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sebastianswallows · 2 months

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The English Client — Thirty-four

— PAIRING: Tom Riddle x F!Reader

— SYNOPSIS: The year is 1952. Tom is working for Borgin and Burkes. He is sent to Rome to acquire three ancient books of magic by any means necessary. One in particular proves challenging to reach, and the only path forward is through a pretty, young bookseller. A foreigner like him, she lives alone, obsessed with her work... until Tom comes into her life.

— WARNINGS: none

— WORDCOUNT: 3.4k

— TAGLIST: @esolean @localravenclaw @slytherins-heir

Tom hardly ever experienced the sort of things he read about in books from wizards out on adventures or in the midst of danger — pulse racing, nerves alight, body hot and cold at once. But he’d already felt it twice tonight: once with her behind the stage, and now as the auction was coming to a close.

“To complete tonight’s lot,” she announced, “we have a copy of the Delomelanicon by Aristide Torchia. Printed in Venice, in 1666. In excellent condition, as you can see, it contains masterfully done illustrations attributed to Torchia.”

A murmur ran through the crowd like a wave of shivers, the very texture of it wavering beneath the wind of her words. Tom could not help but smirk at the sight, at the raw atmosphere that she had summoned all on her own — aided admittedly by the presence at her side, in a stony jaundiced light, of a book reputed to have been written by the devil.

“We start at one hundred million Lira.”

The first bid came right away.

“Signor Luce with a hundred and five.”

Silence for a while, then…

“Mr. Malfoy with a hundred and twenty. Signora Portas, a hundred thirty. Luce, hundred fifty. Hundred fifty-five, Malfoy.”

Tom had to smile. He doubted the old wizard was any more honest than he was and intended to pay with real currency. It was true, the Lira was still highly depreciated compared to the Pound and by extension to Galleons, but that was still a prohibitively high sum and it was bound to go higher. Tom stepped further backstage while the bidding went on and took two little bottles from his coat pocket.

Mr. Malfoy had hardly bid on anything that night and had not won a thing, but he would win this. Everything was set, from the speed of her reactions to the way she handled the crowd, and how she modulated her voice to go from encouraging and soft to harsh and intimidating. He had trained her himself just as he had seen Ambrogio do, and with the Delomelanicon being kept for last, the highest and most daring bidders were sure to have exhausted their funds. Only the obsessives remained, and none could outbid Malfoy.

He found Donatien waiting by the entrance to the auction hall. By then, the bidding was over. The boy was supposed to collect Mr. Malfoy’s prize and bring it to him because of course the old man would not be lowered to doing something on his own. Donatien was waiting in line with all the other successful bidders and smiled when he saw Tom approach.

“Bonsoir, Tom.”

“Donatien. A happy night for your master, I see.”

“Very happy,” he laughed, “yes.”

“I suppose that after this, you are due to leave Italy?”

“Monsieur has not shared it with me, but he did not mention any other business after this.”

“Quite sad…”

“Why is that?” he asked, somewhat intrigued, as they both took one step forward with the queue.

“I just hoped we would have more time to get to know one another,” Tom said with a wistful sigh. “You know, since it’s rare to meet another foreigner these days. At least one who isn’t an American… Someone who is more…”

“More similar, no?” the boy provided, a wondrous glow lighting up his pretty face.

“Precisely,” Tom smiled. “I’m surprised, then, that he is so quick to dismiss you.”

“Dismiss?”

“Your employment.”

“Ah, well… This was our arrangement, you see. From the beginning.”

They took another step forward with the others and Tom looked around cautiously to make sure no one was eavesdropping — not that it was difficult with people standing close together. He leaned closer to Donatien and whispered.

“And you had no… other reasons for visiting Italy?”

“The views, of course,” he said with a quiet laugh.

Tom smiled knowingly. He could remember clearly the discussion with the other French boy, Clement, when they met on the train. How many Donatiens were there in Italy on business with a wealthy older gentleman?

“You are fortunate though,” said Tom quietly as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “To get the book, I mean.”

“How so?”

“There was another young man after it long before the auction,” said Tom, pretending to strain his memory. “Came sometime in the summer, I believe…”

“It must be very popular.”

“No,” smiled Tom, “it is not.”

They moved another step again and it seemed as if the line was never going to end.

“Come to think of it, I believe he was French as well,” said Tom.

The friendly shine vanished from Donatien’s eyes, replaced by a shadow of suspicion. His elegant brows arched to form little wrinkles on his golden forehead. He looked Tom up and down then fixed his gaze on his dark eyes as if he could divine the truth from them.

“You must have a good memory.”

“Oh, this boy was quite memorable,” he chuckled, shoving his hands in his pockets suggestively. “Brown hair, blue eyes, lovely smile quite soft and sublime —”

“You are a poet, Tom,” he chuckled.

“You know what, now that you mention it, I believe so was he! He said something about a poetry book…”

Donatien tilted his head. “And what was the name of your paramour?”

“Hmm? Oh — I, well, I never,” Tom said with an awkward laugh and a quick look around them. “I’m already taken, of course.”

The boy smiled faintly, not believing a word.

“But I believe his name was… Claude? No, Clement.”

The young man nodded, feigning interest with a cock of his soft brows. “Funny, you know, I went to school with a Clement.”

“Is that so? Did he like books too?”

“He devoured them.”

“I’m sure he did,” Tom grinned. “What became of your Clement?”

“Oh, I lost touch with him some time ago,” he said, to which Tom nodded thoughtfully. “And what became of yours?”

“He vanished,” said Tom, leaning in to whisper once again. “Quite mysteriously… For some reason, the Baron didn’t like him asking about that book. I believe it’s cursed.”

“Well, good thing it’s going to Mr. Malfoy, then.”

Tom chuckled. He didn’t believe that for a second, and as he looked into Donatien’s eyes he could see the duplicity there. He almost felt sorry for him… The boy had no idea what was to come should he try to rob Mr. Malfoy. For a moment, Tom was tempted to let him go and give Mr. Malfoy the pleasure… But he had a job to do.

“It has been good to know you,” he smiled. “Even with Ambrogio skulking about…”

Donatien nodded, and something in his posture seemed frozen at the mention. “It is sad, yes, that we could not know each other better. Especially because we are here under such similar… circumstances.”

“Quite,” said Tom wryly. “I see we understand each other very well.”

“Perhaps even better than we imagined.”

“Could I then… Oh, I can not ask it of you,” he sighed, finishing it off with an awkward chuckle like the ones he’d heard her make when she was playing coy. It worked as well on Donatien as it did on him.

“Tom,” he said, stepping a little closer to lay a hand on his shoulder and whisper, “you can ask me anything.”

“It’s just that I had so much more to say to you, and now… you’re so close to leaving…”

“I am still here.”

“But the queue…”

“Nevermind, nevermind. I can always return.”

“So, if I were to ask to speak to you in private…”

Donatien smiled a little too eagerly, and for a moment he seemed to Tom like any one of those old witches that Burke sent him off to.

“You could ask,” he said with a cocked brow.

“Perfect.”

They abandoned the line, confusing the people around them but leaving before anyone could think twice about it. Tom led Donatien through the more unused corridors, hand placed on his lower back. They walked faster and faster and, upon looking into one another’s eyes, a giddy smile took over both of them like two imps on an adventure. The sounds of other people grew more distant and the glow of the sparse lightbulbs shined just for them. They could pretend they were lost, that they were free, that their future was completely open. With a twinkle in his eye, Tom led the boy into a room that was out of sight and sound from the old auction hall. It was an area he had scarcely seen before during his early explorations, but he knew it to be deep enough inside the tunnels that sounds hardly carried far. It had rarely been disturbed judging by the amount of dust and cobwebs — even Oso hadn’t ventured here.

“In here,” he said, holding the door for Donatien.

The boy stepped through backwards and Tom followed, closing the door behind them. After a moment in the darkness his hand reached for the wall and he turned on the sole lightbulb in the room.

“So,” he started, “Malfoy won’t mind waiting for a little longer?”

“No, he is upstairs, waiting on the comfortable sofa in the room with the big maps,” said Donatien.

He turned around and looked at where they were, his nose curling at the state of it. It was perhaps less charming than what he had expected but he moved through the space gracefully with still an air of playfulness about him.

“I see,” said Tom.

“He does not like these subterranean places.”

“Yes, well, I don’t much like them either.”

“What do you like?” the boy asked with a sultry glance over his shoulder.

“Intellectually stimulating conversation.”

Donatien laughed. He grinned delightfully as he kept walking, Tom following his every move. With the upturned furniture and the bare lightbulb illuminating a stone storage space the place was rather offputting but the boy seemed to mind none of it. He walked now for Tom’s pleasure, his fetching figure clasped tight by his suit and straining in all the right places. Tom couldn’t help but wonder if he’d played the coquette for Ambrogio too.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Donatien asked, speaking in such a girlish way that it set Tom’s teeth on edge.

“About our positions,” he said calmly, “relative to each other.”

Donatien stopped his aimless pacing and turned to face him, soft plumes of dust rising from his little pirouette.

“Which positions would that be?” he grinned. Casting his eyes down Tom’s body, he stepped even closer. With a smile that curled his lips gently at the edges, he placed his coltish hand upon Tom’s waist. “Do you have a preference?”

“As it happens, I do.”

Tom’s turn of tone from flirty to deathly cool did nothing to disturb Donatien. On the contrary, his hand went lower, smoothing down the straight line of his hip, then curling down toward his loins. Tom swallowed the knot in his throat.

“You know, I think you do not mind the position either way,” Donatien purred, closing his hand around Tom’s length, soft and still sensitive from earlier. He gasped mutely at the touch of it. “You seem quite ready for… anything to happen to you. Although I must say,” he chuckled, “what you have, I would be more than happy to take.”

“Oh you will take it, that’s for certain.”

III

Donatien was the last to pick up the book. She had begun to fear she’d done something wrong when he never showed up. Perhaps she was supposed to go to him or find Mr. Malfoy, but she was so tired and sleepy by that point that she could hardly sit upright. All the other guests had begun, slowly, to leave. But then he turned up. Donatien came from around the corner into the glum antechamber with a spring in his step and she would be lying if she said she wasn’t happy to see him.

“Ah, there you are,” she laughed, her voice weak and hoarse by now.

“Est-ce que vous m’attendiez?” he asked. His voice too sounded a little low and tired.

“Oui. Vous êtes le dernier,” she smiled, then turned around for the book and the readied receipt.

Everything was ready. She placed the book inside its box and wrapped it in red velvet as Donatien looked on. The packaging was held together with a black ribbon tied up in a bow like the world’s most malevolent Christmas gift. She had decided together with Tom that it was an apt presentation for the Delomelanicon. A part of her was sad to be giving it away, knowing how much Tom wanted it… But perhaps it was for the best. It was a notoriously evil book and she should have been relieved to part with it.

As she did her best to tie up a pretty bow she felt someone approaching from behind — a cold presence, and the same clipped steps she’d heard so many times before. She turned with a bright smile expecting to find that Tom had joined them, but it was just Donatien.

“Yes, well, here you are. A-and payment, of course. If you have it. But you must have it, right?”

The closeness made her blush and stutter. She’d never seen him look at her like that before… Donatien had given her a few sweet smiles and polite glances, but now he dragged his gaze across her, undressed her with his eyes — or seemed as if he already knew what she looked like naked. He reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and took out an envelope. She opened her hand for it, but he merely placed it on the table by her side. His eyes, as she looked up into them, seemed harder than before, more confident and playful… There was a hint of stubble on his chin, so faint she almost didn’t see it, and so different from Tom’s pale skin. Her eyes were fixed on his full lips when with his arm still braced behind her he leaned down.

“N-no!” she said quickly, her hands moving to push against his chest. “I’m sorry, I can’t…”

Donatien chuckled lowly, a far too confident sound for someone who’d just been rejected, but he paid her no mind and placed his hands on hers, trapping her against him as he leaned a little lower still. His mouth hovered above her own, parted in the promise of a kiss. She giggled, feeling so spoilt for choice as her thoughts shifted from him to Tom. And Donatien’s hands were warm, so warm, and soft like kitten paws, not hard and cold like his. It was a different thing entirely, to look up into bright blue eyes with golden speckles in them. His warm hand closed around the nape of her neck, holding her head tilted in just the right position for a kiss.

“I can’t,” she whispered, “Je suis désolée.”

His pretty face came closer until his lips hovered over hers and with a playful smile, he shook his head. She could smell his scent… It seemed so familiar but there was something musty too, like an abandoned cellar. His lips were pink and smiling, his eyes amused, and however much she wanted to taste all of him, she couldn’t do it.

“I don’t belong to you,” she said.

