* underbelly .

ALUCARD WASN’T TOO MUCH OF A SMALL TOWN,  but usually:  blaise is able to better navigate it to avoid several people.  and while sabrina wasn’t entirely one of those people he purposefully meant to avoid,  it was usually just how it happened.  he hasn’t seen much of her since their split.  of course that would mean he’d run into her in a grocery store of all places. 

stephen  is  never  one    ──────  to  ask  for  help  ,  even  when  he  needs  it.  so  when  he  shows  up  unannounced  at  will  graham’s  doorstep  clearly    something  must  be  wrong  .  the  doctor  had  always  been  too  stubborn  to  admit  when  he  had  a  problem  .  a  shaky  fist  knocks  on  the  door  &&  stephen  curses  himself  .  ever  since  he  entered  the  funhouse  ,  the  man  hasn’t  quite  been  himself  ,  tucking  the  amulet  inside  his  shirt  he  sighs  .  the  rain  falling  with  ever  more  intensity  .  again  the  doctor  knocks  hoping  it  would  be  heard  over  the  sound  of  pitter  pattering  rain  droplets  ,  ❛  will  ?  are  you  home  ,  i’m  sorry  .  i  know  i  have  impeccable  timing  ,  but    ───  please  ,❜  what  was  he  even  doing  ,  ❛  you’re  the  only  person  i  can  think  of  who  can  help  me  ,  even  if  it  isn’t  your  specialty  ,❜

WHILE WILL HAS ALWAYS FOUND IT EASIER to keep to himself,  he has always found it in him to help when necessary.  it's just a normal night,  a quiet night of many,  when he hears a knock on the door,  just barely audible over the rainfall outside.  that should have been his first clue that something was amiss.  rarely anyone has ever visited him,  and surely:  adrien and jack have their own keys.  wariness rises as he inches toward the door,  the few years he spent in the force keeping him on guard.  it's when he hears the second knock that makes his brows furrow before reaching the hallway to hear...  stephen strange  ?  what was the man doing here in this weather  ?  

cat sighed as she stared at the pen in her hand. she’d taken it apart and put it back together several times. but she still just didn’t understand. “…how does the ink come out of pens?” @deservedboth​

closed starter / sabrina + harry ( @deservedboth​ )

usually sabrina could entertain herself but today, it was different. it wasn’t hard to locate her best friend but not before she made a quick to pick up a drink for the two of them, “ i’m bored and i missed you, “ offering out their drink to harry with a grin on her face, “ got any fun plans the two of us could do today ? “ 

“be real with me here…” cat trailed off, holding up her pear phone, the screen displaying a dangerous looking adult device. “…why do people make these?”

peter loves his classes, especially loves getting to share his pre-existing knowledge at the same time as learning something new, but any break he gets is taken gladly and with relief, usually spent with harry, who’s been his best friend for as long as he can remember and probably always will be. the weather is dull, not the best for being outdoors, but it doesn’t ruin the mood any.

“ if i’m being completely honest, i don’t actually have a plan in mind. ” he admits with a laugh. he’s more just winging their entire day, happy to spend time with his best friend no matter what they end up doing. “ food, costumes and then video games ? a movie marathon or something ? ” he offers, looking over to harry.

HARRY WILL BE THE FIRST TO ADMIT that he’s usually not the person to think about plans,  preferring to be more carefree about things.  so when he hears that peter doesn’t exactly have an itinerary for them,  he’s not disappointed at all;  if anything,  he enjoys the little bit of adventure that lack of plans provides them even in their quiet town.  he fights down the warmth of his cheeks at the sound of peter’s laugh,  hopes he can use the excuse of the cold air against his face.  

@deservedboth​ // melody was vibing so hard with the music, her drink spilling over. her fingers were sticky from the beer, but she was slightly buzzed and wasn’t registering anything but the bass. until.

“oh fuck! i’m so sorry!” she said, her eyes opening as she looked down to see the beer all over the other’s shoes.

VICTOR HAD SWORN TO HIMSELF THAT he wouldn’t come back to the fairgrounds,  yet here he is,  back again.  he wishes he wasn't,  that he had stayed away,  but something was drawing him to it,  whether it be the longing for some socialization after weeks of loneliness,  he isn’t sure.  but nothing about it screams good idea.  especially today.

