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lukas-clost · 2 months ago

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BD&H chapter 4

Masterpost Wattpad Quotev Ao3 ch. 3 | x | ch. 5

Summary: The monsters have been on the surface for a few years now, and even after being legally given citizenship, humans are still wary of them.

When monsters start disappearing, their dust is swept under the carpet even as the Ebott City Police Department try their best to get to the bottom of it. Then humans start disappearing and citizens revolt against what looks like retaliation. Kate, an independent, newly recruited detective, decides to take matters into her own hands when her superiors fail to make sufficient progress.

With the help of the other recruits and her new monster friends, she’ll have to find the culprit lest she lose both her job and the rights of monsterkind.

Chapter warnings: mild swearing, (and it's a bit longer than the other ones)

4. Succour Stunts

Escapes, escapades, and tiers of frustration. Also, kids say the darndest things!

I found myself standing at the back of the line in Muffet’s, my feet having led me there after brunch with my dad. As much as it was nearing lunch time, I needed some comfort food and I had quickly equated that to Muffet’s over the past week. Despite my best efforts not to, my mind wandered back to our meeting earlier and I grimaced at the disappointed look he gave me when I finally entered the bistro he had suggested.

“Hello dearie!” I started at the sound of Muffet’s cheery voice. Shaking my head, I offered her a smile and returned her greeting. “What would you like today?”

My mind drifted back to the lavender puffs I got on Friday. She had brought them to the station before her shift that morning and had left them with Felix. They were the perfect treat that eased my nerves and my muscles after another surprise training session with Alphys in the afternoon.

“Do you still have those lavender puffs?”

“Secret menu item,” she winked, two of her eyes closing briefly before ringing it up on the register and looking back at me expectantly.

“An everything bagel and the peppermint cider too, please. For here.”

She rang up my total and I paid her before looking for somewhere to sit. Being the weekend, it was a lot more crowded and I found myself sitting by the counter as I waited for my order. I placed my head on the smooth surface for a moment, my eyes drifting toward my shoes and their mismatched laces. I hadn’t even realised there was a problem until my dad frowned at the sight of them when we met.

“Did you like them?” I shot up at the sound of Muffet’s voice breaking my thoughts. She was looking at me expectantly, a non-existent line waiting for her attention.

Thinking back to the sensation of me biting into the fluffy pastry on Friday, I nodded my head with a smile on my face. “They were just what I needed, thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. Thank Papyrus.”

“Where is he anyway?” She shrugged, rolling over to attend to a customer before coming back.

“Why? Miss him already?” her eyes gained a mischievous glint to them as her lips curled upwards. I scoffed.

“No. Just seemed like a regular.”

“A regular waste of my time, maybe.” She rolled her eyes as she went to the backroom. I chuckled at her comment as I waited for her to return. In her absence, my eyes wandered back to my shoes and I tucked them onto the footrest of my seat so they would be out of sight. Taking a shaky breath in, I let the scents and the buzz of the magic atmosphere fill my lungs before swinging on the stool and surveying the café. The hum of talking customers and gentle music lulled me into serenity such that I jolted again when Muffet returned with my order.

“Thank you,” I smiled, cupping the warm mug.

Seeing as it was nearing lunch, the flow of customers slowed down enough for us to hold an actual conversation. She talked about how Flynn didn’t come by on Friday and I admitted that it may have been my fault. She only laughed in response, saying that he was just a scaredy cat before talking about another customer who she had accidentally spooked.

I finished up my order. By the time she was wrapping up her third story, a new customer came in and grabbed her attention before she could start another one. I hesitantly thanked the spiders that collected my dishes before swivelling in my chair to see who it was. She lit up as she recognised them while I struggled to recall their name.

“Hello Miss Muffet!”

“Sans! What brings you here?” I recited the name in my mind so that I wouldn’t forget what was probably Papyrus’ brother. He wasn’t in uniform this time, instead donning a grey-blue fitted shirt, cotton shorts and white sneakers.

“I’m looking for Papyrus. Have you seen him?”

Muffet shook her head. “He hasn’t stopped by yet, but I’m sure he’ll show up soon. You can wait if you want.”

He considered the offer for a moment, staring at the floor, before finally sighing and nodding his head decisively. He took the empty seat beside me before ordering a blueberry muffin.

“Oh- Pardon me,” he said, after paying and noticing me.

“No worries, Advocate.”

A light blue dusted his cheeks as he wrinkled his nose ridge. Seeing the passive magic and the bone move so easily was mesmerising at the very least, and boggling at the most. I shook myself from my thoughts so as not to be caught staring.

“Please. Just Sans is fine when I’m not on duty. Although-” He eyed me warily, his demeanour becoming more defensive. “I’m not sure we’ve met.”

“Oh! I’m Kate from the academy recruit programme. Kate the human,” I offered my hand and he eyed it warily before taking it. Guess he didn’t like jokes like Papyrus, then.

“It appears you’ve met my brother, then.”

I nodded my head in answer. “Quite the punny guy.”

“On the contrary.” He puffed out his chest and I was surprised by how much form there was to bone. “I am the magnificent punmaster .”

“Is that so?” I asked. His eye sockets narrowed as his grin became more challenging and before I knew it, we started telling puns back and forth.

We ribbed off each other, switching topics as quickly as they came until I couldn’t anymore and he easily continued without me. I was pleasantly surprised that he enjoyed puns which made me wonder why his brother didn’t seem to like them. When his food arrived, the conversation mellowed out into asking about my first week of being a recruit.