Donatien clenched his pretty, perfect teeth behind a wider smile and kissed her anyway. She moaned into his mouth, mumbling weak protestations, but when she closed her eyes it was as if Tom was there with her again. His arms caged her against the desk and then he slid a knee between her legs. His silky locks brushed against her forehead, much softer than Tom’s, and the warmth of his body encased her. She pushed against his chest, smiling in spite of herself at the soft flesh underneath, how more defined the muscles than the sleek body she was used to. With a sudden motion, he spread her legs a little wider and her skirt was raised by his insistent knee. She gasped and their kiss deepened when he tried to lift her to the desk. Panic flashed through her body when she realised how close she was to betraying Tom — and, on a more personal level, of her dirty little secret being found out once he pulled her panties down. She could still feel his cum there, dripping slowly out of her as the night went on.

“No!” she said again, pulling away from him.

His lips chased hers, following her quick escape and landing on her cheek, her jaw, her neck, tongue coming out to lave at the little dip between her clavicles. He lapped the sweat and dust from there, the lewd and rhythmic motion a naked promise of more. She shivered at the feeling.

“You French boys are impossible,” she mumbled, trying to sound angry but managing to lose grip of a giggle that was bubbling in her throat.

Donatien mumbled something but his kisses slowed down to little pecks laid on the tops of her breasts. His arms closed around her waist, pressing her to him in an almost innocent embrace. She could feel his whole body against hers — wider, stronger, soft and so inviting… He had the same clothes on from earlier but they were all ruffled now perhaps from him brushing against her. She placed a gentle hand over his nape, letting his warmth sink into her.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “If things were different, I… I’d like to, but I — I can’t.”

She’d almost confessed to him but stopped herself at the last second. Why was it so hard for her to tell, even a stranger, that she was in love with Tom?

“Pourquoi pas?”

She pulled away from him and as she looked into his eyes again she felt herself begin to shake. He was so close… She’d spend forever in those blue eyes if she could.

“Well, that’s none of your business, is it?” she whispered, blushing at his closeness.

Donatien noticed her reaction and couldn’t help but grin a little smugly. His head tilted and he dipped again.

“Ah, ah! No. Your business... is getting this book.”

He sighed but didn’t seem too hurt by her rejection. His hot palm at the back of her neck slid around to grip her jaw and gently brushed a thumb across her cheek. For a moment he looked into her eyes with something like regret, or maybe longing, but before she could say anything more to him he pulled away from her. Donatien reached behind her again and picked up the envelope with the payment, handing it to her.

“I, erm… Well, goodbye. Thank you.”

“Hmm. Au revoir,” he muttered.

His deep and silky voice sounded so different when he stood so close… She let her eyes roam his soft features one last time. There was something so sweet about his countenance, and so seductive too, sensual in the way that writhing snakes are. Perhaps that was why it felt so good to kiss him. They may have looked like opposites, but at least in that small sense, he reminded her of Tom.

“Erm, have you seen Mr. Riddle?” she asked.

“What?”

“Mr. Riddle. Tom… I haven’t seen him for a while.”

“Ah, erm, n-non.”

“Oh. Alright…”

“Ahem. Pardonnez-moi,” mumbled Donatien. He held the package tightly to his side and looked at her with the guilty expression of a child caught doing something naughty. Perhaps he knew about the two of them… Her heart froze at the thought. But he just smiled politely and, as if nothing untoward had just happened between them, took her hand and kissed it, and before she could say anything he turned quickly on his heels and left.

She braced herself against the desk and breathed for what felt like the first time in ten minutes. The soft swish of his jacket haunted her from down the hall and she could still taste those lips, feel that tongue on her, and oh the knowledge burned inside her that they just kissed. Tom would never know. Should never know. But as Donatien’s steps grew distant she couldn’t help the feeling that she could hear Tom walking through those corridors as well.

#Tom Riddle #Tom Riddle x reader #Tom Riddle x OC #Tom Riddle fanfiction #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #sswallow;fanfics #sswallow;made a thing #fanfic;englishclient

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unchartedcloud · 1 year

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Soooo how much do I have to pay you and tabby for more Killing Strangers chapters? Let me talk to the man behind the curtain! Seriously, I'm obsessed! I read it at least once a week.

Once a WEEK! That is some high praise, my friend. Rest assured, the man is lurking. We don't get to talk to him regularly, but he's there.

I'll have to check our current going rate, but Awesome Reader Messages is definitely our preferred currency. Consider the following snippet an advance on your order.

TW: gun mention

Before Lexa can even hope to duck down, let alone pull her gun back, Clarke’s eyes find hers in the scope.

There’s no way she can see her from here—a shadow on a rooftop, the flash of a scope, maybe, but not her, not her eyes—and yet Clarke’s eyes linger just long enough that it feels like she must. Like she could, somehow, across sixty-some yards in the pitch black and the snow, straight through the scope, know it’s Lexa looking back at her.

At least she doesn’t smile.

No, if anything, Clarke looks angry. In that moment she pauses, her expression goes from calculating to unmoderated fury, and it’s the first time those eyes have been so cold when they look at her.

…because they never would. Clarke doesn’t know it’s her up here, which means one of two things: Clarke is about to make her life very difficult, or Clarke is about to expedite whatever her plan is and kill Alonso in a way that will almost certainly attract the attention of every gun in the building.

There’s only one thing for it. Keeping her eye on her scope she takes her off-hand off the barrel, bites the tip of her glove, and yanks it off her hand. She fishes her phone out and dials a number she has only ever texted. It’s not even saved in her phone.

Lexa watches Clarke frown as she fishes the phone out of her clutch—and then watches her expression turn to one of surprise as she holds the phone up to her ear.

“Commander,” she says, her voice just on this side of tinny through the burner phone. Her eyes find Lexa’s hiding place again. “Isn’t this a surprise.”

“You took the words out of my mouth.” Her breath rises in a puff of crystalized vapor in front of her and her hand is already cold. In the other room, Alonso checks the label on a bottle. “I assume you know why I’m calling.”

“I could guess.”

“This is a courtesy, Clarke. Don’t make me regret it.”

Clarke hums in a sort of self satisfied way on the other end of the line. The sound inspires a warmth in Lexa’s stomach that she’d prefer not to investigate.

“Not interested in a little healthy competition?”

“There is no competition. Either you get out or this gets messy.”

“I think you misunderstand the situation. Sergio is mine.”

“I’ve been on Sergio’s ass for two weeks, if you think—”

The line goes dead. Lexa turns her scope a fraction of a second after Clarke starts moving, but she’s too slow. Clarke appears at the door of the office just as Alonso comes back into view, and that tiny black dress she wears is immediately, frustratingly, between him and Lexa’s muzzle.

“Mo-ther-fucker,” she breathes.

#clexa #clexa fanfic #my fic #john wick au #anon love #I've got mail #killing strangers

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soundcrusher · 2 years

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SkyBorne has infested my brain… so I hope I can do the ask game multiple times with the same character. Anyway, this time I’ll ask specifically for Flinch’s dad Record!

———————————————————————

I’ve already told you about SkyBorne so I’ll just give you random tidbits this time.

- SkyBorne has changed his name multiple times (as vaguely hinted at in my description him I gave you) he’s done this to hide from authorities.

- SkyBorne uses his outlier ability on his victims by making sure that they don’t feel a thing as he cannibalizes them for energon. However if he really hates someone, they’re going to be in agonizing pain as he slowly eats them.

- The amount of energon he’s consumed out of other cybertronians is large enough that it’s left very obvious stains on his teeth, so he gave himself a faceplate to cover it up

- okay so if Record would discover SkyBorne’a condition, it would definitely not be from SkyBorne himself. Maybe he would grow suspicious of the larger amount of injuries Flinch had acquired from giving his energon to SkyBorne? Just a thought.

The Ask Game can be done as much as you want, I don’t mind!

Also, the same character can go as often as you want too. You can even ask for a second round with a character combination I already did, if you got more questions on them.

Also, YES, I get to talk about the big dad himself!

—

Alright, so, considering how Record usually is towards his passengers (he would throw hands with anyone who dares to harm them), he would probably at first be very welcoming towards SkyBorne. Making sure the Minibot knew the rules of the ship, had a hab-suite to stay at and knew the schedule of the ship.

He would also tell him about the fee they collect when someone boards the ship. The fee can be three things. Either you work on the ship during your stay, you pay a small sum of Shanix (or any other currency you currently have) or you make a deal. (Deals aren’t dangerous and consist mostly of small things like, you give out a round at the ship bar, or something like that.)

So with that established, let’s look how he would treat SkyBorne, once the Minibot befriends Flinch.

Overall, Record would be happy that Flinch found a friend in the small winged tank. Openly expressing how thankful he is towards SkyBorne for being his third oldest son’s friend, because Flinch, despite being a kind mech, has a hard time making friends. Partly because of how he was raised, partly because of how awkward and shy he’s around others. Maybe he would even offer SkyBorne a permanent place on the ship, or, if he doesn’t want to stay, he would give him one of their ‘Calling Devices’. A phone-like thing that directly connects you with the Neutral Zone. (It’s a speed dial, kinda.)

But, this would slightly change if he found out about SkyBorne’s condition.

Record, as you said, would start to become suspicious of SkyBorne, once he saw how Flinch would gain new injuries, or more injuries, whenever he was alone with the Minibot. (Doesn’t matter how big or small the injury is.) But he wouldn’t openly say anything.Only keeping an optic on both of them and should things get worse, he would go to Flinch first. Asking his son if everything was okay, only to get a “Don’t worry, everything is fine.” from him. Which in return would only make him more suspicious, but he would let it slide. Flinch would tell him if something was wrong after all.

But SkyBorne would always have one extra pair of optics on him. And should he make one wrong step, Record would annul SkyBorne’s status as a passenger and take matters into his own servos.

And considering how large those servos are, SkyBrone should really watch out for the big dad.

---

On a side note. Record would react differently if something drastic would happen. And by drastic I mean the off chance of SkyBorne taking too much of Flinch’s Energon or too often, resulting in the Black Bird fainting on the job or becoming ill. That would be the only instance where Record would actively take actions against the Minibot and annul his status as passenger right away, before throwing him into the brig. Doesn’t matter if he knows that the Miniboot is responsible for his son’s condition or not.

Because if there’s one thing Records hates more than his passengers getting hurt under his watch, it’s his family getting hurt by something he could have prevented. Especially if it was a passenger who hurt them.

#legomainiaisbored asks #soundcrusher answers #ask game #transformers ocs

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mariacallous · 1 month

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The global mini-crash on Monday, when stocks dived before largely recovering, can’t be pinned down to one cause alone. But one serious culprit was a long-standing foreign exchange strategy that suddenly turned into a disaster as Japan’s central bank and government tried to pull the yen out of an increasingly destructive nosedive.

The “yen carry trade” is a straightforward maneuver: borrow money in a country with low interest rates, such as Japan (or Switzerland), and invest in currencies with a higher interest rate, such as the U.S. dollar. If all goes well, the result is a cost-free source of profit. Not surprisingly, this has become very popular with financial traders, businesses, and even individuals who have used the technique to pay for mortgages in their home countries.

At current levels, an investor can borrow yen for around 0.5 percent and find a secure U.S. investment at around 5.5 percent. This means a 4 percent gain with no investment of your own. The only potential problem is if the exchange rate between the two countries starts to change. In this case, a stronger yen means that you will need more dollars to pay back the loan, potentially wiping out the gain and leaving expanding losses.

“These violent market moves will take place when participants in the ‘crowded trade,’ in this case yen carry, all try to get out of the pool at the same time. Moves on the downside can be swift and violent and at times can lead to changes in market psychology,” said Ichiro Sekimitsu, a former veteran trader in interest rate derivatives. “A necessary condition for the trade to continue is low volatility, so the predictability of the Bank of Japan and the Japanese Ministry of Finance, along with an underperformance of the Japanese economy, probably helped build the trade.”

All of this came unstuck on Monday as a fast-rising yen fed into a declining stock market, which in turn sparked a greater unwinding of what are known as “yen shorts”—bets that the yen will further decline. That sent the yen sharply higher in value as traders quickly closed out their positions. In mid-July, the dollar was worth more than 161 yen, but by the end of the Asian trading day on Monday, it stood at 142 yen, a 12 percent fall in value. That would easily wipe out a year’s worth of yen carry trade interest payments. Small wonder that there was an increasingly hectic race for the exits.

The catalyst was a tightening in monetary policy by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) just a week earlier, on July 31. The BOJ took markets by surprise with a double-barreled approach of raising the target interest rate on Japanese government bonds and announcing that it was sharply reducing the amount of bonds it buys as part of its efforts to control interest rates.

The changes appear small in comparison to the situation elsewhere. The new target rate for 10-year government bonds is still just 0.25 percent, up from zero to 0.10 percent previously and is miniscule when compared with the current 4 percent rate for U.S. Treasurys.

But the action bore a weighty meaning, breaking 10 years of an easy-money policy that had been meant to cause the very inflation that is now emerging as a problem.

BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda talked tough about the changes in July. “If the data shows economic conditions are on track, and if such data accumulates, we would of course take the next step,” he said, a clear signal to the markets that higher rates could be on the way.

