#please shes wearing braces with purple bands

[gatsby-system-folks]

Since we're doing Miku in our culture, here's Tennessee Miku! She got her hair dye from Ingals and just got home from spending all day at the lake with her friends.

[beansprean]

Art for the Exchangeapalooza gift I got from dear @yougoadedme!!! Ranch N' Rider Weekly: Special Edition - please go read it it's so good

(ID in alt and under cut)

ID: 1. Full body of Marwa dressed in cowboy boots, jeans, and a pink flannel shirt rolled up to the elbows. She has one boot up on the bottom slat of a wooden fence and one hand braced on the top slat, the other in her hip as she grins into the distance. The background behind her is a rolling green field and rows of pine trees in watercolor. She is wearing a gold wedding band and diamond engagement ring.

2. Waist up of the Djinn, human, on a vague purple background, dressed in a flannel version of his salmon shirt tucked into his usual brown trousers. He is smiling indulgently, looking up over his glasses and holding up a bottle of margarita mix in one hand and tequila in the other. The margarita mix reads "EZ Margs - Delicious Margaritas at the snap of your fingers." The Djinn says, "I live to serve...liquor." He is also wearing a gold wedding band.

3. Guillermo sitting at a coffee table on a vague real background. There are a few black playing cards with white writing sitting on the table and Guillermo is on the side closest to the viewer, topless, and turned around to face the viewer with a sour expression. His face is flushed red and sweating, eyes darting away from the image before him. The image before him is this: human Nandor, having leaped fully onto the table in a crouched position in nothing but a white jock strap with pink hearts, flexing both of his arms with a triumphant grin and crowing, "I win!!"

4. Close up of human Colin Robinson, aged about 7 or 8, wearing a green flannel open over a red tee shirt. He is grinning excitedly, eyes shining, as he places a cowboy hat with a beaded turquoise band over his head. No less than five speech bubbles full of unintelligible babbling surround him.

5a. Nandor and Guillermo stand in a paddock, the former wearing a red flannel with the sleeves rolled up tucked into jeans with a silver horse belt buckle and the latter wearing a blue embroidered western shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a light brown cowboy hat. Nandor has his back to Guillermo's front and a leather bridle looped around his neck and shoulders. He holds the bit in his hands, but the ear strap is pressing directly into his throat. Behind him, Guillermo is holding the reins in both fists and is pulling them taut so Nandor is forced to lean back into him. Nandor's face is flushed, expression dazed and struggling to be stern but clearly not altogether displeased with the situation. He mumbles, "Guillermo, what...are you doing?" Guillermo's eyes are wide and wild, as if he isn't fully in control of his actions, face red and sweating profusely. 5b. Behind them, Colin, wearing a red cowboy hat with a strap and a long sleeved yellow shirt under an orange tee shirt that says 'Lego my Eggo' with a picture of a Lego waffle, stares at his uncles from atop a horse. The horse, Glitterfoot, is gray with a lighter mane and darker nose and ears, a white blaze down his face. He is properly tacked up western style, the reins in Colin's loose hands. Glitterfoot is also staring at the other two men, tongue sticking out the side of his mouth as he and Colin await instructions.

6. Guillermo and Derek sit across from each other at a table in a bar. A neon sign on the wall says "Sassy Cat Bar & Grill & Tack & Feed & Haberdashery. Mon-Sat 9am-12pm 2pm-2am" Guillermo, wearing an untucked red-violet flannel and jeans, is sitting with his back to the viewer. The back of his wooden chair has a burnt-on design of a rearing horse with a cat on its back, wearing spurred boots and waving a cowboy hat in the air. The Guide, human, leans one hip on their table and stares at Guillermo with a flirtatious grin, pen and notepad poised and awaiting their order. She is wearing a sparkly black beret, hoop earrings, a black and purple flannel shirt mostly unbuttoned tucked into a high waisted jean skirt, a gold horse belt buckle, and sparkly black thigh high cowboy boots. Her hair is curled and teased out big and poofy. Human Derek, sitting across from Guillermo in a brick red Henley and jeans, leans his crossed arms on the table and grins expectantly at Guillermo, waiting for him to react. Guillermo's shoulders are hunched up defensively and he has his face half turned away from the Guide toward the viewer, flushed and sweating nervously. /End ID

[beecreeper]

🌈👖🗡️⚔️

For the Balder's Gate bois(gender neutral) please 🐝

Yaaaaay!!! More questions! More infodumping under the cut

🌈 - Do you associate any colors with them?

Molli - yellow and teal

Briar - moldy green, musty purple, blood red

Ferox - many shades of blue

👖 - Coffee shop or high school AU, your choice: tell me their role.

High school AU

Briar is a a shitty mean girl mall punk that's been passed around foster homes. She lowkey deals pot and mushrooms, cyberbullies her classmates, and hangs out at hot topic with shitty teenager Gortash lol

Ferox is also a foster home kid who looks like a big scary metalhead bully but honestly just wants to be left alone. Got teased a lot and would subsequently blow up and beat the shit out of the other kids and then face all of the blame for it.

High school AU Molli is just... me in high school. Band geek and artsy autistic kid with crushes on too many people.

🗡️ - Does this oc have a signature object, accessory, or weapon?

Molli -- her bells! Put bells on EVERYTHING.

Briar -- her sickles and also the moldy skull she wears on her hip even though I only draw it like a third of the time lol

Ferox -- not so much honestly. Weapon wise he's more of a war hammer kinda guy but he's not so picky and will take any sort of big strength based weapon. And he keeps his possessions really sparce. I think the object I associate him most with is the silver, sword shaped hair pin his wife used to wear and that he keeps around to make himself sad.

⚔️ - How does this oc handle conflict?

Molli -- wants to avoid conflict forever. Often just does whatever the other person says and prepares to brace herself through the consequences (but she's working on being more proactive lol that's her character arc)

Briar -- either barrels through it bluntly and aggressively OR pretends she never cared about it in the first place and then plans some kind of revenge instead.

Ferox -- either very single minded determination OR dissociates to go into denial and convince himself it doesn't matter

[sourholland]

A Royal Convenience || Tom Holland

| Series Masterlist |

Part Two

AN → You might all be wondering where I’ve been, I honestly just needed a bit of a break for my mental health! I’m sorry, I’ve missed taking to you all <3

Summary → When an alliance is made between England and France, you are sent away to marry the crown prince and heir to the British throne. Except both you and Prince Thomas despise each other at all odds, subjected to the hand of the monarchy and unable to stand each other.

Pairing(s) → Prince!Tom x Princess!Reader

Warnings → None

Word Count → 2.0k

“Could one of you run off and find out if my son is planning on gracing us all with his attendance.” Nicola’s voice was assertive, dripping with irritation at the Prince’s tardiness.

A man holding a closed box with an assortment of rings stood off to the side of the drawing-room. He was stiff, awkward even, in the presence of not only the Queen, but the Princess and future Queen of England. His eyes were trained on the freshly polished floors, clutching the velvet.

Behind you stood your newly introduced ladies in waiting, there were three: Lady Eloise, Lady Charlotte, and Lady Andrea. They were very young, pretty, and had very clearly come from aristocratic backgrounds. Each of them held a title, meaning they’d soon enough marry. You’d planned on meeting them for tea, but Queen Nicola figured it would be better to bring them in before you chose an engagement ring.

“Apologies, mum,” Tom came through the double doors, his hair skewed and his shirt disheveled. He bowed, taking a spot beside his mother and averting his eyes from you.

“Thomas, wonderful of you to join us,” she drawled. “Do begin, sir,” she said, motioning towards the man.

He opened the box a bit shakily, dozens of diamonds gleaming. They ranged from color to carrots of gold, each holding a different and more interesting background. You couldn’t help but to reach out and pick up one with a deep sapphire.

“That was once worn by the late Queen Elizabeth l,” he droned on, continuing to tell you about the long history of where the ring had come from and what it signified.

“What do you think, Thomas,” Nicola asked. She was practically beaming at each ring you slid onto your finger. Like no matter which one you chose, none would be the wrong choice.

“It is not I that will have to wear the dreadful thing,” he replied shortly. “Therefore, I should not be the person deciding which one she chooses, though I wish you’d quicken the pace a bit.”

“Since you’ve made it clear that you have no intention on weighing in on the decision, I ask you kindly, Prince Tom, to please refrain from commenting,” you quipped. He took a step back irritably, pulling at the collar of his undershirt.

You reached into the box once more, pulling out a large European cut diamond ring. The several diamonds displayed at the golden band left you lifting your hand, staring at your ring finger absentmindedly. It was classic, yet had too many diamonds to be considered simple. A royal staple, much like the tiara you’d eventually choose to wear on your wedding day.

“This one,” you said. “This is the one.”

The Queen drifted towards you, biting back excitement as she assessed the ring. It was clearly too large and would need to be sized, yet still had the same effect. She held it up as you had done, clutching your hand and motioning towards your ladies to come and look.

“That’s absolutely darling,” Charlotte mused.

“It’s stunning,” Andrea agreed.

The Prince soon enough took his leave, slipping out of the room before Nicola could notice his absence. She looked disappointed when she looked over and was met with an empty space where he’d just stood.

“He’ll come around soon enough,” she said, this was less reassuring to you and seemed more comforting for herself.

-

“Do tell me about yourself, Andrea,” you murmured on, arm in arm as you both perused the large gardens.

“Well there’s not much to know, miss,” she replied swiftly.

“Please, I wish you’d call me Y/N in private company,” you laughed a bit. “I’ve never had much of a thing for titles.”

“Her Majesty would simply chastise me.”

There were blooming flowers and the grass was slowly becoming more and more green. The air was a bit brisk, the cloak draped along your shoulders thinner than you’d like. The soft breeze felt nice, though. Andrea was simple looking, pulled back brown hair and a heart-shaped face. She explained that she was one of three girls, the third daughter of an earl.

“I must admit, I do wish we’d have met under different circumstances,” you mused, plucking a lily from the shrubs.

“I’m not sure what you mean, miss,” she looked over at you a bit sideways.

“I just mean—well under the circumstance that I wasn’t being pawned off on the Prince.”

You fumbled at your skirts for a moment, pressing at the fabrics of your afternoon dress. It was ivory, beautiful, really. Though, much different from anything you’d have worn in France.

“I’m sure His Royal Highness will be as pleased as everyone else once you are both wed.”

“That’s hard to believe,” you chuckled. “He has hardly said a word to me since I arrived in London.”

She looked nervous, like she was afraid to say the wrong thing. Her cheeks flushed lightly, the glint in her eyes a bit brighter. Andrea just looked over to you and gave a soft smile, as if to say everything would be alright.

“Do you think that Prince Thomas is handsome?” You asked, curious of her opinion. You watched her cheeks redden, an awkward laugh escaping her lips.

“That is not for me to judge, miss,” she answered almost immediately.

“No—but, I just want your opinion, do you think he is handsome?” You asked once again.

She hesitated for a moment, “yes, I think the Prince is certainly very handsome.”

You thought for a moment, of his brown hair that had been swept back and so carelessly skewed about earlier in the morning. The way his freckles scattered lightly across his nose like a constellation, you’d only known this from when he’d pulled you in so closely the night before. He wore his signet ring proudly, this amongst what looked like another ring with a crest on it.

“Yes, I suppose he is quite handsome. Though, if I’ve learned anything, it is that looks count for almost nothing when you’re forced to spend everyday with a person.”

-

The quiet clattering of silverware sounded throughout the large room, beside you sat Prince Tom. Down the table were the two older princes, assuming the youngest, Prince Patrick, was still too young. At the head of the table was King Dominic, at his right was Queen Nicola. Occupying the rest of the table was an assortment of dukes and duchesses, earls and ladies.

It had been too late to join everyone for dinner the night before, so tonight was the first time you’d been in everyone’s company. The room was large, grand even, gold trim and deep royal red walls filled with paintings dating back centuries. Candles burned while you ate, attempting to steal a glance at the Prince while he spoke with his brother Harry.

It had taken you weeks studying the British monarchy to completely grasp their political and traditional protocol. You had to learn who to curtsy to and who not to, and then in what order, how to determine the sovereign and whether or not to address someone with a title or not to.

“Tell us, Y/N, how are you finding England?” The Queen chimed, staring at you from her seat across the table.

“Well, ma’am—I haven’t seen much of it, I do hope to see more. It is far different from France, though.”

A quiet murmur spread across the table, “I’ve always found the French quite curious,” a duchess, whom you could not recall the name of, said lowly.

“Curiously dreadful,” Tom laughed to himself in a whisper you were sure only you could hear.

“I’m sorry?” You turned towards him, the sound of your cutlery against the plate louder than you’d liked. “I thought you said something, sir.”

The King looked up at you, the scornful way in which you looked at Tom, seething at his teasing words. You felt the heat in your face spread when you noticed an almost surprised look from a majority of the long and stretching table.

The rest of dinner you kept quiet, avoiding the looks from the prince at your side. He seemed quite bothered, you put your head down and braced yourself once the King stood. Once the King finished his meal, everyone else was finished as well. He stood soundly, the paleness of his skin off-putting, the deep purple crescents underneath his eyes prominent in the candlelight.

You stood with everyone else, retiring to your chambers in a fleeting moment once it was appropriate to get away. The long, narrow halls were ages older than you, the artwork clearly showing that. You recognized past monarchs, the kings and queens of the years earlier. The twists and turns reminded you of a labyrinth, easy to get lost in.

Once you reached the double doors to your chambers, you pulled at them quickly, shutting them behind you soundly and sinking against the wall. The room was still filled with burning candles, the servant at your vanity looking at you curiously.

She curtsied quickly, motioning you off of the floor in a maternal way. You said nothing, letting her help you slip out of the evening gown and undo the tight lacing of your corset. You breathed deeply as she slipped the white nightgown over your head and took down the silver pins from your hair.

“Are you alright, miss?” She asked, the look on her face a bit concerned.

“Yes, just tired,” you excused. “I can put myself to sleep, thank you.”

“Are you sure, miss? I really do not mind,” she trailed off as you waved her away laughing stiffly.

“I am sure, thank you, Anne.”

You stared at yourself in the mirror, brushing through your hair as you sat. Anne had long left, the doors shut tightly and the guards posted at them for the night, however, you turned quickly at the sound of them creeping open.

“How thick in the head must you be?”

Prince Thomas.

“You should not be in here,” you warned. “It’s bad enough to be caught alone in the daytime without a chaperone, but at night—in my bedroom!” Your tone was sharp, your arms wrapping around yourself. His eyes scanned your bare ankles, the curve of your legs underneath the thin material.

“You need not be concerned about your virtue, not after what you decided to pull at dinner tonight, before mother and father! I mean seriously, it’s like you enjoy humiliating yourself in front of the whole family!”

His cheeks were flushed in anger, his eyes fixed on you. You hair was undone, your eyes stuck on him. The silence was deafening, the space between the both of you closing when you stood up and marched over to him.

“I have been here a day. A day! And you cannot allow me the luxury of my own chambers, parading in here like you were not the one who provoked me!” You rammed a finger into his chest, gaze not faltering as you looked up at him.

“I told mother, I told father. You are nothing but a child, a little girl with no clue what she’s getting herself into,” you flinched at his voice.

“I will be your wife—”

“You will be the Queen of England!” He shouted, “the way you acted tonight was not that of a queen, but an eighteen year old girl in way over her head.”

He grabbed the hand that had jabbed into his chest, skewing it to the side. “Do not forget yourself, Y/N. I can promise you this, if you cannot at least act like you have any idea what you’re doing, this engagement is off. I will not tarnish the name of my country, nor title or reputation for a French princess that I had no desire to wed in the first place.”

taglist- @justapurrcat @witchyartemis @keithseabrook27 @clara-licht @dummiesshort @username2002 @imaginationisgrowth @nova-sup3r @jeyramarie @the-avengers-assembling @veryholland

[bookstantrash]

A/N: First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who left a comment, reblogged or liked Part One of this fic. It made my day ❤️

I hope this chapter reaches your expectations. I’m still knew at writing multi-chapter fics, so I apologise if it’s too long or too boring. I want to let you guys know Kaelin better and also show Nesta’s (and Cassian’s) journey. But enough blabbering. Please give a warm welcome to Part Two!

In which she makes a friend, Part Two

Nesta remained frozen beside Kaelin’s body for what seemed an eternity. Seconds that felt more like hours went by until her mind finally snapped back to reality.

She could not give herself the luxury of freaking out right now. She needed to be practical. She needed to help Kaelin.

The sky was beginning to get dark and Nesta knew they had to get out of the forest fast. She recalled Cassian’s warning the first day she had arrived.

To never wander in the forest at dark, for the beasts which roamed them at nightfall made Hybern’s monsters at the war seem like child’s play.

“Kaelin. Listen to me. I’m going to help you” Nesta said, and Kaelin only whimpered as another wave of pain came “But we have to leave”

“It hurts” the young girl managed to say, tears streaming down her face “I can’t— can’t move”

Nesta eyed Kaelin’s figure. She was way too skinny for a thirteen year old standards, even if she’d been having regular meals for the past month.

But Nesta didn’t think she’d have the strength to carry her.

She had not eaten a proper meal in months.

Did not exercise.

You’re too heavy.

The memory of herself trying to raise another body from the ground came to mind, and she gritted her teeth to avoid screaming.

Once again, she was powerless.

This time, however, she would not lay on the ground.

She would rise. Even if her miserable bones broke beneath Kaelin’s weight.

“I’ll carry you, but you’ll have to help me” Nesta slowly sit Kaelin up, and looked straight in her eyes “Can you be strong for me now? I need you to move just enough to get on my back”

Kaelin nodded weakly and, panting, did what she was told.

Grabbing the girl’s legs in a firm hold, Nesta bit her cheek and got up, her knees screaming in protest.

“Okay ” she breathed, silently praying her body could hold on long enough to make the ten minute walk back to the cabin “I’m going to move now, so brace yourself”

She took a step forward and had to muster all her strength to not fall down with Kaelin. She remembered giving piggy back rides to Elain when she little — before her mother had deemed it unladylike and punished her. A long time had passed since then. She had been stronger and Elain did not have wings to add to her weight as Kaelin had.

But Nesta focused on the action of putting one foot after the other, her breaths coming in pants, willing her legs to keep moving.

‘Almost there’ she thought as she slowly made her back ‘Just keep moving. It’s not that far’

She repeated that over and over in hopes to distract her body. Her arms were trembling and her tights burned, yet she kept her pace.

After what seemed an eternity, Nesta finally spotted the cabin’s familiar rooftop. She almost sighed in relief.

Awkwardly opening the door and closing it shut with her foot, she went to her room, trying to lay Kaelin down on her bed as smoothly as possible.

She tried to regain her breath. Cauldron, how her back hurt.

Kaelin had curled up again, and was clenching her stomach so hard Nesta wondered if she was actually trying to claw her way into her own body so she could rip her ovaries out.

“I’ll be right back” Nesta said, smoothing some hair from Kaelin’s forehead.

She went to the kitchen, searching for something that would calm the poor girl’s pain. Nesta had not had her period as a fae yet —the huge amounts of alcohol and lack of food in the last year were probably the reason why — but remembered how it was when she used to be a human. She’d get horrible headaches and just lay down all day waiting for the pain to go away. She could only imagine how dreadful the experience must be for the fae.

Getting hold of some ginger, she put water in a kettle to prepare some tea, hoping Kaelin would be able to at least drink it. After that, she went into the shared bathroom between her room and Cassian’s.

And stopped right in front of the bathtub.

She still had trouble taking baths.

Had grown used to her old and deplorable bathtub back in her shabby apartment in Velaris.

And when she had arrived and came face to face with a bathtub big enough to accommodate wings, its dark stone a stark reminder of the Cauldron... she had frozen up. Refused to enter it. Even now, after months living in Cassian’s cabin, she could not stomach the ideia of doing it.

So she waited until Cassian left for his training and took a bucket to wash herself. It was a long process and rather difficult to wash her hair, but at least she could stay clean.

Yet, she could not do the same with Kaelin. The girl was sweaty and dirty with blood. And Nesta knew that a hot bath would do wonders to the cramps, relaxing her.

Raising her chin as if battling an invisible enemy, she got near the bathtub for the first time, turning the faucet and letting it be filled with hot water. Her heartbeat quickened as the water rose and rose, her powers a volcano in her veins, and she had to close her fists tight enough to hurt to not shatter the whole bathroom.

‘It’s not the Cauldron. It’s not the Cauldron’ reaching a tentative hand, she dipped it in the water to check the temperature ‘This water is hot. The Cauldron’s was cold. They are not the same’

Nesta turned the faucet off, and some tension eased off from her shoulders. Looking around the bathroom, she located the camomile oil Cassian kept. She had once heard it helped ease the soreness of the muscles after extensive training.

Putting it in the water, she found herself feeling a bit guilty for using it. It was not hers. Nothing in that house was. But Cassian was not here, and she doubted he’d notice that the little flask was missing some of its content.

She went back to her bedroom, and helped Kaelin take her leathers and tunic off, as she did with the band the girl had wrapped around her breasts, as small as they still were. Only thirteen, the period in which her body was slowly maturing, yet she was going through those body changes alone. The danger of being found out hanging around her neck like a rope.

Nesta tried not to flinch at the sight of the purple bruises along Kaelin’s back and ribs. A girl training the same amount as an Illyrian boy.... she must be very strong to take it all.

Kaelin wobbled towards the bathroom with Nesta’s help, breathing a sight of relief when her body came in contact with the hot water. Letting her soak for a while, Nesta stripped down some clean linens and left them on the bed.

