#'what walks on four legs in the morning two at noon and three in the evening?'

[rohirric-hunter]

I know it's a reference to Bilbo, who the class was based off of, but I love that burlgars in LotRO have the Riddle skill. Love the implication that in the middle of a fight you're just like, "Hey, by the way, you're in a dark room in front of a door. On either side of the door are two guards. One always tells the truth and the other always lies. What question --"

[pearl-tarotist]

₊˚ପ⊹ Chose a pile: PACs that I never ended ༻¨*:·.

In this Pick A Pile, I bring different piles of various tarot readings that I never ended/ write more than one pile each.

It's random piles that focus on various areas, none of them are +18. I hope all of you enjoy it!

Not all those who wander are lost.

PILE 1: What will your future spouse find beautiful about you?

They like how intensely you are you. They are at aw that no matter how many styles and physical changes you go trough, there’s something unchangeable.

They ardently enjoy the look on your eyes, they think that they are always recognisable. Firmly, on the quote “the eyes are the window of the soul”.

They do also enjoy the touch of your hands, they like how soft they feel and how they can engulf your hands with theis. They like how, sometimes naughtily , you trace their skin with the tip of your fingers.

There’s also a freckle, for some, close to the eye or upper lip, that they enjoy kissing.

With the moon card, they enjoy the part of you no one can see, yes, emotionally and physically-wise. Emphasis on the chest zone. Your future spouse is always eager to see you naked. They deeply enjoy seeing you in the “purest” way, naked, with no make-up, no clothes nor masks that can hide who you are.

They are fond of your curves, the softness and the reaction of your skin, they could enjoy hugging you so hard that they leave some redness on you. You are just too cute not to annoy a little bit.

They also see behaviours on you that they find beautiful. You are strong and mature. They will feel safe around you. They could see you and think you are the perfect person to build a family with.

“There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a person being themselves. Imagine going through your day being unapologetically you.” (Steve Maraboli)

(4oP - The Chariot - The Moon - 10oP - King of Shells - Queen of Gems)

PILE 2: Your life as a fairytale

i.-Your “new” self: skills, magic.

  In a fairy-tale you would wake up in the middle of the night to be the underdog.

You would live in a big city, surrounded by commerce and loud noises, probably, a coastal city. Technology has no place in this city and you constantly hear stories of dangerous sea pirates and magicians. You like to watch through your window how people make business and speak to each other… to understand the real self of all of them… to not suffer the fate of being betrayed. Your skin holds a golden tone due to the sunlight and your cheeks are always sun-kissed. You dress with flowy clothes and leather boots.

You walk through people as a ghost, comfortable on seeing and on not being seen and when you found yourself involved in any drama you unroll the drama enough to end in the position that you want.

              In dangerous situations you would be forced to use your cleverness and intelligence to survive the obstacles of your adventure.  You would have to decide what you want and which option to choose even when both options are dangerous and unfavourable. There wouldn’t be time to smell the salty air of the shores nor to pay attention to the sand between your toes. Self-reflections and risking decisions are your thing. “For the skin of your teeth” would define your path and personality.

Surviving, barely, everything.

Your skills would involve: wittiness, the observation of details no one else sees, always being two steps in front of everyone and in general: finding the answers no one could have found. When someone asks for the answer to the riddle, you will be the only one answering.

“ What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?”

When everything’s lost, you save them.

ii.-Your group of friends:

You have lost friends along the way in this fairy-tale. Some adventures ended and you had to return to your normal life and your daily projects. You do not keep contact with them on the regular, but sometimes at night you stay under the moon’s gaze and think of them. To the ones you can see and the one you are not able to reach.

At least two of them are fine and you can see them from time to time. Once you saw him in the market corner, convincing someone to make an unfavourable business, you smiled and thought about how they have not changed.

Then, you saw her, dancing heavily and breathless in the bar with a little child, hair messy and a smile that reached her eyes. Her skirt flowed graciously at the sound of the music and the cracks of the fire. She saw you looking and asked you to dance with her but you were tired, so you just sat down in a chair drinking a soft drink.

To the ones you have lost, you think about them at night, thinking about if you could have saved them if you had done things differently. You know you need to stop this self-pitying, but you are not ready yet to let them go.

iii.-Your lover/companion of life:

Your lover was a breath of fresh air, he was the beginning that you needed to leave all the pain and sadness behind. He is happiness and a reason to drink… to cheer for the Gods that have put both of you together and have made your cups full of love.

He is a warrior, always ready to defend you and to take care of you. Reckless and unafraid, your lover stole your heart without doubts. In the same way he charges for battle, he charged for you… You love the warmness of waking up in his arms and the coldness that leave your body when he hugs you at night. He cleans your cheeks with affections when you get dirty and is not afraid to argue with you if it is for your well-being.

You have found stability and the person you do not need to convince to stay, he has chosen you.

 2 of swords //The moon + 5 of Cups// Ace of cups + knight of wands.

PILE 3: Shufflemancy:romantic messages 

۵♡۵ Let’s forget about the problems, worries and economical issues. I just want to party and enjoy this beautiful night with you. Let’s forget about anything else that’s just not us. (Time of our lives- Pitbull).

۵♡۵ I want to have a date with you at the beach, next to the water, let’s have the perfect summer date. (Water-Brad Paisley)

۵♡۵ I just want you to be mine, but I know we are not together. That’s why I hate when you keep secrets from me. I worry about every guy you set your eyes on. (Secrets-The weekend).

۵♡۵ I am going to try my best to earn your trust as it seems that you have trust issues, but I cannot do it if you give up and start going after every guy you want because you get bored of the routine. I am also getting tired. (Emergency -Paramore).

۵♡۵ If maybe…I stoped chasing you, would you come to me? Would you lay next to me? Just like butterflies… (Chasing cars - Snow Patrol).

۵♡۵ I don’t want to be friends, I want the all or nothing. I don’t know how to make it more obvious to you, please understand. ۵♡۵ I wonder why you let me get to close to you if you were just going to push me back. I do wonder too if all your words and what you said was a lie. (Fingers crossed - Lauren Spencer Smith).

In general there is someone kind of disappointed about the fact that you decided to break up with them or just stop talking to them; this person is definitly still into you but it’s unable to handle all of your trust issues. This person still thinks about you daily.

[elliesbelle]

nobody compares to you

chapter 5

pairing: ellie x reader

synopsis: you're in your junior year of college and at a party, you run into the girl who broke your heart: ellie williams. despite the time it took to reset your life, will you risk a broken heart again for her?

content warnings: modern college au, cursing, angst, slight slut-shaming, brief mention of death, minors do not interact

word count: 2.3k

chapters: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen

series masterlist

my masterlist

i have a ko-fi if you like my work so much that you feel compelled to tip me ♡︎

the "nobody compares to you" spotify playlist

featuring the isa song “sometimes you lose your soulmates”

Present Day 

Though you didn’t exactly enjoy Mondays, it was at least the one day of the week when you got to wake up naturally instead of at the crack of dawn. Your first class isn't until noon, so when you wake up at 9:30 in the morning, you decide to get your day started early. 

You weren’t always the type of person to completely do themselves up just to go to class. Maybe in freshman year for the first few weeks, but you were a seasoned vet now. Most of the time, some leggings and a simple shirt or sweater sufficed. But after such a shitty weekend, you figure you could at least make yourself feel good by looking good. 

After half an hour of getting ready, you look yourself over in the bathroom mirror. You smile, fairly satisfied with your appearance. Despite the cold breezes of Saturday night, the forecast called for a rare warm day. As a result, you allowed yourself a floral sundress, decorated with a puffy knitted, button-up jacket on top of it in case the season’s true weather decided to show. A pair of simple white sneakers finished your outfit; not the most stylish, but practically, you still had to walk around campus. 

Your lips shine from the bit of lip gloss you’d applied. You’d only applied some light mascara on today (you figured that your Literature and Sexuality class did not warrant your bold, false eyelashes). You’d lightly painted your eyes with colours that complemented those of your sundress, blending them seamlessly onto your eyelids. As you did this, that one memory that was prodding you two days ago became clearer. 

“I have no idea how you do that so naturally, dude.” Ellie’d said, watching you in awe from the foot of your bed. 

Her ocean green eyes watched the meticulous strokes of your makeup brush applying eyeshadow to your lids. It was early on in your “friendship” and it was still a couple more weeks of her calling you “dude” before you became “babe” and “baby.” 

“It’s not that hard, honestly. Just takes some practice.” You’d said, trying to keep your hand steady as you grew nervous under Ellie’s watchful gaze. 

“Nah, it’s natural talent. You’re an artist.” She’d replied. 

You’d scoffed, saying, “Ellie, all I’m doing is my makeup. You’re the actual artist, remember?” 

“No,” She’d shaken her head. “I just draw. You’re the artist here.” She’d said decidedly, eyes full of admiration as she continued to stare. 

You’d blushed furiously then, and you would continuously do so when you’d replay that memory the months following after. 

But it was two years later and now, the memory instead has you staring at your reflection tight-lipped and frowning. 

Why is she still everywhere? 

It was roughly a fifteen to twenty-minute walk from your apartment to the university. You lived in an off-campus apartment complex that was in a decent location from both the school and a downtown area nearby. It was less convenient than living on campus like several of your friends still did, and this certainly wasn’t what you’d had in mind when you were planning out your social college experience. But after the freshman year events of Rafael’s death and Ellie’s abandonment, you were far more comfortable where you were. 

You liked walking anyway. You found solace in the strolls you took, accompanied only by your thoughts and headphones. 

About five minutes into your trek to campus, you pull out your phone to text your friend Tara. 

A couple of minutes later, you were just officially entering the campus when Tara texts you back. 

You continue walking as you frown down at your phone. Dina had spent most of the previous day at your place, cheering you up and taking your mind off Ellie. Your group chat with your other friends was blowing up and by the end of the night when Dina had left, you were overwhelmed by the amount of unread texts you had. The group chat remained unopened until right now. 

The chat consisted of your friends Tara, Sidney, Astrid, Rebecca, Kristen, and Mina. You’d met them all in freshman year. Tara was your assigned roommate and Astrid was Dina’s. They were all initially casual friends, ones that you saw on a usual basis and got along well with, but they weren’t necessarily very close. You were better friends with the gang from Jackson. But after you came back to campus for sophomore year, you detached yourself slightly from Dina and Jesse, knowing full well that Ellie had them first. They both tried to remain closer to you; but they remained inseparable from their childhood best friend, not fully knowing what events led to what “broke up” you two. It wasn’t the same and it was a much different dynamic with this other friend group, but the girls were there for you all the same. 

Reluctantly, you click on the group chat named “Wilson Crew ❤️‍🔥” (Wilson Valley had been the name of the freshman dorm building most of you had resided in the first year). Scrolling up to where you’d left off, you scan the messages your friends had left the previous day. Your eyes grow wider and wider the more you read. 

The previous day, Tara, who worked at a campus coffee shop called Ruston Coffee, was tasked to train a new girl. To her, your other friends’, and now your shock, the new girl Tara was training was Freshman Girl. The same Freshman Girl who stayed glued to Ellie’s side for most of Saturday night. The same Freshman Girl who drooled over Ellie’s every word and move. The same Freshman Girl that mistook your Ellie’s signature lavender-laced joints as lilac. The same Freshman Girl who wore Ellie’s old motorcycle jacket the entire night. 

It turned out Freshman Girl did have a name: Daniela. Your friends had sent messages with different levels of shock and horror. Kristen called her a whore, to which Sidney agreed, to which Astrid reprimanded and told them both to be nice. Mina sent memes as a response. Tara also texted that Daniela would be working with her again today. 

You look up. Ruston Coffee is just down the way. You don't have to go in. You can skip coffee for today and hide out in the library instead. 

“I’m not expecting you and Ellie to magically make up. I won’t try to get into the middle of it because I know that’s between you two. But you definitely need to figure out this out, babe. This doesn’t seem like something that should remain unresolved.” Dina’d said.

“But don’t also let it affect all the other parts of your life, okay?" She continued. "She shouldn’t be stopping you from hanging out with me and Jess more often or going out to parties we’re at or anything that involves Ellie in some way. Don’t let her stop you from enjoying your life.” 

And Ellie certainly shouldn’t stop you from getting coffee. If you want to get a coffee and relax before class, Ellie should not be getting in the way of that. 

You take a deep breath and march towards the coffee shop, fingers gripping tightly onto the straps of your backpack and feet stomping in rhythm to good 4 u by Olivia Rodrigo blasting loudly through your headphones. 

A bell above the door tinkles as you enter Ruston Coffee. The shop was a little busy, most seats taken up by other students sitting with their laptops or biding time before class. There's a line of people by the register and you begin approaching it until you hear your name being called. 

Your friend Tara waves you over by the counter where orders are usually dropped off. In one of her hands is a straw and your ready-made mocha frappe. 

“You’re the literal best, Tara.” You sigh, pulling your headphones off and walking up to her. 

She hands you your coffee order. 

“No problem.” She says, smiling. “You know that I don’t mind.”

“Thank you for indulging in my caffeine addiction,” You say, whipping out your phone and sending her $6. 

Tara frowns and says, “You better not have given me a $3 tip this time.” 

You sip from your straw. 

“Dude!” Tara reprimands, laughing. 

“$2 tip!” You say, defensively. 

“Just for a $4 coffee.” She chides, shaking her head. 

You shrug. 

“So uh,” Tara begins, her voice lowered slightly. “Did you see what I said in the group chat yesterday? Cause you weren’t responding.” 

You gulp. 

“Uhh. Yeah, I did, just now. Sorry, Dina was at my place yesterday, so I was busy—” 

“Nah nah, it’s cool, man. But like. You saw what I said about that girl, right?” 

“Is she here?” You ask, chewing the inside of your cheek. 

“Not yet. But—” Tara checks her watch. “—she’s supposed to be here in less than five minutes or so.” 

Fuck. 

“Oh, okay.” You gulp, your heart rate increasing. 

“Are you okay, dude?” Tara asks. 

“No, yeah, I’m fine.” You lie. “How did training her yesterday go?” 

Tara crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. 

“Literally the worst. She kept on looking at her phone instead of listening, she left one AirPod in her ear the whole time, she kept asking when we were gonna be done. And now I have to go through it all again once she gets here.” 

You give Tara a sympathetic look. 

“I hate that,” You say, sucking on your teeth. “Can’t you just, I don’t know, not hire her?” 

“We’re short-staffed as fuck, so we don’t have much of a choice.” Tara sigh. 

One of Tara’s co-workers comes up behind her and attempts to elbow her ribs which she dodges easily. 

“Get back to work, Maclay.” He says, putting down two cups of coffee next to her before heading back towards the register. 

“Fuck off, Khanh!” She replies, shooting a middle finger to his back. 

“Should I let you get back to work?” You ask. 

“Nah,” Tara reassures. “I wanna shit talk this Daniela girl first before I have to deal with her this morning.” 

“Do you know how often she’s gonna be working with you?” You inquire. 

“I’m not sure yet, but if Bonnie thinks she’s gonna stick me with a lazy new girl this early in the year—” 

You hear the bell above the door tinkle as someone enters the coffee shop. Both you and Tara look instinctively at the new arrival. Tara groans silently and your throat goes dry. 

