#ainsley master

[lomakes]

Realised I never posted my interior piece for @77yearsteam History Between Us zine!

more close-ups below the cut:

[tonsillessscum]

[skelligaladan]

25. Tasty

I really love the chapter "Holiday with Danger" from the book "the eight Doctors" written by Terrance Dicks. This chapter explained how Survival is connected to the 1996 Film, where the master get the deathworm and how he ended on Skaro.

[soalkie]

If I’m a cat person… and he’s a cat-person…. then who’s flying the plane???

[readingwriter92]

Rewatching doctor who clips after watching one. Analysis video about the specials making me miss Michelle Gomez’s Missy so much.

Like. She was iconic and I would watch her in doctor who forever

[oopstoomanymasters]

Rosemary indicates remembrance in Victorian floriography, and basil hatred.

Fun combination!

I like thyme, and mint!

-👺

Ah. Isn’t that interesting? Smart cookie.

I enjoy mint candy.

[tamberlanecomic]

Tamberlane | Page 395

Omg! Ainsley! It's been a long time since we've seen them. And now they're in their fluffy winter coat. The best kind of coat.

I used a little bit of chromatic aberration on the first panel in hopes of amping the feeling of anxiety just a little bit. Hope it helps! I also am trying a different method of smoothing out the shadows, using a blender instead of a blur. We'll see how I feel about it over time… I think it gives me more control, which is great, but it's still hard to master. New to Tamberlane? Start Here!

Support Tamberlane on Patreon!

[puffins-studio]

The Doctor and Master ⭐️👾

I didn’t finished any dolls yet for the special, and I didn’t think I had anything to post, but then I remembered I forgot to post this! And I think it’s perfect for the 60th anniversary!

I also love the idea of just the doctor and master making fun of each other and they just mass around in the Tardis’ wardrobe and dress up as each other’s clothes and made fun of each other. It ends up with each realizing they stole each other’s clothes.

[ID:The picture is of two felt dolls that are the shape of a gingerbread men with a big circle head, on the right is supposed to be the thirteenth doctor, and on the left is Dhawan master.

The doctor is in a mix master outfit, simm’s black hoddie and black shoes, Jacobi’s dark red vest, Macqeen’s pink and navy tie, Dhawan’s black orange striped pants, Ainsley’s waist cape, Delgado’s black gloves, Missy’s yellow and blue socks and purple coat and black hat that have flowers and berries, Crispy’s robe, Roberts’ sunglasses. She also has a white earring for the Lumiat. The master is in his mix doctor outfit. [ID: The picture is a felt doll that is the shape of a gingerbread man with a big circle head, he is supposed to be Dhawan master when he wearing the mixed doctor outfit. He have light brown felt for skin, black hair he have on 12’s dark pepper grey pants the he cuffed the ends. 10’s red converses, 3’s white frilly shirt under 7’s sweater vest that is cream, with red question marks and blue zigzags. On the sweater there a little thread to represent 8’s pocket watch leading from the pocket. Over all this he have on 13’s grey trench coat that have a navy inside lining and the rainbow stripes. It have pointed cuffs that have black edging, and rectangle pockets on the sides with the same edging. It have a hood that is back. For accessories he have 11’s dark brown bow tie, 7’s celery, 4’s Multi color scarf that is Burgundy, brown, purple, grey, yellow, reddish pink. And then 2’s red handkerchief that have white poke dots, and 1’s ring on a black cord.:ID]

[yandere-fics]

Ainsley Paige

♡ "Come in baby girl, don't mind the mess, no it's animal blood. I'll wash up in a minute, it's just so nice to see you." ♡

She's a very very affectionate yandere and extremely delusional. From the moment she lays eyes on you, she doesn't even need to ask, surely you feel it too, that you two were destined to be. Her village believed strongly in love at first sight. Also it is not animal blood, she would never harm an animal in her experiments, humans are a different subject.

