-yay, Father Fracker.” She aimed the knifepoint at his eyeball. 

Riley saw Chief Brady pull out her taser. Remembering what happened to the red girl, she launched herself at the woman, tackling her to the ground before she or Chief could do anything.

They lay there, staring at each other.

“Hello,” Riley smiled, “Miss Orange Troll Woman…”

“Do something!”  The scared patient yelled at Miguel.

Miguel strummed all the strings at once. The woman shivered and shifted back into Renee. Riley was laying on Renee. Awkward. She rolled off of her. 

“What was that all about?” Miguel asked Bridget.

Bridget looked down, nervous. “It’s um, it’s… it’s kinda complicated.”

@@@@

That night they went through the older tapes. Miguel admitted something to Zodiac.

“My boyfriend got a job here, back in October. At first there was radio silence. Then he started sending me all these texts, saying that he was possessed by animal spirits, and that people were trying to turn him into a Super. Right before we came to work here, he sent me long conspiracy letter, talking about how he escaped and how he was waiting for me to escape.” Miguel sighed deeply. “I hoped it wasn’t true, but now....”  

Zodiac put an arm around him. Up close, Miguel noticed a tattoo of the big dipper on their forehead. 

@@@@

In the woods, miles away from the facility, an 18-year-old Korean man turned on a camera and filmed himself.

“Hello party people! This is Day 28 on the Lam. I’m Species. Formally known as Russel JIn. Let me take you around camp.” He pointed the camera at different spots. “Here’s our tent. Here’s the latrine (we dig a new one every week). Here’s the campfire. Here’s the spot where I prepare the food. Here’s the rock where we eat. And here’s Senior Dante!” The camera stopped on a Xolo dog bundled up in colorful Christmas sweaters. “He’s been keeping us company, courtesy of Miguel, our ally in the inside.”

He turned the camera back to himself, showing all his beefy Korean glory. “We have an ally on the outside too. But he doesn’t show up on camera. Just as well. He’s on a secret mission. We’re just along for the ride.”

He looked over at the white haired, blue eyed, barefoot boy standing next to Dante. “Thanks again for getting this for us. And for all the other stuff.”

“Don’t mention it.” Jack gave a wave of his frost-covered staff.

@@@@

The next day, Riley sat with Zodiac in their room. Zodiac reviewed the facts; “So, strumming all the strings together brings out the Trolls’ emotions. Plucking them one at a time summons a particular species. Imagine what playing an actual song would do…”

“Maybe a little Mariachi can perk them up.” Riley suggested. “Miguel can play one of his songs for them and they could…”

“Oh not that!” Zodiac interrupted her with great enthusiasm.

“Why? You said trolls love music.”

“Yeah, the music they make. They hate other people’s music.”

“Really? That’s kind of racist.” 

“It’s... complicated.”

@@@@

While Zodiac explained the String’s history to Riley, Gristle admitted the truth about Trolls and Bergens to Miguel. 

“You ATE THEM????” He roared at the little man. 

“We didn’t think they minded! We thought they were just happy all the time!” 

“If that were the case, they wouldn’t have tried to run away from you!” 

“Yeah! I can see that now!” 

“But you still need to play each day!” An old skinny man named Bibly piped up. “Otherwise, the troll spirits will awaken and come to the surface!” 

Miguel paced back and forth, muttering in Spanish. Finally, he turned back to the crowd.

“I hope they DO surface! And I hope they tear you jerkwads limb from limb!” 

@@@@ 

“So, after fighting with the other elders, the Pop leader took the entire harp, strings and all, and hoarded its’ music. The others eventually stole their strings back and left with their tribes in all different directions.” 

 “And what happened to the Pop Trolls?” Riley asked.

“They chose a new leader and swore off using their string altogether. Even when things started to go wrong for them.”

“What were they even fighting about?” Riley asked. 

“No one knows.” Zodiac examined their hand. Riley hadn’t noticed before, but they had an extra finger. “Must have been something important.” 

That’s when Miguel came in. 

“You won’t believe what just learned!” The teenagers said to each other in unison. Zodiac laughed hysterically. 

@@@@

They spent the rest of the night exchanging stories. The next morning, Miguel took his guitar and sat in the middle of the cafeteria.

“I don’t care what happens, I’m playing something!”  

He began strumming a gentle ballad. Everyone looked at him. 

He’s pretty good. Bridget thought to herself. 

