#the puzzles are so BORING i skip them every time when watching let's plays

[x-i-l-verify]

I hope you don't mind me jumping onto this post to add my 2 cents, because this sums up my feelings on the chapter pretty well. Not to say it was BAD per se, it did have some really good moments, but the pacing felt really padded with pointless puzzle sections that were poorly integrated into the larger narrative. It was always "go here, flip this switch, put the batteries in the slot" for the ENTIRE chapter. Hell, at least in chapter 2, there was considerable variety in the tasks the game forced you into, with the various minigames. Those minigames also served as ways for other secondary characters that were introduced in that chapter - Bunzo, PJ, and the mini Wuggies - a time to shine, even if they didn't get any real characterization beyond "trying to kill you." Heck, of the 5 characters introduced in the chapter, only two - Daddy and Baby Long Legs - didn't get any screen time whatsoever, and those two were in a single blink and you miss it poster.

Chapter 3, on the other hand, introduces not one, not two, but ten new characters. (Even if we assume "Ollie" is another character we've already seen, like the Prototype or Baby Long Legs, he's still presented as a new character, so my point still stands.) Of those ten new characters, only four get any screen time at all. And this is on top of all the characters introduced in chapters 1 and 2 that haven't gotten any screen time aside from being dead bodies littering the levels, like Boogie Bot, Bron, Catbee, Candy Cat, and Daisy (Daisy is on posters, she counts).

This is doubly baffling, because ever since November, Mob Games has been hyping the Smiling Critters up, advertising them alongside Catnap as the mean feature of the chapter. They're EVERYWHERE in chapter 3, but you never see them. Even Catnap's presence feels like an afterthought. I was expecting he'd be a constant looming threat, Huggy Wuggy on steroids, always just out of sight, ready to pounce if you stayed in one place for too long, maybe a couple big chase sequences before the finale to keep you on your toes. But no. He's just. Not a threat at all until the final set piece of the chapter. Like yeah, you see him a couple times just lurking here and there, but he doesn't feel like a sword hanging over your head just ready to fall.

In chapter 1, Mob Games holding Huggy Wuggy back until the final set piece is understandable, one, because the chapter is so short. and two, because the world of the factory is new to the player. Nobody knew what to expect from the place or from the game, which really helped in building tension. Chapter 3, however, is NOT chapter 1. The audience is now experienced with how the game works, and the chapter is nearly 4x longer than chapter 1. You cannot use the same tactics and expect them to work the same way.

And what was with them flat-out SAYING that Catnap could change his size in the supplementary material? This implied that he could fit into any nook and cranny, be around any corner, making him even more of a threat to the player, but no! He stays the same size the entire time except for when we're tripping balls at the end; we never see him size shift, we never see him be in places he shouldn't inexplicably, which would have built further dread in the player. Such a missed opportunity. Hell, as OP mentioned, Miss Delight - a character that was not advertised AT ALL and came out of nowhere like a freight train - turned out a better example of a predator than Catnap, the main villain of the chapter.

Speaking of which, though, and speaking of missed opportunities, let's talk about the other Smiling Critters. I felt certain that they would be the breakout characters of this new chapter. I theorized that Dogday would be the Big Good of the chapter, being diametrically opposed to Catnap in every way from design, to theming, to even their names, and then the other Critters would be split down the middle on whether they would be on Dogday's side or Catnap's, and try to aid or hinder the player during the chapter. Instead, all we got were a cutout of 6 out of 8 characters with about 4-5 lines of dialogue each, and the Bigger Bodies version of Dogday only gets less than a minute of screen before he's killed by the mini Critters. Hell, the mini Critters get more screen time than any Smiling Critter except Catnap. And Catnap doesn't eclipse them by much! Why does a random character like Miss Delight - who was in no advertising and got no buildup at all - get more screen time than any of the characters in this chapter outside of Catnap and maybe Ollie? Even Poppy and Kissy don't get as much time dedicated to them as her.

In general, Mob Games seems to have a problem with asset creation and utilization. Instead of using the characters they already have (and they have a lot of them) to their fullest potential, they'd rather come up with reams of new characters every chapter, and even then, most of them don't even get screen time. I get that Playtime Co. is a toy company, it makes sense that they'd have come up with a lot of toys in their time, but in a game about living toys, why are only some of them considered worthy of giving screen time to? Why are dead toys littering the factory Boogie Bots, Catbees, Candy Cats, Bunzos, Brons, and Huggys? Why have we only seen 1 dead PJ Pug-A-Piller? Why have we not seen ANY dead mini Critters except for the ones on CatNap's shrine? Or other Poppy Playtimes? Or Kissys? It just seems rather lazy on the part of the developers. You have the assets already modeled, so why not use them?

Poppy Playtime Chapter 3. (Spoilers)

Did anyone else feel that despite being given such individualised characteristics-the smiling critters were underutilised?

The fact that they only even showed up in the playhouse as small enemies aside from a VERY brief cameo from Dogday was annoying.

This leads me to MAJOR missed opportunity in the use of Dogday as an immediate opposing force to Catnap: having HIM be the one guiding us instead of this random kid named Ollie who we STILL know nothing about (Poppy apparently does but neglected to so much as give us a hint). I just feel that trying to get the lights on would have it perfectly into Dogdays element and worked against CatNaps sleep/night element. It would have at least given us more character to Dogday as a leader and how he goes about it.

Also we were NEVER even made aware there WERE bigger body versions of the other critters. They went on and ON about poor Theodore nearly dying and the protype saving him (by letting him be transferred in to a body anyway, which is the in game version of ‘my job here is done’ ‘but you didn’t do anything’) but we didn’t hear so much as a PEEP about DogDay or the other Bigger body versions of the critters he references. Massive missed chance for story and gameplay by not having them as antagonists, or even warring factions (half with catnap, half against etc) even a few notes detailing craftycorn painting with kids resulting in half a wall becoming a mural, Dogday being kind and bringing Stella coffee or being a general helper, hoppy stealing Stella’s coffee and going on a bender.

Catnap himself was pretty underutilised despite having creepy moments and the boss battle was just plain repetitive towards the end.

Hell, Miss Delight felt more like a ‘stalking in the night’ predator then Catnap.

There was a LOT more that could have been done with them, or even just Dogday.

[askthechronoverse]

Last Chapter •||• Next Chapter

Kit wanted to run home the whole day at school, but she knew her father would be disappointed if she skipped again. The gross feeling she had that her father was not going to be home when she got home had to be set aside. She almost could sense that Bellamy had an inkling of her feelings as well, considering how many times the chimera continued to glance over to her with reassuring winks and smiles with every shared class they had. They helped her keep her emotions down and allow her to outwardly appear sunny and cheerful.

The bell to herald the beginning of the lunch period had barely sounded before a bored, completely checked out sounding voice sounded over the tinny loudspeaker:

"Catherine Brickowski and Bellamy Fox, please report to the main office."

Bellamy couldn't register that Kit had flown out the open classroom door until she was already halfway down the hallway. The chimera followed their friend, knowing that she was probably thinking of the worst case. When they caught up with Kit, it was clear that she was having issues keeping a monsoon of emotions at bay. When she finally stopped, Bellamy slammed into her. This pushed her into her father's arms.

"Thank you, Mrs. Punchberry. I'll take them from here. Kids, let's go. I'll explain as we head to the truck." RJ's voice felt frantic, but somehow managed to be subdued. Kit wasn't sure if he was trying to hide how he was feeling from her or from the secretary. If it was from the secretary, she didn't pick up on it and chose instead to return her focus back to her puzzle book.

"Dad?" As RJ hurried the two teenagers toward his truck, Kit noticed that there were suitcases in the bed. Did her father already pack for them? Despite what he had said in the school, RJ didn't speak again until everyone was in the truck and safely in motion.

"Kit. My raptors were attacked last night. I think whoever trashed the office did this." His voice was unstable as he turned towards the space port. "They took my flux capacitor and… I don't know what the extent of the damage they did to my crew is right now."

"Where are we going?" Kit watched the spaceport get closer and closer, seeing a launch in process as well as a few planes coming and going.

"I'm taking you to New Bricksburg. Whoever is doing this is attacking everything I love. I can't let that include you. Your father is already on his way to the embassy down there." RJ parked the truck and practically jumped out, taking no time at all to grab the suitcases in the back. "Let's make tracks. The faster we get out of here, the faster I know you're safe."

Kit took her retreating father's hand as he flashed three tickets to the playing card woman at the gate. She noted that two tickets were blue and one was green. She wasn't sure what that could mean, so she made a note in her head to ask her father about that when he was less frantic.

It felt like a moment of calm came when they finally approached the ships. People in flashy and colorful space suits hustled around the large and sleek monochrome ship which was fitted with large wings and jet boosters you could get lost in. Kit wanted to stop at this moment and take the ship and her surroundings in. This was something that her father had said he was going to do for as long as she was able to remember. He told her that they were going to go to Syspocalypstar together. She just wished that there wasn't so much uncertainty hanging over their heads.

It didn't take too much longer for them to be sitting in their seats, waiting for the flight to begin. Bellamy's arms were folded as they sat across from father and daughter.

"Why am I here, Mr. B?" Their tone was blunt.

"You keep saying that you're going to be her bodyguard. That's what you're going to do. You're going to protect her if I can't." He looked out the window for a brief moment, then at the tickets he held in his hand. "No. When I can't." He looked away again as a crane flight attendant began checking seats for valid tickets.

"Oh! Green ticket, huh? Are you moving?" Kit turned to the sound of the fluttery voice of the crane flight attendant, who somehow snuck up on the three travelers.

"No. I just don't expect to come back right now." RJ's voice was muffled as he sank a little in the chair.

"That's too bad but I'm sure we'll see you again real soon." The crane slid off to the next set of seats.

"One way ticket," was all RJ said in response. Before Kit could ask more, the crane's voice could be heard from a speaker.

"Welcome aboard Futuron's jewel of space, the Solar Butterfly! My name is Carrie and I will be your ever attentive attendant for the duration of this flight to Syspocalypstar. Please remain seated during takeoff and keep in mind that, in the event of an emergency, we are unable to provide full spacesuits at this time. You will need to rely on the oxygen mask and oxygen tanks that are found under your seat. This flight will not be providing any meals. I hope you enjoy your flight with us." RJ sank even lower as she walked to her seat at the front of the ship.

"Wait. Do they not sing the airplane safety song on intergalactic flights?" Bellamy scratched their head as the ship took off and rocketed off at an unknowable speed through space.

"Futuron is run by minifigures, kid. We ain't known for whimsy." He glanced over to Kit, who bounced in her seat. He kept his eyes for a moment at Carrie, who was whispering something to someone that looked like an authority figure who was seated next to her. She showed the slender figure a holographic photo of him. He swallowed hard before putting his attention back to his daughter. "Hey, Kitten. Ya wanna see somethin' cool?" She nodded with zeal. "Sit in the window seat across from me." Kit hopped to the seat next to Bellamy. He kept his eyes on the flight attendant as she picked up a communication device that looked like a radio microphone. She talked for a few moments to someone, with the occasional look back to him. His stomach was in knots by the time he could hear the attendant's voice fully again over the speaker.

"Attention guests. We are about to go through the Stairgate. Please fasten your seatbelts and stay in your seats." The attendant's voice broke through the idle chatter of the passengers around them.

"That's the portal between the Old Systar System and the United Planets of Syspocalypstar, right?" Kit looked out the window at what she could only describe as something vaguely doorlike. Well, it sometimes looked like that, if she squinted.

"Yep. The Stairgate. I flew a ship made out of a yellow house through that thing… at least twice. In different timelines." RJ leaned back in his chair now, unable to keep sitting low in the seat because of the seatbelt. "It ain't as bumpy a ride as it was back then. Most ships are built to survive the trip now."

"Is the Rexcelsior built for that, too?" Kit asked, eager. Before he answered, RJ put his fingers to his lips to signal to the girl to keep her voice down.

"Don't know. I never tried it. She's a pretty old ship, so I don't wanna move her to find out." The ship began to rock a little as it entered the Stairgate. "Alright, kids. Look outside."

The two teenagers looked out the window and were rewarded with a psychedelic display of color and light. It was almost as if reality itself was warping and bending to the will of an unknowable and overly imaginative mind. Kit could swear that some parts of the ship looked like they were also warping at the same time, constantly evolving but at the same time remaining stagnant on the inside. Once the space around them turned to a stagnant dark blue, the flight attendant spoke again.

"Welcome to the United Planets of Syspocalypstar. We should be arriving at the lunar spaceport in just a few moments. You are free to take off your seatbelts until entry into the atmosphere."

"That was pretty cool, right?" RJ flashed a nervous but somehow still enigmatic smile. Bellamy nodded slowly while Kit's reaction was more energetic. RJ looked out the window at the slowly approaching planet and his face became more solemn. The grin on his daughter's face disappeared when she saw this, replaced with perplexed worry. She watched him pull out his phone and type something. He spoke, which made Kit jump. "When we get to the spaceport, have a taxi take you to this address." He handed Bellamy his phone. It was open to a note taking app, where an address was written:

20 14th Street, New Bricksburg

"Ya ain't coming with us, Mr. B?" Bellamy tried to hand the phone back, but RJ shook his head.

"Keep the phone. Ya may need it for something." RJ's attention turned back to the window. "Fasten your seatbelts if you didn't keep them fastened. I think we're about to reach our destination." There was something mournful to his voice, more so than there had been the entire flight over. The flight attendant confirmed this, thanking them all for their choice to travel with them. RJ muttered something under his breath, which Kit only caught the words "no other choice".

The ship's landing was a bit rocky, more so than even the experienced pilot of the trio seemed to expect. Before they got up, RJ handed Bellamy the two similarly colored tickets.

"These will take you back home when things are safe. I'm sure Richie will let Emmet know when that is." He got up and took a breath to ground himself. He took his daughter's hand and, with Bellamy behind them, began to leave the spaceship.

They only got as far as the receiving gate. Two men in silver and yellow spacesuits and yellow helmets that hid their facial features stepped out of the shadows with five similarly clad soldiers minus the helmets behind them. One of the helmeted men spoke. The crystal clear voice that came from the helmet authoritative enough to Kit to make her freeze chilled RJ to his core.

"Rex Joseph Brickowski, you are under arrest for war crimes against the Syspocalypstarian crown as well as several counts of larceny, among several other crimes. Will you go quietly?" That voice made his back throb. Of course Unitron would tap Bad Cop to join their ranks. Kit opened her mouth to protest, but Bellamy put a finger on her beak. "Or do we do things the hard way?"

"As long as you let my daughter and her friend go to someplace safe, I won't have a reason to fight." It amazed Kit how close to her uncle RJ sounded just now.

"Bad Cop, search them. Make sure Rex isn't using them to smuggle something to help him escape." The second helmeted man spoke with disdain and disgust behind a voice that could be perceived as one of true authority. His features were obscured by his helmet, but Kit could imagine he had a self-satisfied smirk. His hands were behind his back, which was perfectly straight.

"Touch my daughter and I will tear you apart." RJ growled, his rage instinctive.

“You put yourself in this situation, Dangervest. I would say you should have thought of that before, but I don't think you ever expected to get caught.” He glanced over to Bad Cop. “Hurry it up. We have a strict time schedule to uphold.”

“Yes, Chief." Bad Cop pulled out a handheld metal detector wand and scanned it over both teenagers, as well as RJ. Both Bellamy and Kit were confused, while RJ looked like he was going to rip the old cop limb from limb for not listening to his threat. Kit shouted as Bad Cop reached for her bag, but a sad nod from RJ was enough for her to back off. Bad Cop started to search through the bag and yelled. He pulled his hand out of the bag, revealing that it was caught in a mousetrap. He took the trap off his hand with the help of one of the infantrymen and threw it as far as he could. He shoved the bag in Kit's arms and shook his head. "They’re clean, Chief." His stern face switched to a scribbled on one, which flashed RJ an apologetic frown before returning to its original setting.

"Surprising." The chief sniffed as he pulled RJ's arms behind his back and cuffed him. "I guess we can let the rugrats go." He shook his head as Bellamy pulled Kit away. "You must not be thinking right to come here with your daughter, Dangervest. I thought Unikitty was going to keep you safe. You basically did my job for me. Would have taken me months to get you out of that candy covered kingdom you found yourself in."

"Don't know whatcha know about chess, but sometimes ya need to make a sacrifice to put more valuable pieces in a safer position.” RJ spoke softer now. “Let's just get this over with. Hope you bring the Business brothers in, too. Last I checked, one of them still owns us tacos." He looked once more to his daughter's retreating back. "Love you, Kitten. Please be safe."

[kwon-eunbi]

I do not miss the constant deadlines of academia at all. Like, I loved going to class and learning and filling my head with interesting things, but the stress of deadlines and exams were awful. Being a librarian would be so amazing, would you want to work in a small library or a big one? Or like a community library or an academic one?

It was actually for Chinese linguistics, it was about tracing modern languages back to Middle Chinese and untangling how they evolved. I speak Mandarin, Russian, and English, and I’m supposed to speak French, but I don’t, don’t tell anyone. I lived in Paris and my dad’s partner is French Canadian, but I can only kind of read it. I love learning languages, though, I started Korean for an ex (when we were together ofc) and even though that’s over I keep going back to it because I enjoy the puzzle of sentence construction.

It's a good cover! Sounds basically the opposite of Wooyoung’s, and yet I think both of them capture the emotions of the song and lyrics in different ways.

I have such a soft spot for “Say My Name”, it was when I started listening to them, and I was like look at these kiddos going WILD. “Bad bitch, watch her do coke” indeed! But I do love when Hongjoong dresses fashionably but in an artsy way, if that makes sense, where he uses looks that aren’t exactly pretty as part of his performance, like the mullet in 2019. But honestly he’s just a crazy good performer, he could wear a paper bag and I’d be applauding wildly like YES king you are SO right. And Wooyoung with his little brother vibes off the chart through the whole era (and every other era tbh).

I like their melodic songs a lot, when I get frustrated with a piece on violin, I’ll play a little kpop song as a reset for fun, and “Precious”, “Horizon” and “Inception” are all go-to songs for that. But when I listen to their more melodic songs, I’m digging through there for the harmonies cause I just find those so much more interesting, when San finally gave in and started modulating in their performances of “Turbulence” on It’s Live? Ohhh those got me. He said no tritones on my watch! I might prefer their less pretty music tho? Like “Fireworks” or “Deja Vu” or “The Real”. I don’t know, but there’s not really a wrong answer.

For “Guerilla”, I joked that I wanted a nardcore comeback, my friends told me to be realistic, I said well now I’m gonna speak it into existence, and when Jason Sears possessed Mingi for those thirty seconds I went back to them like What Did You Say To Me. I think I would have liked it more with less pitch correction but I’m very annoying about punk music so ignore me.

I’ll check out Lucifer then! I need a new show for my cardio workouts, and if there’s five seasons then it’ll last a while. I remember what I saw of it was that it was a fun show, and I love a good monster-of-the-week show, so it’ll be great for those early mornings.

Thanks for letting me ramble haha I love talking about music. I hope you’re resting well and getting lots of sleep.

--🎅

hiiiii, sorry for not responding sooner, i didn't have time to sit down and respond properly bc yk uni and my friend came to stay with me so it's just been hectic lmaoo (i literally open tumblr, reblog the first gifset on my dash i see and close it), but how are you doing?? i hope well!! <33

ahhh i so get you about the deadlines. i enjoy going to lectures the first few weeks of the semester too but then i just... get bored of it and i just wanna skip them all but most of them check attendance so i can't skip too much :(( honestly i would just love to work in a library, idec which one just one yk, but in this economy and yk libraries not being such popular places anymore, i would be lucky to land a job anywhere....

omgggg that sounds sooo interesting!! i really love chinese but i don't think i would ever attempt to learn it cause honestly my brain isn't equipped for that so i truly admire you for not only knowing it but also studying its linguistics wow!! and ohh damn you speak russian too, well yk we could understand each other on basic levels cause my mother tongue is croatian. and yess, korean is so fun to study, i really wish i had more time to dedicate to it.

ohhh so you're basically a "veteran" atiny, love that! omg yess hongjoong and his fashion sense and his painted pinkie ahhhh it's amazing trulyyyy, and i agree he's an amazing perfomer, honestly all of ateez are, they're just crazy good it's insane!!

OMG YOU PLAY THE VIOLIN???!? wooow!! i love violin so much i always wanted to learn to play it wow you're truly so talented wowww!! and honestly i agree with you on it all! they truly have a discography to fit your every mood like no joke! btwww did you see the teasers for the new cb??? i caaant wait tho i am a bit disappointed that we're getting only two new songs but yk they've been working too hard this year i wasn't expecting a cb yet anyway but i'm definitely going to enjoy it fully!!

broo i love punk/rock/alternative in general so i'm really loving all of these new songs, like since rocky i was just AHHHH YESSS this is what i needed!! yk even tho i do love their more melodic songs, i hope they go in this punk direction a little longer cause it suits them so well and i definitely love the songs

yess lucifer is amazing and yk some seasons have more eps so it would definitely last you a while hahah

and feel free to ramble whenever you want! soon in the dms too hehe and again sorry for not responding sooner! i hope you're doing well too and getting rest <333

[jade-parcels]

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The bunnies’ other jobs!

From my bunny cafe au

((I am so peeved :((( I had this all written out!! And I deleted it by accident!! Darnnnnn!!!))

Anon asked “You mentioned that some of the bunnies have day jobs so do they all have jobs outside the cafe or just a few?” (Something along these lines…again…I deleted it by accident 😔)

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Diluc/‘Angel’

After his father got bored with the wine industry, he passed the whole company off to Diluc on his 18th birthday in order to shift his focus to mining. Diluc found himself swamped with all kinds of business decisions while just barely being an adult. He expanded the company and hired some very trustworthy people to handle things for him so he could finish college

When the business was given to him, Diluc and Kaeya had an explosive fight over it. Kaeya felt like he deserved to have some say in what happens to the business, he’s still a part of the family! But Diluc refused to let him in on any decisions so Kaeya packed his bags and left (not before cussing him out in front of their father, staff and business partners). He was just in a silly, goofy mood. They’re fine now, not on the best terms but they do chat and meet up for lunch on occasion.

He is filthy rich, he couldn’t spend all of his all of his money if he tried, so he doesn’t really need the job at the cafe! Kaeya got him the job because he knew his brother was stuck in a weird, antisocial funk and needed some fun in his life

Diluc loves this job, he has a great time, but it isn’t his main job. His priority will always be the family business!! If he has to quit his job at the cafe, he would in a heartbeat

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Kaeya

Kaeya was going to go into the police academy but was scouted out by a modeling agency. They had seen him at Ragnvindr company events and thought ‘well damn’ so they gave him a pretty generous deal

Kaeya makes a good living off of modeling, the tips and paycheck from the cafe. He rakes in cash pretty quickly just cause he knows how to get it. That, and his dad sends him checks every other month as well. Kaeya thinks of it as ‘I’m sorry’ money. He isn’t wrong

He doesn’t travel much for modeling, which he doesn’t mind, so he kinda just hangs around the city with a lot of free time on his hands between photo shoots. That’s why he got this job at the cafe! It gives him something to do and it’s fun as hell ;)

Albedo

Bedo is one busy bunny. He finished college early and is getting his masters degree online. He works most days at the cafe and on the weekends, he tutors other college students in bio/chem/science related subjects

(He was actually Xiao’s tutor back when he was failing chemistry!! Xiao is very thankful for Albedo’s help!!)

