#and he switches so quickly when v does things that big boss ‘wouldn’t’ do without any confusion

[mirrorhouse]

hmmm thinking about how ocelot’s self-hypnosis works in mgsv (my interpretation of it anyway)

he tells snake to think of what he’s going to do to himself as “doublethink”, so to me it’s that he is always holding two conflicting and contradictory beliefs at the exact same time. depending on what’s going on, one belief is stronger than the other, and that becomes the “truth” to him.

so to him, there’s two truths: 1) i’m working with the real big boss and 2) this is just the phantom that i created.

for the majority of the time, he believes the first “truth”— although the other is always there, beneath the surface. in moments where he’s presented with information or situations that are inconsistent with what he believes to be reality (for example, snake “forgetting” russian), he’s able to subconsciously switch to the other “truth” in order to think up lies that keep the facade from faltering; to minimise the risk of the fabricated truth being splintered for himself, the phantom, and everyone around them.

then, as soon as he’s finished telling that lie, it’s no longer a lie; it’s the truth to him, incorporated into that first belief system, and that’s what he goes back to believing. so something like this:

from the mgsv script: Boss, you don’t understand what he said? Ahh… I guess that makes sense… (Ocelot is thinking of an appropriate lie) It looks like that “horn” stuck in your head has impacted the language center of your brain.

is something he’s telling himself too, a way to justify the phantom not acting like the real snake, and now it’s the real explanation. he knows he’s just a copy beneath the surface, but at the same time, he’s able to totally convince himself he’s not, and that he’s the real thing.

all throughout mgsv (or at least, until the time is right for him to completely abandon the “truth” he’s convinced himself of and understand that the real big boss is who he’s truly working with— whenever that is) i think he’s actively lying to and manipulating not just everyone else, but also himself, yet he doesn’t even fully realise it.

[hatterstan-shameblog]

Okay so Aguni is sound asleep, just enjoying the few hours of peace he has, when there's a knock on the door. He ignores it, but the person just keeps knocking and knocking.

"Morizono, open the goddamn door!" he hears Takeru call, "This is an emergency!"

He groans to himself before standing up and opening the door.

"What?"

"So, remember that weird chonky cat Niragi found?"

"Yeah... what about it?"

"It's not fat... and is not a cat."

Where Hatter and apparently every other idiot at the Beach mistake a domesticated pregnant genet for a fat exotic cat. And it just gave birth on Hatter's bed.

I have no idea in what direction this is supposed to go lol but hopefully something chaotic.

alright I had to look up what a genet is and DAMN they are CUTE AS HELL and I’m love them v much

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Terminator

Rating: PG-13 for dialogue and like one drug reference

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Aguni Morizono is a simple man who enjoys simple pleasures.

He enjoys a healthy slathering of grape jelly on his toast. He enjoys watching the sunset reflect over the ocean. He enjoys watering his garden and reading the newspaper and taking naps on the sofa on Sunday afternoons after he’s finished his grocery shopping for the week.

What he does not particularly enjoy is being shaken awake by a borderline-frantic Takeru in the middle of the night.

Takeru insists that he has a good reason; that this is an emergency. Aguni reminds him that running out of marijuana does not qualify as an emergency, and pulls the blanket over his head in an attempt to shut the very exuberant man out.

But the aforementioned exuberant man refuses to be shut out, and he references the aforementioned emergency again—this time insisting that it is an actual real emergency and requires immediate attention. Aguni sincerely doubts this and tries his damnedest to fall back to sleep—a truly Herculean task, given Takeru’s incessant talking and the way he’s bouncing on the other side of the mattress like some kind of weird large puppy. Aguni is just about to enter the first misty moments of dozing off as Takeru says words like ‘Niragi’ and ‘cat’ and ‘bed’ and it’s all somewhat possible to ignore until he utters one word that makes Aguni sit straight up.

‘Babies.’

Now, ‘babies’ as a concept does not bother Aguni. He’s actually somewhat fond of them, the way they unabashedly stare at him on the train or in the park, eyes wide and fat little hands waving a clumsy ‘hello’ in his general direction. And if he waves back sometimes, well...that’s his business. (It’s only polite, after all.)

No, the issue here is that ‘babies’ and ‘the Borderlands’ sounds like a terrible, terrible mix. What’s worse is that said babies have, for some reason, been left in Takeru’s care. And, judging from Takeru’s presence in his room, the babies have been left alone.

It takes no time at all for Aguni to throw on a pair of pants and slip into his boots. It takes even less time for him to grab Takeru by the collar of his robe and physically drag him down the hall, the other man switching between heartfelt thank-you’s and desperate pleas for Aguni to be gentle when handling the raw silk of his ensemble.

Now, to those of us on the outside of Aguni’s brain, it may seem like he hasn’t thought this through; that he has tunnel-vision’d his way through the last two paragraphs without a logical thought as to how and why ‘babies’ may be present. That is simply not true. Aguni has considered that ‘babies’ could actually mean a number of things aside from ‘human infants’ and has thus compiled a short list of the three most likely candidates:

The spider plant he had placed on Takeru’s windowsill has propagated—or, as some would call it, ‘had babies.’ This is Aguni’s favorite option of the bunch. It is also the least likely.

Something about the cards. Although Aguni has never Takeru refer to them as ‘his babies,’ it is no secret that he is very protective of his prized collection. Seeing as this may or may not affect the entire Beach, it’s important for him to be aware of the situation.

Takeru is high as a goddamn kite and hallucinating. This is, unfortunately, the most likely scenario.

It is also important to mention that Aguni has taken a good look at his life and his choices throughout this ordeal, particularly when Takeru commented on the state of his biceps and made an off-color insinuation about the right one looking slightly more defined than the left—and then asked if he would like to discuss his love life, with an exaggerated raise of his eyebrows. Aguni chose not to comment. He also chose to push Takeru into the doorframe on the way into his suite, and took a smidge of pleasure when his head collided with the wood with a satisfying clunk-ing sound.

“Look,” Takeru says proudly, pointing a finger at the bed, “babies!”

Nestled in what a bulging nest of fluffy white blankets are...things. Fuzzy things. One big fuzzy thing, with sleepy eyes and what looks to be a long spotted tail wrapped around one, two, three tiny fuzzy things. When Aguni leans in to get a closer look, the big one quirks a corn-chip-shaped ear and gives him a wary glare.

“What,” Aguni asks, “in the goddamn—“

But before Aguni is able to finish his sentence, Takeru is giving him a stinging slap on the arm.

“Aguni Morizono,” he hisses, hands balled into fists and perched on his hips like a mother hen, “I will not have my children exposed to that kind of language.”

There are plenty of things wrong with what Takeru just said, but Aguni is having trouble getting past the idea that these...creatures have somehow been claimed by his very silly friend.

“Think about it,” Takeru continues, swanning his way past a very confused (and tired) Aguni to sit on the edge of the bed just behind the brood of fluffy individuals, “This lovely lady could have given birth on anyone’s bed...but she chose mine.  Why do you think that is?”

“Because you leave the sheets all balled up in the middle and it’s the perfect place for an animal to make a nest?”

“Wrong, but I like how confident you sounded when you said it!”

With his hands pressed together and held in front of his lips, Takeru looks almost prayerful as he very seriously explains his theory.

“A woman alone-- heavily pregnant, scared, and lost in these cold and cruel Borderlands.  Her thoughts shift to her young.  Who will keep them safe?  Who will help take care of them?  That’s when her instincts took over,” Takeru opens his arms, the silken cuffs of his robe pooling around his elbows, “and, using her superior sense of smell, followed her nose to the den of the nearest alpha male for protection.”

Aguni wishes he could say that this is the dumbest thing he’s ever heard. He also wishes he had a cup of coffee (with a healthy glug of Bailey’s in there for good measure) before this whole event took place.

Takeru has since busied himself with the tiny new mother and her young, watching with gentle fascination as the newborns snuffle and snooze against her with unopened eyes and clumsy paws. When he reaches out a ring-bedecked hand to stroke along the bigger one’s head, she gives him a small growl and a pointed glare—to which he laughs and withdraws his touch, saying something cheeky about “the last time she let a man get too close” and quickly following it up with a promise to talk about it “after the kids are asleep.”

Takeru has just held up his hand for a high-five (which Aguni has decided to not reciprocate) when they hear a crash and then a bang and then the thundering thumpthumpthump of angry booted footsteps rapidly approaching their position in the bedroom. For some reason—a reason he’s not very keen to dwell upon at the current moment—Aguni instantly snaps into defense mode, hands curling into fists and shoulders squaring themselves in anticipation of a coming attack.

“WHERE. IS. TERMINATOR!?”

Niragi bursts into the room like a firework, all noise and flash and fire in his eyes. His knuckles strain around the dark of his rifle, ready to shoot at a moment’s notice. Of course, Aguni knows (hopes) he won’t actually resort to filling Takeru full of bullets, but he keeps a close eye on his trigger finger, anyways.

“Ah! There’s my co-parent,” Hatter says with a measure of glee, gesturing with a flourish of his hand towards the cute, hairy pile on his bed, “As you can see, our lovely Terminator is doing very well and—“

“Our? She’s not fucking ours, she’s fucking mine,” Niragi snaps, “and I’m gonna fucking kill you for stealing my cat.”

“Not a cat,” a calm voice says, and Aguni turns to see Last Boss lurking in the doorway, katana sheathed and arms crossed, “She’s a common genet, native to the savanna’s of Africa.”

“Ooh, does that mean the babies have dual citizenship? No, wait,” Hatter claps his hands together with glee, “triple citizenship? Africa, Japan, and the Borderlands?!”

“Africa’s not a country, it’s a continent, dumbass,” Niragi retorts, “and I think we have bigger problems than what’s going to be on their fucking passports.”

