#and damn skully here going in hard

[my-memed-tw-adventures]

So this is how the event be going right?

[skyrigel]

i know it's my period talking but hear me out !!! Simon Riley who just wants to spoil you <3

Like imagine him passing a bookstore and immediately thinking of the books you had mentioned once or twice, then surprising you in evening with a peck on your cheeks and a stack of books.

Like can you imagine Simon, shirtless, his muscular abs glistening with moonshine as he makes you dinner while you sit on the counter watching him with love.

Okay but how about Simon watching makeup tutorials, later having you on your lap, eyes narrowing as he applies the mascara, and groaning when you move because damn, you got him hard as a rod.

And Simon being a daddy, you need this babygurl ?! Here, this ?! Here, want new summer dresses, he got you ! Because holy Fuckity fuck— you look so cute.

Also don't get me started about gifts because he's going to spoil you so bad, chocolates and perfumes and books and albums and concert dates !!! If people gawk at a large man with his skully balaclava, walking around the art gallery with his cute little girlfriend then let it be.

how cute he gets when he takes care of you !!! Making stars and circles and cosmic love to you while you are on your periods, making you all your favourite dishes and braiding you hair in pattern like you had seen on Pinterest. Scolding you when you don't take care of yourself enough, because who's gonna hold you like him ? Who's gonna love you like him ?

Nobody. No-fucking-body.

Masterlist

[writingoddess1125]

Is That English?

Team 141 + Alejandro reacting to a American with a HEAVY Texan accent

Your Codename: Gigs aka Giggles

Watching a TV show and got the idea 💡

If you can guess the show I got the idea from you get a cookie 🍪

Support me on Ko-Fi! Helps me make more stories

"This is dangerous" Price muttered, even for him this was a heavy mission. Especially if it ment going after Graves- Kate nodded in agreement, the debrief had been a tough one and it didn't look very positive either..

"You're right- but it seems like this is possible with one hell of a pilot" Kate said with a knowing smirk, Price chuckling at this as the rest of the team listened in.

"I take it you have someone in mind?" Kate smiled, looking at her watch.

"Should be here in a few minutes. Let's head out" She said, The 5 men following closely behind her as they could see a chopper heading their way already.

"Best Pilot I've ever meet- Despite some quirks, is a seasoned one who can defend not only themsleves but the entire team" Kate said with a smirk, Ghost raising a brow at this.

Price took a puff of his cigar with a raised a knowing look at the wording. "Quirks?"

Kate didn't say more than that, instead waving down the chopper that was approaching the group.

The group of men standing there to see this mystery pilot that was so highly praised. The chopper lowered and some light shouting could be heard as their pilot made their appearance.

Stepping out and all the boys couldnt help but stare in surprise- walking toward them with a bright Kool-Aid smile was a young women, pretty as the day was long and like Aphrodite had taken a mighty fine time sculpting her too. Price blinked in surprise, such a chipper young women who looked as fresh faced as a new born baby was their seasoned dangerous pilot?

"Fuckin hell" Ghost muttered, clearly not impressed or amused- it was hard to tell.

Once she approached Price held out his hand, ever the gentleman.

"Good meeting ya lass, Captian Price" He said as he held his hand out, once again another surprise of the strong grip and the firm shake.

"How y'all doin, Pi'lot (Y/N)- But Igo' by Gigs sir" Ghost this time coughed as he turned away, most likely the closest he got to a laugh as there was a blink from Price and his face scrunched.

"Wanna run that by me again Lass?"

She laughed at his bewildered face and lack of understanding.

"Gigs Sir, For Giggles. I'm ya Pi'lot sir"

"I got absolute'y no idea what the fuck she's saying- What magical language is th's?.." Gaz said, clearly speaking what the others were thinking as Soap just blinked trying to wrap his head around what was being said.

(Y/N) gave them a deadpan look- "Fuckin' Brit" She grumbled.

"Now that I understood" Soap laughed, Grinning from ear to ear at the pretty lady.

"No that right here is a Texan- Know them well" Alejandro said with a chuckle, stepping forward.

"Alejandro, I take it your from Texas Señora?" He said and she grinned widely, roughly patting his shoulder in affection.

"Damn straight"

"Texas? This we hearin now is a texas accent? Youre speaking English" Ghost mused, defiently never meeting someone with such a thick one. Gigs grinning at him and nodding.

"Thats right skully, red blooded engl'sh and all" She said with a wink at him making Gaz choke a laugh.

"Now Boys. We got us some baddi's to catch! No dilly dal!" She said with a laugh, clapping her hands in excitement as she ran off to load up the chopper to get the boys to their next mission.

Soap chuckled at this as he watched her walk away, staring at the sway of her ass, Only in America is seemed. Looking up at Ghost and the rest as he held his hands up-

"Ah think a'm into it"

[askyuuandco]

Twst Incorrect Quotes: Halloween Edition!

Yuu: What the fuck?! Oggie Boogie just broke in the goddamn studio! Yuu: He lifted me out the chair, with one hand grabbin' my pipehole! ;m; Yuu: He hopped on the damn mic and said 2 lines and then he left a note! Yuu: I'ma read that bitch to y'all real quick this what he fuckin' wrote! >m<'/// Yuu: "Dear all trick or treaters! >:)" Yuu: "I'm coming back for that ass! >:D" Boys: ! O_O Yuu: "If I ain't get that butt last year, then this year it's getting smashed! >:)" Boys: OAO'/// Yuu: "I ain't pulling up in no granny costume that shit hard to run in I'm pulling up in a tracksuit and we really gonna get this fun in. 😈" UmU'/// Ace: What the fuck?! >A>'/// Deuce: What that mean?! ;A;'/// --------------------------------------------------------------- Skully: There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people. Skully: religion. Skully: politics. Skully: and the Great Pumpkin. :>

--------------------------------------------------------------

Vil: I put a spell on you~! Vil: And now you're mine~! Vil & Rook: Mine~! >:)

Vil & Rook & Epel: Mine~! >:)

Vil & Rook & Epel: All Mine~! >:D

--------------------------------------------------------------

---The First years go trick or treating and go to the first house--- First Years: Trick-or-treat! Money or eats! Ace: *after getting his bag filled* Can I have an extra piece of candy for my stupid brother? He couldn't come with us 'cause he's sitting in a pumpkin patch, waiting for the Great Pumpkin. >:L Ace: *gets her extra candy, then the other kids get their bags filled*  It's so embarrassing to have to ask for something extra for that blockhead. >:L Ace: *sees his bag* I got 5 pieces of candy! :D Deuce: I got a chocolate bar! :D Jack: I got a quarter! :D Yuu: I got a rock. :( -----they go to the next house---- First Years: Trick-or-treat! :D Epel: Gee, I got a candy! :D Orthro: Boy, I got three cookies! :D Sebek: Hey, I got a pack of gum! :L Yuu: I got a rock. :'( ---they go to the next house---- Grim: Trick-or-treat. I got a popcorn ball! :D Deuce: I got a fudge bar! Ace: I got a pack of gum! First Years: ? >.> *look at Yuu* Yuu: I got a rock.... For the 3rd time in a row.... Yuu: You know what! *chucks the Rocks at the house's window* >:(

First Years: OAO !!! Yuu: GET TRICKED!!! >:( -------------------------------------------------------------- Lilia: Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion. I am your host, your ghost host. Kindly step all the way in please, and make room for everyone. There’s no turning back now. Our tour begins here in this gallery, where you see paintings of some of our guests as they appeared in their corruptible, mortal state. ^v^

[satureja13]

It's the day Noxee spends at Tartosa. And it's also raining in Brindleton Bay beyond the Veil.

Before breakfast, the Boys are already diligently learning and doing their homework. They can't afford wasting any time here. And they are grimly determined to finally find out if Ji Ho's grandfather put a spell on him to seduce Vlad to get a grip on Vlad's powers. The Boys need to be prepared for everything and get the most out of their education here. And for who knows what their future will bring. Kiyoshi is gone again. They hope that Noxee's negotiations with the three witches will be successful and Jack and Kiyoshi can be mates, just mates, to bring Kiyoshi back to their reality.

Poor Jack still suffers from the aftermaths of the stroke from the lightning in his chest. He fell in a restless sleep after tossing and turning the whole night long. At some point during the night, Sai and Jack had to change beds. Jack moving around kept Ji Ho in the bed below him from sleeping. Ji Ho is taking a bath. His senses got so much more sensitive too after he got his feelings back. The feeling of the water on his skin, the scents of the essences - everything hitting on him so much brighter and deeper! Bathing is a whole new experience for him, so he's taking his time. He wonders how it would feel if Vlad would touch him. It would be so much more intense, now that he loves him. And then he cried again for a while. It's still too much to handle.

Saiwa sighed. He's sitting inmidst Jack's menagerie, reading out loud for Ji Ho, and he hopes that Jack also catches a few bits, but he's doubting that this will have any effects. Skully: "Don't worry. I'm listening. And I'm going to fill in Jack and Ji Ho later." Saiwa sighed again. In addition to all his worries, he now also has to deal with this talking (and singing) skull. They are still wondering how he made it out of the Therapy Game. But this is a problem for future Saiwa back home again... TMI: Jack named the axolotl Sai bought him, Axl, after Guns N'Roses Singer Axl Rose. (Jack playing Welcome to the Jungle -> here)

Then it knocked - and Jeb came in! Jeb: "Uhm, hi. Can we talk?" Finally! Saiwa is so glad Jeb is making the first step so they can be together again. He was too afraid to reach out for Jeb - in case he'd reject him after all that happened... too afraid of the finality of that knowledge. Better not to know. Saiwa: "Sure!"

Jeb: "Ok. We are waiting upstairs." Saiwa: "We?" Jeb: "Eh, yes. Vlad and I." Oh. It's not about Jeb and him then. Just Boys business as usual. Is Jeb only seeing him as their leader now?

Saiwa sadly went upstairs. Sai: "So, what is it?" Jeb looked expectantly at Vlad. Vlad: "Uh, yes. Did you, by any chance, notice something odd regarding Jack since he got struck by that lightning?" Saiwa stopped in his movement. Something odd - about Jack. Saiwa: "Are you kidding me? Everything is odd about Jack! Where shall I even begin with? He's the damn epitome of oddness! The inventor of Perma Weirdness TM. The..."

