#enjoy the radioactive grass i guess

[jitterbugbear]

dear old friends

[lemonhemlock]

I dont see Helaena cheating. I see her having feelings for Aemond both romantic and sexual in nature but I don't see her cheating. And IK people bring up the "so you don't want female characters to have agency and sexually fulfilled lives? So you think only men are allowed to cheat? So you think all people with autism are aroace robots with no interest in sex?" arguments and I believe some anti-helaemonds genuinely smack of that kind of thinking, but something it's simply: I just don't think Heleana is that kind of character from what we have gotten. Helaena not cheating doesn't mean all real woman cant ever cheat or all female characters cant ever cheat, its just in Helaena's case she does not. There are female characters who cheat, not as many as men, but they're there. I don't see why Helaena specifically not cheating would be such a big blow? Is it because of the autism? In that case the scarcity of autistic characters should be criticised IMO; we shouldn't need to make one autistic fill a niche by herself. Thats just sad tbh.

It's the only reason I don't believe anything happened between Helaemond on the show and will be very surprised if it has or will unless helaena does a 180, which IG could be a kinda fun angle - her becoming more like Aegon/a Dragon. But there's so much gonna be going on I don't know if we need this. I'm just a little sick of Aemond I guess.

Just to maybe drop a different perspective.

hey there, i want to take this opportunity to assure everyone that, with all my ranting, i'm not really a prescriptivist person, bent on shaping the way people interact with their chosen piece of media :)

so, if that's your interpretation of helaena's character, that's completely fine in my book, and you are entitled to your headcanons. don't get me wrong here, i'm not trying to police the way people consume fiction or how they like to play in their own sandboxes, lord knows there is enough room for all of us under the sun. so, if you think that she wouldn't cheat for various reasons, i'm not here to contradict your view specifically and tell you you're wrong. our opposing opinions can co-exist just fine in the space-time continuum. :))

personally speaking, i interpret their social & familial roles breaking down so much within this cycle of generational inbreeding that whatever this is doesn't even register as cheating anymore since the regular boundaries start bleeding into one another. but that's bc that's what i find a really cool idea to explore, others can and should come up with their own takes

i only take issue with a certain type of moral framework that excludes all other possible interpretations bc it doesn't fall within whatever the circulated papal bull stipulates at the moment. especially when it's over really silly stuff like this. meaning to say that other people are not stupid or badly-intentioned or sinister or secret team black sleeper agents :)) for enjoying alternative possibilities. and, i have to say, it does feel really kind of rotten when you hear how other greens talk about helaemonds like they carry the plague, bc i think there are some really lovely people in this little internet niche that could contribute in a lot of positive ways to the fandom.

i, for one, can't control how people choose to judge me for not shutting up about this (lmao this really unintentionally feels like coming out, which is absolutely ridiculous, touch-grass-levels), but i'd think it rather childish if 1. i felt force to go underground and lie about it so people wouldn't blacklist me for this dumb reason and 2. i couldn't really engage in other ways bc people formed this unfair opinion that i'm some tainted radioactive waste. i write a lot of meta on a lot on topics and i enjoy talking to a wide range of people, which is why i rarely even block, so, that's just a personal disappointment i would have as a fandom navigator.

at the end of the day, it's.... you know, whatever, as far as i'm concerned, because i have a big mouth anyway and i don't really shut up IRL either, so, in that regard i had to already teflonize myself. but i feel like a lot of users are held back from participating and being more active for fear of judgment, which is just a damn shame, as the toxic voices always tend to drown out the ones who would really help turn this place into a more pleasant experience for everyone

so, what can i say, i'm a big softie, y'all

[jmflowers]

4, 14, 21, 27, 30, 43, 45, 79 and 91

thank you, friend

4. What do you think about most?

- if I’m treating others as kindly as I possibly can - if I’m a good enough person - whether I’m accomplishing enough - my goals - how to make my best friend laugh - daydreaming about my future and what it’ll look like

14. If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

I love being outside, if you hadn’t guessed yet. In warmer weather, most often I’m hiking. But I also enjoy tending to my vegetable garden, cycling, hanging out with my pets in the grass, taking pictures, watching the sunset, swimming in the lake... whatever. In the winter months, if I’m outside I’m usually skating at the local outdoor rink, or clearing snow off mine and my neighbours’ driveways. 

21. Who is your celebrity crush?

I’m enamoured with Emma Atkins’ energy - the tree pictures, offhanded comments about anxiety, her distance from social media, her relationship with Charley... all around, she seems like a soul I would connect with deeply. 

As for looks and hilarity, Jade Thirlwall is an absolute dreamboat. 

27. What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?

I really don’t like the sound of fingernails against a scalp. I enjoy most sounds in nature (waves against the shore, wind through the leaves), but my favourite is probably rain hitting the old barn roof... it’s magical when you’re inside the barn.

30. Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.

To the right, my cell phone. To the left, a fuzzy blanket. (It was one of the cats when I started, but he decided sleeping on my sweaters in my closet is better.)

43. Do you have any nicknames?

Plenty; Nell, Nelly, Jell, Janellie, my belle, etc. Anything that rhymes, usually. 

45. What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

When I was a toddler, I was alone in our backyard playing on the metal swingset. It had this “teeter-totter” type thing, that was a two-seated swing where the seats faced each other with a metal rod in between and a handle each. I guess I’d seen the kids leaping off the swings at the park, as I made a go of it myself - backwards, off the “teeter-totter”. I remember hitting the ground very hard and laying on my back, staring up as the swing finished it’s momentum back and forth above me. I walked around the house to the front, where my dad was with my brother (he’d pinched his finger moments earlier and gone running to Dad for comfort), and my brother immediately ran away to hide behind the car, crying. I said, “Look, Dad, my arm is shaped like an ‘S’!” He said, “Holy shit, Janelle, get in the car!” Mom had left us kids with Dad while she went to the bank before dinner. By the time she got home, I was in the emergency room with a full break of both my radius and ulna. Apparently, I had surgery where they managed to repair the breaks without metal rods, and I spent the next couple months in a cast. All I remember after talking to my dad was waking up in the hospital presumably hours later and being pissed that they’d put me in a crib. I think I still have the cast somewhere... it smells really terrible. 

79. What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?

Waiting. There was a lot of pressure when I finished high school to head off to a post-secondary education - didn’t matter what, just do something. It didn’t feel right to me, so I didn’t. That gap of time in my life has been crucial: I was able to focus on my mental health when I desperately needed to, I had no serious obligations to let go off when my health took a turn, and I’ve gained heaps of work experience. I feel very good about where I am in my life, even if it looks nothing like my peers. I see so many of my young coworkers rushing off into post-secondary education with a lot of uncertainty and fear... I never wanted to feel like that when it came to investing my time and money. 

91. You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?

This is going to sound ridiculous, probably, but it was the first thing I thought of when I read these questions this morning: I’d want the ability to freeze time for everyone but myself. And not to like, be more productive, or halt moments for all eternity. It’d just be really nice to sit in the woods in total silence knowing no one is going to sneak up on me. 

[auberginesdonthavelimbs]

Phanniemay Day 17: Seance

Word count: 1998

TW for description of a character in extreme pain

Danny wasn’t not enjoying the party. It was fine; he knew most of the people here at least a little bit, there was decent food, and the music was generic. Of course, everyone else was drinking and he was sober because his body reacted unpredictably to alcohol, but he didn’t need alcohol to have fun. And yet, Danny was standing alone in the corner of the kitchen staring at nothing. He wondered whether it was late enough to justify leaving.

“Hey, Fenton! Guys, I found him!” Danny looked over to see Wes standing in the kitchen doorway, waving at him. After a moment he was joined by Sukhdeep and Sebastian, also members of the basketball team if Danny remembered correctly. He walked over to them.

“Hey, guys, what’s up?” Sukhdeep and Sebastian looked at each other hesitantly, but Wes leaned casually on the doorframe and said,

“Us and some other guys are going to do a seance. We figured, you like ghosts, so maybe you’d want in.” His smile was cocky, and Danny knew this was some kind of trap. He wondered if maybe he should just walk away. But, then, what if that was the trap? Danny wasn’t sure how Wes wanted him to respond.  

