#I also needed a break last week

[kachikirby]

Kirby: Mysterious Incident on the Pupupu Train! - Chapter 6: The Unlikely Culprit

Previous Chapter

With help from Kirby and Bandana, Chef Kawasaki was able to finish making breakfast. There was ham and eggs, salad, soup, and other delicious foods, but of course, none of them were enough to make up for the lack of sweets. Everyone was quiet, as if the fun trip up until now had been a lie. Even Wheelie and Capsule J2, who were always unable to stay calm, were quiet. Kirby was carrying plates to the table of Meta Knight and his crew.

Looking at them, Kirby said.

“Huh? Captain Vul isn’t here. What’s wrong?”

“He didn’t want to eat breakfast. Recently he hasn’t been doing well.” Axe Knight answered.

“That’s how it seems to be.”

Kirby remembered how different Vul was from his usual self. “I wonder why. Maybe he has a tummy ache?”

“Well, we thought he would be fine since his body is pretty sturdy.”

“If you say so, then...”

Kirby returned to the kitchen car and talked to Bandana, who was washing dishes.

“Hey, Waddle Dee. Captain Vul doesn’t seem to be doing well. He didn’t even come for breakfast.”

Bandana turned to look at him.

“Huh? Really? I wonder why.”

“I was thinking about going to see him.”

“Is that so? I’ll go, too.”

“I'll make something that he can eat even if he’s not feeling well so you can take it with you. Some soft rice porridge would be good.” Chef Kawasaki said.

“Ok! Thanks, Chef Kawasaki!”

Kirby and Bandana took the rice porridge made by Kawasaki on a tray and headed towards Meta Knight’s room. Bandana knocked on the door and a gloomy voice replied from inside.

“...who is it?”

“Kirby and Waddle Dee.”

“What do you want?”

“We’ve come to see you. Are you sick, Captain Vul?” Kirby said.

 The door opened slowly. Vul had a hollow expression and his sluggish expression showed that he definitely wasn’t well.

“...I’m not sick. I don’t need a visit.”

“We brought you some rice porridge.”

“Even if you don’t have an appetite, you should eat something!”

At Kirby and Bandana’s pleading, Vul accepted the rice porridge with a frown and said. “...yeah. Thanks for it.”

At that moment, he tried to close the door, but then Kirby said.

“...there’ll be a tea party this afternoon. If you’re feeling better, you should come.”

“...no thanks, sweets and so on I can’t...”

“There won’t be any sweet cake because we don’t have any sugar.”

As Kirby said that, Vul flinched.

“Sugar...”

“Yeah. Someone went to the kitchen car and took the sugar. Because of that, we can’t make any cake. Chef Kawasaki has to think of a lot of new recipes and everyone’s disappointed!”

“But Chef Kawasaki said he can manage. He’ll use fruit and chocolate to make yummy desserts.” Bandana said.

“So you should come, too! If you eat some sweets, you’ll surely feel better!”

Vul was silent.

“Well, see you!”

“Take care!”

Kirby and Bandana waved at him and left.