“It was okay, but I can see it getting old fast.”

“Of course! There’s only so much that you are permitted to do as a citizen, but as long as you complete the hours required of you, that should change!” He gave me an exaggerated wink and I chuckled, asking him how his training had gone.

He wrinkled his nose, but didn’t answer as his attention was directed elsewhere. I turned to see what he was looking at and waved in greeting when I noticed Papyrus. He was wearing army green cargo shorts, a black crewneck and white socks peeking out from a pair of orange crocs. He winked at me in return before removing a lollipop from his mouth when he was close enough to talk without disrupting the other patrons.

“Sup bro.”

“Papyrus, please pick up your phone.”

“Okay.” He did just that, a shit eating grin on his face as Sans just looked on with patience. When he looked at the screen of his phone, his smile fell.

“Oh. Oh shit. Sorry bro.”

Sans hummed beside me, swinging his legs on the stool. “It’s okay now. Just pick up your phone, please? Will you be making dinner tonight?”

Papyrus considered it, sticking the lollipop back into his mouth before finally nodding in answer. By this point, I was completely lost and slightly disoriented as the conversation switched to the mundane so quickly. And then Sans turned to me with a gasp, stars illuminating his sockets briefly as he spoke with sudden excitement.

“Oh, Kate! You should come over for dinner sometime!”

“O-kay?” I was still kind of reeling, not that I could say no to an invitation like that. Free food was always nice, and the prospect of making monster friends was exciting, if not a bit nerve wracking. I considered the outfits I had in my closet. Dinner at someone’s house wasn’t that formal, right?

“Excellent! We shall commemorate the beginning of a magnificent friendship through an equally magnificent meal, mweh heh!” He had a similar excited look as when he first introduced himself on Monday with the same infectious excitement. I found myself giggling as he buzzed with excitement over the dinner plans.

“Alright. Thank you, Miss Muffet.” He placed a tip inside her overflowing tip jar. Did she just not clear it out or was it a daily occurrence to fill up like that?

“Brother.” He gave him a nod, Papyrus giving him a mock salute in response before turning to me and taking my hand in another handshake.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Kate!”

I replied in kind and he left the establishment, Papyrus taking his now vacant seat. He asked for an everything bagel with his honey. When she asked whether he would pay, he just winked and said eventually. I considered leaving, having already stayed in the little café for more than what I had originally planned—although, coming here was never actually part of the plan—but then Papyrus turned to me and grinned, and I figured I could stay for a little longer.

“You guys are quite the punny duo,” I commented, swinging on my seat with my own smile on my face.

“What can I say? Humerus in our blood,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders. I still couldn’t tell whether he actually didn’t like puns or was messing with me, but I chuckled all the same.

“Thanks for the recommendation on Wednesday.”

“Oh yeah. How were they?” He spoke with the lolly in his mouth, moving it around every few seconds.

“They were puff-ect,” I grinned. He snorted, but still gave me a disappointed shake of his head. A couple of spiders brought his food, wrapped in pastry paper to go, and I figured it was about time I should be leaving too.

Collecting my purse, I bid him and Muffet a nice day as a notification buzzed on his phone. They both returned the gesture, Papyrus responding to whoever it was. I briefly wondered how it worked before shaking my head and leaving the place. It was another warm day and I basked in the sunshine outside the café for a moment, pleased that I had decided to come here. Just as I was about to start for the bus stop, Papyrus came out and called for me. I turned in answer and waited as he typed quickly on his phone before shoving it in one of the pockets of his shorts.

“You said you like pranks, right?”

“In good taste, sure,” I replied, an amused smile on my face. A smirk grew on his skeletal features.

“Enough to join a prank war?” A surprised laugh escaped me at the notion, but when my laughter subsided and he was still looking at me expectantly, I realised he wasn’t joking.

“A prank war?” I crossed my arms and shifted my weight to one side, still looking amused.

He bobbed his head in answer, his smile only growing. “You free this afternoon?”

I shook my head; he was completely serious about this, huh? “Yeah. Who would we be fighting?”

“My protégé.”

“You have one?” That caught me off guard. I wondered what he would even be teaching before realising that I barely knew this guy past his name and his penchant for jokes. I frowned at the thought, thinking back to the decision I had made earlier on in the week.

“Yep,” he said, bringing me out of my musings. “And they think they can beat the legendary prank master.”

“A bold claim,” I responded, shifting my weight again. “And an even bolder protégé if it’s true.”

He bobbed his head again, taking out his phone and typing something quickly again. “So, you coming?”

I considered the offer. It could be fun, and it wasn’t like I had much planned after all. The wind ruffled my hair that I had removed from their cornrows for the occasion. I was reminded that I needed to make a hair appointment, reminded that I wanted to be home and in pyjamas, binge some anime or other, but his easy grin and casual attire also reminded me that I didn’t know him all that well and I wanted to change that.

I mentally backtracked, realising that that was plenty of reason not to go pranking someone I barely knew with someone I barely knew. But I couldn’t deny how enticing being in a prank war was, and if he asked, then there couldn’t actually be anything odd about this whole situation. Right?

I shook my head again, as if to dispel any doubt in the decision I was making. “Okay. Guess I’m joining a prank war, then.”

