After School Special * 2026
Summary
Robert drives alone after a bothersome day of work, he relieves some stress while reminiscing about the sour past and present.
This work contains/touches upon intense topics and includes vulgar language. Viewer discretion is advised.
content warnings
- Subjects written/depicted covering child abuse (past & ongoing)
- Familial abuse and abusive/toxic romantic relationships
- Transphobia & misgendering
- General degrading and awful language from an unreliable narrator.
"EVENTVWR"
"Save selected events..."
"Open Saved Log"
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"I'm always picking up the slack of these incompetent fools! I'm truly surrounded by doltish, screwy morons!"
Robert grunted, he had just clocked out of work earlier and was driving back to his estate, he rode through the unusually empty lanes that tapered off into Suitopia. Still a long road ahead.
Robert could feel his anger seeping through his leather hide, coating his entire head red and sweaty. Robert decides to relieve his stress the only way he can, smoking.
After he turns the auto drive feature in his car on, he quickly lights himself a cigar, his favorite brand.
Every once in a while, dead trees pass by his view, Robert recalls a memory of Mr. Jinkins crashing one of Craig's golf carts into the trunk of one a while ago. If only it were that easy.
It would be, but not for Robert Cyger. It had to prove a point, if only he could forcibly strap every cogdamned suit into his car and drive it into whatever would cause the most disastrous, bloody aftermath. Robert smirks a little from this thought, exhaling a cloud of smoke after it.
I'm so done with this nonsense
Of course, Robert knows he's never done, his job continues whether he asks for or not.
Unlike a certain oaf I'm not a spinless, cowering nimrod
It may seem harsh for outsiders, but that was simply the plain truth, Saggs was a mindless coward despite being five years Robert's senior. Pathetic.
Sure, Thomas had always helped him out during dark times for the company. Thomas wasn't as moronic as the other cogs he'd had the "pleasure" of working with, but that only pissed Robert off even more.
He's always been this way.
Robert doesn't care to linger in the past, but he does for now. Savoring puffs of his cigar while the outside was enveloped in darkness, no stars sparkled in sight. Childhood is such a fickle thing.
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His upbringing wasn't the worse, but it could've been better, if his parents weren't also extremely moronic. When Robert thinks back on it, he thinks his parents intentionally planned his future to be doomed.
If it weren't obvious from his frankly embarrassing lack of a growth spurt, it was the blatant favoritism towards their eldest daughter. That didn't mean Carla was off the hook though.
Carla, Carla, Carla
Thomas, Carla, Thomas...
Those two names tossed back and forth within Robert's mind. Despite these clearly referring to different people, Robert saw it all the same. Thomas was Carla and Carla was Thomas, there was no separating the two.
When Robert was a youngster, he'd get in trouble most of the time. Maybe it was natural being unaware and naive to the world, but sometimes he never understood why and what he was being punished for, his parents certainly never cared to explain to him.
Eventually, Robert got used to the punishments, the routine grew old as they cycled through different types of consequences he faced. Rolled up newspapers, his father's golf club, mother's clothes hanger, father's belt, their bare hands. Robert learned to not question it and anticipate whenever his next beating was, it certainly helped dull the pain.
Carla however was a sensitive soul. Robert would argue he still is today, she'd start sobbing profusely at the thwack of her little brother being reprimanded. Mother and Father scolded her for crying over such a naughty boy, that it was none of her business.
"He won't even remember this, he doesn't feel pain, stop your sniffling"
Carla would attempt to stifle her sobs, but it still wasn't enough, and their parents hated that. She'd get punished too, less harshly than Robert would but they'd yell at her, sometimes roughed her up, but not enough to have to fix, she was their pet project after all.
By the end of the day, when the lights ran low and it was time for their mandatory night-time. Carla would offer Robert cuddles till they were ready to fall asleep, she'd also attempt to help patch him up if possible. Robert supposes those were nice platitudes.
Their house was considerably large, way too open for just the four of them, but Robert and Carla had to share a room. They did so until the very day Robert left this household. Privacy was off the table as they had security cameras built into the house whenever Father and Mother left home, which was most of the time.
Surrounding their manor was an elongated spiky fence, it would be too troublesome to attempt to leave. Their house was more of a prison.
