#a sight for sore eyes

[coffee-in-europe]

thank u keira knightley for allowing yourself to age you are so beautiful and we need you

[imtrashraccoon]

And here we are. The end. In March. Yeah, I'm very glad to be done these prompts. Now I only have like five more things to finish! Yay!

This chapter is a rewrite of one of @naturaldreamer 's Don't Imagine Requests. I really liked it, and since I'm a sucker for putting Horror Sans in survival scenarios, it was only natural to write this. Also, this was supposed to be a birthday present, but that's long past by now. Thanks for being awesome, friend!

Badsansuary II: Bonus - Alternate Beginning/Ending

First & Previous

Featuring Maul!

Word Count: 3,321

The first thing you noticed when you returned to the world of the living was the amount of pain you were in. Your head was pounding from where one of the bandits had knocked you out, and your limbs ached from when you fell out of the cart in your haste to flee. The second thing was how rapidly the sunlight was disappearing, making the boreal forest seem rather dark and cold.

Summer had come and gone, bringing with it the warm weather, and now Winter was just peeking around the corner. It would be a cold one tonight, and these roads saw less traffic this time of year, when there was any at all that is. The point was that you had no hope of rescue anytime soon.

You had been traveling with a small caravan because ever since you were a little girl, you had longed to see the world. However, you didn't possess any martial training, magical talent, or any other particular skills for adventuring. You were just you - a commoner with large ambitions. This was why you had bought passage with a trader, since there was at least some safety in numbers.

Unfortunately, the local bandits weren't intimidated by the two lightly armoured guards and they set upon the wagons at a natural choke point in the road. There was never any chance of fleeing once the beasts of burden were blocked in, although you had still tried.

Dragging yourself up into a sitting position, you were finally able to get a proper read on the situation. From the looks of things, the raiders had stripped everything of value and run off back to wherever they had come from. You spotted the two guard's bodies still laying where they had fallen during the attack, and tragically, the kind man that had let you tag along. There was no sign of the mules, or the two porters that had come along as well, so you hoped they were still alive and well somewhere.

You supposed you should count yourself lucky to be alive. Sure, you had been injured, but the bandits hadn't done anything else. You hadn't had much in the way of worldly goods to begin with, so you hadn't even lost that much in the grand scheme of things. The most important thing was that your glasses hadn't shattered in the tumble from the cart, because those would have been irreplaceable.

When you tried to stand up, you were hit with such an intense dizzy spell, that you nearly fell face first into the road. So rather than risk making your head injury worse, you decided to sit back down to take stock of the situation. There was a patch of dried blood on the back of your head, but other than some tenderness from when your body had hit the hard ground, you seemed alright.

Just as you were trying to figure out what to do next, you noticed movement in your peripheral vision. It was like a shadow was moving between the tree trunks and, while you thought it might have been an animal at first, your assumption was quickly proven incorrect as a distinctly person-shaped figure stepped out of the brush. They were massive, having more semblance to a bear than a person, although you soon realized they weren't human at all. Not anymore at least.

While you hadn't personally seen a human skeleton before, you were pretty sure they didn't just get up and start tramping through the forest on their own. So the logical assumption was that you were looking at a monster of some sort. Unfortunately, you knew even less about skeleton monsters than you did about regular skeletons.

The armour they were wearing looked to have seen better days, and like they had patched it together from multiple sources. The bulk of the armour was made from iron and covered the figure's torso, while their boots and bracers were made from rough hide. They didn't wear a helmet, which was how you had figured out their species, and they had a massive greataxe strapped to their back.

Their rough gearset reminded you of something a commoner might scrape together for their first foray into adventuring, or a sorry excuse of a bandit during a dry spell. The latter was enough to put you on edge since you were in no position to defend yourself, or even flee when you were spotted. With this in mind, you decided against drawing attention to yourself, for fear of what he might do if he realized you were the only one still alive, choosing instead to lay down once more and play possum.

The seconds seemed to stretch on infinitely as you waited to see if the skeleton would move on or not. You did your best to keep your breathing steady, but it was difficult since your heart was practically racing a mile a minute. Then, you heard slow footsteps approaching, and you held your breath, desperately hoping they would keep moving.

Unfortunately, they didn't, stopping right next to you. A pair of rough phalanges were pressed against the side of your throat, feeling around until they found your pulse. You heard a soft exhale, and their hand moved higher, carefully moving a few loose strands of your brown hair away from your face.