Vul lowered his head and murmured. “I... I... what in the world...!”

~~~~~~~~

By the time Kirby and Bandana returned to the dining car, the passengers seemed to have already finished their meals. However, even if their plates were empty, everyone was reluctant to leave their seat. Between the sleeping staff members and the missing sugar, tension was high and made everyone too nervous to return to their rooms.

“The dessert melon was delicious.”

“Yeah... but of course...”

“I wanted to eat cake.”

Their discussions weren’t very exciting either. Meta Knight stood up.

“I’ll be returning to my room.”

“Well, us, too...”

His subordinates also stood up. And at that moment, the door to the dining car opened and there stood Captain Vul. The Meta Knights raised their voices.

“Oh, it’s Captain Vul.”

“You feeling any better?”

“Then how about you have some breakfa...”

“...no.” Vul said with a weak voice. “I’ve come to apologize to everyone.”

“...huh?”

“Everyone, please forgive me!” Vul shouted as he bowed his head. “I was the one who hid the sugar! I’m sorry... I offer my greatest apologies!”

“...HUUUUHH!?”

The passengers were so surprised that they looked like they would fall over. The ones who were especially shocked were the Meta Knights.

“It was Captain Vul!? But that’s-!”

“No way... that’s a lie!”

“It’s true...”

Vul said to Meta Knight with tears forming in his eyes.

“I’ve humiliated the name of the Battleship Halberd’s captain. I’ll fully accept being fired... I’m extremely sorry, Lord Meta Knight!”

Meta Knight stared at him and said. “There has to be a reason for it. Be honest and tell me everything, Captain Vul.”

“Yes, sir...”

Vul began to speak with a wilted look.

“What happened was...” He raised his head. “A diet.”

“A diet...?”

“Yeah. Everyone might not believe it... but... I’ve... gotten a bit too fat!”

Upon hearing that, the Meta Knights unanimously spoke.

“Yeah, I thought so.”

“I did, too.”

“Your clothes looked a bit tight recently.”

“...kuku!” Vul wiped his tears with his fist.  “How could everyone have noticed it? Yes, it was my clothes. Just before we boarded the Pupupu Train. I ripped my pants suddenly due to my movement. I was so shocked...”

Vul held his head.

“And above that, it was the precious captain’s uniform that I had received from Lord Meta Knight! While putting on a new pair of pants, I swore to myself that I would lose weight! And... never again would I rip my uniform!”

“So then, you didn’t eat much.” Javelin Knight said.

“I thought it was strange. Captain Vul can’t keep his hands off desserts.” Trident Knight said.

“I endured!”

Vul’s voice trembled.

“With my strong mental fortitude, I held back the urge to eat them! And yet, all of you! With your pudding and blueberry ice cream, it made it difficult...!”

He clenched his fist.

“And moreover, that damn Chef Kawasaki and his horrible proposal for a tea party! How much do you want me to suffer...!”

The harsh tone made Chef Kawasaki recoil.

“Huh?! That’s not possible!”

“...I understand. Now I can think calmly.”

Vul once again hung his head.

“But I was too hungry to make a sensible decision. I couldn’t let the tea party happen...! With that single thought... in the dead of night, I snuck into the kitchen car while everyone was sound asleep and stole the bag of sugar...”

“Where did you hide the sugar then? It wasn’t in our room, was it?” Axe Knight asked.

“Obviously not. If I hid it in the room, you would’ve easily found it. That’s why I hid it in the freight car.”

The freight car was the vehicle at the back part of the Pupupu Train. It was for luggage that couldn’t fit in the passenger’s rooms. Such as Dedede’s parasol and boat. During the trip, no one went there because there was no need to go there.

“It was packed with boxes and there was no room to hide the sugar. So I moved one of the boxes out and hid the sugar in its place...”

“Wait a minute.” Meta Knight suddenly cut him off. “What happened to the box you removed?”

“Huh? Uh...I properly put it in the kitchen car.”

“...as I thought.”

Meta Knight put a hand on his mask as if he was having a headache.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“The box you moved had slumbercumbers in it.”

“...wha? Huh?” Vul replied with a face that didn’t comprehend was he was told.

“The box you moved into the kitchen had slumbercumbers in it. Chef Kawasaki mistook them for regular cucumbers and made sandwiches with them and that caused the driver and the others to fall asleep.”

Upon swallowing this truth, Vul jumped and raised his voice.

“HUUUHHHHH?! Th-then the crew members falling asleep... was my fault!?”

“That’s right.”

“I-I-I’M SO VERY SORRY!!” Vul staggered. “It wasn’t just the sugar, but the crew falling asleep was my fault! AHHHHHHHHHH! How am I gonna apologize for this...!?”

“Before that, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

“...what is it...” Vul asked, hunched over and completely disappointed.

“You said that the freight car was packed tightly with wooden crates, right?”

“Huh...”

“Mr. York, I’d like you to tell me about the wooden crates.”

Meta Knight looked at York, who was sitting in the corner. York raised his face as if he was determined.

“In those tightly packed boxes... were all of them slumbercumbers?”

“...”

“If so, you, the person in charge of the train, should have known. The slumbercumbers, on your orders...”

“HOLD IT!” A voice shouted.

Before anyone knew it, the door to the dining hall slammed open and in walked King Dedede. He leaned with one hand against the wall and said coolly.

“I’ve heard the whole thing.”

“Ah! So, you eavesdropped!” Kirby said.

“What about driving the train? Isn’t it dangerous for no one to be in the cab?” Knuckle Joe said.

“I’ve left it to the Waddle Dees! It has a self-driving device, they can handle it for the time being! Chef Kawasaki, get me my breakfast! I want three large bowls of donburi! And don’t forget the chunky steak and a heaping pile of potato salad!”

“Yes, yes, coming right up.”

Chef Kawasaki quickly returned to the kitchen car. Dedede stepped into the dining car casually and glared at York.

“I’ve seen through your horrid plan! There’s no way you’re running away, York!”

York looked away with a blank expression.

“Slumbercumbers are a rare vegetable that can only be grown in the southern part of Dream Land! Until now, no one has looked at it as something that shouldn’t be eaten! But you saw it!”

“...”

“It’s a vegetable that’ll surely put you to sleep for days! If exploited, it’d have disastrous consequences!”

“Exploited...you say?”

“That’s right! For example... if you put the Waddle Dees to sleep in the Castle Dedede kitchen, you can have as much snacks as you want!”

Mace Knight rammed him. “That’s useless!”

“But it would be a particularly big problem if abused...” Axe Knight said.

King Dedede continued. “Anyway, you were smuggling slumbercumbers to make a fortune off them!”

“Smuggling...?”

“Yeah! You’re secretly transporting the slumbercumbers and selling them to thugs! If you do that, you’ll get a ton of wealth!”

“I knew it...!”

Bandana Waddle Dee shouted out with a trembling voice. He stood by King Dedede and glared at York.

“That was your plan from the beginning! The Pupupu Train wasn’t made to entertain us, it was made to transport the slumbercumbers...!”

York looked around at everyone with sharp eyes before speaking. “Yes, that’s right. I tried to transport the slumbercumbers. But that’s...”

At that moment, the door to the dining car opened and the Waddle Dees jumped inside.

“Your highness, we’re in danger!”

“Huh? What is it?! I’m busy right now!”

“W-we-we’re in real danger!”

The Waddle Dees were now crying.

“The red light on the driver’s seat is shining!”

“...a red light? Isn’t that the one that reports an emergency?”

“That’s right! And a voice that said “Shooting Star Approaching, Please use caution” came out!”

“At this rate, this train will collide with a shooting star!”

