#DEAR GOLLY GOD I HOPE I TAGGED EVERYTHING RIGHT!

[marshmelia]

(OC) Sayura Furukawa 007

TW: Blood, Sharp Object (Box Cutter), Gore, Stabbing, Disturbing Imagery.

[lemon-drop-writings]

Gibbous (Reddie/Stenbrough, Trans!Richie x Eddie/Stan x Bill) 2/???

Summary: The Losers Club is taking a long weekend away from their hometown of Derry and heading out into the forest to get some fresh air. Richie hopes he can put his past behind him and finally begin to start a future, hopefully involving Eddie. Bill is ready to be part of something more than himself; whether it be something as small as a relationship with a certain other member of the Losers Club, he doesn’t know.

Warnings: Dead name mention, mention of abusers, language, slight mention of weed, I think that’s it

Word Count: 1314

A/N: I never expected to get this much attention of this fic, but golly gee, y’all proved me wrong. I love you all! Enjoy chapter 2!

Richie smiled and tapped the steering wheel of his truck with his thumbs. It was moments like this that made Richie love his life; he was blaring “Dancing Queen” from his radio, beaming and dancing in his seat as his friends did the same, even Stan joining in and singing along to the song. All the way to the campsite, the group sang along to whatever came on the radio, and if they didn’t like it, they would talk instead. Richie felt more at home with them than he ever had with his parents. His friends were the ones who helped him cut his hair, order the right binder, find a loophole in the system for him to be able to start T shots; his parents refused to so much as call him anything other than “Rochelle”. Just the thought of his dead name made him shudder and caused his stomach to feel like it was full of stones.

The sound of Beverly’s voice singing out to Jessie J’s “Domino” broke him out of the train of anxiety-inducing thoughts. He took a deep breath and smiled, following Ben’s car up the hill and toward the group’s campsite for the weekend. Everything was going to be perfect; Mike was in charge of the food, assuring everyone that his famous cookies would make an appearance and that he could make the best campfire popcorn anyone had had in their entire lives. Ben brought extra pillows and blankets in case anyone got cold or they wanted to tell ghost stories- which he would most likely supply. Bill had a few tents piled in the bed of the truck, each would fit 2 or 3 of them. Bev had music covered, bringing her old radio and a stack of CDs in her backpack. Knowing Eddie, he had at least 3 first aid kits with him. Stan was going to lead everyone on a nature hike, being the boy scout he was. He had a display case in his room with all his badges, along with his uniform. He had long since quit, but he still liked to reminisce.

He kept tapping the steering wheel until he heard an advertisement come over the radio, shushing everyone and turning up the radio volume.

“Everyone shut up!”

“Yeah, and next week we’ll have live music from some local band. Uh, Flaming Uranus or something, I dunno, I forget. But they’ll be performing here from 6:30 to 11, so come get a drink and check ‘em out.”

“Fucking dipshit!” Richie spat. He turned the radio back down, “It’s calling Flinging Plutonium, dick wad!”

Bev chimed in from the backseat, “I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Rich. People will still come to see you perform.”

“The people we booked the gig with don’t even know our fucking name, Bev. Whatever, we’re still gonna kick ass.”

Stan snorted from his spot behind Bill, covering his mouth to hide a smile. Richie glared back at him, using the rear view mirror to send the look.

Richie followed Ben as he turned onto a long path leading into the forest. Beverly and Stan let their hands hang out of the windows of the back seat, brushing against leaves and ferns as Richie drove. Richie loved the smell of the forest, the scent of pine and warm soil reaching his nose. He couldn’t wait to spend 3 days out here.

Richie worked on unloading his truck while Bill and Stan set up the tents, conversing between themselves and chuckling occasionally. Ben and Mike teamed up to get the fire pit set up safely, leaving Eddie and Bev to help Richie. Just as the trio started to grab their backpacks, Bill spoke up.

“Hey guys, how are we pairing up?”

The group stopped for a moment, not having considered how they would pair off to share the tents.

Bev chimed in, “I don’t mind sharing for a trio, so whoever is fine for me.”

Ben grinned, hoping he might be able to share a tent with his favourite red-head.

“Well, I call sharing with my little Eds over here!” Richie chuckled, putting an arm around the shorter male’s shoulders and pulling him to his side.

“I swear to god, if you call me that one more fucking time I’m going to bash your skull to bits in your sleep,” Eddie retorted. He grumbled a little and shrugged Richie’s arm off him before adding, “Of course I’m your tent partner, moron.”

Richie beamed, planting a kiss to Eddie’s cheek before running away laughing from the smaller teen’s fury. He placed his backpack and sleeping bag inside the middle tent, “Hey Eddie Spaghetti, which side do you want?”

“What hand do you use for jacking off?”

“Right,” Richie smirked. “Why, sweet cheeks, wanna help?”

“I’ll take the right side of the tent,” Eddie plopped his backpack on the side of the tent he chose, ensuring he would be on Richie’s left side while ignoring the other teen’s comment.

“Thanks for sharing with me, Spaghetti man. Imagine if I had to share with Stan the Man, haha,” Richie unrolled his sleeping bag and put his backpack and guitar on top of it. “Nothing but birds and Bill, birds and Bill.”

