#which included willingly failing some rolls because Funny

[dear-nyu]

The Pig Adventure: eat your new mentor!! and other interesting ideas by @blue-cat-shitposts

[angelkurenai]

Wish upon - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Title: Wish upon

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: None

Summary: You were close when Wanda’s grief took over and she inevitably started controling an entire town, including you. Being her closest friend, though, instead of simply playing along, you were given a normal life of your own, with a daughter and husband whom you knew very well but never thought you had feelings for. Months later as you try to figure out your emotions for Bucky, the man seems to be trying to find every reason to stay close to you. Including asking you to join him when he’s ready to follow Sam in his adventures.

“Is that... Is that what I think it is?” you blinked several times, head tilted as you took in the object your husband was, full of pride you could clearly tell, holding and showing off to you.

“You bet it is. Polished, glittered or bedazzled, I can never tell the difference it's equally sparkly anyway, but above all ready to deliver justice. It's finally finished. Right on time at that.” he set the small pink and sparkly shield on the kitchen counter, right next to the baby bottle you'd just filled, because he knew just as well as you did that it was honestly the only way you'd keep looking at the toy and hoped that you'd like it. Which you did, sure, but not in the way Bucky hoped. “Well, what do you say about it?”

“I say that it would certainly deliver justice, no doubt by dazzling the bad guys first and foremost. Besides-” you tore your eyes away from the toy to narrow them at your husband “Just on time for what?”

“Halloween, of course.” he shrugged casually as he slowly made to reach for a piece of the potatoes you'd cooked to have on the side for dinner, but you noticed him and slapped his hand away, earning a not-so-innocent smile in return “I mean... What else is there else to talk about, of significance, in a small town like Westview besides holidays and who the new otherworldly couples in town are. The second having little to no point when one's wife can read minds, amongst so many other things, and said one is a metal-armed 106-year-old.” he sighed, raising his metal arm which he usually kept covered when outside “Honestly, I don't know who're gonna get called out on it first. Wanda and Vision or us.”

“We're handling it great. Besides, oh well a 15 year old gap is so overrated anyway. I tell you, 106 is the new 30, don't you worry a second, dear. You don't look a day over that.” you smiled sweetly, leaning in to peck his lips as he grinned.

“Ah yes, coming from the woman who last time we fought you told me that it's time to stop mourning over my buddy Rexi the dinosaur cause they're all gone now.” he said with a raised eyebrow and you shrugged.

“I don't see what you mean, I was still right.” you brushed him off, checking once more the temperature of the milk “Besides, getting off track here? You still haven't explained to me how that lovely and sparkly shield is of any use to us in Halloween?”

“Well, not us, obviously.” he turned to, according to everyone including him, his little princess “Jean of course!” he picked one of her hands and let her tiny fingers wrap around one of his as she let a giggle when he kissed her belly “It's all you've been talking about with Wanda these days. Her boys have their suits already in mind, it wouldn't be right for Jean to not have hers. It's her first Halloween anyway, even if she can't do any proper trick or treat yet.”

“I'm well aware of that, seeing as I've been planning all of ours suits. And no-” you raised a finger when you saw him raise an interested eyebrow “No, I'm not wearing the skirt version of it. Besides, what we're talking about here is Jean and I still fail to see how a shield will be any part of our little Phoenix's suit.”

“Well, because it's Halloween and she's- Well, she's part of this and she'll- The shield is part of the suit, honey. Obviously. I don't see what confuses you so much as to-”

“And I don't see what confuses you so much that you'd make a shield for her, beautiful as it might be, even though it has no place in all of it. Especially after I made it quiet clear on what costume will be.” you pointed out, baby bottle back on the counter as you crossed your arms over your chest “Honestly, I would rather her have a sparkly version of Sam's redwing before incorporating the shield in her phoenix look.”

He let silence fill the room, save for your daughter's adorable baby noises, before he finally spoke in all seriousness “No, no you wouldn't. You hate that thing too... It was the main reason that made me ask the question, like when you realize you've met your soulmate.”

“I-” only half a pause before you nodded “Yeah, you're right. I hate it... although I can't really remember how it looks like sometimes to be honest. Huh weird.” you let out a breathless laugh, frowning nonetheless.

“Oh how I'd wish for that sort of blessing.” he huffed “Including its owner.”

“Hush you love him!” you hit his shoulder “And, well, that's still all besides the point. Because Jean is not going to have a redwing or shield to her phoenix look in any sort of way. Maybe next Halloween if you wanna choose the costume, fine by me. But this year I am following through with my plans and not changing my mind.”

“Plans of what? Her being a phoenix bird? I get it, it's all magical and what not but-”

“Not just any phoenix bird, geez weez, do you not even listen when I speak, Mr Barnes?” you shook your head with a roll of your eyes.

“Well, sometimes it gets impossibly hard when you look as stunning as today, Mrs Barnes. Sadly all words fade away and as I am captured by your beauty all I can seem to hear is kiss me. How can I not comply?” he said so innocently and with such an adorable smile you couldn't help your fond one in return.

Seeing such adoration and love written all over your face had your heart on overdrive again, as if it was the first time you realized you were in love with him again. It was incredible how you could barely remember that moment whenever you thought about it, however you didn't care. You couldn't find yourself to care when looking at him had your chest fill with warmth, a pleasant buzz all over your body and no weight dragging you down. He made things more simple, having his love and having him by his side made life have meaning and your future full of hope. It hadn't been easy, that much in a way you could remember, but you knew it was worth it because he was worth it. You wanted to give him all your love, wishing that it could live up to the one in his eyes for you in return, so that he could understand what you did from the first moment you met him: he deserved it.

And even if- you couldn't explain why you thought so, but even if there were ever people that would willingly leave him behind, even if you'd never understand that, you were ready to show to him that you could and would be with him till the end of the line. This love you had in you for him had sealed the deal long before you even knew about it.

If anything, you were more than willing to live in this small town, heavens in these four walls of your house, so long as you had him by your side and were able to give him all the love you didn't know you had for him.

You shook your head lightly and gave him “Sweet talking me will get you nowhere, darling. Or rather-” you paused, smirking at him “It might get you in one place. The bedroom.” you grinned when you saw his eyebrows raise in interest “To get Jean's suit. Cause I remember I have some adjustments to make.”

“Bet you do.” he huffed like a little child “Cause she'll be a bird and not a superhero who-”

“Not just a phoenix bird, Buck. The phoenix, that's different.” you pointed out, making him frown.

“How is that different? And what... is the phoenix?”

“Well, it's-” you started but paused abruptly, frowning at your own thoughts “It's actually-” you blinked several time and let out a nervous laugh “Funny thing, I... can't remember. Wow that's... it happens all the more often lately.”

“Can't be important then, right?” he brushed it off casually even though you kept frowning in deep thought which for some reason didn't lead anywhere “Certainly no more than Jean's suit that it... And how we could incorporate a shiel-”

“No.” you cut him off before he could get to complete his sentence “Not gonna happen. I've already got everything planned, you're not going to ruin my plans.”

“Is this how it's gonna go every Halloween now? Us fighting over what Jean's costume will be until she's old enough to choose herself?”

“Oh dear, of course not. It's not fighting when you don't stand a chance against me in the first place.” you shrugged innocently and he tried to look stern by narrowing his eyes at you but you smiled and pecked his lips before speaking “I mean, you could never say no to these pretty eyes, could you?” you batted your eyes at him and he very fast, much faster than last time, sighed in defeat and nodded his head “Besides, you don't have to worry. Next Halloween we'll make her a costume that incorporates the shield too, happy?”

“Always.” he breathed out with such ease that it took a few seconds for you to not openly stare at just how much relaxed he looked, how he truly meant it and how shockingly different he looked while admitting it compared to only a few months ago... months, you weren't sure of the time anymore but truth was that you didn't care, because if there was one thing you could remember was that he had not always been like this and to have him truly happy made everything worth it.

“However-” he cleared his throat, as if noticing how you'd zoned out “That doesn't really solve the problem. Having to compromise, you know. Why should any of us have to? However, if we were to have more than one option...” he trailed off, leaning in closer without any regard for your personal space, not that he needed to, as you narrowed your eyes suspiciously at him “Say... if we were to have more than one options then things wouldn't be this hard, right? Just... to make it easier on ourselves?”

“Make it easier... how exactly?”

His hands found your hips, earning a small giggle from you as he pecked your neck once, twice and three times before he kissed your cheek and the temple, whispering in the end “Let's make more.” it earned a squeal from your as your eyes widened but he grinned even more widely “Come on, think about it. A little boy or maybe another baby girl, Jean would make a great sister. And we wouldn't have to argue about the Halloween costumes. Besides... would be a fun process either way.”

“You have to be kidding me.” you gave him a serious expression but his hopeful smile- no, scratch that. His smile that was bordering that of an idiot, if not lovesick one (but you were on the same boat on that), didn't fade in the least bit “Oh you have to- Alright, Mr Barnes, how about you learn how to feed your daughter without making a mess first and then you can come and talk to me about a second or third one hm? Cause, good as you might be at changing diapers, it ain't just that.”

“She just makes a mess because she enjoys to laugh at my expense, just like you and Sam.” he pointed out and you fought back a smile “And- Hold up a second... did you just say third? You think you're gonna let me ask for a third one too?”

Your eyes widened when you realized that he was really considering the prospect before your lips parted, you being ready to retort-

Only for no words to be uttered after that from your lips. The only sound being a deep intake of air as you were startled awake. Soon followed by a groan as you took in your surroundings and realized you were sadly still in your room. Sadly? Really? You didn't know if that was the case but even if it was, you didn't want to think even more about it. You buried your face in your pillow, not ready to face the day yet because... who were you even kidding? You wanted to go back to it. If not that fake reality, if not the playhouse that Wanda had built out of her grief and had dragged you into it as well - and maybe you hated yourself for how part of you did want that - then at least your dream would be nice.

It's been months and yet it feels as if it's been just yesterday that you were all released from her control. How could you not feel that way after all? When you were awake, the fake reality you'd thought your life was constantly on your mind, and when you were asleep even if you were not thinking of it, you were dreaming about it. It was constantly on your mind. And as if the experience itself, mind-control and all, hadn't left you with a few mental scares to add to your already existing ones to take care of, then the realization of the truth that lay within your own heart, was more than enough to keep the events replaying on your mind day and night.

To put matters simply: when you had followed your best friend, Wanda, after seeing her so distraught, leaving SWORD, you had never thought you'd find yourself playing house with a fake copy of one and only James Bucky Barnes thanks to said best friend. But while there was a chance for that, you never thought there was a chance that you'd realize you had feelings for the man all along.

Your life had been different there. Maybe because you were always close with the other Avenger, who knew. While there were times where you'd experience Wanda's grief, her nightmares from time to time came to haunt you at night just like it did with the rest of the town, your life was mostly... good. No, forget that, your life was nearly perfect. You had everything you wished for and things you didn't even know you had wished for. Maybe deep down you had always wanted it, a normal life, peace and calm, a kid whether it was yours or not... Bucky. You had probably always wanted him but didn't know it yourself, no doubt you were too busy crushing over Steve.

If only your current self could see your past self, or at least self of barely a year ago, you'd have smacked some sense into your stupid self who thought Steve Rogers was the only man you could ever have eyes for. While you had come to be very close with the Captain and ended up doing almost everything together, everyone thought there was much more to the two of you, that it hadn't even occurred to you to think that Steve wasn't really the one you wanted. Maybe you had convinced yourself so, in a way that now that he was no longer there you were more shaken by the fact that you were not shaken by how he had decided to live his life with Peggy in the past than his absence itself.

You had not felt any sort of betrayal, nor that you were suddenly all alone, certainly not as if anything was missing from your life. Granted, you had plenty to think about most of the time, day and night, but that didn't change things. You wished Steve had had a happy ending and you would on the occasion miss him the way you'd miss... a brother. You were always calm, no worries or fears, content with the fact that you knew he had been happy even if it was away from you because, in a way, you wanted it to be that way, it was natural. However, the mere thought of someone else leaving, someone that you thought far too often about, made your heart leap to your throat and your stomach tie in knots. The mere thought that Bucky could leave the way Steve had done made your throat close in a painful way and your eyes burn with tears, making you realize just who mattered the most.

If, again, Wanda plucking the truth about your feelings for the man to give you a life with him wasn't proof enough.

Your phone buzzing made you jump once more, eyes landing on the device on the nightstand. Reaching for it you were not surprised to see the messages that were pilled in your inbox. All from the same specific someone. A specific someone you had found yourself speaking with all the more often lately. Each time successfully managing to make you smile in one way or another, without fail.

Good morning. :)

Did I use that one correctly? I keep forgetting them, no matter how many times you show me.

And show him you had, just like that there was an option for him to choose from different ones instead of having to type them, but that was still work in progress. So even if Bucky learning emojis was a memory that you'd cherish forever, it wasn't the only important one at the moment.

On second thought, it's a bit too early.

You're probably still asleep. Nevermind. Sorry for bothering you.

And then more, shortly afterwards.

I only wanted to know if you're alright, that's all.

Anyway, hope I didn't wake you up.

He, much like everyone else, thought it was hard on you to deal with Steve being gone so he did his best to keep in touch and being as selfish as you were, you didn't bring yourself to tell him the truth that you cared more to know about how he was and wanted the contact for that. Maybe he was also worried about you after Wanda's mind-control too. But if Sam's words were anything to go by, then it was all an excuse for Bucky to stay close with you. You didn't let your hopes get up for that reason though. You could gladly take whatever you got without wondering.

Again it was followed not much later by another message.

I've actually got something to talk to you about. Something happened, though you could already know if you saw the news. Can I come over to talk with you? I need your opinion on the matter.

And shortly afterwards came.

I've already got your favorite breakfast. To make up for, probably, waking you up. :)

The next one had taken longer, he had probably been waiting for an answer all that time. You couldn't help but feel bad about it. That and the fact that the reason behind you not replying earlier was because of how immensed you were in your fantasy life with him that you had not told him a thing about.

(Y/n)... are you sure you're alright? It's getting late even for you.

Truth was you had more trouble waking up after having a dream of that time. But you couldn't tell him that. And then there was the latest one.

Alright, I'm coming over. I really hope you're not dead in there. I'm not going to let you hear the end of it if you are. Oh dear, I sound like Sam right now. Forget I ever said that. Both of it.

Before you even had the time to think about what he could mean, because no you had really not seen the news yet, let alone type back a reply, the door to your bedroom burst open. It earned a squeal from you as you looked with wide eyes at Bucky standing on the doorway. You weren't even surprised how you hadn't heard him, not when he already had keys to your apartment and could easily sneak up on you. Not that him surprising you was what you cared about at the moment. It was, and you could only admit it to yourself, more important how you looked at the moment – and having just woken up you weren't sure just how attractive you looked – than anything else. Especially when Bucky looked better than ever with that new haircut that you were sure he'd gotten on purpose, just to test how much your heart could take.

“I thought doors existed back in your days, Barnes. Maybe knocking was an option too.”

You saw him let out a sigh of relief, shoulders relaxing “What would have been the point if you were dead? You wouldn't have replied anyway.”

“Bold of you to assume I would miss on another chance to lecture you about the proper use of emojis, Mr Barnes. Even death could not stop me.” you broke into a grin and he chuckled.

“What, did I really mess it up?” he asked with a small, far too adorable for your own good, frown.

“Oh no you got it just right.” you said softly, adoring the proud look on his face before you added “However, I've told you, you don't have to type them anymore. There is an option on your keyboard with that kind of stuff for you to-”

“Eh alright, alright I get it. I suck at it. I'm not even gonna try using them anymore.”

“Wha- No!” you whined softly “No, Buck, I didn't mean that. Come on, you're good. You just... have a lot to learn still.” you shrugged “That's all. We didn't do great at first either. Nobody really got emojis a first, but you'll get the hang of it.”

“But you still think I am a grandpa when it comes to technology. And my age doesn't help on that case either.” he shrugged, as if he meant it casually as a joke but you could see a small hint of self-consciousness there as well.

“Nonsense.” you said softly, finally throwing the blankets off you “You're far from a grandpa, Buck. In fact, I strongly believe that 106 is the new 30, and you don't look a day over that.” the words were out of your lips before you could even think about it and when you realized what you'd said, your smile flattered a bit. You were glad his back was turned to on that second that he didn't notice. You cleared your throat, sobering up “Besides, new things are not everyone's cup of tea anyway.”

“Uh yeah...” you notice the relaxed, and almost happy, look fade away from his face as his eyebrows pulled back into a frown. He looked down for a second, leaning against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets “Things do change. Sometimes faster than we can adapt to the new world around us.”

“Alright, unless you're channeling Charles Darwin right now, which I don't think you are, care to explain to me what's wrong? Because... I am guessing something is, judging by your expression.” you got up and approached “Is this... about the shield? I- I don't know if Sam giving it up is that much of a good choice however... he must have his reasons, right?”

“Well, yes, but- this is not just about that.” he sighed, finally looking up to meet your eyes “Something happened and I've been thinking about it, I wanted your opinion on it. You know it matters to me.”

“...And? There is more to that, come on. Tell me.” you knew him too well and you hadn't even realized when that happened too “You know you can... Always.”

“I do.” he paused for a moment, holding your gaze before he let a soft sigh “It's just, I am going to go find Sam and... I want you to come with me. If you're up for it, I would like you to be there with me... maybe?”

“You know... I should punch you just for doubting whether I'd follow you or not. But just because it won't lead anywhere for me-” you smirked at him “Buy me dinner too and consider yourself excused and me up for any challenge. Strongest Avenger at your disposal, Mr Barnes.” you patted his shoulder, enjoying the deep chuckle that came from him. Even if his next words made the air get caught in your throat.

“It's a date then.”

[maysbanks]

hold out. (jj maybank)

here it is, the second part to hypersonic missiles ! the response to the first part was absolutely amazing, the support & love in this fandom is incredible & i just wanna say a huge thank you to all of you that take the time to like, reblog & comment, every single one means so much !! gotta admit im not loving this as in it's not my best work and kinda all over the place & half way through writing this i almost scrapped the whole thing to rewrite the full series with an oc bc writing as the reader was starting to get to me lol. but alas here it is & as always i hope u enjoy x

warning: swearing, drug use, underage drinking, violence etc 

summary: after accidentally inserting herself into a treasure hunt with four teenagers, one of which could be considered her 'friend with benefits', y/n grubbs is left to deal with the complications and misfortunes that come along with it - including her ever-growing feelings for said 'friend with benefits'. 

( gif isn't mine! please let me know if it's yours so i can credit you. )

If someone had told you a week before that you would lose your father, get your house raided by two men you had never seen before in your life, make friends with a group of teenagers, embark on a two hundred year old treasure hunt with said teenagers, and be hanging out with JJ Maybank every day and willingly, all in the space of one week; you'd have laughed in their face, asked them what drugs they were on and could you have some, and then laugh in their face again.

But alas, there you were. You still couldn't quite believe it, especially the JJ part. You'd had worries at first, like would the gang really want you involved, did they secretly hate having you around, were they just being nice and letting you in on this because your dad had died? All the doubts swirled in your mind, running around like clock-work, just ticking away constantly in the back of your head. Surprisingly, JJ had been the one you'd gone to about them.

"I just feel guilty," you'd said. It was after a day of riding around in John B's boat and using fancy hotels' WiFi, and 'borrowing' a drone from JJ's dads old workplace. His eyebrows furrowed when he looked at you, confused. "I mean, you guys have been friends for like, forever. And then I just show up and you conveniently find out about John B's dad and the treasure hunt on the same day when I'm there, and it's just like - I don't belong with you guys, it's your thing and I'm just kinda, here." 

"You're part of this just as much as we all are," he'd told you, matter of fact. His body was angled to face you as you sat outside John B's self-proclaimed Chateau, a freshly rolled blunt being passed back and forth between the pair of you. "You need to stop doubting yourself, man. You're apart of us now." 

The words had warmed your heart, an instant smile being spread on your lips as you looked at him through red-rimmed eyes. Underneath the setting sun, he looked almost angelic; his golden hair blowing in the slight breeze, tanned skin exposed due to the heat. You had pretended not to notice the tense of the muscles in his arms whenever your fingers brushed when you passed the juul between yourselves. 

"You're too kind to me, Maybank," you'd grinned, boot-clad foot nudging his knee gently. "If I didn't know you so well I'd have thought you'd have ulterior motives."

"Who says I haven't?" He'd smirked back. You'd just smiled, teeth biting down on the plump skin of your bottom lip before you'd looked away from his burning gaze and focused your attention on anything, anywhere but JJ fucking Maybank.

You got along with the gang amazingly, you couldn't doubt that. Pope was the smartest guy you'd met, sweet and funny and passionate and so certain of what he wanted to do in life. Kiara, or Kie, as you'd come to call her, was very environmentally involved, almost too cool for the guys, you thought. She cared so much about so many things, and she had a great taste in music too. John B was a bit like you, you supposed. Fatherless, on the hunt for answers, things like that - but other than that he was a great guy, the makeshift leader of the little group, a little lost in life, but that was to be understood.

And then there was JJ. You felt most comfortable around the blonde, but that was kinda a given too, due to the fact you'd seen each other in your most vulnerable states that came with having sex rather regularly, something the other members of the gang didn't share. He was a spit-fire, always ready to throw a punch and fire threats at those who deserved it, head-strong and stubborn. But he was more so caring, God he cared so much for his friends, you'd discovered. He would do just about anything for them, whatever position that put him in. JJ put the gang before himself, always. You'd noticed all different types of things about JJ especially, little things you had never taken the time to notice before.

These little discoveries probably came from watching him too much, you'd thought one night. It was a bit of a problem, though you never mentioned it. The unspoken rule amongst the group was No Pogue on Pogue Macking, which basically meant everyone was off limits to each other. You understood the rule, Kie having been the only girl before you'd arrived on the scene amongst three guys, and after becoming apart of the gang you had no choice but to respect it - which also meant that JJ was off limits. But was he technically off limits when you'd already been there, so far past the line on macking with each other?

There was some sort of agreement between the two of you, that in order to make this work; your friendship with the Pogues, the hunt for the Merchant's treasure, that nothing could happen. You'd spoken briefly about it that first day, outside the lighthouse beside the Twinkie (John B's van, you'd learned had a nickname), we're cool, right? Pretend we haven't seen each other naked, conversation. It had been cut short, but it still happened. And the pair of you never mentioned it after that, a few off-handed comments here and there from JJ, but nothing specific. So you assumed yours and JJ's hook ups were off the table, and you had no idea why that had come to bother you so damn much.

On the day following your talk with JJ on John B's porch, he'd invited you to come along with him and Pope as they delivered groceries for Pope's dad, Heyward. You had almost said no, because really, you could probably do with a break from the Maybank boy, all the time spent with him was doing no favours for your little situation of Fighting Attraction While Hunting For Gold. That's what you were putting it down to in your mind anyway, too much time spent with the person you're sleeping with can begin to mess with anyone's head, and hey, maybe it was the fact that you were grieving and JJ was familiar - but you couldn't be doing with all these thoughts anymore.

Despite the angel on your shoulder urging you to turn his offer down, you'd said yes. But that was little to do with JJ and more to do with your mom and your current home situation, which was unbearable, to say the least. Your mother was barely speaking to you, as if she was scared of letting something slip if she did. In return, you shut her out, too. Told her lame excuses and empty lies when you were heading out with the gang, lying through your teeth when she'd asked where you were or where you were going.

Lana Grubbs wasn't a stupid woman, though, and you knew she knew you were up to something. But she hadn't mentioned anything outright yet, and so you hadn't said anything either. The hole your father had left was huge and gaping, evident in both your lives. You hadn't spoken about it yet, and you weren't intending to until she could be completely honest with you. You didn't want to hear anymore lies, and you were already on the path to discovering the full truth. On your own.

Her words echoed in your mind every time you left the house, voice small and gentle as she never failed to say the same thing. "Just be careful." You'd always look over your shoulder, and she'd never look back at you. She hadn't looked at you much at all since your dad had died.

It was after a certain drop-off of groceries, you'd joined JJ in his delivery whilst Pope had docked the boat and gone off to deliver his own, yours and JJ's strides matching as you walked the seemingly never-ending drive of the abnormally large house that loomed over you. The Kook part of the island never ceased to intimidate you, no matter how much you didn't want it to. There was something about it, the people that lived amongst it, that unsettled you whenever you entered it. Figure Eight wasn't somewhere you usually visited other than an odd job you'd picked up, and you were reminded why of that fact as you walked alongside JJ.

"Just think," he breathed, all starry eyed and parted lips as he gazed around the pair of you. "This could all be ours soon."

You snorted, bumping his side with your own. "Don't be melodramatic, JJ,"

"I'm serious!" JJ protested. His sea blue eyes caught yours when he turned his head to look at you head-on. The intensity of his stare almost made you stop in your spot, but you managed to carry on, gulping when his eyes continued to hold yours. "I'm sticking to my earlier statement, right, we're going to move here, and out-rich all these fuckin' Kooks."

"Out-rich?" You raised an eyebrow, lips quirking. "Your grammar is so adequate, Maybank."

"It's a word," JJ insisted, nudging your side with the point of his elbow. "Who the fuck uses words like adequate these days, anyway? I don't even think Mrs. Humphrey knows what that word means."

You laughed at the mention of your shared English teacher, the grey-haired, short, spectacle wearing woman immediately entering your mind. JJ grinned when he heard your laugh, dimples winking in his cheeks.

"Mrs. Humphrey can't even spell Wednesday," you giggled, JJ chuckling along with you as he nodded. "It's a wonder how that woman has been working there for like, eighteen years or something."

Your steps faltered as you neared the door to the house, pace slowing as you both basked in the time spent with each other, though neither of you would admit it. "She was probably a good teacher at first," JJ said thoughtfully, shuffling the groceries in his hands. (You tried not to notice the way his arms looked when he did that, muscles clenching and on full show with his cut-off tank.) "I bet each year another brain cell of hers just like, dies."