It’s probably not the best thing in the world for Aguni to let Takeru and Niragi descend into heated bickering—a back-and-forth of ‘you stole her’ versus ‘no, she chose me’—but Aguni is simply not interested in breaking up their squabbling. Instead he goes to stand by Last Boss, who’s watching the two long-haired men argue like it’s a mildly interesting tennis match.

“So,” Aguni says, “you, uh, seem to know a lot about those things.”

“I did my research when Niragi first brought her back,” Last Boss says calmly, “He’s good with her, but I wanted to make sure we were taking care of her correctly.”

“Did you know she was pregnant?”

“I had my suspicions. Niragi wouldn’t listen, though. Kept telling me she was just fat.”

“Yeah, I thought she was ‘just fat,’” Niragi interjects, his gun no longer pointed at Takeru but a murderous gleam still in his eye, “because this fucking asshole kept feeding her potato chips!”

“Because she loves them,” Takeru shouts back, throwing his arms up in the air, “So shoot me for being a nice guy and sharing my snacks with your weird cat!”

“Don’t,” both Last Boss and Aguni say in unison—which is very uncomfortable for the both of them, but at least it has the desired effect of keeping Niragi from blasting a few dozen holes through Takeru’s person.

With the two of them quickly getting back into their heated back-and-forth, Aguni turns his attention to the creatures on the bed. Somehow, despite all of the noise and excitement, the mother and her babies have curled up and fallen asleep, the rhythmic rise and fall of their bellies a stark contrast to the chaos unfolding around them. Aguni feels jealous, but also, feels bad about feeling jealous because this...Terminator thing has undoubtedly had a rough night, too.

“Luckily,” Last Boss says, “genets are pretty independent creatures. She’ll be fine to take care of the kits on her own, provided that she has access to food and water.”

“So we should just...leave her alone?”

Last Boss shrugs.

“More or less.”

Aguni sighs internally. He sighs externally, too, but the internal sigh is the one that really sums up his thoughts on the whole situation. Just getting one of those hot-headed men to leave those poor animals alone is challenging enough, but both of them? That’s bordering on ‘damn near impossible.’

But, for the sake of those weird fuzzy babies, he has to try.

Takeru jumps when he feels Aguni’s hand on his elbow. He also manages to shut up for a moment, which is a nice bonus. Last Boss has also sprung into action and seems to be talking to Niragi in hushed tones, a hesitant but friendly hand on his shoulder.

“C’mon,” Aguni says, gentle-firm as he guides Takeru into a standing position—much to the other man’s confusion.

“Mori, what—?”

“You’ve had a big night. I’ve had a big night. But do you know whose had the biggest night of us all?” Aguni gestures to the snoozing creatures in front of them, “Terminator. She’s exhausted, and the last thing she needs is the four of us keeping her up. You can stay with me tonight, and we’ll figure the rest out tomorrow.”

“But,” Takeru protests—an iota quieter, now that he’s realized that the pipe on the bed is now a sleeping pile, “we can’t just leave them alone, can we?”

“You’re right. Which is why,” Aguni says, “Last Boss is going to stay with her and keep an eye on things. If he’s okay with that, of course?”

Last Boss offers a solemn nod. Aguni makes a mental note to thank him for this later—maybe he’ll let him pick the music on their next supply run (provided it’s from Aguni’s list of pre-approved artists, of course...)

“You know what? Fucking fine,” Niragi spits, flicking his hair back with a quick jerk of his hand, “it’s too goddamn late to deal with you fucking losers, anyways. I’ll come back to collect my cat and her kittens in the morning.”

Aguni does not risk correcting Niragi on his incorrect terminology regarding his pets—frankly, he’s a little too busy being amazed at how suspiciously easy it was to get him to leave. With a sharp pivot, Niragi is exiting the room in what could be called a ‘brisk saunter,’ no doubt wanting to put as much distance between himself and whatever-the-hell just happened in this room as possible.

Aguni, for once, can relate to Niragi quite well.

With Last Boss keeping vigil over the new little family, Aguni is able to wrangle Takeru away from his room with minimal fuss. It’s probably because the man is very tired—despite multiple claims that he ‘isn’t sleepy yet’ and ‘can stay up for hours.’ This theory is proven when, within a grand total of seven seconds of Takeru flopping face-first onto the middle of Aguni’s bed, he’s managed to slip into what only can be described as a ‘light coma.’

Aguni manages to wrestle a stray pillow away from his sleeping friend’s grasp (he’s a notoriously cuddly sleeper, which has led to some...interesting situations over the course of their friendship) and settles his weary self onto the couch. It’s not quite long enough to accommodate his height, but it’s good enough for what will most likely end up being an extended nap before the sun comes up and he needs to solve whatever other issues have popped up at the Beach overnight.

...But, at least those problems won’t involve babies.

Probably.

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Also here is a common genet and DAMN SIS U CUTE AS HELL

[synoxshots]

The Master KOTFE Adventure

My latest project has been playing through KotFE on master mode.

Why ever would you want to do that? you may ask, and I have asked myself the same thing. In short, it was a mix of having a light sided empire toon that I didn't want the autocompletes on, and the fact that he is also the best geared character I've ever had and the discipline I've had most experience playing. And I've run through KotFE quite a few times so, freshening it up I guess? 

So this is how it went. This isn't a guide - more, a record of my experiences as I went through. As ever, some things I found easy others might find hard, and (more likely, lbr) vice versa. 

The gamer:

I play a Rage Jugg, wear Descent of the Fearless set, gear level 306 with a full set of 286 augments. So - very well geared, but not fully optimised stats wise. Experience wise for this - I'd done a few chapters on vet mode before with a Guardian (Focus) and Powertech (Pyrotech) though not always at max gear (probably in the 290s when I first gave it a go), and I like trying to solo group content like vet fps (master for Red Reaper only) because I don't love myself, I guess. A smidge of ops experience. I'm reasonably competent as a player but also prone to stupid, I don't claim to be great by any means.

Chapter I

All went smoothly, died on the last fight against the BD-148 elite skytrooper - but that was just because I forgot about heroic moments existing, given that half the chapter is spent without a companion. Used my enraged defence a few times but never really felt at risk of dying. Apart from the one time when I did, obviously. Marr goes up to 28 influence automatically. Lots of mobs can be skipped as they're already engaged in fights.

Chapter II

Quite a few mobs you can skip around. Valkorion heals you though he's not a companion so no heroic moment. Last monolith did get me close to death sometimes, so there was a bit of running away so I could heal up a bit more, and making good use of defensive abilities. But no deaths on this one!

Chapter III

I died twice on this one, both were easily preventable. The first was against the Ground Assault Walker (massive droid before the bridge) and pretty much because I hadn't raised Lana's influence yet, so I upped it to 20 before starting the fight again and cleared it very quickly. Sidenote: a while back I bought a bunch of Spiced Aric Tongue from the Jawa scrap peddlers as I didn't know what else to do with all that, Lana accepts it so it's a nice quick way to up her level (Koth likes it too, a lot, which is handy). Second death was against like, a handful of skytroopers when I was shutting down the reactor and really it was mostly because I wasn't paying attention properly, though Lana died both times at this point. There's another fight where these prototype skytroopers keep swarming and I was a bit nervous because there were kolto stations there and I couldn't entirely remember how intense it got. The answer was...not intense at all and I definitely didn't need them. The final fight on this one is the two Zakuul knights but they didn't cause me any problems. All in all I'd say the deaths I've had so far have all been my own fault.

Chapter IV

This...did not go as well. And I'm not entirely sure why, just bad play on my part I think mostly, sometimes there are days when I just play like trash *shrug*. Not timing things like enraged defence, heroic moments and so on very well which meant I died a few times to wildlife - twice the larger bosses, twice mobs of normal/strong ones. Yeah... Kept upping my companion influence so all three (Lana, Koth and HK by this point) got up to 27 but I think even higher than that may be needed as they just didn't seem to be healing well. 

Chap V

I was a bit wary heading into this one, as it was one I'd run before on vet mode and remembered having trouble with the skytrooper waves. I was less geared then though, and had less companion influence doing that, having now taken everyone up to about 32. I didn't record any deaths on this though had a near miss - but I had saved my enraged defence/heroic moment and so on and hit them at the right time. Hey, I'm playing smarter! 

Chapter VI

I found this chapter easy when I'd run it on veteran not long before, but that was not the case on master. Died the first time against Oggo, that was my own fault though, although he does have one particular ability that hits very hard. Then came the Scions. Ohhh boy. The first two you face killed me, fair enough I hadn't had a chance to raise Senya's influence yet. The second two, Venat and Berusal, caused me pain. The good thing is that when fighting the pairs and you take one down, if you die the other doesn't respawn. The other good thing is that Venat and Berusal can be pulled separately, the bad news is I found this out after a few attempts. And Berusal still killed me on his own the first time. I was not having a fun time. And then you face Heskal without a companion. It takes a bit of tactics. I tried to damage him whilst he was doing Debris Storm, though still had to avoid the red circles. Turbulence gives a lot of damage, so had to hastily get out the way/interrupt it. He also stuns you which isn't fun. Valky pops up and offers you an out after the first phase, unfortunately I decided to stay true to character and not take it. Bad times were had. I went to lunch. I asked a friend to help. My internet got switched off before that could happen. I found out I was able to summon a companion...I know I'm not supposed to story wise, and I'm not sure if you can normally (there's a lot of times when companion summon buttons are greyed out due to story restrictions) or if this was only because I'd previously logged out...but suddenly the fight became a lot easier. Funny that. Sigh. Moving on...

Chapter VII

Honestly not much to say about this one, nothing that caused me trouble. A lot of it is in the open world so regular difficulty rather than scaled to master. 

Chapter VIII

This one wasn't much trouble either, did die once when stuff was on cooldown, once in the final Arcann fight. Kiting him over and hitting the conduits there is a big help as they stun him, that is probably very obvious but I've literally never bothered with them on story or vet mode. We're halfway there!

