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hey-heigo · 1 year ago

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Chapter 6

ooh...drama.....

also happy 2024. im posting this on new year's eve in my time-zone tho so consider this the last update of 2023

SEE HERE FOR GENERAL WARNINGS AND FIC SUMMARY

Some pre-chapter notes:

lovingly named this chapter 'the naegami pre-divorce fight' in my head

was incredibly worried about how the characterization would work out here. shoutout to @moonlighttogami for beta-reading this one!

Byakuya is an asshole here. But it's in-line with how he is in canon anyways

Reminder that this fic is a slow-burn. For both naegami AND togiri. Which includes conflicts abound

Content warning tags: canon-typical assholery from Byakuya, mention of previous character deaths

< previous - from start - next >

Things are quite tense after that.

It doesn’t help that Monokuma has no intentions of taking any of it seriously. He toys with them openly, seemingly delighting in the collective misery. But he at least opens up the next floor and some other facilities, which offers a wide new variety of options to them.

The first floor warehouse and bathhouse are now unlocked. On the newly available second floor, there’s a pool, some more classrooms, and most importantly, a library, though no kind of technology that could access the internet or the outside world. Even despite all that, it’s a welcome change; Byakuya was beginning to grow bored with the routine of the first floor, and the limited spaces he could occupy to eavesdrop on people.

He found painkillers and nausea medication in the first floor warehouse, which was a veritable boon to him. It’s cheap over-the-counter stuff, but he recognizes the obvious branding labels and has Naegi confirm it for him before he takes some bottles for his own use. Naegi also recovers a bottle of eyedrops, which he accepts, though they prove to have no effect whatsoever; at the very least, they made him feel like some progress was being made.

The real treasure trove, however, was the second floor library.

It’s nothing compared to the library in the Togami residence, of course, but it seems that whoever was librarian here at least had good taste. He runs his fingers over smooth leather spines and finds titles that he recognizes, old favorites that he once tore through with eagerness and newer ones that he had always been planning on reading, and even ones that he had never heard of before. He felt almost pleased by it, though it was quickly accompanied by a note of bitterness.

Not like I can read these myself, however. He thinks, clicking his tongue and making Naegi jump besides him. And listening to someone else read was always irritating, especially when he could usually read faster by sight than they could speak. But he has little choice now, as he pulls Naegi to his side.

“Come to my room tonight,” He says in a low voice, with no uncertain terms. Naegi’s face flushes, and he begins to stammer out something ridiculous before Byakuya smacks him lightly over the head with a copy of Tolstoy.

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” He scoffs, pushing a sizable stack into Naegi’s hands. “Go take these to my room. Then come back.”

“Oh, o-okay…” He walks off, tottering a little underneath the weight. He was listless after the trial, gloomy and less responsive, but he still followed orders well enough.

Byakuya watches him go, before turning his attention back to the shelves. Much as he’d hate to admit it, he was loath to be out of Naegi’s company nowadays. The atmosphere after the first death was palpable, thick with tension. Plus, it didn’t help that some certain, purple individuals, had taken up a new interest in stalking him.

One of whom was Fukawa. He’d noticed Ultimate Writer had taken up some kind of habit of following him around, as told by the slightly harrowed sound of her breathing in his general vicinity, and the general smell. And the other of which was Kirigiri, of whose presence he became uncomfortably aware of recently.

Maybe it was their few, clipped conversations with thinly concealed aggression. Or maybe it was simply her actions during the trial, which now put her at the forefront of attention - she had gone from being someone who the others were prone to forgetting, to a sort of secondary leader. Someone whose advice was asked for, though she was rarely around to give it. But regardless, he now found himself looking for white as soon as he entered a room, tensed as if ready to right. Though, after their first few, hostile interactions, all other conversations were relatively civil.

At the moment, neither of the two girls were posing any real danger. Fukawa, while off-putting, was more importantly boring and therefore relatively harmless (and furthermore, currently involved in some inane argument with Yamada). And Kirigiri was too involved in exploring their surroundings to pay him any real note; he turns just in time to see her pulling something flat, gray and rectangular out of a desk.

“What’s that?”

She shakes the thing, hard enough for him to almost be worried that it’d fly from her hands and smack against the floor, and a cloud of dust flies off. “A computer.”

“Oh?” Now this was interesting. He approached nearer, curious. “Does it work?”

In lieu of answering, she sets the device on the central desk and flips open the lid. After clicking and holding a few buttons, she shakes her head. “Doesn’t look like it. That would’ve been too easy.”

A shame. But she was right; it would have been too easy, considering all the mastermind’s attempts to cut them off from the outside world. “Send it to Fujisaki. She should be able to figure something out from it.”

“I was already planning on that.” She sounds mildly miffed at the suggestion, as if affronted that he would think she wouldn’t come to that conclusion.

“Good. I’m glad you have half a modicum of common sense, then.” He sniffs. It was more than just about anyone else here, at least.

She faces him for a moment, long enough for him to wonder if she was glaring at him, before turning away. “Did you find anything of note?”

“Not particularly. Some interesting volumes to pass the time with, but nothing obviously relevant to our situation as of yet.” From what he could tell, and what he had Naegi explain, the shelves held more than just good books. There were also case files for crimes that never reached the public eye, documents of incriminating evidence and then some regarding some of the most powerful names in the world. He would have to pore through those individually later. And some medical textbooks - he made a mental note of their location, and a reminder to go back for them.

Kirigiri steps past him to run a hand across the surface of a low shelf, sending up a cloud of dust. He wrinkles his nose and steps back. “Do you mind?”

“Sorry. I was just reaching for this.” And she holds up a thin rectangle of parchment, sealed by red wax.

___

The letter creates some interesting revelations.

For starters, the school had supposedly been closed down for nearly a year by now. And secondly, it was due to some circumstance outside of anyone’s predictions or control, that the school shut down in the first place.

There was no other elaboration, and nothing could really be gleaned from it other than the mastermind possibly having more control than they originally thought, provided that the letter was real. It was a frustrating loop back to where they first started; nothing was gained from the loss in morale.

If circumstances were different, he would’ve chosen this moment to break off from the group. He found a new source of entertainment and information with which to use, and with Maizono breaking some unspoken promise, there was now no telling who might strike next. If circumstances were different, he would take this opportunity to try playing a more active role in the game, to see how much he could push his limits, to prove the value and right of his blood.

But with his current situation, he had no choice but to continue to participate in the inane routine that everyone agreed to partake in. Waking up at six AM sharp to dress and clean himself accordingly, taking extreme care to ensure nothing was out of place, and then walking to the dining hall to enjoy breakfast. Ishimaru was usually there at this time, as timely as ever and preparing breakfast alongside whoever’s turn it was to handle the meals that day, and could usually be coerced into making a half-palatable cup of coffee. Then was the usual waiting around as the others made their slow, meandering ways in, exchanging yawned greetings and calls for food.

He sat apart from everyone else, as usual. Sometime around seven, Naegi would show up, and bring over a plate of buttered toast and some cut fruit for Byakuya and move on without another word. At first, the others had exchanged curious, barely concealed whispers, wondering at the nature of their dynamic - now, they hardly paid any mind.

“Today, we should split up and look for clues!” Ishimaru declared, after they had eaten.

“Isn’t that what we do every day, anyways?” Asahina muttered under her breath. Her head was resting in her arms, sprawled on the table. “I wanna go to the pool…”

“Yes, I don’t see why we can’t take a day to enjoy the new facilities.” Celeste interjected, hands folded primly over her lap. “I doubt any of it is going anywhere. And we have endured quite a lot, have we not?”

“Yeah, we should take a break! For like, morale and stuff!” Yasuhiro agreed heartily, nodding emphatically.

As Ishimaru tried to regain control over the table, Byakuya silently agreed right along with them. By his calculations, it would take at least twice as long for him to read anything if Naegi was helping him. Any free time was valuable.

“Well- it’s better to get work done before leisure, you know!” Ishimaru tried again, voice raised. “Otherwise, how will we be dedicated students!”

“We’re hardly students at all though?” Naegi’s quiet voice piped up. “I mean, considering why we're here...”

The previously light-hearted atmosphere vanished instantly. Over the course of just a few days, they’d witnessed the deaths of three of their peers. As much as Byakuya respected the entirely logical reasoning that Naegi had offered, he also felt that it was rather mistimed.

He debated whether or not to offer his own input, before Kirigiri beat him to the punch. “Why don’t we do both?” Her tone was calm and clear as always. “I imagine we will all be in different locations anyways. If every person just makes note of something that’s interesting and worth remembering where they are, we can come together later and combine that information. Everyone who wants to investigate on their own is welcome to do so.”

There’s a chorus of agreement to that suggestion. Ishimaru seemed relieved by Kirigiri’s attempt to boost the group’s cohesion, though Byakuya doubted whether that was her real intention. Bit by bit, people began to split off; predictably, Asahina half-dragged, more-led Ogami away in the direction of the pool, and Celeste began demanding Yamada to make her some tea. Byakuya stood up, watched as Fukawa swooped in and took his empty cutlery, and beelined towards Naegi.

He reaches him just at the same time as Kirigiri, both of them placing a hand on the young man’s shoulders at the time. Byakuya locks eyes (presumably) with the girl, frowning. “Is there something that you need?”

“...No.” She releases him, and walks away. It takes both of them by surprise; Byakuya had been expecting a bigger fight.

“...What was that all about?” Makoto asks, bemused. Byakuya had no good answer to that question.

“You’d do better to stay away from her.” Is all he says instead, before dragging Naegi off.

He had a selection of books he wanted to read for his leisure in his room, but had left anything potentially case-relevant in the library. It is for this reason that he pulls Naegi into the room and positions him directly in front of a shelf of all case files, and points to the one on the right. “Start from there. If there’s anything in there mentioning ‘Hope’s Peak’ or crimes of passion, or killing games like this one, tell me, and we’ll go from there.”

“...Wait, for all of these?!” His voice is a little reedy still, presumably from last night - while he was slow at reading, he was decent at it, and not unpleasant to listen to - Byakuya had made him read aloud nearly half of a translated copy of Atlas Shrugged.

“Is there a problem?” He looks down on the other boy. “You said you’d be my eyes. This is part of what I need my eyes to do. Get started.”

He watches as Naegi wobbles for a moment, turning between him, the shelf, and the door, before reaching for the first file on the far right of the shelf and starting to skim through it. He’s slow, taking a good few moments to look through each page, so Byakuya sits down in the large leather chair by the desk, sinking comfortably into it.

It’s quiet in the library, silent if not for the distant hum of the building’s internal machinery and the occasional flip and shuffle of Naegi going through a folder. Not for the first time, Byakuya wishes for a radio, or a music player. Boredom was a dangerous thing - as Pennyworth had taught him, it dulled the brain and made for delayed, clumsy reactions - and Byakuya had already exhausted the few tricks and games he knew to combat it on his own.

Maybe, it’s for this reason that he decides to initiate conversation. With Naegi, of all people.

“What do you think of her?”