♡ "Ainsley Paige. The Paige name might not be as glamorous as someone like the Parley's but I promise it will still serve you well once you wed. You could call me Ains if you like though, baby girl." ♡

She's from a small village that no longer exists anymore so she is the only one coming from humble origins in the kingdom. Despite that she developed magic at a very young age and made a name for herself as being the one to discover The Adventurer when she fell into this world.

♡ "150, magic has a habit of prolonging your life if you use it right." ♡

At 20 Ainsley started to investigate blood magic and human sacrifices to prolong one's lifespan as she felt it was such a waste of the people she was already planning on killing. She eventually mastered prolonging her own life indefinitely when she was about 27. She joined the royal court at 138 when Princess Theanna recruited her to help in the fight for the throne.

♡ "I am only interested in women, baby girl. No need to worry about whether or not I might be interested in you." ♡

We got another one.

♡ "Court wizard, I was officially instated as a reward for when I found The Adventurer. Princess Theanna has always kept me very close as a magical affairs advisor even before that however." ♡

While that is her official title, her main duties are to research magical phenomenon that are affecting the kingdom, and darker magics that no other sane wizard would touch with a ten foot pole in fear of their lifespan dramatically decreasing, luckily that doesn't concern Ainsley whatsoever. It's a cushy title though, the people in court love her and think she's doing wonders for the kingdom despite her having sacrificed quite a few of them.

♡ "Well if I had to say things that I like, besides you baby girl, I guess I would say I've always been drawn to the magical properties in blood. There's just so much we don't know about why so much power is coursing through our blood streams and why others have a greater amount despite seeming virtually the same as another who has a very low amount. ♡

She also likes murder but that comes with the territory.

♡ "I hate when people make a mess in my workshop." ♡

By make a mess, she means try to fight the sacrifice so blood winds up spilling all over the place. It's just such a waste, especially when she needs all she can get in order to increase your lifespan as well. She can't have you dying on her, then she'd have to kill the whole kingdom just to bring you back to life.

♡ "I'm the premier wizard in the kingdom, so you already know I'm good at magic. Unless you were asking if there's anything outside of magic that I'm good at? Hmm, I'll try to think of something. Well I'm good at research but that's expected. Oh! Previous lovers have told me I'm an exceptional kisser, care to try?" ♡

Don't worry, they're long dead and she never loved them the way she loves you anyways.

♡ "Oh you can't leave yet baby girl, what would I do without you here to encourage me in my work?" ♡

[mermaidsirennikita]

Have you read historical books with the I HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF HER vibe?

Devil's Bride and Scandal's Bride by Stephanie Laurens immediately come to mind. Like, all the Cynster books are really on this because Cynsters are CONQUERORS!!!!11 but these two are especially intense. Devil is like, buying Honoria a million gowns without her asking or consenting, and she's like "why" and he's all "I AM PRACTICING FOR BEING HUSBAND???" even though she. Still. Has not. Accepted. His proposal.

Richard/Scandal is just like. Convinced that Catriona needs someone to follow her around and take care of her while she does her mystical Lady of the Vale duties. And to be fair, he is correct, because Catriona is completely insane and sees absolutely nothing wrong with hurtling herself into danger. One of my favorite little moments in the book is when they're walking on like, a wintry landscape, and she's all "I CAN DO EVERYTHING BY MYSELF I DON'T NEED YOU" and then immediately like slips on some ice and almost falls. And Laurens describes him as sort of being like "God help me" while grabbing her before she hits the ground.

Indigo by Beverly Jenkins, dude. Hester is so practical and is so determined to take care of herself, and Galen comes into her life and is like "no no no I am the captain now". His grand gesture at the end. Ugh. Just thinking about it makes me wanna cry. Such great caretaking.

Grace Callaway heroes tend to be this way, while also being paired with the battiest women on God's earth, who again will just cartwheel into danger. Olivia and The Masked Duke, Fiona and The Enigmatic Earl, and Glory and The Master of Shadows are the ones that really stand out to me on this front. (I've read like... a lot of Grace's books lol, but she also has a big backlist and I need to knock out some more soon because I love her.) The Duke Who Knew Too Much also has this vibe hard.

