voidandabyssal

[voidandabyssal]

Ts is fire🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 I love your ‘don’t imagine’ series lol

A little birdy told me it was a certain friend's birthday! So, have a little dose of Horror for your special day! @prehnite-soul Happy Birthday! ＼⁠(⁠^⁠o⁠^⁠)⁠／

The Lighthouse Keeper

(FYI: Horror Sans as a lighthouse keeper is not my idea, but prehnite did say I could write something for it about a month ago.)

Don't Imagine accidentally tumbling over the ship's railing during a tumultuous storm. How the icy water completely saps your strength and drags you beneath the waves no matter how hard you fight to stay afloat. How you quickly realize there is no hope of rescue. How you close your eyes and give up, resigning yourself to a watery grave.

Don't Imagine waking up with a start in a bed that is not your own. How your muscles ache and your chest feels so heavy, as if someone had planted themselves on top of you all night. How you try to get up but soon collapse against the bed clothes.

Don't Imagine how your heart leaps into your throat when the rough hewn door creaks open and a large shadow enters the small room. How your terrified eyes meet a single blood red eyelight and a skeletal visage. How for a moment your mind races with thoughts of what this Monster might do to you, only for that fear to be shattered when you notice the wooden tray in his hands containing a steaming bowl of fragrant soup.

Don't Imagine how his deep voice seems to resonate in your chest as he quietly explains how he found you washed up on the stony beach. How he expresses his relief that you're finally awake and mentions fearing you would not make it through the night. How he inquires about your well-being and asks if you think you can stomach some food.

Don't Imagine his strong hands lifting you up before he slides another pillow between you and the headboard. How sharp you can tell his claws are through the thin fabric of your shirt despite his attempts to be gentle. How the mattress dips when he sits down next to you, and how his eyelight quivers as he properly takes in your appearance for the first time. How your arms are too sore and weak to hold onto the tray, and how he shyly offers to help feed you. How his hand trembles as he holds the spoon, being so very careful not spill or give you too much at once lest you choke.

Don't Imagine how his eyelight expands to nearly fill the entire socket when you audibly express enjoying the soup. How his permanent crooked smile widens with happiness that his cooking could bring anyone so much joy. How he seems to shrink into himself when he realizes how silly he must look, but how his smile lingers despite his embarrassment. How it suddenly occurs to you that he is rather cute despite his outwardly scary appearance.

Don't Imagine how the hours seem to fly by under his care. How he caters to your every need, and how he talks with you to dispel your boredom. How he tells you about his job as a lighthouse keeper and his younger brother, who helps him maintain the lamp up above. How he expresses joy to have a visitor, even if you are bed bound for the moment as it has been so long since anyone came by. How you find him endearing and wonder if he would let you stay for a little while after you recover. How you realize you could happily leave your old life behind to join him here, if he only let you.

[voidandabyssal]

OMG YESSSSSSS, IM TOTALLY GONNA READ THIS! I love the art! The little snippet sounds so entertaining. Good job!

doodles of scenes from the fic I’ve been working on!!! Siren pap adopt human frisk, yes plz??????

AND! a snippet of the fic itself, bc i love it so much honestly (under a cut so you can just look at art if you want)

————SEA GLASS————

“...SAY, HUMAN. WHY ARE YOU OUT HERE AGAIN?”

Papyrus didn’t want to ask. Didn’t want to chase the little human off when all he’d wanted in the first place was to see them again. But he’d rather they be safe, and being here was the furthest thing from safe they could get.

They blinked their eyes and… Oh, Papyrus supposed it was perhaps the warmth of the blanket that was lulling them to sleep. Fleshy creatures tended to like warm, dry things from what he knew of the monsters back Home.

They lifted their hands to sign in response.

“I like the water. The waves are pretty.”

They wouldn’t meet his gaze, and while Papyrus wasn’t nearly as talented at reading people as his brother, something about them was guilty. Papyrus sighed, and it was a quiet sound. He didn’t say “sigh” like he was wont to do, just let out a small whistle of air through his teeth.

“...I KNOW CHILDREN LIKE SPIKES AND TRAPS AND RISKY THINGS, AND DARING EXCURSIONS ARE THE PILLARS OF YOUTH, BUT! COMING OUT HERE WITHOUT SOMEONE WITH YOU IS PROBABLY NOT THE SAFEST THING…”

They blinked again.

“You’re with me.”

Papyrus looked away as a hot wave of guilt crashed through his chest. He curled up his phalanges in a sad attempt to hide their clawed edges.

They didn’t know that he was one of those “dangerous things,” or that he was what they should be staying away from. …And he didn’t want to tell them.

“YES, WELL! …I SUPPOSE I AM. BUT! WHAT IF I AM NOT HERE, HMMM?”

[voidandabyssal]

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN RACCOON?!?!??! NO RACCOON COME BACK WHAT DOES THIS MEEEEEEAAAAAAAANNNNN

My readers: "These characters will find the people they've lost, right?"

Me: ...

Readers: "Right??"

Me:

[voidandabyssal]

I'm in a mood for hugs, specifically from skeletons! So, in your opinion, which of your boys give the best hugs and do they have any preferences or methods of doing so?

All the Skeleton hugs ranked from best to worst:

Dream (DT): 100/10

Dream is the guardian of positivity. Of course he’s going to be in the number 1 spot for best hugger. Each hug washes away the stress, fear, and negativity overwhelming your mind. Dream keeps his arms looped around your waist, his hands sneaking up to rest against your upper back. Occasionally his gloved hands trace soft patterns, but theres no neediness to his touch. Dream only pulls away once he senses the negativity disappear from you, or when you pull away from him.

Papyrus (UT): 10/10

The best giver and receiver of hugs, only second place to the literally guardian of positivity. Affectionate enough that hugs are a frequent and preferred method of affection for him, especially among friends or partners. Papyrus is tall enough that he can envelop you in a soft but firm hug but not so tall that it becomes uncomfortable for him.

Blue (US): 9.5/10

Third best, he also gives frequent hugs but his are less all enveloping and he holds you much tighter than Papyrus, which can be a little uncomfortable if he’s really excited. Blue is likely to jump up into your arms if he’s really excited to see you

Coffee (FSG): 9/10

Coffee is one of the most clingy skeletons on this list. Hugs occur multiple times an hour, and he keeps a hand wrapped around your arm most times. Your touch helps Coffee ground himself and avoid anxious habits he’s been trying to break. Most times, Coffee leans over you, embracing from the back. If you’re both sitting down he’s going to pull you into his lap to cuddle. Hugs at this point are inevitable, don’t bother trying to avoid them.

Sans (UT) 8.5/10:

Another skeleton who rarely hugs others. Rare yet treasured each time. Usually he hugs you when both of you are sitting down somewhere, either at home or somewhere in public. Sans isn’t the shy type. His hugs are pillowy soft, his arms loosely wrapped around your waist. If you’re not careful Sans will fall asleep against you. Sans short height lends to this, with him usually able to lean against your stomach or chest, unless you are similarly short (5’0 or shorter)

Passion (LustTale Papyrus): 8/10

Passion’s hugs are marked by the sweet fruity perfume he dots his neck and wrists with. The designer clothes Passion wears makes you feel like your being enveloped by a very luxurious, fruity smelling fashion store. Passion is a frequent hugger, if you’re a close friend, or partner he’s going to offer a night of fun (or he jokes about it at least). Passion’s hugs hint at lust for you, but he respects it if you prefer a platonic hug.