Freshman Girl Daniela walks in. Wearing Ellie’s jacket once again. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck. 

“Crap, I gotta go now, I guess.” Tara whines begrudgingly. 

“Y-yeah…” You say, unable to take your eyes off of that same jacket that used to often adorn your shoulders back in your freshman year. You hate that it looked good on Daniela. 

“I’ll see you later, dude.” Tara says, wrenching her elbows off the counter and walking towards the register. 

“Good luck.” You reply. 

You aren't exactly subtle with your stare, but thankfully Daniela doesn't seem to notice. It's a little different seeing her now in the daytime. She was very pretty, you have to admit to yourself. She has a short, pixie cut that complements her sharp bone structure. She's wearing a bright yellow tank top below Ellie’s jacket that clings to her lean figure, making her stand out slightly. The light makeup she has on looks so simple and natural. 

Daniela wasn’t Ellie’s first conquest since you ended things with her. She didn’t waste much time dating around after you all came back for your sophomore year. You’d avoided her as much as possible so you wouldn't have to come face-to-face with the girls she’d get involved with. You still heard about them, of course, and you were sure there were even more than the ones you’d known about. 

But Daniela was the first you were forced to encounter. You weren’t prepared to be thrust right into Ellie’s love life once more. But here you are, staring at the most recent fling of the girl who you were once so desperately in love with. 

As Daniela lazily makes her way through the shop towards the back, you eventually tear your eyes off her and head straight for the exit. 

♫ Maybe she’ll come through / If he waits some more 

But she doesn’t / No, she doesn’t ♫ 

You're leaning against one of the trees in the quad, backpack laid next to you and headphones back on your ears. Your next class is in the building right behind you, but you still have a while until it started. 

♫ It’s not like the movies / Like you dream it’ll be 

Sometimes you lose your soulmates / And sometimes they leave ♫

Your journal and pen are laid out on your lap but abandoned as your fingers pick at the grass around you. Your mostly empty coffee cup sits next to you, condensation dripping into the soil. Your eyes are completely glazed over, watching the clouds in the sky. 

♫ She’s not a girl you forget / She’ll run through your head 

With all of the moments / You loved but now dread 

To remember / Burning like—♫ 

Your hands and voice react quicker than your mind does. Your sudden movements cause your headphones to fall onto your neck. After a second, you realize that you had shrieked and that your hands had flown up to your face to catch something. As you bring the object down to look at it, you realize it was a football. 

“Shit! I’m so sorry!” 

You look up to see a tall girl in a dark t-shirt and grey sweatpants jogging towards you, a dirty blonde braid bouncing behind her. 

“Abby?”

author's notes:

sorry for the delay in uploading this! i'm back from my brief vacation, and after i settled in after getting home, i almost immediately plopped down in front of my laptop to finalize this ldksfjsdlkds

not very chockful of ellie in this chapter, i know, i'm sorry! y'all got plenty last chapter! but don't worry, more will be coming up soon. i just enjoy keeping y'all in suspense.

i just wanna mention that most (if not all) of the names that i use in this fic are picked out people in the games themselves. also tara's last name is maclay as an homage to my lesbian queen tara maclay from buffy the vampire slayer. she's not the same character obvi, but i just enjoy putting in the reference :)

freshman girl aka daniela may have been named after and based on some whore girl that my ex left me for and that i'm still bitter about it oops

i hope y'all enjoyed the surprise guest appearance at the end of this chapter! she will be integrated further into the story from this point on, so stayed tuned :)

taglist: @lonelyfooryouonly, @elliesinterlude, @sawaagyapong, @peppesgirl, @iconsoft, @maybeidohaveadhd, @ellieswifee, @valiantllamapersonpony-blog, @nil-eena, @echostinn, @uraesthete, @softbunlvr, @cherriessxinthespring, @amitycat, @chrissyfishywissy, @yevheniiaaa, @machetegirl109, @bertandfearnie, @ximtiredx, @efam, @elliesnoviecita, @oatmilkchaii, @tayyyystan, @emothurman, @livvy-2000, @abigaillovestoread, @gold-dustwomxn, @liabadoobee, @yuckyfucky

[dfortrafalgar]

I'm Losing You

Having a family isn't always as easy as fairy tales make it seem.

Warnings: READ CHAPTER 1 FOR WARNINGS. This is the last chapter before shit starts getting real

Taglist: @phsycochan | @mirillua

Chapter 5

[Prev] [Next]

Law’s work schedule kept him on his toes which he usually didn’t mind, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t just the slightest bit disappointed at having to miss the big announcement to Penguin and Shachi.  You reassured your husband, however, and promised to send him the perfect video of the scene so he could view it on his down time at the hospital.

You moved two large, opaque containers on the kitchen counter in such a way that your phone could stand up against them, having them parted just enough so your camera could view the room from in between the jars.  You faced the camera towards the kitchen table, where you had set up the chairs similar to an intense job interview.  You had texted the two men in the morning to drop by your apartment at exactly noon without explaining why, and you started recording at 11:59.

The two men knocked at 12:01.  Bepo barked once, a deep, bellowing boof that was less of a threatening display and more of an invitation to come in as long as he could immediately get scratched between the ears.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm your nerves, you briskly paced to the door and pulled it open, smiling at your two friends.  Bepo forced himself between your legs, excited to greet his dog uncles.

“Hey, happy Sunday!” announced Penguin, pulling you in for a hug as if he hadn’t seen you in months.  You laughed, hugging him back.

“Come in, sit at the table,” you ushered, quickly closing the door behind them.  Bepo followed the two men directly on their heels until they sat at the kitchen table.

You sat directly across from them and folded your hands, resting them on the table.  You stared at Shachi, then at Penguin, then at Bepo’s beady eyes trying to peer over the top of the table.

The silence was palpable, but you were barely containing your smile.  

You had just opened your mouth to make the announcement when Shachi’s brown eyes went wide and he uttered, “You’re pregnant.”

Penguin stood up in a startled bolt.  “WHAT?!”

“Shachi!  I wanted to say it!” you chastised, but you really couldn’t care less.  The excitement of even being able to tell your friends that, after countless months of trying to conceive, you had finally done it.  “But, yes, I’m pregnant.”  Your smile was all teeth, your eyes creasing.  You were truly elated.

Shachi sprinted from around the table to scoop you into a hug.  Penguin followed suit, squeezing you in between them as he cheered for you.

“I’m so happy for you, seriously so happy!” Penguin announced, his own smile reaching his eyes.  “Oh my god, are we going to be uncles?”

You nodded.  “Uncle Shachi and Uncle Penguin.”

Shachi squealed, a sound akin to a school girl getting a love letter from her crush.  “We’re going to be uncles!  Uncles, Penguin!”

“You know,” Penguin began, finally releasing you from his embrace.  “I always thought that pregnancy announcements were kinda weird, like, ‘Hey, we fucked and procreated!  Get hype!’  But now I can see why it’s so exciting.”

You felt your face warm with his words, but there was barely anything to hide from the two of them.  Hell, back in your undergrad days Shachi walked in on you and Law actively having sex.  Playing naive to the situation was simply juvenile.

Shachi was laughing.  “Holy shit, this is seriously incredible.  Do you know how far along you are?”

You shook your head.  “Honestly, no.  I can guess no more than four weeks, but I had to call my doctor again to inform them and get a quicker appointment, so I’ll find out more next week!”

The three of you, much to Bepo’s relief, settled down after that.  You sneakily grabbed your phone from the counter, ending the video with a smirk, excited to send it to Law.  Sitting back down, you began discussing the logistics of the matter.

“Trust me, Law and I have been thoroughly prepared for the day this might happen.  He has a plan in place for every possible situation,” you explained.  “If you want proof, I can get his notebook.”

The two men shook their heads in rapid succession.

“I believe you one hundred percent,” muttered Penguin.  “That sounds like Law, all right.”

You laughed.  “It’s definitely odd, but it makes me feel a lot better.  I know at least one of us is at least slightly prepared for any potential situation.  He has an entire page dedicated to our genetic history.”

Shachi snorted.  “Are you serious?”

You nodded confidently.  “Dead serious.”

Penguin leaned forward on his elbows, genuinely interested.  “Any horrific genetic mutations?”

“A 25% chance of colorblindness if we have a son.  How horrifying!” you stated, joking sarcastically at the prospect of a colorblind child, which, obviously, would not be life ruining at all.

Shachi scratched his chin.  “Did Law get genetic testing?  Considering, you know, the whole orphan thing.”

You nodded once more.  “He actually got genetic testing a few years ago.  He wanted to know if he was predisposed to degenerative diseases, so he got an entire genetic evaluation done.”

“He did that just because?”

“Yup.”

Penguin groaned.  “That guy is so fucking weird sometimes.”

You chuckled.  “He might be, but clearly having that information makes him a bit more secure!  And at least we know he’s unlikely to develop muscle or neural degeneration when he gets old.”

“He’s rubbing off on you,” Shachi muttered.

“That’s what happens when you’re married to a doctor,” you groaned back.

Your conversation carried on for well over an hour, jumping from your pregnancy to the latest college basketball game that, according to Shachi, ended in an ‘upset so bad I swore I pissed my pants.’  The afternoon was flying by, and for the first time in months, you truly felt happy.

—

Law took a long sip of his lukewarm coffee as he hunched over his desk, computer in front of him with a long report only halfway done with being written.  Earlier in the day, his unit had dispatched a child to the nearby children’s hospital with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia that lead to near-heart failure, and, due to the fact that his hospital’s cardiology ward had yet to see such a case, Law was left to write the report.

His fingers were quickly starting to cramp up as his eyes consistently glazed over the words ‘adrenaline induced arrhythmia.’  He could almost feel himself start to nod off until his phone buzzed beside him.  His face immediately lifted when his screen illuminated with your name and an incoming text message.

Wifey

Telling them went well, Im sending the video!  Miss you, see you later tonight!!!

Wifey

Also, let me know if you want something for dinner, Im not in the mood to cook but I can get takeout for when you get home

Wifey

[One new Video message]

Wifey

Also, can you stop by the pharmacy and grab a small bottle of toilet cleaner on your way back???  Thank you, I love you!!! <333

Law smiled, reaching for his phone and unlocking it to open his texts and view the recording.  His grin never ceased as he watched Shachi and Penguin, his two best friends since childhood, embrace you in pure excitement as you announced the incredible news.  He truly felt so lucky to have those two in his life and have them welcome his wife into their little family as easily as they had done to Law all those years ago.  Seeing the three of them interact made it seem like they had also been friends since 13 years old.

“Law, how’s that report coming along?”  A sudden voice behind him made him close his phone and lay it face-down on the desk.

“Hey, Chopper, it’s… it’s going,” Law responded blankly.  

The younger doctor, Dr. Tony, pulled up a seat alongside Law to scan the very rough draft of his colleague’s report.  The kid (relative to Law’s self-described ‘ancient age’) was a genius by definition, whizzing through medical school at the top of his class and joining Law’s cardiology ward on his rotation before finally graduating residency and joining his unit as a permanent member.  While he wasn’t a surgeon like Law was, he was an incredible asset in terms of diagnosing and effectively treating the various ailments presented to their team.  The young doctor was a hidden master with pharmaceuticals, but liked treating patients in-person more than standing behind a lab counter compounding pills.

Law still had no idea where he got the nickname ‘Chopper’ from, however.  He didn’t even know his real name, that wasn’t his surname ‘Tony.’  Oh well, topic for another time.

“Hey, are there any definitive studies about the percentage of children diagnosed with CPVT?” Chopper asked, pulling Law’s attention away from his own thoughts.  “It’s quite troubling that that child was rapidly approaching heart failure.  You said he hadn’t been diagnosed formally with that disease until today, right?”

“That’s right,” Law clarified.  “It’s thought to be an inherited cardiac disorder, passed down genetically.  My theory is that all of that child’s former experience with exercise was chalked up to asthma or something similar, until it was almost too late.”  Law’s voice was always so calm and collected, despite discussing the near-death experience of a child no older than 10.  In his mind, dealing with the lives and deaths of patients was part of the job.

Chopper hummed, his eyebrows knitted with concern.  “Poor thing, I’m happy he was sent to the children’s hospital, though.  They have much better medicine for him there.”

“Agreed,” Law replied, nodding his head.

“Anyway,” Chopper piped up.  “I came by to see if you wanted something from the break room.  I’m getting a protein bar.”

Law tossed a faint smile to his colleague.  “Sure, I’ll have those unsalted pretzels.”

“Unsalted?” the younger man asked.

“Unsalted,” Law affirmed.

Any passing comment about how truly strange Law could be on occasion was brushed aside as Chopper left the small office area and proceeded to the break room for the aforementioned snacks.  Law was still pretty tired, but he hoped the light refreshment would help him power through the rest of his shift so he could go home and cuddle with you in his warm bed.

His eyes glanced over his report once more before opening a new tab on the computer and filing through the hospital’s research database.  He bit the inside of his cheek, reading a few abstracts about the rare condition.  He ran through his memory of his own genetic testing, as well as the genetic testing he had you do in the genealogy clinic before starting to try to conceive.  Neither of you had preexisting or a predisposed risk of heart conditions, which was one of Law’s biggest concerns.  Although he could breathe a sigh of relief in that aspect, he had a nagging feeling in his gut that something wasn’t quite right.

[redandbrown]

Seducing Hermione Granger

Chapter 2

Rating: Mature, although not as bad as next one 😉

Hermione felt exhausted. Well why shouldn’t she? After all, they just fought a battle yesterday, and here she was less than twenty four hours later helping to rebuild the north outer wall of Hogwarts.

She tried bitterly to ignore the ache between her legs, and refused to acknowledge her exhaustion might have to do with her vigorous activities with Ron last night.

Ron for his part seemed unable to face her at the moment. And honestly who could blame him? They had just spent the most important night of their lives together, and all the memories were his alone.

This morning after a very filling breakfast (the house elves had really outdone themselves), Ron had stood up first, and without looking her or Harry in the eyes, announced he would be working in Hufflepuff dungeon today. Wordlessly, he left the great hall, leaving Harry to look to her for an explanation.

Thankfully Harry’s questioning looks rarely turned into actual questions when it came to her and Ron. So Hermione steered the conversation in another direction and in half an hour, they were outside in a crew of five, magically lifting the enormous boulders off the ground, and slowly rebuilding the north wall.

Maybe Madam Pomfrey could fix her memory loss, she pondered to herself. Or at least help her figure out what had caused it.

As the morning moved into noon she felt herself growing impatient. She was angry.

“Harry I need a break,” she said curtly.

Harry nodded in acknowledgement and Hermione headed back inside.

***

“Ms. Granger, you are the fourth person this morning to report memory loss. Most likely an errant curse or an ill timed prank. It’s not that I’m not concerned, or willing to help, but I must tend to the more injured at the moment. St. Mungo’s is at capacity, and so am I, I’m afraid. Be grateful you are still standing,” Madame Pomfrey explained to her before hurrying to the bedside of a groaning student.

Hermione’s shoulders slumped in defeat, but as she turned to walk away Madam Pomfrey called to her, “If it hasn’t resolved itself in three days come back and see me. I should have more free time to treat you then.”