The commoner takes a little moment to respond, and when he registers the question, he predictably begins to sputter, fumbling with the papers in his hands. “I-I-! …Um, w-who…?”

Byakuya rolls his eyes. “Kyoko Kirigiri. Who else?”

Kyoko Kirigiri. He was hoping that, if this school was the Hope’s Peak Academy they were meant to enroll in, that there would be more information eventually revealed about her as well. But for the time being, she was a wild card, and a mystery. These were two things that made her dangerous, and a possible threat.

“Sh-she’s…well, she’s nice…I think?” Naegi tilts his head to the side, unsure about his own answer. “I mean…she helped me out a lot with the trial. I don’t think I would’ve been able to get through it without her help.”

Interesting. That was true from what Byakuya could tell, but it also seemed that Naegi had been doing most of the talking, with occasional interjections from Kirigiri to help push him in the right direction. It was a demonstration of clever manipulation, and one that irked him. If Naegi was going to be working for him, he needed to be free of outside influence.

“Keep looking through the files.” He nods at the shelf, and Naegi fumbles with the folder with his hands, flipping it closed and sliding it away. “I saw you and her talking the other day after the trial. What were you discussing?” He asks, voice casual and almost bored.

“Oh, that? That…” He trails off. He seems to almost visibly deflate, his form drooping over like an unwatered plant. “That was…about Sayaka. She wanted to reassure me that Sayaka still cared about me, at the end.”

Still cared about you? The notion was so preposterous that Byakuya couldn’t help stifling a laugh, instead snorting at the thought.

“...What’s so funny?”

“Sorry. I simply find the idea of it ridiculous, is all.” Sayaka Maizono, caring for him? Perhaps, but the entire plan that she had prepared was, albeit hastily executed, commendable in its elaborate design, considering the short time period in which it was concocted. Trying to derive small comfort from such an assumption was like trying to squeeze water from a stone; a pointless, frivolous task.

“Why?” Naegi’s voice is raised now, and he sounds angry. “It’s not ridiculous. We really were good friends-”

“Oh, please. Were you friends back in middle school? Or did you only watch her from afar?” Naegi shrinks back at the words, which meant that Byakuya had been spot-on. “And she only reached out to you after we found ourselves trapped here, and said all the right things to get you to follow after her like a starving dog.”

“Shut up.” Naegi says, voice so quiet he almost missed it.

“She could’ve used any of the half-witted fools in this class, but she used you because she knew you were unlikely to betray her.”

“Shut up.”

“Did you happen to make a promise to ‘help her no matter what?’”

“I said, shut UP!”

The sudden shout is accompanied by the rustle of papers hitting the ground, as Naegi drops whatever was in his hands to the floor. Byakuya remains carefully composed, though he suddenly feels incredibly wary.

“I’m only telling the truth.” He keeps his voice level, calm. Naegi was standing up, and somehow seemed bigger than before; though that was perhaps due to how Byakuya was sitting down. “It was obvious that she was trying to pin you under her thumb. She was going to betray you eventually, so it’s better to forget about her and move on.”

“You don’t get to say that stuff about her.”

“And why can’t I? Everything I say is simply meant as advice. Advice that you clearly need.” He continues anyways, trying to hide the unease creeping at the edges of his voice. Why did he feel so threatened? The only one here was Naegi. “You know it’s happening again, right? That Kyoko woman. She’ll do the exact same thing as Sayaka and you’ll be none the wiser.”

“She’s not like that.” His words are a low whisper now, barely audible. It seems to fill up the entire room.

“And how do you know? What do you know about her that no one else does?”

At last, he’s met with silence. A question that can’t be answered. He watches the realization sink into Naegi, watches his demeanor change, shrinking back to being small and meek again, and without realizing it he lets out a breath he’d been holding.

“...I don’t know.” Naegi says aloud, at last, and his voice is so small again. “I…I don’t know anything about her.”

“Right.” Byakuya nods, while feeling an inexplicable rush of relief. “So-”

“But I also don’t know anything about you.”

“...Excuse me?”

Not for the first time, he wishes he could discern facial features. He hadn’t realized how much he relied on them before; how telling they were to a person’s character, their emotions, their whims and ideals. Even Naegi, someone who should’ve been inconsequential to him, was capable of becoming dangerous. A treacherous link in a chain.

But Byakuya had no choice but to rely on him anyway.

Naegi turns around, and Byakuya suddenly realizes he was about to leave. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Sorry, I…can’t really think straight right now. I probably won’t be able to help you for a little bit.” There’s a tremor in his voice. Anger? Grief? “But I don’t know anything about you either. Yes, I know your talent,” He adds, as Byakuya opens his mouth to correct him. “And your secret, but…that’s still not enough, right?”

“This-This is different, though.” We’re built on more stable footing, he thinks. Naegi knew his secret and would help him navigate as needed. In return, he would use his authority to ensure the lives of Naegi’s family. That was their deal.

“Maybe, but still. There’s a lot I don’t know about you. And you’re right - I don’t know if I can trust Kyoko’s words, because she could just be trying to use me. Just like Sayaka did…” His voice trails, and he shakes his head. “But I also don’t know if I can trust you. Aren’t you just using me, like you say Kyoko wants to?”

Was he stupid? “Like I said, this is different.” He stands up, steps forward - and hears the crunch of papers beneath his feet, but there’s no time to worry about that now - “I’ve already sworn on my family’s name - there’s nothing else in the world that means more to me, not even my own life - and look at me. Do you really think I’m capable of anything when I’m like this?” He holds his hands out, gestures towards himself. This wasn’t turning out the way he wanted - all he had wanted was respite from boredom, and reassurance that Naegi wouldn’t betray him, and to get some sense into the damn peasant - “Makoto.”

Naegi turns away again. “...I’m sorry.” Byakuya can hear his hand on the doorknob, trembling slightly. “I promise, I’ll keep up my part of the deal still, but…please, let me off for now. To think for a bit.”

He still doesn’t move, however, and Byakuya belatedly realizes that he was waiting for permission. He hears the papers beneath his shoes crumple, as his heels dig into the carpet.

“...Fine, then.” He spits. “Get out. Go play with Kyoko, or whoever you want, and get your pathetic heart broken and betrayed all over again.” He watches Naegi cringe under these words, shying away as if they were physical blows. “Don’t come back to me until I say so.”

< previous - from start - next >

#thpff chapters #thpff #danganronpa #danganronpa fanfic #byakuya togami #makoto naegi

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jaepostsanything · 1 month ago

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321 - chase davenport 📁💚

overview: chase gets excited over the new improved computers in the tech wing

jae's notes: in my mind, chase is definitely into boynextdoor's music. i kept thinking about this idea all night, i couldn't sleep. if you don't like my content, please don't read it. this is my safe space!

tags: oneshot, fluff

it's a bright and sunny day—

who am i kidding?!

–

it's currently 6:30 am on a rainy Thursday, the Davenport-Dooley household is completely silent...well except for Chase who is overjoyed in his capsule. he's impatient to get to school due to the new set of computers in the tech wing.

"Chase, do you mind? i'm trying to rest" Bree spoke up, slowly opening her eyes.

"sorry Bree, i'm just so excited!" Chase replied, trying to calm himself down.

"go bother Leo–" Bree yawned and shut her eyes again.

Chase got out of his capsule and anxiously wandered around the lab.

"CHASE! JUST GO!" Bree yelled, trying to get at least another thirty minutes of sleep before school.

"fine" Chase murmured, leaving the lab and heading to the elevator.

–

"sometimes i wished someone would actually listen to what i have to say including my interests. i might be boring but i wish i had other people to talk to."

Chase whispered to himself while pouring milk into a dry bowl of cereal. Chase sees that his long lost alien plushie is placed on the sofa. the plushie is a boynextdoor merch item.

"321!" Chase cheered as he hugged the small alien plushie.

"listen buddy, you're coming with me to school...i'll tell you all about the new and improved tech wing, alright?" Chase spoke to the plushie, dressing the alien in a small red hoodie.

"Chase? who are you talking to?" Tasha asked, appearing around the corner, slightly concerned. She reached for a glass and filled it with water.

"um– no one...why?" Chase whispered, fixing his posture.

Tasha looks at Chase suspiciously then notices 321 in his hand.

"i'm surprised you still have that thing." Tasha replied.

"yeah...I know. Mr. Davenport wants me to get rid of it" Chase mentioned as he stuffed the small alien into the pocket of his jeans.

"does it bring you joy and comfort?" Tasha asked, looking at him.

"yes, of course. like that one time i panicked when the fire alarm went off during school and my bionic hearing got messed up. 321 comforted me through that time" Chase added, feeling the texture of 321's red hoodie.

"then there is no need to hide your comfort item, Chase. now go get dressed, it's already 6:50." Tasha reminded him as she hugged him before leaving for work.

"i will, after i finish my cereal." chase says as he starts eating his bowl of trix.

–

"you don't understand, this is huge for mission creek high...are you even listening?" Chase spoke, nudging Adam.

"nah, you lost me after you rambled on about boynextdoor's new song...whatever it's called" Adam stated, shoving Chase slightly. 321 peeking out of Chase's pocket.

"then just forget it" Chase huffed, walking towards the stairs, headed to the tech wing.

Chase unlocked the classroom door with his molecularkinesis.

"yes, i'm in" Chase cheered softly, walking in and seeing the four rows of six computers each.

Chase turns on one of the computers, yapping to 321 about all the cool features and such.

He pulls up youtube and searches for boynextdoor.

"321, that's Leehan. he created you and he's like super interesting. he likes aliens and fish. ooh and he likes gummy candy. he's pretty too!" Chase exclaimed to the pocket sized plushie, pointing to the second youngest member in the group.

Chase continues watching stages of the talented group. the plushie in his right hand, ignoring the bell ringing in the background.

#lab rats disney #lab rats #disney xd #chase davenport #bree davenport #adam davenport #jaepostsanything #fanfic #one shot fanfic #boynextdoor #leehan #sfw interaction only

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tryan-a-bex · 1 year ago

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Last line challenge

Rules: in a new post, show the last line you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or however many you like).

They left the door unlocked, and started down the path.

Ooh, you got a good one! This is from my NaNoWriMo project—1,667 words per day. I succeeded through Day Two already! I started with one character, a cantankerous old witch, and soon found she needed someone to talk to, and now they are going on a journey together…. I’m pantsing, if you can’t tell.

No pressure tagging: @bazzybelle @seiya-starsniper @sleepsonfutons @hardly-an-escape @lostelfwriting @mallory-x @avelera @dsudis @meadowziplines @rhosyn-du

#ask game #last line challenge #tryana find it back

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adventuretolkienlover · 2 years ago

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The Journey's Just Begun (Chapter 3: Good Impressions)

I DID IT!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Intro: Lol. 🤣 This chapter isn't as long or as good as the others I fear. But hopefully good enough for you guys! On a side note, I wish I had the skill and the patience to make full illustrations and covers for these. Maybe some day I'll revamp them. Actually, if anyone wants to make art for this fic, feel free to do so! I'd love to see it! And also, ROMANCE IS DANG HARD TO WRITE! Even for just a married couple!!! Yeesh! I hope I get better at that! I feel kind bad about not adding more Ulla into this chapter. Hopefully I can do that with future chapters. Alright, peace out my dudes. *Collapses*😂 (P.S Per usual, this isn't a Varigo story. Just Alchemy Bros. So please don't tag as such. Thank you!) EDIT: Fixed some Grammer! All better now!