He looked up from his phone with a lazy grin on his face. He removed the lolly from his mouth as he spoke. “Nice. Our ride’s just about here.” He pointed to a boxy, light blue car with white details and no roof slowing to a stop in front of the café. Inside was a robot of similar colours on the passenger side and an exhausted looking anthropomorphic blue rabbit monster at the steering wheel. The robot rose from their seat, white hair shifting in the breeze underneath a blue cap.

“Get in, losers, we’re going pranking!”

I laughed. There was no way this was actually happening. Even as I sat at the backseat in a state of blissful delirium, radio blasting unfamiliar music and the wind tangling my hair as we sped down the roads of Ebott City, I could not believe this was actually happening.

“Who’s the chick?” The robot asked, having resurfaced from a soft conversation with the rabbit monster. He was twisted around his seat to look back at us, his gloved hand gripping the back of the seat as his eyes whizzed over my form suspiciously. I became more aware of the green bodycon dress I was wearing and started wondering whether it was prank war efficient.

“Kate. She’s our wildcard.” Is that why I was invited?

The robot considered me through their white bangs for a moment before giving his full attention to Papyrus. “Well, we might actually need one. Happi’s telling me Alphys is babysitting.”

“Shit.” While it seemed like information that was supposed to worry them, neither of them looked perturbed in the slightest. They both held smirks on their faces and playful glints in their eyes, while I started panicking internally. There was no way I was about to prank someone who could easily avenge herself the next time we trained. My Friday sores started throbbing at the thought of her being more merciless.

“Right?” The robot continued, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Whatever happened to good ol’ Knighty?”

“Kid’s been saying Tori’s busier,” Papyrus replied, getting another lollipop from his shorts’ pocket. He offered me one, but I shook my head politely.

“What’s that got to do with anything?” He shrugged and the conversation died, the robot still facing us but not looking at us.

In the silence, I asked for the details of who we were pranking. The robot started out of their stupor, scowling at me before facing the front. I frowned before Papyrus’ chuckles drew my attention to him, looking for an answer.

“Chara.”

The name rang a bell and I realised that I had seen it multiple times in the paper; it was the name of the monster-human ambassador, the saviour of monsterkind. I also realised that that must be his protégé and my eyes widened in shock. Papyrus snickered at my reaction.

“Yup.”

At the sudden slowing down of the car, I looked around myself to see we were in a residential area. I leaned out of my seat in wonder when my eyes caught sight of some of the houses. In contrast to the uniform, modern look the inner city had, these houses were all unique and held a certain whimsy to them that reminded me of Muffet’s. I gazed in awe at the twin houses leaning towards each other, neither touching nor falling, and the yellow two storey with blue details that seemed to imitate a face. They all had bright green front lawns decorated with what I assumed to be the owner’s personal touches, and a scattering of various types of flowers either by the windowsills or growing wild on the grass. It was a nice break from the monotony of the city and as we had driven closer to the mountain, the view was breathtaking and the air crisp. The whole place felt alive with magic and I felt myself getting excited at the prospect of dinner with Papyrus and Sans if they lived around here.

We neared what looked like an estate and I had to consciously refrain from dropping my jaw in awe. Past a gilded gate guarded by a pair of monsters, was a long driveway that led to a large cream coloured house. It didn’t reach for the skies as I would assume a building in this type of space would do, but instead sat modestly on top of a slight incline where it could still clearly be seen. The rest of the compound was decorated with an abundance of plants all meticulously taken care of, with a few bushes shaped as various monsters or the insignia of monsterkind. I realised with mild horror, as I studied a particularly regal looking goat topiary, that the owner, ‘Tori,’ was the former Queen Toriel Dreemurr of the Underground, and we were about to prank her ward.

At her house.

Maybe it had been a bad idea to come here after all.

The car stopped at the closest house to the estate, still a fair way away from it before the robot turned in his seat again. He started talking to Papyrus as I started the tedious process of making my hair look more presentable.

“Okay, so what’s the new plan? Cause we can’t put Alphy to sleep like Knight Knight.”

“Easy,” he replied, removing the lollipop from his mouth. “We use a distraction.”

The robot turned to me with a smirk that had me preferring their annoyed dismissal, and I started seriously regretting my decision to join them. Papyrus chuckled beside me and I shot him an exasperated look. He explained the plan vaguely, saying how everything would be pretty much the same, except instead of putting the babysitter to bed, we would have to distract her and include her in the final play. I tried asking what that would entail, but the robot—who I learned to be called Entity—brushed me off and had us driven to the gate.

I glared at the back of his head as we were immediately stopped by the guards, an anthropomorphic cat and alligator duo dressed in similar—and stylish—guard uniforms. They stood in front of the car, one on either side, before they addressed the driver.

“State your business,” the alligator started.

“Or like, we won’t let you in,” the cat continued.

“Wait- Catty? Is that who I think it is?”

The cat monster—Catty—squinted toward the front seats before gasping dramatically. “OMG! Bratty! I think it is!”

The rabbit monster in the driver’s seat bristled uncomfortably, their ears drooping further down their face, while Papyrus and Entity chuckled.

“Burgerpants! You should have told us you would stop by!”

“Seriously! We would have like, totally cancelled on Alphys if we knew you were coming.”

The rabbit—Burgerpants—sighed before smiling softly. “Ladies, hey. Nice weather we’re having, right?.”

“Um, I guess?”

“If you like, like the sun,” Catty giggled.

“Ha! Yeah…” He fidgeted in his seat, Entity shaking with laughter. I narrowed my eyes at the back of his head, deciding then that I didn’t like the douchebag and hoping he would short circuit.

