#i am never immune to tragic siblings and OH BABY THE SIBLINGS IN THAT ONE

[waitineedaname]

Yo, friendo What's the best way to consume these funny doomed men I keep seeing?

( Didn't mean it literality, but I can't help but think that the answer is with spice )

depends on which ones!! there are two series I've been posting about a lot, both by the same author: SVSSS and MDZS!

Scum Villain's Self-Saving System/SVSSS is a book series, and you can read it physically (which I did through my local library for the first two books) or online on the Internet Archive or Anna's Archive (which I did for the last two books when I got too impatient to wait on my holds). It also has a ten episode long donghua called Scumbag System that covers most of the first book and it's terrible (affectionate). You can find that one on youtube or most anime pirating sites. In short summary, SVSSS is about a terminally online dude getting isekai'd into the villain of a webnovel he absolutely hates, and in his attempt to avoid the villain's horrible death he sends the story completely off the rails. It's unhinged, hilarious, and everyone in the series is a complete freak <3 It's only four books long (three of which are the main plot and the fourth is extras)

MDZS/Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation is also a book series by the same author! Similarly, you can check your public library or the Internet Archive and Anna's Archive. It also has a donghua (which I haven't watched) and a wildly successful live action drama called The Untamed (which is how I initially got into the series!). The Untamed is available on Netflix and Youtube and probably other places. It does make some significant changes due to censorship reasons and it is extremely cheesy, but I enjoy it. If you want more classical tragedy, I'd say start with The Untamed, and if you want more gay necromancy shenanigans, I'd say start with the books! In short summary, it's about the life and death and second life of Wei Wuxian as he goes from war hero to widely reviled necromancer, and it's quite fun. The book series is five books long, and The Untamed is 50 episodes long. I have a character guide for that one if you need it because the names do get confusing!

[swamplatibule]

Paramay Prompt Three! Para+Childhood

I HAVE BEEN WRITING THIS FOR FOUR MOTHERFUCKING DAYS NOW AND I HAVE NO REGRETS :DDDD

this has not been proofread it is 10 at night, I am exhausted, please accept my humble offerings

Damn, only prompt three and I’m already forced to reveal everyone’s tragic backstory oh well lol

Trigger warnings: Abuse, arson, su•c•de, death, homophobia, murder, gun mention

tw; death mention

Alright alright alright let’s fuckin goooo we’ll start off with Hollister, her childhood is no doubt the easiest to write since it’s basically been the same her whole life.

She never met her parents. She doesn’t know if they’re dead, or if they just decided they didn’t want a kid, or if something else happened, and she doesn‘t care. It’s not her problem. At least, she tells herself that, but she really isn’t 100% sure that it wasn’t somehow her fault. Poor baby.

She‘s completely grown up in the foster care system, bouncing from home to home. Hollister kept running away, getting caught, and being sent somewhere else. She’s also, guess what, a fucking genius with technology.

One time she tried running away and then erasing herself from the system. It didn’t work, but nobody realized that she’s tried to do it, so it’s fine, nothing went wrong.

A few weeks into her newest home, one of the other foster kids named Silas (who she’d been fast friends with) went missing days after developing a weird anti-gravitational power. And so she tried to find him. She stumbled across the Starwritten Society - when I say “stumbled across” I mean she followed a few very questionable leads on, like, conspiracy theory websites and shit and actually found something - and hacked into the archives, trying to find some sort of info.

Now, you can imagine the panic that caused in the Society. Complete lockdown. The Starwritten Society is top-secret, and nobody just hacks into the archives that easily. She didn’t actually find anything, one because she didn’t get time to look around before the security system actually started working and kicked her out, and two because Silas just wasn’t in the records anyway, meaning he’d disappeared some other way.

However, before she could go out looking for him, there were three agents knocking at the door, having tracked her location here. And you can imagine the looks on their faces when they saw that the person who had caused the mass panic that morning was none other than some kid with a computer that looked home-made.

Things happened, she asked to join because, y’know, fuck yeah secret society, paperwork was filed, and she got in. She’s currently the youngest trainee to join the Society in seventy-four years. Also, fun fact, they had to fill out the adoption papers and such, so she’s listed as the child of Director Iara Adams. Which isn’t that big of a deal, since literally every kid in need of adoption taken in by the Society is adopted under her name, and most have only interacted with her like once, but... it’s a cool world building detail I felt like I needed to add.

Anyways, ONWARD!!!

——————————————

tw; homophobia

Kennedy was born in a pretty influential family with very “traditional” values. They kinda suck, so we won’t get too into that shithole.