His dream is to become a biochemist, he’s always been interested in cells and what makes up living beings. So having a career in that field would make him the happiest man alive

His mother and sister live outside the city in a more rural area so he spends a lot of time FaceTiming the two of them! Klee is always so excited to hear about Albedo’s experiments or the people he’s met while working in such a bustling, fun city :)

Zhongli

Zhongli is a simple man! He’s a bunny waiter and an artist

He creates intricate pieces based on folklore from different cultures, focusing mostly on dragons. His favorite medium is paint, he loves painting on glass and layering the panes in order to create a 3D piece

He sells his works to galleries, shops and anyone who wants them! As long as they appreciate the story behind the artwork. Sadly…He undersells his work. He could def be making more money but he just does not desire money or material goods the way others may

So he got his job at the cafe in order to help out his dear friend Ningguang, not for money, he only planned on working there for a month or two until she got more bunnies but…he ended up really loving the people he works with :’) he looks forward to working with them now and texts/calls them outside of work to meet up for lunch or bowling (such an old man thing to do omfg)

Dainsleif/‘Sweetie’

Dain was a bouncer at another bar before leaving to come to Celestia’s! He’s good friends with Beidou, they belong to the same motorcycle club so when she was talking to him about the lack of security at the cafe/bar, he stepped in to help out

Little did he know…he’d actually become a bunny…And like it

This is his full time job now, he doesn’t have another for the time being. While he is a bunny at the cafe, he still keeps an eye out for any threats to his coworkers and has access to the offices upstairs (Ningguang’s office and the security office)

When he isn’t waiting tables, he’s upstairs in a tank top and sweatpants keeping an eye on the security cameras and talking to the other security guards through their ear pieces

Ajax

Ajax is a student who doesn’t really have much time on his hands

He mows lawns in the summer and he’s quit his job as a cashier to come work at the cafe! He mostly works night shifts his cause he’s still going to school aaaaaand he’s on his college’s swim team! He’s about to graduate so he works close with his coach to help train the others on the team

He doesn’t really want his family knowing that he skips around in a skimpy bunny outfit and fucking customers most nights but I mean…They’re bound to find out if they see him in pictures people post

Xiao/‘Tofu’

Xiao is an art student!! He wants to be a tattoo artist :)

He’s already got one sleeve of tattoos, it’s unfinished but you can’t really tell just by looking. When he isn’t at the cafe, he’s either in class or shadowing Ganyu, his best friend and tattoo artist. Their art styles greatly differ, she focuses her craft on cutesy, colored tattoos, but she is skilled. And Xiao looks up to her

Xiao admires Zhongli too, they met at the cafe and when Zhongli found out Xiao wants to be a tattoo artist he told him that once he’s licensed, he wants to get a tattoo from him :’)

Baizhu/‘Honey’

Baizhu is a (mostly) full time pharmacist, hence why he isn’t usually at the cafe

He also has a niece, Qiqi, who he babysits often. He loves her very much so he has no problem watching her! Baizhu will even bring her to the pharmacy with him when he’s swamped with work. In the break room, he has a play kitchen, coloring books and a bunch of puzzles to keep Qiqi occupied while he works :)

When he’s not at work, he’s at home resting. He has chronic pain flare ups in his back and shoulders that can make life miserable :( he has plenty of good days that outweigh the bad! And as a pharmacist, he has access to any medicine he needs to make his life easier!

Dottore(Alain)/‘Doc’

Alain’s an oral surgeon who’s a little bit….too into his job

He isn’t phased by blood or gore so he’s easily able to conduct procedures that would make other squeamish. He’ll pull teeth, put in dental implants, remove rotten tissue, any of that without even flinching

Outside of that, he works at the cafe. He wears a mask in order to avoid being recognized even though at his job as a surgeon, he’s usually wearing a medical mask anyways. It’s just a precaution

This has nothing to do with his career but he used to be a tap dancer and actor so he’d join in on local theatre shows! He helped build sets when he wasn’t rehearsing. He doesn’t have time for that anymore (which kinda makes him sadddd) but he has all kinds of theatre playlists on his phone and in his car that he’ll sing along to

Scaramouche/‘Boss’

Scara’s job at the cafe is his main job! His side job is something you may not expect from such a grump

He works at an animal shelter! In fact, he brings cats home to train so they have an increased chance of being adopted. Someone is more likely to adopt a potty trained, socialized cat than a feral cat who doesn’t know what a litter box is. So Scara brings them to his apartment for some one-on-one socializing, training and cuddling

One time he offhandedly mentioned working at an animal shelter while he was working at the cafe and sure enough, three separate customers from the cafe came by to adopt!!! Only one actually took an animal home but he was still surprised that those people had listened to him and cared enough to come by

Scara is a jerk most of the time but when he’s at home…by himself…With a lil kitten sleeping in his lap while he plays games on his PC…Yeah, he softens up a bit

So as you can see, we have a very diverse group working at the cafe! They’ve all learned a lot from each other, come to appreciate each other’s friendship and come to help each other out when one of their coworkers is in need or upset.

[that-vigilant-yaksha]

Requested by Anon: can I request hcs with xiao, albedo, and childe x reader (separately) about the reader asking them to play truth or dare, just the two of them? it went slightly towards nsfw because the reader teases the character a lot and thus SEXUAL TENSION!!

Pairings: Albedo x GN!Reader ; Childe x GN!Reader ; Xiao x GN! Reader

Warnings: Sexual Content! Nothing graphic but mentions of sexual acts

A/N: My first request! Thank you for asking! I had so much writing these. Teasing these beautiful boys and how they might reacting to it during a game of truth or dare.

You were bored. The reality didn’t match the fantasy you’d had when you decided to accompany Albedo up to his camp in Dragonspire. He actually wanted to focus on work, instead of you.

Which honestly, you shouldn’t have been surprised by. The man was obsessed with his work.

Sitting on a stool, you simply stared at his back as he pondered over the pinned papers on the board. How could one man look so sexy while reading? But you were still bummed that he wasn’t paying attention to you.

“Hey, Albedo?”

No response.

“Albedo?”

Still nothing.

Getting off the stool, you snuck over him, admiring and hating how focused he was. “Albedo!” You nearly shouted his name, throwing your arms around his waist, pressing your face into his back. “Let’s play a game!”

He agreed to play only to satiate you, because although his work meant a lot to him, he also had such a hard time saying no to you. You’ll have to explain the rules to him, as he’s never played before.

Once he has a basic understanding, Albedo plays the game seriously. He leans toward truths in the beginning. He asks strange questions, sometimes pertaining to his work. It was cute, and you let him get away with it.

But when it was his turn, you teased him endlessly. Truths were riddled with leading questions, and dares were filled with some kind of touching or kissing. You started out small, daring him for a kiss or asking for the truth of how much he thinks about you when you are apart.

Albedo isn’t stupid. While at first, he isn’t fully aware of what you are doing, he quickly puzzles it out. He’ll play dumb, calculating the best way to deal with you being so brazen.

And when he does. Oh, you are in for it. You leaned toward dares, wanting to see how far he’d take it. You’re obviously fake innocent smile as you waited to hear what he’d dare you to do only fueled him to make the dare something dirty.

“I dare you to touch yourself.”

You.exe has stopped working.

You were not prepared to hear those words come from his lips. But he was staring at you without an ounce of joking, completely serious. Your silence prompted him to tilt his head. “I believe that’s within the rules, yes? Are you refusing my dare?”

Oh, you were in for it. It was freezing up in the mountains. And he wanted you to expose yourself and masturbate? The thought did thrill you, and you realized that this was an inevitable outcome.

You comply with the dare, and things only become more heated between the two of you. Dares becoming the only thing you both chose, becoming bolder with each one.

“Perhaps next time you’ll think again before attempting to fool me, hmm?”

Occasionally, late at night, you could find Childe at Northland Bank, on night duty. He needed no assistance from the other Fatui, as the single Harbinger was more capable than a dozen of his subordinates. You weren’t supposed to bother him while he was working but you’d caught him talking to himself in different voices, showing how utterly bored he was.

 In your hands was a bottle of wine and some snacks you’d swiped from Wanmin Restaurant. Childe wasn’t the best influence on you, apparently. You tended to do some shady things after spending more time with him. “I come bearing gifts.”

Childe is absolutely thrilled that you came. He hates having to be on guard, all alone. He’s a sociable person. “Oh, I see you brought some wine and food too.” You were always a treat to be around, and the Harbinger found himself wanting to spend time with you.

The two of you spend a little time talking and drinking, snacking, and more drinking. The wine had gone to your head a little, and you thought perhaps his guard was a little down after an entire bottle. “Wanna play a game with me?”

He’s ready when you suggest a game of truth or dare. He’s played with his younger siblings often and he loves the idea.

Childe takes the game very seriously but wasn’t ready for you to take such bold actions against him. He finds it utterly adorable that you are trying to trick him. But he allows it for a little while.

He’ll pretend to not notice that your dares are getting more and more intimate, and he’ll play dumb when you ask him to tell you the truth on how much he cares for you.

It’s the tipsy side of you that is unaware that is totally playing with you, biding his time before he could turn the tables on you. Childe is the puppeteer, and you are simply the marionette, but you were always unaware.

I dare you to kiss me anywhere but on my lips. A test. To see how far the harbinger was willing to go. You'd expected the neck, maybe. Where he'd find that sweet spot to nibble on. Or he might try for your chest, as a way to return your taunts.

The world flipped, and you were flat on your back against the floor. Blue irises staring at you with such intense lust. His mouth hovering above your most sensitive part of your body.

"Ah, the look on your face is so adorable. I could just eat you up."

And he follows through with his promise. Both of you secretly glad that he always works alone. Otherwise, someone might overhear all the pretty noises you make for him.

You liked taking overnight trips to Wangshu Inn, begging Boss to go along with your little white lie that the inn was full, and you had no room to stay in. Which meant you made a plate of Almond Tofu and went to the top floor to find the resident Adeptus.

“Xiao, I made your favorite,” You said, casting a glance around the seemingly empty balcony. He was here. You could tell, since you spent so much time with him, despite his constant complaining about tainting the human world.

“You are trying to bribe an adeptus? Humans are so brazen.” But he lacked the typical irritation that he had when speaking to anyone else. He could fake it all he wanted, but you knew he liked being around you.

You snickered, offering him the plate. “Inn’s full, so you’ll let me stay with you, right? You wouldn’t want me to sleep out here in the cold and get sick, would you?”

Xiao sighed, but accepted the dish. “I would not wish to see you fall ill. I’ll allow you to stay the night, as long as you behave.” He hadn’t intended the words to be received as you took them. 

The more you thought over it, the more you wanted to twist them just a smidge. Alone in his room, you sat on the bed and waited for him to finish eating. “Xiao, let’s play a little game! To pass the time.”

What is this game you speak of? It sounds childish. He doesn't partake in silly human games.

But your bottom lip sticking out in a pleading fashion paired with your big puppy dog eyes, and the adeptus caved, unable to say no to you.

"I surrender. Explain this game to me."

 Honestly, bless this man. He tries so hard, but he is taking the game way too literally. You have to explain again that he can ask whatever and dare anything. It's easy to take advantage and get away with a lot of teasing.

You start out with daring him to let you sit in his lap and touch his hair, and for the loner Xiao, this is considered a treat. It's rare that he lets you be so affectionate.

 You up your game and start asking for lingering hugs and kisses. Just give a few wiggles in his lap and you'll have him turned on. He's a bit embarrassed but finally catches on after some questionable dares. Why were you wanting him to kiss your thighs? Not that he minded because he quite liked them.

It's so cute how unaware he is. He's got a band of pink across his cheeks, finding it harder and harder to resist you. Until he finally understands what is going on. Bless him for being so naive to human teasing.

"I see." He'd ponder his next move and be brutal about his execution. You choose dare simply to see how he'll react. "My dare for you is this. Strip, completely."

 You eagerly comply, doing it ever so slowly. Revealing your bare skin bit by bit. His golden irises watching every moment.

 Xiao is quite annoyed that you managed to confuse him for so long and get in a lot of teasing. He plans to skip your turn for a while, giving you more and more risky dares until the game ends but the night has only just begun.

[tainbocuailnge]

fgo criticisms have been flaring up in the wake of dw’s sakura wars mobile game quitting after only half a year but I have a disease that makes me get defensive when people try to rip fgo apart as this uniquely terrible game with uniquely terrible devs so i’m going to complain about people who are complaining for a bit.

i hadn’t heard of the sakura wars game before it shut down but from what i’ve been able to find it suffered from a lot of the same problems as (launch) fgo, terrible gacha rates with no pity, slow ap recovery rates, barebones repetitive gameplay. so i guess seeing how fast sakura wars was shut down people feel like it’s only the fate name holding up fgo and in the early launch days of barely playable fgo that was definitely the case but I don’t think it’s fair to fgo to act like people only continue to play it because it’s fate, and “being like fgo” wasn’t the only problem with sakura wars either. sakura wars is a vn/dating sim series that attempted to revive the series with a mobile game that featured none of the original cast that fans cared about while fate was already a series with new characters and a new setting every instalment and the thing that stood out in this new game was actually that it DID have characters from previous fates available. hell, it’s not fair to sakura wars to claim that its series name is simply weaker than fate’s when there were other factors involved in its failure beyond “being a delightworks game”

fgo DOES improve, launch fgo is unrecognisable compared to current fgo in a good way. events have become more streamlined (events have mid- to lategame enemy hp scaling but feature damage ce’s to let newer players keep up, mission events are set up so that they basically clear themselves just by farming the most recently unlocked node), they experiment with new game modes and gameplay mechanics on the regular, they’re taking more care to make viable permanent servants and buff the older ones, and the past few months there’s also been a noticeable effort to throw out random banners for minor things as an excuse to rerun old limited servants more often. I’ll admit the bar is on the low side (strengthening quests are a ridiculous model, there shouldn’t be this many limiteds to need reruns in the first place, etc) and progress is slower than many people are willing to put up with, and I’m not saying anyone Has to put up with it or they’re a fake fan or whatever, but like, granblue fantasy is seven years old and still doesn’t have the ability to uncap a weapon multiple stages at a time when its entire gameplay loop centers around farming and uncapping weapons and they’ve buffed heles like 7 times but she’s still shit, none of fgo’s problems are exclusive to fgo.

i LIKE playing fgo. i like tapping the cards and watching my little guys go and coming up with different teams to make them go harder or just look good together or even lean into the Themes. and this is going a little bit on a tangent but i have this post window open anyway i was talking with friends earlier that one problem that a lot of mobile games seem to have is that they use “making the game play itself” as substitute for “making the game fun to play”. the only game with autobattle functionality (out of the ones I play, i don’t know everything that’s out there of course) that I feel DOESN’T do this is arknights, where you solve the puzzle that the stage presents in order to earn the right to not have to solve the puzzle every single time you play the stage and coming up with different efficient or perhaps ridiculous ways to solve the puzzle is part of playing the game. the worst case I know is dragalia lost which upon realizing that playing it sucks implemented an item to just let you skip playing stages altogether. “this game is good because you don’t have to play it” is not the selling point some people (and devs) think it is, and fgo refuses to fall into that trap - something I believe is an intentional decision because of their explicit refusal to implement NP skip.

one big advantage that fgo has over the other mobile games i’ve played is that it’s entirely turn based with no real time elements beyond start and end times of events. fgo doesn’t NEED to continue playing itself when you look away because looking away has no bearing whatsoever on your ability to clear the quest, fgo doesn’t give a shit if you look away for six hours and then close the game and only reopen it another ten hours later, you can continue right where you left off. the problem is not that you have to manually play the quest, because as far as the system is concerned you can take as much time as you like to clear that quest, it’s that the greater structure of the game wants you to repeatedly manually clear the same low-stakes quest for disproportionately small rewards. this one’s easy enough to solve by just increasing material droprates across the board. repeat clearing a low level quest is much less frustrating if you actually get drops every other clear.

but that’s a bandaid solution, because related to the issue of having to manually farm low-stakes quests is the lack of high-stakes quests to do when you want to do something a little more engaging than routine farming. outside of event challenge quests with their time limited availability, certain main story chapters that you can’t replay, and recently on JP the permanently available kiara challenge quest in the main interlude, there simply isn’t any difficult content to play. you could argue about fgo’s merit as strategy rpg in the first place i suppose but if you ask me it does have that merit and there is a clear effort from dw’s part to improve the depth of fgo’s strategy elements, the issue is that there is simply not that much content available to unleash those strategies on. of course you’re gonna get bored if all there is to do is either brainlessly repeat the same quest for minimal rewards or play the specific challenge quest that the game hands you right this moment regardless of whether that’s the kind of challenge you feel like facing right now. the solution to this one, although it’s likely going to take some significant effort on dw’s side to implement, is to make main story quests replayable.

you want to flex your brain muscles but there’s no challenge event right now? you stomped on a boss by using overpowered servants the first time but want to challenge yourself with some 3* this time? or the other way around, you beat a boss by the skin of your teeth the first time but want to stomp all over them now that you rolled some bitching 5*? you rolled a servant that’s not that suitable for day to day farming but would really shine in more difficult content and you want to try them out? you have a silly strategy in mind that would only work against certain story enemies? you’re like me and just really crave the shimosa duels? all of this involves content that already exists and is available in the game, dw would just have to figure out a way to let you access it again after clearing the chapter. and of course ideally this extends to event story quests once they’re added to the main interlude

i guess another way to put it is that i think the reason a lot of people say fgo has bad gameplay is not that its gameplay system is actually bad, in fact it has the potential to be very engaging, but rather that it’s a system that is set up to respect your time through the ability to put down the game absolutely whenever you want without being penalised, only for the game around it to go and penalise you for putting it down anyway. if you don’t diligently spend all your ap farming this quest you won’t get single damn material drop, and if you don’t play the event while it‘s happening you’re going to miss out because you can’t be sure when if ever it’ll return. so the number one way to solve the problem of fgo’s “bad gameplay” is not to make the game play itself whenever it tells you to play, but rather to make content more easily available so you don’t have to play if you don’t want to and CAN play if you do want to. thank you for coming to my ted talk i suppose

[elysianslove]

could i req a hc for kita & akaashi where their crush is secretly a jujutsu sorcerer who goes to their school to undercover and to kill the curse but they didn’t know and what if one day, she saves them from the curse? what’s their reaction towards reader? thanks!

JBBSHJDJ JJK X HQ????? GOD BLESS. thank u so much for requesting this hope you like it!! <3

kita shinsuke 

kita’s not a nosy person. he always keeps to himself and stays out of people’s business, and he’s never been the type to encourage rumors or to dwell long on what if’s and theories and conspiracies 

but even he had to admit your situation was weird 

you enroll into inarizaki mid-year, and you’re a third year like him. at first he’d just assumed you’d moved from a neighboring high school last minute, but you never attempted to participate, as if you were only here for show. next, he’d assumed it had been familial issues, but he heard nothing of that, never saw you with a sibling or a parent or a guardian. it was all too. vague for his liking

of course, this amount of interest is unbecoming of kita. it’s just. there were so many questions to you and no answers. you really, really intrigued him, and okay, maybe he thought you were really pretty, and yeah maybe he did have a small crush on you, but that was besides the point! 

the main thing is that you were just. sus. 

he realized you weren’t really causing harm though, just quietly minding your business, so he did the same, and chose to ignore any nagging at the back of his mind 

until he picks up on another weird habit of yours: staying at school until the latest hours. as involved as he was with school activities, he hadn’t heard you being a part of any club, considering how late you’d enrolled in school. but here you were, without fail, every day, by the school gates as the sun sets 

the only reason so much attention was given to you from kita was because of how peculiar your case was. it frustrated him how he knew nothing, just your name after your brief introduction to the class, and the fact that there seemed so much to you. it’s not that you were simply a private, boring person. it couldn’t be, not with how secretive everything was 

one day, on accident, he lags behind in the boys’ gymnasium, cleaning every volleyball with extra care and without noticing, the sun had set. under the assumption he was the only one in the gymnasium, after ensuring every and all equipment was in its place and clean, he grabbed the keys and started to head out. the gymnasium was quiet and dark, save for the gentle stream of moonlight and —

hm 

whatever that thing was, it did not belong in the gymnasium 

okay let’s assume kita can see curses because what is there that kita can’t do 

i don’t think he’d panic outwardly, but he definitely would freeze up and just not know what to do

it didn’t look too friendly either. or sound friendly. or smell friendly 

your appearance comes all of a sudden for him, but honestly, when you come barging in through the doors and you start battling the curse, he’s? not surprised? 

like he figured you had a secret, just — who knew it would be this? 

he’s honestly a little mesmerized with how you manage to fight it off and keep him out of harm’s way simultaneously, until you finally exorcise it

you’re breathing heavily after you’re done, since the curse had put up quite the fight against you, so kita, with his captain instincts, and with mobile feet again thankfully, comes up to you and asks if you’re okay 

you look at him bewildered like??? am i okay??? are you okay???/

you’re a little concerned how unfazed he is by the curse tbh 

after the adrenaline fades away, and you’re left standing in this dark, empty gymnasium with this really handsome guy, you finally find it within yourself to introduce yourself, telling him your name, before lifting up your hand to shake it with his, continuing, “and i’m a jujutsu sorcerer.” 

kita smiles, there’s a part of him, an itch that’s been dying to get scratched, that’s finally relieved, and he takes your hand in his, shaking it firmly and saying, “kita shinsuke; pleasure to meet you.” 

“pleasure’s all mine.” 

he walks you home, and the entire time he realizes how you’re really the furthest thing from quiet, you’re just serious when you need to be, given your occupation. you explain the whole ordeal, about the manifestation of curses spiking in this area, how you’d been assigned this mission, everything. 

it is so satisfying to him finally understanding everything. it’s like finishing a puzzle that’s taken months to complete

you admit that that had been the last curse, since you’d eliminated the source, and you’d have to leave soon 

not without his number you’re not <3 

kita’s not the type to want to show off his s/o, but once you inevitably become that, he takes every opportunity he can to watch everyone’s eyes as they see you kick ass. it’s his guilty pleasure :)

akaashi keiji 

okay this one’s a little different because your arrival at fukurodani wasn’t so sudden. yeah you’d joined later than most students, but you’ve been here since the start of the year, so akaashi wasn’t suspicious of you, since you’d never given him a reason to be

he doesn’t see you outside of school often. honestly, he doesn’t even see you in school. you don’t share classes with him, so he doesn’t know if you skip classes or not, but he’s heard that you do. you’re also never like. anywhere. it’s most that he knows of you

he just assumed you were one of those careless kids that didn’t really give a shit about school, until he started seeing you. except, it was at the weirdest times, and the weirdest locations: sometimes it’d be behind the gymnasium where he practices volleyball, or it’d be in those sketchy alleyways where he was 90% sure people sold drugs there, sometimes he’d spot you on the roof of the school. it was so

odd? 

akaashi’s a very curious person. he’s not nosy, he just has a very overactive imagination (i mean, literature department akaashi keiji? obviously) 

so all this just made him unconsciously pay more attention to you. like, he didn’t want to, he just subconsciously did. any time he’d pick you out from the crowd, he’d find his eyes following you narrowly, or anytime he heard your name, his ears would perk up. he really didn’t mean it. you just kinda fascinated him, to the point of, maybe a crush? he wouldn’t really call it that, but yeah, he guesses the symptoms are of a crush

but anyways, this school was really boring! that’s why! 

not a crush >:(

so! he’d been walking home one night, let’s say bokuto was with his family and there was no training for that day. it was winter, so the sun had set pretty early, leaving him in the paleness of the moonlight and the occasional streetlight illuminating the pathway for him. there wasn’t really anybody around, and he figured at a time like this people were either already home or still at work

until he heard a low growling noise 

he didn’t really think much of it, only stiffening up a bit

but he told himself it was his mind playing tricks on him, or something he mistook for a growl, or maybe it was a growl and it was just some dog nearby. just tried to stick to rational thinking because what else would it be?? was there option for anything else? 

until, out of nowhere, you appeared from an alley he just crossed past, and curled up against him, one arm hugging him tight, before you raised a hand to your lips and silently asked him to stay quiet 

he was

very confused 

like what the fuck 

but then you shifted, spinning around him. curiously, he twisted around with you, and

damn

what the actual fuck

so it wasn’t a dog 

the curse lunged at you, or maybe it lunged at akaashi, but you quickly kicked it away, sending it spinning, before you raised your hands up above you, ready to exorcise it, until it twisted unexpectedly and aimed at akaashi 

it made you panic, and instead of focusing on exterminating the curse, you turned your focus on protecting akaashi, who was in momentary shock. or maybe it was awe. you weren’t sure. somehow, you fought with the curse, maneuvering your way around it and moving akaashi along with you. somehow, his hand was in yours, and he was letting you shift him right and left as you attempted to fight off the curse. god, what the fuck is going on

eventually, finally, akaashi ducked behind you, and you raised your hands above you again, quickly exorcising it. he watched from under his shielding arms as the curse — exploded? vanished? evaporated? 

and without even missing a beat, you were kneeling before him, hands on his shoulders, shaking him wildly, asking is he’s okay 

it kinda made him want to laugh at how panicked you seemed in comparison to how serious and scary you’d been a second before 

akaashi finally answers that yes, he’s okay, but he demands an explanation, please, because he’s never been more confused 

you continue to walk him home, with the lame excuse of “i’m your personal bodyguard now,” and explain everything to him. he’s. kinda. really amazed? like you thought he’d get thrown off at the reality of the world you and him live in but he’s actually really fascinated, and he listens to you talk the entire time, only speaking when he has a question 

when you come to school the next day, you smile at him knowingly, waving at him and when bokuto sees him wave back with a small smile on his face, he combusts. 

akaashi sorta really likes the idea of being the only one to know your little secret. something about it is so satisfyingly intimate, and the trust it conveys? he’s really honored, you know? 

as your s/o, he gets really worried whenever you’re sent out on missions, but you always remind him that what brought you two together was you saving his ass <3

and then he’s reminded of just how proud of you and amazed he is hehe

end note; i want to write a book. :D

[yanderesleepybutwriting]

Pain Without Love || UshiTen x Reader

_____

Pairing: Ushijima x Reader  |  Tendou x Reader

Summary: Soulmates meant to find each other with a link, bound by pain.  Tendou and Ushijima thought they had it easy when they found out they were each other's soulmates. Until they started finding injuries not caused by either of them. It turned out a piece was missing from their puzzle. You.

Notes: This started off so small and I just couldn’t stop. I have no explanation. Just poly yandere Ushijima and Tendou here for you.