***

Hermione entered the Great Hall and headed towards the Gryffindor table. She sandwiched herself between Luna and Neville. Ron was sitting opposite her, but she was still too embarrassed to do much more than glance at him. Ginny had her arm entwined with Harry’s, Hermione noted, sitting as close together as they could.

Ron pushed a plate already loaded with food into her field of vision. She had been staring down at the table she realized, but she finally looked up to see him properly since this morning.

“Eat up,” he told her. “You barely touched your breakfast.”

“I’m not really hungry.”

Ron regarded her while chewing his sandwich. He grabbed her cup and filled it with pumpkin juice.

“All the same, you need to eat,” he insisted, putting the cup back down in front of her.

He grabbed a small pastry off the food tray and put it on her plate as well. Hermione eyed it curiously.

“Try it. You might like it,” he encouraged her.

Hermione obliged him and to her surprise, it was delicious.

Ron saw the delight on her face, and smiled at her.

“Good, huh?”

“Yes! What an unusual combination. I never would have thought to try that.”

Ron glanced around to see if anybody was listening to their conversation before leaning towards her and telling her in a low voice, “Maybe I know what you like.”

Hermione froze mid chew and gulped her food down quickly, praying she wouldn’t choke on it.

Ron smirked and gave her a quick wink before sitting back in his chair like nothing had happened.

“How’s the north wall looking?” He asked Harry.

“Another two days of work maybe? What’s going on in Hufflepuff house?”

“The Death Eaters destroyed their common room,” Luna interjected.

“And dug several secret tunnels from outside the perimeters,” Neville added.

“We’ve spent most of the morning filling them in,” Ron finished explaining. “Nearly done though.”

“Yeah? Come join us when you’re finished,” Harry told him.

“Yeah, alright, mate. We’ll be there.”

“I’m done,” Hermione announced.

Ron glanced at her plate. “Hang on, then. You barely touched your sandwich.”

“Maybe I just need to work up an appetite first,” she replied, looking at him pointedly.

Ron stared at her and pumpkin juice dribbled out of his mouth. He jumped and reached for a napkin.

“Bye, Ron,” she said in a sing song voice and returned his wink.

Did she really just say that?? Who was she? Well she might not remember what happened between them last night, but that didn’t mean her feelings for him had diminished in any way.

As far as she was concerned they still had unfinished business.

“Harry, I know you need the help, but I really must head to the library. I’ll meet you at the north wall later?”

“Sure, yeah.”

Ron was still eyeing her as she climbed over the bench and left the Great Hall.

***

Hermione walked into the Hogwarts library and inhaled deeply. How she had missed this place! It still thankfully smelled the same as she remembered it and seemed to luckily be unscathed from the battle.

She quickly headed to the aisle where she knew the best curse breaking references to be. Maybe she didn’t need Madam Pomfrey for this. Maybe she could break this spell herself. She was certainly willing to try.

After loading her arms with books she headed to her favorite table. Nobody was in there, not even Madam Pince, it seemed.

Hermione felt her chair being yanked away from the table.

“Hey! What do you think you’re do-

Ron plopped down in the chair next to hers. Leaning forward, he reached between her legs and grabbed her chair under the seat, pulling it right in front of him. His face was so close, she could feel his breath on hers.

“Did you mean what you said this morning? Did you really forget everything last night?”

“Ron, yes! I wouldn’t lie to you about that.”

Ron looked down at the floor. “So this isn’t about regretting what we did together? ‘Cause it if it is, just tell me now, Hermione. I can take it.”

Hermione’s heart dropped. She grabbed his face and made him look at her.

“Ron, whatever we got up to last night, I know I meant it. I may not remember it, but I never forgot how I feel about you. That kiss during the battle- I’ve waited years to kiss you like that-

“Years?”

“Yes! Years!” She laughed. “Ron, I- well, I want you, and I want my memories back.”

Ron studied her face for a moment. She knew he was trying to decide whether to trust her words or not. Why was it so hard for him to believe that she wanted him?

“Why didn’t you go to Madam Pomfrey, then? She could have set you right.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “I did, Ron! This morning. She can’t see me right now. She’s too busy taking care of injured students from the battle.”

“Well, you are injured,” he countered.

Where was he going with this?

“I lost my memory, Ronald. I didn’t lose my legs!”

“Who lost their legs?!” He asked alarmed.

“Nobody! I’m just making a point that a memory curse isn’t the end of the world.”

Ok this was getting ridiculous. Why was he so infuriating?! Hermione stood up and glared at him.

“Why are you here, Ronald?”

Ron too stood up to tower over her.

“Stop calling me Ronald! I came here to check on you.”

“I don’t need you to check on me. I can take care of myself! I’ll figure out why I lost my memory on my own, then I’ll fix it! I don’t need Madam Pomfrey, and I don’t need you to check on me!”

“Oh yes, I forgot, Hermione, the girl genius, doesn’t need help from anybody. Let me just get out of your way, then. Wouldn’t want my dumbness to rub off on you.”

“Oh honestly, Ronald!”

“Stop calling me Ronald!”

“Or what?”

Suddenly Ron reached around her, grabbed her ass and lifted her up to drop her onto the table. He leaned in until he was eye level with her and only a few inches from her face.

“Or else I’ll shag that attitude right out of you.”

Hermione’s eyes got wide for a fraction of second before adopting a saccharine sweet smile and batting her eye lashes at him.

“Must not have been that good,” she cheeked. “I don’t even remember it.”

Ron’s mouth fell open and Hermione took the opportunity to quickly slide off the table and walk away from him.

She didn’t get far before Ron’s strong arm hooked around her waist and pulled her to him.

She let out a squeal of laughter.

Ron spun her around and grinned at her before he backed her up to the nearest bookcase.

He ran his thumb across her bottom lip and leaned in to kiss her softly. Hermione felt her stomach do a flip.

“Is that the best you’ve got, Ronald?” She egged him on.

Ron gave her a sexy lopsided grin, before leaning in again. He bit her bottom lip and when she let out a soft “oh” in surprise, he used the opportunity to slide his tongue across hers, while pushing in closer to her body, letting her feel exactly what she was doing to him.

He pulled back and gave her a look she’d never seen before. He looked like he wanted to devour her. She wondered if he had looked at her like that last night.

“How’s that, you cheeky witch?”

It was Hermione’s turn to grin. She ran her hand over the stubble on his chin, taking in his long nose and square jaw. She couldn’t remember ever being more attracted to anybody in her life. She looked up to see his blue eyes watching her.

“That’s quite enough of that!” Came a shrill voice from over Ron’s shoulder.

Ron and Hermione looked in unison to see Madam Pince standing there glaring at them sternly.

“Oh calm down you old bird! We’re not even students anymore, and we just won a war. I just wanna kiss my girl in peace. Is that too much to ask?”

Madam Pince started shaking violently and turned a deep shade of red.

“Why you insolent-

Hermione quickly stepped around Ron.

“We’re leaving, Madam Pince,” she assured the elderly librarian.

Madam Pince regarded Hermione for a moment before wordlessly turning on her heel and walking away.

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (French, 1780 - 1867) Oedipus and the Sphinx, 1808 National Gallery, London Oedipus, a figure from Greek mythology, stands nude and in profile before the Sphinx, who guards the entrance to the ancient city of Thebes. The Sphinx – a monster with the face, head and shoulders of a woman, a lion’s body, and bird’s wings – asks Oedipus to solve the riddle she poses to all travellers seeking to enter the city: ‘What has a voice and walks on all fours in the morning, on two at noon, and on three in the evening?’ Oedipus correctly answers that it is man who crawls on all fours as a child, walks on two legs as an adult, and uses a walking stick as a third leg in old age. The bones of a previous traveller, killed by the Sphinx for having failed to solve the riddle, lie at the bottom of the picture. Thebes is visible in the distance on the right.

The theme of a monster defeated by human intelligence clearly appealed to Ingres. The picture also complements another of his paintings, Angelica saved by Ruggierro, which shows a chivalrous knight attacking a sea monster to save a princess. But this is also a painting of a man facing his destiny, as Oedipus’s actions will lead him to become King of Thebes, as the oracle predicted at his birth, and to unknowingly marry his own mother, Jocasta. This unwitting tragedy and its consequences is the drama of Oedipus Rex, the middle play of Sophocles' Theban Plays.

This painting is a later, and smaller, version of one painted in 1808 and subsequently reworked in 1827 (Louvre, Paris). The first version of Oedipus and the Sphinx was essentially a figure study that Ingres painted while studying at the French Academy in Rome. It was sent to Paris to be judged by members of the Institut de France. As required by the Institut’s rules, the figure of Oedipus was based upon a live model, although the pose was derived from the classical statue, Hermes Fastening his Sandal (Louvre), a Roman marble copy of a lost Greek bronze. Oedipus’s body is presented as an arrangement of geometrical shapes; for example, the triangle formed by his left arm, thigh and chest is mirrored and inverted by his left upper arm and forearm. The use of profile for both Oedipus and the Sphinx, together with the shallow space in much of the picture, recalls classical friezes and ancient Greek vases, which Ingres used as the sources for his deliberately classical artistic style.

[tdciago]

Fargo: Oedipus and the Sphinx

"The Greek sphinx had a woman’s face and breasts, a lion’s body, and a bird’s wings."

"The legendary Greek prince Oedipus confronts the malevolent Sphinx, who torments travelers with a riddle: What creature walks on four legs in the morning,

two legs at noon,

and three legs in the evening?

Remains of victims who answered incorrectly litter the foreground. (The solution is the human, who crawls as a baby, strides upright in maturity, and uses a cane in old age.)"

[neoyorzapoteca]

Myth Originally published in Breaking Open (1973) Long afterward, Oedipus, old and blinded, walked the roads.       He smelled a familiar smell.       It was the Sphinx.       Oedipus said, “I want to ask one question. Why didn’t I recognize my mother?”        “You gave the wrong answer,” said the Sphinx.      “But that was what made everything possible,” said Oedipus.     “No,” she said. “When I asked, What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening, you answered, Man.      You didn’t say anything about woman.” “When you say Man,” said Oedipus, “you include women too. Everyone knows that.”       She said, “That’s what you think.”

Myth - The Muriel Rukeyser Living Archive

[mythological-art]

Oedipus and the Sphinx

Artist: Gustave Moreau (French, 1826 - 1898)

Date: 1864

Style: Symbolism

Genre: Mythological Painting

Media: Oil on Canvas

Collection: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY

Oedipus and the Sphinx

The legendary Greek prince Oedipus confronts the malevolent Sphinx, who torments travelers with a riddle: What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening? Remains of victims who answered incorrectly litter the foreground. (The solution is the human, who crawls as a baby, strides upright in maturity, and uses a cane in old age.) Moreau made his mark with this painting at the Paris Salon of 1864. Despite the growing prominence of depictions of everyday life, he portrayed biblical, mythological, and imagined stories. His otherworldly imagery inspired many younger artists and writers, including Odilon Redon and Oscar Wilde.

[x22817]

The bestest Bean in the world!!! I can not describe how much I love this Bean.

If you want to listen to me brag about how awesome she is and how much I love her, you may continue reading.

My father is visiting me this weekend, so we went into town for the first time since my adrenal failure four months ago. Hek blew me away with how well she behaved! There were so many dogs (even a few three-legged dogs) that walked by and tried to sniff her, and even more little kids trying to pat her everywhere we went today. It was a Farmer's Market Saturday, so of course it was ridiculously busy, lol

First, we sat outside my favorite coffee shop for several hours. We were a block away from the heart of the Farmers Market, so we got to watch all the excitement! I got to throw lots of treats in her mouth because I wanted to. I'm so happy I brought them! I didn't know if I would need them, and I really didn't, but she was so good I wanted to reward her for being such a perfect Bean.

After I finished my tea, I actually felt well enough to get some sushi. We walked to a restaurant two blocks away in a surprisingly tight heel. I haven't worked with her on anything other than a loose leash heel in what feels like forever. I just haven't cared to. She does a loose heel walking past people on our walks, but that's it. It was pet friendly, and there was another pup on the patio where we sat, so I took her vest off and let her relax.

Throughout our morning, Hek alerted me to my dropping cortisol, then to tell me it was time to take my noon dose and multiple self harming anxiety tics I do. Sometimes, I'm an idiot. I didn't listen to her cortisol alert the first time she got up. The second time, she planted herself in my lap and licked my face until I took the hint. She's persistent, that's for sure!

After not being out in public in a long ass time, and then jumping back into the thick of it...I couldn't be more proud!

(I only took one picture of her the whole damn day, and I'm a little disappointed in myself)

[poke-irs-real]

What do you call a pokemon that walks with three legs in the morning, two in the high noon, and four in the evening?

a kinda messed up spider

[indecentpause]

In the Lion’s Teeth: Chapter Eight

cw: drugs, needles

When you wake up, you're still relaxed, but not so drugged up. You can walk steadily again, you can form a coherent sentence - in English, now - and you can keep your eyes open and focus.

School starts in six days. Six days to figure out a regimen that keeps you functional, but not high. The first day you start with two half milligram doses, eight hours apart. By the end of the day you're a stumbling, incoherent mess, unable to keep your eyes open or your body steady.

You cut back the second day, one quarter of a milligram, eight hours apart. Nothing. Not even a vague sense of calm. You're a fucking mess, again, but the kind you're used to being. That night you and Mitch smoke a lot of weed so you can get yourself calm enough to sleep.

The third day you start with a half milligram in the morning to get you going and move on to a quarter eight hours later. It's a little better, but there's too much time between doses. You can't maintain. You start coming down, and it's just a glimpse of what your life will be like if you don't get your shit together.

Finally, on the fourth day, you get down to the clean needle exchange in Boston, because if you keep up this much use by snorting you're going to start getting some kind of damage in your sinuses, and fuck, even if you wouldn't, it hurts like hell. Because of the trip you don't get your first dose until almost noon, rather than six a.m. You're shaking so badly that you almost can't shoot yourself, and there's no way in hell you're going to try to stick a vein like this. You shoot in the leg, in the muscle, another half milligram, and this time, the rush hits you instantly, so much harder than you're used to. But it wears off about an hour sooner, too, and at the rate you're going you're probably going to have to bump it up to three doses a day if you're going to keep yourself steady. You might have to start hopping between the Boston and Cambridge needle exchanges. You don't want them to see your face there too often.

The fifth day, you start with a half-milligram at six a.m. Six hours later, a quarter. Another quarter four hours after that. A joint at night to keep the worst of the crash at bay. It's not ideal, but you're not walking around off your face all day, you can focus, you can work, and your nerves stay steady, your mood stays stable, and your mind stays quiet.

On day six, you go through it one more time, to make sure it wasn't just a fluke. It wasn't. On day seven, you're ready to go back to class and face the world again, and it's the easiest it's ever been.

Read chapter eight on Ao3 here!

Or, if you have a wattpad account, you can read it there!

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Let me know if you want to be added or removed from this particular list!

Updates Tuesdays and Fridays.

[pandabibble]

Literally just realised that in the original greek, when the sphinx asked Oedipus "what walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening" oedipus would have replied with just...

"HOMO"

[echantedtoon]

Love Doesn't Do Encores Ch32 The New Problem

It was like deja vu all OVER again!

