#zerif.exe

[ask-the-riders]

War: Can I go see my boyfriend?

Zerif: No

War: Why???

Zerif: Chores before Whores

War: B-

Zerif: Dishes before Bitches

War: Why are you like this?

Zerif: Cutting Grass before Giving Ass

[skelesinners-r-us]

Let’s try W for side characters! Pick one of each from the lake dwellers, NecroTale, or Othni’s team (not including Othni)

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

- - - - -

((I gotcha, dude 👌 I'll see what I can do for ya XP))

All of the lake dwellers are very much into food play and biting (even Anteros, even though he just started off as a Lust variant and then kind of,, ascended and became a deity after a while). If there's food involved, they're immediately game for whatever's going on

Of Necro and his group (if you wanna call it that), he and Zerif would both be totally ok with pegging. According to the kink chart thing I made for them, they would actually love it. Necro and Mal (younger War, essentially) are both very weak when it comes be being praised

Othni and his guys don't have a kink chart yet, and since I'm thinking about it now, I should really make one for them. Anyway though. Uhhhhhhhhhhhh. Let's see. Roulette has no problems with angry sex, and even kind of encourages it sometimes. She's also a fan of pet play and capture play, where she's the one that's being chased/pursued

I know you didn't ask for any others, but since she's a side character, I figured I'd also involve 406 :p she's a much bigger perv than you'd probably expect from any version of War, and she also has a huge tentacle kink going on

[lover-of-skellies]

*sighs deeply*

After like,, 800 years in the art void, I finally got a ref sheet done for my girl, Mal

I realize some of my notes mention the colors of things (her sockets and hands/feet, mainly) and this is still just line art, but as long as my ADHD brain doesn't totally sidetrack me, I will try to add color to this eventually

Maybe I'll even digitalize it too, who knows

Anyways, since my handwriting is god awful, feel free to ask questions if there's anything you can't read ^^"

The main gist of all the pics is her outfit (knee length shorts or kapris, sleeveless turtleneck, a long flowy jacket which she ripped the sleeves off of, and the scarf she got from Necro), the fact that her tears almost immediately turn into threads whenever she cries, how she had a super hard, rough past with Error, the coloration of her sockets and bones, and that she literally has nothing against killing if it means protecting Lucky (and it's not just Lucky. She'd probably also kill for everyone else that's important to her, too)

[ask-the-riders]

Believe you me, I have no intentions on attacking him. *I say a little distractedly looking at the pictures, smiling at them. I point at the unknown skeleton* Who's that?

[War pauses, looking at the skeleton you're pointing at. She hums softly, tilting her head]

Oh, that's Zerif. He's dating my dad

[She glances at you, as if curious to see your reaction when she continues speaking]

He's also Death and Geno's kid. Adopted, but still. Death adopted him, and then Geno took over because he thought Death wouldn't be able to raise a kid right

[ask-the-riders]

Yeah? What's he like? *I look around for sight of the skeleton in question*

[Lucky shrugs]

🍀HE'S LIKE AN OVERGROWN CHILD, SOMETIMES. VERY OUTGOING, NOT MUCH SHAME, ALMOST COMPLETE LACK OF A FILTER, ETC.🍀

[He glances at some of the pictures that are hanging on the walls]

🍀IN SOME WAYS, I THINK WE MIGHT BE SIMILAR. I THINK HE HAS MORE ENERGY THAN ME THOUGH, AND HE'S MORE OF A JOKER🍀

[lover-of-skellies]

Made this to help me remember the colors of their magic

I know I forgot Pestilence and Lucky ^^" for Pestilence, let's just say his color is sicky/gross looking green. With Lucky,, I'm still not sure yet, tbh. I feel like he'd probably end up with red or orange like most other Papyruses, but I also want it to be something unexpected, too

And then as a bonus: Country Fresh would have the same kinda purple magic that his normal counterpart has, but with tinges of green or lavender mixed in

[lover-of-skellies]

So uhhhh,, I made a kink list

Completely out of boredom

It's on my nsfw blog, and it includes the riders, Necro, Zerif, Mal, 406 (another version of Mal that chose to leave when Necro gave her the choice, only to go running back to Error), Nep, Gill, Betta, Val, and Killer (the version of him that's pretty frequently portrayed in the stuff I've written, not his actual canon self)

Y'know, if you're over 18 and happen to be curious or interested in that sorta thing, by any chance

[lover-of-skellies]

So, I was thinking

Necro and Zerif are a couple, right?