Stretch (US): 8/10

Casual totally platonic hugs are right up his alley. Stretch will sling an arm around your shoulder as you wait for your order at Muffets. Or when you’re sitting on his couch watching some discount bin movie. You could shake out of the hug or lean into it, Stretch doesn’t push for anything more than you are willing to offer.

Mutt (SF): 7/10

Similarly to Stretch, Mutt loves a platonic hug. His tend to involve a lot more chain smoking or beer drinking though. Usually he leans over you, resting his chin against the top of your head. You’ll have to swat him away when the cigarette smoke gets too much, or you feel him start to reach his hands lower and lower down your body, till they rest on the more sensitive spots.

Red (UF): 7/10

Red’s hugs are usually done when he and you are a drunk, sappy mess. He’ll bring you into a embrace and nuzzle into your neck as he proclaims what a great partner/friend you are. Rarely he’ll offer a sober hug, its awkward, but well meaning and the scent of mustard and cheap beer overwhelms your senses as you embrace. His jacket also acts as a portable heater, perfect for the weather of Snowdin.

Edge (UF): 6/10

Edge is another awkward hugger, much less practised in this act of affection than he lets on. The spikes of his clothes dig into your skin. And he has to bend down to comfortably hold you. If you try and say anything he’ll loudly tell you to be quiet. You can feel the heat of his blush as he hides in the crook of your neck. The more you two hug, the better, more confident he seems to get with it.

Dior (LT Sans): 6/10

Dior’s a very touchy feely skeleton, despite this he isn’t the type to really doll out hugs very often. Hugs are reserved for more vulnerable moments in private. Dior tends to give loose side hugs for those invulnerable moments that either of you could drift out of without struggle. He’s likely to make some sex joke to break any awkward silence, or even grope at you. Dior’s not comfortable with emotional vulnerability if thats not obvious yet

Ink: 5.5/10

Ink is characterised by his forgettable nature. Hugs are usually quick as Ink jumps around the doodleverse or Dreams home, or in whatever au the troublemaking pair of you have ended up. He quickly moves on as important reminders barge back into his empty skull. You pull away to find several splotches of paint and ink soaking into your clothes. Ink usually hugs you when he’s especially excited, perhaps you’ve both defeated Nightmare and his gang, or you saved a AU from Errors destructive hands. He runs up and leaps at you, wrapping his legs around your hips and his arms around your neck.

Black (SF): 5/10

Black offers his hugs like they are a prized offering. Really, you should be thanking him for such an opportunity. It’s not just anyone who gets to hug the malevolent Black, only special people are given such a privilege. Unlike Wine, who reserves his affections for the privacy of his home, Black will happily hug you in front of others. He tries to keep his sharpened fingers from cutting your sensitive human skin. Every public hug feels almost theatrical, you can feel him shift his head to glare daggers at whoever he’s warning. “Don’t fuck with my family,” his affections scream

Wine (FSG): 5/10

Wine dolls out affection in general as a rare award. His brother being a single exception to this rule. If Wine unpromptedly reaches out to hold you, or even just brush your hair out of your face, you’re family. Wines hugs are reserved for the total privacy of your home. Softly wrapping around your waist he lets you lean into his hold, before pulling away from you seconds later. You are left always wanting more, his leather uniform leaves a unique scent attached to you. Other Monsters avoid you when they smell Wines mark left on you.

Mullberry (HS Sans): 5/10

Mullberry has long since lost the confidence and energy associated with any swap sans. He can’t remember the last time he had really hugged someone. Ell had long stopped tolerating most people’s company, much less touch. You’ll be the one to offer a hug. It’s awkward, embarrassing, Mullberry accidentally hugs you too rigidly then loosens so much he’s barely touching you.

Mullberry pulls away before long. He’s so embarrassed he disappears and broods in silence about how different he’s become. The fractured cracks across his skull ache furiously the more he dwells. You’ll find better luck hugging him when he’s got a migraine. Only then can he really absorb the affection without letting his insecurity distract him.

Axe (HT): 5/10

Axe’s hugs enveloped you completely, you nearly disappear into his musty jacket as he picks you up off your feet and sweeps you away. Typically Axe reserves these hugs for when you two are in the safe in the privacy of your home, only extending the same level of affection in front of his brother. Hugs are quickly turned into cuddles when the damaged skeleton sits you in his lap and keeps you locked in his lap with hands large enough to wrap around your waist. You have no way of escaping his grip. Axe is solidly in the middle of this list due to the fact that you don’t have much of a choice of when and where you get hugged and for how long.

Crooks (HT): 4.5/10

Another one of the tall boys. Hugs are rare, short, and reserved for the privacy of your home. His bones jut out in sharp ends leading to a fear of accidentally cutting or bruising you. Crooks prefers to offer affection in other ways. Not only is he worried about potential hurting you, but he is much bigger than you, so Crooks needs to hunch over to hug you, which sends jolts of searing pain through his bones.

Hound (HF Sans): 4/10

Hound largely communicates via physical touch. You going somewhere he thinks is dangerous? Yoink get hugged. Hound gets jealous? Yoink get hugged. His hugs are near suffocating, and you can’t help but feel like a prey in the grip of a hungry bear. The way his eyelight grows bigger when he hears your joints pop as he clutches you doesn’t help solve the feeling.

Ell (HS Papyrus): 4/10

Another disliker of affection, he prefers sitting side by side with someone in companionship, typically Ell smoking and you either following suit or doing your own thing. Hugs come in the middle of the night, Ell breaking into a cold sweat and jolting awake in a panic as nightmares of his past taunt him mercilessly. Old injuries reignited as he stumbles down the hallway and into your bedroom. You only wake up as he tugs you up from your sleep and into his lap, ducking his head into your shoulder as his hands grip your hips. You want to scold him but the wet tears dripping down his sockets stop you in your tracks.

Pyre (HF Papyrus): 3/10

Pyre, for all his strengths, is an angry, bitter Skeleton. Insecure of his mutilated body, insecure of his reliance on his wheelchair, etc. hugs are incredibly uncommon, something truly serious needs to happen for him to bring you into a hug. Pyre is also incredibly tall, taller than even Crooks. The average person probably only just reached his femur. Pyre is also very bony so not the most comfortable.

Killer (Something New): 3/10

Killers hugs are rare, similar to Dust his moments of lucidity feel eerily similar to Sans. His black tears will stain your shoulders and clothes. Killers hugs are a near death grip, squeezing the air out of your lungs and your arms pinned to your side. Keep your guard up, the mischievous Skeleton will take any opportunity to play a mean prank. Depending on his mood that might include grievous physical harm.