“Did you like, wanna hang out or something?” Catty asked, leaning on the car.

“Or like, actually get inside?” The alligator monster—Bratty—followed suit, cocking her head to the side in question.

“Girls, girls. You’re making my friend here uncomfortable.” Entity took charge of the conversation, a charming smile on his face as the monster duo turned their attention to him.

“State your business,” Bratty said, her face shifting to boredom as she pushed away from the car.

“And like, be quick about it?” Catty followed suit, moving her attention to her claws. He deflated slightly, making Papyrus snort loudly which made the duo turn their attention to him.

“Are you here to tutor Asriel, Papyrus?” Catty cocked her head to the side in question. My brows furrowed at the unfamiliar name. I thought we were here for Chara?

“Heh, yeah,” he replied, stifling the rest of his laughter.

“Well, you should have said so earlier!”

“Like, way earlier.” Bratty exaggerated the ‘way,’ making it way longer than it needed to be.

“Yeah. Before we had to talk to the tin can.” Catty made a gesture toward Entity who bristled in outrage but didn’t say anything. Papyrus shrugged and, getting no other response, the monster duo went to open the gate.

We drove through, Papyrus shaking with laughter the entire ride up to the house while I tried to wrap my head around what just happened. The car was parked at the top of the circular driveway and I barely had any time to admire the house from up front before Entity was moving.

“Okay, babe,” he started, swinging himself over the door of the car. I would have been impressed had he not been referring to me that way. “Just follow my lead, and we’ll be fine.”

I stepped out of the car warily after an encouraging nod from Papyrus, leaving my purse behind. Falling in step behind his quickly moving frame, I tried calling for his attention. He whipped his head back at me, white locks of hair shifting in the wind while an amused expression fell on his face.

“What’s the plan?”

“Just follow my lead.”

“No way. If Alphys is in there, I am not going in unprepared.”

“You know Alphys,” he said instead, his face lighting in what looked like the formation of an idea. I hesitated in my response, not trusting what was going through his head. He finally grinned at me before ringing the doorbell, and I wondered if I could get away with ‘accidentally’ pouring water on him.

He considered me for a second before the door swung open to reveal an annoyed looking Alphys. She donned blue jeans and a black tank, her muscles bulging as she crossed her arms, surveying us with disapproval.

“Entity? What are you doing here?” He beamed at her in response, but she didn’t return the greeting and instead shifted her focus to me, where she glared at me.

“You? What are you doing here?”

“I was, I mean, we were um… uh…” He struggled to find an excuse, his speech becoming awfully robotic as I gazed at him in horror, wondering whether he was actually malfunctioning. It took Alphys watching him in boredom to realise that he was just bad at improv and distracting her would have to be my job.

“We were in the neighbourhood!” I started, gaining her attention and stopping Entity from blowing the whole plan before it even began. “And he said he wanted to visit Chara.”

“We? Both of you?” She looked between the both of us, doubt evident on her face. Entity nodded enthusiastically as I tried not to scream at how easily this was going wrong.

“Right. Well, I have strict instructions not to—”

She was interrupted by someone in the house asking who was at the door. An annoyed expression flashed across her face before she shouted back a response, saying no one was here. She turned back to us, mouth agape to finish what she had been saying, before a figure squeezed past her, another annoyed expression settling on her face as she shut her mouth.

“Entity!” I watched as the face I had seen multiple times in the news brightened before my very eyes, their rosy cheeks and warm, brown eyes glowing in the summer light.

“Hey, little dude.” He lowered his right arm for a high five that Chara still had to jump for, but they were laughing the entire time.

“Well, come in,” they said, opening the door wider. Alphys sighed heavily before grumbling some choice words under her breath and moving aside for us.

Despite the house appearing modest on the outside, it was massive on the inside; an illusion that may have been the works of magic. I stumbled back in surprise, right into Entity who caught me like the love interest would in a romcom. He flashed me another grin as he helped me stand upright and I reluctantly followed after him, a scowl forming on my face. Alphys led us past what felt like a maze of carpeted corridors and wooden doors and another figure joined our party as we trekked.

“Entity!” They barrelled into the robot who swung them around. A soft smile formed on my face at the sight before they turned to me and immediately started apologising for their rudeness.

“It’s okay,” I cried, trying to stop the cute goat monster from upsetting themselves.

He stuck out his paw, a bashful expression blooming on his face. “I’m Asriel.”

“Kate,” I smiled, shaking his hand firmly and noting that this was Papyrus’ tutee.

“Are you done being boring, Azzy?”

“Chara…”

“Just saying,” they shrugged as Asriel moved to walk beside them. Their bickering and banter reminded me of my brother, and my smile fell as I thought back to when we were younger.

It wasn’t long before we reached the living room, another spacious area with a plush couch, and three chairs, one of which looked well used and comfortable. A small TV hung above a fireplace where framed pictures sat on the stone mantel. On either side, a bookcase stood, holding a mixture of books, DVDs and more pictures. Alphys took a heavy seat on one of the chairs, shooting us a glare as Entity sat on the only available couch, the kids moving to sit on either side of him. I took the other chair that wasn’t as well used, moving the cushion onto my lap as I surveyed the room.

Chara and Asriel were vying for Entity’s attention, the robot stretching out his arms so they could coddle the both of them. I raised my eyebrows in surprise before shifting to Alphys. She was watching their interaction like a hawk, a heavy glower on her face. If this was who we were supposed to distract, and Entity was going to keep fumbling about, I’d have to figure out how to distract her myself.