The actions were taken as it became clear that a strikingly weak yen was pushing inflation higher and reducing the purchasing power of Japanese consumers. With the core consumer price index at 2.6 percent, it would seem far from a crisis.

But the impact on the average person has been palpable, with inflation outpacing earnings for 26 of the past 27 months. A country that had long sought inflation turned out to dislike it in practice, and increasingly worried government officials have been putting pressure on the central bank to do something. With Japan importing virtually all of its energy and most of its food, higher import costs bleed directly into the real economy and consumer spending.

Concerns over higher prices are described as a key factor in the low approval rating of around 25 percent for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government. Kishida must run for reelection as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in September, making the political woes of inflation even more palpable. If he loses, he will automatically need to step down as prime minister.

In its attempt to rein in the yen’s decline, Japan has already tried massive intervention in the foreign exchange market, spending a record 5.92 trillion yen (some $36.9 billion at the time) in yen buying on April 29, with smaller purchases on May 1, according to government figures.

But if the BOJ’s actions were strong, the impact on the Japanese stock market, which has been near all-time highs (it only took 34 years to get past the previous high), was equally strong. The Nikkei 225 stock index fell a stunning 12 percent, the second-largest percentage fall in history and a decline of 27 percent from its peak on July 11.

With signs of panic in the air, aided by a running chain of clickbait headlines about a market crash, the Tokyo decline fed into a perfect storm of negative news that included a weak U.S. jobs report and news that iconic investor Warren Buffett had unloaded a large part of his stake in corporate icon Apple. Never mind that the U.S. losses for the day turned out to be minor, despite the flash headlines, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing with a loss of 2.6 percent, hardly the market plunge the headlines would suggest. Positive news such as a relatively strong corporate earnings season was brushed under the rug, and gloom largely prevailed.

The fact that much of this was unwound within 24 hours is testament to the tenuous nature of the selloff. Tokyo traders decided they had been all wrong and proceeded to push up the Nikkei by 10.2 percent, the fourth-largest one-day gain on record.

By Wednesday, the Japanese market was up again, with the Nikkei rising 1.2 percent, and the yen had erased much of its gains. This came after BOJ Deputy Gov. Shinichi Uchida tried to put the genie back in the bottle, saying that the central bank will not raise rates further if there is market turmoil.

While his remarks were credited with calming the market for now, the band-aid cure is likely to have its own repercussions in the future. With his words seemingly contradicting from the vow by his boss a week earlier on raising rates if necessary, the remarks looked like a panic reaction or a signal that the BOJ is divided at the top. “That kind of communication undermines the credibility of the Bank of Japan. For the financial market, the uncertainty over the future of monetary policy has increased,” said Takahide Kiuchi, an executive economist at Nomura Research Institute. “Uchida said too much, and the BOJ now has a problem in its communication strategy.”

That credibility will likely become critical in the weeks ahead. Most analysts say the market shakeout is far from over, an analysis backed by data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission that shows the total value of speculative yen shorts have decreased from $14.5 billion at beginning of July to $6 billion recently, suggesting there is more to be done if the yen starts strengthening again.

Kiuchi forecasts that the yen will revert to its “fair value” of around 115 yen to the dollar over the next three years. “The correction phase is still in the middle, depending on the U.S. economic situation. But it was only a crisis for Japan, not the global equity market,” he said. But for those in the yen carry trade, it means there is still a long way to go and likely more volatility to come.

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vlogmrjonathanlang · 6 years

Text

FusionLots experiences – all information about the service provider

FusionLots – The online broker presents itself on its homepage https://fusionlots.com/ as a financial services provider that is active in the areas of crypto, indices, stocks, commodities and currencies. Accordingly, investors can earn money quickly.

FusionLots – any experiences?

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Are you thinking about investing in FusionLots? Then the following aspects are important for you as an investor.

State-regulated brokers on the Internet, reputable provider sites, fees and bonuses, offer options and customer reviews are just a few of the factors that you should take into account when making your final decision.

Access to cross-border stock markets is made easier and more affordable for investors through online investing.

When trading on the World Wide Web, you can use a large number of order types.

The following information is basic tips for investors – regardless of the platform in which you invest.

Before you invest: Check FusionLots for trustworthiness

The following considerations should be kept in mind when looking for opportunities to invest your wealth online:

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In Germany, the imprint must include an address, the contact details of an authorized representative of FusionLots and a telephone number.

Financial service providers such as FusionLots must be licensed in Germany by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority ( BaFin ). The BaFin company database contains information about licensed service providers.

It can be very beneficial to answer the question of what other customers say about a potential provider, even if it is only on the Internet.

Time pressure when investing? What kind of experience have you had with FusionLots?

Are you feeling the pressure of a tight deadline? The financial service provider is luring you with a special offer, but you are under pressure to make a decision quickly?

This is certainly not an ideal idea, as it is often a ruse. Don't rush into anything! Not only can you get serious offers now, but you can also invest capital with FusionLots in the future.

In order to achieve their goal, criminals know exactly what they have to do. They make an effort to obtain as much information as they can about the person they are targeting by asking well-crafted questions. They also ask about the person's circumstances, such as whether they are alone at home or whether they have any money at home.

On top of that, they play a "waiting game" to exhaust the victim. They can keep the victim on the phone until he or she agrees to go to their bank and hand over money and other valuables to the scammers.

In one of these scams, the victim is put under pressure to meet a deadline. This measure causes the victim to ignore his own caution.

Current support scams use the same method. Since the computer of the person contacted is allegedly attacked by an exceptionally extreme malware, the callers, who are presumably acting at the behest of Microsoft or a provider such as FusionLots, demand urgent payment for a maintenance contract in English with an Indian accent.

The criminals maximize the pressure by threatening the targeted people that they will pay if their PC is infected and transmits the infections.

Is there investor protection on the grey capital market?

Only a small proportion of financial market participants such as FusionLots are subject to official regulation and control. Investment service providers operate in the grey capital market and do not require a license from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority and only have to comply with a few regulatory requirements.

Only invest in the grey capital market if you are sure of the liquidity of the provider and you know it as a company . As mentioned, BaFin has no control over these service providers.

The grey capital market offers a variety of options. There are:

Order bonds

Corporate investments

Direct investments such as in wood, precious metals or other raw materials

Profit participation rights and other hybrid bond forms

Crowdfunding offers

Loans with subordinated agreement

If you find it difficult to understand the offer on offer, you should gather as much information as possible before making a decision.

Don't invest in anything you don't fully understand! When it comes to investments, the more know-how you need, the more sophisticated the product.

It is also not advisable to concentrate all your assets on one product. Spread your risk beyond FusionLots.

In order not to be influenced incorrectly, you should always focus on the product itself and not on the name or reputation of the financial service.

If the broker refuses to pay out

Customers are often courted by an "online broker" or a call center employee as soon as they have set up an account on the alleged trading platform. The intention is to get the investor to increase their long-term investments in order to maximize their income. This is also a legitimate goal of the online broker FusionLots.

Shortly after the investor has transferred his capital, the first profit developments may appear in his account. This should encourage the investor to invest steadily in the financial product.

The website operators, on the other hand, can use fraud software to create false account transactions and profits, even without the customer noticing.

In reality, no trading takes place at all on several online trading platforms. Instead, the capital paid is transferred by the fraudulent online brokers to accounts outside of Germany. Investors do not initially notice this.

The "financial service providers" delay the payment of the declared profits by demanding that investors pay taxes and processing costs that are apparently due. These manipulations only serve the purpose of increasing revenue.

Sooner or later, communication breaks down completely. The invested capital is used up. From this moment on, the only option is to go to a lawyer to take the necessary steps.

Recovery Scam: Absolute attention is necessary!

Anyone who has ever lost money through a fraudulent investment platform knows how fatal it can be. That alone is terrible enough. But in addition, the scammers behind the bogus model will contact you by email or phone within a very short time.

This time, however, they are not pretending to be FusionLots' online brokers. Instead, they promise to help you recover your lost assets for a fee. Many criminals even seem to have been hired or authorized by reputable institutions such as a financial authority.

After stealing your sensitive data, the perpetrators often pose as good Samaritans. They promise to help you recover the stolen money. Even if you have invested money with a service provider like FusionLots, your data may be stolen.

Anyone who has lost a large amount of money is usually desperate. Criminals take advantage of people's desperation by posing as money recovery service providers. They offer their services under the pretense of helping people get their money back. This means that they guarantee in a dubious way that they will get the lost money back.

What to do if you lose with FusionLots?

Have you invested money with FusionLots or another provider? Are you now having difficulties with the return?

Then we recommend that you block additional payments immediately. This is especially true if the merchant recommends additional payments to make up for deficits.

You should also try to get the capital you have lost back. Those affected can seek investor protection and contact the lawyers at our law firm . We examine civil and criminal law options and possible claims for damages against the provider and against payment service providers involved, such as banks.

"A private investor who loses money through online trading is certainly not an isolated case. Many investors are blinded by the professional behavior of the companies and do not realize early enough that they are not responsible for their losses."

Our recommendation is therefore not to bury your head in the sand, but to act quickly and decisively. Because the chance of recovering the lost money is often greater than the affected investors suspect.

#scum

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starlightbooklove · 5 months

Text

Part 2 of My really insane college life 🙃🙃🙃

Ok The classes

To give you a little context, most (if not all) of the professors at the university are doctors, doctors in practice, who are helping the university because there is no professor. Therefore, many of them do not have the pedagogical preparation to teach the subjects they are assigned to, or despite having it, they explain as if ee were a human video recorder that perfectly captures the information they say at 100 words per second lmao.

This does not mean that they are all bad, I am lucky to have several who clearly love the career and teaching and they make me understand very well with their classes. But, as I mentioned, they are practicing doctors, they have been practicing their career for years and continue to practice it while teaching, So there is a lot of planning and time problems, sometimes they have to leave super quickly because something comes up at the hospital, or they don't teach classes that day because they have to operate or have a Medical appointment

And since we are short of teachers (to the point that we are one of the few sections that has all its teachers) it is not like we can change them So this results in sometimes going to the university (which for some is an hour away) to watch almost 1 hour of classes alone 🫠

The classrooms

As I was telling you, the section representative asked us for money at the beginning of classes to do Maintenance to the air conditioning of the classroom they had assigned to us, But then they changed our classroom to one without air conditioning and asked us all for $5 to pay for the Air conditioning, anatomical models (at least two per section) and curtains.

5 dollars is not much but considering that inflation in my country is very strong, And the national currency is 'the Bolivar' It's still money, but before that we had already paid for the projector (which was something that the teachers highlighted as essential because they show their slides there) And that was (if I'm not mistaken) around the same amount as what they were asking us this time, that's almost 10 dollars and it's only the first month. And that's not even all.

The first week of school was an ordeal, mentally and physically, we had no chairs, we entered our assigned classroom and there were more tables than chairs (and this is something I've always found funny because in high school, we were always scolded if we even leaned back from our desks, and the first time I sat at a table for lack of Chairs I thought they were going to scold me 😅, but I soon realized that the university student takes care of himself as best he can and everyone ends up sitting at the table without any scolding in the end) So we had to go ourselves to another room to look for chairs to complete the ones we were missing, it doesn't sound like much but the heat is horrible here and let's remember that it's not like we were going To rest in a cold room

Now the problem of the chairs is solved, it also happened to us once when they did the opposite, many chairs few tables

Anyway, we don't have windows, that is, we have the threshold and the frame but there is no glass 🫠 lmfao, and this continues like this. What's more, due to the lack of glass, they placed two blackboards (one in each window) as a substitute, I wish it were a joke, and there is only a portion left on the sides even without anything because it obviously does not cover everything

And we still don't have air conditioning or anatomical models

This, for several reasons, first, not everyone has paid those 5 dollars, both because they don't want to and because they don't have it (there are people who have to pay for tickets, rent and food).

Second, because there are more expenses, teachers ask for money to make copies of the exams, that is not a lot of money (depending on the teacher) but it is when several evaluations are added together (my current situation) That becomes up to a dollar added to what is already spent in the week Then there is the payment for the 'sports' shirts, only God knows why the hell we see that stuff, that was 5 dollars too (I didn't pay for them because the truth is that I was lethargic 😂)Then there are the copies that one has to make of the printed works that have to be delivered, which again, on their own are not much, but together they amount to dollars in that

And then (yes people, this continues) there is the money that they are now asking us to pay for the computer because the one we have been using until now belongs to a student and to take it from there to here (being for her personal use) it's not very practical And, for that it is 3 dollars per student, now they are also asking us for 2 dollars because the art and culture subject teacher, another that I don't know why the hell we see it, wants us to plant plants at the university, no, it's not a game, it's not a joke, it's not an exaggeration, it's just what I'm telling you.

And well, attached to that is a payment that had to be made by taking two dollars from the models' 5 dollars, to pay for an air Conditioned at a medical center where two professors give us classes And another dollar to rent a damn room to watch a midterm exam.