Their only refuge from within their home was the garden in the backyard. Not that it was well kept or particularly impressive, it was surrounded in tall bushes with only roses growing from them. Everything in this house were different shades of grey, but the roses were nice to spectate at least.
Carla spent a lot of time out in the garden when she had nothing to do, in comparison to Robert, Mother and Father always kept her busy in preparation. She'd try to help Robert learn his fundamentals whenever she could.
Sometimes, Robert would catch a glimpse of Carla taking care of the roses with the limited gardening tools they had. Sometimes, he swore he saw Carla stab the soil continuously with a garden weeder whenever she was upset, he wasn't certain though.
Robert was a light sleeper even in his childhood, during the dead of the night, he'd toss and turn while staring at various corners of his dark room. He'd ask Carla to help put him to sleep when he was much younger, but he learned the feeling of embarrassment quickly, having to just deal with lingering in his restlessness.
He'd catch a soft creak of the door accompanied by faint foot steps that crept towards Carla's bed. It continued for a few years till Robert was a teenager, he'd learn to cover himself in his sheets and shut his eyes tight least he got caught peeking. He'd know when it stopped when he could hear faint weeping escape his sister, breaking the silence of the room till she eventually fell back to sleep.
Maybe it was better for Robert to be in the dark, better for everyone.
Robert was curious of the outside world, being sheltered away in the Saggs manor till he could drive.
Sometimes he'd have the most ridiculous idea of running away, he technically did runaway, but it wasn't unprompted, his parents seemed happier for him to leave anyways. He was simply starting a new, prosperous life, unlike his brother, Thomas ran away from his problems when it was convenient for him. As if he hadn't been served a silver platter his entire life, compared to Robert.
One day, when Robert had turned ten, if he could recall, Carla had been sent off somewhere for a bit. He didn't question it like he was supposed to, his mother just smirked and told him that Carla was going to be "fixed up". Whatever that meant, it clearly didn't work.
However, when Carla returned back to the household, something had clearly changed in her. She stopped whining and crying as much, it didn't stop permanently but the house became a lot quieter from this sudden shift.
If Carla and Thomas were completely different people, this "Carla" that returned wasn't the Carla he grew up with in his early years. This "Carla" was dull and lifeless, akin to a porcelain doll, only spoke when spoken to, it was impossible to decipher what she was feeling most of the times.
It worked well enough for their parents, they were satisfied with the new "Carla", they always did tell her that no business partner would take her seriously if she resorted to crying anytime something didn't go her way. She became a lot more agreeable, just nodding at the words coming out of their mouths. Robert would always cringe catching a glance of his parents conversations with Carla, their hands slipping and touching her frame unnaturally.
If only she weren't a spineless coward.
If their bond wasn't already growing distant in the past, Carla's mood change certainly helped accelerate it. As they grew older and further apart, Carla was getting swamped with more family business their parents dropped on her while Robert stayed out of their attention now that he was a teenager.
Robert was hatching a brilliant plan to get himself out of this hell house, if it weren't for Carla convincing their parents to let him get a license or her company during his job interviews, he'd imagine it would've taken way longer, also cause of Carla.
Working in catering was fine for his age and the time, but Robert couldn't help but feel deeply embarrassed over how his career started. What was he, a cogdamned flunky? His supervisors and coworkers may have thought he wouldn't see behind their fake smiles and compliments, that they thought lowly of him, but Robert did.
That's what his entire existence had felt like, a giant fucking gag.
Finally, a strange miracle flew his way, he'd met a certain someone during his catering gigs, Crystalline.
Crystalline was quite beautiful for Robert's standards, even now with their baggage together. She came from a well-known family manufacturing business, clearly being the "princess" of her family.
If only Robert's reminiscing of the past could be rose tinted, he doesn't remember how exactly he and Crystalline connected enough to elope off from their families. It didn't take long for the allusion of love and pleasantries to dissipate from their marriage. This was nothing though, in comparison to his parents, Robert believed it could be way worse.
Sure, Robert and Crystalline had their moments together but that was normal for any couple. Just some bickering, coldness, expensive items being thrown at each other, it wouldn't had have to result to this if Crystalline weren't such a fucking tool, playing with his heart the way she did. It seemed like a lot to have to deal with, but Robert knew they could push past these little accidents.
Robert remembers a line from Crystalline the night of their wedding day, that she needed Robert.