“I like your shoelaces,” Asriel said, breaking me from my thoughts. I glanced down at the mismatched laces that made my dad frown earlier in the day and forced back the memory in favour of grinning back at him.

“Thanks. I stole them from the president.”

All sets of eyes whipped towards me in various stages of disbelief. Alphys looked like she was wondering whether she should arrest me, Entity had a curious look on his face, while the kids looked more awed than anything else.

“It was a joke,” I explained, when no one seemed to get it.

“What are you again?” Chara asked. I raised my brows, unsure if they were being rude or not.

“They mean what your job is,” Asriel explained, catching the offense on my face.

“Oh. I’m a detective in training at Ebott Central,” I shrugged. They shared a look that had Alphys watching them suspiciously.

“That’s so cool!” Asriel exclaimed, moving to sit on the carpeted floor in front of me. I laughed awkwardly as he bombarded me with questions that I tried to answer. Chara moved beside him, leaving a disgruntled Entity to watch our interaction petulantly.

“That means you read the news, right?” they asked, and Asriel reiterated, saying that I must.

“Sure?” They cocked their head at me curiously, their rosy cheeks swelling as they smiled.

“You should read conspiracy blogs. They’re interesting.” Asriel nodded his head beside them before Alphys picked them up by the collars of their sweaters and placed them back beside Entity.

“Alright, nerds. No conspiracy talk while I’m around.” Chara stuck their tongue out in response while Asriel apologised, but they went back to gushing over Entity as if nothing happened. I shrugged; kids can be weird sometimes so I paid the encounter no mind as I listened to Asriel try to convince Entity to have him on his podcast. The comfort that befell the room as they chatted amongst each other had a question coming out of me before I could really think about it.

“How do you guys all know each other?”

It wasn’t directed to anyone and I thought it had come out far too quiet for anyone to actually hear over the ridiculous radio show host voice Entity was speaking in, but Alphys surprised me by glancing in my direction.

“Tight knit community,” she eventually grunted. I gazed at her as she watched the siblings dangle from Mettaton’s arms, waiting for a longer explanation. Her eyes softened before turning to me.

“We only had each other back in the Underground. It was important that we knew and cared for each other. Even more so now.” Her gaze drifted to the ceiling in thought as I considered her words. The monsters were free now, but I supposed for them, it didn’t always feel like it. I frowned at the thought before she jumped from her seat, gaining everyone’s attention.

“I’m gonna grab a drink. Does Tori have any sodas?” Asriel answered in the affirmative before giving his attention back to Entity. “Want anything?” She asked as she turned to leave. I shook my head politely before Entity cried out.

“Kate can get it!”

“I don’t even—”

“Kate! I mean, Alphys! You should um…” I mentally facepalmed at how obvious he was being with his robotic voice and stuttering, but all Alphys seemed to be doing was watching him expectantly while the kids continued to swing on his arms. I spoke up before he could dig a grave for us.

“I’ll go get it,” I said, getting up from my seat and gaining Alphys’ attention. I was quick to find some excuse that should convince her to let me go. “You and I both know I could do with the workout.”

She reluctantly fell back into her seat with a snort before I left the room in search of the kitchen, wandering the halls in the general direction of where I thought it might be.

“I love your dress.”

I jumped at the voice, whipping around in search of the source. I shivered when I didn’t see anything, changing course and walking carefully to avoid it. My eyes whizzed around the walls and doors that I passed, hoping I’d catch the owner of the voice before they could jump out at me.

“You’re going the wrong way.” I flinched when the voice returned, searching the hall but still not finding the body attached to it.

“Who’s there?” I eventually asked, taking on an awkward fighting stance in case I was dealing with a weirdly helpful intruder. I stepped back in shock as a ghost, faintly pink in colour, materialised in front of me.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” they said, fading from view with an upset look on their face.

“Right,” I said, relaxing my stance. “Do you know where the kitchen is?”

I barely made out a nod from their almost transparent form. When they didn’t do anything further I asked if they could show me and they started floating in a direction that I followed.

“I’ve never seen a pink ghost before,” I commented when we had walked in silence for a bit. Although, when I thought about it, I’d technically never seen a real ghost period. I didn’t even notice they had disappeared until I reached a crossroads in the hall. I swore under my breath, both at the disappearance of the ghost and the weird layout of the house.

“Uh… friendly ghost?” I started, looking down both sides of the hall and not recognising any of the decorations. “I meant it as a compliment; I love pink.”

They materialised immediately with an excited expression on their face and I smiled softly at the sight. “Really? P-pink is my favourite colour.”

“Literally same!” I grinned and they followed suit, swaying side to side in excitement. They led me the rest of the short distance to the kitchen, telling me how they finally met someone who understood the important role that pink played in the colour spectrum.

“Thank you,” I said by the kitchen door.

“Happi,” they said. “My name is Happstablook,” they explained when I cocked my head to the side in confusion.

“Nice to meet you, Happi.”

“I’m glad I met you, Kate,” they said before disappearing.

I smiled as I walked into the kitchen before halting, wondering how they knew my name. Shrugging it off, I moved toward the fridge before pausing again at the sight of Papyrus leaning over the island. So the prank did have something to do with the kitchen after all.

“Hey Papyrus,” I said, resuming my trek to the fridge. He glanced up at me before returning to whatever he was working on. Resurfacing with a lemon soda in hand, I walked over to see what he was doing, my head cocking to the side in curiosity when I took note of the pie he was hunched over.