Like you were panicking traveling as fast as you could to Turrfield after Hop like when you were chasing the guys all the way to Hammerlocke. Only this time instead of chasing all three of them it was you AND Victor chasing after Hop who thought it'd be a good idea to chase after two thieves by himself. Gosh. When you finally caught up to him he was in SO much trouble!! On the way there Victor was able to go into more depth of what happened between them and the Swordward and Shielbert  brothers....Yes. SWORDWARD and SHIELBERT. Those were the brothers' names. Strange names to match their stranger hair. But at least you knew their names. As the time passed, you let Victor talk and tried to calm the worried guy while trying to not worry too much yourself. His rotomi phone almost constantly on his regional maps marking the closest train station to Turrfield as he almost worriedly stared at it every five minutes. And before you knew it a whole day had passed and then another one after that. Well two days turned into three and three turned into day four as the two of you were sitting there. It was hard for the both of you to fall asleep and ...Now just traveling with just Victor you noticed just how much different he was from Hop or his twin. Now you see Hop and Gloria both had similar personalities concerning a few things. Both were extremely competitive, quick to jump ahead, upbeat, etc. But both were different as well. Hop was smarter, not to say that the twins WEREN'T smart, but with all the knowledge he constantly spat out and in game he became Sonia's assistant he obviously was the brainiac of the trio he was also more confident than them in some places. Gloria was more timid with larger crowds, outspoken, and temperamental. Victor was like a timid mix between the two to keep balance. He was outspoken about his opinions and from what you've seen when he battled Oleana was protective over those he cared about. Which is why he was so worried and on edge now about Hop but he'd rather sit back and let everyone else talk and just listen. He was also the more patient, quiet, and rational thinking of the three. ..True since Hop and Gloria tended to have a habit of just rushing off or forgetting things. Sigh. You really needed to have a talk with Hop about running off like that. You all traveled and traveled AND traveled until one day early in the morning Victor woke you up by shaking your shoulder. You both had arrived at the nearest train station closest to Turffield. Exiting the train, you both made your way through the still dark night as Victor tiredly but confidently pulled his rotomi phone out from his pocket and quickly pulled up his regional maps. In the dark he pointed off down a dark pathway before speaking. 

"Turffield's just down thatta way for a couple hours. If we go now an' speed walk, we SHOULD get there by noon time."

You nodded. "Alright. Let's leg it then and get there. If we're lucky then Hop won't be too far ahead considering he left just a few hours before we did."

Victor agreed and with the sun slowly peeking over the edge of the horizon you both sped walked down the path way following his regional maps. If you were lucky then maybe you'd run into Hop soon. Honestly..You didn't know WHY you knew he went this way but you were pretty sure he was on his way to Turffield as well. The dark soon turned into light as morning came and you both continued walking and walking and WALKING. Through the morning and if you weren't so used to walking by now with how much traveling you've done the last year or so, you would've been tired by now. But eventually you two came upon a large hill naturally walking up it until you reached the top and looking out you saw it. The town of Turffield just a little bit away, looking just the way it did when you first saw it last year. You could see the distant gleam of the metal stadium in the spring sun. And you two would've ran down the hill then and there if it weren't for one thing. A rumble that shook the ground and hand both of you and Silver wobbling around in a quake that could only result from one thing. A dynamaxed pokemon. Wha- Was someone battling at the stadium!? From far away in the stadium's direction a loud cry sounded out as the two of you managed to stay up. 

"What the bloody heck was THAT?!," Victor cried reaching up to fix his beanie hat.

"I don't know." You pointed towards the town ahead. "But it came from Turffield." You motioned for him to follow you. "Come on! We're going there anyways so let's check it out!"

You both basically ran/sped walked as fast as you both could towards the town of Turffield and all the while there was the occasional shaking and loud godzilla like noise that lit up the sky or shook the ground slowing you down a bit before you got back on your momentum. Soon enough the both of you were there. Panting and breathing heavily at the beginning of Turrfield. Finally. Looking around you both noticed that the town was pretty much quiet and dead with no one walking around. Strange. But you had no time to think about that now as you looked around.

"W-Where now?!"

You shook your head. "I don't know. You know Hop better than m-me. If you were him where would you go from here?"

Victor still panting looked around the town as a look of thought crossed over his face, mind whirling with the thought of 'What would Hop do' playing through his mind. His light brown eyes landed on the stadium ahead. "H-He'd go ta the person with most authority for help but Lee ain't here." He pointed ahead. "So he'd head ta the Gym Leader!"

You nodded. "Good idea! There's a chance he might've gone there anyways if he heard those weird noises too! C'mon!" You started stepping again. "We don't have any time to lose!"

Victor was quick to run after you down the hill as you both ran towards the stadium until before you know it you were both at the doors. They opened thankfully with a whoosh noise letting the two of you walk in and look around.  The place looked how you'd expect with two gigantic white couches for waiting in, a giant screen TV above the wall, two booth like places, a door that must've lead to the trainer locker rooms, and dead ahead of you was another bigger door that must've lead to the gym's battle field with a long green carpet leading up to it. Two golden statues of some pokemon sat on either side of the door and no one besides you two were inside the building. ...Well no one except the two gym leaders right in front of you. Your eyes had laser focused on the two of them who had their backs towards you seeming to discuss something very important. Turffield's Gym Leader Milo and-....You blinked. Hey. IT WAS HOT PINK! Piers in all his black and white haired glory stood there next to Milo talking to the man and gesturing to the door. Without hesitation you both jogged up to them calling out to them.

"Hey! Mr. Milo!"

They both turned around and Piers spoke. "Hm? You're-..." He stopped. Blue eyes widening and body freezing seeing YOU of all people running towards the two of them. 

Milo however was just confused turning to the two of you just as you and Victor stopped in front of them and held up his hands. "H-Hey! I'm sorry but you two can't be here right now. We're in a bit of an emergency we have to take care of."

"Hey, Hot Pink," you greeted Piers with a smile towards Piers who after a moment eventually sighed and shook his head. 

"Hah. How carefree can you be? There's an emergency goin' on 'ere and you're bargin' in here like ya own the place."

"Hey. We just got here actually...And what the heck is going on anyways?"

"I was actually in the middle of an exhibition match with Piers," Milo explained making you all look at him. "But then this dynamax pokemon came charging in out of no where. In was like a third party just dynamaxed a wild pokemon and sicked it on us in there. Very strange."

Both you and Victor looked at one another. A random dynamax pokemon just bolting into the gym? THAT didn't sound good. Or just a coincidence with what Sonia mentioned about strange readings from Turffield. What was going on around here?

"The audience and staff already took shelter," Piers spoke making you look at him, "It was too dangerous to keep anyone in the stadium while that thing was rampagin'. Which begs the question why are the two of you 'ere? It's like every time there's trouble you're not far behind."

You went to go answer him and maybe ask if either of them had seen any trace of Hop, but before you could there was another shake followed by a loud cry that you both had heard on your way there but now being much closer it had everyone shaking and holding their arms out to avoid getting tripped up and falling to the ground before it stopped again with you all wobbling but standing thankfully. WHAT. WAS. THAT!? Was that the dynamax pokemon they mentioned before? Must've been. What else could've made that noise and rumble? You couldn't ask them anything yet before the door in front of the gym leaders opened and someone stepped out in front of them.

"I got everyone who was seated on the north side of the stadium evacuated!," a familiar voice panted out, making you two look up, "You must've heard right? More dynamax pokemon are running amok!" 

"Much obliged, Hop!," Milo thanked the boy in front of him, "I'd expect nothing left from a gym challenger. I knew we could count on you!"

"I lost in the semifinals though-"

"HOP!!" Milo yelped as he was shoved aside and you pushed past him in order to see Hop. And sure enough he was right there. Startling he had jumped back from you shoving your way in front of him and he blinked.  

"Ah! ....Y/n? ACK!"

You grabbed him by the shoulders. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!? Don't you realize how dangerous that was chasing after thieves by yourself!? I thought we were done doing that after the Hammerlocke fiasco! You had us scared half to freaking death!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!," he apologized holding up his hands with a wince, "I just-...I couldn't let them get away with the stolen shield!"

.....You sighed. "It's...ok. But you are NOT doing that again! We don't know what those guys are capable of. Promise?" He nodded and you sighed again letting your hands lift from his shoulder. "Good." Thank Arceus he was ok. That was the most important part. "What are you even doing here?"

"I chased those red and blue guys and saw them head into Turffield Stadium," Hop explained to you still with that apologetic face, "The I heard the uproar and there was no way I could leave it alone! I had to help out.'' He did that family move of rubbing the back of his neck. "So..er...Sorry. I lost sight of them in all the rush."

Those guys with the crazy hair were here? What the world were they doing here?

Milo hummed with a frown. "Those suspicious characters you saw are concerning. But for now, I think we should get this dynamax pokemon to settle down first." He then turned to Victor who blinked. "I'd be glad for your help against a tough looking opponent though. You mind lending a hand?" Victor who seemed surprised ...but nodded. "Alright! Then let's head to the pitch!"

"I'll lend a hand too," Piers jabbed in, "I don't blame the pokemon 'f course, but I'm still just a bit miffed they upstaged me." He then paused before looking over at Hop who blinked at him. "You come too, Bro Of The Champion." 

He blinked. "Huh? Who me?" He pointed at himself and Piers nodded. He immediately gave a face and held up his hands. "I don't know how much I can really help. ...If I come along.." He slowly lowered his hands looking down. "I might just end up slowing the rest of you down."

"Aren't ya the one who beat me in one single go?" 

Hop blinked looking back up at Piers and you looked at him too a bit confused. "Uh...What?"

"I said...Didn't ya beat me back in the gym challenge in one try?" ..Confused Hop nodded. "An' ya were one of the only three trainers good enough to get into the semifinals in the first place and defeat multiple gym leaders. Right?" Hop nodded again and Piers hummed. "Hm. I'd say that makes you pretty capable o' bein' in battle. I don't really know the guy, but I don't think Leon'd be all lost about this. Though he does actually get lost a lot..." You and Hop both stared wide eyed at the rockstar because...Did Piers literally just compliment Hop over Leon's experience in this?? He turned giving a gesture to the door you assumed lead into the stadium. "You comin'?"

"Uh.....OK!" Hop smiled a little agreeing.

"Right!," You agreed with a nod. You guys had to calm down that pokemon by the looks of it. "Let's get this show on the road."

"Y/n? Are ya sure?" You turned to Victor who gave a worried face. You guessed your confusion must've shown because he pointed at you. "Ye said you've never been in a battle before. Dontcha think this..I dunno...Might be a bad idea to do as you're first experience battlin'?"

Piers paused...and slowly looked to you as you shook your head at Victor. "Well..maybe not but Silver has battle experience from you guys borrowing him all those times. I'm sure if I just give him a few basic directions he can improvise the rest. What choice do we have?"

"You can just let us take care o' it. M' sure between us and the gym leaders, we'll bring that pokemon down faster than Milo's wooloo bowlin' ya over."

You frowned a little bit at the memory of that before saying. "Victor, I'll be fine. I'm going to help-"

"The bloody HECK you are!" You practically jumped whirling around and coming face to face with Piers who frowned deeply at you with narrowed eyes. "That's blatantly puttin' your pokemon in danger if you're seriously under-experienced and a good way to get in someone's way an' put everyone at risk!" he shook his head ponytails swaying. "And ya never 'ave been in a battle before? NO. No, no! This!" His hands came up to gesture between you and the door. "Is not happenin'. Too many risks. Especially with youngins."

You scowled back at him hands on your hips. "Piers! I'm tired of standing on the sidelines while everyone else does all the hard work around here! I want to HELP!"

"You can help by standing here and keeping watch?," Victor suggested.

"Yeah! If those weird haired guys are still around, we'll need someone to keep a look out for them just in case they try to slip away when we're not looking!," Hop piped up happily.

Piers pointed at him like he agreed. "We'll there ya go! Problem solved! You're not going in there!" He gestured at you almost annoyed. "You already had a hurt shoulder an' landed yourself in the hospital within a year. Take it easy on yourself and keep watch 'ere."

You deepened your frown. "You can't tell me what to do! Besides you're not the gym leader here! Unless Milo says I can't I'm going in! If you want me to stay here then you can make me!"

Milo, Victor, and Hop all looked at one another. Piers blinked CLEARLY taken aback at what you said eyes widening before his face...calmed?? He sighed through his nose and his head tilted at you. "....What?"

"I said if you don't want me in there you'll have to make me!" And he couldn't! He wasn't in charge of the gym here.

Piers and you stared at one another for a long moment..before he just casually shrugged. "M'kay." And he suddenly leaned down which confused you. 

"What are you- EEEEEEKKK!?" 

A girly high pitched squeal left you as all of a sudden two arms wrapped around your middle body, one around your lower back and the other around the back of your legs. In one hard pull, you fell forward and your body fell against another person's shoulder and back and you went up, up, up! And you found yourself in the embarrassing situation of having been literally thrown over Piers's shoulder by Piers himself. He easily lifted your entire weight as he stood up and held you firmly enough to keep you from fighting back before he began walking off towards one of the couches Milo following behind.

"P-PIERS!?," you shouted voice nearly cracking. Your face EXPLODED RED from the sheer embarrassment of it all. Your hands flew to grab the back of his signature white jacket he wore to help keep balance as you shouted. "P-PUT ME DOWN!! IM PRETTY SURE YOU CAN'T DO THIS!!"

"Ya said to make you n' I am. I don't think I want ta see you hurt again if I can prevent it,'' he replied back calmly much to your annoyance.

"What do you mean!? I have to help protect them!"

"I'll make sure they're both fine. YOU jus' need to take it easy for a bit."

"Wha- OOF!" You stopped when you were suddenly leaned forward and harmlessly dropped back down onto the couch staring at him as he leaned back up to his usual slouched over height as he still looked down at you completely still calm.

"PLEASE." He held up his hands. "Stay here. I seriously don't want to see you hurt anymore, and frankly...I'm going to prevent anyone from gettin' hurt. You need ta stay here and stay safe." You opened your mouth but stopped when he gently grabbed your shoulder. "I'm not lettin' anyone get hurt.Especially you."

You sat there silent for a moment before he felt confident enough you wouldn't follow before he turned and walked back towards the two boys who were waiting for him leaving you there stunned before Milo spoke.

"Don't worry," you looked at him as he assured you, "Piers might look scary, but he's great at looking after others. He's a big brother after all. And to be fair it would be probably safer for you in you stayed here too. I promise it won't take too long."....You sighed leaning back into your seat at his response. "Alright. We should get going too. I'll bring those kids back to you as soon as the battle's over. Ok?"

"...Thanks, Mr. Milo. Appreciate it."

He smiled at you before turning and you watched them all go into the stadium after Piers one after the other before the door closed behind them...and you flopped back against the couch. MAN. All you wanted to do was help but-.....Sigh. But Piers made some good points. You never battled before outside video games and you had no experience on the battle field yourself. You couldn't risk making a mistake like that. So...You must sat there with Silver who hoped onto the couch next to you and just flopped onto his side exhausted from walking around so much. You just wished you could help out more. You sat there hearing the ensuing battling taking place and clinging to the couch every time the stadium shook from the battle which carried on for a good ten to fifthteen minutes as you waited with baited breath. No one really came in or out during that time anyways which might've been a blessing as you didn't want to really deal with anyone else at the moment. With one last final shake and cry it all ended. You waited for a couple moments waiting for some kind of response but none came. The only thing that came after a minute or two was the door opening and the boys all filing out. You immediately stood up and jogged on over to them as they came out. THANK ARCEUS THE BOYS WERE ALRIGHT! The only thing that looked off about then was Victor rubbing some dirt from his hat.