Dust (DustTale): 2/10

In Dust’s moments of lucidity his hugs feel identical to Sans, only he clings onto you so tightly bruises are left behind. Sometimes he sobs into your shoulder, the angry whispers of his brothers ghost drive him to insanity. He begs for forgiveness from you as well, you’ve been stuck in the same nightmare as him, Dust can only hope you don’t hate him. When he drifts back into another lapse of insanity every touch should be avoided, Dust will take the opportunity to summon dozens of pointed bones to pierce through you where you stand.

Nightmare: 1/10

Consider yourself one of the lucky few to be graced with such touch from Nightmare himself and not be immediately killed. The black viscous oil that coats his bones and forms the tentacles that sprout from his back stains your skin and clothes. His tentacles wrap around you like rope, keeping you still until he’s had his fill. You’ll only be let go when Nightmare has feels like letting you go. Nightmare feeds off of the stress and fear rolling like delicious waves off your body. Nightmare can’t help but feel frustrated however, you should be loving his touch, he should feel the slight burn of positivity radiating off of you. He drops you from your hold and disappears in a huff.

Error: ???/10

Error never willingly touches someone, even just holding someones hand is enough to set off a painful glitch attack. A hug is only going to happen to someone who Error considers his soulmate. It’s also something that happens entirely unplanned, an attack by the Bad Sanses leaves you injured and Error hugs you close to him to keep you safe. Each hug is short and barely grazes against your skin before he’s shying away trying to settle his glitchy body. A hug, working from months of constant practise of getting used to touch, is quick and soft. Error flinching away at your every move.

[voidandabyssal]

Another don’t imagine event would be really fun, I enjoy rereading a lot of those!

It's looking more and more likely that I'll hit 300 followers before the end of the year, so I'm trying to think of what to do to celebrate.

My talents tend to lean more towards writing than drawing because I've practiced more, but I am open to an art related event like dtiys or a whiteboard/magma session.

I did a Don't Imagine event for 200 followers which was seriously fun and I still get likes on some of them to this day. I don't necessarily want to do it twice in a row but I'm down otherwise.

I've also done writing requests before so we could do something like it again.

I had half a thought last night that I might develop? It would be something silly like a genre swap with my characters (or just random AU's?). An example would be The Nightmare of Apathy but it's a sitcom. Maybe I would make a list of options and you could mix and match them for me to try writing?

Maybe I could make a discord server? I'm rather hesitant to do this because I am often busy, but it could be fun! If there is a demand, I will, otherwise you can always find me in other servers or just friend request me there.

What do you think?

[voidandabyssal]

Oh shit google docs uses ai??? I’m gonna have to move all my drafts to some new app then

I'm very pro-privacy and anti-ai so I've been trying to find a convenient writing software that isn't Google docs for a while. For years I used a mobile only app called WriterP (very good if you like a simple and not distracting interface btw), but the more I write, the more I fear losing my life's work since it doesn't have cloud backup. My biggest annoyance is that I want to be able to write on PC when I'm at home or on mobile when I'm on the go and pick up later on either device.

So, I'm trying out Ellipsus and it seems to tick all the boxes for me. It has the features I liked about Google docs and more that I never thought of using before. So yeah, thanks @wendelin-utt for reblogging a post that brought this website to my attention. We'll see if I actually keep using it since I will need internet connection to do so, but I'm much more comfortable storing my files on there than Google.

[voidandabyssal]

Noooooooo let me hear you ramble!!!!

Heh, you would all be doomed if I wasn't self-conscious. I've thought of at least half dozen silly, haha random things I could post in the last half hour and only didn't because I immediately realized they were cringe. I promise I am not on anything but sleep deprivation.

[voidandabyssal]

Over and over and over and over and over and over

Just finished this horror fanfic! I won’t post it here because its pretty dark, and I’ve been posting since much today I don’t wanna spam the tags again. Be warned, it’s pretty dark so mind the tags!

But I hope people enjoy it, I’m a pretty big fan of eldritch horror stories and I’ve never seen anyone in the Undertale fandom really touch on the absolute horror potential there is in the story.

[voidandabyssal]

What would Wine do if he had a daughter who was like his opposite? Like she's sweet kind and caring and gets walked over easily? Would they get along?

Wine with a daughter the complete opposite of him:

Wines daughter is almost a complete clone of his brother in everything but looks. Wine is extremely overprotective of his brother, dial that up by 100 for his precious baby and thats him and his daughters relationship.

Wine is also a very strict parent, one toe out of line and he will doll out some punishments. Luckily when his daughter is young she’s very keen on behaving. Wine is a very active parent, despite being very busy. PTA Wine is canon in my mind.

Wine tries to instil some more backbone in his daughter but he stops quickly when she starts giving him this watery eyed, puppy dog look. She does eventually develop more confidence (this comes back to bite him when she’s older)

When shes young the relationship is very strong, she’s very much a daddy’s girl. The two have a very strong relationship. Then as she gets older it becomes more strained.

Wine’s overprotectiveness comes back to bite him as she starts hitting puberty and gets into that ‘I hate my dad!!!!’ Phase and all the fun rebellions that come with it.

She and him constantly argue, she doesn’t listen to him, she breaks the rules. It breaks his heart to see his sweet baby girl all grown up into this angsty teen.

The first time she gets a belly piercing is the first time you see Wine completely speechless. The other parent is gonna have to step in as Wine has to take a seat in shock.

His baby!!!!! His baby!!!!!!! With a belly piercing?!?!?!?!? NO! She’s still a precious little 5 year old!!! What do you mean she’s 16 already?!?!?!!!?!????!? stop growing already!!!!!!!

Wine is silently grateful Coffee was not like this when he was a teenager.

At least she still listens to her other parent, and uncle Coffee of course.

[voidandabyssal]

Hi! I was just wondering how Mutt, Underswap Sans and Papyrus as well as Coffee would react if their S/O was going to a dance party or something and says "I was told chicks in skirts were really popular at parties!" And they have a lot of baby chicks in cupcake wrapper skirts on their shoulders they got from a farmer friend or something. And it leads to S/O brings the baby chicks there as a joke or something.

Mutt, Blue, Coffee, and Papyrus react to S/O bringing baby chicks to a party for a pun:

Mutt:

Mutt bursts out laughing as soon as you reveal the chickens, all of which are squirming around in your arms trying to slip out of your grasp.

Eventually he manages to quieten the belly laughs down to a few random snorts, but he isn’t much help in wrangling the few escaped chicks back into your arms.

Every time he sees the little cupcake wrapper skirts bouncing up and down as the chicks escape, he gets all giggly and has to step away to calm himself down.

Mutt is not much help at all. At one point Black has to step in and help you grab all the escaped birds before they tear his house apart. (Black does not approve of all these animals scratching up his nice leather couch)

Mutt follows you to the dance party, cracking chicken pun after chicken pun after chicken pun the whole party.

Papyrus:

Groans exasperatedly as he realises the corny joke. That is exactly the thing Sans would do. He tries to scold you for letting a bunch of small fragile animals roam free in your house, but you see the grin twitching at the corner of his mouth.

Despite the groaning he fails to hide the grin wrapped across his face. He’s a secret lover of corny jokes.