“You’re gonna pie them?” I asked, almost incredulously.

“You can’t beat the classics,” he replied, a smirk on his face as he continued fiddling with the pie. “How’s Alph doing?”

“Sufficiently distracted,” I replied. “Entity sent me to grab her a soda.”

He nodded in understanding and I turned to leave, figuring I’d probably taken a lot longer to get the soda than I should have. Convincing myself that giving someone a face full of pie was more complicated than first assumed, I returned to the living room with the soda in hand.

“Took you long enough,” she said when I gave it to her. I shrugged in response, flopping back onto the seat I had been on as a cartoon played on the TV. I had started dosing off when Entity exclaimed loudly how he would love some pie right now, waking me up enough to roll my eyes at how obvious he was being again.

It seemed to work as Asriel suggested they get some pie that his mom had made earlier. They filed out of the room, Alphys trailing behind the kids reluctantly as Entity and I hung back. He shot me a weak grin as I watched them enter the kitchen. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, before he spoke up.

“Not bad.”

“Thanks?” I furrowed my brows in confusion, my uncertainty growing as I watched him turn in the general direction of where I thought the front door was.

“Where are you going?”

“Out. Not really up to seeing the results.” My brows furrowed further before panic settled in my mind.

“Where am I supposed to go, then?” I asked, the panic seeping into my voice at the realisation that Alphys could quite potentially kill me if she knew I was involved.

“Rus’ll be around for pictures,” he shrugged. “He probably knows a shortcut out of here.” He saluted before leaving me—and the house—to face the consequences of joining a prank war.

“Where’d the tin can go?” I whirled around at the voice of Alphys, schooling my face so she wouldn’t pick up on my panic.

“Bathroom,” I blurted. She raised her brow, but didn’t question it before leaning against the wall in front of me.

“Shouldn’t you be making sure they don’t make a mess, or something?” I asked, trying to create an opening for me to look for Papyrus.

“In a second. I wanted to tell you that I’m glad I get to train someone like you. You kinda remind me of Sans.”

She was looking at me softly, well, as softly as her scaled skin would allow, and I couldn’t help but return the expression. I didn’t know how similar I was to Sans aside from the love of puns, but it was heart-warming to hear that from someone who so easily kicked my ass every other day.

“Don’t let it get to your head,” she said, patting my shoulder before going back into the kitchen. I cringed at the reminder of the pie waiting for them before turning around and looking for the exit.

“Wrong way.”

I sighed in relief as I realised who it was, spinning on the spot until the ghost appeared. “Happi! Thank goodness! Have you seen Papyrus?”

“I think I saw him by the kitchen window. You should hurry before—”

A loud splat was heard in the direction of the kitchen and I winced at the sudden silence that pervaded the house.

“Oh no.” They disappeared immediately and I had the sudden wish to become a ghost too as I took off in search of the front door. After remembering I had been going in the wrong direction, I found it as a roar sounded in the house.

Sprinting—as much as I could wearing the long dress, at least—outside, I started searching for Papyrus, taking note that the blue car was no longer in the driveway and I genuinely may have been left behind. In a state of panic, I ran in the general direction of where the kitchen window might be. Turning a corner, I bumped into Papyrus who caught my arm before I fell.

“You’re still here?” he asked, a surprised look on his face.

I nodded my head frantically, grabbing his arm and leading him to the gate. “Entity left, Happi’s probably fine? And we need to get out of here before Alphys finds us,” I explained in a rush, pulling his frame that was a lot heavier than it looked. He was slowly walking after me, letting gravity pull him forward more than anything and I wanted to scream in frustration.

“Come on! We don’t—”

“Papyrus!”

My blood ran cold at the sound of Alphys’ bellow. She stood at the front door, upper body covered in pie guts as a deathly scowl rested on her face. Papyrus snickered beside me, taking a picture with his phone, and I almost started crying in exasperation. I tugged on his arm harder, forcing him to keep moving toward the gate no matter how futile it felt.

He stopped in his tracks, jolting me from my forward momentum and I turned to him impatiently. He tugged his arm from my grip, a lazy smile on his face and I wondered how he could be so damn calm in a situation like this.

“I know a shortcut,” he said, gesturing vaguely with his now free hand. He outstretched his right arm, an invitation to take his hand, but I hesitated. The gate was so close that I was sure that if we just kept going, Alphys couldn’t chase after us, not with good conscious, anyway.

“Trust me,” he said, his hand still outstretched and his smile growing.

By all means, I didn’t. Not when there was no obvious shortcut in sight, not when he hadn’t told me what the plan was earlier, not when this could be another elaborate way to get another prank in before the day was out, but the steady pounding of Alphys’ approach reminded me that I didn’t have much of a choice. I took his hand and he grinned before everything went black.

I felt like I was being stretched and squashed simultaneously. Taking in breath was inconceivable as an overwhelming presence pressed in on me from all sides. I couldn’t see anything, I couldn’t move, I could barely even wrap my head around what was happening.

And then there was light and sound and I gulped in air greedily, as if I had just been submerged in water. After a few gasps, the familiar sensations of Muffet’s surrounded me, and said owner was looking at me with a concerned expression. The room tipped as I stood up straight and I grasped at the counter to steady myself. Papyrus had a smirk on his face and I would have strangled him had he not spirited us away from a furious Alphys.

