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tsukishumai · 4 years

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Your First Fight - Akaashi, Kenma, Oikawa, Kageyama (Setter Squad)

A/N - This was for anon, I’m so sorry, I’m not sure what the heck happened to this post >-< but it’s back, and I fixed the links on the other posts as well!

Ace Edition

Word Count: 2.8k T-T

I may or may not have gotten carried away with this one (✿◠‿◠) Buckle up, and I hope u enjoy! ( ˘ ³˘)

AKAASHI –

You understand why Akaashi wanted to keep your relationship secret. Really, you did. You could already imagine the barrage of overbearing comments, and the teasing that was sure to be a distraction during practice. With Nationals just around the corner, this was the last thing you both needed.

Being the manager of the Fukurodani Volleyball Club, you know better than most just how rowdy the group could actually be. Bokuto may be the loudest one of the bunch, but all the others can be just as provoking.

And to be honest, the sneaking around was kind of hot. You can’t deny you got butterflies every time Akaashi would pull you into the equipment room for a quick make out session, or when he would give your thigh a secret squeeze under the lunch table surrounded by your friends.

But it’s been months now, and frankly, you were kind of getting tired of it. Sure, it may be slightly more convenient for the both of you, but some days you just want to hold your boyfriend’s hand down the hall without having to look over your shoulder.

You’ve only brought it up to Akaashi once before, but he brushed it off by saying it wasn’t the right time, and you were discouraged to try ever since.

You really weren’t planning to bring it up at the Tokyo Representative Playoffs… you really didn’t. But Konoha’s girlfriend showed up to cheer him on, looking so happy and proud in the stands, you couldn’t fight the tinge of envy that started to take over your body.

Akaashi was observant, and he knew you better than anyone. He could see you stealing glances into the stands, could see the tension in your shoulders whenever Konoha’s girlfriend yelled out cheers for him.

He couldn’t stop himself from following you after you told Yukie you were just going to the restroom.

“No good luck kiss?” he called out once the both of you were a safe distance from the team.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t want anyone to see,” you said bitterly, not stopping for Akaashi.

Akaashi frowned. “Y/N, you know that’s not true.”

“Well, why else wouldn’t you want to tell anyone about us?” you asked, you finally stopped walking, turning around to give him a hard look.

Akaashi groaned in frustration. “Do we really have to talk about this right here? Right now? I told you, it’s just easier this way.”

You scoffed, and Akaashi hated the sound. “Sorry our relationship is such an inconvenience for you.” You didn’t give him a chance to reply, quickly entering the women’s bathroom, faintly hearing the sound of Bokuto calling your boyfriend’s name behind you.

Akaashi didn’t blame you for the loss against Itachiyama, but he definitely blamed himself.

“Have you seen Y/N?” he asked Bokuto after the game, but the ace just shrugged, too upset about the loss to really care. The whole team had all gathered their things, ready to make their way out of the gym and you still were nowhere to be found.

Akaashi’s worries were relieved, but quickly replaced with new ones when Bokuto spotted you down the hall, cornered by someone wearing a Nohebi uniform.

“So tell me, do you have you a boyfriend?” Akaashi heard him ask, and you finally noticed the team approach you. The evil gleam in your eye didn’t escape Akaashi’s attention.

“No, actually. I don’t.”

It was one thing for you to deny it to your teammates, but to other men? Akaashi shouldn’t be mad that those were the words that came out of your mouth; it was his own fault for putting you in the situation in the first place. He knows you’re just doing what he told you to.

But he was furious, and there was nothing that could have stopped him from grabbing you by the elbow, turning you away from the dirty little snake that dared to talk to you, and crashing his lips onto yours.

You weren’t sure what reaction you were expecting from Akaashi, but it definitely wasn’t this. Though, you weren’t complaining, returning his kiss with equal fervor, ignoring the uncomfortable cough from the Nohebi player, and the gasps and shocked exclamations from your teammates.

All you could focus on when he pulled away was Akaashi, blue eyes staring straight into your soul, the next words tumbling out of his mouth was all you’ve wanted to hear for months.

“You’re mine. I’m going to make sure everyone knows it.”

KENMA –

You’ve been sitting in the same spot on Kenma’s bed for about an hour now. The room was filled with only the sounds emanating from the TV, and your boyfriend’s fingers tapping on the buttons of his controller.

Kenma always did like falling into a hole whenever he bought a new game; you’ve known this about him since you were kids. It wasn’t something you ever really minded, nor did you think it was something you wanted to change. It was a part of him that you simply accepted.

Normally, you were content with reading a book while he played, the two of you sitting in comfortable silence, getting lost in different worlds. You both respected each other’s hobbies, and the fact that you could do them together in the same room worked out so perfectly.

However, you finished your book faster than you anticipated, and in your shortsightedness, you failed to bring with you a second book. You tried to read webtoons online, but the light from your phone began to strain your eyes.

“Kenma,” you whined as boredom got the best of you, and the blonde boy didn’t bother to respond, “I’m hungry. Can’t we get something to eat?”

“After,” he grunted, though there were no specifications to when ‘After’ would be.

You sighed, getting up from your spot on the bed to tinker with his things. You walk around his room, running your fingers along the books lined on his shelf, picking up frames that contained happy memories of his life.

You hear your phone ding, signaling a message and you turned to make your way back to the bed.

“Hey!” Kenma exclaimed suddenly, making you jump, “Could you not walk in front of the TV? I just died because of you!”

You stared at him in shock for a second. You had never heard him raise his voice before “Excuse me? So what, it’s just a stupid game.”

“It’s not a stupid game,” Kenma grumbled, his voice back to his usual soft tone, but still held a slight tinge of anger. “You know I’ve been waiting for this to be released. Can’t you just read your book and be quiet like you usually do?”

Kenma immediately knew those were the wrong words to say, regretting the way you face turned into a pout. He watched you begin to gather your things, a slight panic rising in his chest when he realizes you’re trying to leave. “You know what, let me just leave you alone, since clearly my company isn’t wanted –“

You were cut off by Kenma getting up from his spot, opening the bottom drawer of his TV stand to rummage through it. You eyed him curiously until he finally found what he was looking for; pulling out another controller that he connected to the gaming console.

He quietly took your hand, pulling you down to sit on the floor with him. You sat cross legged and confused, wondering what he was doing until he handed you the controller. You stared at it in your lap, a small smile spreading on your face at his silent apology.

He started the game on easy mode, giving you a quick rundown on the basic controls.

“I’ll order us some pizza,” he said quietly, making you give him a soft peck on the cheek.

“Pizza sounds good.”

OIKAWA –

The booming sound of Oikawa’s serves was something that will never cease to amaze you.

Sometimes, it was hard to reconcile your Oikawa Toru – the one that hides behind your hair during scary movies, and asks you to kill the spiders for him – with Aoba Johsai’s Oikawa Toru. To you, they were just two completely different people.

But when you were watching him practice like this, raw power coming from his usually gentle hands, you can’t help but stare at him in awe.

You don’t usually stay this late to watch him practice; on a normal day, your club activities would end at the same time and Oikawa would walk you home, but on days like today where he felt he needed the extra practice, you left him in the care of Iwaizumi.

You were a little surprised, however, when you found Iwaizumi waiting for you at your club room, claiming he really needed to get his part of his group project done by tonight, and if you could please stay and make sure your boyfriend doesn’t kill himself.

How could you say no?

At this point, you’ve lost track of how many times Oikawa practiced his serve, the repetitive sound of the balls bouncing and his grunting becoming a sort of hypnotic rhythm for you. Before you knew it, the sun had BEEN down, and the moon had taken its place in the night sky.

You begin to notice the telltale signs of exhaustion, Oikawa struggling to catch his breath, chest heaving up and down, his form beginning to look sloppy.

“Alright,” you say, jumping down from your spot on the bench, “It’s time to go home.”

“One more.”

“Tsk,” you clicked your tongue, walking around collecting the balls, “It’s been hours, Toru. Rest is also a part of training, you know.”

He ignored you, grabbing another ball from the cart, but you just started taking down the volleyball net.

“What the hell are you doing? I said one more!” “And I said it’s time to go home!”

The ear-splitting sound of the volleyball slamming the floor cut through the gym, leaving you frozen in place. “You wouldn’t understand! You may be satisfied with doing the bare minimum for your practices, but my serves have to be perfect! I have to be perfect!” Oikawa’s voice echoed, glaring at you with red eyes, frustration evident on his face.

You didn’t say anything. You stared at him for a moment, then turned around and began the process of closing the gym. Oikawa also chose to stay silent, brown eyes trained on the floor as he gathered his belongings, silently following you once you turned off the lights and locked the door.

The walk home was quiet; the lack of a reaction on your part weighing more heavily on Oikawa than he expected. He snuck a glance at you, but you kept your head forward, steel faced and neutral.

Each step he took was more agonizing than the last, knowing he shouldn’t have lashed out at you like that. Your house was beginning to come into view, and he couldn’t leave the night like this.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, and your sharp inhale let him know that you heard him.

“I know.”

“I’m exhausted...” and you know he wasn’t just talking about volleyball.

You finally faced him, and gently grabbed his arm, wrapping it around your shoulders as you snaked an arm around his middle. He felt all the tension his body melt away, half expecting to find it puddled around his feet.

“I know,” you said, “But if you ever talk to me like that again, you’re getting a flying fist to the face.”

Oikawa laughed, drawing one out from your own mouth. He placed a kiss on your temple, and gave you full permission to cut his head off if he ever lashed out at you again. He always appreciated how he never had to tell you anything… you always just knew.

KAGEYAMA –

Kageyama had a pretty good weekend, if you asked him.

He woke up early on Saturday morning to go for a run, then got home and had pork curry for lunch. He figures it’s been a while since he’s brushed up on his basic skills, so he went to the local gym and practiced some drills. On Sunday, he was dragged by Hinata to a study group with Yachi, and admittedly gotten more homework done there than he would have on his own.

It was a nice, productive weekend. He entered his Monday with this positive vibe following him around, even morning practice went by smoothly.

He went about his usual routine of waiting for you by the school gates so he could walk you to class. He only waited about ten minutes until you came into view, and Kageyama subconsciously straightened his posture. He tried to push down the little tickle at the pit of his belly when you made eye contact, not wanting to admit he was excited to see you.

“Good morning,” he said as soon as you approached, but his entire mood completely shifted downward when you simply walked passed him.

Where was his usual ‘Good morning, Tobio-kun!’? Why didn’t you stop to give him his morning peck on the cheek? Why didn’t you let him carry your bag for you on the way to class?

Did he do something wrong?

He was so confused, questions running through his head as he simply trailed after you silently.

“Is everything alright?” He tried to ask once you reached your class, but you just gave him a stern look, turning away from him to enter your classroom and take your seat. He was left there looking like an idiot.

He couldn’t focus in class, trying to wrack his brain on why you could possibly be upset. Did he forget an anniversary? Doubtful, you’ve only just started dating. Were you on your period? Kageyama shook his head. Even he knew that would literally be the worst question to ask.

The bell rang to signal the start of lunch, and Kageyama hurriedly gathered his things so he can go find you.

He didn’t have to look very far, though, because when he exited his classroom, he spotted you down the hall.

The second you saw him, you marched your way over; the dark aura you were giving off had made everyone steer clear of you.

Kageyama gulped, wanting to run away before he remembered that he also wanted to talk to you.

“Y/N –“ “You know, I was going to ignore you the whole day, but seeing you this morning just really pissed me off, and unlike you, I actually can’t stand not talking to you.”

Kageyama blinked, happy to hear your voice, but confused at the words you were saying. “Unlike me? What do you mean?”

You crossed your arms and huffed. “Where the hell were you all weekend?”

Again, Kageyama blinked stupidly. “What do you mean? I was home.”

This seemed like the wrong answer, because now your hands moved to your hips, and for some reason, you were ten times more intimidating like that. “So? You never thought to shoot me a text? Or give me a call?”

“Was I supposed to?” Kageyama asked, and the genuine curiosity in his voice made you face palm.

“Did you not want to?” You asked, though there was no hurt behind the question.

“I did.” “So why didn’t you?”

Kageyama thought about it for a moment. “I went to the gym instead.”

You let out a groan of frustration. Honestly, you should have known. It took you three tries before Kageyama even realized you were confessing to him. It took him even longer to realize that he actually had to tell you he liked you back, and that you had no idea that him buying you yogurt meant he was asking you out.

“Tobio-kun,” you said patiently, “If you’re thinking of me, you should text me or call me to let me know.”

He tilted his head slightly. “Even if I have nothing interesting to say?”

You nodded, looping your arm through his and starting your walk to the cafeteria. “Even then. I just want to hear from you.”

Kageyama nodded his head in understanding. “Okay. That’s good to know.”

Your phone never stopped blowing up after that conversation. RIP your notifications.

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cdarkheartzero · 3 years

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Diary of a Security Guard

For the always wonderful Rissy @rissynicole who I promised this to for being just...amazing.

Prequel found here-

https://cdarkheartzara.tumblr.com/post/622506786343288833

Data log entry 6555

Been watching Zim battle his PAK for a few (days) now. It has been SO mentally exhausting just to see, let alone experience. But that determination to get his PAK legs working. Imma be honest, it’s downright inspiring seeing him spaz, spark and struggle just to get back up n’ try it again once he catches his breath.

He even got Skoodge trying to activate his- few of the other smeets too, actually. I can’t tell whether he knows it or not (he’s pretty oblivious to the world around him so I doubt it), but he has a lot of fans among the youngins. They might find him annoying (cuz let’s be honest here, he is) but he has this unique…. charm(?) to him. Little bastard just doesn’t know when ta quit.

I can see the stress and strain of his struggles are starting to get to him though. He just hasn’t been himself lately. Physically Exhausted. Less destructive (again- lemme be honest- I AM ALL FOR but under normal circumstances). Hasn’t been doing much eating or sleeping. He’s just so fixated on this that it’s basically taken over his entire life. Can’t tell you how many times I have found him in the incubation room the past few shifts, tryin’ so damn hard to stand on his legs he basically passes out.

The smeets should be sleeping now. It’s pretty late and I see all the other guards settling into their seats relaxin’. Now’s the time to piss around, the break we all deserve. Alas, I can’t get that little shit outta my head. The pain on his face. The dedication and exhaustion in his eyes. It’s been burned into my organic brain ever since I had to stun him the first time. I don’t think I have ever been that scared before. I thought… I thought I could have killed him. That he wouldn’t be there the next morning. That this little ball of chaos would be erased from my life. And it was worse than anything I coulda imagined.

I wanna do something for him. I know I shouldn’t. ‘Specially after all the shit he puts me through. And I really shouldn’t play favoritisms but I dunno. There is just something about Zim.

Now, don’t get me wrong. He drives me crazy. He’s a little demon spawn. A selfish little piece of shit. More than once have I seen him sacrifice a playmate to make a quick escape or use poor Skoodge as a flesh shield. His bomb gifts haunt me very soul- I swear I hear them ticking in the walls relentlessly, taunting me. But he brings me such a calming ease. It’s so weird. Like… I wanna ring his neck sometimes but just having his little body in my arms brings me such warmth. His voice makes me want to slam my face against a wall but I honestly can’t fathom it not being there. I just want to be there for him. And do everything in my power to make him as happy as I can.

What did he do to me?

Ugh. I’m pulling my lekku out at my desk. Think, Zara. Think. There’s gotta be something I can do. I’m mindlessly fumbling through my clutter, still rackin’ my brain around what to do next. Suddenly, a sweet scent fills the air and I realize I opened my candy drawer.

Hmmmm…. it’s not much but it’s the thought that counts.

I look over to Kira and tell her imma need to take 5. “Candy break?” She asks, watching me sneak a few pieces away. “Something like that” I reply.

Walking down the hallway to the smeetery felt like an eternity. What do I say? How will he respond? Lord, what if he wakes the other smeets and I gotta clear out my whole snack stash to not upset the others? What if he cries? If his PAK spazes out again, what if I have to shock him again? What if I fail my mission? What will the control brains do to me? what if… what if I have to kill him? How would I live with myself if I...hurt my smeet? Shit. I gotta stop doing that. He’s not MY smeet. He belongs to Irk. I’m just a guardian, nothing more. But… I never want him to leave my side. But he also has a job to do! For Irk! I hope he never becomes an invader. Keep him here, where it’s safe. Maybe the science division or something… hmmmmm.”

“Uhhh…” I hear next to me, a random voice sounding concerned. It breaks my concentration and I see another guard, head slightly tilted, staring at me. “You good, man?”

Oh! Seems I have been standing at the door for some time. I laughed. “Yeah. Sorry. Just got a lot on my mind.”

“It’s cool” she smiled “just don’t let the higher ups catch you wandering around aimlessly.”

“I appreciate it. Thanks!” I said waving as she went about her way. “Higher ups?” Yeah. Not a whole lot of fear there. Nothing can be worse than what we’ve already experienced.

The door opened, inviting me to the darkness of the smeetery. Was it always so cold in here? The only light shines from a few wires and screens on the walls but other than that, it’s pretty pitch black. A totally different feel to the liveliness of the early shift when spirits are high and bodies are active. Luckily, our vision is enhanced in our tubes, far before we go online so nighttime is never an issue for us.

I creep over to the nesting area, where all the little bodies are snoozing (or snoring in Skoodge’s case) and see those ruby eyes staring at the ceiling. I notice his antenna perk and he looks my direction, instantly making a face of aggression.

“What?”

That the hell kinda greeting is that? Little rude shit. I wanna smack him outside his little skull but I take a deep breath and calmly whisper. “Ain’t you supposed to be asleep?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“I’m your guard. It IS my business. Why ain’t you asleep?”

“I’m not tired.”

“Something bothering you?”

“No.”

I can see it written all over his face in glow in the dark paint. “Ah-ha. You really are a bad liar. Is it cuz your legs?”

“NO.” He turned to face away from me.

“Hey. Listen: you’re going to get it. I know you will.”

“But how come Tak could so easily? All mine do is attack me.”

“Just because she got it faster than you, that doesn’t make her better than you.”

“Zim never claimed it did.”

He’s hurt. His words and his feelings are battling against each other. Tak being able to activate her PAK legs without any difficulties was eating him alive but he would never admit it.

“Listen… Zim. It’s going to get easier. You just gotta keep at it. Small steps get you far in life.”

He shrugged, sitting up, curling into himself. “Zim wonders about that sometimes. Maybe… he isn’t meant to get it.”

There it is. “Of course you are.” I said, gently putting a hand on his shoulder. “I believe in you. You are going to find a way. You never give up. I don’t think you know how.”

He looked my way, eyes wide and glassy. SHIT. Imma make him cry!? I didn’t mean to!

“You… you do?”

Huh?

“Of course I believe in you, dummy. And I will be here every step of the way. I got you.” I said, grazing my thumb across his cheek. A smile took the place of that awful frown and his eyes lit. “Here. I got you a little something, but only if you try to get some sleep. You got a long day of training with your PAK and you need all the rest you can get. Oh, and don’t let anyone know I did this.” I said putting my finger to my lips.

I reached into a belt pocket and grabbed a wrapped hard candy. With two fingers I held it in front of him, he looked at it inquisitively. His grubby little hands reached for it and I let him grab it. He stared at it, slowly unwrapping it and Then glanced back at me. I guess he didn’t trust it.

“It’s not drugged or nuthin’. Just some sweets.”

Again, he stared at me.

“What?”

“Your accent is really weird.”

“Just eat the damn candy and shut up” I said, pushing the sweet into his mouth. He just huffed but suckled on.

“Now DON'T cause anymore problems and get some shut eye. I will see you bright n’ early.”

He just puffed his cheeks and rolled over. Think I handled that well. And maybe, hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for him.

Smiled and waved on my way out. Dunno if he saw me but it doesn’t hurt. Walked into the hallway, into dread. Leaned against the wall and slid down.

Us E.L.I.T.E.S can’t disobey orders from the Control brains but… I pray with everything I have in me that things stay like this forever. Cuz’ if i ever had my mission changed or if I had to hurt him… idunno what I would do.

Zara out

#invader zim #iz #zim #zero’s art #sketch #invader zim fanart #iz fanart #zero’s oc zara #diary of a security guard #smeet zim #long post

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songfell-ut · 4 years

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Merry Xmas toooo

Hey @venelona remember when I was talking about that Beauty & the Beast thing in your server

Well, I copied myself, ‘cause Sans is still not good at following through on getting a human soul, and a stray bit of paper drives the plot once more.

This is nowhere near finished because it’s me. I’ll polish it up and put it on AO3 once my other gift is done for tomorrow (she said famous-last-words-ly).

Prepare yourself for a shock: I wrote something long. Indents, meh. Warning, Sans is stupid.

Today was not a good day: it was cold, he had to get married, and now there was a human in his garden.

This was problematic for many reasons. For one thing, as the literal lord of all he surveyed, Sans always found it hard to get any alone time, much less a chance to nap. He’d started coming outside each night after dinner to doze off for a few precious minutes, at least until the wind whistled through his sockets one time too many or his brother started yelling at him over the wall. On this particular evening, though, after his chat with Toriel, his sole aim was to avoid seeing anyone; luckily, he’d already forbidden the others from coming into the garden, and he was prepared to stay out here forever if he had to, weather and Papyrus be damned.

Sans was not prepared to take a shortcut to his favorite bench by the nightshades and sit down, only to catch sight of someone hunched behind a bush at the end of the row. The skeleton scrambled to his feet in sudden panic, readying his magic to defend himself. Who or what the hell was that? No one should be here—this was his place! Had Toriel told him all that crap to trick him into going out alone, then sent someone after him? But how?

His instinct was to attack first, but for all Sans knew, this was some kind of trap; instead, he watched and listened, waiting for the thing to make its move. His soul thrummed like a harpstring, ready to summon bones to skewer the intruder, or teleport away—

But nothing happened. As the seconds ticked by, Sans gradually realized that the small, dark-clothed figure wasn’t crouched to spring at him or lying in wait, just bending down to examine the flowers. He couldn’t sense any malicious intent whatsoever; in fact, it didn’t seem to know he was there, or that he was coming closer for a better look.

Well, no wonder: it was wearing a cloak with a deep hood that blocked its peripheral vision, and it was facing into the wind, where it couldn’t hear or smell anyone sneaking up from behind. That meant the intruder was either very confident or really fucking stupid.

Maybe it was just Monster Kid or one of the others screwing with him? After all, no matter how often Sans told them to stay the hell out of his garden, and no matter how strongly his subjects were compelled to obey him, he kept finding rocks, bits of bone, and other junk the little bastards had tossed over the wall. Things had gotten better since Papyrus started patrolling the outer courtyard, happy to combine his favorite pastimes of keeping things tidy and beating the shit out of people, but…

But no, this wasn’t a kid who’d found a loophole in his orders, or an adult monster strong enough to defy him. Sans took a couple of quick shortcuts at different angles to appraise the intruder, confirming that it wasn’t sized or shaped like anyone he knew; it also failed to react when he stepped through an arch of greenery just a few feet away. No shift of attention, no magic gathering to attack or defend itself—who could possibly be that dumb? None of the surviving monsters would ever dream of dropping their guard like this, not even the kids!

The wind shifted, and Sans’ nasal ridge twitched as an unfamiliar stench hit him. He recognized the scent of leather from its clothes, but there were strong hints of…some kind of hair, and…bodily fluids? There was something missing, too, so basic that it took Sans a minute to pinpoint it: the trespasser had no magic whatsoever.

That was the most confusing thing of all. No matter how fishy or perfumed or otherwise gross they might be, everyone had that dry, slightly spicy smell. Had someone dressed up an animal and released it into the garden as a prank? A thrill of fear raced through him again—did Toriel’s curse include female animals? It’d be just like her to dump that on him and then make sure he ran into a bear or a deer or something!

Suddenly, the intruder sighed heavily, straightened up, and shook its hood off. To Sans’ shock, it wasn’t an animal or a monster: the thing standing in his garden was a human. It turned its back to the wind, squinting down at the white-stoned path and up at the surrounding wall, the smooth black marble shining rose-gold in the twilight.

What the hell was a human doing here? At least it was a male; Sans relaxed a little, then shook himself and edged forward.

Humans were legendary for their cruelty and cunning, but this particular specimen didn’t seem very dangerous. Beneath its dusty travel clothes and heavy cloak, it was almost as short at Sans, with a wrinkly face and gray streaks in its hair. Did all humans get like that after only…what, fifty years? Granted, Sans was just twenty-five, a baby by monster standards, but he wouldn’t be this twitchy or feeble when he reached the human’s age. And he wouldn’t be dumb enough to wander into someone else’s territory after sundown!

The man had started walking again, still oblivious to Sans’ presence, and paused at a fork in the path. Sans silently willed him to turn right, and he’d been obeyed by everyone he knew for so long that it was a surprise to see the human go left instead. The skeleton watched in irritation, then disbelief, as his uninvited guest sat down on a low wall and pulled a map out of his pocket.

That had to be the stupidest thing Sans had ever seen. Did human maps of the area include HAUNTED CASTLE ON FORBIDDEN MOUNTAIN? He doubted it. Besides, there was a village at the foot of the mountain, straight down through the forest; even if he couldn’t find the main path, all this moron had to do was walk downhill, back the…way he’d…

Wait. How had he even gotten in here?

Quick as thought, Sans zipped over to the massive iron gates that stood between the castle and the outside world. Sure enough, the ivy growing between the bars had been disturbed at one end where the man had squeezed through. Sans extended one bony finger very, very slowly toward the gate, and as his phalange approached the nearest bar, the air filled with a warning hum, his bones prickling with alarm till he stepped away.

The barrier was still working, then. What had the King said before they dusted him? Anything could get in, but nothing could get out…except a monster in possession of a human soul. But there were no—

The skeleton monster’s sockets widened again, this time in excitement. He grinned hugely, then took a shortcut back to the human, who was trying to fold up the map. Just in case, Sans peered at the human’s chest, gauging how much effort this would take.

His elation immediately vanished, disgust welling up in its place. Of all the humans who could’ve wandered up here, it had to be one with a pathetically weak, almost sickly little soul—and why did it have to be green? Fucking Kindness! Talk about shitty luck!

Not that he was going to pass up the opportunity, of course. Absorbing any human soul, no matter how crappy, would give him power greater than every other monster who’d ever lived, combined. He could finally pass through the gates, descend on the human village like a force of nature, grab as many souls as he wanted, and come back here to destroy the ga—no, he’d wreck the whole fucking castle! The others would finally be free, too, though he wouldn’t be stupid enough to share any souls with them. Maybe Pap could have a few, just enough to fulfill his dream of tearing Undyne to pieces, and to help eliminate Toriel; then they’d be untouchable in a world where “kill or be killed” was the only rule!

Sans was jerked back to the present by the human making a horribly wet noise and pulling a square of cloth from his pocket. Why was this disgusting sack of flesh even here, anyway? As far as Sans knew, no one had come near the castle for decades; even the local wildlife stayed far away. Yet here he was, an ordinary-looking human who had come all the way up the mountain in the approaching dark.

The man had finally sensed something wrong and was looking around uneasily. “Hello?” he called. Sans stayed where he was, silent and contemptuous; sure enough, the human’s gaze swept right past him. “Odd,” he murmured, lowering the map and folding it in half.

Sans knew he should go ahead and kill the guy now, but the wind chose that moment to pick back up, rustling through the flowers and nearly yanking the map out of the human’s hands; the man swore and fumbled at the stiff parchment, fighting to keep hold of it.