Begrudgingly he helps escort the chicks to your dance party. Papyrus constructs a small enclosure for the chicks once you two arrive. Theres a small puzzle people would need to complete to cuddle with the baby chickens.

There are so many photos online now of Papyrus’s chicken puzzle enclosure.

The next day Sans makes a chicken pun at Papyrus. That goes about as well one would expect.

Blue:

“YOU’RE SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME AROUND STRETCH!!!!” Is what he screeched out, resisting the urge to chuckle at the joke.

He huffs and puffs before relenting when one particularly brave chicken hops into his gloved hand and snuggles down.

“THIS ONE CAN STAY. FOREVER” now you have to convince Blue to hand you back the chicken.

Congratulations, you have acquired a new pet. Looks like you’ve got some explaining to do to your farmer friend.

Stretch steps in and helps deliver all the chicks to the party, he even watches over them while you and Blue dance the night away (Blue insisted he come, just to make sure his new favourite is okay)

Every break you two take from dancing, Blue bounces over to Stretch and checks on the chicks.

Coffee:

He giggles softly at the joke. Coffee is instantly reminded back to his childhood when he would try and sneak random snakes and little lizards into his room without Wine noticing.

He helps scoop a couple chicks into his arms, instantly they quieten down. He coos at them as he pets their fluffy little heads, before

Coffee follows you to the dance party, despite not being the biggest fan of loud, crowded places of people, he’s worried about the chicks.

He becomes the bodyguard for them when you two arrive. Everyone who wants to coo at them, or take a picture with them, or cuddle with them has to go through him.

The most confident he’s ever felt at a party. And he’s just in the corner cuddling a squadron of very calm and placid baby chickens.

Coffee’s pretty upset to hand the chicks back, he already individually named them!

Wine ends up buying the baby chicks from your friend and sets up a little coop for them. Not that that stops Coffee from sneaking them into the house.

Wine is not happy about that, prepare for some major stink eye from him.

[voidandabyssal]

Perchance, how would people feel if I published a little undertale horror (the genre not the character) oneshot I wrote. Its very eldritch horror esque, if you know anything about deltarune its similar to that. I might just post it to my ao3 cuz its pretty dark.

[voidandabyssal]

Yes my king , anything for you😛😛😛

waitwaitwaitwaitwait hold up

he wants to ask you something.

Go on a date with him?

[voidandabyssal]

BILLY, thats a name right there that exudes elegance, silliness, fun, and love🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

And that's that! All of my backlog chapters have been uploaded here. Thanks everyone for reading and reblogging them, I really appreciate it!

I'm still working out the plot for my next fic, and unless I have time to write anything else, that's most likely what you'll see next.

I do have a question though. What's a good name for a male orange tabby cat? I would prefer something kind of silly but I am open to any suggestions.

[voidandabyssal]

Another fintastic (did you see what I did there?😏) read right here!! Amazing work as always my friend

More cute moments and conflict resolution! Things are getting better now it seems and home is on the horizon. Maybe things will turn out alright after all.

First, Previous, & Next Chapter

Swarmed by Sirens

5.0 Re-puffed

Word Count: 6,083

"sure about this, pearl?"

You paused at the hole in the side of the ship and glanced back at Skull. He almost seemed hesitant to leave and you didn't blame him. The open ocean was scary, especially when you were used to confined spaces or shallower areas, but you had no choice if you wanted to get home.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm not meant for the temperature or depth here, and I really want to return home." With a flick of your tail, you swam closer, cupping his jaw with your hand. "You don't have to feel bad if you don't want to come..." you started to say.

His lone eyelight shrank in size for a moment before returning to normal as he gently took your hand in his own. "no, it's dangerous out there, and i want to keep you safe," he responded firmly.

You felt your cheeks grow warm and glanced down at how his hand dwarfed your much smaller one. "Alright, but I might need your help navigating until we get out of the Midnight Zone."

When he tilted his skull in a questioning way, you continued by saying, "I can't even see my hand in front of my face, and the only reason I can see you is because your eye glows."

His cheekbones started to glow a soft red, and he scratched the back of his skull with his free hand. "heh... of course i'll help, anything for my little pearl." He brought your hand to his teeth and hummed softly while maintaining eye contact.

You felt your face turn bright pink and quickly looked away. "Right... Let's- Let's just go..." you managed to say.

You kept hold of his hand as you swam towards the surface, mostly so you wouldn't risk being separated in the dark, although you couldn't deny that the physical contact made you feel sort of giddy. It was a different feeling than letting Sans or Red hold you against their body to keep you warm. You were not sure why Skull had this sort of effect on you, but maybe it was because you now knew for a fact that he wanted to be your mate.

As you ascended towards the surface, your thoughts turned to the other two skeletons. They had looked ready to tear each other apart before you fled, and you didn't even want to imagine how badly that had gone. Hopefully, you wouldn't come across the aftermath of their fight, because you didn't think you could deal with that right now.

When the first rays of sunlight began to penetrate the gloom, you looked back to see if Skull was doing alright. His permanent grin widened, and the corners of his eye sockets crinkled when you made eye contact. It suddenly occurred to you that he looked like a love-sick pup with the way he was so willing to follow you into the unknown.

He hummed in a questioning way, and realizing that you had been staring too long, you shook your head. "Sorry, I was just thinking-"

A distant shout cut you off and caused both of you to stiffen up.

"Did you hear that?" you whispered.

Instead of answering, Skull narrowed his eye sockets suspiciously as he turned around and scanned the surrounding water. His movements seemed stiff, as if every fiber of his being was coiled like a spring, waiting to fight or flee if necessary.

Another shout echoed through the dim water, although it was lower pitched than the previous one had been.

"That's them!" you exclaimed. "Sans! Red! Over here!" For a moment, you worried that they hadn't heard you, but when their voices began to sound closer, you were relieved.

Red must have been closer because he reached you before the orca siren did. "speckles, ya had me worried half to death..." he started to say. He drifted closer, as if going in for a hug, but suddenly stopped himself when he noticed Skull. His expression darkened a bit when the cephalopod siren in question drifted closer to you.

Then, Sans appeared on your other side, but he noticeably kept his distance rather than immediately go to embrace you. "do you know this deep dweller, little fish?" he asked in a much quieter tone than you had been expecting. He also didn't look thrilled about the presence of yet another male - let alone one he hadn't met before.

"Guys, please! This is my friend-"

Your attempt at explaining was interrupted when Skull wordlessly wrapped his arms around you, so you were caged in with your back pressed flush against his ribcage, and growled quietly. You might be a bit naive, but even you knew that he was giving your friends a clear warning to think very carefully about what they did next.

"Skull!" you hissed, while wriggling in an effort to break free. However, his grip remained firm, and you realized you weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Unsurprisingly, your friends did not appreciate the threat, nor the death glare that the cephalopod siren was apparently giving them. Red visibly bristled, and Sans let out a snarl, briefly drawing closer before he caught himself and pulled back again.