Chapter 2 ⬅️

Beginning

Summary: Hugo struggles to interact normally with Quirin and tries not look like a nervous freak while doing it. That's pretty much it. Gosh, this so bad. Please may the next chapter be better. Lol.🤣🙏

Trigger Warnings: Brief depictions of PSTD. Nothing to heavy though I think.

"Here it is!" said Varian as he led Hugo into the entrance hall.

Hugo took in all the space around him. It was so grand. And yet, something warm and comforting about it. He liked it very much.

Varian began pointing out different rooms. "My room's right up those stairs." Varian pointed at a stairway that seemed to lead up to the tower Hugo had seen out side. "And we got guest rooms. A stable. The great hall. An armoury. My lab. Anything in particular you want to see?"

"I'm not even sure we're to start." said Hugo truthfully.

"Well, if you ask me, my lab is the best room to check out." said Varian. "I - I mean, We don't HAVE to go there. But it is cool! I'm only suggesting. You know?" Hugo smirked and looked at Varian. He wasn't fooling anyone. The younger alchemist had been very eager to show him his lab. It seemed he couldn't stop talking about it. Not the he minded. He did want to see it. But he decided to play around with Varian. Just a little. After all, he wouldn't be Hugo if he didn't. Would he now?

"Oh, I don't know. The kitchen sounds very interesting."

"Whaaaaaaat? Are you kidding? You're telling me you'd rather check out the kitchen then run around in a high tech laboratory? You, Hugo?"

"Well I am hungry." said Hugo glancing at the hallway leading to the kitchen. He gave Varian a mischievous smirk.

"Uh huh. Right." At this point, Varian knew Hugo was playing around. Per usual.

Hugo laughed. "I'm just kidding Goggles. Come on. Show me!"

"Great! It's over in here! Follow me!" Varian grabbed Hugo's hand and began to quickly lead him through the house. After going through the Great Hall, and few hallways, they reached the kitchen. Varian then led him downstairs and into the basement. And there they came to a door with a sign on it that said Varian's Lab. Varian unlocked the door and flung it open enthusiastically! "Behold! My lab!"

Varian lab, while impressive, was bit of a mess. Books, tools, and papers were all over the place! And the mere force of the door being opened caused a single beaker to roll across his desk and clink to the floor.

"Oh. Uh, wow. I guess I left it kinda mess." said he as he brushed his finger through some dust on a shelf. "Heh. I was so eager to study my mom's journal and leave to find the library. It's not usually this cluttered. Trust me. So, whadda think?"

"Wow!" said Hugo. He stepped into the lab and looked around. It was cluttered. Yes. But there was so many interesting pieces of equipment. He was surprised. The only way he'd been able to get some of these things was through Donella.

"How'd you get all this?" he asked.

"All sorts of places. I got plenty of connections." said Varian proudly. "And a lot of the stuff I got from my friend Xavier. Ooh! Let me show this invention I made! It's the one I made a whole new element with!"

"Cassandrium?" asked Hugo with a grin.

"Uh, yeah." Varian blushed and muttered to himself as he began looking around the lab for the invention. "Let's see. I know I left it somewhere."

While Varian was up to his searching Hugo walked about the lab, admiring it's equipment. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't just a little bit jealous. It was very well thought out and had everything an alchemist could ask for. He noticed something shiny and cylindrical leaned up against the wall behind a few crates. He walked over to it in curiosity.

Meanwhile, Varian wasn't having any luck finding what he was looking for. "Argh! Where is it?" He exclaimed as he pushed aside more equipment. Ruddigar poked his nose through the doorway and saw his owner digging around. He ran up to him and pawed at his pant leg. "Hm? Oh hi Ruddigar." said Varian. Ruddigar leaped up onto his usual spot on Varian's shoulder. "Hey, have you seen my elemental remogrifier?" The raccoon nodded and led Varian behind some crates of parts. Ruddigar pulled a sheet of an object. The machine was right underneath. "Great! Thanks Buddy." said Varian.

"Woah!" yelled Hugo!

Varian jumped in surprise and gasped. He whirled around. "What is it?!" exclaimed! He saw Hugo was holding the Amber Bazooka.

"What is this?! A cannon?" said Hugo excitedly.

"Oh yeah! That!" said Varian. "That's the Amber Blaster 2.0. The last one got damaged so I built a new one. I haven't gotten around to testing it yet."

"Oh we have to try this out!" said Hugo. He posed with the cannon like he was firing it. "So how far does it shoot?"

"Pretty far. I do have a designated firing ground that I tested it on-"

Hugo gasped excitedly. "Can we go try it out? Please?"

Hugo looked so excited. Varian hadn't seen him this way before. How could he possibly refuse? Besides, this could be fun! It would be like when he was testing the first cannon with Eugene. "Yeah! Sure!" Varian said.

Hugo punched the air excitedly. "Yes!"

Varian started grabbing various tools from around the lab. "I'll calibrate the system!" Varian said. "Then I can go grab some of the Amber Solution from my supply hut. It'll only take me a second. Hey! Could you get my other screwdriver from upstairs? I'll need it to insert the cartages. It's in my backpack."

"Sure! I'll back in sec." Hugo replied. He put down the bazooka and walked out the door.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Hugo strolled out the basement door, when suddenly he heard something. "CHOP!" went a knife on a cutting board. He jumped and looked toward the noise frightened. It was Quirin. He was chopping some carrots. Quirin looked up at Hugo. They both stared at each other awkwardly. Hugo cleared his throat and gave a tiny wave. "Um... Hi?" he said sheepishly.

Quirin raised an eyebrow. "Hello?" he said.

Hugo glanced at the door, then back at Quirin. "I'm uh..." He started making his way across the kitchen. "I'm just gonna go get something.". he said. As soon as Hugo touched the doorknob, he turned around and sighed in relief. He made it. He was just turning the doorknob when...

"So, where's Varian?" Quirin asked. Hugo froze again. He nervously turned around and tried to look normal. He eyed the knife warily as some bad memories came rushing back to him. "Oh, uh. He's downstairs. I was just getting his screwdriver."

"Hm." said Quirin. He chopped the last carrot and began pouring the slices into a bowl. "Well," Quirin picked up the bowl and turned around with a smile. "I'm happy to know Varian has made a new fr-" Quirin stopped at the sight of Hugo's anxious expression. At the same time, Hugo also tensed up at Quirin looking at him and that didn't help in the least. He looked like a nervous wreck.

"Are you okay?" Quirin asked in concern.

Hugo gulped and beads of sweat began to form on his brow. "Y-Yeah!" he stammered. "Just fine!" He put on a big grin in attempt to cover up his fear. Quirin wasn't convinced and he stared at him suspiciously.

"You seem... Nervous. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Nervous?" Hugo laughed anxiously. "Who's nervous? I'm nervous! I MEAN NOT! I'm not- I'm not nervous! Not nervous at all!" He fake laughed and tried to lean on the counter to seem at ease. But he missed and fell to the ground with a loud thud. Quirin flinched at the painful sound. Hugo could just laid there. He felt incredibly embarrassed. In fact, Quirin noticed Hugo's face flushing red from it.

"Ow." Hugo said quietly.

"Um, here," Quirin bent down to the very embarrassed alchemist. "Let me help you up." Quirin picked Hugo up off the ground. He kinda forgot his own strength and lifted Hugo clear into the air. For a second, Hugo inwardly panicked and almost ceased to breath! Quirin placed a very shaky Hugo on his feet.

"There you go. Better?" Quirin said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Y-Yeah! I'm good! Thanks!" Hugo said as he scrambled away from Quirin and pressed his back against the door. Being suddenly lifted into the air like that was quite disturbing for him. Suddenly Varian swung the basement door open.

"Hey Hugo!" Varian shouted! "Did You-"

Hugo inhaled sharply and jumped at the loud noise.

"Oh! Wait you're here!" Varian said realizing his mistake. "Oh, hey dad." he added with a smile.

Hugo felt awkward again and turned toward the door. "I gotta get the screwdriver!" he blurted out. Then quickly ran out the door and disappeared. Quirin looked at Varian questioningly. Varian was a little surprised at Hugo reaction too. He looked at Quirin and chuckled nervously.

"Er, nerves I guess? Heh." he said. Quirin nodded and looked toward the door.

"Hmmm. Varian?" Quirin asked.

"Yes?"

"Hugo seems very anxious. Is he alright?"

"Oh. Uh, well..." Varian shifted his feet. "He's a little nervous. About meeting you that is."

Quirin looked at him surprised.

"I-It's nothing you did!" Varian said frantically. "He's just uh... Well, I think he's a little intimidated by you. You know. Since you're a lot bigger and stronger than him."

"Oh. I see." said Quirin. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well," Quirin turned back to his cooking. "I'd better finish this soup. Make sure you and Hugo come back in time for dinner."

"Oh. Okay." Varian said. He turned to go back downstairs to get the bazooka. Before he left, he took one more look at Quirin. Varian was worried. Did he handle that right? He closed the door.

Meanwhile, Quirin poured the veggies into a pot of soup he had on the stove. Ulla wandered past the doorway with her nose in a book. She stopped, poked her head into the kitchen, and sniffed the air. The soup smelled delicious. "Mmm. Hi Honey." she said brightly as she she walked up to Quirin.

Quirin looked up from the pot and smiled at her lovingly. "Hello."

Ulla left her book on the counter and went over to look in the pot. "Making soup?" she asked.

"Yes." said Quirin. "Would you mind stirring that for a moment? I need to find a certain spice."

"Oh, sure!" Ulla said and grabbed the spoon as Quirin began digging through cabinets. "Soooo..." she started. "How have you been?"

Quirin found the spice he was looking for and walked back to the stove. "Better now that your home." he replied as he took back the spoon. He pulled her into a side hug and planted a kiss on her head. Ulla blushed and sighed happily. Somehow, he could still make her feel butterflies. Even after all these years. She only pulled away so Quirin could continue cooking. She picked up her book again and leaned against the counter.

"I heard you and Hugo from the other room. How you two getting on?" she asked.

Quirin sighed. "Not great." he said as he sprinkled some spices into the pot. "He seems scared of me for some reason. And... very jumpy? It's odd. I'd like to get to know him better, for Varian's sake. But how to go about it? I'm not sure."

Ulla thought for a moment before speaking. "It will be alright." she started. "Just give it some time. You two will get along fine I'm sure. Maybe once he gets to know you more, he won't be so nervous and it will be easier for you to talk to him."

Quirin thought about this as he got down two bowls from a shelf. "You think so?" he said as he handed them to Ulla.

"Definitely." she said with a grin. She sat the bowls down on the counter and Quirin ladled some soup into them. He placed them on a tray, along with some thick bread slices. "Well, we'll see." Quirin lifted up the tray. "Where would you like to eat?" Quirin asked. "There's some nice sunlight in the great hall right now."