The skeleton chuckled, almost pityingly. As lord of the castle, he decided he could be magnanimous and let this moron finish putting the map away. Besides, it was funny as hell to watch him lose to a piece of paper.

Eventually, the man gave up and tried instead to stuff the half-folded map into his pocket, pulling a few things out to make room. Enough of this, thought Sans, his amusement fading. The skeleton took a few steps forward, letting his magic swell to a darkly feverish pitch and drift off him like red smoke. He was probably scary enough as it was, but anything worth doing was worth overdoing, especially when it’d make the human’s reaction that much funnier.

Besides, this idiot had trespassed on Sans’ land and his solitude at exactly the wrong time. A quick, clean death was too good for him, but it couldn’t be helped: Sans had to get his soul out in one piece and reach the village before daybreak. Ha, maybe he’d put his hood up and pretend to be the Reaper the humans feared so much—wasn’t that why they had exterminated every single skeleton monster but him and Pap? He’d give the fuckers something to be afraid of!

It was time, all right. The human had finally sensed someone at his back, and began to turn around. “Excuse me, I—”

Another gust of wind suddenly came howling through the garden and tore the map out of the human’s grip. It landed with a thk and skidded along the white-stoned path; with it went a couple of envelopes he’d set on his lap, and another, much smaller piece of paper, which blew straight into the nearest flowerbed.

The human’s demeanor changed in an instant from annoyance to panic. “No!” He flailed at the air, then stumbled over the wall, charging through the flowers. “Come back here!” he yelled, as if the wind or the paper could understand him.

Sans froze, feeling his magic go still as the blossoms answered—or, rather, echoed: “Come back here!” What the hell was the guy doing tromping around like that? Those were echo flowers, not daisies! One of them was worth twenty of this dumbfuck!

The wind was still blowing, but after a few clumsy grabs, the human threw himself full-length onto the ground, trapping the paper amongst the squished flowers. He sighed gustily – ha – and stood up, smiling. “There you are,” he murmured, his voice clear as the wind dropped to a light breeze.

The skeleton couldn’t see what the human was looking at so fondly. In his irate curiosity, he hesitated another moment too long: “Hm,” the man said to himself. “Yes, that’ll do.” He crouched again, grabbed a blossom at random, and plucked it clean out of the ground.

“What the fuck?”

Sans’ roar shattered the air like a rock through a stained-glass window. He was too angry to enjoy the human’s shriek of terror, or his attempt to turn and run; the skeleton jerked his hand up and sideways, yanking the man off his feet and hurling him onto the path. “Who the fuck d’you think you are?” snarled Sans. His magic flared up again as he advanced, staining the footpath red. “Huh?”

The human was trembling violently, staring up at him. “Are you deaf or somethin’?” the monster demanded. He grabbed the man by the collar, hauling him to his feet. “Answer me, or I’ll rip yer fuckin’ head off!”

The human gulped. “I…” He squeezed his eyes shut, sweat rolling off his face. “P-P-Please forgive me, my lord! I-I was being pursued by bandits, and they didn’t stop until I reached this place! I needed shelter, someone to point the way home—” He peeked up at Sans again, almost hiccuping in fear. “I-If you’ll permit me to leave, I swear I’ll never trouble you again!”

Sans glanced up at a nearby lantern hanging on an iron post, and it obligingly lit itself. “That’s for damn sure,” said the skeleton. His wrath faded a little as his prisoner gaped at him in the clearer light. Now he understood the expression “bug-eyed,” not to mention “slack-jawed”; it was one of the funniest things he’d ever seen. Still… “You expect me to believe ya just wandered in here outta nowhere?” Sans jerked his head at the castle looming behind him, though the moon hadn’t risen to provide a properly spooky silhouette. “Didja think you could sneak in, grab somethin’, an’ get out before anybody noticed? ‘Cause I fuckin’ noticed!” He stabbed a finger at the echo flower in the human’s hand. “That shit doesn’t grow just anywhere!”

The man blinked stupidly at the flower, as if surprised to see it. His eyes darted back and forth, his other hand sneaking toward his pocket. “I…I can explain, my l—”

“Uh-uh.” Sans waggled his finger, and the human cried out as his hand was yanked straight over his head, the little slip of paper fluttering to the ground. Ignoring his protests, Sans made a couple more gestures to open the man’s coat and run a thread of magic through the pockets, then the lining. He frowned as he found several coins, letters, a comb, a pipe…but no weapons.

Huh. If the human hadn’t been going for a knife or something, then what the hell was he doing? Was he just trying to put the paper away? How goddamn stupid could he—

“Please!” the man almost shrieked, and Sans was startled into releasing him. He watched the human stumble back, dropping the echo flower in his haste to run after the slip of paper again. Luckily for him, it blew against the corner of another bench, where he could easily stoop to retrieve it. The map lay nearby, but the human didn’t even look at it; he sighed in relief, and started to turn around.

Sans was directly in front of him, grinning at his strangled squeak. “Whatcha got there?” The skeleton didn’t wait for an answer, just reached for it.

“No!” To his astonishment, the man flailed at him, backing away till his shins hit the bench. “I-It’s nothing!” the human babbled. “Nothing at all! Just a picture that I didn’t want to lose! You can leave it!”

Later, Sans would try to blame himself for not being more careful. But he had every right to be curious, and no reason to be thinking of Toriel right then; it was only natural for him to use his magic to grab the paper and hold it up to see what was so fucking important. So, he did.

The human was right: it was a delicate ink drawing. Sans felt the smirk slide right off his face, and he took the picture in both hands, peering so intently that he didn’t even notice the man grabbing his sleeve. “Who’s this?” the skeleton inquired, trying to sound careless. “Yer wife?”

“My daughter!” The guy was actually jumping to try to grab it, like a frantic kid. “As I said, it’s worth nothing to you! Please give it back!”

Sans absently pushed the human off with his elbow, raising the paper to the light. “Knock it off,” he grunted as the man came right back.

The human’s sheeplike face contorted. “Has milord never seen a woman before? Give it ba—”

Skeletal fingers shot out and locked around his throat. To Sans’ surprise, when he glared down at the human, the man glared right back, even as he clawed at Sans’ radius. “Why d’you want it so bad? Is she dead or somethin’?” the monster asked in sudden hope.

The human’s eyes bulged wider, and he struggled to speak until Sans loosened his grip. After a bit of coughing and puffing, the man rasped, “How dare you? She’s my child, you wretched beast!” He dashed Sans’ hopes with a jerky shake of the head. “I’ve been away from her for over a month, and I was only hours from home when I was attacked! That’s all I’ve had of her! If I’m going to die at your hand, the very least you can do is let me see it one more time!”

Sans’ jaw clenched so hard that his single golden tooth creaked under the pressure. He shut his sockets, aware that he had to think very carefully before he spoke. “I got some questions for ya,” he snarled. “Tell me the truth, an’ you might leave in one piece.” He opened his sockets, his ruby eyelights pulsing across the human’s face. “Got it?”

The wind shrieked past them again, but Sans held both the human and the slip of paper steady. The man stared at him in clear distrust; Sans wasn’t sure if he was being brave, or stupid, or what, but he wasn’t cowering anymore. As a slight token of respect, the skeleton opened his hand, letting the human jerk away. “Yes, milord,” the latter whispered, massaging his throat. “Whatever you wish.”

Sans snorted, and snuck another glance at the portrait. “What’s your family name? What were you doin’ away from home fer so long?”

The man’s brow wrinkled further. “My name is Proust, milord. I’m a merchant, so I travel frequently. I’ve been investigating a business opportunity in the capital.”

A merchant? That was hard to believe. The coins in the human’s pockets consisted solely of pennies and a few silver pieces that Sans didn’t recognize; Proust was dressed fairly well, but on closer inspection, the fur trim of his cloak was patchy, while his leather coat was shiny with age. Either he was a cheapskate, or he hadn’t made any real money in a long time. “How’d it go?” Sans asked sardonically.

“Poorly, milord,” the man snapped. “I promised Frisk I’d bring her something from the city, but then I could barely afford to pay my way home.” He looked down at the echo flower, which lay on the stones between them. “She likes gardening, so…”

Sans knew he should make another fuss about the theft, but he had a bigger problem. “‘Frisk’?” he repeated. “Is that a nickname or somethin’?”

“No,” Proust said stiffly. “What else would my lord care to know?”

Sans gave him another glare, and though the man flinched, he didn’t look away. “Heh,” the skeleton murmured. “She your only kid?”

“Yes, my lord. My wife died in childbirth. Frisk…” His voice caught. “She’s all I have left.”

The monster grimaced. He almost would’ve preferred an aggressive human to a sappy one. “How old is she?” The paper trembled. It wasn’t the wind: his hands were shaking. “Did you leave her home alone, or with ‘er husband, or…?”

The human eyed him in rightful suspicion. “She’s twenty-two, my lord. We live with my brother’s family. She’s unwed—I’ve had several offers for her hand, but she refused them all.”

“Why?” Sans asked bluntly.

Proust blinked a few times. “She didn’t love them. She didn’t even like most of them, and the one she might have accepted left because my brother wouldn’t give her a dowry. Why do you—”

“A dowry?” Sans repeated. “The hell is that?”

This was obviously a sensitive question: the human’s face turned a weird color, and something pulsed near his eyebrow—a vein? Was that what it was called? Sans turned his head in disgust, studying the portrait again. If she had veins, he couldn’t see any.

The human cleared his throat. “It’s a gift of money or other goods that a woman brings to a marriage. Many young women in our social class have a difficult time finding a husband without one, and…”

“An’ you don’t have enough cash to sell her off?” Sans waved a hand as Proust swelled with rage again. “Never mind. Whatever stupid shit humans get up to, I don’ care.” He was quiet for a moment. “Just seems pathetic that you’ve gotta pay someone to take ‘er.”

“Was milord listening?” the human demanded. “I’ve had six other gentlemen ask to marry her, and four were willing to forego any dowry at all! She was good enough!”

It was Sans’ turn to twitch. “Why? What’s so great about ‘er?”

Proust made a noise like an angry frog. “May I humbly entreat milord to explain his gracious interest in my family?”

Sans toyed with the idea of telling him the truth, and shrugged. “Just curious. So, I’m guessin’ you wanna see her again?”

“Yes, milord, absolutely,” the man said in a rush. “I’d do anything—you have no idea how much she means to me!” He looked longingly at the paper in Sans’ hand, still held up to the lamplight. “She drew that herself,” he added.

Sans started. “Really?” he asked before he could stop himself.

“Yes, indeed,” the human said proudly.

The skeleton scowled at the picture. It was a perfect rendition of a young woman seated at a table, wearing an old-fashioned gown; her dark hair was twisted up into a bun, showing a small earring, a pearl necklace, and a graceful curve of neck and shoulder. Now that Proust mentioned it, she did seem to be drawing herself in the mirror, one hand holding a pencil and the other steadying the paper, her head tilted to look up at Sans.

For a moment, he was so angry that he couldn’t breathe. This was bullshit! Why should he pass up his chance at unlimited power because of a girl who probably wasn’t even that pretty in real life? He should just rip the stupid picture in half, rip the human in half, grab his shitty green soul, and get things started!

But the longer he stared at the paper, the less he wanted to rip it in half, kill the human, become godlike, etc. etc. It just seemed…boring? Unnecessary?

Tch. This was all Toriel’s fault! She’d called him to her room that evening in an absolute fit of laughter and told him exactly what was going to happen, and the old bitch knew he’d come down here afterward and—

And he couldn’t stay mad about it. Instead, something weird was happening behind his sternum, a sticky kind of warmth spreading like an infection through his ribcage and down his limbs. No matter how hard he tried to dwell on being jerked around, or why it had to be some squishy human with a dumb father and a weird name, Sans couldn’t look away from the portrait, caught by the girl’s clear, bright eyes. No one had ever smiled at him like that…

He came down here every night to get away from everyone, but what if…what if he had someone he didn’t want to get away from? Unbidden, a thought crept up: what would the garden look like with this human in it, helping water the flowers or sitting with him to watch the sun set? What would it be like to always have someone to talk to about stuff bothering him, help with all the day-to-day crap of running the household…smile at him, keep him warm at night—

Shit! Had Toriel laughed at him because she knew he’d actually want this to happen?

“Hello?” Proust was asking. “Milord? Is something wrong?”

Sans shook himself. “Fine, she can draw. Does she know how ta do anything?” That’d be a perfect excuse to forget about her. If he wanted to keep something cute and useless around, he could just put a collar on one of the kids and make it do tricks!

The human actually laughed at him. “We went to stay with my brother, milord, when Frisk was fourteen years old. He was a widower, so she took it upon herself to be the lady of the house. Within a few months, she was managing his servants, balancing his accounts, organizing his social affairs—clear up till he remarried last year.” His narrow chest puffed out. “It’s a large part of the reason she’s been sought after. Any man would be lucky to have her.”

The monster’s hands were trembling again, a strange sensation burning him from the inside out. “Is—” It was a childish question, but he couldn’t help it: “Is she nice?”

Proust looked at him strangely. “Yes, milord. She is.” He flinched as Sans’ grip on the drawing tightened. “Forgive me,” the man quavered, “but why do you—”

“Gimme your hand,” growled the skeleton. He gestured, keeping the paper suspended in midair as he lowered his own hands. “Take the glove off.”

Proust swallowed once or twice, then obeyed. Sans didn’t hide his distaste as he took hold of Proust’s wrist, the human’s pulse twitching against his thumb. For a second, he didn’t know if he could go through with it; then he glanced at the portrait, and said, “Don’t move.” Before he could lose his nerve, the monster lifted a skull-shaped pendant from beneath his shirt, positioned the human’s finger between its tiny jaws, and willed them to snap shut.

Proust yelped as the pendant latched onto his finger. “What in God’s name is that thing?” he cried, trying to shake it off.

“Magic,” Sans said pleasantly. The poor skull didn’t seem to like it any more than the human did: its jaws sprang right back open, and he could’ve sworn he saw it make a face at him.

Proust was staring at his hand in disbelief, searching for signs of any blood or puncture wounds—nothing. “What…?”

“Here’s what’s gonna happen.” Sans tucked the pendant back under his shirt. “There’s a spot over by the gates where you can sleep. No one’s allowed in here, so you oughta be safe till morning. When you leave, jus’ head straight down the mountain. Pretty much any of the paths will take you to Ebott. I’d send ya there now, but my magic can’t get through the barrier on the gate.” He sighed. “Need ta pull some strings to get you back out at all.”

The human was torn between intense relief and distrust. “Thank you, my lord. May I—”

“Nope. Just be happy that’s all I did.” Sans indicated the man’s finger as Proust pulled his glove back on. “I’ll even let ya bring ‘er the flower. Nice, eh?”

The man swallowed hard. “Yes, milord. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. But…may I please ask why?”

The shadows seemed to creep in, darkening the lamplight. The human shrank back as the skeleton’s grin broadened. “Wanna hear somethin’ funny?” Sans reached up to run a finger along the portrait’s bottom edge. “I’m the boss around here, but there’s a lady hangin’ around I can’t get rid of, and she knows stuff. Guess what she told me ‘fore I came out here. Go on, guess!”

Proust looked nearly sick. “I…I don’t know, my lord. What did she—”

“She said, ‘Congratulations!’ An’ I said, ‘On what?’ And she said, ‘On your upcoming marriage!’ So a’course, I said, ‘The fuck are you talkin’ about?’ An’ she said I was gonna meet my wife real soon.”

It was subtle, but Proust’s eyes flicked to Sans’ pelvis. The skeleton’s amusement vanished. Just like a human—didn’t he know how magic worked? “Yeah, my wife,” he growled. “Funny part is, she was right.” The monster took Frisk’s drawing in one hand and tapped the side of his skull with it. “Wanna know who Toriel said it’d be?”

The man didn’t move, except to make a noise vaguely resembling “Who?”

Sans chuckled. “The first woman I saw once I left the room.”

A beat of silence. Sans was wondering if he’d have to spell it out when Proust howled, “No!” and made a credible attempt to tackle Sans and grab his daughter’s picture. “You can’t—”

The skeleton sent him sprawling with one push. “Sorry, Dad,” he drawled. “I left the room, an’ I saw ‘er. That’s that.” He laughed harshly at the man’s expression. “What? She’s gonna get her own damn castle, lotsa nice stuff—I won’t even make you pay for ‘er!”

“You—” Sans watched, bemused, as the human sprang to his feet, fists clenched. “Tear me limb from limb if you want, but I am not giving my daughter to a thing like you!”

“Yeah, about that.” The skeleton raised a finger. “Y’know that little nibble ya got just now? ’s a great trick. Lemme show you how it works.” Hmm…what to do? Better not get carried away, or the guy would have a nervous breakdown before he could get his daughter up here. “Grab the echo flower and say, ‘I’m a stupid doo-doo butt.’”

Before Proust could protest, his body turned, stooped, and picked up the blue flower. He brought it to his lips, and said, very solemnly, “I’m a stupid doo-doo butt.” Then his head jerked up. “What in the—”

Sans hooted with laughter, fighting the urge to slap his future father-in-law on the back and accidentally break his spine. “See? When I say you’re gonna do somethin’, you don’t have a choice, do ya?” He sobered in an instant. “So, yer gonna go home an’ fetch ‘er for me. Got it?”

“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done to me,” Proust said defiantly. “You said it yourself. Once I pass your gates, your magic won’t have any effect.”

“Good thing it ain’t my magic, then. It’s yours.” He got a blank stare, and sighed in exasperation. This was getting old: it was chilly out here, and he had a lot of planning to do. “I don’ have time fer a whole magic lesson. What it boils down to is, yer a part’a this place now. The magic’s with you wherever you go. Even when ya get back home—”

Proust chose that moment to make a break for it. Sans watched him race toward the gates, then reappeared directly in front of the bars, forcing the human to stop short. “Listen,” he said coldly, forestalling Proust’s attempt to cover his ears. “Three days from now, you’re gonna bring Frisk here. Yer gonna tell ‘er whatever you need to make ‘er stay. Then you’re gonna shut up and leave, and you won’t come back.”

The human’s face was crumpling in a way that suggested something wet was about to happen. “You can’t be serious, milord! Please spare her! Kill me instead!”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, quit bein’ dramatic!” Sans jerked his thumb at the castle. “Like I said, she’s gonna have everythin’ a lady could ever want. Almost everyone’s dead now, so there’s a bunch of neat stuff left. Hell, we got a whole room with nothin’ but jewelry in it.”

For some reason, this didn’t seem to reassure the human. “Frisk does not want things, and even if she could be bought off like that, a wonderful young woman like her has no business being entrapped by a loathsome abomination like y—”

“Shut your fucking mouth. Right. Fucking. Now.”

Proust’s teeth clicked shut as the air around Sans roiled with crimson magic. “Just for that,” the skeleton hissed. He stepped forward, jabbing the human’s shoulder with one pointed phalange, almost a claw. “Just for that, you’re not allowed ta make stuff up about her goin’ to school or marryin’ a human or somethin’. You’re gonna tell the truth: you fucked up an’ trespassed on my property, and you only get to live ‘cause you had somethin’ worth tradin’.” Another poke. “Let ‘er know that you’ve got three days from now—” Sans glanced at the rising moon. “—an’ if you’re not here by then, she gets ta watch her dad rot from the inside out.”

Another long moment of silence passed as the human stared up at Sans, hopelessness dawning as he searched in vain for any sign of mercy. There was no telling what he would have said if another sound hadn’t made them both jump: “SANS!” It came from over the marble wall, advancing rapidly. “YOU HAVE HAD EXACTLY AS MUCH LEISURE AS YOU DESERVE, LORD BROTHER! I HOPE YOUR TIME HAS BEEN RESTFUL, BECAUSE YOU HAVE FIFTEEN MISCREANTS TO DISCIPLINE AND A JAM SHORTAGE TO ADDRESS BEFORE YOU CAN RETIRE FOR THE NIGHT.” A stiff click-click of heeled boots. “I WILL BE WAITING IN YOUR SITTING ROOM. YOU ARE HUMBLY REQUESTED TO BE THERE WITHIN TEN MINUTES OR ELSE FACE SEVERE CONSEQUENCES!”

Sans mumbled a long stream of curse words as Papyrus’ footsteps strutted away. That reminded him of something. “Don’t even think about killin’ yerself or breakin’ a leg or somethin’ ta get out of this,” the skeleton said, still facing the garden wall. “I’ll say it one more time: go home, get ‘er packed up, an’ bring her back here on time. No tricks, no cute little loopholes, nothin’. Don’t bring anybody else with you, or I’ll kill ‘em. Got it?”

The human shuddered. “How—” His voice cracked. “How can you do this? You don’t have to do this! This is your castle, your land—surely there are enough women of your own kind to choose from? You don’t have to steal my daughter!”

The skeleton shifted to look at him. “Nope,” he said, and made to step around the human.

“Wait!” Proust fell to his knees, fists clasped in supplication. “One thing, my lord, I beg of you! Please don’t harm her!”

Sans could’ve cheerfully punted the man across the garden. “The fuck?” the monster snarled down at him. “Why the hell would I hurt my own wife? What am I, a goddamn human?”

There was no answer, only a ragged sob. “Good night,” the skeleton muttered. Proust tried to say something else, but Sans paid him no mind: he had things to do, and to look forward to.

Her father was hiding something.

That seemed impossible, and not just because he was a terrible liar: almost the moment he stumbled over the threshold of her uncle’s house in a filthy, sobbing heap, he had started babbling about a monster stealing his Frisk. Once he’d been cleaned up, fed, and tucked into bed, he’d stayed awake long enough to relate a horrible, fantastical tale of stumbling across the castle from local legend and running afoul of its hideous master. And they’d believed it, because…well, she loved her father, but he had the most wretched luck imaginable.

At least her aunt had been asleep when all the commotion started, so there was nothing to stop Uncle Raph from assuring his brother that they would look into the matter as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Servants were dispatched to fetch books from the library and summon the nearest mage from his cottage outside the village; by the time Aunt Kay woke up, her maid could report to her that her brother-in-law had come home bearing a “geas,” a type of curse far too powerful for humans to break, and would lose his daughter in less than three days.

Frisk had to give her aunt credit: she said all the correct things about being so very sorry and hoping that there was a way to save her poor niece from having to live with literal monsters, possibly for the rest of her life! And when it became apparent that there was nothing anyone could do, she was the first to embrace Frisk – as much as she could around her enormous belly, of course – and assure her that if any young woman could handle such a bizarre fate, it was her. She’d packed a bag of sentimental items for Frisk to take with her in case she got homesick, with only the slightest hint of glee at having sole dominion over the house now.

Her father had come home with a cold brewing, because of course he had; knowing she was going to leave and having so little warning had caused chaos among the servants, and Frisk was too busy making arrangements to do more than check in on her father every few hours. He spent most of his time either asleep or staring at the beautiful blue flower he’d brought her.

That was the last bit of proof anyone needed to believe his story. Echo flowers only grew in intensely magical surroundings, and there was so little magic left nowadays that they were thought to be extinct. But here it was, a thick-stemmed, six-petaled blossom that repeated anything spoken nearby. Frisk would’ve been more excited about it under different circumstances, but…well, maybe her new employer would let her have a few of her own.

The whole thing was strange, all the more so because of the way her father had told that part when they were gathered to listen to his story. He’d said he was bound to do what the creature commanded him, which was to bring his daughter up to the castle within three days’ time. The most logical supposition was that Frisk was going to get eaten, but her father had hastened to assure them that the beast seemed angry at the very idea of hurting Frisk. He just wanted…

There was that little hitch in his voice when he said the beast wanted Frisk to perform all the functions of a housekeeper, and that she would be well rewarded—why hadn’t he just said “The monster needs a housekeeper”? And why had he clutched his chest like that afterward? Was the geas hurting him for saying the wrong thing?

Frisk had kept herself too busy to think about it very hard, to believe that she was really going to be thrown out of another home and into the clutches of monsters from myth and legend; on some level, she could convince herself that her father had exaggerated or made some kind of mistake, and it wasn’t going to be so bad. But now, nearing sunset on the third day after her father’s misadventure, they were most of the way up the mountain, and fear was starting to creep through her veins like frost. Her father could be naïve, even simple-minded, but he wasn’t crazy. She really was going to be left alone in a strange place full of strange creatures, expected to take care of them, answering to a walking, talking skeleton—this couldn’t be happening!

A couple of the younger manservants had insisted on accompanying them part of the way. The mage had warned them that they could only get so close to the castle before the horses refused to go any further; sure enough, about a mile from the castle gates, the men had to help them dismount before the animals grew frightened enough to turn and bolt. Frisk gave each man a quick hug – at least her aunt wasn’t there to scold her – and they reluctantly headed back down the mountain to wait with the terrified horses, ready to escort her father home.

The latter was growing more and more agitated as they approached the castle on foot. He could barely speak with his throat raw from coughing, but the way he kept glancing at her, clearing his throat and sighing heavily— “What is it, Father?” Frisk finally asked.

“I…” He swallowed. “I haven’t been entirely truthful, dear.” She stiffened, shifting her bundle to her other shoulder as he coughed into his handkerchief. “The creature didn’t order me to say the exact words in just the right order, and I didn’t want to humiliate you in front of everyone by telling the full story—”

“What story?” The lump in her throat grew heavier as the trees started thinning out, the ground sloping sharply upward. “Is it really true that I have to stay with the monsters and keep house for them?”

“It’s true, love, but…” Another maddening pause. “Er. He is a skeleton, so I believe you’ll be spared…some things, but running the household is included in your role as—”

The wind rose from nothing to a scream of frigid air, nearly throwing them to the ground. Frisk lowered her arm, and to her dismay… “We’re here,” her father croaked.

In the dying light, a huge wall loomed over them, black marble framing a set of gates over thirty feet tall. The bars were nearly obscured by climbing ivy; despite her fear, Frisk found herself drifting closer in sheer curiosity, reaching to pull the ivy aside.

“Frisk!” her father croaked. He was almost unrecognizable, pulling her back and giving her a little shake. “I…” She watched him struggle with himself, and lose. “Stay here, and be good,” he said jerkily. His lips formed a few frantic words, but she couldn’t catch them before he crushed her to him in a sudden, fierce embrace. “Be careful,” he whispered. “I love y—”

The sun had disappeared over the horizen. Before she could hug him back, Frisk felt something coursing through her father’s body, forcing his arms to drop and his legs to carry him back a step. He struggled to get more words out, but it was too late—what had his last orders been? “Shut up and leave”? Charming, and succinct…and effective.

This was it. Frisk had had plenty of practice at smiling, and did her best. “Goodbye, Father,” she said helplessly. “I love you, too.” Then she turned and plunged through the ivy before he could hurt himself resisting any further.

When she stepped free of the bars and brushed the leaves from her face, Frisk almost forgot her sorrow and despair in sheer wonder. Lamps on iron posts lit up a garden arranged in long, orderly, but breathtakingly lovely rows of bushes, flowerbeds, statuary—she’d never seen anything like it. Letting her bundle hang from one wrist, Frisk turned to look at the gates and the massive walls, wondering how big the grounds must be if this was just a private garden. Granted, it belonged to the lord of the castle, and he obviously cared enough to keep it in good order…

And had terrorized her father into forcing her out of her home to come play housekeeper amongst total strangers for…how long? If the problem was just that monsters couldn’t cook or clean up after themselves, maybe she could stay long enough to teach them and then go back. Surely they didn’t expect her to do it all on her own forever, not when they had magic to help them do everything? But if they could do it with magic, then why bring her here at all?