[Part Two] 

_____

When Wakatoshi and Tendou first met, they thought the search for their soulmate was over. It wasn’t hard to figure out. The pain they shared constantly lined up. The stinging on their arms and hands from constant blocking and receiving. Whenever Tendou got hurt, Ushijima felt it, and vice versa. It couldn’t have been easier. Until one day, Tendou skipped out on practice to take a test after school, while Ushijima stayed and worked with the rest of the team in the gym.

Ushijima was mid serve when suddenly he felt a random pain on both his hands and knees, causing him to swing too late and miss the ball completely. While his teammates poked fun and teased him, Ushijima’s thoughts went to his other half. 

He must have fallen. 

There was no more pain after that, so Ushijima assumed he was fine and returned his attention back to the court. It wasn’t until he met up with Tendou after practice, that he brought it up.

“Tendou, you should be more careful. I can’t focus on practicing if you keep getting hurt. It’s distracting.”

Tendou looked up at his partner confused. “What do you mean? I thought that was you.”

And then it clicked. The boy’s eyes shot up to one another, sharing the same shocked, yet knowing expression. They weren’t done. Not by a long shot. There was a piece missing from their otherwise perfect puzzle.

You.

“How could we not realize sooner!? We’re the worst soulmates ever. They’re out there right now, Waka!”

“I’m sure they’re fine. We’ll find them.” Ushijima tried to reason with his frantic partner. This news was definitely a shock to the both of them, and while Tendou grew more agitated, wanting to find you as soon as possible, Ushijima remained calm and collected, going for a more reasonable approach. “We just have to wait. They’re our soulmate after all. They’ll come into our lives sooner or later.”

What they hoped would be sooner, turned out to be later. Much later. Days turned into weeks. Weeks into months, and eventually months turned into years, with still no sign of you. The only reassurance they got were random pains brought on throughout the day. A small reminder that you were still out there. That you were still waiting. And it was driving them both crazy.

The older they grew, the more desperate they grew. While Ushijima remained calm, knowing one day they would find you, Tendou grew angrier, unsatisfied until he had you. It wasn’t until a few years after they knew you were out there that they found you when they were least expecting it.

There was a competition for a few of the schools in the area. Boys teams, girls teams, high schools to colleges. If you played volleyball, you were welcome to compete and improve your skills. And while their school wasn’t participating, they thought it was a good idea to watch and scope out the competition.

The boys watched intently at the matches before them, making small comments of improvement as the players went on. Neither was a school that either of them had ever heard of, but they still watched with interest.

“Next up, we have a boys vs girls match-” The announcer began, but Tendou didn’t wait to listen. Already starting to get bored he began leaning over to Ushijima.

“Wanna head out after this match? It’s getting kind of late.”

Ushijima said nothing. Only nodded before turning his attention back onto the court. Both teams showed promise. Giving it their all to throw back every ball hit their way.

“Hey, their wing spiker’s not half bad,” Tendou praised.

“He has power, yes. But no control. Only about 20% of his spikes actually make it within the boundaries.”

As if to prove Ushijima’s point, the spiker hit another ball, this time right into one of the opposing players’ faces. While most of the crowd cried out in shock and worry. Ushijima and Tendou cried out for a completely different reason. They cried out in pain. As soon as the ball made contact with your face, the two boys felt it, as if they had gotten hit as well.

“Ow, ow, ow… fuck! That hurts.” Tendou cried out, palm placed over the side of his face where you got hit. Ushijima was more silent, while still in just as much pain, he was less vocal and just groaned. Wincing and hoping the stinging would die down a bit as the seconds passed. As realization sunk in, both of their heads shot up to make sure you were okay.

They panicked slightly seeing you curled up on the floor, your teammates and coaches gathered around to make sure you were okay. When you finally stood up, they released a breath they didn’t even realize they were holding as relief flooded through their bodies. You were okay, they reassured themselves. After a short huddle with your team, and what looked like a lot of arguing on your end, you walked back onto the court as if nothing had happened, and continued on with your match. 

“They’re not going to check in with the nurse before continuing?” Tendou shouted out, confused by your rash actions. “Why is their coach letting them continue? They need to be checked out. They could have serious injuries.”

“Maybe, they’re okay to continue.”

“You and I both know they’re not okay. Fuck, it still hurts. How can you even focus on a game when you’re in this much pain? It’s obvious they don’t know when to quit, Waka.”

Ushijima was never one to laugh as often as others, but he had to admit it was slightly amusing to him, watching Tendou worry about you so early on. They hadn’t even met you yet, but he was already scolding you for not taking better care of yourself. He’s not going to lie, Ushijima is also concerned, just not as vocal about it as Tendou is. He couldn’t help but worry at the thought of you being hurt, it wasn’t his fault. The three of your soul connections were strong. He was certain that you were the one. They both were, and they couldn’t wait to finally meet you.

As soon as your match ended. Both men made their way to the gym doors to greet you upon your exit. For a second they thought they were too late. Finding no sign of you, or your team. Luckily their height had its advantages as they were easily able to look over everyone until they spotted you stopped at a water fountain further down the hall.

You continued drinking, completely oblivious to the two giants that stood towering behind you. Patiently waiting for you to finish up. When you did finish, taking a deep inhale to catch your breath, and quickly wiping the spare liquid off of your lips, you were more than surprised when you turned around. Being caught completely off guard, by the two intimidating strangers.

Ushijima was the first of them to speak up. Probably picking up on your slight confusion and looking to calm your nerves.

“That was a great game you played. My name is Ushijima Wakatoshi.” He spoke up, extending his arm. You smiled, giving his hand a quick shake and responding with your own name. His hand was much larger in comparison to your own. After introducing himself, he motioned to the redheaded man next to him, “This is-”

“Satori Tendou,” the man cut in, “That was one nasty hit you took out there, shorty,” Tendou smirked, leaning down a bit so you were making direct eye contact. “How’s your head feeling?”

“Oh, it didn’t hurt as bad as it looked,” you laughed, embarrassingly rubbing at the back of your neck. Both men gave each other a quick glance, each one thinking the same thing. Liar.

“Thank you for your concern,” You bowed, “but if you’ll excuse me, I should get back to my team. Our next match will be starting soon.” As you went to dash off in the direction of your court, you were pulled to a halt when Ushijima’s hand wrapped around your arm, holding you firmly in place.

“You shouldn’t jump back into the game so soon. You need time to heal and make sure you don’t have a concussion. Let us walk you to the nurse’s office.”

You were caught off guard by this stranger’s interest in your well being but ignored it. Chopping it up to him just being a nice guy. “I really am okay. Thank you. It doesn’t even hurt anymore.”

Again with the lies. They knew it still hurt. Fuck, they still felt the pain from where the ball made contact with your face. It slightly diminished from the beginning, but it was definitely still there.

“Listen. If you get checked out, and the nurse gives you the green light, then we promise to let it go. Plus, you won’t do your team any good if you play with a head injury. You’ll only hold them back, so it would be better for everyone if you just play it safe. The faster you get checked out, the faster you’ll get to jump back onto the court. You can trust us. We’ve been in the game for a while, and I’d be lying if I said I haven’t gotten a few balls to the head myself,” Tendou joked.

You stood quiet, glancing at the ground as the two men stood patiently awaiting your response. You sure were a stubborn one.

“Okay.” You nodded, allowing the two to lead you in the direction of the nurse’s office.

“Wasn’t really a choice, but we appreciate your cooperation nonetheless.”

The office wasn’t too filled, so you actually got helped faster than you thought you would. Which was great since you were eager to get back on the court.

“Any head pain?” The nurse asked sweetly. To which you shook your head.

You heard the sound of someone clearing their throat and looked over to see Ushijima and Tendou looking over at you sternly from the corner.

“Umm… maybe a little.” You corrected, sheepishly.

The old lady smiled. “Okay, hun. Can you do me a favor and hop up and try to walk in a straight line for me?”

You got up. Following her directions and trying your best to walk as straight as possible, but found yourself losing your balance ever so slightly.

“Alright, go ahead and take a seat for me again, and I’m going to check your pupils real quick.” The second the light met your eyes you felt yourself flinching away, finding the small flashlight to be almost blinding.

“Well, I think that settles it, my dear.” The woman frowned. “It seems you have a slight concussion, but don’t stress too much. Nothing some over the counter pain meds and rest can’t fix. Unfortunately, that does mean no volleyball for at least a few days. Your brain is going to need some time to recover and we can’t have you worsening your injuries.”

You didn’t even look over at the two boys, already knowing a look of ‘I told you so,’ would be clear across their faces. It really sucked that one good hit would take you out of the game. Especially since you were really hoping to get the practice in with competitions starting up again soon. You hung your head low, making your way out of the office, and heading back to the gym.

“Where are you going?” A deep voice questioned from close behind.

“Back to the gym. Even if I can’t participate. I still want to cheer them on.”

“Did you even listen to what the nurse said?” Tendou sighed, clearly frustrated by your lack of ability to follow directions.

“I did, but I’ll be fine! I don’t even feel the pain anymore,” You argued.

“Why do you keep on lying to us? We know it still hurts. We feel it.”

You froze. Looking back and forth between the two men as the weight of their words slowly began sinking in. “...you both...the two of you…”

“Yes, we know this must be a shock Y/N, and your concussion probably isn’t making this any easier for you,” Ushijima began, before Tendou came in. Abruptly cutting him off.

 “But we are your soulmates. So there’s no point in trying to cover up your pain because we know how you feel.”

You definitely weren’t expecting this when you woke up. You knew you would find your soulmate eventually, but you weren’t expecting to have two. Sure it’s not unheard of. In fact, you’ve seen quite a few people with more than one soulmate, but that being said, you never thought that you would be one of them as well. Especially not now. 

You didn’t have time for a relationship. Not when you're gaining such a steady momentum in your volleyball progress. Plus you were never a big believer in soulmates, to begin with. When you were younger, sure. Who didn’t dream of getting swept away by their future love? But as you grew older, reality started coming more into light, and you learned that however bright one's love can glow, it can also go completely dark just as quickly. 

You’ve even seen it happen to one of your friend’s first hand. They were so happy when they found their soulmate, they looked like they were on top of the world. But as time progressed, their soulmate fell in love with someone else, and their once unbreakable love for one another slowly began getting chipped away at with every small fight. Until both of their hearts completely shattered. It hurt you to see them go through that, and you never wanted it to happen to you.

“Y/N?” Ushijima questioned

“I-I’m sorry. Did you say something? I spaced out there for a second.”

“Umm,” Your soulmates shared a look of concern as they glanced over at you, “I think it would be best if we took you home. You don’t look too well.”

Of course, you didn’t look well. Your head was pounding and you just found out that these two men you thought were strangers are actually your soulmates. You were surprised that you were still managing to stand considering how badly your head was spinning with this new information.

“I appreciate your concern, but I don’t feel comfortable going home with two strange men, I’ve only just met.”

“Strange men?” Tendou repeated, sounding shocked and slightly offended, by the use of your words, “Were not just some strange men. We’re your soulmates!”

Tendou was starting to get frustrated. While he and Ushijima were in a panic trying to find you, you seemed completely unfazed by the arrival of your soulmates. Were you ever even looking for them?

“Listen, I’m sorry, but I’m not looking to find my soulmates. The main focus in my life right now is volleyball, and school, so I have no interest in, or the time for forming a relationship at the moment. I think it would be best if you just forget you ever met me. I’m sorry, but at least you have each other, right? Isn’t that enough?”

Your words felt like a punch to the gut. How could you brush them aside so casually? Did they really mean so little to you?

...No, this wasn’t you. You weren’t thinking straight after that hit to the head. You don’t know what you want. You don’t know what you need.

“You’re right. We understand.” Ushijima lied, gripping Tendou’s shoulder so he would play along. “However, with your concussion, it would be far safer if you let us take you home,” Ushijima tried to reason.

“I’m telling you, I’m okay!” You tried to explain, turning to head back to your team, but you barely made it a few steps before losing your balance. You didn’t connect with the floor. Ushijima and Tendou not even giving you the chance before they were each at your side. Holding you upright.

“I’m sorry,” Tendou teased, the smirk he wore, obvious in his tone, even without looking at him. “You were saying what exactly?”

“Y/N, we just want to make sure you get home safely. We won’t even go inside if that’s what you’re afraid of. We’ll just walk you to your porch.”

You felt hesitant, but at the same time maybe it was for the best. Your teammates we’re already in the middle of a game, and there was no way you would feel okay with stealing one of them away to take you home. You also wouldn’t feel comfortable taking the train or bus home this late. Especially with your concussion leaving you extra vulnerable. Maybe letting them take you home was the best option.

“Okay.” Your soulmates grinned, and after you shot your teammates a text, saying you’d be going home early, you headed in the direction of the parking lot. Ushijima started the car up, while Tendou opened the back door for you, making sure to close it after you were settled. 

Maybe this was a dream. A weird long dream. Maybe that ball knocked you unconscious and you're really in the hospital right now. That would somehow make a lot more sense.

“Seatbelt.” Ushijima’s deep voice cut in, snapping your attention back to reality. “You need to put on your seatbelt.”

You obeyed, clicking the belt in place, then giving your address to Tendou so he could type it into his phone.

“Try to get some rest. We’ll wake you when we’re close.”

You didn’t know if it was the concussion or the fact that you played three volleyball matches in a row, but you felt exhausted. Already feeling yourself dozing off as you placed your head against the car door.

As you slept soundly in the back seat, Ushijima and Tendou stayed silent in the front seat so as not to wake you. Your words from earlier echoing through their brain like a broken record stuck on a constant loop.

‘I think it would be best if you just forget you ever met me. I’m sorry, but at least you have each other, right? Isn’t that enough?’

Did you even hear the words coming out of your mouth? Of course, it wasn’t enough. How could they go on with their lives as if they had never found you? They already felt such a strong connection to you, that it would be nearly impossible for the two of them to just forget about you completely. Yet, you say it so casually. As if it would be so simple to just walk away. But what you were asking for was just not in the cards. They needed you. And you needed them. You just didn’t know it yet. But that’s okay. They could help you realize just how much you needed them too.

[prof-peach]

If you could cross over two of your favorite games, which would you choose? Please explain, why that crossover would be a good match.

Oh you’re going to regret asking this one, I’m bout to GET SERIOUS.

So Pokemon, obvs, I love the whole world it’s built in, but the games imo are REALLY boring, I haven’t enjoyed one a lot since gale of darkness, the main ones just are a little too linear obvious plots, pretty standard setups for story and style. Speaking of style, the games lack personality, the models aren’t animated well, moves have no dynamic energy or visual difference at times, and the turn based battle style just feels kind of, I don’t know, old? Slow? Just doesn’t suit what I enjoy personally, gives me a FInal Fantasy vibe and I just cannot stand the speed at which things happen in those games, plus not into 3rd person ‘let’s build a team of people’ much, but that’s a problem for another time. With this all in mind, the game I wish would happen is like gen20 Pokemon, far future sadly, I doubt I’d see it in my lifetime but god I’d be happy if I did!

Ok so take the newest Zelda graphics, the visual treat that was BOTW, open world, puzzles, not JUST combat, you got side missions, hunt the chickens, find missing pets, parcels, items, whatever. Love it! The horse taming?! Amazing you funky little game. Now take the bad guys and beasts from that. And put Pokemon in instead. Give them the diversity, the life and believable natures that BOTW gave the animals, I followed a frog in BOTW for 15 minutes, and it was a great experience, it felt like it was believable. Above world spawning, ACTUAL difficult gameplay, rare spawn rates, make dragons hard to get again, cmon, it’s too easy now, make it so we need a certain set of Pokemon for certain tasks. Water types big enough to carry you will be able to get you to new areas, rock types that can help you climb mountains faster, or break through blocking boulders. Actual towns with more than 4 houses in them, shops, barns, farms, homes. Like little link with the heat, maybe ice types would struggle in volcano areas, or bug Pokemon not be so comfortable in gale force winds. Give the weather more of an effect on your partners. Mounts, don’t even get me started that Pokemon Let’s go had you able to ride any of the larger species, but swsh did not???? Bitch please, give me my rideable Pokemon. The wild area too was far too closed, limited, online was laggy and a mess, camping is limited, let me do more with my team. Pokemon for me is all about the actual creatures, how they live with humans, and the many wonderful things they’re capable of. Yes of course it’s cool they can fight, but like what else you know?

I’d love a game that lets me buy a plot of land, maybe plant things, custom build things. I’m a sucker for the fallout4 settlement builds when they’re modded to hell and back, they’re fun! It can be a really calm and creative process. If I could do that and skip the main campaign and all the battles for a bit? Amazing, it sound perfect for me. I am that distracted hoe collecting flowers while the kingdom burns in the background. Side quests are everything to me. Let me give homeless people enough money to get them in a home? Let me adopt Pokemon that are stray around the town? Plz oh plz bring me a Pokemon game that allows me to work WITH my team to do more than KO other species. I want to save and buy a plow for my buddy gogoat, and grow amazing foods to sell to get currency to spend in decorations, to spoil my team. Give me actual game consequence, if I ignore that sick and injured Pokemon I find in the wild, later maybe it’s family don’t want to help me out with a different problem, too stricken from grief. I am all about the average bits, the old women who need help, the lost pets board in town, the general day to day stuff. Let me get cosmetic items for the Pokemon I keep, cute outfits, special gemstone items, let me actually live with them, or even feel remotely like they’re realistic.

Ok so in game, if it’s looking like BOTW it’s pretty beautiful but also stylised, I’d have it so you can send out a maximum of 3 Pokemon from your 6, using bumpers and such to throw them out. If you hit the trigger you switch from controlling the human trainer, to the Pokemon you’ve targeted with a standard lock on targeting system. You then can be the leader, but be the Pokemon. You could technically defeat the game without a human if you wanted, which incorporates the mystery dungeon games I think, and caters to that crowd. I’d love to see the use of attacks out of battle, things like using water gun to grow plants, using ember to start a campfire faster and stave off the cold. There’s no consequence to Pokemon anymore, and I think that’s where it’s lost me. I have to admit I miss the days of a poisoned pokemon fainting if you don’t heal them soon enough, I miss gym battles that were actually tough, damn, try picking charmander in red and beating brock without grinding in viridian forest first, it’s not easy. And I loved that. Yes it’s a child’s game, it will never be difficult again, but god it’d be nice to have a bit of a challenge, or maybe a difficulty setting, so some could play it with hostility turned off, great for kids, or you can be n adult like I know so many Pokemon fans are, and play it on expert mode and ACTUALLY have to work hard to beat the game. Alternate skill trees anyone? Train gun a fire type to ACUTALLy combat water moves?? Please! Cmon! It frustrated me that every challenger has pretty much a systematic set of moves to use to win. Grass opponent? Fire attack spam until you win. It’s dull, so at least with very difficult tricks to either find or learn in game would make it more achievable if you can send that fire type in and I don’t know, train them so much the heat evaporates the water mid-battle and you suddenly have a shot at winning. Pokemon has taught me that if you work hard enough you can achieve something, but the games just have such strict ways to win. Feels wrong.

In terms of battling, let us BE the Pokemon, let us learn to dodge, train our speed, train our defence, make a team of truly tough Pokemon instead of just, average? Some species have a cap on their skills, a squirtle has lower stat points than a Charizard, but you can’t ever change that? Let me choose the Pokemon I believe in, and let me work with them until they’re just as good, if not better than the game tanks. This would also make online battles more interesting. Everyone picks the top trio. Fairy, dragon, legendaries. And yknow what? It’s boring. That one IRL fight with the monster Pacharisu that won in the world tournament with follow me and the situs Berry? Unbelievable, I love that little rat so much because of this, so let us all have a chance to build a team that’s strategically viable, strong, and potentially a winner formula, even if they aren’t fully evolved, or the biggest Pokemon in the world. Yeah maybe you have to grind way harder with your unevolved Pokemon, but you get to the end game and win, because you put love and time into species that you enjoy, not just good fighters.

Unfortunately I am beholdent to Todd-idiot-Howard, and I love the Eldrescrolls and fallout games (before they got dumb, not that I don’t play the new ones. 76 I’m looking at you, you big asshole game.) honestly I hate online games, so none of that junk, just a good old fashioned open world sandbox game is plenty. Games for me are an escape from others, not an invitation to socialise. To each their own of course, and I do play online games sometimes, just pretty short lived ones, over watch and rdr2 for example. Would they be sometimes better on private servers? Yes of course, fallout76? Want to play with others? No. I do not. Please leave me alone. And if you buy a private server you’re feeding the monster that is Todd Howard, the man the myth the asshole, then we’ll get more bad games like 76. I just so desperately want the Pokemon company to see what a beautiful potential game they’ve got on their hands, that could be suitable for far greater audiences, but instead they’ve focused on the kids. It’s fine, it’s functional, but it’s lost to the fans from day 1, that are all 20+ years old now and want something meatier to play, something far more broad and inclusive. I also hate that there’s no wheelchair option in any Pokemon game. Like cmon, it’s not hard to include that.

In short, BOTW + Pokemon, with a sprinkle of open world sandbox to it, less fighting, more fun. Or, at least both options. Sure, go fight everything, great, but I want to farm carrots over here with 6sunflora, plz let me have some peace.

Edit: I forgot about harvest moon, chuck some of that in there too.

SECOND EDIT: someone in the comments mentioned to put this in Unova? Plz love yourselves, this game would be ALL MAPS. Stuff one singular location, this is the ideal game, put every map in it, join them, put islands in, make them more explorable, more detailed!

[xo-cuteplosion-xo]

Too late | Dazai x reader |

Too late | Mafia Dazai / dazai x fem!reader |

( A very shitty attempt at a song-fic. )

Warnings- toxic relationship (minor mentions of abuse?), death

A brunette sat on the cement. The tan folds of his coat fluttering out behind him. The wind brushed his hair from his face, it stung his eyes and brushed his skin with bitter cold air. His fingers dripped the brightest shade of crimson. His eyes had dilated and shook with shock and fear. The skin his hands desperately held, already losing its warmth. Lips stained the color, as well as the outfit that resembled his own. Those blood-stained lips coughed final words before letting go. How, how had this happened? Why had he never predicted this? Why would you ever do this?

He knew those answers like he knew his own crimes. After all, how could he forget? He’d been the reason you fell, he’d only denied it for years.

The sun fell softly along the stone. A boy, no older than 15, walked along the stone edge of a bridge. His brown locks flying within the wind whilst he adjusted the bandage over his left eye. He paid no mind to you, even as you walked behind him. Your feet carried you on the safer ground, next to the edge. It was common to find the two of them like this. You were always with him, whenever you could be at least. He never seemed to notice you were there; You didn’t mind it though. The rare moments where he did suddenly ask you questions were enough. Rushing to close the distance between you and him, you caught a glance of his eyes darted to the side. He was looking at you, the single eye that showed seemed puzzled, before he parted his lips to talk to you; His arms opened at the same time. Skipping around steps, he smiled, “Hey, why are you still following me, woman? Don’t you have a better hobby than stalking me?” so he did notice you at times.

Flustered you froze before chuckling with a light hum. “No, not really Dazai-san. I think you're interesting! You're the only one I can't read.” you were referring to your ability. It wasn’t much, so you weren't too high up in the ranks. You could read thoughts, see their feelings in the form of aura, and manipulate that aura. So far, you could make people freeze up and lose themself in an overdose of emotions. Also known as individual illusions created by their auras; things only they could see. It was hard to believe you were even in the mafia. Your bubbly appearance and lack of interest in killing made you look harmless. You never killed, but when you worked with another they sure had an opening to kill.

Dazai leaned down so he leveled with you. “I wonder, have you ever thought of using that ability to induce such outrageous depression, one acts on it?” blushing you took several steps back shaking your head.

“N-no, sir! I d-don’t think I could do that. Well, if Dazai-san really wanted me to, I-I could try it for him!” What were you saying? Knowing this demon prodigy, you’d probably end up not meeting the expectation and ending up punished. Though, would that be so bad?

He puffed his cheeks out, jumping from the edge to land in front of you. With a half-smile, he flicked your forehead. “You keep doing the opposite of what I predict. I really can’t get a read on you.” turning away you covered your face.

“I-is that a compliment?” you mumbled, looking through your fingers. He shrugged, jumping back to the ledge. His eyes lost their glimmer as he looked down. He seemed to be judging the distance; With a heavy sigh, he looked back to the sky.

“If only this was a little higher. I think falling into the water and dying right away, without the pain of falling to the ground, would be okay. I’d drown unconscious, how peaceful that would be.” you didn’t respond as he turned and began walking again.

~

Year after year you walked by his side, growing with him. Slowly that bubbly gaze began to fade ever so slightly. The fun-filled times like the day on the bridge no longer existed.

My head is haunting me and my heart feels like a ghost

Standing next to the demon prodigy you stretched out your hand with a sigh. “Ability: vortex of emotions.” from the shadows you worked alongside him. The enemy's hands reached their head. A perching scream echoing as they turned their gun to themselves. Looking to the side your eyes met the brunettes; They were colder than they were a year ago. Sighing, he raised his pistol and shot. He pushed past you, and you followed numbly.