"Actually," Ulla said shyly. "I was thinking maybe we could sit in the library?"

Quirin raised an eyebrow. "You sure? I thought maybe you'd not want to be around books right now. Since... You know."

Ulla giggled. "You'd think so, wouldn't you?"

Quirin shook his head and chuckled as the two of them headed for the library.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Hugo followed Varian through the farmland. They were on their way to the testing sight. Varian had the bazooka strapped to his back in a handy backpack-like harness. Cheese and Ruddigar were chasing each other around just ahead of them. By now, Hugo had calmed down. He felt much safer now that it was just the four of them again.

The last time Hugo had come through here, he was racing Varian to the house. Now that he just walking through, he could really take in the sights. It was in short, peaceful. If tranquility was a place, this would be it. It was so much more laid back than the capital. They walked past animal pastures, fields, and orchards. He was enjoying himself immensely.

"You have a nice home here Varian." he commented as the passed some wheat fields. "It's so quiet."

"Yeah. It's really nice. I love it here." Varian said. They grew silent again. For a moment.

"You know, I really would like it if you'd stay with us for good. I'd miss you if you left." Varian said. "I'd really like it if you became my full time brother. You know?"

Hugo snorted and chuckled. "I'm twenty years old Varian. I doubt your parents would be interested in adopting me." he said. "Especially Quirin." he added under his breath.

Varian gave him a confident smile. "Oh, I don't know. My mom really likes you. And I'm pretty sure we could convince dad to let you stay too."

As much as Hugo wanted it to be true, it seemed too unrealistic. And he had worries of what misfortunes that staying here could bring. But he didn't want to bring down Varian's hopes. "We'll see Hairstripe." he replied.

After awhile, they reached the testing sight. It was a nice flat field, further away from the main village. Varian noticed here was a barn built next to it that wasn't there before.

"Huh. I don't remember that being there." Varian commented as he put down the bazooka. "They must have built it since I was gone."

"Should we go somewhere else?" Hugo asked.

"Eh. If we aim away from it, we should be fine. This thing fires really accurately. I made sure to give the best guiding system possible. I worked on it for months." Varian bragged.

Hugo smirked and handed him the bag of viles. "Oh really now?" he said.

Varian took the bag of Amber Solution viles from Hugo. "Oh yes. Wait and see." he said with smug grin.

Ruddigar and Cheese took a seat on a nearby rock to watch them. The two boys loaded the bazooka. Then Varian showed Hugo how to hold and fire it. "Alright. Just look through the eye piece there and when it's on the target, fire!"

Hugo nodded in concentration. He aimed at the hay bale. Then fired! It was direct hit! Varian's jaw dropped. Even Hugo was surprised.

"Woah! Great shot!" Varian exclaimed.

"Heh. Thanks." said Hugo breathlessly.

Soon they were both firing the the bazooka and having a blast making new challenges for each other and laying new target distances. It wasn't long before they ran out of Amber Solution.

"I'll have to grab us some more." Varian said as he looked at the now empty bag. "I have some more in the supply hut. I'll be right back."

"Alright!" Hugo called as Varian took off toward the house. Ruddigar ran after him. Hugo looked down at the bazooka. It one more shot left. Hugo looked through the finder and aimed for the target. Suddenly, the sound of a squeaking wheel caught his attention. He glanced to his left and saw Quirin in the distance. He was pushing a wheelbarrow full of apples toward a barn. Hugo felt a pang of fear shoot through him. He secretly hoped Quirin wouldn't notice him. He stepped back.

He tripped.

"WAAAAAA!"

Cheese whirred and took cover! As Hugo fell, his finger pulled the trigger! "BAM!" The Amber solution exploded out the barrel!

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Quirin wiped his hand and brushed his brow. Suddenly, he heard a loud explosion behind him! He whirled around and saw a smoke plume rising from a barn in the distance. He watched in shock, then groaned.

"Varian." he muttered.

"Yeah dad?"

Quirin jumped a little and looked behind himself. Varian was right behind him. He had a crate of Amber Solution viles and was looking at him curiously. Quirin looked between the explosion site and Varian bewildered. "Varian?" he said, in utter confusion.

Just then, Varian saw the plume of amber colored smoke too. He gasped and dropped the crate. "Hugo!" he shouted! And he ran toward the barn!

"Varian wait!" said Quirin, as he ran after him. "What's going on?!"

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Hugo had fallen on his back in the grass. He sat up with a groan and pushed the Amber Bazooka off himself. And shielded his eyes from the sun. Wait. That wasn't the sunlight glinting. It was Amber. Hugo's eyes widened and he looked up.

A giant Amber crystal was jutting out of the barn.

He gave out a tiny terrified gasp and covered his mouth with both hands. He sat there for a moment, staring at what he'd done. And then, he ran. He didn't even know why. He just ran and hid behind an tree. He sat behind it. His was chest heaving. And his hands were shaking violently. What should he do?! Suddenly he heard people approaching. Villagers. Mostly the people that had been working the fields. And they were talking about the barn. They must have seen everything. Hugo peeked out from behind the tree and watched.

"What happened here?!" he heard a man shout!

"Somebody get Quirin! I can't believe this!"

"That kid! The minute he gets home he's back to blowing things up!"

Hugo realized they hadn't seen everything. They hadn't seen him! They thought Varian did it! Suddenly he heard someone else.

"Jasper! What's going on here!" he heard someone shout. He froze. That was Quirin's voice. He peeked around the tree cautiously and saw Quirin and Varian amongst the crowd. The man he assumed was Jasper, walked up to Quirin in a seething rage.

"Someone, shot some alchemy into my family's barn! And I think I know who did it! Well Varian?" he said. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I didn't do this!" said Varian!

"Yeah right!"

"I DIDN'T!" Varian angrily protested.

"Varian! Lower your voice." said Quirin. "But it's true. He was with me."

"Well who else could have-"

"WAIT!" Hugo shouted!

Everyone turned and looked. Hugo ran out from behind the tree and into the open! "I DID IT!" he blurted out!

"You did?!" asked Jasper surprised.

"Yes." said Hugo. "So if your going to get mad at someone, get mad at me!"

The man growled and got up in Hugo's face. "Do you realize how much time it's gonna take to fix that?!"

"He said it was an accident!" Varian yelled. And he got in-between them and shielded Hugo protectively.

"It's always an accident!" yelled back Jasper.

"Enough!" Quirin shouted!

It was so loud, even Varian jumped! Hugo looked terrified. It was so quiet, you could hear the wind rustling the grass. Quirin sighed and rubbed his temples. He looked up at the barn. The crystal wasn't sunk into the ground. Just stuck to the roof. They could remove it and rebuild the barn were it was. But Jasper was right. It would take time and money. Quirin walked up to the boys with a sigh.

"Hugo-" he raised his hand to gesture. To his surprise, Hugo flinched. Quirin stopped. He slowly lowered his hand. That wasn't normal. Quirin looked at Hugo in curiosity. Hugo just stared back wide eyed, fearful, and expectant. Something wasn't right with why Hugo was always jumping or flinching around him. He felt in his gut. This wasn't just nervous. This was scared. His parental instincts were going wild. But this wasn't the place to discuss it. He shook his head. "You and Varian go back to the house." He said with a wave of his hand. "I'll handle this."

Hugo nodded and watched as Quirin walked back toward the crowd. Varian put his hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. Hugo gave him a half hearted smile. It faded quickly.

Hugo picked up the Amber Bazooka and was just about to walk away when Quirin put his hand on his shoulder. "Oh, and Hugo?" Hugo froze and looked wide eyed at Quirin. "I want to talk to you in a little while. Okay?" Hugo stood there, unable to speak.

"Okay." He replied quietly.

After Quirin walked away, Hugo hurriedly walked past Varian. Varian saw he looked a bit pale in the face. Frankly, he didn't feel much better himself. What would happen next? He followed after Hugo, a million thoughts running through his head.

"Great! Another kid blowing things up around here." said Jasper. And he walked away shaking his head and muttering to himself about "Those stupid kids."

The crowd dispersed. Quirin was left alone with the barn and amber. Quirin looked up at the amber again. He saw his reflection staring back at him. His mind began to harken back to painful memories. Days and nights stuck in some sort of dreadful limbo. Not knowing what was happening at all. Quirin turned away and sighed. He walked away toward home, leaving the Amber crystal behind.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Hugo at on the front porch, watching the sunset. To say he was upset was an understatement. He felt absolutely awful. If he was trying to make a good impression, he just about failed. He looked at the amber crystal jutting out of the barn in the distance. He hugged himself and subconsciously dug his fingers into his arm. How could he have let that happen? Just then, he heard the door creak. He looked behind himself and saw Quirin standing in the doorway. Hugo held his breath. He was terrified. To his surprise, Quirin smiled at him. He sat down next to him and looked out over the valley.

Ulla and Varian peaked out from behind the door and watched them. Quirin and Hugo didn't know they were even there. Varian was worried. He knew his father was very generous and kind. But Hugo did cause a big mess. Even if it was just an accident. Jasper's barn wouldn't fix itself. He hoped that his father would be understanding. Varian looked up at Ulla for reassurance. She gave him a sideways smile and nodded. Even though she herself was just as nervous. She closed the door a bit more and they watched quietly.

Meanwhile, Quirin and Hugo still hadn't said a thing to each other. Hugo wasn't sure what he was in for. What would happen? Finally he couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm sorry." Hugo said in a voice that was almost a whisper. He waited for a response. He didn't have the courage to look Quirin in the eye. "I didn't mean to fire that Amber into the barn. I feel really bad. I... I don't even know what to say really..."

"It's alright. It was an accident." Quirin replied. He tried to keep his voice soft, so as not to scare him. "That was very brave you to come forward."

Hugo perked up. That caught his attention. He looked at him in surprise. "Huh?"

"You could've placed the blame on something else. Even Varian. It's likely most people would've believed it too."

"You're... You're not mad?" Hugo asked.

"No. Of course not. But, that being said, it would be nice if you helped fix Jasper's barn. Since you did blast the hole in it."

Hugo stared at him dumbfounded, before realizing he needed to answer. "Oh! Oh yeah! No problem! I can do that."

"And of course to do that, you'll have to stay for awhile, right? So, I don't see why you couldn't stay here with us, hm?"

Hugo's eye's widened. "You're not going to kick me out?" he asked.

"Of course not." Quirin said "Why would we do that?"

Hugo's face fell and he looked away. "Well I... I don't know. I thought... Um." Ulla leaned forward in interest. Hugo sighed. "It's nothing..."

Ulla's brow furrowed. There was that word again. Nothing. I couldn't be nothing. Could it? Something was bothering Hugo and it made her worried. Quirin was having similar thoughts. But he decided not to press. He gave a deep sigh.

"Well, just know that we don't do those kinds of things here. Accidents are certainly not grounds for kicking people out. There are way worse things to warrant that."

Hugo gave a small smile. "Thank you." he said.