“I don’t know if that’s a great idea, Wes,” he said after a too-long pause. “You know you shouldn’t be messing with that stuff. Ghosts can be dangerous.”

“Aren’t you always saying that not all ghosts are bad, though?”

“Yeah, but-”

“And if it does turn out to be a bad ghost, all the more reason to have a ghost hunter with us.” Danny narrowed his eyes.

“He’s kind of got a point,” Sebastian said. “It would be helpful to have a ghost expert or a ghost hunter. You know, just in case.” Danny continued glaring at Wes for a moment, then sighed. He had no idea whether it was actually possible to summon a ghost with a seance, but, on the off chance it was, he preferred to be close to the action, the better to figure out what was going on and interrupt the summoning if need be.  

“Fine, I guess I wasn’t doing anything else.” Wes grinned, and Danny had a feeling he was going to regret this, but he followed the boys out into the backyard. They made their way across the expansive lawn, out of the halo of illumination that surrounded the house, and approached two other boys. They were sitting next to a pentacle traced on the grass in chalk, as well as a velvet bag full of who-knew-what.

“Danny, I think you’ve met Zeke and Jiang.” Each of them nodded in turn, and Danny raised one hand by way of greeting. “Well, then,” Wes said happily, “shall we?” He sat on the ground, and everyone joined him around the pentacle. Danny sat directly across from Wes. It was a little big for the group of six, who had a couple of feet between each of them. Evidently, Wes had thought he would be able to get more people interested.

Wes opened the velvet bag and started pulling out dark-coloured candles and tossing them to the other people around the circle. “So, this is normally done on a flat surface, but, uh,” he paused while he shoved one of the candles into the ground, just inside one of the points of the pentagram, “they should stand up if you kind of push them into the soil.” Indeed, the candle remained standing when he took his hand away, though it was a bit crooked. The others followed his lead, placing their candles into the points near them. Danny didn’t get a candle.

Next, Wes passed around a barbecue lighter so everyone could light their candles. Sebastian and Zeke both moved back a bit in response to the sudden presence of fire. Or maybe, Danny thought when one of the candles next to him was lit, they were responding to the smell. The smoke coming off of the candles had a sharp scent to it that burned his nose and made his eyes water. He shuffled back, blinking rapidly, while Wes took a brass bowl out of the bag and placed it on the ground next to him.

“So, when you do a seance, you need some kind of anchor, some point of contact for the ghost,” Wes said matter-of-factly. “If you just want to communicate with the ghost, you have a few options. The most common ones are a spirit board or a medium - someone to be overshadowed by the ghost.” Wes paused dramatically while he looked each person around the circle in the eyes.

Everyone seemed a bit uncomfortable. Sebastian and Zeke were both fidgeting nervously, Sukhdeep was looking toward the house, and Jiang was looking at Danny, perhaps waiting for him to interject with his own ghost knowledge. Danny just stared at Wes. Finally, he continued.

“But if you want to actually see the ghost, to summon it physically, you have to work a little harder.” Wes pulled a little leather purse from his bag, which he opened and then upended over the brass bowl. A white powder poured out. “You have to mix a little bit of science with your supernatural.” Wes reached into the velvet bag again, and Danny’s heart almost stopped when Wes took out a vial of something that very strongly resembled ectoplasm.

“Wes, what the fuck is that?” Wes raised an eyebrow while he unstoppered the vial.

“What does it look like, Fenton? You’re supposed to be the ghost expert.”

“It looks like a dangerous, radioactive substance that you shouldn’t be playing with.” Jiang looked worriedly at Wes.

“Hey, man, maybe Danny has a point. Is this safe?”

“Of course it is. Guys, I did my research, ok?” He lifted the vial demonstratively. “This amount of ectoplasm,” he poured it into the bowl, “mixed with the stuff in this bowl,” he picked up the bowl and then stood and walked into the centre of the pentacle, where he placed the bowl on the ground, “this far away from us is totally safe.” Danny opened his mouth to object, but then he started coughing. The pain was no longer just in his eyes and nose; his throat, lungs, and skin were all burning now.

“Oh,” Wes said casually, “I should clarify. None of this is harmful to humans. It’s a different story for ghosts. Especially the ghost whose ectoplasm I used.” Danny looked up, barely able to see through his tears. Wes was still standing in the middle of the circle, arms crossed, while the other guys had also stood, and were backing away from Danny warily.

“H-how-” Danny choked out before he was overcome by coughing again.

“How what? How did I get your ectoplasm? How did I get the blood blossoms to make the candles? How did I manage to bind your body to the tiny bit of your ectoplasm in the centre of the circle? All good questions, but they shouldn’t be your top priority right now.” Danny took as deep a breath as he could.

“Wh-what d-do you-want?” The pain was getting worse, and Danny doubled over, choking and burning.

“I want you to show them what you are. Show them Danny Phantom, and I swear I’ll stop this. I don’t want to kill you, Danny. I just want the truth.” Danny didn’t respond. Everything was on fire, and he could barely focus.

“Did you say ‘kill’? Dude, what the fuck? Stop! You can’t kill him!” Danny wasn’t sure whom the voice belonged to. It sounded scared. Another panicky voice added,

“It, it has to be the candles. Put out the candles!”

“What? No! Stop that!” There were sounds of a scuffle. Danny heard more yelling, and someone hitting the ground hard. Then the pain was gone, and someone was next to him, rubbing his back.

“Hey, are you ok? Can you breathe?” Danny took a deep breath as he uncurled his body. He looked over to see Sukhdeep looking at him with a mixture of concern and fear. Danny nodded and took a few more deep breaths.

“This is fucking -” Danny turned to see that Wes was being held down by Jiang and Zeke. “But you all saw what happened, right? He’s a ghost! Humans don’t react to blood blossoms like that!”

“I-” Sukhdeep began. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I saw. You did some kind of ritual, and then Danny almost died.”

“Because he’s a ghost!” Sebastian, standing nearby, shook his head.

“Even if that were true, like, that’s not … you can’t just try to kill someone because you think they’re a ghost. Or because they are a ghost.” He looked at Danny sympathetically. “I have my car, if you want me to drive you home.” Danny almost said that, since he was a ghost, he could just fly home. But he thought better of it, and, instead, he just nodded and stood up. Sukhdeep stood with him, hands out to steady him if necessary, but Danny was fine. He started walking toward Sebastian, but then he stopped and turned toward Wes.

“Hey, let him up.” Jiang and Zeke looked at Danny, and then Wes. “It’s ok. I don’t think he can hurt me without his magic shit.” Wes rolled his eyes.

“It’s not fucking magic and you know it.” He sighed. “But he’s right, I’m not gonna try anything.” After a long moment, Jiang and Zeke nodded and let go of Wes, who stood up and brushed himself off, obviously trying to maintain an air of dignity.

“Why don’t you guys stand over there. I wanna talk to him.” Jiang shook his head.

“Absolutely not, man. I don’t trust him.” The others nodded their agreement. Danny considered, and decided he probably wasn’t going to convince them to leave him alone with Wes. That was fair, if inconvenient. 

“Ok, fine. Wes.” He met Danny’s eyes. “You crossed a line tonight. I could have died.”

“You wouldn’t have died if you’d turned into Phantom.”

“Did you consider the fact,” Danny began, hoping this sounded hypothetical enough to give him plausible deniability, “that blood blossoms block ghost powers? Did you consider the possibility that, even if I were Phantom, I wouldn’t have been able to show my true form because the blood blossoms completely incapacitated me? And, that being the case, that I would have simply died while you stood there and waited for the impossible?” Wes just glared for a long time. When he answered, his tone was curt.

“That’s an interesting hypothesis.” Danny rolled his eyes.

“Look, Wes, you don’t know as much about ghosts as you think you do. And if you keep fucking around with things you don’t understand, someone is going to die. So cut it out.” Danny didn’t wait for Wes to respond. He turned and nodded to Sebastian, and they both started walking toward the road.