Frisk shook her head, scanning the garden for signs of life. She could hear a fountain burbling in the near distance, just out of sight; the wind was freezing, but carried the smell of flowers, helping calm the human down a little. It was enough to let her take a step forward, then a few more, wandering into the first stand of rosebushes and a patch of black irises. Their petals didn’t reflect light, but shone like velvet, tempting her to reach out—no, she thought hastily, snatching her hand away. Touching flowers without permission was what got her poor, well-meaning, hapless father into this mess!

No one seemed to be coming to meet her, but then, it wasn’t completely dark yet. If she had a few minutes to herself, then Frisk figured she could spend it in peace and calm before she met her fate, whatever that might be, whatever her father had been trying to tell her… So the young woman stood up and set off down the path, taking her time examining the rows of irises, snapdragons, and several flowers that had no business blooming at this time of year.

She didn’t see a shadow step out from behind a lamppost. Nor did she notice when it hesitated, then vanished, reappearing behind another lamppost, and another, and another, till it was just a few steps away.

Frisk thought she felt someone watching her, but when she turned around, there was nothing there. Shivering, she drew her cloak tighter around her shoulders, squinting up at a faint outline against the darkening sky. The castle wasn’t exactly hard to find, but that didn’t mean she knew how to get there; the garden was so huge that she couldn’t tell which path led out of it. Maybe she should—

“h u m a n~”

Raw terror flooded her senses, and her brain screamed so many conflicting orders that nothing got through; Frisk could only stand stock-still, clutching her bundle till she summoned the courage to whirl around.

Nothing was there. Was her mind playing tricks on her? No, she couldn’t have imagined such an awful voice, deep and rough as—

A delicate tap, tap on her shoulder.

Frisk shrieked and twisted around, landing on her rear with an ungentle thmp. “What are you doing?” she yelled. “Who’s—”

The air went still, her lungs shriveling and her heart stopping at the sight of a skeleton – this must be the skeleton – looming over her. The smooth bone of its skull had a dull, velvety sheen like the iris’ petals, and dots of red hellfire glinted in its empty sockets. Its teeth – no, fangs – were bared in a cruel grin, hands buried in the pockets of its black coat; beneath it, the creature’s shirt was a surprisingly bright red—satin? The tidy, domestic corner of her mind wondered how expensive that had been, and how difficult it was to keep clean; as a matter of fact, the skeleton was more richly dressed than her father had been at the peak of his wealth, right down to a frankly garish gold tooth. This had to be the lord of the castle, beyond a doubt.

But his wealth was less important than the fact that a skeleton was staring down at her. It didn’t speak, or grab her, or do anything but stand there, its face unreadable. Surely it could talk, after the way it had cursed her father?

Anger surged through her, propelling her to her feet. “Greetings, my lord,” Frisk said coolly, stepping back to discreetly brush herself off and drop into a deep curtsey. One of them had to be civilized about this! “My name is Frisk. I am here by your command.”

The skeleton blinked, the bone of its sockets somehow closing just like a human’s eyelids. Frisk was almost too fascinated to be angry—almost. It silently shifted its weight. Was it a “he”? The monster was dressed like a male, and had sounded like it. Why wasn’t he saying anything else?

A light gust of wind flapped her hood against her neck. Shivering, she broke eye contact to hitch her bundle back over her shoulder and reach to pull the hood up. “I hope I’m not too late to—”

Quicker than she could blink, the creature was right in front of her, inches away. Frisk tried not to cringe as his bony fingers plucked the hood from her grasp, letting it drop against her back. “What…?” Stupidly, she reached up again, and the skeleton’s brows drew together. His fingers pushed her hand away and, to her shock, rose to brush her hair off her cheek.

That did it: she was willing to come here to save her father’s life, not to be scared out of her mind, stared down, kept freezing, and all but propositioned by the thing that had done this to them! Who did he think he was?! “I beg your pardon!” she snarled, and the skeleton’s sockets widened as she smacked his hand away. “You will not touch me without my permission, milord! And if I am not allowed to wear this—” Frisk waggled her hood. “—then you will please take me somewhere out of the wind!” She tried not to sniffle, and hoped he’d attribute it to the cold. Without thinking, she scratched her cheek, trying to erase the unwanted feeling of those smooth, warmish fingers on her skin. “Lead the way!”

To her alarm, the red light in his sockets vanished, as if she’d blown out a candle. “Yes, m’lady,” growled a voice from somewhere deep in its chest. Frisk gripped her bundle as the skeleton turned on its heel. “Come along.”

Frisk tried not to gulp too loud, and hoped it – he – couldn’t hear her heart pounding as she followed him across the garden. With the anger ebbing away, fear was reclaiming her, dulling the wind’s bite and the ache building in her feet from the walk here; her aunt had insisted she wear a respectable dress and heeled slippers to meet her new master, never mind how impractical they were for traveling, and Frisk could feel a blister forming.

The skeleton’s shoulders were hunched, his hands in his pockets as his boots scuffed the white stones. It was a distinctly un-noble posture, almost sullen. Was he really the lord of the castle? He wasn’t carrying himself with much confidence, and though she’d obviously irritated him, he hadn’t bothered to correct her. Maybe monsters were nicer than humans overall, no matter what the stories said; maybe, she thought as they exited the garden through a wicker gate and started across a courtyard, humans were entirely wrong about them. She might just be a—

“Dumbass!”

The skeleton stopped so fast that she nearly walked into him. A moment later, something flew across their path, followed closely by a small yellow body. “The ball’s a dumbass,” it said helpfully in passing, with the snide, high-pitched tone of a child almost breaking the rules.

Frisk’s escort made a low noise and suddenly whipped his hand up and around. She barely had time to process what was happening before the little monster was jerked into the air, flipping upside down and hanging in a scarlet cloud. “Ya think you’re smart?” the lord demanded, gesturing to silence the…child, she supposed. “Don’t answer that!”

The lizard-like monster didn’t have arms to gesture with, but kicked his feet and snapped his teeth more than expressively enough. “Knock it off,” the skeleton warned him.

The child obediently stopped kicking, and started mouthing obscenities instead. To Frisk’s dismay, the cloud of magic dropped him onto the ground head-first and, before he could recover, picked him back up; the lizard stuck his tongue out in defiance, at which the red cloud rose several feet higher before dropping him again. This time, when it picked him up—

“Stop it!” Frisk protested. They both glared at her, and she shook her head. “He’s just being a child! He’s not hurting anyone!”

The skeleton snorted. Frisk felt her face flushing again as the magic dropped the young monster once more; the child gave her one sneering glance before scuttling off. Then the lord turned to glare at Frisk, who was trembling with fear and rage. “I could say a lot of stuff right now, but you just got here,” he said with dangerous patience, “so I’m gonna cut you some slack.” He started walking again. “C’mon. Everyone should be in the Great Hall by now, ‘cept that little fucker, but that’s fine. He’ll hear it, too.”

Frisk wanted to ask what he meant, and object to his language, but she was tired, and cold, and sore, and hungry, and now keenly aware of what the monster could do to her if he chose. She followed him meekly across the courtyard and through several more winding paths, most too dimly lit to see more than the skeleton’s broad back; he wasn’t much taller than her, but he was powerfully built, even without his hellish magic. He didn’t look sullen anymore, just angry. Frisk wasn’t one for self-pity, but…what had she done to deserve this?

He eventually stopped in front of a door so small and unassuming that she went right in after him, blinking in the sudden light, expecting to see a kitchen or servants’ entrance; instead, when her vision cleared, it revealed a dazzling array of…red carpets, stairs, dozens of voices, thousands of candles—her senses were too overloaded to take it all in. This must be the Great Hall, she thought muzzily, barely aware that the skeleton had turned to watch her.

She did notice when he took her hand, fingers tightening as she reflexively pulled away. “This way,” he muttered.

Frisk couldn’t help scowling. For someone who had spent so much time and cruel effort getting her here, he didn’t seem at all happy to have her. At least his hand gave her something to focus on as he led her through the columns at the back of the room and into the center of the red carpet. As she’d thought when he touched her face in the garden – which she still resented – his bones were as warm as human fingers, with a strange consistency, smooth and slightly pliant. He was probably strong enough to crush her fingers like brittle leaves, but he held them just firmly enough that she couldn’t get away. How nice of him, she thought irritably.

Suddenly, the skeleton paused and turned to face the room. “Hey,” he said, almost conversationally. “Shut up.”

The human thought he was talking to her until the hall grew very quiet, making her ears itch. A tug on her hand turned her to face the same way he was, and her eyes widened.

The room was full of monsters—the ones she’d heard about as a child, and with whom she’d be living and working now. There were creatures made of ice, one built almost entirely out of razor-sharp teeth, several fire spirits, some with fur or scales, or both…there was another, much taller skeleton, and…

Hm. She was good at making quick estimates, and there were barely a hundred monsters in the hall. Surely this couldn’t be all of them?

“So,” said the lord. With his free hand, he dug beneath his shirt and pulled out a pendant shaped like a miniature skull, elongated like a deerhound and sporting far too many fangs for Frisk’s taste. The skeleton raised the pendant to eye level: in an instant, Frisk sensed a shift in the atmosphere from mild disdain to wary, almost fearful anticipation. “Here she is,” proclaimed the lord of the castle. “Meet…Frisk.”

No one reacted, except for a few scoffs and an extremely half-hearted “Hurrah” from the back of the hall, more insulting than no response at all. Frisk hoped she wasn’t expected to introduce herself, or say literally anything else.

Luckily, the skeleton was already speaking again. “So,” he intoned, and as one, the monsters flinched. “First off, no one’s allowed to hurt her—directly, indirectly, on purpose, sort of on purpose, tricking her into it, trickin’ someone else into it, I don’t fucking care. Humans are weaklings, remember? If any of you assholes so much as breathes on ‘er too hard, I’m gonna take you apart mote by mote and burn yer dust in front’a everyone.”

Judging by the monsters’ shocked faces and low murmurs, this was quite the threat. The skeleton lord’s hand was holding hers a little more tightly—was he shaking? At the front of the crowd, the other skeleton had uncrossed his arms and seemed ready to—

“Second!” Everyone twitched. “You do what she says, when she says, unless I tell you different.” He paused, as if weighing his options. “No lyin’ to her. If she wants ta know somethin’, you gotta give ‘er a good answer.”

More murmurs of surprise and resentment. Frisk could feel little pulses through her contact with the skeleton—his pendant was doing something magic-related as he spoke. With a start, she remembered her father’s description of the skull that bit him and inflicted the curse of obedience; this must be the same thing, in a way that let him use it on every monster at once.

Regardless of how he was doing it, Frisk wished she understood why. He clearly did want her here, but how terrible could things be for him to go to these lengths for her? The first tiny prickling of unease began skittering around the back of her mind. What had her father been trying to tell her? Something he’d been hiding that would have destroyed her reputation among her family and friends, with worse duties than arranging parties and checking whether the maids were stealing anything …and the monster being a skeleton was relevant. What could possibly—

Someone had asked a question. “No, not yet,” the skeleton said, to groans of disappointment. “Party’s tomorrow. We’ll hold off for tonight and let her get settled.”

A loud, rude snort made everyone turn to the back of the crowd. “Well, ain’t that sweet?” It was a tall, armor-clad figure holding a faintly glowing spear. The voice was female, but almost as rough as the skeleton’s. “I know if I was her, I’d want you to hold off for tonight!”

The monsters erupted into jeering laughter. Frisk’s face burned as the implication sank in, and she gave the skeleton a disbelieving glance as that sense of disquiet prodded her again. What kind of party was he talking about? Would he really go to this much trouble to procure a normal housekeeper, much less protect her like this and celebrate her coming?

To her bemusement, the skeleton seemed as embarrassed as she was, and several times angrier. “Fuck off, Undyne!” His magic pulsed again so strongly that Frisk’s palm tingled. The woman in armor made a faint sound and staggered back against the wall. “If you’ve got time to say stupid shit, maybe it’s time you—”

“That’s enough,” said someone above them.

Frisk felt the air in the room shift again; this time, it felt like a classroom where the teacher had walked in and just looked at everyone. Every monster in the Great Hall – even Undyne – sank to one knee; the skeleton’s hands dropped to his sides as Frisk turned to watch another monster descend the staircase. “Tori,” he mumbled.

The white-furred monster glared at him. She resembled a giant goat, but seemed far more predatory, perhaps because of her golden eyes; they reminded Frisk too much of her uncle’s captive hawks, which always looked ready to eat someone. “How strange,” the goat-woman murmured. “I could have sworn that we’ve met before and you know how to properly address me.” Like magic, she was now smiling brilliantly at Frisk. “Welcome to our humble abode, my dearest girl. May I be the first to congratulate you on your conquest of Sans’ affections?”

The human’s polite smile was fixed in place, the one she used at parties when trapped in conversation with people she wasn’t allowed to run away from. “You certainly may, Lady…?”

“Toriel, my child. I am the former Queen of this place, now a silly old lady enjoying my twilight years in retirement.” The goat monster inclined her head, and suddenly raised her voice. “Thank you all for coming. I believe dinner should be ready soon?”

That was the monsters’ cue to scatter, no compulsion necessary. “Well,” said Toriel as the room emptied. Her smile twisted in utter contempt. “You seem surprised, my dear. Was Sans incompetent enough to allow your father to lie about your purpose here?”

The skeleton – Sans – gritted his teeth. Frisk would’ve felt sorry for him if…no, wait, she wouldn’t, ever. “Well,” she said, echoing Toriel, “when my father told everyone at my uncle’s house what happened, he said the monsters wanted someone to ‘perform the functions of a housekeeper.’ He never came out and said I’d be marrying anyone.” Frisk gave Sans as poisonous a look as she could, and his sockets went blank. It was unnerving, but she was too angry to care. “On the way up here, he tried to talk more about it, but then he had to leave.”

Toriel cackled, raising the hairs on the back of Frisk’s neck. “Of course he didn’t tell the rest of your family you’d be sharing your bed with a skeleton! You’d be the laughingstock of the village—no, the whole country!”

“Tori,” muttered Sans. Somehow, his entire skull was turning a dull crimson; he’d shrunk in on himself, looking much smaller and curiously vulnerable. Good.

The goat monster must have agreed; she smirked, and fully turned her back on him. “I hope you can understand your father’s intentions, my dear child,” Toriel said. Frisk would have given anything to make her stop smiling. “Parents tell these little fibs every so often to protect their children’s feelings.” She patted Frisk’s shoulder with a soft, heavy white paw. “I’m sure you’ll understand once you start having them.”

Frisk’s skin crawled—whether it was Toriel’s touch or the thought of that with Sans, she couldn’t say. Probably both. “I wish he had given me some forewarning, Lady Toriel, but I understand his reasons. He was also very sick when he reached the village, and likely still is, so we didn’t have many chances to talk privately.”

“I am sorry to hear that,” Toriel murmured. “But it was to be expected after a night outside without food or drink, and then a walk down the mountain without provisions.”

“A what?” Frisk rounded on her would-be husband, who was sweating profusely. How the hell did—no, never mind. “You didn’t give him anything at all? And you made him sleep outside?” she demanded.

Sans’ eyes sparked red again. “He trespassed on my land and fucked up my garden! What was I s’posed ta do? Give ‘im a cookie and his own private room?”

“Anything but keep him outside like a dog!” Frisk was so angry that her eyes were filling with tears. She swiped them as discreetly as she could. “I am overtired, Lord Sans! May I be shown my room for the night? Or would you prefer I sleep in the garden?!”

“Fine!” he bellowed. For a horrible moment, Frisk thought he was really going to lock her outside—no, he was grabbing the pendant: “Panne! Lapis! Get your asses down here, now!”

“I’m afraid you have your work cut out for you, my child,” Toriel said kindly to Frisk, who was seething so hard that it took a moment to realize someone was speaking. “If you want any help, dear, you need only ask.”

“Thank you, Lady Toriel,” the human replied. “I’ve dealt with bullies before, but they usually don’t have magic on their side.”

Toriel cackled again as Sans’ eyes went blank. “Well said, my dearest Frisk! Very well said. Our lord is accustomed to getting what he wants, but a bit of reality may be what he needs.”

“Y’know what?” The skeleton’s voice was high and loud with indignation. “You’re right. Forget it. Fuckin’ forget about this whole thing! We’ll do the ceremony, make it so yer creepy-ass curse worked, an’ then she can go back to her dumbass family. How’s that sound?”

Frisk’s heart leapt…until Toriel gave a gentle sigh. “Yes, Lady Toriel?” the human asked warily.

“Yeah, what?” Sans snapped.

“Several things, children. For one, Sans, you already came crawling to me for help in getting Frisk’s father through the barrier—to be honest, I’m surprised we were able to do it at all. I absolutely do not have the resources left to move another human through the gates safely.”

Frisk could have cried, but as it turned out, that was the least of her problems: “And if you think you’ll be man and wife after a few words and a slice of cake, you’re sorely mistaken. A true marriage is built on time, trust, and communication.” Toriel nodded benignly. “And sex.”

“What?!” It came out in perfect tandem between the skeleton and human.

The goat monster didn’t bother to hide her glee. “I never said you’d find a wife in name only, you pathetic sack of bones! What are you thinking, trying to get rid of her? Why go to all the trouble of snaring such a lovely thing if you were just going to shoo her off? I’ve never seen you so excited, having your room prepared and planning what to eat for—”

“There they are,” Sans said sharply, looking and sounding ready for death as two rabbit monsters approached. “You! Get her fed, bath, sleep, whatever! I’m goin’ to bed, good night!”

Toriel’s grin was the most evil thing Frisk had ever seen. “Good night, my lord? It’s only—oh, dear. There he goes.” She examined the tips of her claws, and gave Frisk a look that made the human shudder. “Was it something I said?”

“REALLY, BROTHER, I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU EXPECTED.”

Sans tried to think of something witty, but it was easier to bash his head against the wall some more. So—

“WILL YOU KINDLY STOP THAT FOOLISH NOISE! IF IDIOCY COULD BE REMOVED THAT WAY, I WOULD GLADLY CRACK YOUR EXALTED SKULL OPEN. BUT NO, YOUR LORDSHIP’S STUPIDITY WOULD REMAIN INTACT NO MATTER WHAT MEASURES WERE TAKEN.”

For the millionth time, Sans found himself reaching for his pendant, the key to the spell encompassing the castle and its grounds. All he had to do was concentrate on Papyrus and command him to shut up for ten goddamn minutes. His life would be easier, and quieter—

—and complete shit, because Pap wouldn’t be his brother anymore. Sans rolled his skull sideways along his bedroom wall, glaring at the taller skeleton. “Get yer ass off my bed.”

Papyrus snorted. “WHY? IT IS APPARENT THAT YOU WILL BE THE ONLY ONE USING IT FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.”

“Oh, not you, too!” Sans grabbed a book at random from the shelf and chunked it at his brother, who easily caught it and tossed it to the floor. “What, you wanna be more like Undyne?”

“PATHETIC AS SHE IS, IT WOULD STILL BE PREFERABLE TO OTHER PERSONS OF MY ACQUAINTANCE, BY WHICH I OF COURSE MEAN YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE TERRIBLE.” Papyrus did get up, though, and Sans tensed as his brother approached the mirror. “WHY DO YOU STILL KEEP THIS?” To Sans’ indignation, Pap took the ink drawing from where Sans had stuck it in the mirror’s frame, holding it up for a closer inspection. “SURELY, NOW THAT YOU HAVE CAPTURED THE HUMAN IT DEPICTS—”

“Put it back,” Sans snapped.

Papyrus tutted under his breath. “AS MY IDIOTIC LORD WISHES.” Unwilling to make a mess of any kind, the younger skeleton tucked the picture very gently back into the frame, smoothing down the creased edges. “IT WILL BE RUINED IF YOU DON’T STOP CARRYING IT EVERYWHERE.”

“Yeah, I know,” the elder skeleton grumbled. He let the back of his skull thump into the wall again, earning another sharp look. “You can leave now.”

Pap’s boots tapped impatiently on the stone floor. Several rolled-up rugs were stacked at the other end of the room, but Sans had made several excuses to leave them there, unable to admit his fear of picking something she didn’t like. Of course, now he would kill for that to be his biggest problem. “WILL YOU BE ALL RIGHT, BROTHER? SHALL I BRING THE MANUAL? THE SECTION ON WOOING A KIDNAPPED BRIDE IS PITIFULLY SHORT, BUT—”

“I’m good, bro,” lied Sans. “Go to bed.”

It wasn’t a command, and they both knew it. “I DIDN’T GET A CLOSE LOOK AT MY NEW SISTER,” Papyrus remarked. His gloved finger tapped the edge of the portrait. “IS THIS ACCURATE?”

“No,” Sans said sharply. “Don’t touch it.”

“HMPH!” Only Pap could make that a complete sentence. “I SEE. THE ARTIST SEEMS SKILLED ENOUGH, BUT IT MUST BE ANOTHER HUMAN LIE. IT IS A SHAME, BECAUSE THE FEMALE IN THIS PICTURE IS NOT NEARLY AS HIDEOUS AS MOST OF HER—”

“Get the fuck outta my room!”

Eventually, Papyrus complied, leaving Sans with only his stupid, stupid thoughts for company. There weren’t enough permutations of “fuuuuck” to express what he was feeling, so he settled on staring at the windows and letting his head hit the wall some more.

He hadn’t lied to Papyrus. The picture wasn’t accurate: it didn’t show that her eyes were gray, or the way her nose scrunched when she was mad, or how her cheeks turned pink when he touched them. Looking at it always made him want to hold her, but it didn’t have her light, sweet scent or feel so damn soft that he forgot he wasn’t supposed to touch—

Fuuuuuck. She was here, but this was still bullshit! He’d felt a twinge in the spell framework and realized that someone was trying to get around one of his orders – probably by a lie through omission – but how was he supposed to know it was Proust? He never expected that whinging, craven little shit would avoid telling Frisk she was going to be married. She hadn’t had time to get used to the idea, weigh the pros and cons, maybe move past him threatening to kill her daddy as leverage…

Oh, who the hell was he kidding? Even if Sans had gone about this as honorably as he could, and even if she’d had a year to think it over, she never would have accepted him on her own. No matter what anyone said, he was still a monster, and she was still…

His mind veered off yet again to when he’d followed her through the garden. He’d been so thrilled that she was really here, but so terrified that the ideal he’d built up from one picture would fall short of reality; maybe he’d made an ass of himself, getting everyone to clean stuff up and get things out and plan it all down to the second for someone who’d drawn herself to look better than she really was. Maybe her dad was just being a dad and he’d actually spoiled her rotten, letting her take the credit for some actual housekeeper’s work. Maybe she wasn’t really that nice. Maybe this was a mistake.

So, faced with possible perfection, what did he do? He snuck up close enough to smell her, weirded her out, and then tried to play it off as a joke, which scared her even worse. And…

No, the picture wasn’t accurate. He’d been so stunned that he just stood there like a complete moron, not apologizing or helping her up or introducing himself, because she was so beautiful that he forgot to breathe. Of course she got scared and mad at him, and he didn’t know how to handle it because he didn’t know how to handle anything, so he just acted like himself, and—

He was going to kill Toriel if it was the last goddamn thing he did!

The wind was howling again. Sans wondered if it was keeping Frisk awake, assuming she could sleep at all after discovering she was going to marry him.

He looked at his bed, which had never had anyone but him in it, thank you, Papyrus—he’d enjoyed modest success in his sex life before that stupid fucking day with Asgore, but ever since, he found that being able to make people do anything he wanted was a massive turnoff. It felt creepy and pathetic and, well, wrong, even if he didn’t actually order anyone into the sack, or to do anything in it.

Now that he was going to have an actual wife – who thought he was a bully, hated and feared him – would that be any better? Maybe if he courted her well enough, let her see that he’d loved her before they ever even met, refrained from using magic to change her mind…

If that was the best he could do, then no, it wouldn’t be any better. Sans gave himself one last bang on the wall, kicked his boots off, and climbed onto the bed. “G’night,” he said out loud, and closed his sockets to wait for morning.

#hey i think i'll terrorize my way into a relationship #wait wHy DoESN't sHE LiKE Me

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juniaships · 3 years

Text

Odelloyd (Yodel shipping)

Since @minecraftninjerkid expressed interest I wrote a particularly long post about Odette and Lloyd Garmadon's relationship. It's basically set in my AU of the while Ninjago canon. It's pretty angsty in some parts, and honestly I love this couple because it's a story of two individuals who learn to trust and like TALK with each other and work out their issues together! Plus I feel like if Lloyd needed another love interest within canon it should be someone who can match his energy, a strong young lady who works side by side with him!

Harumi is still the princess but now she has a LADY IN WAITING!! YAYAY

Mostly because she needed a morality pet in some way but also a foil to show if Harumi hadn't been so consumed by personal demons

Odette was a homeless orphan living on the streets with her sister; often stealing from food carts to feed themselves

One night Odette made the mistake of stealing from one of the SOG and they catch her and bring her to their base

Instead of being mad Harumi was impressed by her thieving skills and decided to recruit her. Odette didn't want to at first but then she had second thoughts thinking the extra money could help her and baby sis

So Harumi brings her back and manages to convince the Emperor and Empress to hire Odette as a lady in waiting & decoy if Harumi needed to sneak out to do her business Odette is So instead of it being Harumi it's Odette who stays and befriends the ninja

Odette had NO IDEA her friend plotted to blow up the palace - with her still inside - not great thinking there o' Quiet One

She also had no idea how AWESOME Lloyd is on a motorcycle: "Sweet moves grasshopper!"

They stop at several places gathering clues on the location on the final mask leaving a lot of time for Lloyd and odette to bond; for the first time in forever Odette starts to enjoy life again

The Ninja take Odette in and decide to search for the final mask. Odette does what she can to help out (and find info) getting close to them and my OCs

Lloyd even buys her a gift: a lotus shaped hairpin to replace the one she lost in the palace fight

The jungle incident happens; Lloyd and Odette separates for a while and she comes across the real princess who had stalked the group the whole time undercover

But she's afraid that her big secret might come out everywhere she goes she's often looking over her shoulder

Odette starts to really enjoy the Ninja's company and all her perceived notions about them fade; but she still had to find Harumi to try to talk her out of her plot

Odette meets up with Lloyd inside the caves and they look for the final mask. Finally they see it and Lloyd grabs it, happy that they found the masks before the gang did but notices Odette isn't feeling the same

She's tells Harumi that they're all making a HUGE mistake with the Masks; Harumi of course refuses and orders her to stick to the plan or else

He asks her what's wrong and that's when Odette becomes hysterical and begs Lloyd to destroy the mask or run

Lloyd doesn't know whay she's talking about and tries to calm her down suddenly they hear some sarcastic clapping and in steps in Harumi. Dressed in full Royal Garb

Lloyd is confused and doesn't understand looking back and forth between the newly revealed Princess and the one next to him

Harumi reveals that she is - was - the real princess and that Odette was acting as her decoy to spy on the ninja. She hadn't count on Lloyd catching feelings for Odette which made it all the more sweeter

Odette pleas with Lloyd claiming that while she was ordered to spy, her feelings for him and his friends were genuine. Lloyd coldly brushes he brushes her off and calls her a liar and demands Harumi why she planned all this. The Princess explains that the Ninja failed to save her family from the Great Devourer & that it was Lloyd himself who unleashed such monster on the city killing her parents and several civilians

Harumi also revealed that she had the Emperor and Empress assassinated as punishment for their inaction during that event, and subsequent failure in treating her like a person. "They didn't want a daughter they wanted a Princess."