"Are you guys ok?," you shouted coming to a stop right in front of them all. 

Hop nodded. "Yeah! Even with the four of us that battle was hard to win. Good thing we managed to beat that pokemon huh?"

You opened your mouth to say something before Milo walked up with something next to him. "Phew....Looks like things have finally calmed down a bit." He smiled with a Tsareena next to him who made a noise.

Piers next to him sighed and shook his head. "This dynamax stuff...No matter how many times I see it I don't like it."

"I see your dislike of dynamaxing still hasn't changed, Piers. "...The grass type gym leader turned back to the pokemon with a hum. "But there was definitely something off about that dynamax transformation."

Off? How could a dynamaxing giant pokemon be off- "There wasn't any trainer anywhere!" You turned to Hop. "And the pokemon itself seemed like it couldn't even control the power itself." 

Milo nodded at him. "Quite right, Hop."

You looked at him confused. "..Huh? Do you wanna fill me in on what I missed?"

"Normally a pokemon needs to respond to a dynamax band in order to dynamax but-"

"Seems there was some discord in the harmony between trainer and pokemon."

"So you noticed something was off too," Milo comfirmed with Piers before shaking his head and looking back to the tsareea, "There's no trainer to be found. This is a mystery wrapped up in an enigma." He shook his head again. "Oh well. I'll make sure Turffield Gym takes good care of this pokemon for the time being. You lot helped me out here. Thanks for that. Oh! And Piers." The rocker hummed at him. "If you should ever need my help feel free to call me anytime!" Piers nodded back to him and Milo took a moment to look at Victor before reaching into his pocket and pulling out something to hold out to him. "Here. A small token of my thanks." Victor blinked before he accepted it from Milo with a smile and thanks from himself. "No need to thank me. ..I think in the meantime I should take this little tsareena over to the pokemon center in case something's still wrong with it."

Piers nodded at him again. "That's probably for the best. Wouldn't want the lil thing too banged up from us givin' it that thrashing."

Milo smiled at him before turning to all of you. "Excuse me. I gotta get going. All right then. Follow me little Tsareena." And politely side stepped around your group to walk back out towards the door leading out of the gym. The pokemon following behind matching Milo's orders.

Which left you with Piers and the two boys who quickly filled you in on the strange yet tough battle between the four of them and the dynamaxed Tsareena that came out of no where until they were able to stop it's dynamaxing rampage and bring it back to normal size. Thankfully no one was injured or worse and if anything was wrong with the pokemon Milo and Nurse Joy would take care of it no problem. But that also begged the question. If a dynamax band and trainer were BOTH required to make a pokemon dynamax, then how did that Tsareena dynamax by itself? And how could it have lost control of that power when every other giant pokemon you've seen was able to still control itself when dynamaxed? Was it because no one was giving the tsareena orders? Did someone dynamax a tsareena and then abandon it as some kind of prank in the gym? Unlikely but if so why and how did no one notice that? This was so, so confusing. But hey. At least the problem was solved. You did catch Piers's attention when he asked what you were doing here and it was a little embarrassing but the three of you did manage to give him a summed up version of what happened before Hop asked him if he had seen anyone like that enter the gym. Piers's answer of no to him seemed to make Hop deflate in defeat for the moment. Which you could understand. If those two came to turffield were they the ones responsible for what happened? But how and why is the question. Maybe to throw Hop off their tracks? You couldn't understand. You did take the chance to ask Piers about what he was doing in Turffield. Long story short? He and Milo agreed to do an exhibition match since most of the gyms and places were now recovered from the damage the EX-Chairman had caused months ago and it'd be a good way to entertain the public and try to get things back on track with the gyms. Seemed logical to you. They had just been wrapping up their match when that pokemon came out of nowhere. 

"So are you planning on heading back to Spikemuth after this?," you had asked him. By now the lot of you had been talking for around ten minutes after the battle between the guys and the tsareena went down. 

He nodded. "That was the plan. I wanted to give Marn-Marn the chance to manage the gym by herself anyways and see how well she does and what I need ta work with her on." That actually sounded like a good plan to see what she what he could do. If it was true she grew up practically in the gym anyways then Piers shouldn't have to train her on too much.

You were going to say something else when two new voices interrupted you- "Well, well, well! Looks like that dynamax nonsense has calmed down." You all turned and froze there stunned as two weirdos in blue and red suits made themselves known to the four of you from behind one of the counters in the stadium. "Well, well, well. The Champion's younger brother as expected."

Your f/c eyes widened. Hey! It was the guys from the station! The ones who had the weird hair and colored suits!

"AH! It's you two!," Hop shouted and pointed a finger at them as an expression of anger came over him from seeing the two brothers again, "I knew you'd be here! Give the rusted shield back!"

"Well I never," the one in the blue suit, Sordward if you remembered right, said looking and acting very offended at Hop's demand, putting a hand to his chest. "It's not like it's something that belongs to you either."

"Even if it were yours, we wouldn't give it back," his brother chimed along. 

"What's with these two!? AARRRRGGHH!!" Hop grabbed his head and stomped his foot before again pointing at them furiously. "Get over here so I can battle you!" Before you could react Hop made a LUNG at the counter where the two were but a pale hand quickly shot out faster than a scorbunny's quick attack and grabbed him by the back of his signature jacket before pulling him back hard. "ACK!?"

With a yelp Hop was pulled back and he blinked up to Piers as the Dark Type Gym Leader firmly held him back by his side. A look of slight confusion and annoyance gracing his otherwise neutral face. "Who are these guys? Spectators and staff should've been evacuated."

"The normal rules simply just don't apply to us!," Sordward said bowing as if in an act.

"Yes. That's what it means to be celebrities!," Shielbert added also bowing.

Piers just....stared creasing his forehead. ".....Wot?"

Sordward scoffed. Standing back up and waving his hand in a shoo motion towards Piers as if waving off a puppy. "Who is this ruffian to question us? You're just someone with strange tastes in hairstyles!" 

"His entire style is complete black and white nonsense. Isn't it, Older Brother?"

Understandably Piers looked a bit more ticked off and you just gave a 'Wtf' face the entire encounter. The audacity of these two! "You think I'd put any faith in words from rude lil punks like you?"

Ignoring Piers's question the two brothers looked at one another. "But it seems our experiment was a success, Younger Brother."

"Quite, quite. Next time let us try to dynamax an even stronger pokemon."

"Yes, Yes. At last we shall reveal the true nature of Zacian and Zamazenta!"

"What was that about Zacian and Zamazenta!?," Hop demanded thrashing in Piers's iron grip as the rocker refused to let go.

"You despicable people! We're going to keep letting dynamax pokemon run wild!," Shielbert said with a wave to you all only spiking Hop's anger more.

"If you want to stop us, do your best to chase after our splendid looking bottoms," Sordward added also waving."

"More like celebrity bottoms!"

You rose a brow wrinkling your nose cringing HARD at them. Who did these guys think they were?! Before they both turned. "And with that farewell!" Before both ran off through a way out back behind the counter that most likely ran back into the stadium somewhere.

"So you were the ones who caused all this!? STOP!," Hop shouted thrashing wildly in Piers's grip. "COME BACK HERE!!"

"Calm down, Hop," Piers's firm and monotone voice cut the air like a knife enough to make Hop stop and look at him. "You don't gotta act so hard."

"B-But.." He gesture to where they ran off. "They're getting away!"

"Yeah?" He finally let go of him. "And they could be leadin' us into a trap. It's a bad idea to run in unprepared."

"But still-" Piers narrowed his eyes more and Hop looking at you could tell you agreed with what Piers said..before he flopped his arms with a sigh. "Uuugh..Fine. You're right. I get it."

Piers nodded before crossing his arms. "Good. Let's all calm down for a sec. Thanks to them runnin' their mouths, we know their goal is to force pokemon to dynamax."

"And they plan to continue doing it! So we should stop them right?" He asked looking to Victor who nodded. "Yeah! This is no time to be hung up on getting back the ancient shield! Y/n! Piers! Victor!" He turned back and pointed to where the two thieves sped off. "We've got to stop those two!"....He paused for a moment ..before reaching to rub the back of his neck. "But where would those red and blue buffoons have gone off to next?"

"I think the better question is how're those two makin' pokemon dynamax without any bands?"...Piers shook his head. "But either way you're right." Hop blinked in surprise Piers seemed to agree with him and back up a step or two as the taller gym leader headed over towards where the two were standing and disappeared off too. "First thing ta do is see if we can stop 'em here." He pointed back towards Hop and Victor. "You two! Go get Milo back over here. If those two are any sorta threat it'd be nice to have some back up." Also he didn't want these kids in any danger's way so this would be a good way to keep them out of it if they were out of the gym. He then pointed towards the way they went. "'M gonna head on in through there and see if they're hidin' out anywhere here still."

Victor nodded and grabbed Hop's arm before he could even THINK of doing anything else. Probably worried he'd run off away from you guys again. "C'mon, Hop. Let's go get bloody Milo!"

You watched as the two of them go running through the door just as Piers grabbed the counter and tossed his legs over to get to the other side. "That's a good idea." You turned back to Piers who looked at you. "There's doors leading outside the stadium for emergency exits and for letting the crowds in the audience right? I'm gonnna go around the back of the stadium and see if those goons made a break for it out there. They might've left a clue or something."

The pale man paused stopping to look at you for a long moment before asking, "Are ya sure?"

You nodded. "If I can't battle the least I can do is help you guys find those troublemakers! Besides I have Silver with me. If they try anything he knows what to do." As if to back you up Silver made a loud chirp next to you. "If it makes you feel any better we won't engage them and wait for you guys instead."

Piers hesitated before nodding reluctantly. Guess he couldn't throw you over his shoulder for this one. " 'Lright but DON'T engage them two! I got a bad feelin' 'bout both of 'em."

You nodded. "I promise! Don't worry about it!"

He still didn't seem convinced but he eventually disappeared down the way those two thieves originally went as you turned to the door. Beckoning to Silver he followed you to the automatic doors and outside. For a moment you stood there looking around and seeing no signs of anyone before commanding Silver to follow you towards the back of the stadium. You both walked back towards the right of the stadium looking around at the silent place. There wasn't any sounds except for the faint sounds of wooloos in the distant being a farming town, and there wasn't anyone around. Kinda strange how no one was around. You would've assumed there at least would've been a farmer out or two in the fields but the ruckus at the stadium must've caused everyone to flee the scene. You came across the first entrance/exit into the stadium around the half way point between the front and back of he stadium. You tenderly poked your head into the entrance with Silver but saw nothing but an empty hallway with stairs leading up towards the stadium's seats. You both looked at each other until Silver shook his head and with a sigh continued walking towards the back and you followed after. Still nothing seemed off. Nothing seemed out of place. And no one was fleeing the scene or trying to hide away. You were starting to think that they must've still been inside the stadium hiding somewhere away from eyes and wondered if Piers had found them already- When Silver stopped as soon as he rounded around the side of the stadium and so did you once you stopped right behind him. And your f/c eyes widened at what was there in front of you. A CORVIKNIGHT TAXI!! The metal taxi was stationed right outside the back exit of the stadium with the corviknight and driver faced away from you both not paying attention to you two nor noticing you were there. .....Wait...WHY was there a flying taxi right behind the stadium!? You doubted it could've been for Milo or anyone else. Two troubling brothers came to mind and you narrowed your eyes. Silver chirped as you slowly walked over to the exit the corviknight was standing in front of before stopping, taking a deep breath, and poking your head to look into the entrance. Nothing. You sighed in relief. Well that was a relief at least. You weren't sure what'd you do if those weird dudes just showed up outta no where-

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here, Older Brother."

With a yelp you jumped and spun around and froze only to come face to face with ridiculous hair and blue and red suits. ...Oh NO! You stood there as none other than Sordward and Shielbert stood there standing between you and the corviknight taxi. You took a step or two back from them as they amusedly stared back at your scowl.

"Indeed," Sordward mused back, "Coming around back to give us a surprise attack were you?" You scowled harder at him as he just chuckled. Where did these guys even come from? "Really? I thought the woman who saved the Champion's life would've come up with a better plan of strategy."

You paused for a moment allowing his words to sink in until your eyes widened more and you blurted out, ''Wait. How do you know that!?" You were SURE that the only ones who knew outside Leon and your friends was their families and the gym leaders.

He merely waved you off. "You were mentioned in the book as the one who saved the Champion from a MAYBE worse fate." Book?...What book? "Although it did take us a while to fully recognize who you were. That brief encounter at Wedgeherst Station jogged my memory overtime."

"What are you two even doing here?!," you demanded pointing at them.

"Oh. How rude of us to not introduce ourselves." !? You paused as this guy with the giant sword hair grabbed your hand and semi bowed with a smile. "Allow me to introduce myself, Dear Lady. You may call me Sordward, and this just so happens to be my splendid younger brother."

?! Your head snapped to the side as the other guy grabbed your other hand in another semi-bow like his brother. "And you may call me Shielbert. You see we're the true kings of this region. It just takes a bit of planning and execution to achieve our rightful titles."

"But of course it's not without trial and error."

You grimaced staring at them not sure how to react or what to say in that moment just staring at these two. Neither of you three noticed the figure or footsteps coming from the exit behind you. Eventually you let out an answer. "Uh...What?"

Sordward hummed and narrowed his eyes all of a sudden. "Although I AM surprised a lovely young lady such as yourself would agree to hang out willingly with that walking danger hazard of a zigzagoon. With the rumors surrounding him and all."

"Piers?" Your eyes narrowed again. "What's so bad about, Hot Pink? He seems fine to me. And what rumors?"

"Oh you sweet naive girl. The rumors that he had harmed people of course," Sordward clarified when you stared at him. "Besides his employees running amok and wrecking the Gym Challenge last year and how he had assisted in the breaking and entering of Rose Tower?" Your eyes widened. How did they know THAT!? "Some say his pokemon go wild during a concert or that he poisoned his audience."

"Others say he attacked plain old civilians who weren't trainers with his pokemon or that he threatened them," Shielbert added, "A man of that kind of nature isn't one to simply be hung around with like  regular sunday stroll."

"And two people who dynamaxed an innocent pokemon and stole from an ancient resting place are?," you asked bluntly narrowing your eyes and raising a brow.

Your blunt tone must've caught the other two off guard because they blinked before looking at one another, frowning, then looking back at you before Shielbert spoke. "Well that seems like an unfair opinion."

"Maybe, but it's the truth. I've seen you two do that and yet I haven't ever seen these so called 'rumors' whenever I hung out with Piers. So he's more innocent than you w-ERE!!"

