I have deleted what was here previously to give a less-spoiler (and more visually appealing) preview.
Info, tw, and other links under the cut!!
-~- Riley Andersen…
“…Joy covered her mouth with one hand, grabbing onto Sadness with the other. All the emotions looked on as things started to crash. The screen glitched in and out of existence- the world outside the headquarters started to fall apart…”
“…two buttons rose out of the panel. A purple one titled ‘Survival’, the other orange, labeled ‘Protocol’..”
-~- Miguel Rivera…
“Miguel Rivera, you are a balance breaker!” They screamed. Their voices were ghostly and goulish- howling like animals. “You will be punished!”
“Pay your dues, Miguel Rivera!”
“Sorry- I don’t do taxes!” Dante barked in agreement. He stomped his foot down, leaning back. “Watch out, Dante!”
With a large, bright slash, Miguel cut through the fabric of reality. His eyes went wide, and his smile too.
-~- Hiro Hamada…
………….. . .. .. Rebooting .
..
…
Online
— Oxygen Levels: Critical
— Brain Functions: Stabilizing
— Cardiovascular system: Stabilizing
— Organ Systems: 404
“Hiro… do you hear me?”
“Hi, Baymax…”
-~- Meilin Lee
“Oh no… Mom.. Mom?… Mom! You have to get in the circle!… Mom! Where are you?”
A flash the size of the sun quickly illuminated the sky, accompanied by a thundering crack of lighting. It painted the sky in abstract assortment of colors and lights. With it came something. At first they were just small little dots; 3 to be exact, a white one, a yellow one, and a blue one. Quickly though they expanded into something. Like rips in the fabric of reality….
Out they came, one by one. The leftmost portal produced a school bus. From the right came a spaceship of sorts. In the middle, what seemed to be a person holding on to some winged thing slowly floated down…
What is Hope Kids
Hope Kids is a fandom I believe popped up on Tik Tok sometime early 2024. It is a crossover- similar to Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons or the Futuristic Four- featuring Mei Mei (Turning Red), Miguel (Coco), Hiro (Big Hero 6), Luca and Alberto (Luca), and Riley (Inside Out). It gained a quick spike in popularity when Inside Out 2 emerged, and from my awareness it has since kind of faded out of existence. Another thing to note is the fandom seems... almost exclusive to Tik Tok? There are people on other platforms who post about it but they are few and far in between. As someone who doesn't have Tik Tok I have had a hard time finding fellow enjoyers.
What is No Hope Kids
No Hope Kids is a Hope Kids au inspired by another famous crossover au I was briefly into as a kid- Bad End Friends. I feel like Bad End Friends needs no introduction, but I will give if needed.
No Hope Kids Follows Mei Mei, Riley, Miguel and Hiro as they travel across dimensional rifts in twisted versions of popular media. It will primarily focus on the main four- however I have ideas to include several other popular media (So far I plan on including Nimona, Gravity Falls, The Owl House, and Encanto).
- ships + queer hcs included in the overall fic: Hiro(ftm, pan) x Miguel(cismale, bi) , Riley (questioning id) x Mei (ciswoman, lesbian) x Nimona(genderfluid, omni), Dipper (transmasc, mlm) x Pacifica (ftm, mlm), Ford (cisman, panro demiace) x Bill Cypher (xenic, omnisexual), Alberto (bigender, mlm) x Luca (nonbinary, biro ace)
Links + Credit
- AO3
- Link to Mei and Riley beta designs (link)
- Shout out to others I found who posted stuff w/ hope kids!! : ofc the wonderful @/trashtellar as seen above. @/futurealchemy , @/adamari2001 , @/cryptid-moone , @/rawr1ty , @/digitalzealot2
Just like I can just imagine walking dead Riley like when someone suggests to throw that bat away cause it’s not really good battle weapon Riley just tackles them to the ground and rips the bat out of there hands saying that bat has one of the last memories of a person she lost who was supposed to come with her and someone goes who your bf and she goes no her uncle who was one of the few people to actually pay attention to her and everything while all having tears in her eyes
yessssss nonnie !
i have so many headcanons abt twd!riley and one of them is that other than herself the only person she lets use the baseball bat is lucas.