A breathless laugh escaped me as I realised that we were in Muffet’s. Muffet’s. Oh-so-far away from the former Queen of the Underground’s house and Alphys’ rage. At the thought, my stomach flipped and I rushed to the bathroom to get rid of everything I had eaten before the excursion.

I flopped onto the seat beside Papyrus when I came back, his form shaking in what I suspected to be laughter. A glass of water slid in front of me and I thanked Muffet before taking a ginger sip.

“Some shortcut,” I croaked out after a few sips. I heard his snickers and despite everything, I found myself laughing with him.

“Oh man, if I had known you had a trick up your sleeve,” I managed to say in between laughs. “You’ve gotta at least show me the pics you took after that stunt.”

He obliged, whipping out his phone with snickers as he opened his gallery. I was shown an increasingly funny series of pictures of Alphys, Chara and Asriel in varying stages of getting pied. I snickered at a particularly good shot of the moment just before the pie splattered over them, their faces all slack in surprise.

“Dearies, do you mind leaving so I can close up shop?” My head snapped up at Muffet’s exasperated voice. She was wiping a mug and I vaguely noticed how empty the place had become since we arrived. Reaching for my purse to check the time on my phone, my eyes widened as I realised I didn’t have it.

“Looking for something?” Papyrus asked as I patted myself down in some false hope that it had somehow attached itself to my body. I glanced at him and was immediately relieved to find my purse in his hand.

“Thank you!” I said, as he handed it to me. He shrugged in response as I made sure everything was inside. Grimacing at the time on my phone, I stood up to leave, prompted by the glare Muffet was sending in our direction.

I waved goodbye to the pair of them before stepping out into the warm sunlight, sore body revelling in its rays. Walking to the closest bus stop, I found myself really looking forward to the friendship dinner, ignoring the dread that came with the realisation that I would see Alphys pretty soon.

Masterpost Wattpad Quotev Ao3 ch. 3 | x | ch. 5

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dead-girl-prolific · 9 months ago

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Ticci Toby + Personality Disorders and Mood Disorders

this is based off of @necroromantics post, i felt very inspired to share my thoughts on it, although it took me about 3-4 days to get done i had a lot of fun!

this is mainly about BPD and ASPD(one mention because i don't know a lot about ASPD as a whole) as far as personality disorders go, i know the most about those when it comes to personality disorders. out of mood disorders, to stay relevant to the original post it'll just be the two types of Bipolar disorder.

I chose these three disorders as my topic because they are the most common headcanon for his character(and my headcanons).

PSA:

SOME OF THIS INFORMATION COULD BE OUTDATED, i haven't researched Bipolar in 2-3 years so if anything is wrong i'd like to address the fact that i am NOT a professional! also some/most of this is personal experiences and researches i've done!

now that that's out of the way. let's start rambling!

What is bipolar disorder?

From someone whos lived with both parents struggling with BD (Bipolar Disorder) (my mom shows heavy signs of it, but is not diagnosed, my dad is) it is very much possible i could have it too, but both BPD and BD have a lot in common but are still very different (symptoms). They both have severe mood swings, They share some symptoms, such as depression and impulsive behavior. The main thing that separates them is that BPD is a Personality disorder and Bipolar is a Behavioral Mood Disorder. BD is characterized by periods of extreme highs and lows, known as manic and depressive episodes. BPD affects how individuals perceive and interact with the world around them.

They are very hard to differentiate in a patient and people usually get misdiagnosed, the symptoms are VERY similar which is why it isn’t common to diagnose minors. (it’s not impossible to be diagnosed with both as a minor.) (this is what my doctors have shared with me)

a little tangent- my dad was diagnosed with BD at a very young age (i’d say 12 or/to 16) and it was only diagnosed because he had several…”episodes” (he broke several laws and maybe/probably committed a few felonies.) i don’t know much about my dad’s past, but from what my grandpa and him have told me he’s been bailed out of jail/juvie a lot. He was not medicated because he didn’t like what the medications did to him, so that’s probably why he was so “EXTREME”.

His episodes lasted for a while sometimes 3-4 months or less, but my episodes (i have BPD) can last a few months as well(but around 2-3 months), because of clinical depression(major depressive episodes) which is a huge symptom of BPD, the longest episode i’ve had was maybe two and a half months and it happens a lot about once-twice a year, with no rhyme or reason. i'm looking into getting diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder because i have a lot of symptoms that concern me, but it's possible i was misdiagnosed with BPD(i doubt it because of the symptoms i experience) it is very much possible i could have both, which is why i need to figure it out, it's dangerous for me to not be medicated properly.

Does Toby canonically have bipolar?

If you don’t know enough about something (BD) you shouldn’t create a character with said things (BD) or at least do research before. In my opinion Toby has a personality disorder, although I cannot quite pinpoint which. If i could psycho-analyze (it’s been a while since i’ve taken a full blown look at the entirety of the character.) he most likely struggles with Bipolar but it was misdiagnosed with BPD he also shows some symptoms and traits of someone with ASPD. TECHNICALLY he has canonical BPD through his behavior, but the creator of his character "misdiagnosed" him and gave him Bipolar disorder, but it's totally okay to headcanon him with something else (or something more "fitting") or just projecting, all of it is fine to some extent.