Now the only matter were the clothes.

Nesta had brought few clothes with her, and most of them did not go along with the ruthless Illyrian weather. She eyed the lower drawer of the dresser. The one which she had not dared to touch.

She had been stubborn and refused to accept any more charity from her sister and her mate, sticking with her old dresses and overcoat instead. It was not as if she left the cabin long enough to die of frostbite.

Yet even if Kaelin was used to Illyria’s harsh weather, wearing warm clothes would make her more comfortable. Nesta was not as ruthless as to lend one of her thin run down dresses.

Sighting, she opened the drawer. And almost took a step back in surprise. For there lay clothes not in Night Court’s colours or the typical winter clothes one would find selling in Velaris.

No, they were Illyrian clothes. And not just leathers.

There were cotton sweaters, leggings, tunics and soft pants that Nesta would have never thought of wearing. And the colours.... Gods the colours. There was a range of colours from grey to auburn, burgundy, royal blue and forest green. The kind of colours that Nesta could imagine herself in.

She was so marvelled by them that she almost missed the small note on top of one sweater.

‘These are for you. I took the liberty of buying them, but if you prefere another clothing style feel free to tell me — Cassian’

He had bought her clothes. He, not her sister. And Cassian had kept quiet about it. Had not said a word before his trip about how she had never opened that drawer.

Had given her space. A choice.

Had she perhaps misunderstood his apparent cold behaviour? Was he perhaps giving her time to get used to her current situation? Was he distancing himself so it was her choice when the time to talk came?

Picking some clothes for Kaelin and laying them on the bed, Nesta tucked that information deep inside herself, feeling an annoying warmth in her heart she had not felt in a long time.

~•~

“What did you say?”

“You heard me perfectly clear or have you become deaf with your age?” Nesta replied to the camp lord in front of her, the mask of a bored and mighty queen mastered to perfection.

“I was not informed about this” Devlon said, anger lacing his every word.

“You were not notified because it was not necessary” she spat back, a cold fury settling in her veins “So let it be known that Kaelin will be staying with me for the time being to help in an important and secret matter, none of which are for you to worry about”

“How dare—“

“Have a good day” cutting Devlon off before he nagged at her some more, Nesta left him standing at the training area.

She heard Devlon bark an order for the Illyrians to get back to training, the sound of swords clashing against each soon rising again. She tried not to flinch at the sounds, keeping her mask up until she was safely back at the cabin.

Once inside, Nesta let herself rest against the door, sighing. She was tired. The events of yesterday and today’s morning had taken a tool on her. It had been a while since she had worn the unfeeling ice queen mask. She didn’t recall it to be so tiring.

But rest would have to wait a little bit. She had to check on Kaelin. And demand an explanation.

The night before, after Kaelin had gotten out of the bath and was dressed, Nesta had given the ginger tea and coaxed her into drinking it all. Not long after that, the poor girl fell asleep.

Nesta, on the hand, stayed awake for the better part of the night, dozing off in a chair near the bed, waking up whenever she heard Kaelin move.

When the birds had started to sing in the early morning, Nesta had came up with a plan. Leaving a tray with light food and tea in the bedside for Kaelin, she dressed herself and braided her hair neatly, preparing to go after Devlon. She had to make sure that Kaelin could stay away from training during her cycle and that her secret kept being a secret.

But the Illyrian had some gaps to fill in.

“Nesta?” she heard a soft voice calling from her room, and taking a deep breath, moved from her position.

“Good morning” Nesta said, finding the girl awake and less pale than yesterday “How do you feel?”

“Better” Kaelin was slowing making her way through breakfast “But, training...Devlon....how—”

“It’s been taken care of off” taking her position from the past night, Nesta squared her shoulders and took a business like voice “You have a story to tell”

Kaelin, noticing how the air had become serious, lost no time and, stopping sometimes when the cramps returned with full force, told Nesta everything.

Kaelin’s mother, as she said before, had a fragile health, made worse by the heavy workload imposed on the females. Add that to a difficult pregnancy, you have the recipe for an early labour.

Right in the middle of the heaviest snow storm to have ever befallen on Illyria. Which lasted for four days and four nights.

Making it impossible for a midwife to get there.

Mikael, her father, aided his wife, Selin, all on his own.

A warrior born to kill. To reap lives.

However, for her he would bring life. He would do everything he could.

It was not enough.

He was not able to stop Selin’s internal bleeding. Or her death.

And so, thirteen years ago, on the day Illyria bled white while Selin bled red, a healthy little girl was born.

Yet after the blizzard stopped and Mikael buried his wife, a boy was announced to have been born.

“Protect her” Selin had whispered with her last breath “Let our daughter be free and strong. Let her know no fear. Let her be as wild as Sanuur, the Mother of all forests. As ruthless as the old Illyrian warriors. As wise as our matriarchs.”

Mikael kept his promise. He raised Kaelin as a boy in secret as best as he could. Until he was killed in the Hybern War.

And Kaelin was alone.

An orphan who nothing deserved to have, save for a duffel bag with whatever she could grab before she was kicked out of her childhood home — a one room wood cabin, built by her father after years of hard work — in the mud.

After the rumours that a Witch now lived with the General, Kaelin had a mad plan: she’d give anything, even her soul, to avoid getting what would raise a red flag to her secret.

“I starved and ate herbs that were said to make one avoid getting periods” Kaelin said, looking down at her empty cup “But those things made me far too weak. I was falling behind training. I am at the age boys grow like trees and start to get buffer. I needed a quick solution”

And Nesta had been feeding her.

Oh, she was going to get sick. Had she doomed Kaelin while thinking she was saving a poor orphan?

“From now on,” Nesta announced “I’ll be the one to keep your father’s promise. You will live with me”

It did no good to dwell on what could have been. What had been done was done.

For the first time in five months, the fog inside Nesta’s mind seemed to lift.

“You will live with me. And I will train with you”

Because never again would she be weak. Never again would she be at someone’s mercy.

Nesta Archeron was going to show Illyria just how much she should be feared.

•

Tags: @sayosdreams @thewayshedreamed @sjm-things @perseusannabeth @arin1030-blog @caotica-e-quieta @vidalinav @swankii-art-teacher @ireallyshouldsleeprn @duskandstarlight @greerlunna @thegoddessaltenia @dayanna-hatter @verypaleninja

{Please let me know if you’d like to be added to my tag list}

[aloysiavirgata]

Hot prompt: Mulder washes Scully's back.

And also for @fashionbooksboozefeminism who asked about 40th birthdays on the run. NSFW

***

Night, cash, Sonia and James. Mulder leads her down the faded carpet and wood-paneled halls of the old Poconos resort, nearly empty nine days past Valentine’s. Everything they own that isn’t in their bag is in the car outside. They stop in front of room 314.

Scully, a bobbed brunette in yoga pants and a hoodie, slouches against the wall. “If this turns out to be a reboot of The Shining, Mulder, I’m going to be really pissed.”

He works the key into the scuffed lock. “The Haunted Murder package wasn’t in my budget, don’t worry.”

They head inside, Mulder shutting the door behind them. The room is a perfectly preserved 70’s time capsule, amber-hued with shag carpet and velour club chairs. There’s a zigzag bedspread and a macramé plant hanger with a dusty silk fern on it.

“Groovy.” Mulder sets their duffel on the floor.

“Wow,” Scully says, peering around. Her mother would have killed for this room back when she hosted fondue parties and wore hostess pajamas. “Mulder, I feel like I’m in high school again. I’m going to need some blue eyeshadow, then we can play a few rounds of Mystery Date.”

Mulder examines a small porcelain shepherdess on the lamp stand. “Forty is the new sixteen. Go look around the corner.”

Scully picks her way past the walnut dresser and a floral folding screen. A yelp of laughter escapes her. “Mulder!”

The tub is glossy and red, heart shaped, with veined mirrored walls behind. It’s piled with bubbles, steam rising from the surface. A bottle of something called Sham-Pagne sits on the tiled rim. Her chest squeezes at the thought of him putting this together. She’s been remote since the New Year, prickly and self-contained as a spore.

He appears behind her, grinning. “James. Only the classiest for you, Sonia.”

She sits on the ledge, pats the bubbles with curious fingers. “Champagne glasses would have been classy, James.”

Mulder studies the bottle. “It’s got a screw top, so I think this is more a red Solo cup affair. Or straight from the bottle.“

Their joys are very small these days and she clings to them. “It’s absolutely awful, I love it.”

Mulder, beaming, squeezes her shoulder. “Go ahead and get in, I wanted it all ready for you so you could relax right off the bat.”

Scully stands, her back to the large mirrors. She undresses quickly, trying not to catch her reflection in the small mirror over the sink. She doesn’t want to see her choppy dark hair, the purple smudges under her eyes, her sallow skin and WalMart lingerie. A year and nine months and each glance at her reflection feels like watching a Dana who dropped out of med school to follow a band or wait tables at a truck stop. But she can’t tell her not to do it, she can’t wish it all away, it’s just... she is not suited for life in the bardo.

She climbs over the wide ledge, into one of the curves of the heart, and lowers herself into the bath. The steaming water is decadent after so many cramped showers, and this immersion feels baptismal. Perhaps she can come out fully cleansed, grocery store dye gone, Aphrodite on a bed of foam. The bubbles come up past her chin, making her sneeze. 

Mulder sits next to her, opening the wine. “Oh, whoa, whoa, she's a lady,” he sings, holding the bottle like a microphone.

Scully scowls at him from the tub. “No need for that, thank you.”

“Tom Jones, Scully!”

She puffs bubbles at him, and they stick to his shirt. “Do you have any cups?”

“I was serious about the bottle, I think.” He passes it to her.

She takes a long swig. It’s sickly sweet and too fizzy. She could easily finish it herself. “Get in.”

He looks surprised. “Really?”

“It’s my birthday, you have to do what I say.” Another swallow.

He’s already undressing. “No, no, I don’t mind. I just figured you’d want to marinate alone.”

Mulder, never self conscious, has no concerns about the mirrors. He gets in the other bend of the heart and water overflows onto the carpet. “Oops.”

Scully, already buzzy, passes him the wine.

He takes a long drink, winces. “Good lord.”

“Mm,” she agrees, settling low in the water. It seeps up her chin length hair, making a sleek dark cap around her face.

Mulder puts the bottle down and fishes around in a wicker basket. He retrieves a pink pouf and a tiny bottle of cherry blossom body wash. “Scoot over here.”

She hunches into the corner. “No I’m comfable. ComFORTable.”

Mulder laughs. “How hard did you hit that bottle?” He reaches around to take her by the shoulders and pull her through the water until she’s settled between his knees like a cranky mermaid. He squeezes a pearly dollop of soap on the pouf and begins to wash her back.

“This is soapy water already,” she observes.

“Well, it so happens I just like touching you, so don’t be pedantic.”

She lets her head fall forward as he makes circles on her back, tries not to feel embarrassed about her bony spine and the furrowed landscape of her ribs. She hasn’t been this thin since the cancer hollowed her out, and she never let him see her this way back then.

Back then.

“Got you a little cake, it’s in the fridge,” Mulder says, like he can read her thoughts again.

“Maybe I’ll save you a piece,” she replies. She wants to be cheery for him, a brave little sailor. The body wash makes her think of spring in DC and she sniffs at it.

He drops the pouf to massage her slick skin with his hands. They’re a little calloused now from the kind of rough work he was never bred for. He works his thumbs beneath her scapulae and she wonders if he can unfurl them like wings, let her fly away.

She takes another gulp of wine. “Mulder.”

“Hmm?” His fingers knead her neck, each tight trapezius.

Scully turns in the water to face him, catches a flash of her reflection as she does. Her hair is kelpy, the heavy black eyeliner she wears now smudged about her eyes like Theda Bara.

She kneels between his bent knees. “Nothing.”

Mulder sighs. “I didn’t want it like this either.” He holds his arms out and she rests against his chest. The water sloshes gently around them as he enfolds her, his heart thrumming at her cheek. She imagines this is what the last moments in the womb are like.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles into the wet dark of his body. “This is a really good present.”

His hands are skating over her back again with a washcloth this time. The texture feels good, centering her back into her bones. Sometimes she feels adrift from herself, dissociated, following her own body like a kite.

Mulder strokes her hair and she burrows her face up into his neck, her forearms pressed against his chest. She hopes he won’t sing Happy Birthday like he used to because it will undo her.

He doesn’t, just nuzzles in, whispering sweet nonsense into her ear. “I love you,” he says, in a voice like hot tea on a cold morning. He nibbles her unadorned earlobe.

Scully, who hasn’t wanted sex in over a month (or has it been two?), who has barely wanted to be touched, feels her body stirring. She turns her head, her earlobe chilled, and catches his lips with her own. She tugs at his longish hair, wanting to absorb him and his infinite love and his careworn soul. She nips his tongue.

His response against her thigh is instant and, bless him, he apologizes like a teenager on prom night. All this time and he’s still such a gentleman it might break her heart.

She pulls back, takes his face in her hands. How she loves his face, his autumn woods eyes and his mouth like a Botticelli angel. “Look at me,” she says.

He does, worry in his gaze. “Scully, it’s fine, I know y-“

“Shut up,” she says, with aching fondness. “Please shut up.” She thumbs his bottom lip.

He furrows his brow, uncertain.

Scully lets her legs float up off the bottom of the tub, twists so that she’s straddling his lap, her arms about his neck. “It’s my birthday. You have to do what I say.”

He swallows, still watching her. “As you wish.”

Scully tips her hips forward and he’s inside her, hot and hard and familiar.

Mulder’s eyes close and he murmurs some wordless hindbrain prayer.

There’s almost no leverage, but he’s holding her hips as she rotates them, groaning when she tightens her pelvic floor. She’s wrapped in warmth from the inside out, liquid heat, her breasts crushed to his chest. Water splashes to the floor.

Mulder slides his hands up so that his thumbs are at her waist, his fingers spanning her back. She sighs and leans into the brace of him, her chin tipped up.

He takes her left nipple into his mouth and her shoulders roll back, hands trailing in the water. She exhales hard through her nose. A memory comes to her, Mulder in the tub in Rhode Island, and she recalls even then the fierceness of the unnameable thing she felt for him. Love is such an inadequate word for this.

He’s slowly taken over their rhythm now, pulling her down harder, and she falls away into the dopamine surge. Panting now, belly dipping and rising. Tingling at her sacral spine.

Scully groans in disappointment when he turns his head from her breast. Her areola contracts in the cold, and Mulder runs a hand from her throat to the hot junction of their bodies. She is not long disappointed.

She sees then that he’s looking at the mirror wall, watching, and she’s afraid to do the same but cannot help her curiosity.

Her arched body is a full sail, held up by the mast of Mulder’s arm, rising and falling on an unquiet sea. Even with the glass veined and fogged she sees the slackness of desire in her mouth, her dilated eyes.

In the mirror, Mulder’s eyes are on hers, the face of a mystic in ecstasy. In the mirror she watches his jaw clench and his head roll back. Watches him grind his hips up into hers. He calls out to her god.

She’s dazed, visually overloaded. Scully leans forward to his neck again, biting at it as his fingers continue their steady work between her thighs. The hand that was on her back is on her ass now, and gripping hard.

“You liked watching,” he says at her temple and it isn’t a question, just an observation, but somehow the intimacy of him knowing it trips her over the edge. She’s lightning-struck after so long, her nerves overfiring, and she shudders back into his arms, gulping air.

He traces endless figure eights on her back, or maybe they’re infinity signs. He tells her about a raccoon he saw in the bakery parking lot, eating an entire raisin bread by itself. “It hissed at me when I got out of the car, Scully, and I don’t even like raisins.”

“You’re so brave,” she says. “Just to get my cake.”

“I’d fight a raccoon for you any day.”

When the water gets cold they emerge, ectoplasmic wafts of bubbles trailing behind them to the bed. They can shower later.

Scully, chilly now, wraps herself in the bedspread. She sits cross-legged on the bed like a wise old oracle. “Where’s my cake, please?”

Mulder opens the mini fridge and removes a perfect miniature birthday cake, sprinkles and fudge frosting and a vivid maraschino cherry. She might not save him a piece after all.

He brings her the cake and two plastic forks. A small white box.

“Mulder!” she exclaims. “I thought this was my present, I hope you didn’t really get me anything else.”

He sits next to her on the bed and rubs her back through the heavy comforter. Clears his throat. “It’s, um, it’s not from me, actually. I didn’t just run into a raccoon at the bakery.”

She looks at him in utter bewilderment. “What are you talking about?”

“Open it.”

A strange fear creeps over her as she fumbles with the tape holding the lid on the box. Her fingers are clumsy, numb, but she gets it off at last. Inside is a cheap cell phone, a burner. There’s a Post-It stuck to the front.

“Many happy returns of the day, Scully.

- Walter Skinner”

[outrebanx]

don’t feel (4)

jj maybank x female reader

masterlist

part one // part two // part three

summary: you and jj go on your surfing date and get to know each other until topper interrupts (terrible summary im sorry)

word count: 2.3k

warnings: mentions of abuse, swearing, topper is a dick (sorry lads), gets pretty angsty at the end (it wasn’t even gonna be an angsty chapter but my brain got the better of me apologies) i also havent read it through so pls ignore the mistakes

—— I am in no way romanticising abuse if you have any issues with my writing pls message me

A/N: everyone say hallelujah because i’ve finally written something!!!!!!!!!! sorry in advance if it’s not the best, i havent written in like a month and i struggled with this chapter before my little hiatus but i want to finish this series so badly so i did some the other day on the train and its kinda got me back into the swing of it :) as always feedback is appreciated

After JJ had left last night, it didn’t take long for you to finish cleaning the pool and then collapse onto your bed for one of the best nights of sleep you’d had in a while.

Your alarm woke you up out of your slumber, and as you reached for your phone turn it off you hissed in pain as your injuries on your side and head throbbed at the movement.

Lifting your pyjama shirt up to inspect your side, you were met with a large bruise and as you looked at it you couldn’t help but feel a little hatred for Topper and his carelessness - no doubt he’d try and talk to you soon enough to apologise, but that was a problem for another day. Today’s problem was meeting up with JJ for your little date, you had no idea if it would even go well but you knew you had to try as you were apparently soulmates. You looked at the bruise on your side again making you realise it would definitely be obvious when you were wearing your bikini so you were going to have to try and find a shirt to cover up, at least for the initial part of the day.

Going through your draws you found a nice black bikini that complimented your body nicely and a large shirt, that was slightly see-through but not enough to really show your bruise, as well as some of the other scars on your body from multiple different injuries. You got dressed, brushed your hair before pulling it into a loose bun, and quickly admired yourself in the mirror before picking up your keys and leaving your room.

You poked your head into your sister’s room, only to be met with her soft sleeping face, you didn’t want to wake her up, but you needed to let her know you’d be out for the day, and hoped she would be too instead of at home on her own.

You walked over to her, lightly flicking her nose, and laughed as she tried to swat your hand away, still half asleep.

“I’ll leave you alone if you open your eyes.” You said, ready to poke her cheeks until she woke up enough to talk to you.

She groaned as she opened one of her eyes, “it’s so early, let me sleep.”

“It’s almost 10, in what world is that early?” You asked, a smile on your face at how incapable she was in the mornings, an almost polar opposite to you who always loved waking up early.

“My world.” She huffed, pulling the covers up over her face.

“Okay well I was wondering if you were going anywhere today as I’ll probably be gone for most of today, but I can try and make it back early if you are on your own.”

“No I’m going to Carley’s again,” she pulled the duvet off her face to raise her eyebrow at you in question, “but where are you off to? You almost never socialise with people.”

You jokingly scowled at her, “Hilarious and if you must know I’m meeting up with a boy for a possible date thing.”

She squealed and sat up to look at you, “Oh my god yes! Who is it? Do I know him? Is it Topper? What are you doing on the date?”

“I’m guessing you’re awake now jesus christ. But you’re going to have to find out about it later, after the date so if it goes badly I don’t have to tell you.”

“Rude,” she pouted, “But have fun!”

You gave her a small wave before heading out of her room and downstairs to grab some toast before you left.

Even though it was tourist season, the beach seemed pretty empty and calm when you arrived, a few people in the sea already catching the waves, and as you looked at all the different groups on the beach the blond hair of JJ Maybank caught your eye.

He seemed to notice you at the same time as you saw him, he waved and walked over to you, “Hi.”

You smiled at him, trying to ignore the pain you felt on your face as you took in his injuries, “Hey, you good?”

“Always, and like I said yesterday I’ve had worse - Topper isn’t exactly the best at beating people up.” He laughed it off, but you couldn’t help but think there was something behind the words he was saying.

“Sure,” you said, fiddling with the hair band on your wrist, “well I hate small talk, so are you ready to be amazed by my incredible surfing skills.”

He laughed, clearly not convinced, “Bring it on Y/N.”

You grabbed your board from your car, and headed with him to the water, trying to pay more attention to the waves than his toned chest, not wanting him to realise how attractive you found him - you didn’t need that sort of teasing.

The two of you walked out into the water, moving to lay on the board as it got deeper so you could paddle out a little further. The waves weren’t as big as you’d like, but at least the sea wasn’t flat, otherwise this whole day would be less than ideal.

Both you and JJ sat up on your boards, waiting for the perfect wave for you to ride, and as you watched the water you could feel JJ watching you.

You turned to him, eyebrow raised, “What?”

“Why are you wearing a shirt?”

“Are you that desperate to see me in a bikini?” You joked, trying to avoid the question.

“Of course,” he winked at you before a look of seriousness came back over his face, “but also a little concerned as not many people where shirts in the water.”