“And with you, nothing but sex and my mom, sex and my mom,” Eddie rolled his eyes, teasing his friend.

“Aw, Eds, I promise I won’t talk about your mom. Or doing your mom. Scout’s honour.”

“You were never a scout, Rich.”

Before Richie could send back a witty retort, Beverly’s voice rung out from outside the tent, “Hey dipshits, we’re going to go swim. Wanna join?”

Richie grinned, grabbing swim shorts and a t-shirt from his bag, “I’m in, gingerbread!”

Eddie hummed a soft response, grabbing his own swim clothes before looking over at Richie and immediately averting his eyes, “JESUS CHRIST, RICHARD, WARN ME.”

“Aw c’mon Eds, you know you like the view,” Richie teased, wiggling his ass at the other, his boxers covering what his tugged down jeans didn’t.

“Richard, I, unlike some people in the room, respect privacy and modesty. Now if you could please turn around?”

Richie nodded, turning away from his tentmate. He knew Eddie was sensitive about these things.

Beverly wobbled on Ben’s broad shoulders. Bill laughed as he pushed back against her hands from the top of Mike’s own shoulders, Stan sitting on Richie’s off to the side. Eddie was the score keeper, watching the others chicken fight.

“You’re going down, Marsh!” Bill chuckled, reciprocating the force she applied to his hands and arms.

“Oh yeah? Take this!” She beamed, pushing the boy back into the water with a large splash.

Eddie grinned, moving his arms through the water, “Hey guys, is anyone else getting hungry?”

The others looked over, considering. They all nodded in consensus, muttering an agreement and working their way towards the shore of the lake.

Richie caught up with Eddie, grinning and humming a little, “What did you have in mind for food, my dear Eduardo?”

“I mean, we have noodles if we boil water over a fire,” Eddie trudged back towards to campsite, wrapping his towel around his small frame. His wet curls clung to his forehead, dripping slightly and leaving trails of water along his bare collar and shoulders. Richie couldn’t help but notice how the droplets magnified the sprinkling of light freckles on Eddie’s body, even on such a miniscule scale. He had stopped listening to what Eddie was saying, too preoccupied with the exquisite features of the boy he had admired for years now.

“Richie? Are you listening?”

“Hm? Yeah! Yes, of course Eds,” Richie gave him a cheesy grin as they all gathered at the campsite, Mike starting a fire in the pit they set up.

Beverly smiled as she grabbed her backpack, pulling out a small plastic bag, “So fellas….anyone wanna get blazed?”

Tag List: @edsrich​ @bxxpbxxprichie​ @liohprincexx​ @strangerbeeps​ @childishsoup​ @oopstoziertrash​ @trishadasta @beep-beep-gazebos​ @trashy-tozier​ @blubun​ @killerxqueer​ @gayknifeboy​ @ahyesfandoms​ @letgoofmygreggo​ @eddiekaspbraks-inhaler​ @littlepinkemily​ @toopunktolivetooemotodie​ @richiestoziers​ (If you want to be added or if I forgot to add you, shoot me a message and I’ll get you right on here for chapter 3!)

[illusionlockarchive]

Belief and Persuasion- Chapter 6

hey folks! i’ve been working on a little batim prequel fanfic for a while n its finally done! its a little long, so im dividing it in 8 chapters total!

if you want to read more, i’ll be tagging this under ‘bap fic’ on my blog!

summary:

Joey Drew gives an interview about how he managed to build his empire, and focuses on the two things needed most: belief and persuasion, the latter of which is trickier. As he talks about his philosophy, we can see examples of his influence at work.

This chapter: Joey invites Susie to dinner.

"And when there is a lack of intimacy? How do you do it then?" The interviewer was barely writing down anything anymore, gaze fixated on Joey Drew.

"Well then, you bring them into your area of intimacy. But not too fast, approach them gently, surprise then with tricks they wouldn't have thought you could pull. And when the opportunity is right there, strike." Joey answered.

---

"Thanks for inviting me to dinner, Mr. Drew." Susie cracked an awkward smile. Of all the crazy things that were happening in her life at the moment, strangely enough dinner with her boss was by far the craziest. And yet, there she was, with her being constantly aware of his eyes fixated on her.

"Oh, it's nothing, don't thank me, thank these blasted times. Debts going up, profits going down, delays in production..." Joey waved his hand, then looked at her again, a warm smile in his lips, different than his usual grin. "So it's in times like these we have to become more united, to prove we're really a family."

"Oh, well, that is very sweet, I just hope you'll understand Mr. Drew, I'm not sure if I'm ready to call you family just yet." Susie leaned back on her chair, shifting her gaze around, quickly taking a sip of her drink.

"Yes, yes, of course, but I want to simply just, get to know you better, Susie, I realize I've been quite neglectful lately, but it's only been the stress. I have to juggle all of these problems that keep piling up, and still make sure you all do your part. It's a hard job, but I'm truly grateful you're all still with me." He kept on smiling at her, putting his hand on the table, inches away from hers.

"Oh, well, thank you, Mr. Drew. To be honest, it's really the checks that keep us going, as well as, you know, not many studios out there that can bring toons to life." She gave a nervous laugh.