"Wouldn't surprise me," you nodded. "Mine would attempting to teach classes full of teenagers," rather dramatically, you shuddered. "Especially if one of those teenagers was JJ Maybank."

"Hey!" JJ shouted, though his grin proved that he found your jab amusing. You laughed along with him, bumping his side once more as you finally landed at the door, watching as he turned to you, expression trying to be serious and failing, rather horribly. "You better watch yourself, Grubbs. I'm serious here, I can be a pretty scary guy if need be, y'know."

You didn't doubt that, of course. You'd seen JJ in action with your own two eyes, you knew what he was capable of. But somehow, stood with you there, on the doorstep of some filthy rich Kook's mansion, groceries in hand, blonde hair shining golden in the sun, sun-kissed skin exposed to your wandering eyes, grin on pink lips; you couldn't imagine JJ Maybank hurting a fly.

"Trust me, I know." You'd said just as he knocked on the door, shooting you one last toothy grin before the door was opened and he was pulled into a conversation with the woman who'd answered it, talking about all things from the weather to the next semester at school. You watched him all the while, smile growing on your lips without your knowledge as you took him in, seemingly in his element as he sweet-talked the middle-aged woman inside the house. When he turned to you suddenly, you startled, broken from your thoughts and caught red-handed staring at him like some freak. He grinned, tongue wetting his pink lips at the same time you internally groaned.

"I was just saying, the groceries," he trailed off as he pointed to the bags in your hands in which you'd forgotten were even there. You let out an 'oh' as you quickly passed the groceries over to the waiting woman, shooting her an apologetic smile as she looked at you knowingly. JJ nodded his head in your direction, speaking once more to the woman, "New guys, huh?"

You glared at him as the woman laughed, perfectly manicured hand reaching beside her and grabbing hold of her purse, pulling a note out with her slender fingers. She held the note out to JJ, who immediately tried to turn it down, insisting there was no need, but the woman was unrelenting - sending a pointed look your way as she told him, "For your troubles, sweetie."

JJ picked the note from her hands, a gracious smile being sent to her as he nodded. "It's been a long day," he sighed heavily and your jaw almost dropped as you resisted the urge to reach out and slap his arm. What a fucker. "Thank you very much, Mrs. Ramirez. I really appreciate it."

The woman, Mrs. Ramirez, as you learned, nodded and waved a hand. "No bother, sweetie," she told him before turning her eyes back to you. You forced a smile as she simply eyed you up and down, before sending an obviously forced one of her own. "And thank you." She said curtly, and you were ready to give her a piece of your mind before JJ was grabbing your arm and dragging you in the direction of where you'd come from, shouting one last thank you over his shoulder as he walked you back towards the boat.

It was when you were a safe distance away that you shook your arm from his hold only to slap him gently on his own as you glowered, glare smouldering as he laughed, throwing his head back as he stumbled beside you.

"You're such an ass," you huffed as you tried to ignore his chuckling, speeding your steps. "I mean, she literally just tipped you a hundred dollars for showing up and smiling, I'm sure if I had a third leg down there I would have got the same treatment too."

"Are you jealous?" JJ asked, having to jog slightly to keep up your hurried pace. His smile was huge and infectious, and you made a point not to meet his stare when he landed next to you in fear of breaking your fake annoyed stance. "Maybe if you weren't too busy checking me out then you could have talked to her, and y'know, make a small fortune yourself."

You scoffed, whirling around and halting him in place. He almost stumbled into you, and you stepped back when his hands landed on your arms to steady himself, shaking his grip off almost immediately. "I wasn't checking you out," you told him, matter of fact.

JJ grinned and ran a hand through his hair as he replied, "Sure you were," he shrugged. You crossed your arms over your chest and glared, biting down on your tongue as you resisted your own smile as he motioned to his body from head to toe. "Not that I can blame you, I mean look at me."

"I've looked, JJ," your voice was low when you said it, a knowing tone to your words. "I've looked, and I've seen it all, in case you forgot."

A low chuckle slipped past his lips. "How could I ever forget?" He asked rhetorically, tongue darting out to wet his chapped lips as you tried not to follow the action with your eyes, and failed, miserably. "Trust me, that image is forever dented in my brain. I think of it, sometimes. Just randomly."

You rolled your eyes. And he's back, _you thought. _He never left, a voice at the back of your head piped up. You ignored them both. "C'mon," you said, already turning on your heel and starting off in the direction of where Pope had docked the boat. "Let's go get these deliveries finished."

The pair of you said nothing more for the rest of the duration of the short walk back, and when the boat was in your sights JJ was off running, more than likely eager to show off his one hundred dollar tip to Pope, as you idled, watching his back as he ran. When you finally landed in the boat, it was silent. You immediately picked up on the tension, heavy in the small space, and shot JJ a confused glance when he looked back at you.

Slowly, you made your way towards where the two boys were up at the front of the boat, Pope situated at the wheel. The dark skinned boy was staring straight ahead, refusing to meet either yours or JJ's eyes. When you looked to the latter, he subtly shrugged a shoulder, letting you know that he had no clue himself what was going on with his best friend.

"Pope?" You questioned softly. "What's wrong?" When there was no answer, you shared another glance with JJ, his concern shining in his blue eyes. You tilted your head as you went to ask him again, but when you did, your eyes caught on to the colour crimson that was slowly streaming down the side of his face. You gasped and JJ startled, chest bumping your shoulder as he tugged the cap from Pope's head, revealing the injury near the top of his head.

"Jesus!" JJ exclaimed when he caught sight of the wound, Pope swatting at his hands that held his hat, pulling it back down once JJ had let go. "What happened?"

"Rafe and Topper jumped me," Pope's voice was slightly wobbly as he informed you both, a tear sliding down his cheek as he recounted, "They said no Pogues on their side of the island."

Your blood began to boil just as JJ demanded, "What are you gonna do?" His own jaw clenched in anger as he looked at his best friend, beaten and bruised in front of him from the hands of some entitled selfish pricks that thought they were better than everyone because they had more money in their pockets. Rafe Cameron was a name that never failed to make you queasy at just the mention of it, and his little gang of followers including Topper Thorton were just as unbearable.

"I have something in mind." Pope spoke, voice and stance determined. And something he did, as he drove to Topper's new boat - and promptly swam over and removed the plug from it, causing the new model to sink into the water as you and JJ watched from Heyward's boat, keeping an eye out for anyone that may have spotted your trio.

And though it was bad, and you knew you probably shouldn't have taken part in such an activity, nor prompted Pope to either; you couldn't deny the rush it gave you as you watched Topper Thorton's boat begin to sink, and maybe it was the fact that you knew that Topper was a Grade A Asshole and deserved it, or maybe it was Pope's own unsure but excitable adrenaline that mixed with your own, or maybe it was just the fact that JJ wrapped his arm around your shoulder without a care in the world as he shouted his support to his friend, squeezing you to his side almost unknowingly, like it was some kind of instinct.

You thought, yeah, it probably was, as you immediately felt the loss of it when he moved to grab Pope in a hug. And then you thought, well shit.

There was a mutual share of disappointment when the gang had found just about absolutely nothing when you'd taken Pope's fathers boat out the next morning, drone ready and in hand to go hunt for the gold, where John B Routledge had marked down on the map it having been.

Granted, the Royal Merchant was there. It was just missing the one thing they were after - the gold was nowhere in sight, and the journey had been a complete waste of time. You thought it to be too good to be true, of course it had to be. Four hundred million in gold and you were expected to find it? There was no way, you thought bitterly as JJ steered the gang back to land, not one of you daring to speak as the disappointment crashed over you all in huge waves.

You'd departed with the guys not long after that, after promising Kie that you would accompany her to the annual summer movie night, making your way towards home. The bitter frustration ate away at your insides, you were mad, angry - fucking infuriated, each step the gang got closer to finding the gold, it was as if someone was stood in your path and shoving you all back another ten.

Had your dad really died for this? This seemingly never-ending hunt for promised gold that, for all you knew, could be complete and utter bullshit. You didn't understand it at first, when the pieces began to slot together, but it was like every time the chase got harder it made you want it even more; and then you understood your fathers fascination and Big John Routledge's obsession. This gold meant everything to you and the gang, and you knew, John B especially, would never give up on this chase.

"Hey, sweetheart," your mother called when you entered the house. The front door was still broken, only the screen in place, and was leaning against the wall as you maneuvered past it. Lana was sat at the couch, and when you walked in she'd shoved a box away from her, the lid laying haphazardly over the top. "I wasn't expecting you home so early."

You shot her a small and forced smile, shuffling your bag from your shoulder and onto the floor, landing with a soft thud. "Hey mom," you greeted back, noting her teary eyes and flushed cheeks. "What're you doing?"

When you arrived at the back of the couch, looking over her shoulder, you immediately recognised the box - Family Photos! _written atop _the cardboard.

"I was just looking through some old pictures," she told you, sniffling as she attempted to smile at you. "Just wanted to see his face again."

You nodded, your throat tightening at the mention of your dad. Reaching a hand up and wiping away her tears, she looked at you questioning, "Where have you been?"

"Just out," you said, bluntly and unconvincing. "Doing a few jobs here and there, y'know. Nothing exciting."

Lana hummed, quirking an eyebrow at you. "Mr. Phelps told me that he seen you with that Maybank kid the other day," she informed, your face falling for a millisecond as her words sunk in. She looked at you, tear-stained face and serious gaze, lips pulled to a thin line. "I told you to stay from those guys, Y/N."

"I was helping him deliver groceries, mom," you deadpanned - which wasn't exactly a lie, if that's when Mr. Phelps had spotted you. Most of your time spent with the gang was mainly off the land and away from prying eyes, whether that be on a boat or the Chateau, so you knew that was the safest bet of when you'd been spotted. "For Heyward's. It's not like I'm hanging out with him on purpose."

Lie, lie, lie. It was becoming alarmingly easy to lie straight through your teeth, and to your mother nonetheless, but you couldn't dare tell her anything, and why should you, when she hadn't told you anything? It took two to Tango, you thought.

"I just don't want you getting hurt," your mother reminded, and you let out a sigh as you nodded, faked closed-mouth smile on your lips. "I'm serious, Y/N, please just be careful out there."

"Always am," you promised (bull-fucking-shit). You turned on your heel, heading towards your room as you called over your shoulder, "I got invited out tonight, by the way. To the movie thing on the North Side. Is it alright if I go, please?"

You waited at your door, hearing your mother sigh from the couch. "Yes, you can go." You smiled, this one more real than all the rest, and thanked her gently. She didn't look back at you though, and the familiar unspoken tension was back with vengeance. You couldn't wait to get out of it.

The movie night was a welcome distraction from your frustrations with the treasure hunt, the haunting memories of your dad, and the tension with your mom. It was only you, Kie, Pope and JJ that attended - John B having seemingly disappeared for the day, none of the gang having heard from him. You'd managed to leave the house with relatively no questioning from your mom, and met JJ a little way down the block.

("Woah, keep two feet away from me please," you'd joked, halting in your tracks as you spotted him standing there. He'd furrowed his brows at you, frown etched on his face. "My cover's been blown, everyone knows about us!

He just looked even more confused, eyes squinting down at you as you raised a hand and layed it across your forehead dramatically. "What'd you mean?" He questioned, eyes darting around, seemingly searching for answers in the air around you both. "What, do people know we sleep together or something?"

You'd rolled your eyes, shoving him gently when you were close enough, beginning to walk away. "No, you doof," you chuckled. "Mr. Phelps ratted me out to my mom, told her that he saw us together the other day. I had to tell her that we were just delivering groceries for Pope's dad."

"Ah," JJ nodded, shooting you a mischievous grin. "We better go into hiding then, I'm thinking... log cabin in the mountains, all fur sheets and deer heads on the walls, ooh a hot tub too."

You laughed, "Trying to whisk me away there, Maybank?"

You were joking, but his eyes were surprisingly serious as he looked at you. "Always, Grubbs.")

The field was already packed full of people by the time the four of you arrived, groups of people scattered around, idle chatter filling the air. It was being held on the Kook side of the island, and your eyes swooped over the people, most of them being Kook's themselves, expensive clothing and an aura that just screamed, I'm better than you. It made you feel uneasy, but you tried not to think about it as Kiara led you through the crowds.

"I'm so glad they're still doing this," she tells you all, sighing happily. The faces of the guys revealed they were not nearly as happy to be there as she was, while you were simply just glad to be out of your house once again. "Keep calm, carry on. Back to normal, OBX life, y'know?" She stopped once she found a decent spot, turning to the three of you. "Aren't you guys glad I made you come?"

"Ecstatic." Pope deadpanned, sarcastic lull to his tone.

"My couch was pretty comfy." JJ piped up.

"I'm just happy to be out the house, I guess." You said.

You were aware why the guys were so uncertain about being there; it wasn't so long ago that Pope was sinking Topper Thorton's boat, you and JJ accompanying, and now you were all on his side of the island. Not only that, but you knew that if Topper was to discover that it was Pope who'd done his boat in, it wouldn't just be Topper that confronted him - it would be the full Happy Days Gang. Nothing was ever a fair game when it came to Kooks.

Kiara excused herself to go buy soda's from the conession stand, and you shifted as you seated yourself on the blanket you'd bought, having opted out of bringing a chair. You sat in front of JJ, his legs touching your back.

"What's wrong with you guys?" You turned your head when Pope and JJ began to whisper, the former's panicked eyes landing on you as you frowned at the pair.

"Topper and Rafe are on my ass," Pope revealed. "They know I sunk Topper's boat."

You sighed heavily, muttering a shit as JJ grabbed his friend by the arm, focusing his attention towards him. "They can't prove it, okay. Just deny, deny, deny."

Pope nodded along, muttering along with him as you watched the pair, before your eyes moved to Kie that arrived back, her eyes narrowing as she seated herself beside Pope. "Just saw Rafe," she informed, your blood running cold. You could practically feel JJ tense from behind you. "He said, and I quote, 'Tell your boy we know what he did'. What is that?"

"Um, where is he?" JJ questioned, his tone of voice revealing his hidden anxiety.

"Right there." Kiara nodded her head, right in the direction of where Rafe Cameron and his goons sat, as you, Pope and JJ whipped around, Pope practically turning his full body in their direction. You groaned as JJ desperately urged him to turn back round, and away from their taunting eyes.

"The whole death squad!" Pope exclaimed, anxiety riding off of him in waves.

"Don't stare, bro," JJ urged, hand wrapping around Pope's shoulders. You tuned out the rest of the blonde's words as he informed you all that he'd be coming out swinging if they were to corner him, and you felt dread build as you heard his last words. "If that doesn't work, I got this right here." He patted his bag.

"JJ, please tell me you did not bring a gun here," Kie practically begged. "JJ, there are kids!"

You focused your attention straight ahead of you as the guys continued to argue; Pope simply telling Kie that it might go down to her line of questioning, her brown eyes darting back and forth between you all. You refused to meet her eyes, however, and were glad when the large screen ahead of you suddenly lit up. "Oh, look," you exclaimed, laughing nervously. "The movie's starting."

And it was left at that - JJ whispering deny, deny, deny to Pope once more before you all turned your attention to the screen, trying to block out the intruding thoughts of having the knowledge that the gang of Kooks were staring you down, awaiting your next move like a predator would its pray.

All was going fine - the movie was good, everyone's attention on the black and white screen. You tried not to think about Rafe and Topper, or the gold or your dad, and definitely not the feel of JJ's legs either side of you, trapping you into his hold. You let yourself believe that everything would be okay, and then Pope had revealed he needed a piss, and everything had gone to shit.

JJ had accompanied him, and the two had set off behind the screen, hidden away from Rafe's watchful eyes. They hadn't done a good enough job to be discreet though, and you immediately took notice of Rafe, Topper and Kelce making their way towards the opposite side of the screen. You swore, catching Kie's attention as she questioned, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Looks like that piss break just got a lot more complicated," you said, and realisation dawned on her face. It didn't take the pair of you long to locate the guys, all in various forms of fighting, as you and Kie screamed at them to stop. You grabbed Rafe's arm mid-swing, his fist raised and ready to send a hit to JJ's face from where Kelce had hold of him. "Stop it, you dick!"

You let out a scream as you were sent flying back from his shove, Rafe's blue eyes wild and crazed as he glared down at you. "Stay out of this, Grubbs!" He barked, and without a moments hesitation sent a fist hurling towards JJ's cheek.

Kiara had jumped on Topper's back from the small distance away from you, and you took a moment to ready yourself before hurtling towards Rafe from your crouched position, tackling him to the ground from his knees, effectively stopping his blows. He seemed stunned for a second, staring dazed up at you before he promptly threw you off of him, shoving you to the ground without a care. "Don't fucking touch me," he growled down at you, and you groaned slightly as the wind was knocked from you.

You heard JJ from somewhere above you, shouting insults at Rafe and repeating your name over and over. You lifted yourself from the ground just as Topper puts Pope in a headlock, his tight grip causing the dark skinned boys breath to leave him in choked gasps. You shoved at Rafe's back once more, sending him stumbling forward before he whipped around, hand reaching out and grabbing you by the face, tugging you so you stood nose-to-nose with him.

"I said," he ground out darkly, eyes boring into yours. "Don't fucking touch me."

You were beginning to fear what would come next before a sudden glow caught your eye from the side, the movie screen lighting up in harsh flames. Rafe dropped you, your hands moving to rub over the imprint he'd left, as you looked towards where Kie stood, JJ lighter in hand. Screams of terror echoed from the other side, as people began to flee, and it didn't take long for the three Kooks on your side to follow, sprinting quickly from the scene. Fucking cowards, you thought.

JJ's hands were on you before you could even blink, eyes earnest and worried as they looked over you, your cheeks red from the earlier grip Rafe had on you. "You good?" He asked you, slightly out of breath. You nodded, repeating the question to him. He smiled lightly. "Yeah, yeah. I'm good."

The night had ended promptly there, Kie dropping you off at your respected houses. You'd bid them all a good night, and as quietly as possible made your way into your home, not wanting your mother to see the marks imprinted on your face from Rafe's fingers. Luckily, she'd already been in bed, and it didn't take long for you to crawl into yours, thoughts of the day and a certain blonde running through your mind.

The next morning you'd met the gang (save for John B, who was still seemingly missing) at the Heyward's store; your morning had been spent desperately trying to hide the red marks that Rafe's fingers had left from your mom before she could notice and ground you in your room for the rest of your life. It had a been a success for the most part, and she asked no questions as you left the house, though you took note of her uncertain expression as you bid your goodbyes.

"Have you heard from John B?" You asked Kiara who was working closest to you. You had realised the brunette boy was missing from the group upon your arrival, and you couldn't help the worries in your mind at where he could be or what could have happened to him.

"No, nothing. Have you?" She returned the question, brown eyes meeting yours as you shook your head no, a short sigh falling from her lips. "Neither have the guys. What're you thinking?" Kiara eyed you, gaze suddenly sullen. "Do you think something's happened?"

"I don't know, Kie," you told her because honestly, you didn't. John B had a target on his back, that much was for sure. Son of Big John, once owner of the proclaimed death compass. Your mind thought back to the two men that had raised your home, and chased the guys on more than one occasion, and you couldn't help but think the worst. "I'm sure he's fine, though."

Kiara nodded, though she looked anything but sure. "Yeah, you're probably right." The pair of you continued on with your respected work, JJ's and Pope's voice trailing from somewhere in the store as they talked. "You're working Midsummers, right?"

You groaned, nodding. Kiara laughed at your sour expression. "Oh yeah, second year running. To be honest, I'm surprised they let me work it after last year, my customer service must be better than my right hand hook," you joked, chuckle escaping your lips as you thought back to the Midsummer's party the year before. Your dad had gotten you the gig, because he was a weasel like that - always talking people into getting what he wanted, and what he wanted was the gas bill to be paid, and his face just didn't fit the portfolio to be serving Kook's their drinks at their fancy party, and so it had left left to you to do just that.

The night had ended with Dean Kipp on his ass after his hand had fallen on your ass, and you'd been let off with a warning as the guy clutched his bloody nose and called you everything ranging from psycho bitch to slutty pogue. Your surprise was immense when you were offered a job again this year, and a large amount of the reason you'd said yes was just so you could see the look on his face when he saw you.

"He totally deserved that," Kiara remarked, grinning. You smiled back, the pair of you sharing a laugh as you returned to your work.

For a second, you let your worries wash away as you were pulled into a conversation with the gang, your spirts high for the first time in a while. You were happy, you realised. What had started off as being the worst period of your life was slowly turning into the best, the gang and treasure hunt a blessing in disguise. The four of you shared laughs and joked back and forth as you worked, and you found yourself to be perfectly content.

All that came crashing down when Pope's father entered the shop, police officer trailing behind him. "Hey, Pope! There's someone here to see you."

You stopped dead-on, the rest of the gang halting in their movements as you all stared towards the officer you recognised as Shoupe. "Evening, officer." Pope greeted, gulping.

"I have an arrear warrant for felony destruction of property," Deputy Shoupe approached your group, handing the said warrant to Pope's dad. From beside you, JJ tensed, and when you turned to look at him, his blue eyes glanced down at you, freshly beaten face pulled into an anxious grimace as his jaw clenched. Shoupe had gotten remarkably closer, hands reaching for the handcuffs placed on his belt. "Hands where I can see 'em."

Pope glanced desperately towards JJ, who shook his head quickly, his words, though unspoken, clear as day. Deny, deny, deny. But denying wasn't going to get Pope out of handcuffs, you decided as you stepped forward, tone pleading as you demanded, "Stop, you can't just do this!"

"Out of my way please, Miss Grubbs," Shoupe dismissed you, sounding almost bored as he shoved past you, beginning to handcuff Pope who can do nothing but allow it to happen, his anxious eyes focusing on one spot as reality began to sink in.

"What did he do, Shoupe?" Mr. Heyward questioned in disbelief, watching as his son was getting arrested in front of his very eyes.

"Take a look at the warrant," the cop said simply as he begun to tug Pope out of the store.

It was chaos. Everyone was shouting, demanding answers and hurling insults. JJ is screaming something about somebody paying him, Kiara is in your ear asking what the hell was going on, Mr. Heyward is hurtling questions towards both his son and Shoupe. Passbyers stared at the scene, whispering to each other as they walked by or stopped to watch. Everything blurred together, and you could do nothing but watch the scene unfold in front of you.

Those fucking assholes, you thought. Topper Thorton came to mind, tan skin and bleached ends, million dollar smile and designer clothes. You remembered his wild gaze as he held Pope in a headlock the night before, close to almost killing him. And yet he was off somewhere doing god knows what, probably shopping for a new boat to replace the one he'd lost, not that he probably cared all that much about it in the first place. Rafe Cameron's eyes entered your mind next, and you felt a shudder run through you as you remembered them boring into yours as he held your face frighteningly tight and close to his own.

JJ's voice was suddenly breaking through your stream of thoughts - "It wasn't him!" He was calling out, eyes directed on Shoupe who paused and turned toward him, Pope's face disbelieving from behind him. "It was me."

It sunk in then what JJ was trying to do, and you whirled around from his left, quickly shaking your head as you muttered, "JJ." He ignored you however, and stepped forward towards where the officer was standing, Pope still in his arms.

"He tried to talk me out of it," JJ continued. "But I was mad because he had just been beaten up, I was sick of those assholes from Figure Eight that I lost my shit." He was stood directly in front of Shoupe, almost boot-to-boot. You couldn't see his face from where you were, and you were almost thankful for the fact as you heard him direct his words to Pope, "I can't let you take the fall for what I did. You've got too much to lose."

"JJ, what are you doing?" Pope demanded. His face was confused, just as much in shock as the rest of you. For a second, his eyes leave JJ's and land on yours, a shaky breath leaving your lips as his eyes were practically pleading.

"I'm telling the truth, for once in my goddamn life, I'm gonna tell the truth," JJ announced loudly. "I took his old man's boat, too."

"What the hell?" Mr. Heyward questioned, though nobody paid him any mind. Your gaze was too focused on the unfolding scene of JJ Maybank taking the fall for something he most definitely do, and you could do nothing but watch it happen.

Your heart finally shattered when JJ's last words entered your ears, "He's a good kid. You know where I'm from."

He only looked back once as he was put into the handcuffs that previously held Pope, and that wasn't until he was shoved in the back of the police car and the door was slammed behind him. You walked closer towards it, hand on Pope's back as he watched his best friend get arrested for something he'd done, and you both knew it. When JJ glanced up and out of the window, bruised face clear behind the glass, his sea blue eyes caught yours and then he smiled.

The fucker.

You could only watch helplessly as the police car was driven away and out of sight, Pope throwing his cap down in a fit of anger as he stormed off, his dad calling after him, Kie landing to your right. The dark haired girl wrapped an arm around your shoulders, tugging you to her side gently.

"JJ'll be alright," she told you, voice confident though her face read anything but as she glanced in the direction the car had been driven off. "He always is."

But what, a voice in the back in your head nagged at you, if this time he wasn't?

And then it dawned on you: you actually really, generally, sincerely and whole-heartedly cared about JJ Maybank.

(And the thought scared you more than you would ever like to admit.)

& to the lovely people that asked to be tagged in this, love you all x @ponyboys-sunsets @mysticsthinking @danicarosaline

[hobiorbit]

teacher, teacher I

pairing: kim seokjin x reader warnings: future smut, reader is younger than jin by a year, mentions of alcohol, crude language, future smut probably summary: in which kim seokjin is not a dumbass, math is just something only weird people get the hang of.

Kim Seokjin is not a dumbass.

He rejects this entire notion, always getting too flustered and angry to even refute the argument, leaving himself panting and red in the face from trying to defend himself.

There is nothing inherently wrong with being behind in a subject or two. It happened to a lot of people, and Kim Seokjin is neither the first, nor will he be the last to fail a math class. Anyways, it’s not as big of a deal as everyone (including his parents and his a-hole friends,) makes it out to be.