Vlad interrupted Sai: "No. Nothing of the usual. A.. eh - how shall I adress this? A weird pull towards him? As if he's suddenly ... gods, this is so weird! As if he's suddenly strangely attractive?" Sai: "Is this a prank?" Vlad: "No! If it were just me I wouldn't even talk about it. But Jeb feels it too. And we are having a really hard time keeping Kiyoshi away from Jack. So he must feel it too." Jeb feels it too. Jeb feels attracted to Jack - again... This had lead to their first break up. Saiwa shook his head - and tried to act professional. Sai: "Uh, no. I don't feel anything. We need to talk to Noxee about this when she's back. And I'll ask Ji Ho if he feels a weird pull towards Jack."

And then Sai quickly left and went downstairs to their room. What's that again now with Jack? Before Saiwa woke Jack, he asked Ji Ho if he feels something odd and explained what Vlad and Jeb noticed. But, just like Sai, Ji Ho felt nothing .. That's even odder: Why should Jeb and Vlad (and Kiyoshi) feel it and he and Ji Ho not? They even live in the same room with Jack - and spend more time with him. They were finally having breakfast - that was all a bit much on an empty stomach! Jack and Kiyoshi still don't eat... It's about time Noxee comes back - hopefully with some good news.

Ji Ho is worried. So Vlad feels attracted to Jack... Now that he finally has his feelings back, Vlad feels attracted to someone else? Maybe it's for the best for Vlad - and Jack? They are best friends. Ji Ho only ever brought Vlad pain. And Jack and Kiyoshi already proved they don't match...

And suddenly Ji Ho felt a tear rolling down his face.

'Now everyone of us was made to suffer Everyone of us is made to weep We've been hurting one another Now the pain has cut too deep So take me from the wreckage Save me from the blast Lift me up and take me back Don't let me keep on walking I kept on walking on Keep on walking on broken glass'

Walking on broken glass - Annie Lennox

From the Beginning 🔱 Underwater Love 🔱 Latest

Current Chapter: 'Here comes the Sun' from the beginning ▶️ here Last Chapter: 'Who killed Jack?' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 23-28

[ryuichirou]

Replies

Some replies! Mostly about Skully, but also a headcanon-y one about wrestling, and also one about song lyrics.

thestarlightfae asked:

I love the lighting! The jack-o-lantern really looks like fire!

Thank you!! I am happy it looks good! <3 I love playing with lighting hehe.

Anonymous asked:

UWAHHHH THANK YOU FOR DRAWING SKULLY 💚💚💚💚

Oh he looks very lovely in your style. And the colors and his face tooooo ughhHhhhhHhHhhh

Love him so much 💚 (；∀； )

HEHEHE thank youuuu!! I’m happy you liked it so much!

Skully is very fun to draw, so we enjoyed the process a lot as well. I would love to draw his other facial expressions too at some point…

lusetmv asked:

Just wondering, now that the event is over, how do you see Skully, top or bottom?

We haven’t finished it yet, but from the get-go he gave us top vibes. The boy has a bunch of qualities we like in tops 🤔 We most likely won’t change our mind as well, so it’s a safe bet <3

Anonymous asked:

Have you ever thought about a wrestling au for the twst boys where one of the bottoms does the funny sexual distraction moves such as shocking the other by rubbing on them then taking them down after catching the opponent off guard?

Sorry for the abysmally late reply, Anon; it’s a very old one and I wonder if you’re still here…

I’ll be honest, I haven’t thought about anything like that before you sent your ask, but I can see a couple of twst boys sabotaging others ilke that in a wrestling match.

Epel would be a champion of that, considering he excels at making men around him all confused and smitten and then punching them in the gut LOL He would be so hesitant to use sexual distraction tactic at first, but if one little rub down there is enough to make his opponent lose focus, he’ll do it!

Vil is probably the one who told him that in the first place, so of course he uses it too, but not as often as Epel. Vil doesn’t really need to do it – he fights very well even without that lol

Jamil is also very good at seduction, but uses it extremely rarely and very sneakily, this is why whenever he does that, it’s almost traumatisingly good. The poor guys never know what happened…

Also… you know what? Deuce might use sooome form of that. Even less often than Jamil, and it’s always a “I don’t know, I acted before thinking” thing, but damn this boy has good instincts?? His opponents would never expect that from him…

The world of wrestling is so exciting and vibrant lol I wonder what everyone’s “stage names”, signature technique and other stuff would be like! It could be such a fun and massive au, but unfortunately we’re not into wrestling enough and don’t know enough about it to come up with any interesting thoughts…

Anonymous asked:

Can you think of any character who fits these lyrics?:

I fucked the reaper cause I knew

My time was coming can't you see

I was either gonna die

At 12 or 90-fucking-3

I'd do anything for twenty bucks

I'd sell my sour soul

Cause lemonade is bitter till you

Sweeten up the bowl

And I'm sitting in the bathroom

I'm crying citrus tears

Everything I used to love

Decayed over the years

You know, Anon, for some reason I thought too hard about this lol As if there is a correct answer.

In actuality, I just couldn’t pick one option, so here are three of my thoughts: Ciel, Idia and honestly either Malleus or Lilia depending on how you look at it.

[avionvadion]

For as unhinged and brutal as October is going to be, January to... (looks at my notes)... Early Febuary is going to be so very chaotic and fun.

Reason being? Skully (depending on how the event ends) and Fellow/Gidel are going to be in Ramshackle. Everyone has to live with them. Eleanora has to figure out how to handle them. All immediately after returning from the Glorious Masquerade at Noble Bell College.

And it's mostly going to pertain of Fellow pestering her constantly to help him understand what on earth the textbooks are trying to teach him, answer various questions about how to read a specific word, and overall helping him with study guides- which actually helps her in the end, too, since she's not from that world- and teaching Gidel the alphabet, which she actually enjoys because he's a really sweet kid, and when she's not helping Gidel then Skully probably is per request of Eleanora.

Also Eleanora just acting as Fellow's "conscience" because he falls back into his habit of conning people and pickpocketing them and every time she has to be like, "Do you want to pass the test? Do you want me to teach you how to read the thing? Stop it." And he's like, "You drive a hard bargain, lil' lady," because Fellow is older than her but she's the "dorm leader" of Ramshackle and the official big sister/mother figure of NRC because damn it this school needs therapists but here she is doing it all unpaid anyways.

But back to the point! VDC.

El ends up being appointed by Vil to be the group "Manager". She mostly just takes pictures and offers advice here and there, because please give Epel boots that raise his height closer to Kalim's, it's so distracting since he's not the main center and also the choreography you hired did this based on YOUR ability, Vil, not THEIRS. They can not learn BALLET in such a short time. You are a boy band, not TRAINED BALLERINAS. Meanwhile Skully and Fellow will be carrying water bottles and packs of gatorade, while Gidel sits at a little table in the corner practicing his alphabet with a little bag of gummy bears, trailmix that has those little m&ms, and a bottle of apple juice- courtesy of Epel. Skully helps Fellow and Gidel with their homework since there isn't much else for them to do since they brought the drinks.

And it's like, just a whole month and a quarter of pure CHAOS as Eleanora adjusts to having a conman, his adorable mute little brother, and a lowkey psychopath all a part of her dorm, while also having to deal with Rook 24/7 and sneaking around trying to teach Kalim how to cook because he got curious, and having to ask Rook for aloe in the middle of the night because Kalim accidentally burned his pinky finger putting cheese on an omelette because they don't want Jamil to find out.

Also Vil having the biggest guilt over cursing the Trey snacks without telling Eleanora even though he knows having a curse overlap her curse WILL kill her because of the events of Playful Land, and him being so confused because he doesn't know why he didn't speak to her about it first before cursing them since he knows about her unique condition and it is her dorm and he did give explicit permission that she's allowed to snack while the boys aren't, and he's just really baffled by his own behavior, but there's a specific reason for it that if you've figured it out then you know I think I've been making it obvious but it's really just another hint showing Vil is reaching his breaking point and Rook is giving him the suspicious concerned bombastic side eye the whole time because he knows the stress is getting to him.

And Jamil. Eleanora hates Jamil with a passion. Vil is gonna call her out on being cold to him and she's just going to be like, "He fucking tried to kill me. He almost did kill me. If not for Azul having a potion on hand, I'd be fucking dead again. Me being "cold" and "ignoring" him? Is me being civil. Do not order me around in my own dorm."

Vil: "...You know what, understood. BACK TO FACIAL CARE EXPLANATIONS. Ahem! Kalim, come here, will you?"

Eleanora adores Kalim. Adeuce are her besties. Epel is a sweetie who's always helping Eleanora out when Adeuce aren't available; it makes Epel happy to help her, since he's usually carrying heavy things for her which, to him, is a "manly" thing to do, as she's still cleaning up the dorm a bit and prepping the guest room. Rook is still kinda weird and it's a little creepy how he seems to know certain things and always shows up right when they need him with the exact thing they need (the aloe, for example, why did he have that?) but she's decided not to think about it. It's rocky with Vil, because of the curse thing, but he's genuinely trying to make up for it so while she's accepted his apology but hasn't forgiven him for it she is trying to soften up towards him because he's clearly regretting what he did.

Absolutely spoils Gidel. Fellow and Skully are both rocky, but she's still friendly with them unless Fellow is conning people or stirring up trouble. The ghosts, Moe, Larry, and Curly, are enjoying the liveliness of the house, and everyone is always surprised when some of the cafeteria ghosts stop by with prune juice or spinach puffs and just snacks and drinks filled with lots of iron for El because she's always often so "anemic".

October is gonna be dramatic and brutal, but January to early February is gonna be HILARIOUS chaos.

[raileurta]

Storytime on how I was in my y/n era, and became a furry super villain with the Joker.