Zerif was "raised" by both Reaper and Geno, but for some unholy reason, he chose to look up to Reaper

He followed Reaper's example, and now he's this huge flirt that's all about physical contact, and he will be very openly gay for his necromancer boyfriend

Zerif though,, he's uh... He's also very hormonal

That being said, there's no way they'd go on without having at least one biological child together. I decided to use a random pregnancy generator to see what they'd be eventually dealing with, and oh boy-

Rip Necro and Zerif. Apparently the gods wanna see them suffer more

[lover-of-skellies]

A doodle I spent literally all day yesterday working on ^^" here's three different versions, since I couldn't decide which background I liked best

In order from left to right, there's Necro, Zerif, Mal, and Lucky

I made up Zerif and Lucky's "outfits" on the spot, so uhhh, if you get the reference on Zerif's shirt, you get 100 cool points

[lover-of-skellies]

Nightmares

This was the fifth night in a row that Necro and Zerif had been awoken by the sound of screaming. They hadn't even gotten a moment to process what was wrong before their instincts had led them to practically leaping out of bed and racing toward the source of the terrified shrieking. Coming out of his and Mal's shared room, Lucky also raced toward the two men as fast as his small legs could carry him, his sockets widened in an obvious look of fear as orange tinted tears freely dripped down his cheekbones. Zerif had readily scooped up the child, allowing Necro to continue toward the kids' bedroom alone as he tried to offer the tiny Papyrus the comfort he desperately needed right now.

The necromancer slipped into Lucky and Mal's shared room, his normally blank expression twisting into one of fear and concern as he approached the teens hammock and grabbed onto her shoulders, beginning to shake her lightly in an attempt to wake her. Her sockets remained shut though, and she continued to writhe and scream, tears running down her face and shifting into deep blue threads. He scooped her up out of her hammock and held her close to himself as he made his way over to Lucky's bed, sitting on the edge and beginning to lightly tap his fingertips on her cheekbone, hoping the contact would disrupt whatever nightmare she was having.

Her sockets opened, though full of errors as she sobbed loudly, and he continued holding her, pressing his teeth to her forehead and mumbling softly, "Mal, hey, it's alright now. I got you, ok? You're safe, I promise. You're home, you're with your family, and you're safe." Through her sobbing, Mal's voice was hoarse as she choked out, "D-Dad? That's really you? You promise I'm safe? You promise he won't hurt me anymore?"

Necro hummed in confirmation and gently patted the side of her leg, "Yes, it's really me, Mal. I promise you, you're safe, and as long as I'm around, no one's gonna hurt you ever again, I swear it." The teen wrapped her arms around him and clung to his shirt, burying her face in his shoulder as she continued to sob brokenly. Gently resting his head atop hers, the necromancer began to hum softly, his sockets drifting shut.

As she listened to the tune her father was humming, Mal felt herself begin to relax again, her sobbing gradually dying down. Hearing the sound of a floorboard creaking, the necromancer opened his sockets again and glanced toward the door where Zerif now stood, a still terrified and worried Lucky in his arms, and he offered them a faint smile of reassurance, still humming lowly. Zerif let out a deep sigh, carrying Lucky into the room and seating himself on the edge of the child's bed beside his partner. Not much time passed before Lucky began to squirm and whine though, frowning as he reached for the teen, "B-BIG SIS? ARE YOU OK NOW?"

Peeking at Lucky, Mal let out a deep breath and nodded, smiling weakly in an attempt to ease the child's concern as she mumbled, "Uh huh... I think I'm good now, Pap." The child made a face, wiggling his way out of Zerif's grasp and moving closer to Mal, tightly wrapping his small arms around her. In response, Mal wrapped a single arm around him and held him for a moment, allowing him to calm down before withdrawing from the half hug and sighing, loosening her grip on Necro and slipping off of his lap, taking a step away from him and stretching. With both kids now standing, Zerif slid closer to his partner, delicately wrapping an arm around his waist and tugging him as close as possible. Necro said nothing, simply laying his head on the other man's shoulder as he watched the kids.