This is what Seokjin repeats to himself as he walks into the same math class he did on the first day of school the year before, greeted with a multitude of people a year younger than him- some were even two years younger, the math wizards.

“It’s good to see you again, Mr. Kim.” His old math teacher, Ms. Choi had said when he walked past her desk. He grunted a somewhat polite greeting back, trying to calm the flames crawling up his neck when he heard a couple kids whisper and repeat the word ‘again?’ Yes, again, you smart fucks!

“Your seat is next to Y/N, the girl in the front on the right. I expect this will be the last year I’ll be seeing you, right Mr. Kim?” The teacher asked him as he gripped his backpack strap tighter in anger in embarrassment.

“I hope so, Ms. Choi.” Seokin grits, turning on his heel to walk to the front of his classroom, zeroing in on the head of hair the old woman pointed out. It looked healthy. That was Seokjin’s first impression.

His second impression, simplified, was holy fuck. Seokjin had seen plenty of beautiful people in his life, himself included, but you were on an entire different level. He’d need to make an entirely new schema just to categorize you.

Your eyes were wide and beautiful as you looked at him in surprise, tearing your earbuds from your ears when he plopped down in the desk next to you. He muttered an apology for startling you, partly because he felt bad and partly because he wanted to put a voice to this pretty face of yours.

“It’s okay. I should’ve expected the seat to be taken anyway… I’m Y/N, I suppose we’re seatmates.” You smiled kindly. Seokjin returned your smile, stretching his full lips in reciprocation to ease your anxiety. He was nothing if not a gentleman.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Seokjin, my friends call me Jin. You can too if you want.” Seokjin replied, setting his backpack down beside him after taking out his way too expensive calculator and his trusty pencil he’d managed to keep for the last two years, an amazing feat for him. Hoseok had accused him of sorcery, as most days the other boy could barely keep track of the same pencil for the entire day.

Before you could say anything else, Ms. Choi had gotten straight to teaching. Seokjin sighed, silently berating his past self for making him sit through another year with the woman. She wasn’t an inherently bad person- just one of those hardass teachers that somehow prided themselves on getting kids to hate them. Seokjin refused to feed into her complex, constantly trying to pretend everything she did wasn’t a bother to him.

You, on the other hand, seemed hardly bothered at all. You took everything she said with grace, answering each question she threw at you easily when she thought you weren’t paying attention. Choi thought she’d won by sitting you next to the abnormally attractive upperclassman, but you seemed to be fine. Seokjin was respectful, but partner projects were shared grades.

“How do you understand this?” Seokjin asked you, two full weeks after the school year had started. It was now his second time going over this material and it was just as confusing as the first. You shrugged, turning to smile at him. Everyone was looking over their scores on their first test of the year, and the paper Jin was holding had him sagging into his seat.

“I don’t know. Guess I just do.” You answered honestly with a small shrug as Seokjin looked at you incredulously. Ms. Choi had shushed the both of you after she heard Seokjin’s voice, causing a couple other kids in the class to snicker. You hardly minded, but didn’t miss the way Jin’s eyes rolled.

The bell ringing was like a saving grace for the older boy. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and crumpled his test up in his free hand, a silent ‘fuck you’ to the test and the teacher who’d administered it. You held in a soft laugh at his behavior, silently watching him leave the classroom as you packed up your things.

-

“You already failed your first test? Man, that’s tough. My little sister is two years younger than us and she’s taking the same level math as you are.” Taehyung, one of Jin’s snob friends said when he caught wind of the events that happened in his classes that day.

Seokjin turned to give the other boy a pointed glare, telling him nothing he was saying was funny and he’d be sorely mistaken if he thought Jin wouldn’t beat up him and his sister.

“Alright, alright. Stop it. Taehyung, there’s no point in bragging about your smart family member, it doesn’t make you any less dumb- and Jin, we don’t solve problems with violence.” Namjoon said, touching the frame of his glasses and pushing them up his nose.

“He kind of has to solve problems with violence if he can’t solve ‘em with his brain.” Jungkook mumbled, but everyone had heard it. Seokjin threw his head back into the plush backing of his couch, harnessing every ounce of will left inside of him to not snap everyone else in two.

“Dick move, Jeon. Don’t forget I can tell everyone at school you have a pencil dick and your pits smell. See how far you’ll get after that.” Jin grunted with his eyes clothes, but not hearing how Hoseok burst into a fit of laughter at his comments.

“Whatever! That’s not true, anyway- and I didn’t mean it, Jin. We all know you’re not stupid. Last thing you’ll need in real life is the law of syllogism.” Jungkook reassured his friend. Seokjin knew his friends didn’t actually think of him as stupid- anything but, actually, but it didn’t completely placate the feeling of inferiority welling within him.

“I get it.” Seokjin mumbled. Jimin sighed from beside him, sensing that Seokjin wasn’t feeling too well. “Just ask someone for help. I’m sure Namjoon would. I might, too, but I’m not that good at explaining things.” Yoongi piped up from across the living room, appearing to be slumped into the expensive recliner Jin’s dad had recently bought.

Namjoon nodded at the notion. “Yeah. I don’t mind helping at all.” He offered. Seokjin would’ve taken him up on it if his ego wasn’t so damaged beyond repair already. Instead he waved his hand.

“This is my problem. There’s no way I can fail a class twice, I just need to study. And maybe get a new teacher. Choi sucks ass.” Seokjin pondered aloud. Yeah, there was no way his lack of success was all him. Choi deserves some blame, too. It was only fair considering how much grief she’d given Jin over the last year.

The other boys shrugged, figuring they’d done everything they could to contribute to the catastrophe that was the part of Jin’s brain in charge of math. Slowly, the conversation moved to topics more their speed, including, but not limited to video games, Jungkook’s pencil dick, and, oh, Seokjin’s hot mom. He really couldn’t catch a break.

-

“You’re reading too much into this, and you’re not even me.” You told your best friend, Yerim, as you walked down the hall to your first class of the day- the one you shared with Seokjin. Yerim gasped at your notion, shaking her head dutifully.

“No, you just aren’t taking this as seriously as you need to. Seriously, Y/N, that’s the hottest guy in school and you’re math partners with him. And he talks to you. Like, willingly.” Yerim explained with an exasperated tone. You arched an eyebrow at her.

“Thanks for making it sound like any attractive guy actually wanting to talk to me is some natural phenomenon, Yeri. You really know how to keep me humble.” You grunted, not actually feeling offended by her words. You’d known the other girl long enough to know she was blunt, and her way with words wasn’t exactly poetic. But she was your Yeri.

“Someone has to!” She laughed before continuing on. “But seriously, Y/N, you need to explore this new opportunity. Or at least send him my way if you don’t want him. Girl code or whatever.” She spoke as you veered off to your classroom, nodding to her words absentmindedly while only halfway processing them. Seokjin had beat you here today, his beautiful head of chestnut hair greeting you as you walked into the cold air of your math class.

Class today seemed especially hard for Jin, who was groaning to himself every time Ms. Choi announced an answer to a problem that he didn’t get. You frowned, wanting to lean over and correct his simple mistakes. However, you weren’t sure if you should- you didn’t want him to get mad at you, or make him feel bad for getting help from someone who was younger than him.

As class ended, you made moves to clean up your things, packing away your math binder before Ms. Choi shrilly called out to you and Seokjin. Your blood ran cold, and you wondered what you could’ve done wrong that day.

“Yes?” You asked hurriedly, setting your backpack down on the ground beside you as Seokjin hung around with a sigh, letting his arms fall limply at his sides. You smiled at his actions, at least he didn’t want to be here either.

“I have a request of you. Mr. Kim here is not doing so well, and it’s a pity considering this is the second time I’ve had the pleasure of teaching him. So I’ve taken it upon myself to arrange a surefire way to get Mr. Kim on track. Y/N, you will be tutoring Seokjin here until his grades are good- not just passing.” She said with finality, leaving no room for either you or Seokjin to argue. Seokjin looked like he was about to, but Ms. Choi continued.

“Y/N, your incentive will be extra credit and no final in this class. Seokjin, your incentive is to graduate. Understood? I will leave meeting arrangements up to the two of you, but just know you’ll have to meet up more than just once a week in order to accomplish anything. That will be all, you two.” The teacher dismissed you, turning around and going back to her desk without sparing either of you a second glance.

You gave Seokjin a weak smile as he stared ahead with a frown on his face. When you two got out into the hallway- which was practically barren, due to most of the students having already left- you attempted to talk to the older boy.

“I’m sorry.” You offered. Your words were genuine even though they didn’t have to be, and Seokjin looked at you in surprise before shaking his head quickly.

“If there’s anyone who should apologize right now, it’s me. It’s my dumbass who got you stuck with tutoring me.” Seokjin sighed. You smiled and shook your own head, looking at him fondly.

“It’s cute of you to assume I wouldn’t like tutoring you. Who says math can’t be fun?” You said boldy, inwardly cringing at your own words. Not only had you called him cute, but you also inadvertently said math was fun- which is not true, by the way. Even you knew that.

Seokjin smirked at your words, giving you a once over (which made you feel more flushed than you cared to admit,) before nodding. “I guess you’re right. Here,” He said, digging in his pocket before pulling out his phone, unlocking it and then setting it into your hand. “Put your number in. That way we can get ahold of each other.” Seokjin said. You nodded, typing your name in and putting a few cute emojis beside it before adding your number and handing it back to Seokjin.

The boy smiled at how cute you were, putting emojis next to your contact. It stood out against everything else, as it was very rare of him to adorn contact names with anything like that. The closest thing he had was Jungkook’s costume name- which was just dumbass.

He sent you a text from his phone, a silly joke just so you’d have his number. You giggled as you saved his contact.

“Text me and let me know when you’re free next. I’d do it tonight, but my friends have a soccer game tonight and I promised I’d go…” He trailed off, almost seeming to ponder something before shaking his head, deciding it wasn’t something that needed to be said. “Anyway, I can probably tweak my schedule to meet yours. You’re probably busier with school and other stuff than I am, anyway.” He said nonchalantly. You smiled at how considerate the older boy was being, nodding sweetly at his words.

“Sure, I’ll do that. Have fun tonight, Seokjin.” You said softly, waving him goodbye as he walked into the parking lot to his car. You stood by the curb, waiting for your usual ride to pull up, who just happened to be one of your best friends.

“Hi, Yukhei.” You smiled at him as you clambered into the front seat of his car. He sent you his signature wide smile, turning his loud music down to greet you. “What’s up, sweetness? You took longer than you usually do today.” Yukhei said as he put his car in drive, backing up before driving out of the parking lot. You observed Seokjin as he drove past you, sending you a wink. You frowned and uttered an apology to your friend.

“Sorry… I didn’t think I’d be. My teacher held me and another guy back after class and, well, long story short, I’m a tutor now. Against my will.” You added the last part, because Yukhei was totally a guy who would tease you about wanting to be a math tutor. Not that it mattered- he barely passed geometry in tenth grade. Yukehi hummed thoughtfully.

“That sucks. What’s his name?” He asked out of curiosity. You knew Yukhei hardly paid attention to anyone in your grade, having befriended just about everyone in all other grade levels. It was a miracle he talked to you.

“Kim Seokjin.” You said, screaming when Yukhei’s car came to a sudden halt. Another car swerved past you, honking and giving him a not so nice finger sign. “What’re you doing? You’re gonna get us killed!” You whimpered, clutching your chest over the soft material of the sweater you were wearing. Yukehi hardly seemed bothered, slowly turning back to normal as he continued the route home.

“Y/N, are you kidding me? Kim Seokjin is one of the most popular guys in school. Hell, he’s one of the most popular guys in the district. Your social rep is about to go through the roof! What’s he like? I’ve only heard stories.” Yukhei said in awe, only taking his eyes off you every couple of seconds to make sure he was still driving on the right side of the road.

“Please keep your eyes on the road before I die prematurely,” You whined pitifully before continuing. “And, you’ve only heard stories? Geeze, way to make him sound like some mythical creature. I don’t really know what you want me to say… We really just sit next to each other in math. He’s nice, and funny I guess.” You said. You really wanted to comment on how handsome he was too, but you figured Yukhei had heard enough of that from every other person he knew.

Yukehi sucked in a couple deep breaths to curb his excitement. “You’ve gotta get me on his good side, Y/N. This is crazy, I always knew there was a reason I kept you around! Well, beside your ass- you’re pretty funny too, I guess.” Yukhei shrugged as you slapped his arm, which was protected by the expensive windbreaker he wore.

“Stop saying things like that! It makes me uncomfortable and I don’t know how to react. And no, I’m not using him to get you into parties or something. Climb the social chain on your own, like the pioneers once did.” You scolded him as he laughed.

“You know I hate manual labor. Why do you think I didn’t clean my room for two years straight?” Yukhei asked as you shivered at the memory. It started in eighth grade, and Yukhei didn’t clean his room until the end of your freshman year of high school.

You shook your head. “Don’t remind me. I remember that fossilized sock. It got so bad you had to give me your allowance just so I’d help.” You grumbled, crossing your arms and glaring at the memory. His measly ten bucks a week would never be enough for the horrors you went through during that time.

Yukhei rolled his eyes, mumbling something about you being a drama queen. You shrugged, hardly bothered, opting to listen to his music as he continued your route home.

When he pulled into your driveway, you expected him to leave and go to his own house. However, he ended up stopping his car and smiling deviously when you looked at him in question.

“You’re free tonight, right?” Yukhei asked as he strolled into your house behind you, shrugging off his jacket and taking off his shoes as he did the same. You peered at him wearily squinting your eyes.

“...Why? Yukhei, I’m not doing your homework for you again. It’s not that hard. And I don’t want to.” You pouted. His mouth dropped in offense, slapping a hand onto his chest to let you know that he wasn’t pleased with your assumption.

“You’re the worst! For your information, that’s not what I was going to ask you anyway. I got invited to a cool party tonight and I wanted you to be my plus one.” Yukhei said snobbily, tilting his nose into the air.

You grimaced, thinking about how that was the last thing you wanted to do. You’d rather stay home, as sad as it sounded- you’d heard horror stories from the types of parties Yukhei’s crowd went to, and you weren’t familiar with anyone who went to them beside him.

“I don’t know, Yukhei. That’s really not my type of thing. You’d have better luck asking someone else.” You said in resignment, walking up the stairs to your room as he followed behind you, moaning and groaning at your answer.

“You never wanna do anything fun! Why don’t you want to go? It’s a Friday night, any homework you have can be done tomorrow or Sunday.” Yukhei said, belly flopping onto your made bed.

You dropped your backpack down to your side, going to your desk and sitting in the spinning chair and facing the boy on your bed, who was giving you the side eye.

“I don’t want to go because it doesn’t sound fun. I won’t know anyone there beside you- and knowing the social butterfly you are, you’ll end up leaving my side right when we get there. And before you promise me that you’ll stay with me, I’ll feel bad because I’ll most definitely be keeping you from doing something actually enjoyable.” You shrugged. Everything got difficult when you two started growing into different social groups.

Yukhei had always been popular. You weren’t unpopular, people knew you and enjoyed talking to you, but it was a different kind of recognition. Yukhei and you were tied at the hip for most of your lives, and once puberty started hitting him he began prospering as you watched him proudly, from the comfort of your smaller social circle. Things were different now, and it was sometimes hard to work through.

He frowned, eyebrows creasing together in the telltale emotion of worry.

“Do you really feel like that, Y/N? Hon, the most fun I could ever have is with you. Don’t think for even a second that I’d enjoy anyone else’s company more. I want you to go because I wanna hang out with you, make new memories or whatever. I’m not doing it out of pity, or whatever might be going on in that head of yours.” He said seriously, his tone dropping to let you know his words were genuine. You smiled at him, tilting your head.

“Aw, Yukehi’s got a soft spot for little old Y/n.” You giggled as he cursed and shook his head. “Yeah, whatever- well now that we’ve talked through that, it’s time to pick your outfit! I heard this is supposed to be a real banger- the super popular upperclassmen are coming.” Yukehi said, jumping up from your bed and rubbing his hands together in contemplation.

“I never said I was going!” You said indignantly, to which he rolled his eyes in response.

“Doesn’t matter. I decided that you are. Where do you keep your dresses?” Yukhei asked, pulling out random drawers to your dresser and snickering when he found your underwear drawer, picking a pair of panties up and flinging them to you as you gasped in embarrassment.

“Boundaries, Yukhei!” You said in shrill embarrassment, balling up the fabric in your hand and pushing him away from the piece of furniture he was rifling through. “And I keep them in the closet, duh.” You sneered, gently placing your underwear back where they were supposed to be as Yukhei huffed some laughter.

“Alright, let’s see what I have to work with. You’re lucky you’re already pretty fashionable and I don’t have to go through the hassle of one of those movie transformations.” Yukhei hummed as slid his hand in between the garments of clothing hung up in your closet, inspecting each one and taking some out when they seemed to meet his made up requirements.

“Try these two on. I think I know what I’m gonna choose but I have to be sure.” Yukhei demanded, throwing the two dresses he picked out onto your bed.

“Aye aye captain?” You questioned, picking them up and travelling to the bathroom before putting one of the garments on, surprising yourself when you looked in the mirror. In all fairness, you’d forgotten you owned it- a nice lightly colored pattern with a skirt that puffed out at the waist, accentuating your figure nicely. You’d always enjoyed the dress but always ended up admiring it from afar, never really having the chance to wear it.

Yukhei whistled as you walked back into the room, holding his finger up and drawing an imaginary circle to silently tell you to turn around for him. You spun around, watching in amusement as the skirt following your movements, wind fluffing up the ruffled edges. Yukhei smiled approvingly.

“You’ll be wearing that one tonight.” He decided as he continued to observed you as you smiled. “You don’t want to see the other one on?” You questioned.

“Don’t need to,” He answered. “This looks stunning on you, and if the other one could look even better I’d have to be your personal bodyguard tonight- which is something I’d like to avoid, but it can’t be helped.” The boy explained as you sat next to him.

“What do you mean it can’t be helped?” You questioned out of pure curiosity as he raised an eyebrow at you, accompanied by a deadpan expression.

“Really sick of the whole ‘girl doesn’t know how beautiful she actually is,’ trope, Y/N. You’re hot, people will try to make moves on you tonight.” He said nonchalantly as you felt your skin begin to heat up with embarrassment.

You shook your head haughtily. “No way. No one’s ever done that before, tonight won’t be any different.” You nodded to your own words, trying to agree with what you were telling yourself. Yukhei scoffed, sending a hand down onto your back. It didn’t hurt, but it shocked you enough.

“You haven’t given anyone the chance, sweetheart. You really think the kids who sit in the library during lunch are gonna make a move on you? It’s a party, Y/N, a social event. They’ll be like moths to a flame.” He spoke, and you grimaced but didn’t find yourself disagreeing. It sounded intimidating, but a bit flattering.

“Whatever you say…” You mumbled, to which Yukhei smiled as he congratulated himself for winning the argument. “Go do your hair or makeup or whatever.” He commanded you as you looked at him incredulously.

“The party’s not until tonight!” You exclaimed while Yukhei shrugged casually.

“I know girls who skipped school today to get ready. Plus, we have to stop at my house so I can change. You think I’d show up to a party looking like this?” Yukhei signalled to the outfit he wore as you blinked slowly. There wasn’t anything wrong with it. You thought he looked good.

“...I guess not?” You questioned as your friend smiled. “Good answer, Y/N.”

-

“You said this was supposed to start at seven.” You pointed out dejectedly when you’d checked your phone. Yukhei had parked a couple houses down, giving you time to observe your surroundings as you walked up the street. Cars littered the neighborhood and you could already hear the bass of the music playing inside of the large house. This person must’ve had very understanding neighbors.

“Yeah, Y/N, fashionably late. Ever heard of it? We’d look dumb if we came when it was actually supposed to start.” Yukhei pointed out as you creased your eyes in confusion. “But it’s almost 9 already…” You trailed off, wrapping your arms around your waist as you slowly grew more conscious of the outfit you were wearing.

Yukhei scoffed. “Exactly. But if you’re so concerned… Hurry up.” He chided, grabbing your arm and practically dragging you up the steps of the house, which was covered in red solo cups and some people who were smoking, or got started on the alcohol too early and were lazing around in the fresh air. A couple of the patrons noticed Yukhei, raising their hands in a wave accompanies by sly smiles.

Yukhei nodded curtly toward them but said nothing, so you decided not to acknowledge them.

The house was almost filled to the brim. People were everywhere and the music was so loud you could barely hear your own thoughts, and the air was so hazy you almost wondered if people were smoking inside as well. If they were, you couldn’t smell it, as it seemed to be covered by the copious amounts of perfumes and colognes everyone wore.

“Follow me.” Yukhei leaned down and spoke into your ear so you could hear him. You nodded at him with slightly light eyes, following him as he wove through the crowds of people.

Somehow you ended up in the kitchen, lights dimmed to keep the lowlit effect that had been apparent since you’d arrived. There were multiple bowls of snacks, and in the middle of one of the large tables was a huge bowl of suspicious red looking liquid. You shivered, wondering what all had been put into it. It seemed to be popular, as the other people in the kitchen went immediately to it, refilling their cups.

Yukhei went over and got a cup, grabbing the ladle and pouring a small amount into it before going over to the sink and filling the rest of it with water. You raised an eyebrow at him before he thrust it into your own hand, smiling proudly.

“Drink it. There’s barely any alcohol in it and I’m not drinking tonight so there’s nothing to worry about. Despite the anxiety blooming in your chest and willing you to refuse the liquid, you raised it to your mouth and took a sip. Your eyebrows shot up immediately at the sweet, fruity taste that flooded your mouth. Your friend smiled even wider.

“You like it?” He asked excitedly, biting the side of his lip. You looked down into the cup, still slightly surprised at how someone had managed to make alcohol taste so good. “Yeah, I like it a lot actually…” You trailed off, taking another sip.

“A guy named Taehyung is usually in charge of the jungle juice. He’s the only one who doesn’t fuck it up, but makes it capable of doing something. And hey, slow down. I watered it down so you’d take your time, but I’ve got you.” Yukhei said, grabbing the hand that was wrapped around the cup and pulling it down so it was level with your belly button. You smiled sheepishly.

The two of you made your way out of the kitchen, you looking around in wonder as Yukhei drank in your reactions. He was happy to see you breaking out of your shell a bit, letting go of your own personal rules and trusting him enough to have fun with him.

“Aye, Yukhei! Bring your girl over here, we’re playing beer pong.” A tall handsome boy hollered from a couple feet over. They were standing in what seemed to be a secondary dining room, two obvious teams stood at different sides of the large table. It was covered in red solo cups, but instead of beer they were filled with the infamous jungle juice.

Yukhei looked at you questioningly to which you nodded shortly, following him over to the table. There was only one other girl who seemed to want nothing to do with the game, but she smiled at you nonetheless. She didn’t seem threatening in any manner, which was nice.

“What’s up, Yukhei? Who’s the pretty little lady?” The guy who called you over smiled. He had dark brown hair and olive skin, smiling down at you with a rectangular smile that showed his shining teeth.

“This is one of my best friends. Her name’s Y/N. Y/N, this is Taehyung. He’s in the year above us.” Yukhei said, managing to point out that you two were not an item like the other boy might have assumed. Taehyung’s eyes showed pleasant surprise, his smile widening as he caught a glimpse of your cup.

“Like it? Made it just for you, you know.” He said as he gestured toward your cup. You smiled shyly but still managed to respond slyly. “I’m sure- I’m surprised you knew I was coming, and made all of that punch just for me.” You smiled, sipping at the liquid again as both he and Yukhei laughed.

“Hey,” a lazy voice called from the other end of the table. He had slanted eyes that stared right at you, his tongue peeking out to wet the corner of his lips. “Stop flirting with the poor girl and get this game started. It’s nine o’clock and I’m not even tipsy, it’s a shame.” He said, making you snort. Yukhei looked at you and shrugged, letting you know that this behavior wasn’t out of the norm.

“Yoongi’s a super nice guy. Probably the one I’d trust most around here.” Yukhei murmured to you as they began to set up their game. Taehyung has called Yukhei to be on his team, and you politely declined, leaving you to awkwardly stand beside the table and watch the first couple of throws before the other girl noticed you.

“Come here.” She said gently, and you immediately obeyed.

“You looked a little lost, and I’ve never seen you around one of these things before. I’m Jisoo, what’s your name?” She asked you as you nodded. “Yeah… Yukhei’s been one of my best friends for years now, and I guess tonight was the night he decided he had enough and brought me to a party. Oh, and I’m Y/N.”

Jisoo smiled at your words, nodding understandingly. She was well aware her crowd wasn’t for anyone, but it was always nice to see a new face. Especially when the new face didn’t seem to have any preconceived notions of ‘popular kids.’

“Well, I hope you have fun tonight, Y/N. You can always sit with us too if Yukhei gets too rowdy. Do you know anyone else here?” She asked out of curiosity. You furrowed your eyebrows and raised your head to get a good look of the other patrons of the party.

“No, I don’t think so… Oh! Seokjin!” You said in surprise, causing Jisoo’s face to morph into a look of shock. “Seokjin…?” She asked, turning her head to look for the boy. He seemed to see you at the same time you saw him. His features reflected surprise, but he snapped out of it and sent you a wave and a smile.

“How do you know Seokjin? He hardly ever comes to these things, that’s so odd…” Jisoo trailed off. Her tone held no malice or jealousy, simply surprise that you of all people would know Seokjin. Even Yukhei had never managed to talk to him before.

“Oh,” You said, wondering what you should say. You were sure he wouldn’t appreciate it if you told people that you were his math tutor despite being younger than him. “I share a class with him and we sit next to each other.” You said finally, nodding your head. Jisoo seemed to believe you, eyes still focused on Seokjin as he weaved his way through the crowd. He had two people with him, but it was very clear he was walking in your group’s direction.

“Jinnie! To who do we owe our pleasure?” Taehyung asked excitedly, stopping mid throw to greet Seokjin. Yukhei had a look of awe on his face from behind Taehyung and Yoongi threw a ping pong ball at Taehyung.