I need to feel something, 'cause I'm still so far from home

Entering the box he called his home, his hands grabbed your waist pulling you towards him. His fingers lifting your chin. The flutter of your heart pounded against your chest, the closer his face came to yours. “You really should stop following me everywhere. If you won’t at least try to kill.”

Cross your heart and hope to die. Promise me you'll never leave my side

Nodding as he released you, he sat at his desk. “Mori won’t be happy that we clocked out so early.” he leaned back groaning. “Found a new suicide method? I don’t want to deal with his annoying voice tomorrow!” his older persona slipped through. The light in his eyes spread before it disappeared with your silence. Yet despite that, there was a caring hint to his posture. The way his hands moved softly, how he traced your bow. How he exhaled with a sigh when you closed the door

Show me what I can't see when the spark in your eyes is gone

~

Another year went by with a soft ease. You stood in Mori's office, a blank expression on your face. You were sure you were dead. Messing up like this, letting somebody get away. You were shaking, unsure why your breaths still rang. The doors opened to the brunette mafioso. Dressed in all black, a short ginger walked at his side. The way your emotions suddenly changed was unnoticed by everybody but Dazai. His eyes set in glares as you looked away. Your heart raced, why was it you still felt like this? He treated you as a pawn, yet you still ached to kiss him. Mori blamed your failure on Dazai’s lack of discipline with you. “I’ve been more than lenient with how she follows you around. If this happens again, it will be you who pays the price Dazai.'' Why did this have to happen in front of the ginger? His eyes looked at you with sympathy. It was weird to see such a thing. Dazai rolled his eyes stepping closer to the ginger as his eyes darted to you. Puffing your cheeks out you looked away.

Once you were in his office, he practically pulled you by the ear. Pushing you to the floor with his frustration. “I don’t understand why I keep you around! All you seem to do is put me in situations that bore me to death!”

You've got me on my knees I'm your one man cult

You looked up with begging eyes. “Please, I’m sorry Dazai-san! Please forgive me! I’ll do better! Please don’t leave me.” he was the first person to ever make you feel real emotions. Fear, excitement, lust, love, heartache, despair. He gave it all to you.

Cross my heart and hope to die Promise you I'll never leave your side

It was an unexpected look, an unexpected plea. His eyes showed excitement. “There, there’s the reason! You can’t stop doing the opposite of my expectations, every time I think you’ll do something, you manage to shock me, even in this kind of situation! I wonder, would you commit suicide if I died? It would be so unexpected!” his voice was full of wonder as he lifted your chin using the front of his foot.

Looking at him he smirked. He'd known, all along, about your feelings. He teased you all the time, but maybe he could finally get an expected reaction from you. It would be possible to toy with you. Maybe then he’d be satisfied with you. “Would you ever be only mine? Something only for my eyes?” with wide eyes you nodded.

Cause I'm telling you you're all I need I promise you you're all I see

With a smile, you brought your hands to press against your chest. With a desperate smile, your eyes filled with that childish light from when you were 15. “Even if I'm only being used for your satisfaction, it would be all I need! You're the only one for me." Once more he was shocked by the response. Nearly losing the balance he had, his hand reached to his face a soft snicker leaving his lips.

“You’re utterly helpless.” he hummed, removing his foot from under your chin. “Come here darling~” he was certainly stressed today. A little fun wouldn’t hurt, right? “Tell me you’ll never leave.” he hummed holding your chin within his fingers. The blush on your cheeks darkening in your complexion.

'Cause I'm telling you you're all I need I'll never leave

His lips met yours. Shivering you closed your eyes, letting a tear fall. You wished he truly loved you back.

~

Another year passed, you stayed by him no matter what he did. He was crueler than ever. He often left you at night to go hang out in a bar. Those nights were lonely but a ginger often peeped in to see you. “You look like hell.” he would always tell you how messed up you looked. “Why do you stay by him?”

The images passed by your head. The boy you fell in love with. The young 15-year-old. The one with a smile that would show itself here and there. The young boy who jokes around, the carefree one. You picture the feeling of his fingers over yours. Cold yet so warm in those years.

So you can drag me through hell If it meant I could hold your hand

“I love him.” you hummed watching the male drop a bottle of wine in your lap. He walked out leaving the gift. He knew you understood how cruel he was. He had never really pitied anybody before but you… you were something he pitied. A demon prodigy's toy, your relationship was nothing more than toxic.

I will follow you 'cause I'm under your spell And you can throw me to the flames

Sipping on the wine you drank yourself drunk. “I love him… he loves me. I love him. He loves me, I know he does. I’ve seen some softness in those harsh eyes.” you wiped the tears looking up to the ceiling. What had you gotten yourself into? Why did your heart have to play you like this?

I will follow you, I will follow you

~

He stood looking so conflicted, broken, and unsure. It wasn’t the first time you saw him without the bandages but it was the first time your dull lifeless eyes saw him this vulnerable. “Figures, you do follow me everywhere.” his voice was blank of anything; You could no longer read his voice.

Come sink into me and let me breathe you in

It was true, you needed him, so of course you followed him everywhere. “Go, we’re done! I’m not going back! This is all Mori's fault! He’d be alive if it weren't for inviting that damn organization here!” he was upset, yet he seemed so confused. Like a child, he had no grip on what he was feeling. Was he angry, grieving, sad? He couldn’t tell.

You ran to him wrapping arms around him. “I will go with you! I will follow you!”

I'll be your gravity, you be my oxygen.

You'd hold him down during this pain. You’d help him achieve whatever it was that he needed. “Even if it is death, I will not leave.”

So dig two graves 'cause when you die I swear I'll be leaving by your side

With a soft sigh, he pushed you away. “That changes nothing, follow if you have to but I never loved you.” you backed away smiling you curtsied.

“I know Dazai, I know you never did and never could. You are a demon prodigy, one that can’t understand his own feelings. I wish I could help, but your gift cancels mine out.” your voice was sweet as honey, but he shed you no more glances as he walked away. Following him, you sighed.

~

Two years later your empty eyes sat at an agency desk, you'd bought an outfit to match his. Those feelings refused to leave you even after all this time. They surged more than ever. He was like his 15-year-old self again, different but at least there was life in his eyes. He laughed and flirted just as he did those years ago.

So you can drag me through hell If it meant I could hold your hand

You looked to the cafe waitress’s hand, then your own. How you wished to be her. You stood up, walking out and to the office of the agency, sitting in your chair, Kyouka walked up to you. She once had your eyes. Dull, lifeless, broken, but then Atsushi seemed to save her. “Do you love him?” she asked tilting her head as you looked from your phone to her, you sighed.

“Yes, but I'll suffer for life over this. I had my chance and now it’s gone.”

I will follow you 'cause I'm under your spell

She set down a small piece of paper. “I found this.'' She tried to give you a smile that wasn’t pity. They often asked why you always looked so disturbed. Maybe it was the fact you were really all alone now?

And you can throw me to the flames

A tear dropped from your eye. Something, a feeling you hadn’t had in so long. It was worth it, these empty dull years. “A tossed away letter to apologize.” you held it to your chest.

~

I will follow you so you can drag me through hell If it meant I could hold your hand

You found yourself alone on a mission. This was assigned to both you and Dazai, but he had other things he wanted to be doing. Neither of you knew how dangerous this was. He had not batted an eye at this mission. It was simple, a simple recovery mission. A ransom kidnapping, simple in and out. You could handle it without being seen. You ached for the warmth of his hand. A little light lifted your eyes as you stepped into the building.

When his fingers opened his phone accepting the call, he nearly fell over dead. The mission you were attending wasn’t a retrieval; It was a set-up. Despite how careful he'd been, somebody had found out about you. More so his past with you. His mind was too focused on you to think of who let it slip.

I will follow you 'cause I'm under your spell And you can throw me to the flames

Dazai pushed past the doors too late. This was his fault, all of this. The loss of your true self.

I will follow you, I will follow you I will follow you, I will follow you

You'd always said you would follow him. It was always like that. He had taken years to figure out why he never ignored or let you go. He was selfish, he had grown attached. Ango and Oda had even offered the thought. The thought that, maybe in this heart; swallowed by black, he loved you.

It was his turn to feel desperate as he dropped down. The blood flowing from your stomach in spurts.

So you can drag me through hell If it meant I could hold your hand

He held your hand in his while also trying to keep the bleeding down. “I’ll get help! Just hang on, we just need Yosano!” it was the first time your heart slowed like this; The first time you could read him like a book.

I will follow you 'cause I'm under your spell And you can throw me to the flames

Your hand was growing cold, your breathing staggered. You looked to be in so much pain. “No, I won't be that long. You should leave, you don’t love me so…” your voice trailed off as your head tilted to look at his cheeks. Tears… there were tears.

He shook his head pressing your hand to his forehead. “I will follow you.”

Your eyes widened as a light chuckle left your lips, “I will follow you.” you hummed, as the crimson left your lips. He was forced to watch you die in his arms. There was one final look on your face. A giant smile, a real smile on your lips. “I love you Osa…” then, you were gone.

Another, another friend in his arms, dead. No, you are more than a friend. “I… I love you.” he’d never said those words, and it didn’t matter now. There was no going back. He held you to him, cold and motionless.

Somebody from the mafia had done this. Somebody would probably be Mori… he’d dropped this low before, it wouldn’t shock him if he were trying to drive Dazai to murder again; To get him kicked from the light.

For you, for the wish left by Oda, he wouldn’t let himself fall that low. He’d be strong.

[ka-writes]

——————

Notes: I felt evil..

Also cross country sucks, now I feel sick.

But I gift longish chapter!

——————

Incase you missed:

Chapter 1:

Chapter 4:

——————

Inspired by:

Humans are Space Velociraptors

By:FreshRoses_InMyGarden_NeedTheRain

Some kids come from storks, others come from crashed spaceships

By: mmmajora

Home Again, Home Again

By: teeth_eater

All works can be found on Ao3

——————

Warning: trauma flash backs, cussing, mentions of character death, fear.

——————

Chapter 5: Rocky Road

——————

Techno certainly didn’t expect Tubbo’s sudden outburst. Still Techno sort of expected bitterness towards the human.

The droneling marched off presumably to go to the garden. He shoved Wilbur out of the way and continued speaking gibberish.

“What’s with Tubbo?” The phantom asked, casting worried glances towards the door.

“He just threatened the human.” Techno said as if it wasn’t the most stupid move on Tubbo’s part. Wilbur’s eyes grew wide and he attempted to run to the holding cell, only to be stopped by Techno’s hand on his shoulder. The phantom sighed before turning towards the guard.

Silently the pair made their way to the common room. Flicking on the illusion projector, and turning the channel with the ISF news. Techno opened a novel not paying any mind to the news reporter who was going over the case that Techno had just escaped.

There weren't any further advances on the story other than what they knew. The ship had crashed on Omar, a nature preserve, which led the ISF to find eight human bodies and twelve recognized crew members. Though there were fourteen to begin with, not that the news knew that of course. The ship was also deemed as a poacher ship and not much else was discovered.

After the story was covered a different news reporter came on screen. He was shifting his papers nervously and glanced down every so often. This caused Techno to close his novel and pay attention to the illusion.

“Just one day ago, one of the Dream Team crew members quit.” The news reporter took a shaky breath before continuing, “Today the crew has reported that the ex-crew member had taken one of the humans they were using for testing.” A picture of Tommy appeared on screen, “This is what the human looks like. We advise citizens to be on the lookout for this man,” a picture of Wilbur popped onto the screen, “and the human. If you see either one in public do not engage and immediately report it to one of your stationed guards.” The man finished and Wilbur immediately flicked off the TV.

Him and Techno shared a glance of pure shock. Wilbur shed a couple blue tears and immediately started panicking. The guard wrapped his brother until a tight hug and fought off the voices chants of “NOT SAFE”. Silence drew the pair into an unsteady atmosphere.

——————

“Honestly that kid is a burden. I don’t know why you think we can take care of him.” A lady said, fury wasn’t hidden behind a fake smile at this point. The man standing next to her nodded silently.

“Ma’am, I don't understand what you’re saying.” Another lady responded, patience running thin.

Tommy held back the tears that were threatening to fall. His lip was already bleeding and his fingers felt raw. His bruises were itching uncomfortably under his tight shirt. He was starting to overheat, yet kept his jacket wrapped around him protectively.

“What I am saying is, we don’t want him, and I doubt anyone else will.” The lady started, “That kid is a nuisance. He makes our children look problematic, when in reality he is the problem child. I don’t understand how his parents put up with him for so long.” The lady finished.

“Only my mother put up with me,” Tommy thought, “my father couldn’t spare me a glance without yelling at me..”

He sat in the waiting room for what felt like hours before making the decision. The one that caused him to live on the streets.

He took his bag and sprinted out of the facility. He just kept running, nowhere to go and no money to use.

….

Suddenly it was a different night. He was sitting on a park bench looking at the stars. He was somewhere in Colorado, not sure how he made it here, but here he was. He breathed in the fresher air and pushed himself up.

He turned left then right then another left. At this point he was on one of those nature paths that seemed to be everywhere.

He sat in a field. Wasn’t it night?

A light and a huge gust of wind was the only response he got.

Then footsteps. A distant scream. Then cold sharp pain accompanied by a void of darkness.

He woke up in a cage..

He shot up in bed.. His head throbbed, but there was no point in sleeping it off.

So he got up. He hobbled over to the bookshelf and looked at the weird games and toys. His eyes fell on what he presumed to be a stack of cards and a pen of sorts.

It took an hour to label all the cards, but when he finally did he played a game of solitaire. Then another and another. By the time he finished the sixth one he was bored.

He went back to inspecting the bookshelf. The middle shelf had jigsaw puzzles.. didn’t Clem like puzzles?

He picked out what he presumed to be a flower field. There were a bunch of blue sunflowers.. wasn’t that her favorite flower?

Tommy sat on the floor creating a puzzle his sister would’ve absolutely adored. Silent tears slipped down his cheeks every once and a while. Only to be hastily wiped away.

——————

His eyes felt like they were glued shut. They attempted to sit up only to find creaks in their back and neck.

After a minute he sat up. His mind was still foggy from sleep, but he made his way to the security office, ready to work through his sleep deprived state.

Before they even left the room Phil told them to go back to rest. Ranboo obliged, and closed his door.

Having no work left he decided to write down as much information as he could about both Earth and Tommy.

Surprisingly they were able to recall a lot of information from the night before. That usually didn’t happen..

Once they wrote an entire dictionary on both topics, they tried the door again.

Phil, once again stepped in front of them, “Mate, I really think you should rest.”

“I know, but I am hungry. Can I at least have lunch?” Ranboo felt like a child once again, but knew it always worked with the captain.

After Phil rolled his eyes, Ranboo practically skipped to the kitchen. He grabbed some of the leftovers from last night and popped it into the insta-heater. Making two plates of food.

After the food was ready he looked down either hallway. Phil was preoccupied with Wilbur in the common room. Deciding it was the best time to sneak to his friend, he made his way to the holding cell. Only to be stopped by none other than Techno himself.

“Oh! H-hi Techno..” Ranboo said awkwardly.

“What are you doing?”

“I-I was just getting Tubbo some lunch!” Ranboo cringed at their own lie. Only to be met with a raised eyebrow.

“Ok I was gonna visit Tommy.” Ranboo caved. That was the right answer as Techno nodded and let Ranboo pass.

“You’re only giving him lunch right?” Techno inquired.

“Er- that and talk a bit.. I mean that was my original plan.”

“Then I will stay with you.” Techno left no room for debate.

Ranboo nodded and approached the cell, setting the plate on the automatic tray. Techno stood in a small hallway allowing his presence only to be known to Ranboo.

Tommy was sitting on the floor putting together a landscape puzzle.

With what they saw, their curiosity intrigued them.

“Can I go in?” He asked first to Techno who shifted off of the wall.

“Only if I am in there.” Ranboo nodded and turned to Tommy who was busy with the puzzle.

Ranboo knocked on the window once. Tommy’s head shot up before the human stood up and approached the window.

“Hello!” Ranboo chirped, “I can see you’re working on a puzzle! I would love to help if you want? Me and my friend won’t go in if you don’t want me in there. But just so you know I brought lunch!”

Tommy stared at the enderian before answering. He was clearly debating the options.

“Only if Techno doesn’t talk.” Was the only response either got.

With that they grabbed the food and let the door open. Techno entered first, immediately going to the back chair and pulling out a novel. Ranboo handed Tommy a plate and sat next to the strange human.

It didn’t take them long for them to start rambling. Both about everything and nothing.

Surprisingly Ranboo lost all fear that should’ve been gripping them, and felt comfortable sitting with one of the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy.

——————

“So people are looking for you?” The captain asked, impatiently tapping his foot against the metal floor.

“To put it simply, yea..” Wilbur said pretty much losing all confidence within the span of an hour.

The caption responded with a sympathetic look and wrapped his son in another tight hug. Wilbur didn’t pull away this time. He melted into comfort.

After a minute the elder pulled away, “How about you watch one of those documentaries you like. I will make some iced fluff and join you in a bit.” The phantom nodded and trugged himself over to the common room sofa. Turning on the illusion and flicking to one of the only things the ISF was allowing people to view from Earth, Netflix.

He skimmed the documentary section and came upon one that was about the Ocean. Three minutes later he was completely into it.

Phil returned with two bowls of iced fluff. Wilbur dug into the sweet treat. Phil sat next Will and wrapped a wing around him, to which Will leaned into the embrace.

——————

“So what’s your favorite treat?” Ranboo asked, after he got another piece Tommy wasn’t able to get.

Tommy scoffed, mumbling about how he was just about to try that spot before answering the question, “I love Rocky Road Ice Cream. My mom made it without nuts so it is far superior to anything anyone would get from a store.” Tommy was satisfied with his answer and tried another piece.

“Hmm.. What is ice cream?”

“It’s a sweet frozen cream of sorts.”

“Oh so like iced fluff?”

“No idea, I would have to try it first..”

Both continued the conversation mumbling about other different foods and what not, before falling into a comfortable silence.

Tubbo was absolutely furious at the scene. He sprinted off to the garden where he slammed the door and melted to the floor.

When was the last time anyone had a conversation that was about everything and nothing with him?

He hated the fact he was jealous over a fucking human.

Tomorrow was the day he would prove the human wasn’t all he seemed to be. That the human was nothing more than a monster.

——————

Chapter 5-End

Words: 1826

——————

Notes: I still have a few filler chapters, but am getting there!!

Go take care of yourself, love ya!! <3

Reminder likes are appreciated but reblogs are even better! (Suggestion make a side blog where you just spam creators works... just saying, I have one..)

Also my layout for chapters has changed a bit. I have the last chapter at the top and the next one at the bottom.. and no I am not doing the inspired by on Ao3, simply cause it’s easier for people to see it in the first few, I am keeping it here tho, cause I know people aren’t really gonna see my first chapter right away. I will be keeping the link to the first chapter at the top as well just not the middle ones.

——————

Tubbo has evolved in to

J E L L Y B E E

——————

Chapter 6:

[early2000smovieimagines]

Meeting and Dating Horace Mahoney

(Not my gif)(Requested by anonymous)

- You and Horace meet prior to him being captured by Cyrus. Ever since you’d moved to town, you’d made a habit of walking your dog past his scrapyard every evening.

- During one of these walks, your little pooch managed to wriggle free and run into the abandoned area and, like a rational pet owner, you ran after them.

- Soon enough, you were wandering down the rows of old, busted up cars and calling your pets name, growing more and more worried the longer you were inside the eerie area.

- Before you really started to panic, you luckily spotted them at the end of one of the aisles ...though they weren’t the only thing you spotted.

- It nearly gave you a heart attack when you first noticed the figure in front of them but you figured it was the owner of the lot and called out an apology and short explanation; which was backed up by the fact your dog was standing a few feet from them. They didn’t answer.

- Calling your dogs name, your skin began to crawl as the man remained stationary and silent. You called your dogs name again and they finally turned towards you, leisurely returning to your side as you nervously glanced from them to the man.

- You called out another apology, hoping that maybe he’d just hadn’t heard you or that he’d do something to ease your nerves but he remained still and silent. After quickly bending down to scoop up your dogs leash, you glanced up again and found that the figure was gone and you were all alone.

- The hairs on the back of your neck rose and your heart skipped a beat before you quickly booked it out of there.

- The next day, you’d kept a much tighter grip on your pets leash as you passed but something caused you to stop in your tracks. ...A low whistle, long and eerie, filling the pretty sunset atmosphere with a sense of dread.

- Your dog perked up and pulled towards the fence of the junkyard though you were prepared and stood your ground. As you looked through the chain link fence, you spotted a figure amongst the rubble, one you could see far more clearly now that the sun was out.

- The same silhouette as the night before, white as a sheet, bullet riddled and seven foot tall; you immediately forced your dog to move and went back home.

- When you got back home, you began to research the junkyard and stumbled across the story of The Breaker. After that, you researched angry and lost spirits and; taking it upon yourself, you chose to attempt to release him from his purgatory.

- When you returned to the scrap yard, you tried your best to go about the ritual you’d looked up but in the midst of it, a shadow blanketed over you. You freezed in your place and turned to stare up at the hulking figure as it stood over you.

- Remaining still, you watched as the entity began to walk past you, sitting down on one of the busted up cars and staring you down. The two of you sat like that for a while, you being too afraid to move at first before your fear turned into curiosity.

- He didn’t hurt you; he hardly even approached you, he just sat in front of you, occasionally glancing at you before looking around his scrapyard.

- After some time, he merely faded into nothingness and you made your way out of the abandoned lot.

- You sort of thought you were going crazy so after a few days, you decided to go back and see if he was in fact real. He appeared just as you were about to leave, or at least you spotted him right then; after he watched from afar for a while.

- So you turned back around and wandered a bit closer, gradually making your way to his side. You’d continue to return to the junkyard sporadically throughout the next few months, finding that you somewhat liked his company or maybe that you just liked how he made your life more unnatural.

- One day you wanted to test a theory: the theory of if you could touch him, so; much to his confusion, you hesitantly reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder. He did the same and thus, your sort of relationship began.

- Your relationship is going to be a slow burn for obvious reasons but after a couple months, he finally just comes up and pulls you into a strong, somewhat inexperienced kiss.

- When you pull away, you don’t know what to say ...so you don’t say anything. You just stare up at him in shock before quickly making your way out of the junkyard. You return a few days later and give him a hesitant, soft kiss, having contemplated the idea of dating a ghost and coming to the conclusion that you were willing to give it a try.

- So, for better or for worse, you begin your relationship with The Juggernaut.

- Well, he can’t leave the scrapyard and no ones going in there to bother you so the two of you can pretty much do whatever you like to each other without having to worry about anything.

- Speaking of: you probably shouldnt bring him around your friends; or anybody similar, because I don’t trust him and you probably shouldn’t either. He’s not the most in control ghoul out there.

- He always tries his best to be gentle with you, knowing that he’s got a lot of strength and could easily hurt you if he isn’t careful. He probably knows exactly how much pressure it would take to break one of your bones, he just doesn’t know exactly when things start to hurt so he treats you like you’re fragile.

- You’re going to be the one initiating most of the affection in your relationship because of his fear of hurting you. Over time, he’ll learn more about being soft and will be able to take the initiative.

- Rest assured, he never minds when you’re affectionate with him; he just isn’t used to it so he’ll look a tad bit uncomfortable.

- He stiffens whenever you give him a hug but he likes it. Regardless though, he’ll leave giving hugs to you since he doesn’t want to have some intrusive thought and/or accidentally hurt you.

- He’ll watch curiously as you play with his hands and fingers. He sort of finds it funny how small yours are compared to his.

- You’re usually the one to kiss him and they’re fairly soft and chaste. Sometimes, he’ll sort of linger by your side and lean down closer to you whenever he wants one.

- Later in your relationship, he’ll be the one giving the kisses and they’ll be a bit more rough and hard; at least at times.

- Sometimes, your seven foot tall boyfriend just has to pick you up so that you can give him a kiss and I think that’s beautiful.

- He’s obviously an extremely strong individual so he can easily lift you and/or whatever you’d like him to.

- Leaning your head on his shoulder and occasionally falling asleep on him while you’re sitting together. He’ll initially stiffen; like he does with all your affection, but he’ll slowly relax as you continue to slumber.

- Since he really doesn’t talk, he can’t exactly call you anything. If he did or when he does speak, he’ll usually just call you by your name since he wasn’t really exposed to pet names.

- Introducing him to a lot of new things since he lived a fairly sheltered life; and because he’s been dead for quite some time.

- He likes listening to you talk and explain things. He thinks your voice is pretty and he never went to school so anything you want to tell him is fine by him; even if it’s boring to most people.

- He doesn’t talk very much; if at all, and he certainly doesn’t like talking about his life so you’ll be the one carrying the conversation.