Meanwhile, Lucky reached for Mal, his sockets wide with expectation. The teen let rolled her eye lights, smiling faintly as she lifted him up into her arms, humming softly, "There. Better?" The tiny Papyrus nodded, laying his head on her shoulder and running at his sockets with the back of his hand, "UH HUH, I THINK SO." He attempted to muffle a yawn and Mal snorted in mild amusement, "You sound tired, bud. Do you think you're ready to go back to bed?"

Lucky shrugged, "YEAH, I GUESS SO... CAN YOU STAY IN MY BED TONIGHT? WITH ME?" Mal arched a single brow bone, tilting her head, "That's your bed though, Paps. I'm big, and I wouldn't wanna take up too much space." The child shook his head, his response almost immediate, "THAT'S OK. I DON'T MIND IF YOU TAKE UP SPACE THERE." The teen sighed, her expression softening, "...You're a really sweet kid, y'know that?" He looked at her once again, his sockets still wide and filled with hope, "DOES THAT MEAN YOU'LL DO IT?"

Mal chuckled, "Yeah, I guess so." Her answer caused the child in her arms to perk up, smiling brightly, "GOOD! THEN THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN KEEP AWAY ANY BAD DREAMS THAT TRY TO GET YOU!" Mal did her best to refrain from laughing, instead pressing a kiss to the top of his skull, "That's right. With you looking after me, those bad dreams won't stand a chance." Lucky continued to smile brightly, squirming in her arms. Taking the hint, she gently lowered him to the floor and released him, watching as he darted back over to Necro and Zerif.

Nearly bouncing in excitement, the tiny Papyrus pointed at Mal, "SANS, ZERIF! GUESS WHAT?! I GET TO TAKE CARE OF BIG SIS! SHE'S GONNA SLEEP IN MY BED WITH ME AND I'M GONNA KEEP THE BAD DREAMS AWAY!" Zerif laughed softly and Necro couldn't help but smile affectionately at the child, "That's awesome, kiddo. You're gonna do a great job too, aren't you?" Lucky nodded, beaming up at him, "UH HUH! I PROMISE TO DO MY VERY BEST!" Necro hummed in acknowledgement, reaching out to gently pat his head, "Alright, Papyrus. I believe you."

Zerif grinned at Lucky as well, giving him a thumbs up, "And so do I, short stuff." The child's smile seemed to widen even further and he giggled, already feeling excited at getting to take care of his sister. Zerif let out a sigh, still smiling as he stood, turning to offer a hand to Necro, "I think the kids are ok now... Now c'mon, babe. Let's go back to bed too. Heaven knows you need your rest."

The necromancer rolled his eye lights, still smiling faintly as he took his boyfriends hand and stood, absentmindedly intertwining their fingers, "Fine, fine... lead the way then, Zerif." Zerif's eye lights briefly flickered, shifting into small hearts before returning to their normal splatter shape, and he gently squeezed the shorter man's hand, before turning and guiding both of them out of the room. The adults gave the kids one final "goodnight", and then vanished, leaving the two of them alone.

Mal watched as Lucky pushed his blankets aside, arching a brow bone as he looked at her expectantly. She then exhaled deeply, playfully flicking her deep blue ecto tongue at Lucky before crawling into the bed and stretching. The child followed her lead and she tugged the blankets up over both of them, smiling as he cuddled closer to her, letting out a rather big yawn.

The teen shook her head, smiling to herself as she closed her sockets and began to relax, only cracking one socket open again as she heard Lucky mumble, "Goodnight, big sis... I love you." Continuing to smile, a single blue tinted tear dripped down her cheek, and she mumbled back, "I love you too, Paps."

[lover-of-skellies]

Info Masterlist

Since I know not everyone here is familiar with Necro, Nep, or any of my other creations, I thought I'd make a masterlist for ya, so it'd be easier to find things. Some of the links may take you to reblogs, but that's because I felt that some of the reblogs/additions to the original post would be pretty helpful too

Necro/NecroTale:

Necro's ref sheet

Necro's concept (+ another ref sheet)

Necro's soul

NecroTale key info

Necro's abilities

Necro's dialogue (genocide run in NecroTale, part 1)

Necro's dialogue (genocide run in NecroTale, part 2)

Additional stuff about Necro

Zerif:

Zerif's origins

Zerif's color scheme (head and face)

Mal:

Facts about Mal (part 1)

Facts about Mal (part 2)