The brothers blinked as you were yanked back fast and back into the exit of the stadium, the brothers letting go of your hands, before feeling yourself pressed firmly into someone's body with their arm around your shoulders. Your body froze and your head snapped up mouth open to yell at whoever it was to LET GO of you before you again stopped, and blinked in surprise when Piers of all people was standing there holding you against him in some kind of protective hold as he stared at the two frozen brothers. But it wasn't that that made you all pause. It was his expression. While his face remained in that calm neutral pose his eyes looked like they were holding back the flaming anger of a charizard in those blue irises. You....hadn't seen THAT kind of look in his eyes before. Both brothers were staring at him with what looked almost like fear on their faces. Silence staring all around you all before Piers held up a single hand pointing straight at them and said four little words.

"Silver! Sick those punk!"

CHIRP!!! Both brothers turned just in time just as water shot out of nowhere and hit Sordward right in the face. You and Shielbert flinched as Sordward sputtered flailing his arms around as water droplets lightly sprayed you both as he went down harmlessly but soaked to the bone and his sword shaped hair now ruined by Silver's water gun. You all stood there stunned for a moment before Shielbert had the sense to reach over and help his coughing soaked brother up to his feet again and both looked to the small pokemon who got on all fours now. Silver proceeded to chirp and make threatening noises as he charged the two prompting them both to yell out and hightail it to the corviknight and the taxi driver who by now had noticed the entire commotion. The two brothers hightailed it into said taxi, slamming the door behind them with Silver on their heels, and barked some orders to the driver who obeyed their order to take off.  You just stood there and watched in shock the entire time. Before blinking and holding up your hand to block the wind from your face as the corviknight took off. Taking off with the two suspects inside getting away and flying off. Piers just stood there the entire time with narrowed eyes watching them go...before he slowly turned to you.

"I thought ya said you wouldn't engage them."

You jumped from the sound of him talking blinking..before frowning. "I DIDN'T." You clarified with an arm gesturing to the retreating taxi in the sky. "Those guys snuck up on me! And they're getting away! Why didn't you use your pokemon to stop them?"

Piers stared at you for a moment longer before sighing and releasing your shoulders. "I couldn't even if I wanted ta. I only brought three pokemon with me for the exhibition match, and they're too tired from battling Milo and takin' down that dynamaxed pokemon." He looked back up towards the now black dot of the taxi in the taxi. "And we still dunno how those two blokes managed to dynamax that tsareena. I wasn't taken a risk with 'em." ...Oh. Well that was a fair point. Piers's pokemon might've gotten hurt if they were forced to dynamax against their tired will. He turned back to you. "Are ya alright? Not hurt or nothin'?"

You shook your head no and he seemed to finally relax. The angry look in his eyes disappearing with your answer. "But where did you even come from?''

He gestured back into the stadium exit he showed up through. "Walked my way through there n' heard some voices comin' from the other side an' found you lot. Good thing I did too." 

You nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Thanks for that by the way." You shot a scowl back towards where those two disappeared to before you turned back to Piers. "Come on. I think we should get back to Hop and Victor before they think we disappeared or something."

Piers didn't argue with that and he followed after you. Silver ran up to stop by your side and you bent down to pat his head for the good job he'd done defending you two back there. You both walked back around silently the stadium's side until you got back towards the entrance and your surprises for today wasn't over because as soon as you two were in sight someone called out your name.

"Y/N!! PIERS!," Hop's voice called out to you and you both looked up and paused upon seeing both the boys..and SONIA running towards you.

You paused again blinking before staring at her. "Sonia!? What the heck are you doing here?"

You two both watched as the three of them ran right up to you and panted as if they ran a long way. "M-M-Milo's busy s-so we were looking around town f-for those thieves." Hop gasped out between breaths before pointing towards Sonia breathing heavily next to him. "W-We ran into h-her on the way back."

"Ah! T-There you are, Y/n," Sonia panted out with a worried expression on her face, "T-Things are a right proper mess."

"Why? What's going on?!"

She shook her head. "Just when I thought the Galar particle count around Turffield had calmed down I started getting huge particle reading from Hulbury and Motostoke Stadium!"

"Particles? ...This mystery just keeps getting weirder and weirder." You shook your head and groaned. "Great! A new problem to fix."

"Uh...Yeah. So what exactly happened at Turffield Stadium?"

You deadpanned. "Nothing much. Those sword and shield weirdos somehow dynamaxed this tsareena in a rampage in the gym, and then they took off in a flying taxi after I sprayed them a little bit."

She seemed shocked as Hop let out a 'What' next to her. "What? A dynamax pokemon went on a rampage!? And those sword and shield guys did it?"

"Ya better believe it, Sunny."

Sonia looked up to look behind you and blinked seeming to finally notice him there. "Hm...And Piers? Piers, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back in Spikemuth?"

Piers shook his head at her. "I'm gonna be an ex-gym leader soon. I can be wherever I want. It's not that weird. More importantly, you said there were dynamax pokemon at other stadiums?" 

She frowned and immediately nodded her head at him. "Yes. I'm getting the same readings in other towns as I was from Turffield Stadium." She gestured with her hands. "But now they're coming from multiple other stadiums from different points of Galar! I couldn't get a hold of any of you so I had to hop on the nearest train myself to warn you all!"

Two other gyms were dealing with this problem now!? But HOW!? Sordward and Shielbert had literally just LEFT Turffield stadium, and even though flying taxies were fast, there was NO WAY a corviknight would be able to fly across Galar for miles on end to not just one but TWO different stadiums for those two to cause trouble in the small amount of time they had just left. What was going on around here?! How were those two even doing this? Did they have more accomplices? Did they team up with Oleana or something like some twisted plot twist or something!? 

"WOT!?" You jumped when Piers shouted out looking like he was panicking a bit. "I'm worried about Marnie!"

"Ah. But the Spikemuth gym should be ok, right? I'm only seeing readings from Hulbury and Motostoke Stadium. And on top of that Spikemuth doesn't even have a powerspot for dynamaxing, so in theory there shouldn't be any particles around there either to manipulate. It's probably the safest gym in Galar right now."

Piers paused for a moment before relaxing again. "Ah...I see. *sigh* That's good to hear."

Yeah that was. Spikemuth was still in reconstruction wasn't it? And unlike the other gyms, Spikemuth's gym couldn't possibly hold back a dynamaxed pokemon if it went on a rampage. It could've very well destroyed the entire town and endanger a whole lot of people.

"If pokemon are being forced to dynamax and running wild there's no way I can simply sit by and watch!" Hop turned to Victor, "What do you say, Vick?" Victor got a determined look and nodded at him making Hop light up and gave a thumbs up. "That's the spirit! We can stop those disturbances and get the Heroes Shield back from those weirdos!" 

Piers smiled and gave hop a smile. "That's the Spirit, Kid."...He gave a quick glance over to you s you blinked before he looked back to Hop. " It's sounds like you blokes could use some help against these two. Think I'll tag along and lend a hand."

Hop and Victor went wide eyed at him. "Wait. REALLY!?"

Piers nodded before frowning. "Those two upstaged my performance so I'm kinda ticked about that! And if they're plannin' on trying ta take over Galar then I'll take that as a personal threat against Spikemuth. I can't allow anythin' worse to happen to it while it's in critical state....We should head ova' ta Hulbury first. It's a straight line across Galar and Nessa might need more help. Kabu's strong enough to hold out for a little bit if he needs to." His eyes narrowed more, "Besides those two were taking off in her direction anyways."

"Makes sense to me!," Sonia agreed with a nod. "Leave those sword and shield weirdos to me. I can poke around the net for sightings of them. They stick out like sore thumbs, so it shouldn't be too hard them."

"Right!," Piers gestured towards the direction of the way those two went, "We'll leave the researchin' to Sunny. We should get to Hulbury and help out Nessa."

"How do we get there? The train would take forever."

"The same way they went," He replied with a smile, "How did ya think I got 'ere? Corviknight might need ta rest every so often but they'll definitely get 'cha there faster than any train. The taxi I used should still be just outside town. If we go now we might even catch up to 'em before they even make it half way to Hulbury."

"I'll call her ahead and let her know you're coming," Sonia offered, "We're friends so I have her number on speed dial."

"Sounds like a plan! You get back to your lab and see if ya can track those punks," Piers turned back to all of you. "Let's get outta here and over to Hulbury."

The four of you quickly headed out towards the outside of Turffield while Sonia headed back towards the train station to get back to Postwick pronto. Like Piers said there was another flying taxi waiting for you just outside the town and when you all piled in you noticed there was a pink and black travel bag already inside signaling that Piers must've been using it to travel with. As soon as the four of you were situated Piers stuck his head out the window and ordered the driver to get to Hulbury and STEP ON IT! You all lunged forward a little when the corviknight abruptly took off but that was to be expected. Gosh you'd never get used to this but considering there was an emergency you'd deal with it for now. With the four of you heading towards Hulbury, after those two you wondered what exactly was awaiting you this time? Hop and Victor were sitting next to each other when both as if in one of those comedy movies, both of their phones went off and you both watched as they pulled their rotomi phones from their pockets...and their faces paled. Hop's more than Victor's but both seemed to be nervous. When you asked if they were alright, they replied that who was calling them was in fact-....Their mothers. Uh oh. This wasn't going to be good. As soon as those two answered their phones a flurry of angry womans' voices exploded from the other sides at the to boys. Silver jumped from the loud noises and you rose a brow. They were yelling so loud that you could even hear them without the phones being on speaker. Oh boy- Both boys were wincing with faces of guilt, regret, and fear only a mother could bring up from a person. You only sat and watched with Piers who rose a brow as Hop sputtered and tried to get his mother to calm down while Victor just winced as a very thick and very, VERY ANGRY scottish woman's voice came from his side of the phone. You couldn't even understand what she was saying with how fast she was talking. 

"Y-Y/N!," Hop whisper-yelled at you with a desperate look on his face pulling his head away from the phone. "Help me please! My Mum's going nuts!"

At that moment you held up your hands. "Sorry guys. I don't think I can."

So you both watched until about ten minutes later the two somehow managed to calm their mothers enough to convince them that yes they're ok and no they weren't hurt and not to worry because you were there with them and yes next time they'll let them know when they decided to go traveling again and etc and etc. Until they were finally able to hang up and breath of sigh of relief from the two, and you rose a brow. Well..that went as well as expected you supposed. You'd apologize to their mothers next time you saw them too for leaving so sudden, but this WAS an emergency so hopefully they'll be understanding. Good thing you remembered to pay the last of your owed rent before leaving so suddenly. Piers next you hummed and calmly pulled his own phone from within his jacket muttering something about calling up Marnie and letting her know he'd be gone longer than he expected. That was a good idea...Wait. 

"Hey. Didn't any of you call Leon yet? I don't have a phone so I couldn't even if I wanted too."

Hop shook his head. "I tried lots of times but I couldn't get him to answer."

"That's cuz the new Chairman's got him back up all the way ta space knees deep n' work in Wyndon." Piers shrugged when you all looked at him. "They're undoing all the poke-dung that Rose n' Oleana left 'em in and doing some kind of diplomatic business."

You rose a brow. "Diplomatic business?"

He again shrugged. "Dunno all the details. Somethin' with a prince from a different region or somethin'." He turned back to his phone. "Anyways. I better call Marn-Marn an' warn 'er 'bout all this just in case."

You nodded. Makes sense. Marnie should know of her brother helping you all out here which was really nice of him actually especially since he didn't have to and he was sorta in the middle of a exhibition match. Either way you were glad to have him along with you guys. If he was as helpful as he was when you all broke into Rose Tower, then hopefully you all would have this problem bagged in no time.

The first night of traveling went by relatively normally. Piers had called Marnie and seemed to smooth things over well and when night fall hit you fell asleep leaning against the right side window open. Which is also what happened with the next new days that ensued. Of course the corviknight and the driver also had to stop to allow both to rest and eat, and you appreciated the breaks from the air. Still antsy about being so high up all the time wasn't comforting. But then you'd all pick up where you left off. Victor and Hop seemed to be a bit impatient, especially Hop as he kept tapping his foot or going through his rotomi phone insisting that you all had to get there faster. Piers hardly spoke the flight all the way to Hulbury except to calm Hop or to say a word or two in some kind of conversation but other wise he remained silent. Until one fately morning the smell hit you like a slap to the face from outside the window. The familiar scent of sea salt and ocean spray. You had just awoken and looked out the window, and made a gasp that quickly caught the others' attentions. You all saw it. The town of Hulbury built right on the shore of the ocean, and the shiny silver glimmer of the Water Type Stadium glowing in the new sunlight....But there was also another problem that was soon quickly addressed. A loud cry of a godzilla sized monster roared out which caused the corviknight to caw out a panicked sound and jar around the rest of you for a moment, shaking you for a minute or two before it straightened back up and continued it's flight pattern. ...Did you also remind everyone you HATED traveling by hieghts? BECAUSE YOU HAD A VALID REASON TOO!! The driver shouted back if everyone was alright, and you were besides death gripping to your seats.

"That sounds like the same bloody thing that we heard n' Turffield!," Victor remarked pointing his hand out the window towards the fast approaching stadium, "Only this time the shakin' was in air." yeah....What a way to travel huh?

"That means Nessa could be in trouble!," Hop proclaimed with worry in his tone and slight fear in his eyes as he leaned over to also look out the window as if the answers were written right there for him to analyze. "That means those goons might be there too! We gotta go help her before someone gets hurt!"

Piers mirrored Hop's concern because he instantly nodded before reaching his hand up and hammering it hard against the roof. "OI DRIVER!! Land over there n' front of the stadium!"

The driver did as he asked. The corviknight taking a nose dive and with a powerful flap of it's wings you all were sailing forward and down fast. Heading right for the Hulbury stadium (you hanging on for dear life which Piers may or may not have giving an amused look towards you-), until you all eventually landed right in front of the stadium just as another loud roar echoed out from the side of it this time the ground did shake slightly. You doubted anyone was doing an exhibition match with Nessa right now. The first ones out was Hop who burst through the door followed by Victor as they both ran forwards towards the stadium's doors followed by you and Piers shedding your heavy packs and following after Piers gave an order to the driver to wait for you all. As soon as you walked through the entrance doors you saw her. None other than the famous Water Type gym leader Nessa herself. Holding up her hands to the two boys who had run in before you and Piers had. 

"Don't get too close you lot," she ordered but nicely to the boys in front of her, "Things are pretty dangerous here!"

"We know the situation." Nessa blinked up from the two boys over to you two (Piers really-) as you all calmly walked up to her.

"Piers?," Nessa asked looking the rockstar up and down for a moment surprised before putting one hand on her hip and raising a brow. "...What are you doing here? Last time I heard you were in Turffield doing that exhibition match with Milo."

Guess Sonia hadn't been able to call Nessa yet. Piers shook his head at her. "Doesn't matter. Sounds like you got a big problem?"

She huffed. "Heh. I'll say. It's a big problem in every sense of the word. Happened just as I was finishing up for a photoshoot."

"Right. Then how 'bout we lend ya a hand and calm down that pokemon ragin' in there?" 

"...Y'know what? I think I'll take you up on that offer. This has already derailed my schedule enough as it is."

"Are the staff and spectators alright?"

Nessa nodded to him. "Yes. They took shelter just a short while ago." Nessa took a moment to pause..before looking at you blinking when Silver chirped at her from your side, a flash of realization coming over her face. Before she moved her blue eyes to Hop, and then to Victor. "..Y'know the more I look at you four, the more I see how odd a little group you are."

"Tch." Piers shook his head at her. "Leave us alone, Nessa."