"And that's exactly what I wanted to get at. You and Alice have a really close relationship, do you not, Susie?" Joey had his characteristic grin back on.

"Oh, by God, yes, Mr. Drew, sometimes it feels like she and I are the same. Always together, doing the same things, perfect for one another. If it were on me, I'd take her home in an instant, poor thing; living in that dumpy old studio is no fine settling for a lady such as her!" Susie sighed, stirring the food on her plate; her eyes seemed misty, far off...

"I see. Well, that is excellent news, my dear Susie, because I've been meaning to tell you of our new program, our solution that will not only save the studio by recycling and saving us funds, but also revolutionize the animation industry as we know it! Heck, it might fix the problem of human mortality!" Joey got enthusiastic, his characteristic 'selling' voice coming to show.

"Well, golly. And what would that be, Mr. Drew?" Susie raised an eyebrow, stopping herself mid-stir.

"Imagine, Susie: cartoons and humans becoming one and the same. No more need for drawing repetitive frames over and over again, no more need to worrying about your dying day! Toons don't have to worry if they die, if we all were toons, we can do as many silly routines as we want- and get money for it! Why, the world as we know it could be a better place, Susie." Joey was now gesturing with his hands as if he was opening the window curtains to a beautiful tomorrow they had yet to see.

Susie, instead, however, choked a little bit on her food as she stifled a laugh. "Oh, Mr. Drew, if everyone was a toon, then what would be the fun in being the only studio with toons in this world? I don't think things get solved all that easily."

"Perhaps, my dear Susie, perhaps. But wouldn't it be a nice thought? You, the star of your own shown, belle of the ball, Alice Angel?" Joey finally held her hand, and she didn't protest, only watched as he gestured to an audience that wasn't there, but they both could see it, Susie could hear it, they were shouting 'Alice Angel! Alice Angel!'

"Yes." Susie felt at a loss for words at the thought, actually taking the proposition seriously now. "It would."

"Ah, but all things come with a price. We can't afford to have any... casualties, so to say, and so before you and Alice could become one we have to make sure she's absolutely perfect, and matter of fact... she's not." Joey now grasped his hands, looking down with a solemn air, though something seemed forced about it.

Susie's face closed back into a frown again, as she glared at him. "I am quite aware, don't you think Alice and I don't tell each other everything. Like I said, we do everything together; we are parts of each other, inseparable. And I'm sorry, but Alice does not like the idea of going back into the puddles. We can't do this."

"Oh, alright, alright. I am letting you know, though, if we want to follow through with this plan, she's got to loosen up and be less stubborn. I mean, it's nothing personal, Alice, I just want you to be the best you can be." Joey shrugged, seemingly unshaken by Susie's mood change.

Susie blinked. "Did you just call me..."

"Oh, whoops, Alice! Oh, silly, me, again! Susie! Yes, Susie, I'm sorry, it's just, looking at you, and you’re so alike, suited to be a star." Joey smiled. "I mean, you did give her her first voice, her idea."

"Oh. Why, gosh, thank you, Mr. Drew." Susie blushed a bit, not knowing what to say.

"It's nothing. A beauty like you must shine on the stage, not remain hidden as a voice actress. Alice, you must rise up to the star you have to be, even if that means convincing that other side of yourself to accept remaking herself, becoming better, perfect." Joey was back to holding her hands, and she held his back, staring into his eyes.

She felt mesmerized by the promises of a man she hadn't thought appreciated her as much as he did. "I... I'll try, Mr. Drew. I want to do this, but I'm just... not sure about Alice. Will she be ok?"

Joey laughed. "My dear, she'll always be ok, just as long as she pops out of that puddle, ready to perform with you, as one." He winked.

Susie nodded, feeling more confident. The rest of their evening felt like it flew by fast, Joey slowly getting her to trust him more and more, praising her, promising her stardom, glamour, everything that was good in this world, letting her know in his eyes she deserved it, and Susie believed it, oh she believed it.

It broke his heart to have to do what he was about to do next Thursday at the studio, but it was a necessary evil, if he was going to get her to be desperate enough to hurry up the process and let them do what they wanted to do.

[askbloomtale]

Chapter 11 is up!!! This might be the end of the Ruins’ arc. Or maybe not...

For those who can’t access AO3 or just don’t want to do it, the chapter is pasted under this sexy cut!!!

Bloomtale

Chapter 11 – A sour goodbye

   Athela sat on the garden’s ground, feeling defeated, tired and powerless after the last forced load. Her fingers rummaged through the red leaves next to the save point, and she squished them slightly, to which they made a crackling sound.

 She didn’t even have to look; she knew for certain that another flower was now growing in her skull, fully visible next to its two other companions. And that was not even counting the ones inside her head, of course.

 One of the reasons why she knew was… because of her vision. It felt strange, like having her eye covered with a sticker. A sticker she could not remove. That should’ve made her feel really anxious, because… what would happen to her eye at that rate? But no, poor Athela wasn’t even thinking about that.

She was just angry at that annoying flower. That terrifying monster who kept forcing her to dance to his tune. And if she didn’t, he would kill her. How simple, and yet how scary that was. It made her feel so powerless, she could not stand it. And she could only truly blame herself.

  Why was she so weak?

 Why couldn’t she be a human, like her mother?