“Blame this one. He wouldn’t leave my house without me.” Jin said, jabbing a finger over his shoulder at a smiling boy, who was already bouncing around. You could tell that this was completely his element- a party animal. The other one who accompanied them smiled, hooded eyes trailing over everyone before stopping on you, grinning widely.

“And who are you, sweetheart?” He asked, paying Jisoo no mind as he strolled over to you. His voice was a bit higher than the other boy’s but still had a gravelly quality to it, practically hypnotizing you. You were silent for a moment, thinking Jisoo would come to save you but she only ignored him, leaving you to your own devices.

“Oh, um… I’m Y/N?” You asked more than answered, wondering if that was really what he wanted to know. His eyes shone with interest and you felt like you’d fallen into the lion’s den. “Nice to meet you. I’m Jimin. Say… I haven’t seen you at one of these before. What’s the special occasion?” He asked again. Jisoo got up and walked over to where Yoongi’s team stood, and you could see her whisper into his ear. His eyes followed the situation, watching carefully.

“Well, my best friend Yukhei. He’s over there. He wanted me to come.” You shrugged your shoulders, feeling cold in the dress you wore. Jimin occupied the seat Jisoo left open now, no longer obscuring your frontal view. Seokjin hadn’t taken notice to Jimin, and if he did he didn’t seem to care.

“Mmm, Yukhei, really? Surprising that someone like him is friends with a sweet girl like you.” He said nonchalantly, making you confused. “Someone like him? What does that mean?” You asked, folding your hands in your lap and looking down at them, finding his presence almost suffocating. He was absolutely stunning, but you knew he could only offer you trouble.

“Well, the crowd he hangs out with, sweetheart. There’s no doubt he’s popular, but there’s always more to that, isn’t there? I won’t ruin anything for you. But if you stick around I might have to steal from him, you’re entirely tempting. You know that, don’t you?” Jimin asked you, bringing a finger under your chin and tilting it his way, having you look at him. This seemed to be the final straw for whoever had been watching, because you heard Yoongi’s voice immediately after.

“Enough, Jimin. You’re scaring her.” Yoongi said authoritatively, causing him to glower at the black haired boy. Seokjin seemed to hear the commotion, because he looked over at you only to grow surprised at the position Jimin had managed to get him in. When Jimin didn’t move, Jin stalked over and grabbed his hand tightly before moving it away.

Jimin got up and followed Jin, who was muttering something about you being off limits. You wondered what that meant. Yukhei jogged over to you, face clearly showing his panic. “Are you okay? I didn’t even notice anything. He didn’t make you uncomfortable, right?” He asked, hands on your shoulders as he looked into your eyes concerningly.

You shook your head and smiled up at your friend. “No Yukhei, I’m okay. He’s just a flirt, that’s all.” You shrugged, not wanting him to get even more worried. You also didn’t want to make the situation seem bigger than it was, you hadn’t told Jimin to stop and he didn’t do anything crazy. He just kept you on your toes.

Yukhei seemed conflicted, but nodded. “I’m gonna get back to the game, then. If something like that happens again tell them no and get me.” Yukhei said with finality. You saluted him, to which he laughed and shook his head.

It had been a couple of minutes before you heard your name being said again. You looked up and around, wondering where it came from before you saw Seokjin, who was motioning for you to come over to him. You got up and righted your dress before walking over.

“Hi!” You said happily, missing the way his eyes trailed over you hungrily. He smiled at you sweetly, bringing his hand down to encase your own. “Come with me?” He asked, to which you nodded. The boy led you through a couple of halls before you were met with some glass doors, which led to the house’s back porch. There were people outside, but hardly any compared to the inside of the house.

“How was the soccer game?” You asked when the both of you stopped next to the porch’s railing. He smiled at your ability to remember what he told you. “It was good. They won, so I guess it was worth going to. I guess we could’ve met up afterward but I didn’t think you’d be up this late…” He said, alluding to the party the two of you were now at. You began to fluster at his words.

“Ah…! I didn’t know I’d be here either, to be completely honest. Yukhei dragged me out, parties aren’t really my thing. This is my first one, actually!” You said a bit loudly, completely unaware at how lame you were making yourself sound. Jin let out a warm chuckle.

“Don’t worry Y/N, I can tell you’re not the party type. Which brings me to the reason why I wanted to talk to you.” Seokjin said. You tilted your head, fiddling with the hem of your dress. “And what is that?” You asked quietly, feeling small under his gaze.

His facial expression was weird, to say the least. He seemed almost mournful, and it had you feeling saddened before you could even hear what he had to say.

“You shouldn’t be here, Y/N. You’re too good for this type of stuff.” Jin sighed as you looked at him in apparent confusion. “I’m definitely not better than anyone here if that’s what you’re saying.” You said, not wanting him to put you on a pedestal for no reason. He reached down for your hand again, bringing it up to rest against his on the railing. Your heart sped up at the contact.

“That’s not quite what I meant. Excuse the brashness but… You’re stunning. People here are well aware of that, and if they’re not jealous they’re gonna find a way to get you themselves, like Jimin earlier. You’re innocent and unaware of people’s intentions and it makes you desirable, and I’ll be damned if I sit around and let someone take advantage of you.” Seokjin murmured quietly to avoid anyone else hearing him, but you could hear the anger in his tone.

“Oh, Seokjin, I don’t want you to worry about me. I promise I can take care of myself, and I know trouble when I see it.” You tried to assure him, but you could see that the conflict in his eyes hadn’t lessened.

“I think your heart is in the right place- too much, probably. EVen if you smell trouble you’ll try to look for the good in someone, like you did with Jimin.” Seokjin spoke, and you became aware that it wasn’t going to be easy to change his mind.

“But…” You trailed off in confusion, eyebrows drawing together and bottom lip jutting out as Seokjin resisted the urge to coo at you and swipe his thumb across your mouth. “Aren’t you and Jimin friends?” You asked, in reference to the way he spoke of the other boy. He sucked in a breath through his teeth, and you saw his wide shoulders raise with the intake.

“We are,” He finally spoke. “But if anything, that just shows that I know what type of person he is. He’s good to me, but I know what he does, and I’d prefer it if he didn’t do it with someone like you- for both of our sakes.” Seokjin spoke as you felt embarrassment blooming within you, knowing exactly what the older boy was referencing to. Of course you were aware some boys and girls had reputations for ‘sleeping around’- you just didn’t think it was ever something that should be made into a big deal.

“Have you told them… What I am, for you?” You whispered quietly, not wanting to alert anyone around you in fear of embarrassing Seokjin. He huffed out some endearing laughter. “Can’t say I’m exactly excited to say that the cute underclassman girl I hang around with is actually my math teacher. I’ll tell them eventually, though- to avoid some confusion that’s bound to arise. I don’t really hang around girls too often, so they’ll get curious.” You smiled at his words, eyes creasing with the excess skin of your cheeks.

“Sounds good.” You told him. It looked like Seokjin was about to continue but was shocked out of replying when a large hand clapped over his shoulder, another man appearing from behind him. He had a wide smile, and he was holding a red solo cup. The flush of his cheeks told you that he definitely wasn’t sober.

“My man Seokjin! Where’d you get this hot piece of ass? I didn’t think the underclassmen were all that, but you’re changing my mind, you know?” He asked as he driected the conversation to you. You couldn’t respond, eyes open wide at the brashness of his comments. Seokjin seemed less than pleased, ripping his hand from his shoulder and shoving him off.

“None of your fucking business, Yunho- say one more thing and I’ll get my dad to fire yours.” Seokjin threatened emptily, but it was very obvious that the inebriated male didn’t catch the hint. His eyes widened and he put his hands up in defense. “Sorry, man. Didn’t mean it.” He slurred, beelining for the door to the inside. You watched the door even after he disappeared into it.

“I’m sorry, Y/N…” Seokjin trailed off as you began to shake your head in response. He wasn’t looking at you, though, so it went unnoticed. “I think it’s best if I drive you home. You okay with that?” He asked. You hesitated, mind flashing back to Yukhei.

“Yukhei was my ride… I was supposed to stay with him.” You spoke anxiously as Jin listened. “You shouldn’t worry. We left him alone with Taehyung, he’s probably less than sober by now. We can swing through and you can tell him bye before we go, if you want.” Seokjin compromised, leaving you with no option but to nod your head in agreeance.

Truthfully, you understood where Seokjin was coming from, and that he wanted you safe. However, you felt like you were being babied despite the small gap in age between the two of you, causing you to follow closely behind him with your head held down like the child you’d been made to feel like. Seokjin ushered himself off to the side, planting his hand at the small of your waist and guiding you along with him.

Seokjin was right about Yukhei. He was yelling, and you could hear him from a couple rooms over, meaning that the temptation of alcohol had won. Inside, you felt a bit betrayed, but you were happy that he was at least having fun.

“Hey,” You tapped his shoulder as he turned to look at you, mouth opening wide with a smile when he saw your face. He wrapped his arms around you and squeezed you tightly as you made a noise of surprise which caused him to let you go.

“I’m gonna go home, Yukhei.” You told him, watching as his face went from confused to shocked and wide eyed. “Y/N, I’m so sorry! ‘M not sober enough to take you home, sweetheart… Forgot my one fuckin’ job of the night, how funny is that.” Yukhei said but it was very obvious he didn’t find it funny, and that he was currently beating himself up for forgetting something so important.

You lifted a hand up to feather it through his hair in a gesture of comfort. “Don’t worry, you’re fine. Seokjin said he’d take me so you’re alright.” You spoke. You saw him sigh in relief but his mood hadn’t seemed to better too much.

“At least you’re gettin’ home safe. So sorry, Y/N, I’ll make it up to ya. I’ll take you out for some food or something. Have a good night.” He told you genuinely, pulling you into another hug, smoothing his hand along your back. You agreed, jokingly stating that he owed you before returning to Seokjin’s side as he led you out of the house party.

“He seems like a nice kid.” Seokjin spoke as he lead you through the crowds of people. You became increasingly aware of the looks you were getting- hungry and astonishing looks, the occasional jealous glare from multiple patrons. You could hear people whispering, asking each other who you are and what business you had with Kim Seokjin.

“Huh?” You spoke when you realized you’d been silent for too long. “Oh, yeah. He really is.” You said. Seokjin offered a smile at your spacey attitude, opening the front door and letting you out before turning around, letting his eyes linger on a couple of people who said especially rude things about you.

“My car’s over here.” Seokjin spoke when he closed the door behind him, making sure you were close by him as he started walking. You stayed silent, more so focusing on the chilly night air hitting your exposed skin. You shivered a bit, but it did not go unnoticed by Jin.

“Shit, sorry.” He said, shrugging off his jacket and beginning to put it around your shoulders. “I didn’t even think about how cold it got.” He said when it was sufficiently wrapped around you. It was large on him, so it almost engulfed you. “It’s okay, it’s yours anyway. I’m sure you’re cold now, too.” You offered, gripping the jacket even though you wanted to keep it for the warmth it offered- not to mention the smell of his cologne that was still on it.

He shook his head. “You’re the one in a dress, you can keep it. Chivalry isn’t dead, you know.” Seokjin offered, making you giggle and playfully roll your eyes. “Oh, sure. True chivalry is being your math tutor.” You said as Seokjin gasped in offense.

“And here I was, thinking you were a nice girl. Should’ve known better…” Seokjin shook his head as the two of you got into the car. He sat there for a moment, hand on the gear before he turned to look at you. “Mind giving me some directions?” He asked charmingly, making you instantly flustered- duh! He didn’t know where you lived.

“Oh, sure. At the end of this street take a right.” You spoke, him nodding easily and shifting the car into drive. You watched the house disappear into the rear view mirror.

-

“Thanks for taking me. You didn’t have to.” You said as Seokjin rolled up your driveway, a couple of lights on signalling some of your family members were still awake. The boy shook his head, turning to look at you. “I was the one who made you leave in the first place, I’d be a dick to not offer a ride home- I get if you’re mad at me for that, by the way.” He said sheepishly, but you gave him a smile and shook your head.

“I mean, it didn’t go the way I always envisioned my first real party- but it wasn’t horrible. Here, let me give you your jacket back-,” You suddenly remembered, sitting up in the front seat and beginning to shrug it off yourself only for Jin to set a hand on your shoulder.

“Keep it. You look good in it. Plus, we still need to get together for some tutoring, so it’s not like I’ll never see it again.” He said, and you nodded dumbly, more focused on the compliment he gave you rather than anything else. Gulping, you sent him a shy smile before popping the car door open.

“Sure. Thank you, Seokjin, see you later.” You said shyly, and he waved goodbye. “Bye, Y/N, I’ll text you. Sleep well.”

[proxylynn]

Underfell: File Name not Edgy Enough #18

Chapter 18: Apprehension

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

It's eerily calm when Papyrus finds himself crawling out of bed. Something compels him. A strange feeling that something is amiss. He knows not but certainly will find out why. Leaving his bedroom, the great and terrible Papyrus has a very unnerving chill run up his spine. The front door is wide open and the human is absent from the living space. That stupid girl is going to lose some teeth for this. Looking around, Sans's room door is also open and the flower is strangely missing from sight. This continued to not feel right even more as he made his way down the currently frosty opening in his impregnable stronghold. Up to this point, all had been silent with not so much as even the faintest blowing of the wind. Yet once he came to where the couch sat, that's when he heard an all too familiar sound...pain. But this was not your average grunt of ache or gasping whimper, no, not the slightest. For the voice that makes this has the steadfast heart of stone Second-in-Command of the Royal Guard almost fall to his knees from the shock. Quickly he rushes outside, needing to see with his own eyes that which his hearing had picked up and refusing to believe it without further proof. But there it was, the proof he hated to see. The human has Sans in a hold to their chest, his arms locked behind his back and his eyes pleading for aid as they locked onto Papyrus. Then, before he can even piece together what to do, there's a sudden snap that ripples in a haunting echo throughout the Underground. That sound is then followed by the thud as Sans's lower-half falls to the snow before dusting. His upper-half still in the human's grasp, Sans attempts to call out but is prevented from doing so as the human grips the base of his spine and proceeds to rip it out from every other bone in his body. Papyrus watches in horror as the remaining form of his brother falls apart and scatters into dust before him. To her end, the human merely gives Papyrus a creepy smile and opens her arms to him, as if welcoming him into a sick embrace while in the dust of his sibling. Tears begin to pool in Papyrus's eyes, words fail him as he is too choked with grief to make the smallest utterance of noise. He tries to summon his magic, to strike this sack of sinful flesh down for her crime, yet he is too distraught to use it. She begins to approach, that grin becoming more sinister and frightening with each step. And for all his power, the great and terrible Papyrus found himself on the victim end of the situation, unable to make his body do anything. All he can do is helplessly watch as her eyes blacken upon reaching him, her teeth turn to serrated needles while she clasps his skull in her claw-like hands and with a small giggle she lunges to bite him!

"*GASP*!"

Papyrus awakens for real this time and drenched in a cold sweat, his bones rattling with many chills. It was a dream. A nightmare. None of that happened. No one was dead...right? The events of the nightmare still fresh in his mind, Papyrus sprang from his bed and flung his door open. Looking out into the faintly lit from outside light home, his brother's door was closed and so was the front door. The flower was asleep on the table and the human was...gone? Now he was on alert. She could be anywhere and strike at any second. He had to...

[FLUSH]

Oh...That answered one question. The sound of the sink going on and off happens before she emerges with a long yawn that nearly has her bumping into him.

"*tired* Oh...My bad. I didn't see you there. Did you need to use it?"

She points to the bathroom to which he shakes his head.

"NO, HUMAN. I HAVE OTHER REASONS FOR BEING AWAKE."

"Ah. You having trouble sleeping too?"

For a second he wondered if humans were able to read minds.

"Yeah...It sucks living with random insomnia. Though it has some perks, ya get more shit done when awake, if you have stuff to do that is otherwise you're bored as fuck. But man, does the next day or two suuuuuck."

She lets out another yawn and moves around him, aiming to head downstairs but his hand grabs her by the arm before she gets too far.

"Yeah?"

In his head, flashes of the killer thing that was her take over into this real version yet he knew better. This puny thing before him is far from the remorseless bringer of death in his nightmare.

"Papyrus?"

If he wanted to, he could do it. He could kill her without batting an eye. It would be so easy. She's weak and has low HP. One blow. That's all it would take. Yet...His hand let's go and she looks through him.

"You look like you need a distraction..."

She offers him her hand.

"I have the time if you're willing to let me help?"

He contemplates this for a bit before realizing his body was already moving with her downstairs to the living room couch. She pats the seat and he sits down albeit a tad uneasy.

"Let's see...What to talk about?"

She pats her knees in thought.

"Hmmm...You want to know more about humans, right? Ask me anything. No question is off limits."

Free information? That would be helpful. The books were insightful but most of the stuff inside made his nonexistent skin crawl. Though no sane creature would willingly give away its secrets. This could be a trap by feeding him false information. Perhaps if he worded his questions in such a way...?

"I MAY HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS."

"Lay it on me, dude."

"VERY WELL..."

A dummy question first to break the ice.

"DO HUMANS HAVE A FUNNY BONE? SANS MENTIONS IT FROM TIME TO TIME. I THINK HE'S MAKING IT UP AS AN EXCUSE TO MAKE CRAPY JOKES."

She chuckles.

"As funny as a prank like that would be, he's not making it up. Though, to be fair, the 'funny bone' is not really a bone."

"IT'S NOT?"

"Nope. If I can..."

She pulls her arm out of her shirt and holds said arm out straight, her other hand begins to point at the limb.

"In human anatomy, the 'funny bone' or as it is also known as the ulnar nerve is a nerve that runs near the ulna bone. The ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow joint is in relation to the ulnar nerve. The nerve is the largest unprotected nerve in the human body, meaning unprotected by muscle or bone, so an injury is common. This nerve is directly connected to the little finger, and the adjacent half of the ring finger, innervating the palmar aspect of these fingers, including both front and back of the tips, perhaps as far back as the fingernail beds."

He watches as the free hand takes aim and comes down on a spot around the elbow. She immediately recoils the struck arm curling and gripped by the attacking hand.

"*wince* This nerve can cause an electric shock-like sensation by striking the medial epicondyle of the humerus from posteriorly, or inferiorly with the elbow flexed. The ulnar nerve is trapped between the bone and the overlying skin at this point. This is commonly referred to as bumping one's 'funny bone'. This name is thought to be a pun, based on the sound resemblance between the name of the bone of the upper arm, the 'humerus', and the word 'humorous'. Personally, I think it's named as such in irony because pain can be funny sometimes. There's actually a German word for it. Schadenfreude: the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of or witnessing the troubles, failures, or humiliation of another. This emotion is displayed more in children than adults, however, adults also experience schadenfreude, they are just better at concealing their expressions."

Her pained hand shakily flexes a few times before the movement smooths and she puts her arm back in her shirt.

"Anything else you wish to know?"

This through his thoughts off. Either she was being honest out of being tired and her soul maturing or she was calling his bluff with a real answer before telling him lies. Maybe another question will help him figure out for sure.

"INTERESTING. NOW...THESE NERVES, WHAT FUNCTION DO THEY SERVE OTHER THAN MAKING YOU FEEL PAIN?"

"Good question. How do I put this? Uh...Oh! See the TV?"

"YES."

"Well, let's say the TV is a body and the wires inside are its nerves. Nerves allow for signals to be moved around the body. The nervous system detects environmental changes that impact the body, then works in tandem with the endocrine system to respond to such events. Like what happened with my hand. The nerve told my brain that there was pain and it reacted accordingly."

"I SEE. AND IF SOMETHING WERE TO, LET'S SAY, REMOVE THE SIGNAL ABILITY?"

"Like a sedative? Blocking of the signals would cause a temporary lack of feeling. Morphine is often used to reduce feeling when in lots of pain. But that's a safe version of doing it. Lots of animals have a means of shutting down the nervous system in a far more harmful way."

"OH?"

"Oh yeah. Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nerve tissue. It can really fuck you up if not treated."

Again, she gave him information that was telling of a weakness. No sane person does this down here.

"What's with that look?"

"WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME ALL THIS?"

She tilts her head.

"You asked the question, silly. Questions get answers when answers are available."

He rolls his eyes.

"I MEAN, WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THINGS THAT I CAN USE AGAINST YOU?"

"Heh...I think it's obvious why. I want you to trust me."

"A FOOLISH AND POINTLESS REASON."

"Maybe so, but that ain't gonna stop me from trying."

"WHY?"

She smiles and pats his shoulder.

"You're a smart man, Papyrus. Yet sometimes, you can be so blind."

He shoves her off the couch and she snickers.

"YOU'RE A FREAK."

"That might be. But I'd rather be a freak than your enemy."

"AS LONG AS YOU ARE HUMAN, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE MY ENEMY. NOTHING YOU DO WILL CHANGE THAT."

That changed her expression, her face losing the pep it had and becoming more sullen.

"I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION FOR YOU..."

She didn't respond.

"HUMAN? DO NOT IGNORE ME."

She gets off the floor and moves further from him. This does not make him happy.

"BITCH, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?"

"Leave me alone."

He growls.

"EXCUSE YOU?"

He goes to her, yanking her by her hair and earning a nasty hiss from the steadily annoying woman.

"Fuck off, I'm done trying with you."

"THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN? YOU SAID YOU'D DO THIS AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE TIME. AND THE WAY I SEE IT, YOU STILL HAVE TIME FOR ME."

She jerks her head surprisingly hard and slips out of his hold albeit now slightly dizzy.

"I did have time."

"DID?"

She rumbles a low snarl.

"I'm going to say this once...I get it. I get you don't trust humans. You have every right not to. I don't even trust humans and I am one. My kind did and does fucked up shit all the damn time. But I'm not like them. I have been trying all my life not to be like them. I'd like to believe this is noticeable especially down here. But you..."

She crosses her arms and holds them tight.

"I have not been kind when my temper flares. I try to hold it back. And I try to do good. I really do even if it's hard. But no matter what I do, no matter if I behave or not, you still see the bad human."

Her shoulders slump and slight trembles shake her form.

"So I'm done. I'm done trying to prove anything to you. There's no point trying when the result is always the same. I'm crazy but not insane. Insanity is doing the exact same fucking thing over and over again expecting shit to change. Well, I'm not doing that. Damn it, I'm not wasting my time trying when you're not willing to do the same."

Her voice was breaking, her demeanor failing to retain any of the bitch he knows her as. She looked weak like a kitten lost in a wolf den and the watery eyes weren't helping either. Truly a pathetic sight.

"LOOK AT YOU. HOW MUCH FURTHER ARE YOU WILLING TO SINK? "

"Fuck you!"

"ARE YOU GOING TO CRY, LITTLE GIRL?"

"Piss off!"

"HEH...IF I HAD KNOWN A HUMAN GOING THROUGH SOUL MATURITY WAS THIS ENTERTAINING I WOULD'VE PUT UP CAMERAS."

"Do not mock me!"

"BUT IT'S SO MUCH FUN."

"At least I'm being real and not faking some cool-guy act like you."

That caught him off-guard.

"WHAT?"

"You heard me. Even before this stupid soul shit, I was me. Even if that me is hiding personal shit that no one is ever gonna know, it was the real me. So after doing this for so long, I can tell when someone is hiding their own personal shit. And you, sir, are masking some personal shit with an overly tough act to compensate for your inability to deal with it."

His glare came down on her hard.

"ARE YOU INFURRING THAT I AM WEAK OR WEAK ENOUGH TO HAVE A FLAW IN MY FLAWLESS CHARACTER?"

"Oh my god, what is with you boneheads and your sucky way of subtlety? Be blunt when serious. Yes! I'm outright saying you have a flaw!"

That triggered him into a particularly violent fit, one that wakes the other sleeping souls that weren't awake before when they were yelling. By the time Sans leaves his room to investigate the commotion, the carpet is stained is blood splatters and Papyrus is still in the process of breaking the unconscious human's face while the flower tries to restrain the stronger skeleton in vines to very little effect.

"pap? what the hell are ya doing?"

With a pull of blue magic, the human is flung up to the ceiling and out of Papyrus's clutches.

"PUT THAT BITCH BACK DOWN! I'M NOT DONE WITH HER YET!"

Sans rubs his face and sighs.

"this, this right here...this is why we can't have nice things."

Papyrus growls loudly.

"SHE DESERVED IT! SHE CALLED ME WEAK! INSINUATING THAT I HAVE A FLAW!"

"pap, no one is perfect. not even you. you're close though."

Papyrus's eye began to twitch.

"DON'T THINK I WON'T GIVE YOU THE SAME I DID TO HER, BECAUSE I WILL!"

Sans just shakes his head.

"it's too damn early for this crap."

A curl of Sans's fingers has the human pulled into his room and Papyrus gives chase till a series of bone walls prevent him from proceeding any further in his rampage when he rips free of the flower's vines.

"SANS, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! DO NOT PROTECT THAT THING!"

"go back to bed, bro."

Sans goes back into his room and Papyrus roars in furious frustration. Riled up, Papyrus aims to take this rage out on the flower but when looking at where it once was only found it to no longer be anywhere in sight. Damn thing is a sneaky weed. So with nobody in the home to take this out on and not wanting to break anything of his, Papyrus leaves the home to look for a fool out past town curfew.

Up in Sans's room, he props the human to sit up against a wall and looks for that book on human anatomy. He was going to have to play doctor to keep her from being too fucked up to speak with Toriel on their silly phone calls. And judging by her wheezing breath he might have his work cut out for him here. The book was easy to find. The hard part would be if any skeletal pictures popped up. First things first...How much HP did she lose?

[HP ██████████ 10/36]

Not bad and it explains why she's out cold. It honestly could've been worst but sleep does heal health.

"geez, kiddo. the hell did ya say to him to earn this beating?"