Chapter X

This one also gave me a Time. The problem I had was when you come up against Faedral and Zaamsk. My first thought was the difficulty was because I hadn't raised Kaliyo's influence (oops, but you get her on the spot and I didn't have gifts handy...or at least the ones I thought she liked she didn't actually) (this is how I found out that agent!Kaliyo and alliance!Kaliyo have different preferences, apparently this will also apply to other - but not all - returning companions). But I raised her to 28 and still kept dying. It's a bit of a nasty fight honestly, and the guide I looked at said that juggs...aren’t ideal for it. Crowd control and interrupts are very handy. I kept getting really close to getting one of them down and dying just before I could, super annoying because it's another of those where if you take one down and die, you only have to face the other one. I took a break and read the guide more closely, watched some videos, and ultimately just decided to bring someone along to avoid the pain, or maybe share in it. I still died but we got through them. The fight against Tayvor Slen, the boss fight of the chapter, took a couple of tries with two of us - the first time I got stuck in a red circle and pretty much insta-killed. There was a bit of a close call on the second attempt but it was under control really. The achievement then comes through for chapter completion, all you have to do then is get out of the Overwatch, all things rosy right? Oh how wrong they were. A bunch of Zakuul Knights came along and literally just slaughtered us, full on, one-shotting us both - it was hilarious and extremely confusing because why?? how?? Did the bonus mission to get the prisoners to escape (look out for the glowing terminal, it says 'Overwatch Prison Logs' when you hover over it) - they one-shot a few Knights but then disappeared on us too. Who knows. But we got through it.

Chapter XI

A much nicer one though still had a handful of deaths. Where you meet up with Havoc Squad there's ambush of Skytroopers, followed by a couple of walkers - and the walkers beat me. They cast circles that I just couldn't get out of in time to save my health, even with my defensives. I'm not sure if they were the type to follow you or a sort of stamp move (I should have looked at the cast bar, come to think of it) - I suspect though it was the latter and so it wouldn't be an issue on a ranged character. The fight though does continue around you if you die so you don't lose the progress you make, just use the med probe, revive and rejoin. I only took Jorgan to level 7 because that was all the gifts I had, but most of the mobs were just regular trash, typically 3 at a time, which was no worry. When you attack the base the Knights are a bit harder - there's one round the back that does stealth strikes and that's a difficult one to face. I died - the respawn to medbay actually puts you inside the part with the forcefield you're supposed to take down, and then you can't get out of it...I maintain that I did find a way past the forcefield but it doesn't work as a cheesing method. Use your med probe, otherwise it's quick travel out and re-enter your phase. The final battle is a big droid (I forgot the name of it). It spawns a bunch of smaller droids, just ignore those and go for the boss - I didn't the first time and that's why I died - I lost Jorgan, I had two Knights chasing me whilst the droid put up shields, it didn't go well - second time I did it in less than a minute whilst using a heroic moment.

Chapter XII

This one you don't have a companion for, though it's not a big deal - for the most part my main enemy, as tends to be the case on this chapter, was the map. I think the regular mobs are scaled down a bit for playing without a companion. You can pick up an animal to help you as well, which you may as well do as things just die quicker. It runs off in caves. Valkorion does take your health down a fair chunk before he gives you his beat down but it wasn't so bad. Vaylin though took quite a few attempts. You can't interrupt her so you have to be on the ball with your defensives and timing them all, which includes the shield and medpac given in your temporary bar for the chapter. Really the medpac isn't that effective so don't count on it. There's a lot of running around as she casts red circles. Probably easier with a character with more self heals. I got through it after a few efforts, after getting close a few times, though even then I was still low on health by the end.

Chapter XIII

Yeah, this one was no trouble really, and that was with Gault at only level 4 influence. If things get hairy whack a bit more on him, there's no real mechanics to pose problems. As ever, good practice to stay out of circles on the boss fight, you have Vette there as well so a bit of extra damage going and yeah. Nothing to worry about.

Chapter XIV

Another that was nice and simple, I didn't even have any gifts to give Torian so was wandering around with him on level 1. Just a matter of timing defensives and heroic moments in that case. Lots is open world, too. Final boss fight was no problem at all.

Chapter XV

Reading guides for this put the fear of god into me, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it better than expected. The bosses were the toughest parts. The first is the Skytrooper Constructor, that one does spawn adds after a while as well. It killed me a couple of times but really I'm not sure what the best strategy was so I just went for the classic, burn it as fast as I possibly can and making use of heroic moment/defensives as well. The GEMINI droid at the end had me worried. That took 3 attempts (maybe 4, I think it was just 3 though), one of those my heroic moment was still on cooldown and Senya died quickly on it too. It was really just about managing defensives effectively as well, running away when she has the red cone in front of you, using the heroic moment for extra speedy damage. It was a close call in the end but my enraged defence came off cooldown at the perfect moment, thank you Grit Teeth. I wouldn't say this was an easy chapter by any means so quite proud of myself for getting through it on my own! The other thing I would say is watch out for the lasers - they don't do lots of damage on story mode, but on master they one-shot you if you get caught in them! The other various traps I probably got through easier than I have on the lower difficulties which may just be a testament to this being like, my fifth complete kotfe run at this stage haha.

Chapter XVI

The final chapter...and the one I was the most scared of. Took Lana up to lvl 50 in preparation...she duly died early on in the first boss anyway. KJ-931 is the first boss - I say first boss, there's still a high rank enemy immediately before that I died to a few times anyway and needed a heroic moment to beat. First attempt against KJ I actually came really close. Stay out of the aoes - there's a white circle and a yellow cone, as well as a big red laser thing where you have to rush to the corner and if you can - micromanage Lana well enough that she doesn't get caught up in them too. So I learnt that I am not good at micromanaging companions like that. Take the turrets rather than the shields, definitely - apparently the shields also have limited use, the turrets pull aggro as well as giving you damage so they're very handy. Sometimes on this fight I got one-shotted very quickly, others I managed to hold on a bit - but it was the first attempt that was my best run until I actually did it. Honestly I can't say what the trick was to finally getting it right...just a lot of blind panic and luck. Second boss is Dara Nadal - I found it easier to just go for the intense burn on her - put down the turrets, use a heroic moment, set Lana to damage as well and burn. Still took a few attempts on her but each time I was getting very close so I knew I would get there.

And then came Arcann. Ooooh boy. I'd been reading guides and watching videos in preparation but there's still a lot to keep on top of. I decided to use the Marr & Satele Special Saber rather than my usual one - having the benefit of being able to run around quickly was handy, and the other ability reflects damage from his saber attack. This took many attempts - some that went very quickly, some that got him to his final phase. Rather than going into specifics I'm going to link to this video as it probably explains what to do best (it’s handy for all the bosses). You really have to watch for the moment he gets to ~25% and stands in one spot - if you aren't able to do the shield whacky he will kill you straight up. My first time running towards him with the shield in that very last phase I died on the way up. It took me a long time and a lot on repair bills but this is another one I was very proud of for getting through on my own as there were times I didn't think I would.

General stuff:

I would say doing this is not for the light-hearted but it’s certainly possible! Apart from one chapter where I grabbed a friend I got through them all on my own

Some classes fair better in certain chapters than others. I went with my Jugg all the way through, but if you have the characters geared and you know them well enough - and you're doing this for the cheevos rather than going through the storyline - you're likely better off mixing and matching as you go. There were many occasions I wished I had range.

You will die to trash mobs. It is a fact of life. It feels embarrassing in the early chapters, you come to accept this and move on.

Companion influence helps a lot. Koth, Lana, and Senya all like delicacies (especially Koth, that man can eat) - you can grab these from the Jawa vendors in the cartel bazaar on fleet.

Med droids are also a booming industry thanks to the amount I've spent on repairs in the course of this.

There are more mechanics compared to story mode, and some that exist in story mode that you just notice more on master. But apparently the difference between vet and master is just artificial - more health and hitting harder. 

Going Commando is another good resource for their experiences playing through.

[gallavictorious]

11x03 Fill-In Ficlet: Use Your Words (Or Don’t)

How do they go from sniping at each other in the kitchen to enthusiastically banging it out just a little while later? And why on Earth is horrible, horrible dirty talk suddenly a thing?

Well, they have this whole conversation where they basically talk things through but, you know, in their Ian and Mickey way of not talking things through but totally talking things through. You know? Also, there are kisses.

Warnings for some truly atrocious attempts at dirty talk but no actual smut. Also vague displays of a fucked-up relationship with violence, and clueless dumbasses trying, and only halfway succeeding, to chill with the misogyny and toxic masculinity. For all that this is mostly ridiculous and self-indulgent fluff.

Read below or on AO3.

---

They walk home from the Alibi together, but six feet apart and in silence.

Dinner is mostly silence, too, the celebration of Carl's first arrest dampened by Lip's outburst and Debbie storming off. Lip and Tami soon excuse themselves; Liam has homework; it's Carl's turn to do the dishes. (That mostly means they won't get done, but at least they'll know whom to blame when there's no clean plates or knives in the morning.)

Mickey's pours himself another glass of Jameson, but pauses when Ian abruptly rises from the table. His husband doesn't spare him a second glance though, but merely puts the half-thawed vegetables back in the freezer and walks off with a half-hearted “night” to his two younger brothers.

Well, fuck you too.

Mickey can feel Liam's eyes on him, but for once the kid keeps his mouth shut.

Smart kid.

Mickey takes his time emptying the glass. Takes the time to fill it up again and empty it once more too, while pointedly not listening to a single word Carl is saying about the fucking arrest he made.

Then it's getting late and there's nothing for it and he's sick and tired of them not being fine anyway, so fuck it.

He leaves the glass on the table for Carl to tidy away.

In their room Ian's sitting on the bed with his back towards the wall and a book in his lap. He looks up when Mickey enters, but doesn't say anything and promptly turns his attention back to his paperback. His jaw is set, but his shoulders slumped. Angry still, then - but tired even more than angry. Defeated, maybe.

Mickey fucking hates to see it.