The trip back was quiet, both of them only speaking to give and clarify directions to Danny’s house. As Sebastian pulled over to let Danny out, he said,

“Hey, so. That was pretty weird. With the blood blossom candles and the ectoplasm and everything.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I mean,” Sebastian said, looking at the steering wheel, which he was gripping with both white-knuckled hands, “if that’s really what it was, then, you know, it’s weird that it affected you and not anyone else.” Danny undid his seatbelt.

“I guess what I’m wondering, is, uh …” He looked over at Danny, who was keeping his face neutral. “Are you a ghost?” Danny sighed. It was silent for a long time. Finally, Danny opened the door, and the sound caused Sebastian to jump slightly. Danny got out of the car and then stood there for a moment, facing away. In a voice that sounded more tired than anything, Danny said,

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sebastian.” Then he closed the door and walked away.

[seraph-novak]

Tyrus camping prompt! (Aka I slept outside recently and now I’m full hippie mode, obsessed with nature) TJ is a plant-freak and when they go hiking, he’s quick to name every plant he sees. He ends up having to give Cyrus a piggy-back ride halfway through the hike bc he’s exhausted. They go kayaking and swim in the river, then cuddle together in the tent at night. Also a part where Cyrus wakes up to find TJ making him breakfast over the campfire. (This is super fluffy, my angst days are over)

I don’t know anything about camping (especially in America) so I apologise for any inaccuracies… Even so, I really enjoyed writing this, so I hope you like it!

All feedback is very much appreciated ♥

~~~~~

As they made their way through the densely-packed forest, with the lush, summer grass brushing their ankles and the distant sunlight casting dappled shadows across the path ahead, Cyrus found himself wondering – not for the first time – why he’d agreed to come on this trip in the first place. With every rustle, crunch, and muffled squawk, his fear spread like a flood throughout his entire body, until it settled as a suffocating lump in the back of his throat. He screwed his eyes shut, breathed deeply through his nose, and struggled to remain at least slightly calm.

Somewhere behind them, a twig snapped, and the last of his composure burst out of him in the form of a strangled scream. He spun around, cold sweat springing to the surface of his neck, and stumbled backwards into TJ’s arms.

“What was that?” he cried, reaching blindly for his friend’s hand. When he felt the solid warmth of TJ’s palm pressed against his own, he relaxed a little. “I-I thought I heard something.”

TJ chuckled. “We’re in the forest, Underdog. You’re probably gonna hear a lot of things.”

“Do you think we’re being followed?”

“By a squirrel, maybe.”

“I’m being serious, Teej! I feel like we’re being watched…”

At the trembling note of fear in his voice, TJ turned him around and gently cupped his face in his hands, a reassuring smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“The forest is full of life,” he told him. “There are eyes everywhere. But it’s nothing to be afraid of, okay?”

Cyrus gulped. “A-Are you sure?”

“Look.” TJ took his hand and guided them both to the ground, crouching beside a patch of buttery-yellow flowers spotted amongst the leaves. “These are celandine poppies,” he said, touching Cyrus’ fingertips to the small, delicate petals. “They’re pretty, huh? Not scary at all.”

Cyrus tilted his head to the side, stubbornly searching for something intimidating about the yellow-studded foliage, but there was nothing. TJ was right.

“I guess they’re not scary,” he mumbled. “But I still heard something behind us!”

“You probably did,” TJ conceded with a shrug. “There’s a lot of animals around here, Cy. The forest is full of life, like I said.” He nodded at the poppies and softened his smile. “Just think of them like the flowers, okay? They’re not gonna hurt you.”

Cyrus scoffed. “Oh, yeah… Because bears are a lot like flowers.”

“We’re not gonna see any bears.”

“How do you know?”

“The only bears around here are black bears, and they’re just as scared of us as we are of them.” TJ knocked their shoulders together and offered him another placating smile. “The worst they might do is steal our food while we’re sleeping.”

“Not the food!” Cyrus gasped, a sickening churn of hunger making his stomach rumble.

TJ rolled his eyes fondly and reached into his rucksack, pulling out a couple of protein bars and handing them to Cyrus. “These should hold you over until we set up camp.”

“Which is when, by the way?”

“You can’t be tired already.”

“All this worrying is making me exhausted!” Cyrus whined. He accepted TJ’s outstretched hand and allowed himself to be pulled back to his feet, immediately swaying forward and slumping against TJ’s shoulder. With his cheek cushioned against the softness of TJ’s plaid jacket, he sighed. “Can’t we stop for a bit? My feet hurt…”

“It’s gonna be dark in a few hours,” TJ said, but Cyrus could hear the edge of reluctance in his voice.

“Just a few minutes,” he slurred. “I promise I won’t fall asleep.”

TJ snorted. “You’re drooling.”

“No, I’m not.”

“C’mon, Cy…”

“Please?”

After a moment of silent contemplation, TJ seemed to reach a decision. He tucked an arm under Cyrus’ legs and hauled him into the air, draping Cyrus’ sleep-laden arms over his shoulders and gripping the backs of his ankles for support. It was awkward, what with the bulky rucksack taking up most of the space on his back, but he somehow managed it.

“What are you doing?” Cyrus asked, his fatigue pushed aside by shock for a brief moment. “You can’t carry me the rest of the way! You’ll hurt yourself.”

TJ flicked him an amused glance over his shoulder. “I think you overestimate how heavy you are.”

“I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or not…”

“I’ll be fine. Just… hold on.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“But –”

“The longer you keep arguing, the longer I’ll have to carry you.”

Cyrus snapped his mouth shut, the weariness slowly creeping back into his muscles as he melted against TJ’s back. When they started moving again, the rhythmic sound of TJ’s footsteps began lulling him to sleep, his eyelids drooping with the combined weight of exhaustion and contentment. He curled his fingers in the front of TJ’s shirt, now sticking to his chest with a thin sheen of sweat, and rested his head against TJ’s shoulder.

On the cusp of sleep, his lips twitched drowsily with a smile, the reason he agreed to come on this trip with TJ suddenly seeming so obvious.

~~~~~

When he finally stirred a few hours later, the warmth of TJ’s back was gone, replaced instead by the cool confinements of his sleeping bag. The dying sunlight filtering through the plastic roof of the tent coloured his surroundings with a blue tinge, and the sweltering heat had subsided somewhat, the door to the tent now flapping in a welcoming breeze.

Cyrus wiped his bleary eyes with the back of his arm as he stumbled out of the tent, almost stepping on the protein bars lying next to his sleeping bag in the process. Outside, two rocks had been angled around a nest of tinder – ready for a fire – in the middle of the clearing, and TJ’s rucksack was propped up against a nearby tree. At the sight of his belongings, Cyrus was overcome with a pang of affection for his friend, which quickly shifted into concern when he realised he was completely alone.

“TJ?” he called into the clearing, his eyes frantically scanning the edge of the trees surrounding their campsite. “TJ! If you’ve been eaten by a bear, I won’t be pleased!”

A familiar laugh emerged from behind him, followed by a face-devouring grin that never failed to make his stomach swoop.

“I haven’t been eaten,” TJ said, lifting his arms and doing a little spin as if to prove it. He’d stripped off his jacket and shirt and swapped his pants for a pair of shorts, and his hair was plastered in dark, sopping strands against his forehead. “There’s a river just over there. I went for a swim while you were sleeping.”

Cyrus tore his eyes away from TJ’s bare chest, his cheeks heating with a startled blush. “I… I-I wish you’d woken me up. I was worried.”

“Sorry, Underdog. You just looked so peaceful, you know? I didn’t wanna disturb you.”

“And you set up camp by yourself?”

“It was no biggy,” TJ said, waving off his worries as he combed through his rucksack and tossed an extra pair of shorts at Cyrus. He was smirking when he lifted his head again. “Besides… Your snoring was enough entertainment to keep me occupied.”

Cyrus slapped a hand over his heart, feigning insult. “I do not snore!”

“Okay. You just make pig-like noises in your sleep, then.”

