Midnight

Midnight

A Mermay Prompt

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Stargazing.

It was one of the few times the sky was clear enough at night. You just had to. When you arrived at the beach(up on the cliff several meters from the water where you always went stargazing) the silver grin of the moon was just peeking up from the eastern horizon.

An otherwise perfect night.

You settled down with a blanket as the sound of waves filled your ears and the stars filled your eyes.

“Hey! Hey! Human! Pspspsps!”

The gravely, whispered voice broke you out of your reverie. What time was it? Wait. Who was that?

You looked down the cliff at the water. Bright glowing red met your eyes. Killer grinned up at you.

“Hi.” He waved. (Pun intended)

You scoffed and leaned back to stare at the stars.

“Awwww, c’mon! Don’t ignore me! I just wanted to check up on ya!”

“After you tried to take my arm?” You snapped.

You could almost feel him raise a finger in a well-actually gesture. “If I wanted your arm, you wouldn’t still have it. You’ll notice the only thing you’ll have of my attack are scars. No permanent damage or disfiguring. Just scars.”

Your wounded arm stayed hidden under the blanket. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” You looked down at him again.

“Kinda. I’m just tellin’ you that I’m precise.” He tilted his head and smiled at you.

Insufferable.

“Leave me alone, Killer.” You sighed, flopping onto your back.

“Oooh~! Crossy told you my name? I’m flattered. Although, it seems a little unfair that I don’t know yours, doesn’t it?” He ‘hmm’ed up at you.

You didn’t respond, trying to ignore him and lose yourself in the stars.

“…Human~! Pspspsps. C’mon! Don’t leave me driftin’! You know my name and you didn’t even ask!”

. . .

Killer started whistling. It sounded like some ancient tune, haunting and beautiful. It spun and swayed and pulled, twisting into a symphony and pulling you along with it.

Then it suddenly stopped.

Your eyes widened as your mind cleared. You were standing on the edge of the cliff, looking down at the siren that grinned up at you.

“Do you know how easy it would be to sing those last few notes?”

Right. Sirens. They had the power of song. Manipulating the minds of whoever could hear them. And you had thought you were safe on the cliff.

“D-Don’t. Please.” You stuttered, terrified. You couldn’t move, not because something was holding you there, but because you knew that if you tried to run now he’d kill you.

He tilted his head. “Oh~? Why not? I mean, you’ve been so rude to me.” Killer pushed himself up on a rock, the bright red glow bursting out of the water and floating just outside of his chest. “Of course~, I’d feel less inclined to kill you if I knew your name. Don’t you think?”

“Y/n. My name is y/n.”

“There you go! Was that so hard?” His tail swished back and forth in the water behind him. “And I’m Killer. Though, you already knew that.”

Sensing the coast was clear, you wobbled away from the cliff and sat down again. Leaving entirely was probably still a bad idea.

“So whatcha doin’ out here in the middle of the night, y/n?” He teased as if he hadn’t just almost killed you.

“Stargazing.”

“Oh?” He paused.

Suddenly, it was as if you were alone again. Waves crashing, stars taking up your vision and blissful silence from Killer. Out of curiosity, you shot a glance at the siren and smirked.

He sat perched halfway on a rock, head craned to look upwards, and mouth agape as he stared at the galaxies above him. The red on his chest twisted and settled into an upside down heart shape. If you forgot the attempted murder and the ominous red glow, he looked kinda cute. Like a love struck little boy.

“Woah…” Was his breathless response. “I… I’ve never actually looked…”

“…Really?”

Two little white eyelights shot to you, as if he forgot you were there, and twinkled like stars. “Yeah…It’s beautiful.”

You sighed, happy you’d made the little beast less aggressive. “Yeah. See those three there?” He looked up when you pointed. “That’s Orion’s Belt.”

“Orion’s Belt?”

“Yeah. And right there, see? That’s his torso, and his arms and-.”

“Where are you seeing all this? Did you poke a puffer on your way here?” Killer interrupted, amusement in his voice.

“Shush, I’m teaching you astrology~.” He chuckled at you and listened to you deep into the night.

You must have passed out at some point, because the first rays of dawn woke you all by yourself. Killer no where in sight.

