Species: night cryptid living under your bed (goes as a human goth in disguise)
Special interests/hobbies: the goth subculture (goth music, fashion, literature and the lifestyle), reading, writing, drawing, my OCs, alt fashion in general (I lean towards goth much more)
Currently hyper fixated on: TNMN
Favourite OTP: MILKBREAD!!! (Francis x Nacha my beloved ^v^)
Pronouns: she/they
Neurodivergent (Autistic)
Sexuality: somewhere on the ace spectrum (not sure which one). Doesn’t mind any genders but tend to lean towards women or NB people
Favourite music: goth music duh! (particularly deathrock and ethereal wave. I love bands like Bauhaus, 45 Grave and Cocteau Twins :>)
The side blog of @thescarletkiller
Will post: anything related to my special interests, TNMN, reblogs and drawings related to said special interests and my own current project
DNI: racists, TERFS, lgbt-phobes, bigots, zoophiles, pedos, all the usual scum, AI ‘artists’ and/or any AI bros, MilkBread haters, Foccacia lovers
Don’t DM me if you’re a minor but interactions on this blog such as asking questions and submitting posts are ok
Hate asks will be reported and blocked
Feel free to ask me stuff related to: TNMN headcanons, AUs and OCs. Questions about myself are fine but nothing too personal.
Character: Ambrose and Saeko (belong to Onyx) 🖤
Some art version use different filters 🖤
For Onyx: I am so deeply grateful for the wonderful friendship that has blossomed between us 🥹 No matter how chaotic things may get, please remember that you will always have your friends who stand by you, support your work, and cheering you on—even through a screen, and even from thousands of miles away 🖤 Thank you for bringing so much creativity into the world, especially with your incredible Serial Killer Francis Mosses AU 🥛🔪🩸🔥Watching your art and ideas come to life is always such an inspiration >< On your special day, I wish you endless joy, comfort, inspiration, and all the sweet moments life has to offer as you step into this new chapter. Happy Birthday, Onyx 🥳🎁💖
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH IT’S MY OCS TOGETHER THEY ARE SUCH A CUTE COUPLE TOGETHER!!! THANKS FOR THE BIRTHDAY GIFT COWBERRY I LOVE IT SI MUCH AND I LOVE WHAT YOUVE DONE FOR ME 🖤🥹🥺🎊🎉🎁💝🤩🥰🥂🍾
(Because tumblr doesn’t allow more than 10 pics on one post)
Contains: Harassment and mentions of sexual content
If you read the previous part of this post, good. You’ve caught up. Because this is s continuation of what lady-jenesis had been doing to me behind the scenes. Not only did lady-jenesis harassed my friend. She:
2. Harassed me in my private DMs and leaked them in a public post
💬 0 🔁 0 ❤️ 0 · I don't really know what to say other than this happened to me a few months ago.
I made rude comments under a harmless pos
(Added the screenshots of the post she made leaking my DMs and the link in case she deletes the posts.)
For context, this girl came into my DMs asking me for commissions, which I declined. Then, she came to push her agenda on me by saying that she doesn’t like the post where I drew Francis and Nacha were kissing each other naked. She also suggested in her words that I and any other artist who do this “shouldn’t be posting fanart that sexualises characters that I don’t own because nudity makes people uncomfortable like HER” and that I should reserve it for a private community because I would be hurting people if I make sexual content of those ‘poor fictional characters.’
Are they both in the nude? Exactly. Is it inherently sexual or pornographic? No! Because all I did was express my love for my favourite ship through the beauty of artistic nudity through their raw emotions. Because nudity doesn’t inherently equal sexual exploitation or objectification, especially if we’re talking about fictional characters and the artist’s interpretation here. But this girl doesn’t see it that way apparently. She still thinks that even artistic nudity is still disrespectful to fictional characters, when really all she did was make it about HERSELF.
I never meant any harm nor do I mean to hurt anyone with what I post but I was responsible enough to put this fanart under the mature label with content labels and warnings because I know minors are likely going to come across this. But she still wants to police what I wanna draw. Now I don’t post any nsfw content on tumblr because once again, minors would snoop around here (then again, she confessed to me that she was the one who clicked on the post despite the warnings so… who’s really to blame here?). This drawing I had of MilkBread is tame compared to whatever nsfw stuff might be on the internet. And this one isn’t about any weird fetish, anything illegal or anything between minors. Just a kiss scene between two consenting adults that doesn’t seem right to her because it’s “disrespectful” for some reason.
So what I told her is that people are free to express their art on the internet however they want, whether it be sexual or not as long as the characters are both adults. And she can’t force people to change what or how they want to express themselves. I told her to filter, block, ignore or blacklist what she doesn’t like to see on the internet to make her social media experience easier for her. But she still pushed back, saying it’s not that easy because someone can get hurt by that. I repeated my point back to her, saying that the internet isn’t going to accommodate to everyone but that she has the right to control what she doesn’t want to see by filtering tags and using the block button. I also told her I wasn’t fine with how she left rude comments under my friend’s post (there were more of them but she deleted that too so I can’t find it). So she apologised how she got very upset over a harmless post before blocking me here. Then I messaged her on my main blog. I reasonably advised her not to push her agenda on me and my friend again and that she wasn’t obviously doing well mentally. I told her to take a break from the internet, to stop disturbing me and Millie, to filter what she doesn’t like. Then once she mentally recovers, she can come back on social media again.
You know how this girl responded? She wrote an angry message saying I made her cry and that I “don’t respect characters” before screaming at me to leave me alone before blocking me. (I would’ve showed you all the messages leading up to that but I don’t wanna be a hypocrite by leaking my DMs like she did).
After blocking me, she made a few public posts crying about how I “bullied her” and that “I was a cruel person who ripped her jaw out.” Calling herself a victim and all that when I reasonably (I repeat, reasonably without attacking her) to take a break off the internet for a while and she goes around whining about it on her posts.
However, Jenna has shown to be tricky because she constantly switches her opinions about me. Because at one point she did apologise to me before going back to hating me. The next time, she apologised to me again saying that I’m a good artist and she wanted to be friends with me. On top of that she kept asking me for art trades too, which I also declined. However, weirdly enough she tends to rescind her apologies about me because she still thinks I was the one who bullied her when I never actually attacked her.
(Here’s the apology she issued to me before she deleted it. She tends to do this a lot weirdly.)
After issuing an apology to me (which she rescinded), I didn’t take much issue with her after that so I went back to being neutral about her. That is, until she began sending me things that I wasn’t really interested in at first. The last straw was when she sent me her Nacha x Nocturna ship. I don’t mind if she loves her own yumeship. But I took issue with how she sent me that ship of hers because I don’t like it when people send me other ships that didn’t involve Francis and Nacha, other than MilkBread obviously. She pushed me at my limit because I don’t like it when she forces her yumeship down my throat. All this time, I deliberately ignored her. And since that was the last straw, I blocked her.
(This is what she sent me before I blocked her👆)
The most audacious thing she did after I blocked her? She went over to my side blog to message me there, even though I already blocked her on my main account (since you can’t block anyone on your side blog on tumblr unless you go on the web). She didn’t take the hint that I blocked her and I didn’t want to interact with her but she came over to message me on my second blog anyway to keep sending me stuff I don’t want (including her self insert ship with Nacha), asking me for an art trade and above all, asked me if we can still be friends (even though I already blocked her for a reason).
(Here is the video she sent to me where she apologised to me again and asked me to be her friend).
At this point, I had to ask her why she’s doing all this. She told me she wanted to be friends with me yet she thinks I owe her an apology for being ‘mean’ to her. I explained that I only advised her to not push her opinions or her ‘movement’ onto people and to blacklist anything she doesn’t want to see. While she acknowledged she could’ve worded what she said better, she told me “her characters are extremely precious to her” and that my words hurt her.
In her words, “I am holding onto my defensiveness a bit too long now” after she went on about how I keep “deflecting” her when I refused to apologise for ‘bullying’ her. At this point, there is no arguing with her anymore so I had to settle whatever feud we had to appease her once I told her to stop sending me all that stuff I don’t wanna see anymore. The way she phrased it after I had to tell her I’m sorry is condescending too since she said, “Good. You learned something.” While we reached a neutral ground, that isn’t all the things she did.
She leaked my private conversation with her onto a public post as you can see in the screenshots above. This is an invasion of my privacy and what she did was considered harassment. Also bear in mind, from what you saw in the screenshots of her posting the leaked messages, this was posted weeks ago and her ‘apology’ wasn’t issued here. In fact when she posted those leaked messages publicly, all she wrote was “I don’t really know what to say other than this happened to me a few months ago.” Nothing else. No apology. Nothing else. Just this statement with those words.
I think it’s safe to say that she wanted to leak my messages in order to make it look like I was the one bullying her and make her seem like a perpetual victim. She wanted to get attention for herself out of some self-deprecating pity party she wants to garner and wanted everyone to see how I ‘wronged’ her (which didn’t work since that post didn’t gain any traction).
I showed that post to another friend of mine. She told me she showed Jenna’s post to some of the TNMN community on discord. Needless to say, no one was on Jenna’s side. She also told me that someone reached out to Jenna to tell her to delete the post and asked her to get help. To my surprise, I thought she actually did take it down, except she never did delete the post.
It turns out it was still up there. Jenna never actually listened. She only privated that post. And once things settled with me, she thinks editing the post with that added ‘apology’ would be a band aid solution to smooth things over. The fact she never took down the post that leaked my messages goes to show what kind of person she really is. She still wanted to keep playing the victim after she harassed me and my friend yet thinks she is entitled to an apology from me to soothe her ego. And the fact she didn’t listen when she chose not to take down my leaked DMs only to cover her ass with her so called apology proves that she’s not really sorry about breaching my privacy and only made that to make herself seem more sympathetic. Oh, and leaving mean comments on a pairing you dislike, harassing people for what they wanna draw and leaking someone’s messages online does count as bullying behaviour, doesn’t it?