BEING CHILDHOOD FRIENDS MEANT TWO THINGS:  peter parker is the only person with the ability to get harry osborn to ditch his routine for the day, and harry osborn has an absolute weak spot where peter parker is concerned.  which explains why he’s here walking with him when it’s cold and gloomy out.  but regardless of the weather,  he’s willing to drop all responsibilities for the day in a heartbeat,  greedy to spend as much time with his best friend as possible.  he’s missed him,  especially now with everything that’s been happening--  no.  he can’t think of that now.  he’s not going to let this ruin his day out with peter.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐆 𝐈𝐍 their hands was no match for the speed and amount of movement sam was currently dealing with, the two loops holding the plastic together, struggling to stay intact. “ don’t you fucking dare hang up on me — you know i can’t come home for the holidays, mom, my entire career is on the line, i don’t have the luxury to spend it with you guys this year … i’m more than happy to just call— ” a particularly loud ‘ oomph ’ left their lips, and casserole ingredients were now scattered within a good feet or two, their mouth left agape. sam’s eyes glared at the other in disdain, but softening once they realized how tense they’d become from the earlier conversation. “ i’ll call you later, mom.” sam sighed into the phone, hanging up.“ i’m really sorry, that was my fault. i wasn’t looking. ” / @deservedboth​ !

▐▐ ░ * .  — IT IS NO SECRET THAT MISA AMANE , in all of her flaws & faults & fancy fishnets , is a person who cares immensely for others . of course ! sometimes it seems that all they must do is give her a SIMPLE KIND WORD for her to attach herself , but even so , her heart is not to be underestimated . it is bigger than her body ; a vast fairytale land of dreams , hopes , a BEAUTIFUL open castle where she sits at the top of the tower , a lonely lonely princess who opens her doors for whomever comes in - unaware that brutal thieves could come into steal everything she owns , and she ?? would not even blame them the slightest - she gives it all away , everything she can , if only to receive the smallest bit in return . it is gorgeous in the most tragic of ways .

                but yet there are some things she wishes she could give and she can’t . harry goes on about his ailments and what plagues him and misa melts and her face falls further and further , and immediately she wants to do SOMETHING . she wants to take all of her friend’s pain away , cure whatever makes him sick - she thinks there should be someone at her side much smarter than she is . can grant miracles only with a few seconds of thought & a click of the tongue , a few words are the cure to your problems !! theIMPOSSIBLE can happen !! … but misa , she can’t do that on her own . she can only listen and hope maybe something comes to mind or she comes with an epiphany , but she’s never been the smartest , or at least , she doesn’t think so of herself . that will not be happening anytime soon . 

               feeling absolutely useless as a friend , misa rubs her lips together before asking ,  ❝ d-do you want me to go to the doctor with you … ?? ❞ she’s not family , but she has no problem offering support .  ❝ what can i do ?? i want to HELP ! ❞

HARRY HAS ALWAYS HATED TALKING ABOUT HIMSELF.  it always makes him feel on edge,  stressed out;  so used to bottling everything inside  --  a trait he’s always had growing up.  he’d sooner keep his mouth shut about whatever bothered him,  just stay silent and suffer doing what people wanted, avoiding talking to people out of fear of burdening them.  it was why he so rarely let himself truly get close to people,  but even now,  with misa who is easily one of his closest friends in alucard,  he still hates the fact that he worries her,  concerns her,  with his problems.

BUT THAT'S THE THING ABOUT BOTTLING THINGS UP.  once you bottle them up,  it's so hard to put the lid back on,  to try to lock everything back up.  he feels tired,  weary,  like even the effort of putting on a facade that he’s okay is too much for him.  he hasn’t told anyone about his illness so far except for misa,  and while he doesn't regret opening up to her at all  --  he also doesn’t want her to worry about him.  the only person who could fight his battle against whatever was going on in his body was himself.  

BRUCE HAD NEVER really quite experienced a true halloween before. growing up his father didn't ALLOW him a chance at a childhood . however, now that he was OLDER he could do as he pleased. so when mr. fickle's costume emporium rolled into town, bruce couldn't help himself. he HAD to check it out, perhaps it was just his CURIOUSITY or something else entirely. bruce didn’t exactly know what it was. however, something was indeed driving him to ENTER the shop.

THE BELL ON THE DOOR TINKLES, and bruce enters hands shoved into his pockets. he looks around for a moment not scared but rather in awe of his surroundings. walking around the shop, bruce spots a costume that caught his eye. YET he wasn’t quite sure if he would consider buying it just yet, ❝ what do you think? I don’t think it suits me , ❞ he says refering to the costume on display , ❝ any suggestions ? ❞

BRUCE PROBABLY SHOULDN’T be putting his faith in the other person however he needed a second opinion , so it was worth a shot , ❝ I’m not quite sold on this one yet ❞

VICTOR HADN’T REALLY PLANNED ON dressing up this year.  it just hadn’t been in his plans,  and for good reason:  with the weird visions he’s been having,  the way his muscles will stiffen and creak like rusted metal  --  halloween costumes are probably the last thing that are on his mind.  that’s not to say that he’s immune to being interested in what they have in store,  of course.  he had seen the store through the window,  had been fascinated by the intricacies of the designs,  and so he’s stopped by inside.