To give You some context and perspective One dollar is 36 bs, copies (prints) are charged from 10 bs to 20 bs, the bus fare is 5 bs for students, but, for example I must pay for bus and cart (a term for taxi basically) and that cart costs 15 bs, those who have to take the bus and car pay almost 30 bs per day, especially when they have to go to the Medical Center, because they have to pay more. Do the math for yourselves

And now comes the good part, the really screwed up part, in the next part because I should be asleep by now and because in the other part there is A LOT to say

Part 1

#med student #college student #college life #college #venezuelan student #Venezuelan college #my experiences #crazy ass shit fr #2nd part

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theendlessrambles · 1 year

Text

4/16/2023

Life has gotten better for me. I have a job that I love, a boyfriend who loves me more deeply than I ever thought possible, a roommate who is not only my best friend but my sister, pets I adore, a roof over my head and enough food to never go hungry. But my country is dying.

I feel it in my bones that our currency will mean nothing. I feel an urge to buy gold or jewels or something else of actual value but I feel crazy for it. Abortion isn't banned in my state but as a white woman I feel the urge to ruin my fertility before it is used against me as the employers demand we create a new work force while the govt sterilizes those of color. My best friends are native decent and my lover is half Thai and I worry for them. I know they have it worse than I do. The recession grows worse and the world teters on war. Women lost the right to abort and then the alt right went after the trans community, the school shootings are going up faster this year and even news of children having to work has surfaced. Trump went to court but his next court date isn't til December and he is still allowed to speak to his extremist followers and he still has politicians who follow him. The French are going after black rock, but I don't know if my country is ready to do the same. They seem to respect the rich as gods they too can become, but their gods will abandon them soon as this country becomes more hostile. We will loose our rights and the rich will stay to exploit us and then flee when they have to be held responsible.

I try to focus on the good I am doing. That what I am doing matters. But helping children who could be better if not in poverty, in better schools, in a better country makes me want to do more. I don't feel like I'm doing enough. I can't save this country alone from fascism, greed, and hate, but I know I'm not the only one seeing the downfall. I'm not the only one seeing the rich and the extremist pulling the strings bullying and paying their way into power. We must act now before it is too late. We must stay angry, we must stay collected, and we mustn't split up into smaller labels. To stay true Americans who hold truth and justice above all else.

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zaynesplushiekiller · 2 years

Note

Hi again! I was wondering if you would do a headcannon with the brothers where mc helps to pay back mammon’s debt. Thxs

i think the brothers would be so funny in walmart... (✯ᴗ✯) pls enjoy

mc helping mammon pay back his debts

✿✿

"so mammon!" you address, bursting into his room. "you have some debts you need to pay back, and luckily for you! I'm the perfect person to help."

in truth, lucifer had just offered to do your homework for you if you helped mammon pay back some of his... overtly massive debt. and god you hated that class more than you hated dealing with problems.

"hah! I don't need to pay it back, those witches needa pay me first!" he tries to encourage you to leave it alone. but you have homework on the line and you're not willing to give up so soon.

"nope, sorry babe, but we're gonna put a dent in it first."

so now you're dragging mammon to the human world to talk to a witch. after a bit of prodding, you found out that he had stolen some object off of the witch, one that was rather hefty in price.

when she opens the door, she almost immediately tries to curse mammon, but you get the point across before she can do so.

"well, the grimoire that asshole had stolen was worth well over a million grimm!"

"ah, I see. is there any other way we can help you out?" you silently pray that there is; maybe she needs something you have an abundance of?

after a few seconds of thinking, she nods. "if you can get your hands on some eye of newt, I'd be willing to forget about the grimoire.

"it's nearly impossible to find here, and I'm in no shape to travel to get some."

mammon (attempts) to make a snarky comment, but you smack him square in the chest before he even gets the chance.

"of course! we'll get it for you!" he chokes out before you threaten him again

the two of you take leave, and head to your nearest walmart. eye of newt usually means mustard seeds, mammon had told you. and what better place to get something from than walmart?

luckily, you kept some currency from the human world on you. hopefully walmart still took cash...

"man, ye humans really sell some weird stuff? that weeb stuff levi likes right next to cereal?" mammon asks, pointing vaguely to some stuff that's labeled 'on sale'.

"yeah, that stuff is clumped over there so people will buy it at a marked down price."

"woah! marked down? haha! I gotta come here often."

you have to jerk him away from the clearance aisle before he tries to buy everything in it. he definitely stole something from it, but you didn't really care.

mustard seeds! the label sticks out to you, and you grab it. luckily mammon doesn't see anything he finds interesting and the two of you check out with (little) to no hazards.

when the two of you arrive back to the witches house, she thanks you (and mammon, begrudgingly). she agrees to leaving the grimoire incident in the past. but tells mammon to literally never come back to her again.

"one down! only a couple thousand more left to go!" you cheer.

mammon groans.

#obey me #obey me x reader #obey me fic #obey me requests #obey me mammon x reader #obey me mammon #om mammon #om x reader #om mammon x reader #obey me one master to rule them all

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violettelueur · 4 years

Text

GOJO SATORU || BECOME A REAL COUPLE

| featuring : gojo satoru from jujutsu kaisen

| warnings : grammar errors other than that n/a

| form : imagine (with she/her pronouns)

| word count : 2700

| published : 05 december

| request : Hi hiiii!! I saw that your requests were open again :) I would like to order a black coffee please! a fake dating → feelings realisation where (fem) reader is from one of the big 3 clans and is pressured into finding a SO by her clan. So Gojo offers to fake date her; meeting her parents etc. Only for them both to realise that they ended up falling for each other. Would love to see how you determine the way they handle it and confess for real. Thank you!! Love all your work so far x

| barista’s notes : can i be completely honest with you? this little piece isn’t really my best ʕ ﾟ ● ﾟʔ even though it’s only been 2 days but i already feel like my writing skills have disappeared ʕ ㅇ ᴥ ㅇʔ but other than that, thank you so much for loving all my work ʕ•ᴥ•ʔﾉ♡ i really hope you enjoy your cup of classic black coffee (jujutsu kaisen request!) and please come again soon!

“You have to get married soon Y/N! You’re 27 and we have no heir for the Kamo clan!”

“Didn’t I leave the clan 10 years ago? There is no way I’m going to listen to someone like you nor my child is forced to become a jujutsu sorcerer, and what makes this more irritating is that you came all the way to my workplace to tell me this,” you snapped back at the man in front of you, before turning around trying to walk away from the situation. However, it seemed like the old man wasn’t going to give in to the situation or to the rejection of your answer, he was stubborn - just like you were, after all, that was the only thing you inherited from that man.

“Y/N! I am your father and I demand you to listen to me!”

“Shut up!” you shouted before turning to look over your shoulder. The man that stood there pride and arrogance running through his veins - something that you didn’t inherit, fortunately. There was no way you could call this man your father. The same ‘father’ that criticized you for not having the same blood manipulation like the rest of the family - well that’s what he gets for being with a woman from a different clan that had a different curse technique that you inherited - an outcast, that was what you were within the Kamo clan, yet they still demanded you to get married and have a child to keep the lineage going. There was no way in hell you were going to follow their rules.

“What a disgusting father you are, no wonder mother left you,” you commented with a smirk before continuing to walk away to go back to where you were heading. On the other hand, it seemed like someone else wanted to disturb your plans.

“Y/N~”

ꕥ

At this current moment in time, you were standing in front of one of the very few vending machines that were located within Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College wondering what you were going to choose since you were still undecided. Cold Water? Milk tea? Coffee? Maybe a carbonated fruit drink to satisfy your sweet tooth? You weren’t so sure.

“Have you put money in the machine yet honey~?” someone asked you from behind, causing you to quickly turn around to see a tall white-haired figure standing before you with a teasing smile painted upon his face.

“Satoru? Ah...no I haven’t” you muttered as you scratched your cheek with your finger, trying to occupy yourself with something to not look at him. “Let me pay for you then,” Gojo then offered as he reached over to the side, accidentally brushing his arm - causing you to tense up - before he placed some of his coins within the slot to add some currency into the machine before you could even deny his offer.

“I could pay for myself you know, and we’re alone, you don’t have to act,” you stated before sighing in defeat, as you turned back around to decide what you were going to choose once again. “I know,” Gojo commented back to you before gently placing his chin upon your shoulder, leading you to tense up once again from the physical contact before slowing relaxing, “but what type of boyfriend would be I if I didn’t treat you a little?”.

‘Well fake boyfriend Satoru’

ꕥ

“Your family pressuring you again?” Satoru cheerfully asked as he walked beside you, trying to lighten up the tense atmosphere from the conversation that you had with your ‘father’ just a few seconds ago.

“More like the Kamo clan than the L/N clan, get married this, get married that. Is that all I am good for? Marriage? Augh, I just need them to leave me alone, I left for a damn reason,” you ranted as you put your hands in your pockets, restraining yourself from punching something to let out some steam.

“How about I date you then?” Gojo suddenly asked, leading you to look at him with the most wide-eyed expression like he had just said something completely stupid - to which he did - but before you could even augre what he just stated, Gojo quickly began to explain what he meant by his little statement. “What I mean is let’s fake that we’re dating, we deceive everyone that we’re together and the Kamo clan will finally leave you alone once they realise that you are in a relationship with someone from the Gojo clan aka me, they can’t augre with that,”.

Still looking at your colleague with a dumbfounded expression, you turned your head to look in front of you before thinking about what he had just suggested. What Gojo stated to you was somewhat a clever idea. The Kamos family was obsessed with bloodlines and for you to be with Gojo means that they would foolishly believe they can become more powerful. Even though you didn’t physically inherit the blood manipulation curse technique, you still had in somewhere in your veins due to your father meaning they would believe they still have a chance for a powerful heir. However, that would mean you have to announce this to the clan as well as your mother’s clan - which wasn’t much of an issue for her side - it was just too much effort for a fake relationship.

“Satoru that is so much effort, you’re going to have to meet the Kamo clan then,” you commented, after realising the pros and cons of this little ordeal. “I know, but once we end this little fakery of a relationship, they don’t have to know, you don’t have to report your every move to them, remember you left,” Gojo explained back, leading to any worries that you had manifesting to instantly fade away with the wind.

Taking one last sigh, you turned back to him and nodded. “Fine, let’s fake date Satoru,” you finally declared before taking your hand out in front of him for a handshake, leading to the powerful shaman to take hold of your hand before firmly shaking it, “okay fake-girlfriend! Leave it to me,”

ꕥ

Sitting in front of your dad across a table was something you never wished on your worst enemy, you hated that you were back in the four walls that you had escaped from many years ago. However, for some odd reason, when Gojo was by your side, you felt completely safe.

“Since when did this little association between the both of you come to play?” your father asked in a suspicious tone as he eyed both you and Gojo - yet, knowing how greedy your father was for power, you could tell he was delighted at the fact you were ‘together’ with the most powerful jujutsu sorcerer.

“Ah~ We have been together since our last year at Jujutsu Tech,” Gojo explained as he turned to look at you with a cheeky smile on his face to which you smiled back at him, trying to keep up with the facade of being a fake couple. “And you didn’t inform me this Y/N?” your father then asked to which then you explained, “well, I did leave the clan a year after that, so I had the right to no inform you. After all, I’m not your daughter like you stated beforehand,”

Angered by your sudden statement, your father immediately slammed his hand on the desk as if the statement wasn’t true at all. “I demanded you to come back, I demanded you to respect the name of the Kamo Clan and this is how you taint it,” you father roared in fury, causing Gojo to put an arm out in front of you as if he was protecting you from anything that could happen to cause you to look at him in shock.

“Technically, Y/N didn’t even taint your name, she took their mother’s, so you’re in the wrong here, don’t do something that you will regret,” Gojo sinisterly threatened the man that was in front of both on you, before taking your hand in his as a way to comfort you - surprising you once again from his actions, yet for some reason, you gripped on his hand somewhat conveying him that you were thankful for him standing up for you.

ꕥ

“Ah Miss Y/N, did you come to see your mother?” a maid asked in a surprised tone, once she noticed that you came out of your designated room with you adjusting your red obi sash around your waist as your wore your family’s kimono, white was light in colour embroidered with the minimalist design of flowers and butterflies - giving you a somewhat soft feminine look, contrasting the portrayal of your character somewhat.

“You know you don’t have to put the ‘Miss’ in front of my name, and I do apologise for the sudden visit, I forgot to inform you all,” you told the maid with a gentle smile, leading to the maid to smile at you back before you then continued with, “Ah, I did come to meet my mother, but have you seen Satoru? Like a tall man with white hair, who is also wearing sunglasses,”. However, before the maid could answer your question.

“Y/N~”

Turning around, you found Gojo walking towards you with your mother by his side, causing you to freeze in shock as you didn’t expect him to go to your mother without you. “I thought we agreed to greet my mother together Satoru,” you commented as you pointed your index finger at him to emphasise your point, only for him to smile at you cheekily before scanning his eyes up and down at your new outfit. “You do look beautiful in your kimono though, is this what you wear when you come back home?” Gojo then asked, to which you nodded at his question - trying to ignore your pending blush being slowly painted in your cheeks - before you quickly greeted your mother, who was watching from the sideline.