While Jenna isn’t the most harmful person, she isn’t mentally well and has became problematic when she interacted with me and my friend. Like I said before in my previous post, don’t go out of your way to bully this girl. Just ignore or block her. All I’m doing by bringing these issues from my experiences with Jenna to light so people can know how troublesome she is. And if she goes around harassing me and my friend over her own ‘CHS movement’ under the guise of attacking a ship she didn’t like, prohibiting us from creatively expressing what we want to draw and leaking my private messages to use it against me to make it seems like she’s the victim, then I don’t stand for it. All it proves is that Jenna is a delusional person who has little concept of boundaries and constantly calls herself a victim after she did all the things I mentioned previously.
Jenna, if you’re reading these, I know you will go on your blog to cry about it again by making little pity party posts and have your other Nacha rp side blogs to hype you up. I know you will likely call yourself the victim and call me a bully again. You didn’t listen when someone told you to take down the post where you leaked my messages because all the apologies you gave me weren’t actually true. You claim that your favourite fictional characters are extremely precious to you and you think they deserve respect like real people yet you go out to harass me and my friend? After our last interaction and seeing how you didn’t take down that post, you’ll call me being mean and defensive again all you want but I’m gonna say it anyway. My patience has worn thin. I’ve had enough of you harassing me and my friend. I’m not responsible if my artwork made you uncomfortable or if your feelings got hurt when I gave you simple advice. And I shouldn’t owe you an apology for all this after what you did. I know you’re depressed. I know you want attention. So if you have so much respect for fictional characters, why don’t you respect other people’s boundaries better next time, don’t go harassing other people like you did with me and Millie and GET PROFESSIONAL HELP.
Hello, this is Onyx speaking. I don’t like making call-out posts since I prefer not to get involved in drama about something like this but this issue has been bothering me for a while now. As you all read the title, this is a call out post on a person who has been harassing me and my friend for the past months. She goes by the name Jenna or if any of you in the TNMN fandom has seen her blog, lady-jenesis.
Now, this post isn’t meant to bully this person. And to any of you reading this, don’t go out of your way to bully or harass this girl either. That’s not the point. I’m only bringing forth the bad experiences I had with her because I had enough of her behaviour and I’m making this post to show my disapproval towards her actions.
1. She left rude invasive comments under my friend’s post and messages.
Now at first, this girl seemed harmless at first when she interacted with my blog or anyone else’s. She would roleplay as her self insert/AU version of Nacha called Nocturna Timor (who’s basically a cryptid/monster version of Nacha) under her blog @/nightterrornacha. She roleplays as Nocturna like this enemy for SK Francis because of her love for Nacha and she hates his guts or whatever. So oftentimes, she would go under this blog to steal Nacha away from SK Francis or try to be friends with him but end up having a crash out because she can’t get Nacha either. It wasn’t anything malicious because she was only playing a character. That is until I saw how she posted her disdainful comments under my friend Millie’s post.
This is the post she commented under in case you’re asking:
💬 16 🔁 14 ❤️ 74 · Relax
As you can all see, you can see how Jenna over here is leaving rude invasive comments about her disgust under Millie’s post. Simply because:
A) she ships her own self insert Nocturna with Nacha and here she is crying under Millie’s post because in her mind she doesn’t get to have Nacha but the milkman can. She also claimed that she hates MilkBread (Francis x Nacha) before so it shouldn’t be a surprise
B) she has this rhetoric where she thinks sexualising fictional characters are illegal. Yes, you heard that right. If you’ve been on lady-jenesis’s blog, she made a so-called movement of her own called the CHS movement where she advocates for the respect and rights for fictional characters and their creators because she thinks fictional characters are the most precious things ever and they shouldn’t be sexualised by the “dirty perverted minds of degenerates”.
Here’re some examples of her ‘movement’ btw:
Now, anyone is gonna inevitably find rule 34 fanart of their favourite characters and yes, some things can be weird. The internet isn’t gonna cater to everyone’s tastes and I know some people like her or minors can find this kind of thing uncomfortable. However, as long as the creator is fine with fanart like this and if the characters aren’t minors, animals or doing something weird and illegal of the sort, then anyone is allowed to draw however they want.
The thing is, Jenna here is complaining about a ship she didn’t like with TWO CONSENTING FICTIONAL ADULTS, who you see in Millie’s post, isn’t doing anything sexual and raunchy. At best, all Millie did was make a sexual innuendo between Francis and Nacha which only lead to Nacha giving Francis a foot massage. You heard that right, a sexual joke that only led to a foot massage in the end, yet Jenna thinks it’s the worst pornographic piece of art she’s ever seen in her life. It’s one thing if she’s a minor but Jenna is 20 as mentioned on her blog.
Look, everyone is entitled to their own opinion on different characters and ships. We all love our fictional favs, ships, blorbos, whatever you call them. And she’s allowed to hate Francis, love Nacha and have her own selfcest ship with her.
What I’m not ok with is how Jenna was leaving hate comments voicing her disgust for Millie’s fanart especially when she’s playing as her character Nocturna because she found it too sexual and to some extent, is attacking a ship that me and Millie love. While she can choose not to like the post Millie put out, I don’t stand for Jenna making a fuss or voicing her disdain for Millie’s artwork in her comment section over two fictional adults barely doing anything sexual.
This isn’t the only instance where Jenna harassed Millie. I can’t show you the messages Millie sent me about her because I respect Millie’s privacy and to not be a hypocrite for another reason that I’ll tell you all later. But what happened is that this girl:
Repeated asked for art trades and commissions from Millie. Millie declined her a few times yet she kept asking her from time to time.
Jenna DM’d Millie once where she voiced her complaints to the latter that she had unfollowed her because she didn’t like how sexual Millie’s post about MilkBread had been (even though Millie technically didn’t put out any nsfw art on tumblr because she’s aware of minors in the fandom). Jenna also told Millie how she didn’t like seeing MilkBread and she didn’t like her own perception of Nacha being ruined because she didn’t like how she made Nacha quote-unquote “too busty and curvy” and that Francis would be “too muscular”. So she didn’t want to follow Millie anymore cuz she couldn’t take seeing art of them anymore (even though she followed Millie again for some weird reason).
Call me crazy but going up to the person you unfollowed by telling them you don’t like the content they put out is plain rude. It’s alright if she chose to unfollow my friend and not like what she posts but she could’ve chose to keep that opinion to herself. But no. She had to message Millie and be rude to her again by voicing her dislike of her art because she didn’t want her version of Nacha to be ruined. That is why I don’t like what she said or did to my friend here. And I don’t know if she did the same to other people but if any of you have been harassed by Jenna before, please come forward to me to share your experiences with her or comment it.
summary: on his day-off, francis had expected to be lulled to sleep but ended up meeting a strange character who apparently knows of his murders.
word count: 2231 words
warnings: morbid objects, mentions of murder and mutilation, malicious intent
a/n: triple trouble!!!! writing ambrose was like breathing air, it came so naturally to me lmaoo. hey, if you're curious about trading with me for a fic, read this post!
credits: @thescarletkiller for the real angsty sk!francis thumbnail art & @/strangergraphics for the ao3 dividers
Yesterday had been one, extremely tiring day for Francis.
Yet another husband was home that day and accused him of sleeping with her wife when the mailman was sweating more about it than he was. On the bright side, no actual beatdown happened ---like they usually do--- and Francis got off with a heart heavy with annoyance but at least with no scars. Lord knows he can't keep splurging on medical supplies because some people like to swing their fist at any given time without any decent reason.
But today, home sweet home it is, and he is finally free from having to likely face off against another situation like that, with the worn down couch as his only friend in these trying times. And as he plopped down onto it, an object that had been squeezed between the head rest and the cushions was spit out in front of Francis, revitalizing the light in his eyes even if it was only a small ray.
Nacha… Francis frowned as he cradled the polaroid of a redhead woman with curly hair and the most beautiful freckled face, smiling wide at the camera. Oh, how he missed her. Why did she have to leave? He was doing so well, and yet… His eyes closed tightly. Perhaps if he couldn't see her now, with this picture as his reminder, he might see her in his dreams.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Francis's eye twitched but he kept his eyes shut, trying to drown out the knocking sounds by imagining the sound of Nacha's voice lulling him to sleep. That high-pitched but sweet, melodious voice of hers that never failed to make him feel at ease made him grin ear-to-ear until-
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
His eyes blew open wide and he let out a low grunt. The only person that could think of bothering him on his day-off would be the D.D.D. and yet he was pretty sure that they usually would turn the lights red in his room whenever they did that. This was just plain, rude knocking. And when the third loud sequence of three knocks happened again, Francis found himself rising to his feet quickly to stop it from becoming a fourth.
Francis's steps were rushed and he opened the door haphazardly on the third knock that was about to happen and he came face-to-face with the most curious guest that he had ever since on his doorstep. Ambrose, was it? Francis vaguely recalled from what the neighbors had spoken about him that he was a cold man who would cruelly prank other tenants with his 'mouth tarantula' trick---and Nacha had been one of his victims. Immediately, his mouth was set in a thin line and he expressed no enthusiasm in this surprise visit.
Still, it wouldn't do him any good to be rude to him. Small talk before other things, right? That's what his mother told him. Right now, he really wanted to drag this man inside and stab him to his rightful death, but he knew better than to go against his mother's teachings and lose his 'manners'.
"Mmm… Good morning…" He greeted flatly with a small nod of his head.
"You're Francis Mosses, right? The milkman?" The man didn't miss a single beat, which only made Francis more tense. "I've seen you around."