also idk if you watch the walking dead or not but i also have a funny headcanon where the clique six finally meet the core group of twd and riley meets negan who also has a bat although his is obviously covered in nails and spikes or whatever and negan is like “i like this girl” and lucas is like hahahah if you even look at her i’ll murder you but like internally
but yes back to your ask, that bat and the journal are the only things she has left of shawn (and some of his clothes too but y’kno) so they mean everything to her and she def gets emo whenever she thinks abt it and honestly? #same
Concept designs of Mei Mei and Riley for my No Hope Kids Au
Think I need to redo Riley bc I’m ngl I forgot what sport she played so I just stuck her in generic sport gear. My idea was she was stuck in the outfit she crashed in but also I kinda. Wanna make her cutesy wootsy so. Idk. Hiro and Miguel may get designs but I cannot draw cyborgs or skeletons so we’ll see.
I just realized I made Mei a racoon. She is not a racoon. But stripes are cute so :p
Riley Ricky Matthews
Ricky’s never been a rebel, he leaves the trouble making up to his best friend, Miles. But what he lacks in spontaneity he makes up for in compassion. Although proven to be incredibly intelligent, Ricky is constantly underestimated because of his optimistic personality and desire to be accepted. Often feeling lost and unworthy (due to his highly successful parents) he struggles to find his place in the world. He feels most at home with a camera around his neck and a pen & notebook in hand.
Lucas Lucy Friar
Being the only child of a military man, Lucy’s never stayed in one place long enough to make a connection so when her and her family moves to NY she takes up sports as a way to make friends and let out her aggression. Much to her dismay, her father wont accept anything less than perfect which leaves her in constant fear of failing.
Isadora Isaac Smackle
Being the smartest guy in school has it’s advantages but doesn’t exactly do much for his social life. Isaac has spent practically his entire life being the best at everything he does, that is until he meets a gorgeous blue-eyed brunette who gives him a run for his money. His no-filter attitude is usually taken the wrong way but those that know him understand just how caring he can be.
Farkle Fiona Minkus
It’s no secret that Fiona is loaded but on top of being the richest kid at Abigail Adams High she’s also the smartest. At least, according to her. Fiona can sometimes be slightly problematic but her confidence in herself and her academic achievements are commendable to say the least. She much rather brag about her GPA than her father’s helicopter.
Zay Zoe Babineaux
Never the best at making first impressions, Zoe has a hard time making friends when she transfers to AA High. Her sense of humor and sarcastic remarks often get her into trouble but it’s her hopeless romantic nature that surprises people most when they get to know her. That and her breathtaking ballet skills.
Maya Miles Hart
Prone to creating chaos, Miles has the tendency to get into trouble and more often than not has to turn to Ricky to bail him out. He puts on this tough guy facade but in actuality he’s just as insecure as the rest of his friends. His soft side is something he hardly shows but when he does it’s usually only around his close friends. He’s not very academically bright but put a paintbrush in his hands and he’ll paint you a masterpiece.
Friends / Girl Meets World Crossover: Rachel never got off the plane, instead she raises her daughter Emma Maya in Paris and sends her to the states for the summer, Ross’s son BenLucas moves in with him, Phoebe and Mike have a son named Farkle and all of them, of course, are best friends with Monica and Chandler’s twins Erica and Jack. Oh, and Joey ends up having a daughter he never knew about: Riley.
Previous Chapters: Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Word Count: 3,00
Chapter: 6
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“The One With The Night Out”
[ t h r e e m o n t h s l a t e r ]
It was a sunny day, the sky held a soft blue glow and the air, although significantly warmer than the cold winter breeze they had just endured, still sent a shiver down your back if you were wearing anything less than long sleeves. But Riley didn’t mind that so much, it was a nice break from the onslaught of rain they've had since March.
Today marked exactly three months since Joey's accident and thankfully it was almost time for his casts to come off which he couldn’t be more thrilled about. Riley, who had been staying with Joey since February, was happy her father would be free of his uncomfortable mess of bandages and plasters but a small, itty bitty part of her was scared.
Her life these past few months have solely revolved around Joey and his injuries. She let Erica temporarily move into her apartment so she could be closer to her dad and take care of him in his time of need and slowly but surely his spare room became her bedroom.
She only worked four-hour shifts, she unintentionally isolated herself from her friends (Lucas and Jack especially) and she spent all of her time making sure Joey had everything he needed, much to his dismay.