On a different from, How to Steal a Scoundrel's Heart has this vibe in a different way, wherein the very frosty hero who only intends to keep the heroine as his mistress, it's just business... but then she gets her period and is in bed with cramps and he's like "AWWWWW" and like curls up with her in bed to hold her and shit lol.

Lorraine Heath heroes always wanna take care of a woman lol. Shoutout to Olivia getting sick in Between the Devil and Desire and Jack Dodger having an entire conniption over it. Putting her in the ice bath, making her endure it to bring down her fever, watching her sleep in her weird little room of clocks (and calling in Graves, the Greatest Victorian Doctor of All Time) to be like "OMG HELP HER but also to be clear I have zero emotional investment in this annoying woman" while Graves, who's known Jack since childhood, is like "RIIIIIGHT SURE".

Surrender to the Devil is a great "let me take care of you" book. Sterling is another one who initially just wants a mistress, but once he realizes how traumatized and in need of tenderness Franny is, he's sooooo gentle and sweet and caring with her.

Waking Up with the Duke, of course. Shoutout to Ainsley rubbing Jayne's feet while she's like a billion months pregnant (lol me laughing and crying with it segueing to him pushing her nightgown up and her going "... I cannot sleep with you right now" only for him to respond with "I have literally never seen you BIG WITH MY CHILD, can I please just stare creepily at your pregnant belly :/". And then he kisses it. That poor man. I'd die for him.) He also puts her in a special warm pool while her back hurts??? And then she IS like "okay you can do it to me now".

The Duke's Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley. Like, never mind Hart giving Eleanor money without being asked while she's like "I don't want you to take care of me and my stupid father who's not good with money" and he's all "I am going to take care of you and your stupid father who's not good at money" (tucking the cash into her bodice) (in his brother's book.... god what an ALPHA movie)... He's also like such a caretaker. He's a NESTING HERO which is really a subsection of the caretaking hero. Hart wants to build Eleanor a nest lined with so much fur and feathers and random shining objects he finds on the forest floor. When she gets hurt, he's like "Eleanor!!!! We cannot Do Things while your arm is in a sling!!!!" and Eleanor is all "oh trust and believe we can". (She wins. One of the only books where he's shellacking her while her arm is in a sling.)

In Which Matilda Halifax Learns the Value of Restraint by Alexandra Vasti has this vibe to me. Because again, Matilda is crazy, and Christian is very like *SIT DOWN YOU SILLY WOMAN AND LET ME TAKE CARE OF THIS*. Fortunately, Matilda is soooo into that.

Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller has a hero who's like, a virgin and very uptight with this much more experienced and free-spirited heroine. But like. So much of this book is her having near-death experiences and him charging in to save her. Like, not even intentionally? He's just acting on instinct. It's very dear and I love it.

The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe. OBVIOUSLY. Lockwood is literally like "nobody has ever taken care of this woman and guess what I am gonna fix that RIGHT NOW". He like, forces her to get in the tub with him after. He pushes cuddling all the time. He's like forcing her to rely on him lol.

Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas, another obvious one. I think Dreaming of You gives me this vibe a lot too because Derek Craven is just like "take my Regency black card and buy yourself EVERYTHING" because Derek Craven has zero taste and he's gonna buy all of it like the new money man he is.

[canisonicscrewyou]

I haven’t seen it in person yet bc ailments but the local arcade bar has a new (to them) Classic Who pinball machine where either Ainsley or Delgado Master lords over the marble return/pit and I just know I need to go there and get drunk and play Dr Who Pinball until I get kicked out.

This is the only photo my roommate took of it to show to me after a night out.

[gayleviticus]

wheres the fifth doctor/master yaoi. altho i guess ainsley master isnt a good fit. five x simm or dhawan master yaoi

[femme-tank]

1st Game - Fabula Ultima: Non-Binary Damage

So, here we are again. Masc Support, Femme Tank, so why not do a non-binary damage dealer.

As with the other two entries, I'll post the cover and steps again.

Step One - Identity

Okay, let's see about this "A dancer with a masking smile."