Each generation of that family has had like six kids, and every single time, one turns out to be lgbtq+ and gets ✨disowned✨because the parents are just kinda assholes. It’s just this never-ending cycle.

Suffice it to say, Kennedy - being a flaming bisexual and all that - got disowned when she was like twelve after one of her siblings outed her by accident. Her uncle took her in. Guess what? He had also been disowned! When he was fifteen!

And he also went on to become a very important person in the Starwritten Society, and when he discovered Kennedy’s complete genius with technology, he recommended her to become a trainee at 17 years old.

To be honest, Kennedy’s basically gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to characterization and fleshing-out. I have quite a few paras like that, sadly. I think I might make her a playlist sometime and let her be the main character for a while.

——————————————

tw: abuse, arson, su•c•de, murder, gun mention

Fox. Oh boy. Fox grew up in a very... tense household. His father started out pretty okay when he was a younger kid, but he slowly started getting more and more violent and controlling, to both Fox, his twin sister, and his mother.

Fox always had a very close relationship with his sister, Wren. You know that siblings meme? The “You are my sister, you are my brother, we are siblings and we care for each other,”? The were the living definition of that. They managed to keep a definite sense of humor and lightheartedness with each other, despite everything that had been going on.

They weren’t fine, but they had each other.

And then Wren went missing. There was a huge police search, but they didn’t find anything. Fox was fourteen at the time. That experience basically broke him, and he never saw Wren again.

A month later, he was coming home from school, got off the bus, and found the house in smoking ruins. His mother hadn’t been able to take his father’s abuse anymore, and she couldn’t see any way out. So she set the house on fire, killing both herself and her husband.

Fox, who was a mental wreck at this point, as almost anyone would be, was placed into the foster care system. He never stayed anywhere for longer than a week. His humor became a shield for him, an easy way to seem like he was fine when he wasn’t. After about a year, he ran away. And then joined the circus. Why, you ask? Because I said so; I grow these flowers and if you don’t like it then you can leave my garden

Fox was always a flexible kid. He’d been in gymnastics classes since he was five. And, as it would turn out, he was damn good on a trapeze. It wasn’t a very big circus, just some small family-run traveling one, but it gave him a place to stay and an environment that welcomed him, and that was good enough for him.

He was with the circus for about four years, up until he was eighteen, so technically this isn’t his childhood anymore, but I’m gonna keep going because I want to.

The Starwritten Society was following a lead on an underground lab somewhere around the place where Fox’s circus was performing. Kennedy was actually on the mission, although she doesn’t do many of those anymore after she got injured in the field and such and I’ll talk about that later. Anyway.

The team of agents who were on the search came across the circus, and figured it was as good of a place as any to try and find the person they were looking for, Eleanor Sylvidas. She was actually in the crowd watching, and there was a confrontation after the show. Fox went to check it out, being the one generally in charge of telling people to cool it whenever small fights broke out between customers, but he wasn’t quite sure what to do in a situation where both parties happen to have guns pointed at each other. Especially when Eleanor pointed her gun at his head and told the agents that if they didn’t back down, she’d shoot him.

That wasn’t exactly something that happened to him on a day-to-day basis.

Of course, a fight broke out. Actually, Fox made the first move, he literally tried to snatch this woman’s gun out of her hand. It didn’t work, but the shot she took at him definitely missed, and then there was a very chaotic fight scene and Eleanor ended up losing and got arrested. Course, they still had to find the lab so they could get the kids out of there. Fox was very helpful in that aspect, too.

Once the mission had been completed, he was offered a place as a trainee in the Society. Those who were there will say that the offer was accepted immediately, but he was actually a bit reluctant. He made the choice to go, however, and it proved to be one of the best decisions he’s made.

——————————————

tw; abuse, violence, gun mention

Wilson. Where do I start? He has trauma, definitely, although so does practically everyone who works with the Starwritten Society.

See, Wilson is actually one of the people who were rescued from labs as children, but there are two things that sets him apart from others.

1. He wasn’t kidnapped at birth or after he developed abilities. He was literally created in a lab, which has led to a lot of self-doubt due to being raised to believe he wasn’t “natural”.

2. The Society aims to rescue all powered children from labs as soon as possible, and since many of them are kidnapped at a young age, they try to get them out at least before they turn 10. Wilson wasn’t found until he was a bit older than 17.

He wasn’t even given a name while he was in the lab. He was just “Project Firebird”, with abilities including fire and heat manipulation, as well as immunity to those two things, plus flight and enhanced strength, speed, and stamina. Wilson was made for the sole purpose of being a weapon.