~~~~~~

Next Chapter

Table of Contents

[mroddmod]

just something i’ve been thinking about

[xtaleunderverse]

I dreamed this last night

[andypantsx3]

did not get as much writing done as i wanted during my first day to myself in 4 weeks (😭) but roo did help me do yoga for the first time in forever (standing under me and putting her mouth in my mouth) read half a book (i have not read anything in 4 weeks straight) and i made the BEST steak and asparagus of my life, with a little lemon parm arugula salad on the side. i cook red meat like once a year so this was huge.

[expelliarmus]

[fairycosmos]

wasn’t going to drink tomorrow but destiel anniversary gets shot in the head

[shalom-iamcominghome]

I'm pretty aromantic but I know how people in love feel because I haven't gone to shul and I won't be going to my class this week and I'm feeling like this

[scionshtola]

i’m still thinking about this sorry but the idea that the wol’s actions are the same as the garlean army’s actions just really rubs me the wrong way. like i dont think its actually a nuanced position to suggest that theres no difference between resisting imperial violence and committing it. the reason the garlemald section stands out to me is not because well it’s okay, the garleans thought what they were doing was right and we committed violence against them too so who’s to say who is right or wrong. it’s that they are demonstrably in the wrong and we help them anyway. because we can, because they need it.

[wikiangela]

last line tag

tagged by @jesuisici33 @thewolvesof1998 @daffi-990 @jamespearce9-1-1 @lover-of-mine @hippolotamus @disasterbuckdiaz 💖💖

___

It’s a good few weeks, and it feels like everyone’s back on track, settling into their lives again, figuring everything out one day at a time. Buck’s happy. He has his awesome girlfriend, his best friend seems finally more at ease, even if the divorce is adding some stress, and his other best friend is happier than ever with his mom around. Everything’s finally starting to go great.

And then it all gets disrupted again.

___

no pressure tags: @elvensorceress @gaydiaz @diazass @thebravebitch @silentxxsoul @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @arthursdent @diazblunt @911onabc @spagheddiediaz @housewifebuck @gayhoediaz @rogerzsteven @watchyourbuck @monsterrae1 @honestlydarkprincess @underwater-ninja-13 @eowon @exhuastedpigeon @weewootruck @loserdiaz @evanbegins @steadfastsaturnsrings @ladydorian05 @malewifediaz @pirrusstuff @theotherbuckley @911-on-abc @spotsandsocks @hoodie-buck @giddyupbuck @wildlife4life @fortheloveofbuddie @nmcggg @diazpatcher @jeeyuns

[dragon-tamer-1]

Aftermare Week 2024

Day2(6): Destroy(ed)/(Re)Building

Geno was hanging upside-down from the Tree of Feelings, just above where Nightmare was. Nightmare was reading a book he got from the library. Nightmare's thoughts wandered, he couldn't help but think on how the last year went. The villagers, particularly the ones who were very hostile to him, were starting to actually give him a chance. He can't help but to believe that Geno arriving here was the cause of it, though it took a while for this to happen. They still bullied and hurt him after Geno showed up, but Geno had started protecting him. Something that Dream never-... No, it wasn't Dream's fault. Dream didn't know it was happening, or at least didn't know the extent of it. He wished he said something before, now, as things were getting better with both Geno and Dream advocating for the villagers to stop abusing him(he wasn't sure if that's what he'd call it, but Geno insisted that's what they were doing to him). He's incredibly grateful for Geno, even if he went and told Dream after the last time the bad villagers attacked him when he didn't want him to. He couldn't deny that it felt better to have his brother know about it now, though, not after the results that came afterwards.