“Very funny…”

“I thought it was cute.” As soon as the words left his mouth, TJ flushed all the way down to his bellybutton. “I… I mean… It was funny. But, like, in a cute way… Does that make sense?”

Cyrus bit his lip. “Yeah, it does… Thank you.”

“Oh. Um… You’re welcome, I guess.”

“How’s the river?” Cyrus asked, desperately searching for a way to move the conversation forward, before things became irreparably awkward.   

TJ shook out his sopping hair, sending droplets of water flying across the campsite, and beamed. “It’s awesome! You have to come for a swim with me, Cy.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“Oh, let me think… Leeches, frogs, big scary fish with sharp teeth… Am I leaving anything out?”

TJ huffed a laugh. “A few fish aren’t gonna hurt you.”

“I’m not willing to take that risk.”

“Not even for me?”

It was a sneaky move, but it worked. At the sight of TJ’s wide, pleading eyes and protruding bottom lip, Cyrus felt his resolve swiftly crumbling. He sucked in a breath, gathering the last few shreds of his defiance, then caved with a sigh. He quickly changed into TJ’s spare shorts, pulling the drawstrings as tightly as possible to accommodate for their staggering size difference, then followed a grinning TJ out of the clearing and towards the river, grumbling all the way.

“I better not drown,” he said, poking TJ firmly in the stomach. “Or get bitten by a radioactive fish and turn into a merman!”

TJ threw his head back with laughter. “I’ll protect you, Underdog.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

By the time they reached the river, the sunlight had softened slightly, the brilliant blue of the sky slowly turning a dusty purple as dusk began to fall. The river was a shimmering expanse of oily black that seemed to stretch on for miles, and Cyrus could imagine himself wading too far and losing himself beneath the eerily flat surface of water, dragged down by a slithery grip on his ankle…

“You’ll be fine,” TJ said, noticing the body-racking shudder running down his spine. He placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze. “I’ll be with you the whole time.”

“Okay.”

“You ready to go in?”

Cyrus crossed his arms over his chest, his bare toes curling in the wet pebbles beneath his feet. “I… I’m not sure…”

“Here.” TJ held out his hand, eyebrows raised expectantly, and waited for Cyrus to take it. When he did, a jolt of electricity shot through his arm, burning off the afternoon chill in an instant. TJ’s thumb swept across his knuckles, and his stomach twisted into knots. “I won’t let go until you’re ready,” TJ murmured softly. “Okay?”

“Okay,” Cyrus said, and this time he meant it.

The first step came as a shock, the sun-kissed water much warmer than he’d expected as it lapped over his feet, but he quickly adjusted to the odd sensation. It was like walking through a knee-high bath in the middle of the forest, with mysterious shadows swimming between his legs and nipping at his toes –

“What was that?” he screamed, splashing a wave of water into the air as he dove behind TJ. The shadow gave an indignant flick of its tail and swam in the opposite direction.

TJ squeezed his hand. “Just a rainbow trout,” he said, pointing out another silvery fish in the near distance. “See the pink stripe across its body?”

“D-Do they eat human flesh?”

“Don’t worry,” TJ said, his words light with laughter, “unless you’re a giant insect, I think you’ll be fine.”

Cyrus allowed himself to breathe again. “Okay, good.”

“Still scared?”

“Yeah, but… Not as much.”

TJ smiled. “You’re doing great, Cy. You wanna go a little further out?”

“Um…”

“I promise I won’t let go, remember?”

“O-Okay.”

With his eyes glued on the murky suggestion of his feet beneath the water, Cyrus slowly followed TJ through the river, his knees eventually slipping beneath the surface until the water was touching his waist.

“I can’t see my feet anymore,” he said, panic quickly rising in his throat as he squinted through the water.

TJ snaked an arm around his waist. “Can you feel them?”

“Well… Yeah, but –”

“Then they’re still there.” He gave Cyrus a wink. “You’re doing fine, Underdog.”

The pride in TJ’s eyes made him feel warm and fuzzy inside, even as the sun started to sink behind the trees bordering the river. He held onto that feeling as TJ led him further and further into the water, until his toes were no longer touching the ground. Every time he started to panic, TJ would point out another fish skimming the surface of the river and start listing off random facts about it, his hand only slipping from Cyrus’ grip when he was sure he was ready. But even then, he was always close by, his eyes never straying too far as they floated in the river side by side, their fingertips brushing beneath the water.

When the sun whispered its final goodbyes, and the moon slowly faded into sight, they reluctantly made their way back to camp. He wasn’t sure what gave him the confidence to do it – maybe it was the exhilaration still coursing through his veins, or the breathtaking smile on TJ’s face – but as they stumbled out of the water, Cyrus reached over and took TJ’s hand again.

“What’s wrong?” TJ asked, taking the gesture as a sign of fear.

Cyrus simply shrugged and smiled. “Nothing.”

“Oh.”

“Is this okay?”

“Yes!” TJ cried. After a beat of silence, he blushed, surprised by his own eagerness, and lowered his voice. “I mean… yes. This is more than okay.”

Later, as they lay on their stomachs and watched the stars from the safety of their tent, Cyrus pushed the boundaries even further, resting his head on TJ’s shoulder and letting a dreamy sigh escape his lips. He fell asleep to the sound of TJ quietly mapping out the constellations above, his one hand tracing their glittering impressions on the endless, velvet sky, and the other carding soothing patterns through Cyrus’ hair.

~~~~~

Cyrus woke to the smell of pancakes hanging in the air. He was still lying on his stomach, with his one arm dangling outside the tent, and his face was smushed against TJ’s plaid jacket. He breathed in the familiar scent and smiled, his stomach fluttering at the mere thought of getting to spend the day with TJ again.

As expected, the other boy was standing over the campfire, quietly pushing the pancakes around in the pan. When he caught Cyrus watching him, he grinned.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty.”

“You have to stop doing all the hard work while I’m asleep,” Cyrus said as he joined his friend by the fire, although he was secretly grateful for the chance to sleep in. “These look amazing, Teej.”

“They’re just pancakes… Nothing fancy.”

“They still look amazing.”

TJ flicked him a side-glance, his cheeks turning pink as their eyes met over the dancing flames. “Thanks,” he said. “I, uh… I didn’t wanna wake you up. You looked too cute. And not in a funny way, either, just… cute.” He licked his lips, a nervous laugh bubbling out of him. “Sorry. That was weird.”

Before he could talk himself out of it, Cyrus leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. TJ flinched at the unexpected gesture, dropping his spatula into the spitting oil and almost knocking the pan to the ground. Completely stunned, he slowly lifted his fingers to the ghost of Cyrus’ lips.

“What… What was that for?” he asked, swallowing thickly.

Cyrus shrugged. “It was my turn to take charge.”

“Oh.” A devious smile thawed the slack-jawed expression of shock on his face, and he playfully bumped their shoulders together. “So you’re in charge of the kisses, huh?”

“Well,” Cyrus said with a smirk, “feel free to take initiative now and again.”

“How about now?”

“Now’s good.”

And with that, TJ pulled him closer and pressed their lips together, the unmistakable curve of his smile lifting against Cyrus’ cheek. He tasted like protein bars and cheap coffee, but Cyrus would’ve happily sat there and kissed him forever, if their breakfast wasn’t slowly burning to a crisp right next to them.

“You better get that,” he whispered, wrinkling his nose at the acrid smell of smoke wafting through the air.

TJ leaned their foreheads together and groaned. “Stupid pancakes…”

“Hey! You take that back.”

“You’re such a dork,” TJ laughed.

“A cute dork?”

“The cutest.”

Cyrus ducked his head and grinned, his heart racing at his own boldness. A few days ago, the idea of TJ finding out about his crush had seemed like an end-of-the-world type of situation, and now he was shamelessly flirting with him next to a pan of burning pancakes without a care in the world. He felt like his life had been turned upside down, but in the best way possible.

“I’ll let you finish breakfast,” he said, forcing himself to let go of TJ and get to his feet. “Are we still going kayaking today?”

TJ quirked an eyebrow. “You want to?”

“Yeah… I think I can handle it.”

“Okay.” TJ nodded, a familiar shimmer of pride in his eyes. “Kayaking it is.”

As Cyrus watched his friend – boyfriend? – finishing breakfast on the opposite side of the campsite, he noticed a small patch of celandine poppies growing between his feet. He touched one of the delicate petals and smiled, his heart soaring as he glanced back at TJ. With the sun casting a perfect halo above his head, he looked beautiful, and Cyrus was overwhelmed by a sudden rush of complete and utter contentment.   

Maybe camping wasn’t too bad after all.

The End.