He busies himself by the drawers, aimlessly rifling through the socks for something to do with his hands. “So. Quit your job?”

There's a brief pause, as if Ian's trying to determine whether Mickey's trying to start something again, and whether or not to strike first with a snarky reply. In the end he settles for a soft exhalation and,  “Yep. Tried to make me to work for free through my lunch break.”

He'd told Mickey as much already, at the Alibi. Hadn't gone so good, so this time Mickey tries for a different response: “Fuck 'em. We'll be fine 'til you find something else. Too good for that fucking place anyway.”

Another pause, long enough that Mickey turns from his fumbling with the socks to look at his husband. Ian's staring down at his book, mouth opening and closing a few times, like he's on the edge of saying something but then thinks better of it.

“Yeah,” he mutters at long last. “Don't know that I am anymore. Bipolar ex-convict in the worst economy in fucking lifetime? Not seeing a lot of options for me here.” Before Mickey has time to think of an appropriate response to that Ian's eyes darts to his face; darts away just as quickly. “Manager called me a little bitch.”

Oh. Okay. Yeah. Fuck.

Moving over to the bed, Mickey sits down on the edge of it. “That manager's a fucking idiot. The hell does he know? That's bullshit.”

Ian lifts his head at that, looking at Mickey with something that might be hope tempered with wary skepticism, and a hint of challenge. “Really?”

Mickey meets his gaze without flinching; holds it for a moment. “Yeah, man. Bet that asshole knew you could break him in half without breaking a sweat, that's why he's spouting stupid fucking stupid shit like that.”

A beat, to let that sink in, and then Mickey allows his lips curl into a grin, pulling his legs up on the bed to crawl over to Ian and crowd him: “'Cause you know you're the toughest motherfucker on the South Side, so big and so strong and so manly.” He reaches out to squeeze Ian's left bicep for emphasis.

“You're a dick.” But Ian doesn't pull away and he's starting to smile, as Mickey hoped he would; it's in his eyes first, softening and a glimmer, and then it's on his lips, growing wider.

Mickey feels his own grin grow wider too, as something in his chest loosens and lets up.

“Yeah?” he asks, eyebrows suggestively raised as he, ignoring the dull protest of his aching ribs, leans in to let his lips brush over Ian's in a not-quite-a-kiss. “Whatcha gonna do about it, huh? Gonna bend me over and pound me so hard I fucking scream? Gonna make me beg for your... your big, fat cock?”

Ian tilts his head to the side, brow furrowed in faux affront. “You calling my dick fat?”

“Think I've got the right to, Tim Kruger, I've choked on it enough times.”

A snort of surprised laughter and then Ian's hand is on the back of his head, pulling him in for a kiss that is hard and hungry and coming home. Mickey shifts to straddle his thighs, their lips never parting, and fuck, it's just been a few days but it's been too fucking long.

It goes on for some time; Ian's arms around him, fingers scratching against his scalp; Mickey's hands running up and down Ian's sides, as they kiss and they kiss and they kiss.

At long last, with a long sigh, Ian pulls back a little, his eyes searching Mickey's as he runs a thumb over his cheek.

“You want me to do that?” he asks after a moment, and there's just the faintest note of uncertainty in his voice.

Mickey doesn't like it. He doesn't want Ian to be uncertain about him, about them, ever. But he bites down on the urge to bristle. Takes a deep breath. “Do what?”

“Bend you over.” A tentative, lopsided smile. “Make you beg”

Ah. “Ain't never said no to that shit before, Gallagher.” How the hell is that even a question?  Okay, there'd been this morning, kind of, and maybe a few times when they just started fucking and he had issues and things got a little too intense or whatever, and he's not so much for the actual begging, but in general, Mickey's never been opposed to Ian getting a little – or a lot – decisive with him.

Least not as long as he doesn't make him feel lesser than for liking it that way.

“Mm.” Ian nods, but he doesn't lean back in to resume the kiss. Instead he reaches out to run his hand over Mickey's thigh, idly, and with a pensive look on his face.

Mickey very, very badly wants to tell him that now that that's cleared up maybe you could get on with it but he's determined not to be (too much of) an asshole tonight; to be patient. He waits, and eventually Ian looks up. The uncertainty has seemingly fled; the look in his green eyes is calm once more, and direct:

“So just to be clear: you're not exclusively a top now?”

“What? Hell no.” Mickey makes a face, genuinely taken aback by the notion, but then he shrugs. “Doesn't mean I'd mind switching it up once in a while, though. We've tried all kinds of new shit after we got married, figured it might be fun to try that too.” He pauses, chewing his lip. “Thought you'd be cool with it.”

Ian smiles, reaching out to give a playful little tug to Mickey's hair. “Give me some warning next time and I will be.” Abruptly, his smile turns devilish. “After all, how could I resist such a stunning embodiment of pure masculine prowess?”

Mickey's eyes widen. Oh. Uh-huh. All right then.

“I dunno,” he says, pushing hard for feigned thoughfulness even as he pushes his ass down on Ian's groin, wiggling just a little. “Seems like six pack-packing, strong-willed, stoic soldier boy like you could resist just about anything.”

Ian's quiet laugher is cut short by a sharp intake of breath as Mickey leans in to nip at his ear. “Even a – ah – man-swole hardass?”

“Yeah, 'cause you're such a top dog alpha male.“

“Ultra super power bottom.“

“Fierce and ruthless devastator of assholes.”

“Yeah, asshole is right... Ow! Okay, you're going down … you big manly boss man.“

---

If there is a moment, quite some time later, when they're both happy and spent and relaxing in each other's arms –

If there is a moment, when Ian's eyes stray to the bruises on on Mickey's side, and if he reaches out to let his fingers brush over them in the whisper of a touch, if a shadow passes over his face –

Mickey will catch his hand and bring it up to his lips to press a quick kiss to it.

“Looks worse than it is,” he will say and Ian's lips will twist, in rueful smile or grimace or both:

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Bastard who jumped me hits like a fucking - “ Mickey will break off and make a disgusted face. “Hits like a... a... a fucking weak person. Jesus Christ. Fucking V.”

Ian will chuckle. A bit weakly, perhaps, still a little lost to the lingering memories of the afternoon, but he will chuckle. Will pull Mickey closer to him, carefully; push his nose to his hair and breathe him in. “I love you.”

And Mickey will smile. “Mm. I know. Love you, too.”

---

A/N: Listen, I don't begrudge anyone engaging in bad dirty talk if that's what gets them going, but I didn't really expect it for Ian and Mickey. I guess this is my attempt to wed what we saw in mid-credits scene to my already established perception of the characters. Oh, and I have a kink for understated reconciliation so there was no way in hell I wouldn't jump on this. XD That also means I want to read ALL THE FIC written on this topic, so if you write/see any, please let me know?

Tim Kruger is a gay porn star with a huge dick, btw. I know this because I googled "gay porn star huge dick". I have some regrets.

[veiledpeaches]

chance encounters | part ii: i just want to be untangled

Summary: Between pages of meddling friends and societal expectations, all she actually wants is to find a happily ever after with Doyoung, even if it feels like that is no longer possible.

part i x part ii x part iii x part iv x part v x part vi

word count: 3.5k

GIF originally posted by @lukhei​

Johnny’s laugh rings loud and infectious in her ears, and Haewon squeezes her eyes shut as the glare of the morning sun shines into the passenger seat. She had forgotten her damn sunglasses. They had left their apartment at barely eight in the morning, but the sun was relentless nonetheless. It’s still too early to think, and Johnny hasn’t even had his morning coffee but he remains energetic as ever, his pink aviators jovially perched on the bridge of his nose.

“He really said that?” He turns to pull down the passenger seat visor for her, “that the kid won because of how he looks?”

“There’s no way something like that could win!”  Haewon mimics, “the emotions are too raw and the writing is too unrefined. He doesn’t even know his tenses!”

Johnny erupts into raucous laughter once again, “he’s such a literary snob!  I swear, for someone who preaches about discovering young authors’ works and all that future generations stuff, he’s a hell of a hypocrite.” Johnny’s shoulders are still shaking from laughter as he shakes his head.

Haewon smiles, “well, he’s thorough.”

“That’s what makes him so attractive to you, isn’t it?” He turns to wink at her playfully, but his face falls into concern when he hears a long sigh escape from her lips as she sinks deeper into her seat.

“So how’re you doing there kiddo?” He’s deliberately being generic, but Haewon can tell what he’s referring to.

She inhales deeply, and then lets it go.

“I don’t know,” she replies truthfully.

“It’s a month and a half to the big day,” Johnny softens his voice, slowing down to switch lanes. “Doyoung told me you haven’t RSVP’d yet.”

They don’t say the word ‘wedding’ in their conversations anymore, not since they got their invitations in the mail and Johnny watched her sink into their couch, her shoulders bunched and jaw tightened. Because Haewon doesn’t cry – not sober, anyway – and Johnny doesn’t have the heart to ask her to let it out, knowing how obstinate and prideful she can get about her feelings.

Three years ago, in a conversation with Mama Suh, Johnny unintentionally found out that his childhood friend was planning a move to Seoul. Upon further probing, it seemed that she had left a difficult relationship two years ago and really needed a change of scenery. While she’s only three years younger than him, Johnny has always felt protective over the shy girl who likes to read and who used to live two houses down from his, and had reached out to her without qualms. A month later, a place and a position was ready for Haewon.

What Johnny wasn’t ready for, was seeing the look on her face when Doyoung dropped off some food from Mama Kim at their house – that expression that revealed that she had fallen too deep and too fast, before Johnny had told her anything personal about Doyoung.

“What would you do if you were me?”

“I wouldn’t go. You don’t have to do this to yourself, Haewon.” Johnny clucks his tongue, signaling a left turn to the driver behind. “He’s just your boss, you don’t owe it to him. Just make something up.”

That’s true, she thinks. After all, he’s just my boss.

And in a couple of months, maybe even something less.