The person running the lab? An absolute fucker of a man named Alastor Killigan. Him? I cannot put into words how much I hate him. He just really fucking sucks, and not in a “loveable bastard“ way. I honestly wish I could physically teleport into my daydreams just to set this bitch on fire.

Anyway, he’s running this whole operation. He’s got guards, he’s got other scientists who he may or may not have blackmailed into helping him, he’s got people who work for him. And this isn’t the first time he’s done this. That’s right, Grey isn’t the first time he’s tried to weaponize a kid. He got caught by the Society last time, but escaped, and now he knows that he has to keep moving around constantly.

So the first 17 years of Grey’s life were just constant training and experiments and tests and moving around and being raised to believe that he was a literal monster and wasn’t worth anything if he wasn’t a weapon. Fucked up, right? But, see, the Society had no idea he existed. They found the lab kids through keeping tabs on recent kidnappings and disappearances. Grey wasn’t on any of those lists. The only people aware of Grey’s existence were Alastor and the people working for him.

In fact, the Society only found him by chance. They managed to track Alastor’s location and find him to arrest him, and they found Grey while they were doing that. There was a huge fight, but Alastor lost, and Grey got rescued. Things were looking up.

Because the Society legally adopts all the orphaned kids they take in, Grey needed a name. He also just needed a name in general. The lady filling out the papers told him he could just pick something, and he panicked. He wasn’t used to being allowed to make his own decisions. There was a plaque on the wall with a list of people who’d been top agents in the past, and he just read one of those.

Grey Wilson.

So, y’know, that‘s why it says he was a top agent in 1937. Just a heads up.

Have I talked about the Society’s different departments yet? No? Maybe I’ll do that later, but anyway - one of the divisions is basically therapy, because some of these kiddos have severe trauma and need help. Grey worked with a woman named Mags for a few years, and then started training for the High-Risk Rescue department. He was taking charge of his own future! Yayyyy!

Oh yeah and then Alastor escaped - again, and Mags went missing on the same day and it was presumed Alastor killed her on his way out, and Grey hasn’t seen either of them since. He’s been working in the Society for about 22 years now, trying to make sure that nobody goes through what he has. He decided early on that he didn’t want to use his abilities again, ever, and it’s become his personal secret, with very few people knowing.

[kpopwrites]

Drowning in A Dream Chapter 4

 A/N: This one is rollarcoaster with some nerve wracking moments, sorry! Anyway, this is the second time I’ve written a chapter late at night, so I’m super sorry if there is any spelling or grammar errors! Taglist and requests are open!

TW: Possible smut in upcoming chapters, angst, fluff, swearing, mentions of depression, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, slight gore

   The growl seemed to press pause on any and all activity in the room as Taehyung continued to literally growl at Jimin. “V, calm yourself.” Namjoon instructed calmly, taking a sip of blood red wine. “I won’t allow you to use them as another playmate. It’s bullshit.” V snarled, ignoring his older brother. Jimin smirked, obviously wanting to edge his younger brother on. “Oh? And why is that V? You don’t like that thought? What makes (Y/N) so different, hm?” He purred, reaching across the table and grabbing your hand, kissing it. This seemed to make V snap as he quickly grabbed Jimin’s wrist, holding it tightly. “Just one meal… One peaceful meal is all I ask for.” Yoongi grumbled. “(Y/N), I think it’s time you went to bed, it’s getting late and if you are planning on leaving tomorrow, you’ll need your rest.” Glancing nervously glancing between the two brothers, you decided to just listen to Namjoon, standing up and bidding everyone goodnight. Namjoon led you to the guest bedroom. “Are you okay?” He asked, looking straight forward as he walked. 

   You nod. “Why was V so upset? I mean, Jimin’s flirting is… a little much, but he’s harmless.” Namjoon seemed to choke on his laughter, obviously trying to hide the chuckle. “He’s far from harmless, we all are. Very foolish of you to completely trust your life with strangers, not that we would let harm fall upon you.” He hummed, opening the guest bedroom door. You blushed slightly. “Thanks…” You mutter awkwardly, looking around the room. There was a loud crash from the kitchen, causing your head to snap towards the sound. “What was that?!” You ask, worried. “Nothing, I’m sure Hoseok knocked something over on accident. He’s very excitable sometimes.” Namjoon shrugged before nudging you into the bedroom. “Good night.” He shut the door immediately. 