"You too." Or whatever he wanted Francis to say in that moment. Seriously, how does one even respond to that?
"I know it's you." Mmm- huh? "You've been killing people and mutilating their faces and bodies to the point that, if it weren't for individual apartments and their tenants being tracked, they wouldn't be identified at all."
Francis gritted his teeth and furrowed his brow. "…That's a dangerous claim to make. Are you certain you want to keep going with this assumption?"
"I want to know why you do it. What's your agenda?"
"I have no agenda. If you think I'm one of your cartoony villains in a cartoon show who plans to destroy the world, you're being childish. I'm not going around doing anything for fun."
"…You just confirmed that you are the killer."
His eye twitched and his extremely red eyes looked even more tired --- like they were going to pop a vein any second now. He stepped into Ambrose's personal space but the man didn't step back. "If you already know what happens to those people, then you should know I don't make exceptions."
"With mutilating their faces and bodies? I know. I'm the mortician."
Francis scoffed. "Then what are you here for?"
"Morbid curiosity, nothing more, nothing less." Ambrose met his intense gaze without any indication of fear in his eyes---not even a waver of his pupils. "Since you've confirmed to me that you're responsible for doing it. I want to know: why? What is your modus operandi here?"
"…Tsk, no matter what, you won't get me to say it."
"I won't tell the police."
"Still no. And if you're dead set on finding out, I will make sure there are no traces of you ever coming here after I'm done with you."
Ambrose sighed. It was tough luck trying to get someone to admit to their reasons, especially one for murder --- a normal person would conclude that, but he was not a normal person.
"The reason why I'm in my job is because of how aesthetically pleasing it is."
"...Pleasing? To see what? Dead people?" Francis snapped back.
Ambrose didn't let himself be baited. "Exactly. Corpses of all kinds are fascinating. The way your victims specifically had been horribly mutilated made me interested. Were you doing it for fun or for survival? You can say whatever, but I'd be disappointed if it was the latter."
"Hah…" What does it matter to me if this guy gets disappointed? But it wasn't survival either. For Francis, killing had been a favor to himself and society. Most of the folks he had killed had been nothing but scums to him, after all. So what did it matter? On the other hand, his previous kills had also become gratifying in a way. He might even go so far as to say that killing had been satisfying. Seeing the corpses he had mutilated beyond recognition, the way tissue and flesh merged together to create one beautiful red mess was so revitalizing. "The sight is… mmm… satisfying, I guess."
"You think so, too?"
Taken aback with confusion, Francis nodded his head slowly, while still feeling a bit suspicious.
"…My apartment is downstairs. We can talk there."
"Why not here?"
"I have a collection of gore, skulls, and other morbidities downstairs and it's not like it'll appear in your room out of nowhere."
"…I'll think about it."
Ambrose shrugged. "Suit yourself."
And then he was gone, like he hadn't just earned a target on his back from snooping his nose where it didn't belong. Well, it's not like he could actually kill the guy so soon after his previous one. Looks like he'd have to hold out.
Francis tsk'ed and stepped back into his apartment before kicking the door back into being closed.
That collection doesn't sound too bad…
And it looked like he was going to have something to do one of these days after all.
Two weeks later, Francis would be facing a door that he didn't think he'd be facing during his time while being in the apartment.
And as he stood in front of the red door to F02-05, he felt a sense of unease that he couldn't quite shake off. As far as he was concerned, Ambrose wasn't the only tenant of this room, and there was another person… Someone that Francis did not at all want to come face-to-face with, but it had to be done.
He lifted a hand up and knocked his knuckles against the wooden frame three times. It opened quick--- far too quickly for Francis's liking.
"Oh." Disappointment was already evident from her tone, but she still strained a smile towards Francis. Saeko, Francis recalled was her name. His blood boiled at the sight of her; after all, she was one of the only other people in the apartment who could talk with Nacha freely while he was forbidden to even go up to her apartment door. "Hello, Francis." He was just about to open his mouth but she cut him off faster. "No, sorry. Nacha isn't here and I don't think she wants to see you. So please leave her alone."
His eye twitched. For God's sake, that wasn't even who he was here for! And he knew full well that Nacha didn't want to see him. Why couldn't people just not be nosy for once and leave him alone on his thing with Nacha?
"Mmm… I'm looking for Ambrose…"
Her eyes widened, clearly not having predicted. "O-oh-! Really? Gosh, I'm sorry about that." Her apologetic tone didn't match her expression, however, which was still strained. Still she looked back at someone in the background that Francis couldn't see and proceeded to shout, "Babe! You have a guest!"
After a momentary pause, Saeko opened their door wider, letting Francis watch as Ambrose walked towards them in casualwear. "Ah, Francis, you've come."
"I had nothing to do…" He shrugged. "You mentioned a collection…?"
"This way. Saeko, please accommodate him."
Saeko bowed his head towards Francis and angled to the side to make room for Francis to enter their apartment. "Welcome in."
Francis's confusion was eased when he noticed that the woman beside him didn't actually look all that genuine about it and still strained to keep her smile warm and inviting. Whatever, right? He didn't really care about how others thought of him and he knew plenty of his neighbors hated him anyway.
He walked inside, following after Ambrose who patted a black cat sleeping soundly on top of a drawer in the middle of the room before continuing towards the door to his right and opening it with a twist of the knob. Once inside, Francis stopped in his tracks suddenly and looked up at the glass cabinet full of macabre objects --- human and animal skulls, jars containing preserved organs, and a poorly taxidermized bird that was probably customed.
"You like that one?" Ambrose said and opened the intricate glass door to take the taxidermized bird from the middle shelf. "This was one of my first works. Saeko and I found this bird dead on the ground, and to preserve it, I decided to try my hand at taxidermy."
"Aren't you a mortician…?"
"It's a hobby." Ambrose hummed and put it back inside." If you need anything taxidermized, I can do it for free."
"Huh… What's the catch?"
"You tell me about your reasons for killing."
"You're really still on that…?"
Ambrose shrugged.
"How do you even… mmm… know…?"
"I smelled blood in the bags you would dispose of."
"Smell…?"
"As someone who works in the mortuary, I'm familiar with the scent of blood."
"Couldn't you have… I don't know- reasoned out that it was because I had a wound…?"
"For me to even smell blood from your bag, it would have to be more than the meager amount a wound makes."
"…Fair enough…"
"So?"
"I killed them because I hate them."
"Is… that it?"
Francis sighed, "Of course you don't get it. You're not the one wearing a milkman uniform going door to door in people's apartments and getting beaten up by these people."
"I doubt that's all of it though."
"…"
Ambrose exhaled through his nose and decided to change the subject, "What other oddities have you taken a fancy in?"
Francis looked around and found himself staring at the human skull once again. "Is this…?"
"It's a real human skull."
"…There's a hole in its cranium."
"A gunshot wound," Ambrose replied and began wiping some of his skulls that had started to gather dust. "Donated his body to science. Thought I'd keep the skull…for science."
Francis snorted and looked around some more. "First a mortician, then a taxidermist, and now a scientist… You have a lot of jobs…"
Ambrose shrugged, "You've never seen a human skull before?"
"Sometimes…” Ambrose stared at him with an unbridled expression on his face. “I don't usually cut that deep…"
"Hah, well, it looks a little like this."
The emphasis on his last word made Francis turn his head around and almost give himself a heart attack when he saw the skull fit snugly like a costume mask on Ambrose's head. "What the-?!"
"Relax, relax…" His tone was dry, with a teasing lilt to it as he smirked. He finally took off the skull from his head and it almost got stuck midway but he didn't even panic as he simply angled it a different way and finally took it off of his head with a pop.
"That was a dead person's head…"
"Yes, and?"
Francis facepalmed.
"I'm not wearing anyone's skin, am I?"
"It might as well be the same thing." Francis sighed, but he felt a little… lighter(?) somehow. This man was interesting and even he couldn't deny it. For a man who seemed so apathetic, he had interesting hobbies and seemed genuine for the most part.
"What else do you want to see?"
One corner of Francis's smile twitched upwards and he tiredly pointed at a display of a preserved finger. "That one…"
summary: plain nacha dating the school's heartthrob is bound to get some looks, but when she was insulted on a double date for resorting to wearing her mom's dress and her boyfriend didn't do anything about it, she stormed out on them and met a certain strange boy who always sat alone during lunchtime.
word count: 2093 words
warnings: period-accurate sexism, ron granger
a/n: getting to trade with my most favorite tnmn artist EVER???? someone pinch meeeeeeeee is this the real life or is this just fantasy /lyr i had fun writing the milkbread dynamic in this one and made it extra sweet considering the og future stuff they will have is so freaking bitter (/pos). LET ME AT RONNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!! hey, if you're curious about trading with me for a fic, read this post!
credits: @notmyy4 for the amazing francis and nacha thumbnail art & @/strangergraphics for the ao3 dividers
Nacha knew full well she wasn't your run-of-the-mill popular girl who's extremely pretty---she wasn't perfectly skinny and even she didn't bother with a few bed hairs here and there---, but she was the straight-A student of her school who had her entire future set for her because of her intellect.
And Ron, the guy she was dating, was the school heartthrob. Nacha was smart enough to figure out that talks were gonna happen before she even agreed to him asking her out, but knowing something didn't equate to being unaffected by it. In fact, all it did was make her more frustrated, because people, as they were, couldn't somehow find it in them to mind their own businesses even after how many days had passed.
She would even go so far as to say that it was worse than their usual school gossip, because at least those faded into obscurity the moment someone opened their mouth about another one of Stacy's flings, but this didn't.
People would always think of her as the girl that never deserved Ron.