“I bet they do, but if you must know, where Topper elbowed me last night I have a shitty bruise and I didn’t want people on the beach to see and maybe judge, so I covered up.”

“Oh, um, can I see it?”

“A bit of a weird request,” you chuckled, “but I guess so yeah.”

You lifted up your shirt, revealing the dark purple mark across your side, green tinging the outside of the mark, you heard JJ breathe in sharply as he took in your injury, “Holy shit are you sure you’re alright, like obviously I can feel it slightly but it looks awful Y/N.”

You gave him a small smile, “I’m fine, can we surf now?”

He nodded, and as he turned away from you he muttered under his breath, “Just avoid every question I ask huh?”

You looked at him, eyebrow raised, but he was already paddling his board to catch the next wave.

So that’s what the two of you did for almost two more hours, caught lots of waves - showing off the different tricks you could do, which in your opinion you were much better than him, not that he would admit it - and spoke about all the little things you could think of whenever you were waited for a good wave. Even whilst talking, you felt like you weren’t really talking, neither of you really spoke about anything deeper than your favourite colours or films and you were pretty sure he was now beginning to notice how you avoided any question about your home life. But you knew he was hiding something too so you didn’t feel as bad.

It was when you were both out of the water that the day took a turn for the worse. You were heading to where your bags were when you spotted Topper arriving at the beach, his eyes searching for something. And you were pretty sure that that something was you.

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” JJ said from where he stood behind you, looking at the way Topper was now manoeuvring along the beach looking for you.

You held out your hand in front of JJ, “Please stay here, I’m gonna talk to him and do not want you to start something.”

“He started it last night not me.” He scoffed, ignoring the way your eyes rolled at how childish he sounded.

“Just stay here. Please.”

You didn’t wait for him to answer, instead you headed towards Topper, bracing yourself for the apology that he was going to try and give you, even if you were far from forgiving him.

He spotted you as you approached him, smiling widely and jogging over to meet you half way.

“Hey Y/N I was looking for you.”

“I guessed that.” You say, crossing your arms as you stood looking up at him.

“Right,” he moved his hand through his hair, “well, um, I know you said last night that you didn’t want to see me, but I can’t stand you being mad at me and I really want to apologise. I really didn’t mean to hurt you and i don’t think I’m like Rafe and hurting you is the last thing I would ever want -and can you please say something!”

You couldn’t help but flinch at his raised voice, his eyes widening at your reaction.

“Shit I’m sorry Y/N, please talk to me.”

“I have nothing to say to you Topper, you hurt me and it might take a while for me to forget that. So I have nothing to say.”

“But-“ he tried to reach for you hand, but was instead met with the empty space as you stepped away.

“Nothing to say.”

You looked at his sad eyes one more time before turning around and heading back towards where you assumed JJ still was.

You didn’t realise you were shaking until you reached JJ and he looked at you with worry, “Woah are you alright?”

“I’m fine, it’s just-” you clenched your fists, “nevermind it doesn’t matter now anyway.”

He stepped towards you, “You know Y/N, this whole soulmate thing means we need to talk to each other about stuff, so it does matter. Please talk to me.”

You tapped your foot anxiously as you considered his words, “Fine. It’s just that in my life I haven’t had many people who care about me, and most of the time if they do care, I either push them away or they leave because they realise I’m not worth it. But never T - he was always there for me and my sister, and I’m just not sure I want to lose that but at the same time he hurt me and yeah that’s pretty much it.”

JJ put his hand on your shoulder, giving it a light squeeze as you looked up at him, “Well thanks for telling me but we might have to continue later because the idiot,” he pointed behind you to where Topper was now marching towards you, “has spotted us.”

“Oh for fucks sake.” You muttered, wondering if the angry look on his face was due to seeing you with JJ. It most definitely was.

You waited for him to get closer, no longer in the mood to deal with his shit.

“Really Y/N? You won’t talk to me or spend time with me but you’ll spend time with this dirty pogue?”

“I’ll have you know I bumped into him a while ago and we were just chatting and even if I hadn’t, who I spend my time with is none of your fucking business Topper.”

You could feel JJ tense up beside you as you lied to Topper about why you were with him. You’d apologise to him later but if Topper knew you’d been on a date together then the situation would get much worse a lot quicker than you’d like.

“Funny that I don’t believe you,” he scoffed, “but then again all you do is lie Y/N isn’t that right? Lie to everyone about everything, especially your home life.”

You froze, shaking your head for him to stop speaking, but he was too lost in his own anger and jealousy to realise he was crossing a line that could never be undone.

“Does your new friend know about that? Or should I tell him?”

“Topper please, don’t.” You reached out a hand to try and calm him down. You could feel JJ’s ocean eyes focused on you, his suspicions apparent.

“Well Y/N, you’ve already made it clear you don’t want to be friends with me so I’m just passing the information to the next guy you’ve found so he can pick up the pieces whenever you decide to show actual emotions.”

“Please-“ You tried.

“Her parents beat the shit out of her and her sister, that’s the big reveal,” he told JJ, ignoring the tears streaming down your face, “but what she doesn’t realise is that she is as emotionless and uncaring as them, so be ready for when she gets bored of you and throws you out like yesterday’s trash.”

Topper didn’t even look at you as he left, leaving you crying and JJ staring at you wordlessly. Your whole life unravelled before you, in one of the most to the point and unpleasant descriptions you’d ever heard, ignoring the implications of what he said about you. Is that really what people thought about you?

The silence between you and JJ became too much for you, you steadied your breathing, wiping the tears off your face “Well I think I’m gonna go, it was nice spending time with you, I guess I’ll, um, see you around.”

You looked up to see him open his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but he quickly closed it. You nodded to yourself and headed back home, ignoring JJ finally saying your name behind you, you just wanted to get away from the disaster of your first date with him. Soulmates sometimes didn’t work out and apparently yours was one of those, even if you wanted it to work.

A/N pt2: i was gonna add a bit of JJ’s perspective but im lazy so sorry y’all and sorry again for the fact i haven’t read through it i’m ill and sorry again (i feel like a youtuber making apologies here) that this isnt my best i’m just happy ive posted something and thanks for reading

A/N pt3: (it never ends sorry) I don’t know whether it’s because I’m very unromantic but even if I had a soulmate I wouldn’t feel strong feelings straight away so I tried to portray that but it gets better in the next chapter!!

taglist: @outerbongs @jjaybank @bailspogue @outerbankslut @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch @alexa-playafricabytoto @teamnick @k-k0129 @do-not-talk-to-me-i-am-awkward @thoughtsofthestars @http-cherries @n1ghtsh4d3-67 @thesurfingsnail @lonely-kermit @oopsiedoopsie23 @overly-b @lus-shh @xlittlemissydjx @asaks6082 @copper-boom @danicarosaline @deathcompass @jellyfishbeansontoast @butterfliesinthenightsky @iamaunicorn4704 @my-soul-is-the-moon @diverrdown @thorsangel @saintkore @prejudic3 @ponyboys-sunsets @starrystarkey93 @teenwaywardasgardian @celestialmaybank @kaylinfayezink @pixelated-pogues @otrbnks @x-lulu @obxmxybxnk @im-a-stranger-thing @jjmbanks @allycat449-blog @rudyypankow @silverstarsandsuns​ @chaoticbisous​ @realistic-breadstick​ @boldlypessimistic​ 

Strikethrough means I couldn’t tag you

[lyricalporcupine]

"you should see the other guy" for the hurt prompts

-symph

Almost 1.3k words. And holy shit, I can post this one here 😉

Rated teen

Written on my phone so be kind pointing out mistakes

Beau pushed against the elven woman, who had her pressed against the wall as she kissed her. The elf’s hands were in her dark hair, down from its topknot and Beau’s hands were quickly hiking up the woman’s skirt.

A loud banging behind her head startled her and she broke away from the elf’s mouth. They blinked at one another when the knock came again.

Beau slammed her head against the wall in annoyance. “Fuck off,” she growled.

“Beau?” It was Jester. “I need to talk to you. About Yasha.”

The woman in Beau’s arms stepped back and Beau pushed away from the door to open it. She didn’t bother straightening her clothes. Her friends knew what she was doing; she’d requested a room for herself after all.

Opening the door revealed not only the blue tiefling, but also Yasha beside her. And Yasha...

“You look like shit,” Beau croaked out. Yasha hung her head with a blush.

Blood trickled from her possibly broken nose. She had a busted lip and her eyes were turning purple. She held her right hand to her chest with her left. “You should see the other guy,” she said softly.

“Perhaps I should go,” came a soft voice behind them. Beau turned towards the elven woman who was digging out the gold Beau had paid for her company. Beau shook her head.

“Keep it,” she said gently. The elf smiled and nodded. She stepped out the door and past Jester and Yasha. Maybe it was her imagination but Yasha looked to be scowling at the woman as she walked by.

Beau sighed and waved them in. “What the fuck happened,” she asked, closing the door after them.

Jester looked to Yasha who sat at the small table. “Well,” Jester said impatiently. “You gonna tell her or do you want me to?” Yasha just turned farther away.

“Jester,” Beau said, her eyes solely focused on Yasha. “Maybe you should go.”

“She needs healing,” Jester replied. “And she’s being stubborn.”

Yasha angled her head so her hair hid her face. Beau’s sure she heard a sniffle.

“It’s just a broken nose,” Beau said. “I can handle it. Besides, do you even have any healing left after today?”

Jester glared at her friend then sighed. “No, I don’t.”

Beau nodded. “I got it, Jes. Really. Took care of my own injuries like this back in the monastery all time. I know how to set a nose.”

Jester sighed again. “Fine.” She made her way to Yasha and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. “Please don’t do that again, Yasha. I worry about you.”

“I’m sorry, Jester,” Yasha said softly, leaning against Jester’s chest.

Jester kissed the top of Yasha’s head then stepped back. “Don’t apologize, Yasha. I get it.”

Yasha nodded.

Jester kissed the top of Yasha’s head again and gave Beau a pointed look as she left the room.

Beau looked towards Yasha. “This must be a first,” she said as she went to her bags and began rifling through it. “Of the two of us, I figured I’d be the one to get into a bar fight.”

Finding her healer’s kit, Beau made her way over to Yasha. “What happened? You don’t usually do this, Yash.”

Yasha looked up at Beau, who gently pushed her hair from her face. Then her eyes fell back to the floor. “I’m sorry.”

Beau set the kit on the table and opened it. She began pulling out bandages and salves. Then she cupped Yasha’s face and gently forced her face up towards her and looked over her face.

“Your nose is definitely broken,” Beau said softly. “Do you trust me to set it?”

Yasha looked up Beau and gave a small nod.

Beau braced her hands on Yasha’s face. “It’s gonna hurt like fucking Avernus,” Beau said. Then she gave a small smile. “Don’t rage and deck me, please.”

Yasha looked up at her. “Never,” she whispered so softly that Beau nearly missed it.

“Okay,” Beau said. “One. Tw-“

Beau quickly twisted Yasha’s nose, setting it back in place with a loud crack.

Yasha snarled, jerking her head away from Beau’s grip. Her eyes blinked open and Beau saw they were tinted red. Then Yasha blinked a few more times, took several deep breaths, and her eyes settled back into their usual violet and sea green colors.

“Thank you,” Beau said with a smirk.

She turned towards the water basin and dipped a rag into the water. She wrung the excess water out and turned back to Yasha and began to gently wash the blood from her face.

“So, what happened,” Beau asked again as she cleaned Yasha’s nose and lip.

Yasha gave a small shrug. “Bar fight.”

“You said,” Beau replied. “I guess I should ask why. It’s not like you at all to get into a fight.”

Yasha’s eyes fell down and to the side.

Beau brushed Yasha’s hair away from her face then kneeled in front of her. She gently took Yasha’s hand and began cleaning her knuckles, which were split open, much like how hers often were. She realized then that Yasha wasn’t wearing her bracers and that was probably why her wrist was hurting.

After cleaning the blood from Yasha’s hands, she applied the salve to them and then wrapped them up, taking extra care of Yasha’s sore wrist and binding it as well.

“You’re very good at this,” Yasha said softly.

Beau hummed as she turned Yasha’s hand over to look at her work. “I’m not very good at taking care of people but I can manage a bandage.”

“You’re very good at taking care of people you care about.”

Beau looked up to see Yasha looking at her intently. She licked her lips and asked, again, “What happened?”

Yasha’s gaze did not fall away this time. “I got jealous,” she said. Her soft voice cracked with the confession.

Beau blinked up at her. “Jealous of what?”

Yasha’s eyes flicked over towards the bed, where the elven woman’s shawl had been casted aside. Beau followed her gaze, blinked, then looked back to Yasha. “You got upset cause I brought someone up here with me?”

Yasha’s eyes fell to the floor again. “I’m sorry. You are not mine. I know that. But.” Her eyes closed and her brow knitted together. “I still felt. Possessive.”

Beau’s eyes widened at the confession. “You...want me to be yours?”

Yasha’s eyes stayed closed but she gave a small nod.

Beau was absolutely floored. “Yasha...”

“I’m sorry I ruined your evening,” Yasha said softly.

Beau looked at her friend for a long moment. Then she raised her hands and gently brushed Yasha’s hair from her face and tucked it behind her ears. “You didn’t,” Beau said softly. Then she chuckled. “You actually made it so much better.”

Yasha looked up at Beau at that.

Beau smiled and, bracing her hands on Yasha’s knees, she leaned forward and pressed her lips softly against the aasimar’s.

“You look tired,” Beau said gently. “How about we get some sleep?”

Yasha blinked at Beau slowly, bringing her fingertips to her lips and staring down at her hand once she pulled it away. Then she looked up at Beau and, with a small smile, gave a nod.

Beau nodded herself and stood. She stripped down to her small clothes and breast band while Yasha did the same.

Beau picked up the shawl and laid it over the back of the chair. “I’ll return that tomorrow,” she said with a smile.

Yasha crawled into the bed, beneath the blanket while Beau snuffed the lanterns. Then she crawled into bed beside her barbarian and feel asleep wrapped up in each other’s arms.

[insomniac-jay]

Remastering My Goodbye Despair Girls Redesigns

Chiaki Nanami

Chubby Chiaki with an ahoge, braces, acne, and glasses? Yes please.

She wears a Princess Peach tank top, Pikachu headband, Pacman hoodie with several pins about gaming and a transfem flag on it, lilac shorts with MLP, rainbows, and flowers on it, kitty socks, and pastel Crocs. They wear a Pokeball backpack.

Sonia Nevermind

I wanted her to look casual because of this. I imagine she’d dress like an alt girl bc she saw them on Tiktok and thought that the girls her age were into that kind of style so she cut her hair and dyed it a rainbow to seem easier on the eyes. I also imagine she’d be into the pastel goth and lolta. 

She wears a black turtleneck, sleeveless purple lolita dress with coffins and bats and crosses, a few chains on one side, and black platform boots with red bat wings on it. She carries a skull shaped purse around.

Akane Owari

I decided to give her dyed pink hair and put it up in two curly puffs.

She wears a red headband, half white half red leotard, red gym shorts, and black sneakers with red accents. She also has fangs bc I say so and she has bandages around her hands and wrists.

Mikan Tsumiki

I took inspiration from the yami kawaii style which seeks to end the stigma around mental health in Japan and raise awareness.

Fae wears faer hair buns and a pair of round glasses. Fae wears a pastel checkered sweatshirt, a Menhera shirt over it, the light blue skirt from canon, and white tights with cuts and bruises. Fae has red under faer eyes. Fae also wears a cute nurse hat.

Ibuki Mioda

I decided to combine both scene and cyber goth and nyas beta design with the gas mask so bear with me.

Nya wears a black fishnet shirt, a shirt of nyas favorite band from nyas middle school years, a chunky belt, frilly rainbow skirt, rainbow fishnets, rainbow leg warmers, and holographic demonias. Nya also wears a pair of glittery bat wings on her back and neon striped arm warmers with lots of kandi. She also wears chains on her belt with charms.

Hiyoko Saionji

I decided to give her a Hikizuri kimono since they were worn by wealthy women of a high rank in ancient Japan and by traditional dancers in modern times, which fits Hiyoko perfectly.

She wears an orange Hikizuri kimono with floral patterns, long obi sash, and the headpiece from her despair design. She also wears socks with sandals and wears her hair in an updo.

Mahiru Koizumi

I wanted to give her that cottagecore but butch look so I did.

She wears a white dress shirt with a pocket over her chest, baby pink pants with floral patterns, yellow suspenders with gummy bear designs (her gf gave them to her) and a trans and lesbian pin, dark greenish brown cropped jacket, and a sunhat with a pink ribbon to top it all off.

Honestly I’d like to hold hands with Mahiru in a field with this redesign

Peko Pekoyama

She deserves to look like the badass warrior lady we deserved. This is inspired by an instagram user’s Peko redesign.

She wears a white undershirt, black hakama jacket with the symbol of the Kuzuryu clan, black belt with silver lining, black shorts, and knee high combat boots. She also has a red band on her arm which is a reference to a certain someone. She also cut her hair to be faster.

Reblogs > Likes

[livia-dovehallow]

of great use

part two

Ship: Wessa

Prompt: Tessa is pregnant with her third child. As Belial’s threat grows closer to home, the Herondales face the unthinkable.

for @lucieblckthorn || this took a bit of a slightly different turn than I originally expected but I hope you still like it <3

Belial... use me... walk the earth...

Needs his own bloodline...

Go after Lucie if I don’t...

Tessa stared in horror at her son, his words echoing in her mind. Will exploded after James finished speaking. “Damn him!” He stood, breathing heavily, staring at his children. Lucie looked like she would be sick.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all earlier. I just—” James looked more vulnerable than he had in years, Tessa noticed. How could she not have seen it? Her own boy? “I thought I could handle it. I thought I could protect you.”

“We are a family,” Tessa told him. “We protect each other. This is not a burden you should bear alone, Jamie.”

“He said he needed one of your children,” James said, greatly upset. “That your Clockwork Angel still protects you, but not your children. I—I told him no. But I’m afraid he will go after Lucie.”

“I will never let him,” Lucie demanded surely.

Will and Tessa exchanged heavy looks. James sucked in a breath. “Mam? Papa?”

They looked at their son. Will swiftly walked around the desk and embraced both James and Lucie tightly. “We believe you, both of you. You will make the right choice. But the both of you are capable of making choices and defending yourselves. Your sibling is not.”

James and Lucie stared wide-eyed at their father, before looking to Tessa. Tessa stood and approached her children. She cupped both their faces in her hands and remembered when they were just tiny little menaces running throughout the Institute, only to be reprimanded by a ghost she couldn’t see, but they could.

“James, Lucie, I am pregnant. You have another sibling coming.”

This was supposed to be a happy family moment, like Cecily and Gabriel had when they learned they were expecting Alexander. But instead, the Herondale family stood in intense fear of what was to come.

Lucie, who in any other circumstance would have been thrilled to be an older sister, gazed sadly at Tessa. “Oh, Mam...” ...

Belial grinned viciously at them, though his face was marred by James’ features. Will kneeled beside his daughter, unconscious in his arms, pale, with a sickly purple and blue band appearing across her throat. “It is too bad dear Lucie was so unwilling to cooperate. A wasted potential, really,” said the demon wearing his son’s face.

Will, grief-stricken and angry, glared daggers at Belial. “Get out of my son.”

The demon shrugged, adjusting the braces James was wearing. “Such odd style you Shadowhunters wear these days.” Will desperately drew iratzes along Lucie’s arm and throat, praying for signs of life. “I suppose I could honor your request. James here is quite a hostile host. I shall simply need to find another.”

“Then you shall be thoroughly disappointed,” Will growled. Belial only smiled. It sickened Will to see such an evil look on his son’s face—but he knew it was not his son.

“Isn’t there? Tell me, William, where is my daughter? I should surely love to pay a visit to my next grandchild.”

Will’s blood ran cold. Lucie had not woken, though the iratzes had begun to diminish the appearance of her bruising. He stared into the eyes of that should have been James’s. Before he would speak, Tessa’s voice rose behind him. “I am right here.”

Will head snapped toward the stairs of the Institute, where Tessa stood. She was dressed in gear, an empty expression on her face that faltered slightly when her eyes found Lucie. She looked back at Belial. “Leave my children out of this, Belial. This matter is between you and I now.”

“No!” Will cried, torn into pieces between wanting to go to his wife or son or stay with his daughter. This was not how any of this was supposed to go. “Tessa, please don’t do this. He’s a monster. He can’t be trusted!”

Belial only grinned. “Ah, Theresa. So glad to hear you’ve begun to see things my way. Pity, though, that you serve no purpose to me, not since that damned fool Mortmain gave you your Clockwork Angel.” Will stared desperately at his wife. Tessa’s face remained unchanged, but he could see the emotion behind her eyes. “But that dear child you possess is of great use to me, in fact.”

James’s body suddenly froze, then collapsed in a heap. A desperate shout tore from Will’s throat as he watched the silver cloud emerge and rush toward Tessa.

Tessa gasped and stumbled, clutching her stomach as the silver cloud began to solidify before them all. Will clutched Lucie closer to him as he tried to reach Tessa. She stood only a few feet away from him, at the top of the stairs, but the distance between them felt as painful as it had nearly 25 years earlier, when she was taken from him in London and forced to Cadair Idris. He pleaded with her to retreat inside, where Belial could not enter in his weakened form. 

As the figure began to shape into a man, Will relunctantly laid Lucie down and rushed up the stairs to Tessa. She was in pain, but she gripped his shirt tightly with just as much strength as she would have had without the pain. “James and Lucie. Get them out of here, Will.” 