   You sighed, fiddling with the rather large tee shirt before laying down on the bed. “Goodnight to you too, I guess.” As you closed your eyes, the events of the day flowed through your brain, causing sorrow to fill your being. The more you thought about it, the worst you felt. What would your grandma have thought? Your brothers? Sure, you didn’t talk to them much, but they loved you… You know they did. Not to mention, your grandmother had always told you how important you were, how you were destined for so many things. If she had still been here, she would have slapped you for your attempt. But she wasn’t. She was gone, never coming back. Grieve consumed you as your eyes watered, thinking back on just how much she had done for you. 

   Carrie (Y/L/N) was a saint in your eyes, your savior. She had taken you in after your parents had disappeared, raising you along with your other adopted siblings with their own tragic stories. Not only had Carrie adopted four different orphans, but she also ran an animal shelter and donated any excesses money to anyone in need. When you would ask her why, she would simply explain how she would rather give others basic things than buy herself unnecessary things. “As long as we have each other, my precious babies, we don’t need anything else. I’m your grandma, I’ll always care for you.” Those words echoed in your head, causing a small sob to escape your lips. After wrapping your arms around yourself, you turned onto your side and tried to sleep. 

    You woke up the next morning from a hand gently shaking you awake. You opened your eyes, still red and swollen from your rough night. Jin stood above you, smiling happily. “Rise and shine! Wakey wakey! Up and at ‘em!” He yelled loudly, walking over and opening up the curtains, letting light flood into the room. You groaned, covering your eyes as you sat up. Jin hummed a soft tune as he set down your freshly washed and dried clothes. “Here, I washed them for you darling. Would you let me make you prettier?” His words seemed… different than how Jin normally sounded, making you slightly uneasy. Your grandmother's reassuring words floated around your head for a moment before you nodded. “Yes, I suppose so.” You whispered, yawning as you rubbed your eyes. 

   Jin grinned with delight, though the grin seemed slightly more mischievous than you had seen from him before. Your brain, just having woken up, didn’t seem to care, instead directing your sleep deprived body to follow Jin into his room. “You know, where I come from, they called me the most handsome man in the world.” He commented. “Then we moved here. People weren’t very accepting, calling us horrid names.” Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, watching the man as he gathered materials from his desk, keeping his back towards you. Small town racism wasn’t uncommon, but you had never seen nor heard of anything like that anytime recently. “I’m sorry. People can be so awful sometimes.” You whisper, keeping your eyes glued to Jin’s hands as they worked on opening many different drawers and containers.

   The man mumbled to himself in Korean, seemingly in an inner debate. “If you don’t want to waste any materials, you don’t have to.” You smiled softly, thinking that was his problem. Jin let out a hearty laugh, going back to normal within a split second. “No no no dear, just wondering how I could possibly improve an already perfect face.” Your cheeks lit aflame as you looked away. “Thank you.” You whisper, nervously toying with your fingers. “I mean it. Usually… usually I don’t like people being anywhere near as perfect as I am, but you’re different.” His voice got softer as he began to massage something into your skin. His breath hit your lips, making you blush even more. “V was right to protect you last night. I love my brother, but he is trouble… He’ll break your heart, maybe more if you aren’t careful.” He whispered, staring in your eyes for a moment. 

   The tension in the room was weighing heavily on you, your heart beating quickly as you locked eyes with Jin. “You’re so beautiful… Tell me, would you let me feel your lips on mine?” He whispered, leaning forward ever so slightly. The door slammed open as Hoseok walked in, pouting unhappily. “Ya! Why do you get to kiss (Y/N) huh!?” He yelled, crossing his arms over his chest. “Namjoon said the door has to be open. He doesn’t care if you give them a makeover, but you have to keep the door open. And no more of that, it’s not fair.” He huffed, leaving the door open behind him as he walked out. Jin sighed, looking down and shaking his head before he continued to apply various products to your now burning face. 

   “Oh well, maybe next time if you come to visit.” He said calmly, obviously not nearly as phased about the almost kiss as you were. “You will come to visit, won’t you?” Jin pouted out his lip, begging you with his eyes. “Everyone enjoys you so much, even the ones who don’t show it much. Namjoon, Yoongi and Jungkook seem cold, but they aren’t immune to your charms.” He mused. “Charms? I wasn’t trying to charm anyone… I was just trying to show my thanks.” You say, looking up as Jin carefully swiped mascara on. “Normally I would do a much heavier look, full of red and blues and blacks.” He smirked, knowing you wouldn’t quite understand what he meant. “However, you’re so naturally stunning, I don’t want to mess with it. I don’t understand why quite yet, but Namjoon is studying it.” You chuckle softly. “Namjoon is studying why you aren’t putting heavy makeup on me?” Jin let out a hum of amusement. “Something like that.”