And it was even more obvious now, in front of her supposed friend with her boyfriend as they stared at her with a look that bordered on disgust mixed in with confusion. What they were so confused about? Probably strands of her curly hair that had gone rogue, maybe the way she had her back slightly hunched, or even her slightly wider nostrils from breathing slightly harder! They always found something to pick on when it came to her, and who wouldn't when the man next to her had looks equivalent to that of a Greek statue?
"Nacha…" That pitying tone… Nacha chewed on her lower lip, already aware of what was coming next. "That dress… isn't it a little too plain for a double date?"
Nacha's eyes blinked open wide. Of all the things they could insult her with, it just had to be her dress. The double date had come on such a short notice and before that, her only other dress that came in handy for these ostentatious events had been ruined when someone accidentally spilled their potent drink on her and ruined the color. Her mother lent her a dress from her own wardrobe, knowing she was distressed from not having anything to wear, and she had thought the blue polka-dotted dress was cute and modest enough for their tastes. But it seemed as if nothing she ever tried to do for these people was enough for them.
"Hah, that's what I told her!" Nacha's pupils moved quickly towards the corner of her eyes where her boyfriend sat languidly with his arms stretched wide over the seat's headrest behind him. His leg crossed over the other as he smirked. "It looks like something my mom would wear. Like, sheesh, what are you? In your 50s?"
The entire table burst into laughter except for Nacha who clenched her hands in her lap and gritted her teeth. What kind of boyfriend says that about their girlfriend in front of others? Nacha told him the circumstance surrounding her wardrobe change and he chose to make fun of it anyway?
"Haaa…" Ron wheezed loudly and noticed his girlfriend's dim expression. After rolling his eyes, he nudged her shoulder playfully in an attempt to coax her into speaking up. "Come on, babe, you should learn to take a joke."
"A joke?" When she finally bit back, the table around her turned silent. "I've been the brunt of the same joke ever since I started dating you, Ron, and it's getting fucking old!"
"Yeesh, smarty pants, tone your language down." Her 'friend''s boyfriend sassed and making Nacha's cheeks flush even more.
"You're not part of this!"
"Babe, calm down, are you on that time of the month again?"
At this point, Nacha could practically feel hot steam sizzling out of her ears and making her even angrier. "No! I'm not on my period-" Ron cringed, "-and I'm done hearing talks of how I'm out of your league so many times!" Tears began gathering in the corner of her eyes.
"Baby, you're embarrassing me right now…" Ron groaned. "Let's be reasonable here. It's just a dress, why do you suddenly have to make it all about yourself? You're fine the way you look! It's just the dress…"
"This was a dress from my mom, alright?!"
…
Silence ensued as the girl in front of her and her boyfriend looked at each other and shook their heads.
"Makes sense." Ron shrugged.
Nacha has had enough. She pounded both hands onto the table, gathered her bag and slung it around her shoulder before storming out on them. Stupid Ron and his stupid friends… Nacha wiped at the corner of her eyes stricken with tears, and turned a sharp right towards a corner of the diner. Unable to take any more of the emotions that were begging to explode on the surface, she ended up slumping onto the dark red wallpaper beside her.
With her back to the wall, she slowly slid off while sniffling and eventually fell completely onto the floor completely sobbing. She wrapped her arms around her knees and cradled her head in its confines while weeping.
Ugh, look at you… Nacha sniffled and wiped at her cheek for the beads of sadness that streaked down the slope of her skin. Pathetic, just as ugly as they say…
Her sobbing continued on for minutes until she felt something foreign touch her cheek and when she opened her eyes to see what it was, she saw ---even in the blurry haze--- a paper tissue being handed towards her.
"Here…" A soft-spoken masculine voice called out to her and it made Anastacha's cheeks flush with more than just the previous anger that had built up.
Ugh, of course someone can see you, Nacha… You're crying in the middle of a restaurant, not in a bathroom. Still, the thought of how she must have looked like in that moment made her unable to speak. Instead, she swiftly grabbed the tissue from whatever good Samaritan decided to grace her with their presence's hand and quickly fixed herself up with it.
"Careful… Don't do it too fast…"
She slowed down somewhat but was still in an obvious hurry to remove all evidence of flimsy emotion in the heat of the moment from her face. The man who had given her the tissue sighed as she finally opened her eyes to look up at her savior, fully intending to thank him until she saw what she was looking at and the words vanished before it could leave her mouth.
It's that kid… Nacha's eyes widened slightly, taking in his features--- the tired eyes, the sharp brown hair, and that hooked nose. There was no denying it.
"Mmm… You looked sad… No one usually cries in the middle of a restaurant…"
Nacha narrowed her eyes at him and pouted, not sure what to make of what he just said --- Was that an insult or…? Thinking about it, however, it was true that people didn't usually make floor break(down)s in the middle of a public establishment, lest they want to make a fool of themselves and be on the headlines of her high school's school-sanctioned newspaper. At that, Nacha let out a snort and hauled herself up, "Yeah, you're right. I'm the first one who's done it."
As she sat down next to him, he arched a brow towards her. "Why are you so sure of that…?"
Nacha rolled her eyes, it was so obviously a joke and yet it still managed to fly over his head. Oh well, she supposed from the dark bags under his eyes, he probably didn't have half a mind to think of anything too deeply.
"It's a joke, I'm Nacha. Nice to meet you."
"…Francis."
So it is him. Nacha swallowed. "I've seen you around. You always liked to sit by yourself, I'm surprised you're letting me sit with you."
Francis blinked. "You sat down yourself…" Nacha's brow twitched. "Besides… People don't usually sit with me, that's why…"
"Really? You don't seem mean-" Maybe a bit of an airhead. "-and you handed me that tissue just now so you must be really nice."
"That's not what they say…"
"Is it the eyes?"
Francis nodded, but didn't explain any further. Silence ensued for a few moments before he spoke up once more, "That, and I just try to get by… What's the point of befriending people in high school…? We'll all… yawn… graduate anyway…"
"That may be true, but you might go to college with some of them."
"Mmm…" He waved his hand dismissal. "It's a slim chance…"
Nacha sighed, somewhat annoyed by his pessimistic ideology. Still, he seemed to be genuine about it, and that just made it more sadder. "Why were you crying anyway…?"
"Oh- that…" Nacha frowned, recalling what they said about her and pinched the fabric of her dress to stretch it absentmindedly before releasing it with a sigh. "Hey, if you were to date the prettiest girl in school, how would you feel about being compared to her all the time?"
"The prettiest girl in school…?" Francis blinked. "That's subjective…"
"It's a hypothetical!" Nacha sighed and crossed her arms. Why was she even getting so worked up about his obliviousness? Whatever. "The point is, they keep comparing you to her, saying how she's much better than you, saying bad things about your looks and all of that…" She groaned. "It's a just an 'if' statement, alright?"
"…So that's what happened to you…"
"I'm not saying- ack- okay, fine! It is what happened! But with Ron…"
"Who?"
"Don't tell me. You don't know who Ron is?"
Francis shrugged.
"Oh my God…" Nacha couldn't help but cover her mouth to stifle a giggle. "You said you're just trying to get by and you don't even know some of the biggest names in school."
Francis tilted his head to the side, "I don't know him, but… I know you."
"Huh?" Nacha's face lit up.
"You're that girl who always took up the window seat in the library… You always look so focused while reading, it makes me wonder what it is you're reading…"
Nacha blinked twice and her face heated up. "You- you noticed that?"
"Mmm… Yeah… And you have pretty red curls and freckles and blue-and-green eyes… It's hard to forget you…"
She couldn't believe it. Was she really hearing all this from someone she only saw at lunch and didn't label further than the 'weird kid who sat alone at lunch'? And why was she getting so excited and flustered over it anyway?!
"Hah… You're just saying that. People say my clothes are plain, I don't have the energy or time to fix all my bed hairs down, and compared to-"
"Would I have recognized you if you looked plain…?"
"What- what does that mean…?'
"Mmm… I don't know…"
Nacha blinked and sighed. What did I expect… Still, hearing that from someone who barely interacted with anyone and looked like he was two nights of unrest away from stepping out of his body, it was… oddly nice. And definitely sounded more genuine than whatever Ron was even trying to pull back there. He has a point, Nacha herself barely saw other women who had all the features he listed about her. And wasn't that the reason why Ron approached her in the first place? …Okay, probably not. But still, if her looks caught the attention of someone who looked so absentminded and didn't even know who Ron is, then she wasn't at all the plain ugly girl that they gossiped in halls about when referring to her.
Finally, she stood up.
"Mmm…?"
Nacha shook her head. She wasn't just going to storm out and prove to be nothing more than a cowardly dog with her tail tucked between her legs! After all, she was Nacha Mikaelys; a straight-A student, the one who caught Francis Mosses's attention, and Ron Granger's girlfriend.
"I'm going to go back."
"Go back where…?"
"To my date. I kind of stormed out on them." Nacha scratched her cheek and smiled sheepishly.
"Okay…"
Nacha smiled and waved him goodbye, sprinting back towards her abandoned double date with renewed confidence. And in the back of her mind, as she sat back with her group and they laughed and chatted on like nothing happened, she made sure that next time, she would leave a thank you note on that lonely desk Francis always sat on.
immediate friend — trade for @thescarletkiller (part 2)
summary: a cruel joke reaches edmond's desk and he blames it on francis, who only wanted to get the school day over with so he can hang out with his only friend. except, they underestimated a certain someone's dedication to helping francis out and becoming his friend. (read this if you haven't yet: part 1)
word count: 1993 words
warnings: graphic violence, sexual perversion, use of slurs in a bigoted era
a/n: the last part! this is when lowell makes good on his thought of making francis his friend and also ends up helping both francis and nacha along the way. i had a hard time writing the entire scene of edmond beating francis up but i hope it's up to par with expectations. a lot of the details i included are headcanons for the ocs that onyx made so they may be inaccurate to their actual portrayal of them, but it was, nonetheless, a very fun write! if you're curious about trading with me for a fic and would like to take a slot, read this post!
credits: @bunnyspine for the lovely francis and nacha thumbnail art & @/strangergraphics for the ao3 dividers
After school was supposed to be the happiest time of Francis's day.