Mal's origin (+ additional info)

Mal's lost mate (concept)

Mal and her uncles (Geno and Fresh)

The red threads of Determination fate (concept)

Nep/Gill/Betta:

Some notes on Gill

Nep trying to be better for Betta (concept)

Nep's concept

Betta's ref sheet

Gill's ref sheet

Their heights

Extra info on Nep

Nep's OFFICIAL concept

Nep's ref sheet

Miscellaneous:

My main peeps as videogame characters

Havoc (concept)

If my characters had voice actors

Amaranth

Tobias (in various AUs)

Valence Bandersnatch: Introduction

Pastel ref sheet

[lover-of-skellies]

Y'know what 2020 needs?

Disney princess Necro

Because think about it. He's a natural with baking and can make what could very well be some of the best goodies in the whole multiverse, despite being a Sans, he's actually very tidy and clean, animals love him and he loves them, and spoiler alert: I did plan on eventually having him and Zerif have a baby, in which case Necro is the one who would be getting pregnant

[lover-of-skellies]

Related to your last post, I think 6. Touch-starved with Necro or HT sans would be cool to see:)

Just like the other prompts I've done, this is a bit longer than expected and it took a bit of a turn. I dunno if this really even truly counts as being touch starved or angsty, but I tried, honest to god

-

It was a fairly normal day. Ink had dragged Dream and Blue with him to the necromancer's house, where Fresh had already made himself at home, stretched out on the living room couch with a box of Fruit Loops and a juice box. It'd taken Necro what felt like an eternity to get used to Fresh's random, out of the blue visits, but now that they were on good, peaceful terms, the necromancer made a habit of keeping his fridge and cupboards stocked, already well aware that Fresh would be liable to eat him out of house and home if he didn't.

Blue was almost immediately hauled to Lucky's room by the child in question, who was more than happy to see his puzzle buddy. The two often worked on not just puzzles, but also trap designs together. With their obnoxiously high energy level, sometimes they even rushed outside to the backyard, to construct whichever trap had their attention at the moment. Ink was currently in the process of pestering Mal, who attempted to sequester herself in her room to be alone. As expected, she wasn't too thrilled about Ink's presence in her home. Not outwardly, at least.

Everything was going as well as one could hope, given who all was involved.

And then Fresh decided to join Ink in bothering Mal, who was still in her room. There was some conversation between the two men in the hall for a moment, before Fresh's true self, a small purple parasite of sorts, left his host body, and with Ink's consent, "borrowed" his. The doorknob was snapped off Mal's bedroom door with ease, and with a gentle nudge of the door itself, the frightening new entity known as Fresh!Ink invited himself into the teens room, earning a terrified and startled shriek from her in response.

Zerif had been watching from around the corner, and upon hearing Mal scream, he merely shook his head and used his hand to muffle a soft laugh. He knew Mal was in no real danger, so the appearance of Fresh!Ink wasn't one that concerned him too much. Necro, from his seat on the end cushion of the couch, called out to Zerif in that all too familiar monotone voice of his, "What's going on, Zerif?" Looking to his partner, Zerif waved off whatever concern the necromancer may possibly be harbouring, making his way to the couch and plopping down beside him, "Nothing, love. One resident heathen just decided to terrorize another, is all."

Necro relaxed minutely, only to tense up again as Zerif delicately looped an arm around his waist and tugged him closer, pressing a gentle kiss to his temple. Feeling his boyfriend grow tense, Zerif arched a brow bone and hummed lowly, "You ok, babe? You're pretty tense." Hearing the pet name be used in reference to himself, a faint purple blush dusted across the necromancer's cheekbones and he cleared his throat, "Yeah, of course I'm alright." Zerif eyed him suspiciously for a moment before tilting his head, "You know... You're cute and I love you, but I'm not sure that I'm buying that. You wanna tell me what's going on in your head, 'Cro?"

Necro shrugged, unsure what to say in response. His brow bones were knit, giving him a look of confusion. Normally he showed little to no emotion at all, and Zerif sighed softly; whatever was bothering him must be pretty significant, if it was capable of making him form any sort of expression like this.

Without any form of a warning, Necro was tugged into the undertaker's lap, and from there, lifted into his arms as he stood. As he began to head for the necromancer's office, Necro looked around, instinctively wrapping his arms around Zerif's neck vertebrae and mumbling, "What are you...?" Zerif briefly glanced at him and hummed, "We need to talk, Necro." Oh. So he was addressing Necro by his full name now. That was new.