The villagers no longer unofficially banned him from entering the village with or without his brother(they never said he wasn't allowed but the way they treated him pretty much implied it), some of them were still wary of him, but they were starting to warm up to him it seems. Some of them even apologized for not helping him sooner, they were some of the ones who weren't mean to him, though they never helped much before, if they knew at all. He certainly didn't want to dwell on how many people might not have known what was happening to him, or who knew what was happening and didn't care.

Overall, it's only been good ever since Geno arrived, they even started dating a month ago. Geno still misses his brother, but he's been happy here.

Noticing the position of the sun as being roughly noon, Nightmare was about to ask if Geno wanted to grab a bite to eat for lunch. But before he did, there seemed to be a sudden flash of light. And as soon as the light faded and he could see again, there was what he could only describe as a tear in the air beside Geno. He immediately dropped the book as he jumped up, and Geno, still partially blinded, falls off the branch trying to right himself. Just as Nightmare was about to catch him, the tear started to drag Geno in. He grabs Geno's scarf in one hand and tries to reach for his hand or something to try to keep him from going through the tear. Neither of them know what's on the other side, and they don't want to find out.

Unfortunately, it was not enough. Geno was pulled through, but not before his scarf was pulled from his neck, leaving Nightmare with only his scarf. Nightmare and Geno had one last look at each other, tears in their eyes as they realized this was the last time they'd see each other and horror at what was happening, then the tear in space closed.

Nightmare clutched the scarf as he broke down, and soon after rain clouds have gathered. Dream returned after it started pouring and as soon as he saw how distraught his brother was he ran to him. He nearly slipped on the grass, but caught himself. He noticed Geno was nowhere in sight but his priority is his brother right now.

"Brother, what's wrong? Are you ok? Are you hurt? Where's Geno, I don't see him? Wait, is that his-"

"He- he's gone, he's gone and I-I couldn't- I couldn't *hic* save him. He- I-..."

"Brother, Night, please, slow down. You have to breath, okay? What happened? Geno's gone?"

He took a few deep breaths, and tried to explain what happened, having to pause between sobs. Dream started crying along with him as what happened sank in. Geno, his brother's partner, his friend, the one who ultimately helped both of them in different ways, was gone. He protected his brother when he was unable to, even when he wanted to so bad, but didn't want to pressure his brother when he didn't want to talk to him about what was happening with the villagers. He helped him set firmer boundaries with the villagers, not letting them overwork him like they were, and in the end he and Nightmare were feeling closer than before now that they weren't keeping things from each other. All they could do in this moment was mourn Geno, as they hugged each other in the pouring rain.

~meanwhile~

Geno landed on the other side of the tear very disoriented. Upon trying to stand he noticed that everything was dark, an almost unfamiliar type of dark. He also noticed the familiar glitching over his right eye socket. Then a small presence ran up to him on his blind side and almost knocked him over.

"Agh! What the- Frisk!?"

"You were gone for so long, where were you!?"

"I-"

"Wait, you're crying, are you okay? What happened?"

"Woa-"

"You're not hurt, are you? Where's your scarf?"

"Stop!! What do you care, anyway!?"

"... I'm sorry. I was just... I'll go."

Frisk left to the only patch of grass in the Save Screen, though they were still worried about him. He was gone for so long, and they had no idea what happened to him. They wanted so bad to comfort him right now, as much as they knew that they probably weren't who he wanted near him. They did a lot to him, so they knew he wouldn't trust them. But he's clearly going through something right now.

Some time later, Geno had gotten up, but still felt defeated. So he was back in the Save Screen, huh? Was this what he deserves? Is this the karma he deserves for not protecting Papyrus that first Genocide route? Doomed to be stuck here with the kid who started it all? To do nothing but watch as Chara continues to Reset and do whatever they want? Is he really not allowed to be happy? Even once?

He shakes these thoughts out of his head for now, he can have another mental/emotional breakdown later. He looks over to Frisk, and regrets what he said earlier. As much as he wants to stay mad at them, his year with Nightmare and his brother Dream has given him a lot of time to process and think over what he's been through, and also think about Frisk and their ability to Reset. He can't help but think how the power could have made it too easy to want to do things again and again. He doesn't think he can forgive them yet, but he can certainly be a bit kinder to them.

He walks over to them and moves to sit beside them.

"Hey, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. You didn't deserve that."

Frisk, surprised, just stared at him for a moment. "What?"

"You didn't deserve to be yelled at for worrying about me. I shouldn't have said that. I was, am still dealing with another loss I just had. To answer your earlier questions, I had been transported to some other world very different than ours. One that seemed to have humans and monsters getting along, well, for the most part. And there were two brothers I met there, they were called Dream and Nightmare. They helped to take care of me, even when I was... stubborn. The reason for me crying was because I had been forcibly taken from there when I had been there for a year and had grown pretty close with the two, especially one of the brothers, Nightmare. I helped them as well, Nightmare was being abused by the villagers there because of a stupid assumption or rumor that they thought was fact. Put a stop to that nonsense, and also got the two brothers to start telling each other these things."