He ambled along cheerfully on the pavement towards the school gates, noticeably cheerful than he was previously during class. The encounter he had with Lowell earlier had been nothing short of 'unusual', even for Francis, but he'd correct that experience with a more positive one. Nacha was going to meet him, and they'd go the place that only they know about. They'd talk and share more stories about their day in school and other stuff. Francis could hardly wait that his footsteps only began to speed up as he got closer to the school gates.
That was when he suddenly felt his gut twist and the sudden force of something solid connecting with Francis's jaw. "YOU BASTARD-!" Francis crashed onto the ground and wheezed as he felt his ribs get crushed under the force of someone kneeling over his chest. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO PLANTED THAT CARD ON MY DESK!"
"Hrk-!" Francis coughed as the person that was weighing him down grabbed his collar and forced his head up. He opened one eye shakily to check who it was, only for another fist to fly straight into his face and punch it in.
"Yeah, Ed, fuck him up!" A familiar voice that grated in Francis's ears cheered even as his open eye from earlier bruised and throbbed with a darker color, making it hard to open again. His other eye is finally open now though, and he can finally identify the man that was practically staring at him with the glare of a thousand suns. Four more faces stared from behind him: Denver's eyes glinted joyfully as he watched, Kenly was smiling smugly, Ratface was counting the pennies that he had somehow stolen from Francis's pockets without him noticing with a 'tsk', and Ernest was averting his eyes completely from the sight as if willing himself out of the situation---and if Francis could only do that, he would.
His fist weakly clenched at his side, but that only served to make Denver's eyes glint again and his already monstrous smile widened. "Ohoho, someone wants to get fired up. Look, Ed, he's clenching his fist!"
At that, Ed raised another fist and Francis closed his unharmed eye, waiting for it to come---but a few seconds passed, and it didn't.
Instead, he felt another hand pull him up and shake him into opening his one eye fully. "-Fran, wake up!"
Francis blinked. It was Nacha, cradling his face with concern written all over hers. Edmond was pushed to the side with a book that wasn't there before at his foot, clutching his reddened cheek, while the rest of the bullies were behind her, all looking on in shock. It was clear on their faces that they hadn't expected this at all.
But that satisfying expression didn't last long enough for Francis to savor it because quickly, Denver's eyes glinted with something different this time. Francis's only eye widened and he felt sick to his stomach when he noticed how he was gazing at Nacha. His eyes travelled up and down her body as he bit his lower lip, sending goosebumps all over Francis's body before he pulled Nacha into his arms and started breathing harder.
"Francis…?"
"Oh, so that's why our little Fagcis here have gotten so tough lately." Francis was fully prepared to defend Nacha against Denver when he felt a strong force sending him staggering back.
"Beaner bitch," Edmond spat on the ground and glared at Nacha who was struggling against Denver's airtight grip on her wrist.
"LET ME GO!" Nacha thrashed against Denver and winced when he twisted her wrist---not enough for it to break, but enough for her to feel it.
"Easy now, missy," Denver smiled and brought his face closer to her. "You've got such soft, feminine features. A shame you're wasting all this beauty on a lame nancy like Fagcis over there. Can't even hold his own against one punch."
"H-Hey! Denver, leave her out of this! She's just a girl!" Earnest cried out, finally keeping his eyes on the scene unfolding before him.
Even Ratface looked on apprehensively, "Y-yeah… This is going a bit too far, Dev."
"Man, shut up, you two. Nobody cares. Hey, Ed, save all the punches you want to give this pretty lady for Francy. I'm gonna take her somewhere more quiet."
Francis's pupils constricted and the world around him suddenly went silent. The earlier pain he felt was lost in the haze of red that began to fill his gaze.
His hand reached for a rock that was sharp enough to make a cut even if he's unable to hit it hard and he waited silently for Edmond to make his move.
Edmond scoffed at Denver's command, but he didn't say any more as he slowly began walking up towards Francis with malice in his eyes. Denver began pulling Nacha away while she fought and dug her heels on the ground. Students that witnessed the fight either averted their eyes and ran with their tail tucked between their legs or tried helping but got pummeled into the ground similarly to Francis.
And speaking of Francis, he was as still and quiet as the rock in his clenched hand, like a predator waiting for a smaller predator to strike and get mauled in his hands. Edmond had half a mind to care now though---all he wanted to do was beat the daylights out of Francis until both his body and mind is completely shattered. A cruel joke like that only deserved the most cruel of punchlines, and right now, Edmond fully intended to deliver it himself.
"Sheesh, this school is so messy." A familiar, almost seductive lilt called out and a tall, teenage boy stepped into the scene; his red hair was swept wildly by the wind---giving him a roguish look that made him look far more handsome than these bad boy wannabes in front of him. Edmond stopped in his steps and his eyes landed on the strange, but handsome individual who didn't look like he was from their school in the slightest.
Then, his heart did the most strangest thing ever---it skipped a beat. His face flushed and he forgot what it was that was on his mind prior to that moment, instead, his lips parted slightly in a quiet gasp and he looked like he was about to say something but the words had been stuck in his throat---or maybe there were no words there at all, and he couldn't find any because there wasn't any to describe how his heart began to flutter at the sight of this charmingly handsome man in front of him.
"Hm? Francis, my friend, is that you?" Even Francis was brought out of his stupor by the strange man. He looked up, only for his eyes to widen at who it was.
"Lowell…"
Lowell smiled and turned to look at the bullies that had been pestering Francis and Nacha. Denver had lost his grip on Nacha's wrist for a moment after the unexpected entrance and she quickly ran over to Francis's side, already checking for his injuries and bruises. It warmed Lowell's heart a little to see her unharmed at the very least. "And who might you guys be?" He asked and his head tilted to the side. His eyes landed on Edmond first, who flushed and quickly averted his gaze from him. "I've seen you around here before. Tsk tsk tsk, what a mindless brute you are. Has picking on people smaller than you solved your mommy issues yet?"
The others were so sure that Edmond was going to go berserk right then and there at that comment Lowell made, but he didn't. If anything, he only curled in on himself and hunched over to make himself seem smaller, which was not at all how Edmond usually acted. It made even Denver's eye twitch and his pulse spike.
"Well? Is everybody so tongue-tied that they can't even answer me-?"
Lowell caught the motion of a fist flying towards him in his periphery and he effortlessly dodged it. Edmond, despite still being a flustered mess, had made his move, and it made Lowell smirk, which only sent the shorter man short-circuiting even more and throwing more lousy punches left and right. And Lowell, for his part, did well dodging each and every single one of them with a bored look, eventually throwing in a wink which made Edmond stop in his tracks only to get tripped over by the taller man in front of him.
That sent the bullies scurrying off and with Edmond practically unmoving on the ground and not saying anything but grunts and groans, Lowell decided to finally go on his merry way and follow after Nacha and Francis who already exited the school gates while the two boys had their scuffle.
"Whoo, that was too easy," Lowell whistled as he turned a corner and found Francis and Nacha having their moment---with the latter treating the other with her first aid kit. "Remind me to call you up one of these days whenever I get into a fight, Nacha. You look knowledgeable with that stuff. Are you sure you're not an undercover nurse?"
"How do you…?" Nacha shook her head, pushing it into the back of her mind---it was too unnecessary to ask at the moment. "He's stabilizing, but, I wish I could have gotten there earlier before all this." She motioned towards Francis's bruised and battered body.
"I'm fine…" Francis insisted.
"So you can still talk after all," Lowell sighed. "I thought you were a goner there for a second. That meathead looked ready to pummel you into the afterlife."
"Mmm… I'm used to it, but thanks…" Francis swallowed. "…for coming to save us, I mean."
Lowell smiled. "No problem, Francis. Besides, it was actually an unfair fight. That dude barely landed a blow on me- actually, he didn't land a blow at all." He tilted his face, showing off his unharmed skin. "See? I still have my beautiful face."
"Haha," Nacha chuckled which made Francis pout then wince because of a bruise there from earlier. "Thank you so much, Lowell, really. You've been a big help to us."
"I just did what a good guy should do," Lowell said humbly and gazed at Francis before dusting his pants and standing straighter. "Alright, then. I should leave before the sun sets."
"Mmm. Wait-" Francis finally spoke up; him and Lowell met each other's gaze. "…Do you want to walk home with us?"
"Hmmm…" Lowell pondered, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Sure, why not." He shrugged, but from the way his eyes lit up, it obviously meant more to him than he willingly showed. "The school day's over and I've decided that you two are my new friends now, so let's walk like good friends would."
Francis blinked. Lowell had been calling him his 'friend' ever since they first met, but this was the moment that registered it in Francis's head. "Yeah… Good friends…"
Nacha smiled and felt her heart warm at the sight of the two boys getting along nicely. "You're more than welcome to be friends with us, Lowell!"
"Heh, let's go then. It's more dramatic to walk down the road while the sun still sets."