Finding Doyoung in a sea of dark-haired, frustrated travelers isn’t easy, so Haewon is thankful when she hears his voice saying her name. She swivels around, and Doyoung is standing in front of her, hair down in a natural center parting with the biggest, silliest grin on his face. Haewon thinks he’s most breathtaking like this; his striking brown eyes and the slope of his cheek catching the light in the airport as he smiles handsomely, and Haewon can’t help but smile back. She doesn’t usually get to see him like this, in a green shirt tucked under blue ripped jeans and a white denim jacket pulled onto him, complementing his wide shoulders.

“I knew you’ll be lost,” he teases smugly, “you hate crowds as much as I do.”

She laughs, unzipping her bag to hand the file over to him. He looks through the documents quickly, humming as he counts the papers in his hand before stashing it in his Valentino crossbody.

“Will there be someone waiting for you at JFK?”

He nods, “yeah, the company is sending a representative. Don’t worry about me! I’ll see you next week…”

A familiar face catches her eye and Haewon thinks she sees Doyoung’s fiancée standing a few feet away from them, smiling radiantly at the person next to her. She’s surprised, finding something strange about seeing Inhee here but being unable to put her finger to it. It doesn’t register in her brain that Inhee was only supposed to be back the following Sunday until another figure steps into her line of vision and wraps his arm tightly around her shoulders.

Haewon’s feels her blood run cold. She vaguely hears Doyoung saying her name, but is unable to respond as she all but drags him towards the departure hall without a second thought.

He’s frantically asking her what is wrong, but Haewon can’t seem to hear him against the thumping of her own heart. She doesn’t want to believe what she had just seen, but the scene flashes in her mind repeatedly, each time clearer than the last.

“You can’t be late for your flight, boss!” She fakes a laugh, “I’ll see you when you’re back!”

Doyoung still looks befuddled and unconvinced, but he gives her a smile and wave as he enters the departure hall obediently, checking the time on his watch.

She watches his silhouette become smaller and smaller before he completely disappears into the crowd, her mind whirling with images. She doesn’t forget the way crippling fear had flashed in Inhee’s eyes as she watched Haewon pull Doyoung towards the departure hall, her lover’s lips still in her ear.

Doyoung hadn’t been interested in dating in high school, until he met Inhee in his last year. According to Johnny, Doyoung’s mindset towards high school had been different from many others. He saw high school as a transitional phase, a time to try out as many things as possible and fill up his portfolio with accolades before university. He was student body vice president, chief editor of the school magazine and a short distance runner on the track and field team. He was far too busy dealing with entrance exams and early college applications, until Inhee came into his life.

Inhee was the president of the dance club and obnoxiously popular, acknowledged for her good looks and good heart. And unlike his schoolmates, perhaps Doyoung would never have even given her a second glance at that point in his life, if she hadn’t slipped him her number after his event on their school’s sports day.

The first time Haewon formally met Inhee was three years ago on Valentines’ Day, a month after she joined Dam-il. Johnny had already informed her of Doyoung’s attached status, but she couldn’t put a face to the name – until Inhee walked by her desk with a big beautiful smile, all red Lancôme lipstick and smelling like Chanel, into Doyoung’s office and encircled her arms around his neck, planting a generous kiss on his mouth.

(“She kind of looks familiar,” Haewon had whispered to Yuta on the phone that day after Inhee had lowered the blinds around Doyoung’s office and locked his door. “I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere…”

Yuta had scoffed into his phone. “Like, on every, single, Korean Air poster?”)

Inhee is difficult to hate – this is something Haewon had quickly gleaned after a short interaction with her. Her beauty is dizzying, her confidence making her even more charming without making her appear conceited, and she takes care of Doyoung so well. She is constantly showering the office with late afternoon snacks, visiting Doyoung for lunch on days she doesn’t have to fly. And while she hates books and anything to do with writing, and they don’t arguably have that much in common, she has always supported Doyoung in his career to a fault.

Haewon wishes she could hate Inhee, but she makes him so happy.

(Sometimes, on nights she feels particularly petty, Haewon counts the number of compatible traits she has with Doyoung, comparing it to that of him with Inhee. Truthfully, she does this to comfort herself, wistfully hoping to feel less pathetic given the knowledge that these things don’t matter when they all know who has Doyoung’s heart.)

“You have to tell him.”

Haewon looks up from her plate in surprise, meeting Johnny’s eyes. After Haewon had blurted out what she had seen at the airport, Johnny had fallen awfully silent, concentrating on the road ahead of them and only asking factual questions. Haewon had never seen him so serious before, watching his expression morph from disbelieving to crestfallen as the news gradually sunk in.

It had taken four hours and a whole pot of fettuccini for Johnny to say something.

She looks at him for a moment, twirling the pasta with her fork and making endless bolognese sauce circle patterns.

“Don’t get me wrong – I think he should know. But you don’t think that would be overstepping? It’s not really any of my business.”

“I’m over it.” Johnny comments abruptly, until he catches Haewon’s judgmental look. “I meant the betrayal. I’m over it. She’s not my fiancée, I’m not going to invest any more of my emotions in this.

“But practically, have you thought about this? If she can cheat so close to the wedding, do you think she’ll stop even after?” Johnny’s voice is low and measured. “God, I’m so glad I RSVP’d no. I don’t think I’d have been able to stomach it, especially now knowing this.”

Unlike Haewon, it had only taken Johnny two days to respond to Doyoung’s wedding invitation, citing an emergency company conference happening in London. This hadn’t sat well with Doyoung, at least not according to what Haewon had overheard when she had reached home a little earlier that day.

(“Look, why on earth would I want to miss your wedding, Dons?” Johnny had been facing the living room window, his grip firm on the windowsill. “You’re- No, you don’t need me there, Doyoung, I am one person. You’ll have your whole wedding party there, all your high school friends and your entire family. You won’t even realize I’m not there.”)

Johnny has never been the biggest fan of Inhee – an opinion he has never hid from Doyoung since day one. While likening Inhee’s personality to an annoying yellow cartoon character, Johnny had been frank with Haewon about his inability to hold back from cringing at how extraneous, overblown and unnecessarily exuberant she is. To top it off, her fiancé happens to be practically Mensa level intelligent, while Inhee…

(“I was telling Doyoung about a new accounting system the company had decided to adopt, how I had thought that it was offered to us at a price that was too good to be true,” Johnny had recounted to Haewon at dinner one night, “and he told me maybe we needed to kick the tires on that offer first.”

“And she went,” Johnny had started to imitate her voice and gone up to a vocal inflection that was uncalled for, “oh, maybe you should kick the trunk too!’”

Haewon had almost choked on her dinner.

“I thought to myself, ‘what about kicking the bucket?’”)

The hilarity of his condescension aside, Johnny has always been at least respectful to Inhee, an implicit understanding of their respectful roles in Doyoung’s life at the forefront of his interactions. From her understanding of Johnny, she had been pretty sure that the reason he had given was legitimate, that he wouldn’t intentionally miss Doyoung’s wedding for any reason, but now there seems to be room for second guessing.  

“I don’t know, maybe I misjudged the situation-”

Then she saw the look on Johnny’s face.

“Okay fine,” she picked at her food, “but I can’t ruin their relationship.”

“You’re not ruining their relationship; the relationship was ruined the moment she decided to cheat! You’re doing him a favor, you’re-” Then he realizes. “You’re projecting.”

“What?”

Johnny gnaws at his bottom lip, turning ideas over in his head. “You know what I’m thinking?” He continues when she doesn’t reply. “I think you want to tell him, but you think that the part of you who wants to tell him is the same part of you who’s in love with Doyoung.” He sighs. “That’s the real reason you can’t tell him, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but it’s not just that.” She takes his empty plate, scooping more pasta for him.

“The whole time we were in the car, and then back home, I’ve gone over so many scenarios in my head, of how this situation may turn out. The conclusion is always the same – he needs to know.

“I don’t need to be the person who tells him, but if I were in his position, I would want someone to tell me. Even if she ends it – which I really hope she does – it’s unfair to him if he doesn’t know that there was a time her heart didn’t belong to him. It is definitely cruel, but far less cruel than the idea of living in an illusion.

“It’s just that… I can’t think of a way to tell him without hurting him.”

Her phone rings, saving her from the conversation with Johnny, but his eyes are steady when he mouths to her “we’re not done” as she picks up her phone.

“It’s me.” The voice on the phone is quieter, gentler and wearier than ever, but undoubtedly belonging to Doyoung’s fiancée.

“Hi Inhee.” Johnny’s head whips up, his eyes widened.

“Can we talk?” She asks for them to meet later in the afternoon, then tells her that she would text her the details. Johnny has a resigned smile on his face when she puts down the phone.

“So it was her you saw at the airport.” He says lamely.

“Seems like it.”

“At the risk of sounding presumptuous, I’m just going to say what we’re both thinking – that if Doyoung had met you before he’d met her, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. If he’d met you a bit earlier, she wouldn’t even have been an option.”  

Johnny’s loyalty is touching, but not especially helpful in light of the present situation, when she’s faced with the quandary of meeting Doyoung’s fiancée at a café two hours later. Even across the street, she can see her perched against the window of the café, wringing her hands nervously. Her hair is brought up into a high ponytail today, and she looks stunning in a baby pink tweed dress and short white boots.

Inhee’s gaze meets hers as she crosses the road towards the café, pursing her lips together as Haewon smiles casually back.

“I got Americanos for both of us,” she blurts immediately when Haewon pushes the door and the wind chime tinkles brightly.

She takes a deep breath. “I’ve seen you drink cups of them every day.”

“Thanks.” Haewon pulls out the chair and takes a seat.

It’s close to a minute later before Haewon speaks again. Clearly Inhee isn’t going to broach the subject, but she refuses to either. “Cool nails.”

This brings a small smile to Inhee’s lips. “Thank you.”

The waitress arrives, placing hexagonal marble coasters down onto the table and then the drinks onto the coasters. Haewon sips on her coffee, looking at the way the patterns converge on the coaster.