- I’m making it canon that he whistles more than he speaks. It’s one of the few sounds you’ll ever really hear out of him and while it’s sort of eerie when it’s the middle of the night and you’re somewhat drifting off to sleep in the junkyard, you soon learn to love it.

- Sitting in the junkyard, probably looking up at the stars/sunset or starting a small bonfire. I’m sure that the place is condemned and full of horror stories so people will rarely bother you; even if there is a fire.

- Following him around as he goes about his day. He’s sort of confused as to why you’d just want to watch him do nothing or crush random stuff, etc, but he certainly isn’t going to complain.

- While Horace has a habit of watching people, he looks at you with a far less murderous gaze.

- The main reason Horace snapped is because he lost his father; the last person in his life, and had no one to steer him so I think with your help, he could somewhat resolve the issues that have plagued him after his old mans death.

- He definitely has some attachment issues so you can’t just not visit him for a long time; especially without giving him a warning.

- He really doesn’t want you to be afraid of him so he’ll try his best to deter you from researching him any more than you already have.

- He doesn’t believe you when you compliment him but he appreciates that you’d try to lie for no reason other than to just make him relatively happier.

- He’ll occasionally just very gently and tenderly pick things off of you or out of your hair and it’s just the sweetest little thing to you whenever he does.

- Junk gifts. Want a cool hubcap or car emblem? They’re all yours honey.

- Weed bouquets. Roses don’t exactly grow in car cemeteries, alright? But he’s heard you mention receiving flowers so if you want them, then he’ll try his best to provide.

- Please let him see your dog/s. He had some of his own; that he fed his victims to, so he’s quite fond of them.

- Having a little hideout made out of crushed cars. You like to sit in it either with him or just to relax while he goes about his ghostly day.

- Having a bad day? Sometimes, he’ll just silently hand you some kind of tool and lead you to a wrecked car, urging you to take your anger out on it. He always found it cathartic to break things.

- Board games and puzzles.

- Reading to him. He’s more likely than not illiterate so he likes being able to hear stories for once in his “life”.

- You’ve basically got a big, dangerous jungle gym to play on when you’re with him. He’ll usually stay close to your side as you explore the junkyard, catching you when you trip and steering you away from certain things.

- I assume he has a truck that he can supernaturally operate so the two of you can drive through the lot together during the night.

- He’s sort of envious of you; and definitely envious of the people around you. I mean, you’re alive, you’re attractive. You got to live your life properly and he got jack shit; not that he could hold any of that against you.

- I’m sorry but Horace is the type of spirit that would genuinely consider killing you so that you could be with him forever. The only real thing stopping him is the fact that he can’t be sure that you’d end up actually being stuck with him in the afterlife.

- Horace; in real life, lived a solitary life. He only really had his father so now that he has you; someone else who genuinely loves and cares for him, he’s not going to allow anyone to threaten your relationship.

- On the same note: Horace is extremely protective of you, regardless of his dark thoughts about you. He’s never going to let anything else hurt you; all you’ll have to do is lead them into the scrap yard.

- You kind of really don’t want to get into a fight with him so it’s a good thing you usually don’t. It’s best to just give him space whenever he’s angry, whether at you or something else. He doesn’t want to hurt you but he has his compulsions.

- You’ll give him a few days to cool off before returning, apologizing if you did something or asking if he’s alright if it wasn’t your fault. If he’s the cause of the problem then you’ll go back when you’re over it and will be able to accept his nonverbal apologies.

- Like I said: I don’t think Horace talks all that much in general so it certainly won’t be common for him to tell you that he loves you.

- As for most relationships with supernatural beings, the future isn’t something either of you can really anticipate so you just enjoy the time you have together while you can.

[jtrokujo]

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔑𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔚𝔢 𝔐𝔢𝔱

✩｡: * • .───── ❁ ❁ ─────. • * :｡ ✩

❝ 𝐆𝐎𝐉𝐎 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐔 ❞

word count: 1.6k

It is evening.

But even though it's the spring season it is still fresh, but still cool.

However, it goes without saying that spring has just started.

There's a prom today, or better said now, and of course I don't have a partner.

But I don't care, why do I need someone for a dance?

In general, I haven't been a big fan of it since the beginning of the school year, I don't know why myself.

With my (color) dress and a mug with a full drink, I made my way outside.

I immediately sat down on the stairs that were in my perspective, even if it is cool I prefer to stay there instead of being lonely with my classmates again.

Out of nowhere, I was an outsider, I was never mean, I was respectful of everyone, things that a nice person does.

Or rather jujuzist.

There was still someone in my class who is a jujucist, because of my sense of smell I was able to find out, otherwise I would probably never have found out.

Although I still have 2 skills, I rarely use them because they can do more harm than the opposite.

Thought manipulation and manipulation of reality.

It's actually pretty cool and I would be lying if I said changing reality would be boring, but I'm sure a lot of people think of one thing or the other.

For example, I cannot erase the existence of someone or an animal.

Does that mean I can neither revoke extinct animals nor let animals become extinct, again should I?

I had a little hamster when I was little, she was cute and quite fluffy because of her weight.

After that day from school, I came home with joy.

Everything was good, I got a good grade, played hide and seek with some of my old friends and happened to have enough money to buy sweets on the way home.

I still remembered the tearing of my heart that no one could hear.

Because my hamster passed away.

Like I've been pushed into nowhere, into nothing.

I was lonely, even though I had family and friends, she was different, I didn't know exactly what, but I think it would be better not to know anything like that.

Grinning sadly, I drank the strange drink from my mug and looked up at the moon until someone broke the pleasant silence "Yo!"

I turn around, jerking in shock, the jujuzist, what's his name again?

Yes, I, (Y / N) (L / N), have forgotten the names of the most popular boys from my school, but I don't care that I would marry him.

The funny thing was that he always wore this blindfold, I seriously wonder if he's blind.

"May I keep you company?" he asked immediately, but he did not wait for my answer but sat right next to me.

The only thing I know right now is that he's a little weird, I don't know why, he's pretty big and a little close, too close.

I can even feel his breathing.

As uncomfortable as I feel, I just try to ignore him, because apparently he doesn't feel like having a little chat, which is why I just sit down until tonight comes to an end.

"What's your name?" the white-haired asked me, shattering all my hopes, sighing softly, I answered him "My name is (Y / N) and yours?" "Gojo."

Immediately the silence returned.

Gojo sat down in a more comfortable pose, through this pose there was finally a distance between us, but our legs touched.

I'm not that kind of girl who'd go mad about little things like that.

I'd rather go back inside instead of spending my last day of school sitting down with a classmate in silence and looking at the sky.

After a few minutes I got up and was already on my way when the voice of Gojo rang out behind me "(Y / N), wait!"

I turned around in amazement and saw that he was coming towards me and I automatically looked up because of his size.

"Yes?" I asked immediately and looked at him in amazement, only where should I look?

I can't see his eyes through his blindfold, and besides, what for?

However, this is not my business.

"Would you like to dance with me?" he asked out of nowhere.

"I beg your pardon?" surprised by this sudden question, I was glad to be able to answer normally.

"If you want to dance with me." giggled my counterpart and immediately reached out his hand with slightly pink cheeks - which luckily he could hardly see due to his blindfold - I took his hand.

Due to the loud volume that could play in the sports hall as well as hear the music, it was a bit slow, but still suitable for the mood.

He quickly put my empty cup down a little far away from us and began to guide me.

After a certain point, he turned me around so that my back was touching his abdominal muscles.

Either he just dances a little differently from the others or he does it on purpose.

Now my cheeks turned red like a tomato.

His soft lips found their way to my ear and whispered, "You're not a bad dancer, (Y / N)."

The tall man fastened both of his classmate's hands with one hand and pulled down his black blindfold with the other.

Immediately afterwards he turned her back into a normal pose so that she can move around while dancing.

That was interrupted by his eyes.

While (Y / N) tends to dance with his mouth open, Gojo prefers to grin and continues to lead (Y / N).

When the song was over, the two youngsters had stopped dancing and looked at each other rather lovingly.

A few seconds later he put his blindfold back on where they were before and the conversation continued. "What do you want to do after graduation?"

"I have no idea what about you?"

The white-haired man proudly said, "I'm going to be a teacher at a school where I teach jujuzists."

The joy is clearly written on his lips and it makes me happy to see him happy even though I have known him for about 10 minutes.

"Why are you not coming?"

"I am-“

Out of shock, which was more of an irony, he took a deep breath and acted like a drama queen. "But I guess I know you're a Jujuzist."

"But how?" I asked puzzled, still stay normal.

Gojo told me that it didn't matter and offered me one more time if I would like to work with him at a school.

I mean, I have no particular career aspirations, I am a Jujuzist, I like to help everyone as best I can and I can probably improve and improve my skills.

"Yes, of course." I answered him dearly, you the silence came back again, but this was a little different from the previous one.

Gojo sat down where he was sitting before and knocked his hand next to him, hoping that I would keep him company, but I mean why not?

I sat down next to him in silence and immediately laid my head on his shoulder and looked at the moon.

TIME SKIP

Today is a special day at Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School.

Rather said for the students, because today the classes compete against classes.

I just hope no one would overdo it, but since I found out that someone was eating Sukuna's fingers, I've given up.

Luckily it hadn't eaten such a psycho, well, this person would probably have died by like Itadori had luck by his side.

However, I kept an eye on Gakuganji's students.

Because one of them had languished one of my students, but if I should find out that one of his students, or even all of them, one of my students is only a hair too crumbly I break every bone of Gakuganji.

But back to reality right now, all the teachers are in the room looking at the monitor.

While Gojo now and then tries to be in a conversation with someone from this room, the others prefer to ignore him.

But I can't hold it against them and even though I'm his girlfriend, I love heart, right?

Almost an hour has passed, but I can feel an uneasy feeling, I appreciated a look out of the window.

Immediately I turned around and said "We have to get out quickly, our students will probably be attacked!"

Gojo got up amusingly, of course with his comments, but it was Gakuganji, not Iori, who got the stupid comments.

We ran out as fast as we could, the so-called 'shield' leaned on the ground, but as much as I accelerated my pace I was apparently not fast enough.

Surprised, Gojo touched the 'sign', but immediately let go.

There was a small bruise on the palm of his hand, but as well as I know him and his abilities it will go as quickly as possible.

But in contrast to Gojo, Iori can go through half her arm right away.

"Is that an 'Anti-Gojo Satoru Shield'? Gojo asked us, to which I replied," Would be possible. "

The two teachers decided to watch the spectacle inside.

Gojo held my wrist, just like he did at prom, "Gojo, I have to go." "I know, but please take care of yourself."

I tiptoed a kiss on his cheek and walked away.

"You're not either, Gojo Satoru!" Suddenly a stranger yelled at me out of nowhere, well that could be something.

[anntoldst0ries]

Queen’s Gambit (Ethan x MC)

Book: Open Heart Pairing: Dr Ethan Ramsey x F!MC Word Count: 972 Rating: K+ Summary: It’s game time, and both players are equally competitive. Category: Fluff Warnings: None!

A/N: Having watched ‘Queen’s Gambit’ on Netflix, I had a struck of inspiration and created this sweet and short fic, which I hope you guys will enjoy as much as I enjoyed writing it! The story also uses one of my personal experiences - if you read it, you’re going to know which one :) I also have a dedicated Picta edit for this fic, which will be posted tomorrow.

Much love 💜 💜 💜 💜

“Hey, is everything ok?” The genuine worry in his voice made her heart skip a beat. Sometimes she had to pinch herself to make sure this isn't a dream, that Ethan Ramsey actually has a softer side and for some mysterious reason, she's the only one who can bring it out.

The question wasn’t exactly irrational. She’s been sitting in the same position for some time now, her eyes widened. That’s how Ethan found her.

“This was amazing.” Her finger pointed towards the screen, her gaze completely still. “The best show I’ve ever seen.”

Ethan chuckled inwardly. She was unbelievable.

“You say exactly the same thing after every show you watched on Netflix.”

She sent him a murderous look.

“Want to tell me about it?” Thank God he came up with the damage recovery line quickly.

“I have a better idea, actually.” She jumped off of the bed, suddenly reinvigorated. “Do you have a chess board?”

“Chess board? You don’t mean cheese board, right?”

This remark earned him murderous look number 2. One more and he’ll be spending the night on the terrace.

“Yeah, I do. It should be in the spare room, on the bookcase, upper shelves. Do you want me to find it?”

“I’ll manage just fine.”

2 minutes later, she emerged from the room, holding the heavy chess board triumphantly. Having set it on the dining table, she took all the figures out carefully, admiring the sophisticated craftsmanship of the marble objects.

“How beautiful, Ethan.”

“Indeed.”

Had she not been staring at the chess set, she would have known that they meant completely different things. The older doctor was transfixed on her face, eyes sparkling with excitement and the glow that he only saw when they were together.

“I want to play.”

“Why are we playing chess all of a sudden?”

“The show I’ve just finished watching, it’s called The Queen’s Gambit and the main character, Beth, is this genius chess player.”

“I suppose that’s better than the previous one, after which you wanted me to call you ‘my lady’ for a week and bow down instead of saying ‘Hi’.”

“Bridgerton? I am less than impressed by the lack of appropriate manners, my lord. And now, shall we indulge in the ancient game of chess?”

“Do you know how to play?”

“I think I do, but my memory needs refreshing. After all, I am not dating Edenbrook’s best teacher for nothing, right?”

“Suddenly you are not questioning my teaching methods?”

“I never questioned them, Ethan. I have my opinion on them, but I don’t question them. That’s a difference.”

The older doctor set the board up for them, giving her the advantage of playing with the white pieces. Then, ever so patiently and slowly, he ran through the basics with her, starting from the checkmate and finishing on each piece’s movements.

I could listen to him explain the vacuum cleaner user manual and I’d never get bored, she thought to herself whilst trying to decide whether to focus on the words or the movements of his tempting lips.

“This is the rook.” He picked the piece up. “It can move any number of vacant squares horizontally or vertically. The rook also takes part in castling, which I will explain in a minu—“

“Rookie!”

“What?”

“This” - she took the black piece from his palm - “is a rookie.”

“It’s called a rook.”

“Well, I will call it a rookie, if you don’t mind.”

“You are impossible.” He tried to sound serious but stifled a laugh, unsuccessfully.

“Plus, it sort of makes sense, because I also move horizontally and vertically - and always towards the king.” She winked and this playful gesture made him smile. But only for a short while. A few seconds later, his expression changed drastically - it was now laser focused.

“Let the game begin.” The hoarse tone of his voice made her quake, she knew that competitive Ethan Ramsey mode was on. It was so on.

1 HOUR LATER

“Now, correct me if I’m wrong, Dr. Ramsey, but I believe that if I do this” - she picked a piece and hovered it over the board for a moment, before lowering it down painfully slowly - “and play bishop to f5, we have a checkmate?”

His puzzled expression said it all.

“And this, ladies and gentlemen, means our world famous diagnostician has 1 win and 2 defeats on his account.” - she said in the announcer style.

“Beginner’s luck. I demand a rematch.”

“Fine with me. But before you do enter a rematch, I’ll give you three lessons, Dr. Ramsey. First of all, you can’t leave the kingside so exposed, it puts you in a very vulnerable position.” She wished she had a camera to hand, to capture all the amazing grimaces his face was unable to hide.

“Second of all, if that’s how you want to lead your defence, you may want to consider one of the Italian Game variations next time. Like this.” She started moving the pieces around the board skilfully and his jaw literally dropped.

“Last, but not least.” She was now staring directly into his blue irises. “Don’t feel bad about the defeat, you’ve just lost to former junior San Francisco county champion. And you fought hard.”

“I…what? Who?”

“Yours truly.” She pointed the thumbs at herself and smiled gracefully.

“You are pulling my leg.”

“Nope. Call my dad or ask him next time when we’re visiting.”

Damn it. She played him like a fiddle.

Which was, pretty much, the summary of their whole relationship in one sentence.

“Well… that changes everything, Valentine.” He grinned widely.

“What do you mean?”

“I was going easy on you but now that I know who I’m dealing with… I won’t hold back.”

“Alright.” The younger doctor put both of her elbows firmly on the table and interlaced her fingers, gently resting her chin on them. Then, piercing his gaze, she whispered:

“Let’s play.”

If you made it this far, I’m giving you all my love - thanks for reading my rambling 💫💫🙏🏼

Tag list 💜💜💜: @genevievemd | @terrm9 | @poudredevie | @starrystarrytrouble | @whippedforethanfreakingramsey | @mercury84choices | @maurine07 | @gryffindordaughterofathena | @jamespotterthefirst | @justanotherrookie | @lucy-268 | @aarisa-frost | @caseyvalentineramsey | @brooks-eden | @iemcpbchoices | @lovingramsey | @red-rookie | @qrkowna | @queencarb | @oldminniemcg | @tsrookie | @catchinglikekerosene | @ohchoices | @the-pale-goddess | @schnitzelbutterfingers | @openheartthot​ | @tenaciousdeputydreamfriend​

[songfell-ut]

Chapter 16 ha ha help

These are getting more and more tiring, but we’re finally getting somewhere! Ha ha seriously send help @lostmypotatoes or anyone else whose contributions made (some parts of) this a lot of fun to do. Chapter is here.

 Just like Sans’ discovery of her “stripes,” Frisk only found out she could make barriers because of Papyrus.

They were playing in Snowdin, as they did almost every day. That evening, it was just her, Papyrus, and Asriel; Sans was nowhere in sight, which meant he was off napping somewhere. He did that a lot.

Someone had thrown a ball and gotten it stuck high up in the town Christmas tree, and the three of them were taking turns trying to get it down. The Prince was being very careful, flicking little fire-wads to hit the ball without burning it; Papyrus was in much better control of his bone-throwing than Frisk would have guessed, able to tap the ball in any direction with near-perfect accuracy. Of course, he could have used blue magic, but where was the fun in that?

It became evident after a few tries that the ball was almost loose already, so Papyrus proposed instead that they see how many times they could hit it without knocking it down. Frisk put her rocks aside, watching the skeleton and the young boss monster nudge the ball back and forth on its perch. It nearly fell so often that the child was soon standing right against the tree, trying to look straight up through the branches.

“Come away from there, Kris,” Asriel said after his next turn. “In fact, it’s time to head back now. Mama’s got another pie in the oven. Would you like some, Papyrus?”

The skeleton perked up. “OF COURSE, YOUR MAJESTY!”

“Wonderful! Come along.” Asriel held his hand out, and the little human skipped over to take it.

Then they heard the fateful cry: “ONE MOMENT, NYEH!” Papyrus threw one more bone to get the ball down, but in his haste, he aimed too high. It struck just below the decorations atop the tree, knocking down a great shower of powdery snow…and the heavy, pointed star.

The crack of breaking wood made them look up, and they glimpsed the star falling just before the snow hit their faces. Asriel could have moved them away in time, but the cold flakes in his eyes distracted him for one crucial second, and Frisk knew the star was going to hit them. Asriel was going to get hurt! She felt something strange burning in her chest, and she yelled at the top of her lungs, wishing with all her might that they’d be safe—

The star went plink off something, and Asriel’s grip tightened much too hard as the rest of the snowflakes settled to the ground. The ball came tumbling down a moment later, bouncing off Asriel’s shoulder.

“KRIS! YOUR MAJESTY!” Papyrus’ hands were clapped to his skull. “OH MY GOD! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!”

“Yes,” said Asriel. But then Frisk whimpered, and the boss monster released her, aghast. “Oh, no—Kris, I’m so sorry! Did I—”

Frisk couldn’t help a little sob. Asriel had almost crushed her hand!

Papyrus was also near tears. “I…I DIDN’T MEAN—IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN—”

The Prince suddenly looked stern. “Never mind,” he said curtly. “It was an accident. Kris will be fine.” He held out his hand, which glowed a familiar green. “Here.”

Frisk grabbed at the light, wiping her face on her sleeve as the pain eased into a twinge, then nothing at all. Why was Asriel—

“PLEASE GO ON WITHOUT ME,” Papyrus said wretchedly. “I DON’T DESERVE PIE.”

“It was an accident,” Asriel repeated. “But it was a very easily avoided one. I think it’d be best if you stayed here while I have a talk with Kris.”

The skeleton nodded so hard that Frisk wondered how his skull stayed attached to his spine. “YES, PRINCE ASRIEL, YOU ARE COMPLETELY RIGHT. I WILL DO LAPS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT I’VE DONE.”

Puzzled, Frisk looked up at Asriel. “But it wasn’t his—”

“Thank you, Papyrus. That will be all,” the Prince said over her.

The moment Papyrus had jogged out of sight, Asriel squatted and seized her by the shoulders. “Do you know what you just did?” he demanded.

Frisk felt her eyes welling up again. “I…I’m sorry, but I don’t understand,” she whispered. What had she done wrong? Why was Asriel letting Papyrus think he was the one who’d hurt her? And why was he looking at her like a total stranger? Frisk sniffled again, more tears sliding down her cheeks. If Asriel hated her now, she didn’t know what she’d do!

The Prince let out a long sigh, head drooping. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. Come here.”

The child threw herself into his outstretched arms. “It’s all right, Kris. You did nothing wrong,” he murmured, patting her hair. “In fact…”

Something about the way he said it made Frisk’s spine prickle. But when he gave her one last pat and released her, he was smiling again. “Would you like a ride?” he asked cheerfully.

Frisk nodded, and the young boss monster swung her up to sit on his shoulders, mindful of his horns. He let her grasp them in each hand, then turned his whole body to look around. Luckily, it was late enough that no one was out and about; even if they had been, the fallen snow had blotted out the flash of gold. Off they went, Frisk enjoying the view and their brisk pace.

The ferry wasn’t there yet, and no one else was waiting. “So,” Asriel said, stopping on the riverbank. “You didn’t know you could do that, did you?”

Frisk shook her head. “What did I do?” Remembering his reaction, she said, “I hope it wasn’t something bad. I’m sorry if it was bad.”

She felt him sigh again. “No, Kris, it wasn’t bad. You protected us both with a barrier.”

“A barrier?” After a couple of weeks Underground, she’d gotten the impression that barriers were an extremely bad thing. “But…aren’t they—”

“It’s true that we monsters are afraid of them. That’s why I squashed you,” he said sadly. “Again, I am very sorry for that. I won’t do it again, even if you make more barriers.”

She’d scared him? Frisk hadn’t been prepared to hear that, ever. “But how did I do that? Don’t you have to have magic first?”

He chuckled. “Yes, you do, which means you have magic.”

Frisk wound her forearms around his horns, resting her cheek on the downy fur atop his head. He smelled like soap, and…perfume? She didn’t realize what it was yet: she was too distracted by the idea that she – dumb, boring Frisk – could do magic. That was for grand sorcerers and sorceresses, not grimy little kids who scrubbed pots all day and slept on the floor. If she had that kind of power, wouldn’t she have noticed by now? Couldn’t she have made her back stop hurting, or lit Cook on fire to stop her from beating the other kids?

“It’s a very special gift,” Asriel said solemnly. “Not many humans have their own magic anymore, and you have enough to make barriers! Nowdays, humans with that much power tend to be…” He trailed off.

There was that funny voice again. Frisk didn’t like it at all. “Tend to be what? Am I in trouble?” she asked anxiously.

“Of course not,” he answered. “But it’s important to know that you can do it.”

“Why?”

“For one thing, you need training.” The Prince tapped her leg. “If you’ve never used it before, you should have a lot of power saved up. Also, did you know that it’s easier to use magic Underground than on the surface? That may be why it hasn’t happened till now.”

“Do…” Frisk squirmed until Asriel put a steadying hand on her back. “Do you think…could I stay here and learn?” she asked in a rush. “Monsters are good with magic, so…”

She couldn’t see Asriel’s expression, and didn’t know why he was quiet for so long. “No one here knows how to make barriers,” he finally said, “and I’ll be honest with you, Kris. I think you’d better not tell any other monsters about this.”

Disappointment rose up and nearly choked her. Not only did she have the one kind of magic monsters couldn’t teach her to use, it was the kind they were so scared of that even Asriel panicked when he saw it! Frisk pressed her face into the back of his head, sniffling.

“I’m so sorry,” the Prince said quietly, and she couldn’t hold it back anymore.

The ferry still wasn’t there. Asriel swayed from side to side, patting her leg softly, and she soon calmed down, trying not to get any more snot in his fur. “There may be something we can do,” the boss monster said, his tone so resolute that Frisk sat up straight. He reached up and put her back on the ground, staying at her level. “Who are your parents?” he asked.

Frisk blinked. “M-my mama’s name is Rosa. She works in the castle. My father is dead.”

Asriel grimaced, but not in a sad way—more like he didn’t believe her. “It’s true!” she insisted.

“I don’t think you’re lying,” he reassured her, lowering his voice as a couple of other monsters came up to wait for the ferry. “I’m just not sure that the grownups have been telling you the truth.”

She frowned. “But…why would they lie to me?”