Frisk let him talk about all that happened, and couldn't help but feel both happy and sad for Geno. It seemed like he was able to be happy where he ended up, but the fact he had been dragged back here..., it was so unfair.

Eventually, they both started talking about how they could maybe fix their situation without actually destroying the timeline like Geno was initially planning to do. His time with Dream and Nightmare had given him time to think about what he would've even accomplished by doing so, and how unfair it was to everyone else that he decided their fate for them. So he had decided that he would figure something else out if he was able to come back on his own. Except that was when he was kinda wanting to go back to Papyrus more than hanging out with the brothers.

"Okay, so what can we do about Chara? I think we both can agree they can't be allowed to keep killing everyone."

"Yeah, what about still bringing them here? But I don't know what we could do after that."

"That's a start, at least. Let's see what Sans is up to."

As he says this, he opens up a window to where Sans is, after a moment to remember how he did it in the first place. The window shows Sans in the Judgement Hall, and observing for a while longer reveals that Chara is back to killing the entire Underground. 'Seriously? How many times has this gone on since he was gone? Don't they get bored of doing this over and over?'

There's nothing left to do but wait, Geno remembers that it's easiest to get Sans here while he's unconscious or a Reset happens. And soon enough, Sans gets hit, dies, and then the Reset happens. Geno snaps his fingers, and Sans is in the Save Screen.

Sans was confused, where was he? As he turns around, he remembers where this is. It's been a long time since he was here, and he was starting to worry about Geno with how long it's been without him summoning him into the Save Screen. And, wait, where is his scarf? And last he remembers, he wasn't fond of Frisk, yet he seems to be rather chill with them.

"Heya, been a long time, huh?"

"Yeah, it has been a while, sorry for disapperin' on ya, there was apparently an unplanned vacation I was sent on."

"What? I thought you couldn't leave this place?"

"I thought so too, but whatever it was that transported me there also made it so I was fine. I don't really know how that worked. But then after I had been comfortable there, I was transported back here, and for all I know, I'm still not able to leave here without dying. But, enough about that for now. I wanted to talk to you about how we can stop Chara."

Sans let out a disappointed sigh, "if this is about destroying our timeline, it's still a no."

"Oh, no, no it's not that, actually. Though I guess it can still be a backup if we really can't solve this a different way-"

Frisk decided to speak up, "We're not destroying our timeline, Geno."

"So then, what was this new plan?"

"There isn't much of a fully thought out plan, but first step is to bring Chara here. But we don't know what step two would be because I don't know how we can stop them completely."

"Ah, so we're just brainstorming things, then?"

"Pretty much."

"Hm, well, what if..."

~Timeskip to after the events of Aftertale happen and Geno is on the Surface with everyone(I'm lazy and have to progress to the rest of the story without this basically retelling all of the climax of Aftertale. Just pretend that the end of Aftertale had this kind of background with Geno not attacking Sans after getting Chara and Papyrus into the Save Screen. Also I'm just leaving this in here cause why not XD)~

Geno looked out at the sunset atop Papyrus' shoulders. He can't say that he regrets anything he's done, aside from making things harder on Sans. It's all worth it to see Papyrus again, and knowing that there won't be anymore Resets is very reassuring to him. And this view, as much as he's seen it before, is probably one of the most beautiful sights he's seen of the Surface. It's no view from that hill of the large flower field in the moonlight in the other world he spent a year in, though.

... He misses Nightmare and Dream. He can't help but wonder what they'd think of this. Surely they miss him, too.

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT, NEW BROTHER? YOU LOOK A LITTLE SAD."

"Oh, it's nothing. I just miss a couple of people is all. You remember the story I told you about the two brothers in the other world I was in?"

"OH, YES. I MAY NOT KNOW WHO THEY ARE, BUT I KNOW THEY ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO YOU. I'M SURE YOU'LL SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN SOMEDAY, I JUST KNOW IT!"

"Heh, I'm not sure about that, but I sure hope so."

"NYEHEH!"

As time went by, Geno grew accustomed to life on the Surface alongside his two brothers, Sans and Papyrus. But even as he was happy to finally be by Papyrus' side, he couldn't deny that he missed Nightmare terribly, sometimes to the point he refused to leave his room. He was starting to wonder how he could visit that world. To go back there. The urge to see Nightmare and Dream again only grew as time went on.

So, after a year and a half on the Surface, he starts testing out the limits of his Determination. After all, Determination had kept him from dying and also got him into the Save Screen, so why wouldn't it be able to transport him to a different world? He had to try it or he would never know. So he's in the basement experimenting with Determination, and he mixes an unstable sample of Determination with a stable sample. It has the unfortunate reaction of destabilizing completely and explodes in a blast of piercing white light.