--By anonymous

So recently I just finished making my new partial fursuit it took me very long to do so, over two years to be exact. While fursuit making is a lengthy process and I'm always pretty busy with college and you know Gotham ect. It didn't't compare to the horrible task of needing to ship stuff. You know how hard it is to import stuff to Gotham?! Let me tell you how. Most people won't even touch our city with a ten foot poll, even disregarding that there was a 99.9% chance of it being stolen, or destroyed in an attack. The amount of shit I had to order repeatedly was SO STU I- I'm getting off track but I really needed to get that off my chest.

I was obviously really excited so I had the "brilliant" idea to go out fursuiting to "show off my new suit."

God I was such an idiot.

My fursona is fairly colorful with them canonically mostly wearing suits/vests. You see in Gotham if you even wear remotely colorful clothes you're going to be mistaken as a outsider or a rogue ; especially if you're wearing suits.

I'm a depressed college student that was running on 3 hours of sleep at the time, cut me some slack.

It probably didn't help that my fursona also was a skully. But my dumb ass self for whatever reason completely forgot about this. So here I was walking around with a pink vest covered in different animal skulls, a white undershirt, with lime green pants, brown dress shoes and white gloves.

I went to my favorite coffee shop because all Gothamites have a caffeine addiction we need to adhere to. Unknown to me at the time Joker was actually robbing a bank that was literally two streets over. The coffee shop workers were kinda wary of me but I didn't notice because people in Gotham acted weird all the time. So when I see the god damn JOKER about to drive down our street with tons of cash in his admittedly cool car I pull out the gun I was carrying. (It's Gotham if you're not carrying some level of self-defense you're an idiot) Apparently though everyone thought I was robbing the place and the employees started trying to in common routine give me the money in the cash register. Before I can explain that I'm not actually trying to rob them Joker sees me and I guess he thought I looked interesting. He then turns the car towards the shop and then proceeds to drive into the fucking coffee shop.

His car easily smashed through the glass windows and the wood furniture in the car's way along with two poor people who were on a coffee date.

I am just standing there staring at the Joker getting out of his car not sure what to do, scared out of my mind. So my brain filled purely with adrenaline thinks it's the best idea to try and shoot the Joker. With the gun in my hand I hastily raised the gun and tried shooting him. Keyword tried.

I would consider myself pretty decent with a gun. I have been hunting and frequently go to shooting ranges for five years. Unfortunately I got pretty lazy with keeping up my skills so I hadn't shot a gun in like 4 months. This means I was pretty out of practice. I also was you know sure I was going to die a horrible death, while in a fursuit that was obscuring my vision. That doesn't give people a stable level of mind/sight to successfully shoot something. Unless you are one of our useless cops without glasses.

So when I pulled the trigger I ended up missing the Joker and hitting a cop that was previously across the street coming up behind him and trying to shoot Joker himself . I only hit him in the shoulder and didn't kill him thankfully. Joker complimented my "sharp shooting" thinking I was trying to save him and with him liking my ✨ aesthetic ✨ he invited me to join him.

Me pretty deep in shock just agreed as I didn't want to be killed. After getting into the car with him he started to drive to his safe house I think. Before we could reach it though the other cops finally showed up, I was now in a high speed police care chase with the Joker. He handed me this bazooka looking thing and said to shoot the cops. Idfk what I was doing at this point and I was scared I was going to go to Arkham so I thought what the hell. I tried shooting the thing at the cop at the very front of the chase and you know what? I missed, again and the thing hit this truck holding some type of gas and exploded; killing all the cops in one go.

(My therapist is going to need a therapist)

Joker complimented my shooting again saying something like I was "putting the angsty bat kid to shame." I don't know what the hell he was talking about cause I was processing that I just became a mass murderer.

When we finally reached his safe house I was met with the Riddler, Penguin, and Scarecrow. They were all sitting at this large table that was covered in paper and various weapons.

Riddler was in the far left bent over a paper writing down something. Mumbling about different riddles he had to try out on the Batman.

Penguin who was on the right side of the Riddler seemed annoyed at his ramblings. He didn't look like he had any plans in front of him on the messy table.

Scarecrow was-

I honestly didn't give a fuck cause you know I was still thinking about how I'm a mass murderer now. Joker started talking about how I saved his bacon and wanted to introduce me. When he realized he didn't actually know my name he just looked at me expectantly. With all the rogues' eyes on my now I was feeling pretty pressured. (Social anxiety is a bitch) I said the first thing that came to mind at that moment. So with all the courage I could muster I proclaimed in the most crazed sounding voice I could do that my name is-

"The Skull Collecter."

Like what kinda drugs was I on?! What edge lord's type shit name is "Skull Collector." Though I guess it's slightly accurate since I do collect different animal skulls. Satisfied with my shitty name they asked what my deal was with the Joker and what I wanted with them. So too deep into this shitty situation I started to weave a tale about my backstory.

I said that I was once a regular average Joe with an interest in collecting skeletons. I became more obsessed overtime with my hobby until I eventually I "realized" how better animal and human skulls were when harvested by my own means. (Once again it was half true since I do like collecting then cleaning the skeletons myself.) So I started killing people in secret and taking their heads. Scarecrow told me he actually heard of me awhile back. I don't know if a god took pity on me for the sheer lunacy of my situation but apparently there was conveniently a maniac going around killing and stealing people's heads. Later through my own research I learned that the same guy died accidentally when trying to escape the police in Washington. Fell off a building apparently and died before the ambulance could reach the hospital.

I really really didn't want to get absolutely bodied by Batman and sent to Arkham if he followed the Joker's and my trail. So I made up some excuse about how I needed to go do something important at my "lair" and I had to go. Thankfully after a little more convincing I was free to leave. After I was a decent distance away I immediately took off my fursuit head; I then proceeded to have a complete utter mental breakdown.

Well that's chapter one! I want to do this fic in third person in the future if I complete it.

[markwatnae]

Fall of Horror Week 9: Scream

I know the twist opening for this movie but I don’t remember who Ghostface is

bro I’m so glad I don’t live in the 90s and have to answer the phone for unknown numbers

BRUH “I want to know who I’m looking at” HELLO?!?!?!?!

WHY DOES SHE KEEP ANSWERING THE PHONE??????? GIRL CALL THE POLICE!!!!!!!

WHY WERE HER DOORS UNLOCKED

“to see what your insides look like�� why is this guy like this

how have the smoke alarms not gone off yet??? that popcorn is legit on fire

dude how did that guy punch through a whole ass window

isn’t Billy the killer? is this two people?? Billy and whoever Matthew Lillard plays?

what is the “underwear rule”?!?!?!

I want Sidney to be my girlfriend

god i love 90s fashion

damn Sidney’s house is nice

I’m not surprised Sidney’s dad still left after two kids his daughter’s age were murdered but like damn it would’ve been nice for him to be like “ya know I think I’ll stay home because my daughter’s probably having a hard time”

OH JESUS CHRIST HER MOTHER WAS RAPED AND MURDERED

damn remember when we had to have a phone in every room

BRO THAT 911 COMPUTER THING WHAT THE FUCK THAT’S SO COOL

why did the cellphone make Sidney so suspicious of Billy??????

BRO THE POLICE AREN’T SUPPOSED TO SAY “do you wish to give up your right to remain silent” THAT’S NOW HOW THIS WORKS

bruh why is Courtney Cox’s character there so fast jesus

ugh Dewey is so sweet I love him

“what were you doing with a cellular telephone, son?” why is that line so fucking funny

BRO FUCK YEAH SIDNEY PUNCHING GALE OUT

I know like some of this movie but I still don’t know everything and the fact that the killer knew she was at Tatum’s but it isn’t Billy is blowing my mind. I’m think it’s Stu but like how does he know she’s at Tatum’s????? Was he privy to that conversation?

damn that was a good ollie

bro FUCK Gale she fucking sucks

ooh a Candyman reference!!

bruh Billy’s like “You haven’t been the same since your mom died” NO SHIT YOU TURD

“I think it’s time you got over that” WHAT THE FUCK BILLY I HOPE YOU DIE HOLY FUCK BILLY SUCKS SO MUCH

bro billy eat shit

damn fuck that girl in the bathroom

oh damn the principal’s dead

“Billy and his penis don’t deserve you” SHE’S RIGHT SIDNEY

damn I had more faith in Tatum but she really threw herself on the ground and tried to crawl through a cat door

bruh is Billy dead?????? I have my doubts

I love that they used John Carpenter’s sound cue for Michael when Ghostface came through a door while Randy was watching Halloween

“Kenny I’m sorry but get off my fucking windshield” SENT ME

YES SIDNEY LOCKED THEM BOTH OUT QUEEN SHIT

ew fuck Billy quoting Psycho

jesus fuck both these guys

HOLY FUCK THESE GUYS SUCK SO MUCH

does she kill these dickbags because they both deserve it

wow Billy fucking SUCKS

“I feel a little woozy here”

Stu crying and saying “my mom and dad are going to the be so mad at me” is great

I don’t know how realistic the TV death for Stu is but it’s great nonetheless

oh hell yeah Sidney shot Billy in the head

that movie was way better than I thought it was going to be

—

Scream

four skullies out of five

I loved it! The ending felt a little abrupt but overall it was super fun to watch and never got boring.

next up on Fall of Horror 2021: Halloween III: Season of the Witch

[world-of-horrors-au]

Horrors AU - Into the Wolves’ Den

Part 2 of the ‘Briar VS Proxies’ story. Part 1 here.

TW: mentions of violence, ask to tag

No one ever told her proxies were as strong as Horrors. There was no way to pull away from Hoodie's grip. Not that she wanted to try. The moonlight glinted off the rifle in his other hand. He'd been willing to use it before on her. Even if she somehow got away, he'd shoot her down before she could get far. And then, what would happen to her? Would he carry her away? Or would he shoot her in the head? Even a Horror couldn't survive that.

Briar had no choice but to follow him wherever he was taking her.

They were the loudest things in the Forest. More her than him. Hoodie dodged past trees and avoided branches with skilled practice. Everything broke under Briar's feet. She was trained to sneak through buildings, not nature. If it annoyed Hoodie, he didn't say it. He didn't say anything to her at all.

She drew in a breath, tasting the wood and heat in the air.