“Why indeed,” murmured Asriel. Then the ferry rounded the corner of the riverbend, and the conversation was over for now. Everyone stood aside for Asriel, the Royal Guards bowing as he greeted them and Frisk took her favorite place at the very front. This time, though, she couldn’t enjoy the breeze in her face or the water splashing around the boat. It was too much to think about—she had magic, monsters would hate her if they knew, people might have lied to her about her parents…

Why did he think she had other parents? Was it something to do with her magic? Did this mean she had a real mama and papa somewhere waiting for her?

Asriel was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice her staring at him for several seconds. When he did, he tried to smile, but she wasn’t fooled. Something was wrong, or at least different, something very important. If only Papyrus hadn’t knocked that star down! They wouldn’t have found out she had magic, and Asriel wouldn’t be so worried or say these strange, sad things.

Frisk was already tired of thinking about it. She’d just be careful not to get scared and use a barrier again. She wasn’t going to tell anyone, and she trusted Asriel not to tell any of the other monsters. She’d be fine. Everything would be okay. It had to be.

 ~

             “…isk. Frisk! FRISK! Hey—”

           Two voices went “Shhhush!” and “P-please be quiet!” at nearly the same time.

           “What?! She’s just standing there like—”

           “Maybe she needs to just stand there like that,” retorted Alphys, uncharacteristically firm.

           “Yes, I agree,” said Toriel. “Let’s leave her alone for now. Will you ladies please assist me in setting the table?”

           Undyne muttered something very unladylike, but followed the boss monster out of the room, letting Alphys shut the door quietly behind her.

           It was Frisk’s own fault. Upon arriving, she had gone looking for the bathroom and opened the door of the guest bedroom by mistake; the moment she turned on the light, she was confronted with a sort of shrine to Toriel’s children. Old toys and books lined the walls, the closet was half open, and miniature portraits showing Chara and Asriel in various poses were arranged around one large family painting on the bureau. Frisk had told herself that it would be hard to see the room they’d played in when she was little – mostly jumping on the beds, with a generous helping of The Floor Is Lava – but she hadn’t been prepared to see everything exactly where it had been, and especially not the pictures smiling up at her like that.

           The others had found her staring at the bureau, a hand to her mouth. Frisk was profoundly grateful to be left alone: she sat down on a bed, grabbed Asriel’s old pillow, and buried her face in it to cry for a long, long time. Every time she started to slow down, she thought again of riding on his shoulders, or of him pretending to be scared when he discovered her in the golden flowers, and the pain was as fresh as it had been the first time she’d remembered him, just a few hours after reclaiming her memories.

           What if she had listened to her instincts back then and told the Queen about her magic? Toriel would’ve known what to do. At the very least, she could’ve negotiated something on Frisk’s behalf with the other humans; Frisk would still have been forced to leave, but she would’ve had the comfort of knowing she had friends Underground, and that she could visit them on holidays or even have them come to see her. Instead…

           Poor Asriel. Frisk had been able to keep from thinking of him by staying busy, and with the company of her giant apprentice, basking in his cranky, awkward, completely wonderful affection; now she couldn’t calm down, no matter how hard she tried to get up and turn away from the pictures.

           A little voice kept nagging her to say something to Toriel now about the things she’d remembered. The whole tragedy might have been avoided in the first place if she had just talked to the Queen…but no, that was different. If Frisk, the would-be ambassador to the monster race, were to say, “I have a solid idea of whose fault the accident was, but no details whatsoever,” what would that do for her mission?

           It would reignite the debate over what had happened, with enough new information to destroy any trust the monsters might have in her, but not enough to bring anyone closure. She’d be better off going straight to Asgore and announcing that she and Sans were planning to create the world’s first human-monster hybrid! She might as well, the way Sans was behaving…

           Frisk looked again at Asriel’s pictures, the white fur of his cheeks and his golden eyes, just like his mother’s. It had taken her a while to figure out that he only had those scary facial stripes and black sclera when he was prepared for a fight; they’d faded by the time they met Toriel on their way out of the flower cavern. Frisk glanced at the picture next to it, an older one of Asriel with his arm around Chara, and reached over to turn it around.

           Footsteps in the hall. Frisk snatched her hand back, ducking her head as the door opened. Someone sat next to her on the bed, and a huge, gentle hand stroked Frisk’s hair out of her eyes. She looked up, expecting to see Sans, and started a little as Toriel smiled at her. “I know, dear,” the boss monster whispered. “It never gets easier.” She drew Frisk against her, squeezing tight. “You…you learn to live with it.” Frisk felt her swallow hard. “Would you like to talk about it?”

           Frisk was getting so tired of crying! She shook her head, ignoring another stab of guilt as she wrapped her arms around the former Queen. Now was the time to say something about the past, or the future, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. For once in her adult life, she wanted to be taken care of and told everything would be all right, and eat homemade pie, and have her first-ever real slumber party, dammit! Besides, it was only the second night of her visit. So she allowed Toriel to pet her hair until her sobs had quieted, resolving to have a nice time for a single stupid night.

           When Frisk was more or less calm, Toriel produced a handkerchief from somewhere. “Stop using your sleeve. Here, blow your nose,” the boss monster instructed, and the human did so. “There we are, my child.” Like a true mother, Toriel folded the handkerchief up and put it right back in her robe. Frisk tried to hide her disgust, but Toriel just chuckled. “I meant to ask sooner—aren’t those Sans’ old clothes?”

           Frisk had to smile as she sniffled again. “Yes, ma’am. Papyrus spilled spaghetti sauce on my last clean dress. He had this in the back of his closet, so…”

           “I see. I can’t believe Sans was ever so small,” murmured Toriel, tugging down the blue jacket. “Would you like to borrow something else to wear?” She brightened. “I still have Chara’s things. She was much taller than you, but her old dresses are—”

           “No! No, thank you,” Frisk said, a little too quickly. “I…” She looked at the bureau again, then at the closet. Everything smelled clean, but not as if Toriel had come in and given it a quick once-over before their arrival; the room seemed eerily well-kept, like people still lived in it. “I forgot how comfortable boys’ clothes are. Could I please keep these on, or maybe wear something of Asriel’s?” Toriel looked disapproving, so Frisk added, “I promise I won’t let my tail stick out.”

           The boss monster laughed so loudly that she had to cover her mouth. “Oh, dear. I cannot believe I’d forgotten about that!”

           Early in her visit, Frisk had noticed how Asriel’s tail showed through a slit in his robe, but she didn’t realize that his parents kept theirs hidden until one family dinner when Asriel sat down the wrong way and nearly hit the roof. It turned out Asriel had insisted as a teenager that it was better to have one’s tail out; even as a young adult, and after several instances of getting it bent or grabbed or sat upon, he’d stubbornly refused to let his mother sew his clothes back up.

           “Really, Lady Toriel,” Frisk said once their giggling had died down, “I’m fine for tonight. These are basically pajamas anyway.”

           Toriel snorted. “Yes, they certainly are.” Sigh. “All right, my child, just for tonight. We’ll pick out something else for you tomorrow.”

           “Thank you so much.” Frisk hugged her again. “I need to wash my face,” she said, freeing herself from the goat monster’s embrace, “and then I’d love to have some pie. I’ll be out in a minute.”

           Toriel smiled sadly. “Of course, Frisk. We’ll be waiting.”

           The priestess’ hands were shaking a little as she fetched her gray bag from the entryway. How often did Toriel change the sheets on those beds, as if expecting someone to sleep there? How much time did she spend alone in her empty house, staring at pictures of her dead children? How was the poor woman still sane at all?

           Damn everything! Why hadn’t she told them about her magic when she first discovered it? Why had she let Asriel talk her into trusting someone she knew was a bad person? How much of what had happened was her fault, and how much of her memory was even accurate?

To hell with it, she thought, turning from her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Time for pie.

Luckily, when Frisk came out to the living room, her thoughts were diverted by the sight of Undyne and Alphys sitting in front of the fire with their heads together. “Er,” said the priestess, and Alphys nearly jumped out of her skin.

           “Hey there. Feeling better?” asked Undyne, completely unperturbed.

           “Uh…yes, thank you.” Bemused, Frisk glanced at Alphys’ bright-pink scales. She’d always wondered how that worked—monsters didn’t even have blood. “Let’s eat now. It smells fantastic,” she said, smiling as the royal scientist made a beeline for the table.

           At Toriel’s behest, and in keeping with what they assured Frisk to be sacred slumber-party tradition, the others had already changed into their nightclothes; the next step was enjoying the pie Toriel had baked before coming to get them. “This is amazing, Your Majesty,” Undyne said around a huge mouthful. “Thanks for having us over.”

           “Yes, thank you f-for inviting me,” Alphys said to the table at large, adjusting her borrowed robe.

           “Of course,” Frisk replied. “You still have a few things to open. You, too, Lady Toriel.”

           The former Queen had been staring at her plate, and glanced up a moment later. “I…I’m sorry, dear. What was that?”

           The Captain blinked, adjusting her pajama-wear eyepatch. “Uh…the pie is good?”

           The boss monster nodded vaguely, and the three younger women glanced at each other. Toriel had been quiet and distracted the whole evening, ever since she and Sans arrived at the brothers’ house; Sans had opened the front door and teleported straight into the kitchen, leaving the goat monster looking as though someone had smacked her in the face and run away.

Every one of their questions thus far had been answered with the insistence that nothing was wrong, but Alphys tried again: “A-are you sure you’re all right, Lady Toriel?”

           “Yes, Doctor, thank you. I…” She sighed, shaking her head and fluttering her long ears. “Forgive me. Where are my manners? Here I am with such wonderful guests, and I’m wasting time wool-gathering!” She grabbed the pie tin and dished out new slices to Frisk and Undyne, who had finished theirs, and then to Alphys, who was still halfway through hers and had to pick up the remainder to make room on her plate.

           “So,” said Undyne, stealing the half-slice out of the scientist’s hand and cramming it into her own mouth. “Whaff our day loo’ like humorro’?” Catching Toriel’s glare, the fish monster swallowed the entirety in one gulp. “I mean, for tomorrow, what do we need to do? Finish giving stuff out, stop by Alphys’ lab, then go see that creepy metal jerk?” When Toriel looked puzzled, Undyne explained, “He took Frisk’s laundry with him so he could get that stain out, and he wants to measure her for more clothes. If we go there first, we’ll be there all friggin’ day.”

           Toriel clapped her hands with a poofy sound of fur on fur. “My goodness, that’s right! We should go shopping for Frisk! Wouldn’t that be fun?”

           “It w-would,” agreed Alphys. “We don’t have to spend a lot of time studying y-your magic yet, Frisk. You might as well have some fun first.”

           Frisk glanced at Undyne, half expecting an objection, but the Captain’s eye was alight. “That’s right! We’ve missed twelve birthdays and Gyftmases since you left!” She sprang to her feet, fists clenched. “And now you’ve brought us all this cool crap, and we haven’t given you anything!” Undyne grinned again, eye narrowing. “Fuhuhuhu! We’re gonna get you so much stuff. You’d better be ready!”

           Alphys smiled fondly, looking down at her pie. “What?” Frisk asked.

           “Things have been so t-tense with Sans gone. It’s been too long since she did her evil laugh,” the royal scientist almost whispered. Her smile widened. “I really missed it.”

           Toriel chuckled as Undyne sat down abruptly, scales tinted purple, stuffing more pie in her mouth. “Indeed. I am so very glad you are here, Frisk,” the boss monster said softly.

           That was Frisk’s cue to say that she didn’t need anything, being here with everyone was gift enough…but she didn’t, because it would be fun to go shopping, dang it. Besides, she’d given the monsters so much stuff that it would make them feel better to buy her a few things in return. “Technically, it’s closer to thirteen,” she pointed out cheekily. “My birthday is in just a few weeks, not long before Christmas. Or Gyftmas.”

           “Really? That’s perfect!” Undyne gave the table a dish-rattling thump. “What day?”

“Uh…” Crud. Frisk tried to remember which date she usually used, but her mind was tired and mushy. It’d be easier to tell the truth, especially with people who wouldn’t judge her. “I actually don’t know the exact day,” she confessed. Maybe just one lie by omission: “My real mother is dead, and my foster mother wasn’t sure exactly how many weeks old I was when she got me. She could only narrow it down to late autumn.”

“Oh, my poor child,” said Toriel, her distress echoed by the others’ shocked expressions. “Can’t you check your birth certificate? Or ask your father, if he is still alive?”

Frisk winced. “I don’t think my father knew I existed until I was about ten. It’s funny you should mention my birth certificate—I’ve tried to track it down, but the only copies I’ve found were from people trying to sell me forgeries. None of the prints ever matched mine.” She snorted. “Rosa couldn’t even tell me which part of the city I was born in.”

Alphys looked ready to cry. Undyne patted her with one hand, and pounded the table again with the other. “Man, humans are the worst! Of all people, you’d think the frickin’ King would be held responsible for his own damn kids! How much did that jerk get around, anyway?! I can’t believe—” She suddenly stopped mid-rant. “Are you okay, Your Majesty?”

           Toriel was staring at Frisk, almost looking through her. The boss monster’s hand had clenched into a fist, bending her fork into a strange shape. “Your father is King Stephin?” she inquired, sounding distant. “Are you certain, my child?”

           “Yes, Lady Toriel,” said Frisk, hoping to get this over with. “He had fifteen illegitimate children, including me, and he started taking an interest in us when I was about ten. As soon as the delegation got back safely, he had me packed off to St. Brigid’s.” She was not going to let herself get weepy again! “Do you remember me telling you how I had my memories removed? It was partly because he came to see me and asked them to do it.”

           Toriel gave her a long, hard look. “Do you mean that you were ten years old when you visited us?”

           Where had that come from? “I…yes, ma’am. Why do you—”

           “So you’ll be turning twenty-three this year, whenever the date may be?”

           “Yes,” Frisk said again. What was going on, and why was Alphys staring at both of them like that? “Lady Toriel, what—”

The tension was broken by Undyne giving the table a two-fisted whack. “Let’s just pick a date and throw you a party! Mettaton’s doing that stupid ball thing before you leave, but we can do another shindig later! We’ve gotta make up for lost time!” She nudged Alphys, nearly knocking her out of her chair. “Right?!”

The scientist clambered back up, and said breathlessly, “Right. We could all use a little more f-fun.”

“…I like the way you girls think.” Toriel forced a smile. “What’s this about Mettaton and a ball?”

“He wants to celebrate Frisk’s visit with a dance,” Alphys answered. “So…”

“So he’ll make you do all the work, and take all the credit,” Undyne muttered. “That’s why I hate that guy. I’m telling you, the next time he tries to pull that crap, you should just send him to me!”

“That settles it,” said Toriel, sounding nearly normal. “Tomorrow, we’re going to pick up something nice for all of us to wear, especially Frisk.” She put down her mangled fork. “Dr. Alphys, it looks like we each have three gifts left. Shall we open them before bed?”

Minutes later, the living room looked as though someone had stuck a firecracker in a Christmas tree: paper was strewn everywhere, boxes thrown aside and ribbons collected into colorful heaps for reuse. At everyone’s insistence, Alphys went first; Frisk directed her to the biggest box, and they ended up having to politely take the figurines away from the royal scientist in order for her to finish opening the others. The second  box was a stack of romance- and slightly-action-oriented comics, which Undyne immediately confiscated until Alphys opened the third package: the last two novels in her beloved Adventure Lady series.

It took quite a while to work through all of the lizard monster’s squeals, dancing-about, and hugging of boxes – and Frisk – but she eventually wore herself out, and she was persuaded not to start on the novels yet; instead, she and Undyne each selected a comic and not-very-surreptitiously started flipping through them while Toriel opened her presents.

Frisk prided herself on her gift-giving acumen, and sure enough, Toriel was overjoyed to receive a copy of Educational Principles and Practice, Vol. 1; they both laughed about how it should be “Principals,” to blank stares and a mutter of “Nerds” from the floor. Next came a boss-monster-sized lambswool shawl, which she immediately draped over her shoulders as she tore open the last box. “How lovely!” the goat monster exclaimed, lifting out each of the little bottles in turn. “I ran out of bubble bath years ago! Thank you so much, my child!”

“I made the moisturizer myself,” Frisk said, and was rewarded with a giant hug. She stepped back and actually pinched herself to confirm that she was awake, reminding herself to stop questioning her happiness and just enjoy it. And speaking of reminders— “I have one more thing for you, Lady Toriel,” she said, shoving down her apprehensions. “One moment.”

All three monsters watched her retrieve her satchel and pull out a folder, selecting a single sheet of paper. “Here,” Frisk said shyly, holding it out.

Toriel took it, putting her reading glasses on and tilting the paper toward the fire. “Sheet music?” The boss monster squinted at the title – “Home” – then examined the notations as Frisk held her breath. “I…” Toriel cleared her throat. “I am sorry, Frisk, but I cannot read music.”

“Oh.” Frisk deflated a little. “I’m sorry. I thought you could.”

“Nah, that’s me,” Undyne said, flipping a comic page. “Remember how you used to sit on the piano while I played it?”

Frisk did remember now. “Yes. I’m sorry,” she said again.

“That’s all right, dear.” Toriel gave Frisk a big, eye-crinkling smile that reminded her too much of Asgore. Misinterpreting the human’s expression, the goat monster raised a finger. “I’ll tell you what, my child. When we visit Hotland tomorrow, we can bring this and ask someone to play or sing it for us. Is it a tune I know, or would you like it to remain a surprise?”

“Er…I guess it can be a surprise.” Frisk took the paper and stuffed it back in the folder. Maybe that was for the best…

“Well! Thank you again, Frisk.” Toriel nodded as the others murmured agreement. “I believe it’s time to settle down for the night.” The boss monster stood and surveyed the room, hands on hips. “Let’s clean up, girls. We don’t have enough beds, so would you all like to sleep in here?” They nodded so enthusiastically that Toriel’s smile broadened. “Wonderful! I’ll be right back. Put all the gifts on the table, and the wrapping paper can go in the kitchen for now.”

           As the boss monster bustled off down the hall and they began picking things up, Alphys lowered her voice: “F-Frisk, do you know why she was asking about your b-birthday? Asgore asked the exact s-same thing about you being ten years old.”

           Frisk thought about it, and hesitated, and made herself say, “I don’t know. We’ll see if she asks me anything else strange.”

           “What I can’t believe is you being as strong as a boss monster,” Undyne declared, wadding all the paper into a fist-sized ball. “That’s crazy! I mean, I didn’t think humans could have that much magic!” She gave her toothiest grin. “So, basically, you and Sans are—”

“Perfect,” Toriel said briskly, striding back into the living room and setting down a huge stack of linens. “We have just enough for three pallets! Claim your spots, ladies, and we’ll get you comfortable. It’s going to be a busy day tomorrow. Can I invite you back here for tomorrow night, Doctor?”

The lizard monster was delighted to accept, but Frisk wasn’t so sure. It was nice to see Alphys and Undyne so happy, but…did Toriel expect them to stay here every night of her visit?

As they arranged the blankets and sheets into makeshift sleeping bags, Toriel chattered about all the “campouts” Chara and Asriel used to have in the living room, but Frisk didn’t hear much of it; she was lost in thought about Sans. Toriel didn’t seem to suspect anything, but they had to tell her sometime very soon. Frisk didn’t know how they were going to convince the former Queen that maybe one human with magic and determination could successfully pair off with a monster—maybe they could appeal to Toriel’s concern for Sans’ welfare, not to mention that Frisk was literally his only option?

…Ouch. She rubbed her temple, trying to shove that thought back down where it belonged. Hadn’t she just scolded Sans last night for “joking” that she was only interested in him because some weirdo in a robe said she’d get pregnant soon? If he was really just interested in her SOUL, then he’d have shown some interest much sooner, wouldn’t he?

…Like…like getting flustered when she offered him that stupid fork during their very first real conversation…or agreeing to stay in the first place…or ignoring the opportunity to escape when she was sick from teleporting back to her rooms. Or all the odd looks she’d noticed, especially at her damn feet. Or him being so irate when she showed him her proposals, or the noise he made when she came out in her skin-tight All Souls dress, or being upset that everyone was going to see it, or his instant willingness to pose as her husband for the festival, or—

Frisk bit the inside of her cheek. She knew Sans cared for her. What was making her think like this?

As if in reply, cold prickled over her scalp and down her back. She glanced at the hallway, almost expecting to see—

“Hey!” Undyne snapped her fingers for the third time, startling Frisk out of her reverie. “Did you hear Her Majesty?”

“Ah…no. I’m sorry.” Frisk smoothed out her pallet and stood up to accept a plate with the last slice of pie. “Thank you, Lady Toriel.”

“You’re very welcome, my dear.” The goat monster bent over to renew the magic inside the fireplace, then smoothed the hair out of Frisk’s eyes again, surprising the human with a light kiss on her forehead. “Good night, Frisk. Good night, Undyne, and good night, Alphys. I’ll be right down the hall if you need anything.”

Frisk smiled as the others bade Toriel good night. Was this what being a normal person felt like, having a mother and friends?

Undyne could barely wait for Frisk to finish her pie before she sat down on her pallet and leaned in to ask, “So, what do the humans think of you and Sans? Are they okay with it, or are you important enough to get away with it?”

The human sighed, getting up to put her dishes in the sink. “They don’t think anything is going on,” she said. “He’s a skeleton, and that’s that.”

           Alphys squinted at her in disbelief, and Undyne said, “Wait a damn second. You mean to tell us he spent all that time with you, in your room, and no one even thought something could be going on? Do they have any idea how much magic a boss monster has to work with?!”

           “Really, I thought h-humans had more imagination than that,” Alphys remarked.

           “Yeah! You’re all supposed to be a bunch of perverts!” Undyne shook her head in disgust. “Can’t you guys do anything right?”

           Frisk had to laugh as she settled back onto her pallet. “Humans have no idea how monster reproduction works,” she explained. “I barely know anything myself.”

“Then listen up!” Before Frisk could stop her, Undyne leapt onto the armchair. “Here’s the facts of life, kid, and I’m not gonna hold anything back! You ready? It goes like—”

           “Instinct,” Alphys said hastily. “You decide to be parents, and you combine your m-magic, and then you have a baby. Or an egg, or a cub. It d-depends.”

           The priestess thought about it as Undyne grumbled at the interruption. “Sans implied that you need a male and a female to reproduce,” she said. “Is that true?”

           “Pffffft! Are you kidding?” Undyne gesticulated so wildly that the armchair pitched back and fell over, the fish monster gracefully shifting to stay atop it. “That’s just for bosses!”

           “It’s true,” said Alphys. “Lady Toriel had to incubate Prince Asriel like a human because there was s-so much magic involved.” She squirmed, claws twisting into her blanket. “O-otherwise, any two monsters can decide to h-have a b-b-baby.”

“Any monsters?” Frisk repeated. “Two men, two women—”

           Alphys turned a remarkable shade of orange-red, actually quite pretty to look at, and Undyne nodded so emphatically that she somersaulted onto the floor. “With enough magic, you can do anything,” she said proudly, folding her legs and leaning forward. “If you want a kid, the first thing you do is tell Asgore, and he gives you both a big hug and writes you…I guess humans would call it a birth certificate, except the kid’s not there yet.” Shrug. “Anyway, you both rest up and eat a lot, and then you decide where you’re gonna do it.” Undyne pointed at the floor. “It can be anywhere, but most people like to go somewhere special.” She smiled at Alphys. “Where’d we go if it was the two of us? I’d say the garbage dump.”

           The scientist paused, made a series of incoherent noises, and dove under her pallet, only her tail sticking out. “Why the garbage dump?” Frisk asked curiously.

           “Duh! It’s where we met!” The fish monster cackled, slapping her leg. “Look at her, all cute ‘n lumpy under th—”  Snort. “Oh my God, Frisk, we still have to tell her about that! And Alphys, you’ve gotta tell us what happened with Sans and Asgore!”

           Frisk heartily agreed; it was as good a time as any to get everyone on the same page. They coaxed Alphys into sticking her head out long enough to tell them about Sans’ conversation with the King, which seemed to have gone about as well as could be expected; then it was Undyne’s turn to relate the scene at Grillby’s, and how fun and easy it’d been to screw with Sans.

Of course, she also had to mention Gerson’s revelation about boss-monster attraction. “Frisk really is that strong, then?” the scientist asked, incredulous. “Sans said she was j-just like a boss monster, but…”

           “That’s what Gerson said,” the Captain replied with an air of finality. “Anyway, Sans was trying to convince everyone he thinks humans are all gross, and you know what that goofy bastard said?”

Once the story was finished and they were done laughing – nervously, on Frisk’s part – Undyne resumed her lecture: “So, when you’re ready to have your kid, you go wherever you decided, and everyone knows to leave you alone so you can concentrate.” She held her hands up and spread her webbed fingers to indicate a large oval between her and Frisk. “You both decide on a size and shape to aim for, and then you combine your magic to start forming it. How long it takes depends how powerful you both are, and what you want your kid to be—anywhere from a few hours to a whole day. When the baby’s done growing, you all go home, eat something, and get someone to watch the kid so you can sleep for a couple days. Boom! You’re parents!”

           “What do you mean, ‘combine your magic’?” Frisk demanded, too curious to care if she was being rude. “What does that entail, exactly?”

