#cheezy fics

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✧ Excerpt from Chapter III: Silent Promise ✧

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“So you’re saying…”

“We’re stuck out here for now.”

Varian nodded wearily in response and slumped back against the wall of the gnarled prison, careful so as not to worsen his injuries.

For the time being, his agony had dulled down to a pulsating numbness, and his eyelids began to flutter in an instinctive response to provide some sort of escape for his fatigued body.

Eugene took notice of the boy’s involuntary attempt to rest, yet a sinking feeling in his gut made him question the action.

“Kid, have you managed to get any sleep since you’ve been here?”

Varian looked back at him with glassy eyes. “Y-yeah, like…”

His expression twisted in thought as he racked his brain for an answer.

He’d been knocked out in the Demanitus chamber. He’d passed out after Cassandra had injured him inside the stronghold, then again a few minutes after he’d woken up in the suspended cage. 

He also knew that he must have fallen unconscious shortly upon discovering the incantation — seeing as how Eugene had woken him up — yet he couldn’t remember ever closing his eyes.

“...like, four times, I think?”

Eugene was taken aback. Four times?

He looked over the young alchemist in concern, taking note of the severity of his state for the first time since finding him. Varian’s eyes were glazed over, his blue-grey orbs unfocused and lined with suppressed pain. 

Despite the fact that he’d supposedly “fallen asleep” numerous times in the past day, dark circles stood out against the newly-acquired paleness of his skin.

And then, a splotch of crimson caught Eugene’s eye.

He hadn’t noticed it, at first. The colour on the end of Varian’s beige collar had blended in with the burgundy of his vest, but Eugene’s inspection had uncovered the horrific stain and now he could only stare at it, mesmerized.

Slowly, he placed one arm through a gap in the cage and pulled the boy’s collar away slightly so as to get a closer look. 

The sight that greeted him as the fabric shifted was somehow even more sickening than the blood itself.

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HELL YEAH, Chapter Three of Cracked is up! (~˘▾˘)~

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✧ Excerpt from Chapter I: Serenity of the Dawn ✧

✧ Prompt: Sleepy Morning ✧

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“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”  

He’d whispered so softly that Hugo had just barely managed to catch the words that had escaped his lips. The alchemist had had a strange expression on his face, as he’d stared out at the cerulean surface of the river before them.

What had it been, sadness? Nostalgia, perhaps? Despite his lengthy contemplation, Hugo hadn’t quite been able to decipher what it was.

The lanky blonde slowly made his way towards the water. The serenity of the scene was enough to put him at ease, and he already forgot about the visions that had haunted him less than a quarter of an hour ago.

Hugo closed his eyes, sighing in relief as the brisk wind tickled the back of his neck. He stayed like that for a while, standing on the outskirts of the river, as the stillness of the morning washed over him and cleansed his mind.

It wasn’t until he turned around to start his short trek back to the campsite that he noticed the small lump leaned against a rock not too far away. Hugo squinted, his eyes widening as he realized just what — no, who — he was looking at.

He strolled towards the rock, careful not to make any sudden noises so as not to disturb the form propped up against its hard surface. When he reached it, Hugo glanced down at the younger boy before him.

His sunken eyes were gazing out onto the open water, unwavering even as the blonde sat down next to him.

Whether Varian had known he was there all along or had only just noticed his presence, Hugo didn’t know. The pair sat there in quietude, neither acknowledging the other’s existence as they mutually relished in the tranquility of the dawn.

Finally, after several minutes, it was Varian who broke the silence.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Hugo flinched, momentarily startled by the sound of the alchemist’s voice. Then, a pause. Varian spoke again.

“Hugo…what are you doing out here?”

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✧ Fandom: Tangled the Series/Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure ✧

✧ General Tags: Angst, Whump, Major Character Death ✧

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✧ Synopsis: ✧

A series of drabbles & one shots written for Alchemy Initiative!!

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✧ Excerpt from Chapter I: My Son ✧

✧ Prompt: Father & Son ✧

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“Is he really your son?”

Throughout the years, Quirin had been asked this question so many times that he’d lost track of the exact number sometime around Varian’s seventh birthday.

Or perhaps he’d simply stopped counting. Either way, it was an inquiry that came up far too often for his liking.

The questions first started when Varian was one.

With his wife gone, Quirin had been left to raise his son alone, and the villagers of Old Corona had, in turn, left him to grieve alone. But when the initial pain finally dulled down to a somewhat manageable sadness, Quirin began to socialize more, often taking his young son along with him on his excursions into town.

He felt it immediately; the curious gazes of the townsfolk as they eyed not only him, the previously-secluded village leader who had rarely been seen since his wife’s death, but also Varian, who’d almost never been seen at all.

Quirin thought nothing of it initially; they were probably just surprised to see that he was leaving the house after so long.

Their unspoken words only came forth when he stopped by the local bakery to pick up some bread. The baker, an older man with steely grey eyes and a wispy beard, stared at the bundle in Quirin’s arms before handing him his purchase.

“Is he really your son?” The man’s voice was hesitant, his question so soft that Quirin almost hadn’t heard it at first.