"Are you going to kill me?" Briar asked.

"Shut up," Hoodie said. The iron grip tightened, and she cringed. "No," he added, his grip relaxing. "But if you don't do what we want, you'll wish we would."

Swallowing, Briar nodded. Do what they want. Do whatever they wanted. What other choice did she have? They could hurt the others if she acted out. He says they wouldn't kill her, but that didn't mean much. Jeff taught her all about the things you could do to someone without killing them.

Oh, Jeff… her heart ached at the thought of her mentor. If only she'd listened to him. 

“Please,” she said, looking at him. “Something’s wrong. Do you know where-”

“Are you deaf?” Hoodie snapped. “I said shut up!”

Briar flinched away. Hoodie took a deep breath.

“I’ve noticed it too,” He said, in a steady, growling voice. “I know your friends are gone. But it’s not my job to care about them. I have my orders, and they involve getting you taken care of.”

She shuddered. 

“If you say anything else,” Hoodie said, tone darkening, “Without me addressing you first, I’m going to break your leg and make you walk the rest of the way there. Keep your mouth shut. Got it?”

Images of her teenage years flashed through her head. When she was fifteen, she’d dislocated her knee at a survivor’s camp. The camp’s major decided the injury was her own fault, and told the medics not to help her. The next two weeks were agony, Briar barely able to move, but still forced to walk and stand and sit with the others. They told her the pain was her weakness leaving her body. It was only when they were short on hands that the major decided to have her knee popped into place to help build the security wall. Her biological family wasn’t there to help her, just like her real family wasn’t here to save her now.

She’d never forgotten what it was like to dislocate her knee. And breaking a leg was worse. Now her body healed faster than before, so it wouldn’t be two weeks of suffering, but if she could avoid any extra pain… Was that considered cowardice? Then she must be a coward.

Briar nodded. Hoodie snorted, yanked her forward, and walked faster through the trees. She forced herself to keep up.

She knew the Forest was massive, and maybe it was the fear talking, but this walk seemed to take longer than any she'd taken before. The silence hurt. All the questions she had circled through her head, like echoes. She wanted Jeff. She wanted Eyeless Jack and Ben, and Laughing Jack, too, even if he drove her crazy. What was she going to do? How was she going to survive this? She should've listened to Jeff…

Through the trees, light caught her eye. Briar tensed, refocusing her attention. Wherever he was taking her must be up ahead, and if she got out and wanted to find it again, she had to focus.

She wasn't prepared for it.

Briar had only seen buildings as big as this in the cities. She'd heard about old manors, pre-fall mansions, that could've housed over twenty people, and employed over fifty just to take care of it. Huge and gray, it stood as tall as the trees, three stories of windows and balconies, carved monsters perched on the roof, beautiful and hideous, a disaster of design and existence. It shouldn't still be standing, ivy clutching every wall, glass windows shattered or missing. The wood was rotting, the brick crumbling. And yet there were lights on, she could see them shine by either side of the front door. How? 

Her feet almost stumbled on the first stone but Hoodie didn't let her fall, hauling her up and forward. Briar's stomach twisted, looking down at her shoes as they stumbled over the once impressive pavement, now overgrown with weeds and grass.

They live here, Briar thought. Like Jeff told me.

Hoodie was taking her to the other proxies, and what was going to happen to her then? Would they tear her apart like they did when they executed a Horror? Or would it be a slow torture, a gradual fall into despair, or worse? 

As they stepped up the stairs, someone laughed from the inside. Briar inhaled the hot summer air and bit her lip. She couldn’t show fear. She had to be like Jeff. But as Hoodie yanked the door open, and a cold breeze slammed into her face, Briar realized a stoney expression wasn’t going to happen.

The entry hall went silent as they crossed into the manor. Goosebumps pricked along her skin, Briar shivering in the sudden chill. She didn’t look up at the assembled proxies but she felt their eyes, their surprise, on her. Briar kept her eyes to the floor, following Hoodie as he led her deeper into the manor without a word to his allies. He bypassed the stairs, heading down a hall, and behind them, footsteps followed.

She only looked up when they came to a stop. A generic brown door stood in front of her. Hoodie yanked it open. Releasing her arm, he shoved her back, hard enough to bruise. Crying out, Briar fell into the room, hitting the dirty floor with a pained yelp. A shadow fell over her, and with a click she could feel, gloved hands removed the handcuffs. The shadow straightened again and behind her, the door slammed shut. She twisted to look over her shoulder just in time to hear something lock.

“That takes care of that,” Hoodie said on the other side. “For now.”

“What the hell are you thinking?!” A man shouted. “Why did you bring her here?!”

“You know damn well why I did, Masky,” Hoodie replied. “She’s not going to give us any more problems now. The plan can continue without being interrupted for the third fucking time.”

Briar pushed herself up to her hands and knees, turning to press against the door to listen.

“So you kidnapped her,” the man replied, the anger burning in his voice. “To get her out of the way.”

“We’re not keeping her, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Hoodie said. “She’s not a pet. We teach her a lesson about minding her own business, finish the plan, and let her go. She’s smart. She’ll learn.”

“Hoodie, how are we going to feed her? We barely have enough food for ourselves,” Masky said. “And none of our dungeons are ready for prisoners. The only one with a shower is still wrecked after Toby’s bullshit.”

“I said I’d fix it!” A third, younger male voice said, and Briar winced. “I’ve got the stuff. I just don’t have enough hands.”

“Could’ve said you needed help,” Masky said.

“Easy,” Hoodie warned. “Beastie, Skully, you’re going to help Toby fix the dungeon. Kate, you’re going to get her supplies. Masky, you and I are going grocery shopping - tomorrow. We don’t need to worry about her tonight.”

“Thank the reaper,” a woman, Kate presumably, said in a dry voice.

“We’re just going to leave her in there all night?” Masky said.

“Yeah,” Hoodie said. “She’s a Horror, she’ll manage. Though since you give a shit, you get first dibs.”

“What? No!” Masky said.

“Shut up, I’m being nice. The rest of you have to wait your turns, got it?”

The group beyond the door grumbled, their voices blending together to the point Briar couldn’t understand what they were saying. Their voices joined with their footsteps, fading into the silence that surrounded her. Briar pulled away from the door.

She wasn’t in a big room. Actually, it was probably a large closet. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness as she listened to the conversation, but looking around revealed very little. A few empty boxes, a pile of rags in the corner, that was it. And it wasn’t any warmer than the entryway had been.

Briar leaned against the door and hugged herself. Her eyes closed. They weren’t going to kill her. They’d let her go but only after they’d ‘taught her a lesson’, a phrase she’d heard before in her life, and it never failed to make her sick to her stomach. A long term stay, long enough to need food, supplies, a bathroom. God, how could she have let herself be captured? What was she going to do?

Still hugging herself, Briar pulled away from the door and paced. Whatever the proxies were going to do to her, it would hurt, and there wasn’t much she could do about it. They wanted revenge - but for what? She’d only seen the proxies in passing outside of skirmishes in and out of the Forest. Had she angered them somehow? They acted like she knew what she was doing the whole time, but she couldn’t think of anything she’d done to them. She certainly never attacked first, and if she learned about a plan, she wouldn’t try to stop it, she’d try to learn more about it and tell the others.

The others… Briar wiped a hand over her face. The men she loved, and who loved her and each other. Where were they right now? Were they hurt? Were they captured? Were they… dead? No, she wouldn’t think about that, she wouldn’t even consider that. They couldn’t be dead, and they weren’t going to die. They survived the Horrors War, whatever happened, they could survive. And she could survive this ordeal, even if it hurt.

She pressed her forehead against the cold, off white wall. The hardest part would be sleeping, if she could, was allowed, to sleep at all. It’d been months since she last slept alone. There was nothing sexual about it, Horrors cuddled when they slept, a tangle of limbs and breathing under the sheets. Usually it was Jeff, sleeping next to her back to back. Sometimes it was Eyeless Jack, with Jeff or alone with her. Laughing Jack rolled on top of her sometimes in the night, his body as light as a teddy bear. Ben didn’t sleep but he’d let her put her head in his lap while he played his games. And when they could, they’d all pile into her bed at once. And it was nice. It was right.

The tears burned her eyes. There was no one to see them, but she fought them at first. But her body always won. The tears flowed down, hot against her chilled skin. Briar swallowed a sob. She couldn’t let them hear her, she wouldn’t give them that pleasure. 

Stumbling towards the pile of rags, Briar collapsed into it, leaning into the corner behind her. She covered her face with both hands, and let herself hurt.

I’ll get out, she comforted herself as she wept in silence. This isn’t my end. I’ll get out.

And if the eyes watching from the darkness judged her for crying, they were quiet about it.

[escargoon-sandwich]

marx attempts to ruin a chatfic - scrapped chapter

there is a reason why this isn’t going on ao3. simply put, i’m not satisfied with it.

11:50 pm

Zan Parthenon: @everyone

Zan Parthenon: HELP

Zan Parthenon: MARX JUST RAN BACK TO CAMP WITH A BUNCH OF THE SKULL GANG FOLLOWING HIM

Big D: I’m already on my way.

Zan Parthenon:  please tell me you’re bringing kirby

Gryll: AAAAAA

Gryll pressed their back to Zan’s, sucking their breath in. “Man, this sucks! Big time!” 

“Understatement of the year, my friend.” Zan stated flatly as she charged her drums. Gryll had managed to build up a small wall to hide behind, but the blocks they’d made crumbled easily - it wouldn’t hold off the Skull Gang forever. 

Something glittering hovered above their heads, and Gryll glanced up to see Marx barely clearing the wall. “Yo Zan! Mind lighting me up?”

“Sure. Just stand in front of me.” Zan ordered as she jumped up to the top.

“Oh come on, that’s gonna suck…” Marx whined.

“Think of it as payback for when you sprayed me with febreeze earlier.”

“Okay but you asked for that-”

“BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WERE DRINKING KOOL-AID!”