Harumi takes out her knife and begins attacking Lloyd; Odette watches helplessly as they fight and in the ensuing chaos Harumi knicks Lloyd and orders Odette to return to their group

The Ninja wait by the docks and discovers Odette and the real princess together. They're shocked to see two Princesses; the real Harumi admits her plan knowing they wouldn't last for long to do anything to stop her. An Angry Kai yells at Odette for selling them out

Then the monster attack happens because it is drawn to the mask's essence; Lloyd saves Odette from being crushed, she tries to use the brief chance to explain but he still brush her off

The SOG board their ship and leaves; Odette wallows in guilt Harumi snarky asks her if she really thinks the Ninja are her friends. Odette shakes her head no and looks out the window praying for them to be alright

Back at the city the SOG takes Misako (and Cole's gf Rhenée) hostage to draw Lloyd out. Odette is no longer in her casual clothes but in SOG attire; at the ritual she pretends to be clumsy hoping to stall the ritual long enough

Rhenée asks Odette if she's willing to risk her soul for the terrible actions of other, hoping that Odette can make the right choice. This makes her think about her placement in the SOG

Suddenly the ninja crashes the party just in time and battles the gang. Odette frees Rhenee and Misako and allows herself to be apprehended

Outside she's sitting in the police van when Lloyd walks by and she begs him to hear her out. He wants to listen but is furious with her for betraying them and cuts her off

The ninja head to a bar to celebrate their victory; Lloyd has an honest talk with his mother about Harumi and vows to never trust again. Rhenée says that while Odette lied to them she notices that she's very different from the rest of the SOG

At the jailhouse Odette is sobbing at having lost everything - her friends, her life, and maybe even her sister. She takes out the lotus pin and is about to throw it way when she hears some commotion outside. Apparently the ritual brought back a monster. Fearing for her sister's safety she uses the pin to unlock her cell and sneaks out

Lloyd is too occupied with protecting Baby Wu to fight off Harumi; before she knocks him off Odette arrives & saves him and the baby

In the chaos the Monster arrives and tries to crush them all, Odette gives Lloyd enough time to escape but she falls to her supposed death in the process

Once the battle is over the four original ninjas are nowhere to be seen and are presumed dead

They find out Odette disappeared also, and believe her to he dead too

Harumi and her gang express joy at their enemies demise; and the gang no longer recognize Odette as their own seeing her as a traitor. Deep down Harumi feels a tiny bit pain over the loss of her only real friend but quickly sets that aside to prepare one last scheme

Lloyd grieves Odette's loss regretting they never had the chance to really TALK about what happened between them.

Unknown to everyone, the ninja and Odette were transported to the First Realm

Seasons 9&10 ramps up the angst

Cole is the first one who demands to hear her explanation. Odette explains her backstory and says whole none of it justifies her lies she has now become aware of her actions and is willing to help the ninja FOR REAL FOR REAL

The ninja do NOT want Odette anywhere near them after her betrayal and for a while shuns her.

Zane is the second one; his relationship with former merc Jetta he understands a bit what it's like to choose bad things for survive

Jay and Kai takes the longest: Jay because he's paranoid that Odette may just be evil and insane as Harumi; Kai because he is very protective of Lloyd (who he sees as a younger brother, and even had begun to saw Odette as another sister) and furious that she'd hurt him and their whole team like that

This leads to a series of trials for Odette to prove that she's willing to atone; she actually finds the last dragon's nest and vows to protect it

Meanwhile in Ninjago the city started an underground resistance led by Lloyd and Nya; Lloyd took in Odette's sister to take care of her now that she is gone

Odette and the Ninja finds a way out of the first realm and arrives with their new dragons. Odette splits off to confront Harumi and sees her on top of a building...which is about to fall much to her horror

Lloyd witnesses the scene and shouts Odette's name; the building collapses and he sinks to his knees in fear

Everyone watches with baited breath and cheers as they see both girls and the dragon coming out of the smoke alive

Lloyd and Odette apologize to each other then go off with their friends to fight off the Oni invasion

Once everything is over & Harumi decides to turn a new leaf and surrenders, everyone gathers at the monastery to celebrate. Wu invites Odette and her sister a permanent home with them

After s10 they don't get back together that quickly. Lloyd still has trust issues as in canon and Odette feels like shit believing herself to tbe the cause. Lloyd says it's not her fault, he's simply fed up with random villains coming at him for the crime of being the Chosen One.™

Odette isn't exactly let off easy by the public; there's multiple conspiracies about her and stuff and some aren't exatly forgiving her for working with a group that killed the royal family and destroyed the city. In order to redeem herself in the eyes of the public Odette starts training to become a real Ninja, doing little side missions to help people even something as simple as helping little old ladies use an escalator. Lloyd supports her every step of the way, using his popularity "and natural charisma" to dispel any rumors about her.

#oc lore #ninjago #ninjago season 8 #lloyd x oc #lloyd garmadon #oc: odette #candyshipping

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yostresswritinggirl · 4 years

Text

Scholars’ Chit Chat Prologue Submission

XXX

Cyno x Reader (Platonic, possibly romantic in the future)

*Lore dump warning

*Spoilers for all the Archon Quests and speculations of Teyvat

*Really it’s all serious talk

XXX

This is basically how you and Cyno met

XXX

The libraries of Sumeru are quiet, like how they’re suppose to be.

It is a new semester after all, the freshmen are still getting a grasp of the large campus, though Cyno does guess that soon enough they will be awed of this place.

Walking among the tall shelves, he tries to locate the section he had been researching on, but a voice calls out to him, breaking his concentration.

“Hey, you ever thought of why were you given a Vision?”

He turns to the source of the voice, only to see you there, sitting on top of one of the book shelves as your legs dangled from it.

“I would say that it is a question worth discovering with my entire life.”

“Huh, to think that you would answer so naturally… Wouldn’t one first ask who I am or ask why would I want to know that?”

“Because, first, I know who you are and second, those who come to this place seek knowledge.”

“Oh, so I had become the talk of school despite me being here for the first day?”

“Indeed, you were known as one who had declared to not take part in any sort of Mysticism studies yet aim to unveil the mysteries of this world. They called you naive yet you had earned the highest scholarship obtainable. It’s kind of hard to not let such news spread out.”

“Well, there are certainly advantages and disadvantages with this commotion, but that’s not my main focus anyways.”

“And may I ask what that would be?”

“To search for answers to fulfil my contract with the God of Wisdom.”

“Contract?”he questions, not capable of following your conversation, you slyly smiled at this.

“Unfortunately, this upcoming topic requires a fee to unlock~ I don’t mind sharing my findings to others, but when it comes to something as rare as words from an archon….”

“You get the idea, a price is required for everything after all.”

“…”

Cyno stared at you as if you were pulling his leg, but his reaction made you smirk even more.

“Oh, I won’t be asking for much, something like… Your name, perhaps?”

Suddenly realising that he hadn’t introduced himself yet and was reminded in such a playful matter, Cyno couldn’t help but let out an embarrassed chuckle.

“My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Cyno, a pleasure to meet you.”

“Hmm… You know that one’s name is important, right? Names hold power, not necessary the one given by your parents but the one that defines your soul. There are quite a few stories mentioning that giving your name to someone is the same as giving a part of their soul to them.”

The male however lets out a laugh at your advice.

“Thanks for the warning, I’ll keep that on mind.”

“It was nothing, and to the end of my bargain, yes…’ you began as you jumped off the shelf, landing right in front of him. “Well, it’s more like a bet than a contract if I’m being honest.”

“Which is?”

“To find out the truth behind Khaen-riah’s fall, or more specifically, the reason behind the alchemist Gold’s fall, before I graduate.”

“?!”

The kingdom that had technology and Mysticism developed greatly even without an archon, then was destroyed five hundred years ago.

Not much is known about Khaen-riah, and yet...

Cyno, was shocked, no, shocked isn’t enough to describe how he’s feeling.

“That’s... nearly impossible, isn’t it? Just what sort of offer did he gave you to tip the scales-”

“If I succeeded, he would answer me anything I want to know about.”

“A-Anything?”

“That’s right~”

...

“What happens... If you fail?”

Everything comes with a price, as you had said.

“Then my life would be in his hands, for him to decide my fate.”

Despite only knowing you for not long, Cyno cannot believe what you had risked.

“Are you out of your mind?! What would you possibly want to know that you’re willing to-”

“To understand the laws of this world.” You answered one a simple matter.

“It has been so long that the human race had been existing and yet none of us came close in finding the truth of the world...”

“Or perhaps someone did, and they failed to tell anyone?”

“Even Khaen-riah itself is advance with Alchemy, history tells us that their greatest alchemist Gold fell and became quite a threat... But why...?”

“...”

“What I’m trying to say is that we’re too trusting towards the gods cause we’re told to do so since we were born, you know what I had learnt after being tricked once? Doubt everything when you first see it, question it’s existence and see if you can use another point of view to perceive it.”

“Why do you doubt the gods?”

“That’s because I believe in humanity’s wisdom. I believe that even without the gods, humanity can still take care of themselves as fine.”

“If you need to rely on someone else in order to live, then what’s the meaning of living in the first place?”

“This is... quite a lot...” Cyno mumbled.

“It is a lot to take in, I agree.” You nodded as you leaned against a shelf.

“Our senior Lisa left this place after mere two years and went to Mondstadt to be a librarian despite her being a genius the Academia hasn’t seen for 200 years... Is it because she saw something that nobody else realised?”

“So what you’re saying is... There’s more to the bigger picture?” Cyno guessed as you snapped your fingers. “Bingo.”

“But that being said, questioning the gods is the same thing as raging treason against this world... “ Cyno pointed out with worry. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“Indeed, *I’m trying to understand the rules of this chess game, so that humanity, the supposed audience of this game gets the chance to participate in it.”

“And if we can win this chess game or not, is entirely up to our legacy...”

“You have too much belief in humanity... Or should I say you have no intention of losing in the first place?”Cyno predicted with a sigh.

“Hm, seeing that you’re being so interested in our bet, perhaps you would like to become my partner in crime?”

Hearing this, Cyno finally realised that he was tricked at the point when he answered your question about his Vision.

“So that was what you were going after for all along, huh?”

“Haha, yup~ I mean, our archon didn’t state anything about not able to team up with others, so why not?”

“Able to ask anything from the God of Wisdom himself, what else more can a scholar wish for?”

Cyno understand that your words are trying to lure him, but in truth, who can give up this opportunity?

“I mean, even if we fail, I’m the only one who would lose anything so it really sounds like a pretty good deal to me~”

“And would you mind me asking for a warrant from you for the time I would be spending on this?”Cyno requested, surprising you for a bit.

“Well, how about my name? You’ve heard about me but haven’t known that yet, correct? With a part of our souls in each other’s hands, no one can run off easily, don’t you think so?”

“Alright I accept the of your con-”

“It’s a promise, not a contract.”

Cyno pauses at your sudden seriousness, he then takes notice of the frown on your face.

“...”

“You want this partnership to be built on trust and not just a piece of paper?” He guessed.

You softly nodded, trying not to meet him in the eyes.

But there’s no way that he would accept that, you two only just met after all-

“Then I promise, that I will be your partner in crime upon this bet against the Dendro Archon.”

Wha-?!

Cyno offers you a small smile. “Everyone has their own reasons, I too wish that I can understand you better within these few years... That is if you wish, of course.”

I’m glad.

“Yeah, likewise, Cyno.”

“I also by offering my name, promise that we will find out the laws of this world and allow humanity to earn the chance to be a part of this chess game.”

“My name is-“

XXX

*The chess game is referencing The Feynman Lectures on Physics, it is also referenced from Honkai Impact 3rd (another game of MiHoYo) Honkai Quest event by the character Delta, it is possible that it works as well for the world of Teyvat.

(One way that's kind of a fun analogy to try to get some idea of what we're doing here to try to understand nature is to imagine that the gods are playing some great game like chess. Let's say a chess game. And you don't know the rules of the game, but you're allowed to look at the board from time to time, in a little corner, perhaps. And from these observations, you try to figure out what the rules are of the game, what [are] the rules of the pieces moving.

You might discover after a bit, for example, that when there's only one bishop around on the board, that the bishop maintains its color. Later on you might discover the law for the bishop is that it moves on a diagonal, which would explain the law that you understood before, that it maintains its color. And that would be analogous we discover one law and later find a deeper understanding of it.

Ah, then things can happen--everything's going good, you've got all the laws, it looks very good--and then all of a sudden some strange phenomenon occurs in some corner, so you begin to investigate that, to look for it. It's castling--something you didn't expect.)

And welp, Exiled, mind me adding this?

-To their future child(ren)

And this is how your parents met//slap

With the Gnosis shaped as chess pieces and with MiHoYo’s other games referencing this...

Well theories will be theories until they’re truly revealed.

Until then Snowdrop’s gonna freak out on what the heck I just wrote

There will be continuations... Just please don’t look forward to it... OwO

Oh I do NOT mind AT ALL, Snowdrop. CONTINUE. This series looks so freakin cool and refreshing even!

#exiled community #genshin impact x reader #Cyno x reader #Snowdrop anon #exile.flower #exile.pocketwatch #Good shit #gender neutral #submission

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thethrillof · 3 years

Note

Hollow Knight time travel AU except characters go into the future instead of the past?

oh no.

(this bounced between headcanon and funky plot summary, as these things tend 2 do for me......)

let’s handwave this as an extremely mcfucked up experiment with soul and void with the pale royals trying to look into the most likely (and, they hoped, best) future way too hard.

everyone pretends not to panic while noticing everyone is panicking from the instant they notice what’s around them. they start from the white palace being gone to the void being uncomfortably barely-contained to, ofc, the entire dead hallownest thing. they try so badly to reason with the shambling infected guards and rich bugs they find once they get to the city, even though they know it probably won’t work...and then the white lady and the pale king absolutely blast those infected into ashes. for safety! and, to everyone else who were dragged along for the ride, exceptional trauma and grief that both are not letting themselves process.

lurien and monomon and the great knights, including hollow are probably there...

...but it’s too early for herrah, who has agreed and has placed her terms but hasn’t finished the deal completely.

this is a blow to hornet--who definitely noticed the terrifying white light that flashed through half the damn kingdom--and she is...not quite as helpful as she could be beyond tersely explaining the situation once she investigates. just there and gone again, watching as she did the little ghost from her webs above to see what happens. in particular, if the pale king fails and flees again.

“the situation” is solely the infection, the pure vessel’s failure, and everybody’s deaths. she does not explain much about herself and absolutely nothing about the fact that other vessels exist and there’s a strong one running around right now.

the pale king takes the hollow knight not being hollow badly, of course. because it’s terrible, the plan failed, and...he knew, on some level, but had been so deep in desperate denial and arrogance that he didn’t allow himself to think it through. tries to interrogate them but it goes nowhere b/c they’ve been acting hollow for so long they don’t know how to just stop--

--and they’re also horribly wrecked by the knowledge they failed and getting to see the ruins of the kingdom they were meant to protect before seeing the kingdom as it was living. they never left the white palace before, and would not gain the full knowledge of it until they were sealed within the Egg with the World Sense as a final gift. so for a long time they’re barely listening to more than the most direct orders, like “look at us” and things like that.

lurien wants to lock himself in his tower; monomon wants to go to the archives; neither of them do this because it is terribly dangerous to split up. this ratchets the tension up further. there is a lot of bickering that, again, everyone pretends is not bickering and is just discussion, because they are all too dignified and have more important things to be paying attention to for something so petty.

this doesn’t last, of course. they are reasonable enough not to storm off into the helltrap the caverns are, but everyone just gets fucking angry and starts flinging accusations at each other. and hollow. not the pale king because he’s the pale king and creator, and not the white lady because she is the queen and powerful, but quite frankly they’re both accusing themselves internally and every word flung at hollow is the same to the pale king as at himself.

dryya is defending the white lady as doubting the whole plan without quite saying so directly. ze’mer is incredibly loud and goes so far into her own language that nobody really knows what she’s saying. hegemol wants to go patrol the city and keeps nearly going off on his own anyway. ogrim and isma try to settle them down and fail.

(above, hornet is suddenly far less shocked in hindsight about everything going to shit for the kingdom. her childhood memories were maybe too steeped in nostalgia when she allowed herself to consider them.)

they do end up in the Watcher’s Tower just to get a better look in the city after all the arguing burns out for a bit (and calls infected their way). lurien suddenly doesn’t want to stay there anyway, since it’s wrecked and there are bodies of his loyal servants and also possibly his own self, dreaming. nobody learns anything of value and everyone just gets more upset! just what they all need amirite

the pale king decides the thing to do is to go to the temple of the black egg for a direct investigation. sort of in denial but mostly just floundering. the white palace is gone and so is his workshop. he knows only he could have done that. everything he ever built is gone, in fact. it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense, he’s latching onto something.

the theme of “everyone knows something is wrong but won’t directly call it out” continues! nobody else really has better to do. monomon is the most optimistic and tries to think of this as a chance to study the infection further, which she says aloud. she sees this as a chance to study the hollow knight as well, which she does not.

it’s not that hard to get through hallownest, all things considered. this seems like a good thing until the realization sets in: it’s only easy-ish (for these gods and knights) because most of the worst of it has passed. most of the potential threats died a long time ago.

quirrel! quirrel quirrel quirrel. he shows up at some point and it’s definitely freaky because he knows monomon but doesn’t, and this is somewhat stressful. on the flipside his lack of memory and having her mask unsettles everyone but her greatly.

he doesn’t come with them. instead, he wrangles a promise from monomon and the rest to meet him at the archives (once they talk a bit and he remembers where they are) later to talk things through properly. he’ll see the kingdom as it is before discussing memories of how it once was.

the little knight gets a heads-up from hornet when she sees them nearly crossing the path of the pale court’s remains. she warns them away, specifically, but it’s their choice, and they choose to go look at them. they’re not at the level of knowledge yet to fully understand the significance, only that there’s a bunch of non-infected and hornet not challenging them to battle, but speaking to them? warning them? must be a huge deal.

can’t say all hell breaks loose once they show up. really, everyone freezes. more guilt for the royals! various degrees of dawning horror for the rest.

hollow finally reacts, if only to step closer. they remember the little knight. oh, they remember.

the little knight does not remember them, but it doesn’t matter. familiar enough. and some answers, potentially, if they stick together now. so that’s what they do--once everyone starts moving again, the knight is there too, though they go off to wander fairly often.

the egg reveals nothing. watching the vessel reveals what they should have known already--impurity, or rather, that they are people.

they end up in dirtmouth, where people still live, and try to plan further there.

the knight basically abducts hollow to explore the kingdom with them anyway, after that takes a while. waiting is not giving them answers and hollow will listen to them as long as they aren’t given contradicting orders, and the pale king is suddenly unable to do that!

hollow gets to learn to be a person, in their own little ways. it’s not easy, but being away from the rest and with a vessel that expresses themselves in minor-but-genuine gestures helps immensely.

hornet shows up also for Sibling Bonding even if is not intentional on her part.

the future white lady is visited, eventually, and that goes rough. she’s glad to see the pale king and the rest, sure, but she can do little to help. it’s disturbing for everyone else to see how she’s bound herself, and dryya is extremely messed up by the fact she is dead and the white lady was unaware.

monomon and quirrel run the archives, sort of. quirrel tends to disappear for a while. monomon insists she’s fine with it. she’s not, but she’s certainly not going to discourage or stop him.

for the travelers, there’s no way home. the white palace’s tools are too important. all they can do is...rip their way into the Black Egg and end the Radiance. the pale king takes this upon himself, once this is apparent.

and once he bonds (barely) with the little knight, anyway, and they let him know about the dream nail. this takes a while, but not that long. the hollow knight of now still exists, and suffers, and they can be united in hating that if nothing else.

they take her down together.

the void drags them down together.

the pale king’s light and the knight’s power over void is enough to drag them back. the little knight, the king, the hollow knight of now and the not-pure vessel of then, and...

...there’s no running away. nothing else left to do. the kingdom is still dead, if not still rotting.

calling them a family is definitely incorrect! but all of them end up with a bond, and mostly choose to stay in dirtmouth, retrieving helpful things that still exist in hallownest and planning improvements to make it a better, bigger place to live. a good town, if nowhere near a kingdom. that’s for the best.

#vivifrage

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fe-semi-decent-scenarios · 4 years

Note

How would the blue lions react to facing/killing their s/o from pre-timeskip in battle?

[Wow, this actually upset me pretty hard when thinking about it lol. This kind of trope always gets me even if it’s being done by two characters that I don’t really like. It doesn’t help that there’s a thunder storm outside that’s making me feel emo. Thank you for the request, I hope you like it!]

Dimitri:

He’s slaughtered so many enemies that there is no more hesitance. His past self felt remorse for those he killed, and after each battle he would reflect on the dead. Unlike now.

He still remembers, but he doesn’t feel guilty. They opposed him and stood in the way of his revenge. To Dimitri, the people he faces in battle are nothing but walking corpses awaiting his blade

The professor had given him orders not to approach any of his old classmates. They wanted to try and save them

He brushed it off as a wasteful effort

“An enemy is an enemy. I care not for who they are or were, I will kill them if they stand in my way”

A regret he’ll live with for the rest of his life

The entire battle was a blurred frenzy. In his state of mind all the cries of those he killed mixed together. He knew not of who or what met his blade

Only when he saw the distress among his inner circle did he realize: he killed you, and he did it without pause

The professor didn’t get their opportunity to talk with you, and you barely stood a chance against his onslaught

Another soul to haunt him

Another loss he has no right to mourn

Another reason to be called a monster

Dedue:

Once reacquainted with his fellow Lions Dedue swore himself to the cause. He would fight without pause till his dying breath

It seemed that having him back was a boost for moral on their end as well, and he felt genuinely relieved to see that ‘everyone’ was alive and safe

Originally he assumed that you weren’t recruited for the battle at Gronder and that he could visit you at the monestary.

When inquiring about your whereabouts to his highness he only received a scowl. It wasn’t something new for Dimitri’s personality so Dedue decided to search during his free time

He spent ages walking around with the expectation of finding you...so, why weren’t you there?

He’d ask the professor if you’ve gone on another mission only to see one of their rare grimaces

Hearing that you’re fighting for Edelgard confuses him. He was certain that your loyalties lied with the kingdom. With a stoic demeanor he’d drop the topic and never bring it up again

Dedue may seem like a blind puppy who serves Dimitri, but he does have his own opinions. He just holds them back well

People mistake it for indifference. Felix takes a few shots at him for his lack of emotion

“You’re telling me that (Y/N)’s not here and you don’t care? Weren’t they your s/o?” “My personal feelings do not matter. If they oppose his highness then there is nothing left to discuss” “You two really are a match made by the goddess. A heartless dog for a feral boar”

When the time comes to cut you down he hovers near your body after the battle. When your buried the grave will never be empty. Every week comes with fresh flowers, and never is there any debris on your stone

Felix:

It was your own fault. If you had backed down like the others then this could have been avoided

If he didn’t do it then someone else would have. If he didn’t then you would have killed him instead

No. No you wouldn’t.

Felix knows that if the roles were reversed he would still be alive

How many people is he going to lose for the sake of the boar? First his father...now- now this

He assumed that after not seeing you in battle once that he was in the clear. You weren’t at the reunion so clearly something else must have been keeping you from coming back

He still could find you after this ended and you both could test your metal like the old days

It was the one relief he had

He wasn’t expecting to see you fighting at her side. Despite his stubborn behavior his affections towards you were obvious to everyone during his youth; something the ‘Emperor’ must have saved as a trump card

It was his responsibility to either make you see reason, or to end it all. He had not come this far just to die from old sentiments

“I will say this once. Get out of my way (Y/N) or I will cut you down”

You wouldn’t move or even fight back. They obviously made you into a human blockade. It was a swift death, something he continues to remind himself of

That was his final battle, one that left his sword heavy and thoughts lax

The future he longed for is gone, so this damn war better have been worth it

Ashe:

Ashe doesn’t like violence. He’s a firm believer that everyone is worthy of a second chance and that people sometimes do bad things for the right reasons. A life is a life, and it is precious

Each morning he wakes is a reminder of how lucky he is to be alive. There is no guaranteed tomorrow, and each day could be his last

He knows because he watches. He watches as the people he used to call friends die for what they believe in. In their mind they are fighting for what they think is right, just as he is

but he wasn’t prepared to fight you

Anyone but you. He prayed to the goddess the moment he noticed that you weren’t at the reunion. He wished for your safety, and hoped that you were not on the opposing side

He prayed that the goddess wouldn’t take you to her side

Despite being away for so long, he still loved you. That feeling was one of the few things he still held onto from his teen years

All faith was shattered when you appeared at the Valley of Torment. What a fitting scenery for how he felt

“Professor, let me try to convince them. No matter what happens I have to try”

and try he did. He begged you to switch sides once you were defeated but it was no use. You were doing what you thought was right

He couldn’t kill you, his bow wouldn’t hold steady even if he tried. The professor took it upon themselves to do it in his stead

He was grateful for their interference, but the image of your body won’t ever be erased from his mind

From then on he visits the church after every battle. He’ll sit at the same pew for hours and reconcile over what he could have done differently

He’d wonder why good people had to die for another’s benefit

Sylvain:

Sylvain finds the situation deplorable. Yet another person fallen to the system

Seeing you on the other side reminded him of Miklan, except you weren’t fighting to gain something. You fought for the side that wanted complete reorder

He thought your loyalties lied with the Kingdom, with him, but people change. The fire behind your attacks only fueled the questions within him.

Questions that he wasn’t 100% sure that he wanted answers to

Sylvain knows hatred, but just what happened to make you willing to give up everything?

He knows better than to blame himself. People didn’t know him for being the perfect partner, but there was nothing he or anyone else could have done to change your mind

What was he supposed to do? Lock you in the prison?Then what? It would only cause more issues. Seeing you in chains or in a cell isn’t something he could handle

You were one of the few people to break his barriers and see beyond the stigmas that others gave him. It was his turn to try and see your side of things, but he was too late

Just one more failure to add to the list. He failed his house, his brother, his friends, country, and now you

After the encounter he’ll be even more unmotivated than before. He only trains because Felix forces him, and never attends any of the extra lectures offered. His humorous mask basically dissolves to reveal what he’s always been hiding: exhaustion and despondence

If anyone tries to comfort him they’ll be brushed off

“Look, would you leave me alone? Don’t act like you understand when you can’t”

No one can, and he doesn’t want them to. He wouldn’t wish this hurt onto his worst enemy.

Annette:

She knew. It wasn’t the first time someone important had vanished from her life. People do not leave without reason

She knew that you were on the Empire’s side. She knew that there was a high chance of facing you in combat

Her father even brought up the possibility when they were alone together. He encouraged her to back down, but she insisted that all would be okay

It did not brace her for the hollow feeling of seeing your corpse

Normally when Annette is sad she’ll garden. If she can’t sleep then the first thing she does is go water the plants while humming one of her little tunes

So, she does. She pretends as if you two never reunited because it’s the only way she can push forward. With the situation as it is there is little optimism among the troops, she can’t afford to give in

She turns her grief into strength and volunteers to help around the monastery

As long as she’s busy then it’s okay. When she’s working then her thoughts can’t wander

Eventually it will settle in though, and she’ll want to vent. Out of everyone she’ll most likely go to Mercedes since she also has someone dear to her on the other side

“I-I don’t know what to do Mercie. It h-happened so fast but I can’t forget it!”