Quirin smiled and laid a hand on Hugo's shoulder. "Your welcome." Hugo looked at Quirin's hand on his shoulder, then at Quirin. He grinned. Just then they both heard the door creak. They looked and saw Ulla and Varian quickly dash out of sight. Followed by the sounds of muffled laughter, hushed words, and scuffling feet. Quirin grinned.

"Alright you two. You can come out." Varian ran out, and slammed into Hugo, hugging him tightly. He used so much force that he was almost knocked over. Hugo laughed and hugged him back. Ulla sat down next to Quirin.

Varian pulled away from the hug and looked between Hugo and Quirin. "So uh, you guys worked everything out?" he asked hopefully.

"I think so." Quirin said.

"Yeah. We did." Hugo said as he ruffled Varian's hair.

Varian laughed and pushed his hand away. "Stop!" he chuckled.

Quirin smiled as he watched the two boys. Their closeness reminded him of distant happy memories. He glanced up at the horizon line. The sun was gone now and all that was left was the glow of twilight. He stood up from the steps and sighed. "Well, it's time we all go back inside for dinner." he began. "You and Hugo head in. We'll be right there."

"Alright." said Varian as he got up. "Come on."

Varian walked inside. Hugo was just about to follow when he stopped and turned to Quirin.

"Hey, Quirin? Thanks again." he said

Quirin smiled. "You're welcome."

Hugo beamed and walked inside. Quirin was just going to follow them, when he noticed Ulla. She was standing up and looking out over the mountains in deep thought. The night breeze was softly blowing her hair. And she was biting her lip. Something she sometimes did when thinking. It was starting to sink in that she didn't really know that much about Hugo. Or even Varian. And they seemed to be dodging her questions about key points of their journey. What was this Mad Scientist Lady she kept hearing about? And why did they keep saying the would tell her about it later or it was nothing? We're they in trouble? And why was Hugo so scared? There where so many questions she wanted to ask. It bothered her relentlessly.

"Everything all right?" Quirin asked. Ulla sighed and brushed back her bangs. They flopped back into face. Much like Varian's.

"I don't know." she started. "I feel like... People are holding out on me on some stuff that happened. I mean I get it. I've been gone a long time and a lot of stuff has changed. But I still want to be aware of everything that's passed. Sure, it may be upsetting. But I'll have to know eventually. I can tell something really bad must have happened. I just I wish I knew what. But at the same time I don't want to push them talk about things they aren't comfortable with. And I just..."

Ulla stopped rambling. Then sighed and sat back down on the steps. Quirin became concerned. "Ulla?"

Ulla took a deep breath and looked at Quirin. She gave a small smile. "Well... I guess everything will be figured out eventually." she said with a sigh. Quirin looked at her lovingly and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Of course love." he said.

She grinned. Then she leaped up into his arms and hugged him. Quirin sighed and melted into her embrace. The two looked each other in the eyes before sharing a kiss. Unfortunately their romantic moment was interrupted by some very loud barking. The couple looked behind themselves bewildered. And saw Buttercup being chased over the bridge by Frankie, who was absolutely covered in chicken feathers. The pups ran past them and into the house. They could hear Varian and Hugo exclaiming in surprise at their appearance.

"Wha- Frankie?! What do you do?!" Varian shouted! "Stop chasing Buttercup!"

"Why is he covered with chicken feathers?" Hugo asked.

"Oh no." Varian groaned.

Ulla and Quirin looked at each other and tried not to laugh. They weren't sure whether to be confused or amused. "Uh, Varian? I think you still need to explain a few things." Quirin called as him and Ulla headed inside.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Miles away from Old Corona, the deep woods stood dark and foreboding in the midnight shadow. Owls hooted in the trees and insects chirps and clicked in the bushes. An eerie whistling breeze blew through the tree branches, sound like the moans of the dead. A crumbled fortress lay broken and abandoned. A few black rocks pierced whatever rubble was left. Near one wing of the fortress, a large group of men scavenged for whatever they could find. They were a rough looking lot. All gangsters or criminals. Indeed, they once worked for the evil mistress that controlled this mighty castle. Now they answered to a new master. One very deadly.

One of the men dragged a machine from the rubble. A weapon of some kind.

"Nice." he said with a toothy grin. He chucked it onto the pile of loot. "How much more of this junk we taking?" he asked.

"Until we have it all!" a man's voice rang out.

The men turned around in surprise. Cyrus stood behind him.

"Boss! Good to see you!" he quickly spat out. "We've collected plenty!"

"Excellent." Cyrus said as he strode over to the pile and began looking through the items. All sorts of dangerous and expensive items had been collected. Money, treasure, and gold had been taken from the vaults. Inventions had been taken from the labs. Mostly weapons. They had no use for scientific instruments. Instead, metal from those machines had been ripped off and would be melted down for weapons or money. Cyrus picked up an especially shiney gold and bejeweled necklace and admired it.

"Yes. Perfect." he sneered. He dropped the necklace and turned to the gang. "With all this gear and loot, we'll be the most powerful criminals in this entire country!"

The gang erupted with shouts, laughter and cheers or excitement. One man clanged his sword blades together enthusiastically, eager for a fight.

"We'll set up a base in the caves far from the capital of Corona!" Cyrus continued. "And once we've made sure that the guards can't find us, we'll be set for life!" Cyrus unsheathed his sword and held it high. "And then we'll rule the land with an iron fist!"

For this, the gang cheered louder then before. They also raised their blades and weapons in allegiance!

"Boss!" a man shouted over the noise. He ran up to Cyrus and presented him with a book. "I found this in Donella's own office."

"A book!" another man shouted. "That's the best you can do?!"

"On the contrairy," Cyrus said as he turned the pages, grinning all the while. "This is quite precious." He shut the book with a loud clap.

"I'm fairly certain none of you are good at break-ins, are you?"

"Doug here can break into anything!" someone shouted. Doug, a giant of a man, (And seemingly little brain,) smirked and slammed his fists together menacingly.

"I mean, sneaking in to places you fools!" Cyrus shouted. This was met with most saying "Oooooooooh." and other sounds of realization. Cyrus facepalmed and groaned.

"Well, luckily for you numbskulls, Donella has provided us with the perfect tool for such deeds. We just need to find him."

To Be Continued.

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gimmickblogcompletionist · 3 months ago

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Present: girl-detector

Missing:

100-percent-real-official-malta, a-counter, achivement-unlocked, actually-alberta, actually-danish-denmark, actually-literally-ireland, alphabetstatistician, alphabetuncompletionist, amongus-text-detector, are-there-grammar-errors, arewebeholdingaman, arizona-official, aromanticofficial, asciicompletionist, axolotl-detector, b-counter, bad-time-analogies, bat-detector, bear-detector, biblepercent, bird-detector, bug-detector, c-counter, cape-breton-island-itself, carbon-monoxide-detector, cat-detector, cat-identifier, cat-spotted, certified-door-posts, certifiedchickenposts, citrus-typos, colortracker, colourpickingpride, columbiforme-detector, contraction-counter, corvid-detector, could-transition-save-her, crab-detector, crane-detector, crowdetector, daily-crabbys, decontextifier, definitely-brasil, definitely-brazil, definitely-britain, definitely-canada, definitely-totally-croatia, definitelytherepublicofireland, denmark-forreal, denmark-official, denmarklandia-official, detector-detector, digitcounter, dino-detector, djibouti-colour-picker, dragons-locator, e-counter, egg-detector, eggblackoutpoetry, etho-spotted, evilorcadetector, femboy-state-of-florida-official, fish-detector, fishidentifier, forever-scotland, fox-detector, france-unofficial, free-post-store, genuinely-germany, germany-official, gimmick-mimic, gimmick-thief, gimmickbloghunter, gimmickbloghunterhunter, guatemala-official, happy-little-painter, hellsite-quotes, hellsitegenetics, hemo-rainbow-completionist, heresylog, homestuck-word-counter, how-much-yellow, i-am-poland, i-bork-at-you, i-give-amogus-to-people, i-give-chess-piece-to-people, i-give-you-a-fish, i-meow-at-you, i-reblog-your-post-with-balls, i-remove-color-from-posts, i-say-not-ok, i-say-ok, i-say-quite, i-shelve-posts, i-tag-gimmick-accounts, identifying-cars-in-posts, identifying-cleaning-products, identifying-dinosaurs-in-posts, identifying-guns-in-posts, identifying-horses-in-posts, identifyinggimmickblogsinposts, identifyingtrainsinposts, image-inverter, imakecalculatorposts, in-python-terms-please, in-the-bible , india-official, is-it-throwing-him-thursday, is-this-trans, is-this-yuri, is-your-post-grey, jesus-holding-your-fave, kittybroker, libraryofbabel-postlocator, literally-luxembourg, littleguysdaily, lizard-detector, maryland-officially, massachusetts-official, mawile-moment, meme-conservation, mhm-wisconsin, mousedetector, new-hampshire-real, new-york-for-real, newhampshireofficial, nihonkokuu, non-tyrannical-usa, not-communist-usa, numberscompletionist, nyan-copies-gimmick-blogs, oedcompletionist, official-boob-posts, official-denmark, official-fedex, official-hongkong, official-ireland, official-library-posts, official-linguistics-posts, official-new-zealand, official-wales, ofishal-fish-posts, ominous-signs, operagxreal, orange-content-rater, orca-detector, painting-red, pakistan-official, parantheses-posts, periodiccompletionist, pointless-achievements, pokemonifying-posts, post-eater, post-shooter, post-store, post-uwuifer, post-uwuifier, postalignments, postanagramgenerator, postarsonist, posts-i-saw-on-wikipedia, pronouncounter, psychicdamage-identified, punctuation-completionist, putting-bubble-in-places, putting-exit-door-in-places, putting-stanley-in-places, putting-waldo-in-places, quebec-official, radiation-detector-official, raidpainter, rainbow--completionist, random-plant, randomitemdrop, randomly-generated-posts-machine, rat-detector, rat-detector-detector, reading-comp-posting, real-life-england, real-sephora, republic-of-molossia, rhode-island-real, russia-totallyofficial, salmon-detector, satan-official-account, seven-counter, shark-detector, skid-fit-detector, snake-detector, snow-leopard-detector, spider-man-counter, spooky-killer-ooh, state-of-connecticut-official, state-of-florida-official, stitchposts, swearification-and-cursing, sweden-official, t-counter, texas-real,

the-actual-ocean, the-agender-painter, the-aroace-painter, the-bazzow-painter, the-bird-painter, the-bisexual-painter, the-blue-painter,the-chaotic-doodle-painter, the-collage-painter, the-deep-fry-painter, the-deep-fryer, the-disemconsonanter, the-disemvoweler, the-doodle-painter, the-duck-painter, the-firey-painter, the-gay-painter, the-ghost-painter, the-glitter-painter, the-green-painter, the-grey-painter, the-gumball-painter, the-high-saturation-painter, the-hoppip-painter, the-howling-painter, the-icy-painter, the-inverted-painter, the-kingdom-of-norway, the-lesbian-painter, the-mew-painter, the-mewtwo-painter, the-mystery-painter, the-not-painter, the-offical-roman-empire, the-official-goose-god, the-official-italy, the-official-uk-of-britain, the-official-verbchanger, the-omori-painter, the-only-ontario, the-orange-painter, the-pan-painter, the-pink-painter, the-pixel-painter, the-pony-painter, the-post-programmer, the-pride-painter, the-principality-of-sealand, the-province-of-nova-scotia-real, the-purple-painter, the-rainbow-painter, the-random-painter, the-real-google, the-real-illinois, the-redpainter, the-reemvoweler, the-republic-of-texas, the-sad-painter, the-scaly-painter, the-scribbles-painter, the-state-of-georgia-official, the-state-of-michigan, the-stormy-painter, the-sus-painter, the-teal-painter, the-trans-painter, the-us-navy, the-us-navy-offical, the-void-painter, the-weezer-painter, the-white-painter, the-xenogender-painter, the-yellow-painter, thecroissantpainter, thegimmickblog, therealrepublicofkorea, therickrolldetector, things-that-are-weezer-blue, totally-france, totally-germany, totally-italy, totally-japan, totally-texas, trans-detector, tsunderedetector, unity-real, unofficial-illinois, utah-offical, vaati-spies-seeker, very-real-australia, voweltally, wales-official, waterboardingwizard, were-these-words-in-the-bible, whats-that-teacup, wildcard-completionist, woo-in-different-lengths, would-you-survive-in-australia, yeahokayillreblogthat, your-fav-has-big-naturals, yoururlisavalidchumhandle, yugoslavia-official, z-counter