“WHY WOULD I DRINK KOOL-AID OUT OF A FEBREEZE BOTTLE-”

The inane argument was interrupted by a particularly large skully barreling through the wall, showering Gryll in brick fragments. Gryll cried out and swung their broom forward, borrowing some techniques they’d seen some Broom Hatters do. The skully tumbled away, just in time for Marx to body slam it. “Hey, Gryll!” he shouted, twirling on his toetip. “Go find Dedede and Kirby!”

“I - okay!” Gryll hopped on their broom and booked it out of there, weaving through the trees. Beneath them, they felt the broom sort of sputter - which was to be expected. The enchantment was beginning to wear thin - they probably should have refreshed it before coming to the islands.

As the sound of battle faded behind them, Gryll bit their lip. They really, really wanted to help, but they were more of a hedgewitch - someone who did spells meant for everyday life, not for the battlefield. 

Whatever. Finding Kirby was helping too.

The broom fell suddenly, about five feet - it couldn’t last much longer. Gryll groaned, knowing they’d have to continue their search on foot. Quietly, they landed and leaned against a large tree, trying to listen to their surroundings…

Okay, there was the fight going on, and that kind of drowned things out. Oh, how Gryll longed to have nice big ears like Daroach, then maybe they would have better hearing! Above them, the branches rustled, and then something dropped on them - Oh, Lord.

They swung their broom wildly, batting at whatever had chomped down onto their face. They sucked in air, choking on the downright rancid breath, then filled their lungs again. “LET! GO!” they howled at the top of their lungs. “I’LL TASTE AWFUL, SO LET -”

Suddenly they were free, and they gasped for air. The thing was now howling in pain, and Gryll cautiously looked over to see something brown and furry mauling their attacker - a skull gang member. They’d been followed! “Shit…” they breathed. “I gotta find the others quick…”

“Wait!” The furry thing turned, and - oh lord, if that wasn’t the cutest thing Gryll had ever seen! Kirby was wearing some sort of animal costume - it was probably a copy ability! “Gryll, it’s me!”

“Yeah, I can see that now. Sorry, I thought you were like… some sort of raccoon…” they muttered. “Where’s Dedede?”

“Over here!” The king crashed through a bush and faceplanted in the dirt. He scrambled to his feet quickly, just in time for Escargoon to slam into his back, with Gooey close behind him. He stumbled forward, but caught himself before he could body-slam Kirby. “Okay. Okay, I’m good. Um.” He smiled sheepishly at Gryll. “Where’s the circus?”

“The circus? Oh, you mean Marx!” A crack of thunder roared through the forest, and Gryll pointed in that direction. “I’d say they’re over there.”

“Thanks.” Without missing a beat, Dedede charged forward. “Escargoon, you stay with Gryll!”

“But Sire -”

“No buts! I don’t want those freaks anywhere near you!” Dedede turned away and disappeared through the brush, and Kirby and Gooey soon vanished after him.

“No, wait!” Gryll cried, only to be drowned out by another crack of thunder. “... Damn. Okay.” They turned to Escargoon, who was tugging at his beard. “We can’t stay here. I don’t care what Dedede said, it’s not safe. There might be more of those guys around.”

“Are you kidding me? Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Escargoon growled, waving his arms in the air.

“I would have, but they ran off before I could - wait.” Gryll’s eyes narrowed as they heard more rustling in the branches above. “... Hey. Weird question. If you were surrounded by, say… five or six dudes who wanted you dead, how likely do you think you’d be able to survive?”

Escargoon was peering at the canopy now, quivering. “H-honestly? I’d give it like, a twenty percent chance?”

“Okay then. Let’s run.” 

----

12:39 AM

Kirby: you know i’m glad those guys don’t get stronger at midnight

Big D: @Marx did you find Gryll and Escargoon yet? Or DMK?

Marx: i found the first two and got a broom shaped bruise on my face

Kirby: ouch, did gryll get you? they hit pretty hard sometimes…

Marx: no it was escargoon lol

Marx: gryll got one of those tears to the face, so i think goonie grabbed the broom to defend himself

Big D: Shit, are they hurt?

Marx: nah, they’re in pretty good shape

Marx: gryll is now under a bunch of leaves, we made them a little blanket so they could stay worm

Marx: … i meant to say warm but you know

Marx: i guess that fits too? since they’re under some leaves

Marx: anyway dedede come get yo mans

Big D: I have absolutely no idea what that means, Marx.

Marx: oh, you know

Marx: ;dauhnjffff

Kirby: MARX????

Marx: You know that massive downed tree? We’re near that.

Kirby: yeah i do know it, but what happened?

Marx: A stupid clown nearly played a nasty prank.

Zan Parthenon: Who is this?

Marx: This is Escargoon. I grabbed Marx’s phone before he could do something dumb.

Zan Parthenon: He was going to send the winky face, wasn’t he?

Gryll: nooo, that’s our inside jooooke

Kirby: oh hey, welcome back gryll!

Gryll: right i need to debrief everyone, maybe in the morning? i need access to my dream journal even though this wasn’t really a dream it’s a good idea to write it down

Zan Parthenon: I got it, and I’ll bring it over.

Gryll: thanks

----

8:14 AM

Gryll: alright, i wrote down what i saw in the doc you guys have going for that sort of thing

Daddyroach: Alright, I’ll take a look.

Gryll: the good news is that i did find a good tree, finally, while i was writing everything down

Gryll: so i’ll be re-enchanting my broom and making a new one

Gryll: … actually, wait

Gryll: @Escargoon do you want to borrow one?

Big D: He’s still sleeping.

Gryll: oh, okay

Gryll: i’ll try later then

Big D: Any reason why you want to give him one?

Gryll: because last night, i lent him it

Gryll: well, he took it from me actually, and he was like, “if you want to get rid of a pest you sweep like THIS” and then did the windy thing

Big D: The windy thing?

Gryll: kirby knows the windy thing! the thing the broom hatters do

Big D: ooooh, i get it

Gryll: but he seemed to like it, he was cackling

Daddyroach: Okay so, uh.

Daddyroach: My dad got sacrificed to Necrodeus. 

Gryll: the guy who was PROBABLY your dad

Daddyroach: Most likely my dad.

Daddyroach: Considering that you said my mom confessed to being pregnant at the time.

Gryll: well no necrodouche kind of forced the confession out of her because he grabbed her and…

Gryll: uhm.

Gryll: he tried ripping you and your siblings out of her

Gryll: i think he wanted to eat you

Daddyroach: … thank god dedede’s dad was there.

Gryll: yeah

Kirby: we still haven’t found any sign of DMK anywhere…

Taranza: Come back to the hotel, Kirby. Ribbon, Adeleine and I are gonna go look next.

Kirby: okay

Borb: Do you need me there?

Big D: You know, not to sound rude, but I’d rather you be at the castle right now.

Big D: If we have a group of people back at the castle, it’s… something. 

Big D: In case something bad happens.

Borb: … I see.

B. Dee: I’ll do my best, your majesty!

Big D: Thank you.

Tiff: something happened

Big D: Tiff? Are you okay?

Tiff: no

Tiff: dmk came back here and took my mom

Tiff: she went out to the balcony and he grabbed her

Gryll: oh shit, oh SHIT

Daddyroach: This lines up too well.

Daddyroach:  I’m going to try to find her.

Tiff: she’s where you guys are?

Daddyroach: Yeah, and she’s in immediate danger.

---

Normally, Daroach would be happy to have a target that broadcast its location. When that target was a woman who was five months pregnant, though, things got intense.

Lady Like was kicking up one hell of a fuss, though, and it made tracking her down easy. "Yo! Marx!"

The jester crashed out of the canopy, faceplanting into a puddle. He coughed out some mud and grinned at Daroach. "I meant to do that."

"Sure you did. Now listen." Daroach pointed in the direction of the screaming. "Go up ahead for me, okay? We'll try a pincer attack."

"Oh, good idea!" Marx took to the air, then visually screeched to a halt. "Did you tell Kirby and Adeline too?"

"Yeah." Daroach readied the Triple Star, listening for the sounds of struggle. "We're close. Just a little farther…"

"Right. See ya!" Marx flew off, and Daroach zoned in on where he heard the fighting. He soon found himself in a small clearing, where he caught Dark Meta Knight getting a square kick to the face, delivered by one Lady Like.

Daroach couldn't help it. He laughed and clapped as he made his presence known. "Good job, idiot, you're getting your ass handed to you by a pregnant woman."

"A woman with a black belt," Lady Like corrected, pouting.

 Dark Meta whirled and drew his sword, brandishing it towards his poor victim. "Listen here, both of you!" he growled. "I don't have time for this horseshit, nor the patience." He was shaking slightly. "All I want is for one thing to go right for me!"

"Yeah, and I'd like some goddamn peace and quiet. But life isn't fair and we don't always get what we want." Daroach shrugged. "You'd think you'd have learned that by now."

"Bold words from a thief." Dark Meta hissed, prodding Lady Like's belly with the tip of his sword. "Now. I have a gift to deliver to my master, and I'm willing to rip it out of her if need be."

Daroach felt like his stomach was turning to ice, and he lowered the brim of his hat to hide his panic. "... Master, huh? You rebounded kinda fast, huh?" 

Dark Meta's wings twitched, as Daroach heard rustling in the nearby undergrowth. "What do you mean, rebound?"

"I'm just saying… you hopped on the Necrodeus train pretty damn quick." Out of the corner of his eye, Daroach saw Kirby peek out of some tall grass. He wished he had a way to signal to him to wait. "You got a thing for toxic men, don't you?"

Oooh, the sword tip was wavering now, and it was quickly pointed in Daroach's direction. "I hope you realize what you are implying."

"'Course I do." Daroach flicked the brim of his hat up and grinned. "You, my friend, are a slut."

Dark Meta Knight roared and flung himself towards Daroach, who gasped as he felt the serrated blade sink into his gut. Lady Like stumbled away from the two, and Daroach saw a waiting Adeline reach for her hand and drag her out of the area. “You do not get to impose that judgement on me!”

Daroach smirked, then coughed up blood. “Well. At least I set out what I meant to do here,” he muttered as he pressed the Triple Star against Dark Meta’s mask, and blasted him away. “Go and run back to your new sugar daddy!”