“Good Afternoon mom, I apologise for coming to visit you so suddenly,” you said to her, to which your mother softly smiled at you before cupping your cheeks in her hands. “There is no need to apologise, I’m happy that you came back home since you are so busy back at the school, but also I’m happy that your boyfriend introduced himself to me, he is quite a different character must I say,” she commented with a light laugh, causing you to turn to him wondering what he had said to her, only for him to put up a peace sign as if that would answer your wondering thoughts. Although, before you could even vocalise your confusion, your mother linked her arms with yours before guiding you down the corridor to welcome you home.

“I can tell he really cares about you Y/N,” your mother stated, causing you to look at her with a perplexed expression to which she then smiled back at you before beckoning Gojo to follow the both of you to invite him for some sweets and tea that were being prepared.

‘If only you knew mom, if you only knew how much I care about him as well even though this isn’t real’

ꕥ

“You’ve been staring at the canned latte for some time, do you want that one?”

Suddenly, you instantly snapped out of your thoughts - not realising that you were in a daze - causing you to then immediately click on the button indicating on the mentioned drink. “Ah, sorry I was just wondering if I should go with the strong or light one,” you then answered, trying to hide the fact you were looking back on the moments that you had with Gojo.

“Are you okay?” Gojo then asked as he removed his chin from your shoulder, letting you crouch down to grab the coffee from the dispenser before collecting the coins from the other dispenser to give back to Gojo, only for him to shake his hand and say, “if you need another drink, you can use it,”

‘Is that why he put extra in?’

“Are you sure?” you quietly ask, only for the cheeky shaman to nod his head before he deciding to walk with you to wherever you were heading off too. “Like I said before, what type of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t spoil you a bit?” Gojo then asked once again, causing you to tilt your head in confusion.

“You know we’re not really dating right? We are a fake couple,” you mentioned, as you opened the can of coffee to take a sip after reminding him about the little plan that the both of you came up with to avoid the whole ‘marriage’ drama from the Kamo clan.

However, you didn’t hear an answer from your friend. Only pure silence surrounded the both of you, causing you to be perplexed on why you didn’t instantly hear a sassy comment back from the shaman, leading you to pause and turn your head to the side, only to see the man look at you dead in the eyes with his crystal blue ones.

‘Since when did he?’

“What if I don’t wanna be a fake boyfriend anymore?” Gojo questioned you with an uncharacteristic serious tone, causing you to look at him in bewilderment before quickly coming to the conclusion that he was probably teasing you.

“You mean you want to end this facade? If you want we can, there is kind of no point in continuing this little act,” you replied, as you took a sip of the caffeinated drink causing you to gain a little bit of energy in a short amount of time.

“Y/N, I’m being serious, I don’t want to be your fake-boyfriend anymore, I want this to be real,” Gojo then declared, causing you to suddenly choke on the liquid in shock before letting out a coughing fit as you tried to clear your throat leading to Gojo patting your back to help you out.

“Ha?” you then expressed, not sure on how to react to his declaration as you tried to look for any deception in his eyes. “Oh you are being serious Satoru,” you then commented to which then he nodded as if he didn’t already convince you that he hadn’t already.

Quickly looking away from the man, you were trying to hide the rose hues that slowly was coming upon your face. You thought you were the only one feeling this way. You thought you were alone on this. Ever since that moment when you and Gojo met your father, you always wanted to stay by his side, you felt like you were important, you felt safe, you felt warm.

It was like what your mother explained to you when you were young, ‘don’t make the same mistake as me Y/N, when you find someone you want to be with, make sure they make you feel safe and protect and not just the ‘butterflies in your stomach feeling’, I want you to feel loved and important, I’m so sorry for putting you through this’

“Y/N, come on say something, I’m not a nervous guy but this is something else you know,” Gojo pleaded as he wasn’t really enjoying the long silence that was going on around both you and him, only for you to suddenly grip his dark blue jacket before pulling him closer to press your face upon his chest as if you were still trying to hide but somewhat trying to express some confidence in what you were planning to do.

“Are you absolutely being serious ?” you then asked, once again asking how serious he was being.

“Absolutely serious,” Gojo then replied as he placed his large hand on the top of your head before caressing your hair, trying to comfort you from your embarrassment.

“Then I don’t wanna be your fake girlfriend anymore….please,” you then murmured as you gripped his jacket more tightly as you confessed your long time thoughts, only to suddenly feel a peck being placed on the crown of your head.

“Of course honey~ let’s become a real couple”

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #jujutsu kaisen imagine #jujutsu kaisen imagines #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x reader #gojo satoru #satoru gojo #jujutsu kaisen gojo satoru #jujutsu kaisen gojo #jjk gojo satoru #jjk gojo #gojo satoru x reader #satoru gojo x reader #gojo x reader #gojo satoru imagine #gojo satoru imagines

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yandere-ac · 4 years

Note

Can I request parental Yandere! Tom with a young Y / N? Y/N has been on the island for a long time, and Tom is like their father figure. I'd like to see a scenario where Y / N meets Redd and due to their innocent and naive nature, wants to befriend him, meeting at night time just because Redd says it's better this way, probably not to alert Tom that he is there.I love how you write! Sorry for my bad English.

Yandere Parental Tom Nook X Child Reader

Little one

Tom had always considered himself good with children. It might have been because of all the late nights he spent up with Sable, taking care of Mable back when she was still very small. Even as a child, Tom swore to protect and help the ones who could not defend them self’s. It was a trait that, even though as he grew up became less and less prominent, was still a core instinct that he had. Sure, he’s the first to admit that he wasn’t exactly the most charming guy back in the day. Many seeing him as intimidating and mean. And yeah, Tom could see how people could have gotten that impression. Back then, he’d been so angry and lost. He was angry at the world. Angry at himself. Angry at...him...those where the days when he was hellbent on not letting anyone ever take advantage of him ever again. He’d locked up his heart and pushed everyone he loved away. But then...something quite peculiar happened.

It had been late at night. Tom was walking alone on the sidewalk, only the dim light of the tall streetlights illuminating his path. With hands in his pockets he picked up his pace. He wanted to get out of the city as quickly as possible. He had been spending some time with family and was currently going home. But to get to his flight he had to walk through the big city. Tom didn’t like the city, it brought back bad memories. He was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard the sounds of a loud crash coming from one of the alleyways nearby. What was that? Was someone hurt? Tom knew he shouldn’t...it would be dangerous and stupid. But he had to check to make sure nothing sketchy was going on. Looking back at it now. Tom was so happy, overjoyed that he decided to investigate. Approaching the alleyway he could see the silhouettes of two small creatures. And as he got closer he realised what the silhouettes were. They were two children, tanukis, looking no older than five cowering together, clutching onto each other like there was no tomorrow. They looked up at him, shaking from either the cold weather or because they were scared. Probably a mixture of the two. Tom made sure to stay completely still as he tried not to scare the two boys.

"Hello? Are you okay? Why on earth are you two out here alone?" He asked as he slowly crouched down so that he would be on the same level as the kids, still keeping his distance. Tom however did not get a response. Letting out a small sigh he tried to continue. "Can I at least get your names?" He said, making sure to keep his voice gentle. "We’re not supposed to talk to strangers mister..." one of the two said, clinging onto the other tighter. "Okay then. Hello there. My name is Tom Nook. Who are you?" Tom tried again. At this point the other one has stopped shaking and looked at Tom with more curiosity than fear. "We don’t have names mister." Tom felt his eyebrows furrow. These poor kids. "Why don’t you two come with me? It’s about to start raining and I don’t want you catching a cold." As he said this he extended his hand to the two. And carefully, the first one reached out his tiny paw to grab it. The other one was much more hesitant about the whole thing but after a quick glance at the first, he soon grabbed Toms hand. Tom led the two away to a hotel nearby where he bought a room.

That was the first significant change that led Tom to the road to redemption and recovery. After calling the police and telling them about the situation they had come to investigate with a social worker. After they had intervened and the social worker talked to the two and did confirm that the two children had no home or guardians. And even though it had only been maybe two days with the boys, Tom had grown very attached to them. And so, he offered to adopt the two. And after settling the whole thing in court, Tom was able to happily bring two small tanukis home. Of course the final decision was left up to the kids. But lucky for Tom, they too had grown attached to him and agreed to the adoption. Tom gave them the names Timothy and Thomas, Timmy and Tommy for short. And rest assured, the boys were gonna have a good life, Tom swore of it. But that, like stated before, was only the beginning.

A year later, was the second significant change that Tom went through. That year, a new villager moved in to his town. A boy with Brown hair and a red shirt. And what a mess he was. After having bought a house from Tom, he didn’t have close to the amount of bells that he needed to pay off the house loan. In fact, he only had 1000 bells in his pockets. Seeing this was almost humorous to Tom. How can you move into a new home WITHOUT bringing more than at least 30 000 bells. And yet. Something about the boy. It almost reminded him of how he used to be back when he first moved to the city. Now, he had enough common sense to bring with him more than just a few bells. But he’d still make PLENTY of screw ups and stupid decisions. And in a way, he’d wished that he had a person to help him during that time. Someone to be kind enough to extend their hand and give him assistance. Maybe if someone had, things would have turned out differently. Who know what could happen to this villager, if he’s stupid enough to not bring enough currency, then he’d sure be stupid enough to be tricked or manipulated. Tom couldn’t knowingly let that happen, especially if he could prevent it.

And so. Tom offered him a job at Nooks cranny. Just to teach him some responsibility and give him a chance to pay off his loans. But even after he paid them off, he still took some time to visit Tom every once and again. He brought a sort of warmth and life to the town. He interacted with all the other villagers and made sure to fix it up a little as well. Although very silent and kind of strange, Tom grew a certain fondness of the boy. But ultimately, it didn’t matter what he though of him. Because one day, he never showed up. Tom just assumed that he had been sick or just tired. But after a week and not a sound from him, people started to get worried. They searched his house but he wasn’t there. And that weeks turned into months, which turned into years. Tom still worried what had happened to him. But he tried not to think about it. The thought unnerved him. He couldn’t have moved out because his house still remained in the village. But, ultimately. It really didn’t matter. He was gone, and Tom had to move on.

That was years ago. During that time, human after human moved into the town. And they were all just as incompetent. Tom had started to wonder if it was a human thing. But Isabelle had been quick to insist that he help them. And he did. He always tried to teach them how to survive and make money. All while giving them a roof over their heads. He couldn’t just let them wander around without a home, they had to live somewhere. He didn’t set any dates as to when their debts had to be paid either. They could pay him off whenever they wanted. He didn’t want to cause them any stress. And just like always, he got attached to the humans, and just like always, they all eventually left him with no explanation. He didn’t understand why or how. But it was simply just how it went. But no matter how many times it happened, he never got used to it. It was always so hard to accept the fact that the human that was usually eagerly running around had left them. Had left HIM. He felt oddly protective over them all, they were like his children, his small, gullible, human children. So when he met you, that was when his instincts really went into overdrive.

He remembered it clear as day. Timmy and Tommy had ran up to him with the three residents behind him. Immediately he noticed something was odd about one of them. One of them was a human, more than that, the human looked much shorter than any other human he’d ever met. And he’s met a lot of humans in his life, a privilege which very few get. At first he thought the human, you, was just short. But as soon as he heard you speak it became clear to him. You weren’t just short, you were much younger than any of the humans he’d ever seen before. You were a child. Tom started to wonder why someone as young as you was all the way out here. Were your parents gonna come on a later plane? No, no that couldn’t be it. There where no other planes booked to the island. Maybe you were a child to one of the other residents? Interspecies adoption has recently been legalised so that could be it. Yes. That’s probably it. But that theory popped once he gave out the tents and you asked for your very own. Wouldn’t you be sleeping with your guardian? For a moment Tom panicked. What if you were just a very small human and he has misunderstood your age. So he asked you. And to his relief and confusion you answered with "ten". Didn’t you have parents? Why were you out here alone, he needed to know if he should contact somebody. So while everyone else went about looking for a place to put their tents, Tom took you aside to ask you a couple of questions.

As it turns out, you had come here completely alone. Without parents or anything. You had handed him a letter from your mother, she was the one that sent you here with the little bells she had left, because she couldn’t take care of you and hoped that an adult on the island could handle you. When Tom read the letter he felt conflicted, he felt bad for you and your mother but he also thought the action of sending away your child to a deserted island was pretty irresponsible. But whatever he thought of the situation didn’t matter, because you were here and he couldn’t exactly kick you off or anything. He was sure that you would manage life here on the island, there was lots of things to do and food was also easy to come by. So, he’d have to make sure you were comfortable here on the island. He had given you your own tent and even payed the loans that came with it.

And you were the tipping point, you were the thing that turned his redemption into something much, much more twisted.