  If only she had more strength…

  She lied down atop the leaves, sighing deeply. As she had some time before Toriel came to ask the inevitable, she would spend that time just… feeling miserable. Sounded like a nice plan. Lying down and feeling like garbage because of how weak she was. She was being easily toyed with by Flowey, so easily it was even insulting.

  She should get stronger.

  But of course, that would never happen. Even if it was out of spite, the skeleton would not give her dear killer that satisfaction. It was him, who suggested her to kill. To gain LOVE. Well, not today, flower. You can’t control me THAT much. That’s what she thought as her hand softly pet the leaves.

  Athela closed her eyes and tried to calm down.

  Breathe in and out, Athela. There’s no point in getting mad over something you can’t fight. It would be better if she just proceeded her journey quickly. Once out, Flowey would not follow her anymore, would he? And even if he did, Athela’s mother would definitely protect her. She was so strong. The young monster smiled as she remembered her mother’s gentle smile.

 It filled her with determination.

   A sudden flash of pain made her open her eyes and stand, startled. What on earth just happened? Was Flowey there again??

 …

 Oh, wait, she was standing near the save point. Maybe she saved unconsciously, and thus the pain. Hehehe. What a dummy she was.

  …

  No, wait a second.

 Flowey was indeed there!!

  “Howdy!” he said, with a tranquil smile. Athela shrieked and took several steps back, frightened, and Flowey seemed to like that reaction, as he smiled smugly. “Golly! That expression on your face never seems to bore me!”

 “W-what do you want now?? I’m waiting for Toriel, just like you told me!” She almost yelled as she gave him an annoyed glare. Her left eye was glowing intensely due to her fear and anger, but that didn’t seem to bother the little flower at all.

 “Jeez, girl! Chill~” he answered, sticking his tongue playfully as he always did when he pretended to play nice. “I was just bored of you doing nothing. I’m not going to hurt you.”

 “…Don’t you have anything better to do?” She reproached, pouting. Of course she didn’t trust him. It would be way better to be meek and quiet, maybe that way he would not get angry. But of course she could not control her tongue when she was upset. Dang.

  However, Flowey didn’t look bothered. Did he ever get mad? Not that Athela had ever seen him angry. Maybe it was better this way… he was already really strong with that bouncy attitude of his. She didn’t want to think how he would be like if his buttons got pushed.

 No. Instead of anger, the flower just raised an eyebrow and silently looked at her, as if she had just stolen his catchphrase. But he didn’t look really annoyed. He even decided to answer the question. Because no, he didn’t have anything better to do.

  “Not really. Everything else got boring already," he replied, smiling softly. Athela groaned, not really understanding.

 “Can’t you leave me alone and… just go solve a puzzle?” She asked.

“I’ve already solved every puzzle." He seemed willing to answer. Athela raised an eyebrow too, and asked something else.

 “Then… go mess them up?” It was not a nice proposal, but at least it was a nice second option that didn’t involve her getting killed.

 “I already did that, too." Flowey laughed, with a slight sour tone. Or maybe it was his usual sarcastic tone? Athela couldn’t really tell. She just supposed Flowey wasn’t being honest with her.

 “That’s impossible. The puzzles were fine when I found them." Athela suppressed a shiver at the memory of the deadly puzzles. But the feeling of grateful bliss took over once she realized she would not have to go through those anymore. What a wonderful feeling. Well, she could do them again if she totally had to, because she already knew their pattern, but that was nothing that would happen! She already saved her progress, so no going back! That made her feel really happy about herself. She smiled a bit. She gazed at the flower again, though. Carefully, since she didn’t want to lower her guard… not even for a second.

  She was expecting an answer to her comment. But Flowey just stood there, quiet.

 Smiling.

  How eerie. Athela didn’t like him, not at all. Why would he just stay quiet like that?

 Well, she didn’t want to talk to him either. The thought of them both sharing a peaceful conversation… how bizarre. That would never happen. No, the only thing they could ever have were uncomfortable silences and unnerving smiles and death threats.

 They would never be friends.

  It was not that strange, Athela thought. She considered herself a friendly person; she never had any friends, but she had always wanted some. Or, at least, one. One friend that would visit her, a nice friend who would tag along for a walk in the forest… She would show them her favorite spots, and they would laugh together. She had always wanted something like that, and that’s why she was willing to be as friendly as possible. If you were nice, people would like you better. That’s what her mother said. A nice smile and kind words were all that it would take to cause a nice first impression. And it would snowball from there to a nice friendship. That’s what Athela wanted.

 Of course, Flowey smiled, but… Athela was certain, that was not the kind of smile her mother was referring to.

  No, she didn’t like him. And she would never be friends with her killer.

  A question rose to her mind. If someone kills you several times, does that make them a serial killer?

 But she was digressing. That was not really something she should be thinking about, not when Flowey was right there. She should be careful, just in case he felt like throwing a pellet at her out of boredom.

  “You seem so tense." Flowey laughed at her, enjoying every second of their time together. At least someone was having fun, Athela thought as she gripped her skirt nervously. The small flower kept eyeing her, seemingly interested in the flowers growing out of her eyes.

  Creepy.