“I won’t make this long, I have a flight to catch…” Inhee gestures towards the luggage sitting next to her, pressing her lips together. It doesn’t take a genius to know that she was meeting her thick-lipped lover.

“Did you… Did you tell him?” Inhee’s voice is softer this time.

Haewon looks up at her, watching flecks of fear dance in her eyes, and shakes her head.

Inhee nods her head and inhales, as if expecting this response.

“Are you… going to?”

She licks her lips and places the coffee back down onto the coaster. “I don’t want to, but yes if I have to.”

Inhee let out a laugh with an edge. “Of course you would.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She scoffs quietly, lifting her gaze slowly, her lips pulling back to resemble a scowl and her jaw tightening. Haewon had never seen her like that.

“You think I don’t see the way you look at my fiancé?”

Haewon swallows, unable to reply.

“Kang Haewon, I know that you’re in love with Doyoung.”

Haewon concentrates on her breathing, falling silent in favor of Inhee’s calculated monologue.

“You're not fooling anyone. You are constantly around him, you’re close to Johnny-”

“I’ve never tried to do anything.” It’s like a dam has broken, and the words rush out of her mouth before she can stop them. They’re not the wrong words, they just seem self-centered, like she’s attempting to justify herself when there’s a relationship independent of her that’s at stake.

“I’m just saying, don’t factor me into the equation. It’s always been professional. It’s my job to be around him, and when it’s not, when he wants to be around Johnny, I always excuse myself.”

There’s something cruel about being so self-righteous as the lips and hands of her boss’ fiancée tremble uncontrollably, but Haewon lets her words cut through. It feels like with every word, she’s slowly regaining the breaths that had been stolen from her all these years. She watches as something hard darts around in Inhee’s eyes, the same eyes that reflect her own rigid posture.

“He was attached even before I knew him, and passionately in love. I could never take that away from him-”

“You don’t think I know that you’re the reason Johnny isn’t coming to the-”

“You flatter me too much.” Haewon chuckles humorlessly, tucking strands of hair behind both her ears. “So is this why you asked to meet? Because if this is it, I would like to leave.”

She gets up from her seat, placing way too many bills that the coffee could be worth on the table before turning to leave, but stops short at Inhee’s next statement.

“Things haven’t been okay for a while now.”

Even as she sits herself back down, Inhee’s gaze remains far away from her.

“Doyoung works late every night. We hardly spend much time in the same room anymore. We don’t even talk anymore, about our lives and our work.” Something occurs to her, and she lets out a laugh somewhat verging on hysterical, “do you know we haven’t had sex in four months?!”

She looks at Haewon, like she’s searching for an answer she knows she can’t give her. And Haewon, she tells herself not to avert her eyes as Inhee squeezes her hands together. The whole scene feels vaguely invasive, bearing witness to the chipping of a stranger’s carefully polished veneer.

“You don’t need to tell me this-”

“I kept telling myself it’s wedding jitters, but…” Inhee bites back a cry, “I think he doesn’t love me anymore.”

She bursts into tears, shaking and crying into her hands. It’s like the glossy, rosy façade of the airline poster girl is slowly being lifted off, the remains of an embittered, desperate shell of a person sitting in front of her.

Haewon doesn’t know what to do, but can’t find it in herself to completely retract from the situation, so she pulls her chair towards Inhee, not even blinking when Inhee throws her arms around her and sobs even more mournfully.

“I know I don’t deserve to say this… but I just love him so much. I don’t want to lose him, Haewon, I’m so scared.”

“He’s my whole world, he has always been…”

It feels like hours later when she leaves the café, hailing a cab for a broken-hearted Inhee to take her to wherever she might want to go. She feels the tell-tale buzz of her phone in her pocket, knowing instantly that Johnny must have grown impatient of waiting for her update on this meeting.

But as she checks the notification banner on her phone, as her brain wraps around the curves of the letters forming the name of the email sender, her heart almost skips a beat.

Nothing, however, can prepare her for the first line she reads on her locked screen.

Congratulations! I am delighted to inform you…

xx

w/n: last week’s update was intentionally postponed to this week; there will be regular posting (shifted to Saturday, 11pm KST) from now on.

also, I’m sorry for my long and sometimes convoluted sentences. i try my best, but we all know fic!doyoung would never give any of my work a second glance tbh. unlike the young author, however, i willingly apologize for my tenses.

[randomwoohoo]

Oh dear, it’s been a big while since last time I updated this story and I unintentionally made this chapter longer than previous ones, so... hope you enjoy and please comment. I would like to hear feedback~

Judy: Previously on Zoomorphia!

Nick: Good news! We made progress with the investigation of missing mammals. Maybe not much but every little thing counts. Am I right?~ Another good news! Hybrid’s fame has skyrocketed not only on internet but also mainstream media. If our alter ego is famous to such an extent that the big shots of forces held press conference, now that’s something~

Judy: I wouldn’t think that’s good. We accidentally made society suspect ZPD having some connection with Hybrid. It’s not like we intend to get the department involved, still each Hybrid form somehow adopts our traits to shape its appearance by itself, for example, ZPD logo on Police form’s helmet.

Nick: Oh and one more thing,... do DIB want to capture us for a research? If I get caught to be dissected, I’ll pass.

Judy: Of course not! They just want to investigate Hybrid… I hope.

???: I made a cameo in last chapter by the way!

Judy: Wh- Who are you!?

???: Now the chapter 7!

Nick: Hey! That’s my line!!

Fanfiction.net link

.-.. . - .----. ... / -.-. --- -. - .. -. ..- .

In the morning, Judy woke up slowly with her eyes closed. She breathed in a scent of spring forest aroma, projecting an image of light green leaves dancing in the gentle first light surrounded by the fragrance of blooming lilies, which reminded her of Nick’s shampoo preference.

Despite the overwhelming strong aroma, there was distinctive soft musky scent, giving off sweet fresh earthy smell, that wrapped tenderly around her.

The gray doe rabbit steadily activated her other senses apart from the sense of smell.

A pair of opening rabbit’s eyes was adjusting to see clearer. Right in front of her was cream chest fur. Her body caught warm fuzziness. Something wet was nuzzling against the top of her head.

When she looked up, she eventually discovered that she was lying on the sofa with the asleep red tod fox giving her an embrace.

The doe should be embarrassed… She should feel nervous in a man hug... It is true that they are the best of friends but their relationship had not reached the point of two mammals to casually snuggle up. However, for some reasons, she found this situation soothing and… heart-warming.

Room ceiling lights were on, which led Judy to guess they might fall asleep together the previous night. It was not her first sleepover at Nick’s apartment though. She wished she could get up but she would not dare to unintentionally wake him up since his sleeping expression seemed so peaceful as she was gazing at his face.

The rabbit saw her fox buddy so playful yet genuinely caring. They were considerably close as if they were siblings. For her, the fox was like a kind brother by some means. This particular moment evoked her childhood memories of staying overnight with older brothers. Even so, they both were not kits anymore… Would brothers still hold their younger sisters like this when they all are grown up?

Speaking of brother, Judy suddenly recollected the case of Tadashi Hamada. Hiro, the little takuni, was very likely worried sick about his missing older brother.

Afterwards, Nick changed his position to lie on his back, finally letting go of Judy, so she was able to get up. First thing she did after such a pleasant slumber was going to turn off the lights in order to save the energy. The switch on the wall was slightly too high for bunnies. Therefore, she tiptoed to click the switch.

Sometimes later, Nick awoke from his sleep. He stretched on the sofa, then moved his paws around in searching for something. His eyes wide opened when he realized that beside him was empty. Instantly, he sat up with a start.

“Mornin’ sweetheart~” Judy greeted him cheerily while wiping her face with a towel.

It appeared like she had recently washed her face as her facial fur was still damp.

Nick did not reply anything. He just stayed silent and stared his bunny friend, which started to make her concerned.

“Nick?” Judy stopped wiping and called him worriedly.

He eventually regained his sense. “Sorry! I-I-” He began to stammer, pondering. At that moment, his stomach let out a loud growl. “-was thinking about breakfast.” The chuckling fox patted his tummy.

The doe laughed along with the tod, who subsequently “What do you want to eat? For a heads-up, there aren’t many greens left in my fridge right now.” implied he would cook food for her in spite of the lack of vegetable.

“Actually, I have a place in mind.” She said, throwing the towel over her shoulder.

“Okay, you’re the boss.” He agreed to eat out wherever his partner wanted.

That growl was perfect timing but it’s still weird… Nick stole a glance at Judy before getting ready to go out.

-- --- .-. . / - .... .- -. / ..-. .-. .. . -. -.. …

Cass Hamada, mid-thirties female tanuki putting on a simple short sleeved v-neck, apron and her silver-turquoise necklace, was busy working at her cafe enthusiastically. Smile is a heart of service. She has to endure and keeps going no matter what.

Immediately after she heard a bell which rings every time the cafe’s door is opened, “Welcome~ Come on in~” she greeted customers automatically but when she turned to the door, “Officers!?” she was surprised to see Senior Officer Hopps and Senior Officer Wilde visiting her place. Both were dressed in civilian clothing.

“Hello Mrs. Hamada.” Judy waved her right paw to Cass.

“Is it about the case!? What can I do for you!?” She hurried towards the duo.

“It’s our day-off, so we come to have a meal here.” Nick tried to calm a cafe owner down.

“Oh, I see. That explained why your clothes are so casual today.” Cass’s face grew a bit depressed for a second. “Please take your seats.” Back in good spirit, she led the new customers to a table. Next, “What would you like to order?” she gave them the menu.

After both of them placed their orders, the tanuki went into kitchen, cook the food and serve the dishes to them without delay. The dish which the rabbit ordered was Tofu omelette with asparagus accompanied by a glass of fruit juice while the fox ordered Eggs Benedict with chicken ham and a cup of blueberry flavored coffee.