The last thing you wanted was to be the cause of another fight. While Skull was evidently quite strong, you didn't like his chances if the other two decided to team up. He was built to be an ambush predator, not a brawler. There was nowhere to hide out here in the open water, and no way to deal a blow before darting back into safety.

Then, you noticed the other two were sporting mild injuries, likely from their earlier scuffle. Sans had a series of claw marks on his right flank and a few other small nicks scattered over his tail, while Red was sporting a nasty looking bite just below his dorsal fin and several of his own scratches. You weren't sure how long they had fought, and while their bodies were already starting to heal, you still felt awful about it. Despite their injuries, neither siren seemed particularly weakened, meaning Skull's chances were still slim if they decided to turn hostile.

Glancing up at your protector turned captor, you tried explaining again. "Skull... These are my friends, Red and Sans. They're good people, okay?" You purposely spoke in a soft voice to minimize triggering any of them. Hopefully, your tentacled friend was paying attention, because you didn't know what else to do if this situation escalated further.

With a quiet rumble of annoyance, Skull relaxed his grip but seemed reluctant to completely let go. You gave one of his hands a reassuring pat, before slipping free and letting yourself drift a bit closer to your other friends.

Red eyed the cephalopod for a moment before swimming over. At first, you thought he was going in for a hug like earlier, but then he stopped himself, as if he wasn't sure if he should. His sudden shyness seemed silly, so you bridged the gap instead, loosely wrapping your arms around his shoulders, but leaving room so he could pull away if he wanted to.

Caught off guard, he briefly stiffened up before relaxing and returning your embrace. "i'm glad you're alright," he finally murmured.

You smiled and pulled back just enough to make eye contact. "I could say the same for you..." However, your expression fell when you noticed the extent of his injuries all over again. "I'm... I'm so sorry."

Red blinked and gave you a confused look before briefly glancing over at Sans, although the orca seemed just as concerned and taken aback as he was. "what for?" the tiger shark asked softly.

"I... I think I gave you the wrong impression." You took a shuddering breath in an attempt to calm your nerves. "I didn't know until recently that either of you were attempting to court me, and I feel awful for ignoring the situation when I knew something was wrong."

Both males exchanged an unreadable look, and you felt your heart sink. You wouldn't blame them if they were upset. Frankly, you were still upset that things had gotten so bad in the first place.

"speckles..." Red hummed softly. He smiled in a sort of dopey way before continuing, "i couldn't be upset with ya, even if i tried."

You had a feeling he would have kissed you, or something else equally stupid, if no one else was around. In response, you flicked your tail so that you drifted back, keeping the tiger shark siren at a reasonable distance for now. Unfortunately, you weren't watching where you were going and accidentally bumped into Sans.

The orca siren chuckled and gave you a bit of a playful nudge with one of his pectoral fins. When you glanced up at him, you noticed his smile didn't quite reach his eye sockets, almost as if he was trying to hold himself together.

You turned to face him. "Sans, I'm really sorry..." you started to say.

He sighed and held up a clawed hand to stop you. "i know, little fish..." he muttered.

"I still like you... I'm just not ready for a partner."

He opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to think better of it and looked away. Your heart nearly broke in two at how dejected he looked, but what could you even do to make him feel better? Everything about this situation was just sucky for everyone.

>⁠`⁠)⁠～⁠～⁠～

You spent a bit of time attempting to care for both Sans' and Red's injuries, even though there wasn't a whole lot you could reasonably do. They gave you some weird looks, but ultimately allowed you to wrap the worst of their injuries in kelp. Hopefully it would at least provide them with some protection until their bodies healed.

Speaking of, you were sensing that something had shifted between them. While Red and Sans still didn't seem to enjoy each other's presence, a mutual respect seemed to have developed between them. More than once, you caught them giving each other odd looks, as if they were having a silent conversation. They also began working together while hunting and gladly assisted you in finding materials when asked.

You were basically waited on hand and tail all day. It was bad enough before with two competing males, but even though there didn't seem to be as much hostility, you had a feeling that nothing had changed. Occasionally, one of them would slip up and say something snarky, or you would catch the briefest of annoyed looks shot at another before they noticed you had seen.

It was immediately apparent that neither of your friends liked Skull. He had odd mannerisms, such as being more active at night or lining his nests with smooth stones. He ignored any and all of their attempts at communication, instead choosing to stare blankly at them when he couldn't swim away. This was usually interpreted as a challenge by both Sans and Red, but Skull even ignored their attempts at getting aggressive. You could tell this both confused and frustrated the two, mostly the latter. They especially didn't like how he basically clung to you like a stubborn barnacle. When you realized he was foregoing food just to stay by your side, you started shooing him away to go hunting, which mostly solved that issue.

Maybe Sans or Red would have hunted for the cephalopod if you had asked them nicely, but that wasn't exactly fair. You already didn't like that they were still insisting on doing so for you and, even if they agreed, you didn't think Skull would accept anything from them. He may have come from a place where you had to take what food you could get, but he definitely still had some pride.

This seemed to work for a bit, until it didn't. Unfortunately, Skull's idea of giving you space was different from yours. You began to get the distinct feeling of being watched whenever you thought you were alone. Being closer to the surface meant that he was a lot less subtle than he probably realized, and you were able to spot him with relative ease. Usually, he was just half behind a rock, but his glowing red eyelight didn't do him any favours with his better hiding spots.

He didn't seem to understand why it bothered you so much when you confronted him. In his mind, he was just doing what you asked while continuing to be a good protector. No amount of insisting on your part could convince him that you didn't need protection, and you soon gave up trying. It seemed that he was just as stubborn as the others, if not more so.

>⁠`⁠)⁠～⁠～⁠～

"i told ya i could catch it," Red called out as he swam over to the rock you were lounging on.

You eyed the blue-fin tuna he was hauling and let out a low whistle. It wasn't the largest one you had seen in your travels, but it was still impressive to watch him hunt down and kill it.

"I still can't eat even half of that," you remarked.

"well, i thought...maybe we could share..." His voice sounded much softer, almost affectionate, compared to his earlier gloating. You also didn't miss how his crimson eyelights seemed to turn fuzzy around the edges as he spoke.

You had shared food before, but it was mostly because you physically couldn't finish some of the food your friends had brought. You hated the idea of letting food go to waste, especially because they had worked hard to catch it. As a result, you had regularly been offering the rest of your meals to your friends.

Red's suggestion seemed different somehow; like he had purposely planned to catch something that he knew was too much for you to finish all at once. The thought of eating the same meal at the same time didn't really make sense to you. He was larger and therefore had to eat more, but what if he didn't get enough? You would feel bad if he had to go catch something else later on because he was still hungry.

As if reading your thoughts, Red let out a soft chuckle and flicked his tail, drawing closer to you. "c'mon, humour me a bit, speckles. i just wanted to do somethin' nice for ya," he purred, slipping an arm around your shoulders.

You crossed your arms, giving him a mildly unimpressed look. "Is that why you basically just kidnapped me while Sans was away hunting?"

His eye sockets widened a fraction, but he attempted to hide his surprise by clearing his non-existent throat. "aw, was it that obvious? ya aren't mad, right?" he asked sheepishly.