   He reached over to his desk, carefully grabbing a hairbrush and styling your hair. It took another five minutes of fussing and pruning before he finally let you see. You were amazed by how Jin had transformed you. Your messy bed hair, perfectly styled to match the shape of your face. The dark undereye bags that plagued your face were seemingly non-existent. You reached up, touching your face in shock. “You should become a makeup artist Jin!” You praise, grinning. “No no, they don’t hire men my age.” He said, putting away his products. “I’ve seen makeup artists in their sixties.” You protested, trying to convince Jin on your idea. 

   The man laughed, shaking his head as he mumbled something in Korean under his breath. “Breakfast.” Namjoon called out, his voice not sounding strained despite the fact that it echoed throughout the cabin. You stood up, thanking Jin once more before going back to your own room to change. As you closed the door, you jumped, spotting Yoongi half asleep on your bed. “Yoongi, you startled me.” You hold your hand over your heart, sighing. “Sorry… I was just wondering if you’d like to nap with me before you left. It’s a long walk, and you’re going to need your strength.” He hummed, voice so rough and raspy it made your heartbeat speed up. 

   “Right now? Breakfast is ready.” You commented, making Yoongi frown slightly. “Oh? Say, (Y/N), what’s that in your eye, come here, let me see.” You furrowed your brows, leaning forward and looking into Yoongi’s eyes. Instantly, your limbs felt like cement and you longed for your bed like a baby longing for their mother. “You sure you don’t want a nap? You seem so tired…” His voice echoed in your head as he reached forward, slowly pulling you onto the bed and into his arms. Your brain, too flooded with the sudden need for sleep, didn’t even bother to question things as you snuggled against the man, closing your eyes and falling asleep within mere moments. 

Taglist:

@jennyjq​ @boy9wolf​   @slutkoo​ @flakeypancake​ @leftflowerprunedonut​ @vickylamore​ @elenaramos1​ @trinityautumn​ @blackgirlutopia​

[it-refused]

Prompt:  Papyrus vs. a nest of annoying puppies +  Gaster being world's worst babysitter

Thank you @armonah!  Since you sent several prompts, I tried to combine a couple of them.  I hope you enjoy it!  This is my first real attempt at writing Gaster.

Rating: G

Characters: Papyrus, Gaster (as the skeleton brothers’ dad), Sans, Dogaressa, Dogamy, and Dogaressa and Dogamy’s puppies.  

Summary: There’s a small emergency in Dogaressa’s family and she and Dogamy need someone to watch their kids overnight.  Papyrus volunteers and Sans volunteers Gaster.  I made this into a post-pacifist AU where they somehow managed to bring Gaster back from the void.

The old man was sinking into the living room couch in a way Sans found relateable. Emotionally, obviously, not physically.  

"hey.  pops. uh.  mind the gap, there." 

Gaster started back awake, reforming fully onto the couch.  He never had the shape he had before his "fall," but Sans was getting used to his new look.

"[Thank you,]" he said, with his hands.  

"if i have to watch bro mop you outta the couch again, i'm getting nightmares."

Like his name summoned him, Papyrus burst in from the kitchen.  "WONDERFUL NEWS,  BELOVED FAMILY!  MY LONG LOST FATHER AND...MY SHORT AND USUALLY AROUND BROTHER?"  He skidded to a stop halfway across the living room.  

"round?  i guess that's what happens when you eat as many 'burgs as i do. you're..."  Sans winked. "...dependable.  everyone always knows where to find you."

"WE CAN GET INTO A DISCUSSION ABOUT YOUR EATING HABITS LATER, SANS!  I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME."

"yeah. and a great chef like you always needs some extra thyme."

"THANK YOU FOR COMPLIMENTING MY SKILLS AS A CHEF, HOWEVER...NOW IS STILL NOT THE TIME.  NOT FOR THAT OR THE HERB PUN YOU TRIED TO SLIP BY MY KEEN, TRAGICALLY WELL DEVELOPED PUN SENSES."

"nothing gets past you, bro."

"[I herb you were good at that,]" Gaster said.  Sans hadn't been sure he was paying attention until that moment.

Papyrus sighed, loud and exasperated.  "DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE SOMETHING THEY NEED TO EXPRESS, BEFORE I CAN SPEAK?"

"don't think of this as a...punishmint, papyrus," Sans said.

"[We clove you, son.]"

"WHY DID THINGS TURN OUT THIS WAY?" Papyrus asked.  "WOULD YOU LET ME SAY WHAT I MUST, BEFORE I HAVE TO...LEAF?"