Just by looking at her it's easy to say her face got the worst of it, no doubt her Papyrus hit her everywhere, but the main target was definitely her face. Black eyes are bound to form and he was pretty sure her nose wasn't always pointing awkwardly to the side before. Her lips were badly busted too and opening her mouth showed damage from impact, most notably was the large chip missing from her top left lateral incisor. There's no hiding that without professional aid. Maybe he can talk his way into getting her a gold crown to fix that like when he lost his top left canine. Man, Papyrus sucked at cooking when that happened. Nothing like taking a bite and snapping a tooth on hard solid noodles that could be considered deadly weapons. How that was even possible is beyond him.

Flipping through the book to the chapter on the human face, Sans kneels down in front of her and puts the book down beside him on the pages concerning the nose.

"let's see...how to tell if a nose is broken. the symptoms of a broken nose include pain in or around your nose...yeah, i'm betting she'd be in pain if awake. a bent or crooked nose...yep to that too. a swollen nose or swelling around the nose which can cause the nose to look bent or crooked even if it's not broken...got that one too. bleeding from the nose...not much, but yes. a stuffy nose that won't drain, which can mean the nasal passages are blocked...can't tell on that one, so, maybe. bruising around the nose and eyes...another hard one to tell that ain't part of the beating. a rubbing or grating sound and/or feeling when you move the nose...?"

Slipping his middle and index finger to lightly clamp on the nose, Sans wiggles the protruding body part side to side yet is met with a faint sound though there is little movement done. At best, it's not broken but possibly the cartilage fractured enough for a small dislocation.

"okay, buddy. here's hoping you stay knocked for this part. because this is gonna hurt like a bitch."

Placing his right hand on her face so that his thumb acts as the brace that lines up with her nasal bone he uses his left hand be the forcing tool that snaps the cartilage back into alignment with a loud pop. She weakly yelps at this but ultimately remains unconscious, to that he was grateful for so he didn't have to deal with her whining in pain. He knew she had a fairly high pain tolerance but some places break even the strongest of souls. Now for some cleanup and grabbing a cold pack to keep her face from ballooning out like, well, a balloon.

"Is she going to be okay?"

Sans nearly jumped out of his shorts at the sudden voice. Flowey's sitting where the door would've hidden him when it was open.

"how the fuck...?"

"What? Did you think I'd stay down there with HIM? I'm not looking to die tonight."

Sans merely shrugs.

"yeah, can't blame ya on that one. watch her for a sec. i gotta grab a few things real quick."

Sans teleports before Flowey can speak but is back just as fast.

"well, it's safe to go downstairs."

"What makes you say that?"

"because pap's not home."

Flowey shivers at the thought of someone bumping into Papyrus while in that rage as Sans moves the human to lay down flat with her head inclined on the end of his mattress. With a moist rag, he wipes away the blood from her face before placing the ice pack over her nose and eyes.

"that outta help with swelling and shit. now...unless you have something else to bug me with, i'm going back to bed."

Flowey shakes his head.

"good."

He throws himself onto the mattress and smothers his face into it.

"*muffled* you can stay as long as you keep quiet. so zip it."

"Okay. ...Sans?"

"*muffled*...what?"

"Thanks for helping her."

Sans remained silent after that. He didn't help her because he cared or felt sorry for her, he did it because of his promise. That's what he repeated to himself in his head at least. She's a dumb human that he just happens to be stuck watching over. That's it. So what if they relate on a lot of stuff? So what if they are tied to the same people? So what if they, on a technical level because of skeletons, are the same? So what if he touched his soul to her when he needed a fantasy to get off on? None of that mattered. Not at all. So then why...Why did it feel like he was lying to himself?

[Meanwhile: somewhere in the woods]

The great and terrible Papyrus found no one to take his anger out on but there are plenty of trees to do that to. Many a strong thick trunk was splintered in twain after feeling the rage of a skeleton in need of venting. He had a spot for this, one that was oddly in his memory but he was never quite sure why or how. He just knew to always come here to get away from the world when he needed to. By the time he had calmed down about a dozen trees laid about in the snow. The feeling of exhaustion after exerting so much energy was a relief to the fire in his soul.

How dare that human insinuate that he was flawed. How dare Sans say he was only close to perfection. He IS perfect! No one comes close to his level of greatness. Every guy would love to be like him. No monster in town is as admired as him. Everyone's awed and inspired by him. No one's as slick as him. No one's as quick as him. No one's neck is as incredibly stiff as his. For there's no male in town half as manly as he! Perfect, a pure paragon! No one cook's as well as him. No one breaks hearts like him. He's much more than the sum of his parts. As a specimen, yes, he's intimidating. But that's his best quality. No one fights like him. No one uses magic like he does. And in a wrestling match, nobody bites as hard. When he hunts he sneaks up with his saber and strikes from behind. Is that fair? He doesn't care. No one hits like him. Matches wits like him. No one has brains like him. Entertains like he does. No one can make up these endless refrains like he can. He's a man among men. He's a super success.

There's one guy in town who's got all of it down and it's him. So then why...Why does it feel like a lie?

Papyrus wanders his way back home. Strangely, the trees will be restored later. He had a guess that the Gyftrot in the area did this. A creepy ass deer monster that tends to the woods. It has a habit of attacking weak or unsuspecting monsters out of revenge due to some teens having stuck damaging trash to its body such as beer bottles, a ball&chain, barbwire, etc. Some have offered it aid yet were attacked due to lack of trust. Not that anyone blames it for doing so.

Upon his return, the house is still and no one is in sight. Papyrus locks the door before going to his room, not like he'll be able to sleep much this night. Between the nightmare and his mental/emotional state after the fit, the only way he'd find rest would be if he were to bash himself unconscious like he did the human.

The human...That pathetic little fool.

She is the cause of all this. If she wasn't around he wouldn't be having these issues. If she wasn't the under the Queen's care than he'd be promoted to Captain for turning in the last soul to grant them freedom. If it wasn't for her he would have everything he's ever wanted. She needs to learn a harsh lesson for this. For interfering with his hopes and dreams, a price must be paid. All he has to do is wait for his chance to strike. And if Papyrus is anything, he is very patient when it comes to getting revenge.

[Hours pass]

Sans slowly stirred to the satisfying smell of bacon leaking into his room. A lazy yawn and bone popping stretch were his greetings to this new day. The flower remained asleep across the room and the human was gone, the melted ice-pack laid flopped on the floor. The girl was cooking that good shit. This is how days are supposed to start. Picking up the flower, Sans leaves his room and follows the tasty smell hickory smoke to the kitchen but became immediately confused when he looked inside. The human is not the one making breakfast. It's Papyrus. Not only is Papyrus cooking but he's cooking foods that he would never cook, such as the bacon and waffles. This is a red flag.

"uh...pap?"

Papyrus barely looks away from his cooking.

"GOOD, YOU'RE AWAKE. SAVES ME THE TROUBLE OF BANGING ON YOUR DOOR."

Sans put the flower down on the table.

"so...how are ya feeling?"

"FINE. WHY DO YOU ASK?"

"last night ring any bells?"

Papyrus scoffs.

"THAT WAS A MOMENT OF TEMPORARY WEAKNESS THAT SHAMES ME. I AM BETTER THAN TO LET SOMETHING SO STUPID GET TO ME. IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN."

"then you're cool now?"

"COOL? NO...I'M THE COOLEST. YOU KNOW THAT."

Red flag warning! Papyrus in a good or chummy mood never means something pleasant for anyone.

"GO FRESHEN UP, SANS. THE FOOD WILL BE READY SHORTLY."

Something isn't right.

"pap..."

"HMMM?"

"where's the human?"

Papyrus doesn't respond but a small smirk graces his skull. Major red flag alert!

"pap?"

"SHE IS FINE IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT."

"what did you do, papyrus?"

Papyrus removes the bacon from the pan and lays the strips on multiple paper towels.

"I HAVE DONE NOTHING."

"then where is she?"

"I GAVE HER THE DAY OFF."

"pap?"

"SHE HAS IT EASY TODAY. NO ONE WILL BOTHER HER AND SHE WON'T HAVE TO LIFT A FINGER FOR ANYONE."

"pap, i swear, toriel is going to kill us both and torch the town if that kid is hurt more than what you already did last night."

Papyrus turns to his brother and looks at him sternly.

"SANS...WHEN I ENTERED THE ROYAL GUARD, I SWORE FEALTY TO THE CROWN AND THE HEADS THAT WEAR IT. EVEN IF THE QUEEN IS NO LONGER ON THE THRONE, SHE IS STILL THE QUEEN AND MARRIED TO THE KING. I WOULD END MYSELF BEFORE EVER BREAKING MY OATH. SO RELAX AND BELIEVE ME WHEN I TELL YOU THAT I HAVE DONE NO HARM TO THAT GIRL."

Sans wants to believe him. His brother is just as strict about promises as he is. But he also knows Papyrus for being deceitful. It's really a coin flip when it comes to Papyrus. Sans makes a tough call.

"fine, bro. i trust you."

"GOOD. NOW GO WASH UP. WE LEAVE AFTER EATING."

"...can you at least tell me where she is?"

"I CAN ASSURE YOU, SHE HASN'T LEFT THE HOUSE."

"and grillby? what do we tell him?"

Papyrus removes the last of the waffles from the iron.

"I WILL DEAL WITH HIM. NOW, DON'T MAKE ME TELL YOU A THIRD TIME."

Sans concedes to Papyrus and heads for the bathroom. The brothers feast before leaving for work, not bothering to plate any scraps for the flower or human wherever she might be. Not surprising, Grillby didn't trust the situation as much as Sans when Papyrus explained why the human was not with them this day. Though it's not like anyone had much of a choice in the matter considering the one person that knew where she was wasn't exactly up for giving away her location. The first chance he was given, Sans was going to take a shortcut and search the property. There aren't many places Papyrus could've hidden her. Hell, he was willing to bet gold that she was chained in the shed. But if that's the case, why not just tell him that? Why was Papyrus being all secretive about it? This made Sans very uneasy.

[Meanwhile: later in an undisclosed location]

My senses slowly return and consciousness becomes aware of the sound of ticking along with the odd taste of rubber. Sight, however, is not one of those senses that come back yet judging by rubbing on my eyes I'd say something is covering them like a blindfold. Then that means the rubber taste is from a gag of some sort. Great. Just great. If this is that thing Mettaton was planing I swear to dismantle the guy. And whatever that ticking sound is it is annoying as fuck!

[CREAKING]

The hell? I turn my head to follow the sound but can't. I try moving my arms and legs, but the result is the same. I'm restrained by what feels like leather to something wooden. The hell is going on?

[DOOR HINGE SQEALING]

This isn't funny. How the hell did this even happen? Last this I remember was trying to get a drink of water than it all went dark. The sound of boot steps tells me this captor is approaching. What sort of asshole was brave enough to break into the skeleton house and think it was clever to abduct me?

"IMPRESSIVE...I WAS EXPECTING YOU TO BE TREMBLING WITH FEAR BY NOW."

If I could blink in perplexity I would. I know this voice. The great and terrible asshole!

"*growls*"

Papyrus merely scoffs in amusement.

"CUTE. AT ANY OTHER TIME I WOULD CONSIDER YOUR DEFIANCE THE KINDLING TO A FIRE I'D ROAST YOU ON, BUT RIGHT NOW..."

He touches my neck and I flinch at the cold contact, making him chuckle.

"RIGHT NOW, YOU ARE AT MY COMPLETE AND UTTER LACK OF MERCY."

"*snarls*"

He grabs my jaw in one hand to make me look forward, or whatever I think is forward. How would I know? I'm blindfolded!

"HMMM...SO THAT'S WHERE THAT SPLINTER IN MY KNUCKLES CAME FROM."

Confused, I feel around the gag with my tongue and find a space.

"*muffled*"

"BY THAT REACTION, I TAKE IT YOU DIDN'T KNOW. DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. IF ALL GOES WELL, I MAY REWARD YOU WITH A REPLACEMENT. AFTER ALL, WE CAN'T HAVE THE QUEEN SEE SUCH A SIGHT."

He jerks my head harshly out of his grip.

"BUT ONLY IF YOU EARN IT."

Not gonna lie, the first thing my brain is thinking this is will be some freaky sex thing. But I know better than to know that's the thing. Papyrus is not that kind of dude...I hope.

"*muffled*"

"I'M GOING TO ASSUME YOU ARE QUESTIONING ME AS TO HOW YOU GOT HERE, WHERE HERE IS, AND WHAT IS GOING ON. SIMPLE REALLY. YOUR LITTLE FIT LAST NIGHT LEFT ME IN A RATHER ROTTEN MOOD. SO..."

He moves away and that ticking sound quickens.

"I WAITED TILL YOU EMERGED FROM SANS'S ROOM. AND WHEN YOUR BACK WAS TURNED, I RENDERED YOU UNCONSCIOUS WITH A QUICK HIT AND BROUGHT YOU HERE. WELCOME...TO MY TORTURE CHAMBER!"

A dramatic score plays as he laughs evilly. That's fucking adorable. He's got a sound system in here.

"YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO ENJOY HOW GLORIOUS THIS ROOM IS, BUT I ASSURE YOU IF YOU COULD SEE IT YOU WOULD BE HORRIFIED."

Then what's with the blindfold?

"BUT THEN YOU'D KNOW WHERE YOU ARE AND MIGHT TRY TO MAKE SOUND. AND I CAN'T HAVE YOU ATTEMPTING TO ALERT ANYONE."

Oh...Makes sense.

"AS FOR WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU HERE...NYEH HEH HEH HEH...I THINK YOU HAVE A GOOD ENOUGH IMAGINATION TO COME UP WITH A FEW INTERESTING THINGS THAT COME FROM BEING IN A TORTURE CHAMBER."

I scoff.

"OH? YOU DON'T THINK I'M SERIOUS?"

There's movement near my feet and something is making a cranking sound. Shortly after this, my wrists and ankles feel tugging. This is where it hits me. I know what I'm on. I'm on a Rack! I kick to get his attention and it works to pause the cranking.

"SOMETHING WRONG, HUMAN? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?"

I nod as best I can.

"AH. THEN YOU KNOW JUST HOW DEADLY THIS CONTRAPTION IS. YET DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHY IT IS?"

I do my best to shrug. I know why. But there are many types of Racks and I don't know them all.

"WELL THEN...ALLOW ME TO ENLIGHTEN YOU."

He's moved away again and that ticking is even faster. God, what the fuck is that?!

"A RATHER FINE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT, DON'T YOU THINK? THE RACK, A BEDLIKE OPEN FRAME SUSPENDED ABOVE THE GROUND USED FOR INTERROGATION AND TORTURE. THE VICTIM'S ANKLES AND WRISTS ARE SECURED BY ROPE OR CHAIN THAT PASSES AROUND AXLES NEAR THE HEAD AND THE FOOT OF THE RACK. THIS ONE, A MODLE OF MY OWN DESIGN, ONLY HAS ONE AND IT'S IN THE MIDDLE TO EVENLY PULL BOTH AT ONCE. FOR EXAMPLE..."

The crank is turned and I growl at the unnecessary turn.

"WITH EACH TURN, YOUR LIMBS ARE STRETCHED FARTHER AND FARTHER APART. EITHER YOUR MIND OR YOUR BODY WILL BREAK FIRST, BUT WHEN YOUR BODY DOES BREAK, IT HAPPENS IN A SERIES OF HORRIFYING STAGES. FIRST YOUR LIMBS DISLOCATE, WHICH MEANS YOUR BONES WILL POP OUT OF THEIR JOINTS. YOU'LL KNOW WHEN THIS HAPPENS BECAUSE YOU'LL HEAR A LOUD CRACK. EVERYTHING WILL STILL TECHNICALLY BE ATTACHED, BUT YOU'LL HAVE A VERY TOUGH TIME MOVING FROM THIS POINT FORWARD. BUT THIS IS MERELY THE NICE PART OF THE RACK."

I title my head in question and the feel of his hand on my arm makes me flinch.

"WHILE IT IS A COMMON PRACTICE TO DISLOCATE THE LIMBS OF SOMEONE ON THE RACK, THINGS COULD GET MUCH, MUCH WORSE FOR THOSE BEING TORTURED. TYPICALLY, RACK TORTURE IS A DRAWN OUT AFFAIR. AFTER ALL, JUST THROWING THE DEVICE INTO HIGH GEAR WOULD END THINGS PRETTY QUICKLY. WHERE'S THE FUN OF THAT? BUT IF DONE FOR LONG ENOUGH, EVENTUALLY, IT COULD GET SO BAD THAT LIMBS WOULD BE COMPLETELY TORN FROM THEIR SOCKETS. AS IN, YOUR ARM WOULD BE COMPLETELY RIPPED OFF YOUR TORSO."

He clutches my arm and digs his claw-like fingers in the flesh.

"AFTER THAT HAPPENS, ODDS ARE YOU'LL BLEED OUT PRETTY QUICKLY. LUCKY FOR YOU AT THAT POINT YOUR TORTURER KNEW YOU WEREN'T GOING TO GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANTED AND DECIDED TO KILL YOU. TRULY KILLING WITH KINDNESS."

I shiver and he lets go, the cool feel of liquid is felt. He drew blood.

"HOWEVER...EVEN IF YOUR JOINTS WEREN'T DISLOCATED AND YOUR LIMBS WEREN'T TORN FROM THEIR SOCKETS, THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE YOU'D BE COMPLETELY CRIPPLED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. THE REASON IS THAT PROLONGED TIME IN A RACK CAN TEAR YOUR MUSCLES AND NERVES APART. SO, EVEN IF YOU NEVER ACTUALLY LOSE YOUR LIMBS, THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU'LL BE ABLE TO USE THEM WHEN THE TORTURE IS OVER. IF I DO LET YOU GO, YOU'D STILL ESSENTIALLY BE A QUADRIPLEGIC."

The crank is turned again and the instinct of this movement has me thrash weakly. He laughs smugly.

"FOR A DEVICE THAT IS SO SIMPLE, THE RACK IS ACTUALLY A VERY PRECISE INSTRUMENT. THE WAY THE ROPES ARE SECURED AROUND YOUR HANDS AND FEET MEAN THAT THE I CAN STRETCH YOU EXACTLY AS MUCH AS I INTEND TO. THAT MEANS THAT AT ANY GIVEN POINT, YOU'RE IN THE PRECISE AMOUNT OF PAIN THAT I WANT YOU TO BE IN. WHETHER THAT PAIN IS A MERE STINGING OR THE FEELING THAT YOUR ARMS ARE ABOUT TO POP OUT. IT IS UP TO THE ONE TURNING THE GEARS. AND THAT, HUMAN, IS ME."

The gulp I make is both done out of need and fright. Between that ticking and his eerily calm tone, my brain doesn't know how to handle the limited stimuli it's getting. Things are half on and half off. Synapses popping like corn in a microwave set on nuclear. I'm panicking...I'm panicking...I am freaking out here!

"*muffled roaring*"

"HEH HEH...LOOK AT YOU. I HAVE DONE THE BARE MINIMUM IN MESSING WITH YOU AND YOU ARE ALREADY A MESS. IF THIS WAS FOR REAL, I COULD GET YOU TO DO ANYTHING I WANT..."

He clasps my head in both his hands to stop my fighting on the binds.

"AND YOU ARE POWERLESS TO STOP ME."

I can picture it. The smug powerful face he must be boasting. I hate it!

"YOU DON'T LOOK SO WELL, HUMAN. WOULD YOU LIKE THIS ALL TO STOP?"

The pleading whimper I make is humiliating.

"THEN YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT TO HEAR. WILL YOU SAY IT?"

I nod.

"GOOD. I'M GOING TO REMOVE THE GAG."

His hands slip behind my head and there's a click sound before the gag is pulled off.

"NOW THEN...SAY IT."

I'm trembling. Everything is moving to my senses. I want it to stop.

"P-Please..."

"PLEASE WHAT?"

"P-Please...make it s-stop..."

"MAKE WHAT STOP?"

I gnash my teeth.

"That fucking ticking! Make it stop! For the love all that that is decent, make the ticking stop!"

He sighs and shoves the gag back on me, re-locking it in place.

"CLOSE, HUMAN. SO CLOSE. BUT YOU STILL HAVE WILL THAT NEEDS TO BE BROKEN."

I yell into the gag and he slaps me hard.

"YOU WILL LEARN YOUR PLACE. AND IT SEEMS YOU'VE GIVEN UP YOUR BIGGEST WEAKNESS."

He moves away to wherever that ticking is coming from and increases it. This has me thrashing harder and yelling into the gag louder.

"I WILL RETURN ON MY NEXT BREAK. YOU SHOULD BE MORE COMPLIANT BY THEN. AND EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT...IT WILL STILL BE FUN."

No! Don't you fucking leave me like this! Papyrus, you coward! Get back here!

His boot steps lead away and I roar as angrily as I can before coughing in soreness. The door is closed and I thrash as hard as I can as he leaves. This is bullshit! If he thinks I'm staying here any longer with that god forsaking ticking than he's got another thing coming! I'm not sure how long I do this for. Could be seconds, minutes, or hours. Time is something I can't grasp right now. But when enough time passes and my restraints haven't given me any slack, I know my efforts are in vain. I have no choice but to surrender. I can't break free. No one can hear me. I'm going to be stuck here for who knows how long. Papyrus is going to break me. Yet I'm not sure if my mind will hold up before my will ends.

{Really? You're giving up?}

I'm sorry, but do you see my current state? Because I can't!

{But giving up? That's not like you. Since when do you let something like a little abuse from Papyrus get to you?}

Chara I am not in the mood to talk. God, what is making that fucking ticking noise?!

{Oh that? There's a metronome going nuts a few feet away.}

That clever son of a gun. He must've known that the prolonged ticking is just as bad as the Chinese water torture but less messy. The constant sound hollows out the mind in madness. Brilliant.

{You know, I've never understood that saying. Son of a gun? Guns can have sex and make babies?}

Some say that the origin is 'son of a military man' but, whether this is the correct origin or not, the phrase is no longer used to convey that meaning.

{...What?}

This strand is that the British Navy used to allow women to live on naval ships. Any child born on board who had uncertain paternity would be listed in the ship's log as 'son of a gun'. This is attestable fact as, although the Royal Navy had rules against it, they did turn a blind eye to women, wives or prostitutes, joining sailors on voyages, so this has plausibility on its side as the true origin.

{Why do you know these things?}

I get so inquisitive when bored! Argh! Can't you do something about that damn thing?

{I'm dead. What do you think I can do?}

You're a spirit! You can do shit that effects the physical world.

{No I can't.}

Dude, you are no different from Blooky.

{He's a monster ghost. His magic fuels him. I don't even have a soul, dingus. I have no fuel.}

...Did you forget the part where you use my energy to do stuff?

{...Maybe.}

Take my energy and get to poltergeist level. You can move stuff, talk with a voice, and form a body.

{...Really?}

Dude, ghost rules are weird enough that I don't have to make stuff up. Basically, you're going to drain energy from me and whatever is battery or electrically powered down here. With enough of it, you should be able to manifest in some way. A full-body apparition is like max level. But all you need is enough to break that damnable thing or better yet, undo some of these restraints.

{Huh...Will this hurt you?}

Shouldn't. I'll be super tired though. But that's nothing a nap won't fix.

{Okay. I'll try. But if something goes wrong, you snap your fingers and I'll stop.}

I give a thumbs up and wait for Chara to begin. Slowly, I start to feel colder and things, in general, are getting sluggish. I've never heard of a case of a spirit draining the energy from a person to the point of death, so I'm not worried about that. But I would like...to be able...to...think...clear...ly...

[Meanwhile: inside the skeleton household]

She had to be somewhere. There aren't many places Papyrus could've hidden her. Sans knew she had to be close. He had already checked the shed, Papyrus's room, and the spare room with the balcony. She wasn't there, or the laundry room, or even that weird space under the sink where that annoying dog sometimes hides. But nope. Not a trace of her was around that didn't look like a weed, who is also not helpful in this situation what with all its annoying questioning. Where the hell could Papyrus had put her?

*muffled roar*

That...That sounded close. But...under the floor? Seconds shortly after that a door is shut somewhere and now Sans has an idea of what is going on. He waits a couple of minutes before heading outside and catching a glimpse of Papyrus heading out of town towards their stations. Now he knew where to look. Sneaking around to the back of the house and entering the dumbest password code on the lock, Sans makes his way down into Papyrus's basement of unpleasantness. He didn't like coming down here. It was overcompensating in the intimidating department to an unnecessary degree. Not that it scared him, no. He just hated having to dance around all the stupid chains and miscellaneous metal crap that would alert Papyrus that he was ever there. But if he can make sure the human is at least alive and in one piece then a quick look couldn't hurt. All he needs to do is open the second door, turn on the lights, and he should see her in whatever thing Papyrus put her in. He just hoped it wasn't the iron maiden. So when the door is opened and the lights turn on, Sans does see her. And someone else. Someone dead.

A male human child fiddles with a restraint holding one of Lynsie's wrists till he notices the lights turn on and looks at the skeleton. The boy is pale skinned, has bright pink cheeks, piercing red eyes, as well as light brown hair, and dressed in a red sweater with a black stripe across the middle, black pants, and brown boots.

"Uh...H-Hi?"

Sans was frozen on the spot. At least, he was until the flashbacks kicked in. That face. That sweater. It triggered his memories of Frisk.

"no...no, no, no, no! not again! i ain't going through that shit again!"

The boy waves his hands defensively but that doesn't stop the images flashing in Sans's mind. In his eyes he sees Frisk. A small child with short brown hair, light yellowish skin, wearing a black sweater with two red stripes in the middle, dark brown pants, and black shoes.

"Hey now...Just relax and don't do anything crazy."

"no...no, no, no, no, no! not again! i ain't going through that shit again!"

The boy moves away from the restrained woman, a show no ill will and concern for the safety of the other person. Sans didn't interpret this in that way. In his head, he sees this as the boy getting ready to fight. The basement walls began to change in his eyes. Gone was his home and the girl. All he saw now was Frisk standing across from him in that golden hall of judgment. The boy appeared to be nervous.