And so, the three walked together, closing the day behind them on a chapter that would be forever ingrained in Francis's memories: the day when he first met and became friends with Lowell Carmine.
first meeting — trade for @thescarletkiller (part 1)
summary: on an atypical day, francis meets a boy his age who's unexpectedly more than the rumors made him out to be.
word count: 1559 words
warnings: none
a/n: alright, this was originally intended to be just one fic but i made it a two-parter because the first meeting with francis was longer than my typical fics now and i had a feeling the next scene with lowell (onyx's oc) intervening in the bullying situation would be much longer. lowell is so fun to write dialogues for, playboy menaces, my beloved archetype... if you're curious about trading with me for a fic and would like to take a slot, read this post!
credits: @bunnyspine for the lovely francis and nacha thumbnail art & @/strangergraphics for the ao3 dividers
Today was just supposed to be like any other day, as Francis wanted it to be. He was just talking briefly with Nacha for the five minutes she allowed herself out of her other "friends'" side, going on about the things that happened during class and whatnot when she suddenly mentioned something that made Francis perk up and stand straight.
"Oh, and we saw a boy this morning! The girls were all raving about how good-looking he was. I always thought it was weird when I say I have red hair because well… This isn't really red, is it?" Nacha giggled as she threaded her fingers through her hair and flipped them behind her. "But his was this vibrant red - it was the color of cherries! Even I couldn't help myself from staring at him."
Francis narrowed his eyes and his gut clenched. "You… did?" Nacha nodded with a smile on her face, which only made his brows furrow and his frown deepen this time. "Do you find him handsome…?"
"Ah, I mean," Nacha blinked, flustered, "I'd be lying if I said he wasn't, Francis."
Francis was silent. "Oh…" That only made Nacha somewhat anxious, but she exhaled and offered him yet another, softer and reassuring smile before pushing herself off the wall.
"Let's talk later, alright? I'm gonna go have lunch with the girls now!" Francis waved sadly as he watched her practically run away from him. He didn't know why, but the thought of another boy catching Nacha's sights made him want to flare up with anger and punch something. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides before he heaved a huge breath, grabbing his lunch from his lap and standing up to go outside of school and eat there instead.
Once outside, he expected peace and quiet as he went right around a corner and placed his lunchbox atop a rectangular platform---which was really just a former stone pillar for the traffic lights that was missing its upper half.
However, as his luck---which was usually bad---would have it, a shadow loomed over his back and Francis immediately went and snapped his entire body in the direction of the shadow so fast that it gave him whiplash when he realized it wasn't at all any of the boys he expected. Instead, it was a face that was both a stranger and also not quite---for he possessed a certain feature that wouldn't leave his mind since it was mentioned.
Cherry red hair.
Francis's eyes narrowed into a glare and the other man blinked in confusion. "Whoa, what did I do to you, pal? You look like you're going to eat me alive."
"What are you doing here?" In truth, Francis had seen him many times before---charming girls in front of the school gates and getting their numbers like it was nothing; his name had been infamous in their school despite him not attending it---and yet, he had never felt more infuriated by the sight of that face than he was now. "Shouldn't you be busy playing around with the girls in the compound? I'm sure they must be waiting for you to come sweep them off their feet."
"Never heard you talk this much before," Lowell chuckled amusedly which only made Francis's blood boil. "Relax, dude, I'm just bored, and you looked like you had some really good food."
Francis's eyes glanced towards the lunchbox Nacha left him with then back towards Lowell's gaze, his pupils darkening by the minute. "I haven't even opened it yet."
"But you will, right? Can you give me some? Please? Pretty please, with a maraschino cherry on top?"
The mention of 'cherry' only made Francis look at his hair and scowl. "No."
"You're very handsome, you know," Lowell said, immediately steering off course in an attempt to still reach the finish line---which in this case, was getting Francis to agree with his request. "I'm sure a lot of women, and maybe even men would fall and get all willy nilly over you. So why don't you help a poor friend out and add to your looks with some good moral character? How's 'bout that?"
The audacity.
The sheer audacity of this man calling himself Francis's friend when they've only actually gotten around to finally talking today of all days when his blood boiled hot with rage over him catching Nacha's sights so effortlessly.
Francis shook his head firmly.
"Aw, do you hate me that much? You know, if you're that threatened by the thought of me swooping in and stealing your girlfriend, then-"
At that word, Francis's cheeks completely darkened with the shade of red and he backed away from him faster than he had turned to face him earlier. "Y-You…" Francis's face was scrunched up and then relaxed as he took in a deep breath and exhaled. "I don't like it when people like you do that."
"Do… what?"
"Toy with others' emotions. Just because you're… good-looking and popular doesn't give you the right to do that." He wanted to say more---to say how much he feared that he was no different from the bullies at his school---but Francis swallowed the rest of the words lingering on the back of his tongue. "I won't let you do that, not to Nacha. Leave her alone."
"…So that's her name, huh? Nacha…" Francis flinched, expecting something worse, but instead, Lowell started laughing heartily like he just said something funny. He was about to butt in and defend Nacha's honor when Lowell opened his mouth before he could and wiped the nonexistent tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. "Relax, relax, I'm not her to take anyone off their rockers. Your girlfriend is all yours."
"She's not my…" Francis trailed off and his cheeks dusted with pink as he averted his gaze completely.
"You're interesting, Francis, but don't worry, I'm not that kind of guy, I can assure you."
Francis recalled each and every conquest that the rumor mill had created about Lowell. "That doesn't assure me at all… Also, how did you know my name?"
"Ehhh, lucky guess?" Lowell winked. "You look like a France-is guy. You must be quite the romantic, aren't you?"
"Not really…" Francis sighed and didn't push it anymore. He figured he must have eavesdropped it somehow---and since he knew about his talk with Nacha, it was a more likely scenario than him just randomly guessing that.
Lowell smirked. "Well then, you've come to the right guy- or is it that the right guy has come to you?" He shrugged and bared his canines. "Whichever, I'm your guy when it comes to that stuff. With me around, I bet you can finally start turning your life around and get a 'yes' from that red-haired girl."
"Or you'd just steal her away…"
Lowell's expression didn't change as he leaned against the wall behind him with his arms behind his head. He looked up towards the guy and sneered. "It's pretty cloudy today, eh?"
Francis blinked up at him in confusion. Don't people usually use the save small talk at the start of a conversation not for later?
"My name's Lowell, though you also already know that."
"Yeah…"
"You seem calm. Sassy, but fun."
Francis crossed his arms over his chest and arched his brow. What is he getting at…?
"You know, I've gotten quite tired of people being so temperamental and obsessed with their image. But you don't seem like the type of guy." Lowell finally met his gaze. "Hey, would you like to be-"
Grumble…
Their eyes met for a few awkward seconds before Francis tore his gaze away and Lowell put a hand on his mouth to stifle his chuckle. "Yeah, you probably haven't eaten lunch yet. Go on, bud, eat to your heart's content."
Who is he? My mom? Francis's scowl deepened despite the pink dusting his cheek and he shook his head rapidly. "I can eat without you giving me a pep talk."
Lowell shrugged. "Heh. Whatever you say, bud."
And as the minutes went on, Francis continued eating in silence while Lowell chatted his ears off about anything and everything---the topic as mundane as Lowell can get. He rambled on about girls---the crazy ones, the good ones, and the ones who just didn't care after. Francis could never have imagined a life as colorful and action-packed as Lowell's being possible until now.
He was about to say more when the bell finally rang and Francis finished his lunch at just the knick of time.
"Looks like that's the bell." Lowell smiled and put his hands in his pants pockets. "You always come in this exact same spot, Francis?"
"You would know," Francis iterated while packing up his lunchbox.
Lowell chuckled. "You guessed right. Seems like you're not as bad as I thought after all."
What did he think before this then? Francis wondered but shook the thought out of his mind. "Mmm. I'm going."
"See you around, Francis." But Lowell didn't move from his spot---instead, he watched Francis's back as he walked back towards his school gates and disappeared into the courtyard. His smile remained even as his company is lost because one thing was still for sure:
I'm going to make that Francis guy my friend, no matter what.
summary: two teenagers meet almost everyday at the empty park swings and today is no different, except this time, things get revealed.
word count: 2454 words
warnings: mentions of domestic violence
a/n: alright, whew, i was extremely LOCKED IN while writing this fic. i just really liked their dynamic and the idea from the prompt my friend gave me kept flowing on and on and on until i eventually ended up with the longest trade fic i've ever made in my trading career, enjoy the milkbread, i baked it thoroughly for two hours. almost forgot to mention that this is also a continuation of this fic so read that first if you haven't yet!
credits: @hellosweetart for the awesome milkbread thumbnail art & @/strangergraphics for the ao3 dividers
The park was empty after three o'clock in the afternoon, as always. Besides Francis, only an elderly couple would consistently come at an hour like this with the snow raining over the greenery and the cold almost unbearable. Still, even a negative degree celsius never stopped Francis from coming back here after his morning shift at his part-time job, and it was as plain as the snow gathered atop one of the swings part of the playground set to see why.
His thoughts filled itself with a girl's freckled complexion and mismatched eyes as he swept the snow off with his gloved hands and sat down on the swing. Francis still couldn't believe how fast time had passed with Nacha---before she came to his life, time moved torturously slow, especially on the days when he'd face the wrath of his father, Richard. Now? The hours spent at work barely registered to him anymore. Other than the tiredness that seeped into his bones from a job (hopefully) well done, everything else seemed to pass by so quickly as long as he had the routine of Nacha coming to their usual spot and talking to him like a normal human being.
Francis sighed and smiled to himself while imagining Nacha's smile, Yeah… As long as I have her, this life is still worth living… His eyes felt heavy and his vision blurred at the edges as time passed by. How long ago was it that he had eaten something? He had skipped on lunch break because the prospect of spending a single dime on food felt unnecessary, especially when the reason for him taking up work was… Francis's smile fell at the flashback of his mother completely bedridden and her medicine running short on stock.
A sigh was just about to escape his lips when a loud, sweet voice called out from afar, "Francis!" His breath hitched in his throat and he snapped his chin up to watch as Nacha ran towards him, her blue pencil skirt flew in the direction of the wind along with her scarf while she looked to be carrying a metal tumbler in one hand and a plastic of goodies being cradled on her other arm.