It's not that he didn’t appreciate the help because he did and it's not that he didn’t want her living with him because that made him happier than he ever could've guessed, he just hated being the reason she wasn’t living her life. It was obvious the incident caused some trauma that he assumed was linked to her losing her mother but the worst part was she didn’t want to talk about it, or herself, at all.
The fact of the matter is she almost lost her father and she couldn’t bring herself to let him out of her sight. Deep down she knew it was a bit much, just a tad bit overprotective, but she hadn't been able to shake the awful feeling she felt in her stomach from the moment Farkle told her there had been an accident. It plagued her every day but it seemed the more time she spent with Joey, the less obvious it was.
However, there was only a little over a week now before he was free of his casts and free of her and that thought alone was enough to bring the uneasiness back full throttle.
___
"Hey Riles?" Joey's voice calls out to her from inside his bedroom, causing the brunette to jump. She had been sitting in the bay window, looking out at the city, getting lost in her own thoughts. She had to admit, Spring in New York wasn’t nearly as pretty as Winter in New York but there was still a vibrancy to it that made her smile. "Could you come here for a sec?"
She quickly hops to her feet and shuffles into his room, curious as to what he needed. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah." Joey smiles, nervously wringing his hands together. He attempts to scoot himself up in a more comfortable position but fails. Riley helps him sit up and stands by idly. "I actually have a favor to ask you, if you don’t mind."
"Anything." She smiles sincerely.
"Well, Rachel's going to be visiting for the summer and I thought, you know, instead of staying at a hotel she could stay here..."
"Oh, yeah totally." Riley nods but it's clear to her that he isn't finished talking just yet.
"...in her old room."
"Oh." It suddenly dawns on her what he was really asking. He was asking her to leave. "Um – yeah – I mean, sure, I can, uh, I can go." She pauses, "When is she going to be here?"
"She should be here shortly." Joey answers, feeling a pang of guilt at the look on his daughter's face. "But Riles you don’t have to leave, the sofa pulls out, you can always --"
"That's okay, um, I'll just go home." Riley shakes him off, grabbing his empty coffee mug off his bedside table before turning away. "I'll go pack up my things...call me if you need me."
"Riley." Joey attempts to stop her but she's already out of sight.
__
The buzzer rings just as Riley is zipping up her bag and with a small sigh she gets to her feet and heads for the door. "Who?"
"Rachel!" The feminine voice on the other end answers cheerfully. Riley buzzes her in and unlocks the door before heading back into the guest room to grab her things. A few minutes later she can hear the sound of the door opening and the patter of high-heels on the wooden floor.
She gets up to let Joey know Rachel's arrived but much to her surprise he's already standing, on his crutches, in the living room being greeted by the well-dressed woman.
"I'm so sorry I couldn’t stay longer last time, Joe." Rachel gives him another tight hug, pulling away just enough to caress his cheek. It's a small moment but its intimate enough that Riley feels like she shouldn’t be watching. She tucks back into the room to grab her bag and go.
"You're looking good though, you feeling good?"
"Just ready to get these off." Joey laughs nervously, motioning to his legs. When his eyes leave the floor he catches a glimpse of Riley and stands up a bit straighter. "Rach, you remember Riley, right?"
"Of course!" She beams, turning quickly to greet the young brunette. "Hi sweetie." She pulls Riley into a warm hug and Riley can't help but feel guilty about being disappointed by her presence.
She liked Rachel, she always has. Although the fashionable beauty was never around because her job was in Paris she still checked in on Joey every day, even before the accident. It was obvious to her that they shared a special bond and she could tell by Joey's demeanor around her that he never really got over his "crush" on her but still, she heard the stories, and the last thing she wanted was for Joey to get hurt again. He's been through enough pain.
"Where's Maya?" Joey asks, pulling Riley out of her thoughts. "Is she staying in Paris for the summer?"
"Oh no no, she's at Monica and Chandlers." Rachel shakes her head, "You know Mon, she loves to be the hostess so, she'll be staying in Erica's room."
"Speaking of Erica, I should probably go tell her that you guys are here." Riley cuts in, using that as her way out. "It was nice seeing you again Rachel."
"You too, honey." Rachel smiles, cupping Riley's cheek. "And don't worry I'll take good care of your dad."
Riley half smiles, tossing her bag over her shoulder she nods and heads towards the door. "See you guys later."
The second the door closes she takes a deep breath and forces herself to walk away.