Necro nodded, falling silent. Once they reached the office, the necromancer began to squirm; knowing full well what he wanted, Zerif gently setting him down and turning to close the door behind himself. Turning to fully face Zerif, Necro neatly folded his arms behind his back and arched a single brow bone, "What's this about, Zerif?" The undertaker sighed, his normally playful expression now oozing concern, "This is about you, Necro. I'm worried. Did I do something wrong?" Necro tilted his head, confusion briefly flickering on his face, "...What makes you think you did something wrong?"

The undertaker shook his head, absentmindly rubbing the back of his neck, "You've just... been a little distant lately, I guess. You wiggle and want away from me when I try to cuddle up to you, or even just hug you. I can't touch you either, because you always get really tense and seem kinda on edge."

Oh. That.

Necro opened his mouth to respond, seeming to freeze in place when no words came out. His gaze fell to the floor as he slowly shut his mouth again, frowning to himself. It was silent for a moment as Zerif quietly watched his boyfriend, trying his best to analyze his behavior. Breaking the silence, the undertaker lowered his voice to a mumble, "... Is it something I said or did?... Please tell me so I can try to fix it." Necro shook his head, remaining silent.

Zerif's mind reeled as he searched for another explanation, his tone uncertain, "Did you... have to go somewhere upsetting, just recently?" Necro hesitated for a few seconds before slowly nodding, his monotone voice unusually faint, "Yes." Zerif blinked, doing his best to process the new information. Not a lot was upsetting to Necro anymore, so it must've been something pretty big and significant. He spoke reluctantly, taking a careful, slow step toward his love, "Was it something to do with him?..." Necro's eye lights very briefly flickered up to Zerif's face before refocusing elsewhere again, as he nodded hesitantly.

The younger of the two watched him sympathetically, still frowning, "Oh... I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Is there anything I can do to help, by any chance?" Necro was silent, clearly hesitating as he took a tiny step toward his partner. He reached out, stopping just short of taking Zerif's hand, and Zerif murmured, "Necro?... What is it?..."

The shorter skeleton avoided his gaze for what was a brief eternity, before slowly lifting it. Though his expression was still mostly blank, there was something in his gaze that pleaded with Zerif. Zerif no longer needed anymore verbal cues, instinctively stepping closer and wrapping his arms around the necromancer, holding him close to himself and pressing his teeth to the top of his skull and whispering, "It's ok.... You're ok. I'm here now. I'll always be here too, I promise."

[lover-of-skellies]

If Mal's story was some sort of animated short film this would be part of the soundtrack, I swear to god

The beginning would be for the part that shows her being "raised" (more like pushed around) by Error and having to live with/constantly be around the bad guys

The ending would be her with Necro, Zerif, Lucky, Fresh, Geno, and Template (a family that actually loves her. We also can't forget her friends, either; Ink, Dream, Blueberry, Blueberror, and Lust), possibly reflecting on her life so far and feeling truly happy and safe for the first time

The song totally didn't almost make me cry, nope, no idea what you're talking about

[lover-of-skellies]

Necro @ Zerif and Lucky Vs Necro @ Reaper and Error

[lover-of-skellies]

My Glitchy Daughter

((Summary: Mal's convinced that her dad, Necro, doesn't care about her. Zerif proves to her that she's wrong, and she reacts in a way that he wasn't at all expecting))

Pausing just outside the teen's door, the undertaker paused. He shouldn't be awkward about this, but here he was. Awkward.

Awkward and uncertain.

Zerif took a deep breath, raising a hand to gently rap his knuckles against the closed door before softly calling out to her, "Mal?... Are you ok in there?" The soft sound of sniffling could be heard from behind the door and the teen snapped back at him, "Yeah I'm fine, just go away. I don't wanna talk to anyone right now."

The undertaker hesitated, unsure how to proceed. On one hand, he didn't want to intrude on her and make her uncomfortable, but on the other hand, he didn't want her to be alone if she needed or wanted someone there with her. She wasn't always straightforward with her wants and needs and she did struggle to acknowledge the way certain things made her feel sometimes, so for all he knew, maybe she really did want to talk.