Marine Biologist

A Mermay Prompt

(Note: please forgive me if I incorrectly write diving. I’ve never gone diving before so you’ll have to bare with me)

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Weightlessness. Peace.

You drifted lazily between the boulders riddled with coral and a few fish darted between the colorful plant life. You hummed out a couple bubbles, imitating the deep breath you couldn’t take while submerged. No oxygen tank this time, just a snorkel, you weren’t going that deep anyways.

The current pushed gently at you, trying to coax you out into deeper waters. You would not be fooled. The ocean was a terrifyingly dangerous place, one wrong stroke and you’d be swept out into the middle of the ocean with nothing but a snorkel. Bad idea. You could go deeper when you had the right equipment and company. For now, you were studying how the coral was adapting to its environment.

Something… big moved.

In all your years in the water, you prided yourself on being the most observant when it came to water pressure and currents. You could locate most of your fellow coworkers when you all would briefly spit up. Something about the awkward way they shifted the water always tipped you off. Fish, being naturally adapted to the water, were far harder to locate. Which made sense. They had to hide, whether predator or prey. It just came natural to them.

However, sometimes, something big enough would move too quickly and you’d notice it. This helped you warn your team of sharks and barracudas in the past.

And there was something big.

Behind you.

You spun around as fast as you could without startling an attack, which was much slower than you would like. Your eyes fell on… nothing. Just a few anemones and a school of fish quickly darting out of sight. Maybe the school set off your senses?

Something white vanished behind a boulder.

White? There weren’t any white aquatic creatures in your area. Your brows knit. It could be trash. Ugh. Why couldn’t people clean up after themselves?

A few gentle kicks sent you over the rock to find the stray bit of trash when a muffled scream and a flurry of bubbles blinded you. You yelped out a few bubbles yourself as you desperately tried to backpedal in water. Whatever it was, and it was huge, darted around you and went for your back. There wasn’t much you could do but try to spin to defend yourself before your arms were wrapped up in a hug from behind.

What in the drunken stars?!

You thrashed in the hold of this creature. What was it? A person? A fish? Some sketchy internet cryptid come to life here to take yours? Or worse… a giant cuttlefish? You shuddered. Hopefully, whatever it was would at least leave you alive. Not that that outcome was looking too likely.

Water pushed your snorkel to the side as you slowly realized you were moving. It was taking you somewhere. Where, you couldn’t tell. Every time you tried to look forward or up, something hard would push your head from behind so you couldn’t see.

You tried to growl out a warning and noticed just how much air you had left. Your eyes widened. You needed air. Fast.

Your useless flippered feet tried to kick behind you but you could barely move them at this speed. Your captor was a far better swimmer than you.

Light glanced off your goggles and into your eyes moments before a loud splash drenched you in air. You gasped and drank in the air before turning you attention back to escaping your captor.

You started thrashing again and screamed.

A skeletal hand clamped down on your mouth.

“Shh! You’re gonna get us both killed!” Whisper-snapped a breathless, masculine voice in your ear. His chest heaved gently as he tried to calm himself and you at the same time. He’d taken you to a cliff side shallow beach that would be completely submerged come tide. Not many people knew this little alcove beside you and you’d hoped to keep it that way.

“Mph!” You retorted. If he wanted you calm he shouldn’t have kidnapped you across the reef! You were… half a mile from your car!

“Ah. I’m sorry. I’m not used to… people….” His grip loosened. “I… Please don’t scream. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

…That wasn’t threatening or ominous at all.

You nodded.

With a heavy sigh, the hand over your mouth slowly let go, obviously ready to silence you without a moment’s hesitation but giving you a chance to speak.

You tried to push away from him but he held you still against his chest, not letting you see him. You growled. “What do you want from me? I don’t have any valuables on me. And I’m not worth much to anyone.”

“Woah. Uh, stars. No, I don’t- stars, are you okay?” Actual concern laced his voice.

You thrashed again but stilled when his arm came forward to cup your mouth. “I am not confiding in my kidnapper! You can go meet a sharks third layer of teeth first!”