"nice."

"NYEH-HEH-HEH!" He crossed his arms and lifted up his chin.  Unfortunately, he wasn't wearing a cape, so it couldn't blow dramatically behind him. "ANYWAY!  I HAVE BEEN GIVEN A VERY IMPORTANT, VERY IMMEDIATE TASK."

"you need help, or something?"  Sans didn't want to stand up.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!  I WANTED TO INFORM YOU THAT I WILL BE UNABLE TO COOK YOU A DELICIOUS, HEALTHY DINNER THIS EVENING.  BECAUSE I HAVE OTHER PLANS!"

"uh.  a date?" Would Papyrus call that a "task?"  ....Maybe?

"YOUR GUESS IS UNSURPRISING, AS I AM OF COURSE POPULAR ENOUGH TO DRAW ANY NUMBER OF ATTRACTIVE, SEXY SINGLES HELPLESSLY TOWARDS MY PERSON.  HOWEVER, IF I DID HAVE A DATE, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE A...RAIN DATE!"

"i get it."

"I HAVE BEEN ASKED TO BABYSIT," he explained.  "DOGAMY CALLED ME JUST A FEW MINUTES AGO.  APPARENTLY A MEMBER OF DOGARESSA'S FAMILY IS ILL, AND THEIR REGULAR BABYSITTER WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL THE MORNING."

"oh.  guess you can't just drag six puppies to a hospital with you, or wherever."

"IT IS...INADVISABLE."  

"[Six?]"  Gaster's whole body shuddered.  "[Two was not easy.]"

"it's a few hours," Sans said.

"IT MAY NOT BE EASY FOR YOU, BUT IT WILL BE A BREEZE FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME," Papyrus said.  Sans could easily read the unease on his face.

"[Are you sure?]"  

"YES!"  Papyrus ran into his room, probably to pack a bag for overnight.

Gaster was staring at Sans.  It was a bad idea to look too long into the empty spaces of his uneven eye sockets.

"you want a chisp?" Sans asked.

"[It is too much.]  He continued to stare.  "[He is aware.  You are aware. We are all aware.]

"eh, he can handle it."  He really didn't want to get up.

"[...]"

It had been weird enough when Gaster would sign ellipses before he fell.  

Papyrus returned, briefly, carrying a heavy looking suitcase.  He dropped it on the floor by the door.

"hey, bro, how many kids have you watched?"  

He considered. "DOZENS!"

"at a time?"

"BROTHER, HOW MANY CHILDREN DOES FRISK COUNT AS?"

"probably one," Sans said.

"THAT IS THE NUMBER, THEN."

Maybe dad had a point.

"[You should ask someone to lend a hand,]" Gaster said.

"I CAN HANDLE THIS MYSELF!" Papyrus said, insulted and irritated.  "AND EVERYONE WAS ALREADY BUSY.  I WAS NOT THE FIRST ON THEIR LIST.  SO I WILL PROVE TO THEM THAT I SHOULD HAVE BEEN!"

"hey, dad," Sans said.  "what's the wd weather report today?"

"[I am...]" Gaster looked away.  "[The...the DARKNESS RISES UP.  THE CURRENT THREATENS.  PULLS.  So..]"  He shrugged, oddly.  "[ABOUT AVERAGE.]"

"that sucks," Sans said.

Papyrus ran back into his room, probably to pack another suitcase.

"[For...two meanings of the word.]"  His grin widened.  

Sans stared at him, and then laughed.  "wow.  the void's friendlier than i would've thought.”

"[. . .]”

"what."

"[Sans.  Wash your skull out.  With soap and water.]"  One of his hands waggled a finger in Sans' direction.  "[That is technically a third meaning.]"

"ok." Sans started to move, knowing he'd be stopped.

"[Never mind. Do Not Eat Soap.]"

They both remembered when Sans had been a kid, and - bolstered by his knowledge of a skeleton's near-immunity to food poisoning, and full of youthful scientific curiosity -  he had outright eaten a bar of soap when Gaster told him off for swearing.

"ok," Sans said.  He settled back down.  "just admit you thought it was funny, pops.  at least your upside down face thinks so."

"[He has bad taste]"

Papyrus returned with two more suitcases.

"so dad's feeling pretty ok today, and he wants to help you out.  he's watched two kids, and you've watched probably-one, so that's over half, right there."

"[Sans.]"  Gaster's face stretched in disapproval.  "[Children are not pleased when they see me.]"