"Yeah! We did come here to help you out!," Hop added.

Nessa nodded towards him. "And I'm grateful for it. That dynamax pokemon's power is so intense I'm sure it'd give me trouble. I'd feel a lot more confident about it if you all joined the battle."

"Ya can count on us, Nessy. Jus' show us the way in." Nessa nodded towards Piers before she gestured with her arm for your group to follow her. The boys both did but Piers paused for a moment to look at you as if you would try to follow too. "Oi. Y/n. No offense but.."

You held up your hands. "I know. You don't want me getting hurt. I get it. I'll stay here and wait til you're all done. Besides someone's gotta keep an eye out for those weird hair duo right?" You shook your head with a frown. "I swear those two have nothing but gel and hair spray for brains since that's all there seems to be on their heads."

Piers let out a small chuckle which you blinked at him as he gave you a small smile. "Right. Expect nothin' else from ya." he waved a hand. "Be right back. Hopefully this shouldn't take too long."

And just like that Piers left with the others. Leaving you with just Silver standing there as the process repeated himself. You did keep an eye out for those two but saw no one there. The same process of ground shaking and roaring continued on making you wobble every so often. The whole thing yet again lasted a good ten to twenty minutes until the whole thing stopped and you were left looking towards the doors expectantly until the four of them came back. Looking a bit weathered but otherwise ok overall. 

"Hey!," You greeted waving at them. "Are you guys ok? How'd it go?"

Nessa answered you by holding up a random pokeball as if she had just proudly caught a pokemon. "Because of everyone's help, no one was hurt and we were able to turn the tide of the situation." She took a moment to look at the poke ball. "I'll keep this pokemon at Hulbury stadium until it can fully recover, then I'll release this poor guy back into the beautiful ocean where he belongs." Nessa paused for a moment before looking to Victor...before reaching into her back pocket and presented to him what must've been another card. "Here, Kid. I know it's not much but it's something for your troubles."

Victor blinked but accepted it from her with a smile. "Hey, thanks!"

"Y/n." You jumped and blinked up to Piers who looked intently at you as you paused, as if inspecting you for any damages or anything. "Anything?" ..You shook your head no and he gave a groan closing his eyes. "I really don' want another wild pelipper chase."

"Pelipper chase?"

He looked back to Nessa. "Yeah. Oi. This might seem outta no where but did anyone 'round 'ere see any blokes with weird styled hair and pastel colored suits?" Nessa rose a brow clearly confused but after a second slowly shook her head no. "Ah. Cripes. Then that means we missed 'em or we were wrong 'bout where they went."

"What about Motostoke?,'' he looked back at you and you held up your hand towards him. "Sonia said those particle things were coming from there too right? If something like that happened here and the same thing's coming from Motostoke, maybe they went there instead since it'd be closer than Hulbury. Right?"

Piers stared at you for a moment humming before he closed his eyes. "That's not a too far off theory...It'd be worth a check at most."

"Then we should head there next right?"

He nodded to you again before Nessa spoke. "I suppose I'll see you later then? Thank you so much for your help truly. I wish you all a safe trip but right now.." She gestured towards the door. "I REALLY need to wrap things up here before Im more than just fashionably late to the shoot."

He nodded again. "Right." Before carefully holding his arms out to start herding the two teens towards the doorway. "C'mon. We'll pick up a few supplies 'ere n' take off again."

-Small Time Skip-

The trip back to Motostoke wasn't all that special. After you all gathered supplies really quick via Hulbury's local market, you all had piled back into the flying taxi and the entire process of traveling long distance replayed again. Breaks. Hop getting antsy. Etc. Until the same way you arrived in Hulbury you also arrived in Motostoke. Deja vu ground shaking and some kind of pokemon screeching to high heavens and ARCEUS YOU HATED FREAKING TRAVELING BY HIEGHTS!!! Some time along the way Piers had noticed your great discomfort about flying and would reach up, making sure you were ok with it first of course, and grabbing your shoulder when ever you all suddenly descended. Didn't stop your fear if heights but hey it was sure appreciated. With a rough landing in front of the giant Motostoke Stadium, you all screeched to a halt and out you all piled. Your legs in particular feeling like jello to the point Piers had to literally gently pull you off the seat by the arm and out of the cab before quickly letting go and looking away as soon as you were standing on solid ground....And made after the two guys breathing heavily and feeling like a walking bowl of jelly. And wouldn't you know it just like before you all were greeted by the gym leader. Kabu looked calm as usually seeing you all and greeting you all with his hands behind his back. 

"Ah! The Champion's younger brother,'' he greeted Hop before nodding at him and slowly looking up towards the others and you all approached. "And Piers and his friends too. So glad to see you all again."

"Mr. Kabu! I'm glad you remember me!"

The older man smiled at Hop. "Of course I do! You were red hot after all. I'll never forget seeing you off after you'd completed your first leg of the Gym Challenge." 

The compliment from the gym leader made Hop smile and chuckle bashfully but Piers cut their conversation short. "Don't think we really got time for a friendly chin-wag."

Kabu hummed and looked to Piers gaining a serious look about him. "Right. Actually...the situation's getting pretty bad over at the stadium."

Piers nodded back at him. "Yeah. That'd be why we're here."

"Ah. Brilliant. The opponent's a bit much to take on single handedly, so I was wondering what to do. But with you all at my side, my confidence in this battle is burning brighter by the minute! That is..If you wouldn't mind lending myself a hand," Kabu questioned and Piers gave a small hum under his breath.

"That's why we're 'ere, Mate."

"Good. Then let us begin!"

You were left in the same situation as the other two times so you just..well sat there waiting through the usual shaking and yelling of whatever pokemon they were battling until you guessed it, they inevitably came walking back out looking winded. Well except for Kabu who didn't even look like he broke a sweat. Guess that made sense.

"Piers!," you called out standing up from where you were sat with Silver boredly laid out at your feet. "Did you guys get the pokemon to calm down?"

Kabu was the one who answered you with a nod. "Looks like we were able to extinguish things this time. I'm letting the pokemon rest here at Motostoke stadium until it gets it's energy back. Although I haven't the foggiest idea how this mess happened out of the ashes."

"Have you seen anyone with their hair shaped to look like a sword or shield with tacky suits colored to look like Easter eggs?"

Kabu rose a brow at you ...but shook his head. "Can't say that I have. No." You heard Hop groan out in frustration once again and you and Piers exchanged glances. Again? No thieves!? Then how the heck did this happen!? Did you just miss them again? How were they escaping so easily then? But Kabu's interesting wasn't in you but a certain Scottish boy who blinked as he tilted his head at him. "Although you look very familiar to me. Have we met somewhere before?"

Victor nodded his head. "Yes. Gloria's me sister. I was with 'er when she completed your gym challenge last year and when ye came ta ask her ta be your student."

"Ah! That explains the family resemblance." He nodded. "You battle with a passion much like hers. You have my thanks. Here. Take this as a token of my appreciation." And like the other two leaders, Kabu held out what looked like a league card to him which he happily accepted. 

"Thanks....Uh..H-How is she by the way?" That question got Hop's attention as he too snapped up to the older man.

"From the weekly reports I've gotten from Leon, she's doing exceptionally well with her training. Don't worry. I know she'll do well. ...But you all have more work that needs to be done yes?" He looked to Piers in question who nodded. "Then go forward, Youths. I wish you all well, and please have a safe trip."

With all that in mind you all exited the gym and-....Well now what!? Those two weren't at Hulbury. They weren't here in Motostoke. You hadn't seen ANY sign of them since that incident in Turffield. No word from Sonia with any new updates. AND NOW YOU WERE ALL STUCK AT A DEAD END!! Well...at least the gyms were safe and back to normal again.

"This is just GREAT!," Hop yelled out scowling and throwing up his hands. "We lost sight of those thieving goons and we're still no closer to getting back the shield! What could be worse!?"

You opened your mouth to answer him-

BEEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

All of you paused for a moment as a familiar sound rang out, and for a moment just blinked and stood there looking at each other until the origen of the sound popped into your heads. THAT!..Was a ringtone. Someone's phone was ringing! In an instant Piers reached for his jacket pocket as did Victor, pulling their clearly off phones out. And since you didn't have a phone that could only leave one culprit as everyone turned their head to Hop fumbling quickly for his back. Hop's phone was ringing.

[kalopses-sonderes]

But I know a riddle. What is the animal that walks in four legs at morning, two at noon, and three at night?

Uhhh

A cat? Idk😭

[skyeet-the-writer]

okay i’m not sure if you are taking like open requests but corpse and reader are dating and nobody really knows but like the fans ship it and stuff, and they are playing among us with jack, felix, rae ect,, and someone invites somebody and it’s reader ex boyfriend and corpse notices that she’s acting really quiet and he texts her like “baby are you okay??” and she tells him that’s her toxic ex and during an emergency meeting, her ex suspects her and when she defends herself he says something along the lines of “don’t believe her she’s a fucking liar, she’s been one since the day i first met her” and everyone is like ??? but corpse flips out on him and just snaps telling him to leave his girlfriend alone which breaks his cover so everyone knows about you guys and just like really mad corpse and having to help him calm down and you get up from your seat to see him in his streaming room and just sit on his lap and he’s like “fuck that guy it’s okay baby we can just play minecraft or something” lmaooo 🥺🥺🥺 sorry i know that was so specific but the thought makes me so soft i would actually cry if you wrote this

This Is A Shout Out To My Ex

here’s my first request guys! so sorry they’re taking so long. i’m trying to get these done before i do anything else. hope you guys enjoy! x,

corpse x female!reader

summary: while paying a game with her friends, y/n’s toxic ex joins the game. when he calls her a liar, corpse snaps and defends his girlfriend

word count: ~4.4k

warnings: mentions of emotional abuse, gaslighting, near-death experiences, swearing, some angst but it has a super fluffy end!

Living with your boyfriend is, obviously, amazing in every way. You see each other all the time, you get to cuddle almost all the time, and you get to see his handsome face every morning.

Probably, the only downside is the fact that living together makes it nearly impossible to hide the fact that you’re dating.

But, somehow, you’ve managed to keep it a secret from you rabid fans for the past four months. You literally have no idea how because you’re pretty sure you accidentally got a glimpse of Corpse walking by while you were doing a vlog.

Miraculously, no one noticed it. Then again, none of your fans knew what he looked like, so there’s a plus. There were one or two comments asking who the person in the back was, but you lied and said it was a friend. Technically, you weren’t wrong.

And so you’ve been trying to keep your relationship with Corpse on the DL to avoid any stress or anxiety his way. You could deal with it, you’ve been doing Youtube for years and could handle almost anything. Corpse, bless his heart, might not be able to.

One morning, you’re awoken by some slight tugging on your hair. You crack your eyes open but the bright light makes you whine and close them again. There’s a soft laugh behind you and you roll over onto your back, scooting over closer to him. You stretch your legs and grin, still keeping your eyes closed. 

“Did you sleep at all?” you ask in a quiet voice, your head resting on your lover’s chest.

“No,” he answers in his deep voice and you feel him play with your hair. “Anxiety, insomnia, the usual shit.”

You hum and open your eyes slowly, deciding to brave the light. You blink up at Corpse who is staring at the ceiling. “What were you thinking about?” Your own voice is a bit scratchy and rough. 

He looks down at you and you take notice of how bloodshot his eyes are and the bags under his eyes. “How pretty you are when you sleep.” He grins.

“You watched me when I slept?” you ask and playfully narrow your eyes at him. “You creep.”

He laughs and you turn around onto your side, your back facing him. “Baby, no, I didn’t mean it that way.”

You smile. “You’re so creepy, Corpse.”

He doesn’t say anything but you hear him sit up in bed. You begin to ask what he’s doing but then he lifts up the back of your shirt to press a few kisses to your back. “You’re still here, though. With me.”

“Hm. Yeah.” You turn around and he gazes at you. “Because I love you.”

His eyes light up in the way that they always do when you tell him those three, simple words. You love seeing them light up that way and you grin. “I love you, too.” He leans in for a quick kiss.

“What time is it?” you ask when you pull away.

Corpse reaches over to his side of the bed and turns his phone on. “Noon.”

“Noon?” you shout and sit up so quickly you get a head rush. “We were supposed to be playing Among Us with Sean, Pewds, Toast, Rae, and them.”

“Oh. Yeah.” You turn and see him with his hands covering his face.

You walk over to him and kneel next to him. “Babe? What’s up?”

He just groans and you frown. He doesn’t feel good. 

You push his hair from his forehead. “I can tell them that you’re not feeling up for it. They all know you, they’d understand.”

He shakes his head and runs his hands down his face before they rest on his chest. “No. No, it’s okay, I’ll be fine.” He gives you a smile.

You kiss his cheek. “Okay, then, babe. C’mon, we’re gonna be late.” You grab his hands and tug him up until he’s in a sitting position. He pulls you in for another kiss but you lean away.

“You have morning breath,” you tell him when he gives you his sad eyes. “Brush your teeth and then I’ll kiss you.”

That seems to get him out of bed and into the bathroom while you change clothes. You change out of your sweatpants and t-shirt and into jeans and a shirt. He walks out of the bathroom yawning and you walk past him to go to the bathroom.

I wish he’d sleep, you think to yourself while brushing your teeth. After brushing your teeth, you wash your face and do a little bit of makeup so you don’t look like you just rolled out of bed even though you did.

Corpse walks into the bathroom as you’re finishing your makeup and has a mug of coffee for you. You’re the only one in the house who drinks coffee since he can’t, so you always find it so sweet that he makes it for you.

“You made me coffee?” you ask and he nods. You take it from him and give him a peck. “Thank you, love.” 

You take a sip and grab your phone from your nightstand and shove it into your pocket. You walk out of the bedroom the two of you share and into the kitchen to check on your cat. 

Before you met him, Corpse had never really wanted a pet. He said that they die and he doesn’t want to deal with that, which you understand. But after the two of you had been dating for three months and you had been living with him for a month and a half, you begged him to let you get a cat. You knew he couldn’t say no to you. 

“Where’s Inky?” you call out to your boyfriend after not finding your cat in the living room or the kitchen. 

“In here,” he calls back and you follow his voice. Corpse is sitting in his chair getting ready to stream. You spot a black cat sitting on his table, licking at his hand. Corpse laughs and pets the animal on the head. “Stop licking me, girl. Your tongue feels weird.”

You smile and walk over to him, picking the cat up. “Come on, Inky, let’s leave dad to do his job, yeah?”

The young cat meows up at you and stares into your soul with her green eyes. You lock her gaze and have a staring contest. You lose, however, and blink away. 

“Why is your cat so weird?” you ask, placing the cat back down and watch her run away. 

“Probably gets it from her mom,” Corpse mumbles and you hear a smile. 

You scoff and smack his hand away gently when he reaches out to you. “Fine, you don’t get a kiss before the stream.”

“No, wait!” he shouts and grabs your hand, pulling you towards him. “I was kidding, baby.”

You smile at him and cup his cheek. “I know.” You lean down and give him a long, deep kiss. You feel him smile against your lips and you pull away. He gives you a smile.

“I love you,” he mutters, brushing some hair away from your face. 

“I love you more.” You grab his hand and press a kiss against his knuckles. You take a step back. “I’ll see you in the Discord chat, babe.”