It had started small, with him feeling a kind of protectiveness over you. He figured it was since you were both a human and a kid. This feeling, it was much stronger than any of the instincts he felt about his previous humans, it was about as strong as how he felt for Timmy and Tommy. He just wanted to scoop you up and carry you away from all your troubles. He helped you fix up your tent and when you asked if you could upgrade it, he’d offer to pay for those house depts as well. But you had refused, saying that you wanted to pay for it yourself. It seems your mother had taught you plenty about responsibility and how to take care of yourself, which came a bit as a shock for Tom. Most of not all of his previous humans had been pretty clueless about things like this, so to see a child being more mature than them was almost a bit funny. But he knew deep down that your maturity probably stemmed from having to take care of yourself without any help. And there was nothing funny about that. Surprisingly, you handled your situation very well, you picked up weeds, planted trees, fished and caught bugs which you sold to Timmy and Tommy. All to pay for said loans. And when Tom told you about his plan to get K.K. Slider to perform at the island, you put your incredible work ethic to the max. Everyday, he could see you running around the island, planting flowers and placing furniture. It came out very good considering your age and soon enough the island got a three star rating. It baffled Tom beyond belief that you were able to do all of this. Especially at your young age. He made sure to give you credit for all the good you contributed and even made sure you got the front seat when the concert began.

And that brings us to today. You had been running around the island, collecting sea shells and fruit. Anytime you ran past one of your fellow villagers you made sure to greet them and talk with them for a while. And when you did so, one of them told you about seeing a shady boat by the hidden beach. The hidden beach. You liked going there, it was a nice place where you could just relax, far away from everyone else. So hearing that there was some boat there, it’s sparked your curiosity to say the least. Where did it come from? Who was at the boat? Why were they here? You just had to go see!

So that’s what you did. As you made your way to the beach you were stopped by none other than Tom Nook himself. He was outside of the plaza with Timmy and Tommy when the boys had their break. He gave you a smile as you stopped and turned to him. "Ah if it isn’t Y/N! Why don’t you come and join me, Timmy and Tommy to our picnic. We were just about to head there." He asked, Timmy and Tommy looking at you with hopeful eyes. "Yeah Y/N! Will you? Will you?" You had to stop to think before making your decision. "Sorry but I can’t. I’ve gotta go do something!" You said. "Alright then, but if you change your mind you know where to find us." Tom said as he walked away with the two boys. You ran all the way to the secret beach and sure enough, there was a boat stationed right there on the beach. As you made your way to it, you started to feel a little hesitant about going in. What if this person was dangerous? But you’ve already come this far, so you might as well try. And so, you took a deep breath, and opened the curtains to go inside.

Dark, that was the main word that popped into your mind as you walked down the metal stairs that descended into the boats cabin. As you reached the bottom and looked around the room a strange sort of dread filled your stomach. The room was darkly lit, only a select few lights illuminating what seemed to be paintings and statues that stood on small wooden podiums. Your curiosity started bubbling as you approached the paintings. You silently admired the art, but your moment of calm was soon ended when you heard a loud creak come from the far right side of the boat. Turning around swiftly you saw the source of sound. It was a big metal door, there was an orange fox exiting the door when he suddenly froze up. His eyes met yours, and for a moment the two of you just stared at each other. As he eyes you up and down you could only look at him with big wondering eyes. You’ve never met a fox in real life before, so this was certainly an experience. The silence finally broke when he spoke up.

"Umm...Hello and welcome aboard Jolly Redds treasure trawler!" There was a bit of uncertainty in his voice, like he wasn’t sure if what he was seeing was real. "Hello mister! I’m Y/N, what’s your name?" You asked him, a smile making its way onto your face. "The names Jolly Redd, as the name of my boat would imply." As he introduced himself to you he gave you a mischievous smirk. He seemed to drop any uncertainty and suspicion as he looked at you. "Say, were you checking out my paintings just now?" He asked you while walking closer. "Oh yes! I think they look really beautiful!" You answered enthusiastically, bouncing up and down slightly as you clasped your small hands together. "Ohoho, why thank you. I made them myself you see." Once Redd told you this, you let out a gasp of both surprise and delight. "Wow! For real? I have to tell Mr. Nook and aunt Isabelle about this!" All of the previous pride and confidence that Redd felt disappeared the moment you mentioned "Mr. Nook". He couldn’t let Tom find out he was here. Especially when he’s talking to a human child. Redd knows about Toms protective nature when it comes to humans and children, so the thought of what he might do if he found him near a HUMAN CHILD, it’s scared him. "A-ah! Let’s NOT tell Mr. Nook or Aunt Isabelle. I’m actually a uhh..." think Redd, think! "...secret artist! Yeah! A secret artist! We don’t like to be seen or talked about. So could you do me a favour and not tell anyone about me kid?" Redd said. You however, not knowing he was bluffing, let out yet another gasp and nodded your head vigorously. "Of course mister! I’ll never tell anyone I promise!" Redd let out a laugh as he saw your enthusiasm. He liked you, he wasn’t usually fond of children. But you, something about you was different. You were cute but not to the point of being annoying. Maybe he’d stay here for a little while.

"I like you kid, you’ve got good taste. Us art lovers gotta stick together ya’know. So how about this, can you meet me here again tomorrow at night? It’s a lot easier for me that time." The question made you unsure. You’ve been told not to trust strangers, but he seemed so nice. He seemed trustworthy enough. You didn’t see any reason why you wouldn’t be able to trust him. "Okay, I’ll do it."

And that was that. Every night you would sneak out of your house and visit Redd. He would show you his paintings and such, he’d even let you paint on a separate paper while he was doing his work on his forgeries. The only drawback of this was just how tired you got later during the day. It was starting to get more and more apparent to everyone else on the island, especially to Tom. He had asked you time and time again if you had trouble sleeping, but every time he’d bring it up you would get really quiet and assure him it was nothing. One time when he was out for a stroll he found you, sleeping on a bed of flowers. He picked you up and carried you to your house to put you to bed. As he tucked you into bed he let out a worried sigh, what was going on with you? But right as he walked out he caught a glimpse of something that made him stop dead in his tracks. He quickly rushed to the little desk you had in your room and looked at what laid upon it, it was a drawing. A drawing of you and an orange fox. The drawing was labelled "Me and Redd!" with green crayon. He knew something was up. But he hadn’t expected it to be this bad.

It was late at night and you were on your way to Redds boat. Unbeknownst to you, you had someone following you. As you skipped down to the secret beach you called out for Redd. And a few seconds later, Redd came out of the boat and greeted you with a hug. "Hello there my little artist. Are you ready to have some fun?" He asked as he grabbed your hand and pulled you inside. "Yes! I’m ready!" You two sat down and started to paint. You told him about everything that was happening on the island, letting out a tired yawn every once in a while. As you blabbered away Redd was in deep thought, he knew he couldn’t stay here for much longer. Every day that he was here was another day that Tom could find him, and he sure as hell didn’t want that to happen. But he didn’t want to leave you, your kindness and excitement brought him some kind of joy when he would usually be completely alone. He needed a distraction other than painting and sculpturing, something that would drown out all of the persistent thoughts of hate that he felt each day. But he couldn’t just take you...could he?

"Hey, cousin? Do you like your life here?" He said out of nowhere, interrupting your ramblings. "Huh? Yeah of course. I’ve got friends and family that cares for me. I love it here." Damn it. How would he convince you if you had that attitude. "Aha...but doesn’t it get boring? You know, doing the same thing every day? When was the last time you had some excitement in your life!" Redd put down his brush and turned to you, facing you completely. "I...well..." you truly didn’t have an answer to that, sure island living wasn’t exactly the most heart pounding life but it wasn’t really supposed to be. It was supposed to be a relaxing life, without any stress or worries. "Wouldn’t you rather just get out there on the sea? With me! We could be a team! A crew! I could be the captain and you could be my second mate. Think about it Y/N!" Redd got more and more intense as he tried to convince you, but your face was far from happy or excited. It was filled with uncertainty and discomfort. "N-No I think I’ll pass. I would much rather just stay here." The fox’s expression turned from a smile into an annoyed frown. "If you don’t come with me you’ll never see me again! Do you want that Y/N?! Do you want to learn how to paint on your own? Do you want to loose out on the best teacher and friend you could’ve ever gotten?!" You didn’t give him a response, slowly backing away from him, trying to get to the stairs. But Redd saw what you were doing. "Oh no you don’t!" He rushed towards you and picked you up rather violently, you started to thrash and scream in his grasp, trying everything to get out. But suddenly you were dropped onto the floor. As you looked up in horror you saw Tom Nook hunching over you. He had his claws out and were growling at Redd. As he looked down at you his eyes softened and he motioned for you to run out, you got the message clear and ran. You ran out, sprinting for dear life in order to get to a hiding spot. Your house!

It had been about 10 minutes since you ran from the boat. You were hiding under your bed, trying to calm yourself down as the tears dropped down your face. You could feel your heart stop as you heard the door to your house opening. But you felt a huge wave of relief wash over you when you heard Toms voice call out for you. "Y/N? Where are you? It’s okay. He’s gone." You rushed out from your bed and ran downstairs to the living room. As you saw Tom stand by the end of the stairs you practically threw yourself onto him. "TOM!" Wrapping your arms around him, you started sobbing. You thought something had happened to him. You could barely form any words as tears got caught in your throat, this has been a stressful night to say the least.

"Shh shh...it’s okay...I’ve got you. I’ve got you. He can’t hurt you now, I promise." You cried onto his shoulder while he comforted you. "Do you feel comfortable sleeping alone or would you like to sleep with me, Timmy and Tommy?" You nodded your head as you climbed onto him. He only let out a small sigh as he carried you away to his house. What a mess. He wished he’d have known sooner, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened. But no matter, what was done was done. He could only focus on the future.

And he swore to protect you, no matter what he had to do.

#acnh #animal crossing #yandere #yandere animal crossing #yandere acnh #animal crossing x reader #ac x reader #tom nook acnh #yandere tom nook #tom nook is a dad #tom nook x reader #child reader #x reader #yandere x reader

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nancywheelxr · 3 years

Note

i'm not sure if you prefer more specific prompts but if you have any interest, something canon-era (compliant or divergence) in the realm of "ye baiyi & every- or anyone"? whichever characters you wanna include; a moment or moments where he feels like maybe there is a little more to the rest of his life than duty and death. it's not only warm food he's been starved of for decades. your writing is great, i hope you're having a good day!

hi! thank you sm! i love getting prompts regardless, honestly, the only difference is that more specific ones tend to get done faster if only bc I already have a loose idea where to go with it! anyway, this somehow turned into a fix-it. that being said, I hope you’re having a lovely day too!

They’re so painfully young.

A bird chirps in a tree somewhere nearby and around the fire, Qin Huaizhang’s disciple throws the blanket on the Wen brat’s face. What set off his sensibilities this time, Ye Baiyi doesn’t know, it might have been the perceived coddling, it might have simply been the fussing– either way, it’s pointless. Does he not know the brat will simply wait until he’s asleep to cover him? Does he not know their ridiculous dance around each other is nothing but time wasted?

How do the young ever get anything done?

Foolish. Have they ever been that foolish? Changqing, he knows, was a most ridiculous man with even more ridiculous ideas– who’s the bigger idiot, then, the fool or the one who loves him?

“Ye-qianbei,” the boy appears at his side, wide-eyed like a newborn deer and with legs as shaky as one too, “if you’re cold, we have more blankets.”

The absurdity of the situation– to ask Ye Baiyi if he’s cold! What’s the night chill compared to the snowy grounds of his mountain? To him, is this not warm weather? “Little fool,” he says, shaking his head even as he laughs, “you’d do better worrying about your idiot master and his idiot friend.”

The kid looks across the fire, grimaces. “I don’t dare, I don’t dare! My brothers used to tell me not to get in the way when my parents were arguing!”

What a ridiculous child. Ye Baiyi laughs again. “They’re not arguing, they’re being dumb. Watch this,” he flicks a little rock at them, hitting Qin Huaizhang’s disciple in the forehead and earning an outraged glare from the Wen brat. “Qing Huaizhang’s disciple, your disciple is freezing off while you’re fooling around. Is this how you the two of you are going to raise your child?”

Beside him, the kid makes a startled little noise like a scared little rabbit before launching into a stuttering denial, but it’s too late, Qin Huaizhang’s disciple has already turned to focus on him as if smelling blood. “Chengling, are you cold? Why didn’t you say so?”

“Ah, no, no, I’m really not,” he tries, but he is, he wouldn’t have known to worry about others if he hadn’t been feeling the chill himself. “Ye-qianbei! Ye-qianbei–”

“Ah, ah!” Wen Kexing interrupts, shaking a finger in his direction, “why are you calling him? Come here, have this blanket since your Shifu is being stubborn.”

The boy goes obediently, shuffling around and nearly tripping on the log, and allows the Wen brat to wrap the blanket around his shoulders. Predictably, once he’s tucked in, the kid beams, pulling it tightly around himself.