“Heh, already have. Listen, I’m not here to hurt you, and I’m sorry for scaring you. If you really want me to leave, I’ll leave.” There was a… serious tone in his voice. Like a soldier awaiting a command.

“Yes! Go! I don’t want to be kidnapped today!” You snapped.

“Yessir.” His arms grabbed yours and pushed you away from his chest. “Little tip, get out of the water as soon as I let go. There are… sharks nearby. Very aggressive sharks. Stay safe.” He released you.

Taking your chance to see your captor, you spun around to see…ripples. He was gone. A nervous glance at the secretive waves had you taking the stranger’s advice and swimming to shore. You rode a wave onto the pebbly beach and heaved yourself into an upright position.

You could have sworn you saw something red flash across the water at you but nothing was there when you looked.

Flippers came off and you ran. Barefoot or not, you were not going back in the water.

Not today.

Breakfast

A Mermay Prompt

(Note: this is me talking to my old self. I’m projecting myself into these characters and I’m addressing no one specifically. Take it how you will, I hope you enjoy)

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Growl.

“Y/n.”

Embarrassed at the loud noise your stomach just made, you curled into yourself.

Cross glared at you disapprovingly. “Have you eaten anything this morning?”

You could lie. You could lie with such ease. But he would never believe you. Not after that very obvious sound. Your stomach growled again.

Your companion sighed. “You can’t be skipping meals like that. Especially when you’re using up so much energy. What if you got attacked again? Would you even have enough strength to fight back? Defend yourself? Or even call for help?” His voice raised in volume as he got more and more carried away in his rant.

“It won’t happen again.” You grumbled, arms crossed over your knees.

All the righteous anger was suddenly gone and Cross scooted closer to you. “Y/n. I’m not angry at you for not eating. I-…” He glanced back into the water, checking to make sure no one else was listening, before turning pleading eyes back to you. “I’m scared. It’s terrifying. I… I don’t want to lose you, and I know it seems dumb to you. ‘It’s just a few meals, it’s not a big deal. You’re overreacting.’ And yeah, I kinda feel stupid feeling this strongly about it, but,” His hand rested on your knee. “I care about you. I always will. And if something is hurting you, whether now or in the long run, I feel this painfully crushing need to fix it. To heal you, and make you feel better. And if I can’t, I feel like my soul will tear itself in two trying to find a way.” His eyes held pain and truth.

“Oh.”

He smiled at you. “Yeah. Sorry. That was a lot.”

You were lost. And slightly upset but that was fading. It wasn’t that big a deal but he seemed so upset by it. Why would he even care?

“Y’know what, I have an idea.” Cross started again. “There are a few food places near the docks, right?” Nod. “I’ve been wanting to try some of y’all’s food and since your stomach is already rebelling, do you think you could grab something for us to share? I won’t be far, and you won’t have to eat it all if you don’t want to. Do you think that’d be fair?” He gave you a hopeful look.

Dang it, he was using those puppy dog eyes again. There were a few good places by the docks that would be open this early.

“Uh. I can do that.” You shrugged. He needed to eat too. Probably a whole lot more than you. “But, what do you want? There are a few options.”

He shrugged back at you. “Whatever you come across first, I guess. I haven’t actually had legger food.”

“People food.” You corrected.

“Am I not a people?” He teased.

“Nah.” You shot back easily. “You’s a fish.”

“Excuse me!?!” His tail splash violently in the water as you laughed. “I am not a fish! Oh my stars! Go! Go get me food, you little urchin!” He shooed you back up the path to your car.

You… did get food from the first open place you saw. It just wasn’t breakfast food. You didn’t know why they were open this early and the cafẽ wasn’t.

“Ooooh! What is it? It smells good!” Cross looks like an excited puppy whose owner just got home. Waves crashed around him with the force of his tail tossing back and forth.

“It’s called pizza. I’m not sure if you should even eat this.” You admitted.

He tilted his head at you. “Do you eat it?”

“Well, yeah…”

“Then I’m sure it’s fine! I mean, my stomach’s pretty strong and I don’t see you living on a diet of fish.”

“Ugh. Fine. But if you eat too much and get a stomach ache, it’s your own fault.”

“Good.”