HE ENTERS RIGHT BEHIND ANOTHER,  distracted in awe of the vibrant colours around him that he just barely hears the initial question before glancing over at the costume in question.  “  oh  ?  ”

VICTOR’S BEEN HAVING WEIRD VISIONS LATELY,  of a city he doesn’t recognise.  but the visions are so vivid,  that he has no idea where they're coming from,  if the images are real or not.  it doesn't help that his body has been aching more and more lately;  phantom pain from the accident,  or at least that's what he keeps telling himself.  it doesn’t help,  really doesn’t,  not when some of these visions are too real to be fake,  when he's more machine than human in his visions.

HE HAD TO GO ON LEAVE FROM WORK JUST TO COPE,  especially after abusing his body,  going days without sleep or food.  he hadn't been this bad since the accident  -  he'd managed to recover after a while,  but it was as if the circus had brought all of that back again.  he felt mildly guilty for going on break,  knowing his co-workers also weren't doing great.  so,  after finishing all the errands he’s had to run and bringing boxes of pizzas as his apology gift to his coworkers,  he’s just on his way to the mechanic shop when he bumps into a figure.  the boxes fall to the ground,  and vic winces.  oops.

bella took a moment to take the napkins. a moment her mind reminded her of her mother’s warning growing up, stranger danger but her homework depended on the mercy of this guy. 

she reached out taking the napkin in her hands, and turning to the paper. “thank you,” she said looking up to the man. “i wish i could say this wasn’t usual for me.” she stopped patting and picked up the limp paper before looking to her watch.

WILL SHAKES HIS HEAD,  NOT UNKINDLY,  “  it’s no problem,  ”  he answers,  mildly.  “  accidents happen.  ”

every second he’s back home, he wonders why he ever came back. it’s been twenty or so minutes since he stepped out of his childhood home back uptown, and now he’s regretting it. at some point draco had felt being a recluse would have its upsides. it’s not like the money was going to run out anytime in his, his childs, or grandchildrens lifetime… if he ever even had those. it’s not like he ever had the want or need for children, not to mention his affinity for the male species. for one, what would he even do with a child? 

a long, long sigh falls out of his mouth as sebastian speaks. “nope,” he says honestly, shrugging his damn shoulders, “but one can hope, right?” 

SEBASTIAN RAISES HIS EYEBROW,  quipping,  “  one could definitely hope for something exciting to happen,  but the people here are the kind who think a marital affair is scandalous.  dull.  not even a single unsolved murder.  ”

                           SEEING    THE OTHER   WALK AWAY , SHE TURNED AROUND AND   LOOKED STRAIGHT   AHEAD ——– returning to bartender    who she   inclined that she   needed another drink   ,    to forget this    horrible night  .     hearing the homme’s     voice she let her   head snap     to where he was.  ❛ i don’t remember asking   you    for your two cents  ,     now DID  I   ?  ❜ she inquired with a distasteful look   on her     features as she saw the three    shots being put before her .    she can’t remember the last    time that she slept , every time that   she would     close her eyes , she would see    that pesky little nightmare that continued to      cloud her   thoughts and    her dreams .   sliding a shot    glass his way she raises    hers in the air    ❛   JOIN  ME  ?  ❜

                       THE VISIONS   AND DREAMS   HAD   HER   DISORIENTED —— every   time that    she would   try her best to    go to   sleep , that same nightmare    would   cloud her   mind and    walking out of the bar after she closes , she feels   the same   pain but    this time she   collapses   and she sees the homme   hovering   over   her and   she   gathers  herself  ❛    i   don’t    remember , i just —— my head   is   throbbing . ❜ standing up she   holds on to the man’s   shoulder and   composes   herself   ❛   i should   get going but   thank you    for the — uh  ,   leaning    i guess . ❜

     “ cats. ” she replies without hesitation, mimicking the same flat tone he used on her prior. any excitement she had earlier over latte art was now gone as touka became acutely aware of sebastian’s demeanor. whenever it comes to her brothers, she’s quick to pick up on body language.

     touka doesn’t waste any time taking the empty seat across from him. relaxing back in the seat with arms folded over her chest as she stared at him with a quizzical look. work can wait, she’s busy entering Good Sister Mode. “ alright, what’s up? you’re acting even weirder than usual. ”

SEBASTIAN RARELY FEELS BAD,  but it’s different when it comes to his sister or brother  -  they’re family,  even if not by blood.  and while sebastian never felt much for his foster parents,  any of them for that matter  --  things are different for his adopted siblings.  of course he feels shitty.