“Chengling, if you’re cold, you have to tell us,” says Qin Huaizhang’s disciple as if that’s a scolding, as if he’s not fussing over the child himself, stoking the fire and throwing in more kindling.

A silly child with even sillier parents. Ye Baiyi snorts, shaking his head, and for a fleeting moment, he imagines walking this path alone– searching for the truth on his own, a silent forest stretching all the way to Longyuan Cabinet, only his footsteps left behind to prove he was even there at all– whatever. Picking up Qin Huaizhang’s dumb disciple and his dumb companions might not have been his worst decision so far.

Maybe he could have found the place already if he were on his own, but at the very least they’re entertaining. Ridiculous, he thinks fondly, shaking his head at the blanket the kid has left folded at his feet.

ii.

What a mess.

Rong Xuan, you little brat, he thinks. How long has it been since the boy had first toddled up to him, little hands grabbing fistfuls of his robes? Too many, an eternity, and now nearly all of the boy’s friends are dead, all but one, and Ye Baiyi has to pay his respects to this freshly dug grave in his place.

What a mess.

If you were in trouble, why didn’t you come back? Questions, questions, it’s too easy to ask them now. Why didn’t you ask for help? Why didn’t you send for us? Why did you think it would accomplish, running away? Stupid child, did you think we would turn you away?

No, there’s no use asking them now, no point in dwelling in the past. What is there to change, after it already happened? Life is a very long road and the past is a land too distant to travel back to; Ye Baiyi would rather focus on the now.

Avenging their child had not been part of the promise he made to Changqing, but Ye Baiyi found the truth of this matter as he told him he would and the truth of it is that someone poisoned his disciple, his child. This cannot go unpunished, so for a while longer, he’ll live.

Further still, a little ways down, is Wen Kexing, whose parents died for Rong Xuan’s mistakes. A child growing up in a harsh world on his own. This debt, he’ll repay too.

For all that he gives his promises away like currency, Ye Baiyi is not sure how he feels about the piling of them– they stretch his finally numbered days, always pushing the deadline further. After the Heroes Conference, he’ll be done with the Ghost Valley. After he finds Rong Xuan’s murderer, he’ll be done with this mess. After he repays Wen Kexing, he will be at peace.

And then–

Well. And then wine. Warm food. That was the plan, was it not? Heavens, he’s beginning to sound like Qin Huaizhang’s silly disciple, isn’t he? This won’t do. Changqing, even you would laugh at them. Tell me, then, if you were here, what would you do? Ah, something nonsensical, most likely, like go watch the plum trees bloom.

Ye Baiyi shakes his head, laughs. Changqing ah, won’t you tell me what to do? Maybe this time I’ll listen to you.

iii.

What kind of nonsense is this?

In all fairness, as much as his opinion of Wen Kexing has been as changing as the seasons, his uncanny ability to be an annoying nuisance has never flickered. He was annoying when he was staring down Ye Baiyi’s sword and he was annoying when he kneeled on the forest bed in apology and plea.

Surely, it’s no surprise that he is annoying now, allegedly dead.

And yet, Ye Baiyi had not anticipated this level of stupidity from him: the brat did not tell Qin Huaizhang’s disciple of his plan.

Children, honestly.

Now, the hem of his robes is wet and a few feet away, Qin Huaizhang’s disciple is wasting perfectly good wine in an unnecessarily dramatic manner. “Whatever stupid thing you’re planning,” Ye Baiyi says, eyeing the broken jar by the rocks, the dullness around the brat, “don’t.”

Zhou Zishu whirls on him with all the grace of a dying wet cat as if he’s in any condition to be fighting anyone, as if his hands weren’t shaking and his steps didn’t falter. The sword, once elegant and proud, wavers. Stupid boy. “Ye Baiyi, you–”

“Have you lost your manners down that jar? Or just your common sense? Put that away before I knock it off your hand myself,” he sighs, shaking his head. He should have stayed in his rooms, like planned, until the Heroes Conference; none of this has anything to do with him, his role in this play is mostly over, he just has to wait it out the intermission. And yet. “What kind of nonsense were you thinking? That fool, Wen Kexing, ran around for days like a headless chicken trying to save you and for what? You to throw it away?”

“What’s the point?” Qin Huaizhang’s disciple laughs, cold as the mountains, “what’s the point if he’s not here? Tell me, qianbei, why should I care to live if my soulmate is gone?”

His sword is dragging up the mud and Ye Baiyi wants to call him disrespectful for it, but the sight of it alone dredges up a well of grief that drowns the words in his throat. Why, indeed. This terrible emptiness, Ye Baiyi knows well– the hollow silence that comes where once a familiar voice called your name, the cold where once there was warmth, a hand never reaching back. Snow, all through summer and spring.

“Because that dumb disciple of yours will not last a day on his own,” he tells him, watching the water run towards the cliff’s edge, “because Qin Huaizhang has only you to pass on his legacy. Because that ridiculous hairpin on your head.”

“That’s not fair,” Qin Huaizhang’s disciple says, sounding exactly like he had been about to do something incredibly stupid earlier that would render this entire charade pointless from the start.

Truth be told, few things are, least of all, fate. Ah, but Ye Baiyi had unchanging decades to come to terms with that, perhaps he should spare the boy the heartache, unfounded as it is. “It’s not, but enough is enough. What are you crying for? Did you think it’s that easy to get rid of that pest? He should be ashamed if a little tumble is all it took.”

“Qianbei… you mean?”

Ye Baiyi heaves a pointedly tired sigh. “Yes, yes, the brat is alive. Probably holed up somewhere in that blasted valley of his.”

Qin Huaizhang’s disciple is as wide-eyed as his baby-deer disciple and if he actually starts crying, Ye Baiyi will drag Wen Kexing out of hiding kicking and screaming just to push him down the cliff again for making him witness this. He’s too old, he has little patience for the dramatics of the young, and he’s supposed to be drinking the best wine from the Yueyang area.

So before he’s pulled even further into their nonsense, Ye Baiyi turns away, back to town and his quarters where he can drink and meditate in peace and really, Qin-xiaozi, your disciple is even sillier than you.

At his back, he hears Zhou Zishu call, but his voice is lost to the waterfalls and Ye Baiyi makes no real effort to catch the words. What’s there to say? Pah, he’s already done more than his share on this, at no point did he promise to intervene on their pointless little dance. Once this is all over, that brat has better pay for all the wine in the land. And make those dumplings, too, for good measure.

iv.

Nobody told him whose wedding this is.

Considering they are in this thrice-damned place, he’s assuming it’s one of the ghosts, but Ye Baiyi figures the brat would be more annoying if it was his and Qin Huaizhang’s disciple’s. Then again, his own presence here is unfathomable, as is the insistence with which the little idiot had asked him to come. What on earth has Qin Huaizhang’s disciple told that child? Give someone an inch and they’ll take a mile, truly– now that boy is running around thinking Ye Baiyi cares about these lunatics.

“Who let him in!” Wen Kexing is screeching from somewhere, and Ye Baiyi mourns his peace as the brat approaches with his purple shadow trailing after. Had she been there this entire time? He squints. No, he would have noticed it, she’s very loud. “Old toad monster! Why are you still here? Who allowed you past the gates?”

“Who are you to tell me where to go?” He scoffs, flicking his sleeves as he crosses his arms. Nearby, a ghost hastily scurries away. “And it was your dumb disciple who begged me to be here. For what? Will there even be a banquet? And you call that decorations? That lantern is so crooked, it’s offensive!”

The purple child bristles. “Ah! And who does that silly boy think he is, inviting people to my wedding! Old man, you! Of course there’s gonna be food! Master and Luo-yi have been–”

“A-Xiang!” The brat cuts her off, closed fan tapping her forehead, as if everyone and their grandmothers don’t already know he’s been running around making preparations. What face is there to save, shameless as he is? If Ye Baiyi was a lesser man, he might have rolled his eyes. “Stop running your mouth, what is your husband going to say? And you! What crooked lantern? You’re going blind in your age!”

Still, even as he speaks, a pointed glare sends the ghosts scattering like mice, rushing to check on the decorations. Ridiculous. “No wonder the girl has no manners. What, you only know how to be polite when asking for something?”

Wen Kexing grumbles. “This one apologizes, qianbei.”

Well, that’s certainly worse. Unsettling. If even Wen Kexing starts being deferential, then what has the world come to? No, Ye Baiyi finds he’d prefer the brashness. Stupid child, what’s the point in changing his tune now? Pah. “Girl,” he says to that purple wisp of a thing, “your master is a pest. Where’s the wine?”

Baffling enough, the girl laughs, tugging at her master’s sleeves. “Master, master, Zishu-ge was right! You did make a friend!”

“What nonsense is this! Don’t you know when A-Xu is teasing? Friends! As if–”

“What rubbish have you been filling these children’s heads with?” He shakes a threatening finger in their direction. Not that it matters, considering the girl has already stepped back, giggling as she sidesteps Wen Kexing’s fan.

Leaving them to their childishness, Ye Baiyi slips out of the crowd, picking a jar of wine as he goes. The alcohol is good, burning down his throat, and he hadn’t thought he’d step foot in the Ghost Valley, not like this. Something in him will always recoil at this place, always lay the blame at the valley’s mouth, a yawning jaw that’s swallowed whole the people most precious to him with no mercy.

And yet, Changqing ah, you bastard, look at it. They’re holding a damned wedding, and here Ye Baiyi is, drinking their wine. Are you happy now? Did you become a bodhisattva yet? Fate makes fools of them all, there’s no way around it. He pours the wine over the rocks, lets it spill and run like blood. Xuan’er, did I not tell you not to climb so high? That shifu wouldn’t always be there to catch you if you slip on the ice? Ye Baiyi laughs at the memory– always clear in his mind, suspended in time, unfading, even if his sight blurs with tears– that boy, always scaring them half to death, climbing up the frozen mountainside as a child, then crying in fright once he looked down.

“Look at the mess you’ve both left me,” he says out loud, downing the rest of the wine, and the silence is never quite as loud as in the hollow space where another would speak. For so long, Ye Baiyi knew to leave room for Changqing’s teasing, for their child’s incessant questions, even Rong-furen’s tired voice. Then, nothing. “What do you have to say for yourself, hm? Typical. I’ll drink for all of us this time, then, how about it? Changqing, I’m keeping my promises, so you’d better keep yours or I’ll–”

The jar breaks where it falls from his fingers and he shakes his head as if dispelling the murky thoughts from his head. Perhaps, coming here was a mistake. The ashes have already been sent back to Changming, so what business does he have in this place? To see it closed with his own eyes? Besides, a wedding or two, a handful of people, are not worth the bloodshed creating the valley has brought, no matter what Changqing might say.

Is this a comforting story to be told later, if– by the bridge, in case–

His thoughts grind to a halt, veering off suddenly into attention to his surroundings. Someone is coming. Indeed, from his place near the entrance, Ye Baiyi can see in the distance a mob climbing up the path, silent as thieves in the night, with only a blue streak of disciples in plain sight at the front.

So much for avoiding bloodshed. Did they even wait for the dust to settle after the monks left town? And what kind of harebrained scheme is this? Has this generation been born with no brains? Such a reckless, petty move! No honor, agreeing to something and then plunging the knife behind their backs.

There is little time to curse their dishonesty, though, with their numbers fast approaching, so Ye Baiyi swipes a last look at the desolate landscape and slips back inside to sound the alarms. After all, heaven knows that little purple girl will be terribly loud if she doesn’t get her wedding, and Ye Baiyi is not looking forward to remembering what headaches feel like. Honestly, if these people would stop nearly dying for five fucking minutes–

Today, the mirror showed a new patch of white hair, faint lines at the corner of his eyes.

Time, it seems, is catching up to him.

It’s exhilarating.

The plum trees have already lost their blossoms, winter gone as swiftly as it came, the cold melting to the lingering warmth of spring. Today, he walks past blooming azaleas, purple and red radiant against the blue backdrop of the sky.

It brings him to little Qin Huaizhang standing beside Rong Xuan, trying so very hard to impress his friend’s seniors with all the desperation of youth. The poetry he had waxed about his sect’s gardens– Four Seasons Manor, blooming all year round! Ye Baiyi had found him so silly, blabbering while Rong Xuan beamed, so quick to pick the fights Rong Xuan dropped.

At the time, had he not thought history was repeating itself, if kinder? The Baiyi sword, gifted with the promise to keep his dumb disciple out of trouble? He still remembers Changqing’s face, the hypocrite. So exchanging swords for cursed books is fine, but anything else and you draw the line? At least promises were as reliable as the person making them.

Now, he has to admit, the silly boy had not been wrong– Four Seasons Manor stands in more color than Ye Baiyi had thought possible. If he’ll have time to witness all its blooms, he doesn’t know, but this spring, he’s here, and isn’t that enough?