Will held her tightly. His heart was about to burst out of his chest in fear. “I will not leave any of you. He’s drawing power from you, Tess, you have to get inside!”

Magnus Bane suddenly emerged from the shadows, chanting in Latin. Tessa’s eyes flashed at him before she joined Magnus. Will stood still for a moment, stunned. The silvery cloud that had begun to shape into the Prince of Hell disappeared with a distant laugh. Will and Tessa rushed to their children, who remained unmoving on the ground.

...

“Lucie, my darling, please wake up,” Tessa whispered, her hand on her daughter’s cheek. Lucie’s skin was clammy but had regained its color. James sat in the far side of the room, curled into himself in the corner, wracked with guilt, refusing iratzes unless Lucie woke.

Will stood stiffly beside Tessa, his hand on her shoulder. “Tessa, my love, please, Jem is here to check on the children. All of them.”

Tessa looked up at him, her heart squeezing with every beat. Because of her, all of her children had been hurt. She could not forgive herself for this. How could Will ever forgive her? If she had just learned to control her powers years earlier, she could have helped James and Lucie earlier. They could have stopped Belial earlier.

Will gently tugged at her shoulder. “Please, Tess.” As she stood quietly, a terrible pain tore through her body. She gasped, clutching her stomach and doubling over. Will grabbed her immediately. “Jem. Jem is here, Tessa, we have to go now.” Out of habit, Tessa’s eyes searched the room for her son.

James stared back at her, wide-eyed and shaking. “Jamie,” she said, trying to reassure him. “Jamie, bach, this is not your fault. Please stay with Lucie, we will be back, I promise.”

He did not move as Will quickly ushered Tessa out of the room toward their own bedroom, where Jem was waiting. Halfway down the hall, Tessa cried out and dropped to her knees. “Tessa!” Will dropped beside her and shouted for Jem to come to them. She vomited suddently, violently. Her body shuddered with every heave. Will’s voice was panicked in her ear. Tessa lifted a shaking hand to her lips and drew back, heaving at the sight of blood on her fingertips. The blood turned black as she stared.

Her breath hitched. Tears welled in her eyes. No, she thought to herself, pleadingly. No, no, this wasn’t supposed to happen. Not my baby.

“Tessa—” Will’s voice was hoarse. She looked at him, tears beginning to fall quickly. He was pale, his gaze on her terrified. “Oh, Tess—no...”

She didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t even want to think it. But as she sat on the ground in the dimly lit hallway in her husband’s arms, her body weak, Belial’s voice echoed in her mind.

That dear child you possess is of great use to me.

[aurora-the-kunoichi]

Aftermath Part 3 - The Meeting

Sorry for the delay in the release of this next part. Mun has found herself lacking in motivation in writing. I hope you enjoy the next installment in my apocalyptic TMNT story. 

Raphael and Reader

Everything hurt; even your eyelids ached, throbbing red flashes of pain as you tried to peel them open to see where you were, this wasn’t normal. What was going on, why did…..oh….OH….it was coming back in vivid angry snaps of memory. You were fighting off those men on the roof, who came unannounced and dead set on bringing you back to someone, to break you? Those assholes almost had you too before those four giant turtle men came, distracting them. The red banded one’s face flashed before your eyes concerned etched in his features. He had tried to save your dumb ass as you stumbled back in shock. The rotted out opening in the roof, how could you have not been aware of your surroundings? You could hear your mother scolding you in the back of your mind. Idiot!

As the world came rushing back you heard voices, male voices, not good. The fear bubbling up from your gut hoped it wasn’t those men you had encountered on the roof, prayed in fact, which you hadn’t done in years.

“I think she’s coming around?”

“Dudes, you think she’s gonna freak?”

“Can you get back nutball? She’s gonna freak if she wakes up and your ugly mug is inches from her fucking face.”

“Raphael can you please watch your language. We have a guest.”

As the light pierced your vision green became the forefront. Once, twice you blinked as the green blurry masses came into focus. Crystal clear they became, large muscle bound shelled behemoths just a few feet from where you lay. In the back of your mind you had hoped they were a figment of your imagination as you tumbled to your doom, but the four very large, very real man turtles stood around you.

The tallest of the four seemed to be concerned the most, his brown eyes moving behind a tattered purple mask and a pair of tech goggles sat upon his green bald forehead. His upper body well-muscled was sans clothing except for suspenders littered with multicolored patches and an arm band which seemed to hold a working tablet. He had a pack on the back of his shell and a small solar panel perched on the top with a weird pole attached to its side, it looked electric? From what you could see of his lower half he was wearing black cargo pants that held an array of gadgets and unknown gizmos strapped to his narrow hips. His left arm despite green with scales was covered in several all black tattoos that went from his shoulder cap to his pointer finger. His right arm had a nasty looking scar around his bicep, the green scaled flesh faded to white scar tissue reaching from mid bicep to his armpit. By the looks of the damage he had nearly lost it.

The one next to him was the smallest of the bunch but did not lack in bulk, his eyes were a brilliant light blue outlined in orange fabric. The front of his plastron looked carved in intricate designs, scrolling from the top left to the bottom right, but to your trained eye you could see the designs were hiding a long deep gash that had to have been painful to endure. His whole right arm down to the middle of his open side was drenched in vivid pigment and abstract watercolors. Along with a brightly colored octopus on his left shoulder, tentacles running up towards his throat to around his collar bone. His lower half was covered with brown shorts and knee pads and what looked like homemade shoes for his massive feet. And hanging on each swaying hip were a pair of fucking nunchaku?! Nunchaku?

The third was the second shortest but by the way he held himself he was very important, maybe the leader?  His green crown was wrapped in blue silhouetting his vibrant ocean blue eyes, he definitely oozed control. The top of his plastron had the same intricate detailed carvings covering what looked like a jagged gash across his chest moving from the left to just past the middle of the boney plates. The difference in his carvings was the indents looked blackened, enhancing the artwork, making it pop. Across his broad chest sat what look like a holster, black leather with dark blue embroidering running the length of the strap. His lower half was covered by black pants with knee pads protecting his joints with a strap around his left thigh holding an array of blades.

The last was the brute, not quite the tallest but definitely the one who worked out the most. A red bandana covered his whole head draping down to cover the back of his thick neck. His biceps were bigger than your head with dense muscles shifting under the green flesh as he palmed a half eaten apple in his right fist. His plastron had the most carvings covering nearly all his front breast plates besides the lower left section. His wide hips held a belt that slung lazily holding a set of red sais. His bulky legs were covered in dark green camo pants tattered and worn from years of abuse. His feet also adorned specially made footwear because you had never seen such gigantic black boots in your life. You wondered who the shoemaker of the group was.

Slowly you braced your hands under your back and sat up eyeing each mutant warily.

“Careful now, you got a pretty nasty concussion when you fell. Take it nice and easy.” The tall purple one yelped reaching for you out of reflex. When you recoiled, his face fell into a deep frown and stepped back out of your personal space.

You didn’t feel like you were in danger but that didn’t mean that you weren’t. You’re first interaction with humans in 10 years had left a sour taste in your mouth. But these four weren’t really human, were they?

“Umm….did you set up your rig, it’s quite impressive?” the tall one asked obviously trying to break the tense moment between you all. “How did you get the engine to take the solar power?”

You were about to say something but the horror of it hit you, your truck and camper! How long had you been out? Someone could steal all your hard work! Then you’d be stuck here!

The one in blue must have sensed your inner panic and lifted his large green hands in a non threatening manner. “Hey, hey miss calm down. Your truck and camper are safe; it’s down here with us. After you fell and we dispatched Donovan’s men, we brought you and your vehicle down here where they can’t get to it. The reason Donnie is asking because he got to drive it and hasn’t stopped talking about your work for almost 3 hours.”

“Down here? Donnie? Where are we? Who are you? Why did you help me? Donovan’s men?”

“Whoa whoa whoa there, that’s a lot of questions.” The red one chuckled taking another healthy bite from the apple. “By the way, thanks for the apple.” He winked finishing the sweet flesh in one final crunch. “It’s been years since I’ve had one.”

“God damnit Raph.” The purple one moaned in frustration hold his head in his hands. When he lifted his face you could have sworn his green cheeks had a red tint to them. “I’m sorry miss; you are in the sewers below what used to be New York City. I’m Donatello aka Donnie. This one here..” he wrapped his arm around the small but bulky orange banded one pulling him closer. “Is Michelangelo and he’s the youngest of us all.”

“You can call me Mikey though.” Michelangelo winked reaching his hand out for a knuckle bump.

His large knuckles were massive and highly scarred, like he had lived a very hard life. Which from the looks of their battle worn bodies was true for all of them? Reluctantly you lifted your hand and completed the bump to his very apparent excitement. His blue eyes shone bright as he leaned further into Donatello gracing you with a large white smile that warmed your soul.

The blue one stepped forward and bowed slightly, “I am Leonardo, and I’m the eldest of my three brothers and the leader of our clan. The one who took an apple without permission is Raphael, my second in command and 2nd oldest. I apologize for his rudeness, but I must confess we all were a little excited seeing fresh fruit and vegetables. It’s been a while since we’ve seen, let alone consumed any. We live underground but Mikey had a garden set up on a roof top not too far from here, but it kept getting looted. Soon there was nothing left to regrow because seeds grew scarce and no left-over parts of the food to replant. It was a major disappointment to all of us. How have you managed to grow them after all this time?”

Swinging your legs over the side of the bed you rested on you cracked your neck and took a deep breath. “Ummm, my name is Y/N, yes I set up the rig, been working on it for years. I’m not from New York, let’s just say I’m from somewhere with a lot of land. I’m here scavenging for parts. My parents were preppers so when everything went down and I lost everyone, I had enough skill set to be able to survive.” And there it was, like an idiot with no filter you word vomited too much information to four complete strangers who were the first to be nice to you in ten years. “I have an extensive garden at home as well as live stock…..fuck.”

All four of them chuckled as you spewed word after word at an alarming rate. In fact they were surprised they could understand you at all with how fast you were talking. Donnie lowered his goggles and saw just how fast your heart rate was and the temp of your body rising rapidly. He began to worry if this was too much for you?

“You’re having a panic attack aren’t you? Are we too much for you or have you been alone all this time and not use to this much social interaction in one day?” he asked quickly stepping towards you still keeping an eye on the red flush drenching your cheeks.

Looking to your hands you saw them shaking and your lungs, Jesus Christ they felt like they were being squeezed from the inside. And let’s not talk about your heart, it felt like it was trying to hammer straight through your chest. Your fingers curled in your shirt clutching at your thumping breast. “Is that was this is? A panic attack? I feel like I’m dying…”

Soon you felt two hands, two very large hands on your shoulders holding you steady before you tumbled back from the bed you were perched upon. Golden green eyes and red flooded your vision and a musky scent of engine oil and leather invaded your senses.

Raphael was inches from your face, his massive body so close you could feel the heat radiating off his pebbled flesh. He smelled of masculinity and something rough, you could taste it on your tongue and it traveled to your belly warming it pleasantly. “Look at me, listen to my voice.” The rumble from his deep voice vibrated fluidly through the little space between you. Seeping into your pores and headed straight to the apex of your thighs. He smelled of trouble, the best kind of trouble.

“Deep breaths now, we ain’t gonna hurt ya.”

God he smelled good, you took slow deep pulls of his scent and found everything slowing down, your heart, your lungs and the whole damn room around you. All you could see was his face and the slow creeping smile that revealed his white teeth and the pink tip of his tongue bit between them.

“Do ya feel better now?”

Another hard swallow and you suddenly because aware your hand was now resting on the boney plates of his warm plastron. Why did it feel so comforting to touch him? Yep you were in trouble, so much trouble.

 All my works

@blossom-skies​

[harrybabystyles]

Oh, Angel! (harry styles)

chapter two - m a s t e r l i s t -

warnings: mention of sex, language, and drinking

author’s note: If you haven’t read the first chapter I would do that or you might be a little lost, you can find it here.

I blink slowly as the light infiltrates my mind, the warmth of the morning sun enveloping me in a cozy hug. 

I groan as I stretch before the foreign scent of vanilla and tobacco rushes over me, and the burn in between my legs reminds me of last night.

Shooting up I look around the foreign apartment, remembering where I was as memories from last night flood my mind.

I blush, I’ve had many hookups, but none like that.

I look for Harry, but find the bed empty, and the apartment quiet. I pull the duvet around me and step off before I stop in my tracks, already feeling the soreness in my hips, and the intense burn in my center.

I waddle out to the kitchen where a small plate and cup where resting on the counter, a folded note with my name scribbled on it rested peacefully beside it, but still no Harry.

It feels like my heart might explode as my eyes graze over my name in what I assume is his handwriting.

I settle down on the stool, and pick up the note, unfolding it gently. 

Dear Anna, 

I am terribly sorry I couldn’t stay until you woke, but duty calls and I had to leave. The plate in front of you is all yours, I had leftovers from this morning and didn’t want them to go to waste, or for you to go home hungry. I had the most amazing night with you, and I have come to the decision that you have definitely made it up to me for ruining my shirt ; ) PS. help yourself to anything you’d like 

All the love, H

I smile like a love struck teen at his words, blown away by how unbelievably sweet this man was.

I look down at the plate below me, my stomach growling as I scan over scrambled eggs and a few waffles, a cup of orange juice sitting beside it. I dig in, and I practically inhale the food even though it was cold from sitting out.

My phone buzzes, and I practically jump out of my skin.

Oh shit!

I had completly forgot to tell my friends that I was not coming home last night, they must think I got murdered or something. 

I scramble off the stool, and over to where my handbag was resting on one of his gray sofas, and hold it up to my ear. 

“Anna!” 

“Hi, Paige, I’m sorry, I totally forgot to tell you that I was not coming home” I say swallowing a mouthful of eggs. 

“Yeah, no shit! I’ve been so fucking worried” 

“I’m so sorry, but I’m okay” I try to explain, she really was like our mom sometimes.

She lets out a heavy sigh, “Thank god, when are you coming home?” 

I wasn’t exactly sure what part of the city I was in, but I made up a guess a went with it. 

“I’ll be home in under an hour” 

“Good, Harper wants to go to the movies later” I can hear the slight tang of annoyance in her voice, and I try to hold back a laugh, Paige hated going to the movies, always saying that we can just watch it at home.

“Okay, sounds good, I’ll see you later” I laugh as I hear chatter start up on the other end of the phone.

“Okay, love you”

I roll my eyes, “Love you”

I hang up and let out a breath, walking back towards his bedroom so that I can get dressed and head home. 

His room looks like a mess, pillows laying on the floor, clothes sprawled about, the sheets on his bed pulled so that the corner of his mattress is showing.

I take a deep breath, god damn.

I find the black lace of my underwear and start to slide them on, gasping as my eyes settled on my skin.

My inner thighs had soft purple hickeys scattered all around the skin, some also present on my stomach and chest, the worst one being on my collarbone.

“Holy shit” I whisper to myself, my fingers poking at the ones on my thighs, but my jaw goes slack at the barely visible marks on my hips.

The shape of finger tips were etched into the skin of my hips like a shadow, barely visible, but definitely there, a reminder of where his large hands hand been.

My hand flies up to cover my mouth, stifling the laugh that rises out of my throat.

Why the hell do I think that’s funny?

I shake my head, sliding my underwear the rest of the way on, and clasping my bra back on my body, I look for my dress for a few minutes before remembering it was out in the living room, so I grab my shoes and head out.

I look at my reflection in the huge windows and frown, my eyes tracing over the soft purple hickeys on my collarbone and chest, my dress hardly covering any marks on my upper body, how the hell am I going to cover them?

You just had to mark me up Harry.

Then my eyes settle on the fabric of Harry’s dress shirt from last night, laying carelessly on the floor, and I shrug.

Hope he doesn't mind.

I pull it over my shoulders, rolling up the sleeves and tying it up, buttoning it up to cover my collarbone.

That’s better.

I start to walk towards the door, my heals clicking as they meet the wooden flooring of his entry way.

Then, my eyes settle on a piece of paper taped on the door. 

Also, if you turn the lock before you leave, the door should lock when it closes, there is some money on cabinet to your left if you don’t have any for a cab

 My heart starts to swell again as my eyes flash to the money placed on the surface of the cabinet beside me.

I leave the money there, and I do what he says and I turn the lock before I head out, hearing it click behind me. 

Walking back out of the apartment I can’t help but be mind boggled and how fancy everything is, from the bouquets at every corner, to the detailing on the doors as I walk out, everything is so elegant and sleek. 

The cab ride back to my apartment was almost thirty minutes long, which if it weren’t for the music fest causing traffic at every intersection, I’m sure it would have only been about fifteen. 

As I walk through the door, and I hear the chatter in the living room of the apartment I shared with Harper, Evelyn, and Paige, I brace myself for the interrogation session.

When the door clicks, the conversation stops.

“Anna?” 

“Yeah?” I ask, coming out from around the corner, their eyebrows all raised.

“Spill the tea” Evelyn demands, crossing her legs under her on the couch.

“There is nothing to spill, it’s pretty fucking obvious” I set down my bag on the messy counter and slip out of my heels. 

“Yeah, but you’ve never come home past six before” Harper chimes in.

“I was tired” I shrug, “Had a busy week”

“Oh sure, tired from the week” Harper says sarcastically, giving a look at Paige and Evelyn. 

“You’ve also never wore their shirt home” Paige adds, pointing to the dark dress shirt I was in, and I tug up the collar again, hoping they couldn’t see through me. 

“I was cold” I brush off their glances, but Harper’s eyebrows shoot up. 

“Bullshit” she calls out, getting up from the couch.

“Guys, I’m done talking about this, can we please just move on, it’s not like I’ve never hooked up with someone before” I plead, cautiously eyeing Harper as she walks over to me. 

“C’mon, just show us” she pouts, and Paige and Evelyn nod enthusiastically from the other couch. 

“Then will you guys shut up?” I ask, crossing my arms. 

They all nod, and Paige crosses her heart. 

I sigh, undoing the dress shirt and slipping it off my shoulders. Harper’s mouth hangs open as Evelyn and Paige gasp. 

“Holy shit!” Paige exclaims, stumbling over the couch to come investigate, Evelyn trailing behind her. 

Harper pokes at my skin, and I roll my eyes, heat flushing to my face.

They should see my thighs if they think this is intense.

“So he is good with his mouth?” Evelyn comments, and I smack her arm as Harper and Paige bust out laughing. 

“Guys! Can we please move on?” I groan as I pull the shirt back on. 

“Fine” Paige giggles while Evelyn rubs her arm.

The next few days they keep proding for more information and poking fun at me, starting to call him “hickey boy”

Harper was very proud of that nickname, I however was extremely embarrassed.

When Tuesday rolled around, and I had come home from several job interviews, I was surprised when my friends were all giddy when I walked in the door.

“What?” I ask, eyeing them suspiciously as they all grin at me like five year olds waiting to open their presents on Christmas morning.

“We are taking you out” Paige says vaguely, and I quirk my eyebrow at her.

“You’ve been working so hard these last few days, and we want to take you out so you can let go of all that stress” Evelyn explains, and I sigh.

“I don’t know guys, I’m pretty tired”

“Nonsense!” Harper exclaims, “C’mon, let’s go out and forget about everything for a few hours”

I sigh, rubbing my head, “Fine”

They squeal and jump up, already talking about what they are going to wear.

I roll my eyes, a smile on my lips.

A whopping two hours later we are finally heading out the door, hopping into Harper’s old car and starting it up. 

I settled on an over sized T-shirt and jean shorts, trying to go for a more casual look, plus there was still a few faint marks left from my night with Harry. Harper wore a cropped black tank top, and a pair of plaid pants with a belt and chain, her combat boots complementing her legs nicely. Evelyn wore a jean skirt and neon pink tube top with her hair in a high pony and huge hoops on her ears. Paige however, wore a simple sundress, her converse giving the look a very high school love story vibe, but she looked stunning none the less. 

They decided that trying out the music fest this year would suffice my apparent need to let go of stress.

We filtered through traffic, parked several blocks back, and headed into the fest within the next hour, chatting and enjoying each others company. Evelyn pointing out several hot guys along the way.

What can I say, she can’t help herself. 

The festival was loud and crowded, several people yelling and cheering anytime the lights would flash, or if they just felt like it. 

When the music did finally start up, it was like a raging pit of beer and sweat, everybody jumped around and screamed, especially when a hardcore rock band came on stage, but after about an hour and a half, the crowd settled and it simmered back down to just cheering and dancing. 

The bands and musical artists would shuffle through, only a few minutes between each act, and between the cheap alcohol and Harper cracking jokes at any body who dances funny, I was having a blast.

Of course anytime with them is the best time.

The stage lit up, signaling the start of another performance, and we watched as a man strolled casually on stage, his band already set up behind him.

My eyebrows crash down in confusion when I recognize the brown head of hair that frames him like a halo.

No way in hell.

“Hello New York!” that smooth accent rolls over the crowd, and my heart stops.

No.

Fucking.

Way.

My eyebrows shoot straight up, and my mouth falls open, like one of those scenes in a cartoon.

“Anna?” Paige turns to me, but I can’t even look her in the eyes, I can’t look away from him.

This is a dream, definitely a dream, it has to be.

“Pinch me” I blurt out, feeling the confusion that now radiates off of my friends as Evelyn takes a hold of the skin on my wrist and pinches me.

Shit.

“Anna, are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost” Harper points out, their faces now circling me, fading in and out of my vision as I try to keep my eyes on him.