#gimmick completed

2M notes · View notes

cinderella-ish · 1 month ago

Note

1 for the fruits basket ask pls?

ooh, I've been secretly hoping someone would ask this! (fruits basket asks here)

the short version: my bestie from college recommended a bunch of anime to me several years after we graduated, and Fruits Basket was one of her top recommendations

the long version: so I didn't really watch anime before 2023. I had watched Pokémon when I was a kid, and I'd seen a few Studio Ghibli films, and most of my friends through high school and college were anime fans, but I didn't really know where to start with anime, so I never did.

Cut to 2023, when my partner was going to meet up with a bunch of friends to see the new Demon Slayer movie (the one that bridged the Entertainment District and Swordsmith Village arcs). I knew most of the friends who were going, so I tagged along. I didn't really know what was going on most of the time, but I decided to watch the series from the beginning when we got home, and I found it really charming.

I started seeking out recommendations from internet forums and friends, and the friend I mentioned above recommended Fruits Basket along with many other series. (Interestingly, she'd watched the 2001 series back in the day, and had meant to recommend that one, but I started with the 2019 series!)

The first time I watched it, I liked it, but I also felt like I didn't really get it. I could tell there was so much more to it that I just wasn't picking up on.

So I watched it again.

And again.

(I do this a lot, fwiw. Rewatch mania wasn't a new thing for me that Fruits Basket unlocked, it's pretty much my default state lol.)

I also started reading analysis, and eventually, fanfiction, which led to writing my own analysis and fanfiction, and here we are now!

So, that's the story of how I was introduced to Fruits Basket!

Thank you for asking!! Getting asks like this always makes my day! 😁

#fruits basket #furuba #fruba #my asks #by cinderella-ish #shout out to this friend

0 notes

a-romantic--aromantic · 3 years ago

Note

How does it feel to have a positive impact on more people than your mind could conceive?

you think so? lately i havent been too sure, but i hope what i do helps people. its why i keep doing it. ive been doing projects to help people for like 15 years now. when i was in middle school, i accidentally kickstarted the “positive anonymous sticky notes on lockers” thing because i was getting bullied. it was based on the seniors roses-on-lockers thing id seen a picture if it on tumblr. i made about 5,000 anonymous messages and left them on lockers over the course of a year? and i also had a little anons campaign here on tumblr too :)

a year or so later i heard of some other schools and kids doing it too. my project was in like 2012/2013ish? I did some other similar projects in high school too, but never quite that big until. well i guess this blog?

idk i usually keep going under the “i may only help 1 person, but thats 1 person that wasnt helped before” kind of modality.

im glad you think im helping people, though. :)

i like the idea that im having a positive impact on a ton of people. that feels good. :)

#ooh unlocking #backstory #today‚ huh?#thats okay i think you guys deserve it #i dont think there were many news articles when i did it. my peers sorta hated it. the elementary schoolers who repeated it #bc their older sibling got a note #may have had some press‚ though!#anyways #tags #rambles #hey bees #whats up bees #whatd you ask?#save for later #saves

18 notes · View notes

gimmickblogcompletionist · 3 months ago

Text

Present: dragons-locator

Missing:

100-percent-real-official-malta, a-counter, achivement-unlocked, actually-alberta, actually-danish-denmark, actually-literally-ireland, alphabetstatistician, alphabetuncompletionist, amongus-text-detector, are-there-grammar-errors, arewebeholdingaman, arizona-official, aromanticofficial, asciicompletionist, axolotl-detector, b-counter, bad-time-analogies, bat-detector, bear-detector, biblepercent, bird-detector, bug-detector, c-counter, cape-breton-island-itself, carbon-monoxide-detector, cat-detector, cat-identifier, cat-spotted, certified-door-posts, certifiedchickenposts, citrus-typos, colortracker, colourpickingpride, columbiforme-detector, contraction-counter, corvid-detector, could-transition-save-her, crab-detector, crane-detector, crowdetector, daily-crabbys, decontextifier, definitely-brasil, definitely-brazil, definitely-britain, definitely-canada, definitely-totally-croatia, definitelytherepublicofireland, denmark-forreal, denmark-official, denmarklandia-official, detector-detector, digitcounter, dino-detector, djibouti-colour-picker, e-counter, egg-detector, eggblackoutpoetry, etho-spotted, evilorcadetector, femboy-state-of-florida-official, fish-detector, fishidentifier, forever-scotland, fox-detector, france-unofficial, free-post-store, genuinely-germany, germany-official, gimmick-mimic, gimmick-thief, gimmickbloghunter, gimmickbloghunterhunter, girl-detector, guatemala-official, happy-little-painter, hellsite-quotes, hellsitegenetics, hemo-rainbow-completionist, heresylog, homestuck-word-counter, how-much-yellow, i-am-poland, i-bork-at-you, i-give-amogus-to-people, i-give-chess-piece-to-people, i-give-you-a-fish, i-meow-at-you, i-reblog-your-post-with-balls, i-remove-color-from-posts, i-say-not-ok, i-say-ok, i-say-quite, i-shelve-posts, i-tag-gimmick-accounts, identifying-cars-in-posts, identifying-cleaning-products, identifying-dinosaurs-in-posts, identifying-guns-in-posts, identifying-horses-in-posts, identifyinggimmickblogsinposts, identifyingtrainsinposts, image-inverter, imakecalculatorposts, in-python-terms-please, in-the-bible , india-official, is-it-throwing-him-thursday, is-this-trans, is-this-yuri, is-your-post-grey, jesus-holding-your-fave, libraryofbabel-postlocator, literally-luxembourg, littleguysdaily, lizard-detector, kittybroker, maryland-officially, massachusetts-official, mawile-moment, meme-conservation, mhm-wisconsin, mousedetector, new-hampshire-real, new-york-for-real, newhampshireofficial, nihonkokuu, non-tyrannical-usa, not-communist-usa, numberscompletionist, nyan-copies-gimmick-blogs, oedcompletionist, official-boob-posts, official-denmark, official-fedex, official-hongkong, official-ireland, official-library-posts, official-linguistics-posts, official-new-zealand, official-wales, ofishal-fish-posts, ominous-signs, operagxreal, orange-content-rater, orca-detector, painting-red, pakistan-official, parantheses-posts, periodiccompletionist, pointless-achievements, pokemonifying-posts, post-eater, post-shooter, post-store, post-uwuifer, post-uwuifier, postalignments, postanagramgenerator, postarsonist, posts-i-saw-on-wikipedia, pronouncounter, psychicdamage-identified, punctuation-completionist, putting-bubble-in-places, putting-exit-door-in-places, putting-stanley-in-places, putting-waldo-in-places, quebec-official, radiation-detector-official, raidpainter, rainbow--completionist, random-plant, randomitemdrop, randomly-generated-posts-machine, rat-detector, rat-detector-detector, reading-comp-posting, real-life-england, real-sephora, republic-of-molossia, rhode-island-real, russia-totallyofficial, salmon-detector, satan-official-account, seven-counter, shark-detector, skid-fit-detector, snake-detector, snow-leopard-detector, spider-man-counter, spooky-killer-ooh, state-of-connecticut-official, state-of-florida-official, stitchposts, swearification-and-cursing, sweden-official, t-counter, texas-real, the-actual-ocean, the-agender-painter, the-aroace-painter, the-bazzow-painter, the-bird-painter, the-bisexual-painter, the-blue-painter,

the-chaotic-doodle-painter, the-collage-painter, the-deep-fry-painter, the-deep-fryer, the-disemconsonanter, the-disemvoweler, the-doodle-painter, the-duck-painter, the-firey-painter, the-gay-painter, the-ghost-painter, the-glitter-painter, the-green-painter, the-grey-painter, the-gumball-painter, the-haiku-bot, the-high-saturation-painter, the-hoppip-painter, the-howling-painter, the-icy-painter, the-inverted-painter, the-kingdom-of-norway, the-lesbian-painter, the-mew-painter, the-mewtwo-painter, the-mystery-painter, the-not-painter, the-offical-roman-empire, the-official-goose-god, the-official-italy, the-official-uk-of-britain, the-official-verbchanger, the-omori-painter, the-only-ontario, the-orange-painter, the-pan-painter, the-pink-painter, the-pixel-painter, the-pony-painter, the-post-programmer, the-pride-painter, the-principality-of-sealand, the-province-of-nova-scotia-real, the-purple-painter, the-rainbow-painter, the-random-painter, the-real-google, the-real-illinois, the-redpainter, the-reemvoweler, the-republic-of-texas, the-sad-painter, the-scaly-painter, the-scribbles-painter, the-state-of-georgia-official, the-state-of-michigan, the-stormy-painter, the-sus-painter, the-teal-painter, the-trans-painter, the-us-navy, the-us-navy-offical, the-void-painter, the-weezer-painter, the-white-painter, the-xenogender-painter, the-yellow-painter, thecroissantpainter, thegimmickblog, therealrepublicofkorea, therickrolldetector, things-that-are-weezer-blue, totally-france, totally-germany, totally-italy, totally-japan, totally-texas, trans-detector, tsunderedetector, unity-real, unofficial-illinois, utah-offical, vaati-spies-seeker, very-real-australia, voweltally, wales-official, waterboardingwizard, were-these-words-in-the-bible, whats-that-teacup, wildcard-completionist, woo-in-different-lengths, would-you-survive-in-australia, yeahokayillreblogthat, your-fav-has-big-naturals, yoururlisavalidchumhandle, yugoslavia-official, z-counter

i have no idea what passes for humor on this site anymore. i feel like i could say shit like "hey what's up guys i'm still trapped in this abandoned grain silo" and it'd get notes.