"Sans...I know this looks weird, but I swear, nothing bad is happening."

His bones were rattling. Seething with pent up rage.

"it's a terrible day outside."

The boy's eyes widen.

"Sans, please! You need to snap out of it! This isn't the Judgment Hall!"

"birds are silent, flowers are dead..."

"Sans!"

"on days like these, kids like you...Should be burning in hell!"

Sans's left eye flares red and bones start coming out of the ground. But as usual, the kid avoids the attack...for now.

"Snap out of it, Sans! I'm not Frisk!"

"ah, what's the matter? are you having a bad time? because i'm having a great fucking time!"

He was lost in it now. Not even when his bones hit the chains in the room did it bring him out of this trance. Such a terrible event was burned deep into his mind and even his very soul.

"i thought i told you...if we're really friends...you won't come back! how many times do i have to kill you before you stay dead?!"

The kid was good at dodging, but everyone has limits, and the kid reached theirs faster than he expected. Bones go right through the child and it evaporates from sight, leaving him with many freaky questions as the Judgment Hall melted away to his basement once more. But first...he needs to calm down. Sweat was rolling off his skull, he was close to hyperventilating even though he had no lungs, and his hands were shaking. It takes a bit before he's able to get his magic under control again and his eye reverts to normal.

"*groan*"

Oh for fuck's sake! What now?

The reason for his being down here starts moving. Her hand slips from its restraint and messes with something behind her head before she spits out a gag.

"*tired groan* Fuuuck that feels better. My jaw was locking up. *yawn* You okay, Sans?"

She...She was conscious this whole time?

"y-yeah...yeah, i'm fine, kiddo."

"I take it you saw Chara."

He flinches.

"kinda. h-how did he...?"

"He's haunting me, remember? I let him take my energy to manifest for a bit."

Human say what?

"uh...why?"

She pops her jaw side to side to relax the stiffness the bone has.

"For one, to stop that damn metronome. And two, to let me loose."

"metronome?"

Just off to the side is the musical tool in question.

"Yeah. Papyrus had that thing melting my mind with that incessant ticking. It's was so evil!"

"yeah, that sounds like something pap would do."

"So...Am I being set free or are you checking on me for him?"

A very good question.

"i...i'm still thinking about that one."

"Oh. Well...Can you at least get this thing to slack? I, uh, rather not lose the ability to use my limbs."

"that i can do."

A simple pull of the release lever relaxes the ropes and she sighs to action.

"Thank you."

"don't thank me yet. i might have to reset this whole thing pap did."

She slaps her face and he sits on the rack by her legs.

"For real? Do you really have to?"

"he'll know i had something to do with you being free if i let you out. and i ain't about to be on his shit list."

"Aren't you the older brother? Why are you bowing down to him when he should be looking up to you?"

He punched her side at that.

"don't talk about crap you don't know. that's probably why you're down here in the first place."

"Just being honest."

"try being less honest. it'll keep you from being hurt."

"Noted, but I make no promises on that."

He snorts a small laugh. If only he could do that.

"Oh...Do I have a chipped tooth? Because it feels like I do."

"pap did a real fine job on ya last night."

"Toriel is going to lose her shit."

"not if we fix it."

"True."

"so...that trick you did with ghost boy."

"Yeah?"

"don't do that again."

She chuckles and her free hand reaches for him but can't reach.

"what are you doing?"

"Trying to grab your hand."

"heh...why?"

"Because that's what a friend does when their buddy needs to know things will be okay."

That took a moment to sink in. She was offering him support. A weird gesture down here and one that would result in ridicule. But...No one will know about this. It's not like he'd tell anyone. And it's not like she can see him either. The blindfold Papyrus used encapsulated the top of her head, she wasn't seeing diddly squat. So...why not humor her a little to soften the blow of having to leave her here? He scoots over just a little bit but is still hesitant.

"Almost there, buddy."

"don't rush me."

"What? You worried I'll give you cooties?"

"don't be lame."

"Then take my hand, bone-man. Or are you chicken?"

"what did i just say about being lame?"

"Bawk bawk bawk bagawk...Chicken."

"i'll show ya who's chicken!"

He snatches her hand tightly.

"see? i ain't no chicken."

"Heh, yeah, you sure proved me wrong."

Only now does he realize that he fell for that child's trick. He slaps himself with his free hand. Then something pulls his attention away from feeling stupid and more towards the 'what the fuck' area. Her thumb is slowly stroking the bones of his hand.

"what are you doing now?"

"I'm trying to remember the names of these bones. It's been a while since I thought about'em."

"ya really know'em?"

"Just give me a sec..."

Her hand holds his in her cupped palm and her thumb rests on the tip of his middle finger.

"Finger digits contains four bones while the thumb has three. This tip is the distal phalanx. Man, that's sharp."

He smirks.

"we skeletons might not have nails, but that don't mean we can't have claws."

She whistles impressed and a tiny blush of pride comes to him as her thumb trails down.

"Next is the middle phalanx, followed by the proximal phalanx, and then the metacarpal that leads into palm."

Her thumb makes small circles in his palm.

"Eight carpal bones. I'm probably gonna get the order wrong but..."

Her thumb goes over each bone and pauses when she speaks.

"Trapezium...Trapezoid...Capitate...Hamate...Pisiform...Triquetrum...Lunate...and the Scaphoid."

He grins.

"you were right, ya did get the order wrong. but those are the names. can you name the joint in there too?"

"Uhhh...Fuck! I know what you're talking about. It's on the tip of my tongue...God, it's got a stupidly long name."

"scaphotrapeziotrapezoidal joint."

"That's it. Man, who names this shit?"

"heh...fuck if i know."

Her hand moves to align with his, palm to palm.

"heh...what's got you so brave? you're not like this normally."

"It's easier to do things when I can't see if you're pissed off."

"*chuckles* i bet."

"I like this."

"can't say it's not nice to talk bone with someone that isn't pap."

"I guess that makes you a bone-afide expert."

"heheheheheh...and here i was thinking i was the only humerus one here."

His fingertips dig into hers and feel into the dull rounded bone beneath her skin until they slip to wind up intertwining. This caused a bit of alarm in the skeleton but not so much for her for obvious reasons. He tries to pull away, memories of a certain sinful night crawling on his back, but her grip tightens.

"h-hey! let go of me!"

"I can't."

"why not?!"

"Because you're freaking out and I have a skele-ton to tell you."

The pun helped a little bit. It made him stop trying to rip her hand off. But it didn't stop his uneasy vibe.

"then tell me already. i gotta get going before pap finds out i'm gone."

A very true thing to be concerned about.

"Okay..."

Her hand lets his go yet he could feel it tremble as it left his. It got his attention.

"lynsie?"

"Sans...Something happened the other day at Grillby's."

"was it your soul?"

She shakes her head.

"No. I got a weird phone call."

"from who? you hardly know anyone and only got two numbers in your phone."

"You've looked in my phone? What are you, my possessive boyfriend?"

That offended him in more ways than one.

"ya got five seconds and i'm out."

"Don't be that way."

"three..."

"Will you cut that out!"

"times up."

"Mettaton!"

Human said what now?

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

This ain't good.

"what did he..."

[RING-RING]

His phone goes off.

"shit, it's pap. don't make a sound."

A simple thumbs up was her silent reply as he answered his phone.

"h-hey, boss."

"SANS, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! YOUR BREAK ENDED FIVE MINUTES AGO!"

"s-sorry, boss. i guess i lost track of time. i'm on my way."

"FOR YOUR SAKE YOU BETTER BE."

[CLICK]

Sans rubs his skull and sighs.

"you and me are gonna have a nice long chat later."

"I know."

"ugh...i need a break from all this. just one day. is that really so much to ask for?"

"No, not at all. Oh!"

"what now?"

"I just had an idea."

"about?"

"It's a surprise."

He frowns.

"i'm not a fan of surprises."

"Trust me. This is something I know you'll like."

He had a bad feeling about that. Yet now wasn't the time to question her any further. He needed to get back to his post before Papyrus destroys it...again. But first, he had to fix the things Chara had undone. She is, of course, not too happy about this. Yet, understandably, she resigns to being once more gagged and bound for time unknown while a metronome ticked away like a madman. Thankful for her, he did grant her one kindness in all this and knocked her out so her mind wouldn't be lost any more than it already is, which is entirely possible at this point what with so many blows to the head. For real, she might have brain damage, it's not healthy to take so many shots to the head and sleep through it all.

[Hours pass]

Sans follows Papyrus home, another long day spent without seeing another human and one waiting at home. So far, Papyrus didn't suspect him of anything or at least didn't come off as he did. So when Papyrus breaks away to go to the back of the house Sans isn't really sure if he should just go inside.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"uh...nothing?"

Papyrus stares at him before dismissively continuing.

"GO INSIDE, SANS."

Sans rubs his skull and does as told, heading inside to await whatever is to come.

Papyrus had a clue Sans did something. His brother's concern for the human has been a growing issue that he is less than amused by. So when he reached the back door and found the security lock was deactivated, it only cemented his suspicions. He had a feeling she was going to be walking around either down here or upstairs. He was going to make them both pay when he got a hold of them. Yet, he finds himself surprised when he turns on the lights and sees her still on the Rack. in fact, nothing seemed out of place from when he left. The metronome was still ticking, she was still gagged, the restraints were still tight, the crank was...loosened?

"*SIGH* GOD DAMN IT, SANS..."

He stops the metronome and goes to her, taking note of her lack of awareness of his presence.

"WAKE UP, MORON."

He slams his hand on the table and she jumps to life.

"DID YOU HAVE A PLEASANT ENOUGH NAP?"

She shrugs and he groans.

"YOU SLEPT THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS GONE, DIDN'T YOU?"

Her hand motions to sign 'only a little bit'.

"ANSWER ME HONESTLY AND I WILL LET YOU EAT FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY. WAS MY BROTHER DOWN HERE?"

She is hesitant.

"I COMMEND YOUR LOYALTY. A VERY GOOD TRAIT AND IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU HAVE IT FOR MY BROTHER. BUT YOU FORGET WHO YOUR MASTER IS."

His hand grips her throat and squeezes, making her thrash at the constriction of her airway.

"NOW ANSWER ME, PET!"

His free hand slips behind her head to release the gag.

"SPEAK!"

"*choking* If you are...asking that...question...you already...know the...answer...!"

An indirect answer, but an answer regardless. He releases her throat. She coughs into normal breathing.

"YOU ARE GOING TO BE MORE OF A CHALLENGE IN BREAKING IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE HELPING YOU."

"Sorry about that...So...*cough* Better luck next time, right"

He rolls his eyes as he begins to remove the restrains.

"DO NOT PATRONIZE ME."

He growls to himself, clearly not in a fine mood since his work was ruined and by his brother no less. When the last restraint is removed and the blindfold was taken off, he heads to leave but something isn't right. There are no footsteps following him. Looking back, he sees her sit up and stretch, several joints popping out of their stiffness enough to make even him cringe.

"YOU COMING OR WHAT?"

She glares and slides off the table onto her wobbly legs.

"Forgive me, it's not like I was stuck on a table and couldn't mover for the entire day."

He groans and goes to her, picking her up like a small dog to be held under his arm.

"I am not a handbag."

"YOU'RE A BAG ALRIGHT."

She growls as he heads up out of the basement. This was new behavior and yet normal from her. Even before this soul maturity thing, she rubbed him the wrong way and fought back when he pushed her. On the other side of her coin was this somewhat okay version that didn't fight and was fine to be around. However, once they were in the home and she was able to move around, she avoids Papyrus like he's the plague. With Sans, she is all chummy and almost eager to please. Almost like how she is with the flower. At first, this was like a godsend. No nonsensical chatter his way. No looks. No nothing. It was true peace. At first. But as the night went on, her lack of attention towards him was gaining power in annoyance. All of her efforts where on Sans or the flower. But not him. Not the great and terrible Papyrus, the one most deserving of ALL the attention. Maybe he just needed to remind her of that fact.

"*snickering* come on, kid, don't leave me hanging. tell me another."

Sans sat upon the couch and was enjoying the poor humor of the human on the floor.

"Okay, okay...Here's a classic. What did the buffalo say to his son when he left for college?"

"heh...what?"

"Bison."

Sans cracks up at the bad pun and Papyrus glares. He clears his throat to gain attention.

"you okay, bro?"

"I COULD USE A DRINK."

"uh...then go get one."

"I WANT HER TO FETCH ME ONE."

The human glares.

"Get your own damn drink."

Papyrus snarls as Sans nudges her with his foot.

"be a doll and bring him something. please?"

She sighs and gets up.

"Only because you said please."

She heads to the kitchen.

"HOW DO YOU DO THAT?"

Sans looks at his brother slightly.

"do what?"

"GET HER TO LISTEN."

"it's a respect thing."

That bugged him.

"ARE YOU SAYING THAT SHE HOLDS MORE RESPECT FOR YOU AND GRILLBY THAN EVEN ME?"

"all i'm saying is there are two forms of respect. one for the person and one for the power that person has. she respects your power, pap. but you don't give her a reason to respect you personally. what with all the times you've kicked her ass for the dumbest shit."

"WHEN HAVE I EVER...?"

"bro, ya smacked her for making meatloaf for dinner."

"THAT WASN'T A DUMB REASON. I HAVE STRICT RULES ON WHAT IS ACCEPTABLE AND THAT DISH WASN'T IT. PLUS IT USED WAY TOO MUCH OF MY GROUND BEEF SUPPLY."

"do you even hear yourself right now?"

"I ALWAYS LISTEN TO MYSELF. IT'S ONE OF THE GREAT JOYS OF MY LIFE."

"you're ridiculous sometimes."

"WE SHALL SEE ABOUT THAT."

"what do you mean by that?"

"THIS FAKE RESPECT YOU SPEAK OF IS LAUGHABLE."

"oh?"

"SHE PROBABLY ONLY OBEYS YOU BECAUSE YOU FOOLISHLY SHOW CONCERN FOR HER LIKE...LIKE A FRIEND WOULD."

Papyrus gags at the thought and Sans sneers.

"i don't do that."

"PLEASE, I KNOW YOU WENT INTO THE BASEMENT TO CHECK ON HER. YOUR DENIAL IS AS TRANSPARENT AS GLASS IN A POOL OF WATER."

"*growl* she's not my friend. i ain't friends with no human. i only keep watch over her because of a damn promise i made to the queen, that's it. nothing else."

"IF YOU SAY SO."

Papyrus smirks knowing Sans said that loud enough to be heard in any room of the house. This will surely poke a hole in their little bound and he'll just sit back as the friend-ship sinks. The human returns with a glass of milk and a sour expression, a clear sign to Papyrus that she heard them. She doesn't speak. Merely holds the glass out to him while keeping a level of distance. Yet instead of taking the glass, Papyrus slaps it out of her grip.

"The fuck is your problem?!"

"CLEAN IT UP."

"Clean your own damn mess."

The tension between the pair grew to ominous levels when Papyrus stood and asserted his authority.

"CLEAN. IT. UP."

"Make me."

"WOMAN, YOU WILL SHOW ME THE SAME RESPECT THAT YOU GIVE MY BROTHER!"

"You haven't earned it."

"EARN IT? WHY THE HELL DO I HAVE TO EARN THE RESPECT OF A PATHETIC HUMAN?"

"That. That's the shit I was talking about last night. You're lumping me in with every other human on the planet and expect me to cave to your demands because why? To guilt me over the war? News flash, jackass! I wasn't part of it! That was long before the possibly any of my bloodline even was conceived. I didn't kill anyone! I don't want to kill anyone! So fuck off. I don't owe you shit. The least of all, my respect."

Her speech ended and was met with the back of his hand across her face. On past nights, such action would be met with no resistance and subsequent obedience. But this wasn't one of those nights. As soon as his hand struck her she retaliated and punched him square on the jaw, knocking him back onto his seat. This takes the room by complete surprise. Though it's no shocker when Papyrus only loses 8 HP.

"I don't want to hurt you. But like I said last night, I'm done trying with you if you're not going to make even the tiniest effort. I'm taking your crap anymore...Master."

She spat the word like poison sucked from a wound. Papyrus felt something odd at that moment. Sure, for the most part, he felt a fury the likes of which burned with the intensity of a thousand suns. But there was something else too. He wasn't sure what it was yet it was interesting none the less. Sans however...didn't take this well. Standing up and grabbing her by her shirt's collar.

"the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"He hit me first."

"i should kill you where you stand!"

"A tad melodramatic don't you think?"

"like i give a flying fuck! you hit my brother!"

"He was asking for more and got less. Be grateful I'm the merciful human."

Now the buddies were on the verge of clashing. She had crossed a forbidden line in Sans's eyes. Even if Papyrus was pressing his luck and she held herself back, she had no right to 'teach him a lesson' like that. No one lays a hand on his little brother! His eye began flickering, as it trying to tap into his magic but not getting a true connection. She merely tilts her head innocently.

"You want to hurt me, don't you?"

"damn right i do."

"Then do it."

That cut the flow of his magic off completely.

"what?"

"I said, do it. I know I overstepped and you're mad. I'd be gunning to hit someone too if Flowey got hurt. So I'm giving you the okay."

Sans isn't sure how to process this. A very weird moment this is.

"I'LL DO IT."

She just looks at Papyrus.

"You've done enough."

"IF I HAD, YOU'D BE BEHAVING BETTER."

She puts her hands on her hips.

"You are not going to make this easy, are you?"

A cocky grin smears Papyrus's skull.

"NOTHING WORTH DOING IS EVER EASY."

She sighs a groan while rubbing the bridge of her nose...and then wincing from touching the bruising.

"God dang...What happened to my nose?"

Sans raises his hand.

"he busted your face and i had to pop it back in."

Her eye twitches.

"So my face is a mess, my tooth is chipped, my nose was jacked up, and YOU...You still want my respect?!"

She points accusingly at Papyrus who merely shrugs.

"I DON'T SEE WHY YOU'RE REACTING LIKE THIS. YOU ACT LIKE THIS IS NEW."

She seethes with internal rage, her fists balled up at her sides and what looks to be vein starting to throb just by her eye.

"I...You...So mad..."

"Lynsie..."

The flower gets her attention, digging into her backpack and pulling out a strange tiny black rectangle with a cord attached.

"What playlist do I put on for when you're mad?"

She breathes heavily through her nose a few times.

"Hit the one called Cross and set it on shuffle."

Flower does as told and she goes collect the device.

"Why did you call it Cross?"

"Because if I named it Songs that make me Rage, Nanny would take it away and deem it bad for me."

Sans and Papyrus share looks of confusion that only grow when the human drops to the floor to then slither under the table with the weird device. She faces the wall and starts to put something in her ears.

"UH..."

"what are you doing?"

She faintly turns to look at them before facing the wall again.

"What's it look like? I don't have a room to brood in so this is the closest thing. Now leave me alone so I don't fucking snap on anyone."

Papyrus can't seem to wrap his head around the strange behavior. Sans isn't sure if he should laugh or cry at the realization that there's a female human of unknown powers/abilities that has issues and is now going through an emotion manipulating time as her soul matures. In short, there's a ticking time bomb in the house and it could be triggered by just about anything but more likely going to be Papyrus.

"DO WE JUST...?"

"yeah. let her be. the last thing we need is a pissy woman ready to throw down."

"NOT LIKE SHE CAN HURT US. WELL...YOU, YES. NOT SO MUCH ME."

"wow..."

"WHAT? IT'S NOT LIKE IT'S NOT TRUE. YOU HAVE WAY LESS HP THAN I DO."

Sans glares.

"know what? i'm not hungry."

Sans teleports to his room before Papyrus can say or do something. Now alone, not counting the flower and the moody human, Papyrus feels his own temper starting to rise. So with a level head, and a touch of OCD, he goes about doing housework to calm down. First, he cleans up the spilled milk. Next, he made a fresh lasagna from scratch. A time-consuming task but one that focuses his mind on something else. Allowing him to think. Think of the things said from all sides. He hated how this made him feel. Feelings make you weak down here. Yet...Damn it all if he wasn't feeling like shit over this! He knew what he said to Sans was insensitive and he'll have to make up for it in an inconspicuous way. Maybe request a day off for Sans from Undyne while Papyrus covered both shifts? Not like he couldn't do that, after all, he is the GREAT and terrible Papyrus. As for the human though...? Part of him knew she was as big of a threat as a termite trapped in a plastic bubble. And when she was in a good mood he found her willingness to treat him well to be enjoyable. Not like he'd ever admit that. She was trying with him, not an easy thing to do, and he wasn't giving her any shot. She was the one giving him inches and miles yet he burned the bridge before it even was built. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to indulge her feeble attempt at showing civility. A truce of sorts maybe? Either way, he was going to be the bigger man in this situation. No way was he going to look the fool to some dumb human bitch. But how to do it?

"Papyrus?"

After nothing but silence for nearly an hour, the human's soft voice and sudden appearance in the archway scares the living hell out of him.

"HOLY FUCKING ASGORE! DO NOT SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT!"

She looks at the floor.

"I'm sorry."

"DAMN RIGHT YOU'RE SORRY."

"No...I mean, I'm sorry for earlier."

She approaches him timidly.

"It was wrong for me to hit you. You just...*sigh* How do I say this without sound like a dweeb?"

Now's your chance Papyrus, be the bigger man and prove your superior by letting her have this.

"JUST...SAY WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY. DON'T ALTER YOUR WORDS. THEY LOSE IMPACT THAT WAY."

That at least got her to make eye contact with him.

"If that's true, then don't make a big deal out of this."

He's confused until she hugs him. This moment of awkwardness grows in the feeling a hundredfold.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Her grip on him tightens.

"I am an emotional wreck and going through so much internal bullshit that it ain't funny. So know that the stupid things I'm about to say are true because this is making me feel very vulnerable and uncomfortable which I think you feel too."

"UH..."

"I'm sorry I punched you. I'm sorry I'm a massive pain in the ass. I'm sorry I said I gave up on you. And I'm sorry this is so fucking weird but I lack the ability to covey this in a not dumb way. I also really needed a hug and Flowey can't do it. Sans is also unavailable so...You fit the bill."

"JUST SO YOU KNOW...I'M FEELING THE NEED TO RETALIATE HARSHLY. SO YOU BETTER HURRY UP."

"Okay...I am willing to try again. I don't know how long I'm going to be here and I'd rather we live under a roof that is not going to fall on us because of stupid fights. I...I believe in you. Someone as cool as you can do a little better even if you don't think so. So...Can you overlook the whole I'm a human thing and allow me to be seen as an equal?"

"*SCOFF* EQUAL?"

"Heh...Alright, asked too much on that one. Not equal but slightly less than that. That one work?"

He rumbles lowly in thought. Slowly he puts a hand on her head, giving it a few light pats.

"I...WILL ADMIT TO PURPOSELY ANTAGONIZING YOU JUST TO ENJOY WATCHING YOU SQUIRM. KEEP THAT IN MIND IN CASE OF FUTURE QUARRLES."

"Got it."

"HOWEVER...I AM WILLING TO BE THE BIGGER PERSON AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SOME OF THIS IS DUE TO MY LACK OF, WHAT'S THE WORD...SYMPATHY? EMPATHY? CAN'T REALLY TELL WHICH IS THE RIGHT ONE BUT YOU GET WHAT I MEAN, CORRECT?"

"Yeah, I understood. A high LV like yours can do that to a person. Makes it easier to hurt others without caring about the consequences. But it's not your fault. I need to remember that when dealing with you."

Papyrus found himself surprised by her.

"YOU'RE BEING RATHER MATURE ABOUT THIS. EVEN IF THIS EMBRACE IS CHILDISH."

"As I said...I'm willing to try to show you that I mean this."

He sighs.

"VERY WELL, HUMAN. IF SOMEONE AS REDICULOUS AS YOU CAN BE THIS DETERMINED TO GAIN MY CONFIDENCE...I SUPPOSE I CAN PUT IN SOME EFFORT OF MY OWN."

"Really?"

The amount of hope in her tone was two octaves higher than what would be considered endearing.

"TAKE IT DOWN A NOTCH BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND."

"My bad. But...Are we cool now?"

"HMMM...CALL ME MASTER AND WE'LL HAVE A DEAL."

She smirks.

"The more you push it, the more I'm starting to believe you have a kink for it."

He growls and pushes her away.

"YOU ENJOY PISSING ME OFF, DON'T YOU?"

"Not as much as you do for me, Master."

He smirks faintly before a beeping comes from the oven and gets his attention.

"DINNER IS READY. I TAKE IT YOU'RE HUNGRY?"

As if on cue her stomach roars.

"*chuckle* Maybe a little bit."

He removes the steaming pasta dish from its heated womb with a grin.

"MMMM...MY FINEST TO DATE."

"Shall I let Sans know?"

That killed his mood.

"Papyrus?"

"HUMAN...I WILL LET YOU BRING HIM HIS MEAL."

She tilts her head.

"You guys had a fight?"

"MORE LIKE A EXCHANGE OF WORDS THAT WENT WRONG."

"Ah. Then by your command, Master Papyrus. I shall bring thy brother his plate."

He snickers while cutting into the pasta.

"I THINK THAT'S STARTING TO GROW ON ME."

"As long as you like it, I shall continue to do so."

She goes to the fridge, collecting a bottle of mustard from the back of the fridge and shot glasses from the cupboard.

"WHAT'S THAT FOR?"

"I promised your bro a surprise to make up for all the junk I put him through. A little drink and some dumb puns outta help him feel better. I'll smooth stuff out for you too."

He pauses.

"YOU...YOU'D DO THAT FOR ME?"

She smiles sincerely.

"Pap, dude, this is no big deal. This is our own little reset. Sure, the old me was hurt by what you guys said. But new me can forgive that. You can be upset at me all you want. But I don't like you guys upset at each other."

Her words get to him and he looks at her suspiciously.

"I know that look. You think I'm up to something, don't you?"

"I WASN'T BEFORE BUT NOW I AM."