It's always good to be needed, it's especially good to be useful.
All that mattered was that Crystalline needed Robert and Robert needed Crystalline. That's why they've stayed together, so why can't Crystalline keep her end of the deal?
Everyone is so fucking fake, toons, cogs, managers, boss cogs, Crystalline, Thomas, Carla whoever the fuck she says she is. They're all dishonest little liars and not good ones even.
The only cog in this cog forsaken world that didn't cause Robert to strain his motherboard's nerve was his beloved, darling son, Robert Jr.
Bobby Jr was a delight that lit Robert's cold, closed off heart up. Bobby is quite intelligent for his age, he gets good grades and feedback from his teachers back in Suitopia.
Sure, his teachers do comment that Bobby has difficulties in public speaking. They also commented on how Bobby was quite reclusive compared to his fellow classmates, but that's normal for any kid, he'll grow out of it, he had to.
Bobby still has a lot to learn, but to Robert, Bobby was basically a grown up at this point. He'd wanted to ensure that his darling boy would be ready to enter the business world. It had been a bit troublesome disciplining Bobby, but it wasn't that bad. Bobby had it easy compared to Robert's upbringing.
It was also troublesome that Bobby, for his level of intellect, was still interested in childish toys. Robert couldn't say no to his precious boy's request for more plush toys, but Bobby needed to realize that he was getting too old for toys, he's turning eleven soon after all.
Life isn't easy for Bobby of course, he could tell that Bobby knew something was off about his and Crystalline's relationship, he's a smart boy. He'll understand one day why things are the way they are, why Daddy and Mommy seem to bicker all the time, why Daddy was always far from home. Bobby will be thankful for Robert's effort in parenting if he knew anything about his grandparents.
Least he raise a weak, cowardly son. Robert was not going to coddle Bobby Jr like his parents did with Thomas.
What a soft, pathetic excuse of a man
He remembered the day Thomas, no, Carla and him reunited after a few years apart. Carla had decided that she would be happier helping Robert instead of inheriting the family business. If that wasn't ridiculous enough, Carla began telling him absurd ideas of not being a woman. That she would be happier as a he, what a joke.
Robert didn't really know how to feel at the time he heard those words leave Carla's mouth, but the more he thought back on it, the more he hated his brother for being so, so selfish.
First she decides to leave and conveniently squeeze into my good side when she was given everything and now she believes she can change who she is.
It's deeply ironic in Robert's mind that despite Carla changing her name, she didn't change her last name. Thomas may be who he is referred as, but Robert will always know him as Carla, as a sister, as a mother figure, as a father figure, as an uncle, as a business partner, as a Saggs and not a Cyger.
They were never allowed to be anything other than cogs in the machine. Robert embraced that, so why can't she? She was just running away from her problems again.
Robert remembered, in an argument they had in the past, Thomas had relented that he felt guilt and shame for never sticking up for Robert, that he knows nothing can resolve it but that he was willing to repent through being his second hand man.
Robert hoped Thomas would drown in his guilt, his sentiments rang hollow and Robert was not going to be lied to.
Nothing in Carla's life would ever make up for her selfishness and cowardice.
"Thomas" is no angel, he thinks he's better than me. Well who's the one who crawled back to his parents? For what.
I've seen his dirty secrets, I know without me, he has nothing. He needs me. He needs to be useful to me.
He's no saint like he pretends he is. I've seen him putting out cigarettes on his oh so dear plants of his.
I hear him talking to himself, he's so full of it. He thinks he knows everything? He couldn't even handle the simplest job he was handed for free!
He doesn't know true hard work like I do. Nobody cogdamn appreciates all the work I did to get into this position. They're all going to regret doubting me. I'll burn all of Toontown and C.O.G.S inc if I have to prove a point.
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Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, he was approaching a familiar sight, the Cyger estate, surrounded within tall elegant fences. The gateway to the entrance opened, welcoming it's breadwinner back home.
It was way later than Robert would've liked to arrive back, Bobby must've been asleep by now. Crystalline is off doing whatever she does. Robert would have to check Bobby's room camera to make sure he hadn't evaded his curfew.
As the gates close in on Robert's car, his cellphone receives a call. It's from Thomas. Robert exhales and puts on a fake, casual voice on the phone.
"Hello brother"