#gimmick completed

101K notes · View notes

aemonds-little-belle · 2 years ago

Text

FEELINGS SOLD SEPARATLY

CHAPTER ELEVEN (THE EYLA THEORY)

Modern!Aemond Targaryen x Reader

NOTES - I missed Eyla so much that I gave her an entire chapter, she's the real MVP though. (Also the dom/sub subplot just got a whole lot more main story <3

TAGS - (REPOSTED FROM AO3)

Alternate Universe - Sugar DaddySugar BabySugar Baby AUAUokay this is a whole ass story that's just one long ass brain fartliterally i am just coming up with this on the spotlow key really love it thoughSugar Baby/Sugar Daddyobviouslytalks of class issuesaemonds been hurt in the pasti think there will be some sexy stuff eventuallywait fuck i didn't mention this is a modern!aumodern!AUAlternate Universe - Modern Setting<3Aemond "One-Eye" Targaryen is Bad at Feelingsstop that was recommended but so accurateI don't know how to do tagsI'm SorryI promise it's goodAnd no one diesand it's just so classically a sugar baby/ sugar daddy au it hurtsreader works at a cafe ... obviouslythis will follow a similar storyline to the show just modern and also not at allFamily Issueswait probably dom/sub vibes tooDom/subLight Dom/subclearly i don't know where this is going yetmy readers are always written fat because i am fatso keep that in mindSlow Burnit's so slowbut I think it's greatlike genuinely two idiots in lovebut they take soooo long to noticeUghI love fanfiction

+ + + + + +

“Y/n!” Eyla yelled, already at the counter, wiping it down before the shop opened. “Hurry up!”

“We aren’t even open yet!” Y/n chuckled, placing her things in her locker before putting the fake, and unlockable, lock onto it.

“I know.” She laughed back. “But I’m dying to know how your weekend went with Mr. Fancy Pants!” Her eyes were pleading, a fake pout on her lips.

“Eyla I don’t even know where to begin.” Y/n pouted back. “After work on Friday he took me to a small Breakfast diner for dinner, and we talked about what the arrangement would look like.” Y/n put on her apron and began turning the coffee machines on, ensuring each was working fine as Eyla stood leaned against the counter, completely engaged in the conversation. “And then he wouldn’t let me take the bus home! And now I can’t take the bus at all.”

“He’s making you walk home? If that asshole wants you to do cardio or something you …”

“No!” Y/n cut her off. “He’s paying for cabs, he doesn’t like me walking home, especially now when it gets dark before we get off.” She explained, looking to Eyla who was nodding her head. “Um, on saturday we went shopping.”

“Oh I love shopping!” Eyla sang.

“I know.” Y/n laughed.

“What did he get you? Anything expensive?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“Um, he got me these new shoes.” Y/n did a little dance move to show her new all black sneakers off, getting a few ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ back from Eyla. “And then enough jeans and T-shirts to last me years. Plus he bought me a dress, or is buying me, I don’t know, I don’t even know what it looks like.” Y/n began rambling. “It’s for Wednesday, for this work event that he has.”

“You’re getting a fancy dress for a fancy party and you don’t seem excited, what could possibly be wrong?” Eyla raised an eyebrow at Y/n.

“Nothing’s wrong!” Y/n defended herself. “I just, it’s a custom dress, and that’s a lot of money, so I’m just worried about it.”

“A custom dress? He’s head over heels for you!” Eyla exclaimed, bouncing on her heels slightly.

“Maybe.” Y/n’s face heated up at the idea, could Aemond really like her? Or were they just a little flirty because of their arrangement? “He’s given me some inkling he might like me, but I really don’t know, what if that’s just regular Sugar da… behavior.”

“Lay these inklings on me.” Eyla leaned against the counter, her arms crossed, eyes to the floor, clearly ready to contemplate something big.

“Um, well we held hands on saturday.”

“Mhm, mhm.” Eyla’s eyes squinted slightly.

“Um, when we were shopping there was this girl from his past, she listed all of these places Aemond took his past sugar babies and specific gifts he bought all of them. But he never took me to a fancy restaurant, he took me to his favorite diner, and hasn’t given me a stupid gold bracelet, or I don’t know! But that’s gotta count for something right?” Y/n was begging at this point, hoping maybe, just maybe Aemond could actually like her.

“So he’s taking you places he would take his girlfriend, not his sugar baby?” Eyla asked, crossing her legs now too.

“I guess.” Y/n sighed, Eyla nodding. “He also almost beat up my landlord because he turned my power off.” Y/n shrugged her shoulders as if what she had said was nothing.

“Almost?” Eyla scoffed. “He should have actually beat him up, gods know the man deserves it.”

“That’s what Miss Falker said.” Y/n chuckled. “I would let Miss Falker guide me through life if I could, the woman is always right, so wise.” Eyla joked.

“She also can’t see and has no idea Aemond is a real Targaryen.” Y/n chuckled as she walked to the front of the shop, unlocking the door and turning the closed sign to open.

“Miss Falker, the true Queen of Flea Bottom.”

“Anyways.” Y/n started up again. “Maybe I could look past those things, but yesterday …”

“Large coffee, two sugars and a cream please.” A man interrupted them, his eyes glued to his phone, Eyla rolling her eyes as she began the man's drink, Y/n ringing the man up.

“But yesterday?” Eyla asked, placing the lid on the man's cup.

“Yesterday we made rules, like sugar baby rules, for me to follow.”

“Ohh, kinky!” Eyla cheered, the man totally unbothered as he walked out.

“No!” Y/n shook her head. “They aren’t like that at all, but we made them together, and I had no idea what I was doing.”

“Well obviously, Y/n you don’t even look like a remotely kinky girl …”

“I will not share the tips I make while you’re on break if you keep this up.” Y/n threatened, though it was completely a lie and Eyla knew it, but she raised her hands up innocently anyways. “I asked what his rules for his other sugar babies were, as like a reference that I could work off of.”

“Makes sense.” Eyla said, retying her apron for the fourth time this morning, as if she didn’t just put it on.

“Well he said no, and refused to show them to me, so I think he’s not even trying to treat me like past sugar babies.”

“What were some of your rules? Any unusually caring ones?”

“Not really.” Y/n shrugged her shoulders. “Again, I don’t know how these things work, but he said the rules were meant to help me break bad habits, and guide me.” Y/n paused to help a customer before turning to Eyla again. “Which makes sense, he wants me to rely on him, let him help me in any way he can, which is how I’m different from the past girls.” Y/n rambled. “They just wanted someone with money to buy them pretty things, but with me he spends his money improving my life for the better.”

“This makes so much more sense.” Eyla nodded her head as she poured coffee into a cup, stirring in some sugar as she looked Y/n up and down. “He's a dominant.”

“A what?”

“You know?” Eyla asked, Y/n just staring back at her confused. “Oh my god! I thought you said you read books?”

“I do!”

“Clearly not the same kind I read.” Eyla chuckled. “A dominant is someone who you know, wants to dominate someone in bed, tell them what to do, when to do it, how to do it, etcetera.”

“But me and Aemond aren’t in bed.” Y/n tilted her head to the side slightly.

“No, but he does seem to tell you what to do in real life, like how he wants you to take a cab and not ride the bus, that’s him dominating your situation and changing things to make it better for you.” Eyla explained as if they weren't helping at least ten customers who were just standing around them, easily in earshot.

“So if he is … What you say he is, what does that make me?” Y/n asked worriedly, hoping the answer wasn’t something horrible.

“A submissive!” Eyla explained, completely enjoying the little teaching lesson she was giving. “You submit your control to him, let him make the decisions.” Eyla began a new pot of coffee, retying her apron again, something Y/n definitely thought was an anxious habit. “Submissives also want to please the dominant, and often if the submissive does well at following the rules there’s a reward.”

“And a punishment if they don’t” Y/n whispered, things clicking in her head.

“Yep, though I don’t think Aemond would spank you too hard.” Eyla winked.

“Wouldn’t what?!?” Y/n’s eyes were wide as saucers, Eyla just cackling in the corner as she poured more coffee.

“I don’t know what a non sexual dominant would do, but I’m sure there’s something.” Eyla laughed. “Maybe he’ll make you shine his shoes!”

“No. He’d take money off of a charity fund if I broke a rule.”

“Are you telling me he already has a punishment plan?” Eyla was now the one with eyes wide as saucers, her eyebrows raised as her mouth hung open.

“Mhm.” Y/n nodded her head.

“Has he ever given you a talking to? With a teachery voice, like hes grading your paper and you did terribly.” Y/n just looked at Eyla with shock, thinking ‘how did you know about that?’ “You are living my dream life, I swear.”

“Well, what if he is a dominant? What do I do then?” Y/n’s demeanor changed, worry filling her mind.

“Do you like the rules?” Y/n nodded her head. “Do you like following them?”

“Well yeah, he said he would be disappointed if I didn’t and I want …”

“To please him?”

“Yes.” Y/n turned her back to Eyla, thinking over all of the information that had been cast onto her suddenly.

“Then I think you and Aemond might be a perfect match. He wants someone who will let him have control, let him make decisions he sees fit when it comes to improving their life.” Y/n nodded along. “And you seem to want that, but I can’t tell you if you’re a submissive or not, or if this will all work out in the end.”

“Then how do I find out if I am one or not?”

“The internet, the shop has wifi, when you go on break you should totally do a test or something.”

“Okay, sure.” Y/n nodded her head, ringing in another customer. “What if he isn’t even a dominant and I’m doing all of this for nothing?”

“He gave you rules and a punishment, Y/n.” Eyla deadpanned. “He’s a dominant.”

Y/n just nodded her head, fixing the straw holder before looking back to Eyla. “Wait, what kind of books do you read?”

#prince aemond #aemond one eye #aemond targaryen #aemond fanfiction #sugar daddy!aemond targaryen #sb/sd!au #sugar baby!au #hotd aemond #hotd #house of the dragon #modern au #modern!aemond x reader #modern!aemond targaryen

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wolfpants · 2 years ago

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lots of sentences... saturday

I'm creeping my way back to Tumblr after a few much needed weeks off and hey, it's paid off a bit, because I've done some writing I actually kind of like? This is from my upcoming Drarry longfic Terrible People, which I'm hoping to begin posting in the New Year! Thanks for tagging me @oknowkiss (lovely words here!) and @sorrybutblog (lovely words here!)

Pansy’s hand flies across the table. She gets to Draco’s phone before he does.

“Don’t even think about it,” she says.

Her fingers hover over the screen, nails the same colour as the wine they’re drinking. They glitter under the restaurant’s soft lights like talons.

“That’s pretty fucking rich.” Draco represses the very strong urge to snatch it back like a toddler whose iPad has been taken away. “When you’ve been looking at yours since we sat down.”

“I have a child at home,” Pansy says, just as Ernie starts loudly reciting the dessert choices, offering his commentary on each element.

“—cashew nut crumble, how delightful—”

“And a Neville.” Draco holds out his hand, palm-up. “Give it back, please.”

“No!” Pansy says.