Annette is strong, and will remember you as you were to her. Not a ruthless enemy, but as someone she cherishes

Mercedes:

After the fight she’ll visit your old room. It hadn’t been touched in so long that dust coated nearly everything

The Empire had claimed Emile, and now you as well. When you fell it took all her willpower not to cast a healing incantation

It wasn’t what you wanted. The professor had offered mercy, but you chose death

A freedom she had no right to take away. With swift words she ended your life as peacefully as possible

It came as a shock to those nearby. If she had let the professor handle the deed then perhaps the pain would be lessened

But for some reason she couldn’t do it. Despite the tears in her eyes she refused to let you be pierced by a blade. An incantation would be more swift, painless, and leave your body as it was

While reminiscing in your quarters she’ll tidy up the space. She’ll admire your handwriting on the withered papers, sift through what books you had been reading, and eventually the room will be good enough to be inhabited again

Except no one would ever sleep here again, she knew it in her heart

However, Mercedes also knows that it was your choice. She won’t blame herself over your death, but instead use it as a driving force to protect the people she cares about who are still alive

“May the goddess guide you to eternal peace. I will never forget our time together (Y/N)”

Ingrid:

She wonders if it’s ‘her’ that’s the issue

Everyone she loves is gone. Dimitri is a shell of his former self, Glenn passed, her family’s in shambles, and now you have vanished as well

Ingrid doesn't like to show weakness in front of others, but there’s only so much one person can handle

Even a war-machine feels anguish from striking down people they care about. Ingrid has felt the hardship of losing a lover, but to be the hand striking the blow? How much strain can someone put on their emotions before everything snaps

The days after the world is unanimated. She continues on with her normal regime as if it was a minor bump in the road. Yet food has no flavor, training leaves her body weak, sleep is difficult to come by, and when people speak it’s as if there’s no tone to their voice

He sorrows become rage. She focuses all her negative feelings towards ending the war and it’s horrifying. Ingrid is known for her composure but if you gave her an eye-patch then the prince might have a twin

“This fight has drawn out for too long. Too many innocents have perished, and at the rate we’re going at there will be no future to speak of. Professor, my sword is yours. Let us finish this once and for all”

Pity those who cross her path. If women truly are made of ‘sugar, spice, and everything nice’ then your death has tossed five tablespoons of cayenne pepper into her mix.

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colonel-insomniac · 3 years

Text

Symphony (The Other Planet)

do i hear a spinoff? Yes, i sure do. Anyways, @pawsomelybuggy and @my-blood-is-maple-syrup surprise :). check out “I hear a symphony” by Cody Fry!!

enjoy

“I used to hear a simple song…”

Ezra and Pon had just lost Kai. The trio was split to a duo, and neither Ezra nor Pon knew what to do next or how to retrieve their friend, if they even could. All of what Kai meant to Ezra threatened to spill over; but he felt that he had to hold himself together for Pon’s sake, who had sat in the same position, staring off into space for about an hour at this point. He wasn’t sure what to do about that, so he elected to let Pon grieve, or mourn, or do whatever it is that he needs to do to be as okay as possible. Until they can find a way to save him, that is.

It’s so hard, though, when it feels that the light and soul of the universe is gone. Who knows what could be happening to Kai at this very moment? He could be in pain, or….

No. It absolutely could not be the alternative. Ezra doesn’t know what would happen if Kai was… gone, other than that he would completely fall apart. He’s scared to think what’d happen to Pon if that scenario came true.

“That was until you came along…”

With everything that’s happened so far, Ezra’s honestly surprised he’s even still here. He’s survived those days on the battlefied, he’s survived fleeing an alien government, and he’s survived being captured. So of course, his luck would turn on him now, of all times; but instead of it being him that got hurt of affected by his sudden lack of good fortune, it had to be Kai. Kai with the big green eyes, and even bigger heart, Kai who didn’t deserve to be hurt.

Ezra glanced away from the inky black night and towards Pon inside the cave they sought shelter in. As he blinked to adjust his eyes to the dim light the fire that had been created provided, he saw Pon staring at the rock wall opposite from him. His eyes were haunted, so filled with crushing sorrow that Ezra would go as far as to say that they had nearly reached a point of being devoid of any emotion. He watched as a tear slowly slid its way down Pon’s cheek, the silence between the two palpable.

Ezra carefully sat down, trying hard to not disturb the silence for Pon, and watched the flickering fire as it quietly crackled. Somehow, it resembled Kai in that moment, ever burning spirit and unwilling to be bested. Selfishly needed, but not appreciated until taken away.

“Now in its place is somethin' new…”

Pon sniffed, and broke his staring contest with the wall. “How do we get him back?” His voice cracked, desperate to bring his best friend back to the safety of their group, matching the rampant emotions filling Ezra’s head.

He takes a moment to think over the inquisition. “Well, let’s think for a moment. If you were going to take someone and hide them, wouldn’t you take them somewhere no one would expect?” Pon nodded, seemingly understanding the gibberish flowing from Ezra.

“Well, where would be the one place where it would seem annoyingly obvious to take Kai?” Saying his name feels like admitting a dark truth that Ezra hopes is not true in any way. But now is not the time for sorrow, and tears, and fear. He swallows and blinks hard, trying and failing to dispel some of the emotions building up.

After a few moments to ponder over the question, Pon’s eyes light up, sparking with the slightest hope, and he mutters “the abandoned building.” Ezra nods, standing up and offering Pon his hand.

Ezra gathers his will and wipes any trace of emotion off his face as Pon quells the fire. Ezra sighs, thinking how they are going to pull off breaking into what is now a governmentally protected building.

“I hear it when I look at you…”

The snow is somehow colder than it was when they had been walking the opposite way, as though the world knew what was happening and was so in shock that it could no longer function. Ezra knew how that felt; much like how the exterior of his body felt numb from the biting cold, he felt numb internally. As though nothing but the next worst outcome could shatter him into ever lasting motion.

The trek was quiet. Neither knew what to say to the other, how to comfort the other. Pon sighed every so often, a sound so crushed and devoid of everything but the tiniest sliver of hope, and Ezra moved silently, his gaze emptily trained in front of them.

He’d be lying if he said he doesn’t have nightmares-- and the daytime equivalent-- of his time on that dreadful field watered with the blood of humans and Azurellians. Blood mixed symbolically, as though none of this really even matters. Not that that thought is shocking to Ezra even in the slightest.

Really, though, his nightmares varied. Sometimes, he was the one who got mutilated, other times, people he has come to care about, or his parents. Thankfully that last one only happened once. And when it was just him who was getting hurt, it was different than when it was someone else who was getting hurt. On his own, he could just wake up, check his body until he was sure what happened wasn’t reality. But when it was Kai, or Pon, he sat in a state of worry until he could check on them to make sure they were alright too. And while he may not have had many friends back on Earth, there was nothing he could do to see if they’d been hurt or not. All he could do was tell himself they hadn’t been taken here as far as he was aware.

“With simple songs I wanted more…”

A twig snapped under his foot, and both boys jumped, startled out of their respective thoughts. Pon cast a wide-eyed look at Ezra, who attempted to convey that stepping on the twig was completely an accident. Ezra glanced down at the snow, figuring it was better to train his eyes on that, in order to keep the illusion of invisibility.

The building drew near, lights on and with an air of life to it that had not been there when they had originally sought it out with Kai. Pon grabbed Ezra by the arm and steered him away from the building, something urgent in his steps. Once they were approximately five minutes east of the building, Pon let go of Ezra and pointed an accusatory finger at him. “When we get in there and get him, you absolutely cannot try to sacrifice yourself. No matter what happens, you are our ticket off this place. You do not jeopardize that if you want Kai to survive.” Ezra nodded, frightened that Pon had somehow known exactly what he was planning to do. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he questioned why Pon had only mentioned Kai getting off this planet. Surely Pon knew that Ezra cared for his well-being as well, right?

Pon had started walking again, so Ezra had to dash to catch up, silently noting the tense posture the boy in front of him had taken. “Pon, you do know I care about your well-being too, right?” Ezra isn’t totally sure if he should be offended by the look of shock on Pon’s face at that statement, regardless of how quick he was to cover it.

Pon nods, and swallows uncomfortably. “Well, I guess I do now. And same to you, in case I haven’t made that clear.” Ezra nods, biting back all the things he wishes he could say in that moment. They’re too close to the building for him to be able to do that, though.

Suddenly, Ezra has an overwhelming urge to smack himself in the face. They got all this way, and neither of them discussed how they would even enter the building. Or at least Ezra hasn’t, Pon starts heading towards the back of the building. When they don’t find an open window, Ezra’s already picking up a rock, feeling its weight in his hands. “You aren’t thinking of breaking that window, are you?” Pon whispers, surprise etched onto his face.

Ezra nods, features grim but determined. “We need a way in, and unless we have some way to disguise ourselves and sneak in, this is the only other option.” Pon hesitates before nodding, stepping back so that Ezra can get to work.

“I don’t know that there’s a quiet way to break glass, but…” he mutters, trailing off. Suddenly, Ezra stands a bit straighter, shrugging his coat off quickly and removing his black t-shirt underneath. The rock gets wrapped in the shirt before sailing through a window on the first floor. While the shirt muffled the sound of breaking glass, it still was loud, and the duo quickly clambered through the window to avoid the guards, dashing up a set of stairs outside the room. Hearts racing, they slide into the attached bathroom, unkempt and dirty from the years of not being used. Pon locks the door behind him, huddling in a corner with Ezra. The lights are off, and Ezra can barely see, but he doesn’t hear any footsteps.

“Perfection is so quick to bore, you are my beautiful, by far…”

Kai felt as though this timeline was endless. His hands were tied behind his back, his legs to the legs of the chair. If Pon and Ezra didn’t come back for him, well he could hardly blame them. His head throbbed and he ached basically all over, cuts and bruises littering his body from the authorities attempts to get him to give them any information. He refused, of course, and faced the repercussions.

He craved to succumb to the endless, inky black of unsconsciousness, for a moment’s peace, but it seemed as though he would never really know peace. Kai numbly glanced around the bare white walls, into the window that allowed him to view the hallway. Something inside of him was filled with a crushing dread that he wouldn’t make it out of here.

Kai dropped his head, so his chin touched his chest, and closed his eyes as he started humming a quiet tune. Some pretty ideation of his mind, somewhere better,, and brighter, where he could just be. That’s all he wants to do, is to live. Or well, wanted. He just wants to close his eyes...so bad.

His eyes are on their journey to being closed when a loud bang makes him jump. Kai’s body feels shocked, before the pain from moving sets in, and he groans, barely holding back a sob.

“Our flaws are who we really are…”

The next time he opens his eyes, Kai wishes he could rub at them because he swears he sees Pon standing in front of him, glancing at the door. Kai has a feeling Ezra is on the other side of that doorway, taking care of the guards that had been ensuring that he’d be kept within the room. Pon finally looks at Kai, and his eyes well with tears of guilt, and Kai knows Pon felt guilty about Kai being the one who had been taken and not Pon.

Kai blinks, and promptly screams when he manages to drag his eyes open again. Where Pon had once stood, he now lies, red liquid spilling out from inside him. Kai tugs against the ropes restraining him from tending to his friend, desperately trying to break free. His heart feels like it has both stopped beating, and is beating too much, and in the back of his mind, he’s aware he needs to slow his breathing. But all he can think of is Pon, the bright eyed boy who had willingly been his friend all these years.

The red makes its way to staining the ends of Pon’s hair, and Kai can do nothing besides frantically attempt to escape his restraints. Ezra darts inside, but halts at the sight of Pon collapsed on the floor. Dropping down next to him, Ezra places two fingers against Pon’s neck, watching his chest for a couple seconds. “He’s breathing but we need to hurry.” He pulls out a shard of glass from his back pocket, and Kai doesn’t want to even begin to think where that came from. Not that he can, anyways.

“I used to hear a simple song, that was until you came along…”

It takes a moment for Ezra to slice through the ropes that bind Kai, but once he’s free, Kai immediately drops down beside Pon, hissing at the lightning rod pain that electrocutes his body. Kai places a shaky hand against his best friends cheek, whispering his name as he tries not to cry. Ezra glances between the two friends and the door, and quickly scoops Pon in his arms, turning to Kai. “Are you able to walk?” The taller boy’s gaze is filled with sorrow, pain, and concern, but Kai painstakingly struggles to his feet, pausing to regain his breath, biting down on the inside of his cheek before nodding.

It’s apparent that he can barely walk, and he winds up with Ezra wrapping and arm underneath Kai’s to provide enough support to where the shorter boy could walk. Luckily, they don’t manage to run into any guards, though it had been a very narrow escape, as Kai could hear the rushing footsteps above him.

They don’t make it back to their original cave, but they do find an abandoned underground bunker, where Ezra lays Pon down on the bed gingerly, helping Kai to sit next to his friend, before exiting the room to give the two privacy while he pokes around the bunker.

Ezra had ripped off a part of his jacket to tie around Pon, and luckily it hadn’t soaked through yet, but Pon’s short and raggedy breaths worried Kai to no extent, “I‘m not gonna make it.” Pon whispers in the thick silence.

“You took my broken melody, and now I hear a symphony…”

Kai shakes his head as best as he can, not wanting to believe a word of it. “No, you can’t leave me alone.” As much as it hurt, Kai let the tears roll down his cheeks.

“Not alone, you have Ezra.”

“Pon, I can’t do this without you, I need you to be okay.” Kai gingerly placed his head on Pon’s shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut.

“I’ll try.” Pon whispers, his breath evening out.

Ezra returned with bandages and rubbing alcohol in hand, stopping abruptly at the sight of the two sleeping. His heart seized as the thought of them both being gone flitted through his head before he focused in on the steady rise and fall of Kai’s chest, and the slightly less stable breathing from Pon.

Though he felt bad about rousing either of the boys, he decided to allow Kai some rest, and gingerly nudged Pon awake.

“And now, I hear…”

“Ezra, I’ve been thinking,” Pon whispers, glancing at Kai’s sleeping form before training his gaze to the ground. “If I don’t make it, please don’t let Kai feel guilty. He has to know I—we —would never have left him there.”

Ezra swallows. What do you say to someone who knows they’re basically dead? “No, you won’t die?”

He settles for a grim nod, briefly explaining that hopefully cleaning the wound would prevent it from getting infected and increase his likelihood of survival. He hands Pon a clean white strip from his coat’s inner lining to bite down on as he uncaps the bottle of rubbing alcohol.

Lifting Pon’s clothing out of the way of the wound is harder than he’d thought. It was a mix of trying not to get frustrated, and trying to remain gentle. At long last, the skin is finally separated from the cloth, and Ezra glances at Pon before giving Pon his free hand when Pon extends his.

With a nod from Pon, Ezra pours the clear liquid over the wound. Pon lets out a muffled groan, shifting in pain, clutching Ezra’s hand. When the other boy pulls the liquid away, Pon is left gasping for air, barely noticing when Ezra wraps gauze bandaging around the wound.

“Do we have to do this to Kai?” Pon is instantly protective, not wanting to impose any pain on his friend. Ezra glances at Kai, whose eyebrows are scrunched together.

Ezra knows he should say yes, because they really ought to, but he too cannot bring himself to allow more pain to come to Kai. He mutters all of this to Pon, who nods, relieved. After helping Pon lie back down, Ezra waits until Pon sleeps before sitting just in front of the bed, resting his head in his hands.

Pon never wakes up again, his body cooling by the time Kai wakes. The short boy feels instantly numb, but later breaks down sobbing in the bathroom, where Ezra finds him seated in the tub, clothed as water cascades down around him.

They wind up bringing Pon to Earth with them, neither wanting to leave him on Azurelle, both facing a desire to allow him to rest somewhere he truly wants to be.

“A symphony…”

Kai visits Pon as often as he can, plays him all the music he’d discovered since the last time he’d been to the sunny field. Kai talks, telling Pon how much he still misses his best friend, still expecting to see Pon walk through a doorway, like nothing ever happened. Kai cries, wishing Pon was there to cry with him, or comfort him.

One day, Kai is laying curled in his bed, too sad to move. On days like these, Ezra makes sure to ask Kai what he would like. Today, Kai wants to not be alone in his silence. Ezra holds Kai silently, not on his phone or watching television, and Kai’s reminded of how much the other boy cares for him.

Both get startled when they hear a knock on the front door of their tiny apartment, followed by a voice that sounds eerily similar to Pon. Kai can’t find the will to move, fearing he’ll be disappointed, as though this is a trick of his minds innermost desires.

#the other planet #kai #pon #ezra #spinofffff #because originally i planned to kill pon off in the other planet: azurelle #and then i didnt #so now i did #:)

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themadauthorshatter · 3 years

Text

I'M BACK!

So, like I said in my break announcement, I got some ideas for Toppat!Henry, but that unfortunately happened AFTER I posted Part 4.

I was thinking of ideas like this:

Everything remains the same after the chase with RHM, rather than getting captured, Charles pulls a Bold Action Man and jumps off the building. Or so we think, because we'd switch to Henry watching 'Charles fall' and shoot to his feet and shout, "NO! CATCH HIM!"

Funny thing about Bold Action Men: they're plans work. They horribly mangle themselves, but their plans work.

Charles actually landed on a window cleaning lift, which kind of broke when he landed on it. His phone, however, wasn't so lucky.

The lift breaks and Charles catches himself before he falls for real, swinging and climbing into an open window so he can then roll to the floor.

The supplies, including a heavy coat, all fall to and hit the ground; the phone's absolutely fucked, by the way.

Right rockets down to see if Charles actually died, and Charles sees him fly down.

When Right's gone, Charles groans and sits up, opening his jacket to see that he caught himself a little too well, evidenced by a gash that's opened on his ribs, right on the side that was already injured, too.

He groans and stands up, stumbling to the wall.

With Right, we see him hiver over the ground and report back to Henry that Charles did not fall at all. It was just a bunch of supplies and a spare coat. Henry, on the orbital station, sighs and falls back into his chair, silent for a second before he orders them to look inside the building they're on, in case Charles slipped inside to escape.

With Charles, TV perspective, we'd follow a blood trail to see him stumble through an office space, panting and light headed; he's walked down a couple flights of stairs and reached the office to try and look for an elevator, and that gash he has is doing nothing to help.

A wave of exhaustion washes over him and Charles catches himself on a desk, dry heaving as a whistle catches his attention.

"Don't look so good there, pilot. Heh, guess what they say is true: a Nine'-to-Five' does get you killed."

Charles demands the owner of the voice reveal himself, and he obliges.

Hope you remembered him from the "epilogue" in the secong Henry Stickmin Headcanon post, because, ladies and gentlemen, you know him, you either love him or you hate him, please welcome with open arms the worst leader in Toppat history: Terrence Suave

Before they can make proper introductions, Terrence grabs Charles and pulls him behind a wall, into that rec-room in the office space for coffee and food, and puts a hand over his mouth as he shushes him.

Right flies around each floor to survey and find Charles. He does try to get in the window, but the group has to leave and report back to Henry while the beam is hot and ready.

Right flies off and, once he's sure they're gone, Terrence lets go of Charles, who immediately backs away from him, which makes his wounds worse.

Charles doesn't exactly recognize his face, but asks why he's there, all things considered.

Terrence only laughs and admits he likes THIS version of Charles, bold, brave, confident even with a wound, and not an absolutely mindless psychopath working for or with the Toppat Clan- "Well, not as long as Right or Henry get a hold of you."

Upon seeing Charles's confusion, Terrence backtracks and says he'll explain later as he helps Charles to an elevator, grabbing a stapler on the way.

"What... What's that for?"

"Well, I can't really have the fireworks expire before the show begins, now can I?"

Charles shakes his head. "I don't know what you're saying."

"Don't worry about it. Let's just get you back to your government friends."

They enter the elevator and leave, Terrence admitting that he hopes Charles is in that numb state of shock as he knocks him down, lifts his shirt to reveal the gash and then pulls out the stapler. "Try not to move to much, pilot. This might sting a little."

At the base, the twins are getting a HUGE scolding and shout-at by Galeforce, who's very angry that they didn't tell him or anyone else about what Charles was doing, or the fact that Henry had called him.

They're still sorry, but, when asked, admit they don't know where Charles went, only that he was in a hurry and wanted to go alone. Again, Henry had called him, so maybe he had something to do with Charles running off.

Galeforce rubs his temples as Canterbury admits that Charles has been breaking his rank a lot recently, even blindly and stupidly wondering if he's a Toppat spy.

The twins, Galeforce, and Rupert all gkare at him for this, and he holds up his hands and admits he got the idea from remembering how slippery Henry is.

Rupert politely disagrees, as the government is all Charles has. Sure he's broken rank very often, but that's out of impulse and drive to stop Henry without anyone getting hurt. And before you say Charles is being a martyr, his sole goal is arresting Henry and making him call a total surrender for the Toppats. He can't take the clan all at once, and he won't because the government is on his side. He doesn't really care about taking out the clan as a whole, but he does want to stop Henry; and he's focused on Henry the most because of the failed airship mission and the still raw wound Henry left behind. Yeah, he took that very personally.

Regardless, just as Rupert offers to go and look for his friend, the phone rings and Galeforce answers.

"Ch... General? Are y-you there?"

"Charlie!? Where are you right now!?"

In the phone booth, leaning against the wall and paler than Snow White, Charles fights a gag. "Mid... Midtown. I-I got chased. They tried... They to kidnap me. Or-or kill me. I don... don't know, but-..."

Charles groans and slumps down, the pain fading, adrenaline wearing off, and exhaustion catching up to him.

Terrence catches him and sets him down, sitting him down as he takes control of that phone call.

"General Galeforce, I believe I've found your pet pilot for you. Thank goodness, too, he's injured. Bad."

"WHAT!?"

He shrugs and waves a hand. "Don't worry, a couple staples solved that." He turns to Charles. "Right, Charlie?"

"Screw you," Charles spits.

"Don't tempt me."

"Where is he?" Galeforce demands. "Wherever he is, bring him back!"

"Relax, Hubert. He's fine. Just needs a doctor andsone rest, that's all."

Galeforce, tired and just wanting to see his boy, tells Terrence to meet at the base, and to get there as soon as he can.

Terrence agrees and hangs up before helping Charles up and getting him in the car Terrence is "borrowing from a friend😈" and setting out.

On the orbital station, Henry paces as Right and Reginald explain what happened, admitting that they didn't see Charles fall all the way down. Just a little bit. If they didn't know better, they'd say he vanished into thin air.

Right also informs him that he saw Charles's phone fall, but there was nothing there when he went looking for Charles. Reg even explains that on the way up to the roof, the door jammed for a second, having been barred by an old screwdriver.

Apparently whoever was there just wanted to distract them for just a few seconds.

Henry notices this and growls, slamming his fist against the table.

Back with Terrence and Charles, the half cybernetic man is tapping Charles every now and again to keep him awake, in case he checks out for good.

Charles is sick and tired, but also extremely confused as to what just happened.

"I don't... Who are you?"

"Terrence Suave. Nice to meet you, Charles Calvin."

"How d'you... how do you know-... Are you-"

"Before you call me a stalker, just think of it like this: Are you religious, Charlie?"

Charles cringes at Terrence calling him a nickname only Galeforce uses or is allowed to use, but still shakes his head. "That's none your business."

"Fine. Believe in spirits? The afterlife? After some folks die, their souls are free to do whatever they please only catch is they can't DO anything because they're, you know, dead."

Charles only stares at him incredulously.

"I'm basically a spirit, kid. I see just about everything. I see things and I know them."

Charles shakes his head and asks, "How'd you know I... I'd be in the city?"

"I guessed. Good thing I was right."

"W-... Who-"

Terrence waves off the questions and tells Charles to stay awake as long as he can, so they can get him help.

They get to the base just as Charles passes out, Galeforce, the twins, and Rupert all rushing over to catch him.

Terrence tells them not to worry because he just passed out, even admitting he really shouldn't have used staples to close the gash.

Galeforce berates him and demands to know who this crazy bastard is and what he's doing, and Terrence reveals the bits of Charles's phone. "Give the kid a fossil. It'll be harder to track and tap."

They get him to the infirmary, Charles murmuring about keeping the twins safe and that they're after him, they being the Toppats, and he needs to leave town.

Galeforce hushes him up for this and tells gets him to the infirmary.

As Charles is carried away, Terrence watches, amused and perky as he smiles.

Slight gore tw, he then sighs, takes out his glass eye, cleans it off, and then puts it back in, groaning about how finicky it is.

Once it's back in, Terrence sighs and relishes in the fact that he's probably giving Henry a couple migraines

Again, this is just a possible revision, and if you guys like it, I can continue Part 5 off of this

Sorry for being away, I'll try to be more consistent now

Either way, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!!!!

#henry stickmin #charles calvin #completing the mission au #completing the mission #toppat!henry #slight gore tw #blood tw #terrence suave

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storysofmyown · 4 years

Text

Obey me! Scarred, Chapt. 11

Plot: It’s time for the next step in Diavolo’s plan to unify the realms. But, in order to work, the demons would be subjected to confront their worst fears, and in some cases, who they are.

Trigger Warning: Manipulation, some cussing, pain, mentions of blood.

Word Count: 10,684

“A-…Asmodeus…?” Lucifer called in the weakest voice ever. He watched in shock as Asmodeous stood between him and God. He should be happy at seeing his little brother but this…no…what was in front of him was not his little brother. Was not the Asmodeus that was always brightly smiling and basically shining with excitement. Asmodeous eyes were entirely white, but you could tell he had been crying for a long time. Asmodeus had blocked Lucifer’s punch and was still holding it, both of their hands shaking by the force. Shock having made Lucifer’s demon form retreat, but an even deeper hate started to appear as he looked at his father.

“Brother” Asmodeus said in what was quite not his voice. It was layered and in it one could hear Gods as well. His voice was raspy, as that of a person who had been screaming for hours on end would sound.

“What have you done to him?” Lucifer spitted venom and hate towards his father as his eyes took in Asmodeous old angel form. Disgust and fear settled in. The entire room was silent, the music had stopped and now people were starring at them. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Solomon, Mc, and some of his brothers, he knew the others were behind him. He could also see Diavolo and Barbatos making their way to where they stood. Behind God, the archangels, Luke and Simeon looked upon the scene. The latter two looked in fear and worry while the archangels just looked confused.

“Me? Oh, it pains me that you think I had a hand on this.” God feigned innocence before seeing that Lucifer was not buying it and smiling. “Really, it was all Asmodeus, he practically begged me to get rid of his pain. Seems like you haven’t been paying any attention to your family.” God grinned. Lucifer felt his rage grow more. Unaware that he was just feeding into God’s plans he retaliated.

“WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN?!”

“Really? Are you that oblivious?” God laughed, loud, sarcastic. His eyes darted where Barbatos and Diavolo were, they were getting closer. “Asmodeus has been living in pain…of who he is…of what he lost…tonight…he begged me to take all that pain away. But of course, you would not know anything about this…I mean, you don’t even know that I went to the house of lamentation.”