There, he fell to the ground, where he wrapped his cloak around himself as his opponent scanned the treeline. One of Daroach’s ears twitched as he heard Marx yelling hysterically - he must have found the two escapees. 

“Hmph. The child’s not worth getting in a fight with the jester over.” Dark Meta sheathed his sword and turned, leaving Daroach in the dirt. “My master will be back soon anyway.” With that, the sound of shattering glass filled the air as he teleported away, and Kirby darted out from the bushes. 

“Are you okay?” Kirby squealed, while pressing a few leaves into Daroach’s wound. Daroach yelled in pain, and Kirby almost looked a little sick. “Ooh, guess not…”

---

12:12 pm

Daddyroach: Alright, so maybe calling him a slut wasn’t the best idea.

Kirby: !!!! you’re up!!!

Tiff: is my mom okay?

Kirby: yeah!!! she kicked him a lot!!!

Adeleine: I’m pretty sure I saw some dents in that mask, your mom’s a straight-up badass. 

Adeleine: Are you okay though, dad?

Daddyroach: No.

Daddyroach: He got me bad, but Doc’s taking care of the stab wound.

Adeleine: i should have stayed?

Daddyroach: Absolutely not. You could have gotten stabbed.

Adeleine: … yeah, you’re right.

Gooey: tiiiiiiiiff

Gooey: yourmoooomisssniccccce

Marx: so uh daroach

Marx: why’d you call him a slut?

Tiff: what’s that word mean?

Marx: you’ll find out when you’re older.

Tiff: what if i want to know now, marx?

Marx: i’d have to say too bad because your mom would probably kill me

Tiff: oh it’s a swear word?

Marx: yeah lol

Escargoon: Speaking of your mom, Tiff…

Escargoon: Should I go talk to her?

Tiff: is there a reason why you think you shouldn’t?

Escargoon: We weren’t always on good terms.

Escargoon: Scratch that, we were never on good terms, up until I left.

Tiff: i think she knows you’re trying to change for the better

Tiff: i don’t think it’ll hurt to see her

Dedede: Can you like, keep her company while I’m out dealing with some shenanigans?

Dedede: There’s something going on to the north, and I’m going to go investigate.

Escargoon: I can do that.

----

Escargoon stared at the door handle way longer then he probably should have. One of the Waddle Dees that worked for the hotel was giving him a curious look. He knew the worst things Lady Like could do - he’d seen her beat the shit out of those guys who’d stalked her daughter. If she didn’t want to see him, well… he probably deserved whatever she dished out.

He finally decided to just knock. “Oh, who is it?” Lady Like’s voice rang out loud and clear, and Escargoon swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

“It’s, um. It’s me.” There was a brief pause, and he added. “Can I come in?”

“Yes. Yes you may.” Oh boy, that response was rather terse...

Escargoon took a deep breath and entered the room. Technically, it was the one in his name, but with the… thing with Dedede, that was up in the air. Lady Like was here, now, nestled in a pile of pillows, one hand resting on her belly while the other one picked at a piece of bread. She looked like she’d been woken up in the middle of the night - in fact, she probably had been. “So! I’d ask you how things have been, but. Yeah.”

Like gave him a look so sour it could curdle milk. " I have had one of the worst mornings of my life. Are you certain you are happier here?"

"Huh?" Escargoon blinked in confusion. "Of course I am! Why, instead of getting hit all the time, I get hit on -" Lady Like had instantly raised an eyebrow. "Oops."

Well, her mood seemed to have improved. "Escargoon," she said with a conspiratorial smirk, "I have the inkling that you have a thing with the king!"

Escargoon felt his cheeks heat up, and he turned away. "What gave you that idea?" 

“Well…” Like tilted her head and winked. “I heard you were sleeping with him...”

“T-that was only last night!” he spluttered. “A-and it was platonic, okay. No shenanigans happened!”

“Yes, and I only married my husband platonically.”

“Look, he hasn’t even kissed me yet, okay?” Escargoon crossed his arms. “And I doubt it counts as a thing if he hasn’t even asked me out yet.”

“But there is a potential of a thing, yes?” Like smirked at him. “I’m sure your mother will be happy to know her little snail has a sweetie!”

“Oh, no, no, you are NOT telling her before I do!” He began to pace a bit. “Great, now I forgot what I even came here for in the first -”

Escargoon was interrupted by a wet “thump” on the balcony, and he jumped and whirled to face the sliding glass door, now plastered with Gooey’s face. He sighed in relief as he went to open it, but as Gooey rolled in, he realized that the little slimeball did not seem happy at all. “Hey little guy, what’s up?” Gooey wiggled around, a look of distress on his face. “Listen, Gooey, I know you’re upset, but you’re going to have to use your words, okay?”

Gooey paused for a moment, then opened his mouth and shouted one word. “FUCK!”

Lady Like gasped in horror. "Was this where Tiff learned that word?"

"Nah, that was probably Marx." After a look of confusion from Like, he continued. "Y'know, little jester guy, kicked Dedede in the junk?"

"Ah, him." She rose from the bed, smoothing her hand over her stomach. "Oh, my! Escargoon, look!"

"Huh?" A massive thundercloud was beginning to form on the horizon, but something was off. Mainly, it seemed like it was pouring out of the ocean. "That's not good..."

Gooey was beginning to buzz loudly. "Is he supposed to be doing that?" Lady Like asked, then cringed in disgust as Gooey spat out his phone. "Oh…"

Escargoon, however, noticed something else. Something that looked like a shockwave of sorts… and it was heading towards them, fast. He shoved Lady Like aside, away from the glass door, then grabbed Gooey and ducked into his shell.

[vindogy]

Part 4 of the Skully ask that turned into a whole AU

(A little somethin extra at the end too)

After a concerning amount of time, Brian finally began regaining consciousness. Opening his eyes and letting out a few groans of pain, wincing at the soreness of his body, he looked down and instantly realized he was bound to the chair he was so familiar with. No longer having his vision obscured as he was so used to having, he realized his mask was off. He set his sights on Jay, giving him a knowing glare. He stayed silent, his gaze burning into Jay, but didn’t struggle from his position. All he had was an intimidating expression on his face that Jay wished was aimed at someone else. Mustering up some courage, Jay decided to break the silence at long last. But to his surprise, it was Brian who spoke first.

“Y’know, there were better ways to do this.”

Jay gasped in surprise. He assumed that one-word answers were all Brian could manage at this point, but it looked like that wasn’t the case. Brian continued speaking, a sly grin beginning to spread across his face, despite the several bruises and bloodstains.

“For starters, this chair is barely being held together after Tim nearly broke it. Metal’s bent, and I could struggle out pretty easily. Second of all, you can’t tie knots for shit. I already got a little wiggle room and I didn’t even move yet. Third…”

Brian turned his gaze to Tim, who was still crouched down and silent.

“… have you forgotten? We’re a team. I know how to control him, you don’t. Hell, I could tell him to kill you right now and you’d be none the wiser.”

Jay looked down in shame. He really didn’t think this through, and Brian was making sure he knew that.

“Seriously, what were you thinking? I don’t blame you though. I’ve seen how you act. You can be pretty damn stupid sometimes.”

Jay wanted to respond to the insult, but he couldn’t think of an adequate response. Brian let out a laugh and looked down at the blood dripping onto his jeans. He looked back up and flashed a crimson smile at Jay.

“But let’s say you weren’t a dumbass. Let’s say you took me far into the forest, Tim nowhere in sight. You tied me tight enough to make my limbs numb, and you have a jagged knife in your hand, ready to cut me up and bleed me like a pig if I don’t answer your questions. Let’s say you’ve absolutely broken me, and I’m sitting here crying in pain, begging you not to tear into me anymore. My eyes are gouged out, my clothes have been torn off, and you’re there making sure I feel as much pain as possible. Even then, I wouldn’t tell you jack shit. Let’s say you’ve trained Tim and you’re making him crush every bone in my body into fine dust. Hell, let’s say you’ve buddied up with Alex and he’s siccing The Operator on me, making me live through a thousand years of pain in one minute. Even then, I won’t tell you shit!”

Brian let out another laugh, taking sick pleasure in describing his own brutal torture.

“But none of that’s happening. You’re here, having me tied onto a flimsy chair, right next to one of my most vicious partners, and you didn’t even have the brains to gag me! You’re a real riot, Jay, I’ll give you that.”

In an instant, his tone shifted drastically, now looking at Jay with a stone-cold expression.

“But this is all so, so, so useless. Curiosity killed the cat, Jay, and right now you’re looking like a nice defenseless cat caught in a bear trap, surrounded by nature’s top apex predators. Why don’t you give me a reason to not kill you where you stand?”

Sweat was running down Jay’s back. He was terrified. Brian was not like this at all. Not the Brian he knew. Jay stuttered, trying to think of a valid reason that wouldn’t get him killed.

“W-well… you uh… y-you need me!”

Brian raised an eyebrow and smirked. Jay knew exactly what Alex was feeling when he told him to wipe that stupid smile off his face.

“I do?”

Jay tried his best to hide his fear. The shuddering overtaking his body was on obvious tell that he was very bad at hiding it.

“Y-yeah. You and T-Tim can’t take on Alex. Y-you’ve tried before! You need me!”

Brian looked to the side and nodded.

“Alright. Fair point. You can live for now, but if you t-”

“Wait!”

Jay made a sudden and brave interruption. He wanted answers, not another reason to fear the hooded man. Brian seemed surprised by the sudden courage as well.

“Whoa. Didn’t know you had the guts to interrupt me when I’m talking. What do you want?”

Jay stopped shuddering. He had to find out at least one thing.

“Why does the mask calm Tim down? Why does the mask turn him into that?”

Brian gave Jay a pained smile, looking like he’d been wanting to answer this for a long time.

“Aw well, that’s easy. See, when Timmy boy doesn’t get his meds, he gets real, real angry. It was always a slight problem. Back in college, the worst that would happen is that he’d lash out and maybe yell, but that’s about it.”

Brian paused for a moment, and Jay swore he saw a look of guilt in Brian’s eyes.