He had no idea what to do, fidgeting anxiously and he went over the options in his head. A moment of silence passed before he furrowed his brow bones, lowering his hand to grasp the doorknob. Something told him that he needed to see her, and he wasn't going to ignore it. Not again.

As he twisted the doorknob and lightly pushed open the door, the teen bolted upward from her position, curled into a ball on her side in bed, to sitting upright, very visibly tense as she scowled, "What the hell is your problem, Zerif? I already said I don't wanna talk, so just piss off, will ya." Zerif stepped into the room, setting the plate of cookies he'd brought with him on her desk. Blatantly ignoring her words, he approached her, a determined expression on his face.

Seeing his expression, the teen growled softly and began to scoot back away from him as he drew nearer. She had no idea what he planned to do, and that was beginning to freak her out.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Zerif reached out, his grip gentle yet firm as he grasped one of her arms and tugged her closer to himself, ignoring the way she squirmed and tried to break away from him as her body began to glitch heavily. Angling himself to face her, he pulled her closer and wrapped both arms around her, his grip still firm as she nearly shrieked, "What the hell do you think you're doing? Let me go, idiot!" Staying as relaxed as he could, his voice was soft as he responded, "No. I don't think I will."

Her struggling slowly began to lessen although she continued to glitch, her voice much weaker than before, "Why not?... Why are you even here right now? Don't you have a job to do or something?..." Zerif sighed softly, both arms still gently looped around her, "I'm here because I want to be. My job can wait... if I have to work overtime, so be it. I care about you more than I care about my job, or anything else for that matter right now."

The teen's voice was reduced to a shaky mumble as she wrapped her arms around him, clutching the fabric of his shirt tightly, "No you don't... Why would you say something like that? You... You couldn't possibly..."

Zerif very gently placed a hand on the back of her skull and began to softly stroke her head, "I do, though. Mal, just because you're not my child biologically, that doesn't change anything." Mal tightened her grip on his shirt further, beginning to tremble in his arms. In an unfamiliar yet strangely instinctive manner, Zerif continued gently caressing her head as he began to rock back and forth the smallest bit.

The teen sniffled, letting out a soft whimper as she buried her face in his shoulder. The undertaker hummed lowly, his voice a mumble, "There ya go, kid... It's alright. 'M not gonna go anywhere, I promise." The younger of the two whimpered again, still clinging to him, "I-It hurts, Zerif. Make it stop, please. Please, make it stop hurting."

Frowning, Zerif tilted his head, his brow bones knit in a mix of confusion and concern, "What hurts, Mal?... Did you get hurt earlier during your sparring practice?" Mal shook her head, pulling back away from him just enough to rub her eyes with the back of her hand, "No, it's not that kinda pain, it's different..." The undertaker loosened his grip on her, giving her the option to pull back away from him completely if she wanted, "What do you mean?... I'm sorry, I'm not quite following what you're saying."

Slipping out of his arms, the shorter skeleton sat down and scooted backward until she was leaning against the wall. He took notice of how she was avoiding eye contact, his frown deepening, "Mal, please, you're starting to worry me... Whatever happened, I won't be upset with you, I swear. I just need to know what's going on so I can figure out how to help you." She reluctantly met his gaze, holding it for a brief moment before looking away again and raising a hand to her chest, her palm facing upward.

Right before his eyes, she materialized her own soul, the softly glowing culmination of her entire being floating just above her hand. It was heart shaped and solid white, as a standard monster soul should be, but the detail that caused Zerif's sockets to widen was the amount of cracks and damage it had sustained over time. Zerif leaned closer to get a better look at it, a wave of sadness washing over him as his eye lights flickered back to her face, finding her watching him intently.

She was the one to break the silence, her voice nearly a whisper, "It... My soul. My soul hurts... I just want it to stop, Zerif..." The undertaker nodded, making a soft sound of understanding, his gaze softening as he murmured back, "I know, Mal... I can't promise to fix it immediately, but if you'd let me, I can try to help your soul heal. It'll take some time, but it'll be well worth it. I can even talk to your dad and see if there's anything he can do too, if you want. Whatever you wanna do, I'm here for you, ok?"

The teen nodded slowly back, delicately pushing her soul back into her body through her chest. Pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them close, she mumbled, avoiding Zerif's gaze, "Necro, you mean. Why don't you just call him that? S'not like he's really my dad or anything." Zerif glanced over the other skeleton, his eye lights attempting to read her to the best of his ability. Arching a single brow bone, he couldn't help but ask, "What are you talking about?... Of course he's your dad."