~~~~~

Thanks for reading!

[vintagegoddess12]

Radioactive Salvation

[Cordelia Goode x Reader]

A/N: Thanks for waiting y’all and the support. This chapter is for all those Michael x Reader stans out there. This is like long haha Hope you enjoy. We’ll get some witch interrogation next chapter so watch out for that 

Tagging: @cordeliasflowergirl

Part 1 Part 2

CHAPTER THREE

MICHAEL’S P.O.V

You were running. And running. And running. Hoping to whatever you believe in to save you. Two men were after you, carrying a knife and a pistol. I followed the commotion yet maintaining my distance. I was taking comfort in the wilderness, calling for strength and guidance to my father. I am lost. I am alone. The only woman who loved me just joined him, no thanks to that soon to be dead Supreme of the Coven, Cordelia. She will burn, I swear. Then I heard the rustle of the leaves and pleading cries of woman. It was you. The forces in the forest suddenly shifted - as if it's all coming to you. The clouds were getting darker and the winds getting colder. Birds started flying away, feeling the brewing storm. "You would never get away, witch!" Shouted the guy with a pistol. He fired in your direction but missed. Silly, mortal. I followed wherever you go, quite enjoying the sight of a witch suffering. It started to rain, hard. I'm guessing you're the one doing it. There were thunder and lightning every now then. You were powerful enough to conjure a strong storm and I found that interesting. Unfortunately, you tripped due to the slippery grass and the men after you, I'm guessing are witch hunters, caught you. "You think you're so clever, with your rain and lightning," the man with the knife then sliced open your clothes. "We've never tried it with a witch," the pistol guy smirked, evilness evident in his eyes. "There's always a first time for everything," the knife guy continued slicing your clothes. "Please, don't. I meant no harm," you cried. I can feel that you're scared. Soon enough you will be on survival mode. I can then know what you're really made of. Maybe it was the presence of my father or my proximity that heightened their carnal desires. The guy holding a pistol placed himself on top of you. He started humping and grunting, taking advantage of you. Tears keep falling out of your eyes. I was about to step in and stop them when I heard your cries. "Cordelia, please. Save me, Delia. I need you." You keep calling her name. I stepped back in the shadows and decided not to meddle. You witches can fight your own battles. You kept squirming under them, begging them to stop. Tears and rain glistened in your face with the setting sun. One guy finished and still no sign of your Cordelia. The guy with the knife started his turn and you saw it as a chance to fight even more but he was having none of your defiance. So he stabbed you in the stomach. To my surprise, you retaliated. You sent them both flying backwards. This is the main attraction. You still tried to escape but they fired a shot, and this time it hit you. You fell but stood up once more, drenched in blood and water. I can see the life flowing out of your body, little by little but there was something different in you this time. It's not self-preservation that keeps you standing, not anymore. Its rage. You stood your ground, unafraid that they are approaching you. You're a fighter. You raised your hand and uttered with great conviction what would be your last word. "Descensum," as you flicked your finger. Those bastards fell to the ground and I'm sure they're not getting up anytime soon. You just sent them to hell. I didn't know you can use that spell to someone else. A small smile spread to my face. You fell, staying motionless on the ground and the rain stopped falling already. I approached your lifeless body. Your last moments here on earth were tragic, to say the least, and yet there is peace in your face. I need to know who you are and determine if I can use you against Cordelia. I looked into you and your life flashed before my eyes. You were in a house and man was leaving You were banging in a door, hoping for the woman behind to open it. You were weeping and burying the same woman. You're in the academy for witches. You keep meeting Cordelia in the middle of the night. You kissed her. You are her lover! You saw her with Misty Day You stepped out of the academy. You saw two men and ran. You cursed them. Then you saw nothing. You are more than just a powerful witch. You own the Supreme's heart. A heart for a heart. I can definitely use you and your powers but first, I need to bring you back from the dead. Few hours have passed and I keep thinking what I would do to you. I can burn you in front of your Supreme, the way she took my Ms. Mead. Maybe I can make you kill her. Or I can dangle you in front of her. A lot of ideas are running in my head but the most important is for you to wake up. Your loud scream caught my attention. I rushed to your side and asked how you are feeling. "Everything...ahh...hurts," you cried. "Why does everything hurt?" "Y/n, I saved you. I brought you back to life." "Who are..y..you? Where am I? How do you know who I am?" Panic evident in your voice. "I'm Michael. You're in my Ms. Meade's house and room." I honestly answered. "I saw you in the woods being terrorized by two men." You paused for a while, trying to take in everything. You looked in to my eyes, as if you're trying to search for something. You're eyes then went wide, as if realizing something. "You're the Antichrist!" You stood up from the bed and tried to get away. You're leaving. I can't let you get away, not when there's one hell of a future ahead of us. 

I grabbed your arm and said sternly,  "there's no use in leaving, y/n." You stopped and looked at me, puzzled.

Everyone in my life either wanted me dead or died for me. When I breathed life into you, a part of me became a part of yours and I can’t handle losing a part of me, not anymore. I summoned all the courage inside me and took a deep breath. "Your life is now meant to be lived by my side." --- And you did just that for 3 years or so. I built the Cooperative and the Outposts from the ground for my believers, with you by my side. I would wake up in the morning with you smiling in the kitchen, preparing my Ms. Meade's signature french toast, with no trace of ill-feelings in your eyes. Your smile would be sometimes enough to erase the troubles in my mind after a very bad day. You even sometimes assist me in making the protocols to save the believers for the end of the world. A total 180 degree shift of character from the woman who tried to get away from me one night. You do not show fear from the evil inside me. You treat and look at me as an equal. Sometimes I even wonder if what you are showing is real because it's just to good to be true - you're too good to be true. You were like a ray of sunshine amidst the crowd of people with literal dark hearts and souls. Despite the darkness flowing in your body - the rage, the pain, and the disappointments of your previous life - you still manage to be as loving and caring as before. You were my light. And I couldn't just let you go. When Cordelia asked why were you with me, I felt like I had to prove a point - I had to make sure that your very presence hurts her. “She’s with me, Cordelia.”I paused and looked for her reaction. “She chose to be with me. Not your coven, not with you.” She stopped for a moment, closing her eyes. "She is a Salem witch, Michael. She belongs to the coven." She tried to reason out. How I hope you can see the desperation in her eyes? I shook my head and started going down the stairs. "With you, yes, she is a witch who belongs to a coven," I stared intently to her. My intimidation skills have been effective, thanks to you. I stood in front of her. "but with me, she is the coven." The puzzled look of everyone in the room fueled my amusement. "What are you trying to say?" the former hollywood actress, Madison, inquired. "I think that could only mean one thing, dear," the old redhead witch chimed in, staring directly to the back of her Cordelia, "he's going to try and make her Supreme." The younger witch I saved from hell huffed as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and clenched her jaw. I can feel a tinge of jealousy in her. "Though that would not be possible because she has been a traitor to the coven. She will be burned at the stake." Cordelia remained silent after her auntie's  - or should I say mother figure -  comments. I turned my attention back to the witch who started it all and asked coyly, "Will you let her burn, Cordelia?" I quite enjoy putting emphasis in her name and using it as an insult. "No witch is above the laws of the coven," she replied, trying to conceal whatever she's feeling. A small smile formed in my face. "3 years later and you still choose the coven over her," Cordelia clenched her jaw, "no wonder she left you." That seemed to trigger a response greater than words from her. Balls of fire formed from the lit torches inside the common area and started to go in my direction but not before it was extinguished to nothing but vapor. Cordelia looked behind her to see who blocked her magic, only to find you standing with your eyes closed. You opened your eyes and smiled, not minding that you just intercepted the most powerful witch's magic caused by rage. "Shall we not kill each other before dinner," you glanced at everyone. "I did prepared a sumptuous meal." The witches looked among themselves, deciding whether they must eat before they attack us . The television personality and voodoo queen, Dinah Stevens, knew well enough not to meddle with these affairs, thus she remained in her dark corner. "Can we just eat, please? I haven't had anything for dinner." The entitled rich witch, Coco plead. If we were in Limbo, gluttony is her greatest sin. Myrtle gave a resigned look. Madison looked at you with her signature bitch face, "Okay, we'll eat. In one condition." You raised a brow. "We'll have a question and answer portion after." You looked shocked for a brief moment but returned and plastered smile in your face. "I don't see any problem with that," you replied, ever the gracious hostess. So do I. Mallory led them to dining area but you remained standing in the middle of the hall. I walked towards you and acknowledged the concerned look in your eye. "No violence, Michael." You reminded me. The smile in your lips turned in to a frown before you said, "We'll have to talk about the death of three witches later, too." "As far as I know, I'm only responsible for two of them, darling." My reply caused you more confusion than clarity, as evidenced in your face. "Ms. Meade," I called and felt her walk towards us. "Would you mind making a swift sweep of the premises? There might be an intruder." She nod her head and started. "Does that satisfy you?" I asked. You let out a breath and faced the dining area. "It does," you replied, "and now,- -let's have our last supper."