“But then enter Alex and The Operator. Yeah, that thing had latched onto Tim, but he did a pretty good job at not letting it get to him. Alex, on the other hand, oh boy. One encounter, and he’s out here killing people left and right, unknowingly feeding that thing. The Operator is a pretty messed up thing, y’know? If it doesn’t swallow you up in its dimension to keep your hopeless corpse in for god knows how long, it’ll instead chew you up and spit you out, breaking your mind in the process. Happened to me, happened to Tim, and now it’s happened to you.”

Brian’s eyes began to water, yet his voice didn’t waver.

“And man, let me tell you, it fucking sucks! Tim got even more violent before I was even there to intervene. He’d go on rampages late at night, running around the forest and tearing up all those poor innocent animals he saw. Dude was strong enough to take down a deer with his bare hands. That’s pretty impressive, ain’t it? Too bad I didn’t get any superpowers. All I got was a nasty cough and the worst trauma of my life!”

Brian’s voice was now breaking. He was beginning to lose his composure.

“You know how it feels to wake up one morning with no memory of what happened last night, and suddenly realizing that you don’t care about anyone anymore? I could cut up my own parents with a rusty razor, hear them cry my name and beg for mercy, and I wouldn’t feel a damn thing! Not even a drop of remorse, nope! And believe me, I wish I could. I wanted to care so much. But now, I couldn’t give a damn about what happens to anyone! Not even myself! I can’t live a normal life anymore. Society would lock me up and let me rot. I can’t have friends, I can’t have a family, I can’t have anything a normal person can have! And you know what? I’d prefer being dead!”

Brian let out a shaky laugh, several tears dropping onto his hoodie. He was vulnerable right now. Going against his morals, Jay decided to take advantage of this.

“Is that why you want to go to the ark?”

Brian immediately stopped. He looked up, his intimidating glare having returned. But just as soon as it came, it left. Tears welled up as Brian burst into tears, finally letting out years of pent up trauma and grief.

“Yes! Yes goddammit. I saw it! I saw the ark and by god, it was the worst experience of my life, but it has SOMETHING. I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to how I used to be. I want to. I want that life back so bad. I want all those lost years back. I want to have hope in the future, but right now I’m feeling that the only thing the future has for me is my lifeless corpse in the middle of nowhere.”

Brian took a moment to compose himself. Despite easily being able to free himself from Jay’s restraint, he chose not to do so. Jay wondered if this was a sign of submission.

“You though. After all those years, you began watching those tapes. You learned everything. And all of the sudden, I wasn’t alone anymore. I had a little sliver of hope in my life once more.”

Brian gritted his teeth and shook his head, regaining his anger.

“But you weren’t doing ANYTHING helpful. You just walked around like a headless chicken, getting yourself in spats with Tim. And then one day you team up with Alex despite knowing damn well something was up with him, and together you fucking broke Tim’s leg. No Jay, you weren’t just not doing anything. You were actively HURTING my efforts. You made it all worse getting all inflammatory with Tim. And I went back to being alone. Even more alone than before, since you took Tim along with you only to traumatize him even more.”

Jay immediately snapped back, shocked at Brian’s lack of self-awareness.

“I’m the one who traumatized him? Don’t you think treating him like your personal attack dog would have a worse impact on his psyche?”

Brian lashed out at the accusation, though Jay could see his facade beginning to break.

“Doesn’t matter what I do to him when he’s like that. He doesn’t remember any of it anyways. Unless of course, two lanky idiots decided to break his leg. That would matter quite a bit.”

Jay was getting heated as well. He knew that he wasn’t the most responsible decision maker, but Brian had a lot to be blamed for as well.

“You kept stealing his meds. You forced him into that state, robbing him of the normal life he tried so hard to have. He can’t hold steady work, and his mind is getting worse and worse every time you use him like that. Does that not matter to you?”

Another flash of guilt appeared in Brian’s eyes. He tried to deflect it once more.

“What matters is getting rid of The Operator. One casualty is nothing compared to the damage it d-”

“You never answered my question.”

Brian paused.

“Huh?”

“I asked you why the mask calms Tim down. Answer me.”

Brian’s face got red.

“Well, it’s because uh. . . it reminds him of the old days. I did my research. Back when he was being hospitalized, they’d always place a mask over his face to administer anesthetic to get him to calm down. Tim was too violent, though, so a normal mask wouldn’t work. They had to lock up his entire face into a heavy-duty one, made so that it couldn’t be ripped off or broken. Any time he wears that mask, it reminds him of those times. By instinct, it makes him calm and obedient.”

Jay shook his head as he glared at Brian.

“You’re fucked up. Don’t you feel any pity for him?”

Brian stayed silent.

“Well, do you? Tim was your best friend. Surely you feel at least SOMETHING for him?”

Brian bit his lip as he tried to stop the tears from flowing once more. He remained silent but pensive.

“What even is the ark, Brian? What is this thing you deem so important that you’re willing to ruin your best friend's life to even get a chance of seeing it?”

Brian looked up. His violent spirit had also been calmed, replaced with a softer tone that Jay could tell had a lot of fear behind it.

“The ark is where The Operator keeps all its victims. I saw it when Alex fed me to that thing. An ever-growing empty landscape filled with bodies. Some still conscious, but their minds gone. Some rotted, some freshly killed. Some still crying for help. The Operator feeds off of their despair. It prefers people on the brink of death, so it can suck out as much despair from them as possible. It keeps the corpses to induce even more despair into those who go into it.”

Brian’s gaze went off into the horizon, empty and unblinking, as he remembered everything.

“You’re a religious guy, aren’t you Jay?”

Jay nodded.

“You know the story of Noah’s Ark? Of course you do. There’s a reason why I call this place The Ark.”

Brian grinned for a moment before returning to his somber expression.

“There’s two of each.”

“What does that mean?”

Brian bit his lip once more, this time drawing blood.

“Every person in the world you can think of. A shy lonely man with social anxiety and a knack of bringing danger to his friends. A troubled man running from his past. A cheerful girl who dated the wrong man. Any person you can think of, any combination of traits or personality, anything. Absolutely any and all people you can think up of, no matter how specific, The Operator wants two of. Doesn’t matter how unique you think you are. In there, at some point, you’ll eventually find someone just like you. And that’s when you lose all hope. That’s when you realize that if someone just like you never escaped, you’ll never escape as well. How you’re just a bag of flesh with no purpose. And that’s when The Operator digs in, having the biggest feast of a lifetime.”

Brian took a deep breath, having to compose himself yet again. The stoic personality he kept in his hooded form had shattered thanks to Jay’s conversation.

“The Operator loves taunting us. Sometimes it’ll toss you into the ark without a second thought, wanting you to feel nothing but despair. But I want to go there. I know better. I can go in there with hope and help people escape. The more I help, the more people that can help others. It only takes one hole to sink a boat, after all. Once the ark is empty, The Operator has nothing left to feed on. From there, it’ll starve. And that’s one less horror the world has to deal with.”

Brian’s gaze suddenly turned hopeful.

“And that’s where my plan comes in. If I can get into the ark without being on the brink of death, I can save someone. Just one person. That alone would be enough to hurt The Operator and leave it from attacking us ever again. But that’s not what I want. I want it dead.”

Brian looked up at Jay, his eyes now kindled with a familiar warmth behind them.

“Catch my drift?”

Jay nodded. Brian had completely changed from the psychopathic sadist he was before this. Was a good conversation all he needed? Jay’s internal questioning was interrupted by Tim shuffling in front of Jay. This reminded Jay of another point he wanted to address.

“Wait! What about Tim? Do you really want to keep him like this?”

Brian nodded, then paused, shook his head, then nodded again.

“I uh. . . I don’t know. He’s more useful this way for sure but. . . if you take that mask off him and give him his meds again, he’ll be fine. But is that what you want? How do you think he’ll react to seeing you, not only still alive, but in cahoots with his presumed dead best friend who ended up being his stalker all along. How do you think he’ll react knowing that two of his closest friends brutally attacked him and broke his mind? Do you think he’ll be cooperative?”

Jay was stuck. Brian had a good point. Turning Tim back to normal would cause a lot more problems, and chances are it would traumatize him more than anything. But keeping him as an obedient, unthinking bodyguard felt wrong, and would only worsen his mental state. Meanwhile, Brian had already freed himself and was standing next to Tim, a bottle of pills in hand. He could tell Jay was having a rough time deciding. 

“Well, what’ll it be Jay? Free him, or keep him masked up for a while longer?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Surprise! I don’t know how to follow this up so I’m just gonna say fuck it and let whoever cares enough about this to choose. Of course, if I get requests for both I’ll write em both, but I’m interested to see where people's hearts lie in this situation.)

[askullinajar]

A Little Help From Your Friends (Part 1)

T/W: Suicide Mention.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Fic Info: Takes place around 2 years before the events of A Merry Little Christmas. Rating: Mature. Pairings: Lucy/Lockwood, Holly/Rani, others if you squint. Ao3 link: here

Stuck in a jar, longing to get out, longing to live again, the skull never thought there’d be a future where he wished he had just stayed dead.

But maybe all he needed was a helping hand from the people who somehow, against their better judgement, cared. A helping hand from each of them. In turn.

Part 1: Skully

His senses returned before he could move. Bright light burned just passed his eyelids, a rhythmic beeping assaulted his ears. Neither helped his pounding head... His forearms hurt badly. Why did they hurt? There was a reason, but it was so hard to remember… And there a weight in his hand, soft and warm. Someone was there, holding his hand, gripping it tightly, afraid to let go…

He managed to move his fingers, just a little, nothing but a twitch, but the hand in his squeezed tighter. He heard someone speaking, but couldn’t quite make out the words. Why were his eyelids so heavy? Why did everything hurt so much? He should just give in… Go back to sleep…

“Skully…”

Skully. That was his name. And the voice… That was Lucy… She sounded scared. Had someone hurt her? No one hurt Lucy.

His energy came back in a rush. His eyes snapped open. He sat bolt upright. A sharp pain shot through his left arm, something slipped from the finger on his right. The damned beeping machine started to screech. He heard people running towards him, felt hands on his shoulders trying to push him back down, but his eyes wouldn’t focus, and the bright fluorescent lights overhead caused spots to dance over his vision.