You hesitated for a moment, half wanting to pretend to be upset, but ultimately deciding against it. "No, I couldn't be upset with you, and even if I was, I wouldn't stay mad.” When he didn't immediately answer, you let your shoulders drop, uncrossing your arms simultaneously. “Okay?"

Red let out a quiet chuckle and scratched the back of his skull sheepishly. He drew back, giving you your space again, but you noticed a subtle red blush colouring his cheekbones. "it's just been a while, ya know? since we hung out like we used to..."

You frowned slightly. You hadn't been away from home that long, right? All you wanted was to go back to how simple things had been when you first met the tiger shark. He would tag along on your hunts, asking whatever question popped in his head, and sometimes making awful puns that you were never quite sure if it was his way of flirting or not. In return, you would explain how you made your bracelets or clothing while he listened, fully enraptured, even if you could tell he had no interest in making anything himself.

"I guess...I hadn't realised," you murmured. "It feels like a lot has changed since then..."

He nodded slowly, drifting closer until his ribcage was nearly touching your chest, and brought up his hand, gently tracing your cheekbone with his claws. His expression turned almost wistful for a moment, his phalanges pausing before moving to cup the side of your face.

"i know i originally told ya that i wasn't lookin' for a mate," he whispered. "but seein' the way the other two look at ya, how they melt whenever ya look their way..." He faltered for a moment, his eyelights briefly disappearing before reappearing half a second later.

"...i almost wish i'd been honest from the start, speckles."

"I'm sorry, Red..."

He shushed you with a phalanx. "no, i'm sorry. i'm sorry i wasn't there to protect ya. maybe neither of us would've ended up in this mess if i had." He sighed, "it just... doll, it hurts so bad...to care so much."

He hadn't said the "L" word, but deep down, you had known he loved you. He had for a while now. You...loved him too. Well, you wanted to love him, but how could you when you had all these feelings for Sans and Skull? You knew in your soul that you would have to pick one, or else you would risk losing all of them.

Your eyes burned and if you weren't underwater, you would have been crying. You nearly tackled him into a hug, your arms wrapping tightly around his cervical vertebrae. While stunned at first, he responded by returning the gesture, although with more care than you had.

"Please don't blame yourself..." you whispered. "This is mostly my fault. If I had shut down Sans from the start...or never gave him that stupid bracelet, you wouldn't have been jealous of him."

"that's not true."

The finality to his statement surprised you. So much so, that you pulled back to look at him, just in case you had misinterpreted his meaning.

"he was attemptin' to court ya from the start, speckles." Red's hands moved to your arms, his phalanges tracing slow circles on the soft skin as he continued. "that orca is somethin' else. probably messed up in the skull somewhere... i hate to say it, but goin' along with him was probably the best thing ya could've done."

You frowned at that.

"no, listen to me," he growled, his claws pressing into your skin ever so slightly. "i was all sorts of sloshed. if he had snapped at ya for whatever reason, i couldn't have done anythin'. even when we started travelin', i was too frustrated to think straight half the time."

"Red, he wouldn't have hurt me-"

"are ya sure? really sure? doll, i've met all kinds of sirens in my life, and he's one bad day away from goin' completely feral." In a quieter tone, he added, "honestly, i'm surprised the deep dweller isn't already."

You felt a chill run down your spine. While you didn't know a lot, you immediately knew what he was referring to.

Ferals were sirens who, for all intents and purposes, had gone insane. There were a couple of reasons why, such as disease or other health conditions, but once they went feral, they would never be the same again. Those unfortunate enough to suffer from this condition, were often reduced to little more than beasts, surviving on pure instincts alone. They often attacked indiscriminately, and as a result, would be hunted down by siren hunters.

You had encountered a Feral once, and that was enough to last you a lifetime. It was a lemon shark siren that had come out of nowhere and trapped you in one of your safety burrows for a week. You remembered that it had been rather thin and covered in relatively fresh wounds. There was also a crazed look in its eyes, and you had quickly realized that it wasn't interested in simply fighting or hunting you for food, but rather another, more carnal desire instead. You had briefly mentioned it to Sans, but left out most of the details at the time as you didn't like thinking about it.

Maybe your horrified expression stirred something in him, because Red abruptly let go of your arms, before changing his mind and checking to see if he had accidentally hurt you. When he realized that he hadn't, he heaved a sigh of relief and gave you an apologetic look.

"i shouldn't have said all that. i'm sorry, speckles."

You shook your head, "It's fine, but please don't talk about them like that. Sans is...jumpy to say the least, and Skull is trying his best, but he doesn't always understand things." You smiled and placed a hand on his radius. "I know they're good people, Red. They've just been through a lot."

The tiger shark nodded. "doll, i wish i had your optimism. when you come from where i'm from, you learn pretty quickly that you can't trust anyone."

>⁠`⁠)⁠～⁠～⁠～

Your conversation with Red stayed in your head for days afterwards. He had obviously been stewing over the situation with you for a while. In a way, you were glad for the conversation since it had brought more issues to your attention. The problem was, you still didn't know what to do about them.

You were paying more attention to the boys' interactions with each other, which led you to notice that Sans was acting distant. He spent a lot more time out hunting than before, and when he did return, he kept to himself. He interacted as little as possible with the others, and when it came down to rest for the night, he made his own nest away from everyone.

It wasn't like him to be so quiet. His smile was always tight, as if drawn into a mask to hide his true emotions. His white ringed eyelights burned with barely hidden resentment, and his claws twitched whenever Red or Skull crossed his path.

One evening, as everyone started to bed down, you watched Sans isolate himself yet again and decided to finally confront him. Slowly, you swam towards the orca siren, only altering your trajectory to avoid Skull's attempt at capturing you for snuggles. Thankfully, the cephalopod seemed to get the message that you were on a mission and didn't pursue you further.

With a stern look, you approached the orca, pausing just outside of arm’s reach. "Sans."

He stopped arranging his seagrass nest and looked up. "what's the matter, little fish?" he asked quietly.

"That's what I want to know." You crossed your arms before asking, "Are you upset with me?"

He blinked, seemingly taken aback by your question. "no...not really," he said after a beat.

"Are...are you sure?"

His passive mask seemed to slip ever so slightly, and his eyelights flickered with concern. "i...don't know." He looked down at his hands and clenched his fists, but didn't seem interested in explaining further.

You sighed and drew slightly closer to him. "Can I touch you?"

Sans gave you a slightly wary look. His eyelights flicked from your face to your hands and then back again before he gave the slightest of nods. "can't imagine why you would want to," he sighed, shifting over a little to make space for you.

You waited a second in case he changed his mind before joining him in the nest. You needed to talk about the situation you two were in, but now you felt unsure about where to start. Asking for permission to touch him had only been an excuse to get close, but he was smart and probably suspected as much.

Before you could pluck up the courage to say anything, Sans surprised you with a question of his own. "i can't figure you out, little fish," he hummed quietly. "what do the others have that i don't?"