[proxylynn]

UNDERFELL: FILE NAME NOT EDGY ENOUGH part #6

Chapter 6: Door

WARNING: I WANT NO RESPONSIBILITY OVER SPOILING THINGS FOR OTHERS. THAT BEING SAID, THIS IS HOW FILE NAME NOT FOUND WOULD FUNCTION IN THE AU OF UNDERFELL. BEFORE YOU READ THIS, UNLIKE THE NICE TIME OF UNDERTALE, THIS WORLD IS KILL OR BE KILLED. THIS STORY WILL BE GRAPHIC, GORY, USE SWEARS LIKE NOBODY'S BUSINESS, AND DEAL WITH SENSITIVE SUBJECT MATTERS. FOR EXAMPLE, THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE READ THE FILE NAME RELOCATED SPOOF WILL KNOW HOW I PICTURE THIS VERSION OF LYNSIE COMING TO THE UNDERGROUND. IT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT. IT IS NOT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING DUMB. IT IS BECAUSE SHE CHOOSES TO END HER LIFE. SO TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. I MADE IT BECAUSE I NEEDED TO LET SOME OF THIS EDGINESS OUT OF MYSELF. WHICH I GUESS MAKES UNDERFELL LYNSIE EVEN MORE TRUE TO WHO I REALLY AM. ANYWAY, ENJOY. ^_^

It's been a week since the incident with Toriel. I have trained nonstop, practiced my magic, sat through Toriel's teachings, and even took some personal time to meditate on the chaos of my mind. I have done enough work to go up another stat level. I am now at HP 32, ATK 19, and DEF 13. Flowey tells me the next time my stats increase, I should get a point for more defense. I have done so much over so long...And yet after all that...All the things I've been distracting myself with...I've found myself standing at the fated door she fears. I know she says it leads to doom but I sense no danger about it. It just seems to be a normal exit. I'm just staring at it contemplating the idea of opening it over not bothering to. Why? Why am I compelled to be here so damn much? Why do I keep doing this? I could be doing something else, anything else for that matter. I could be reading, sleeping, thinking up new food plans, or even help Toriel with her snail hunts. So why...What's so god damn special about this fucking door?!

"Are you going to stare at it all day or open it?"

I don't even flinch at Flowey's voice, mostly because I'm the one that let him loose down here.

"I'm contemplating a Schrödinger's cat scenario."

"A what?"

"Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment, sometimes described as a paradox. The scenario presents a cat that may be simultaneously both alive and dead, a state known as a quantum superposition, as a result of being linked to a random subatomic event that may or may not occur."

"Uh..."

"Let's say this...A cat, a flask of poison, and a radioactive source are placed in a sealed box. If an internal monitor, such as a Geiger counter, detects radioactivity, such as a single atom decaying, the flask is shattered and releases the poison, which kills the cat. The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics implies that after a while, the cat is simultaneously alive and dead. Yet, when one looks in the box, one sees the cat either alive or dead not both alive and dead. This poses the question of when exactly quantum superposition ends and reality collapses into one possibility or the other. It's at that point the whole multiverse theory of things happen wherein one universe's timeline I open the door and in another I don't. Basically, this would be a hypothetical group of multiple separate universes. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, the physical laws and the constants that describe them. The different universes within the multiverse are called the 'parallel universes', 'other universes' or 'alternative universes'. But that's another barrel of fish I don't want to waste my bullets on shooting."

I look at Flowey and confusion paints his face. I can literally see the gears in his head trying to turn but are stuck from the info dump I took on him.

"In essence, I have at this moment both opened and not opened the door. Only when I make a choice does the timeline split. Thus creating universes that are similar up to the point the choice was made but differ on the path that reflects what I did. If I open it, that world doesn't. If I don't open it, that world does. That make sense?"

"...What the hell is Toriel teaching you?!"

"Oh, none of that. This is the sort of thing I'd look up for fun or out of boredom when I was on the surface."

"Wait, hold up...So you're telling me that you are actually smart?"

"Never said I wasn't. What gave you any indication that I was missing brain cells?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the lack of listening to reason and the idea of hugging the homicidal monsters that try to kill you! That ring any crazy bells for you?"

"To be fair, there is a fine line between genius and madness because they share the same places in the mind. Psychologists have discovered that creative people have a gene in common which is also linked to psychosis and depression. So who knows? Genius and madness have something in common. Both live in a world that is different from that which exists for everyone else. So maybe I am nuts. Or maybe I'm just seeing things others can't. There's a fine line between brilliance and insanity, my flower friend. And I have erased this line from my life in my own subtle way. Hehehe..."

"The creepy giggle tells me different."

I sigh through my nose and turn on my heels.

"I guess this is a world where I..."

[You hear a faint clicking sound.]

I pause and listen.

"Well?"

"Shhh..."

[You hear it again.]

"Looks like the cat lives!"

I spin around and kick the door hard, parting it open.

"Geez! You know you could've pushed it open, right?"

"Now where's the fun in that?"

[knock, knock]

"Sounds like an opportunity. Best not keep it waiting too long."

"You are so corny sometimes."

I smirk, letting my curiosity get to me and follow the sound. With the door open, the dark path before us is cast in enough light so we can see. I bet Toriel uses her fire to see down here. Flowey dives into the ground and I wander down an extremely long corridor. And I do mean very long. Light no longer reaches the point where I am so I feel along the wall for guidance.

"Yo, flower-boy, you out there?"

"Just a bit further...You should be able to see me soon."

"Why's that?"

"There's a small hole in the ceiling that light shines in from."

"...For real?"

I get distracted and slam my face into a brick entry frame.

"Son of a bitch!"

"You okay?"

"I don't know...hoping my nose isn't broken."

I crawl into the room and meet up with Flowey who has sprouted on a small patch of grass growing in the sunlight that managed to pierce the mountain.

"Here, let me see the damage."

"Is it bad?"

He puts his leafs on my nose and wiggles it a litter, earning a little wince from me.

"Hmmm...I don't think it's broken. But no guarantees about getting black eyes."

"Great. Like that'll help these raccoon eyes."

[knock, knock]

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Flowey held my full attention so much so that I didn't hear the knocks coming from the exit door across from us. This door, it's archway holding the Delta Rune like the last door.

"Do you know who is doing that?"

Flowey shakes his head.

"I know a lot of things, but that one I don't. I learned not to go beyond that door the first time I tried."

"Oh...Well, here's hoping curiosity doesn't kill this cat."

He groans as I move over to the door that's a good 20 or 30 feet away.

[knock, knock]

"Who's there?"

There's silence.

"I said...Who's there?"

"...doughnut."