Step Two - Theme

For the Theme I'm going with Vengeance. Kinda channeling Primrose from Octopath a bit here.

Step Three - Origin

For the origin, I'm going with "The Mist-Veiled Forests". This person came out of a mysterious forest. Maybe they're a bit fae?

Step Four - Classes

As with the other classes, I'm going to have this character start with three classes. In this case, (and I did end up grabbing High Fantasy) I'm going to choose the following:

Fury 1 - A class focused on damage.

Rogue 2 - A class focused on trickery and speed.

Dancer 2 - A High Forest class focused on dancing for buffs.

For the skills, I'm going with the following:

Fury: Frenzy - Easier to get criticals with certain weapons.

Rogue: High Speed 1 - Ability to do some effect at the start of a fight.

Rogue: Dodge 1 - Bonus Defense if not wearing martial armor or shields.

Dancer: Dance 1 - One buffing dance.

Dancer: Wardancer 1 - Bonus damage after dancing

For the one Dance they have: Bat Dance, so they can gain either dark resistance or have their attacks deal Dark damage.

Step Five - Attributes

And now for the Attributes, I'm going to go with a Jack of All Trades here and just giving all four a d8.

Dexterity - d8

Insight - d8

Might - d8

Willpower - d8

Step Six - Figured Characteristics

Let's start with Hit Points...

Start with the character level. (5)

The maximum value of Might die times 5. (40)

Having any levels of Fury adds 5 HP. (5)

Total is 50.

For Mind Points...

Start with the character level. (5)

The maximum value of Willpower die times 5. (40)

Having any levels of Dancer gives you either Mind or Hit Points, I chose Mind Points. (5)

Total is 50.

And for the first time, we're going to have something more than the base Inventory Points.

Base Inventory points. (6)

Having any levels of Rogue adds two. (2)

Total is 8.

Defense before armor also has some changes:

Maximum value of the Dexterity die. (8)

Value of the Dodge skill. (1)

Total is 9.

Magic Defense is direct however, no modifiers before armor. So Maximum of the Insight die for a Magic Defense of 8.

Initiative bonus is the base 0.

Step Seven - Starting Gear

We're going to avoid shields and martial armor because it doesn't work well with the Dodge skill. So we're going to go with this set.

Shuriken - Dex+Ins, High Roll +4 physical damage, one-handed ranged.

Chain Whip - Dex+Dex, High Roll +8 physical damage, two-handed melee.

Combat Tunic - Defense: Dex+1, Magic Defense: Ins+1, no initiative modifier.

The shuriken is useful for things that fly or otherwise stay out of range of melee.

This brings their starting Defenses to:

Defense: 10 (Dex+1, Dodge 1)

Magic Defense 9 (Ins+1)

Step Eight - Name and Pronouns

I'm going to name this person... Ainsley and of course their pronouns are They/Them.

Ainsley

Identity: A dancer with a masking smile.

Theme: Vengeance

Origin: The Mist-Veiled Forests

Attributes

Dexterity: d8

Insight: d8

Willpower: d8

Might: d8

Skills

Fury: Frenzy

Rogue: High Speed 1

Rogue: Dodge 1

Dancer: Dance 1

Dancer: Wardancer 1

Dances

Bat Dance

Figured Stats and Gear

Hit Points: 50

Mind Points: 50

Inventory Points: 8

Defense: 10 (Combat Tunic)

Magic Defense: 9 (Combat Tunic)

Shuriken: d8+d8, HR+4

Chain Whip: d8+d8, HR+6

Initiative: +0

And with that, it's time to move...

Onward!

For Attributes, I'm increasing Dexterity twice to d12 coming to a total of this:

Dexterity - d12

Insight - d8

Might - d8

Willpower - d8

For classes, I'm doing the following.