“Sir, we’re gonna need you to lie back down so we can reattach the drip.”

His vision was starting to focus. It was a woman who had spoken, dressed in a nurse’s uniform.

Hospital. He was in hospital. Why was he in hospital?

“Skull, listen to her. You need to lie back down.”

A.J. That was A.J… Why was he here? Why was Lucy? Weren’t they supposed to be in abroad somewhere? Egypt, was it?

Ugh! It was impossible to think over that god-awful screeching. When he had his energy back, that thing was going through a window for sure.

His head swam, his vision still blurred, but there was Lockwood, hair dishevelled, dark bags beneath his eyes. And Lucy on his other side, eyes wide and terrified, hand still clamped around his.

Why was she so scared? Why couldn’t he remember what he was doing in hospital? Did he fall off his motorcycle? Did another serial killer come knocking at the forensics lab wanting to destroy any incriminating results? Did a Visitor make an appearance? What?

His limbs were so heavy. He allowed the nurses to push him back into bed. Let them reattach the oximeter to his finger to stop that infernal beeping. Let them reattach the drip to his arm. His bandaged, throbbing arm.

Now he remembered. This was no accident, no psychotic criminal, no spirit.

He’d done this to himself.

Next

[askullinajar]

A Little Help From Your Friends (Part 4)

T/W: Suicide Mention. Also mentions of near sexual assault. Nothing graphic, just some sleazy guys getting handsy, but I thought I’d warn just in case.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Fic Info: Takes place around 2 years before the events of A Merry Little Christmas. Rating: Mature. Pairings: Lucy/Lockwood, Holly/Rani, others if you squint. Ao3 link: here

Stuck in a jar, longing to get out, longing to live again, the skull never thought there’d be a future where he wished he had just stayed dead.

But maybe all he needed was a helping hand from the people who somehow, against their better judgement, cared. A helping hand from each of them. In turn.

Part 4: The Stranger

The nighttime breeze was cool against Skully’s face as he strolled leisurely through the park. He wasn’t supposed to be alone, he knew, but he couldn’t take much longer of being cooped up in his flat, so he’d snuck out while Holly – his babysitter for the day – had been busy making a bunch of dinners to freeze so he didn’t have to bother cooking. She was too nice sometimes, it was sickening.

He sucked in a deep breath of air. There was something about going for a walk after dark that seemed to make the world just melt away. The air smelled different, fresher. Stars twinkled in the sky. There was barely anyone around so no pressure to keep acting human. You could just let everything go for a moment.

He walked this way during lunch break at work, on occasion. He could see the hospital from here, the lights still shining through the windows. He still wasn’t allowed back at work for a while, but, god, he missed it. Not necessarily the people so much – he didn’t get along so well with them – but the routine. The feeling of actually being useful.

He watched shadows move past the lit windows. There was supposed to be a new employee joining the forensics department some time, he remembered. He hoped they weren’t as mind-numbingly boring as his other colleagues. You’d think a field in studying crime scenes would attract some interesting people sometimes, but no! At least Rani and A.J. popped in from time to time, or he’d literally go insane.

How long had he been out now? He had sort of zoned out for a while there. He didn’t want Holly panicking and calling the others. He should probably head back.

Then he heard a scream.

A female scream. Skully knew these streets; full of back alleys and pubs and nightclubs. It was just about the time of night that drunken men would be let loose.

The screaming continued. He bolted towards the sound.

A young girl, no older than eighteen, stood cornered in an alleyway, surrounded by men who were getting a little too handsy.

“P-please. No. Just let me go. Please.”

“Come on,” a man was saying as his comrades laughed, “a little dress like that, you can’t expect not to get some attention now…”

Skully didn’t really think before he barrelled straight into him, shoving him away from the girl.

“Run,” he told her. “Straight to the police station.”

She didn’t need telling twice.

The lead man picked himself off the ground and glared at Skully. “Think you can get in the way of me getting some?”

Skully gave him a loose smile. “I think I just did.”

Skully had met people like this before. Victorian London had been swarming with them. Once upon a time, he’d have made short work of them; a quick slice to all the major arteries before having Bickerstaff’s burlier men drag the bodies to the basement. They usually wound up in the Thames after that. But now, London’s officers were a little more competent, and Skully couldn’t be bothered with the fuss at that moment. Anyway, he didn’t have his knives… And Lucy would probably get mad at him.

Of course, he had ghostly talents at his disposal, but that was to remain a secret. He didn’t want these men blurting out about a man with supernatural powers.

So, when the first man gave a roar and charged towards him, he side-stepped and let him run straight into the wall, where he crumpled on the ground, out cold.

While the other men stood dazed at how fast their friend had fallen, Skully took the opportunity to weigh them up.

Once, a good few years ago, Lucy has asked him if he still saw people the way he did as a ghost – their spirits rather than their bodies. He had told her no, but that wasn’t strictly true. He saw their physical form as anyone else would, yes. But also, just beyond that, their souls. Clearer after dark, like with death-glows. How bright they were. And how rotten. That was another thing; he was sick of seeing all the rot.

These men, they were all rotten. Their souls black and festering, distorting their features. They were hideous to look at.

Skully couldn’t see his own soul in the mirror, but he often wondered, what with all he’d done and his questionable moral compass, whether his soul looked like that. And if it did, whether it could be reversed.

The men came to their senses. The big, burly one took a swing at Skully. He dodged and jabbed his elbow into the back of the man’s neck. The man gave a shout as he stumbled, and his wiry friend aimed a kick towards Skully, who dodged and knocked his other leg out from under him, making him collapse to the ground.

Too preoccupied with the two men, Skully failed to dodge as the final man swung at him. He was an average looking guy, but damn, he could pack a punch, and Skully sprawled to the ground, his right cheek throbbing.

As he was trying to push himself up, the burly man kicked at his ribs, and Skully fell back down, gasping, winded.

Oh, how tempting it was to unleash his powers. But he couldn’t; the truth coming out could lead to the public getting ideas, which could lead to another Problem, the lives of children be damned. People were horrible that way.

Another kick forced Skully to roll over. That one had definitely cracked a rib.

The alleyway was dark, the souls of the men darker. Maybe he’d just let them beat him. At least the girl had gotten away.

Then: light. Almost blinding in its brightness. A person, Skully realised, with a soul brighter than he’d ever seen, who had run over and now stood between him and the three men.

The wiry man laughed. Such a disgusting, nasally sound. “Look at this! A little girl’s come to your rescue. And we thought you’d chased away our only plaything.”

“I’m not little,” said the person, “and I’m not a girl.” And they punched the wiry man straight in the face.

He swayed on the spot for a moment, then fell flat on his face, joining his former leader.

Skully pushed himself into a sitting position, too shocked and in awe to do anything else.

The remaining two men blinked in surprise, then they seemed to come to their senses.

“Kind of small for a boy,” the burly one growled, swinging a punch at the person.

“I’m not a boy either,” they said, spinning out of the way, their long bronze hair flying out behind them, and jabbing the man in his torso three times in quick succession.

The man’s arm seemed to just… collapse.

“What the…?” he started, staggering. That was when the bronze-haired person round-house kicked him in the head, and he fell to ground too.

But now they were facing away from that damn final man, who pulled his arm back ready to punch. Skully didn’t even think before he thrust his hands forwards and sent a blast of psychic wind that threw the man into the wall so hard the brick cracked.

The person turned their head and looked down at the unconscious man, then to the other three bodies, then finally to Skully.

“How did you…?” they both said in unison, then the sound of sirens came into earshot.

The person’s sky-blue eyes grew wide.

“The police are coming? I can’t… I won’t be able to talk to them. I–” They began flapping their arms frantically at their sides.

“Hey,” said Skully, pushing himself to his feet. He made to reach towards them and steady their arms, but they jerked out of the way, so he kept his hands raised, close but not touching. “It’s okay, just run. I’ll handle this.”

They turned their wide-eyed gaze on him. “But… what about you?”

“Listen,” he said. “I’ve already been arrested three times this year and its only March. And, yet, I’ve never been charged with anything.”

They frowned.  “How…?”

The sirens grew closer.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “But trust me, I can handle this. Just go. And thanks for stepping in, by the way.”

They managed to give him a small smile before they ran off and disappeared down the alley, just in time for a police car to arrive and two officers to step out.

“Jim Walker,” said the senior officer. “Why am I not surprised? What’s the story this time?”

Skully grinned at him. “Oh, you know me, Dave. Just in the wrong place at the wrong time, is all.”

Dave eyed the unconscious forms over his shoulder, then looked Skully up and down. “And how did you get that cut on your cheek?”

“I tripped,” said Skully. “I’m such a clutz!”

Dave hummed. “You must be, the number of times you’ve just ‘tripped’.”

He put his radio to his mouth. “Need an ambulance and backup, ASAP.”

Skully smiled. The number of times Dave had arrested him, at least he knew by now that these men were no nice guys and backup would be needed.

Dave glanced over his shoulder at the other cop and huffed. “What’re you waiting for, McGuire? Cuff the boy!”

“Oh!” McGuire blurted, fumbling with the handcuffs at his belt. “Yes, sir!”

Skully eyed the other cop. He was younger, perhaps fresh out of the academy, and Skully hadn’t seen him around before. He smiled. Fresh meat.

“Don’t have any padded ones, do you?” said Skully, holding up his bandaged arms. “Only my wrists are a little sore.” He tilted his head to one side and gave the young cop a lazy smile. “Or do you prefer them rough?”

McGuire’s face turned bright red and he began spluttering, dropping the handcuffs in his embarrassment. Skully’s smile grew wider.

Dave let out a sigh. “Walker, I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again: Stop trying to seduce my officers.”

Skully adopted a looking of mock innocence. “Trying to?”

Dave just gave him a dead-pan stare, a look he was famous for. “Forget the cuffs, just get in the car.”

Skully happily obliged, and watched through the window as ambulances and more police cars showed up, officers hand-cuffing the men to their stretchers.

He wondered where the bronze-haired person was now, and if he’d ever see a soul so bright again.

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