“Ahh, I know at this moment isn’t your working hours.” Cass’s voice conveyed uncertainty. The duo turned their attention to her. Nick stopped scooping food from his plate. Meanwhile, Judy held a tip of a fork between her lips.

“In case you two don’t mind, can we talk…?” Tanuki asked the officers.

Placing down the fork, the doe chewed food in her mouth hastily then swallowed and answered. “Sure.”

Cass was about to speak. However, she notice a customer raising one’s arm to get her attention.

“I’ll be there soon.” She spoke up to the customer across the cafe.

“Excuse me.” She told the duo, expression showing an apology for having to leave them.

Before she went to serve other customers, she walked up to the foot of the stairs at the corner of the cafe, then “Hiro! Come down a bit!” shouted to the 2nd floor.

“What’s the matter, Aunt Cass.” Hiro Hamada, a tanuki teen in blue hoodie, descended the stairs leisurely.

“Officers!?” Once he saw Nick and Judy, he dashed to their table.

Cass let her nephew have conversations with officers while she was back to work.

“Hi Hamada… kun?” Nick addressed Hiro. He learned that calling acquaintances by first name in culture Hamada family is from can be considered as rude. Thus, he called him Hamada kun, still it sounded rather odd for the fox.

“‘Hiro’ is okay by me.” Teenage takuni apprised calmly.

“How you doing, Hiro?” Judy inquired after him caringly.

Hiro dragged a nearby empty chair to sit on it. “So so, could be better.” He responded.

Seeing that Hiro looked faintly dejected, “Never told you this when we first met.” Judy came up with new subject. “You truly are remarkable! No kidding, being so intelligent that you’ve already graduated high school at a young age is genuinely impressive!”

She did not exaggeratedly praise him. In fact, she understated the boy’s capacity. According to what she had read about Hiro Hamada, apart from early graduation, he is highly innovative, capable of creating inventions some of which became famous online, thereby building his own reputation among scientific professions. He is undoubtedly a genius.

“If I recall correctly, you received an offer from Zootopia Institute of Technology, right?” Judy, still facing Hiro, slapped Nick’s paw when he attempted to snatch a bite of his buddy’s meal.

“Yeah. Tadashi referred me to the institute.” Hiro made both cops fall silent.

Nick and Judy turned to look at each other. They started to communicate with hand signals.

He’s even sadder than before!? Judy delivered a message.

Way to go, Carrots. Aren’t we supposed to be here to check them whether aunt and nephew are alright or not? Nick made a response.

I didn’t mean to upset him, Okay!? She countered.

“It’s fine. I’m aware you didn’t intend to bring my brother up… but I’ll take that as police haven’t found him yet.” Hiro sighed, gazing away.

“We will definitely find him! Don’t give up!” The doe encouraged the boy sincerely.

Tod did not say any words. He continued eating to suppress not only his hunger but also some sort of feelings bugging him as he was watching his overconfident bunny friend.

All of a sudden, a mammal cried for help outside the cafe. Apparently, there was a robbery going on.

“Sweet cracker!” Judy swiftly put money on the table “Keep the change” and subsequently charged out the front door.

Nick hurriedly paid his meal, “I’ll be back for the change.” then quickly followed the doe.

..-. .- .-.. ... . / .... --- .--. .

The duo pursued a buck antelope who thieved a purse. The robber ran in a headlong rush down the sidewalk, disobeying their order to stop escaping arrest, almost completely ignoring his surroundings.

Consequently, he crashed with a wolf pedestrian. Nevertheless, that barely made him want to slow down. He kept on fleeing… or at least he tried.

“What’s the big idea, bub?” The white tundra wolf grabbed antelope’s horn.

“If you bump into someone, first of all, apologize, you dipbiscuit!” He grasped the thief’s wrist instead and went straight judo throw him to the ground. The dazed buck groaned in pain while lying on the walkway.

“Fudge nuggets, was I too harsh on you? But you are a thief, so it doesn’t matter anyway.” The wolf snickered at the recumbent antelope.

The duo finally caught up with the seized robber. Nick suffered a stomach ache after a run. Whereas, Judy experienced no pain from running after eating not much thanks to lack of appetite.

“Thank you for assisting with capturing, sir!” She showed her appreciation to the wolf whom she saw as a good citizen helping cops.

“With my pleasure, Officer Hopps~” The wolf addressed the bunny by her name, which shocked her to some extent before she realized she holds the title of the very first rabbit officer, being semi-celebrity; thus, it is normal for strangers knowing her name.

“Well, I gotta go. I bet you can take care of the rest~ Ciao~” The dog wolf released his hold on the antelope, and then departed.

Judy felt happy because the wolf prompted her to preserve faith in mammals. It was rather sorrowful when there were criminals in the time city was being threatened by monsters. Nonetheless, good mammals still exist too.

“I’m a thief, so it doesn’t matter?” The antelope mumbled.

“It’s not like I have any other choices...” He enunciated so clear the the rabbit and the fox pricked up their ears.

“Because of misfortune, Savage attacked my house. I lost everything, shelter, money. My entire works got shredded. I lost my job! Tell me what else should I do!?” He vented his despair, just lying on the ground, submitted to the cruel fate.

Sympathy toward the antelope made bunny cop reluctant. If what he said was all true, it would mean he was merely a victim of Savage attack.

At the moment of hesitation, there was a fox paw touching the top of her head, paw with familiar sense of none other than her partner. The weight put on her head caused her to remember her obligations and job duties.

The bunny cop hardened her heart, “Above all, return the purse. You have the right to remain silent-...” providing a Miranda warning.

-- .. ... ..-. --- .-. - ..- -. .

The purse-snatcher was brought to ZPD station by rabbit and fox police officers in civilian clothes. Since it was their day off, no one did really expect to see them at the station. Still, it was not totally unexpected because the doe is usually exceedingly diligent, performing duties even on days of rest. And for the tod, he generally tags along with his partner.

After others took over a robbery case, the duo were going back to enjoying the day off. Nevertheless, they did not certainly anticipate coming upon one of the most popular singers in Zootopia.

“Don’t you surely have any update about my missing dear friend?” A female gazelle queried desperately.

“B-But your manservant went missing a-after Savages broke in your mansion. Besides, th-that was roughly a year ago-” A chubby male cheetah faltered.

“I know he’s out there… somewhere.” She spoke little quieter, clenching her left fist.

Penny Gazelle, a famous Zootopian pop star, wearing shades and a cap which hid her golden hair and allowed her horns to poke out in order to disguise herself, so no fan would recognize her easily, talked with Clawhauser at a reception desk... again.

“Please-- Officer Clawhauser… Let me see Chief Bogo-”

“Ca-Calm down, Gazelle.”

“I beg of you, please...”

Following Savages intruding into Gazelle’s house, one of the servants disappeared.

Gazelle came in the police department quite often to inquire about the progress of finding her manservant.

Many, such as other employers, fellow staffs, friends and family members, discouragedly accepted a presumption that he may be gone since the monsters’ intrusion, whereas Gazelle had been believing her friend was still alive somewhere.

“Poor her...” Judy could not help feeling bad for the pop star.

“Indeed. I also feel sorry for Clawhauser.” Nick imagined it must be distressing for the fans like Clawhauser and Chief Bogo to see their favorite singer keep denying cruel reality and convincing herself to have faith.

Nick’s sympathy jogged his memory. “Incidentally, Carrots, mind if we visit a place?”

“I actually have a place I wanna visit now too.” She sort of got the impression her buddy was thinking of the same place.

.-.. --- ... ... / .- -. -.. / -.-- . .- .-. -. .. -. --.

Just a few blocks away, there was a juvenile detention center where Nick and Judy were visiting the boys whom police captured when DIB specifically asked the pair for assistance with illegal night howler transport investigation in Sahara square warehouse district.

“Glad you’re doing well, kiddos~” Smirking fox folded his arms over the chest. He as well as the bunny sat around a circular table with five teenage mammals in visiting area

“Stop calling us kiddos, gramp.” James the fox lad, the oldest one among the group of teenagers, offended Nick to a certain extent that his left eye twitched slightly.

Nick started to get irritated whenever somebody criticized his age since he realized he was only half a decade away from becoming 40.

Notwithstanding, the ex-con artist was still able to conceal his true feelings expertly. “Drop that grumpy tone~ I’d rather be at Mystic Spring Oasis but Ms. Fluff dragged me here- Oww!” He exclaimed as Judy pinched his upper arm. “It hurts! It hurts! I’m joking!” bawled he. Judy released her grip from Nick immediately afterwards.

“We mean it that we’re glad to see you all are doing great.” She beamed at the teenagers.

“I wouldn’t say getting tranquilized then thrown into jail is great.” James looked askance at Judy.

“First, here isn’t a prison. Just to be clear; this is a youth detention center. Second...” The doe halted abruptly when she considered it might be better not to tell these kids that due to the fact they had some connection with John Silver, dangerous crime lord, making them stay where they can be guarded round the clock was possibly the smartest decision for their safety.

“Second what?” Thomas, a young buck rabbit, wondered.

The doe chose to change the subject. “Anyway, have your parents contacted you five lately?” She guessed the parents were definitely worrying about their children’s welfare.

The teenage mammals exchanged looks briefly before James spoke for others. “You may not know this but… some of us lost father, mother or both.”

“Huh!?” The duo were shocked by words they heard.

“Some disappeared, some were put in a coma, some even… passed away after Savages… y’know” He tried to carry on despite discomfort from talking about it.

“It’s okay. We get what you’re saying.” Nick told the younger fox.

These boys basically are on their own, huh? Judy pondered.

“Umm, any news about Jim?” Roll the raccoon ultimately uttered after keeping silent since the buddy cops came to pay him and his friends a visit.

Although Roll’s real name is actually James, he preferred being called by a nickname because there was the fox lad named ‘James’ too in their group, which might be confusing, provided someone called to James among them.