On the other side of the room, Renee blinked, like someone waking from a dream. She looked at Miguel and began to walk towards him. Riley was the first to notice her. 

She stood right in front of Miguel, smiling at him.

“That’sss... prrettyyy...”

[taumoebaa]

20 question for writers tag game

tagged by @softodettes (👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩)

1. Total number of ao3 works?

10 (3 are anon because they're just silly little drabbles hehe)

2. Total ao3 word count

104,415 (oopsie get this girl some sunlight)

3. Fandoms I've written in

Just Fourth Wing.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

Death of a Sun A Safe Place for Change (the couples therapy fic) Good Morning Evergreen (the one where xaden's eyesight is bad) Self Control (liam pining) Solace (the one where xaden is babygirl)

5. Do I respond to comments?

Yes like 99.67% of the time :) comments make me so happy and I love yapping.

6. What has the angstiest ending?

Good Morning Evergreen.

7. What has the happiest ending?

Solace. Xaden literally just gets smooches and tucked into bed at the end. It's the happiest of happy endings.

8. Have I received hate?

Yeah, very occasionally, but I kinda deserved some of it haha.

9. Do I write smut? And what kind?

Sometimes. Mostly really mild stuff. I don't really enjoy writing smut. If it's in there it's to serve some function of the plot.

10. Do I write crossovers?

Nope.

11. Have I ever had a fic stolen?

Nope. I'll probably cry if this ever happens to me.

12. Have I ever had a fic translated?

Nah. But maybe one day I'll translate one of my short fics to Chinese just for fun.

13. Have I ever co-written a fic?

Nope. But I do really want to :) Sounds like fun. I'm just too shy to ask anyone to do this with me.

14. What is my all-time fave ship?

Officially, these are evenly matched in my bookmarks. But my favourite will always be Achilles/Patroclus/Zagreus. Platonically, I also really love Zuko & Wan Shi Tong fics.

15. A WIP I'll never finish

I've been writing Translations in Aretia in the background for months now but I'm a little scared of posting another XVL long-fic where Liam/Violet has a stronger focus. There's also a bunch of canon re-write/missing scene fics that I'm not too motivated to write, a Brennan/Reader fic, and a Max/Tisaanah fic. I'll never finish these, probably.

16. Writing strengths?

Idk.

17. Writing weaknesses?

Dialogue. Especially dialogue between young characters. I have no idea how people in their late teens/early twenties talk. Tairn-speak is easier. I think the Hades fandom did that to me. I struggle with exposition too. Describing things always feels like a bland exercise. Prose is hard. Introspection is a nightmare. Writing is just really difficult.

18. Do I like foreign language dialogue?

I love it. I adore it. Foreign language dialogue and language barriers are among my favourite tropes. It's up there with accidental pet acquisition. My favourite CoD fic has a language barrier element to it. My current favourite book, Daughter of No Worlds, also has that. I just love this trope ruthlessly and indiscriminately.

19. First fandom I wrote for?

Fourth Wing.

20. Favourite fic I've written?

Good Morning Evergreen. I genuinely had so much fun writing this fic. I feel like with all my other works I'm pulling teeth just to get the words out, but with this one everything just flowed and I ended up writing it all in one sitting. I still re-read it from time to time which is crazy because I hate re-reading my fics. I also really enjoyed writing One Gentle Afternoon. Childhood memories are so fun for me :)

tagging @littlefirefox @copperfirebird @shipmistress9 but no pressure!!

omg a surprise cat

[between-thepages]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I was tagged by @gabetheunknown, thank you <3

how many works do you have on ao3?

Currently 88, I am determined to make it to 100 before the end of the year.

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

29,604

3. what fandoms do you write for?

The Witcher Books/Games, Silmarillion, Lord of the Rings and sometimes Endeavour/Inspector Morse when the fancy strikes.

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In the Morning (Glorestor)

Dance to the Firelight (Rorveth)

Eating Love (Rorveth)

Mirror Image (Rorveth)

Body and Soul (Yenralt)

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

I respond to them, I love comments, but I'm slow. Also, there are only so many variations of "Thank you" one can type in a day before it starts feeling ridiculous. I promise I'll get to your comments before Christmas!

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

my Iorveth/Cedric drabble from last spring. I had to cope with the Ending of Lady of the Lake.

7. what is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably Beautiful like Starlight, but even that isn't really all that happy... I am writing a followup to it at the moment though.