" 'm not gonna hurt ya..." the skeleton rumbled. He shifted, as if kneeling down next to you. At the same time, his hand smoothed out your hair, pausing at the back of your head. "you're hurt..."

It seemed like he had seen through your ruse, despite your best efforts. Still, his mannerisms struck you as gentle, as if he was afraid of breaking something if he touched you wrong. Even his tone of voice had been reserved, like he didn't want to make you fear him anymore than you already did. Had you misjudged him? You decided to chance it and open your eyes, almost immediately making eye contact with the skeleton.

He was somehow even larger than you had previously estimated, seeming at least twice your body mass, which made no sense because where was all that bulk coming from? His shape seemed to be all hard angles and sharp edges, yet he gave off a soft vibe. It was like he was a living contradiction.

His most striking feature was the large crack on the left side of his skull. Well, it was more of a crater than a crack, and you couldn't help wondering how he was still alive. The edges were jagged, hinting that whatever had caused this injury had been rather violent.

He had a large eyelight the colour of blood in his left socket, although his right was completely empty. There were multiple knicks in his skull, and you could only imagine how many scars littered the rest of his bones as well. His teeth seemed flat, yet the edges were no less sharp. Even the tips of his phalanges were tipped with sharp claws, as if every part of him was used to serving as a weapon.

The skeleton held up a phalanx, moving it slowly back and forth a few inches from your face. When your green eyes were able to track it without much issue, his concerned expression changed to one of relief. He took a good long look at you, as if looking for any further injuries, but besides some small scrapes, there were none to be found.

"should do somethin' about that wound," he murmured. "wouldn't want it to get worse..."

Without warning, he suddenly picked you up, hooking one arm through the bend of your knees, while the other formed a solid brace around your back. The sudden movement caused you to freak out, your hands scrambling to hold onto him for fear of falling, but his grip remained firm.

"Hey! Where are you taking me? I can walk on my own!" you protested.

He paid no mind to your struggling, and in fact his arms actually tightened around your body to keep you from escaping as he strode off into the trees. It didn't seem like he was expending much effort to carry you, which was crazy because he didn't even have any muscles!

"my camp isn't far... 'm not leavin' ya to the elements, not like this..." His tone was quiet but firm, making it very clear that he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

There didn't seem to be much point in fighting him, so you settled down in his arms. Surely he would have hurt you already if he was planning to do so, right? Despite what you had said, you were pretty sure you wouldn't last long on your own anyways. At least with another person you would stand a chance of surviving and potentially making your way back to civilization.

The skeleton's camp was set up under a natural outcropping next to a hill. There wasn't much in the area other than a fire pit and large rucksack, so you figured he hadn't been here too long. You did notice a few rabbits hanging from a small tree near the overhang and a pile of freshly split logs, so he had probably been planning to stay for a day or two at the very least.

He set you down near the fire pit and quickly set about coaxing the smoldering coals back to life. Once done, he retrieved a small pot from his pack, and after filling it with water from the nearby stream, set it on one of the stones to boil. You carefully watched him work, deciding it would be better to stay out of his way for the time being rather than interrupt. Once the water was heated up, he took strips of clean cloths and dipped them into the pot to sterilize them.

Turning to you, he motioned for you to come sit next to the fire. " 'm gonna have to ask ya to do somethin' tough," he murmured once you had done so. "can ya trust me?"

You nodded slowly, "I think I can do that."

He studied you for a moment before giving a firm nod and moving to sit behind you. " 's gonna be okay. just don't want this to get infected..."

To your surprise, his touch was gentle, carefully separating the dried blood from your hair and cleaning the wound once the cloths cooled. It was a bit of a tedious process, and if the area wasn't still rather tender, you might have found it relaxing. You could feel how sharp his claws were, yet he was careful not to poke you with them. However, you did notice that his hands had a slight tremor, and he ended up accidentally pulling on a few strands as he worked.

"sorry... delicate things are...difficult for me..." he murmured after you couldn't help wincing from a particularly harsh tug.

"It's alright. I should thank you for even trying to help in the first place."

He let out a soft huff of air, displacing the baby hairs on the back of your neck and sending a shiver down your spine. "don't thank me yet, i'm just doin' what needs to be done."