Judy got no idea how many relatives these boys had left. It seemed as if they only had each other. It’s just 6 of them. If one of them is missing, the rest must be anxious, especially the twin brother.

Both Nick and Judy gazed into one another’s eyes. They were well aware that their investigation had not made much progress. They had no clue where John Silver was and whether Jim Tuck, Roll’s twin captured by the crime lord, was still with him or not.

She blinked, then looked back at Roll, “Everything gonna be just fine. I can assure you.” encouraging him tenderly.

Unfortunately, the teenage boar raccoon did not seem more relieved or less distressed. The doe became awkward, meditating on what or how she should do or say to him, but subsequently noticed the adult tod rubbing his arm which she pinched previously. The way he acted undeniably drew her attention.

“Oh, suck it up, big guy.” Judy jested with Nick.

“It really hurted.” He made a whining fox noise.

“Poor dumb fox. I gonna kiss that spot later, so quit whining already.” She sarcastically joked around, pointing at the area she pinched before.

“If you say so, then you’d better pinch my cheek earlier.” He caused his best friend to blush.

Eventually, Judy understood Nick’s intention to light up the mood, still he made her embarrassed; hence, she punched his arm lightly while she was giggling.

Following that, she noted the young bear staring her and Nick intensely.

“What’s the matter, Edward?” She asked the bear.

“Nothing! It’s just… I know that you two officers are partners but… are you datin-Ouch!” Edward or Ed for short was interrupted by the skunk, the youngest mammal of the group, yanking bear’s waist fur.

It appeared the boar skunk rebuked he-bear for invading officers’ personal territory, but then, regardless of the doe’s chest tightening with warm fuzzy feeling, she did, of course, not take offense.

“We ain’t dating, still single.” Judy clarified.

“Officer Hopps is single!?” The buck was stunned by the older rabbit’s statement.

“Precisely~ But I’m 28 now. Am I not too old for you?” She joshed him comically.

However, it turned out the teenage rabbit’s face seriously reddened.

“J-Just teasing...” Judy promptly corrected his understanding, making others laugh… except Roll who went back to be quiet. When she took notice of him, she grew concerned.

-.. .- -- .- --. . ... / .- -. -.. / .- -.-. .... .

The (almost) whole day led the pair to reflect on many lives ruined by Savages. It was indubitably unignorable issue. As long as she possesses the power to help others, she will not hesitate to help them… No matter how…

During the time that both strolled down the street in Savanna Central, “Nick, let’s meet up with Fru Fru, so we can warn her about missing mammals and night howler trafficking.” Judy suggested sincerely.

“Is it a good idea?” Nick tested her.

“When it comes to underground world, Mr. Big has authority to manage situations more comprehensively than law enforcers.” She stated her viewpoint strongly.

“In this case, we will risk our jobs on the line, won’t we?” He kept testing her.

Nick highly believed that his partner was fully mindful of her position as police officer. Delivering police’s insight information to mafia can affect her status very much.

“Our jobs are to serve, to protect the city. We must take action no matter what. No time to be distraught over such subject matter.” She asserted.

“That’s my fearless bun bun~” He wore a sneaky yet proudful grin with half-lidded eyes.

Nick cast a glance on Judy. Even so, something else attracted his interest. In an alley between two buildings, there were a couple of mammals, an opossum and a pallas’s cat, acting suspicious, swapping each other’s gym bags.

“Carrots, 3 o’clock.”

Judy turned her head to the right, catching sight of suspects probably trading illegal stuffs in a narrow lane.

She together with Nick darted across the street, moving toward the alley. Luckily, there were not many mammals wanting to drive or ride their vehicles outdoors as of lately. Accordingly, the pair did not have to be worried about getting run over by cars on street.

At the time the potential criminals descried two figures coming their way, they ran deeper into the alleyway straight away, which convinced the duo more than enough that these mammals were guilty.

“Stop in the name of the-” While the bunny was ordering the criminals, her long ears picked up a distinct sound, a feral grunt.

She slowed down her pace, whereas the fox sped up to catch up with the pallas’s cat and the opossum.

“Watch out!” Bunny grasped fox’s shirttail just before a weasel leapt downward from above in front of the duo.

The weasel had the wild gesture, down on all fours, drooling, and also had purple fur. It obviously is a Savage.

Judging from the priorities, they needed to get rid of the Savage first. After finishing it off, they would chase the criminals later.

When the duo were confident that those mammals had probably escaped far enough not to see or hear the duo and the monster, they proceeded with transformation, putting on the morphers, MidniDriver, belts of which wrapped around their waists automatically.

Next, Nick pulled the tilted silver syringe on driver’s left side. “DRAW BLOOD” His blood filled up the syringe before being teleported into Judy’s syringe.

Judy pressed the syringe to “INJECT” inject herself with canine blood, resulting in Nick losing unconscious, leaning against the building’s wall then gradually falling on the ground.

“Transform!” She twisted the maroon handle sticking out on the right half. “IGNITE” Soon afterwards, the morpher device caused the blistering steam blast, changing the doe to a flamingo red bio-armored cross between two breeds, Hybrid, shiny metallic full body suit of armor on the doe figure, soft metal bunny ears, spiked fluffy fox tail, amethyst headlights for eyes, and last but not least, fangs with a pair of buck teeth pattern on muzzle part of helmet.

Hybrid hit the syringe two times “ACT-ACTIVATE” to activate the enhanced senses in order to find the criminal feline and marsupial; the united duo were able to locate them readily.

“Let’s get this over with. We have suspects to hunt down.” Judy said, keeping the guard up.

“You bet~ I don’t plan to waste my precious day-off.” Nick’s voice came out from the armored blend of a fox and a rabbit.

Nick launched Hybrid at the weasel, extending the claws, aiming to lacerate the monster’s flesh.

As it was, the Savage dodged the attack by inches. Hybrid landed staggeringly before whirling to maintain balance and strike again, still it evaded every attack by swaying from side to side.

“I’ve run out of patience.” The tod retracted the claws to throw a punch. The weasel ducked down, which went according to plan. Hybrid then kicked straight upward.

Savage flipped backward, yet both fox and rabbit did not feel Hybrid’s foot hit anything. This signified that it managed to avoid the kick.

“Is it just me, or-” Nick was about to complain.

“Is this Savage quite peculiar?” Judy took over Hybrid’s vocal organs to express her doubt.

“Gotta prove something real quick” She charged at the monster, lowering the torso, spinning around while leg sweeping on the floor.

Yet again, Hybrid failed to hit Savage . It jumped on Hybrid’s shoulders and then leapt off.

Standing upright, the mixed breed faced onto the weasel monster crouching near the senseless fox’s body lying close to the wall.

Nick and Judy were amazed by this Savage’s action.

In the past, they had certainly come across Savages keeping distance from Hybrid during fights. The duo knew well that these monsters are not mindless living organisms. They are capable of thinking and responding to their environment.

For all that, this one could come up with strategies, keeping its distance to a minimum, dodging the attacks. Furthermore, it did not try to fight back.

When Hybrid was full of openings, a great opportunity to assault, it just jumped over the cross-breed although it could have pounced on the armored mammal.

And importantly, the Savage did not even go after a motionless prey such as Nick’s unconscious body.

Overall, it appeared as if all this monster did was to… buy time...

Thereafter, Hybrid’s enhanced hearing perceived van engine sound clearly, two vans to be exact. They were going to depart subsequent to each picking up two different passengers, which could suggest that the duo would lose those criminals unless they made a move.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Nick gripped driver’s handle, intending to twist it forth twice in order to become Hybrid Archer form.

Archer form would allow them to fire tracking arrows curvedly from Hybrid’s position to the vans.

No sooner had the fox changed the form than the weasel sprang at Hybrid.

Hybrid let go of the handle and struggle to get the Savage off the face. However, the monster clung onto the mixed-breed real tightly.

All of a sudden, the weasel Savage puffed up, pupils glowing hot purple, before it burst apart. A gushing boiling mist erupted. The explosive force blew Hybrid away to the wall.

The armored mammal fell down, sitting next to tod’s body, feeling dizzy, ringing in the ears, dim vision, owing to explosion. As a result, the duo were unable to detect the criminals’ whereabouts any longer.

Even though they were almost out of commission in that period, they were responsive enough to discern surroundings like pedestrians passing the mouth of the alley.

With the Savage being gone, they should detransform before any mammals saw Hybrid and passed out Nick together. Judy was going to pull the syringe.

“Not yet, Judy. You’ll receive damage if we detransform now. Wait a moment.” Nick, taking control of the body, stopped Hybrid’s left arm.

Judy agreed with him, thereby waiting. 1.. 2.. 3.. 4- While counting on to ten in her mind, she as well as Nick heard sirens of SCU vehicles.

Both conjectured the event might turn out worse if SCU managed to capture them. Therefore, 5-6-7-8-9-10! Judy quickened counting numbers and pulled the syringe once she reached 10.

Soon afterwards, Wolford, a member of SCU patrol team, chanced upon the familiar doe and tod in casual wear leaning against the wall in the alleyway as his team van was running past the lane between buildings.

He asked his crewmates to stop the van so that he could get off the van.

“Wilde! Hopps! Are you okay!? What happened?” Wolford rushed to see his police friends.

“We’re good.” The fox gave the rabbit support to stand.

“We happened on likely illicit trade.” She answered, informing only partial truth, keeping the Savage and Hybrid part a secret.

It was lucky for them that they had done detransformation and also put MidniDrivers away earlier than the dark brown timber wolf’s arrival.

“Where are SCU folks heading off in such a hurry?” The fox changed the topic to avoid any further questions about their situation from the wolf.

“SCU got several reports that Savages are going on a rampage in Rainforest District, plus battling with Hybrid!” Wolford claimed.

Nick and Judy traded a perplexed glance.

Savages are battling with Hybrid in Rainforest District…? They questioned how it was possible since they two, who could morph into Hybrid, were here in Savanna Central.

- --- / -... . / -.-. --- -. - .. -. ..- . -..