You opened the box and handed him a slice before taking your own. It had been a while since you’d eaten out. And he was right. It smelled amazing. You bit into your pizza savoring the taste. Correction: it was amazing.

Out of curiosity, you spared a glance at Cross and nearly choked. His duel-colored eyes were blown wide and his mouth hung slightly open in shock, the pizza sitting on his… tongue.(Skeletons had tongues?) His stunned, love-struck expression was topped off with tears in his eyes.

Once you swallowed your food without choking again, you spoke. “Are you crying?”

His wide eyes focused on you. Remembering himself, Cross chewed and swallowed his pizza before answering. “Am I what?”

“Crying.”

He looked confused. “What’s that?”

If you had food in your mouth, you would have choked again. “I- You- What??”

“What’s crying?”

“Yeah, I heard you the first time! What do you mean ‘What’s crying?!?’ You’re crying right now!!”

“I am?”

“YES?!?!”

“Uh…” He looked down at his hands and pat himself down as if searching for something. “…What exactly does that mean?”

“Ugh!” You pushed yourself to your feet and strode up to him. Reaching up, you gently wiped a tear off his cheek to show him. “This is a tear. Tears come out of your eyes when you cry. Crying can happen when you’re sad, hurt, or even happy. I assume these are happy tears?”

His looked at the tear and reached up, feeling the other tears on his face. “Oh. Yeah, I think it’s happy. I didn’t know I could do that. I guess those would normally get swept away by the ocean.”

“Oh. That makes sense actually.”

His gaze didn’t leave your hand as he slowly reached down and cupped your hand in his own. “Is that why my eyes would hurt when I…” He locked eyes with you and suddenly pulled away. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have grabbed you.”

You shrugged. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

“You’re so small.” He grinned down at you, proving just how much height he had on you and effectively changing the subject.

You huffed. “I am not small! Oh my stars, Cross! You’re just huge! It’s not a fair comparison!”

He chuckled. “What would be a good comparison?”

Killer. “Someone normal sized. Your butt takes up the entire beach.”

“And yet there’s still room for your tiny butt.” He teased.

“That’s it!!! No more pizza!!! I’m eating the rest and you can’t have any!!!”

“Wait! No! I’m sorry! Y/n! No!”

This will never be okay

Stay safe y’all

WARNING!!!!

People, please be careful. There are also people tracking children and people and putting bids on them based on their profile pictures on whatsapp, tracking and kidnapping them. Especially young children, so please be cautious, especially parents who have their children as their profile pictures.

Please pass this on to everyone so that they are aware of the danger. I don’t how it is all around the world but I know it can’t just be here so please please spread the word. Thank you.

Dwelling/House

A Mermay Prompt

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You lived alone. No roommates. No family members. No one to notice if you went back to the beach. Again.

Your gear was already packed in the car ready to go. You kinda left it there after meeting that siren, the shock numbing your mind enough to just head to bed and pass out.

But oddly enough, despite your lingering fear, you longed to go back and see him again.

So you grabbed your keys.

The drive there was short, you only lived a few miles away. You carried your gear to your normal entry point, a hidden cave-like beach. It was tucked away in the side of the cliff and behind a few perfectly placed trees that hid the entrance from view but allowed you to walk in no problem.

The pebbles shifted under your feet as you started putting your gear on.

“I’d ask if this was your place but I’m pretty sure your species needs warmth.”

A yelp escaped you as you spun to look at the water. The orca siren’s eyes crinkled at you, his smile hidden behind his arms as he laid across a boulder a few meters from the shore.

He noticed your gear. “Aw~! Did you come back to see me?” He sat straight and gave you a toothy grin.

You huffed. “Didn’t you promise not to stalk people?” You changed the subject.

“I did. But stalking implies staying hidden. And I wanted to say hi.”

“You also said no loopholes.”

His grin fell. “I did, didn’t I?” At your nod he shrugged and pushed himself off the boulder. “Well, I guess that’s that. Bye.” He turned.

“Wait!” You sputtered out. You didn’t want to scare him off! You were just poking fun!

The smug grin he shot over his shoulder at you made you wish you hadn’t stopped him. “Yes~?”