  “…” Athela didn’t even feel like talking. She didn’t want to be there. She would prefer… to go inside. But she did not dare to move. Too bad.

 “You’re pretty boring." Flowey was, indeed, starting to get bored due to her lack of dialogue or movement. “When you’re not fighting for your life, I mean. Golly! Maybe you should try and socialize a bit, instead of running away all the time~” He added that last sentence after seeing Athela’s blue orbs contract as she heard how funny she was when she was dying. Really, didn’t he realize how creepy he was?!

  Luckily, the skeleton’s struggle would not last for long.

  “Oh. There she comes." Flowey jerked his head up, noticing someone in the distance. Athela looked, too, and openly smiled when she saw a familiar goat silhouette approaching, with what looked like a bag of groceries.

  To add in her delight, she noticed Flowey was now gone. She let out a deep, relieved sigh, and then a giggle escaped her teeth. The young skeleton almost run to her encounter, grinning widely.

  “Toriel!” Athela called for her, and the goat lady looked right at her and gave her a warm smile, too.

 “Greetings, my child," she hailed, also fastening her pace to quickly get to Athela.

 “Greetings!” The skeleton mimicked her speech, and that made Toriel’s smile go even wider. The old lady used her free arm to gently hug the young girl, and Athela happily hugged back.

 “You seem so happy to see me… and I was only gone for a short hour." Toriel pointed out, amused. Then, she pat Athela’s hair softly. She would usually not like that, but Toriel was a friend and she could touch her hair all she wanted. It felt nice.

“I missed you," she answered honestly. Of course, for Toriel it had been an hour, but for Athela, it had been a lot more. It had felt like an eternity, too, so…

 “Aw, how cute!” Toriel was pleased to hear that. She let out a soft laugh. “To be honest, I also wanted to see you soon, young one. It’s not every day I have guests, you see.”

  There was a sad glint in Toriel’s eyes for a fraction of a second. Athela felt bad for Toriel; she already understood that the old monster had been alone for only God knows how much time. She felt… pity. And a sense of understanding, too. She knew what loneliness felt like, of course. It was not pleasant.

 At least she had her mother. She really hoped Toriel had someone who could cheer her up from time to time. She deserved to be happy for all the good things she did.

  Toriel stared into Athela’s eyes for a moment… then, her smile turned into a confused grin.

  “Athela? What is that? Did you take them from my room?” The old lady caressed Athela’s cheek, softly touching one of the flowers. They were really similar to those that rested in Toriel’s room, indeed. Toriel’s touch was… warm. And fluffy. She had been careful enough, so the flowers didn’t complain. But…

  Oops.

 She totally forgot about the flowers as soon as she saw Toriel.

  Well, at least the old lady didn’t seem really alarmed, but rather confused…maybe… maybe that was her chance!!

  “Uh… do you like them?” She asked, with a slightly trembling voice. She feigned to rearrange the flowers a bit, as if they were there just for show. That cost her a bit of pain, though; she had to suppress the urge to frown. Toriel raised an eyebrow, still smiling. She had not seemed to notice the girl’s apprehension.

 “Well, they look rather cute. But usually, one would put flowers in their hair…Are you okay? Is this a skeleton thing?” Toriel seemed curious. Maybe it was just one way of improving their looks the youngsters had these days?

 “Uh… yes! Yes it is!” She nodded, kinda desperate to cover the sad, traumatic story behind those seemingly harmless flowers. She was just blindly going with what she previously thought it would never work at all; her brain could not think of anything else to say. But…

 “Interesting," she commented, still eyeing the buds. Surely she believed that lie because she wasn’t a skeleton herself. While a real skeleton would not like to have anything in their eye sockets, to other people it could look like they would not really mind. They were just two empty holes, after all. What was the big deal, you would think?

  Well, for Athela it was a big deal. She still felt really uncomfortable, because her vision was getting blurrier with each reset, and also the pressure was not a nice thing to feel, either.

 And just the general nerve-wracking uneasiness. She wish she could just trim them, jeeze.

  The skeleton sighed with relief when she saw that Toriel just lost interest on that matter shortly after she heard her mumbling something that sounded like “I’ll ask him about it later”.

 Him who? She wondered. Maybe Toriel also had a nice phone buddy. That would actually be great. Someone whom she could have a nice conversation with, every once in a while. She would’ve asked who that person was, but Toriel started speaking again, cutting the skeleton’s thoughts.

  “Well, as long as you’re happy." Toriel nodded, not suspecting a thing about the lie Athela just told her, and then let go of the hug to focus her attention on the groceries once again. “Shall I start cooking? It’s almost lunch time," she announced, as she wiggled the bag and smiled again. Athela smiled too, as she remembered what Toriel made for lunch on the last timeline.

 “Oh yes, snail pie!” Athela liked snail pie. It had an acquired taste, but she could easily ignore the weirdness of the flavor and just enjoy it. After all, pie was pie.

 “Oh, my… how did you know?” Toriel seemed impressed at Athela’s perceptiveness. She was smiling again.

 “Uh… I just… supposed you would suggest one of those?” The young skeleton hid her nervousness under a smile that, fortunately, didn’t turn out as sore as she expected. Of course, this was the same lunch time. She knew what was going to happen now, but Toriel never told her. If she didn’t want to look suspicious, she needed to tone down her enthusiasm a little bit.