Do you headcanon Toby to have bipolar?(or a personality disorder)

Yes, to put it simply he has potential to be a multi-faceted character, and I know a lot of people like to project onto creepypasta characters in general, as a coping skill. Toby is also “canonically” “Bipolar” i use both of those terms loosely. As someone with (possible) Bipolar and has lived around those with Bipolar I’d be open to writing his character with Bipolar, as an informed writer I would prefer people to at least do research on the subject before making assumptions on how the character would behave/think. Overall if the character’s experience is written well I wouldn't mind reading it. I do not condone misinformation, but i do condone learning about it for a passion project such as writing. As someone who hasn’t struggled with ASPD i don’t necessarily feel comfortable writing it but if i did a decent amount of research for the character and the disorder it could change my mind as long as i get outsider viewpoints.

How to properly write Toby with bipolar?

do not romanticize it not getting treated, as someone who struggles with a disorder not getting treated, it is definitely damaging to my mental and physical health. so writing for a character who isn't being treated for something is something i'm a bit iffy on- but if you do research and don't go overboard, it could end up being really good for awareness.

(i headcanon that he was originally on medication but he didn't take into account the fact that he needs his medications, so he basically fucked himself over and regrets it (subconsciously) after a manic episode of course)

there is an author(s) who does a really good job writing his character with Bipolar/BPD if you are interested in reading their work dm me!/inbox me!

maybe write about how his work relationships would be impacted, and how his friendships would be, his romantic relationships all of it, don't just focus on "ooo i'm mentally ill" it would not only affect him but it would also impact those around him by whether or not they know about his Bipolar disorder and if they know hes having an episode.

it would probably, a few times, get him caught by the law given the fact that people with bipolar are very indecisive and it would mostly be chalked up to him being like "this is wrong, i don't want to do this anymore" to "ARSON!!!" (bad analogy but you get it) his emotions and feelings on the matter of is job would fluctuate all the time, even while he's on the job. it leads him to be erratic and spontaneous. he isn't a very reliable partner, which is why he probably only goes on single missions.

i feel like if he were to be medicated it would be at the expense of Tim's medications since toby can't get his hands on other medications that are used for mood swings and such.

What do manic episodes look like? How would they effect Toby?

"Manic episodes are very intense highs in mood and energy. Despite what people say, real manic episodes are only experienced in people with bipolar disorder" @necroromantics

this is true, as someone with BPD, my "manic" episodes depend on someone that is my FP (favorite person) and when i am not having a "high" of energy i'm usually numb and my "manic" episodes are usually only an hour long or the amount of time that i am with my FP. BPD cannot get Manic.

although there are two branches of Bipolar, Bipolar 1 which is characterized as many manic episodes and less depressive episodes but Bipolar 2 is characterized as many major depressive episodes, that usually last a lot longer than the manic episodes. (this is worded as simply)

"A very real danger of manic episodes is that some people experience co-occurring psychosis alongside their episodes, such as delusions and hallucinations." @necroromantics

another thing Toby struggles with is hallucinations of his deceased sister Lyra.

"These highs can also lead to dangerous acts due to the recklessness and lack of proper judgement on whats safe/smart in that moment. There is also hypomania, which is a lesser, more mild form of mania." @necroromantics

you are mixing up both Bipolars... they are separated (from the studies i've done/researched)

Manic Episodes-

it would all depend on how exactly he feels/ the situation and how the writer decides to portray that. (if the writer is properly informed of course)

What do depressive episodes look like? How would they effect Toby?

"They typically last longer than manic episodes, usually about 1+ months." @necroromantics

this depends on whether or not it's Bipolar 1 or Bipolar 2, this is the "definition" of a Bipolar 2 Depressive episode. bipolar 2 episodes can occur for longer than a month, that is correct. bipolar 1 has longer manic "highs" than bipolar 2, bipolar 2 barely gets manic "highs" and when they do it's not for very long. (from what my doctors have told me/what i've seen in my dad (he has bipolar 1))

as someone who has seen these symptoms and had them i can assure you they are not fun, especially dealing with them WITHOUT proper medications, although currently i am very "manic" and getting a lot of shit done, kinda like i'm on adderall rn lol.(that's the closest comparison i can make to how I AM feeling.)

"He would probably disappear for a bit, to be left alone, because he doesn't want to be around anybody. He would spend his time sleeping as much as he can, and then the rest of his time doing proxy work, and then going back to sleep." @necroromantics

i wouldn't say sleeping is all he's doing, when i have depressive episodes (which episodes are different for everyone) i tend to go off my diet, make a lot of other regrettable decisions(EX: relapse, forget important stuff, become more "lazy" etc.) that prolong my episode. but sleep can also be affected such as; getting too much sleep or struggling with sleeping (i.e waking up every hour to every few hours).

What are mixed episodes?

"This can look like feeling super energetic, but also horribly hopeless and depressed, or being on top of the world one minute, and then wanting to off yourself the next. They are very intense, and dangerous. It feels like you're losing your mind, and you can't catch yourself." @necroromantics

i am going to add to this. not only will you be super energetic but you'll want to do so much but have no energy to do it, like lets say you had a great art idea, oc idea, and writing idea, but you would be too unmotivated to do any of it. sometimes you can't pinpoint what to feel/what you're feeling, and that's totally okay! confusing, annoying but still its completely okay.

I'm free to answer with my personal experience, and headcanons and prior knowledge of mental health about any creepypasta characters! DM me or inbox me!

#creepypasta #ticci toby #creepypasta fandom #creepypasta headcanon #ticci toby headcanons #toby rogers #creepypasta ticci toby #bipolar disorder

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