Dang it, he had you in a box. “Fine! I did want to come see you, you overgrown guppy! You happy?” You crossed your arms.

He laughed at your pout. “You’re cute! I like you. Hey!” He snapped his fingers. “We never properly introduced ourselves. I’m Cross.” He swam forward and held his hand out to shake your hand.

You hesitated. When he got closer, his lower body beached itself on the rocks, displaying his large orca features. The deep black was intimidating against the gray pebbles between the two of you. Scars from different aquatic battles riddled his body like words that would tell you how he got each one.

But what caught you off guard was his dorsal fin. The very obviously male dorsal fin was flopped over on his back. A trait specific to domestic orcas.

He was domesticated. Most likely he was rescued and then released when he proved he could survive on his own. But you’d never heard of any sirens being rescued let alone an aquarium that housed sirens.

You were getting off topic. The point was, he was familiar with people. So he shouldn’t be a threat to you.

You shook his outstretched hand. “I’m y/n. Nice to officially meet you, Cross.”

His grip was firm. “Nice to meet you too, y/n.” The beaming smile he gave you had you smiling back as the handshake ended. “Soooo? You’re comin’ into the water today. Care if I show you around?”

You laughed. “I’ll have you know, I practically grew up in these waters.”

He shrugged and somehow smiled more as his hands held his chin, his elbows digging into the rocky beach. “Things change. I could show you my place?”

You hesitated, not because of the idea of being in a small space with a large predator though that was a solid reason, but because it was the first time someone had asked you over.

The basic movie type response was all you managed to get out. “Most people buy me dinner first.”

“I mean,” He glanced back at the water. “I could grab you something. Though, I have a feeling you don’t appreciate… what do you people call that fancy fish? Sasha?”

Oh stars. “No! Please don’t ever call it that again! Oh my stars! Sushi! It’s called sushi!” You laughed. “And no. I actually don’t like most uncooked foods. It… I don’t know. I just don’t like it.” Shrug.

Cross nodded. “That’s fair.”

You finished shuffling your gear on.

“So… is that a no?”

“Is what a no?” You questioned. What had he asked?

He gave a halfhearted smile and glanced away. “To coming over to my home? You don’t want to see it?”

Ugh. He looked so sad like that. “Oh. Uh, sure. I’m gonna be in the water anyway.” You tried to shrug away your fear but it lingered.

His face lighting up relieved some of that fear. He whistled a happy little tune that had you smiling as you approached the water. Cross backed up off the beach. “You ready?” He beamed.

You took a moment to take a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

The nozzle went in your mouth and his arms went around you again before darting away from the shore. Coral that would have taken you several minutes to reach, was there and gone in less than a minute as Cross expertly sped through the water.

He was talking.

“It’s bigger than most dens. I don’t like small spaces so boss helped me find a bigger enough space to feel cozy. I added a few things too. Just a couple plants and shells, stuff to make it look nice, y’know? Oh! And my pod is out hunting. So we shouldn’t have to see them until after I take you back. You don’t want to meet them. They’re… well, let’s just hope you don’t meet them. They’re more wild than me. And the coral here is insane! Have you seen all those colors? I mean, of course you have. You live here. But they’re so pretty! I didn’t know the water could have so many colors!”

And on and on he rambled, you were content to listen. He seemed like he needed someone to talk to and it was calming. So you settled in for the ride as he talked about anything and everything that came to mind. Coral, fish, water currents, snails. He continued until they reached his home.

“There was this one fish that- Oh! We’re here!” He whistled happily, let you go, and darted forward into a cave mouth. He beckoned for you to follow. “Come on! I’ll show you around!”

Your cheeks hurt from smiling as you swam into the den. He wasn’t kidding about the space. You could fit three school buses comfortably in the decorative cave with plenty of headspace. The edges and corners of the den were covered in all sorts of colorful coral, shells, and pearls of multiple sizes.

“Ta-da~!” Cross spread his arms wide. “Welcome to my home! It’s not the prettiest thing but I try.” He shrugged nervously. “You’ve probably seen better.”

You shook your head at him. No, this was better than any home you’d seen on land. He actually managed to stick every type of color he could find in a space and make it look good. You couldn’t get these same colors out of flowers. A shiny pearl caught your attention and you reached down to touch it.