           Undyne cocked her head, scratching behind her fin. “Whaddya mean?” she asked. “You just do it. Think of what you want and why you’re doing it with that person, swap your magic with them, and focus it together for a really long time.”

           “But when you ‘swap’ your magic, how do you actually do it?” Frisk persisted. “Do you have to be physically touching each other?”

           The scaly monsters exchanged glances, more confused than embarrassed. “You just do it,” Undyne said again. “I mean, did anyone ever teach you how to sneeze? Once you’re ready, it just happens.”

           “It’s completely unique to each couple,” explained Alphys. “The important thing is your intentions, and your f-feelings—trusting your m-mate enough to have your magic directly connected with theirs, and wanting a ch-child badly enough to expend all your power. It can be through touch, or purely magical, though I think it’s usually b-both, depending on your individual preferences. It mostly operates on instinct.” Squirm. “At least I th-think so. People don’t r-really talk about it that much.”

           “Exactly! That’s my smart lady.” Undyne ruffled the spikes on Alphys’ crest, smirking as the scientist retreated again.

           Frisk supposed that made sense; if Sans were to partner with, say, another skeleton, he probably wouldn’t bother to imitate any human parts. But if she was a human who essentially qualified as a boss monster – still a strange thought, however gratifying – then it’d have to be done the human way, which meant…improvising.

“I don’t get how you don’t get it,” the Captain said to Frisk. “Isn’t it the same for you guys? At least a little?”

           The priestess sighed. “No. For one thing, only a male and a female can make a child, and it always has to grow inside the female. We instinctively crave physical contact, but that’s about it. We have to be taught how to do it, or else the whole race would probably die out.”

           That was an exaggeration, but not much, judging by the questions Frisk remembered the other girls asking in their class, and the things she had believed at that age. For example, she once overheard an older girl referring to a boy having “popped a boner” and concluded that the male organ must function like a jack-in-the-box, which seemed impractical at best, and potentially quite dangerous.

           “What you’re saying, then,” Frisk continued, “is that monsters only do it when they’ve made a serious, loving commitment to being parents?” She shook her head. “That’s the exact opposite of most humans. There’s no magic to invest, and usually not much forethought.”

           The monsters looked as horrified as Sans had been when he and Frisk conversed on the subject. “Is that how your dad has so many kids?” Undyne asked. “You just…”

           “I’d say ninety-nine times out of—no, more like nine hundred ninety-nine times out of a thousand, it’s purely recreational. There’s a huge demand for medicines that prevent pregnancy,” replied Frisk. “And a lot of humans – especially young women – think it’s more romantic to ‘follow their heart’ and just hope they don’t get pregnant. If they do, and it’s out of wedlock, the man is only held responsible based on social status and his own morals.” She stared into the fire,

the magic flames flickering in orderly patterns. “Powerful men can do almost anything they want. I was lucky that my father acknowledged me at all.”

           Shocked silence. “No, I’m not joking,” Frisk muttered. Completely against her will, she thought again of Chara railing at Asgore and Toriel— “If they get someone pregnant, they don’t have to deal with the consequences, do they?”

           It was hard to keep from scowling, or feeling queasy. Everything came back to Chara, didn’t it?

           “Well,” Undyne said in disgust. “That’s total crap. We’ve gotta get everything straightened out peace-wise so you can marry Sans and stay here.”

Alphys nodded eagerly, but Frisk felt as if she’d been punched in the gut. Undyne leaned down to peer into her face. “What?” demanded the Captain. She glanced at Alphys. “A couple weeks ago, Frisk talked to some guy who’s never wrong, and he said that if she got her memories back, she’d have a baby within a year. Then she comes here, and I find out Sans has been gnawing on her—”

“Undyne!” snapped Frisk, cheeks aflame.

“Well, it’s true! I know you’re not like other humans, so…” Undyne raked her loose hair out of her eye. “I’m assuming the best here. I mean, don’t you wanna get married?”

“Of course I do!” Frisk almost shouted. “I love him, and I hate that we have to hide it like this! It’s illegal with humans because they think of monsters as a cross between animals and public utilities, and I can’t do anything here because the last human who lived here was a spoiled, manipulative piece of—”

She stopped at the sight of tiny golden sparks crackling in the air. Both monsters had recoiled as far back as they could, Undyne against the capsized armchair and Alphys up against the low bookshelf. “Sorry,” Frisk said hastily, and the sparks vanished. Where had those come from? She hadn’t put up a barrier—was she just that angry?

Wait. It was easier to use magic in the Underground than on the surface, and her barriers always got more fizzy when she was upset…was her magic more reactive to her emotions down here? She hoped not, or else she’d have to be very careful to avoid scaring any more monsters.

Undyne scooted forward. “Yeah, I think we’re done for now,” she said. “We should get to bed. Gonna have a busy day tomorrow, and you’re probably pretty tired.”

“Yes, very.” Frisk rubbed between her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you, or…”

“That’s all right,” Alphys said, offering a timid smile that made Frisk feel exponentially worse. “Um…y-you know, you can talk about it with us, if you w-want. But you don’t have to.”

“Yeah! We’re your friends,” Undyne said stoutly. “Yell, scream, throw things—that’s what friends do!”

The priestess chuckled. “Thank you.” She rose on her knees and hugged Undyne around the middle, then Alphys. “Thank you both so much. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

Alphys was pink again. Undyne grinned. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s be good and get to sleep.”

Frisk slid under the blankets, letting warmth sweep over her and wash away the bitterness. On impulse, she said, “Who wants a lullaby?”

“Oh. D-do you sing?” asked Alphys.

Frisk didn’t think of Chara. She just took a breath, and the monsters blinked at each other in pleasant surprise as humming filled the room. It was Sans’ favorite song, light and sweet, and Undyne could barely mumble something complimentary before her eye drifted shut, Alphys following a few seconds later. Frisk had to let it taper it off soon after; it was so nice to think of Sans, but she couldn’t stay awake any longer. At least she’d see him tomorrow…

 ~

             Back a third time: in bed with her husband, she let him tip her head back so he could run his teeth and tongue over her throat. She remembered now how busy she’d been with work this week; they’d barely seen each other, much less been intimate. No wonder he was so eager, or that she couldn’t stay mad at him for waking her. Frisk sighed as his hand ran down her side, thumb stroking the delicate skin of her hip before it slid underneath for an appreciative squeeze. He nuzzled her cheek, then looked up enough to lock eyes before he kissed her.

Frisk pulled him closer, glorying in the slight pain of his ribs grinding against hers; not only was it the feeling of being close to him, she knew from experience how much Sans loved her softness. She was a little bemused when he sat up after only a minute or so, but he was breathing so hard and fumbling so awkwardly with his shorts that she had to recognize it as a compliment. Her body warmed in anticipation as he moved her legs aside to—

           Sans almost never cursed, but he muttered something very impolite as the doorknob rattled. “Daddy?” Rattle, rattle. “I’m hungry.”

           “it’s after midnight, kiddo,” the skeleton said irritably. “go back to bed before you wake your mom. she’s gotta be up in a few hours.”

           A token whine; sullen footsteps trudged back to their room, the door of which was nearly slammed shut.

Frisk sighed. “How does she do that?” she mumbled. “I swear I—”

           Her only warning was a glint in his socket and a sharp movement forward—her hands latched onto his shirt, jaws clenched to keep from crying out. “Sans! That’s…” Frisk bit back a moan as he leaned over her. “That’s cheating,” she whispered furiously.

           Sans chuckled. “not if i’m doin’ it with my wife.” His hips moved slowly. “get it?” He ground his teeth as she retaliated by rubbing her calves along his pelvis. “it’s…y-yeah.”

           Frisk smirked. He was so aroused that he couldn’t even come up with a followup joke! That was gratifying. So was…well, everything else he was doing. She leaned up to pull him in for another kiss, but he buried his face in her neck instead, gripping the sheets for better leverage as his pace quickened.

           There was nothing for it. Frisk hung onto him for dear life, dimly aware that she was getting louder, no longer caring if either of the kids heard them. It didn’t last very long, but that was fine: for the first time in a long while, Sans had to bite her shoulder as he shuddered to a stop, which was enough for her a moment later, leaving them both a panting, sticky mess—in other words, perfect.

           On one hand, she did actually have to get up in…crap, only four hours? Frisk glared at the alarm clock, then closed her eyes, stroking her husband’s skull as he caught his breath. Sans mumbled into her ear, and Frisk smiled, whispering back. At least she wouldn’t have any trouble getting back to sleep!

 ~

             Sans didn’t make a conscious decision to get up and go find Frisk right now; he just woke up and, a moment later, found himself standing in the dark entryway of Toriel’s house. Magic raced through his bones so hard and fast that he had to get ahold of himself long enough to adjust his vision. The colossal skeleton moved cautiously to his right, where the bedrooms were, then paused at a sound from the living room. A little snore, rustling…snickering?

           Right. The slumber party. Against his better judgment – any judgment at all, really – Sans crept down the hall and peered around the corner of the living room, where two people lay fast asleep; a third person was crouched over one of the sleepers, chortling to herself.

           The boss monster kept a tight rein on his urge to walk over, grab Frisk, and take her straight back with him to his cold, smelly, bedless room. At the very least, he wanted to ask Undyne what the hell she was doing to his human.

He didn’t get the chance: a silent presence behind him made him gulp. “Hey, Tori,” he mumbled, half-turning.

Toriel was in her normal clothes, looking tired and extremely unhappy to see him. “What are you doing here at this hour?” she asked coldly.

His bullshitting reflex saved him as webby feet padded over from the living room and Undyne joined the goat monster in glaring at him. “I was thinkin’ about that big load of food we need ta pick up, and who all should be goin’,” he said. “Frisk probably wants me to bring her an’ maybe you, Undyne, but I think it’s too dangerous fer her. I wanted ta grab some papers from ‘er and jus’ go take care of it by myself.”

“All by yourself?” repeated Undyne, and Toriel asked, “Right this moment?”

“Yeah. I can shortcut everything home way easier if it’s just me.” Sans jerked his thumb at the living room. “All I need are the invoices out of ‘er bag, and I can take care of the whole thing while you guys are doin’ whatever.” He shrugged. “I don’t want ‘er wastin’ her time in the Underground with that crap. She never hangs out with other girls, so this’ll be good for ‘er.”

“How considerate of you,” Toriel said warmly. “I know how much magic you possess, Sans, but surely you won’t attempt to take yourself and all that cargo back here single-handed? What if you can only come partway and get caught out in the open?” The goat monster looked around Sans. “Would you consider going with him, Captain?”

“Nah, she can stay here,” the skeleton answered. “I’ll get a room in the village if I need ta rest up. And if I really wanna keep myself in shape…” He didn’t have to fake a shudder. “Pap’s got plenty’a food in the fridge.”

The women were silent for a moment. Undyne came forward slowly to clap him on the back ribs. “Sans,” she said gravely. “I salute you.”

Toriel sighed. “I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures. If your mind is made up, I will not stop you. Undyne, would you get the papers from Frisk’s bag, please?”

And so it was that Sans found himself committed to the biggest solo grocery run imaginable, all because of a sex dream. It was good to know that he could still lie as long as Frisk wasn’t in the room, but he wished he could’ve found out in a more convenient way. Eh, whatever; it was true that she needed girl time, and that she’d be in danger if they ran out of magic and were discovered by poachers. He had his disguise, but she was way too cute to pass as anything but herself.

So Sans accepted the folder, flipped through for the most boring-looking, number-filled papers, and helped himself, taking note of the sheet music – ha – without giving it much thought. “Welp, ‘m off,” he said to the other monsters. “Tell ‘er ta have fun, ‘n I’ll be back soon.”

“Of course, Sans. Please, be careful, and don’t take any foolish risks,” Toriel urged him. “We will send out a search party if you’re not back within forty-eight hours.”

“And Frisk’ll probably insist on coming,” Undyne added pointedly. “Don’t get captured or die, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” The giant skeleton waved the papers at them. “I’m gonna say bye to Pap, and then I’m off. Toodles.”

True to his word, Sans went back to the house, woke his brother, and apologized in advance for eating all the spaghetti, explaining that he needed the energy in order to go get another load of food for everyone. Papyrus was two-thirds ecstatic and one-third fretful. “I CAN SEE YOU ARE ALSO SICK WITH WORRY,” the younger skeleton murmured as Sans choked down the last plateful. He wasn’t stupid enough to have his tongue out, but there was just something about Pap’s cooking that transcended texture or flavor. “ARE YOU SURE YOU CAN DO THIS ALONE?”

“Yeah,” Sans said feebly, reminding himself that the stuff basically counted as food. “I’ll be fine, Pap. I’m gonna be really careful.”

Papyrus put his hands on his fake-armored hips. “HMM. I HOPE THAT MEANS NO HUNTING.”

Sans tapped his fork on the plate. He had wondered if his brother was going to say anything about that. “Nah, bro. No hunting. No animals, not anythin’. I’m just gonna get the stuff Frisk ordered and come right back. I promise.”

The smaller skeleton – Sans was never going to get used to that – nodded, only looking a little skeptical. “NYEH! WE’LL WAIT FOR YOU, THEN. DON’T TAKE TOO LONG, BUT MOSTLY, TAKE CARE.”

“Sure thing.” Sans rolled the papers up loosely, tucked them into an outside pocket, and gave Papyrus a brief, manly embrace. “Take care of ‘er. I’ll see ya later.”

“OF COURSE! I WILL ALSO SEE YOU, NYEH-HEH!” Papyrus held his smile as Sans winked out of sight. Then he sighed, his whole body drooping. “…I HOPE.”

 ~

             Frisk woke to the sounds of laughter, voices, and a door closing. For a moment between rubbing her eyes and raising her head, the priestess had no idea where she was, or what she was hearing—was Sans making breakfast for the kids? Had she overslept? Why was the bed so hard?

           She pushed herself up onto her elbows and saw the living room of Toriel’s house, blankets and pillows heaped around the cooling fireplace. Right; they’d had a slumber party. Frisk yawned, sitting up for a deeply contented stretch. She could hardly comprehend it: they had stayed up late talking about girl stuff, and she had no responsibilities for today except to go shopping! Maybe she really should stay at Toriel’s for the rest of the trip…

           “Good morning, sleepyhead,” Toriel said, with an odd quaver in her voice. “Would you like some breakfast?”

           Frisk scratched her forehead. Then she scratched it again, checking under her nails, and decided she was imagining things. “Yes, please. I hope you’re not using your pie ingredients.”

           “Why not? I have butter, eggs, and salt, and three hungry houseguests.” Toriel waggled a finger to spread the fire magic more evenly beneath the skillet. Her shoulders hunched a little as Frisk got up and wandered into the kitchen. “Would you please set the table for me?” she asked without turning.

           “Certainly.” The human went to fetch four plates and glasses from the cabinet. “Where are Alphys and Undyne?”

           “Reading those silly comic books in the guest room,” the goat monster said tolerantly. “I’ve never seen grown monsters who loved those things so much.”

           The priestess found the silverware drawer and set out forks and napkins. “You seem to be feeling better,” she commented. “We were a little worried last night.”

           “Yes, of course…and speaking of last night, Sans stopped by very early this morning.” Toriel transferred the scrambled eggs to a serving bowl. “He’ll be busy today with a few errands, so we won’t be seeing him, but he said to have fun with the girls.”

           Frisk mumbled acknowledgment, her face growing hot. Had he had the same dream, or memory, or whatever it was? Was he avoiding her?

Toriel was quiet for another moment. Then: “I hate to gossip, dear, but… when Sans was apprenticing under you at the castle, did he seem…fond of anyone? I mean, has he grown attached to any humans beside yourself?”

           Frisk felt the hairs on her arms standing straight up. “Er…may I ask why? Did he say something last night?” she asked, sounding only mildly curious.

           The boss monster shook her head. “Please, Frisk. I’d rather not discuss it until you’ve answered my question.”

Frisk wanted to tell the truth so badly that she had to bite her lip before she answered, “I don’t know. We didn’t talk much with any one person. The only people he really interacted with were the sorcerers in charge of developing the solar panels.”

           “Ah, yes, humans don’t have them yet.” In one motion, Toriel cracked two more eggs into the skillet, incinerated the shells, and flicked the ashes into the sink. “By ‘sorcerers,’ you mean men and women with considerable amounts of magic?” A drop of egg splashed the stovetop as Toriel stirred the mixture, raising a little plume of steam. “Forgive me for asking, my child, but are any of them particularly strong? Perhaps one of your siblings?”

           Frisk stared at the table. Time to stop dancing around the subject, or at least come a little closer. “I think I know why you’re asking, Lady Toriel. Yesterday at Grillby’s, Gerson told us that boss monsters are only attracted to other boss monsters, or someone equally powerful,” the priestess said quietly. “Is that true?”

           An embarrassed pause. “That old—” Crack went another egg. “Yes, it is true.” Crack. “May I ask how the subject came up?”

Well, Sans had obviously said something, or Toriel had otherwise figured out there was a human involved…but she still didn’t seem to know who he meant. “Undyne was teasing him about liking humans. Gerson explained that it was basically impossible, but Sans acted as though it’d already happened,” said Frisk, trying to stay calm. “I won’t ask whether Sans told you anything in confidence, but…yes, he has met several extremely gifted humans.” When there was no response, the priestess turned to face the stove, where the former Queen stood rigid. “Toriel, please, tell me honestly—what’s the worst that could happen if Sans were to marry a human?”

           Crack. “He could not.” Crack. “It is not my personal opinion. It is fact.” More egg splashed the stovetop as Toriel stirred the mixture. “Neither humans nor monsters would recognize their union. She would be an outcast among humans, and we would not trust her enough to let her live here.” Crack. “Asgore would suspect Sans of collusion with humanity, or even treason, especially if he chose someone related to the King. Everyone in the Underground but myself and Papyrus would think likewise.” A giant sigh. “The best-case scenario is that Sans would have no home but what he and his wife could make for themselves, and he would have her for only a few decades at most before she withered and died. I don’t even know if they could have a child, but if they did, Asgore would feel threatened by—”

           “What if we changed any or all of that?” Frisk took a few steps into the kitchen. “Why couldn’t monsters learn to trust at least one human? Why can’t we try to convince Asgore that he doesn’t have to fear and hate everyone, and Sans isn’t a threat?” She couldn’t keep her voice from rising: “Why not give Sans a chance to have a few years with someone he loves, instead of making him live forever in abject misery?”

           Silence. Toriel turned the skillet to scrape more eggs into the serving bowl, mixing them all together. “You may be in a position of authority, my child,” she said, so gently that Frisk’s hackles rose, “but there are many things you do not understand yet.”

           Frisk took a calming breath. “I understand that when someone says that,” she said politely, “they’re either hiding something, or trying to end an argument where they know they’re wrong.”

           Toriel stopped moving. The ring of fire on the stovetop flared so high that Frisk had to control the impulse to turn and run. “Listen to me, child. I know that Sans is your friend, and that you are concerned for him,” the boss monster said to the flames, deadly quiet. “I feel the same way. If it were possible to allow him to be happy with someone, anyone, I would be overjoyed. But I will reiterate: the things I have said to you are not a product of my own narrow-mindedness. They. Are. Facts.”

           Frisk’s chest burned. “Facts can be changed, Lady Toriel,” she murmured. “I’m not claiming anything will be quick or easy, only that it may be possible. It stays impossible if we do not try.”

           The flames on the stove winked out. Toriel went to the refrigerator and took out a fresh jug of milk. “Go get the other girls, please, my child. Breakfast is ready,” she said brightly.

           So be it. “Yes, ma’am,” the priestess replied.

           “Uh…” Undyne’s awkward voice made Frisk turn to face the hallway. The Captain and the royal scientist were glancing around, clearly afraid to interrupt. Undyne looked up solemnly. “Frisk, I just wanted to saaaHAHAHAHAHA!” The fish monster nearly collapsed, staggering into the wall as she howled with completely unexpected laughter, raising a shaking finger toward the human.

           Bewildered, Frisk looked at Alphys. The latter tried to cover her mouth, but as her eyes met Frisk’s, the lizard snorted so hard that her glasses fell most of the way off. Another look, and Alphys was wheezing, sitting down hard. Undyne was already gasping for breath, but every time she looked up at Frisk, she nearly screamed. “Oh my—oh my gaaaaahahahaha!”

           Frisk whirled around and glared at Toriel, who was still facing away from her, but whose head was bowed and shoulders shaking as her laugh finally burst forth in great, rolling peals, forcing the goat monster to lean against the counter and gradually start slithering to the floor. She risked a peek at Frisk and clutched her gut as the human down stared at her. “My…my ch—” She shook her head, falling onto her side to giggle helplessly on the kitchen floor.

What in the—Frisk shoved past her debilitated friends and ran to the bathroom mirror. That was why Toriel had sounded so strange at first, and why she hadn’t turned around: in giant black letters on Frisk’s forehead and across the bridge of her nose, someone had written SHARKY WUZ HERE.

She knew her skin had felt itchy! What the hell was it written with? Indelible ink?! The priestess was so angry that…she…actually…had to admit it was pretty damn funny. She glared at her reflection, but it was no use: Frisk buried her head in her hands and allowed herself to laugh silently for nearly a full minute.

Out in the kitchen and living room, the monsters were starting to run out of steam, amusement fading gradually into concern as the human remained silent. “F…Frisk?” Undyne managed. She tried to get up, but the best she could do was a half-crouch against the wall. “Hey, Frisk? You okay?”

There was a distinct sniffle as Frisk emerged from the bathroom. Toriel wiped her face on her sleeve, sitting up against the cabinets. “My child? Are you all right?” she called.

Frisk came shuffling down the hall, her head hanging. She walked past the concerned monsters and sat down on her pallet, giving another noisy sniff.

           Undyne grimaced. “Hey, come on. It was just a dumb joke.” The Captain hobbled into the living room and bent over Frisk. “It’s a tradition to—”

           Whap went Frisk’s pillow, square in the fish monster’s face. Undyne fell flat on her back as Frisk burst out laughing. “This had better come off, Sharky,” she said, trying to sound very angry and absolutely failing.

           Undyne smacked the floor, giving another shout of laughter. “Who…who said it was me?! Why would you think that was my nickname?” She grabbed her own pillow and sat up for a swipe at Frisk, mindful of her much greater strength. “It was probably Her Majesty!”

           “Oh, really? Is that how it is?” Toriel got to her feet with difficulty. “I…” She had to pause for a few more giggles before she could say, “I suppose I’ll just comfort myself by eating this entire breakfast by myself.”

           At that, Alphys got up and tried to creep around the fringes of the now-full-blown pillow fight, but Undyne grabbed her ankle. “Hold on, Doctor! This is a question of honor, and you’ve gotta help me settle it once and for all! I—” She stopped as Frisk tried to catch her unawares. “HEY! Knock it off, you damn cheating human!”

           “Never!” Frisk had gone for her blind side, and ducked behind her pillow to avoid retaliation. “Alphys, help me!”

           “Mmm! This is wonderful,” Toriel said loudly, sparing the scientist from having to choose sides. “I’m so glad I have it all to myself!”

           Undyne dropped her pillow, but before she could stand up, Frisk said, more seriously, “Wait a moment, please. I need help getting this off my face.” She crooked her finger at Undyne. “We’ll be right back.”

           The Captain followed her to the bathroom. “Yeah, I have no idea how to get that stuff off,” she admitted. “I used one of the really nice pens out of Toriel’s desk.”

           “Splendid.” Frisk opened the medicine cabinet as Undyne closed the door. “That could’ve gone better,” she said quietly.

           “What?! That was fun as—oh. Right.” The fish monster sat down on the edge of the tub. “Yeah, so…Her Majesty knows something is going on with a human, but she doesn’t even suspect it’s you? I mean, you’re powerful enough to be High Priestess, you spent way more time with Sans than anyone else, and he really cares about you. How is she not putting that together?”

           Frisk sighed, selected a bottle of baby oil, and began rubbing it on her nose and forehead. “Toriel’s been alone for much too long. Now that I’m back, she still wants to think of me as a little girl, and being involved with Sans doesn’t fit that image.” The human dumped most of the bottle out and slathered it on. “It’s convenient for now, but when she finds out…”

           “Hmm.” The Captain gave her a hard, squinty stare. “That’s not gonna stop you, is it?” she demanded.

           “Hell no,” Frisk said. She was smiling, but she had never been more serious in her life…or at least she would be, once she got the damn ink off.

 ~

             It was now late afternoon. Sans was standing at the counter of a large grain clearinghouse in human form, hands in his pockets, waiting on someone who’d run off to find someone else who could assist him. He glanced around for the fifth time, but there wasn’t much point. There were shelves lined with burlap sacks that reminded him of his old shirt, wood floors, brick walls, and nothing else. At least if he’d brought Frisk with him, he would’ve had something to look at!

           If he’d brought Frisk along on this stupid impulse trip, he also wouldn’t be waiting for these dickwads to take their sweet friggin’ time tracking his stuff down; she would have done her scary thing at them and gotten their fleshy butts moving. He was doing his best to look intimidating, but it wasn’t the same with his disguise on.