 “My, how perceptive you are, my child." The goat lady slowly started to walk towards the house as she spoke. She was probably hungry, and it was the same for Athela, so she followed her closely. The poor skeleton was really hungry lately. Certainly it was because of the great amount of stress certain flower insisted on giving to her. Stress usually made her hungry. And then she wanted chocolate, or another sweet treat. But snail pie was enough for now.

  The two ladies entered the house; Toriel seemed to be in a good mood, as she had started to hum an unfamiliar tune. It was an interesting song, but Athela had never heard it before, so she just listened to it.

 Sadly, she couldn’t really pay much attention to it. Her mind was busy thinking of what to do. She was really, really curious about the cold door, and she definitely wanted to go to the other side… it was, after all, the path she should take in order to get out of the underground. She needed to talk to Toriel about this. About… leaving.

  Even if that hurt her.

  Of course she didn’t want to leave Toriel alone again, but… what about her own mother? She couldn’t stop thinking about her. A few days had passed, so what if she thought her daughter was dead? What would she do? Surely, she was crying… oh no, Athela didn’t want her mom to cry. She just wanted to be with her again.

 …

 It had to be done.

   Toriel had gone to the kitchen straight away, and was now starting to prepare the pie. Athela was just walking in circles around the living room table, thinking of what to say. She would never forgive herself if she made the gentle old lady cry again.

 Again…

  Stop it, Athela. There’s no use on thinking of absurd past timelines. That never happened, not anymore. Breathing in and out, trying to calm herself, she decided to enter the kitchen to talk directly with Toriel.

  “Greetings, Athela." Toriel welcomed her with a warm smile. Athela smiled back, but her smile didn’t turn out entirely honest, and that worried Toriel; she placed the mix bowl on the stove and cleaned a spot on her apron before asking. “Is there something wrong?”

 “Greetings…” Athela’s face was like an open book. She was nervous and felt guilty, and Toriel could see that. The old lady waited for the young one to say something, wielding a worried expression, as she always did when something went wrong. After a moment, she managed to gather the courage to talk. “I… I went to the basement…”

  Toriel frowned a bit in disapproval. It was a sad frown.

  “Oh… did you?” She sighed, seemingly defeated. “You shouldn’t go there. It’s drafty, you could catch a cold.”

 “I’m sorry. I was just curious." And that curiosity ended up straight killing her. Well, Flowey was the one who killed her, but… she messed it up. She was partially to blame. Anyway, she wasn’t going to tell Toriel any of that.

 “You… did you get to the other side?” Toriel asked. She looked sad, but also, somewhat… grateful. Maybe the fact that Athela didn’t leave made her feel better.

 “No..." So Athela was right. That was the exit. Of course, Flowey killed her because he didn’t want her to get out, so figures. Nonetheless, it was nice to hear it from Toriel’s mouth. “I didn’t go outside the Ruins yet, I… I wanted to talk to you first.”

 “Thank you, my child." Toriel said, sighing once more. Truly, it would’ve been too sad if she left without saying goodbye. “I… I know I must not stop you from getting out. You are right by trying to get home…" Now there was a sad expression across her face. She obviously didn’t want her to leave. “I… would’ve liked to spend some more time with you, but… I suppose it can’t be done. Still. It’s dangerous outside. You’re not… exactly strong, Athela.”

 “… I know." The skeleton looked down to the tiled floor and frowned. She hated it, but there was nothing she could do about it. “Still. I need to try. I will do my best, I promise!”

 “I believe you will." Toriel smiled and patted Athela’s hair softly to reassure her. “You’re really perseverant, aren’t you? And you’re not a defenseless child, after all. I believe you will make it out of here… that’s what I wish to happen.”

  Toriel trusted her.

 Well, that was very sweet of her. Because Athela didn’t trust herself, but… maybe all she needed was a little bit of encouragement. Just like the guy on the phone did a few days ago.

 All her life, her mother had sheltered the poor girl, because she was weak, fragile. It was all so Athela could stay alive and safe, and she understood, but… She never really left her alone to do anything potentially dangerous. So… Perhaps that was all she lacked: a little bit of confidence.

  “Thank you, Toriel," Athela grabbed the goat lady’s sleeve, feeling kind of emotional. She was really grateful that she could trust her. Toriel looked happy.

 “It’s nothing, Athela," she replied. “But at least… can you share one last meal with me? I would go with you, but… I have to stay here.”

  Athela nodded vigorously, smiling, though she stiffened up a bit when she felt the flowers moving along with the shaking. Thankfully, Toriel didn’t notice that. She was happily focused on cooking now. She would make the best snail pie she’d ever made. And, of course, Athela would help.

  Eventually, the food was made, and they both went to the living room to eat it. Both ladies were really quiet, but Athela still had many questions to ask. Therefore she left her fork for a second.

  “So… That door. Where does it lead to?” The young lady couldn’t stop thinking about the door. The cold door that Flowey never let her open. “It was really cold.”

 “You mean, the last door? That one leads to Snowdin, my child,” Toriel replied after swallowing.

  Great, new things. Athela was not sure if she liked the new place yet, but the name sounded nice. Sounded like it had snow. Maybe that’s why it was cold. It would make sense.