8. do you get hate on any fics?

So far, only from a certain someone for shipping the wrong characters, but i usually have my comments restricted to logged-in users, so leaving Anon hate isn't really possible.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

I will write everything once and then decide if I'll do it again xD Expect it to be at least somewhat kinky.

Also, it has to fit into a drabble or two, I can't really write long-form smut.

10.do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

I haven't yet, I will write a Witcher/Silm crossover one day, just so I can get some of the ladies to meet

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't know, but I doubt my drabbles are interesting enough to steal.

12.have you ever had a fic translated?

Not officially, but I am trying to translate some of my fics myself. No idea when I'll be done there, though.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

No

14.what's your all time favorite ship?

As a multi-shipper, all time favourites are hard, because all i need are three compelling arguments and I start shipping another pairing xD

I guess Fingon/Maedhros is one of the pairings where I am least likely to read a fic if they are partnered with someone else.

15.what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I'll burn with a light of my own, because I started it for a flashfic challenge right before my silm hyperfixation hit full force, so Witcher is a bit on the back burner at the moment. It also needs some serious plot outline to develop further, so the continuation really depends on my interest the next few months.

16.what are your writing strengths?

I have been told I am good at writing short stories, which is great because I love writing drabbles.

17.what are your writing weaknesses?

long plots, probably. I always struggle with reaching wordcounts and making my stories interesting.

18.thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Depends on the language and usage. I love things like terms of endearment in another language (I made up a nickname for Isengrim to use for Iorevth, after all), but I do sometimes get annoyed with the random elvish words in Tolkien fics.

The best use of other languages is if it is used to confuse the POV character, but then it has to be somewhat consistent.

19.first fandom you wrote for?

Sunrise Avenue xD But I never published any of it. The first fanfic I published was for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

20. favorite fic you've written?

She came in through the window because it got me into a new kind of rarepair hell <3

Tagging @she-who-drank-vodka-with-cats, @aretuzagradschooldropout and @gleamingsilence, I'm late to this so I really hope I haven't accidentally tagged someone who already did this <3

[anonymousbeefriendfanfics]

Content & Format Stuff

Fandoms/Characters | Prompt Masterlist | Writing Masterlist

So! First and foremost: the formats! There are three main ones I'll be working with: headcannons, drabbles, and fics.

Headcannnons are the bulleted ramblings on a particular topic. These are the easiest for me to do because I don't have to get into the more official Fic Writing headspace, and it just feels like I have a lot more freedom to explore concepts without forcing them to connect fluently.

Fics are, obviously, the longer, more in-depth writing. They take a lot more effort and, more importantly, require me to find the motivation to write... so while I love them and will absolutely try to do them on request, they'll take longer. Also, I have no specific word limit. I write until it's done, even if that's a few thousand words.

Drabbles or Ficlets are the mini-fics! They'll be written in the style of fics but limited to one scene, typically much shorter. You can request these if you want something more properly written, but not as elaborate as fics. It can be anything from a few paragraphs of dialogue to a page or two of writing!

And now, onto the fun stuff...

What I will write:

Romance/Fluff!

Angst, often Hurt/Comfort

NSFW content (see the sections below for details)

In-Universe and Alternate Universe/AU, especially fantasy/real world genre-switching

Maybe crossovers! I've never written any, but they're not off the table.

Character x Reader

Character x Character

Character x My OCs, if anyone's interested

LGBTQ+ Characters and pairings! All of em. Including polyships!

Good spelling and grammar! Woo! No need to cringe. I hope...

Paranormal/supernatural characters and settings

Family dynamics and relationships (non-nsfw only)

Pregnancy/birth/baby related stuff

Many more things! Send me requests for whatever you like!

What I will not write:

Unhappy endings. Angst is great, but when it's unresolved, it just... hurts. I'll torture the heck out of the characters, but they get their happy endings.

Character deaths are negotiable-- I'm alright "killing" a main character if they get resurrected-- but the kids and animals ain't dying. Not happening.

Content warning tags & NSFW discussions below:

Content warnings will be given for:

Sex scenes, especially non fade-to-black ones.

Any major thing that could be triggering for people, including mentions of it -- severe depression or anxiety, self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, anxiety and panic attacks, excessive violence, death, terminal diseases, etc. I don't believe these will pop up often, but if they ever do, rest assured I will tag them and include them in the warnings at the top.