Dancer - Buffs and acrobatics (Mastered)

Darkblade - Focus on fear and pain (Mastered)

Fury - Focus on damage and adrenaline (Mastered)

Rogue - Speed and trikcery (Mastered)

Sharpshooter - Ranged comabt (Mastered)

Dancer has seventeen different dances and thus it would be impossible to get them all even if you didn't pick up other Dancer skills. Some Dancer skills include "Follow my Lead" which allows you to share the effect of a dance with an ally you have a bond of affection with. "Frenetic Footwork" gives bonuses to opposed checks that rely on acrobatics, coordination, or speed when using some dances. "Quick-change" allows you to use a piece of equipment (potions et al) in the same turn that you start a Dance, and "Wardancer" means you do more damage after using a dance.

Ainsley already has Wardancer and a single Dance and I'm also going to give them some other things.

Quick-Change - On the same round you perform a Dance you can take the Equipment action.

Frenetic Footwork 2 - For the round after performing a Dance gain +4 to Opposed checks related to speed, acrobatics, or coordination.

War Dancer 5 - Deal extra 5 points damage the round after performing a dance.

Dance 2 - Bat Dance and Banshee Dance

This means that she's not doing too much with the actual dances, but then the primary thing she's doing is dealing damage so I focused on that over the other things. For the second Dance I'm going with the following:

Banshee Dance - Choose another creature that is able to see you. If that creature is already slow, they immediately become shaken.

Darkblade has two non-ranked skills, both related when the character goes to below half Hit Points. "Dark Blood" gives you resistance to Dark and Poison and "Heart of Darkness" allows you to form a bond hatred toward an enemy so you can now trigger other benefits against them. I'm actually taking both of these.

For ranked skills we have "Agony" allows you to recover HP and MP when you hit creatures you have a Bond with. "Painful Lesson" lets you reflexively study a creature that damaged you. And "Shadow Strike" lets you sacrifice health in order to make a dark attack.

I'm actually going to skip "Shadow Strike" it's good, but we're getting a similar benefit from the combination of Wardancer and Bat Dance. So unlike Chase having three different methods of healing, this feels like it's counterproductive. This is convenient, because the other two max out at 5 and 3 respectively, so I can just max them out and that's all 10 levels.

Agony 5 - recover 10 HP and 10 MP whenever you hit an enemy you have a Bond with.

Dark Blood - Gain resistance to dark and poison when your HP drops below half.

Heart of Darkness - Choose an creature to gain a Bond of hatred with the first time in a scene your HP drops below half.

Painful Lesson 3 - When you take damage you can study the creature that caused the damage for free with a bonus of +3.

We talked a bit about Fury on Althea's build. This is going to be a little different. Damage is her job, so we're not grabbing much of Withstand or Provoke. I think I'll grab one rank of each in case of emergencies, not bad to have an off-tank. Then we'll pick up Frenzy and max out Adrenaline, and the last levels will go into Indomitable Spirit.

Adrenaline 5 - When HP drops below half attacks deal +10 damage.

Frenzy - Critical hits with brawling, dagger, fly, and thrown weapons happen on any doubles as long as the check is not a fumble.

Indomitable Spirit 2 - When spending a Fabula point may also choose one of the following benefits on top of the normal ones: heal 10 HP, heal 10 MP, or recover from one status effect.

Provoke 1 - Taunt an enemy, making them enraged.

Withstand 1 - When taking the Guard action and not covering others heal HP based on strength of bonds with allies and temporarily boost Might or Willpower one die size.

There is one non-ranked skill "See You Later" which lets you spend a Fabula point to flee the scene. I might get that.

For the other skills, "Cheap Shot" allows you to do more damage on enemies suffering from a status effect. "High Speed" lets you get a free action at the start of a fight. "Soul Steal" lets you recover IP from minions during combat or gain special items from powerful enemies. "Dodge" increases Defense.

I'm going to go with the following. I'm leaning into the damage. I considered the soul-steal to fuel her IP, but I think the damage is the bigger thing here. High Speed is important because it's a chance to start the fight off with an enemy having a status effect already, thus allowing Cheap Shot to work.

Cheap Shot 5 - Deal bonus damage equal to 5+the number of statuses on the target.

Dodge 3 - Increase Defense by 3.

High Speed 2 - Can Attack, Hinder, or perform an objective just before combat starts with 10 Mind Points.