  “What’s in there?” The skeleton wanted to ask so many things, but one question at a time would be fine for now.

 “Well… Snow," Toriel chuckled. “And trees. And a lot of dogs…” Toriel seemed deep in thought. The old lady smiled widely shortly afterwards. “And, as far as I know, skeletons.”

 “What? S-skeletons?” Athela’s eyes went wide open with surprise. She never expected that… of course, the underground had lots of monsters as far as she knew, therefore she would naturally encounter her own kind at some point. But… so soon? “R-really? Skeletons like me? Oh… how are they? Do you know? Will they… do you think they will like me?”

  Her sheer enthusiasm and nerviness made the old lady smile. What a cute child.

  “My, such eagerness," she chuckled. “I don’t think you have to worry about them. Sadly, I cannot tell you many details, as I haven’t really seen them myself. But I’m sure they will like you. You’re a really nice girl, after all.”

 “T-thank you..." Athela blushed a bit with the compliment. She couldn’t handle flattery really well, oops. She ate more pie in order to calm down. It worked.

  Maybe she was eating too fast… Regardless, Toriel looked at her with a sweet expression on her face. Melancholy could also be perceived there, but Athela was too busy eating to realize. Toriel sighed and also ate; she was still thinking about Athela’s departure. She didn’t want her to leave… something told her it would not end up well.

 But who was her to stop a lonely girl who just wanted to go home? She would do the same, if she just could…

  Memories were flowing, filling her with nostalgia. She sighed, and stared at her plate. There was some pie left, but she didn’t feel like finishing it, somehow. However, Athela kept gobbling up as if she hadn’t eaten in days. That was rather cute. Soon, all of her food was gone, only crumbles were left.

  “Would you like to keep a slice? For the road." Toriel noticed how much Athela liked her cooking, surely she would like to store a bit of it for her journey.

 “Oh! Of course!” Indeed, Athela loved the idea. Some extra pie, what a wonderful thing.

  Toriel smiled and stood up from her chair, then nodded and walked towards the kitchen, silently. Athela remained seated and looked at the pie leftovers Toriel didn’t finish. Toriel always finished her plate…

 The skeleton frowned, feeling a little bit sad. She knew it wasn’t easy, Toriel was probably unhappy about her decision to leave. But… she had to. Even if she loved Toriel very much.

 She had to.

  She sighed, and then stood up as well. The end was near. She would leave soon. That filled her with uncertainty; what would possibly await on the other side?

 A forest? It sounded like a forest… and she loved forests. She had never seen snow before, but surely it was good. Cold climates… a new thing she was willing to see.

  “I’m back. Here you go." Toriel was there again with an appetizing slice of snail pie. The more Athela ate it, the more she liked it. The skeleton smiled and saved it.

 “Thanks," she said, smiling widely.

  An uncomfortable silence filled the room after that.

 It… was hard to say goodbye.

  “I suppose… you’ll be leaving now." Toriel looked sad, but she smiled anyway. She wanted Athela to be happy, and if that meant she had to leave, so be it. Her expectations… Her loneliness… Her fear… For her, she would put them aside.

  Athela looked aside and nodded.

  “I… I want to go to the garden one last time," Athela needed to save. She didn’t know what was out there, it could be dangerous. Saving was a pain, but important regardless. Toriel nodded to that, and accompanied her to the patio. There, Athela looked at the big tree for a while, and then at the red leaves beneath the save point.

  She was going to miss that house. And Toriel. She looked at the old lady, who gazed back into her eyes with a warm smile across her face.

 Athela took a deep breath.

 She was one step closer to her freedom.

  That… filled her with a good feeling.

  Then, the usual sharp pain came back. She didn’t even need to do anything. Maybe she was just getting so used to it, she didn’t even need to touch the glowing light. That was good… more or less. She closed her eyes strongly when she felt the soreness spread across her skull. She was also getting used to that.

 She felt a pat on the head. Toriel was worrying about her again.

  “I’m fine," she blurted out, to make Toriel feel better. “It’s just a headache.”

 “You’ve been having some of those, lately. Are you sure you’re okay?” The worried old woman patted Athela’s hair, concerned about her well-being. Athela just nodded, smiling again. The pain was gone.

  …

 Progress was saved. She could finally leave now.

 …

  She couldn’t bring herself to say goodbye.

  “I’ll lead you to the door." Toriel’s face was stern. Nobody seemed to be happy with this. Athela sighed and followed. The corridor felt even colder and smaller now. She still remembered her bad experiences with Flowey, so she stood close to Toriel the whole time. Holding her hand.

  Whilst they walked together, Athela was thinking. Should she say anything? Should she… do anything? It felt so sour, leaving like that. She felt bad.

 But… the door was already there. What a frustrating situation. Last time, it felt like ages to her. And now they got to the door in less than a few minutes.

  Was it already over? It was just the first door, but Toriel had stopped, as if she would not go further than that point. Oh, no. She wanted to stay with her until the end…

  “This is it…” Toriel whispered. “I wish you the best of luck, Athela." Her solemn expression made Athela feel sadder.