At the gates, the young disciple lets him in without a word, bowing respectfully like his seniors have never done. Good. At the very least, those two good-for-nothing brats had the decency to forewarn their juniors of his arrival. How long has it been since Qin Huaizhang’s disciple woke up from the procedure? Aiyah, Ye Baiyi can’t remember, he had been traveling south at the time.

Well, it’s long enough to be past the need for coddling, that’s for sure. “Qin Huaizhang’s disciple, what kind of Sect Leader are you that you won’t come greet your esteemed guest?”

“Not really a Sect Leader,” comes the voice from his left as Zhou Zishu rounds into view, his silly disciple trailing faithfully after him. He looks better now, death no longer draped over his shoulders like a shroud, smiling like he found peace somewhere in the months since that disastrous wedding. “Qianbei, this one is honored to welcome you to our house. You’ve come at a good time, A-Xiang is visiting with her husband too.”

“Who’s an esteemed guest here? All I’m hearing is a bunch of freeloaders!” says Wen Kexing from somewhere inside the building, just as loud and brash as always, and following his words, the thundering footsteps of children.

Ye Baiyi snorts, shakes his head. Changqing ah, wait a little while longer, will you? I’m on my way, but I have some places to visit first. Meet me by the bridge, I’ll tell you all about it in a bit.

#woh #word of honor #yby #ye baiyi #fix it fic #shl #wen kexing #zhou zishu #gu xiang #wenzhou #ye baiyi/rong changqing #woh fanfic #woh tag #yby tag

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mamahersh · 3 years

Text

The Road to Hell (is Paved with Good Intentions)

“Season 8 was well underway, and the server’s first conflict is bubbling just under the surface. But BDoubleO can’t worry about that right now because he has an Etho to find so they can work on the Horse Course together. However when Xisuma calls a surprise server meeting on behalf of EvilXisuma, BDubs gets his answers about where Etho’s been in the worst way possible.”

(CW: angst, blood, gore) <--- later chapters, this one’s clean.

Welcome to my first attempt at Ethoslab angst! I wanted an nHo-centric fic with a heavy dose of Etho angst. I have nowhere else to post this, and fair warning I am terrible at characterizations, so everyone will probably be a bit OOC to some extent; but for sure EvilX will be very OOC in how evil he is in this one. The Rating for the later chapters is a solid M, so be warned about that. If y’all have suggestions or feedback, feel free to come and say hi! P.S. I got my inspiration for this fic from this fic over here! Give them some love too.

Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7

Chapter 1 (below the cut)

BDoubleO was worried.

Now, it wasn’t often he worried, particularly about Etho. Especially after the shenanigans from Season 5 with the nHo, and their many years of collaboration after that, he was well aware that Etho had a habit of disappearing for weeks on end. Even when he was supposed to be helping with a bit of collaboration work like the Horse Course, he was infamous for suddenly disappearing for a week, and coming back acting like nothing had happened. But even still, Etho usually left a note, or told someone about where he was going so they at least knew when to approximately expect him to show back up. This time though, Etho hadn’t even left Iskall a note, and so far this season he had made sure to at least leave a note for Iskall since they were sharing a base. (BDoubleO had asked Iskall 3 days after the last time he had seen Etho to ask if he knew where Etho was. Iskall didn’t know, though he had seen him 2 days previously puttering around their shared base as normal.) He had asked around the other Hermits, seeing if anyone had heard anything. The only one that had seen anything was Beef, who had said he had seen Etho lurking on the edges of his territory heading toward the top of BDubs’ mountain with a spyglass about a day and a half ago. Doc had mentioned that while he hadn’t seen Etho recently, he had heard that Etho had been busy in talks with Xisuma and Evil Xisuma over something. However, when BDubs questioned Xisuma, he said he hadn’t seen Etho since the last major server meeting. (It was always disconcerting when Hermits’ stories didn’t match up, as that usually meant there were shenanigans afoot. But BDubs couldn’t figure out why there would be shenanigans afoot, because this was just Etho.)

A whinny from Lulu beneath him startled BDubs out of his worries. Looking around he realized that they were already staring up at Xisuma’s lighthouse and general base area. Why were they there you might ask? (A theoretical from a theoretical, truly meta of him, aha) WELL, Xisuma had sent out a message to the server that everyone should come and gather at his base for an important something. BDubs was confused, and very concerned, that Xisuma was insisting on the meeting being in person. After all, any news could be dispensed through the Server messages, and all their bases were known, so boards could be placed at bases for Hermits to see as they came in and out. Meeting in person was never technically necessary, though it made it generally easier to talk with each other since they didn’t have to type everything out. The point stood however, that unless it was an emergency, Xisuma never called a general Hermit assembly outside of their regularly scheduled monthly meetings.

Looking around, BDubs was able to see that Beef was already there, along with most of the Boatem Crew, and surprisingly enough, the Horsehead Farms guys were there as well. Of course, Doc was on his way, and last he heard, the Big Eye crew was following up behind him since they both had been busy when the announcement had gone out. The rest of the server would be on their way because of how far out they were. (Part of BDubs wondered if those who were coming in later were the lucky ones. The rest of him wondered why he was so filled with anxiety and so certain this meeting was only going to be terrible.) Deciding nothing good would come of dwelling on the negatives, he made his way over to where Beef (who was looking more unrecognizable by the day as the alien contamination overtook him) was standing alone, seemingly keeping his eye out for someone or something.

“Hey Beef!” BDubs called out, smiling and waving as he approached. Beef looked over at the sudden shouting of his name, and instantly relaxed as he saw BDubs approaching. “Hey BDubs!” he called back, something alien layered under his normal voice. (It spoke of void and distant stars, though Tango had recently been saying it reminded him more of sulfur and brimstone). “You know anything about why Xisuma’s called this meetup?” asked Beef before BDubs could ask the question himself.

“Not a clue,” BDubs replied, allowing his concern to show through as he stood ill-at-ease beside his friend. “He just announced he had something he wanted to show or talk to us about I guess, though I can’t imagine what it could be about.” Well, BDubs had a guess or two, but none of them were generally pleasant topics of conversation, outside of some surprise announcement for the next server update to 1.18.

“Darn, I was hoping you would have heard something…” said Beef, his own unease easy to read. BDubs shrugged, looking around at the other groups of players standing outside the Lighthouse. It looked like even in the short time they had been greeting each other, the other Big Eyed Crew had arrived on his tailwind. An awkward pause settled between the two of them, both having been so tied up in their own shenanigans to really know what the other had been up to. BDubs debated bringing up the obvious, but it seemed like one of those things you don’t necessarily bring up. But then again…

“Yo Beef,” said BDubs, turning to look at Beef again. Beef startled out of his momentary reverie. “You’ve been looking pretty, uh… green recently. How’s that been treating you?”

For a moment Beef looked almost confused, before he seemed to connect the dots and snorted. “Oh yeah, it’s been treating me great, as you can see.” They both chuckled a bit at his sarcasm before he continued. “But in all seriousness, I hadn’t really been noticing it. I mean, I definitely notice that people have been giving me a wider berth this season, which hasn’t been great for business since I have a great idea for selling specialty cat food I can make on my alien ship. I haven’t personally noticed too many changes outside my appearance thus far however.” After a moment Beef said, “So how about you? How have Keralis and Tango been treating you this season?”

BDubs chuckled. “Would you believe it if I told you it’s been going great? I have a mountain already, and we have a small bay town we’re building up to serve as a shopping district for our Big Eye Crew. Plus, we got Tango to actually make his eyes big, so it’s a win all around! Though I’ve been noticing more Derpcoin sneaking into our shops…”

“Hey now, what’s wrong with Derpcoin?!” exclaimed Beef, looking vaguely offended. BDubs was startled by this, completely not expecting such an outburst from Beef of all people.

“I mean, there’s nothing necessarily wrong with it, it’s just I have no idea what the conversion rate is on the stuff, so I don’t know what people are paying in my shop for the items they’re buying,” replied BDubs. “Plus, there’s nowhere to use it.”

“But there is a place to use it! You could use it at EX’s Evil Emporium. Plus, with more people signing up for Derpcoin, it seems like a lucrative market to sell in,” countered Beef, a strange gleam in his eyes. “EX was nice enough to give me an in into his Derpcoin shopping district, so I’ll have a storefront through the Evil Emporium.”

"Evil Emporium huh?" BDubs made a considering noise. "Heard a little bit about it back when EX was doing a little sales pitch in our neck of the woods. Seems pretty fishy to me, but if you think it's a trustworthy establishment, I'll definitely give it a second look."

"Attention everyone!" called out Xisuma, suddenly standing in the center of the gathered Hermits. "Your attention please!" BDubs looked over to where X was waving everyone over. He noticed that X seemed abnormally forward, though that could be attributed to his paranoia. Afterall, X wasn’t one to cause problems! Sure he had been trying to get people on board with this Evil Emporium thing pretty hard, but X couldn’t hurt a fly even on a good day, so BDubs wondered if this wasn’t about Derpcoin.

He had been hearing from the other Big-Eyed crew that tensions between Boatem and the Derpcoin empire had been slowly escalating over the last week or so. Plus he had been hearing about more of the unaffiliated Hermits beginning to create close ties with EX’s brand, embracing Derpcoin as their main currency even! On the other hand, he’d been hearing from some of the Boatem people about how they were getting sick and tired of finding Derpcoin in their shops, and seemingly some people were beginning to refuse to pay for items with diamonds… There was a mess brewing for sure in the background this season, it just seemed like an issue that could wait till the next monthly meeting is all.

With a jolt, BDubs was brought back to the present as Doc bumped him in the shoulder. “How are you doing BDubs? Looking pretty lost in thought there, big guy.”

“Well, doing pretty good if you must ask!” BDubs puffed up with the compliment on his height, despite knowing it was more than likely meant in a sarcastic manner. Between Doc and Etho, BDubs never really could catch a break. “You just get here then?”

Doc let out a rumbly hum in agreement. “Yesss, though I have no idea why Xisuma called the meeting. Know anything?”

BDubs and Beef both shook their heads. “We’re in the dark as much as you are, it seems,” replied Beef, moving towards the other Hermits to try and get their little group to walk and talk.

“I have a theory though!” continued BDubs, leaning in to act somewhat more conspiratorially. Doc leaned in a bit more than he needed to, getting a friendly bump on the head from Beef. “See, I’m sure you’ve both heard a bit more than I have about Boatem vs the Evil Emporium. I think things might be heating up enough between the two that X might be forced to intervene soon.” BDubs rubbed the back of his neck. “Admittedly, it still seems like the kind of thing that he would bring up in the monthly meeting instead of an impromptu meeting like this.”

“Looks like we don’t have to wait long to find out in any case.” Beef gestured at the surrounding Hermits and Xisuma himself still standing at the center looking official as usual. (Though BDubs thought he looked a little dazed, but he shoved the thought aside.)

“Thank you everyone for taking time out for this meeting!” called out Xisuma, his face still disconcertingly empty. “I’ve called you together today because EX had a stream he wanted us all to watch, and I agree it is most imperative we all watch it together.”

BDubs did not like the sound of this one bit. “What’s the stream about?” called Joe from the opposite side of the crowd.

“Yeah, why’s it so important we all have to watch it?” asked Cleo from beside him. BDubs realized that those two had had to travel across the entire continent to come to the meeting, and Joe was still renouncing wings, so taking long trips was a distinct hassle. At the very least, it was far more time consuming than everyone else’s trips had been, minus potentially XB and Hypno’s trip.

Xisuma seemed to stand there taking it silently, which was not necessarily outside of the usual, but his response certainly was. “With that out of the way, I’ll get the screen set up, and then we can watch EX’s stream!” ‘That was strange,’ thought BDubs as he looked around the circle of bewildered Hermits. Normally X would try to answer questions, or at least let them know things precisely before he did them. It was incredibly out of character that he would just ignore Joe and Cleo like that… Particularly Joe and Cleo if BDubs was to be brutally honest. Those three had been closer than three peas in a pod since Season 2, and Joe and X had known each other pretty well since almost the start of Season 1. To have those two brushed off by Xisuma struck a wrong chord.

BDubs was pulled back to the present as Xisuma rapidly typed into his communicator, and a holographic screen projected just beyond the circle of Hermits behind where Cub was standing. Almost as one, the Hermits turned to look at it, curiosity overpowering any potential feelings of lingering confusion and discomfort.

Xisuma’s expression was blank as the large screen buzzed to life in front of them. However, BDubs’ watched as he seemed to come back to himself just as the static on the screen cleared and the assembled hermits gasped in disbelief and horror.

‘Well,’ thought BDubs to himself, dread rising like a wave about to swallow him whole. ‘Now we know where Etho went.’ For there on the screen, looking the worst BDubs had ever seen him, was a restrained Etho beside a seemingly gleeful EvilXisuma.

#ethoslab #etho #nho #bdouble0 #docm77 #vintagebeef #bdubs #beef #doc #hc fanfiction #hc fanfic #xisuma #evil xisuma #the hermits #hermitcraft

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