"hey, you're just like their grandparents.  they'll love you."  Sans wasn't letting this get pushed onto him.  Anyway, it would probably be good for dad to get out and spend time with people who were used to monsters like him.  Yeah.  Sans was going to go with that.  It was for dad's own good.

Man.  This chair was comfortable.

"WELL, FATHER DOES NEED TO GET OUT MORE," Papyrus said, a little doubtful. "THIS COULD VERY WELL BE A GOOD IDEA."

"[THIS WILL END BADLY,]"  Gaster said.  "[Let's go.]"

--

Papyrus' fingerbone wasn't even off the doorbell when the barking started.  Gaster understood enough dog to figure out that it was mostly just "Who's there?" shouted at the door over and over again.  The highest yipping bark kept telling them to go away.

Dogamy opened the door.  His fur was rumpled and he barely glanced at Gaster before letting them in.  He was in the middle of packing.  Dogaressa was sitting on the couch, two of her puppies on her lap.  They had been distracted by the doorbell, but the puppies looked like they had been crying.  Separation was difficult for very young children.

Once the young ones caught Papyrus' scent, the barking changed, and the four of them not sitting with Dogaressa ran over and started cheerfully nipping at him.  Dogamy tried to shoo them away as he explained the routine so he and Dogaressa could get going.

Gaster sunk back, uneasy around so many monsters.  He melted into a shadow, and only left it reluctantly when Papyrus called him over to shake paws with (and give a quick pat to) Dogaressa and Dogamy.  They sniffed him, and he wasn't sure they liked what they smelled, but they thanked him for helping out on such short notice.  They gave all their puppies a goodbye nuzzle and hurried out before the whining and wailing from the puppies could make them decide they had to stay.

Two minutes after they were gone, the whining stopped, and the puppies went back to sniffing at and trying to gnaw on Papyrus.  

"I AM GOING TO MAKE DINNER!  IT IS UNWISE TO EAT THE PERSON WHO IS GOING TO COOK FOR YOU!"

"[Play with them,]" Gaster suggested.  

His hands moving seemed to catch the attention of the puppies.  One of them growled, and then was shushed by another.  Gaster was having trouble telling them apart.

The boldest one approached him.  They sniffed.  Gaster was sure they couldn't see him all that well, when he wasn't moving.  He held out a hand and the puppy examined him.

They barked, excited, to their siblings.  "He smells like grandmas!"

"Grandmas?" The other puppies hurried over.  Six tiny wet little noses nudged against his hands.  They all barked the names they had for their amalgamate relative.  

Gaster felt a warm feeling swell within his broken soul.  He was not sure he would ever be a grandparent.  He didn't like the monster Papyrus was regularly dating, and he didn't think Sans would settle down.  Well.  He was in a permanent state of "settled down," actually.  He would have to unsettle if he started dating so he could resettle into a different position.  One that would give Gaster grandchildren.

He didn't bring it up.  He had been away for too long to feel comfortable even mentioning how much he would enjoy having a little baby bones running around calling him some cute nickname.  The puppies calling him "grandmas" and "geny" and so on made that desire suddenly overwhelming.  

He was supposed to be there to help Papyrus babysit, but...

"[I have some treats for you children,]" Gaster said.  The puppies didn't understand him, but they did understand the smell of the dog kibble he brought out of his inventory.  His original idea was that if they swamped him, he could throw the kibble and escape, but now he just wanted them to have it.

"DON'T GIVE THEM TOO MANY!  I HAVE A PROPER MEAL PLANNED AND IT WOULD BE AWFUL IF THEIR APPETITE WAS RUINED BEFORE THEY COULD EAT A DELICIOUS MEAL PROVIDED BY THE GREAT CHEF PAPYRUS."  

"[Right,]" Gaster said.  He laughed as one of the puppies licked his hand.  He gave her another handful of treats.

"DID YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID?"

"[Yes.  You're making dinner, correct?]"

"...FINE!  I WILL DO THAT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."  

"[You children can call me grandpa if you like,]" Gaster said.  They still didn't understand him, but they liked watching his hands move around. Their vision would be average for dog monsters (he initially thought "poor," but that was a relative, subjective term that did not apply) so his hands would be blurry and indistinct.  

They didn't mind not understanding him.  Now that they knew he was a snack-providing adult, they were fine with him.

Gaster found some of their toys and tossed them for them, watching the puppies race around and bounce into each other.  They yipped in excitement.  When Papyrus returned with dinner, they were worked up into a complete frenzy. They had forgotten the toys and were nipping and chasing each other.