The Sharpshooter is basically the ranged combat version of the Weaponmaster and it has some similar skills. There are two non-ranked skills: "Barrage" which allows them to target one extra enemy. "Crossfire" allows you to interfere with an enemy's ranged attacks, causing it to fail.

The ranked skills include: "Hawkeye" which allows for using the Guard option to take aim or Guard and take a free small attack. "Ranged Weapon Mastery" increases accuracy. "Warning Shot" allows for doing no damage with an attack but inflicting either one of two status effects or loss of Mind Points.

I'm taking "Barrage" and "Crossfire" as well as maxing out "Ranged Weapon Mastery", that's 6 levels. I'm going to split the last four levels between the remaining levels.

Barrage

Crossfire

Hawkeye 3 - Guard to add +6 damage to next ranged attack or Guard + one free attack that does less damage.

Ranged Weapon Mastery 4 - Accuracy +4 to ranged weapons.

Warning Shot 1 - Instead of dealing damage, inflict shaken, slow, or the loss of 10 Mind Points.

Okay, for Heroic Skills... let's see what we've got available.

Adversity - Status effects make them stronger.

Heartbreaker - Sacrifice lots of HP to deal massive damage.

Powerful Shot - Ranged attacks deal more damage.

Swirling Swarm - Consecutive attacks with thrown weapons get more powerful.

Vanish - After a successful attack, enemies can't target them.

And for gear I'm going with the following, and this character is going for a dual-wield. Which does less damage, but given all the other ways they have to add damage on top, it's been compensated for:

Chakram - Dex+Mig+1, High Roll +4 physical, Multi (2), One-handed

Chakram - Dex+Mig+1, High Roll +4, physical, Multi (2), One-handed

Desperado Coat - Defense Dex+1, Magic Defense Ins+1, -1 Initiative, Barrage has half cost.

Explorer's Belt - +4 Initiative

Level 50 Ainsley

Identity: A dancer with a masking smile.

Theme: Vengeance

Origin: The Mist-Veiled Forests

Attributes

Dexterity: d12

Insight: d8

Willpower: d8

Might: d8

Skills

Dancer: Dance 2

Dancer: Frenetic Footwork 2

Dancer: Quick-Change

Dancer: Wardancer 5

Darkblade: Agony 5

Darkblade: Dark Blood

Darkblade: Heart of Darknes

Darkblade: Painful Lesson 3

Fury: Adrenaline 5

Fury: Frenzy

Fury: Indomitable Spirit 2

Fury: Provoke 1

Fury: Withstand 1

Rogue: Cheap Shot 5

Rogue: Dodge 3

Rogue: High Speed 2

Sharpshooter: Barrage

Sharpshooter: Crossfire

Sharpshooter: Hawkeye 3

Sharpshooter: Ranged Weapon Mastery 4

Sharpshooter: Warning Shot 1

Darkblade Heroic Skill: Adversity

Darkblade Heroic Skill: Heartbreaker

Sharpshooter Heroic Skill: Powerful Shot

Dancer/Fury/Sharpshooter Heroic Skill: Swirling Swarm

Rogue Heroic Skill: Vanish

Dances

Banshee Dance

Bat Dance

Figured Stats and Gear

Hit Points: 105 (Darkblade, Fury, Sharpshooter)

Mind Points: 95 (Dancer)

Inventory Points: 8 (Rogue)

Defense: 16 (Desperado Coat, Dodge)

Magic Defense: 9 (Desperado Coat)

Chakram: d8+d12+5 (Weapon Mastery), HR+4, Multi 2

Chakram: d8+d12+5 (Weapon Mastery), HR+4, Multi 2

Initiative: +3 (Desperado Coat, Explorer's Belt)

Desperado Belt Bonus: Barrage is half cost

[revindicatedbyhistory]

I still miss Roger Delgado (and to a later extent Anthony Ainsley, but he was having so much fun that I'm pretty sure what I think doesn't matter) but Missy is a close second. Hands down the best master of the new show.

i like roger delgado´s maoist suit

[soalkie]

Yet another WIP piece of my bbygirl <3

Debating on trying a new render style with this one, maybe oil paint or semi-realism?