           …But if he’d brought Frisk along, he’d be thinking nonstop of that damn dream, and his entire day would’ve been a frustrating waste. As it was, he was only thinking mostly of that damn dream, and the day had otherwise been really boring. This was the third place Sans had been, and according to the invoices, there were a couple more to go; he didn’t know why he’d assumed that everything they’d ordered would be sitting around in one place, ready to go, because holy shit, it wasn’t.

           At least the nice lady at the first warehouse had convinced him not to try getting everything together and heading back out tonight. She’d seen that he was completely clueless and given him some advice on what to actually do: show the invoices today so they could get it ready for tomorrow, then rent a couple of carts in the morning, bring them to each warehouse, inspect the cargo for damage, sign the bill of lading, make sure it got loaded safely, and head to the next damn place to do it again until everything was ready to go. Then he could worry about getting home.

           All these stupid, tiny, essential details—was this what Frisk’s life was like, running around arranging crap for everyone? No wonder she was so damn tired all the time! It was like being pinched to death!

           He was profoundly grateful to exit the last warehouse, even if the sun’s dying light was right in his eyes as he stepped out. Sans squinted his way down the street and selected the first okay-looking pub he saw. The place was noisy and crowded, but warm enough that he decided to sit down at a table near the door.

It was seriously weird to be by himself among all these people. With nothing better to do and the servers too busy to notice him yet, Sans relaxed as best he could, half listening to the humans’ chatter.

“That’s seriously the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” someone was saying loudly at the next table. “I don’t care how all-powerful it’s supposed to be, it’s a skeleton.”

Sans turned his full attention to that table as the guy’s friends murmured agreement. “Yeah, if that’s the worst thing they can come up with, it’s pretty damn stupid,” one said.

“You wanna know what I heard that’s actually true?” The first speaker’s voice dropped just enough to sound impressive. “If the whole monster thing works out, the King’s gonna legally adopt her—new title, next in line for the throne after the Prince, the works.”

This did impress his friends, who were thoughtfully silent. “Nuh-uh,” someone finally said, and they laughed.

“I’m not kidding! My brother-in-law just got back from the city a couple hours ago. The sorcerers did a big demonstration of those…those panel things, whatever the fuck you call ‘em, and they actually worked. The King was there, and a bunch of people said he couldn’t stop talking about everything the High Priestess was doing.”

“So how’d you get from ‘the thing works like she said’ to ‘huzzah for Her Majesty’?” asked a skeptic.

The knowledgeable human smirked. “He was asking for all kinds of paperwork when they got back to the castle, including adoption stuff. The Prince isn’t doing too good—” He paused, nodding agreement with their sympathetic murmurs. “I know. Poor little man. But—”

“Good evening, sir!” A smiling, apple-cheeked waitress was between Sans and the other table. “What’ll you have?”

“Water.” When she opened her mouth again, he said, “Just bring me whatever’s at the top of the menu.”

The waitress blinked. “Yes, sir. Can I interest you in—”

“Bye,” he snapped, and the woman moved on, trying to hide a scowl.

To his irritation, the humans were now talking about sheep or something. Sans stared at the back of one man’s head, his thoughts buzzing like flies. Had he jinxed it somehow? Just yesterday, he’d been thinking what a great ruler Frisk would be, and now, if these random assholes were to be believed—

Someone had made a dirty joke about a guy spending too much time with his sheep, and the table was getting so loud that Sans contemplated moving somewhere else, or leaving entirely. If he stayed at a decent inn, he could get food there just as easily.

“You’d better watch out. They thought my cousin was doin’ that, and he had to sell his whole farm to pay the fine,” said the grossest-looking human.

This revelation was met with even louder derision. “That wasn’t a sheep, stupid,” the talkative guy commented. “He was gettin’ cozy with a monster. Remember, the little one they were using for the mill?”

Sans’ entire body locked up. Dimly, he knew he had to make his legs move—he had to get out of here before he heard anything worse than—

“He didn’t actually do anything,” the gross guy insisted. “They just found him in the pen.”

Another round of merriment. “Yeah, drunk off his ass! If I was her, I’d’ve knocked him out, too! He got charged with attempted bestiality and letting her escape!”

“Nah, not bestiality,” someone said. “It’s…what’s that fancy word?”

“Miscegenation,” said the gross guy. “Fuckin’ a monster. He got lucky they didn’t throw him in jail. He just had to sell everything he owned and go work for someone.”

Sans stared down at his table’s cracked, beer-mug-stained surface. He was no longer listening to the group. So, it was actually against the law? That meant…

The noisy table gradually ceased talking and turned to look at Sans, who had started sniggering, then laughing to himself, and gotten so loud that the humans around him were edging away. “You okay there?” someone asked cautiously.

“It’s a fucking crime,” Sans said, distantly aware that it was in fact a deeply messed-up and unfunny issue. “Get it?” He got up, shaking his head, a hand to his side. With an incoherent sound, the disguised monster ignored the waitress’ approach with his food and staggered out the door. He could eat later; right now, he just needed to stop laughing at the sheer, ridiculous number of reasons why he should never ever see Frisk again, much less spend the rest of his life with her. At this point, what else could even happen?!

In a way, it didn’t matter: it was about infinity too late to decide that they’d better just be friends. Whatever happened, they could handle it between them, he told himself, and very nearly believed it.

 ~

 It wasn’t a sex dream this time, but the first thing he saw after falling asleep that night was Frisk, so he’d take it. “Heya,” said Sans, extending a bony hand. They were in Toriel’s living room, Frisk lounging in the armchair. “Come here often?”

           She smiled at him as he pulled her to her feet. “Not often enough,” she said, squeezing his metacarpals. “I’m so glad to see you.”

           “Yeah?” For a moment, Sans thought she’d grown way taller; then he realized that he was his normal shape, but human height. He opened his arms, and Frisk came right in to snuggle against him, sighing as he pulled her closer. “How was yer day?” he mumbled, running his phalanges through the ends of her hair.

           Her body rumbled as she laughed a little, and his SOUL almost purred with sheer happiness. How was he supposed to ever stop hugging her when it felt like this? “It was wonderful,” she said into his chest. “We had our slumber party, and then Papyrus came by in the morning to say hello, so we took him around to give out the rest of the gifts, and he came shopping with us.” Another giggle. “He’s actually got a great eye for color coordination.”

           “Yeah?” Sans ignored the tiniest pinprick of jealousy. “Thanks fer includin’ him.”

           “Of course!” The human squeezed him for emphasis. “I’ll spare you the full fashion show when you get back, but some of the things we got are really cute. I can’t wait to wear something that’s not black or gray.”

           “Or purple?” he teased her.

           “Or…” Frisk stopped, then thumped him in the ribs as he snickered. “You know I hate that stupid dress! I might as well go out wearing nothing but body paint!”

    ��      “Okay,” Sans said agreeably.

That earned him another thump. “So,” Frisk said, very dignified, “then we went to see Mettaton.” She wriggled a little in excitement. “He’s already started teaching me a few different dance steps. The only time I’ve ever danced was when I was here, and it was so much fun! We’re going back tomorrow so I can practice.”

Sans tried to envision his normal, giant self dancing her around, and shifted his weight uncomfortably. “Glad ya liked it. Are you all back at Tori’s tonight?”

Frisk nodded. “We played cards until Undyne got carried away.” Snrk. “I bought some waterproof eyeliner while we were out today. I can’t wait for her to wake up tomorrow.”

That didn’t mean much to Sans, who figured he might as well ask, “Did they tell you what I’ve been doin’, where I am now?”

           He felt her tense up. “Eventually, yes.” Frisk pulled back enough to glare at him. “What were you thinking? You should’ve waited for us!”

           Sans let his head drift downward till his forehead was resting on hers. Was she wearing makeup, or were her lashes always this long? “I was thinkin’ of that dream from last night,” he said casually, “an’ then I wasn’t thinkin’. Tori caught me comin’ in to say hi.”

           Frisk’s eyes widened, face flushing. “Sans! You can’t do that! What were you even going to do with everyone else right there?!”

           Sans paused. “Hold on a sec.” He didn’t know if it’d work in a dream, but just in case, he released her, pulled the silver chain from his coat pocket, and slipped on his disguise. Frisk jumped back as he wriggled his human hands. “There we go! Now I can feel stuff, and now—” He reached down to run his fingers through her hair, his other arm pulling her close again. “I don’t have all those damn teeth in the way,” he said, and leaned down to kiss her.

           To his hurt surprise, she pushed him away, turning her face aside. “Hold on a second,” she protested. “I…” Frisk saw his expression and sighed. Her arms came up around his neck, and Sans had to try very hard to focus on anything else besides her softest parts smushed up against him. “You have to warn me before you do that,” she chided him. “I’ve only ever seen you like this a handful of times, and you startled me. That’s all.” She placed her palm on his cheek, and he wasn’t embarrassed to put his hand up to hold it there. “All right,” she said after a long moment. “Now you—”

           The rest of the sentence was lost to history: his mouth was on hers, arms almost crushing her. Frisk made a sound deep in her throat, and he ran his hands down her back and up her sides as her lips parted again. It was so much better not to have to worry about biting the crap out of her! Their teeth could still knock together a bit too hard or catch each other’s lips, but that was a tiny annoyance compared to the feeling of her breath on him, how he could ease his tongue into her mouth and let her explore him right back without snagging anything on his fangs.

           That also meant he could pull her hair back to expose her neck and bury his face in it, his other hand free to roam over her backside. It was a struggle to formulate anything coherent, much less to ask her if her physical limitations applied to dreams, or if they could lie down and pick up where they’d left off a couple nights ago.

           Frisk’s throat moved. He thought she was encouraging him to start biting again, until she said, “I’m going to try to speak with Asgore tomorrow.”

           Sans’ fingers dug into her waist. “Why.”

           “Because I have to show him that I’m not afraid of him. Don’t worry, he likely won’t agree to see me yet. It’s just important to try.” Her hands tightened, almost trembling. “And I have to talk to him about…”

           It came back to him in a flash, everything Grillby had said— “About Chara?”

           Frisk’s hands were definitely trembling. “I don’t think Toriel could handle it. Not yet. But I can’t hide it much longer.” She swallowed hard. “Can I tell you about it when you get back?”

           Sans frowned, resting his cheek where her neck met her shoulder. “Of course. Whatever ya need.” He paused, playing with her hair. “So, no offense, sweetheart, but…why are we talkin’ right now instead of makin’ out?”

           “Because Undyne saw what I did to her face, and she’s hitting me with a p—”

           Just like that, Frisk was gone. Sans stared at the empty space his arms were grasping, and allowed himself to slowly pitch forward until he fell into the armchair. He scooted and twisted around to face forward. Well, just because Undyne had ruined his chance to screw around completely consequence-free with the woman he loved and wanted with every fiber of his being, that was no reason to pout, was it? Except that it completely was! Fuckin’ Undyne!

           Sans exhaled, closing his sockets. His real self was so tired that he might as well stick around here for a minute, where no one else could bother—

           Something moved, so quiet that it wasn’t really a sound so much as a disturbance in the air. It didn’t feel hostile, but the giant skeleton felt a stab of foreboding. He peeked upward, and immediately felt his sockets grow wide. His mouth moved, but there was no sound. All it could do was shape the words Prince Asriel?

           The figure nodded slowly. Sans watched in awe as it knelt, golden eyes dark and solemn in the firelight. There came the soft, deep, courteous voice Sans remembered: “Tell her I’m sorry.”

           Sans shook his head. “Sorry for—wait!” Asriel was standing, stepping back with a shake of his head. “Prince Asriel! Hold on! Come—”

           It was no use. Just like in real life, the Prince was gone.

[ambersky0319]

You’re Something Else

Part One // Part Two // Part Three

I’m gonna hope I can post this daily- or near daily, at least!

Prompt: Medieval Demus fanfic? Remus and Roman are both princes and with Roman set to inherit the throne their parents desperately want to see Remus married off, however Remus has the tendency to be picky with potential suitors and has turned them all down thus far. That is until Remus’ newest suitor turns out to be Prince Janus. At first Remus is difficult with him as he is with all his suitors but than Janus starts winning him over slowly. Janus also knows sorcery in this.

Overall Story Warnings: Blood and injuries(varies throughout story), kind of a terrible father, lmk if I need to add anything else!

Masterpost 

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Remus over the course of the next week tried to get Janus annoyed, disgust him, to make him leave early. But nothing he did seemed to work. He tried leaving piles of trash in Janus's room, it mysteriously disappeared. He tried to be overly sexual, Janus just smacked him with his cane(not hard enough that it hurt, but enough to get Remus to stop). He had threatened to challenge Janus to a duel and Janus had just laughed and said: "I'd love to see you try."

And Janus, well, Janus just kind of let it happen. What use was there in trying to get Remus to stop when Remus was adamant on trying to get him to leave. Plus, it was fun watching Remus grow frustrated that he wasn't leaving.

And his parents just asked if Janus would stay longer. He agreed, to make them happy, but Remus just groaned in annoyance that this man was as stubborn as him.

Midway through the second week, though, is when things started to get a bit weird. At least for Remus. He had given up on trying to drive Janus away, and instead opted to try and avoid him. It didn't work all the time but Remus was able to avoid him for most of the day by going into the woods, taking a different path each time and sometimes not taking one at all.

Each time he came back, though, there was a few different flowers waiting on his bed. Often they were wilted, but the ones that were still alive were always a bright green. The odd thing was, Remus didn't recognize any of the flowers.

Finally, he had had enough of the flowers and stormed across the hall to Janus's room. Neither of his guards tried to stop him, in fact he was pretty sure he saw them smirking to one another as he pushed open Janus's door.

Janus glanced up in surprise as Remus waltzed in, raising a brow. "May I help you?" He asked. Remus growled softly and tossed all the flowers he had received over the past few days at Janus. Janus still appeared puzzled as he caught them.

"What are you playing at?" Remus crossed his arms as he glared, and Janus blinked. A puzzled look appeared on his face.

"What?"

"The flowers! Why do you keep giving them to me? And where are they from?!"

"Would you prefer I give you something else?" Janus asked, rising to his feet and letting the flowers rest on his bed beside his closed book. Remus looked startled at the sudden closeness. "I figured you'd be interested in them, native to my homeland those flowers, all quite rare. But if you're not, I could always just stop."

Remus bit his lip. "Th... They're rare flowers?"

Janus nodded, walking past Remus to a small bookcase. He grabbed one of the books after briefly skimming the titles, and he passed it over to Remus. Remus looked down at the title in confusion.

Oddities in Nature, Volume II, Flowers.

"It's hard getting them to last so long or even grow in any gardens. Those are the few I've managed to keep alive. But even once they're wilted they still remain useful."

"Useful?"

Janus's eyes widened a bit as he realized what he had said. But the look was fine before Remus had time to process it had even happened. "For uh, medicines. Like this one," he picked up the first wilted flower he had ever given to Remus. "It's nicknamed Moondrop in my kingdom, only blooms under a blood supermoon, and even then just finding the Moondrop is a challenge, so although the supermoon occurs every few years we rarely find one when it does."

"What's it used in?" Remus found himself asking, looking between the flower and Janus.

Janus smiled warmly, genuinely, and Remus hated how his heart skipped a beat.

"A sort of uh... concoction to heal really bad wounds, like stab wounds in the stomach or burns.

"And it works?" Janus laughed lightly at Remus's tone, nodding.

"It does indeed." He tilted his head. "Want to borrow the book?"

"If it's not too much trouble..."

"Don't worry about it." Remus felt himself relax, holding the book closer. He was about to turn and leave when Janus tapped him on the shoulder. "Remus?"

Remus glanced at him, confused. Janus smiled and offered the flowers to him again, somehow they were all arranged neatly in a bouquet. Remus's jaw dropped slightly. "Think you're forgetting something," Janus hummed, slipping the bouquet into Remus's hands.

The next thing Remus knew he was standing in the hallway, Janus's door closed behind him, the book hugged to his chest and the flowers held close as he looked at them with a newfound interest. Remus glanced once back towards Janus's door before heading back to his room to start reading.

-

Janus waited until he heard the sound of another door closing, and he relaxed. Walking back to his bed, he picked up his book; a spell book. He wasn't practicing the spells yet, one of the reasons having just taken place. Remus walking in unannounced.

At home it wouldn't usually matter, since his family knew he was practicing sorcery and would often leave him be so he could concentrate. But it was like this royal family had no regard for privacy. Janus had already seen Orion enter Remus's room uninvited a few times, and Remus entering Roman's the same way. He wasn't going to risk getting caught practicing magic.

To his knowledge, they didn't even know Janus was a sorcerer. Well, he wasn't an official sorcerer technically, but he was practicing and learning and his teacher, Logan, was perfectly content in Janus learning it as a hobby. Besides, you never know when a spell could save your life.

Or someone else's, Janus reminds himself when he glances up and catches sight of the scar along his face and neck. It wasn't Logan's work, Logan wasn't in the kingdom when Janus had been injured in a fire. The sorcerer who did heal him his parents claimed to have died, and Janus had just accepted it. But he did want to learn sorcery after that.

His hand made its way to his cane, and without looking he felt around until his finger brushed over a button. He pressed it and the bottom part of the cane slipped to the floor. Flicking it around, Janus slipped the top part of the cane off as well, setting the piece on his bed as he held his wand, smiling to himself as he ran his fingers over the wood. Maybe he could practice some magic soon, later tonight after dinner. For now, Janus returned to his book, wand in hand but never actually performing any spells.

-

Remus closed the book after a few hours, and he pushed it a bit away from him on his bed. He rested his chin on his hands, brows pulled together as he thought.

This book was definitely an oddity itself, nevermind the plants depicted inside. Remus had only seen a few of them before, and it was a long time ago. The rest he had never even heard of.

Right, native to his land. Remus thought, glancing back to the bouquet sitting near his mirror, the flowers now in a black vase.

The book also showed how to brew the plants to create all sorts of tonics, plus some... graphic... diagrams on what could happen if brewed incorrectly. Now those were fascinating. Some of the things in the book Remus didn't understand, certain phrases that sounded odd when he said them, but he brushed that aside. They were probably things in another language altogether.

Shaking his head, Remus glanced to his window, frowning slightly at how dark it was outside. Had he really been reading for so long?

His eyes drifted to the flowers and he felt himself relax a bit. He supposed it wasn't that bad, reading for a few hours. He wondered if Janus had visited the castle library yet?

Remus shook his head. No, he was not going to start thinking about what Janus might like. He wasn't going to get attached. Surely he could find some way to get Janus to leave, and leave without Remus. He grabbed the book and moved it to his nightstand, climbing off his bed to change into his nightclothes. Pulling the covers over his head, Remus burrowed into his pillows, falling into a relatively calm sleep.

---

Almost another week had gone by. Janus was still living in the castle. Remus was surprised when he realized Janus wasn't leaving his room much outside of meals. Sometimes one or both of the guards would enter the room when the third, Janus's main guard named Ethan(something Remus was very surprised to have learned his name), would ask for them to come help with something. What they were helping with, Remus didn't know.

Sometimes, another book would be left outside Remus's door. Always part of the Oddities in Nature books. And always with a new, strange thing. Janus still gave him rare plants, but he now also started giving Remus little gems that looked boring at first but then would shimmer and cast rainbows on the walls or what looked like blood spatter on the ceiling if angled right.

Remus would return the books by handing them to the guards. Often Ethan. Remus didn't know the names of the other two, they wore helmets that covered all but the bottom part of their faces. A bit unnerving, and it made Remus curious, but he hadn't decided to ask yet.

"Maybe he thinks I'll go to him?" Remus asked his reflection one morning, running a hand through his greasy hair. Well, not as greasy as it normally was. He was making a bit more of an effort to keep it relatively clean.

His mother was happy with the small bit of effort. She was also delighted that Janus had yet to leave. Evelyn believed that Remus would like this one eventually.

Remus hated how she might be right.

There was no denying that Remus was curious about this prince. A bunch of secrets, Janus was, and Remus wanted to learn them all. And he despised that he was fascinated with Janus, finding himself biting back questions he desperately wanted to ask.

Remus never realized how hard staying quiet actually was.

Orion didn't mind Janus. But Remus knew that his father didn't like him as much as he liked Roman. And maybe that was another reason he liked Janus.

He shook his head. He should stop worrying about this, or else the streak in his hair might grow.

Remus grabbed his morningstar along with a small bag of snacks he'd stolen from the cooks. He clipped the bag to his belt and slung the morning star over his shoulder, making his way to the door.

When he walked out, he was surprised to see Janus also leaving his room, cane in hand along with the bag he always carried everywhere except to meals. Janus blinked at him, tilting his head and smiling gently.

"Prince Remus. Going somewhere?"

Remus clenched his morningstar tighter, swaying from side to side as he answered. "Just the woods."

Janus nodded slightly. "Mind if I join you?"

Remus frowned. "I don't know. You don't look like you'd last long where I'm heading."

One of Janus's guards laughed softly, and the other smirked. Remus felt heat raise to his cheeks as Janus rolled his eyes at them. "I can handle myself. Besides, there's some plants I've yet to find in the parts that I have explored and I really need these other plants."

Remus averted his gaze from the brown and yellow one staring at him. He forced his shoulders to relax. "Alright then, it's your funeral."

It really would be, considering where Remus was going was a few miles from the castle where there was rumor of a dragon. It had claimed the lives of some guards and Remus wanted to try and fight it himself, or at least see it. He wasn't going to try and keep Janus safe though, when he would be too busy watching his own back.

Remus turned down the hall without another word, hearing one of Janus's guards tell them to be careful. Janus walked with confidence as he followed Remus, heels clicking against the polished floor a good distraction for Remus. The steady beat kept his thoughts from spiraling, because while Remus might not be inclined to protect Janus... He didn't want to imagine what could happen to him.

One of the guards near the castle entrance stopped them, lifting their helmet to talk to them properly.

"Now where do you two think you're going?" They narrowed their eyes at Remus. "Not going after that dragon, are you?"

Remus smiled sheepishly as they eyed his morningstar. "No one said I couldn't go look at it!"

The guard glared. "That's just as idiotic as trying to fight it, my prince." They looked to Janus. "Surely you know this, Prince Janus."

Janus tilted his head. "It is indeed. Luckily we weren't going to go that way. Prince Remus was going to bring me to this flower he found the other day and we'll be back soon."

They raised a brow. "And he's bringing his morningstar because?"

Janus shrugged, crossing his arms and holding his head high. He was asking them to challenge him as he spoke, Remus realized, watching. "Defense, obviously. There are creatures everywhere in the woods aside from a dragon that could harm us. It makes sense to bring a weapon. Plus, Prince Remus brings it everywhere."

Remus almost pulled away when Janus slipped their arms together, almost tried to argue for Janus to back away. But then he saw the fading confidence in the guard's eyes and found a small smile gracing his face. "Now, can we go?"

The guard sighed, slipping their helmet back into place before stepping back. They walked in step out of the castle and Janus didn't let Remus go until they were out of sight of any palace guards and at an unmarked part of the forest.

"So, a dragon?" Janus hummed as he followed Remus into the brush. There was almost a natural trail, but it wasn't worn enough to really be considered a pathway. Janus noted the many broken branches where the guards probably walked without care, slashing their way through the lush part of the forest. Remus spared a glance his way before turning his attention back to the ground.

"You can always turn back."

"No, I still need those flowers. And I'd like to at least try and find them."

"Are they worth a run-in with a man-eating dragon?" Remus asked, glancing up at the barely visible sky. The canopy is already very thick, the trees standing tall and prouder than Remus has ever stood. He remembers one day when he had tried to climb one, fell, and broken his arm upon landing.

Remus was startled when Janus laughed. It was soft and Remus's heart jumped into his throat as Janus quieted. "I'm afraid to disappoint, but dragons aren't man-eating. Territorial, yes. But they don't eat humans."

"They kill them." Remus pointed out, watching Janus out of the corner of his eye as Janus walked beside him. Janus was keeping his eyes on their surroundings, just in case he did spot one of the plants he needed.

"Some. Most don't. This one must have built its den close to where those guards found it, if it killed them. Or they provoked it. Dragons will kill if pushed over the edge."

Remus frowned. "How do you know so much about dragons?"

Janus swung his cane slightly, moving it so it didn't touch the ground. "They're common where I'm from. You've gotta know about them or else you might end up six feet under."

"They're common?!"

Janus chuckled at Remus's astonishment. "Yes. Very common. It's hard to go anywhere without spotting one. Their dens are further away from us humans but the dragons like the free food and stealing things for their hordes."

Remus bit his lip. He was going to regret this.

Drawing his morningstar closer so it wouldn't hit anything, Remus sighed softly. "Can you tell me some other things about your kingdom?"

Janus tilted his head, smile twisting into a small smirk. "Oh, finally interested?"

Remus huffed, closing in on himself a bit more. "Nevermind."

Janus chuckled. "No, no. I'm sorry. Anything you want to know in particular?"

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