Despite brushing off your gratitude, there was a hint of tenderness in his quiet tone. The idea that this giant of a skeleton could be so moved by a few words was oddly sweet and made you feel all fuzzy inside. Despite his frightening outward appearance, he seemed to possess a gentle soul deep down and just wanted to help where he could.

Once your head wound had been cleaned and bandaged, he brought out what you thought was a deer pelt and draped it around your shoulders. The fur felt soft and warm against your skin, and you wrapped it around yourself a bit tighter.

You must have looked content because the skeleton chuckled quietly and gave your head a bit of an affectionate pat. The gesture took you by surprise, and you ducked your head out of embarrassment. It didn't help when his hand lingered in your hair, his phalanges running through the dark strands, clearly marvelling at their silky texture.

You cleared your throat uncomfortably, hoping he would get the hint that this was a bit much at the moment. Thankfully, it worked, and he quickly withdrew his hand, busying himself with cleaning up the campsite. You noticed his cheekbones had taken on a red glow, although it was a softer hue than his lone eyelight. His embarrassment was oddly endearing, especially the way he tried to avoid looking at you as he worked.

A few minutes of slightly awkward silence passed before you decided to try making conversation. After introducing yourself, you asked for his name in return since it seemed like you would be spending a bit of time together.

He looked a bit taken aback by your question and rubbed the back of his skull awkwardly, a hint of his earlier blush still present. "name's maul... guess with a name like that ya can guess what i do, huh?"

You weren't sure what exactly he was implying by that. Well, you had an idea, but you didn't want to voice it out loud in case you were wrong. "I actually thought you were some sort of bandit at first, but now I'm not so sure."

He snorted and rolled his eyelight. "guess i can see why ya might think that. i'm not really anythin' at the moment though..."

"Well you look pretty tough, I bet you could make some good coin as a bodyguard or something similar."

He hummed in a noncommittal way and went to retrieve a scary looking cleaver from his pack, holding it up to his eyelight to check the sharpness. "dunno about that...still pretty sick of bein' someone else's lap dog..."

From his bitter tone, you had a feeling he wasn't willing to elaborate further, so you decided not to press him for answers. Maybe some other time? Although you didn't know how long you would be staying with him anyways.

A loud thwack! caused you to jump, and when you looked up, you realized he had decapitated one of the dead rabbits that had been hanging up outside. He stared down at the small corpse for a moment before retrieving another from next to him and repeating the action. You had to look away as he severed each of their heads in turn. Something about the hollow look on his face combined with the, in your opinion, excessive force was rather disturbing.

Thankfully, he seemed to shake himself out of whatever had been affecting him and began skinning the rabbits. Compared to his earlier aggression, it was almost polarizing how carefully he parted the pelts from the flesh, almost as if he feared the thought of damaging the delicate hides. After those were set aside, he began the process of separating the flesh from the bones.

You watched in silence as he worked, noting the ease with which he butchered the small mammals. Once that was done, he began cutting up some wild vegetables he must have gathered earlier, and you soon realized he was making some sort of stew. Before you knew it, a delicious aroma was wafting throughout the surrounding area, making you realize how hungry you were.

By the time the rabbit stew was done, the moon had long since risen, and you were starting to feel sleepy. The promise of delicious food helped to keep you awake though. Just as Maul was ladling the stew into a wooden bowl, your stomach decided to let out a loud growl, betraying how ravenous you were. The skeleton's permanent grin widened with amusement, while you wanted nothing more than the ground to swallow you whole.

He sat down next to you, bowl of stew in hand, although made no attempt to offer it to you. "do ya mind if... if i fed ya?" His cheekbones flushed that adorable shade of red as the question left his proverbial lips, and you were certain your own face was in a similar state.

How could you say no to that? Sure, you were a full grown woman capable of feeding herself, head injury be damned, but the air had grown cooler with the setting of the sun. It would certainly be a shame to remove the warm fur just to eat, wouldn't it?

"Sure..." you croaked, unconsciously licking your lips to moisten them.

He nodded slowly, offering you a spoonful of the hearty stew. You accepted it, although you were too embarrassed to look directly at him while chewing. The flavours all but exploded on your tongue, somehow gamey, yet savoury with a note of herbs at the same time. Also, the broth was thick and the tender rabbit meat seemed to fall apart in your mouth. Despite the simplicity of the stew, it was easily the best thing you had eaten in years, if not ever.

Your head shot up, eyes widening in amazement. "That's seriously good!"