[quins-whump-stuff]

982 | Chapter 2: Ainsley

Contents: (institutional) pet whump, conditioned whumpee, dehumanization, imperfect caretaker, 1st person pov (whumpee's pov), lady whump (whumpee), whumpee calls caretaker her owner

Previous | Next | Masterlist

When the box lid finally slides open, relief washes over me. I am used to staying in a small space, but the box is significantly smaller than my kennel was. The sudden light stings my eyes, and I squint them.

"Uh, hi," my owner says in a quiet voice, "Let me give you a hand."

I grab the offered hand, and my owner pulls me out of the box. Once I am on the ground, I kneel on the ground, my hands folded nicely in my lap. Everything is blurry without my glasses, but I still look up towards my owner's face.

"I'm Ainsley. Yeah, uh, hi. I already said that but- ugh, nevermind. So... welcome?"

I nod gently. I haven't been given permission to speak.

"You okay? You can talk, right?"

I nod again.

My owner looks confused, like she's racking her brain for an explanation. Doesn't she understand the rules for pets?

"So, um, do you need something?"

I take a second to think. I don't need to talk, but in order to talk I need permission. And it would be nice to have my glasses and be able to see. But maybe she is testing me. I shake my head.

"Gah, why did I do this? This isn't..." She sighs before stepping behind me. I stiffen, worried that I've already upset her. I don't dare move though. I haven't been given permission, and if she's already disappointed in me, I don't want to give her more reason to be displeased. But no blow comes. The tag in my ear doesn't light with electricity. After a few moments, my owner comes back in front of me. She places my glasses onto my face sloppily, and I almost sigh in relief. I'm used to going without my glasses, but I much prefer being able to see properly.

"Sorry, I shoulda remembered sooner. And, uh," she seems to shudder slightly, "you have permission to, err, speak. Whenever. Like standing permission, okay?"

I smile, "Thank you, Master!" If I could, I would crawl to her legs and wrap them in a giant hug.

"Don't- don't call me that."

"I'm sorry! Would you prefer Mistress?"

"No, just, call me Ainsley. Just Ainsley."

"Yes, M- Ainsley."

"So, what's your name?"

I furrow my brow. "M- Ainsley, you haven't named me yet."

My owner rubs her neck, "I know that's technically how it's supposed to work, but like, surely you went by something before now?"

"982," spills over my lips instinctively.

She takes a small but sharp breath, "Well, uh, we'll need to come up with a name. I'm not calling you... that."

She turns and walks into another room, leaving me where I am. After a few moments, when it's clear that I will be here for a while, I shift my ankles to the side, but other than that, I remain motionless.

"Hey!" my owner calls, and I flinch. She must not have wanted me to move to the more comfortable position.

As she re-enters the room, I cast my gaze down. "Are you coming or what?" she asks me. I look up and raise my eyebrows questioningly.

"You can talk, remember? Standing permission."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ainsley. You didn't tell me to follow."

"Well, uh, you can come with me if you want. And feel free to move about the house, just in general. There's someone else you should meet," my owner cocks her head to the side slightly.

"Yes, Ainsley." Why does she give me a choice? I'm her pet. Why would she act like she cares what I want?

I follow her around a turn into a kitchen, then to a glass door. Outside is a luscious, green yard. My owner opens the door, but freezes when she turns to see me.

"Can't you walk?" she breathes.

"I... am?" I answer, confused.

"No, you're crawling, like a... like an animal."

"I am a pet."

"No! I mean, yeah, but... Can you walk on your feet? Like a person?" she asks, flustered.

I purse my lips slightly before shaking my head. "No, M- Ainsley. I- we never learned. It's not necessary for pets," I swallow. My owner looks distressed, and I lean my head gently against her leg, in what is supposed to be a comforting gesture. But she jumps back a bit.

I stiffen, and a hot tear slowly rolls down my cheek. I've messed up, I think, I shouldn't have touched my owner, she never said I could. She'll send me back and I'll never, never get a home after all...