"Sans-"

He didn't let you continue. "red clearly likes you, and i can tell you feel the same, so why aren't you mates? if he's not strong enough to provide for you, why not me? i'm stronger than both him and that deep dweller combined..." He practically reeked of bitterness, and as he continued to rant, you couldn't help but grow frustrated.

"I don't care about strength. I'm not, and never was, looking for a mate. I have provided for myself for years, and I will keep doing that until I turn into sea foam."

You paused, gills flaring slightly in an effort to catch your breath. Sans was silent, his ringed eyelights wide with shock from your sudden outburst. His permanent grin had already been tight, and now it showed no sign of changing. You turned away, not wanting to look at him further, lest you say something worse.

"I just... I want to go home," you murmured, curling in on yourself.

For a long moment, Sans didn't say anything. You couldn't tell if he was hurt or upset, but at the same time, you couldn't bring yourself to check. The adrenaline was already wearing off, and the all too familiar feeling of anxiety had begun to boil in your gut.

Red hadn't been the only one to feel some apprehension around the orca siren. From the start there had been something...off about him that you couldn't quite place. What if this was the moment he finally decided to snap? Maybe you should get away while you still had the chance. You really should have known better than to yell at him like that.

You flinched when his claws grazed your upper back, but rather than pain, you found yourself pressed against his flank in a strange sort of hug. He didn't say anything at first, instead choosing to try comforting you. It didn't make sense at all though. What was going through his skull right now? You pretty much just rejected him for the second time during your rant, and he had chosen to hug you rather than fight back.

"it's okay, i'm not upset," he murmured, gently stroking your back.

You sighed and looked up at him. "Yes you are... Maybe not with me, but I can tell you have been upset for a while."

Sans exhaled heavily, letting out a stream of bubbles. "that's true... it's been a long time since i had anyone I could call family, let alone friend..." He paused for a moment before adding, "still, i am sorry...for everything."

"I like you, just like I like Red and Skull." You chewed at your lower lip as you tried to think about how to explain it. "I don't feel ready to settle down yet, and I also don't want to have to pick between the three of you. Does that make sense?"

The orca was quiet for a long moment, as if considering what you had said. His hand on your back slackened, although he didn't let go completely. Rather, he began absentmindedly toying with your curly hair, coiling a few locks around his claws before allowing them to spring back into place.

"you know what, little fish?" he hummed. "that's fair, i think i can handle friendship."

Feeling rather taken aback by his almost flippant response, you gave him a confused look before he continued.

"now don't get it twisted, cause i'm not going anywhere anytime soon." He chuckled and flashed you a mischievous grin. "if, or when, you feel ready to settle down, i'm not going down without a fight. i admire you, and i'll be damned if i'm just gonna roll over and let either of the others win your affections."

"Fine," you huffed and rolled your eyes at him. "I would prefer if there wasn't any fighting over me, but I think I've known you long enough to know how stubborn you are."

Sans laughed and gave you a slight squeeze. "then i'll do my best not to kill them."

>⁠`⁠)⁠～⁠～⁠～

"...pearl."

You were perched on a rocky ledge, looking out at a kelp forest in the distance when Skull's soft-spoken tone jolted you out of your daze. "What do you need?" you asked, giving him a friendly smile.

Rather than immediately answering, the cephalopod just stared at you with an odd expression. You got the feeling he had forgotten why he had tried getting your attention in the first place. Then, his red eyelight expanded, and his permanent grin widened in a bashful sort of way.

"wanted to show you...something..." He reached out a hand and tilted his skull in a questioning way. "please?"

Your smile turned more genuine as you accepted his hand. "Of course. Is it far? I was just thinking of bedding down soon."

"nah, just over here..."

You allowed him to lead you down to another ledge with noticeably less rocks. Some silt was still floating around so you suspected Skull had recently removed them, leaving behind only the smallest of pebbles. There was a lot of seagrass growing on this ledge too, especially closer to the cliff face, where the soft vegetation had been purposely flattened into a distinctly nest-like shape.

"Oh, did you make this yourself?"

Skull grinned wider as he laid down. "yep. been practicing...a lot. do you like it?"

"It does look pretty comfortable," you responded, allowing yourself to drift a bit closer to the nest. "You've been watching how I make them, haven't you?"

He chuckled softly before patting the space in front of him. "...join me?"

Something about his forwardness made you blush, but the thought of spending the night together was appealing. After only a moment's hesitation, you swam into the nest and curled up against his ribcage, eliciting a pleased chuff from the cephalopod.

"this okay?" he asked, simultaneously wrapping an arm around your waist and tugging you even closer.

You hummed in agreement and nuzzled against his clavicle. He responded with a low rumble and two of his tentacles coiled around your tail. The way the numerous little suction cups would catch and release your scaleless skin sent shivers down your spine, but not in an unpleasant way.

"Has everything been alright lately?" you asked after a minute.

He nodded and gave you a gentle squeeze. "yeah. it's very...bright up here...but i like it. i like being with you."

You felt yourself smile at how straightforward his answer had been, although it vanished almost as quickly as it formed. "Don't you miss your home? Being so close to the surface like this is a big change. Isn't it...scary?"

He tilted his skull, regarding you with a bit of confusion. "...it is," he admitted after a moment. "change is always scary... but if i couldn't adapt...i'd be dead a long time ago."

He was right, of course, and if it hadn't been for your friends, you likely would have been dead by now. You couldn't help how your gaze flicked to the deep scar on his skull. His lone eyelight tracked your head movement, and you caught yourself, quickly averting your eyes again. You didn't know if his injury was a sensitive topic, nor did you truly know if he had even been intentionally referring to it or not.

"Sorry, I really spoiled the mood, huh?" you murmured.

"it's okay..."

"I don't do well with change... I'd rather just hunker down and hide until everything is over rather than actually confronting it."

Skull hummed quietly as one of his tendrils mindlessly stroked down the length of your tail. "that's okay too. you're small and cute... don't need to fight if you don't wanna."

You made a face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"means i'll worry about keeping you safe," he responded softly. "so you can focus on other things...like making more pretty stuff." As if to emphasize his point, he held up his arm with the bracelet you had previously given him.

You let out a little laugh and gave him a playful shove. "That actually sounds like a good way to live. If nothing else, it's reassuring to know that you and the others are capable fighters."

When you mentioned Red and Sans, Skull's permanent grin flickered before widening once again. "...i wasn't even thinking about them," he admitted. "...but you're right, no one could hurt you if they stick around."

"Yeah," you responded quietly. "It's been kind of fun traveling together...almost a shame that it will be over soon."

Skull's eye sockets narrowed at your somber tone, but before he could say anything, the ocean current shifted and a shadow loomed over the two of you. Looking up, you immediately made eye contact with Sans, who raised a bonebrow when he noticed your close proximity to the cephalopod siren.

"well well well..." he purred. "so this is where you snuck off to, little fish."

You felt your cheeks burn hot with embarrassment. "I did not 'sneak off'!" you protested, making finger quotes for emphasis. "I was just looking around before Skull found me."

Sans' permanent grin widened as he swam down to the ledge. "a likely story. i think you two were hiding so we wouldn't interrupt." He glanced over as Red swam into view as well, adding, "am i wrong?"