He looks good, of course he does, but the loud suit catches my attention.

Is that floral?

Whatever it was, he looks like an angel in it, like he seems to always do.

Evelyn’s hands grab my face, and she makes me focus on her, “Earth to Anna!”

“He-...” I point weakly to the stage, feeling my head spin.

They follow my finger to the stage, watching as he dances under the microphone, his voice filling my ears.

Voice of a fucking angel, of course.

“What?” Paige looks at me like I have lost my mind. I point again, my heart stammering in my chest, and my mouth dryer than the fucking dessert.

“That’s him” I whisper, and my friends share worried glances, before Harper slaps a hand over her mouth.

“No fucking way Anna! That’s hickey boy!”

I cringe at the nickname she insists on giving him, and I smooth my hand through my hair, giving a nod.

“No way” Evelyn gasps, and Paige’s jaw just drops. Harper bounces up and down with excitement, and they all shuffle around to get a better look at him.

His voice rolls over the crowd again, rumbling straight through me, “I’ve never played this one before, just wrote it actually, hope y’enjoy it”

“One, Two, Three, Four!” he shouts.

Then the guitar and drums hit, and the crowd goes wild, while I’m just staring at him completely in shock.

“Don’t know where you’re laying,” his voice holds that same subtle gravel that I remember, as his leg bounces up and down with the beat, “Just know it’s not with me”

By now my friends are giggling and I can tell they are trying to talk to me, but I let his voice drown everything else out, the thick sweet sound giving me butterflies.

“Don’t know what I’d tell you if I passed you on the street”

I can’t believe the man in front of me, confidence radiating through him like sunshine, his movements strong and sure.

“I don’t want your sympathy, but you don’t know what you do to me, oh, Anna!”

My stomach drops as my friends eyes snap towards me.

Did he just say my name?

“The hell?” Evelyn whispers, “Did he just say your name?” she asks, mirroring my thoughts.

Holy fuck.

“Every time I see you face there’s only so much I can take, oh, Anna!”

“Anna! he wrote a fucking song about you?” Harper exclaims, her voice making it sound more like a question, like she didn’t quite believe this was happening.

I can’t blame her, I was still wrapping my head around it too, but Anna is a very popular name, I’m sure it’s not about me, it can’t be, I only spent one night with him.

“Don’t know how you taste when there’s smoke in your perfume”

I quirk my eyebrows, this is definitely not about me, it can’t be, that lyric has zero correlation with me.

Right?

“Chew me up and spit me out, nothing left to lose, I don’t want your sympathy, but you don’t know what you do to me, oh, Anna!” the guitar strikes up, and he dances around, pumping his arms and swinging his head to the beat as the man to the left of him grinds out a guitar riff that’s bubbly and upbeat.

“I don’t want your sympathy, but you don’t know what you do to me oh, Anna! Every time I see your face there’s only so much I can take oh, Anna!”

My stomach seems to drop and twist further every time my name rolls from his lips, and I realize that the crowd had gone nuts, hollering and screaming out as he seems to soak it all in.

“Hope you never hear this, and know that it’s for you, I don’t know what I’d tell you if you asked me for the truth” 

By now my head was spinning, my throat dry and my heart racing, I felt dizzy and light headed.

What the hell?

“I don’t want your sympathy, but you don’t know what you do to me oh, Anna! Every time I see your face there’s only so much I can take oh, Anna!”

Suddenly the lights started to sting, and my world continued to sway, back and forth, back and forth.

I tried to swallow, but the dryness of my throat made my tongue feel like sandpaper, and my legs begin to wobble. I felt like I was placed in the dryer, the crowd around me spinning and spinning, and I was just a helpless piece of clothing.

Another guitar solo bounced in and out of my ears, my head seeming to amplify it as the song continued.

My vision started to blur when the beat changed, and I reached a hand out to try and steady the world around me.

“Guys...” I suck in a sharp breath, oxygen becoming thin, and I feel hands on my arms.

“Anna?”

“Well I guess it would be nice, if I could touch your body”

His voice is the last thing that goes through my mind when it all went black, the music fading as my eyes roll back into my head, my body crumbling to the ground.

[dangerdaysdiary]

From Cassie the Venomous... A Danger Days FAQ

You can find the original post on Cassie’s website here.

Frequently asked 'Danger Days...' Questions Answered!March 18, 2011Now that My Chemical Romance's Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is out, I'm finding more and more questions about it leading people to this site. I figured it would be beneficial to address some of the ones that are asked most frequently in one place for the benefit of all! I hope this helps! ORIGINAL POST:  November 24, 2010 @ 11:57 P.M. UPDATED: March 18, 2011 @ 9:47 P.M. ____ The Killjoys Fun Ghoul -Corresponding MCR member: Guitarist, Frank Iero -Raygun: Green with horror-style stickers attached to it -Symbol: A smiling face with one eye crossed out and a jagged mouth -Physical Description: Wears a yellow shirt with black-striped accents over which he wears a military vest. In the video for "SING," Fun Ghoul bears a scar on the right side of his face at his mouth. -Mask: Purple and green Frankenstein mask -Additional Information: ... Jet Star -Corresponding MCR member: Guitarist, Ray Toro -Raygun: Blue with red and white details and the text "BECAUSE I SAID SO" -Symbol: Star with a face and a lightening bolt rising from its left side -Physical Description: Wears an eyepatch on his right side. His jacket displays an American flag on its back. -Mask: Black astronaut-style helmet -Additional Information: The original name for Jet Star was "Raygun Jones." Kobra Kid -Corresponding MCR member: Bassist, Mikey Way -Raygun: Red with white details and a decal that says "deluxe" (his raygun was originally named "Demon-shark Deluxe"). -Symbol: the face of a hissing cobra -Physical Description: Wears a red jacket over a yellow-and-black zebra-print shirt -Mask: Yellow helmet with blue and red eye-like details that displays the message “GOOD LUCK” on its visor -Additional Information: In addition to his raygun, Kobra Kid can also be seen using a power glove in the video for “Na Na Na…." Mikey describes Kobra Kid as a "misunderstood" character with a "short temper" who "knows Kung-Fu." Party Poison -Corresponding MCR member: Vocalist, Gerard Way -Raygun: yellow with pink details and "Give Me Money" written in Japanese on its side. -Symbol: pill with an "X" beneath it -Physical Description: Wears a blue jacket with red details, a "dead pegasus" logo on the front and his Killjoy symbol on the back -Mask: yellow domino mask with blue circular details and clown-style eyes or a decorated "mousekat" helmet. -Additional Information: Party Poison was among the Danger Days... characters active on Twitter preceding the album's release. The Killjoys' names, which Mikey Way told NME are "themed after designer drugs," started as the names of their rayguns, but later turned into character names. The band has said that their Killjoy personas are not characters they are playing, but how they picture themselves in the future. Are the Killjoys Dead? Currently, as a result of the “SING” video, the Killjoys are presumed dead. However, a picture from Gerard Way of “Party Poison” in what appears to be an unzipped body bag (left) captioned “Killjoys never die” has many fans questioning how dead they truly are. UPDATE: April 10, 2011 Dr. Death Defying tweeted: that "there are four acceptable levels of dead after posting an ode to Party Poison, whom he called "dearly departed." More information will follow if the four levels of dead are explained further. Dr. Death Defying Played by Steve Righ? of Mindless Self Indulgence, Dr. Death Defying is the smooth-talking narrator who filters in-and-out of Danger Days…. He is a D.J. for 109 F.M., WKIL, a pirate radio station that operates in the Zones. He is recognized by his “Slaughtermatic Sounds” jacket, which also says “Jackals” and “Philly,” his aviator sunglasses and the bandanna he wears tied around his head. Dr. Death Defying uses an electric wheelchair because of an apparent injury to his left leg, to which an electric brace is strapped. In an hour-long video “listening party” hosted by the D.J., the character implied that he is a veteran, possibly of the Helium Wars, which have been alluded to vaguely. Show Pony and the Girl Show Pony, the character who can be recognized by his "NOISE" half-shirt, blue-and-white polka-dot tights & helmet and rollerskates is the companion of Dr. Death Defying, the narrator of Danger Days... (played by Steve from Mindless Self Indulgence). Show Pony is played by performer Ricky "Rebel" (Twitter | Reverbnation). Rebel opened for My Chemical Romance as Show Pony at the band's Hollywood album release show. The actress who plays the Killjoy girl in the videos, whose character name has thus far only been "the Girl," goes by Grace Jeanette. She, too, is an actress and a musical performer. The Girl's role in the Danger Days world appears to be a significant one; as, she was kidnapped by Better Living Industries for a stull-unknown reason. The Zones and Battery City

The Killjoys world centers around Battery City and its surrounding concentric Zones. The map to the left shows how the Zones are laid out in relation to the city. Utopian Battery City is central, corporate, clean and the center of manufacturing. It is where Battery Towers is located. Battery City, California is the setting for My Chemical Romance's "SING" video, to give you a better perception of what it looks like. The setting for the "Na Na Na..." video is in the Zones, which are a more lawless, desert terrain in which the Killjoys live, run and fully embrace their freedom. The Zones are dirty, wild and dangerous-- the opposite of Battery City. Geographic landmarks include: Route Guano, which is the road on which Gerard has said, "the shit happens." It is where Jet Star and Kobra Kid are "ghosted" by an exterminator in the Danger Days... track "Jet-Star and The Kobra Kid/Traffic Report." "The Getaway Mile," which may be a specific location, is mentioned in the song "Bulletproof Heart." There is also a place which Dr. Death Defying on Twitter called "Wolfblood Beach." Better Living Industries Better Living Industries (Also known as BLI, BL/ind, or BL industries) is the corporation that controls Battery City. The corporation strives to bring about structure in a post-apocalyptic world. It is known for producing emotion-eliminating medications as well as every other manufactured product one can acquire in 2019. BLI crosses over from the Killjoys world and into real life. The made-up corporation has its own  web site with products that you can actually purchase, a mission statement and a "Zone Report" in both Japanese and English.  Also, MCR takes it a step further by having changed the name under which their music is published to "Better Living Industries Music," which you can see in the liner notes of Danger Days.... BLI also overtakes the edited version of Danger Days..., whiting out the internal album art, taking away the lyrics and putting its smiling face logo (above right) all over it. The Danger Days: California 2019 Edition box set is packaged in a BLI box and the 3-song The Mad Gear & Missile Kid E.P. that comes with it is printed on a disc made to look like a BLI brand CD-R. Check out some BL/ind commercials and "Fact News" reports. Dead Pegasus Dead Pegasus is a 2019 oil company. Korse, Draculoids and S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W

Korse is an exterminator for BL/ind's SCARECROW Unit. In the videos, he is played by comic writer Grant Morrison. The "SING" video has raised speculation among fans that Korse could possibly a robot of some sort; as, he is seemingly "activated" in his chamber by the push of a button. Some also speculate, based on Gerard Way's character sketches and his indicating that Korse suffers from "Zone sickness," that he may stay in the  chamber shown in the "SING" video for medical reasons. Grant Morrison revealed to MTV that Korse is "intimately connected with the Killjoys and their secret history," which has yet to be revealed. The SCARECROW Unit of BL/ind is a sort of police force. Korse leads it, and The Draculoids are the other exterminators that appear to be of lower ranking than Korse. They're a "clean-up crew" for the Zones, getting rid of the things and people who do not comply with the monochromatic standards of Better Living Industries. The Mad Gear And Missile Kid

The Mad Gear and Missile Kid is My Chemical Romance's alter-ego band for Danger Days... Mad Gear is what MCR imagined the Killjoys would listen to in 2019. Fans who ordered the California 2019 Box Set received a bonus E.P. of the three tracks MCR recorded as The Mad Gear And Missile Kid: 1. F.T.W.W.W. (acronym for "fuck this whole wide world") 2. "Mastas Of Ravenkroft" 3. "Black Dragon Fighting Society" The genesis of TMG&MK came with the writing of "Black Dragon Fighting Society," which was originally recorded for the pre-Danger Days album the band "scrapped." "F.T.W.W.W." and "Mastas of Ravenkroft" followed as songs created specifically for TMG&MK. Gerard Way told Alternative Press that the MCR is interested in creating a full album as The Mad Gear and Missile Kid and that they would like to play shows as the alter-ego band on off-days of tours in the future. EVENTS in the Zones 2012: The Great Fires 2017: The Pig Bomb ?: Helium Wars

-- If there's something about which you are confused that you would like added to this post, let me know! Consider this a perpetual draft that will update as often as you, Reader, need it to. Also, please don't hesitate to submit corrections! I have compiled the information in this post using knowledge I've gained from interviews of the band by several sources. Suggested Reading to Expand your Killjoys Knowledge: The Twitter development of the Zones presented in a linear fashion. A full interview transcript series posted by Coup De Main Magazine. XoXo c.

[purplexflamingo]

Creature of the night- Chapter one

I don’t know if I am going to write out a big thing for this, but it was something I felt inspired to write out. Though I have not really written out a thing in along time. This is just some AU. I really like vampires. They are a fun concept.

 " Sir, if I could have a moment of your time." Toni rushed after her boss before he could finish locking up for the night. Swallowing her pride she hoped her efforts would help. Never being one to ask for hand outs at all, she was rather hard working. Once her boss halted in his tracks, he glanced back at the female. Almost as if he were annoyed just a tad, it had been a long day for them both. Taking it now as her opportunity- now or never. " You know I've been working here for two years now and I was wondering, is there anyway I could get a raise? I..I really could us it." Trailing off on her words as she noticed his expression, it was disheartening.

  She bit her bottom lip and felt her stomach sink. Sensing the mistake she possibly made" It does not work that way sweetheart, sorry." Without batting an eye he shut her off without explanations. Causing her to use the small ounce of confidence to beg a little. Even though using her family felt disgusting to her. " B-but sir, my brother has been sick and we've been really struggling to make rent. He's missed so much work we--" It was no use, his demeanor gave off enough to make her feel sick to her stomach. " I am sorry, that is all I can say. Now good night Toni." Huffing she pressed forward, using her shoulder to push open the front door. So pissed off she didn't realize how quickly she marched off and how forceful she was with the door. Caring less if he were to claim she was giving him attitude.

 Stepping outside the night breeze caressed her face and right then she felt her eyes swell. The building of stress began to wear her down, the constant begging of extra shifts from coworkers due to the lack of gigs. Not having a temporarily drummer to fill in for her brother made it impossible to even perform. Causing the Vexes to be on hold and lack of income taking a large toll. Tired of living on the awful side of town with numerous stories of break ins and much worse. Walking home was a bit dangerous. Due to the fact she did not have a car and couldn't drive she walked to and from work. It was a small distance after all. But for her own safety she carried a pocket knife. Mostly because her brother Anthony insists.

 Flinching when the street light burnt out. Placing a hand over her chest till her breathing died down, dread consumed her already. Mentally telling herself to just go, just walk, do not look back. Do not stop. Taking a deep breath, she already knew something felt off. 

Exhaling she began her walk home, listening to her surroundings. Unfortunately her heels clicked rather loudly against the cement, making her regret wearing them. Hues wandering and mostly searching for shadows that have been thrown off by the constant flicking of street lamps. Passing by several closed businesses, that closed earlier than the bar. It made her feel more at risk with all these dark buildings. If she had to guess it was possibly late after midnight now. Hence why the streets were dead silent. Most people have gone home, but sometimes she'd see drunks stumbling about. Strange how none were in sight, though she was ever so grateful not having to deal with them. Drunks were intimidating and their eyes, they were hard to read. She dealt with numerous angry ones at her job and it always left her feeling shaken up. It was always unpleasant.

   Lost in her thoughts she began to think and plan tomorrow. Counting her pay checks already and assuming how much she'd need left to reach her goal. Part of her was hoping to convince Marnie to pay a little more for rent, bracing herself for a possible fight over it. There was no way Anthony could pay all of his share. Marnie was hard to deal with in situations as such. Though now was not the time to lose her or else the band would crumble.

 Out of the corner of her eye a shadowy figure slid out of an alley way, making her nervous causing her to pick up her speed a bit. Which could be a mistake. Recalling how in this area that she had to pass through a few 'accident’ locations of mysterious deaths that had happened. She did not want to be prey. " Wait--!"  The voice called out after her, but she continued on not bothering to look back. But a flash flew by her stunning her, stumbling back on her heels, nearly falling back. Her eyes met with a glowing red pair, the color in her face began to drain. A monster? " Leave me alone..!" In a panic she barked at the other out of fear. " Toni- Toni it's me...!" Squinting through the darkness she could slowly make out the features and was in absolute disbelief. " P-paul? your eyes, are you ok?" Part of her also wanted to express how she felt about being startled like that. 

 It was mostly her fault as she failed to tune in with the world, she had a power that granted her the ability to hear ten times more than a mortal human. " I'll explain later, but I need to get you outta here!" His hand was cold to the touch, causing her to shiver as if the heat fled her body. Stumbling after him, she followed his lead, something pulling her in making her obey. As she tried to keep up with his speed she felt her calves tighten and strain. The after effects of being on your feel all day. Causing her to be thrown off and miss stepping. With a painful yelp, she sprang her ankle tumbling onto the ground. Losing her grip with Paul's hand in the process. It was hard to focus on anything else, the pain hurt so bad and her head pounded from the stress- and how tired she felt. 

  The hissing behind set her on alert and she realized the presenting danger now. A purple light shot over head, it was the black star beam. Knocking, whatever she heard, down. " We have to hurry..!" Returning to her Paul began to lift her into his arms with ease. Though he felt tense, it was strange. It was as if the contact sickened him or so she was picking up. Little did she know it was straining him and testing his resistance. He was able to disguise his feelings.

 Before she knew it they stood outside her building. The creature she heard was no where in sight, she was thankful she didn’t even glance back to look at it. As long as it was no where near her home everything would be alright. Eyes scanning the windows, searching for hers, seeing the lights were still off. Anthony must have gone to bed, she thought. Ascending the stairs Paul remained cautious, he seemed on edge. With the fact they were being stalked anyone would feel this way. Toni was just all around in shock, she had a hard time processing the current events. Other than picking up on his auras. A mixture of fear and confusion- protection and defense. 

 " Do you have your key?" He softly asked as he stood at her apartment door. " Oh I do, I think...I hope I did not drop it." Fishing around in her jacket pocket she pulled out a key ring. Containing four different keys. Calmly he took them from her and picked the one she instructed him to. Unlocking the door he seemed hesitant. " You can come in you know, Anthony doesn't mind you visiting besides he might be asleep. And Marnie is gone." Hearing her he then proceeded to enter. The front door leading into the living room/kitchen area. Setting her on the love seat, crouching down to proceed to remove her heels. " How is your ankle?" For a moment she forgot about the accident and she shook her head. " It's numb now, the blood must have rushed to it." This prompted silence from him, it was weird, he seemed so off.  Was it something she said? " Be straight with me, what is wrong? Don't sugar coat it, darling..." 

 Eyes attempting to meet with his, though he refused contact. " If you must know..I had a run in with some blokes. I thought they were tryin' to rob me after the show, but little did I know they weren't some mortals. They were a bunch of vampires. And well....one of them bite me. I got away before they could do worse..." Furrowing her brows she was really thrown off, vampires, they were fiction and Hollywood made up. Stories her brother would read or watch. They were real? Earth was a strange planet full of questionable creatures. " You're a vampire?"

 " ‘Fraid so...and I don't know what to do about it. I was gonna do some research and ask the guys for some help, but then I knew you were their next target. You were in their path, they either destroy everything they touch or turn them." Paul kept his distance especially with how he noticed Toni was responding. Needless to say he did not  want to risk anything. “ How did you know?” Parting her lips she curiously asked and he pointed to the star painted on his eye. It then connected with her. Not allowing her to say anything else he piped up. " Well shall we bandage up?" Rising to his feet he was more than willing to aid her. Heading towards her bathroom, he was familiar with her home. " Oh, wait, Paul please be quiet....Anthony is most likely sleeping, he is still sick." A part of her felt sick to her stomach remembering her rejection and her worry for him, it's been nearly a week with no signs of improvement. Negative thoughts followed as she imagined the worst in his situation. Because of how strong she felt she began to weep. She wanted to go check on him, but there was no way she could do it without causing herself more pain. Sniffling she wiped her eyes with her fingers, as her make up began to bleed. 

  Once he returned she forced herself to hide her emotions, for various reasons. He prepared the wrap inching close to her ankle, noticing how she flinched a little, he shifted his gaze towards her. " I promise I won't hurt you. I am not a monster." Those words alone were enough to get her to relax a little as he finished. " Oh I grabbed this ice pack to, it should help with swelling." Toni couldn't help, but stare in awe. Despite his transitioning he was the same old Paul. He behaved nothing like the creatures she heard of. " Thank you, really I.....Paul can you stay the night? I don't want you going back out there if they are roaming. What if they try to kill you?" Claiming the spot beside he, he didn't speak, it was as if he was looking for the right words. " Well, just for tonight. Because I have to get back with the guys...see if they can help me find a cure or something. I can't live like this." He did have a point, but Toni felt better in the agreement. “ I’ll call Angel in the morning and see if she can mend my ankle before work.” As the mood shifted Toni frantically tried to find something.

" Want to watch a movie?" To lighten the mood she suggested and Paul was delighted. Deeming it was safe to change the subject as he knew exactly what she was hiding from him, he accidentally gained access to her overwhelming thoughts. Normally resisting that, but he has a slip up every now and then. For a moment his eyes were on Anthony’s door before he glanced back at her. Wanting to help, but there was a limit to what he could do currently and he did not want to intrude too much. Unsure how she’d be if he offered any form of help. Paul did not want to watch them sink, it was upsetting and to see their flames burn out. Giving the benefit of doubt to Toni as she felt feeling hard than anyone else. Though when the positive happens she is a breath of fresh air and energy. Who chooses to suffer in silence.