Lucifer froze, his blood ran cold as he strained up. He looked back at his family, at his brothers, at his own son, at the human he had grown so fond of. He saw clearer than ever the pain that tainted their souls. He knew they were all affected by God’s presence…but the fact that God had been close to his family… He looked at them and felt tears, he looked at Asmodeus… How had he been so blind to his family’s pain that he had allowed something like this to happen? He locked eyes with Diavolo, seeing the determination on the prince eyes to put a stop to this. But God was not done quite yet. He turned around momentarily, locking eyes with his followers, with his servants.

“You five”, he spoke loud enough for them to hear, all straightening up beyond believe, the fear within Simeon and Luke grew, unaware of what their father planned for their friends. “Hold them off.” Before anyone could react the 7 demons and a human were entirely consumed by darkness. No one could see a thing for a few seconds, and then a blinding white light came in.

They were no longer at Diavolo’s castle. They were in a cold and white space. No walls, no doors, no ceiling or floor, it was like they were literally standing on nothing. But that didn’t matter, not to Lucifer, all he wanted was for Asmodeus to be okay, for his family to be okay. The words of God resonated in his mind. He had not only had the decency from getting close to his family, but the man had also entered his home. They were not even safe there.

“It’s truly a…who am I kidding? The place is atrocious. At least I got a nice chat with Beelzebub.” God looked directly at Beel, who felt smaller than ever under his father’s gaze. The demon was not processing entirely what was happening. The moment he had seen Asmodeus like that, all the pain of when Lilith died came rushing back and the fear of losing someone else had him petrified. He had left God in on their home. And now he had been unable to protect someone in his family and Asmodeus had retracted back to his angel form and Lucifer seemed pissed and it was all his fault…this was his fault…

Beel made eye contact with Lucifer, his older brother looked at him, not with hate like Beel expected, but with sadness and worry as he realized that Beel and God had been completely alone. Beel felt even worse, not only had they lost Lilith because of him, Asmodeus was now in that state and Lucifer was being shown all the ways he had “failed” in protecting them and Beel was angry. He was angry at having lost people he cared about. He had let Lilith die, but if there was a way to get Asmo back and protect the rest of his family he would. Demon form took over as his anger seethed out of him, he watched as Lucifer’s eyes widened. Seeing this reminded Lucifer of when Beel found out what he had done with Belphegor…it was pure hatred behind the demons eyes, pure hatred and fear, sadness, pain, and a desire to rectify the wrong that he never did but he believed had been his fault.

Before any of them could react, Beel had launched itself at his father, with tremendous velocity and strength. Lucifer should stop him. He should not let his little brother confront their father like that, it was a bad idea. But the way it hurt at knowing that God had messed with his family…all rational thought had been left aside as he grabbed Asmodeus by the forearm, making sure he wouldn’t be the one at the receiving end of Beels rampage. He felt Asmodeus pull, as he was called by God, their father’s eyes glowing gold, but he would not let him go. Especially since he knew that Beel was not going to hold back. He was not counting on Asmodeus to try and get away from him with all his might, in a couple of occasions almost setting free, making Lucifer go into demon form to restrain him.

Beel launched himself at God. His father at first had stood completely still but upon realizing Asmodeus would not be coming to his defense, he moved faster than it was possible. At one moment he was in front of Beel and at the other the man was behind him. This unexpected turn of events made Beel lose balance and fall, but immediately scramble to his feet looking for his father. He noticed his father standing closer to Lucifer and Asmo, eyes glowing faintly gold as he called upon Asmodeus powers. At one point, Asmodeus grabbed Lucifer’s collar, and with a tremendous amount of force he pulled at it, Lucifer, amidst his distraction, had not realized this and was not able to defend himself. Before he knew it, he had hit the floor and was looking up, his eyes had snapped open in time to see Asmo basically fly towards Beel. Who stopped in his tracks upon Asmo coming into view.

“Asmo…” Was all Beel said. His eyes fell on God and on Lucifer who was getting quickly back to his feet. “Get out of the way!” He spoke sharply, not intending or wanting to hurt his family. Part of him hoped Asmodeus was somewhere there and would move. But or course he didn’t. Asmo wasn’t even looking at him, he stood perfectly still for a few seconds before charging towards Beel. Fighting against his little brother, even though he was far stronger than Asmodeus. He had to remind himself to dodge and not attack, this was family who he was fighting, he didn’t want to hurt Asmodeus. Lucifer watched as Beel was forced to fight against Asmo. And rage filled him as well. He ran towards God, ready to attack, and if necessary…kill, but without even looking behind God knew Lucifer would attack. He dodged easily.

“What a pain. Two against one…poor Asmodeus doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Then why don’t you fight?!” Lucifer shouted, ignoring the grunting sounds coming from Beel and Asmo in the background. He charged again at his father.

The others watched as the four fought against each other, when Mc felt a pull on their mind, and a small voice. Mc? A familiar voice spoke. Solomon? Mc tried to connect or respond to it. Oh! You can hear me! Mc parted their eyes from the fight, trying to comprehend what the small voice was saying. How is that possible? Mc had to move out of the way, Lucifer had been pushed by God to where they were standing, a gasp was caught on their throat as they tried to concentrate on what Solomon was saying. That doesn’t matter. You need to listen to me! We are trying to break the spell God made, once we do, you guys will be back at the palace and can help you-Uhg…until then we need you to hold on as much as you can. The sound of an explosion was heard, and Mc could not tell if it was the fight in there or the fight in the palace, either way, Belphegor pulled them further from the fight. How long will it take? Mc asked, ignoring Belphegor’s questions and panicked voice, was he crying? I don’t know…I need to concentrate but the angles are not making it easy…please…hold on.

“MC!” Belphegor’s voice finally came in. Mc eyes locked with his and the panic they reflected made Mc’s stomach turn. He was crying. Mc wondered why, and the moment they looked at the ongoing fight the question was answered.

“BEEL!” Mc screamed, the large being turned around, his silvery-white wings fluttering as his eyes locked into theirs. “No-…why…how-” Mc watched as Lucifer stood up and cleaned some blood from his lip. They had lost Beel in the few seconds they were distracted. Belphegor had this pissed off expression, but Mc could see the tears in his eyes. They looked over once again to see Satan in full demon form fighting against Asmo, while Lucifer tried to dodge Beel, and Leviathan, who also in demon form, was against God, Mammon was standing beside them. Completely still as he looked over.

“I…he punched Asmodeus in self-defense and…immediately stopped…I think he realized what he did and…he got distracted…God…he…” Mammon’s voice quivered. “He attacked Beel after throwing Lucifer across the room…Beel went out of demon form and…” Belphie lowered his head, a small sob came from his mouth.

“He was in pain.” Was all he said. Mc Looked at the scene. Worry filled them, as well as fear and sadness at seeing another brother fall into Gods command. Mc noticed the punch mark on Asmodeus face.

“We…we need to resist…Solomon and the others are trying to get us out of here.” Mc spoke, a little panicked. Belphegor looked confused for a second but didn’t question how they had been able to communicate with the wizard.

Mammon didn’t respond. He was looking at his family. He was looking at the people he shared his life with. He was looking at his annoying older brother, at his all-knowing nephew, at his needy little brother… he usually forgets Beel is his younger brother, the demon is so tall and strong that he stopped feeling like he needed to protect him a long time ago. But now…now…seeing Beel in what used to be his angel form it…hurt…Mammon looked down at Mc and the memories of what God had made him do the other night made him feel extremely unease…he wondered if that’s how it felt for them. If they were completely gone…or if part of them saw what they were doing. Mammon didn’t know which one was worse. All that he knew was that one of his worst nightmares was becoming reality right in front of his eyes. Mammon was supposed to be the second eldest yet here he was, standing away from the fight.

Letting his family get hurt as he begged to keep his individuality. Mammon gritted his teeth as he felt his demon form taking over. His wings came out and before he could even talk himself out of it, he launched himself at where God was attacking Leviathan. He was tired of being told what to do, he was tired of being the butt of the joke in the family, he was tired of being seen as weak but most importantly, he was tired of not being able to protect his family like he should, to protect everyone. Memories of Mc’s mutilated body flashed in his eyes as he got close. God was distracted with Leviathan, which gave Mammon a window of opportunity to land a direct hit on Gods face. This made him stumble backwards and release Leviathan from the chokehold he was being held. Leviathan fell to the floor coughing. Mammon stood in front of him, as God finally recovered balance.

“Ya good?” Mammon didn’t take his eyes off from God.

“Yeah” Leviathan huffed before standing as well, both ready to fight God, who seemed mildly annoyed. There was a loud noise coming from their left, Beel had punched Lucifer who went stumbling back and had clashed against Satan, they were now both on the floor. Beel looked over at God, and the being, with a devilish grin, made his eyes glow even brighter. Beel looked at where Mc and Belphegor were standing. And was seconds away from starting to run in their directions. Leviathan and Mammon locked eyes for a second and without even saying anything Mammon ran towards God, while Leviathan made his way towards Beel, preventing him from getting too close to Mc and Belphegor, who was keeping the human safe for the time being.

Lucifer helped Satan to his feet but before they even moved Asmodeus was attacking them. Asmo and Satan both fell to the ground struggling and throwing punches at one another. Lucifer was going to help him, but Satan screamed for him to go help Leviathan, who was now on the floor as Beel loomed a top of him. Beel was about to use all his force while striking down at the younger demon but Lucifer was able to reach in time and move him out of the way. Beel’s hands made contact with the floor, leaving behind a crater on the surface, which made Leviathan swallow. First God almost choked him and now Beel almost did that to him. Lucifer had his eyes fixed on Beel while Leviathan tried to calm his breathing. Beel immediately attacked them again, this time they were more aware of what was happening, and Beel could only focus on one at the time, which gave the demons the advantage of attacking.

Leviathan felt outmatched and powerless, he wanted to help and be able to do something, but he was weak. He knew that. He was not able to help anyone and the idea of someone getting hurt because of this ate him up. But the truth is that he wasn’t in his element, if they were close to water maybe he could help more, but none of that mattered now. He needed to do what he could, or else they would certainly get hurt. Beel tried to punch him, but Leviathan enclosed Beel’s hands with his tail, Lucifer kicked the larger being in the back of the knee, making him fall to his kneels momentarily.

“Beel! You need to stop this!” Belphegor called. Beel’s white eyes locked with Belphegor’s. The twins looked at each other for a moment before Belphegor took a few steps forward. “Beel…you can fight this…you need to wake up.” Belphegor’s voice was soft, softer than it had ever been. He watched as his twin had fallen into his fathers’ destructive ways, and it wounded him. Belphegor got as close as he could to the brother he loved so much. He knew his twin blamed himself for Lilith’s death…and partly it was his own fault. He couldn’t lose Beel, not him too.

“HAHAHHAH” A empty laugh came in, and before anyone knew who had laughed, they heard Satan’s voice.

“DAD! BEHIND YOU!” The moment Lucifer turned around he was struck in the face with such intensity he fell backwards. Beel started struggling and broke free, proceeding to start fighting Belphegor. Leviathan stumbled backwards, a weird, sudden wave of pain covered him, closing his eyes he bit his lip. Once he opened his eyes, God was right in front of his face.

“We meet again.” God kicked Leviathan, who fell and the proceeded to punch him in the face. Leviathan managed to stop another hit and rolled away from God, getting to his feet and trying to attack his father as well. Sadly, with Leviathan’s strike he left himself open, God managing to put a hand around the demon’s neck and started to choke him. He lifted the demon in the air as he struggled and kicked and tried to get away. Leviathan noticed how Gods eyes started to glow even brighter as he used, not only his strength but also, his powers to hurt the demon.

Mc! Mc distanced themselves from the fight trying to listen to Solomon. We are getting close to breaking the spell, but it isn’t easy. How are you guys holding up? Mc had to restrain themselves from sounding panicked. They watched as Belphegor and Beel fought against each other and how Mammon was ruthlessly trying to basically kill Lucifer. Mc didn’t see when God transformed Mammon into an angel. We lost Beel, and Mammon. There was a pause in which Mc thought that perhaps Solomon had not heard them. That…isn’t good. Mc scoffed at this, not wanting to take their eyes away from the fight. I know, how long till you guys are done? Mc had to move out of the way, Satan had punched Asmodeus hard enough to send him flying to where they were currently standing, Mc looked at Satan, he looked tired and was panting. We are halfway there, but the damned angels are not making it easy-

“SATAN BE CAREFUL!” Belphegor yelled; they saw as Satan moved in time to avoid getting hit. Mc´s eyes came into focus at the person that had just attacked Satan. They felt their heart drop at the sight. Leviathan stood from the floor, he turned slightly towards their direction and stared. Mc saw who Leviathan used to be, so different from the demon he was now. The sight making them feel sick, Leviathan had red marks on his neck and in the small distance they were able to notice the trail of tears. In how much pain had the demon had to be in?

“Levi…” Mc was feeling numb, thoughts barely making sense when a shadow started to loom behind them. Mc froze, eyes widening as they felt the presence of a large being behind them. They slowly turned around and saw Beel loom over them, Mc looked at his eyes, and the once warm and softness they were used to seeing in the demon was replaced by a blank stare and coldness rooted beneath. Mc didn’t know what to expect, there was a huge chance Beelzebub was going attack them. Mc didn’t have any type of power and compared to the others they were extremely weak. Mc swallowed, still petrified in front of what used to be one of their most valued friends. Slowly they brought up their hand, they didn’t know what they intended, and their line of thought was completely blurred, only recognizing the pain they knew the now turned angels must be in. Beel wasn’t looking at Mc, not really, he was starring at the floor. Perhaps he was trying to fight against God’s commands?

Their wrist was held strongly by Beel’s hand, he was grasping it with so much force Mc couldn’t help the yelp that escaped their lips as pain started to become more noticeable. Beel pulled them harshly, the stronger being pulled them up by their arm, Mc was lifted from the floor like they didn’t weight anything. Beel finally looked at Mc directly in the eyes, they felt their heart skip a beat, it wasn’t the thought of being hurt that scared them, no…it was the thought of who would be hurting them. They trusted the brothers with everything they had, they knew they would never hurt them because they were a finally…so the fact they he was being forced to hurt them…Mc just wanted to bring the real Beel and the other brothers back. None of this was fair for them, hadn’t they suffered enough?

Mc kept starring directly at Beel’s eyes as they tried to shake Beelzebub grip away. Mc hit him with their other hand and even kicked him a few times, at one point they event bit his hand, but nothing seemed to help. Beel threw them in the air, they thought they would hit the hard floor but instead they felt someone catch them and help bring them to the floor. It had been Satan, they looked at Mc with smile but the way his face winced once they touched the floor let Mc knew the demon was hurt. Both looked at Beel, who was getting ready to attack them again, he started running towards their direction, Mc braced themselves for impact when a figure came into view, barely managing to stop the bigger figure.

“Beel! You need to shake it off!” Belphegor screamed as he pushes against Beel. Mc heard them grunting and scream at the sheer force he needed to keep Beel in place. “Beel! Please!” But Belphegor’s plead fell to deaf ears, Beel punched Belphegor in the stomach, making the demon fall on one knee as he still tried to hold off his brother.

“This is getting sickening.” God’s raised an arm, locked eyes with Leviathan and Asmodeus before moving his head signaling to where Satan and Mc were currently standing. Satan groaned before moving with Mc, who still on his arms, out of the way. The last thing Mc saw of Belphegor and Beel was the older twin head-butting Belphegor and the latter falling to the ground, following a small chuckle coming from God. Mc heard a high-pitched scream, once they were at a considerable distance from the others, Lucifer joined them. His clothes were ripped, and his hair was a mess, the eldest demon was bleeding as he stood beside his son and a human. They watched in horror as a newly made angel Belphegor arose from between the other four angels, with a smiling God behind them, his eyes glowing gold as he looked upon who was left.

“What are we going to do?” Satan asked, fatigued.

“We need to hold on.”

“The others…they are trying to break Gods spell and get us back to the palace…” Mc spoke softly, looked at the menacingly looking group that was approaching them.

“There is six of them and only three of us…” Satan spoke, Lucifer remained immobile as he heard their conversation, his eyes never left God’s. The demon felt a pain like no other, and it wasn’t coming from the several hits he had received. His head was being plagued by all the memories of the celestial realm, by the time he was loyal to his father, the time in which he thought they were in the right. The time in which he thought his father cared about them just like he cared for his family.

He had been created with one purpose. To serve. From the moment he was born he was given the task to fallow orders and just be a puppet, a tool. Never in the celestial realm did he feel good or at peace, when he rebelled…that was the most complete he had ever felt…right. He was fighting for something he believed to be truth, for what he thought was truly important…yet they still lost. He fell…alongside his family…and Lilith died. But even if he missed his little sister there was something, he had gained during the war that made him think it had been somehow worth it. They had gained the freedom to be and act how they wanted, they reformed their family…he had his son and his brothers…but one can not escape of what one was made for…not truly.

In the devildom, he was forced into a loyalty to Diavolo. And even if that felt a hundred times better than it ever felt to serve his father, Lucifer still hated being controlled. Being used as tool, for his powers, for what he could give someone else, for what someone else could take advantage of… What he really wanted was to just be peacefully with his family. With the people he cared about. And as he watched upon what had happened to them, eyes burning from keeping the tears at bay…he realized how much he had lost after years of work that they had all put in the family.

“Oh Lucifer, once again you let your family down.” God spoke softly, almost with a hint of disappointment as he looked on. They were getting surrounded, if they didn’t do anything they would most certainly get taken down. Two demons and a human against God himself and five ex demons…this wasn’t good. Lucifer clenched his jaw as he stared at every movement the others made. It was infuriating the dread he felt in that moment. His fathers taunting not helping in any way.

¨Lucifer…what are we going to do?” Mc’s voice reached to him, distracting him for just a second.

“Why are you asking him? It’s clear he is out of ideas.” God looked at Mc, who narrowed their eyes. “Say, Lucifer, I’m surprised at how easy it was to take more than half of your family down. One would think you didn’t try at all.” Mc looked at Lucifer, waiting to see the reaction of the older demon, thankfully Lucifer seemed to not fall at his fathers taunting. “I would even dare say…you wanted me to rid you of this responsibility.”

Lucifer scoffed in response, but he stopped himself before firing back.

“But no…that couldn’t be, after all…you are such a family man. You, to this day, wake up forgetting that Lilith is death and think that she is still around. You open your eyes in the morning expecting at some point hear her voice call for one of the others or even for you.” Lucifer could have been imagining it, but he, at this moment, could Lilith’s voice. Her laugh and her sarcastic tone, the way she would get mad and scold the others and on occasions even himself, even her voice when crying was being played and used to make hiss heart shatter. “You may have fallen, and you act like you are used to this live in the devildom…but in reality, every time you close your eyes you can still see yourself up in the celestial realm with Lilith.”

His father was trying to get under his skin, and perhaps he was. Every muscle in his body had tensed, his blood was rushing, and he could feel his face getting hot at the pure fury he felt in the moment. Somehow, he still had enough control to take a few steps backwards, which signaled Satan and Mc to do the same. The duo was unaware of what to do in that moment, Mc was incredible scared as their eyes darted from brother to brother, from God to Lucifer and at time to Satan. Meanwhile, Satan had stopped listening to God, the hatred within him, being fueled by Lucifer’s making it hard for him to concentrate on what his grandfather was saying.

“But still, I wouldn’t call a family man a person who shows all their devotion and love to only on member of their family. And to a dead one, no less.” Lucifer looked confused for a moment, showing vulnerability in the most infinitesimal moment. “I mean, you care so much about Lilith…that you can’t simply care about the others.” God paused, his mask falling and showing the sly fox behind it. “Guess that would explain everything.” Mc had to prevent Lucifer from running towards his father, the extreme force by which Lucifer would have ran could have caused the human some damage but the feeling of touch by someone on his side helped Lucifer remain in his place.

“What is that even supposed to mean?!” He snarled, almost like a wild dog

“You can’t put the pieces together? Ah, why would I expect more?” God’s disappointed stare brought Lucifer back to moments in which he feared his father, moments in which he wished to please his father, moments in which he was controlled. “If you had actually cared about your brothers and son, it wouldn’t have been so easy for me to manipulate them. I mean, you play favorites Lucifer, and you pride yourself on being ab better ‘parental figure’ than I was? At least I didn’t make some of my kids feel less important than others”

“That’s because you made us all feel unimportant!” Lucifer shouted, he could feel the rapid beating from his heart and his accelerated breathing getting out of control.

“Perhaps.” God moved towards Asmodeus; the newly reformed angel stood with a uncharacteristically innocent smile plastered on his emotionless face. “But still, perhaps if you had actually cared about your siblings and your so-called family, Asmodeus would not need to look for validation in other places. He would not have to come too me, begged for his pain to be taken away, because he would have known about your love, but he didn’t…because you were too focused on your good for nothing dead sister. Or, maybe, and this is a stretch, Beelzebub would not have kept from you my little visit. He didn’t tell you…because he didn’t trust you would care about what he had to say. Who knows? Belphegor may have come forward about his nightmare and his relationship with his twin wouldn’t have changed…that much…if he had felt like he would be listened to and understood by you. Leviathan, oh poor Leviathan. The third brother yet still feels so weak and unimportant in this family…who do you think is to blame for that, Lucifer? Me? I already had my hand on your lives, the moment you all fell they were your problem…yet you played favorites and forgot that you were supposed to care about them as well. Even Mammon, who they all believe is your favorite brother fall under the curse of you preferring your dead sister over your living and breathing family. Maybe, if you cared, Mammon would not have come to Purgatory hall that night, and he would not have had to hurt the illusion of his precious Mc if you had actually cared to pay attention to him and the others.”

While Lucifer was being torn to shreds by the implications that he didn’t care about his family, Mc’s had to suck in a breath. Mc was aware of how much Lucifer cared about them, even if the demon was not vocal about it. Mc felt their nails dig into their palms as their hand shook by the sheer force in which they were tensing their muscles. Heart rapidly racing. The demons had suffered so much…they had lost part of themselves and lost people they cared about, so the fact that God would use that to hurt them further…God saw the intensity that Mc glared at him.

“I don’t have time for you, human.” With glowing eyes and the swift movement of a hand, God sent Mc flying to the other side of the room, this time, no one to catch them and they felt an immense pain the moment their body hit the ground. Someone was there immediately, and Mc could see Lucifer out of the corner of their eyes looking at Mc with a worried expression. “I should have squashed you like the roach you are when I had the opportunity. Seriously, even as demons you should still have enough dignity and pride not to be around a human. But why would I expect more from you? I mean, you can’t even make your son feel like he belongs in the family and I expect you to keep the family clean of those humans”

Lucifer couldn’t think straight. Not because his father was indirectly insulting him. But because his father had accused his family of being weak, had manipulated, hurt them, and now acted like the fact that they had yet to separate their multiple traumas created by was bad. He watched the way Mc’s body hit the ground. He glanced over at Satan, who was immediately beside the human. Lucifer was letting himself completely exposed at this moment, but Satan being the only demon not under his father’s power…and while he still had control over himself, he had to ask.

“Satan…” He called, starring at the blond demon who he had raised since childhood. “Do you…feel that way…do you feel out of place in our family?” The demon didn’t respond, he just looked sad, angry, worried, and confused all at the same time before gazing back at the human. “So, it is…” He looked at his brothers. It was so wrong and out of place to see them like that. Lucifer took a deep breath, but it certainly wasn’t to calm down.

God was half a second too late on reacting. His powers were just a fraction of a second too slow, and by the time he already he made a move Lucifer had kicked Beel on his legs, making the large reformed angel fall, he had thrown Asmodeus at Leviathan and Belphegor, and had punched Mammon in the face, making the reformed angel separate from the group. In the blink of an eye, Lucifer was right in front of God, throwing punches and even using curses, spells and anything the eldest son could think of to take out his father. At one point, the demon managed to grab his father by the hair and kick him in the stomach, making his father hit the floor…and that was a mistake. The moment god stopped trying to evade Lucifer, he managed to make his eyes glow even more than before. Lucifer was immediately attacked by both Mammon and Beel while being cornered by the others, making it impossible to get to his father again. As the oldest demon avoided hits, he saw Satan out of the corner of his eye. He saw that his son was about to enter the fight and immediately shouted at him to stay back with the human.

Leviathan used this at his advantage and managed to kick Lucifer in his. The demon felt the air leave his body for a couple of seconds before being punched in the center of his chest by Beel. He fell flat to the floor and opened his eyes just in time to see Belphegor about to kick his face. He rolled out of the way only to get up and be faced with Asmodeus, who pushed him, making his back hit against Beel, who immediately restricted him, making him fall on his knees and before he could even struggle he felt several punches to his face. Once he was able to look, he noticed Mammon’s fist were covered in blood, Lucifer groaned. Lucifer stopped moving, not because he choose it, but because god was controlling him. His father was laughing as he smiled at Lucifer, he moved a hand, signaled for two of the reformed angels to go make sure Satan or Mc did not interfere.

“My, that was good. That was really good. For a servant that is.” Lucifer glared at God. “What? Isn’t that the truth? You, Lucifer, you are a servant… I created you to serve, and no matter where you are, that’s what you do. Serve. Always listening to orders, always willing to go to extremes to give your superior what they ask. I mean,” God chuckled. “The only reason why any of this happened is because you could not bring yourself to say no to Diavolo. If you had broken out of that servitude cycle of yours then maybe…maybe this wouldn’t be happening.”

Lucifer was feeling defeated, tears were forming in his eyes as he heard Satan and Mc call him. He couldn’t move, at all. And all he wanted was to break free and just kill his father and get his family back…he closed his eyes for a second. In that second, he saw his family. He saw Mammon being an idiot, Leviathan talk about his games, Satan complain about the noise, Asmodeus flexing his new clothes, Beel eating far too many servings of everything, Belphegor look tiredly as he rested his head on Beels should and Mc, with a smile on their before making eye contact with Lucifer and smiling at the scene. That was them, that was his family, and he loved every single one of them. Equally, wholeheartedly, completely.

“Why are you smiling?”

“You are completely right.” Lucifer said, taking a deep breath. “I am a servant.”

He looked behind God, and maybe it was a vision, an illusion, a trick of God or even his own mind, but behind God he saw Lilith. Lilith represented everything he had lost…and she represented everything he will never lose again. Lucifer laughed sarcastically, before making eye contact with his father.

“…but even if I am just a servant…” Lucifer’s eyes fell on Satan and Mc, a sad smile showed on his lips as he looked at his family. He looked at his brothers, all being forced to follow God, the disgust, hatred, and sadness within Lucifer only grew. He was on his knees, being immobilized by three of his brothers, but even if God took away his ability to fight physically, Lucifer would never let the man just do as he pleases easily. Never again. “I choose who I serve…and I already made my choice…I only serve family.” Lucifer matched God’s smirk, his eyes glowing a violent shade of red as they contrasted God’s gold. The moment his aura started to seethe out of him, God took a step backwards. Fear painted on his features for a second as Lucifer convoked every spell he knew to try and take out the person that had tormented his family for so long.

Lucifer flapped his wings, a boundless current of hair, violent, tameless, send flying with force the angels that stood behind him. God watched in horror as who was his eldest son rebelled once again. Lightning, thunder, an explosion…Mc had to shield their eyes at the blast of light that came down. The sound deafening them for a few seconds, Mc gasped once they were able to take in their surroundings once more. There was smoke all over the place, the once shining white room now was a dark grey, Mc’s eyes fell on the angels laying around moving slowly as they tried to get up again. Mc looked at Satan who had a shocked expression, following his eyes, they landed on Lucifer. But when the tall demon looked over at them, he smiled ever so slightly. God was nowhere to be found. At least, they couldn’t spot him.

