UT MV Short Stories (Oneshots??)

Smoking for the Aesthetic

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Notes: hi I'm a sucker for a Killer that smokes so tw for that, and also lowkey intrusive thoughts in some parts!

The castle was silent. It always was at this hour, but it still felt somewhat strange. During the more lively hours, it seemed like there was always someone talking a little too loud, or something falling, or just... Anything. But not now. No, there was nothing at all. Just silence as the stars shone. The only light the world offered was an echo of something brighter, far away.

If you listened closely, you could hear a mouse skittering through the halls. Or not, since mice don't last long here. Killer laughed to himself.

His legs dangled over the balcony without care, a lit cigarette held between his teeth as he stared off into the distance. The castle was tall, taller than most he'd seen, so the view was impeccable to anyone else. But Killer had seen it plenty of times. The flourishing forest below, the stone trail leading to the ocean, the moon that always seems to be full. It wasn't like he could really react to it much, anyways. Boss seemed pretty strict with his SOUL settings, or whatever.

Killer took in slow breaths, inhaling and exhaling the smoke, never taking the cigarette out of his mouth. These things kill humans. Normally, he would've tried to make himself look cooler by holding it between his fingers the way humans did, but his arms didn't feel like doing anything today. Plus, who was he trying to look cool for? A bug, a bird, an ant? An intruder? Who knows, honestly? Who even cares, either? Who would take time out of their night to stop at Nightmare's castle and watch some poor, short skeleton smoke on the edge of a balcony? No one, that's who. Not even the craziest bastard alive would.

"Wow! You look really depressed!" A cheery voice piped up above Killer. The eyeless skeleton inhaled sharply, swallowing a large gulp of cigarette smoke. And man, it burned. It singed the back of his no-existent throat, it stung the back of his skull. He coughed and wheezed, grabbing onto the railing with one hand, hitting his chest with the other. "Fuck- Ink??" Killer rasped, getting a laugh in reply. "The one and only! That was a really stupid thing to do, ya know?" Killer shook his head around, the cigarette bouncing around his skull and eventually falling out of his eye socket. "Gee, thanks, pea brain," Killer grumbled, wiping his eye. Ink chuckled.

"What are you doing out here? Isn't it like..." Ink paused, struggling for a moment to count on his fingers before eventually forgetting what he was doing. Killer had seen him forget things in the middle of battle before, so this was nothing new. Still, he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. "Yeah, yeah, it's late alright. Begs the question of why you're here, though, Mr. Protector Sir." The eyeless skeleton answered the unfinished question, reaching into his pocket to see if he had any smokes left.

"Oh! Uh, I mean, why not? Big ol' spooky castle of my friend's enemy. Why wouldn't I wanna drop by?" Ink said with a shrug. Killer pulled out another smoke, keeping it between his teeth for a moment. Lair. "Yeah, fair, if you had a castle I'd sneak into it at the unholy hours of the morning too," Killer muttered, his tone dripping with sarcasm. Of course, someone as oblivious as Ink didn't pick up on sarcasm, so he just laughed as if he'd told a joke. "You're a funny dude, I like you!" The protector jumped down from the windowsill, taking a seat next to Killer, who was usually his opponent.

Killer eyed Ink cautiously. He didn't seem to have any ulterior motives, but the protector could be good at hiding things when he wanted to. It was best to be wary, for now. Keep a safe distance. He could push you off from here. ... Killer put a couple inches between him and Ink. Better safe than sorry.

"What about you, hm? Why are you out here? I assumed you of all people would be asleep." Ink prompted, a diamond and a triangle in his sockets. "Nah, nah I'm the one that's always up at this time." He paused. "I'm out here because I can be, though. Havin' a smoke or two, thinking I look cool or something. The usual for me." Ink stared at Killer curiously, his eyelights flicking between a few symbols before settling on a square and a question mark.

"Who are you trying to look cool for? Are you expecting someone?" Ink looked around carefully. You weren't supposed to find anyone here, were you? Killer shook his head. "I don't really know. Myself, maybe. Or you, I guess, since you're here now." Ink nodded slowly, and the two fell silent. Ink seemed to be thinking about something, his eyelights flicking through various green and light blue symbols.

Realizing he hadn't lit his smoke yet, Killer sighed and rummaged through his pockets looking for a light.

"Do you think I'm cool, Ink?" It was an impulsive question, and one that made little sense to ask a soulless being, but he couldn't help it. Ink tilted his head, question marks in both his sockets. After a moment of thinking, the protector nodded. "Yeah. You're pretty cool." Ink said with a thumbs up. Killer chuckled.

"Sweet."

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Notes:
hi full homo you should look up the song "smoking for the aesthetic" it's really good and literally my only inspiration for this fic JHDVFJHSDGJ
ALSO YES HI THIS BITCH IS ALIVE 😎
Found out I have ADHD so executive dysfunction has been kicking my ass 😫
Someday I'll work on my other fics as well but uh [looks at 40 other drafts] today is not that day 😎 hdjsjdjc
Until then enjoy some me having a very specific Killer characterization 💖