No...Did I really just get set up for a joke? Fuck it. Might as well play along.

"Doughnut who?"

"i doughnut recognize your voice. ya must be new."

Clever. Very clever. Not very funny, but clever. Okay mystery monster, two can play at this game.

[Knock, knock]

"...who's there?"

"Avenue."

"avenue who?"

"Avenue ever knocked on this door before?"

It's both a joke and a real question. First, there's snickering, but it doesn't last long and they sigh as composure is regained.

"heh...yeah, i do knock here often. but normally the old lady is the one who responds. where is she?"

Why do I feel like being a jerk right now?

"You mean Toriel? Oh, I killed her..."

"you what?!"

"With kindness. And if you're not careful, I just might slay you with sweetness too, buddy."

There's silence on his end.

"Oh come on. It was a joke. Like I'd really hurt the lady that took me in and calls me daughter. That would be the biggest bitch move in history."

"...that wasn't funny."

"Yeah...It left a bad taste in my mouth."

"best wash your mouth out with soap."

I sigh and lean my back against the door.

"So you chat with mom often?"

"we talk sometimes. she's mentioned you a little bit."

"Anything interesting?"

"nothing much...just...the two of ya got into a fight not too long ago."

I rub my face.

"Of course she'd bust that out to someone she'd figure I'd never meet."

"can i ask why?"

"Why what?"

"why'd ya fight?"

"She thought I was leaving her."

"...were you?"

"*scoff* No! Why would I leave? I have her, fucking mom of the millennium. What moron walks out on someone that gives a shit over someone so pathetic? The humans that fell before me were dumb shits to want to leave."

I kick the dirt in annoyance.

"You okay over there?"

"I'm fine, Flowey! Thanks for asking!"

He's paying attention to me only because it's what Toriel wants. He's sort of became her little spy.

"flowey? the fuck is flowey?"

"Talking flower that's been my buddy since I fell down here. He watches out for me. Teaches me how this world works and junk. Not a bad dude for someone with a weak sense of humor."

"ya fell down here, huh? so you really are a human."

"Last I check, yes."

"that's funny."

"Why?"

"i'm actually supposed to be on the watch for humans right now."

"You don't say."

"but...y'know...i don't really care about capturing anybody."

"Good to know."

"capturing is too much work. it's way easier just to kill ya."

I tense up a little bit.

"And this went south real quick."

"relax. i'm only fucking with ya."

"Tell that to the other monsters that try to kill me."

"they must suck at doing so, as by law, you should be dead right now."

"Good luck on that happening."

"why ya say that?"

"Because of all the crap I've been through, I can honestly say I can't die. I get hurt, yeah, and pretty damn close to good Sir Death, but never do we meet. Only pass by one another like old friends saying hello before continuing on. *sigh into a groan* The fuck am I saying? Probably creeping you out by getting all deep and shit. Forget I said anything."

There's silence again.

"Yep. Scared you away. Go figure. Great job, Lynsie, ya idiot. No more than two minutes into a conversation and you say stupid crap."

I drop to sit on the floor. I belong in the dirt anyway.

"...wow, kid. that was...heh, ya sound nothing like what the king said you humans were like."

Part of me is glad he didn't leave. The other part is embarrassed because of the shit I said.

"While I can't say I'm like other humans, I'm glad to not be lumped in with such a dumb bunch."

"from what the old lady told me, you've been showing mercy to each and every monster ya come across. that true?"

"You sound as confused by this as everyone else."

"that's because it's not how things work down here."

"I know. Almost every day, someone reminds me that this is a kill or be killed world. But I don't see why. Why is it like that? I don't have to go around killing to become stronger. Nor do I want to end someone's life. Monsters are cool. And while I'm down here, in a place the world doesn't remember, I'd rather make a home than a tomb."

"you actually like it down here?"

"Better than being up there."

"man, how fucked up was your life before if people trying to kill you makes it better by comparison?"

Now is my turn for silence.

"kid? ya still there?"

"...I don't talk about personal shit to people I don't know properly yet."

"fair enough. the name is sans. sans the skeleton."

"Sans? Like Comic Sans the font?"

"you got a problem with my name?"

"Nah, dude, it's cool. I like that font."

"oh..."

"Your name is cooler than mine."

"what's your name?"

"Lynsie. It's an old name that comes from the United Kingdom. There are many different ways of spelling it or pronouncing it. One way is the old Scottish habitational name from Lindsey in Lincolnshire, England. This is first found in the form Lindissi, apparently a derivative of the British name of Lincoln. This was later added to the Old English element 'island' as a reference to the Isle of Linden Trees since the place was virtually cut off by the surrounding fenlands. The surname was taken to Scotland at an early date and is the name of an important and powerful Scottish family. The Irish later adopted it as an equivalent of various Gaelic names."

"damn! ya know a lot about your name."

"That's not the lame part yet."

"huh?"

"Before the mid-twentieth century, it was solely a male's name."

It's quiet for a moment before I hear laughter.

"hahaha...ya got a guy's name!"

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. It's my name and I have to live with it. So enjoy your fun, ya cheeky ass."

"heh...i'm a skeleton, dummy. i don't have an ass."

Hearing that makes me grin evilly.

"Oh really? Huh...Well, that's rather disappointing."

There's a sound like he choked on air and I laugh loudly.

"Oh my god...I so wish I could see your face right now!"

"fuck you!"

"I bet you would, but you probably don't have a dick for that either!"

"*snarls* you cocky lil' shit!"

"*snickering* Sorry...I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself when the joke was presented before me."

"can ya speak up? i can't hear you over the sound of my shattered pride."

"Ah man...Don't be that way. Tell ya what...Take a free shot at me. I promise not to counter it."

He gets quiet in thought and I wait for what punches he'll throw my way.

"how old are ya?"

"Huh?"

"i said, how old are ya? i wanna know so i don't weird out some kid and piss off mommy."

"Smart move. I'm twenty-eight."

He goes quiet and for some reason, it feels unsettling.

"okay...i think i got something."

"Hit me with your best shot, bone-boy."

"alright...are you an archaeologist?"

"Why do you ask?"

"heh, because i've got a bone for you to examine."

I bite my tongue and he laughs.

"hehehe...yeah, that's what i thought. my jokes are too powerful for ya. try to remember that before ya step up to me again, kid."

I smirk to myself.

"Is that a challenge?"

He snorts.

"ya really want to pick a fight with me?"

"A fight, no. I'd rather pick your bones. Starting with your funny bone. I hear that one can be rather humerus."

There's a pause that becomes a chuckle.

"girl's got jokes...i like that about a woman."

"This explains where Nanny gets her jokes from. But it seems you hold out on her when it comes to the hard stuff."

"is that a good or bad thing?"

"A good thing. I find her humor cute when she does it right. You, however, are on a whole other level. I'd say god tier of jokes."

"flattery will get ya nowhere, kid. still nice to hear it though. it's also nice to hear someone else that likes sans-ational jokes."

"Heh...There might be a door between us, but you're the adorable one here, buddy."

He pauses for a moment.

"not sure you'd be saying that if ya ever saw me."

"Why?"

"well...i'm a skeleton."

"...So?"

"...ya do realize it kinda sounds like you're flirting with me, right?"

"Really? I thought I was just being cute."

Was I really flirting? It didn't feel like it. Wouldn't I know if I was? One man's flirt is another girl's compliment I guess.

"are all humans as weird as you?"

"I like to think I'm one of a kind. But being realistic, there are probably others like me out there. The universe is a pretty infinite place. Who's to say such things such as multiple 'me's wouldn't be a thing?"

"getting nerdy on me now?"

"I'll be nerdy if you geek out with me, bone-boy. That is...If you can get on my level."

"kid, ya got no idea what you're asking for."

"I don't know about that. We seem to have some great chemistry going on here."

"don't say i didn't warn ya."

"You didn't."

"...okay, now i won't feel bad about this."

"Bring it on!"

"fine...since ya brought up the whole infinite universe thing, then i take it ya know about multiverse theory."

"Funny enough, I was just talking about it earlier."