Satan and Lucifer looked at each other. A massive grin on each of their faces as they realized the other was okay. For what Lucifer could tell, his brothers had suffered no damage and they just had been knocked off their feet. They were now standing completely still, almost looking like statues, staring at something behind him. Lucifer turned, being meet by a curtain of dense smoke, looked at it for a few seconds before turning back to where Satan and Mc were. God was nowhere to be seen, and although they didn’t know what had happened to him, they knew at any moment he might be back. They needed to figure out a way to wake up the others, Lucifer took a step… but before he could take another, he felt an arm grab him by one of his wings. With an inexplicable force, they tugged on his wing, with such ferocity Lucifer felt it being dislocated. He screamed, and before Satan or Mc had even processed what had happened the smoke covered Lucifer, while the now-transformed angels attacked them. Satan grabbed mc and put distance in between them, his heart racing worried for what was about to happen to his father.

“That was a touching speech you said just now.” God voice was commanding “But you seem to have forgotten something…” He looked down on Lucifer, as he had grabbed his face and was forcing them out of demon form by the chair pain he was inflicting in the demon. “You were never meant to have a choice.” The entire place was filled with Lucifer’s screams of pain as God glowing eyes followed his every mood. Lucifer’s demon form faded, he fell to the floor. At least this way he didn’t feel the pain from his wing, he opened his eyes slightly and saw Satan and mc trying to get away from his brothers. God laughed before kicking Lucifer, making him roll over and look at where the sky should be.

Satan stood protectively in front of Mc, they heard as the screams of Lucifer died down. The smoke dispersed and their eyes laid on what made Satan’s blood run cold. Lucifer was in full angel form, just beside God, as the being slowly turned around with gold glowing eyes and a smirk, God got dangerously close, followed by all the people who were meant to be their family.

What to do, what to do.” God spoke, looking at Satan directly in the eyes. “Born from an angel, so you have some angel inside.” God sighed. “Then again, you were born a demon. So what does it all mean?” Satan watched with ire intent in at the man that was supposed to be his Grandfather. “Will you be able to join your family alongside me…are were you always, truly, the odd one. Want to find out? Ahaha, oh. This will be fun. Wonder what form you might take.”

“Are they close?!” Satan asked frantic, his eyes darted across the room to make sure they were at a somewhat safe distance from his uncles and father. God stood right in the middle of them, starring at Satan with a grin. “MC!” He screamed again, he looked back at the human he had been fighting so hard to protect.

“I DON’T KNOW!” Mc screamed back hyperventilating. “The last I heard they were half away there! Solomon disconnected so he could use more of his power.” Mc’s heartbeat was trough the roof. Their eyes were darting between the brothers and their white eyes, then falling on God, his eyes glowing gold even worse than before. Mc sucked in a breath. They needed to resist. Just a little more.

“Saaataan” Asmodeus called in a sing a song way. His voiced leyered by those of his brothers and God. “Why don’t you want to join us?” He asked, and moved his head to the sides, making a small pout. Satan gritted his teeth, at the corner of his eye he saw Leviathan take a step closer to them.

“Don’t you want to be with us?” Leviathan walked even slower than the others. Satan and mc kept taking steps back, but it seemed like they never got further enough for make a move of their own.

“Do you not want to be part of our family?” Mammon said with an out of character grin, he was awfully close to them.

Mc felt a tug on their mind. With every second that passes they were closer to death. Mc pulled onto Satan shirt when he tried to throw himself at Beelzebub and Belphegor who were now almost behind them. Mc. Mc opened their eyes at the familiar yet vague voice of Solomon. Yes! Solomon, is the spell done?!

“You would no longer feel out of place.” Beelzebub and Belphegor spoke at the same time. Or maybe not. It was hard to know with all their voices mixed like that.

Not yet, we are close. We just need a couple more minutes…maybe. How are you guys holding up? Solomon asked and Mc had to stop themselves from screaming. This was devastating and the fear was not helping. We lost Lucifer…Satan and I are the only ones left. Please hurry up. Mc felt Satan's arm push them. They were pushed away from the controlled demons. Satan was left in the middle of the circle as the newly transformed angels and Mc looked on. God was also standing out of the circle. But he had a much calmer demeanor compared to them. Mc started to feel like this might be the end, and Satan felt it to, the green glow that was surrounding him disappeared and for a moment his demon form as well. He looked alarmed, scared, before turning back and snarling at God.

“Son…we just want you to know what is like.” Lucifer spoke.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Satan yelled, his tail whipping away at his family. In his life he had never been so scared. At this moment he should be feeling a wrath like no other but instead…instead he felt so powerless as he watched how his family had been taken one by one by Gods control. He was growing weak and the circle was reducing.

“My, you have always questioned if you were part of the family…now that I am offering you, in a silver plate no less, to actually join them and share their experiences…you are that ungrateful?” God looked down at Satan, his claw like nails pointed at him as he snarled at the others trying to get them away. He had grown used to seeing the disappointment on Lucifer’s face, but seeing a blank stare and a forced smile on the face of his father made him want to whimper like a dog that had been kicked.

God extended a hand towards Satan, his already golden eyes started to glow even more. Mc was sure if the man made his eyes glow more they wouldn’t be able to see his face at all. They watched as Satan made a choking sound and brought his hands to his neck. They watched in horror as Satan seemed to realise what was happening and tried to fight back but was stopped by Leviathan getting in between himself and his grandfather. He stopped, Satan didn’t want to hurt his family even if right now they weren’t themselves. At this, God grinned. Pure evil translating from him as he laughed loudly and proudly.

“Well, I have good news my boy.” He said. Hand firmly held in the air, pointing at Satan. “You are, indeed part of this family. Hahaha, and you shall join them at once.” There were a few seconds of silence as they both puzzled what God had just said, but before either of them could fully grasp it, God began squeezing his hand in the air, it looked like he was choking something but when Mcs eyes fell on Satan the demon wasn’t scrambling for air. No, he was hugging himself as terror and pain painted his features. The demon fell to his knees before letting out a cold-blooded scream.

“NO!!” Mc screamed from their position. The fear they felt made it immensely difficult to think but right now they knew the needed to do something before Satan was lost as well. Mc yelled so loud they probably hurt their throat. Mc ran towards satan, trying to make their way trough the newly converted angels. But one of them pushed Mc like they didn’t weight anything. Mc fell hard onto their right arm, pain making its way up. But they ignored it as they sat once again up. Eyes falling on Satans weaked and pained state, the brothers making sure nothing could interrupt his transformation and God…God making sure everything Satan was left his body so he could become an empty hollow casket of everything he feared.

They were weak and their entire body hurt, they were at the brink of tears as they watched how Satan demon form disappeared and he hugged himself, falling on his knees and screaming, but still holding on as best as he could. Satan could feel himself fade away, all that he was and everything he used to be was being erased by his grandfather. He had lost his family and the only thing that was keeping him from being entirely controlled was the thought that Mc would be alone, defenseless, and they would lose someone of importance again. He struggled and screamed but he held on as best as he could. Tears falling from his closed eyes. He wondered if this is what Asmodeous felt when God transformed him, had it been worse? What about his others uncles? Have they felt as much pain as he did? Satan grited his teeth as he tried to fight back.

“I am getting sick of this.” God spoke, Mc saw the brothers momentarily being realized from Gods control, they fell limp and unconscious to the ground, their angel features slowly fading for the few seconds of freedom they had. Mc called their name, but none of them moved. “You” God’s voice was corroded with hate as his hand was starting to shake. He had retrieved some of his powers back to be able to tame Satan. Whom demon form was even more powerful than his angel form…yet…not powerful enough. “YOU ALL SHALL SERVE ME FOREVERMORE!”

His voice was echoed in Mc’s head as they watched Satan completely fall to the ground while letting out screams of pain. The last thing Satan saw was Mc as they cried helplessly, knowing they would lose Satan as well. Satan tried so hard to hold on…but at the end…at the end he was swallowed into God’s shining white light.

Mc watched as Satan lost the fight. They watched as he lost his demon form and white eyes opened. Mc crawled slowly to the closest brother, not wanting God to see them. Mc watched as Mammons wings started to regain their black color, they were starting to turn back to normal. Mc shook his arm, sobs caught on their throat as Satan slowly, but surely got up.

“Mammon!” They cried. He didn’t move. “Mammon!!” They tried, once again. He didn’t move, at all. Mc sobbed on their hand as they watched God giving Satan a hug…or what used to be Satan. “MAMMON PLEASE!” They yelled. “Hear me denizens of the darkness…” Mc held back sobs, reaching for things they knew would not work, “you who are born of shadow and you who give birth to it… Hear me and do as I command.” Mc had to take a breath, trying their best to finish the incantation. “I, Mc, call upon you to send forth one of your number! I summon the Avatar of Greed, Mammon”. Mc sobbed, as Mammon still hadn’t move. They closed their eyes and cried. Mc had lost some of the most important people in their lives. They felt like their heart had been ripped out.

“Time to deal with this…human.” God spoke with hate and disgust in his voice. They saw as God summoned what seemed to be lighting, accumulating it all on his hand. He was about to throw it at them and they knew they should be running but they didn’t care. The family they had grown so fond of, the family Mc loved so much…they had lost them. Mc sat there, tears falling from their eyes as they awaited the eminent death that was about to rain down on them. There was a silence. The silence before the storm.

Mc heard God laugh, a triumphant sound. They felt their hair stand signaling the arrival of the lighting. Mc breathed in, then sighed for what was possible to be last one.

Something, or perhaps someone tackled them. Mc fell to their side feeling the hands of the other person still touching them. Their breathing accelerated and they opened their eyes to see Mammons blue eyes instead of white. Mc still had not processed what had happened when the demon in front of them frowned in pain, weak, tired, but now himself again.

“Oi…when I told you that next time, I would be the one to save you…I meant it.” His voice was raspy, and tired… but it was his voice. Almost like someone who was drowsy and was just now beginning to fall asleep. Mc couldn’t believe their eyes.

“Mammon!” Mammon grinned tiredly before being entrapped in Mc’s brace. “You are back!”

“Wha-WHAT?!” God’s voice was heard. Followed by a groan. “I cannot leave you for a second, can I?”

Mammon got up, stubbornly and awkwardly, taking a defensive stance in front of Mc, who rose up as well and was making sure he wouldn’t fall.

“Y-ya really thought you could get…ahg, rid of me that easily?” Mammon spoke, it was evident he didn’t have much force. Mc saw something out of the corner of their eyes. They looked at that direction and saw Beelzebub moving lightly. It was barely notable, but Mc saw it. Their angels’ characteristics had almost completely vanished off from him as well. Mc felt an urge to go and try to help him up as well, but the voice of God was heard again.

“Oh, for crying oUT LOUD!” God screamed, frustrated, his eyes were fixated on Leviathan, who just like Beel, had close to no angel characteristic. Mc saw in fear as God’s eyes started to burn gold once again, and this time the three demons that were awake started screaming as they started to regain the white from their angel forms. Mc saw as the other brothers who had yet to regain their complete demon form became angels once again and got up. The screams of Beel and Levi soon died as they fell under God’s spell once again. Mammon was the only one left fighting but he was converting way too fast. Mc looked at God, the man was paler than before and his hand was obviously shaking as Mammon fought against him.

“He needs to control you…or else you turn back into demons.” Mc’s voice was slow and low. Realization of it hitting them like a train.

“OI!” They were still standing behind Mammon. Who was now in his knees with his hands holding his head, almost like he was afraid it would explode. They watched as Mammons wings changed and as the last bit of black turned white, Mammon looked at them. Eyes almost completely white again. ��RUN!” His voice ended sounding like that of the seven brothers speaking in unison. But Mc didn’t stay to duel over that. They started running like they had never ran their lives.

The demons were still there. They were somewhere there, trapped in those angel forms. And if Mc could just hang on long enough for the others to take them out of there, then perhaps they could use Solomon’s powers again and call them to the surface. Or they could make God brake his control long enough for the demons to resurface. Mc kept running. They didn’t care about the sound of footsteps or the voices behind them, or even the memories clouding slightly their judgment. They ran like they have never ran before. Their side hurt and so did their legs. They were out of breath and were knew sooner or later their legs would give out. Mc heard God call their name, he was getting angrier with every second that the human lived.

Mc ran, and ran, but it wasn’t bound to last. They were angels, they were stronger, faster, it had been a miracle that they had been able to ran so far away. Mc looked behind them for a second, maybe even less, when they did, they noticed no one was following them, confussion made them run slightly slower, but then they hit something, making them fall down. Mc looked up, to find four angels starring down at them with blank expressions. Lucifer made them stand up and face the other direction. He held Mc by the arm, and had them almost bowing.

“My, really thought you could escape?” God mocked, before looking a Lucifer. The next thing Mc knew was an extreme pain that came after feeling Lucifer make contact with their elbow. Mc screamed and wanted to roll up in the floor or throw up. Lucifer had broken their arm. They stated to feel dizzy and felt tears start to fall as they looked back up. Right in front of them was God standing with the rest of the demons. He looked down on Mc, a malicious grin as he pulled the humans hair. “My, you really are pathetic”. He said in a slow tone, eyes still glowling gold as he looked down at the miserable human.

Mc knew that if something didn’t happen soon enough they would die. And if they died…who knew what would happen to, not only the demons they now considered family, but those who they have grown fond of in the devildom. Perhaps they could distract God for a couple more minutes, perhaps the man would think that he has finally won and take the chance of making Mc’s dead slow. At this point, even that they would accept, anything to just buy a little more time.

“You got what you wanted.” Mc spoke between sharp breaths. Perhaps they could drag this, no… They needed to drag this as long as they could. “You have your family back.” Mc wanted to throw up at the thought that Gods mind would be so twisted for what they were about to say be right. “Is that why you did all of this? Just so you could have your family back?” God laughed, perhaps he found Mc’s explanation amusing or he found it insulting. Either way, it seemed like the being actually thought mc was as naïve to believe that.

“You humans are really…something.” He said, hand massanging his temples. “My family? Please, don’t make me laugh. Family. How despicable, the mere idea of a being like me actually caring or seeing someone else in equal ground.” He scoffed, his eyes closed.

“If not for that then…why are you doing this?” Mc feign obliviousness. They tried to keep a straight face but the pain shooting from their broken arm made it impossible. With every second it was a little harder to resist the pain.

“For power, why else?” He looked at Mc with a boring expression. He was very uninterested in giving the human an explination for why he did what he did. It was a constant question he was already tired of hearing the humans ask. It constantly bugged him to the point where he sometimes just wished to annihilate the human species in a demonstration of him doing whatever he pleased. But he didn’t, how else would he amuse with himself if he killed the humans. “I don’t remember giving you permission to speak your last words.”

“You are gonna kill me anyway! Don’t I deserve an explanation as to why you are doing this? AS to why you love seeing the suffering of others?” Mc pleaded, they sounded angry and it was true. The hatred for the supposed creator of their species had started the moment they heard what he had done to his own daughter, but now…now mc wasn’t sure if they could hate him more. God thought for a few seconds, or perhaps more, Mc wasn’t sure. The only thing they could hear was their own heartbeat as God watched down upon them. Finally God sighed, he turned around, not even facing Mc.

“No, not really.” Mc widened their eyes. The being in front of them was really just a monster. “Lucifer, you were the one that choose them for that exchange program of Diavolo, right?”

“Yes.” Multiple voices spoke at once, all coming from Lucifer.

“Then I think it is nothing less than befitting he be the one to end you, right?” God looked back, only slightly so that the last thing Mc saw was the golden eyes of a cruel father. They felt Lucifer shuffling around behind them and saw Belphegor grab their good arm, making sure the human could not move from place when Lucifer struck down. Mc was sure it was going to be a quick death. God would not leave any loose ends. The closed their eyes in an attempt to forget where they were and what was happening around them. All they wanted to think about was the family they had formed in the devildom as time passed. It was devastating…having seen everyone they loved fall under such pain and now being lost within themselves. This was possibly the third time today death knocked upon their door. Some say the third time is the charm…but that wasn’t always true.

“Lucifer, go on.” God instructed, mild annoyance pinpointed in his voice. But…still nothing. Mc opened their eyes and peaked behind them, they saw Lucifer standing completely still over them, not moving a single muscle…not even at Gods requests. “Lucifer! Get on with it!” Once again God turned around, Mc saw fury in his eyes. But still Lucifer didn’t move. This caused mc to laugh, loud and long. It was a dry, sarcastic laugh that resonated within them. Tired and hurt, emotionally beaten, losing all hope multiple times within a short time spam yet…God still had not won. “What are you laughing at, human?” His voice carried venom, as his pride got struck and beaten down at the moment.

“Seems like you underestimated how meaningful family is to some.” Mc paused. “Or perhaps…you are simply not as powerful as you thought.” Mc saw how offended the implication made God. The monster standing in front of them flushed with hatred.

“That wont be a problem at all once we are back at the celestial realm.” God muttered to himself, unaware that the silence in the room made Mc able to hear every whisper. “Did you really thought you had escaped death? Even if he doesn’t kill you…I will. Consider yourself special, I don’t normally get my hands dirty.” Mc groaned, unable to feel any other emotion other than hate at the moment. They saw as Gods eyes flickered lightly before his eyes started glowing even harder.

The ground started shaking, uncontrollably. Even the now-angels fell, and something in God’s face told mc this wasn’t his doing. Mc and God looked around at the momentarily commotion. The white walls of the bubble that God had wrapped space and time in was starting to dismantle. Mc was confused for a second before grinning and somehow managing to get up, holding their broken arm, as if it helped with pain. God looked at Mc, his eyes had stopped glowing gold and where now the usual white. It felt liberating seeing how he had seized to use his powers even for a second. God glared at Mc. Somehow them both were still n their feet, even if the place seemed like it would fall on itself at any second.

“What have you done?”

“Nothing.” Mc spoke, loud enough so that God could hear them. “I am just a human after all.”

...this was a thicc one to write, remember how i complained about some other chapters and how hard they were write? All that fails in comparison to this beast. I also suck so bad at writing action, lord, i am ashamed of some parts but in all honestly, this could be the best and the worst thing i have ever written so...ill take it. But yeah, next chapter...i have no idea when it will be up. Probably before august hits but...who knows lmao. ALSO!! Turns out i have been writing Asmo name wrong all along and i was super pissed lmaao- But yeah, i really hope y’all enjoyed this chapter, love y’all :3 (also pls be nice to me, i know this chapter is probably shitty in many ways)

Chapter one

Chapter two

Chapter three

Chapter four

Chapter five

Chapter six

Chapter seven

Chapter eight

Chapter nine

Chapter ten

Chapter twelve

Chapter thirteen

94 notes · View notes

gunnerpalace · 5 years

Text

It is Time to Kill The Common Understanding of the Dome of Las Noches Fight Once and for All

I’ve been thinking about @starrdustcrusader‘s post making fun of BBS’s interpretation of Full Hollow Ichigo, and while it is very good and covers a lot, I felt that I had something further to add. Please go read that post first so you are on the same page.

I also invite you to go read chapter 350, The Lust 4, and the next few chapters as well.

Now, like I said, the post in question does a very good job of pointing out what’s happening here: Full Hollow Ichigo has less than zero concern for Uryuu or Orihime. He is not interested in protecting them whatsoever. Indeed, he directly attempts to kill Uryuu, with that attack being very likely to kill Orihime as well. It is only stopped by Ulquiorra’s intervention.

And why did Ichigo attack Uryuu? Because he was a threat.

When you are doing dispassionate threat analysis, whether that be tactical or strategic, when you are thinking with an essentially military mindset, motive stops really mattering, because it cannot be taken for granted. What matters is capability. What someone says their intentions are, or what their intentions seem to be, often matter less from this perspective than what they can do, or are doing.

What is Uryuu doing in this fight? He is interfering with Full Hollow Ichigo killing Ulquiorra. And that is Full Hollow Ichigo's only goal. Thus, Uryuu is an enemy and is also to be killed.

And so is Orihime (if “merely” as collateral damage).

It's that simple. This is again pointed out in the original post. In the same way that Ulquiorra earlier said to Ichigo that, "Killing you is synonymous with protecting Las Noches," killing Uryuu and Orihime at this point is synonymous with “protecting,” because they are in the way and are actively impeding the mission. (”Protecting” what? We’ll come back to that.)

I haven’t said anything new yet, now have I? So let’s get to that.

Here is Orihime demonstrating several flavors of hubris, and also completing failing to do anything to save Uryuu from his imminent demise. What do I mean? Well, let’s take apart her statements:

“Because I said that, Kurosaki-kun is trying to help me.” This is an assumption on her part, and it is wrong.

“I trained because I didn’t want to be a burden to him.” Mind you, she also says this in both the Xcution and TYBW arcs, and is a burden and fails in both as well (the infamous ”Why am I crying?” and “Her shield didn’t work” moments). This should have been a learning moment for her and it was not.

“I came here because I wanted to protect him.” There are other meta posts that detail the selfishness of Orihime’s actions in Hueco Mundo and in general. I would also like to point out that this was also her exact same logic in going to Soul Society. She didn’t learn anything from that experience either.

“So why? Why at the very end did I depend on him?” A great question. One that she never truthfully owns up to, given (2). But there was a reason Kisuke told her to stay out of the war. You may recall Rukia's statement to Orihime in chapter 228, Don't Look Back, that "In a battle, the ones who get in the way are not the ones that lack power, but the ones that lack resolve." She went on to say "Of all the battles in Soul Society, no one was a burden to anyone else. Not Ichigo, nor Sado, nor Ishida, and neither were you, Inoue. If any of you were less than who you are, I wouldn't be where I am today." This was very charitable of Rukia, because Orihime's contribution to her rescue was negligible and was, to reiterate, not why she was even there. Furthermore, Orihime didn't listen to her here either: she is once again demonstrating a lack of resolve, as she will continue to.

So Orihime doesn’t learn. Great. But maybe you’re thinking about (1). What do I mean she was wrong? I mean, doesn’t the manga confirm she’s right?

This is the crux of that argument. And this is also one of the cruxes of IchiHime as a whole. The thing is... it’s complete and utter bullshit.

This is the exact same scene in the original Japanese:

Now, I don’t speak or read Japanese very well at all. I’m still a novice at it. What I can do, however, is use optical character recognition and translation tools.

(よ)呼んでる - Yonderu - Calling

(よ)呼んでるんだ - Yonderunda - They’re calling

(き) 聞こえる - Kikoeru - I can hear

(た)立てよ - Tateyo - Stand up

(た)立て - Tate - Stand

(おれ)俺が - Ore ga - I will

俺が護る - Ore ga mamoru - I will protect

(The parentheticals are furigana used as a pronunciation guide.)

Now do you see a single instance of “her” or “she” in this dialogue, particularly when it comes to the final line of “I will protect”? No, you don’t. Because it’s not there. It was never there until a biased translator inserted it into the dialogue. I’m not alone in this analysis, by the way.

Quite some time ago, @kodoku-no-maria did a wonderful analysis about Ichigo’s instincts (”Mistranslations that Created the IH Fandom”) that also covered this (using anime quotes instead) and came to a similar conclusion. It’s a great post and you should read it.

This isn’t the post she mentions in hers, but there is one done specifically of the manga by a deactivated account. You should read this post too. (This also notes other things, such as how Orihime says “Help, Kurosaki-kun!” and not “Help me, Kurosaki-kun!” so we can take it that the Mangastream / Mangareader English translation is just generally dodgy all around at this point. Which may well impact the points I made above about Orihime’s character; but I think given the events of the Xcution and TYBW arcs that it is evident she did not in fact learn anything, so I will stand by the basic thrust of them.)

Okay, so I’ve marshaled my evidence on the battle and provided corroborating analysis. (I have also reblogged all three of these posts because they’re good, although the links are to the original sources or as close to them as I could get.)

Ichigo didn’t turn into Full Hollow Ichigo because of Orihime. She had nothing to really do with it. Great. So what?

Well, let’s now move on to my theory.

Now, you might be thinking that it is fairly obvious that all of those lines are Ichigo’s inner monologue. But I don’t think it’s so obvious. In fact, I would suggest to you that it is actually a dialogue.

On the second page, with the third panel, it suddenly zooms in to the wound in Ichigo’s torso. This notably later becomes Full Hollow Ichigo’s Hollow hole. You notice here the dialogue changes, from commands (e.g., “Stand”) to personal pronouns (e.g., “I”).

I would submit to you that the first three lines are Ichigo’s. But I don’t think the last five are. I think they belong to two other entities. Especially the last three. First, let me steal two of Maria’s highlighted panels to make a point:

So who is talking? It’s simple:

Do you really think it’s a coincidence that Zangetsu (Hollow Zangetsu) shows up wearing the exact same outfit as ‘Full Hollow Ichigo’ after Tensa Zangetsu gives a speech about how:

I don’t think so. Ichigo "fell into despair and halted [his] progress" and Zangetsu, as 'Full Hollow Ichigo' is "the "source of [his] despair." (This is the same despair that Rukia noticed when Ichigo came down from the top of the dome to confront Yammy.) As has been previously pointed out in the linked posts, we see this despair on the dome after Ulquiorra’s defeat in Ichigo’s attitude. Starrdust covered these, but let’s go over them again:

He’s doesn’t seem all that shocked or concerned here, to be honest.

He’s a lot more shocked at what he did to Uryuu.

But the thing that really gets him is that he’s gone and killed Ulquiorra. That’s his despair.

This is the first time he’s out and out killed somebody. (And yeah, Ulquiorra is dead because he had his bits vaporized with a cero, not purified.)

He finally has to learn this isn’t all fun and games, that you can’t turn everyone to your side and redeem them and be friends with them afterward, as he did with Ikkaku, Renji, Kenpachi, Byakuya, and even to an extent Dordoni and Grimmjow. This is exactly what Dordoni was warning him about. This is the lesson he will be forced to learn again after weakening Aizen long enough for Kisuke’s kidou to work on him.

And it is why later, his determination to “save everyone” in the Xcution arc by cutting Ginjou down and killing him (even if he turns into a Plus as revealed in TYBW, undermining the whole symbolic importance of the act) is a big deal for his character development, and one of the few redeeming aspects of that arc: it shows that Ichigo learned a lesson from this fight: sometimes to protect you have to kill.

And who taught him that lesson? Zangetsu.

Who was speaking in the 4th and 5th lines in that transformation sequence? My bet is “Zangetsu” (Quincy Zangetsu) or Tensa Zangetsu. And who was speaking in the 6th, 7th, and 8th lines? Zangetsu.

What was Zangetsu protecting? Ichigo. That’s his instinct. That’s all he cares about protecting, just like Tensa Zangetsu. He sure the fuck wasn’t protecting Orihime or Uryuu. And the mask of ‘Full Hollow Ichigo’ is there to protect those instincts. And the mindless rage of ‘Full Hollow Ichigo’ is Zangetsu’s rage at Ulquiorra for trying to kill Ichigo.