 An hour passes and Toni mindlessly inched her self over to Paul as an attempt to cozy up. But coming in contact with his skin reminded her, muttering. "  You're so cold." Adjusting herself to share some of her blankets with him as if that’d help his case. " It's apart of the whole undead thing, babe. I can’t do anything about it." Admittedly after awhile the cold did not bother her especially as she was lost in the moment. Periodically glancing at him during the film and he of course noticed. Chuckling in response " What?". “ Nothing...I just want to look at you.” Lifting herself up, moving closer, she placed a kiss on his lips. Accepting it Paul watched her closely as he could pick up on her heart beat, so loudly, and scent of the living. Able to pin point the strongest tempting veings. Coiling her arms around his neck she gave him an embrace. Again he felt stiff and resistant, but he did not push her away. All that went through his mind were confliction and urges. Some part of darkness nagged at him to steal a bite, but his will power fought against it. He was not a blood sucker. Despite feeling his fangs grow an inch. Sooner than expect she fell asleep and he was able to detach her gently so, putting the blanket around her. Left sitting there for most of the night until he was able to rest. 

The sound burning and smell of smoke woke Toni instantly in a panic. “ Oh god!” Paul’s hand was beginning to caught flame and it startled him awake too. “ CLOSE THE CURTAINS!” A burst of energy coursed through her as she tried to get up. Anthony opened his door in confusion at the chaos. Toni remembered her injury and struggled to climb to her feet. “ An-anthony! Anthony please- close the curtains!” Gesturing towards the large windows he did as asked without a second thought. Using a pillow she put out the flame. “ The sunlight-- we should’ve covered the windows last night.” Panting she felt awful and took his hand into her own. Examining it along with Paul. “ I hope it doesn’t scar.”

“ What the fuck is going on?” Anthony interrupted. 

[proxylynn]

Underfell: File Name not Edgy Enough #24

Chapter 24: Drama

WARNING: I WANT NO RESPONSIBILITY OVER SPOILING THINGS FOR OTHERS. THAT BEING SAID, THIS IS HOW FILE NAME NOT FOUND WOULD FUNCTION IN THE AU OF UNDERFELL. BEFORE YOU READ THIS, UNLIKE THE NICE TIME OF UNDERTALE, THIS WORLD IS KILL OR BE KILLED. THIS STORY WILL BE GRAPHIC, GORY, USE SWEARS LIKE NOBODY'S BUSINESS, AND DEAL WITH SENSITIVE SUBJECT MATTERS. FOR EXAMPLE, THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE READ THE FILE NAME RELOCATED SPOOF WILL KNOW HOW I PICTURE THIS VERSION OF LYNSIE COMING TO THE UNDERGROUND. IT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT. IT IS NOT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING DUMB. IT IS BECAUSE SHE CHOOSES TO END HER LIFE. SO TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. I MADE IT BECAUSE I NEEDED TO LET SOME OF THIS EDGINESS OUT OF MYSELF. WHICH I GUESS MAKES UNDERFELL LYNSIE EVEN MORE TRUE TO WHO I REALLY AM. ANYWAY, ENJOY. ^_^

You know...I used to love darkness. It was the one element that felt the most kind to me. Now it's a different story. At this point I hate it. Nothing good comes when I'm in darkness anymore. If I'm not dreaming then I'm being used by a maniacal scientist as his personal experiment.

{What are you doing here?}

Or this crap happens.

"Seeing as I don't get a choice in these matters, I should be asking you that. So...Why am I here, Chara?"

{Go away.}

"Why so serious? You've been avoiding me like the plague."

{You've been listening to Gaster behind my back.}

I sigh.

"Are we really about to do this?"

{Do what?}

"A childish back and forth of 'how could you do this' b.s."

{I warned you not to trust him. And what do you do? You cut deals with him.}

"You've been rummaging in my head. Not very nice of you, bro."

{Don't call me bro. Family doesn't backstab family.}

"Heh...You've been dead so long you forget what humanity is like. And I didn't backstab anyone."

{Yes you did!}

"How? How does seeking aid from the best source of soul knowledge so I don't go kill-crazy backstab you or the family?"

{That's not the point! You didn't listen to me! Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?!}

Where is this coming from?

"Dude, calm down. You're a kid. A dead kid. You should be used to no one listening."

The darkness rumbles with thunder. Energy swirls around like wind or unseen water. A form begins to take shape, distinctly that of a male child. The boy is pale-skinned, has bright pink cheeks, piercing red eyes, as well as light brown hair, and dressed in a red sweater with a black stripe across the middle, black pants, and brown boots. This is Chara...at least...Chara pre-death. And oddly he's intimidating.

{I am so sick and tired of people not listening to me.}

"*scoff* Join the club, kid. You really think I ended up here because others heard what I had to say? You can't expect me to ignore help because you tell me no. It's MY soul. MY problems. And I will deal with them MY way. Not anyone else's."

The energy gets stronger. It's starting to become visible as it clashes around him.

{Not again...I won't let it happen again...}

I don't like the looks of this. But what can I do about it? It's not like I have power here.

"Look, I'm sorry if I piss you off. I have an annoying tendency to do that. It's not intentional. I..."

{I won't let you kill Asriel again!}

Confusion seems to be my normal state of mind these days. Does he actually mean me? Is he having a moment like Sans and thinks I'm Frisk? Could he even be thinking of Gaster? Or is he calling out all the other past humans to fall before me? Either way, I'm not going to get through to him. The look in those eyes of his gives me the message loud and clear. Talking is pointless. Now I'm left to do the one move I've done all my life...brace for impact.

{Not again! NEVER AGAIN!}

As expected, his rage causes the energy to lash out at me and all I can do block. Damn things cut like knives. I can't tell if bleeding is possible here but it feels like it.

"*mutter* Geez...And I thought I had issues. *grunt* No one is out to kill Asriel! Calm down!"

He doesn't say a word. Yet the energy intensifies. Hitting harder. Pushing back. Pushing me away.

"*strained* Do you think this solves anything? That lashing out at me keeps him safe? Harming me only puts him in more danger!"

Again, he's not in a mood to listen. The energy is cutting away at me more. I won't be able to take it much longer at this rate.

"*snarl* Damn it, Chara! Don't be like Toriel and put your problems on me like it's my fault!"

For only a moment there's a break in his attack and I think that maybe...just maybe...maybe he sees that this isn't the right way of handling the situation. This hope is dashed when he suddenly rushes me and grabs my shirt. The look he has. So spiteful. It breaks my guard.

{If we're really family...You won't come back here again.}

He blasts me at point-blank range and everything flashes from black, red, and then white.

"*gasp and cough*"

God, I hate this shit. Each time I wake up I feel closer to dying. Like one day, I'll open my eyes but be unable to breathe or I won't wake up at all.

"Bad dream?"

...Or I'll wake up in an unknown place with lord only knows who.

"With the wack you took, a little nightmare is the best outcome you could've gotten. Though we still can't rule out brain damage quiet yet."

I can't see anything apart from the ceiling. A brace of some sort is restraining my head. I can feel bands on my wrists and ankles. And something else...something cold.

"Hmmm...Vitals look stable. Then again, it's been a long time since I've had to human hooked to this thing. Oh well."

Great. From bad to worse.

"Not a big talker, huh? Or are you just slow to take in what's going on?"

I am in no mood for this crap.

"In any case, the short version is you're now in Hotland. No one knows you're here. And if you ever want to go home, it's best that you cooperate."

The sigh that leaves me is one oozing with boredom. I'm numb to this. I've been here too long to care.

"You're taking this oddly well, human."

"I'm in no position to care. I'm restrained in a place I don't know. You already have points on me I can't bounce back from. So why not skip the spiel and be blunt. It'll be easier on us both."

There's a scribbling noise.

"Subject is reasonable yet bitchy after having woken up."

Okay...Now I have some clue.

"You're Alphys, right?"

By the sudden startle that shakes her, she wasn't expecting me to know.

"H-H-How do you...?"

"People talk. It's not like there are others down here that know what a human is and have done things to them before. Makes for a very select list of names."

She huffs through her nose.

"Perhaps you'll be of more interest than your predecessors after all. Aside from your soul that is."

She taps on something and it makes me snarl in discomfort. No wild guess needed that it's my soul.

"You're a first. I've never seen a human soul infused with magic before. Though it is funny how it can be afflicted with something so common to growing children and you are...clearly not one."

I try to not think about that stupid issue of soul puberty.

"Yeah, well...What can do? Stuff happens."

"Lucky for you...it's a condition that is easily fixed with some stabilizing magic. You might be able to feel it. It's rather cold. Much like everything else in this world."

So that's another mystery solved. I'm basically getting the equivalent to hormone balancers. The question...Why?

"Seems a little odd."

"How so?"

"No offense, but experience has taught me that no one does something for someone else down here without there being a reason. So spill it, doc. What reason could you have for treating my condition?"

There's a sigh and a loud click before the slab I'm on begins to move, slanting me to almost stand. Now I can see the room better, the machinery, the odd patch on my exposed purple soul, and her. A slightly corpulent reptile-monster that appears smaller than she is due to slouching. She has yellow skin/scales, wears spiral-shaped glasses, a red and black striped sweater with a matching black skirt, and topped off with a classic white lab coat with a few frayed ends.

"If you must know...He insisted on you being fully healed. I swear things would be more interesting if I didn't fix you. But no...he was going to annoy the piss out of me. And frankly, I'm not in the mood to tear him apart for scrap."

He? Oh...Him.

"Ah, I see. Mettaton is a crafty guy. Must be his inner ghost."

She gives me a questionable look.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because I know his cousin and he told me."

She groans and adjusts her glasses with her middle finger.

"That information is not for the public to know. You'd be wise not to spread any rumors about it."

"*scoff* Please. If I haven't blabbed by now than I ain't blabbing ever. Besides...There's no point telling anyone anyway."

She scribbles on a pad.

"You'd be wise to keep that mentality."

I roll my eyes.

"So where is he? Dude went so far as to have his flunky give me my second bat to skull injury and drag me here, the least he could do is show himself before overly explaining some elaborate plan."

She stops writing to look at me.

"HE is getting himself and I quote 'ready to shine like the star he was born to be' end quote."

If ego was hot air that metal body of his would be floating like a parade balloon.

"But what you said makes me wonder. You've watched his shows before, haven't you?"

"Enough to notice predictable patterns. Sure, the first show is fresh. But then he repeats the same theme in every show the rest of the day. It's hard not to notice."

"Like he tries too hard and looks like a moron."

"I wouldn't say that. It's endearing that he tries when it comes to an idea he likes. Whether or not the audience likes that sort of thing is subjective. You can't please all the people all of the time. Only some people some times."

"Try none and ever. Ratings have been in the dumper. The only small increase to have happened was that time he tricked you into phoning in. Heh...I still can't believe that worked."

"I'm not heartless. I don't want to see anyone hurt or die if I can help it."

She goes back to scribbling.

"Subject is a bleeding heart idiot."

I struggle to shake my head.

"Not the first time I've heard that and it won't be the last. Yet you can't honestly tell yourself that there isn't at least one person you'd risk it all for."

She pauses. Her scribbling stops to tap the pad. But this is not a long pause before she resumes again.

"Side note...If the subject is this stupid, how has it lived this long and what does that mean for surface humans?"

I can't roll my eyes hard enough.

"So you'd do anything for that fire elemental, huh?"

This has my attention.

"It's one thing to associate with monsters. Most are ignorant of what a human is. Making it easy to blend in and not be killed. But to be romantic with a monster? And to have been so dumb as to do so in public no less? That's just begging for trouble."

My glare has her smirking.

"Be a real shame if something unfortunate were to happen to him."

"You do not want to go down this road. Not on those tires."

"You are in no position to stop me if I do."

"Trust me, doc. You don't want to make me angry. Bad things happen when I snap."

My seriousness is not taken seriously.

"I'll be sure to enjoy studying every moment of it."

I sneer daggers at her.

"Humans are such pathetic and pitiful creatures."

"And yet we won the war. Go figure."

That earns me a very nasty look.

"I think you need to learn your place, human."

"I'm strapped to a table. I think I know my place."

"Let's double-check that..."

She reaches into her pocket and suddenly I'm thrashing harshly as electricity is sent shooting into me. After the longest five seconds ever, it stops. I'm left panting through my teeth and smoking faintly.

"Seems your tolerance is stronger than expected. Still...that should be enough to remind you to behave. Right, human?"

I want to defy her. I know I can. But the situation is not favoring me. She holds the power and knows it.

"*huff* Whatever."

She smiles and heads for the doorway.

"This will be interesting. That much is sure."

The door closes behind her and I sigh. Is it wrong that I miss the days of Papyrus beating me? Fuck my life. Okay...Time to make a plan.

[Meanwhile: The Ruins]

Fear. Fear is laced on the wind. Paternal fear of a mother for her child. When Toriel's voice was met by silence alarms went off. When she found the doors open when last she had shut them panic sank in. Her child's belongings were left behind, including the flower called brother. And one look at the snow beyond the door only added to her worry. The pristine snow was a disheveled mess. Footprints. In every and all direction. The worst part is the snowfall beginning to fill in the indents.

Searching.

Screaming.

Scanning for any clues as to where her child was. Yet she was lost. Second-guessing which set of tracks were the human's and uncertain if the ones she first picked were indeed the right ones. Scrambling, she picked another set and stuck to it. Swerving and swiveling through trees like dogs along a pole line. These tracks seemed hopeful enough. Stretching further into the distance than previous sets. At the rate she was headed, she would find herself in town and the location of the child would then follow suit. Just a little more. Just a bit further and then the real path shall be clear.

Yet...Why were the trees still constant?

The environment the same?

Where was this going?

...

The bridge.

These tracks made her head back towards home. Never faltering as they beelined for the bottomless pit. No deviation. No hesitation. Just clear forward motion to death. Her heart stopped. Everything stopped. She just stood there. Staring into the abyss. Contemplating just how deep or where it led. Could the human...did she...was this her fate? No...NO! There...There had to be a way to check. The...Oh! The phone! If she was in that pit or not, the ringing of that simple phone will provide her with answers.

[RING...]

She held that object muffled in her paws. Listening to the wind and anything at all.

But there was nothing. Simply the sound of snow landing on the world.

This...gave her hope. Hope touched the monster's soul for the first time in ages. Yet this begged the real question...Where is she? Perhaps some aid to this situation will be necessary. Seems like a visit to the town is in order.

[A cold walk later]

The hour is late. No one is out and about. Except for one. One that has very limited options at her disposal. In all their talks and jokes, Toriel never learned what Sans's house looked like. With a nervous lump in her throat, she approaches the bar and trembles as she knocks on the door of the obviously closed establishment. As one would guess there is no response. So she continues to knock, pressing with her urgency. After about five minutes of the most polite pounding on a door ever, a faint light approaches.

"*grumble* We're closed. Can't you read the sign?"

She ignores the annoyance due to the situation.

"Please, I need your help."

There's a pause. The door clambers open enough to show part of Grillby's face.

"M-Mrs. Dreemurr?"

"Forgive my rudeness. But I must speak to you about Lynsie."

"I didn't mean for it to be so big! It's just a hickey! I didn't hurt her, I swear!"

His defensive words confuse her and this makes the panicked man of flame become shamefully aware.

"You didn't know about that...Did you?"

Her eyes squint in judgmental frustration.

"I did not."

A small snort of steam comes out of her snout. Grillby, feeling like shit is going to end badly, slams the door in fear. Her own fear, overwriting her motherly rage, has her pounding on the door.

"Open this door!"

"I don't want to die!"

"Please! My daughter is missing!"

"...What?"

He opens the door fully now, knowing well the former queen would not lie about such a thing.

"She's missing?"

"Yes. I can not find her. Only footprints from many bodies."

She is surprised by the real concern coming to Grillby's face. He is quick to go for his phone but she shakes her head.

"I have already tried. She does not respond."

"Hmmm...This is sounding like an abduction. Has there been any notice left for you? A note? A call?"

She mopes.

"No. Nothing. I was hoping you might have a clue. Was there anything odd you noticed on your way home?"

He shakes his head.

"Unfortunately, no."

Her heart sinks. Seeing this has Grillby goes into support mode.

"Don't lose hope. We don't have much left. You know her better than I. She's prone to getting into trouble. But you know what?"

"What?"

"I know someone that can help. Just...Let me bundle up. If you can imagine, the cold and I..."

"Understood."

Grillby shuts the door and Toriel waits outside.

[Elsewhere: the Ruins]

"Ugh...my head..."

A dazed and delirious Flowey stirs in the dark confines of a bag. Unzipping a pack from the inside is bad enough, but doing so with leaves for hands is fucking ridiculous. And while hungover to boot. After some time, mixed with muffled swearing, the great escape is complete! The flower is free! Yet...Something is amiss. The bag he was contained in was not in the bedroom as he would have expected and the doors leading outside are wide open. This isn't right. It is time to ditch the pot and sink his roots into the ground to do some stealthy investigating. Covert flower style.

[Meanwhile: in Snowdin]

"Are you certain we will not be bothering them at such a late hour?"

"Don't worry about that, Mrs. Dreemurr. It's part of their job to deal with stuff like this. Plus, you're the Queen and they are in charge of looking after her. If they don't want to go through hell, they'll help."

"I hope so."

Grillby guilds Toriel the out of place house on the edge of town. Of course, they lived in a place like this. Why she expected different she didn't know. The curtains were closed yet glowed with the light of activity still going on inside. Muffled chuckling could be heard behind the walls. She recognized it easily...Sans.

"Sounds like someone's having a good time."

"Is it normal for others to be up still at such an hour?"

"Depends."

"Depends?"

"You know. Reasons. Some can't get these kinds of moments during day hours. Others just can't fall asleep all that well. Him? I think his reason is therapeutic. Ending the day on a laugh to forget all the bad stuff. But that's just my guess."

She pouts as he knocks on the door. Sans's puns when behind the Ruins exit were always on the borderline of being sad, she never thought much of it other than guessing the outside was just terrible. Now, learning more and more, she couldn't dismiss it as easily as before. But such thoughts are broken with the movement of the curtain and door opening seconds later to show the confused skeleton.

"what happened?"

Even with no word said, Sans is smart enough to know that their being here means nothing good.

"She's gone."

Sans's sockets widen.

"...get inside."

Further goading wasn't needed and once inside the door was locked much to the former queen's concern.

"now what do ya mean she's gone?"

"Not getting Papyrus? You know how he gets."

Sans sighs.

"fine...hey, pap! get your ass down here!"

A loud thud bangs the inside of a door upstairs.

"*MUFFLED* I TOLD YOU NOT TO BUG ME!"

"the queen's here! the human's gone!"

Rampant scuffling rushes to a door that is flung wildly open.

"SHE'S WHAT?!"

Toriel fiddles with her fingers.

"My child is missing. I believe someone has taken her."

Now in serious guard mode, Papyrus joins the group.

"ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT SOMEONE HAD THE GALL TO COMIT SUCH A BRAZEN ACT IN MY TERRITORY?!"

"what clues do you have that she didn't just pull a stupid stunt like last time?"

She swallows dryly.

"There were tracks. Lots of them. All scattered about the snow that were not there before. It looked like some person or persons were trying to make it as difficult as possible to distinguish what track lead where."

Papyrus growls lowly.

"SANS, CONFIRM THIS AND SEARCH FOR ANYTHING SHE MIGHT HAVE OVERLOOKED."

Sans nods and teleports out.

"Overlooked? I searched those woods for what felt like ages. I overlooked nothing."

"DO NOT TAKE IT AS AN INSULT. IN SITUATIONS OF PANIC, IT IS EASY TO MISS DETAILS. I AM MERELY CHECKING FOR THE BEST RESULTS. AND, AS LAZY AS MY BROTHER IS, HE HAS SHARP EYES. IF SOMETHING IS AMISS, HE WILL FIND IT."

"Awww..."

Grillby smirks.

"You actually complimented him. Shame he wasn't here to hear it."

Papyrus folds his arms and glares at the elemental.

"AND YOU'RE HERE, WHY?"

Grillby copies his pose except his expression is that of cocky smugness.

"I think any monster worth their dust would be man enough to care about what's happened to their girlfriend. Don't you?"

Papyrus opens his mouth to say a condescending remark but then doesn't due to his mind registering what was just said and putting things together now that it's clear.

"YOU...YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE HAVING THE INAPPROPRIATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ENEMY!"

"If you want to put it that way, yes."

"YOU'RE SICK."

"And loving it. What's your point?"

A weird energy could be felt between them as if they had something to say yet weren't, and it was making Toriel feel rather uncomfortable. Though part of her was miffed at Grillby for being too blatant about being with her daughter while she is present.

"YOU KNOW NOTHING GOOD WILL COME FROM MAKING YOURSELF SO VULNERABLE."

Of all the things Papyrus could've said, no one saw that coming. Yet Grillby takes it well.

"I've been spurned before. If it happens again, it won't sting so much."

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT."

This had the flaming man sneer and bite his tongue, holding back words that weren't ready to be said at this moment. Papyrus turns his attention to Toriel and she flinches.

"I NEED YOU TO TELL ME EVERYTHING."

She nods.

"Understood."