__
Not wanting to waste the nice day by sitting in the back of a stuffy cab or endure an awkward uber ride, Riley opts to walk to her place. On her way she passes by Central Perk, she peaks inside seeing Farkle and Isadora engaging in a conversation and her heart skips a beat at the blonde tuff of hair she spots hovering by the counter talking to Mona.
She couldn’t remember the last time she spoke to Lucas face to face. He texted her almost every day at first to check in on Joey and to see if she was okay or if she needed anything but she was distant and cold and eventually he stopped showing up and started texting less and less. Not that she blamed him. She couldn’t just expect him to wait around until her father got better, or wait around until she decided she was ready to live her life again. That wasn’t fair to either of them, it especially wasn’t fair to Mona, who he apparently was still seeing.
Getting caught up in her thoughts again she doesn’t notice when he turns around and walks towards the sofa to join their friends. Her breath hitches as they make eye contact and the smile he was sporting drops slowly. Neither of them move, and Riley swears if it wasn’t for the glass window dividing them she'd be half tempted to run into his arms.
Instead she flashes him a soft smile but continues on her trek before he has the chance to react.
____
The loud banging noise echoes throughout Riley's apartment and hits her like a ton of bricks, causing the brunette to lurch up from her sleeping position on the couch. It takes her a moment to place where she is. She looks towards the window expecting to see a clear blue day but instead the vibrant city lights are perfectly contrasted against the dark navy sky.
The banging persists and it takes her a second to pinpoint the sound. She glances at the clock on the wall as she walks over to the door. 7:58 P.M.
More banging noises.
"Riley! Get your cute butt to the door!" Erica shouts, banging loudly once more. "I won't take no for an answer."
Riley sighs heavily, pushing her now messy hair out of her face before pulling open the door to greet her friend. "What's going on?"
Erica smiles devilishly as she walks past the brunette and into her room. "We're celebrating."
Riley raises an eyebrow as she follows suit, curiosity getting the best of her. "And what exactly are we celebrating?"
"Two things." Erica begins, "It's essentially a welcome back party for Maya and a bon voyage party for Mona all wrapped up in one messy little bow."
"Mona?" Riley furrows her brows. "Wh-where is she going?"
"Lucas didn’t tell you?"
"No... not that he's really had an opportunity to..." Riley sighs. "I've kind of been M.I.A lately."
"I've noticed...but yeah, she's moving to Cali. Something about trying to make it in LA." The blonde smiles in amusement and rolls her eyes. "Whatever that means."
"I don’t really think I'm up for it, E." Riley sighs, sitting at the edge of her bed. "I've met Maya all of one time and Mona... we're not very close. Like at all."
Erica turns her back to the pouty brunette and begins to rummage through her closet as she continues to speak. "This wouldn’t have anything to do with Lucas would it? Because he and Mona decided it was best to just be friends."
There's a long pause and Riley can feel her heart race just a little. "That's - that’s not - "
"Hold off on whatever lie you're trying to come up with and tell me what you think about this for tonight?" The curly headed girl turns around and outstretches her arm to reveal a short strappy black dress dangling from a hanger.
"I wasn’t going to lie and I am not wearing that to a coworkers bon voyage party."
"Riley." Erica sighs, pressing the dress against the brunette's chest. "I am under strict orders to show you a good time. It's been months said you had fun and dressed up or showed off those killer long, tan legs of yours. Come on, it'll be fun I promise."
"Under strict orders from who?" Riley frowns. "Did Joey tell you to do this?"
"Don’t look at me like that." Erica sighs, "He's only trying to help, Ri. You've been cooped up in that apartment for months refusing to leave or do anything. You're 18, you should be out experiencing life, not voluntarily becoming your dad's house aide."
There's a beat of silence. Was she really that pathetic that her father had to request her friends to force her outside? She wasn’t purposefully trying to miss out on anything. She was in a slump, one she couldn’t rid no matter how hard or how bad she wanted to.
She missed her friends, and hanging out with them, but the desire to see them kept being replaced by this overshadowing paranoia and fear that she'd go out and have a good time and come back to find out another accident had happened. Or worse.