"Hah…" Nacha panted as she got ready to sit on the empty swing besides him. Francis hurriedly swept the snow away before she could get her skirt wet by sitting on it and immediately placed his hands on his lap and twiddled his fingers. "Whew…" Even though she was breathing hard, she still managed a huge smile and a hearty laugh, which Francis returned---albeit, a little crooked. She looks… extremely happy today, Francis thought as he stared at the side of her face. "Wow, that was a long run from here to there. But I didn't want the bread to go cold and stale, so I had to actually make a run for it this time."
Francis perked up on his swing and his grip on the chains tightened as his stomach let out a horribly loud growling sound. Nacha blinked, which made Francis flush and avert his gaze. "U-Um…" He stammered, completely at a loss for a words. This wasn't the first time Nacha had prepared snacks for their meeting, and given that she had shown such an unrivaled passion for cooking through her ramblings, it wasn't the last. Still, the embarrassment ate at him; after all, the reason for why he skipped out on lunch break was also partly due to Nacha always making sure he was fed when they would meet in the park.
"Teehee, I didn't know you wanted my cooking that much, Francis." Nacha teased, narrowing her eyes at him with a mischievous smile.
Francis's lower lip quivered and he bit it down while mumbling, "Mmm, of course I do…"
Nacha smiled wider, "Well, a chef is not complete without her taste tester. I actually made something new today and I'm a little bit prouder of myself because of it! Would you like to try it, Francis?"
Oh, so that's why she looked so happy today, Francis acknowledged in his mind and nodded fervently.
Pleased, Nacha didn't hesitate to grab something from her paper bag, and presented it to him with the same flourish that she did when she showed him the contents of the first aid kid all those months ago. Francis looked at it curiously, it looked like some sort of bread bulging with whatever filling it had. "Ta-da! It's called empanada! I read about it from one of my mom's old food magazines. These ones are very popular back in my home country, and they're really savory!"
Francis never once doubted the description Nacha gave him. Knowing her skills, it probably tasted just as good---no, better---than how she described it as. He eagerly took the empanada she handed to him in both hands like it was some kind of treasure before bring it to his mouth with just one hand and taking a bite out of it. Was that…? His eyes blew wide open as he tasted the cacophony of ingredients that were beans, cheese, chicken, and minced potato, as well as ground beef.
Nacha watched amusingly as Francis scarfed down his meal, wolfing it down entirely in just three bites. When he made a look even after devouring one empanada, Nacha placed two more in his hands and watched as he devoured them too. All the while, she was content while nomming on her own piece.
"That was…" Francis trailed off as he wiped the corner of his mouth, leaving no crumbs in Nacha's cooking's wake. "Good. Really good, Nacha."
"I'm glad you think so, Francis." Nacha giggled as she wiped the corner of her lips after finishing her empanada and handing the metal tumbler to Francis after taking a quick sip.
Francis gladly swallowed down a good amount of its content, only pausing to check for himself what drink the sweet and chocolatey taste was from and concluding in his mind that it was hot chocolate, before taking another long sip and letting the hot beverage warm his insides.
Nacha took the tumbler from him as she heaved a content sigh---coincidentally, Francis burped at the same time and made her laugh in surprise. Francis stared at her as she laughed heartily, watching as her features contorted so beautifully on her freckled face---it made her look like a radiant goddess in his mind. "Haha… You really do like my cooking, don't you, Francis?"
"Of course, it's the best I've ever had."
"Really?" Francis nodded. "Ah, I'm so embarrassed. I'm still just a novice in cooking, after all." He tilted his head in response, not quite believing it. "Hmmm… Oh! I know!" Nacha clapped her hands together in epiphany. "My next goal is to make more servings of my cooking next time so you can bring some home to your family! If you're this sweet about my cooking, I can only imagine your parents' reactions!"
This time, however, Francis's eyes constricted and looked smaller than it had been previously. My family… His forehead wrinkled as he scrunched up his nose. There was only one person in his home life that would genuinely be kind enough to actually judge Nacha's cooking fairly, and she was stuck in bed without her sense of taste. His face darkened and his gaze naturally drew towards the ground---like it always did when he was contemplating something.
Nacha narrowed his eyes and her face fell slightly as she put a hand above his shoulder, hovering over it just in case he didn't want to be touched. "Hey… If it's a sensitive topic, I understand." Francis looked up at her, his lips slightly parted. Nonetheless, Nacha gave him a reassuring smile in turn. "I'm always here for you, Francis. Whenever you feel like telling me, I'd be willing to listen."
"I…" Francis racked his brain for any good response, but his head kept filling up with these negative thoughts. Why now? Why in the presence of someone he looked up to and felt the most happiest around? It made him look even more pathetic than he already was. Still… As he turned to look back at Nacha and catching a glimpse of those mismatched eyes staring back at him with a sympathetic gaze, he couldn't just freeze up and keep the truth about his family hidden anymore. "My mom… is sick…"
Nacha's eyes widened and she placed a hand on her chest while gripping one of the chains with her other hand tightly. "Oh no, is she okay?"
Francis smiled up at her sadly, "She'll be fine… At least, that's what I want to believe, and what I've been working so hard for."
"Francis…"
"My dad has been complaining about the medical bills for her so she's stuck at home while she recuperates and I've… been working part-time as a cashier at this small grocery store north of town so I can pay for her meds." Francis sighed. "It's not ideal, but it's like you've always said to me before, that at least, I'm taking steps to try and make it work."
"What about your dad?" Francis stared at her wordlessly for a moment. "Sorry, it's just… Aren't fathers supposed to be the ones supporting their family at a time like this? I mean, it's not like I can say for certain, after all, my mom and dad only got recently in touch with each other after getting divorced and well-" Nacha captured her mouth with her own hands and shook her head rapidly to get further thoughts out of her head. "Sorry, sorry, this isn't about me. I get way too ahead of myself sometimes, it's a bad habit."
"Mmm… It's fine…" Francis smiled reassuringly. "…Your parents were divorced?"
"Yeah, but, I mean, it's confusing, really," Nacha smiled nervously as she fidgeted with her skirt. "They were in a loving marriage. Totally no reason for them to get divorced, but they still did. And now, we're here in the States, to reconnect with my dad."
"…That sounds nice…"
"That's one way to put it… What about you? Your parents are married, right?"
"Yeah…" Francis narrowed his eyes. "But they really should have gotten divorced earlier…"
"Francis, you can't just say that-"
"My dad beats my mom." Francis interrupted, sending Nacha speechless. "She's kind, and sweet, and so patient with him, meanwhile he does terrible things to her without her even doing anything to him at all."
"I, I'm sorry…" Nacha hung her head low. "I didn't know… Does he…" She chewed on her lip and didn't dare look Francis in the eyes for this one. "Did he beat you too…?"
"…Yeah…" Francis said and raised his sleeve farther up his arm, to reveal cuts and bruises that was definitely not just from the bullies this time (given that it was already their Winter break after all, and they hadn't seen them in a week now).
"That's- that's horrible! We should-"
"Call a police…? They won't believe us, Nacha. Besides… I really don't want to make it more complicated for my mom…"
"But still… He can't keep getting away with this, Francis." She reached her hand out and placed it on top of his, making him flinch. Nacha also felt an electric sensation suddenly course through her veins, but she pushed it to the back of her mind while thinking of something to say. "Is this… also why they bully you?" Francis nodded slowly. She sighed, "I figured…"
"It felt really lonely before you… well…"
"Yeah, same here." That surprised Francis, who looked up at her with tears being shed slowly in the corner of his eyes. "I… always felt lonely, especially when I was a kid. It was around at the time when my mom and dad got divorced. I didn't understand any of it all. Why my mom chose to divorce my dad, why my dad didn't even fight it. I was confused about a lot of things, and because I was the only kid who only had a mom in a brand new country with kids I didn't know, I felt… isolated."
"But you have so many people around you."
Nacha shook her head. "That may be so, but… they're more like background noise! You know, when you turn on the TV in the early morning despite there being no programs available and it's just white noise…" Francis didn't quite get it, really. Maybe because he didn't have a TV anymore after Richard had broken their new one not too long after, but also because he didn't share the same situation as Nacha. He never had friends before, and the people around him were still loud. There was never a day of quiet in his life, that is until Nacha came to him like a guardian angel in his time of need. Nacha noticed his confused expression and sighed, "I guess what I wanted to say is that… They don't really matter to me. They're mean, and they say thing I don't agree with, but I'm more scared of being alone than actually standing up for myself and becoming isolated like I was again."
…
"That's why…" Nacha took one of his hands in both her hands and looked into his eyes intensely. "I really admire you, Francis."
"M-me? You're mistaken, I… sigh There's nothing good about me…"
"But there is! You just fail to see it because everyone around you keeps on pointing out your flaws. You're stronger than you think you are, for never bending your back just to please someone, for aways staying true to yourself despite the people who try to break you down for it."
"Nach…"
"I… I could never be like that."
Their eyes finally met and the budding heat that creeped up to Nacha's cheeks made her finally aware of how intimate it was to be holding Francis's hand like this and she kindly put it back down on her lap before putting her hands back on hers.
The two turned dead silent as the conversation was completely forgotten.
After a few more minutes of deliberation, one of them finally decided to speak up.
"…Thank you." Francis quietly muttered, loud enough for Nacha to hear and be swiftly carried away by the cold, winter breeze.
Nacha smiled, "…No need…"
For the rest of the day, the two felt just a little bit lighter and a little bit suspicious of the butterflies that invaded their stomach, fluttering around with a hidden message they have yet to decipher.
Maybe one day, they will find out what it is.