Pregnancy/birth related things

If there's anything you would like me to add, please let me know!

And now, what most of you are here for.... my sex scene conditions

NSFW Things I will write:

Sex scenes! Shocker. If you're making a request, you can specify the degree of detail you want me to go into - fade to black, milder/less descriptive, or full throttle.

Mild(-ish) BDSM. I haven't written much of it, so I'm not super comfortable going too deep into it, buuuut... I'm more than willing to give it a shot!

Some examples being: edging, teasing, dom/sub dynamics, brats, mild pain play, restraints... feel free to ask for whatever though~

Up to three or four characters in one scene, or as few as one... nothing wrong with a little solo time~

Toys are great too. So are strap-ons.

Sex anywhere from nervous first-time-together-between-lovers to random-intense-backroom-hookups, and anywhere in between... so long as it fits the character(s) in question.

Please note: I'll often try to write in a gender-neutral way for headcannons, or edit my writing to have two separate versions depending on the genitalia of the reader/oc involved, that way everyone can enjoy the scene :)

NSFW Things I will not write:

Non-Consensual sex. Yes, this includes con non-con. I would be willing to mention it in passing if it's part of a backstory or trauma from a past experience, but I'm uncomfortable writing the scene itself. Sorry.

Severe pain play and humiliation. A little humiliation is fine, but no serious or non-sarcastic/teasing degradation, in bed or out of it. Pain play is great, and can be requested, but not to the extent that characters are in genuine distress.

NSFW content for minors or childlike characters

[fighterkimburgess]

I have a question, I do not know if you remember this but there was a drabble ( Matt Casey one where he calls the reader off a scene and disobey her call as PIC), is that prompt still happening because I do not know if you deleted it when clearing your prompt box since it was from the follower extravaganza. Also I got an idea for it, maybe Violet could be relief PIC for her since she took a shift off to avoid Casey, causing him to feel more guilt

I remember it! I never actually had it on the prompt list because it came in after my prompts were officially closed.

As for if I'll write it - I want to, I love the story idea. But again, x reader stuff is pretty hard for me right now. I'll give an example of how hard it is.

I'm currently writing a burzek angsty AU oneshot that's probably going up tonight. At time of answering this ask, it's 3.4k long. I sent this idea to Ree at like 2.14pm. (bless message timestamps) I started writing it around 2.45pm.

In comparison I've a Jay x Reader oneshot that I'm excited to write! I want to get it done! It's a SVU crossover and is angsty and fun and has so many characters I love in it. That's been sitting at 1.1k for the last almost week, because any time I sit down to write it, I rage quit the doc.

I want to write the Jay x Reader! I want to read it! I know it's going to be incredibly fun! But...my brain just can't do it. It sucks and I feel like I'm letting people down, but I know if I force myself to write something it's going to end up awful. And I don't want to give you all something I wouldn't want to read myself.

Does this rambling make sense?

[georgi-girl]

Babble: Track One

I just gotta get out of this prison cell

One day I’m gonna be free 

Lord... 

It was an unassuming building. Three stories high six kilometers across; a giant brick shipping container on the edge of the Alaskan wilderness. People who knew about it said it was an apartment complex, or a sanatorium. They were both right in a way. It claimed to be a mental health clinic with several live-in patients. The chief doctor claimed to have found a new method to treat depression. Many were curious. None more so than the 18-year old interns, Riley Anderson and Miguel Rivera. On a cold and snowy day in January, they got off the clinic’s private bus and stared at their new workplace in awe.

They didn’t know it at the time, but their arrival was being watched. One special girl watched them from her room, one hand pressed against the glass window, a thousand thoughts going on behind her eyes.

Can anybody find me, 

somebody toooooo

Loveeeeeeeee

@@@@ 

Miguel had been brought in to assist in music therapy. Riley was helping in patient care. Most of the patients were strange, quiet folks who kept to themselves. Many of Riley and Miguels’ coworkers were much the same. 

Chief of Staff, Ludmilla Brady was a tall, eccentric woman with a dramatic way of speaking. On the intern’s first day, she took them aside and introduced them to a patient unlike any other. She was an Afro-Latino the same age as they were. A thick cloud of black curls framed her face. Her big black eyes seemed to reflect all the colors at once. 

“Hello.” “Riley introduced herself.

“Hola.” Miguel said politely. 

The girl didn’t respond. She just stared ahead without any emotion. 