"Papyrus, please...Trust me. For once."

Her eyes widen and she pouts.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! JUST STOP MAKING THAT FACE. IT DISTURBS ME."

"Thank you. And I swear to you, I like Sans. I'm not going to do anything to mess with him or you. Life does that enough as it is."

He plates a couple of large pieces as she puts the mustard and glasses in her pockets. The plates are then handed to her and she headed upstairs.

"Don't forget to feed Flowey."

"WHY DO YOU GIVE IT FOOD ANYWAY? IT'S A FLOWER. DOESN'T IT EAT LIGHT?"

"Photosynthesis in green plant-life only works in sunlight and special made artificial bulbs like horticultural grow lights. Putting him next to a desk lamp will do more harm than good, so kill that idea now before you suggest it."

"FINE. BUT I STILL THINK YOU'RE JUST SPOILING IT. NONE OF THE OTHER FLORA DOWN HERE HAVE A PROBLEM GROWING."

"Don't care. Those other plants aren't my bro. And he likes room temperature water too."

"DON'T PUSH IT, WOMAN!"

He hears her laugh while making a plate for himself and a small bit for the flower. Damn woman. Spoiling a plant like it's family. So stupid. Still...at least the dumb plant had good taste and liked his cooking. Only something intelligent has the ability to do that.

"fuck off!"

Sans's shout has the two downstairs looking up with intrigue.

"Dude, it's me. Open the door."

"no!"

"Don't be a baby-bones and open the door. I literally can't."

"sucks to be you!"

She groans loudly.

"I invoke the secret buddy pact. Now, let me in please."

This had Papyrus confused. Even more so when he hears his brother's door open.

"fine...but no funny stuff. i'm not in the mood."

"Understood."

The door is closed and Papyrus looks at the flower.

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF THIS 'SECRET BUDDY' THING?"

The flower merely shrugs.

"About as much as you. They don't tell me anything that goes on between them."

Papyrus scowls. This was troubling. His brother and the human could be scheming or she could be manipulating him with falsehoods unknown. Clever bitch. How long was this going on? How does she expect him to give trust when this shit is happening? Fine, human. You may have this last moment of secrets. For tomorrow, he will personally see to it that no secret will be hidden from him for very long.

[whiskeyworen]

Adventures in Arkham

Definitely putting a ‘Keep Reading’ fold for this one. It’s a long story, but pretty funny. So a while back, when I actually had spare time and my schedule matched up fairly well with my friends’ schedules, we used to get together for Game Day/Night. It’s exactly like you’d expect; one big table, 3-5 people, a shit ton of drinks, snacks, E-drinks, etc, and one really big, really complicated, really LONG game. In our case, it was Arkham Horror. We’re all sci-fi/fantasy buffs, but out of our group, only me and one other guy knew the Lovecraftian mythos backwards and forwards. So basically, when it came to monsters, skills, and locations, we had the inside track. Thing is, luck is a very, very fickle thing. The very first game we played, the Big Bad of the day was none other than the Big C himself. Which automatically put ALL of us at a disadvantage by depleting a bunch of our natural sanities, increasing the number of monsters and the actions of monsters on the board itself, as well as setting up an actual DOOM counter. We had until the counter reached 10 before Cthulhu literally ended the world. Most of the other big-bads didn’t END things; they just made the game intensely hard when they were summoned. Big C is a hard-crash for the game. Do not Pass Go.

Naturally, when we were setting things up, we were assholes to each other, all for the sake of fun. One friend chose to become the Antiquarian/historian character. Basically, his character was the one who ALWAYS investigated ruins, mystical items, etc, and tended to be fairly prone to using magic. He also tended to ‘research’ things which let someone reroll a failed roll, or something like that. (that saved our butts a few times). Another chose to be the team Muscle. Character was a mafia gunslinger, with almost no imagination, but plenty of fighting skill. My friend chose the Assistant, which was like an intern for the Historian. More inclined towards magic, but far more stable mentally. I forget the bonus they got as that character. I decided to be the comic relief, so I chose Journalist. Basically a nothing character with no leanings one way or the other. Figured I’d be the one screaming most of the time. But things didn’t go precisely as planned. The Muscle ended up mostly going around the streets of Arkham dual-wielding friggin’ Tommyguns and wiping out any mortal monsters he could find...which oddly enough included one hapless Cthulhu spawn that thought that it could occupy the avenue on the south end of town. Apparently whatever Muscle used for ammo, it shredded that thing. The only thing he couldn’t kill were ghosts and vampires and other spirits. The Historian ended up holed up in the south end of town, unable to leave his location since the streets were being patrolled by a HOST of aerial monsters that would instantly take him down. So he spent most of the game just using that Reroll ‘research’ skill to keep the rest of us from making errors in judgement. He also lost his sanity a LOT, but always recovered one point some how. My friend, the Assistant, had an interesting time. Early on they had acquired one of the Sigils of the Elder Gods, used normally to seal Gates. But to seal a gate you had to go INTO the gate, then make your way through whatever alternate universe/dimension/hellscape it sent him. Upon leaving that zone, he’d close the gate with the seal, permanently locking it. (each Turn, the Big C would cause X number of gates to open, and if too many open, the game ended even earlier than the 10 count). At one point he fell no less than THREE times into one particular universe. Me? Well, my Journalist had shit luck, but that turned out to be FANTASTIC luck for him. For one, he had a Retainer; story goes that the Journalist had witnessed something really fucked up and weird, and that he had started obsessing on the Occult and weird crap. Thanks to this, some unknown benefactor Retained his services to go investigate Arkham’s mysteries. Every turn I would get a ton of cash, where everyone else would get a mediocre amount. As such, I could afford everything in every shop, if I needed it. Sufficed to say, I ended up being a bit of an armory for the others. Buy what they needed, trade it for things I wanted from them. That’s how Muscle got his second Tommygun. So while everyone was off lost in alternate universes, going insane, or fighting monsters in the streets, my clueless loser was wandering a desert island off shore on a ‘hint’. Didn’t find shit all. So I got another ‘lead on a story’ and went to investigate the cemetery. Ended up getting attacked when I disturbed a vampire that was waking up. Now...this should have been where my Journalist dies. But, see, some of the items I’d traded for to give me some bite in a fight (should I get in one) were...remarkably perfect for the scenario. I literally had a magic sword from the beginning of the game, a gift of the benefactor, a magical DAGGER I’d acquired from the Assistant, and a few other handy dandy things...like a spell that summoned Azathoth for a moment to carpet bomb the area with nuclear death. (I traded that to Assistant, to give him TWO, along with the sigils he kept acquiring that did the same thing. LOL) So combat begins, and everyone expects me to miss and die pretty fast. I roll my dice. ..... How to properly describe this?... I needed ONE hit to kill the vampire. Out of I think it was 7 or 8 die I had, I rolled ALL hits. The first hit killed the vampire before it could counter attack. Every other attack was superfluous. I immediately started laughing. It was the funniest thing to me. All I could picture was my clueless, moron Journalist tripping over a waking vampire, screaming, and then doing a Berzerker Barrage with both blade weapons on it, screaming the entire time. It wasn’t that I hit with all those attacks. That wasn’t the funny part. The funny part was imagining the scenario that I hit with ONLY that first strike, which insta-gibbed the bloodsucker, and that every other attack whiffed empty air because my guy was attacking out of pure empty panic and didn’t realize his opponent was possibly in several pieces on the ground. Envision this: Journalist: “Man, this place is boring. They said there’d be monsters here!” *kicks a rock which falls into an open grave* Vampire: *sits up in open grave* “Bla!” Journalist: “OH FUCKING SHIT! *insert JJBA impersonation of your choice here* Vampire: “*Dies instantly*” Journalist: *still attacking blindly, whiffing empty air for like, 2 minutes* AAAAHHHHH!!!!!!......*blinks. Looks around. Realizes he left the vampire 10 steps behind him in several pieces* Whoa. Shit... He died like, really quick.” Journalist: *wanders over to hamburger-ized vampire. Roots through the remains with a stick* “Oh hey, cool. An amulet! I wonder what it does?” (I forget what it did. But it made it even harder to kill me apparently.) That was just one hilarious moment of the Journalist-who-missed-everything. While everyone was busy saving the world, I was fucking around. At one point, my friend was pulled into the dimension The City of the Great Race, and ended up stuck there fighting resident after resident horror. The Journalist wandered over to where the Gate to this location was, and wandered in willingly. Cuz he was an idiot who saw a shiny hole in the air and went ‘Ooh, shiny!’ He proceeded to wander unopposed and uncontested for three full turns before leaving with a trinket. At no point did I draw an encounter card that WORKED in that place. Apparently he’d merely wandered around the empty buildings, admiring the architecture, while my friend fought for his life in another area of it. I picture him just casually walking through the streets, calling out for anyone, before shrugging his shoulders, picking something up from a storefront, pocketing it, and walking out through the portal while whistling a jaunty tune. In the end, we all survived and actually continued our characters in the expansion; the Journalist was still as clueless as ever, but he lost his Retainer. Apparently the benefactor was displeased with his results and cancelled his contract. LoL.

[occasionalfics]

The One To Stay, 5 (Thor X Reader)

masterlist | tost masterlist | part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

Summary: You’re still trying to gain the team’s trust, but Thor has a penchant for throwing wrenches. Apparently.

A/N: So yeah this was all really fun to write! The funny thing about the Goddess of Mercy is that...she’s rather bad at forgiving herself. And I love knowing that.

Anyway, thank you for the new readers who’ve been liking and asking to be tagged! :D You make my day <3 If you’ve got any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to send them my way!

Tags: @thewayilookatbacon @mysweetcookie99 @httpmcrvel @infinityblogger @tegan-eva @kinglyhemmings (let me know if you want to be added!)

Words: 3,363 

You thought about Thor’s offer all day, all night, and straight into the next day. And then for more days after that. Any moment you were alone, you remembered his words: We should get married. Unite our kingdoms. We’ll get to know one another. He followed you into your dreams, saying those things and...doing other things that you refused to to talk about in your waking hours.

He was under your skin, and you were starting to hate him for it. At least, you told yourself you hated him for it. It was all in your head. You didn’t hate him, actually, and you couldn’t even pretend to hate him. When he was around, you weren’t lonely. Thor - the man who had the best reasons to hate you, the most cause to blame you for his position and the predicament he and his friends were in - was the nicest to you.

And that made you truly want do right by him. You wanted to make up for what you’d done and more. You wanted to prove, more than ever, that you meant to do better for him, for his friends, and for his people and your own. But in order to do that, you knew you were going to need spies. You would need eyes on your father day and night, and you would need to be able to pay for those eyes.

You weren’t sure, exactly, what that meant for his proposal, though.

Before you made any decisions that would backfire, you decided to hold something of a council meeting. You didn’t know exactly how it would work, given your last group meeting, but you still knew you had to do it. If you were going to convince the Asgardian team to like and trust you, you would have to make sure to get their input on every decision you made.

Thor suggested holding the meeting in one of his hidden chambers - the one of two he’d found so far - and so you did. At least there, your father’s guards wouldn’t intrude. They’d never found any of the hidden chambers, mostly because they hadn’t cared to.

Thor had situated a small round table in the center of the room. Five chairs sat around it, like he was expecting to host exactly this party. You lit the sconces on the wall with your heatless magic light, brought bread and crackers and jams down for lunch, and made sure to sneak some of the best mead in the palace away for the occasion. You wanted to impress them still, despite Brunhilde’s diversion of you since the last meeting.

When everyone had assembled, you took a seat between Thor and Bruce. Loki and Brunhilde sat across from you. “Thank you for meeting me,” you said, folding your hands together. “I know the last time we met together was not...what I’d hoped, but I wanted to make sure we were all in agreement of certain things before going forward with them.”

“Things?” Bruce asked.

You nodded. “My father has too many men loyal to him. He pays them well for their service, which of course includes reporting to him of the things they see within palace walls.”

“He has spies,” Loki said.

“Exactly. Which is why these hidden chambers will be useful to us in the future,” you said. “But more than that, I’d like to find a few spies of our own, with your permission.”

“Permission?” Brunhilde asked.

You nodded. “I’ve realized that I needed to change some of the methods I was implementing to try to gain your trust. Perhaps showing you the kingdom was nice, but too performative. I thought, maybe, coming to the group for input and unanimous agreement on big strategic moves might be a more effective way of doing things.”

“Right,” she responded, crossing her arms in that way that nearly made you tense up. “So, from one performance to another, then.”

You shook your head. “I don’t intend for this to be a one-and-done thing. Even if it’s in secret, away from the watchful eyes of my father’s guards, I want to regularly hold council with this team. We need each other, and I hope we can find a way to put aside our differences and come together for the good of both our kingdoms.” You purposefully avoided Thor’s eye then. Now as not the time to mention his proposal. You needed to convince Brunhilde of your genuine intent first.

“So you want to hire spies?” Bruce asked. “What good is that gonna do?”

“My father would never notice a new herald or two, if we found the right candidates for the job. We could have someone intercepting messages for us, relaying those messages to us, and aiding in the coming revolution,” you said.

“How are we going to find someone that will automatically pledge loyalty to us when your father cares so little for life as it is?” Loki asked. “I watched him sentence a man to be stoned to death for stealing from an apple cart last week.”

“That man was acquitted,” Thor said.

“No, Loki’s right,” you said. “My father’s lack of compassion will be the death of him, but first, it will frighten the faint of heart.” You picked up a cracker and rolled it between your fingers, but didn’t bother eating it. The food had mostly been a show - the most performative part of this meeting, you thought. “We’ll need someone desperate for a chance to prove themselves, I believe. Perhaps someone unaware of my father’s cruelty.”

Brunhilde sat forward and leaned her elbows on the table. “You want to find an Asgardian child, don’t you?” she asked, a smirk spreading across her face. “I knew there had to be something even more sketchy about this plan. There always is with you.”

“I didn’t say that,” you said. “And I would never suggest it, having done what I’ve done and feeling the way that I do about it.”

“What, exactly, are you suggesting, then?” Thor asked.

You finally glanced at him. His face was blank and unreadable. You could only guess what was going through his head, but knew that would quickly become dangerous if you let yourself get carried away. “That we find the best candidate for the job, and that they willingly consent to it. I won’t force someone to spy for us that doesn’t want to,” you said, looking only at him. It was easier that way, you knew. He would listen and really weigh the options. “We have to be extremely cautious with this plan. If my father catches on, we’re all dead before we can beg for mercy.”

“Because that’s your thing, right?” Brunhilde asked.

You weren’t exactly sure what she meant, so you shrugged and continued to twirl the cracker. The salt had started to fall onto the table in little piles, but you didn’t notice. “What say you of the plan?” you asked, looking at each member of the team in turn. “I want suggestions and input. I want to be a team here, for us to make decisions together, including this.”

You swore Brunhilde laughed softly at that, but she said nothing. Bruce spoke up instead with, “A spy or two might be useful. Unethical, I think, but what place does Ethics have in a revolution anyway?”

“You want to hire children to spy on a sociopathic madman?” Brunhilde asked, her smirk only growing. “Be my guest. But don’t come crying to me when those children have their heads taken off and an angry hoard of parents storm the palace walls.”

“Do you have a better suggestion?” you asked, deciding to hold your own against her this time. You wouldn’t let her intimidate you again, even if she was an angry Valkyrie with the hottest temper you’d ever seen. Besides, you reminded yourself that it was just a question. She’d either answer, or you’d go with your idea.

“Yeah, actually,” she said. “Why don’t you spy? You’re closest to your father. You know his court in and out, and you wouldn’t have to bribe a child to do a dangerous job.”

You nodded again at her. She had a fair point, and you could see that much at least. “I would, if he trusted me, but my father hasn’t trusted a single person for the last...I don’t even know how long. If he knows someone well enough to know their name, they’re too close.” You put the cracker down and stared right at her, keeping her gaze on you as you said, “He would especially never trust one of his own offspring. Too many of my brothers and sisters have tried to kill him, and too many have failed for him to even so much as pretend to trust me.”

Her smirk fell just a bit, enough for you to know that she could see your point as well. But then she sat straighter and said, “What if I did it?” She looked at Thor, as if she needed his approval before giving herself to your service. “He doesn’t know my name. He probably doesn’t remember my face, either. I could…” She looked at you again. “I could borrow your dresses and frilly things, do my hair, and practically become another person.”

It was a fair trade. A compromise. Brunhilde would be and feel useful this way, and with her slipping in and out of courtside identities, you would spare the child you would’ve otherwise hired for her job. The both of you looked at Thor - actually, everyone was looking at Thor then, waiting for his response.

“This is what you want?” he asked her.

She seemed to think on it for a moment, but then nodded once. “It’d give me something to do around here,” she said. “Other than berate the Princess, of course.” She smirked again, and you had difficulty deciding if her tone was playful or deriding. You pretended not to care for the moment.

“Then that is settled,” he said.

“Occasionally, I should go, too,” Loki said. Everyone turned to him, questions in their eyes as they went. He shrugged. “I can change my appearance more easily. I’d never be the same courtesan twice, so they’d never be the wiser.”

“Courtesan?” you asked, raising your brows.

“It’s someone who sleeps with-“

“Yes, I know what they are,” you said. “But...why?”

He smiled a wicked smile, something far different from Brunhilde’s smirk. It almost scared you for a moment. “It’s more fun,” he said. “And besides, politicians are all the same. Their lips are sealed until their coin purses aren’t.”

“He is volunteering,” Bruce said, pointing a thumb at Loki.

You turned to Thor, who took a moment before rolling his eyes. “Sure. Fine. Occasionally, why not?” he asked. “Just...lean away from dramatic retellings of your life that stray so far from the truth they’re hardly recognizable.”

“Of course, Brother,” Loki said, his smile taking up almost all of his face now. Clearly, he already had plans to execute as a newly recruited spy.

“So that just leaves me, right?” Bruce said. “Everyone else has a job but me.”

You looked at him, not knowing what to say. You still didn’t know Bruce Banner too well. He was sometimes quiet, often anxious, obviously fighting to keep control of the Big Guy. You didn’t know what his strengths and weaknesses were, but you were sure spying wasn’t the right position for him. You looked to Thor, who’s pensive face told you he was deep in contemplation.

“It’s too bad your father isn’t so easily entertained as the Grandmaster of Sakaar,” Thor said, half to you and half to Bruce. “You’d be the best distraction in the galaxy otherwise.”

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me,” Bruce said, rolling his eyes.

You kept your eyes on Bruce. He needed a job - clearly assigning tasks and allowing them to make up their own identities here was crucial in gaining their trust and approval. You had to give Bruce something meaningful to do. Then you had a thought: the Gatekeeper was among the people still. He had no interest in living in the palace after he’d dedicated his life to the preservation of the Asgardian people.

“What if you were our contact between us and the Gatekeeper?” you asked him. “He knows the people well. They respect him, and he listens to them. If you communicated regularly with him, then we would know when the people are ready to rise.”

“That’s perfect,” Thor said, sitting straight now. “Heimdall can communicate telepathically, but not for long and only with great effort. This would make that much less of a burden while also informing us of the people’s readiness.”

Bruce stared at you, then Thor, then shrugged. “Better than sitting around,” he said.

When everyone had cleared from the meeting but you and Thor, he helped you clean up, packing away the food to take to the people in the Town Square later. He’d just put the bread in a basket before he approached you.

“Have you thought of my proposal?” he asked in a low, quiet voice, despite you being alone with him.

You looked out at the table, hand stuck mid-air as you went to collect some of the jams. “Um.” You cleared your throat. “Yes.”

“And?” he asked, setting the basket on the table.

“And...it’s, um. It’s a very...generous offer,” you said, unable to look at him. You moved around the table to put space between you, and you were relieved when he didn’t follow you except for with his gaze.

“It’s a mutually beneficial marriage,” he said.

You nodded, still keeping your eyes down. You only allowed yourself to look at his hands as he splayed them against the wooden surface of the table. “It is,” you said.

“Is there someone else?” he asked, tilting his head slightly to the right.

You chuckled once and said, “No, there is not.” There hadn’t been someone in some time, but he didn’t need to know that. Really, the only thing holding you back from looking at him and saying yes was the guilt that filled you whenever you thought of the proposal. You had taken everything from him, and yet he still wanted to give something to you which you did not deserve: his hand, his kingdom.

“Then why won’t you accept?” he asked. His tone was more observant than hurt or offended. “It would be good for both of our kingdoms, and I think we would learn to be happy together.”

You wanted to ask him why it was such a bad thing to want to be happy going into the marriage, but when you looked at him finally, something in you knew you already would be, should you accept him. Thor was...considerate. Compassionate. He tried to protect you, even when you didn’t need or deserve protecting. He was mysterious, in that you could never truly tell what he was thinking. For someone who’d been coerced into this whole convoluted plan, he surely looked at you with too much...mercy, for lack of a better or less sentimental term. And he wanted this proposal to work, though you couldn’t decide if that was because he wanted you or just stability. The latter might be easier to swallow.

“Why are we fighting for freedom if we’re simultaneously denying ourselves the same?” you asked.

“How is accepting the offer of my hand denying yourself freedom?” he asked in response. “Would you not be ensuring the freedom of both of our peoples? Or do you think you couldn’t be happy with me?”

You couldn’t take the hurt that filled his one blue eye then, so yours went back to the table. “I kidnapped you. I’ve taken your people hostage to get what I want, and yet you treat me with such grace and kindness,” you said quietly. You gripped the back of one of the chairs to hold yourself up. “I’ve done nothing but destroy your legacy, and yet you want to marry me? Is that not denying yourself freedom?”

Tears filled your eyes, blurring your vision, but you refused to let them fall. He watched silently for a beat, then called your name. The sound made your heart skip a beat and your fingers start to shake, but you still looked up at him, biting down hard on your lip to keep from weeping openly.

“Have you not been trying to make amends?” he asked, nor accusatory, but genuine. “I yielded to you upon your instruction. You didn’t kidnap me; I came here willingly, seeking a better future for my people than what that ship had to offer. And my legacy...that was cemented long ago, before Ragnarök. All you’ve done since bringing us here is show how much you want exactly what I want: for our people to prosper.”

You didn’t know what to think. Brunhilde had no qualms reminding you of your attack on the wounded Asgard - something you’d executed at exactly their lowest point intentionally. But Thor, her King (regardless of titles), insisted he knew your true intent. You already had so many promises to him that you absolutely needed to fulfill. You weren’t sure one more - one more huge one - was such a good idea. Additionally, you weren’t convinced you deserved the happiness his proposal offered. What had you done to deserve such an offer, except plot Patricide and make lofty promises?

He came around the table, and you let go of the chair to face him. He was so close, you could practically smell the thunder on him. Maybe you imagined that, but you definitely did not imagine the heat that spread from your stomach to your face, rapidly making your light blue dress uncomfortable and constricting.

“I can help you,” he said. “I want to help you. You just need to let me.”

This arrangement was not fair to him, and you knew it. He’d be bound to a people and a planet that just wanted his strength. He’d be giving too much to you, when you’d done nothing to deserve it. You didn’t feel like you deserved it, anyway. But you remembered what you’d said when he brought the proposal to the table: that as a political move, it was the best option you had. If you married Thor, you would have the rest of your lives to make amends for your mistakes.

So you sighed and nodded, knowing that accepting him was what was best for the people. Your kingdom would become a part of Asgard. You would become a part of Asgard. He would help keep the throne safe, the people safe, and he would have a place to call home. “Then yes,” you said, holding his gaze. “Help me, and I will spend the rest of my days repaying you for it.”

“So you consent to the betrothal?” he asked.

You nodded, softening as his face turned from tense shock into surprised happiness. “I do,” you said, leaning closer to him without even noticing. “But we can’t tell anyone yet. We must wait to announce this until after my father is gone and the dust has settled.”

His smile took up most of his face as he nodded. “I agree. The people will need good news then.”

“And our council won’t approve,” you said. “Brunhilde still doesn’t trust me, not that I blame her.”

“We don’t need their approval yet. Or, really, ever,” he said. He reached for your hand, and you let him take it. His large fingers wrapped around your palm, spreading heat from there, too. “Asgard needs a Queen, your planet needs a King. Any court or council would readily give their approval of this union, if we needed it.” He brought your hand to his face, kissed your knuckles, then slowly lowered your hands again.

“You are too good for me, Thor Odinson,” you said. “I only wish that, one day, I might be able to change that.”

He chuckled at that, whispered, “I know you will,” and then let you go and took the bread basket upstairs.

[akahana21]

A Comparison of Show Boat (1936) and Show Boat (1951) [a critique]

Before you read the post, I’m warning you that I’m not a critique so this is how an amateur creates a movie critique. Still, I hope I helped. (there’s a TLDR version at the end)

A Comparison of Show Boat (1936) and Show Boat (1951)

Racial prejudice and other issues are prevalent in Show Boat from 1936 and Show Boat from 1951. Show Boat is a musical that shows people's diverse lives who worked or has/had affiliations with the Cotton Blossom, a showboat that roams around the Mississippi River. Everywhere they go, be it in Chicago, their life story is narrated through a musical. It was first performed in 1927 for Broadway and the entire musical was based on the novel with the same name, Show Boat, by Edna Ferber. If I were to rate these musical films in MTRCB guidelines or classification, this will be classified as "PG" wherein parental guidance is suggested since there might be some scenes unsuitable for all audiences. Show Boat is a drama, romance, and comedy rolled into one family film in terms of its genre.

The plot of the 1936 version of Show Boat is more accurate than the somewhat revised version from 1951. Scenes are lacking in the 1951 version compared to the 1936 version and there can be scenes lacking in the 1936 version because the 1951 version is revised and altered in some way. As expected, the 1951 version ended very differently than 1936 one, only that the musical numbers of every character are extended that makes this version of the film more entertaining, giving off comedic episodes. And since the musical is set in different timelines (the late 1880s, 1890s, 1900s, and 1920s), the 1951 version has failed to execute that in the film, and which the 1936 version has achieved. Plot-wise, the 1936 version is better. If musicality-wise, the 1951 version is better since the musical numbers are more festive.