“—ooh, miso caramel. That’s unusual. What d’you reckon, Fletch, shall we get something to share—”

Low and in warning, “Pansy…”

“Draco,” she replies loftily, nose in the air. “Whatever could be so important, anyway? I wonder,” she murmurs, unlocking his phone with a simple tap tap of her fingers, because of course she knows his rudimentary password, 0506.

He silently curses the fateful day their mothers chose to shove them in the same elocution lessons as children, paving the way for their decades-long friendship and Draco’s eternal suffering.

“Work,” he says through gritted teeth.

“Work? On your birthday?” She tuts as she drags down the notifications with her thumb. “On the night where your beloved friends take you out for a fancy meal—”

“—and a dessert wine? Too indulgent? No, I think we should get dessert wine, a bottle for the table perhaps—”

Draco shifts in his chair, a fussy, powder-pink velvet thing with a low wingback in the shape of an open shell. “It might be important.”

“As important as…” Pansy laughs and turns his phone around to show him the screen. “A WhatsApp message from Paul Grindr?”

Draco’s face grows hot.

This is why he should have kept his phone in his pocket.

He grabs it from her and does just that, then busies himself by straightening out the wrinkles in the tablecloth, a distraction from the itching impulse to read the damn message and block the number.

Another disastrous date. More proof he just isn’t built for the modern world of dating and relationships.

“You never told us about Paul!” Ernie crows from the other side of the table, tossing the small paper menu aside. “Who’s Paul?”

“Literally no one,” Draco says, glaring at his friends. “Now order some fucking dessert, Ernie, no one wants to hear you read the whole fucking menu.”

No pressure tagging @tackytigerfic @skeptiquewrites @academicdisasterfic @wheezykat @lqtraintracks @wrapped-up and anyone who wants to play!

#writing #wip #terrible people #drarry #drarry fic #draco/harry #harry/draco

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heximagines · 3 years ago

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Just platonic eternal life partners, nothing else to see here. Or is there? 👀

You remember your first best friend, Emma Stanley. The two of you were conjoined at the hip. If you scraped your knee at recess she brought you to the nurse, if her family was going to the zoo they'd ask if you wanted to tag along, she loved to have dinner at your house because your grandpa was the best cook in the neighborhood. You'd weaved countless friendship bracelets for each other and coordinated your nail polish colors. You always admired Emma for being brave and adventurous, bold and outgoing. She bounded ahead into any situation with the confidence only a child could have. You supposed when you thought about it that way it's almost a logical leap to your current best friend.

You watched Severen's back as he finagled with the padlock that kept you out of the backroom of the liquor distro. Sure the two of you were way too old to be stealing liquor and sure you had the money to pay for it. But there was no adventure in that, no fun. Finally the lock clicked open and Severen slipped through the gap in the door like a shadow. You were right behind him. "I get dark liquor you get light," he whispered to you. You stayed down low to the floor and searched through the labels on the boxes. After a moment you located some good vodka and opened up your bag to start laying bottles in. You were about to pop open a box of tequila next when the door to the back room slammed open. You hit the deck and when you tilted your head up to look you saw Severen a few feet away. He was laying on his stomach in the same position as you, wide eyed. When you met each other's gaze you both had to cover your mouths to keep from laughing. You listened as an employee loaded up a dolly, grunting with effort to lift the heavy boxes, before he cussed and wheeled it out of the back room. The door slammed closed behind him and you and Severen giggled like school children. He was no Emma Stanley but Severen was definitely fun to hang around.

The two of you bolted out of the back of the distro with rattling bags, laughing into the night. "Come on, let's head back and share the wealth." You nod in the direction of the motel, but Severen had that glint in his eye that told you he had a different plan. "Not before we take our cut, darlin'." That nickname always made your heart flutter. You told yourself that it was just because the affection was nice, but you knew that was a lie. Severen located a van that still had the keys inside. He tried the handle but it was locked so instead he used his elbow to smash the window out. He reached across to unlock your door before he even got in. "What a gentleman," you teased before tossing your bag of goods inside and climbing into the seat. He brushed the glass away before climbing in himself and starting up your new ride. "You know us old timers," he quipped back at you, "always gotta take care of the lady first." He winked and you punched him in the arm.

Severen cruised down the streets, eyes searching for something, what you didn't know. You looked more out of curiosity. You'd never been to Reno before. You were seeing a lot of new places since you met Severen, it was one of the many perks of agreeing to be his platonic eternal life partner. Jesse would snort at the phrase you two used to describe your relationship and shake his head. When he did Severen would snap at him for being 'jealous' and you would shove your feelings down just a bit deeper. Embarrassed. Severen took a sharp turn that knocked you out of your thoughts. He pulled into the back of a grocery store parking lot and cut the engine. "Pick a bottle, any bottle." You giggled as Severen rattled one of the bags at you. You closed your eyes and reached in, rooting around until your hand closed over the slim neck of a bottle. You pulled it out. "Ooh! Aye, aye captain!" You waved the Captain Morgan in Severen's face with a smirk and he gagged. "How do you drink that shit?" You snorted and cracked the cap open. "You're the one who grabbed it for me."

After a few swigs Severen lead you out of the van and out towards a set of train tracks that lead to a yard. He held your hand to steady you as you jumped up onto one of the rails and tried to walk along it, even once you had your balance he didn't let go. Not that you were itching to pull away. "How many times you been here?" you asked. "Here specific or here in Reno?" His thumb stroked over your knuckles and you squeezed his hand a bit tighter before shrugging. "Both." He thought for a moment, trying to come up with a genuine answer, before he too shrugged. "Countless times I guess." You could accept that, you mostly asked questions to hear the rumble of his voice. You turned your head to look at the still cargo trains as you sipped from the bottle of spiced rum. You eyed up a particularly nice tank and hummed in thought. "What?" Severen looked at you. You only passed him off the bottle before darting over to it. When he caught up to you he saw you'd begun gathering half empty spray paint cans off the ground, left behind by other trespassers. You looked from the cans and up at the tanker. "I need a boost."

Severen had you hoisted up on his shoulders, his hands gripping your thighs to hold you steady as you painted. Though you didn't get into this position without a few dirty remarks on his part. "Okay pass me the black. I just gotta outline then it's done." He bent his knees and carefully grabbed the black paint from the ground before passing it up to you. "About time. We've been here for hours." You gave his stomach a light tap with your heel. "Quit complaining, it's worth it I promise." Seven hadn't gotten a good look at your work yet, too close to the train to really take it in. You directed him on where to stand as you put on the finishing touches and signed your tag. "Okay! Check it out!" Severen didn't let you down, instead he backed up with you still on his shoulders. He laughed so loud you had to slap a hand over his mouth, turning your head to look behind you. He pried your hand away, still snickering. "I can't believe you made me stand like this for hours so you could paint Shaggy smoking a bong." You leaned over his head and into his eye line, grinning at him upside down. "Isn't it sick?" "What's on his shirt?" You balked at his question and looked back up at your piece. "It's the Wu Tang logo!" "Wu Tang?" He raised an eyebrow. "Dude you're joking."

You both sat on the back of the tanker passing the rum back and forth as you talked. "So they arranged this whole deal right? They would sign with Loud Records but they could still sign solo deals with other labels and take the Wu Tang name with them. Which was genius because they had 9 crazy talented dudes spawning dozens of solo careers that all fed into the Wu Tang brand. It hadn't been done before that." Severen nodded along, trying to keep everything you were telling him straight in his head. "So they made a lot of money that way?" You swallowed a mouthful of liquor and nodded. "Oh yeah, millions in album sales alone. And now they're one of the most recognizably branded hip hop groups in the world." Severen smiled at you and tapped the side if your head. "How do you just store all of that up there? Think your head would be bigger with all the shit you know." You giggled and batted his hand away, only to then lean against his side. He put and arm around you and pulled you closer. Severen was just a touchy person like that, you had to remind your dumb fluttering heart as you rested your head on his shoulder. "Tonight was fun," you mused. "Every night is fun with you." You looked up at him and he even seemed embarrassed by his words. You nudged him playfully. "Cheese ball."

You and Severen began the trek back to your stolen van, a bit buzzed and with him knowing a lot more about 90s east coast hip hop than he ever thought he would. Even though you opted to walk on flat ground this time he still reached his hand out for you to take, twining your fingers together. He lifted a section of fence for you to slide through the gap, tugging him along behind you. When you got to the other side you groaned. "Looks like we're out a ride and the rest of that liquor." Severen looked over your shoulder to see 4 cops swarmed around the van with their flashlights out. He shrugged. "Oh well." It wasn't about the liquor anyway, it had just been something to get into. The two of you walked casually in the opposite direction, ready to head back for the night. As you passed the grocery store he stopped suddenly at one of the cart corrals. "What's up?" He grinned at you and pulled one of the carriages out, gesturing for you to hop in. "New ride."

You and Severen howled with laughter as you dive bombed a fresh paved hill in the shopping cart. Severen, who had been standing on the edge of the undercarriage, flopped himself over the handlebar and into the cart with you. You squealed as his boot narrowly missed your face, shoving him in a way that almost knocked the speeding cart over. Laughing he grabbed your head and pulled you against his side. "Sorry darlin'!" You settled against his side and looked up at him with a grin.

The hill leveled out and soon your momentum slowed until the cart came to an eventual stop. The two of you were a snickering pile of tangled limbs. At some point your arms had found their way around his waist and you squeezed him tight. He always made you feel like a teenager all over again. Especially when he looked down at you with those bright blue eyes, sparkling with joy and mischief. Suddenly this position felt entirely too intimate for you. You looked away and tried to start wriggling free but Severen trapped you in his arms. "Where you rushin' off to?" "Oh I'm sorry I didn't know you were trying to have a cuddle session in a kinda sticky shopping cart on the side of the road." He chuckled and pulled you closer. "Don't threaten me with a good time." Your head fell back onto his shoulder and you sighed, looking up at the clear night sky. But his eyes stayed trained on you. Admiring how the moon cast a soft glow over your skin.

"Ya look pretty…" He dragged a knuckle up and down your cheek affectionately, making your skin prickle. You chuckled awkwardly and shook your head. "Why are you so sappy tonight?" You didn't mean for it to sound so mocking, it just came out that way. You almost whined when he took his hand away. He tilted his head back too, letting it rest against the back of the carriage. "I just been thinkin'... I ain't too good with keepin' the days straight but it's about fall now and if I remember right it was about fall when we met." You sat up to look at him, eyes wide. "You mean it's been a year already?" He shrugged. "Around about I'd suppose." You couldn't believe Severen would notice while you completely missed it. You hadn't paid any mind to the nights as they passed, figuring there was no use in keeping track anymore. You also didn't peg Severen as the type to care about this sort of thing.

"Best year ever." You flopped back against him with a grin. "We got plenty more ahead." He grinned back. It felt like he wanted to say more but instead Severen shifted to slide out from under you. He climbed out of the cart and offered you a hand out as well. He squeezed your palm between his fingers before tugging you along the rest of the way to the motel.

#near dark #near dark 1987 #severen van sickle #severen near dark

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