"THIS IS ABSOLUTE CHAOS," Papyrus said.  One of the puppies deliberately slammed into his leg, laughing, and Papyrus' chef hat fell onto the ground.  Another puppy jumped on it, and a third came over and sniffed at the sauce spill on Papyrus' apron.  They bit his apron there, trying to eat it.  A fourth puppy, catching on that something exciting was happening, ran over and grabbed Papyrus apron, too, apparently thinking they were playing tug of war with it.  

Papyrus waved his arms, trying to keep his balance.  The last two puppies were too busy yipping and nipping at each other to notice Papyrus.  

"[They are adorable,]" Gaster said.  "[They have so much energy. Above average, I think.  They remind me of you when you were their age.]"

"THAT IS A VERY SWEET, IF INCONVENIENTLY TIMED REMINISCENCE."  

The apron tore, and one of the puppies fell back, yelping in surprise.  She must have landed on her tail badly, because she started to howl.

Papyrus picked her up and checked her for injury (with the other puppy still hanging from his apron).  She calmed quickly, and when he set her down, she ran over to the two puppies still fighting and hopped in with them.

"DINNER IS READY, PUPPIES," Papyrus said, loud, trying to get their attention.

"Bones?" one of them asked.

"Bones!!" That word caught the attention of the rest of the dogs, and they all launched themselves at Papyrus.  He fell over under the onslaught.  

"NO!  IT IS IN THE KITCHEN!  IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW DELICIOUS MY ARM IS, WE ARE NOT HAVING IT FOR DINNER."  

Gaster got out his camera and took a few pictures.  This was the cutest thing he had ever seen, and he needed a permanent record of it for his archives.  

It took Papyrus a long time to get the puppies into the kitchen.  They didn't want to sit and settle down to eat.  When they finally did, the food was gone in seconds and they ran back into the living room spreading sauce everywhere and getting into trouble.  Papyrus chased after them, yelling about baths.  

The first, boldest puppy approached Gaster again.  They had sauce all over their muzzle. Gaster wiped at it a little bit with a tissue, but it didn't help much.

"Pets?" They asked.

Of course.  Gaster pet them.  There was sauce on his hand, now, but he didn't care.  He sat down on the couch and the puppy climbed into his lap, curled up, and fell asleep.

"OK!  YOU ARE WATCHING THAT ONE!  THANK YOU.  I WILL BATHE THE OTHER FIVE BY MYSELF, AND THEN WASH THAT ONE LATER, I GUESS."  Papyrus was holding three puppies and another two were playfully nipping at his ankles.  He was covered in sauce.

"[Ok.]"  Gaster pet the one he was responsible for.  They made adorable little snuffling noises in their sleep.

There was a lot of noise coming from the bathroom.  Gaster turned on the television.  

When Papyrus returned, he was soaking wet from head to toe.  His clothes dripped, and odd, sauce-colored suds stuck to him.  The puppies came with him. They were all very, very wet.  

"WE NEED MORE TOWELS," Papyrus said.  "I USED EVERY ONE THEY HAVE."

"[Paper towels?]" Gaster suggested.  He stayed where he was.  One of the wet puppies jumped up next to him, and he used one of Dogaressa and Dogamy's throw pillows to dry him off.  The puppy in Gaster's lap woke and shoved off their brother when he tried to climb on, too.

"[Now, now,]" Gaster said.  

When Papyrus returned, the puppies and him were dry again.

"THIS IS PROBABLY WHAT HELL IS LIKE," Papyrus said.  "THEY HAD A PACKAGE OF SIXTEEN ROLLS OF PAPER TOWELS IN THE PANTRY, AND I USED EVERY SINGLE ONE."

"[You are doing very well,]" Gaster said.  The puppies were all fluffy and even more adorable, now.  Papyrus had done an amazing job, in his opinion. "[If you sit down, maybe they will sit with you.]"  

Papyrus slumped on the couch next to Gaster like he was a puppet and someone had cut his strings.  The dogs were all worn out, and climbed on with him, piling up on Papyrus and each other until they were a warm, snoring mass.  

"WE SHOULD READ THEM A STORY," Papyrus said.  "THAT IS PART OF THEIR BEDTIME ROUTINE."

"[I would, but they don't understand me.]"

Papyrus sighed.  He wasn't going to get up and get a book, so he told the sleeping puppies his own favorite bedtime story from memory.  He trailed off at the end, and fell asleep himself.  

Gaster put a blanket over his son.  The blanket moved around from the pile of puppies concealed under it, to his amusement.  

He wasn't going to want to leave when the regular babysitter got there in the morning. He decided to stay awake and keep an eye on things, just so he could enjoy pretending to be a grandpa for a little while longer.