When he next gains consciousness, the only thing he sees is white, blindingly white nothing. He immediately squeezes his eyes shut, trying to adjust his eyelights to his new and unfamiliar surroundings. "Where am I? How...?" Squinting his eyes open a bit, he slowly realizes he isn't having aftereffects from the blast earlier, but that this is indeed a white void. Completely different than the Save Screen, and yet somehow just as lonely.

"Hello? Is anyone out there!?" He listened as his voice echoed in the space, how big was it? The echoes kept bouncing between invisible walls and only faded about a minute later, was it a minute? It must have been, surely. He tests the "floor," and finds that he's definitely on something solid. And starts wandering in what he thinks is a straight line, hoping to find some kind of, well, anything really.

~Timeskip, Geno is now Error, and doesn't remember anything prior to becoming Error~

It's been four years since Geno had disappeared, and while he still misses him, things are alright. Nightmare and his brother, Dream, now had a proper house near their Tree. Some of the villagers even helped build it with them. It has three bedrooms, one for Dream, one for Nightmare, and a guest bedroom. Though both of them knew the real reason they insisted it had three bedrooms, it was for Geno should he by some miracle come back to them. They knew that, by now, it was less and less likely to happen. Dream had been trying to be positive about the possibility, but even he had doubts, and Nightmare knew that. Nightmare was inconsolable for nearly a month after Geno's disappearance. He also started avoiding the villagers again for a while, too, anxious that they would start going back to how they treated him before Geno was there.

Thankfully, the villagers understood that he was going through a very hard time, and gave him space. Some had also gifted him little treats and notes to try to help comfort him, most were given through Dream though, but there were a few occasions that someone was able to give their gift to him in person. It took a while for Nightmare to get used to the idea that the villagers wouldn't hurt him and put his anxieties to rest on that. He's always seen wearing Geno's scarf, too, it brings him some comfort.

Today was a nice day, the sun was out and it was warm, but not unbearably so. Dream was out entertaining the village children while he was taking a walk and hearing out a villager's issues and trying to help them to solve/deal with them. It was going well before a portal opened up a few feet behind them. Nightmare turned to it and froze. It was like the tear that took Geno away.

Turning back to the villager, he said, "I think we're going to have to talk later, I have to deal with this." The villager nodded and ran off.

The portal was blocky and didn't hold a solid shape, shifting and also had a strange sound coming from it. As he was studying this portal's strangeness, someone came through it! It closed behind them, and the strange sound faded, but didn'tstop. It seemed to also come from the stranger. Looking at the new stranger, they looked so odd, even for a monster. Their bones were black, oh- wait, their fingers were yellow and red, and so was what he could see of their spine. And the legs are also red it seems- Wait, stop staring, it's rude. And they were wearing a red sweater with a midnight blue jacket and black shorts and... black slippers? Actually, no, that's not the weirdest thing someone can wear, and even then, it's not really a problem. The weirdest thing was that their entire figure looked like they were... not fully together?? Their figure had square chunks of them jumping in and out of their body, and the word 'Error' was randomly placed along their body.

He was going to ask them their name and what they wanted when he noticed that they were looking frantically around them, visibly distressed and on the verge of a panic attack. He saw the signs, and having had panic attacks before, knows how to deal with it. He was just going to have to hope that what helped him out of those panic attacks would help this person.

"Hey, it's okay, here, breathe in, two, three, four, hold it in for five seconds, and breathe out for six. Ready?"

He helped the stranger through the panic attack, and thankfully they're now calm. Both of them are now sitting in the grass, Nightmare had guided the other down so that if they were to pass out they wouldn't fall from standing up. They were currently looking at the grass like they had never seen grass before, so that concerned him a bit. The sound seems quieter.

He cleared his throat before speaking, "Uh, hey, how are you doing? Feeling any better?"

They looked up at him, "Y-Yeah, I'm feelin-ng better now, tha-thank you-u. You look v-very ni-ice. Very colorfu-ful."

Nightmare, caught off guard, felt his face heat up. "U-uh, thanks? You're pretty colorful yourself."

"You look kinda-a familiar for some re-reason, but you're the f-first person I've me-met. So I don't kn-ow why I would recogn-nize you."

"I do? That does sound odd, huh? Ah! I had forgotten about introductions. I'm Nightmare, what's your name?"

"Oh, I'm, uhh-uh..." He squinted his eyes in thought as he tried to remember his name. "... Error, that'ssss it. Yeah, my na-name is Err-ror."

"It's nice to meet you, Error. Where did you come from? You were pretty freaked out when you got here."