[Elsewhere: Snowdin forest]

The old lady wasn't kidding. The path outside of the Ruins looked like the frenzy made on kids the last day of school. The only difference was these tracks were randomly deliberate. Whoever made these wanted them to be seen. Not a thing normal folk do around here unless goading others into a trap. Following them would be pointless. They likely only go where they wanted them to go and covered up the real tracks. Bastard smugglers. They know what they're doing. Though someone was a little sloppy. A few stray drops of blood dot the tread of a couple of tracks. Who told them about a human being down here?

[RING]

Must be Papyrus. Maybe Toriel shared something helpful.

"sup."

"WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND SO FAR?"

Guess she didn't say much.

"not a lot. but from what's here, it looks like the work of the body snatchers."

"IN SNOWDIN? ARE YOU POSITIVE?"

Why would he not be?

"it's like the reports undyne briefed us on. a group goes about making distractions and cleans up the evidence made by the single soul doing the dirty work."

As if life down here isn't hard enough.

"ANY LEADS?"

Sans looks back towards the Ruins.

"her boot tread doesn't go past the exit door all that much and i found a few stray drops of blood. my guess is they laid her ass out with a sneak attack then carried her off. such active numbers couldn't have just got here all at once or it would be too noticeable."

"YES, IT'S POSSIBLE THEY WENT THERE ONE AT A TIME THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND HID TILL THE TIME WAS RIGHT."

"bet it helped that this was our worse day."

"TRUE. THESE PRICKS ARE CLEVER."

Is it really clever to take advantage of a missing worker and one too distracted to pay attention?

"don't praise them just yet. i might have an idea of where they come from."

"REALLY?"

"yeah. some moron decided to wear mtt brand shoes. you know? the expensive ones that have his likeness on the bottom."

"HMMM...MTT BRAND ITEMS AREN'T COMMON OUTSIDE OF HOTLAND. THERE'S NOT A LOT OF JOBS IN THE OTHER ZONES TO MAKE GOLD FROM."

"yeah. so either someone saved up for ages or we're looking at scum from hotland."

"YOU DON'T SUPPOSE ALPHYS IS INVOLVED?"

"Then what are you doing with the human? Because, frankly, it should've been sent to my lab by now."

"wouldn't surprise me. bitch knows about the human. and i've had the feeling she's been behind most of the reported disappearances. but you know undyne would never question it. thirsty fish bitch."

"IF TRUE, THEN THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET VERY DIFFICULT."

"so...they told ya anything?"

"BOTH OF THEM REPORT NOTHING UNUSUAL LEADING UP TO THE HUMAN'S ABDUCTION. THOUGH THE QUEEN MENTIONED THE GIRL RECEIVING A PHONE CALL BEFORE SHE DISAPPEARED."

"a phone call?"

"THE QUEEN ALSO NOTES SHE HAS SEEN AN UNKNOWN NUMBER POP UP IN THE HUMAN'S PHONE. WOULD YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW ABOUT THIS?"

"can't say i do. it's not like she told me about..."

"Hell, you used Mettaton for that tile puzzle. The guy's been obsessive ever since seeing her. He hasn't stopped talking about being so close to the human since he came back from Snowdin Forest."

"It was Mettaton! He traced my phone number from the other night."

"It's Mettaton. He called me again. And you know that he knows what I am."

"*soft* BUT DID I JUST HEAR THAT SOMEONE IS LAYING THEIR NASTY HANDS ON MY HUMAN?"

The realization hits Sans like a brick to the skull.

"...*whisper* oh shit."

A faint ringing can be heard.

"HOLD ON. SOMETHING'S HAPPENING."

The soft voice of Toriel answers a random call, possibly from the kidnappers. But her worried tone quickly turns to excited hope and the word child is heard.

"COME HOME, SANS. YOU'LL BE NEEDED FOR RECOVERY EXTRACTION."

"got it. be there in a sec."

He hangs up and sighs. This was worse than he figured if Mettaton was indeed the culprit. Damn machine was the reason for a RESET on what was a peaceful timeline. Well, at least there are some things he can count on when it came to the human. The girl was no damsel in distress. He just hoped nothing triggered her soul to turn black. He teleports back home completely unaware of the flower spying on him the entire time and intends to follow to find out more.

[HOTLAND LAB: around the same time]

Alphys has left me alone for a good long time now. Letting me assess my surroundings and bonds. They're tight. While one of my wrists is slightly loose. It's a trap. A ploy. She wants me to try. To make an escape attempt. I can do it. The issue is what happens when I do. Probability is not on my side. A scientist of unknown IQ has my on their turf and has who knows what in the line of traps lined up for prey that it has studied for years. Mines. Turrets. Lasers. Gas. Flamethrowers. Swinging blades. Spike pits. Razor wire. Possibility is limitless. Yet the possibilities only worsen if I remain here. I hate double edge swords. Damned if do and don't. Argh...Fuck my life.

"*wince*"

Yanking my wrist through the restraint brings back memories of the skeleton's shed. Seems like this is my role in life. Getting taken and escape. So annoying. At least that damn thing didn't dislocate. I need to keep quiet. Though it's kinda pointless. I'm more than likely being monitored in some way. Still, my odds are better if I adhere to being paranoid and ninja my ass through this place. Belt restraints are effective but old fashioned and flawed, easy to get out of if you have a free hand. I'm free in less than a minute and rips the patch off. Medical or not, I don't like my soul being out. It makes this already messed up thing even more messed up. If my paranoia and overthinking brain are on point, then the door is most likely unlocked. There's probably even a set path I'll be forced on too. Drive the cattle to the slaughter, or so they say.

A light touch on the door has it open to a dimly lit hall. Totally giving off horror movie vibes. The air has a faint stale scent, this area most likely hasn't been active in a long time. The darkness makes the hall look exceptionally long. But down it I must travel and travel I do. My steps echo like I'm walking in an empty school. Giving me unease. Like, at any second, someone or something will pop out. I haven't felt so skittish since my middle school days dodging campus security to cut class and leave the building. I'm too on edge. A slight humming isn't helping my equilibrium either. Did she set up some sort of audio mind scrambler? Am I overthinking shit? It's a 50/50% on either at this point. So I change tactics. I run. If something happens it'll at least happen quickly.

Yet...I don't seem to be going anywhere. I pass countless doors without turning a corner. I must be going deeper into insanity or something isn't normal about it. It's almost like it's...

"Son of a whore!"

I stop and grab onto the edge of a door frame. Only for the floor and walls to pull me in two directions.

"A möbius strip? No...A treadmill. Very sneaky either way. Almost didn't catch on if it weren't for that humming getting louder when I ran. Heh...Willing to bet the motor is basic and can't push past its standard limits. Which means..."

I start running backward, the hum grinding loudly as momentum builds before stopping and allowing the convener to drag me in the direction I was headed before.

"You can't correct the way it moves until it slows down to the bare minimum speed."

I ride the out of control road up to where a door, unlike the rest, becomes noticeable, this thing has a knob. Flinging it open and jumping out saves me from that dumb endless hall. One annoying trap beat. Who knows how many more to go. At least this area looks normal enough. It's open, much like a normal living space, but it's not that exactly. The interior is faint red. There are two floors, the ground floor is what looks like a workplace and the second floor is a more personal space. I'm on the second floor.

"The hell...?"

The door behind me shuts itself, sealing to blend with the wall and its knob covered by a decorative mask of an angry looking cat-girl. Everything up here seems out of place and clearly belongs in some oddball bedroom. Beside me are five fully stocked bookcases containing all sorts of things. Alphys's obsessions and hobbies, comics, anime figures, an ice cream machine, unopened letters, etc. litter her room. It's honestly very creepy. Especially the wall posters of that same angry cat-girl that have eyes that follow you. I bumpy slide down the escalator handrail, not trusting the walkway to not be a trap, and feel instant unease once my feet touch the tile floor. On the ground floor, there is a large screen that's probably been used to monitor me, a fridge with a supply of instant noodles, a messy desk with her computer surrounded by odd instruments, and a washroom. This place is creepy. Where's the exit?

*RUMBLE*

The building shakes faintly though the sound was rather loud.

*RUMBLE*

It feels like it's moving...closer?

*RUMBLE*

*RUMBLE*

*RUMBLE*

*RUMBLE*

"The hell is going on?"

The lights suddenly go out. All is very still. Till...something explodes and sends into what I guess is a wall.

"SURPRISE!"

The lights come back on and reveal Mettaton, who is now posing after bursting through a different wall.

"SUCH A FABULOUS AND RANDOM ENTRANCE. DON'T YOU THINK SO, DARLING? HUH...DARLING?"

I am less than happy shoving rubble off of me.

"Unnecessary and overly flashy. Yep...That's a Mettaton entrance alright."

"TOO MUCH?"

I dust myself off.

"Just a tad. Though, I'll give you points for it being memorable."

"BUT IF GIVEN THE CHANCE TO RATE IT?"

"Um...7 out of 10."

"HMMM...NOTE TO SELF, NEXT TIME ADD FIREWORKS AND LASERS."

Is it cute that he's trying to be cool?

"So...Is being whacked with a bat your way of saying I was taking too long to get here? Or is that how you treat all your fans?"

His screen flashes.

"OH! NO. THAT WAS MORE OF AN IMPROVISATION ON BURGERPANTS'S PART. I DO HOPE YOU CAN OVERLOOK MY POOR JUDGEMENT IN HIS COMPETENCE."

I rub my head.

"I'll give you a pass this time. Mainly because I'm thick-skulled. But no more headshots. It sucks being unconscious so often."

"FAIR ENOUGH, DEAR."

"Well, you got me here. Caused a little trouble maybe? So now what? What does a bot like you want from little ol' me?"

"OH, DARLING...WHERE TO BEGIN?"

He rolls over to me and my creep vibes are tingling. Especially when two of his four hands start posing my arms and the other two cup my face.

"AMAZING. I'M ACTUALLY IN THE PRESENCE OF A REAL LIVING HUMAN. I'VE HEARD STORIES AND SEEN FOOTAGE, BUT I NEVER THOUGHT I'D EVER GET...TO TOUCH...YOU."

What the...? Why is he saying that in such a captivating tone of voice? And why is it making feel like a dumb cliché girl? I thought Alphys fixed my soul's emotional sensitivity? I shake it off. Now's not the time for this.

"Getting a bit handsy don't you think?"

I usually save that joke when talking about Gaster, but this fits the situation too. His screen blanks for a moment at my playful voice, though I feel stupid on the inside, before flickering randomly and he lets me go.

"MY APOLOGIES. I LET MY EXCITEMENT GET THE BETTER OF ME. PLEASE...FORGIVE MY ILL BEHAVIOR."

It's so hard to get a read on him. His TV self and off-camera self are like night and day. I don't know if I can drop my guard around him just yet. This isn't normal. I'm out of my element and still dealing with lots of unknowns. Better to play safe than end up sorry...or dead. I sigh and clap my hands.

"Be kind, let's rewind."

A "?" appears on his screen while I offer my hand to him.

"Howdy, Mettaton. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Lynsie."

He's confused, that much is certain. Though it's short-lived as he swoons dramatically and falls into my arms. Dear lord! He's heavy! Must be the junk needed to work those four arms.

"MY GOODNESS. AFTER BEING TREATED SO RUDELY, YOU CHARM ME WITH A SIMPLE GREETING? OH, WHAT MARVELOUS CHEMISTRY! I KNEW YOU'D BE PERFECT FOR THIS."

I knew there was something sketchy. I drop him.

"Once again, I encounter the creature known as selfish d-bag. I'm going home."

Not sure where the exit is but I walk away from him anyway. He, of course, scrambles to get us and zips in front to block my path.

"NO, NO, NO, DARLING. YOU HAVE IT ALL WRONG. PLEASE DON'T BE SO HASTY TO LEAVE."

"Then to prevent my irritated departure you must answer me these questions three. Doing so truthfully will have you see me remaining here with thee. But...if deception is sensed, then you shall be cast into the Gorge of Eternal Peril. But since it's under renovations, I'll resort to smacking you instead."

God, I'm a nerd. Like he, or anyone else down here, knows Monty Python and the Holy Grail. However, the idea of a game seems to excite him.

"A Q&A? OH, DARLING, DO ASK AWAY. MY ANSWERS WILL SURELY BE THE STUFF YOU LONG TO HEAR."

I hold up a finger.

"First question...What are your plans for me since you have me here?"

His top set of hands twiddles their fingers while the bottom hands move as one does when dramatically speaking creatively.

"MY PLANS? OH, NOTHING MUCH REALLY."

I cock my eyes.

"Mind telling me what exactly what that is?"

"DO YOU WANT THAT TO BE YOUR SECOND QUESTION?"

I sneer.

"No. But you're not doing this right."

"HOW SO?"

"While you technically answered the question, you did so in the laziest and non-informative way."

"VERY WELL. I SHALL BE MORE INFORMATIVE WITH MY NEXT ANSWER."

"Thank you."

A second finger is put out.

"Second question...Nothing weird happened while I was unconscious, right?"

"*GASP* DARLING! THAT IS VULGAR OF THE HIGHEST DEGREE! WHILE I SHALL ADMIT..."

His hands cup my face and hold my shoulders.

"SEEING SUCH A HAPLESS FLOWER LIKE YOURSELF BE BROUGHT HERE. HURT AND UNRESPONSIVE. A LESSER MONSTER WOULD BE TEMPTED TO DO ALL SORTS OF THINGS. FORBIN THINGS. ANYTHING WOULD BE ON THE TABLE. LIMITED ONLY BY IMAGINATION..."

His voice is different. Completely monotone. All too personal. A shiver trembles down my neck. He lets the hands drop from my face but not the shoulders.

"BUT I AM NOT LIKE THOSE WEAKLINGS. I KNOW BETTER THAN TO PLUCK A FLOWER BEFORE IT BLOSSOMS. AND OURS IS ONE THAT IS JUST STARTING TO BUD."

I hate so much right now.

"DARLING?"

"Too much info."

"WELL, YOU DID ASK FOR MORE."

"Then...*sigh*...Never mind."

"AND YOUR THIRD QUESTION?"

My third? Oh! Oh shit!

"Yeah, my third question...Did you or your goon bother to inform Toriel of this impromptu adventure/kidnapping in a way that won't result in property damage/loss of life?"

"WELL..."

Big red flag warning! Fuck being nice! serious time!

"Where's my phone?"

"HUH?"

"I know it's not on me. Do you think I can't tell if there's suddenly no weight in my baggy pockets? Now if you want to escape death at her hands or mine, please...Hand it over."

He throws his hands up.

"DARLING I DON'T..."

*Bang*

He is surprised by the sudden strike.

"Don't make me do that again. Now, please, give me my phone."

"I PROMISE, DARLING, I DON'T HAVE IT."

I want to hit him again, but my throbbing hand is screaming. Change of plans.

"Give me your phone."

"W-WHAT? WHY?"

"Don't make me break my hand in repeating myself."

He rumbles and a phone shoots out of a port on his side.

"YOU ARE SCARY WHEN SERIOUS. HERE."

"Thank you."

I reach for it and he pulls back.

"AH AH AH. FIRST, A LITTLE PROMISE. YOU CAN USE THIS, BUT THEN YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING FOR ME."

I growl in building annoyance.

"WELL? THE CLOCK IS TICKING."

I don't have time for this crap.

"...Fine."

He giggles and hands it to me. I scroll through his past calls. My number appears under some others all marked as SLAVE #...I guess he fits in down here more than I thought. Metal boss from hell. My phone could be with any of the goons so I thank my lucky stars that Toriel's number is burned into my head. Time to brace for impact.

[Snowdin: Skeleton House in present time]

Sans returns home in the kitchen, needing a drink to replenish his magic if he's to teleport any more tonight. He steps into the room to see the other three all trying to listen to the small phone at once. Guessing they are too focused to remember phones have an intercom function.

"Child where are you? Are you hurt?"

"A little sore, but otherwise okay."

Oh...never mind then. They're just being weird.

"As for the where I assume this is the Lab in Hotland. *muffled* There are no other labs in the Underground, right?"

"*faint* THAT'S CORRECT, DARLING."

The electronic voice is recognized by all except Toriel.

"Young one, who is that with you?"

"Would you believe a robotic TV star?"

"*faint* OH, DARLING, YOU FLATTER ME."

"Make that a robotic TV star with an ego bigger than Papyrus's."

"FUCK YOU, HUMAN."

Papyrus interrupts.

"Oh wow. I expected this but had my doubts Nanny would actually do it. Who else is there?"

"You had us worried, pussycat."

There's a pause.

"Don't tell me you thought he took me?"

Toriel laughs nervously.

"*groan* Mom..."

"ENOUGH WITH THE CHIT CHAT. ARE YOU ABLE TO LEAVE ON YOUR OWN OR NOT?"

"Hmmm...As far as I know, I'm able to go. But I have to do something for Mettaton first."

"Why?"

"I had to promise to do a favor to use his phone. Mine might be in the hands of some goon."

"What is it you have to do?"

"That's a good question. *muffled* Yo, what's this thing I have to do?"

"*faint* NOTHING TOO DIFFICULT. I JUST NEED YOU TO BE YOURSELF FOR THE NEXT...OH...LET'S SAY TWO HOURS."

"*muffled* What?"

"*faint* I THINK IT WOULD BE EASIER TO UNDERSTAND IF YOU TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO TURN ON THE TELEVISION."

The mood shifts ominously.

"*muffled* You can't mean what I think you mean."

"*faint* GO ON. TELL THEM."

"Uh...Turn on the TV?"

Sans grabbed the remote before the other could scramble and with a heavy feeling in his soul hits the on the button. The screen comes alive to a timer counting down. The caption above reading "Live Once In a Lifetime Event Special". The timer has less than five minutes remaining. Panic strikes. Papyrus steals the phone.

"GET OUT OF THERE, HUMAN!"

"Okay, ow, my ears are bleeding."

Grillby snatches the phone.

"Lynsie, you need to get out of there. You're being set up to appear on TV."

The next sound the group hears is the phone clattering to the floor and sprinting feet hitting tile flooring. Other sounds can be heard. Mechanical and aggressive sounds. Then...the line goes dead.

"SANS, GO GET..."

"i can't."

"What? Why not?"

"all she said was she's at the lab. do you know how big that place is? i need to know exactly where or i'm just wasting magic."

"But, Sans, you promised me you would..."

"i know tori, i ain't forgetting it. i don't want her exposed to the underground either. trust me on that. but i can't just poof to a secured building. alphys is probably expecting interference. and trust me, it's not a good thing to just pop in with no quick plan to get out."

Suddenly the TV begins beeping. The timer clocking down the remaining ten seconds. And all they could do was watch and wait. At the timer's end, the screen darkens to black before a flashy title screen appears while glam-rock plays. The image then cuts to live footage in a weird game show looking room and then...

"GREETINGS ALL YOU BITCHES AND BASTARDS. WELCOME TO A VERY SPECIAL EVENING OF ENTERTAINMENT. TO START THINGS OFF...A QUIZ SHOW!"

Mettaton flamboyantly parades around.

"BUT WAIT. WHAT MAKES THIS SPECIAL THAT IT WARRANTS LIVE BROADCASTING? WELL, YOU INGRATES, IT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE A GUEST THAT'S GOING TO BE WORTH WATCHING. ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE OUR LEADING LADY...THE ONE THE ONLY..."

The camera jumps to a stand where a spotlight illuminates onto the bound and gagged human. Arms restrained behind her back and ankles cuffed to the floor.

"THE HUMAN!"

Her glare is full of rage and the beastly noises escaping the gag as she trashes in the binds make her look as dangerous as the humans of old.

"THAT'S RIGHT, A REAL LIVING HUMAN. YOU MIGHT BE QUESTIONING THE AUTHENTICITY OF THIS CLAIM. YET I ASSURE YOU, SHE IS THE REAL DEAL."

One of his hands stretches out towards her. She recoils from the grasping appendage but she can't move from the metal hand that proceeds to taser at the chest. The pain makes her screech and her light blue soul briefly emerges. Upon seeing the heart, Mettaton stops the attack.

"AS YOU CAN SEE, HER SOUL IS CLEARLY THAT OF A HUMAN'S. SHE IS 100% HUMAN AND NOT CGI OR SOMEONE IN CUSTOM. FOR NOT EVEN THE GREATEST ACTOR OR SPECIAL EFFECTS CAN MAKE A HUMAN SOUL. AND DEFINITELY NOT ONE SO LOVELY."

The assaulting hand tease touches where the soul came from and the human cringes. Though she's not the only one. Toriel is appalled and Grillby is fuming.

"OH BOY! I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT SHOW! EVERYONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANT!"

All four of his hands clap as he moves over to podium across from her.

"I TAKE IT YOU'VE NEVER PLAYED BEFORE, GORGEOUS?"

She huffs loudly through her nose.

"NO PROBLEM! IT'S SIMPLE! THERE'S ONLY ONE RULE. ANSWER CORRECTLY...OR YOU DIE!"

Mettaton laughs evilly yet the human rolls her eyes. The others look to Sans again.

"don't look at me. i have no clue where that room is."

Their attention goes back to the screen as the Fair Fight Field actives as if they were in battle.

[METAL CRUSHER begins to play in the background.]

[Mettaton attacks!]

"YOUR MOVE, DARLING. YOU GET ONE FREE TURN BEFORE WE START."

The girl weighs her limited options.

[FIGHT]

[ACT]

[̴͝SP͜͞E͡L̵͜L͟͠͏]͘͢

[ITEM]

[MERCY]

Her confusion is warranted. An unknown option could lead to bad things.

[ACT selected.]

[New options available.]