"Look, I get why --"
"No." Riley cuts her off. "I'm sorry but no, you don't. You don't get it, Erica. You have two happy and healthy parents and on top of that you have Rachel, Ross, Phoebe, Mike and even Joey. You're lucky enough that you got to grow up with not just two but seven amazing parental units. Not to mention you were literally born into a set group of best friends. For the longest time my mom was the only person in my life. She was my parent and my best friend all in one and when she died I had no one left. And then I found Joey... and I almost lost him too. So please...don't sit there and tell me that you get it, that you understand why I refused to leave his side or why I 'voluntarily became his house aide' because you don't get it and I hope to God you never do."
"Ri, I'm sorry." Erica reaches out, placing her hand on Riley's shoulder. "I wasn’t thinking --"
"It's fine." Riley shrugs her off. "I'm sorry too."
"You don’t have to --" Erica begins to say but Riley interrupts.
"So where is this party at anyway?"
____
Under the moonlight the alley lay still. The warmth of the spring day had been replaced by a cool breeze and Riley sauntered next to Erica under the streetlights with a handbag dangling from her arm. The club would already be packed with their friends and Erica was eager to get there. Riley, however, was still having some conflicting emotions.
She was happy to be out, to be on her way to have a good time with her friends, friends she hadn't seen in months but the conversation she and Erica had before they got ready to leave was still fresh in her mind and left a sour taste on her tongue.
They quickly reconciled, trying to salvage their mood and make sure there wasn’t any residual awkwardness after the vulnerability that was shared and for the most part it worked, at least on Erica's behalf. She was still worried about her friend but Riley assured her she was fine and more than willing to tag along. Whether or not that held any truth was a different story.
As they reach the entrance, Erica approaches the bouncer, letting him know they had a party waiting and he graciously steps to the side, smiling sweetly at the two girls.
"You ready?"
Riley lets out a long breath, like she didn't even know she'd been holding it in, and nodded with a slight smile.
____
The dance floor is wall to wall packed, everyone dancing and drinking like it's their last night on Earth, although Riley's sure that's just the way their mind avoids thinking about the hangover to come the next morning. The music is loud and not at all what she was expecting.
She watches couples move like puppets on strings, their heads mashing so hard she swears their brain is in shut down mode or on the brink of falling out of their ears. The sight did make her smile, however. She couldn’t remember a time where she ever looked or felt that care free. It was admirable.
She couldn’t help but think maybe that's what she needed to get out of her slump. To let loose and party, do something she normally wouldn’t. And if it doesn’t raise her spirits it'll, at the very least, provide her with a nice distraction.
The two girls make their way towards the back to the VIP section where their friends are waving them down.
Isadora and Farkle seem completely out of their element but a wave of relief washes over them when they spot Riley with Erica. Jack shifts in his seat but offers a sincere crooked smile as he scoots over on the lounge chair to make more room.
"Riley, you came after all!" Mona beams, slurring her words only slightly as she leans across Lucas who had yet to make eye contact with the brunette. "You look amaazing."
"Doesn't she?" Erica agrees, a proud smile on her face.
Riley coyly smiles and looks over to the other blonde who was downing shots like it was her mission in life. "Maya right?"
"Sorry. Long flight." Maya laughs, coughing a bit. "But yeah hi, it's nice to see you again." She moves over and motions for Riley to sit down which she graciously accepts. "Shot?"
"Riley's only 18." Lucas chimes in, scolding his half-sister for offering.
Everyone seems surprised by his sudden outburst. He never said anything when the rest of them who were underage would drink so the fact that he's so verbally adamant about her not drinking was causing a few mixed reactions.
"So what, narc?" Maya makes a face at the concerned boy. "She's among friends. Besides, she's a big girl. She can speak for herself."
Erica and Lucas share a concerned look and Maya turns to Riley once more. "So what do you say, Tribbiani?"
Riley looks down at the shot glass in Maya's hand and then back up where her eyes can't help but to wander over to Lucas. His green eyes locked onto her, cautiously waiting her next move. They both knew this wasn’t like her but hey, if everyone wanted her to have fun so bad she was going to do exactly that.
"I say: why not."
She downs the shot like it's medicine for the body and feels the warmth seep into her blood. Tomorrow there'll be hell to pay but tonight the alcohol will keep flowing like it's an IV drip.
[...to be continued]
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End Note: This is a filler chapter. Sorry it’s so short but I want the party to be it’s own chapter! I really missed this universe and it’s been awhile so please bear with me as I try to get back into things. xoxo