"I'm n-not too sure? I don't know w-what the place is-s-s, but there's ju-ust, nothing in there? Hold-d-d on I think I can open a port-tal back there? I'm pretty new t-to this though..."

Error concentrates before waving a hand through the air in front of them, and the strange noise that's been there gets stronger again. The portal opens, and Nightmare can only see white. He can't see anything else in there, and looking for a while is starting to hurt his eyelights.

"Is that really what it looks like? It's just white. How long have you been in there?"

"Yeah, it's pre-retty barren, b-but it's kinda al-l I know? I thi-ink? I don't rememb-er anything else bef-fore I woke up there. And I-I don't know how long-ng I've been there, it just felt li-i-ike a very long time? Or was it a short tim-me? I'm not sure..." He closed the portal again.

"Would you like to stay here? We have a spare guest room you can stay in. My brother wouldn't mind you staying as you get used to this place if you do stick around. It's better than white nothing, right?"

"Hmm-mm, I guess I cou-ld. There's s-s-so many colors her-ere, it's... nice, I thin-nk."

Nightmare thought that last statement was a bit odd, but then again, the guy was in an empty white void, for lack of better terms, for however long he was in there. Colors would be a bit of an adjustment to someone who was devoid of most colors.

"Alright, let me guide you there, then. I'm going to have to tell Dream about this. I think you'll like him."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's good at making friends. I'm getting the hang of it, but still like to not be around too many people at once. It's this way."

Nightmare waved him over, leading him back to his and Dream's home. On the way back Nightmare couldn't help but think about how Geno first appeared. It's rather odd how two different people managed to arrive in this place from somewhere completely foreign to him. It couldn't be related, right? No, it's just a coincidence.

Soon enough, they arrived. 'Oh, looks like Dream returned from the village early. Better for us, I can tell him everything now than wait until he gets home later.' Nightmare waved at Dream, who waved back.

Dream had fun with the villagers' children, but had decided to head back for the day. Once getting back, he realized his brother hadn't returned yet, so he went to get some food ready. He was still learning to cook from Saphire, the village's tavern cook, so it was going to be sandwiches for today. She was nice, and had offered to teach both of the brothers as a way to help them have their own means of providing food for themselves. It was so that neither Dream nor Nightmare had to rely on the villagers' generosity to avoid any possible future issues that came from any of the villagers taking advantage of them.

After making a couple sandwiches, he went outside to wait for Nightmare. He decided to busy himself with tending the flowers in their front garden. A few minutes later, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, and knew instantly it was Nightmare. Looking over to the forest, he saw Nightmare with a new person. He waved back at Nightmare after he waved, but was intrigued by the new person following him.

As they approached, Dream noticed more details about the new guy, including his strange appearance. He seemed rather relaxed before he saw him, but now seemed nervous. He also kept looking around at everything, almost like seeing the world for the first time.

"Hi, brother! Who might this be? Make a new friend?"

"Hi, Dream, this is Error. Error, this is my brother, Dream. He just appeared out of a portal a little while ago. He came from some kind of white void? And I offered for him to stay here instead of wherever that place was. I don't know much about the place, but I can't help but feel like that isn't a good place to live long-term. It's okay if he stays, right?"

Dream blinked in surprise, that was not what he expected, but quickly agreed. "Of course he can stay! Oh, I made some sandwiches, I should make a few more, I hope you like them!" And he ran into the house to make a few more sandwiches, leaving Nightmare and Error outside.

"Is he a-always that energeti-tic?"

"Most times, yeah. Is it too much for you? I can let him know to calm down a bit. He's just excited to meet someone new, is all."

"N-No, I think it's alri-right. Reminds me of-f...." Error pauses, trying to think of what Dream reminded him of.

"... You alright?" Nightmare asked, concerned.

"Hm? Oh, yea-ah, just thought that y-your brother reminded m-e-e of someone, but I don't r-remem-mber who. It's fine, though. Wh-What are these 'sandw-wiches' that he was talking abou-out?"

"Oh, it's a kind of food that consists of different ingredients that is put between two slices of bread, or sandwiched."

"Oh, that's kin-n-nd of cool. I'll try-y them, then."

Nightmare and Error entered the house, and while Dream was making more sandwiches, Nightmare showed their new guest the spare bedroom and pointed out his and Dream's rooms and let him know that if he needs anything at night, he's welcome to let either of them know. Nightmare just hoped that if Geno does show up again somehow, by whatever miracle, he wouldn't mind him giving Error the room he hoped would be Geno's.

He fidgeted with Geno's scarf later, after they had all eaten their fill of sandwiches. Though he will admit Error's method of eating was... unexpected(why did he have five tongues??). But it was a nice early dinner. It had surprised him just how late it was when he brought Error back, though, it didn't seem like it took that long. And there's still the question of what that strange sound that seems to be ever-present around Error. Something he'll have to ask another time.