The tiger shark siren chuckled and gave you a mischievous look. "certainly looks that way~" he teased.

You frowned and crossed your arms. Since when did Red and Sans decide to gang up on you? There had still been animosity between them last you checked. Although, you had to admit that it was a welcome change from them getting agitated and competing for your affection.

Skull let out a quiet rumble and shifted you ever so slightly in his hold, drawing your attention back to him again. "you okay?" he murmured.

"Yeah, I was just thinking..." You smiled and gently patted his sternum, in a silent request for space. Thankfully, he obliged, although he only loosened his grip, unwilling to let go entirely.

"I think we're close to my home," you continued, speaking loud enough for Sans and Red to hear. "Like, we could arrive tomorrow if I'm not mistaken. I'm just so grateful for everything you've all done to help me get here."

Red flicked his tail, propelling himself closer until he was resting next to you in the nest. "hey, save it until we actually get there, yeah? i dunno about these boneheads, but i'm glad the journey is almost over."

Sans hesitated for a moment before following suit and laying down nearby. "you don't have to thank me, little fish. i just wanted to make sure you were safe from those hunters."

You weren't entirely sure how to respond right away, but Skull spoke up before you could anyway.

"...the dark was boring before i met you," the cephalopod murmured. "you're good at cheering people up, you know?"

You felt yourself blush all over again. "I'm just being myself..."

"well, if there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that we like bein' around ya, speckles." Red smiled and affectionately squeezed your shoulder. "never feel bad about bein' yourself, mkay?"

"I'll try," you hummed, curling in on yourself a little.

Something about your shy response seemed to flip a switch, and you suddenly found yourself being all but smothered by the three skeletons. Skull acted first, coiling a few of his tentacles around your tail again, which led to Red wrapping his arms around your waist and snuggling closer. Despite his larger size, Sans was not about to be left out of the impromptu cuddle pile, and you soon felt a gentle pressure as he rested one of his hands on your side as he curled up around the nest.

Surprised and feeling rather flustered at the sudden close contact, you opened your mouth to protest, but shut it again almost immediately. They were showing how deeply they had each come to care for you, and since no one was upset, why should you reject them? Well, you didn't really like being trapped between them, but you had to admit you liked being held like this. You were close to the people you had come to care about, and you knew you were safe from harm in their arms.

So long as one of them didn't roll over in the night and crush you of course...

[voidandabyssal]

I'm sorry to overwhelm you though for both the Fellswap Gold bros how would they react if they found out that their S/O grew up poor, though their S/O doesn't want them for their money and is embarrassed about expensive gifts

Fellswap gold Sans and Papyrus react to poor S/O who’s uncomfortable with expensive gifts:

Wine:

Wine would already be aware of your financial situation soon after you met. He’s a habitual stalker, and quite the nosy one at that. Anyone who he thinks is worth anything to him gets investigated before he can fully trust them.

Wine’s also quite observant, so he’s more than aware of when you start to feel uncomfortable.

After the first few gifts he gives you, all of which are incredibly expensive ones at that, he notices you seem uncomfortable with them.

Wine will just straight up ask you whats wrong, he’s a pretty blunt skeleton at times.

After that Wine refrains from buying you anything too expensive and focuses more on quality time or acts of service to show his love for you.

He also makes sure to reassure you that he doesn’t care about your financial situation, he’s more than happy to help you, and it doesn’t detract from who you are

Coffee:

Coffees right alongside you in regards to financial stability lol.

Coffee doesn’t have a job, Wine just pays for everything, all he needs to do is ask and Wine will get if for him.

He does occasionally work as a freelance artist and gets some pocket change from that. Coffee would buy you things with the money he earned from that, makes it feel more like a gift from him rather than his brother, in Coffee’s opinion.

Coffee’s not the type to spend lavishly anyways, he prefers to make things for you! Like paintings and sketches of you or of some place you went to together.

Coffee does ask if you want support though, all he would have to do is ask Wine. Wine is always more than happy to support his loved ones. (And if you’re dating Coffee he considers you to be family)

Coffee would try his best to reassure you about your insecurities around money. Technically it’s not even his money anyways, if that helps. He reassures you with.

[voidandabyssal]

>:) I have returned, in this, can I ask for something that might be a lot, but I can understand if you are not interested in writing a scenario since it's a BIG idea.

So, Undertale bros/Underfell bros are taking out trash when they notice kids going through their trash. They either chase them away, give them food, etc. But they soon noticed them again, running away from stores after stealing food. Like a few apples, crackers, and foods that are not expensive. The skeloton bros hear about how these kids are a pain and sadly, they hear how some people want them gone. PERMANENTLY. So time skip where one of the bros follows the kids, all the way to the end of town and inside of an abandoned building. Turns out. They were stealing food and causing problems around town because their little sister or brother was very ill. The 3 kids (you can choose gender but they are all under 12) were abandoned by their parents and now were stealing to try to keep their sibling alive. The sibling was sick from a high fever, and they were too young to understand how to treat or cure their smaller sibling. How will they help them and what will they do?

I completely understand if you don't want to take this ask since it's big or to dark. but I was running through my brain and thought of this. I thought it was a cool idea. Anyways, have an awesome day!

Underfell brothers and undertale brothers react to homeless kids taking care of their younger siblings:

Both duos of brothers are immediately taking care of the kids. No ifs, no buts, nothing is gonna stop them from at least attempting to feed the kids regularly if not getting them adopted to someone who can care for them.

Sans and Red both suddenly start leaving clean plates of food out for the kids sitting on top of the trashcan. Sans is a little more insistent about getting the kids off the streets, while Red is more happy to just give the kids regular meals and clean water.

Papyrus is straight up inviting the kids inside to have something to eat, maybe wash up, take a change of spare clothes. When he tries to ask about the kids parents, they clam up and get defensive.

Edge is hostile at first, mostly just because he’s taken aback and chases the kids off, he also does not appreciate them leaving trash scattered around everywhere. When they come back, after having disappeared for a couple of days, he’s reluctant to even think about how worried he actually was for them. He sneaks up on the kids again, this time instead of screaming at them to get away he offers to let them stay in his shed instead of wherever they’re living.

Any of these brothers hear that someone wants them permanently gone they will personally deal with that person (Papyrus excluded, but he will be getting the police involved).

Red would be the first of all four of the skeletons to follow them to their ‘home’ and find out about their sick sister. Sans is second to find out, then Edge and finally then Papyrus.

Red and Edge collectively decide to just grab the kids and their sick sister. If there are people who are already wanting them dead and one of them is incredibly weak and sick, in their eyes the kids are better off in Rose (UF toriel) hands, or anyone responsible really.

The kids might end up hating them, or maybe not. Red and Edge don’t care. The kids safety and health matters more than what they think.

Sans and Papyrus are more diplomatic. They’ll try to gain the kids trust. Giving them food, water, medicine, the longer those two hang around the kids, befriending them the more likely they are to attempt to convince them to move out of their abandoned house the kids are squatting in.

Eventually Papyrus will convince the kids to move in with Toriel, who is more than happy to take in a couple of children.