We of course know from much later, in TYBW, that zanpakutou spirits aren’t some separate entity from the wielder, but are the wielder (hence why we go from “The Blade and Me” to “The Blade IS Me”) which Ichigo will affirm in the reforging of his into the “two Zangetsus.” So this can ultimately be read as self-preservation instinct. These are the aspects of Ichigo that were willing to do what he himself consciously wouldn’t in order to stay alive.

(Also, Uryuu was an idiot and wrong to stop Zangetsu as Ulquiorra still clearly constituted a threat, so he frankly got what he deserved, if a bit harshly.)

In summary, not only did the fight above the dome in Las Noches not have anything to do with protecting Orihime, but it was entirely about Ichigo’s character development and relations with the personifications of his powers, and everyone has been reading it completely fucking wrong for years and years.

If you don’t know, now you know.

#Bleach #Ichigo #The King

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morsking · 4 years

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i was told to come here for fate zero kotomine kirei questions? i was thinking about kirei in f/z and realized i don't think i actually completely understood his arc and specifically how it relates to his spirituality/belief in God? can you explain to me what happened to this strange knife-throwing man

i’d be VERY happy to, i love talking about kirei even if i don’t do it very often.

this is something that becomes a little more clear later on in heaven’s feel but the gist of it is that kirei has an inexplicably sadistic nature he does not understand where it comes from or why he has it. for the majority of fate/zero’s first part, he doesn’t even know it exists until gilgamesh slowly draws it out of him by making him deconstruct his own thought process and personal beliefs.

kirei was raised catholic and had a priest for a father, so kirei had catholic teachings of altruism and asceticism hammered into his young brain on top of risei’s, his father’s, expectations and desires for kirei to be “pure and beautiful”, just like kirei’s name suggests.

kirei, however, secretly felt repressed by those teachings and expectations since forsaking personal happiness and helping others never brought him any joy, and because he never felt any joy in helping others, he reasoned that joy and pleasure were sinful indulgences that a believer, much less a priest, should never partake in. he therefore internalized displeasure and complete emotional detachment as a natural and righteous state of life. this, coupled with the catholic belief that selflessness in life would mean salvation in death, resulted in kirei becoming far too guilty to ever chase after pleasure because doing so would mean betraying not just the faith in his Lord, but also all the hard work and love his father had put into raising him as a pure and beautiful person. kirei respected his father’s ideal and tried his best to live up to it, but fundamentally could not understand it, and he could not love the man it belonged to. in response to these emotions, kirei resorted to grievous and deadly methods of self-harm to keep himself walking the righteous path.

nevertheless, kirei could not contain his curiosity (and unbeknownst to him, his yearning) for pleasure and travelled the world attempting to find meaning and enjoyment in different activities. he graduated top of his class, skipped grades as an exceptional student, worked diligently as an executor, and even ate some of the most exquisite delicacies known to man... and found them all tasteless and unfulfilling. kirei was a truly hopeless individual with no direction or sense of self and personhood. he had failed to find meaning in basic, and even some luxurious, delights every human being desires to experience.

in a desperate, final gambit to connect with the inner humanity he lacked his entire life, kirei attempted to fall in love with a woman called claudia ortensia. claudia was terminally ill, and was not expected to live for much longer. while she did love him, he could not bring himself to reciprocate despite his best efforts. they were together for two years and had a child, caren, out of wedlock. throughout his time with claudia kirei could only find salvation in claudia’s suffering. but claudia, an incorregible saint, was willing to suffer if it meant bringing him joy and salvation. claudia slowly died, and soon enough her time was at hand. kirei believed that as her husband it was his duty to at least say his farewells on her deathbed. as claudia lay dying, kirei relayed the simple fact to claudia that after all their time together, he did not love her. to prove him wrong and save him, she disconnected her life support machine. kirei cried at the sight of wife selflessly dying to save him, and claudia, with her fading strength, told him that those tears were proof that he did love her, and that love is proof of his humanity.

unbeknownst to either of them, the true reason kirei cried was because he didn’t get to kill her himself.

kirei handed over his child to the church. if marriage did not save him, parenthood wouldn’t either. kirei contemplated suicide, but instead opted to return to his teachings and live as an executor, craving even the most artificial of purpose to justify his existence.

we then reach fate/zero. kirei is at his lowest emotional point, and sensing the pit in his soul yearning for purpose, the grail bestows him with command spells. kotomine risei contacts his ally tohsaka tokiomi, and takes kirei under his wing as an apprentice in magecraft.

kirei is a natural prodigy at magecraft, and is able to almost master every single discipline before abandoning it in frustration at his failure to find fulfillment and joy in it. (interestingly enough, he has a particularly high affinity for spiritual healing and surgery.) while kirei intends to follow tokiomi and risei’s orders to crown tokiomi as the victor of the grail war, he secretly begrudges being a bored pawn with no freedom and bears no actual loyalty to either of them.

in the world’s most bizarre boy-meets-girl scenario in the history of anime, kotomine kirei learns of emiya kiritsugu. kiritsugu is a mercenary employed by the einzberns to participate in the holy grail war. he has fought in countless battlefields, only joining the fight when combat is at its fiercest. he has killed scores upon scores of mages who deviate from the clocktower’s rules, and has been reported to have taken extreme measures in his assassinations such as bringing down an entire commercial airline just because his target was in it. kirei is mystified by kiritsugu’s lack of moral restraint, personhood, and regard for his own life. kirei immediately projects his own lack of self into kiritsugu and is desperate to understand him. he vows to meet kiritsugu in battle to finally grasp the answer to the question that is his existence.

as he attempts to meet kiritsugu throughout the story, kirei is approached by gilgamesh, the world’s most ancient hedonist. gilgamesh senses that kirei is repressing a fundamental part of himself, and that’s the true source of kirei’s unhappiness. gilgamesh attempts to make kirei realize that kirei has never lacked anything, he’s just tried to avert his gaze from the truth of his own nature. gilgamesh tells kirei that pleasure and joy aren’t things that are inherently sinful. human beings instinctively seek pleasure as and end in and of itself, and kirei is no different. because pleasure is a natural human drive, it can never be something unforgivable. to drive his point further, gilgamesh asks kirei that if he can’t see himself winning, then he should try to imagine a scenario where the war’s weakest combatant, matou kariya, does.

kirei does try, but before he can tell kirei what he envisions, gilgamesh stops him. gilgamesh reveals that there was no point to engaging in speculation when kirei asks if there was one, but the fact kirei did anyway shows he found a meaningless notion entertaining, and therefore, fulfilling. this comes to a head when kirei decides to heal kariya’s burn wounds after his confrontation with tokiomi. kirei experiences a rush he’s never felt before. he hasn’t just helped kariya stay in the race for the grail out of his own volition, he has done it against his master’s orders and best interests.

when risei is killed by kayneth, kirei finds his grief to be oddly forced and empty. surely, he must be devastated at the death of his father, the man who loved him, raised him, taught him, and made him who he is today. but strangely, his grief seems to be directed at something else. that’s when gilgamesh appears to him and tells him the reason why he’s sad isn’t that his father died, but that kirei didn’t get to kill him himself. this shocks kirei to his core, but he’s also forced to entertain that notion. once he realizes that gilgamesh IS right about what kirei really wanted out of his father, he’s ordered by tokiomi to leave japan and exit the war as demanded by irisviel if an alliance between the tohsakas and the einzberns against the matous is to take place. kirei secretly meets with gilgamesh, who is bored and frustrated with tokiomi, and they agree to partner up and kill tokiomi. kirei realizes that there was a satisfaction in killing tokiomi and having the last thing he ever saw be kirei betraying him and asserting his personal desire over his obligation to his teacher.

kirei, now fully committed to discovering what he yearns for the most, tells kariya he will allow him to duel tokiomi once more in exchange for bringing him the container of the holy grail and the person closest to kiritsugu: irisviel. unbeknownst to kariya, tokiomi’s wife aoi has been summoned to the church by kirei. kariya finds tokiomi already dead, and aoi walks into kariya holding tokiomi’s corpse. aoi believes kariya has killed tokiomi, and angrily accuses kariya of never having loved anyone. kariya reaches the breaking point of his rage and suffering after being rejected by aoi, the person he was enduring torture and humiliation for, and asphyxiates her in madness. realizing what he’s done, kariya runs away from the church wailing in grief and guilt. kirei and gilgamesh had watched the whole affair, and kirei realizes that what he finds meaning and pleasure in is inflicting suffering upon others and watch them collapse under the crosses struggles they carry. while he does not understand why he is this way, he nevertheless wants to find out to feel complete and intends to use the grail for that purpose.

kirei meets with irisviel, and demands answers for his questions about emiya kiritsugu. irisviel reveals kiritsugu is not the heartless killing machine kirei believed him to be, but fundamentally an altruist who wishes to shower the world in peace and blessings and seeks the grail for that purpose. she condescends kirei by telling him kiritsugu is not like him, he is far better and that’s why kiritsugu will not lose. finally understanding the man whose nature has eluded him and finding where kirei’s karma stands in relation to him, kirei kills irisviel and vows to destroy kiritsugu’s dream with his own hands.

when kiritsugu and kirei fight and the grail interferes by crowning kiritsugu the winner rather than reach a stalemate, kirei watches kiritsugu speaking with angra mainyu. he observes kiritsugu realizing that what he wanted all along was to live peacefully with his family even if it meant forsaking the world to a violent extinction. he is baffled at kiritsugu rejecting the cursed genocidal grail, and demands kiritsugu to hand it over if he doesn’t want it, because kirei has the need to find the defining principle of his own existence. after kiritsugu kills kirei and has saber destroy the grail, the curses that spill out of it engulf kirei’s corpse and resuscitate him. angra mainyu has declared kirei as the winner for the sake of using him as an anchor and a midwife for his eventual birth.

upon seeing angra mainyu’s catastrophe, kirei concludes that the calamity he is standing over is what his heart has yearned for all this time. he laughs in shock, irony, and glee that despite kotomine risei’s righteous nature and teachings, kirei is simply a monstrous and heretical cur who thrives in the agony of mankind. when gilgamesh asks if the sight of angra mainyu’s birth has satisfied him, kirei replies that it doesn’t, because kirei has been shown the end result of his desire rather than the actual philosophical principle and logical process that guides to the outcome. so for the next 10 years, kirei wrestles with the fact that he still cannot abandon his teachings and his obligation to be somewhat helpful as a priest for the desire to reject and challenge god and allow angra mainyu to fully manifest in this world and engulf it completely to finally give his existence meaning and validity because he knows his impulses to be wrong and yet needs to know why he has them and whether he is still worthy of living while having them. he is willing to manipulate and kill and betray and curse and deprive and destroy the world just for that chance at redeeming his existence because not understanding himself and having denied himself joy for so long has utterly broken him as a person and this is all he has left after a lifetime of denying himself happiness, empathy, and understanding to work through his feelings. to bless angra mainyu’s birth as a man of the cloth would reconcile his religious principles and belief in a merciful all-loving god with his yearning to accept and comprehend himself, because if angra mainyu can be allowed to live and prosper in this world while being the unforgivable culmination of all sin, then maybe he can too. (this is also a powerful and intimate parallel to both shirou and sakura that deserves its own post that i may or may not write later.)

that’s pretty much his development throughout zero and his defining character struggle in fate/stay night. this is something that spring song will delve into further and it’s actually quite interesting how such a bastard of a man suddenly becomes so sympathetic towards the end of the entire game.

grace if you ever have time for it i heavily encourage you to read through the heaven’s feel route whether through letsplayarchive or by playing realta nua yourself whilst we wait for a spring song release in the west because your perception of everyone will change drastically as you understand them at a much deeper level the movies could not show because of runtime constraints. i hope this explanation wasn’t too long or convoluted or raised more questions than delivered answers. three good friends of mine, thessaliah, kurozu501, and avicebro here on tumblr can probably elaborate further and offer more insight if you’re interested.

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maiuoart · 5 years

Photo

The Creator & Destroyer; Craft the Artist | Screech the Corruption

Their full stories are under the cut! Super long, thats why! They come with Original Backgrounds; Their not siblings at all, but they do become the Creator and Destroyer in their own ways!

Enjoy Craft & Screech!

Craft;

UnderSwap Papyrus Honey Ink

Fun Facts; - What keeps Craft going now is his Father’s Pipe and Pen; The memory of his father and how his positivity helped kept him going through his difficult times is keeping him going now. He becomes very hyperactive and more than a positive source after the whole incident; He personally tries to Follow In His Father's Positive Footsteps. - Pen is his Magical tool, his Pipe is how he gains his feelings. - Calligraphy Pen; Can use it to cut things/becomes a weapon if needed. Prefers not to, only to stab F4′s Creature; Alt when he needs a refill in his vials. - Vials are Ink. - Dries the Ink and smokes it when need a boost in his emotions; When he removes his gloves, his pinkies are stained with rainbow ink. - He has a Soul, but it’s so Shriveled up and tiny; It’s practically non-existent. - Freaks out if his vials are close to empty; Never wants to be numb again. - Calls his invisible ink; Camo Ink - Can be a huge Memelord. - Calm, sensible, but enjoys jokes of any kind. - Favorite color; Yellow & Purple - His Sketchbook is called ‘Echo Book’; But in private he calls it his ‘SOUL Book’ - When he has an idea and doesn’t wanna pull out his book, he’ll write on his sleeve. His magic ink will pull it from his sleeves and organize it into his book for later. - Has a decent memory unless his vials are low. When low, he becomes very apathetic to everyone and everything. When the vials are empty, he becomes a literal walking husk and desires a quiet place to stay hidden. Actively tries not to do this; Finding F4 to refill his vials.

Story Points; - Came from an AU where he was constantly taken advantage of; Others would simply talk his non-existing ears off with problems of their own. They wouldn’t listen to him when he tried to help; Any advice he gave, even if he was right, always went up and over their heads and ignored. When he needed someone to lean on; No one was there for him besides his Father, Professor WD Gaster. - The more Craft saw as his own emotions as being worthless, the more he became blank in his own feelings, becoming just A Piece Of Paper Used To Write Words Down. However, he stayed Hopeful with the help of his Father. - Blue wasn’t even there for him, being one of the worst ones who would use Craft, becoming his source of suppression. Blue was jealous of Craft and Gasters relationship; Became one of the most brattiest types to keep and gain any and all of their Fathers attention on him fully. Crafts Blue was very Selfish. - When Craft and his Father could get an ounce of quality time, they both always had the best of it. Gaster taught Craft so many things as he was a hyperactive, purely positive, the most caring and considerate Father known. Though Gaster still had a lab, he would bring Craft to his Secret Lab and teach him so many things as he could. - Gaster loves both of his sons; But he probably has more of a soft spot for Craft, because he is so similar to himself. Almost a mirror image, but he tries not to pick favorites, but everyone could tell; Especially Blue who tries and gains his attention constantly.

- When his Father disappeared in a freak accident at the Royal Labs, Craft despises the once original Dr. River and is happy that he is going through what he’s going through, demoted to being a simple Ferry Driver. - Craft agrees with everyone that the old Doctor has lost his senses, but how the words he says sometimes does make him curious occasionally. Then, after a few key words said by River person, who Craft has never told anyone but his father; he gets it in his skull that his father is still alive in whatever the accident created, making Craft go into his father's old lab- go into the secret room, that not even Blue knows about, that contains the Machine and tries his damn hardest to work on it. - The Lab contained Gasters prized Pipe and favorite Pen; Craft is quick to take on in his Father’s memory, since no one can remember him. - Craft grew annoyed after a certain ‘Failed’ testing, making him giving up on the machine in general due to so much stress building up and his HoPe fading down to nothing. But, he doesn’t know he was able to put it together right, not even after an accident with the pen that he had accidentally left in the machine at the time. - It causes the Pen to have an ability to help write down his mind, his thoughts and makes them come true. If he doesn’t want people to read them; the ink will turn invisible. However, Craft just thinks he made a very fancy pen… He doesn’t know that it’s the first step to his creativity helping ability. - It takes a while, but once he realizes he does have the ability to help, to create, that his words and stories come true for others; He starts getting a bit of his HoPe back up. He feels like he could help everyone now, change them for the better; Help them open their eyes, desire to make them better people… Though as he tried to bring his Father back; He never could for some odd reason. - But That Goes Opposite. Everyone becomes much more dark, much more bratty, and then Craft is feeling as if he made everything 10x’s worse. He tries to fix it, but it never gets better… So he officially gives up; He lets everyone do what they want to do, and he just sleeps more and more. - Craft became blank in a lot of ways; Didn’t care for others, didn’t have an ounce of emotional matter for his own well being; He was continuously used and when he needed some ounce of those feelings of knowing he could speak and be heard, no one came to his aid, making him dwindle into Depression so much more and quicker than normal. - His brother Blue would start to act as if he did care; That fakeness seemingly helped keep Craft from just dusting... Though it was fake, he decided it was better than nothing, able to stay just barely afloat.

- Once the Kid started to come around, it did spark only curiosity in him like many others. However, fear soon followed when it was apparent the Kid was continuously on a Geno Route. Once Craft realized what Resets were, it seemed to shock something within him... At first, he would be very disturbed; Very confused; His mindset would be ‘How is this possible? Their killing everyone, constantly. How? Why?’ - Slowly, Craft didn’t realize it at the time; But he began to get his HoPe back once more. Craft was becoming almost excited to have the Kid kill everyone after each reset, slowly realizing it was so much more peaceful when no one was around. - When the Kid found out they couldn’t change Craft’s personality at all, no matter what they did; They began to leave him alone, especially… Craft began to watch his own world die each and every time from safety points; It drove him absolutely insane. - Craft began to crave that loneliness; Becoming a disease that plagued his thoughts, perhaps sometimes leading his ‘Family’, ‘Friends’, and those he barely knew quicker to their doomed fate once he realized no one knew of the Resets. This caused his Soul to shrivel from the insane amount of disgusting and disturbing Hope of Insanity; Causing it to become black with hatred of his own kind, desiring to be alone quicker after each reset. - As the Kid began to grow bored; They warned Craft it would be their last time coming around after they left him completely alone. And though the Psycho killer was trying to get him fearful; Craft instead Thanked Them Instead when the deed was done and actually walked away from their path to let them pass to ‘Exit the game’.

- From there, Craft was left alone in his AU. He was left there to ‘Perish’, as the Kid said. But instead, Craft wrote. Wrote stories, wrote idea’s, just kept letting his creativity flow and free his mind; Let himself finally fill the ‘Blanks’ he was left to be for years. He wrote about his past, but then he began to think about other worlds… If there were different places, if things would have been different in some other universes… - During him being lost in his mindset, the ink he was using was then accidentally knocked off and created a black spot…. He cursed, went to go pick up the bottle, but instead was grabbed and yanked by an unknown force where he then entered the Void. - There, he slowly began to realize what his powers could actually do; Making his way to becoming Craft; An US!Paps Creator.

- Though when he first runs out of his Ink; He goes on mindlessly in the Void. He is basically a husk of who he once was, but he just sees everything as worthless. He only has Black Ink to use, but in order to get that he has to pierce his own Soul to drain it out. The thought of why he would need it at all leaves him, however. Art Block, Writing Block, his own creativity dwindles down into almost nothing until he finds another Alternate Self; Screech. - The two fight for a while due to Screech’s own personality clashing with Crafts. Craft is able to use the ink in his Soul, able to practically defeat Screech in their first battle. - However, their battle causes another Alternate Self to arrive; F4, with his Parasite Alt, who get in the middle of things on accident and causes Craft to realize he can refill his Vial of Inks with the use of F4′s Parasite. - This settles everything back down, all three not becoming friends, not even Allies, but just on the title of; “We can’t kill each other, we cannot die, no matter how hard we try. So, we’ll just... Be acquaintances.” - Once he gets his mind back; Craft realize just how awful that is to want his family and friends gone. He wants to try and help others connect more because of it, so they don't end up so distant like he did.

Point of his Creation; To help people never become distant like he had. It’s not fun, it’s toxic, and help them enjoy their lives more with the connections they make in the creations they desire to form.

Screech;

UnderSwap Papyrus Stretch Error

Fun Facts; - Screech is the Geek/Nerd to the extreme; Loves the Comics of all kinds for heroes and villains alike. Loves the Marvel and DC things and WILL NERD OUT IF SOMEONE GETS THEM WRONG. - His faves are Dr. Strange, Loki, and Spiderman. - He learns a lot of his tricks from the Comics he reads. - Likes to make a port, steals a regular Stretches Tea, Honey, Cigarettes, & more CONSTANTLY. Enjoys watching the aftermath, laughing. - Full blown trickster and absolute asshole. - Is a hoarder; Collects mainly comics and electronics. - Has a broken Roomba that goes around his area but instead of cleaning up the crumbs or anything, it literally eats everything Screech cares for; Like his comic collection. Has a love/hate relationship with the item, it’s literally like a pet; Doesn’t have it in him to get rid of it despite constantly threatening to destroy it. Roomba’s name is Scruffy. - His threads are hard and tough, each ending in individual Needles. - Enjoys ruining things; ANYTHING. Relationships, items, people, monsters, Souls; Whatever he can get his hands on. - Does enjoy to do Needle Felting; Makes large, life size, wool dolls of those he either enjoys or hates. The ones who he hates he tends to get very psycho killer on; Practicing the perfect ways to destroy them when he can get the idea to... Those he enjoys are mainly those in his past; Trying to recreate his own world to keep his own Hope alive. - Has his brothers Bandana on him at all times and one of his Armor pieces in his domain for remembrance with the last note his brother had ever written to him. - Made like a large wool doll that looks like his brother; He'll animate it, make it act like his Brother is talking to him, has it clean up his mess and 'Lecture' him like old times. Has it to where his Brother is constantly asking him if he's found a way to help them yet.

Story Points; - His AU is unknown how it started to disappear, but he remembers his world was filled with the best kinds of people. Though he was more of the asshole, he was still fair when it counted. Still the ever loving jokester in his area, but way more tame than what he became after the destruction of his world.

- As the AU was beginning to crumble; It started with the monsters and at first he thought it was a trick against him as they were beginning to have 'Attitude' problems. However, the real issue is mainly that the personalities switched to Fell types, Swap types, and even Horror types; Hinting that there are multi AU's, especially when the ‘Plague’ starts draining colors from the world, tearing away slowly at the world. - Codes began to form that only Screech could see, then slowly turned to becoming Corrupted, getting to the point Screech felt himself getting affected by these odd codes and the Corruption labeling everyone and everything. - Something happened to the point Corrupted Files made his friends and loved ones turn against him; The whole time he thinks they did it just to spite him. Screech instantly begins to dwindle down into his own depression with questions constantly attacking his mind; ‘Was it due to all the tricks he’s done? A prank too many? Did he judge a SOUL wrong? Did he do something so wrong they couldn’t forgive him?!’ He didn't know; And still doesn't to the point in time because the ‘Reason Why’ is utterly glitched to the point not even HE can figure it out. - As time moved on, Screech realized only he could see what was happening to his world, he began to desperately try and help out. Each time Screech tried to get them back to normal, it just made it so much worse however. His frustrations began to grow time and time again, his patients reaching its limits. He would be able to see into other AU’s, causing him to look at his own world and slowly think if that was really his; Doubting in his own ability, doubting on who was who, doubting if it was even worth it to fix his world. - When Screech took a moment to try and relax, to calm himself down from yet another failed ability to help try and ‘Fix’ what everyone couldn’t see, his brother tried to comfort him as best he could until he Glitched-out during it, reappearing and causing Screech to SNAP. He's so fed up and insane with grief, with fear at this point, he blinds himself with basically saying that; “this isn’t my world! you’re not my brother! no one here is here! i’ll restart it... no, do one better! I’LL DELETE IT! delete the Corrupted Files!” - In his fit of Rage; He manages to successfully delete all the Corrupted Files... Besides the world of his AU which just seems to be as a stand still. Everyone is gone; Time no longer moves; It is a slowly forgotten time area... But still His Area. Even though he could have stayed in there, tried to see what went wrong, study it with the new sense of time freeze; He instead made an accidental portal and that is what brought him to Craft. -In his fury of still desiring to destroy; Screech and Craft get into a battle, the two finding out more and more about the other. Their personalities crashed, something in Screech’s teasings and annoyance ways triggering Craft to become more aggressive.

- Refuses to realize he had Destroyed his own world in a fit of Rage; Is trying to constantly find a way to actually gain it back in his insanity. Heard somewhere about a thing called a full [RESTORE]; And is constantly on the lookout for it. Believes it is his key to gain his home AU back, but never believes in anyones words. -Is so disgusted with other people's happiness, he tries to cause havoc and destroy the connections. His mindset is; “if i can’t have my happiness, then how come others do?! I’ll show ‘em what it’s like... to be in pain like me! their pain will bring me my own joy!” -In his twisted mind, he slowly began to enjoy to Destroy. He enjoys it to the point it makes him giddy as anything! The only one who can stop him is Craft. Point of his creation; - There needs to be a Destroyer if there is a Creator... His Insanity roots from those who constantly tried to fix something, but each time failed. When your ‘Good’ enough is not ‘Good’ enough, it can damage one to the point of this level... And when it involves your own family and friends? It tends to make someone just lose their whole shit. - Legit just think of him as an IT guy who table flipped a whole desktop, taking a hammer to the computer and destroying it to no end... Yet thinks its still salvageable afterwards when it’s really not and goes even deeper in insanity trying to fix it.

Craft and Screech’s Relationship to one another;

Craft sees Screech as one of those people in his own timeline; Someone who desires attention and similar to his Selfish Blue brother. Doesn’t really desire to be around him, but will put up with him if he tries to disconnect anything or anyone.

Screech sees Craft similar to his own Selfless Blue brother; Actually holds a small amount of respect but is more or less jealous of him. Hates the fact he creates and could cause something similar to Corruptions, which he tries desperately to halt and erase.

Screech is a brat and due to his Drama maker ways, reminding Craft of his brother. Due to that unnecessary annoyance Screech likes to cause, Craft actually avoids Screech like the plague when he can. However, Screech can see through Craft easily and try to bring him back down to being almost dusted again; Just because it would be one of his major goals to destroy THE Creator. If Craft can’t get away from Screech, he simply blocks out everything Screech is saying. Craft may listen to key words here and there, but mainly it’s a relationship of a Big Calm Brother to a Younger Bratty Attention Desiring Brother.

When Craft and Screech begin to get to know what happened to the others timeline, Craft can see that Screech actually loved everyone in his own timeline when he comes to visit for random sakes with the world and the dolls he makes to fill in his own void. Craf can see he was ripped away from it all without him wanting it to be like Craft did for his own timeline, so he begins to leave treats or gifts to try and help Screech cope in his own way. Craft doesn’t actually know what to say to the damn guy cause he's so scared of being torn down again like he was with his brother, but he still tries to leave and help Screech when he can because he can see under all that Insanity, he still once cared.

Screech chases after Craft for attention because he knows he’s the only one would could deal with him and without realizing it; See’s Craft as someone similar to himself. A sense of Kinship is formed between the two, despite them fighting like cats and dogs.

Just a game of cat and mouse basically, where they try to comfort each other but then push each other away at the wrong time. It can be a fun ordeal, but their relationship becomes close to family once more.

#Craft #Screech #The Creator #The Destroyer #MaiuoART #MyArt #Headcanon #They may come from two different worlds #But they still compliment each other perfectly #I love these two #Enjoy!!!#I thank my Discord for this; They wouldn't be here without them ♥#WARNING; ANGST AS HELL STORIES #But trust me; These guys will all find what they all lost #They make a Family #I love it

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