[CHECK]

[CRY]

She huffs and makes a choice.

[CHECK selected.]

[Mettaton – HP: 9999 ATK: 300 DEF: 999 – His metal body renders him invulnerable to attack.]

Her eyes nearly bug out of her head.

"NOT A BAD FIRST MOVE, DEAR. IT'S NEVER BAD TO CHECK ME OUT."

A screen mounted behind him blinks on.

"LET'S START WITH AN EASY ONE!"

A question appears on the screen.

[What's the prize for answering correctly?]

A) Money

B) Death

C) Freedom

D) More questions

Four buttons pop up on her stand.

"CHOOSE CORRECTLY OR BE MET WITH TERRIBLE PAIN."

The look she has is one filled with hate. Yet she complies and presses the D button with her chin. A pleasant fanfare goes off.

"RIGHT! SOUNDS LIKE YOU GET IT! HERE'S YOUR TERRIFIC PRIZE!"

Her turn is skipped due and the screen puts up another question.

"What sort of crap is this?"

Grillby interjects.

"Her turn was skipped. How is that even possible?"

Toriel ponders.

"leave it to that quack to figure out a way to break the rules."

Sans says between drinks.

[What's the king's full name?]

A) Lord Deathbeard

B) Killer Killington

C) Asgore Dreemurr

D) Krampus

The human quickly presses the C button and the fanfare goes off again.

"CORRECT! WHAT A TERRIFIC ANSWER! ARE YOU SURE YOU'VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE?"

She nods.

"ENOUGH ABOUT YOU. LET'S TALK ABOUT ME!"

She groans as the screen brings up another question.

[What are robots made of?]

A) Hopes&Dreams

B) Metal&Magic

C) Blood&Guts

D) Hate&Spite

She pops her neck and presses the B button. Once more the fanfare plays. This time Mettaton gets some attitude.

"TOO EASY FOR YOU, HUH?"

She shrugs.

"WELL THEN...HERE'S ANOTHER EASY ONE FOR YOU "

[Two trains, Train A, and Train B, simultaneously depart Station A and Station B. Station A, and Station B are 252.5 miles apart from each other. Train A is moving at 124.7mph towards Station B, and Train B is moving at 253.5mph towards Station A. If both trains departed at 10:00 AM and it is now 10:08, how much longer until both trains pass each other?]

A) 31.054 minutes

B) 16.232 minutes

C) 32.049 minutes

D) 32.058 minutes

She's hesitant now. Her eyes hold uncertainty.

"Oh no..."

Toriel mutters.

"We have yet to go over such math lessons."

"THEN SHE BETTER BE A GOOD GUESSER."

The human's eyes dart from button to button. She has no clue. She picks one at random...A. A buzzer goes off.

"WRONG! WRONG! WROOOOOOOONG!"

Mettaton points at her and fires a laser blast into her left shoulder. If it weren't for the gag her cries would be excruciating.

[HP ██████████████████████████ 26/36]

She pants, biting the gag to brace some of the pain.

Toriel is understandably horrified and Grillby is worried. Though Sans and Papyrus are impressed.

"SHE'S GOTTEN TOUGHER."

"the is no pushover. the tin can is gonna learn that the hard way."

"SORRY, DARLING. BUT THE CORRECT ANSWER WAS D. MAYBE YOU'LL HAVE BETTER LUCK WITH THE NEXT QUESTION. THEN AGAIN...DON'T 'COUNT' ON YOUR VICTORY."

The next question pops up.

[How many eyes are in this jar?]

An image appears for a split second.

A) 54

B) 53

C) 55

D) 52

Not given much time to study the image, she once more has to guess.

"What kind of game is this? She is not being given a fair play."

Toriel complains.

"ACTUALLY, AS WRONG AS IT LOOKS, HE IS FOLLOWING THE LAW."

Papyrus corrects.

"You must be joking."

"he's not. one of the laws enforced after you left the king was to stop humans at all costs while giving them some form of a chance. the tin can is giving her multiple choices and only inflicting minimal damage. if he wanted to, he could just off her right there."

Explains Sans.

"As much as I don't like it, it makes sense. With one soul remaining to break the barrier extremes are bound to be made to get it. For what is the life of one human when held next to the entire Underground?"

Grillby comments and Toriel frowns. Even she sees the point in that. But that does mean she likes it.

The human contemplates her choices and seems to do a mental coin flip before pressing the D button. This time, the buzzer sounds.

"COMPLETELY UTTERLY WRONG!"

Mettaton blasts her again in the right shoulder and her roar is bloodcurdling.

[HP ████████████████ 16/36]

The bloody gaping holes in her shoulders make her slump over against the stand. She won't last much longer if this keeps up.

"THE CORRECT ANSWER WAS A. YOU MIGHT WANT TO TRY HARDER FROM HERE ON."

An annoyed groan was her reply.

"HMMM...MAYBE YOU NEED SOMETHING ELSE. LET'S PLAY A MEMORY GAME."

The screen produces a new question and image.

[What monster is this?]

The monster shown is half of a Froggit's face.

A) Froggit

B) Whimsun

C) Moldsmal

D) Mettaton

This one seems like a no-brainer yet the human seems unsure. Mostly because blood loss makes it hard to think.

"WHY IS SHE HESITATING? THE ANSWER IS CLEARLY A."

Papyrus bitches.

"Really? You think it's that easy?"

Grillby retorts.

"THEN WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS?"

"I'm surprised you do see it. It's obviously D."

"BULL CRAP. I BET YOU 10G IT'S A."

"Fine. Just don't be upset when you're wrong."

After thinking long and hard about the question, the human presses the D button. The fanfare plays.

"I'M SO FLATTERED YOU REMEMBERED! LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE WHOLE IMAGE."

The picture unfolds to reveal Mettaton wearing a shirt with a Froggit's face on it.

Papyrus's jaw clenches as Grillby folds his hands behind his head with a smug attitude.

"You need to listen to pussycat more often. She did say he had an ego bigger than yours."

"FUCK YOU."

"Just pay me by week's end."

Papyrus grumbles while turning back to the TV.

"YOU'VE BEEN ON A ROLL SO FAR. BUT CAN YOU GET THIS ONE?"

The screen brings up a new and rather odd question.

[Would you smooch a ghost?]

A) Heck Yeah

B) Heck Yeah

C) Heck Yeah

D) Heck Yeah

The human and the watching group all share the say "what the fuck" look.

"GO ON. CONSIDER THIS AN ACT OF MERCY."

She sneers and reluctantly presses the B button. With no wrong choice to make, the fanfare plays.

"GREAT ANSWER! I LOVE IT!"

A steaming Grillby hates it.

"HERE'S A SIMPLE ONE."

The screen pops up the next question.

[How many letters in the name Mettaton?]

A) 11

B) 6

C) 8

D) 10

A relatively easy question except for the number of Ns at the name's end increases and eventually goes out of the screen with the numbers in the answers increasing accordingly.

"How in the world do you answer that?"

Toriel puzzles.

"it's c."

Sans says softly to the confusion of the others.

"for a second, the real numbers were there. c had eight, which is the right answer regardless of the increasing."

"Here's hoping she saw that too."

Says Grillby while adjusting his glasses.

The human is beginning to look paler than normal. The strain on her body and mind making things difficult. She wearily presses the C button, mainly due to landing on it after a slight dizzy spell, and the fanfare plays.

"OF COURSE THAT WAS EASY FOR YOU!"

She grunts against the stand, pushing herself to keep going even as her body wants her to stop.

"Come on, pussycat. You can hold out just a bit longer."

Grillby says to himself before flinching at the feel of Toriel's hand holding his. She gives him a motherly smile and it helps calm his nerves for now.

"YOU'LL BE SURE TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS ONE!"

The screen pops up another random question.

[What's a pretzel's favorite color?]

A) Black

B) Yellow

C) Red

D) Dusk

This had to be one of the odder questions to be done though tame. The human wastes no time picking a button. Either to end it faster or knowing it, who's to say. But her head thuds onto the B button and the fanfare plays.

"CORRECT! YOU'RE SO LUCKY TODAY!"

The amount of blood pooling on the floor says otherwise.

"TIME TO BREAK OUT THE BIG GUNS! HERE IS YOUR FINAL QUESTION."

The screen shows the question.

[How bright is this text?]

A) 85% Bright

B) 84% Bright

C) 86% Bright

D) 83% Bright

This made little sense. The question text was the same color as all other questions. How was this even answerable to her when she can hardly even look up at the screen?

The group is just as confused. How do you tell the percentage of brightness to text?

Though after some time of no movement from the human, Mettaton rolls around his podium.

"DARLING? ARE YOU ABLE TO MAKE A CHOICE?"

A tired moan drones out of the gag.

"TELL YOU WHAT, I'LL BE NICE AND HELP YOU OUT."

Mettaton zips over to the slumped over human.

"MY MY. SUCH A MESS YOU'VE MADE BACK HERE. GOOD THING NO MESS IS TOO BIG FOR MTT BRAND INDUSTRIAL CLEANER. IN STORES NOW."

The robot plugs his latest product in the middle of a show...real classy.

"what a jackass."

Scoffs Sans.

The other soundly agree.

"OKAY, DEAR, ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS STARE AT THE BUTTON YOU WANT TO ANSWER FOR AND I SHALL PUSH IT FOR YOU."

She tilts her head and stares.

"IS C YOU'RE FINAL ANSWER?"

She exhales long and loud through her nose.

"I'LL TAKE THAT AS A YES."

He unnecessarily extends his arm in a twisty and bendy way before pushing the C button. However...Buzzer sounds.

"OH BOY, THAT'S EMBARRASSING, HUH?"

This time he blasts through her right leg making her buckle in pain to the crimson soaked floor.

[HP ██████ 06/36]

[Background music briefly pauses in silence]

"WELL WELL WELL. THAT SETTLES THAT, DOESN'T IT?"

To much befuddlement, Mettaton proceeds to remove the restraints and gag from the broken girl.

"*weak* W-What are you doing?"

"SUCH A SILLY QUESTION. IF YOU DIE THE SHOW HAS NO DRAMATIC TENSION! WE CAN'T GO ON LIKE THIS!"

She's in no position to fight this or wants to. He collects her from the ground and seems to gently hold her in two of his arms. So much red coats just about everything. He then addresses one of the many hidden cameras in the room.

"I KNOW WHAT YOU ALL MIGHT BE THINKING. BUT METTATON, WHY AREN'T YOU GOING TO KILL THE HUMAN? YOU CLEARLY HAVE THE CHANCE. TO THAT I SAY, NO. SHE WON THIS GAME. AND THEREFORE, SHE PROCEEDS TO THE NEXT ROUND OF OUR LITTLE GAME. THAT'S RIGHT! THIS WAS JUST THE FIRST ACT! NEXT UP, MORE DRAMA! MORE ROMANCE! MORE BLOODSHED! STAY TUNED, LOSERS...! NOW IF YOU'LL EXCUSE ME...THIS LOVELY LADY NEEDS TO HEAL. WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK AFTER THESE COMMERCIAL MESSAGES."

The broadcast fades into commercials. The four of them are left with more questions than answers. But at least one thing is going in their favor. Mettaton wants to keep her alive. Perhaps in the next show, she'll appear in a location that's more recognizable and rescue can be done before anyone else tries to get her. Though the four of them weren't the only ones watching the show. A small indent in the window and ground below were all the tells of the sneaky flower. His mission now clear. Save his sister.

[Hotland Lad: Medical Room]

Alphys finishes setting up life-support systems by the time Mettaton wheels in with the now very near dead human.

"Put her here."

He need not be told twice.

"Some first act. She's almost dead."

Less of a reprimand and more of a statement by Alphys while she begins plugging the human into the machines.

"I WAS WORRIED NEAR THE END. HAD SHE MISSED ANOTHER QUESTION I MIGHT HAVE NEEDED TO GO OFF SCRIPT. MAIN CHARACTERS CAN'T DIE SO EARLY IN THE SHOW."

"You're just lucky I can fix this."

"WILL SHE NEED LONG TO HEAL?"

Alphys sticks in an IV drip and taps it for bubbles.

"Don't rush this. Your blast, while clean, went through a lot of muscle and bone. Not to mention all the blood that'll need to refill. That kind of stuff will need longer to repair."

"BUT...WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE COMMERCIALS GOING TILL THEN."

The annoyed scientist shoots him a look.

"Then I guess you need some filler till then."

Mettaton cringes.

"FILLER?! SUCH A DIRTY WORD. WHAT WOULD IT EVEN BE?"

"How about you figure that out elsewhere? I need to work. Or do you want this to take longer?"

That had him speeding away as she then shouts.

"And clean up all this blood! This is a lab! Not a butcher shop!"

She was unsure he heard all that but focused on monitoring the human.

"*sigh* You are so lucky I'm bored or you'd be under my knife right now."

The human involuntarily twitches, earning a smirk from the spectacle-wearing lizard.

"Maybe you'll heal sooner than expected."

Oh, how she enjoyed her work.

[spookysweet-heart]

Rainy Days

Request: Yes! no specifics just wanted another Natemare story.

Fandom: Natewantstobattle

Pairings: Natemare x Reader

Warnings: none.

A/N: I do take requests! If you'd like to make a request please go to my Character List link at the top of my blog for the rules before sending a request to my ask box (the link only works for mobile, I don’t know why I can’t fix it.) Thank you for taking the time to read this!

   “Fuck!” You groaned stepping out of your work building watching the rainfall. Tightening the band on your jacket you shivered a bit as the cold wind picked up. You were supposed to be home before the rain even started. Unfortunately, your boss decided to keep you to work on a few more forms for the new department.

Looking around the cold and wet environment you huffed in frustration. What were you going to do now? You started thinking about going back inside to wait out the rain but that wouldn’t stop for a good while. That’s when you remembered the little shop that's in the same block of your work building.

Bracing yourself for the cold water to just soak you, you tightened your jacket one more time and started to jog your way through the rain. Moving between the people walking to their next destination, you almost didn't notice how close you were to the shop til you almost slipped on the mat in front of the doors.

Regaining your balance you walked into the store and dried your shoes on the mats inside. You felt the warmth instantly welcoming it. You took your time walking around the aisles, looking at all the merchandise the shop had but also keeping an eye out for the umbrellas hoping to buy one for the rest of the walk home.

You were walking past all the snacks when you saw the umbrella stand, you hurried to it only seeing one left. Reaching out to grab the umbrella, you didn’t notice the other hand reaching for it as well. Both you and the stranger looked at each other for a second and pulled away when you two realized you were holding the others hand while grabbing the umbrella.

“Sorry about that, you go ahead and take it.” It was then that you got a better look at the person. He looked just as soaked as you were. There were droplets of water falling from his dark black hair, down his pale face and on to the store floor. He was wearing a black jacket with dark grey jeans, and black and purple converse.

“Oh no it’s alright you can take it, you look like you need it more than I do.” Grabbing the umbrella from the stand you hand it him giving him a small smile as he takes from you.

Looking at the umbrella in his hands and back at you as you were turning around and walking towards the exit, he called out to you before you were able to walk out the door. “Hey! uh if you don't mind me asking, where do you live?”

You turned around to face the guy. “Just a few blocks from here, not that far but not that close either. Why?” you shivered when you felt the cold air come into the store when another customer walked in.

Walking closer to where you were he took a good look at you. “I was thinking we could share the umbrella, I’ll pay for it. I live a few blocks away from here too. Whoever's house is first the other can just keep it. I’m only suggesting it since it looks like we both need it.”

You hesitate for a bit before looking outside knowing you couldn’t stand another few blocks without an umbrella. Looking back at the man you thought it would be strange sharing an umbrella with someone you had just met but you could get passed that honestly. You nodded and waited for him to pay for the umbrella.

Both of you walked outside and he opened the umbrella, it was a pretty decent size but you two still hand to stand pretty close to each other. Leading the way to your house you felt a little better walking in the rain with some protection from it.

It was a short time walking in silence when the man spoke up. “My name’s Natemare by the way, sorry for not telling you that a little earlier. What’s your name?”

“ My name’s (Y/n).” You gave him a genuinely friendly smile, ”So how did you get caught up in the rain?”

“I was helping my brother with one of his performers, she needed some advice on vocal warm-ups and tips on how to reach a certain range that doesn't strain her throat as much. Thought I’d be done before the rain started but I guess it went a little longer than expected. What about you?”

“I thought I’d be done with work before the rain started so I didn’t bother to bring an umbrella to work. That was until my boss wanted me to stay and help with the forms for the new department he’s working on. He said it be like 2 or 3 forms and that would’ve been it. Those 2 or 3 forms turned into 5 forms for each of the small sections in the department.” You moved the both of you to the side to avoid a puddle of water, groaning in annoyance remembering the boring hours in your boss’s office. “Work sucks but it pays the bills I guess.”

Natemare chuckled at you childish action and noticed you were getting wet again so he pulled you closer with his arm around your waist so were more inside the umbrella. “Sorry if I just made things more awkward. But I saw you were getting wet again, you should really shower when you get home. Don’t need you getting sick.”

You laughed at how awkward he was being, it was actually pretty cute. “Yeah you should too, you don't need to get sick either.”

After walking a couple of blocks you both looked up when you saw lightning in the sky, bracing yourself for the thunder to come right after it. You still weren't prepared for it to sound so close though.catching you off guard you clung to Natemare’s arm, “Shit I’m sorry I hate thunder, it always catches me off guard and scares the crap out of me.”

“Don’t be sorry it’s fine, and truth be told you're pretty cute when you're scared.” He gave you a smirk when he saw you were blushing.

You were about to say something when you spotted your house down the street. “Oh, hey I’m just down this street. Thanks for walking home, Natemare.”

Right, when you were about to tell him he could keep the umbrella the rain started to pick up turning in to a heavy storm with the lightning in the distance. “You have got to be kidding me.”

You both started to run in the direction of your house dropping the umbrella once you got under your porch. “Hey you can stay for a while and wait out the rain I think my brother left some clothes you can borrow if you want to shower so you won't get sick.” As your telling him this you grab your keys from your bag and quickly opened your front door.

Stepping into your home Natemare felt warmth slowly embrace him. “Thanks for offering me to stay for a while I don't think I would’ve made it home in one piece in this rain.”

You smiled at him at walked over to a small closet by the stairs and took out towels, tossing one to him. “It’s no problem, you can follow me upstairs I’ll show you to the guest bathroom and I’ll get you the clothes.”

Leading him upstairs you walked up to a long hallway stretching from left to right. You walked towards the right side and into a bedroom. Opening up the closet you turned to Natemare gestured towards the clothes. “Sorry if they don't fit but you can pick whatever you wanna wear. You can leave your clothes in the laundry room that's right next to this room, the bathroom is right in front of this room. I’ll be at the other end of the hall if you need anything just knock on the door.” He nods in response and you leave him to get himself cleaned up.

After some time you got done getting cleaned and warmed up you both decided to watch some movies while your clothes were drying. You made a quick pasta dinner for the both of you and ate while watching the random movie he picked out.

Halfway through the movie, you started to feel cold so you got up to get a blanket from your room. “Hey, do you want a blanket too? It’s starting to get a bit cold down here.”

Natemare turned away from the tv to look at you, “uh yeah sure, that’d be great right now thanks (Y/n).” He turned back to the tv giving his full attention to the movie again.

Grabbing the two nearest fluffy blankets from your bed you folded them a bit to be easier to carry downstairs. Once you were back in the living room you handed him one of the blankets and sat back down on your spot on the couch getting comfortable and cozy under your blanket.

You didn’t realize you started to doze off till you woke up to the tv off and you looked over at Natemare who was now asleep leaning on your shoulder. In your sleepy haze, you didn't think anything of it so you fell back asleep leaning your head a little bit on his.

You woke up to Natemare lightly shaking your shoulder. “(Y/n), hey wake up sleepy head.” Once he saw you were awake he got up and started folding the blanket you gave him. “Sorry if I fell asleep on you, I swear I remember falling asleep with my head against the back of the couch. I don't remember moving to your shoulder.”

You stretched and let out a small yawn. “It’s fine I didn’t really notice so you're good.” You got up and folded your blanket and grabbed both of them and headed upstairs.”I’ll be down in a bit with your clothes.”

Tossing the blankets on your bed you made your way to the laundry room and grabbed his clothes out of the dryer folding them and headed back downstairs seeing Natemare putting on his shoes.

“Thanks again for letting me stay here till the rain passed.” He took the clothes after slipping on his other shoe. “And thanks for drying my clothes, seriously that’s really nice of you. I’ll be back to return your brothers clothes later or tomorrow after I wash them if that’s alright with you.”

“Yeah, that’s fine with me.” Looking at the umbrella by the door you picked it up, it was still slightly wet from yesterday. “You can keep the umbrella, it looks like its just sprinkling now but I don’t think you wanna take the chance.”

Taking the umbrella from you he gave you a cute bright smile, “Yeah I wouldn’t want to end up soaked again.”

Opening the front door to leave he walked out on two the porch and opened the umbrella. Turning around before he could leave he tries to ask you something but you couldn’t hear him over the rain hitting your roof so you stepped outside asking him to repeat what he said. “Uh I um, I wanted to know if you wanted to get coffee or maybe dinner some time?”

You smiled at him nodding your head in response. “Yeah, sure. I’d actually really like that. Um, we can talk about that more when you return the clothes.”

Natemare smile grew a bit in excitement. “Sure thing, sounds great! See you again (Y/n).” Turning around walking down the stairs of your porch he turned to walk down the street on his way home.

You smiled to yourself watching him disappear the farther he got. You were excited to see him again and get to know him better on that date of yours.