A hand grabbed your wrist. You looked up to see Cross looking very stern and worried.

“I… Please don’t touch my pearls.” He said before slapping himself in the face. “Oh my stars! You can’t understand me! I’ve been talking forever and you haven’t heard a thing!”

“Mm.” You shook your head no at him and gestured to your ears and back at him. You could hear him.

He hesitated at your flailing. “Uh… are you okay?”

You nodded yes.

“Wait… can you hear me?”

Nod.

“Everything?”

Yep.

“But… don’t your ears stop working when they get full of water?”

Nope.

“Huh.” He eyed you. “You legged people are confusing.”

You playfully punched his shoulder.

“Hey! What’d I say??” He complained, not even bothering to rub the shoulder as you nursed your wounded hand.

You rolled your eyes and turned to explore the rest of the cave. He hadn’t just plucked the coral, he’d moved entire boulders and dug up plants to keep the coral’s lively color. It was beautiful.

You turned to him after exploring the whole den and gave him an approving thumbs up. He laughed at you and you spent the rest of your time listening to him ramble and checking your oxygen before he took you back to the shore.

Uhhhhh…

I think we had the same idea…

How would the Bad sanses feel about kids?

Horror isn't a fan of how children have a habit of immediately bursting into terrified tears when they look at him. Kinda rude. He copes by deliberately scaring them; if a kid looks at him he pulls his scariest face. Might even say "boo" just for effect. Deep down, though, he does like kids - before it all went wrong in the Underground he used to dream about being an uncle to Papyrus' future children. When he's around you, he catches himself thinking about it... his own kids would like his face just the way it was, wouldn't they? So long as he was a good dad, it wouldn't matter what he looked like. That sounds so wonderful.

If he somehow finds a kid who isn't frightened of him, he will go full papa bear mode. Horror's the most likely of the bad guys to find a lost child and scoop them up.

Dust... avoids children like the plague. He shares Horror's habit of deliberately scaring them. He has a lot of reasons. He's a dangerous mass murderer, that's one; he also doesn't do great with noise. The sound of a crying or shouting child grates at him like nails on a chalkboard. Not to mention the fact that he's had enough of dealing with childish behaviour after a few hours around Killer.

... He also doesn't like being reminded of all the kids that used to live in his Underground. He doesn't like looking at little faces and remembering how Papyrus used to smile at him, the big brother who was supposed to keep him safe, the exact same way. The thing about having high LV is you get very used to being numb... those stabs of emotion, when they do get through, are too much.

He likes seeing you interact with kids, though. You're much better than he is, softer and kinder. Makes him think about what could've been.

Killer is great with kids. He's exciting, he's funny, he's got endless energy. He perfectly channels the 'fun uncle who clearly wants kids and would be an amazing dad', and the presence of children grounds him, taking the edge off of his worse traits and continuously pulling him down to reality. But he's also a terrible influence when left unattended. Give him an hour, and he'll be showing them how to properly hold a knife, telling them how crime isn't really that bad, and that they should totally just bite their bully as hard as they possibly can.

If a child lets him pick them up, Killer will constantly be trying to catch your eye. His huge grin speaks volumes; so when are WE gonna make our own one of these?

Nightmare says he doesn't like children. He definitely acts like it, too, he's cold and intimidating. But deep down, he's always wanted kids of his own - and he's bitter, because before he was corrupted he used to be really good with kids. Dream was (and still is) better at entertaining children but Nightmare could comfort the introverts; shy kids who cried around Dream would happily fall asleep on Nightmare's shoulder. Not anymore.

The thing is... when kids are around him for a while, you'll start to see hints of something underneath the grump. You'll notice he never raises his voice. You'll hear how his tone slips into something stern, yet calm. You'll see the 'strict but fair' edge to his sockets and mouth, you'll notice how despite all the talk of not caring his tentacles will ALWAYS catch anyone whose tiny feet are unsteady. There's a dad under there.

He's in no place for kids right now. But he does think about it - when you're around he thinks far more than he'd ever admit. He imagines giving someone the childhood he never had. If only.