Mal curled both of her hands into fists, suddenly tensing up and scowling, "Like hell he is! If he really was my dad, then wouldn't he make an effort to act like he cares?" The undertaker sighed, tilting his head as he watched her, "He does care, I promise. I'm not just bs'ing you, either. I mean it." Redirecting her sharpened gaze to Zerif, she scoffed, "How do you know? No offense or anything, but you're not him, you don't know what he feels or what goes on in his head."

Zerif nodded in agreement, "That's true. I'm not him, so I don't know what he feels a lot of the time. I definitely don't know what he's thinking at times, either. I know he cares though, really. I've been living with him a long time now, and I've gotten to see who he really is, behind that blank face of his." Mal hissed softly in irritation, "Tell me how you know he cares then! I'm dying to know."

The undertaker hummed softly, "Well... he's the type to watch and observe, noticing all the little things. He's the one who makes sure you never run out of stuff for your knitting and crocheting, he's the one that patches up all the rips and tears in your clothes. He gave you that new scarf when he saw how your old one always made you look so sad. He's the one who always leaves a muffin or a cookie or whatever on your bedside table every morning, for when you wake up. Banana nut muffins and gingersnaps to be exact, since he knows those are your favorites."

Sockets widening as she watched Zerif, Mal's expression began to soften and she remained silent, absentmindedly touching the black and white striped scarf that was loosely looped around her neck vertebrae.

Zerif took this as permission to continue, "Your dad's a busy guy. He has to help look after the multiverse and maintain the balance, but no matter how tired he is, he makes sure to spend time with you, whether it's your sparring practice, goofing off in the kitchen and baking stuff, or letting you pick what you wanna watch on tv. And he worries about you more than you know. The first time you snapped at him, he was so distraught over it. I watched him for a while, and he couldn't even do any baking because he kept messing up the ingredients. He's normally so good at baking that he could do it in his sleep."

A single tear ran down Mal's cheekbone as she stared at the undertaker in disbelief, and he leaned a bit closer to her, gently brushing it away with his thumb before whispering, "And whenever he gets home from work, one of the first things he asks about is how you're doing. He loves you... he just has a harder time expressing it than we do."

Before Zerif could process what Mal was up to, her body glitched and she slid off of her bed, immediately racing toward the still open door. The undertaker was quick to follow her, running after her into the hall. She took a sharp turn around the corner, throwing open the door that led to the necromancer's personal study.

Seated behind his desk and hunched over a file and it's numerous documents, Necro jolted in surprise at Mal's sudden appearance. Before he could ask what was going on, both of her hands were balled into fists down by her sides and she let out a broken sob, "I'm sorry, dad. I'm so sorry I acted the way I did, and I'm sorry that I got out of line and assumed I knew how you felt." The necromancer inaudibly sighed, standing up and making his way around the desk.

Her sockets wide and holding what he clearly understood as sorrow and remorse, he also noted the fear that flickered in them as she took a step back away from him, as though she was afraid he was planning to hurt her.

Her body glitched heavier than he'd seen in quite a while and she sobbed, "I'm really sorry... I promise I won't act that way or assume anything about you ever again." Necro wordlessly stepped closer and pulled her into a hug, holding her close. Almost immediately returning the hug and clinging to him, Mal pressed as close to him as she could, and he gently rubbed her back, his voice soft as he lightly rested his head atop hers, "It's ok, Mal. I forgive you. You're my daughter... I'll always forgive you."

The teen sniffled, burying her face in his sweater and attempting to muffle the sound of her voice as she continued to sob. Necro pulled back briefly to delicately press his teeth to the top of her skull, his own voice nearly inaudible against the sound of hers, "I know I don't show it as much as I should, but I do love you, ok?... Even if you irritate or hurt me sometimes, that doesn't change anything."

Though she seemed to hesitate, Mal took a shaky breath, whispering in response, "...I love you too, dad."

Standing in the hallway, Zerif peeked into his partner's office. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to see, but it definitely wasn't Mal in Necro's arms while she cried, clinging to him. He wanted to be concerned for her, but then he noticed the soft smile that his other half was wearing, and he knew instantly that everything would be alright.