For now, their feelings slowly become solidified by the cold Winter atmosphere.
summary: in a universe where nacha was a new transfer student in the same high school as poor francis, she shows him a rare moment of kindness that left him actually feeling hopeful for the rest of the day afterwards.
word count: 1681 words
warnings: use of slurs in a bigoted era, mentioned violence, and an extremely unhappy francis
a/n: this francis is specifically an sk! francis by my friend, onyx, who wanted a milkbread au where him and nacha ended up meeting in high school. their prompt was so sweet and i genuinely enjoyed making their interaction so bittersweetly diabetic
credits: @notmyy4 for the lovely milkbread thumbnail art & @/strangergraphics for the ao3 dividers
The cafeteria was loud and bustling with energy, just what you'd expect from American high schools. Nacha had seen it in movies and even some of the cartoons when she was a kid, but she didn't think it was actually accurate until now.
And just her luck, as the newest transfer student, many of her classmates have naturally gravitated to her. One of the more popular girls in her class even offered her a seat at their table, and Nacha, during her bewilderment, almost stuttered while saying yes.
Now, Nacha sat among them at the far end of the table, where she watched them laugh at each other's inside jokes and talk about things like their boyfriends or the new shopping mall being constructed down at Flatbush Avenue. She mostly stayed in the background and occasionally echoed a sentiment from the other girls when it was needed.
Then, finally something that wasn't about boyfriends or new hangouts (that Nacha was sure she wasn't even going to be invited to) was brought up among them and it made Nacha's ears perk up and get herself out of her head for once during the entire exchange.
"Oh yeah, I heard that boy- what's his name again? Fagcis?" Some of the girls giggled at the cruel nickname and Nacha could only giggle with them. "So yeah, that guy. He got into another fight with some of the boys at our school."
"Well, I wouldn't say it was a fight, he barely even got to return a hit," the blonde one said, swirling her peas around with her fork. "Honestly, it's a miracle the boy's still not dead."
"What was he even thinking when he tried swinging his fist at my lovely Edmond?" The girl with wavy brown hair rolled her eyes. "He deserves it just for trying to damage his beautiful face."
"Ugh, Fagcis this, Fagcis that," the bossy-looking one of the bunch with the red hair crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm so tired of him. Can he just die already?"
"Heard he was bleeding badly from some really bad cuts and the boys, including your precious Edmond, were guarding the nurse's office, so he might not survive after all."
Nacha's face contorted with each and every exchange that the girls threw at each other. Frankly, she didn't know why this boy didn't just hang his head low and avoided the bullying, but if he was bleeding, that must mean he needed help, right?
Compelled, she finally decided to speak, albeit, it was quiet at first, "Um, if I may, where did they last see him?"
"Nobody knows," the blonde shrugged. "He ran off like a dog with his tail between his legs to god knows where. Didn't even attend his classes, I heard. Since none of the boys have seen him at school so far, I doubt he's in the building either."
That must mean he's outside the school, Nacha thought to herself and jotted it down in the back of her mind.
"Why? You wanna ask him out, Sasha?" Half the table laughed at that.
Nacha wanted to correct her on her name but figured she had other priorities. "Haha… right, as if I would ever…" She decided to play along with it for now and got some approving looks from the others. "Well, hah, do you guys know where the bathroom is here? I really need to go."
"Second building to the left of the old building. If you see Denver, run."
Nacha perked her brow at that, but made sure to nod anyway.
"Do you need me to go with you, Nacha?" The meek-looking one from across her seat asked quietly.
"No no, it's fine," Nacha smiled gently. "I won't be long, anyway." Then, she stood up and headed out of the cafeteria. To her relief, the girls paid her no more heed as she finally reached the exit and began gossiping amongst each other again. For once, she was actually grateful for the fact that these kind of girls usually just forgot about her.
And Nacha reckoned that going against her words this time wouldn't matter at all.
---------------------------
With the first aid kit she grabbed from her backpack, she rushed outside the school gates. The guard at the gate barely even spared her a glance as she quite literally just walked past him. She started walking around the corner, keeping her eyes wide and senses sharp for any pitiful kid her age who might be bleeding out in the open.
"hic Uhn… sniff"
Nacha immediately snapped her head in the direction of the sudden sound and there, she saw it---a small boy wedged between a very tight space between two buildings, sobbing into his arms while badly injured and bruised all over.
Her instincts immediately drew her to him and she briskly walked towards him. When the boy heard the sounds of someone's footsteps, he looked up to find a taller girl who looked just about his age and flinched before trying to make himself look even smaller.
"Hey…" Nacha greeted softly, trying to be gentle with him. "You don't look so good. Do you need someone to patch you up?"
He slowly looked back up at her then at his arms and shook his head no. But while the extent of his injuries wasn't as dramatic or bloody as the popular girls had exaggerated, Nacha couldn't just leave him alone here, especially while he's still hurt.
"I've got a first aid kit!" She said cheerfully and presented the kit in his line of sight. He looked at it with a curious glint in his eyes, but still didn't seem to trust her. "It must be weird to you, right? Some kid just carrying a medicine kit everywhere… My mom had a bit of a history with these sorts of medical emergencies, and she's actually a nurse, well, was. So this is her way of looking out for me when I'm at school."
The boy tilted his head at her.
"I can show you the contents if that would make you trust me a little bit better!" At that, he nodded very slowly. Somewhat glowing and excited to prove herself, she opened the box with the type of energy she once reserved for show and tell back in Kindergarten.
"Tada! What do you think?"
The boy looked at it. The kit contained just about all the kinds of things you would expect from a first aid kit, and he finally concluded that this girl was telling the truth about it, but… still, what was she getting out of this exchange? Barely anyone did something for Francis unless it was to force him into doing them a favor or as a cruel dare.
"Oh my, forgive my manners," Nacha flushed. "My name is Nacha! Nacha Mikaelys. I'm a new student at that school over there. I actually come from Mexico and I can cook some really mean fish tacos."
He blinked at her and finally opened his mouth and said something as his lower lip quivered. "Fra-Francis…"
Nacha's eyes widened. So that's the real name of the 'Fagcis' they were making fun of earlier. It reminded her of France---such a romantic city that she had only seen in her teledramas, but still longed to visit one day. "That's such a lovely name, Francis, it reminds me of France."
"Yeah…" Francis was still averting his gaze and looking at the first aid kit instead of her. "Um…" He wanted to say something more than that, but failed at piecing the words together and pursed his lips together instead. "Mmm…"
"Well, Francis, would you do me the honor of being able to treat you?" She looked at him with wide, expectant eyes.
Francis grunted, which was probably his code for yes. "Okay, hold still…"
For a long fifteen minutes, she began treating his wounds and disinfecting some of the bruises before wrapping a gauze around the large ones and bandages on the smaller ones. Nacha hummed a happy tune as she busied herself with each and every open cut---while the whole time, Francis gripped his shirt tight so it wouldn't fly open and reveal more scars hiding there.
Finally, when she was all done, Nacha stood up and patted herself on the back for a job well done. "There we go! All patched up!"
Francis looked at them and really looked. He had never had such careful coverings for his scars done by someone other than the school nurse before.
"What do we think?"
"Um, uh…" Looking someone in the eyes was only the correct manners for thanking someone, right? That's what his mother has taught him after all. But when he finally looked up and into her savior's eyes, all words disappeared from his mind.
One eye the color of the calming sea that he had only seen once or twice on the television before his dad inevitably punched it out of service. The other was reminiscent of the kind leaves that swayed on a breezy day when he was a kid.
"Hmm…?" Nacha hummed interestingly at his response, but was practically oblivious.
Francis, a blushing mess and looking like he was about to implode, hung his head low and stole quick glances at her eyes every now and then before muttering quietly under his breath: "Thank you…"
Nacha smiled wider and was about to say more when the bell finally rang from the distance. "Oh no! I really shouldn't be late for classes. Can I meet you after school, Francis?"
"Yeah…" He said mindlessly, though he was going to be here the whole day anyway because his bullies were still tirelessly looking for him at school and his father would beat him up as soon as he got home earlier than school allowed. So was it really so bad to stay here by himself for hours? At least at the end of the day, he might actually get to see her sweet smile and those pretty eyes of hers.
ANOTHER LOVELY DAVIDTACHA ART MADE BY @thescarletkiller FOR THIS FIC
we were talking about an AU where Anastacha left David after he ends up breaking her wrist unintentionally during an emotionally heated moment (in the og AU he ends up not doing that, but in this one, he does) when she forgot to come to the junkyard once. David realizes very late what those strong feelings that led to Tacha's arm being broken were and begins stalking her, thinking he's doing it for her sake.
this is during their mid-teens btw, david dropped out and anastacha is still in school so he has plenty time to follow her around, especially when going to school. in the art, she almost catches him looking at her from behind the wall with his face terrifyingly dark, but he hides before she can actually catch a glimpse of him.
do note, that this boy is extremely socially awkward and his obsessive feelings just got ramped up to a hundred percent because of the romantic feelings he had for tacha that he realized far too early to be mature.
anastacha doesn't seem to have a clue though, at least not yet...
they also made this really funny and adorable chibi art of david and tacha. tacha's eyes remind me so much of a baby bird's and it gave me a flashback of another tnmn friend of mine calling clingy!tacha in the stalker au a bird because women who defended a man's terrible action were apparently called one
WARNING: CONTENT CONTAINS BLOOD, BODY INJURIES, VIOLENCE, EYE CONTACT, DARK TOPICS, DARK ROMANCE... HARMFUL
You've been warned, if you don't like it, just skip this. Nonsense will get you blocked
"She was wrong about him...she thought he was polite, cheerful, and optimistic...But men are unpredictable, aren't they? Unfortunately...or fortunately for her, her husband saved her from this series of violence"