 “T-Toriel, I… I’ll miss you," she said, noticing how her voice trembled a bit. Toriel looked even sadder once she heard that. She was making her best effort not to get too emotional, and yet… The old lady took a deep breath.

 “If you truly wish to leave the Ruins…I will not stop you. However, when you leave… please do not come back..." Those words were really harsh. Athela’s eyes were filled with tears now. Curious thing, her right eye, the one where the flowers were, was shedding less tears than her left eye. Were the flowers obstructing the water, or were they absorbing them? She didn’t know. Regardless, Toriel kept talking as she gently placed a hand in her shoulder. “I hope you understand.”

  Yes. She did understand.

 She was going to leave the underground. And they would probably never meet again, wouldn’t they? That was her goal. Going back would only give her false expectations. She didn’t want that.

  “I… I understand. Thanks for taking care of me." Athela tried to wipe the tears, carefully.

  Toriel could not stand the skeleton’s tears. She kneeled down and pulled the girl into a big, loving hug. Athela didn’t take long to hug back. The tears were not stopping anymore; Toriel’s dress got drenched, but she didn’t seem to mind. They hugged as if it were the last time they would see each other again and then, Toriel let go. She wiped Athela’s tears away, and then kissed her forehead.

  “Goodbye," she whispered, before getting up again. Athela gritted her teeth and watched her walk away.

  They shared one last gaze before Toriel turned back again and disappeared into the corridor.

  It was done. She wasn’t there anymore.

  Athela was… alone.

   She turned to the door and pushed it forcefully. The same corridor welcomed her as she walked towards the exit. Again, it felt like an infinite passageway. The echo of her footsteps resonated and brought back the oh-so-familiar dread, the fear.

  She was alone.

 Alone in an unknown world.

  What could she do now? The urge to go back to Toriel rose up inside her with the force of a typhoon. She was so afraid of being alone. But… she should be strong. Because Toriel trusted her. She would show her faith to be genuine and worthy. She would make it out even if it was the last thing she’d do.

  The last room.

  And of course, there he was. Atop the grass, surrounded by the light that came from up above, a small little flower stood. Smiling. Flowey the flower.

  “Clever. Verrrryyy clever." He started talking, his face showing a twisted, mischievous grin. Athela didn’t know what he meant…she was too scared to ask, anyway. She feared he would kill her yet again. She never know what to expect. “You think you’re really smart, don’t you?”

  Athela shook her head. She didn’t think she was smart at all. In fact, she felt really bad at the moment, so she would appreciate it if Flowey could shut up just for once. But she said nothing. So he kept talking.

  “Hee hee hee… I bet you feel really great." The flower nodded, still smiling. “You managed to get through! With tricks and lies, but hey, everything’s valid!”

 “N-no, I didn’t…!” Athela jumped up at what Flowey just said. However, she abruptly stopped talking when she saw Flowey shape his face… and turn it into one that really looked like her own.

 “Uh… do you like the flowers?” Even the voice he made was really like hers. It was… a new level of creepy. Athela looked horrified as the flower kept imitating her. “It’s totally a skeleton thing! It’s not like I died or anything! I don’t know anything about loads and resets! Nope, not a thing! So don’t worry and just let me go now, old hag!”

 “Wait, I never said anything like that!!” She clenched her fists as she felt anger boiling up.

  But Flowey just smiled.

  “No?” He then regained his normal face and voice, and of course the smug grin was still there. “How curious. It totally sounded like you wanted to avoid the topic so you didn’t have to explain anything. Aren’t you being too lazy, Athela?”

  Don’t say my name. I don’t like it when you say my name.

  “I just… I didn’t want to worry her! She would get really sad if she knew!” She yelled, frowning. Flowey just didn’t understand. How could he understand?

“Yes, of course." Flowey flailed his head with a dramatic expression, and started imitating Athela again. “Oh, she worries too much. If I fell her the truth, she will never let me out of here. Let’s lie to her so I can get out of here faster." His expression turned more impish at the end. Athela was speechless.

 “I…. I…” That felt like a punch to the chest. How did he know that she had considered Toriel would do that if she told her…? No, but she didn’t… she wouldn’t do something like that, she…

 “Golly! Looks like I hit the jackpot!” Flowey was proud of himself. “I totally guessed what was going on in that little flowered head of yours, didn’t I?”

 “N-no, you didn’t," she lied.

 “Ah, another lie… what a misbehaving lady. What would Toriel say?” Flowey laughed. Athela took a step back. Her anger had totally disappeared, and now only guilt remained.

  She… did it because she was worried. She…

  “Well," Flowey continued, “now it’s lying. Maybe later, you will get even meaner. Who knows? You’re half human, after all… aren’t you?”

  Athela stared at him, confused. Still unable to formulate any kind of question or… any sentence, really. She was just feeling awful, and confused, and scared, and…

  “…” No, no words were coming out. Even if she tried… could she even excuse herself?

 “This is going to be so very interesting..." The flower’s face then grew, showing a horrid, cruel smile. His voice sounded distorted as he laughed like a maniac, scaring Athela even more than she already was.

  Then, he regained his original size and winked cutely before burrowing into the ground and disappearing from the skeleton’s sight.

  And she was alone again.

       Athela - LV 1 Ruins – Home Nº Resets: 27