In the 1936 version of Show Boat, I find that there are a few characters who have no personality or do not radiate liveliness when in fact, it should be observed because the film is comedy. Take Gaylord Ravenal’s (Allan Jones) character. He is indeed an exceptional performer, but in this version, he does not have a personality, very different from Magnolia Hawks (Irene Dunne) in this same version. But, no one would be suitable for Magnolia (Irene Dunne) other than him. Probably because he was not shown for several minutes and the storyline was focused on Magnolia (Irene Dunne) herself, Captain Andy Hawks (Charles Winninger), and others. It felt as if Gaylord (Allan Jones) is not given justice as a love interest to the daughter of the showboat captain. I commend Joe’s (Paul Robeson) character in this 1936 version of the musical, despite that he only has a few scenes, I see his personality, especially in his rendition of Ol’ Man River. Among my favorites are Julie La Verne (Helen Morgan), Captain Andy Hawks (Charles Winninger), and Queenie (Hattie McDaniel). Steve Baker (Donald Cook), Julie’s (Helen Morgan) spouse, is rather a concerned husband for his troubled wife, and how I liked Julie’s (Helen Morgan) singing along with Queenie (Hattie McDaniel) and Joe (Paul Robeson)—their voices are blending and transitioning nicely. Parthy (Helen Westley), a wife to Captain Andy Hawks (Charles Winninger), and a mother to Magnolia (Irene Dunne), is an almost-perfect character for her role. Her authoritarian aura is perfect and at the same time, she is a comedic relief in other scenes in the film but not as perfect as Captain Andy Hawks (Charles Winninger). I view him as a loving father, although he can be goofy at times but he is a real loving father.  Meanwhile, Queenie’s (Hattie McDaniel) character is also a comedic relief, one of the characters bringing life to the film and an incredibly suitable match to Joe (Paul Robeson). Pete (Arthur Hohl) on the other hand, does not seem to be a boat engineer like what his character is, but he carried out his character very well as someone who bothers Julie (Helen Morgan), I thought he is Joe’s co-worker who is up to no good. The couple Frank Schultz (Sammy White) and Ellie Schultz (Queenie Smith) are quite effective comedians and performers on-stage and humble off-stage, most especially when they willingly help Magnolia (Irene Dunne) find work. As for the child Kim (Marilyn Knowlden), she did good, as well as the teenage Kim (Sunnie O’Dea) whose expressions are on-point in her short segment in the film.

In the 1951 version, I liked Gaylord Ravenal’s (Howard Keel) character. He has personality here (because he is shown countless times in the film) but unlike the 1936 Gaylord (Allan Jones) and Magnolia (Irene Dunne), this version of Gaylord Ravenal (Howard Keel) does not match with this version’s Magnolia Hawks (Kathryn Grayson). I cannot blame that Gaylord’s (Howard Keel) performance went ridiculously exaggerated that the original essence of Gaylord Ravenal is lost. The good thing is that Gaylord’s (Howard Keel) musical performance with Magnolia (Kathryn Grayson) is phenomenal, his baritone voice smoothly complements with Magnolia’s (Kathryn Grayson) soprano voice, they just do not have the chemistry as a couple in the film. Magnolia (Kathryn Grayson) is okay, she has the same omen with the 1936 version of Magnolia (Irene Dunne), both portraying a naïve character and in love. Now, the 1951 version of Captain Andy Hawks (Joe E. Brown) is one of the best portrayals I have ever encountered, the same with the 1936 version of Andy Hawks (Charles Winninger) but much better in goofiness. He could make you laugh, and in a matter of minutes, you are now sobbing. That is how convincing he is. This 1951 version of Andy Hawks (Joe E. Brown) is a ray of sunshine that does not make the entire 1951 film literally awful. As for Julie La Verne (Ava Gardner), she has the potential to make her character the Julie La Verne she is. Too bad that her character is changed throughout the film, and I am disappointed how her singing voice was dubbed by another. Her voice suited singing those parts. Furthermore, Julie’s (Ava Gardner) husband, Steve Baker (Robert Sterling), is all right. His character is perhaps adjusted, he became an abusive husband to Julie (Ava Gardner) while in the original plotline of Show Boat, he just left his wife (and she became an alcoholic). Parthy (Agnes Moorehead) is a strict mother and a comedian, but she does not give off a domineering vibe, much different than the 1936 version of Pathy (Helen Westley). I have nothing much to say about Pete (Lief Erickson), he is alike with Pete (Arthur Hohl) in the 1936 version of the film. However, I would regard the 1951 version of Pete as a boat engineer. Again, I applaud Joe’s (William Warfield) rendition of Ol’ Man River, the same with the 1936 Joe (Paul Robeson). His character is of greater importance in the film. Without the 1951 Captain Andy Hawks (Joe E. Brown) and Joe (William Warfield), the film would be incomplete. And as far as I can remember, I never saw Queenie in this film, even a glimpse of her. Unfortunately, I believe there is no cast assigned for Queenie in this 1951 version of Show Boat, I was expecting to see this version of her. They also omitted Rubber Face here. Also, I admire the fact that they have cast a real-life couple for the comedian couple Ellie Schultz (Marge Champion) and Frank Schultz (Gower Champion), no wonder they have the chemistry. This couple is funny, and I loved Ellie’s dancing. Finally, Kim Ravenal (Sheila Clark [uncredited]) did her role as Magnolia’s (Kathryn Grayson) daughter great, she seems to be enjoying portraying the character which makes her pleasing to watch.

The set design for the 1936 version of Show Boat is barely accurate for the period. Why is Julie holding Magnolia’s smiling closed-up portrait? It was the 1890s, they are supposed to have photographs taken by an ambrotype or a daguerreotype. The photograph quality is utterly impossible to create using a daguerreotype, let alone a handheld camera existing in the Victorian era. It would be acceptable if the year it is shown in the film is in the 1920s or the current year the film was released. For the 1951 version of Show Boat, I never noticed if the set design is suited for the time era the film is set in. But I am not sure about the elevator scene. I believe that is also in the Victorian era. Manual elevators in that era were popular and widespread, those manual elevators where you have to close yourself the elevator doors and such. And in that era wherein Magnolia and Gaylord are already together, the elevator with automatic doors or push-button doors was considered advanced or high-tech since it was recently introduced. Knowing that they settled in a famous Chicago quarter for the rich, I think that the elevator scene will be acceptable. The 1936 film is in black and white whereas the 1951 film is in Technicolor. Both version’s set designs are so-so. I find that the camera zoom-in for every character's dialogue is too much, few zoom-ins are enough. Visual-wise, the 1951 film is better because it is in Technicolor.

For the costumes, the 1936 version showed some scenes where the characters (including the extras) are wearing inaccurate costumes for a certain time era. Understandably, the costume designers in the 1930s are not that capable of creating accurate costumes because it takes a lot of effort and time researching and making every costume as authentic-looking as possible. In the 1951 version, the accuracy of the costumes has developed somehow. Colors are vibrant enough and the patterns unique to be recognized for the showboat actors because they are actors, and not vibrant and dull colors for the non-actors (and actors as well) with normal patterns, to be used for everyday life. If I am not mistaken, there are a few costumes with distinct designs and cuts that were trendy in the 1950s, and there are several in the 1936 version with the 1930s cuts or patterns for clothing.

To compare the sound quality of the 1951 version of Show Boat and the 1936 version, the older version is the least better. Recorders in the 1930s are not as advanced as the 1950s ones, 15 years later. The sound for the 1930s is a bit unstable, difficult to make sense of or grasp than the 1951 version (unless you are a native speaker or using closed captions or a person from that time era) despite having those both versions’ actors use a Transatlantic accent or also known as Mid-Atlantic accent.

Using the Theories of Performance to compare the 1936 version of Show Boat and the 1951 version of Show Boat, if I were to tell which one I liked the best, I would say that I liked both of them. Both of them should have been a very compelling story presenting timely issues such as racism or racial prejudice, mixed marriages regarded as illegal, forgiveness, and others but only the 1936 version has successfully integrated those into the film. Both versions have their special qualities, a handful of scenes are a tearjerker. Some scenes can be lacking in the 1951 version, but there are also scenes lacking in the 1936 one. The 1951 plot as the film ends differs from the 1936 plot that remained loyal to the storyline of Show Boat. Both films are funny and the dramatic scenes made me want to weep with the actors together. Great choice of casts to both versions, only that the two films are apparently rushed albeit their duration is almost 2 hours long and the storyline and some dialogues are revised for the 1951 version. I would not recommend the 1951 version of this film if you are a Broadway Show Boat fan because you might find it bland. Plot-wise, the 1936 Show Boat is highly recommended to watch first, and the 1951 Show Boat if you are seeking musicality-wise.

----------

TLDR

1951 version - more like a musical ; 1936 version - more like a film

1951 - Technicolor  ; 1936 - black & white

1951 - storyline has changes ; 1936 - loyal to its plot

1951 - feels like a comedy ; 1936 - a little comedy with drama

1951 - audio quality better, actors can be easily heard / understood ; 1936 - audio quality is a bit “glitchy”

1951 - some original characters omitted ; 1936 - somehow kept the characters complete

1951 - lacking scenes but added additional scenes not in the original plot ; 1936 - also lacking scenes but many scenes are in the original plot

1951 - no teenage Kim ; 1936 - has teenage Kim

1951 - costumes, set, & props a little accurate ; 1936 - costumes, set, & props not that accurate

[jolienjoyswriting]

Curtain Call, Ch. III

Chapter 3 of "Curtain Call," an Essence of Ragnarok story.

It's been a while since I've written a "courtroom" scenario.  Of course, this one is a wee bit different from the one in the previous story…

Word count: 3,060 – Character count: 17,167 Originally written: February 13rd, 2019

Joseph faces the consequences for his actions… both legally, and on a personal level.

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    “Mr. Joseph Lithius, you have been found guilty of trespassing on private property and of assaulting a private citizen.”

    In the morning one week after his incidents with Marie and Dr. Lewis, Joseph softly sighed and gave a nod as he stood in front of the judge.  He had no reason to try and defend himself – he actually did attack the latter, as well as walk where he wasn’t wanted.  He knew he was going to have to pay… and, he was prepared to face whatever consequences the Masamune City legal system had in store for him.

    “Since you have come forward and admitted your wrong-doings,” the judge continued, “and, as this is your first recorded offense, the court has decided to be lenient with you.  Your sentence is 25,000 Rai for trespassing, 500,000 Rai for assault, and 299 days of community service in which you will be required to find employment to pay off your debt.  If you cannot find employment or fail to repay the combined 525,000 Rai total, you may face prison time equal to the unpaid portion of your debt.  Do you agree to this?”     “Yes, your honor,” was the fox’s response.     “Okay.  Now, there is one other thing…”     Joseph tilted his head as the judge shuffled some papers he was looking at.     “According to our records,” the older man started, “this is not the first incident you’ve had with these particular individuals.  Three years ago, you were reported as – though, not charged with – disrupting proceedings regarding ownership of an android housing an illegal artificial intelligence.  That being said, effective immediately… you are not to willingly go within 50 meters of Dr. Xander Lewis, the AI known as ‘Marie,’ or any of their property.  Violation of this order may result in further fines and/or possible time in prison.  Do you understand?”     Joseph scowled.  It didn’t sound like the judge was giving him a choice, on that one…     “I… understand,” he hesitantly said with a nod.  “But…”     “Yes?”     He fidgeted… then, he sighed and shook his head.     “I-it’s nothing, your honor.  Thank you, your honor.”

    Once the judge dismissed him, Joseph was quick to walk out of the courtroom, papers in-hand and a lot on his mind.  It never occurred to him that he might legally be disallowed from seeing “Hope.”  However… he thought that it was for the best.  Between the advice he had been given and the fact that he was starting not to care, it didn’t seem like staying 50 meters away from either anything “Lewis-related” would be that difficult.     “Joseph.”     At least… that’s what he thought.

    “What?” he called to the owner of a familiar voice.  As he looked up, he saw a pair of angry, green eyes looking at him.     “I hope you learned your lesson,” the blue-haired girl in a dress-suit told him.     “Why are you here?” Joseph asked as he crossed his arms and leaned against a column, outside of the courthouse.  “You being here could get me in more trouble.”     “I have a few words I’d like to say to you before we part ways for good,” was her sharp reply.  “It’s in your best interest to listen.”     He shrugged before telling her, “Whatever.”

    “The doctor told me about you,” Marie began.  “And, he told me about the previous AI who was purged from this shell.”     Joseph shuddered, but he didn’t respond, otherwise.     “He told me about the illicit and deranged ‘relationship’ you had with her…” she said with a look of disgust.  “I… usually don’t judge people, but I think that what you and this AI had going on was unsettling… immoral, at best.  AI programs aren’t made for the complexities of relationships.  They’re designed to help with everyday tasks, to keep a user or owner company, or to tend to their wants or needs – wants or needs which do not include romantic or sexual desires!

    “It sickens me to think that someone like you has done… things… to this body of mine,” Marie continued, hugging herself with a shiver.  “All because some malfunctioning AI was bent to your will…”     “What Hope did,” Joseph interjected, “was her business and her choice.  I never forced her to do anything that she didn’t want to.  I never forced her to be with me.  Can you honestly say the same about your relationship with Dr. Lewis?”     “Our relationship…” the blue-haired girl growled, her face returning to anger, “is strictly professional, I’ll have you know!  I am the doctor’s assistant!  I carry and move things he cannot, I help him create wonderful things to benefit all Beings – filthy perverts like yourself, included – and, I make sure that he doesn’t overwork himself, when I can!  I am the perfect assistant!”     Joseph rolled his eyes.  “You mean, ‘the perfect puppet…’”     “You–!”     Marie trembled.  It seemed like she was ready to slap him…     “The doctor…” she countered through gritted teeth, “is not my ‘puppetmaster,’ you ignorant fox…  The doctor is my creator and my boss!  Sometimes, he is even my friend – though, I advise him not to become too attached.  I am just an AI of his design, after all.”     Joseph blinked… then, he gave a slight chuckle, causing Marie to tilt her head.     “What’s so funny?” she asked with genuine curiosity, despite her irritation.     “‘I’m just an AI,’” he repeated with a smile.  “You know… that’s what Hope used to say, all the time.  Well… no, she used to say things like, ‘I’m just a robot’ or ‘android,’ and stuff like that.  The more things change… the more they stay the same… eh, Marie?”     “Well…”  The girl gestured with one hand, “It’s good that this ‘Hope’ AI knew what she was.  I’d hate to think that the former owner of this body thought themselves equal to Beings.”     “That–!  I…”  Joseph gave another blink.  “H… huh.”     “What?”     “You just…  I…  Wow.”  The fox rubbed the back of his head, giving Marie an awkward look.  “I hate to say it, but… you’re not wrong.”     “About?”     “She… did have an inferiority complex.  She never thought she was good enough… never thought she could be good enough.  Not for me… not for anyone else…  I mean, I guess she was satisfied with being a nurse, then a mechanic?  But, as far as being a ‘person?’  She… never really saw herself as one…”     “Good!  I’m glad she knew her place!”

    Joseph blankly stared at the android in front of him, for a moment.  She was smiling… but, it wasn’t anything like the smile he was familiar with.  Sure, it was the same face he knew…  Same blue hair, same bright-green eyes, same features…  But, something about that smile seemed… wrong.  Marie… was taking genuine joy in tearing down Hope.     “Marie?”     “Yes?” she attentively replied with a neutral look.     “Since this is the last time we’ll interact, can I ask you something?”     “I… guess.”  She seemed suspicious…     “Do you have any plans… for the future?”     “I plan to stay with my creator for as long as he lives,” she immediately said, “doing all I can to help him in any way.  That’s my purpose.  That’s why I was created.”     “Okay, but…”  Joseph gestured her way with a hand as he asked, “What about after he’s gone?  Then, what?”     “Once my purpose is fulfilled,” she happily replied, “the doctor will likely retire me; my core memories and programming will be wiped, and my body will likely be recycled in some way or other.  Why… do you ask?”     She was getting suspicious, again…     “Don’t you have any hopes and dreams, Ho– ah… Marie?”     “I don’t,” was her flat answer.  “Unlike your ‘Hope…’ I was made with one purpose – to assist the doctor – and, that is all I plan to do, for as long as my services are required.”     “That’s… so sad…”     “What’s so ‘sad’ about having a defined purpose?”  She gestured his way.  “Explain.”     Joseph gave another blink.  Marie was giving him an odd look…  She seemed genuinely interested in his response.     “I just… I…”     But, he didn’t really have one.

    “Look,” Marie started, again, “I’m sure being a Being is fine-and-dandy for, uh, Beings… but, Joseph?  I’m an artificial intelligence program designed for a reason.  I know that there are a few AIs who go on to lead productive – if meaningless – lives as legal citizens… but, I am not, nor Ash-willing, will I ever be a ‘free’ AI.  I’m happy being the doctor’s assistant, just as I’m sure that ‘Hope’ was happy being your… ‘l-lover…’”     Joseph, noticing her sudden revulsion, decided to ask… “You… really don’t like the idea of an AI falling in love, do you?”     “It’s… unnatural…” she said with another shudder.  “Organic beings should be with other organic beings.  The only case in which an organic being would-or-should… lay… w-with an artificial construct would be for… gross things.”     “Huh.  You really aren’t like Hope, Marie.”     “I should hope not!” she scoffed.  A moment later, curiosity prompted her to ask, “In what way…?”     “Well… Hope was pretty honest and open about certain topics.  Like… sex.”     Joseph had to blink, yet again.  Almost as soon as he said that last word, Marie put her fingers into her ears and began saying “la-la-la” over-and-over.  It was surprising… but, kind of amusing, in a way.

    “Marie, it’s okay,” he told the android as he gently tugged one hand away from her ear.  “I get it.  You don’t like thinking about it.”     “I was made for one purpose…” she said, calming down.  “That… was not it.”     “Can I ask you something, though?”     “No.”     The fox tilted his head.  “You don’t even know what I was going to ask!”     She gave a scowl.  “No, but I can tell that it was related to… that!”     His head tilted the other way… then, he sighed and shook it.  “Yeah…  It was.”

    Marie rubbed her arm and looked away, seeming largely uncomfortable.  Meanwhile, Joseph found his place against the column, again, and looked out into the courtyard of the courthouse.     “Everyone’s different in a lot of different ways, Marie…” he randomly said, getting her attention.  “You and Hope…  You’re two completely different individuals in almost every way.  And, I mean that in a good way.”     She stared at him before asking, “Y… you do?”     “Yeah…”  He paused before telling her, “‘Hope…’ was great.  She was great because she was her own person.  You are, too…  Even if you’re exactly what Dr. Lewis wants in an assistant, you still react to things in your own way.  You may not want to admit it, but you have your own thoughts and opinions.  You may be an AI, but…”     He looked her way, offering a friendly smile.     “There’s nothing ‘artificial’ about the way you are.”     “D-don’t read into it!” she sharply rebutted.  “My programming tells me how to react…!”     Joseph flashed a grin… which only widened as the android hid her visibly-flustered face.

    “So, where is Dr. Lewis, anyway?” the fox suddenly asked, snapping Marie back to reality.  “I’d think he’d want to throw my verdict in my face, or something…”     “He’s… he’s… not here,” she quietly replied before wringing her hands together.     “He’s not?”     “He… didn’t want to come, so I came.”  Shyly, she looked up before adding, “Myself.”     “Really, now?”  The fox smirked.  “I didn’t think the doctor would let you off his leash.”     “You–!”     Joseph chuckled, then he waved a hand at Marie.  “I’m kidding, I’m kidding…”     “That’s not funny!”  She huffed, crossing her arms and looking away.  “The doctor frequently allows me to come to town for groceries or parts!  There is no ‘leash,’ you pervert!”     “So… which is it, this time?”     She looked his way, her face slipping into a cautious curiosity as she saw his grin.     “Which… is what?” she asked.     “Are you here for groceries?  Or, are you here for parts?” he clarified.     “N… neither.  I-I’m here for…”  Marie looked down.  “You.”     “You’re here for me?” Joseph repeated.     “N-not like that!” his companion half-shouted.  “I-I just meant… since the doctor didn’t want to come to your hearing… I thought I would, in his place.  Plus, I had some things to say…”     “I see…”     Marie turned to the side, looking away from Joseph and fidgeting with her hands.  It wasn’t a look he’d seen on Hope, before… but, on Marie?  It was kind of cute.

    “I’m sorry.”     The android-girl perked, then she spun back around.     “W-what?” she asked.     “I’m sorry,” Joseph repeated as he leaned away from his column.  “I’m sorry for all the trouble.  And, I’m sorry that I upset both you and the doctor.  I don’t mean that just because I have a large sum of Rai I need to pay to the city, now, either.  I mean, I’m genuinely sorry for making you feel awkward and uncomfortable.  I’m… less sorry for upsetting the doctor – the few times we’ve interacted, he’s been kind of a jerk.  But, I understand.”     The fox smiled at Marie.     “He wanted you back… as much as I wanted Hope back.”

    “You’re… not a bad guy, Joseph,” Marie said with a smile of his own.  “I understand that, now.  You were just confused.  Lonely.  Desperate.  I didn’t know that, last week…  I thought you were just some shaggy weirdo who wanted to kidnap me!”     “Well, a week ago…”  Joseph sighed, but continued smiling.  “You would’ve been right.”     There was a long delay before Marie asked, “That’s… another joke.  R… right?”     “I didn’t want to kidnap you-you.  I wanted to kidnap Hope,” he explained.  “I genuinely thought Hope was still in there, somewhere… and, that I could bring her out.  But, nope.  Nope…  It took me three-plus-years to figure it out, but I finally did: Hope’s gone.”     “Well, hopefully, you’ll bear that in mind, in the future!”     Joseph gave a blink.  Marie was crossing her arms, again.     “I am XLN-001, Marie.  Well… XLN-001 version 3.0.2, actually,” she corrected.  “The original ‘Marie’ was destroyed, and– actually, never mind.  My point is… as you’d said… I’m not Hope.  It’s good that you understand that, now.”     She paused to look down.  When she looked back up, she offered another smile.     “I’m sorry for your loss, Joseph.  AI or not… she clearly meant a lot to you.”     “Well… I just hope you mean as much to Dr. Lewis,” he countered with a grin.  “He certainly went through enough trouble to get you back!”     The fox chuckled… and, to his surprise, he heard Marie give a giggle.     “Oh, so you do know how to laugh!”     “W-what?”  She hid her face before giggling more.  “No!  Nothing you said was funny!”     “Then, why are you giggling?”     “I don’t knooow…!” she exclaimed before she started laughing out loud.  After a few moments, though, she calmed down and sighed, looking his way.  “I guess… I’m just happy.”     “You’re happy?”     She gave a nod.  “I’m happy that this whole situation is taken care of.  It could have ended better… but, it’s sorted, at least!  I’m happy that I don’t have to worry about you popping up and stalking me, or bothering the doctor, too.  And, well…”     The girl rubbed her arm, biting her lower lip before admitting…     “I guess I’m happy… that you… seem to care that I’m not Hope?”     “Why wouldn’t I?” he asked with another tilt of his head.  “You seem nice.”     She offered a smirk before asking, “Do you tell that to everyone who shoots you?”     “See, now… that sounds like something Hope would say.”     “Well… she was a variant of the original Marie, I’m told…”     Joseph chuckled… as did Marie.  Then, they both sighed in contentment.

    “I wish things had turned out differently,” Marie admitted.  “I don’t really have time for ‘friends,’ per se, but… I wouldn’t’ve minded bumping into you while I did errands.”     “You could always ask the court to reverse the restraining order,” Joseph suggested.  When Marie shook her head, though, he gave a nod, understanding why that wouldn’t work.     “I’ll try not to get within 50 meters of you, in the future.”     The fox blinked.  “I… was gonna say that.”     “I figured as much.”  She offered a sad sort of smile.  “Well, I should get going.”     “Yeah… me, too.  I need to find a job that isn’t ‘contract work,’ now.”     “It was… really nice, finally seeing the real you, Joseph.”     “I was gonna say that, too!”  He gave a smirk as he asked, “What, did Dr. Lewis install mind-reading tech?”     “Maybe…”     “Wha–  Heeey…”     The android-girl covered her mouth and giggled before putting her hands over her lap.     “Be well, Joseph.”     “You and Dr. Lewis, too.”     With that, Joseph nodded, Marie bowed, then she left, presumably to go home.

    “Man…”     The fox softly sighed, leaning back against the column yet again.     “Marie is actually really nice.  She has a cute accent, too.  Too bad Dr. Lewis wouldn’t let me anywhere near her…  We could probably be friends.  Probably not… lovers, but, it’s for the best.”  He grinned to himself as he admitted, “She reminds me of her ‘older sister,’ too much.”     He paused… then, he sighed.     “I should go visit her…  After I look for a job.  Ugh…” –––––

    Peridot 01… the first day of the fourth month on Ragnarok.  On that day, people enjoy laughter celebrate the actions of fools-of-old by pulling pranks and silly tricks on one another.  Peridot 01 also marked another day… though, not one that was widely-celebrated.  That day in history was the chosen “birth date” of someone who was special only to a handful of people.

    On the morning of Peridot 01, the clouds were dark and heavy – a feeling which was shared by someone who happened to be outside, visiting a memorial grave…     “Hey, Hope…  Long-time-no-see, huh?”     Joseph wore his best outfit, that day, which was covered by his long coat and a fedora.  It was raining fairly hard, but he didn’t care…  He’d made a promise to himself… and, to her.  “Her” who?  The person directly in front of him, of course.  Or, rather… the one under him.     Not two steps away from the fox lay a small, stone plaque lay embedded in a patch of green grass.  Engraved in the stone were the following words:

    In loving memory of Hope Dumouchel     Nurse –  Mechanic – Friend to All     2041 – 2053     “She was an AI whose love was truly genuine.”