“Oh, Renee doesn’t speak.” The Chief said as she pulled something out of her pocket. “But she is vital to treating my patients.” She held up a small white lyre, no more than six inches tall, strung with colored music strings. Miguel gazed at their arrangement; yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, and blue. Riley kept gazing at Renee.  

“You’ve heard of Supers haven’t you? People with extra special powers who occasionally assist the police under an alias?”  

Riley and Miguel glanced at each other before answering. “Yes.”

When I first opened this place, I met a troubled super who had been through a terrible trauma. But that trauma awoke in her a power like no other.”

The Chief ran her fingernail across the strings. The sound filling the room was unlike any they had heard before. Even the well-taught Miguel failed to describe it. More amazing were the reaction it created in Renee; Her skin and hair glowed multiple colors. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she let out a contented sigh. Miguel and Riley felt a warm breeze touch them, and they found themselves filled with intoxicating feelings of euphoria. Miguel recovered from it first, feeling like he’d awoken from a nice dream. He glanced at Riley, still in the throes of it, her head tilted back, a grin stamped on the face. 

“What was that?” she finally said. 

“This,” The Chief held up the lyre, “Is the secret to true happiness. A secret I one day hope to share with the whole world.” She smiled at Miguel. “I don’t know music. If I can create such power, imagine what a real musician can do.” 

“I’m honored Chief. But I’m still just a student.” 

“Nonsense! I’ve seen your playing on the line. You’re just the fellow we need.” 

@@@@

In their rooms, they hid from potential cameras. Riley lay under her bed and pulled out her emotions one by one. Joy, Anger, Fear, Sadness, and Disgust all looked up at her. “We’re in over our collective head guys.” She smiled as she spoke. 

Miguel sat cross-legged facing a corner, practicing on his beloved family guitar. He completed an impressive flourish, and the clementine he set in front of him burst into pieces. Chief hadn’t seen half of what he could do. 

@@@@ 

There were some patients who never left their rooms. These people had been labeled “special cases” and no one was allowed to talk to them. One of Rileys’ jobs was to bring them their meals. One John Doe in room 6 in particular was said to be violent and dangerous, but Riley never felt any dangerous vibes coming from his room. 

“May I go in?” she asked the guard on her third day. 

“No paper, no pencils, no crayons, no yarn, nothing that can be crafted in any way shape or form.” He spoke in a rehearsed, formal voice.

“She took a breath and stepped in. The guard’s rules suddenly made sense. Every surface was covered in paper, covered in drawings. Every inch of the wall was draped in a knitted tapestry depicting some monster or magical creature.

There were sketches on the wall showing people of different ages.

A boy and girl were most common, too similar to not be related. Then there was a young Latino man, on the chunky side, affable smile, wearing a green T-shirt with a question mark of all things sewn on it. There was a teenage girl in a plaid shirt with long red hair, pretty and earthy. There was a teen boy wearing all black and holding a guitar. There was a little boy in a suit with Elvis hair, and a girl with thick blond hair and a fancy dress. There were drawings of a little old with a long beard like Ben Gun in Treasure Island and drawing of a tall old man in glasses who was sometimes wearing a suit and fez, and sometimes wearing a long trench coat. Riley and her emotions could tell; these were all drawn with love.

Riley stared at it all in awe, feeling a child-like wonder. Then the voice spoke. 

“Greetings. And what’s your name?” 

Riley started and turned to the direction of the bed. There sat... not a man, but not a woman either. An androgynous, lanky, scruffy, beautiful, brown-haired person who glared at her as if she was a burglar. 

“I... I...I...um...” Riley couldn’t help stammering. Suddenly the inviting warmth was replaced by cold. 

“You must be the new intern,” they stood up. “Are you here to gawk at us too?” 

Us? A shiver ran up Riley’s back. As she glanced around, all the faces and creatures seemed to be looking at her.

“N-no. I was just… I wanted to meet you.”

The person stood up and stretched. “That Chief was better off before she added an I to her title. And her “patients” were better off when they were in joy withdrawal.”

Riley’s face felt tight. Her heart was racing. “What do you mean?”

“We mean a lot of things. And unlike everyone else here. We’re honest about it.”

The person walked towards her. She started hearing things. Voices saying nonsense.

Trust no one! Trust no one! Just a little bit more Summer���

They stood nose to nose with her; “You seem like a nice girl. We suggest you look for better employment.” 

Everything faded as Riley blacked out.