There had been no ill-intent behind the baker’s words. In fact, they seemed to come from a place of both curiosity and pity; curiosity because the child hadn’t been seen since birth, and pity for the man who was left to raise him without the mother.

Quirin responded, smiling sadly as he cradled the sleeping boy in his arms, before leaving the shop.

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✧ Excerpt from Chapter IV: Portrait ✧

✧ Prompt: Lanterns ✧

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Halfway through the dinner, Quirin’s monotonous droning was interrupted by the flickering of candlelight coming from the center of the table. Four seconds later, the sudden darkness indicated that the candle’s flame had been snuffed out entirely.

Even though the natural light from the windows had now ceased to exist, seeing as how the sun had finally set, the lantern from the kitchen still provided a sliver of light for the table’s occupants.  

Varian stood up almost immediately. “I’ll get another one,” he said. The amount of melted wax — which had now started to slowly leak onto the table’s surface — proved that the candle had clearly reached the end of its lifespan.

He had only taken a mere two steps before he was stopped in his tracks by the sound of his father’s voice.

“Wait,” he started. “Not the cellar.”

Varian paused. What? But that’s the only place we keep them besides...

“My bedroom’s closer.”

Varian gaped soundlessly as his muddled mind slowly comprehended the significance of those words. 

He was allowing him inside of his room. The room that had previously been off-limits to him, the one he never dared get caught rummaging around in. The room that held the pieces of his father’s life he had only recently become privy to.

“I-I-uh, okay!” Varian stammered, nearly tripping over his own feet as he staggered towards the hallway.

“Wait, son!” Quirin called after him.

Varian skidded to a halt and nearly crashed into the nearest wall amidst his panic. Did he change his mind after all?

Quirin smiled, shaking his head at his son’s routine clumsiness. “I should have some in a drawer somewhere, check beside the bed.”

Varian could only nod mutely as he stumbled away in the direction of his father’s bedroom, all the while still in shock.

When he made it to the doorway, he had to hold his breath as he prepared to cross the threshold.

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✧ Excerpt from the one shot A Slight Detour ✧

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“Hey! I didn’t lose it,” Hugo argued, raising his arms defensively.

“What do you mean, you didn’t lose it?”

Hugo shrugged, his right hand pointing vaguely at the dark-haired child walking behind them. “I gave it to Yong for his experiment.”

“You did WHAT?!” Varian practically shrieked, unable to suppress his horrified expression.

“He said he needed something flammable, to like, test something?”

“Hugo. Are you telling me you gave Yong our only reliable map so that he could set it on fire?”

The blonde scratched the back of his head, eyebrows knitting together as he pondered the question. “I mean, at the time, I didn’t know he wanted to set it on fi—”

“DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT FLAMMABLE MEANS?”

“I thought he just wanted to test its general properties! How was I supposed to know he’d use it for his instant firecrackers?” Hugo defended.

“Because the kid’s a pyro—okay you know what, forget it! It’s fine! It’s all just fine!” Varian placed a hand to his temple, closing his eyes as he attempted to convince himself well, that this was all just fine. “It’s no problem, we’ve got this,” he muttered repeatedly.

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✧ Fandom: Tangled the Series/Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure ✧

✧ General Tags: Angst, Whump, Kidnapping, Blood & Injury, Canon-divergent/AU ✧

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✧ Synopsis: ✧

Cassandra’s Revenge but Cass takes things a bit too far— in which our boy was much more hurt than it seemed.

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✧ Excerpt from Chapter II: Our Spot by the Shore ✧

✧ Prompt: Sleepy Morning ✧

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How long had it been now?

Hugo looked out onto the tranquil water, opalescent waves crashing softly against the sand. Fleeting rays of sunlight enveloped him in their comforting warmth as the freckled blonde watched the blazing star in the sky descend. 

He’d waded into the cool water, shoes and all, not noticing — or perhaps, simply not caring about — the discomfort brought by damp clothes as they clung to lanky limbs.

He’d come here not long after it happened.

Like a sleepless corpse, he’d wandered aimlessly for hours before stumbling upon the familiar clearing. Hugo had stayed there for a while, simply staring at the melancholic scene with dulled eyes. 

He couldn’t remember ever moving, but he’d woken up the next morning curled up against a rock near the shore.

He spent countless days in that glade. 

Day after day, night after night, Hugo remained as unmoving as the rock he slept close to. His dreams were haunted by sweet memories before they were yanked out from underneath him like a rug, slivers of reality slipping their way into his visions. 

He’d wake up in a panic, arms reaching out for the ghost of something that was no longer there.

There was no comfort anymore, no loving silence, in that spot by the shore. 

Their spot.

Hugo closed his eyes, taking a few more steps as the water sloshed up to his knees now. 

He could still hear his voice, that quirky laugh reverberating within the chambers of his pained heart. The wind picked up now and with it came the soft brush of a hand against his cheek.

How long had it been by now? Days? Weeks? He didn’t know.

But as he stood there amidst the crashing waves, Hugo let the tears fall freely and he cried for the boy he never thought he’d love.

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