“Okay. Also, don’t close the door all the way!” he calls to you and you look back at him, your hand on the doorknob. 

“Why?” you ask, leaning on the doorframe. 

He takes a second to respond. “Because I want Inky to come in here later.”

You laugh but smile. “Okay, fine.” You walk away from the door and across the hall into your own recording room. 

Your room is a lot different than your boyfriend’s. His room is dark and doesn’t have a lot in it. Yours, on the other hand, probably has too much stuff. Most of it is gifts from fans like stuffed animals and other knickknacks. Your desk, monitors, and lights take up a lot of the already limited space. You turn both your ring lights on after closing the door and turn on the LED lights you have attached to the ceiling. You switch them to the f/c setting and put the remote next to your coffee mug. You sit down in your black and white gaming chair and set everything up after putting on your headset. 

You join the Among Us game after beginning your stream and then the Discord call. You seem to join before Corpse because you can’t see him in the call. 

“You’ve finally decided to join us, y/n!” Felix exclaims and you smile. 

“Am I late?” you ask, taking another drink of your coffee. 

“No,” Sean replies. “I mean, we played a couple of rounds to pass the time, but nothing interesting happened.”

You nod and glance at who all is in the chat. It seems to be you, Felix, Toast, Charlie, Rae, Sean, later Corpse, and someone else who’s tag sounds familiar. 

“Oh! I invited someone new!” says Rae. “He’s a friend from college. y/n, this is Dallas.”

“Hey, y/n.”

Your eyes widen and your blood goes cold at the sound of his voice. You know him. You used to date him. In highschool before you moved away. You remember how toxic he was. He would always blow you off when you wanted to hang out and when you did hang out, he always played video games and never talked to you. 

“Hi, Dallas,” you stutter out. “Uh, hey, didn’t you and I go to highschool together?”

You can practically hear his smirk. “Yeah. We did.”

“I didn’t know you two went to school together,” Rae says happily. 

“Yep,” Dallas says. “We were friends, too.”

You want to throw up.

Suddenly, your loving and not toxic boyfriend joins the call and your spirits lift. 

“Corpse!” you exclaim, almost letting another word slip out. 

“You’re here,” says Rae. “Good noon!”

“Yeah, I’m not a morning person,” he says and you just now notice how deep his voice is. “I just woke up.”

“Oh my god,” Felix says. 

“Jesus,” says Charlie, dragging out the ‘u’.

“You just woke up?” asks Toast. 

He’s a liar, he didn’t sleep at all, you think but keep your mouth shut and laugh. 

“It’s like a forty-hertz voice,” Sean says. 

“It sounds like short wave radio,” Charlie adds. 

You laugh. “You sound like spoken brown note.”

Corpse laughs. “This is me when I wake up, that’s what...” He cuts himself off and laughs again.

“I’m scared,” says Dallas. 

“I didn’t know it could get any lower!” exclaims Sean. 

“I didn’t know you could hit puberty twice.” Felix laughs. 

After some more laughter, Corpse is introduced to Dallas. 

“Hey, man,” Corpse says. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, you too,” Dallas replies. 

“Can we start the game now?” Sean asks when everyone is in the waiting room. You take a sip of your coffee while Rae starts the game. 

You mute yourself as your role is revealed and let out a sigh of relief. “Crewmate. Good, this makes this less stressful.” You go into the hallway, following Felix and Sean to go do wires. You clear the two of them and you three go up to admin. “Okay, so for those of you wondering about my reaction to Dallas joining the stream is that he’s my ex. Uh, we dating in highschool and broke up around the end of senior year. So this is pretty awkward for me.” You break away from Sean and Felix to go do a task in the greenhouse. 

You leave out the part about Dallas where he was borderline abusive. You remember him shouting at you for asking for the littlest of things to him gaslighting you and guilt-tripping you into going skinny dipping with him. 

Maybe that’s why you love Corpse so much. He’s the opposite of Dallas. He’s sweet and he’s caring. He’s never once raised his voice at you unless you were beating him in a game. Even then you both knew he wasn’t serious. And he had never once pressured you to do something you didn’t want to do. 

You’re brought out of your thoughts when someone reports Rae’s dead body. You unmute yourself and take another drink of your coffee. 

“I found her in decontamination,” Dallas says. “I opened the door and she was right there.”

“I was down by storage doing wires,” you tell them, putting your mug down. “And I was with Felix and Jack for the beginning and I’m pretty sure they’re cleared. So it has to be either you, Toast, or Corpse. Or Charlie.”

“You almost forgot about me,” he says and you laugh. 

“We never vote on seven, right?” Toast says. 

“Not if no one is sus, no,” Corpse answers. 

“I’m skipping,” says Sean. 

You nod and skip voting. “Same here.”

Everyone skips voting and you continue on. You do the rest of your wiring tasks and go out to the balcony where you notice Corpse standing out there. You smile and walk up to him and make your characters’ “eye” parts touch. “Look, Corpse. We’re touching eyeballs.”

You can just barely make out his laugh from the room across from yours and you grin before doing to do your task. You glance at your chat while you run to the reactor with Corpse. “How have you guys been doing? Hope you’re having a good day. Don’t forget to drink some water and eat something.” You smile at the camera and enter decontamination with Corpse and Toast. 

When you enter reactor, Corpse and Toast each go to do it and you head to the sorting in the lab when suddenly a body is reported. 

You decide to be quiet and drink from your coffee while everyone else discusses what happened. You zone out a little when Dallas talks and your mind flashes back to memories you’ve been trying to forget. 

“Wait, who are we voting?” you ask when you suddenly snap back to reality. 

“Felix,” Sean answers. “He vented right in front of me.”

You nod and vote for Felix and he gets ejected. 

pEWds was ejected 

1 imposter remains

You mute yourself once more and continue to do your tasks and stick with Corpse as much as you can. Your chat notices this and begins to blow up with the ship name they have for the two of you. You laugh at the chat as you scan yourself. “Why are you guys freaking out about Corpse and me? We’re literally just walking.”

Another body is reported and this time it’s Toast’s. You know who the imposter is. You unmute yourself and quickly say, “It’s fucking Dallas, it’s a self-report.”

“What?” Dallas exclaims and you immediately sense the hint of anger in his tone. He used to get so mad during video games and it seems like nothing has changed in the past few years. “How’s it me? It could be Charlie.”

“Charlie is dead, too,” Sean says. 

“Yep. And I know both Corpse and Sean are cleared because I was with Sean for a long time and I just watched Corpse get scanned.”

Dallas scoffs. “Well, shit, you got me there.”

After Dallas is ejected, the crewmates win and you all start another round. You suddenly don’t feel like talking too much anymore and do your stream in mostly silence. Just Dallas being there and in the same call as you is making you anxious and bringing up memories you don’t want to remember. 

Your chat asks you about this and you ignore it as you continue to do your tasks as a crewmate. Your phone buzzes in your pocket and you pull it out, looking at who it is. 

corpse 🖤

are you okay? you’re being really quiet

y/n

yeah, ig. just that dallas is my ex. toxic ex too

corpse 🖤

want me to kill him for you? im imposter

You smile and shake your head. “Oh, Corpse,” you whisper to yourself. 

y/n

no dont kill him lol

You put your phone back down on the table and look back at the game. 

You don’t pay too much attention to the game until the fourth round after you and Rae lost as the imposters. You’re a crewmate once again and you’re peacefully doing your tasks when suddenly something lays on your bare feet. 

“What the?” You look down at your feet and see a little dark fuzzball on your feet. “Inky, get off my feet, baby.” You move your feet and pick her up. You hold her in your arms like a baby the way she likes and rub her belly. “Okay, go see your dad.” Inky jumps out of your arms and you watch her leave your recording room. 

You turn back to your task and continue to do them without any interruptions. You notice, however, that Dallas has been following you for most of the round. You’re starting to get a little nervous and you run into the cafeteria to get away from him when he calls an emergency meeting.

You unmute yourself and Dallas says, “I think it’s y/n. I’m pretty sure she’s faking tasks.”

“Except I’m not,” you tell him. “You’re the one following me around, too, Dallas. What’s up with that, huh?”

“I’ve been following you because you’re acting sus.”

You glare at Dallas’s character on the screen, heat rushing to your face. “I’m literally doing my tasks, I know you saw me do the card swipe--”

“Don’t listen to her,” Dallas says and he sounds far too confident. “She’s a fucking liar. She has been since the first day I met her.”

By now your face is completely red from anger and you gasp. “Excuse me?”

“What are you talking about?” Sean asks. “I’ve known y/n for a long time, she’s never told a lie so long as I’ve known her.”

“That’s because she’s too good at it,” Dallas says in a snarky tone and you’ve never wanted to punch a screen more in your life. “Her and me used to date in highschool but I broke up with her because she lied to me about everything.”

“That’s not fucking true!” you shout and you can hear blood rushing to your ears. “I was the one who broke up with you after you gaslighted me about not hanging out with you enough when in reality you were always hanging out with your stupid football friends!”

“She’s lying--”

“The fuck are you saying about my girl?” Corpse demands. 

The chat goes silent for a moment. Corpse just called you his girl. You look at your live chat and it’s exploding with “i knew it”s and lots of keyboard smashing.

“Your girl?” Dallas asks after a moment.

“Yes. My girl. As in my girlfriend.” He sounds so possessive and it’s kind of hot to you. “Why are you calling her a liar?”

Dallas stumbles on his words. “B--because she is one.”

“Right. And how long have you known her?”

“I knew her in highschool--“

“Nevermind, I literally don’t care,” Corpse interrupts him. “I’ve been living with her for the past five months and she’s never lied to me about anything.”

Dallas is quiet for once. Everyone is. No one is really even breathing but your heartbeat is rattling your brain and blood is rushing through your ears.

“I don’t wanna play anymore,” you whisper. You swallow thickly and glance at your chat. Luckily, they’re all defending you and yelling at Dallas. You turn back to the screen. “Dallas, I’m not the imposter. And stop making stupid ass accusations.”

“I--“

“Kick him,” says Felix and you can tell he sounds mad.

“No wait--“ Dallas begins to say.

“No!” Rae interrupts. “I knew there was something off about you.”

“You don’t get to come in here and talk shit about our friend,” Jack says.

“I was kidding,” Dallas tries to explain.

But then something inside you snaps. You forgot how much you hate Dallas. How he always turned the blame on you when he did something wrong. How you almost lost all of your friends because he convinced them that you were a bad person.

At first, you thought he had changed. You thought that he had actually grown up. Turns out that people don’t change.

“Like you were kidding when you almost got me kicked out of the house because you made me go out with you to go drinking?” you ask. “Or how you played a stupid trick on me when I was driving us to school and I almost fucking crashed the car and nearly killed us?”

“Jesus.” You can hear him roll his eyes. “You’re still on about that? It was April Fool’s, you should have expected it—“

“I shouldn’t have expected shit!” you yell and it comes out raw. The memory flashes in your mind and you cringe. “That wasn’t funny, Dallas! You weren’t funny! I fucking hated my life in high school. I was already stressed out because I thought I wasn’t smart enough and you being my boyfriend and ignoring me and manipulating me didn’t help.

“So fuck you. Fuck you for everything you did to me when we were teenagers. Fuck you for making me think that you changed and were actually nice and then ripping that away from me. But you know what? Thanks. Thanks for being my ex because you made me what I am today and you’re the reason I moved to California and met the love of my life.”

You suck a deep breath in and wipe at the tears that had fallen. You put your hand on your camera. “Speaking of which, I need a hug from him. Bye, guys.”

You stop streaming and disconnect from everything. You turn your computer off, unplug your headset, and turn your lights off. You sit in your chair trying not to cry in the dark.

Corpse, your mind says and you open your eyes. You really want a hug. His hugs are the best. You take your headset off and walk out of your recording room. Before you walk into Corpse’s recording room, you head to the living room and grab a fluffy gray blanket and wrap it around yourself.

You don’t even bother to knock on the door and just walk in. His room is still dark and it appears like he’s angry. You can tell by the way his voice is deeper and how he looks like he’s shaking.

But when you tap on his shoulder, he looks up at you with wide eyes. “Babe.”

You sniffle and he pushes away from his desk. You shake your head and pull his arms up above his head and settle yourself on his lap, your legs on either side of him, and wrap your arms around his neck.

“Baby,” he whispers and you lean your cheek on his shoulder. “Just fuck off, Dallas.”

Your eyes squeeze shut and you shift up a little, pushing your nose into his neck. He smells nice. “Stop talking to them.”

“What?” he looks down at you and asks what you’re doing when you take his headset off. You unplug them, thereby disconnecting him from the stream. “y/n, what are you doing?”

“I want to cuddle with you,” you mutter and bury your face into his neck.

You feel him wrap his arms around your back and he pulls you up, leaning his head on your shoulder. “Okay, baby. We can cuddle.”

The two of you sit like that for what feels like a long time. You hear Corpse’s phone buzz, but the two of you ignore it. He kisses the side of your head and you smile.

You sigh deeply as he tightens his hold against you. “Fuck that guy, baby. It’s okay.” He moves his shoulder and you look up at him. “Wanna go play Minecraft?”

A grin spreads across your face and you nod. Corpse smiles back and picks you up, bridal style, blanket and all. You squeal and laugh as he carries you to the living room. “Put me down, Corpse!”

“Alright.” He drops you into the couch and turns around to turn the Xbox on.

You huff and push your hair out of your face, keeping the blanket wrapped tight around your body. “I didn’t mean literally drop me, dummy.”

He shrugs and sits next to you, handing you a controller. “Should’ve been more specific, baby.”

You scoff but can’t hide the small smile creeping onto your lips. “Jerk.” You put the controller next to you on the couch and move the blanket so it’s over both of your laps and you lean into his side.

After playing Minecraft for the majority of the afternoon and evening, you finally drag Corpse to bed with you after ordering pizza for dinner.

His arms are wrapped tight around your waist as your back is pressed against his chest. Inky hops up onto the bed and nuzzles your hand until you begin to pet her. She lays down on her belly and you gently pat her.

“Am I really the love of your life?” Corpse asks after a long time of sitting in the quiet darkness

You nod against the pillow. “Yeah. You are.”

You can’t see him, but you know he’s smiling when he kisses the back of your neck.

Your phone on your nightstand lights up and you head Corpse’s phone buzz again as well. You think for just a moment about all of the texts, all of the messages, all of the DMs you’re getting about what happened. For a second, you panic. What if people don’t think that you’re worth to be dating Corpse? What if people are calling you a pussy for how you reacted to Dallas? What if everyone hates you?

But those thoughts immediately go away when Corpse mumbles something in that husky voice of his that makes the butterflies in your tummy come back. “You’re the love of my life, too.”

“Yeah?” you hum, your eyes slipping shut.

“Yeah,” he says and you can tell that he’s getting tired as well. “And I’m gonna marry you someday.”

An involuntary smile spreads across your face and your entire body overheats. You bite your lip in the darkness and whisper,

“And I’m gonna say yes.”

But he’s asleep. His breathing has evened out. He shouldn’t have heard you.

You know he heard you somehow, though, because his arms tighten around your waist. You wiggle backward so that you’re flush against his chest and his head drops down onto the top of your head.

You place your hands over his and close your eyes. Finally, he’s sleeping.

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

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