Maul chuckled softly, " 's nothin' much, i just used what i had." Despite his modest admission, he offered you another spoonful of the stew, which you accepted.

You let out a quiet hum of pleasure at the taste, green eyes briefly flickering shut. "You're like a wizard or something...a cooking wizard."

That got him to laugh. It wasn't more than a low chuff, but you were immediately hit with the realization that you liked it. He seemed like the kind of person who didn't laugh enough, and you wanted to hear him do it more.

Before you knew it, the bowl was empty, and your hunger quenched. Maul finished off the remainder of the stew, and while he cleaned up the dishes, you settled down by the fire pit. The combination of a full belly and the warmth from the flames made you feel quite content. With a yawn, you snuggled further in the deer pelt, already feeling yourself drifting off.

As your new friend returned to the fire, an icy breeze whistled through the overhang, causing you to shiver as it hit your back. Even though the flames were keeping your front warm, it apparently wasn't quite enough. Maybe if you had more furs it would help, but you weren't sure if you should ask since Maul had already done so much for you.

The skeleton in question glanced at you as he added more wood to the blaze, his bonebrows furrowing slightly as he noticed your discomfort. Without saying anything, he retrieved another pelt from his pack, this one with coarse black fur, and returned to the fire. At first you thought he was going to offer it to you, but to your surprise, he silently laid down behind you, pressing his ribcage against your back as he draped the large fur over the both of you.

One of his arms wrapped around your waist, somehow pulling you even closer, and nestling his skull against the top of your head. Despite being a skeleton, he was surprisingly warm, and you could feel his mana flowing just beneath his ribs. It made him feel alive, but not in the usual sense, more like there was a wildness to him just under the surface that you had yet to see.

"is this too much?" he rumbled against your scalp, his thumb rubbing mindless circles over the fur covering your abdomen.

"Not at all," you murmured in response. "This is perfect..."

He pressed his nasal ridge against your hair, letting out what sounded like a low purr. It took you an embarrassingly long moment to realize he was nuzzling you, and your heart nearly melted all over again. Maybe getting attacked by those bandits had secretly been a blessing in disguise...

[sparticus2000art]

Here’s some fanart for a fic by one of my friends @imtrashraccoon , and her current bad sansuary series!

I’ve wanted to draw the mc since finding out they use a meteor hammer as their main weapon, and finally managed to find the time to do it today!

It’s roughly based on the scene setting one shot before the series, where she initially infiltrates lord Donovan’s castle

This may not quite be how the reader character was envisioned, but it’s my interpretation

I’ll link both fics and some rough sketches from a few weeks ago under the cut!

The links may be being a bit weird for me today actually….

[sunderedoldfriends]

oh no. I wonder who could this menacing mercenary be? 🥴

[sunshineandlyrics]

🫶🏼 Just admiring Louis in Indonesia and Australia 2024 x x

[lackadaisicalideas]

Select pieces by Darryl Daniels .

[mondaysaglitch]

HI SHINSUKE

[seud-luachmhor]

[nedison]

The Bay crayfish Beatles, bums to kill Klan Klowns Newsprinted princes, wielders of welding glass Thickness of thatness, combat calm sodium lit Laughing in loungecore, lullaby dullaby assassins on synch head Ejac in the box, the most serious joke folk Milkers of scared cow catchers collective Duck knife extractors, compactors of chording Dream in the daytime, each nighty night terror tune Eyeball and chain gang will mug you for listening Glistening forever, a fever heard instinct With crammed tube train coin heads All the Residents' men

A poem about The Residents, written by Andy Partridge AKA Sandy Sandwich for Melodic Virtue's A Sight For Sore Eyes book series.

[beatlepaul4ever]

This Boy was overly blessed in each and every department.

A delicate ___ mouth that, on a girl, would have been the mouth of a beauty.

His chin was well built and he had good ears and a handsome, almost beautiful, unmarked nose.

The mouth worried you until you knew him and then it worried you more.

Ernest Hemingway describing Scott Fitzgerald (or how John would've described Paul)

[holdyuhmuda]

I’m so late but why nobody tell me about Mr. Joaquin Torres.