So this is it! It is done! Ok, there are a couple of ideas I played around with in this. First, Dream and Nightmare have a very slight effect on the weather, if Nightmare and/or Dream are very distraught, it will be cloudy and possibly start raining. If either or both of them are very happy, it will be more sunny, but not hot. The other idea is that the Multiverse is not on a universal timer. A lot of AUs go at different speeds, and it's kinda rare to find any two AUs that are both the same speed and are at the same time of day as each other. And the Anti-Void is already known to be outside of any of that and fluctuates in time.

@bluepallilworld @shinechermont

The only thing I couldn't decide at first was if Error was already able to leave the Anti-Void before coming to Dreamtale, or if it's the first time he's left the Anti-Void. Ultimately, I decided to go the route of him first leaving the Anti-Void into Dreamtale. He will go back every now and then and explore the Multiverse from here, but he will always come back here. He won't realize that the reason is that he subconsciously knows this place was a home to him before he became Error, but that will happen in time.

Also this would have been posted on day 2 if I finished everything on time, but it's now in a kinda limbo where it's both on time but also late XD

[brinnanza]

yesterday at work, one of the older kids (ish; five) saw my water bottle (it's like 64 oz I'm a thirsty bitch) on the counter, and said, "is that your big water bottle?" and I was like yeah so he was like "why is it so big' and I said "well I'm a big boy I need a big bottle" and he said "you're not a boy you're a girl!!" because while I'm out with the adults I don't tell every kid my pronouns yknow most of em don't even really speak yet. my coworker refers to me as them in front of the kids but like they're kids, right? and if you've got no context for my whole thing or gender Stuff in general, sure I look like a girl and that's not a like, offensive guess, ykwim?

anyway, I said, "that's just your opinion, man," and turned to help another kid. it did not come up again.

[writhe]

i want to be more open to anything and everything and i’m scared

[airenyah]

no but when mhok told day to think of his plate as a clock and told him where on the clock the food was that really reminded me of one of my favorite movies from when i was in middle school which is also about blind people and where the title of the movie itself is a reference to thinking of the plate as a clock: it's called "erbsen auf halb 6" which literally translates to "peas at half past 5" (yes, "halb 6" means "half past 5", yes the numbers are different, don't worry about it)

the plot of the movie is a theater director losing his eyesight in a car accident and him being a director who kinda needs to see what's going on on stage he really doesn't take his sudden loss of vision very well. he gets assigned a helper/mentor, a lady who is blind herself and who's been blind since birth and is supposed to help him adapt to a life with disability. he ultimately runs away from her when he learns that his mother is sick to go find his mother in russia and say goodbye before she dies. his helper/mentor chases after him and they end up on a travel adventure together

it's been over a decade since i last saw the movie but i think at some point they eat and they talk about how the peas sit on the plate where it would be half past 5 on a clock?? anyway, that moment with mhok and day at the restaurant where mhok tells him the position of day's food with the help of an analog clock really reminded me of that movie

edit: i went to look for the trailer of that movie and i found the scene in question!! turns out they're at a restaurant and the helper/mentor character goes "if you imagine the plate as a clock... what numbers is the food lying on?" and the waitress is all confused going "i'm sorry?"

there are no eng subs for the trailer buuut the moment is at the very end at 2:11:

see it's a real movie i didn't just make it up kjdfkjdfk

[bogkeep]

first week back at school and ahhhhhh everything is a little overwhelming currently

- my living space is full of boxes i have simply not had the energy to unpack at all.... hopefully this weekend (but i have also been invited to a Social Event so WE SHALL SEE)

- this school year is going to have So Much Important Stuff happening inbetween the many weeks of practice placement

- such as The Academic Text

- AND i need to finish the big project i was supposed to have finished ages ago

- our teacher this year speaks swedish with a very thick french accent and i speak norwegian with a dialect, we really struggle to understand one another but maybe hopefully that will change over time.... please...........

- i'm stressed about Stupid Bureaucracy Stuff

- and im so so sleepytired :(((

- and it's too humid and warm for comfort :(((((

AT LEAST I HAVE CUTE SOCKS

purchased in a distraught jetlag haze and subsidized by my travel insurance. they're my favourites now

[manasurge]

1/3 of the way done of this last page, then I can finally post it all o|-<

[thebirdandhersong]

on the good news train today: I have finally finished the last chapter(!!!) of my Inklings challenge story, which marks the FIRST ever Inklings challenge story I've ever completed properly :'D coming in at 30,810 words (yikes) (it did get out of hand, I must admit), it is definitely not a short story, but it IS a piece that I think articulates a lot of what I've been thinking about lately re: love and death, and, considering everything, is probably something I needed to write. I am very happy!! It has been a wild ride, but a deeply clarifying one.