[nekrosmos]

Leave time together 🐻​🛋️

[imtrashraccoon]

I totally didn't have to do a bunch of research for this one or anything... Also, don't kill me for the time it's being posted... (⁠-⁠_⁠-⁠;⁠)

@owl-bones

First, Previous, & Next Day

Bad Sansuary II: Nightmare - Veiled

Word Count: 857

Dirk suddenly dropped down next to you and Donovan. He was breathing heavily and clutching his right side. You immediately noticed dust coating his hand and seeping out from the area beneath. He still held his dagger, but it was clear from how he winced with each shift of his body that he had been wounded pretty badly. There were a few nicks and slashes in his studded leather armour, and the red part of his target-shaped soul was still drowning out the faint strip of white.

You attempted to reach for him, barely managing to whisper his name, but the injured assassin gave no indication if he had heard you. Instead, he turned to Donovan and letting out a bitter sounding chuckle.

"sorry, boss... they got me good..." he hissed through gritted teeth.

Oddly, his permanent smile was still wide, almost splitting his face in two despite the dire situation, and you caught a glimpse of a white eyelight in his right socket. It vanished in a second, leaving you questioning what it meant, as you had been under the impression he didn't have eyelights.

Donovan's grip on you tightened by a fraction and he let out a nearly inaudible hum under his breath. With a sigh, he turned to face Dirk fully, shifting you in his arms at the same time and turning you around.

"A shame," he muttered, exhaling heavily. "You've served me well, even to the end..."

The circling beholder let out a chittering laugh, still hovering above the three of you. "Aw, that's whack," he taunted. "I was just starting to get jiggy with it."

No one paid the floating eyeball any mind, although you wished you could whack him square in the jaw with your meteor hammer. Maybe he would actually learn to shut up then?

Donovan took a steadying breath before smoothing out a few tufts of fur on the top of your head. "Seems there's only one thing left to do..." he murmured, pressing a tender kiss to the bridge of your muzzle.

You blinked, feeling a little taken aback by his uncharacteristic change in demeanor. It was like he was just giving up? Since when did he even consider the idea of surrender?

He shifted you in his hold, placing your frail body in Dirk's arms. "Protect them with your life; this is your last order."

The two skeletons shared a somber look before Dirk gave a stiff nod. He held you close to his ribcage, so much so, that you could actually feel the mana running through his body and the thrum of his still unstable soul. His touch wasn't comforting like Donovan's, and his already weakened state meant he had to partially lower you to the ground rather than completely support your weight.

Donovan fished a small potion vial from his robes, handing it to the assassin. Without another word, he turned to face the beholder again, his tendrils forming into sharp points to act as weapons. You wanted to stop him, tell him not to sacrifice his life for yours, but your tongue was stuck to the roof of your mouth.

"Seriously? What are you going to do, cast a spell?" Balor scoffed, "Your magic has no effect, mage!"

Dirk popped the cork off the healing potion, pressing the vial against your lips and doing his best to encourage you to swallow the liquid. You nearly choked on the harsh flavour, even though you had been expecting it, although you managed to consume most of the potion with Dirk downing the remainder. It wasn't much, but even the small sip you had managed was enough to heal a bit of your HP so you wouldn't immediately fall down.

He tossed the empty bottle away and hooked his hands under your arm pits, slowly dragging you away from Donovan and Balor. He hadn't said a word the whole time, not even a grunt or hiss of pain from the effort of holding you. You couldn't tell if he was as upset as you were or if he was shutting down emotionally.

You couldn't take your eyes off of Donovan as he raised his hand, as if to cast a spell, but what happened next seemed to take place in slow motion. His other hand reached for his collarbone, pulling out an obsidian amulet that was shaped like a dragon from underneath his robes. He snapped the pendant in half and the cavern was suddenly bathed in light.

Balor let out a pained cry and floated backwards, momentarily blinded from the bright light.

A large dark shape emerged from the light, one that had a long neck and four equally long tails. Its skeletal head was crowned with a pair of magnificent horns and a familiar cyan eyelight gleamed in its left eye socket. Its right eye socket was covered by the corruption that coated its body and pockmarked wings.

It was a dragon, but unlike any you had heard of before. You never knew your soulmate had the capability to transform himself so drastically, but he now seemed to dwarf the beholder in size and strength.

[turtleblogatlast]

That middle child feel when you’re the one who successfully gets you and your siblings out of trouble only to immediately get jumped by them afterwards

[adam-scott]

FOOD IN MOVIES

CHEF (2014) dir. Jon Favreau

[andro-dino]

caught up on uprooted and as soon as I saw Peggy’s new design I immediately yelled “WIFE” so I had to draw her <3