"then you understand the possibilities don't just extend to two worlds being made by a single choice, correct? any and every possibility that can or could happen makes a world. so there's this world where we're having this conversation, but another world where we aren't. a world where you didn't fall down here and someone else did. a world where you fell but died. a world where ya got killed by the first monster you met. even a world where you kill every monster ya see. anything, any little change or subtle difference here and there, makes up a whole other world. so if you think about it, one universe can have thousands upon millions of alternate timelines made up of varying changes."

"Dude...And here I thought I was the deep one."

"s-shut up!

"You're right though. All of that is a possibility. Like a hair with split ends, each branching path is different but still part of that same universe it originated from. It's fascinating to think of the crazy things that could be. Like, can you imagine a world where this was reversed? Where humans were forced underground and monsters ruled the surface?"

"hmmm...sounds nice."

"Or a world where humans and monsters switched race."

"me as a human? i bet i'd be hot as fuck."

"Or a world where this was all just a story someone made up for a video game or fanfiction."

"oh my god, could you imagine the shit that would make? random weirdos shipping people left and right regardless of lore, relationship status, or even blood. what a bunch of freaks."

"Dude...You guys know what shipping is down here?"

"uh...let's just say a lot of human trash ends up down here. some of it may or may not be things called anime and manga."

"...Got a favorite?"

"...maybe?"

"*snickers* Nice. Oh! Or a world where we swap roles with relatives/spouses."

"nah. screw that one. i like being the older brother."

"You have a brother?"

"just one. and you?"

"Human or monster?"

"um...both?"

"On the surface, I got an older bro and a younger sis. Down here, I consider Flowey like a bro. Not sure how old he is. Oh! Do ghosts count? 'Cause I got this spooky little kid that talks to me sometimes too."

"uh...what?"

"Eh, but enough about me. I've been prattling on for too long as it is. I wanna hear about you. This bro of yours got a name or am I digging too deep for my own good down here?"

"heh, i don't mind. a guy as epic as my bro needs his reputation to precede him."

"He's that cool?"

"the coolest."

"Nice."

"his name is papyrus..."

"Like the font?"

"it's a skeleton thing. tradition if you wanna call it that."

"It's cute."

"*gruff* anyway...my brother, papyrus...he's a human-hunting FANATIC."

"Sounds like I'm in trouble if he sees me."

"damn right. he isn't second in command of the royal guard for nothing."

"Most impressive. You must be proud."

"hell yeah, i'm proud. my bro is the best. no one messes with him unless they're looking to die."

"Awesome. That must mean as the older bro, you're a badass too."

There's a pause.

"y-yeah...i...i'm a real tough customer."

"You don't sound like you really buy what you're selling."

"i don't want to talk about it."

"Very well. I'll only say this...If the world beyond this door is as dark a place as everyone tells me, then I must admit to being envious of your ability to not only survive in such a world but to be able to share life with a sibling no less...That alone tells me you are far stronger than you know."

There is no sound for a long time after that. I want to think this skeleton named Sans is thinking over my words. In a world where people kill to gain strength, sometimes a little pep talk goes a long way.

[knock, knock]

Guessing we're back to this. That's fine. We can joke if you want us to.

"Who's there?"

"sans."

"Sans who?"

"are ya freaking kidding me? how did you forget me so fast?"

"*giggles* Never, bone-boy. I'd never forget someone so punny."

"heh. glad to hear that, kid. if ya really like my jokes, then be ready for more. i've got a skele-ton of them."

I smile to myself, finding peace in this moment.

"Sans..."

"yeah?"

"This is nice."

"eh, not a bad way to kill time on my end either."

"If it's okay with you...I wouldn't mind this being a thing. Not trying to make this weird or anything. I just...I feel comfortable talking with you."

"ya know...you seem rather trusting of monsters you don't know."

"I like to think showing some kindness can be a nice way to open more doors than being a huge cunt."

"are you sure that's a smart idea? being nice around here isn't a good thing. it's seen as a weakness. and weakness is seen as a big ass target for others to off ya. like, you could literally open your front door and witness a monster get killed because it was justified on the grounds of the dead one being 'too weak'. and that's something ya gotta live with. knowing that everyone's always watching ya. wanting ya dead and waiting, just waiting, for the first sign of weakness so they can kill ya."

"I know. But it's just how I want to be."

"so you know that one of these days, your 'kindness' is going to get ya killed."

"Heh...I have no doubt that you're right. But...I think I'd be okay with that."

Where the heck is this coming from? Why am I opening up like this?

"I'm being weird again, aren't I?"

"just a little."

"Sorry about that. But if you think I don't have my guard up, then you're the one that's too relaxed right now. I'm on my toes each time I leave the house. I've had to convince many monsters in here that I'm not worth the EXP. So many encounters, so many repeated actions and words. But it's not like I'm not learning from all this."

"what does that mean?"

"For a while now, Nanny's been teaching me how to do soul magic. I know only a few basics, mostly because humans can't do magic like we used to. Yet one of these tricks is to sense or see souls and reading its feelings."

I close my eyes, concentrate, then open them slowly. Looking at the door, I see a faint upside down heart come into view, a bit blurry due to being on the other side of these huge doors, but there all the same.

"I can see you, bone-boy. Your soul feels confused, much like anyone else down here that I've met so far. So, I can't really say you're a good guy or a bad guy. You're like on this strange middle level I can't pinpoint. This is why it seems like I'm not on my guard. I don't see you as dangerous...for now anyway."

"you can see me huh? then what am i doing right now?"

"I see your soul, not your body. There's still a door in the way, dingus, and I don't have x-ray vision. But if I had to guess, you probably just flipped me off. Am I right?"

"clever bitch...but x-ray vision would be a pretty cool power to have. though you wouldn't need it when it comes to me or my bro."

"Why? You boys naked or something?"

I hear what sounds like a scuffle then pounding on the door. That must have got him pretty good.

"no, we're not naked! why would ya even ask that? are ya some kind of freak?"

"Been called that most my life. So, maybe?"

"look, i'm just...nah. ya know what? forget it. i ain't gonna spoil it for you."

"Oh? You make it sound like we'll be seeing each other soon."

"maybe we will, maybe we won't. but that's up to you really. the doors to the ruins can't be opened from the outside."

"Dumb design flaw."

"so if ya do decide to show yourself out here, i guess that means you'll have to fight the old lady again."

"I doubt that. There might be some yelling or other shit like that, but we learned from what happened last time. That isn't happening again. I am not fighting her. I barely made it as is."

"oh yeah? what's your LV level? had to be pretty high to withstand her attacks."

"One."

I hear what sounds like a spit-take. Guess he was drinking something.

"one?! you're only a level one and you survived a fight with the old lady?!"

"Yep."

"how?!"

"The power of plot armor."

"no, seriously! how did you not die?!"

"I told you. Friendship. They say it's magic."

"you...you have to be bullshitting me. no one gets in a fight here and both people get out alive. at the very least, someone's badly hurt and forced into submission. but..."

"Hmmm?"

"but...the old lady...she told me what you did."

"And that was?"

"ya tried to talk to her...ya tried to be nice...she said at one point...you snapped..."

I feel my heart falter and not start up again after a couple seconds.

"ya tried to kill her...didn't ya? was that a lie?"

I pull my legs up to my chest.

"...Something happened at that moment. I don't know what it was. I felt...I felt this deeply seeded despair suddenly raise from the depths with such force and it consumed me. I was blinded by this feeling. I was in so much pain...I wanted her to feel it...Feel the hurt that I was experiencing...But I stopped myself before I did something I'd regret. That's not me. I'm not a killer. It's not who I am."

"but for a moment...it was."

I hold my breath.

"even if it was a moment of weakness...the intent was there. you were going to kill her."

"...Stop it."

"don't think of it as a bad thing. ya wanted her to listen to ya and she wasn't. what better way to get her attention than to come at her with a knife?"

"Stop it!"

"oh, i'm so sorry. am i hurting your feelings? is the big bad human gonna cry? or are ya gonna try to kill me too?"

"I҉ ̶Ş̨A̛̛I̡D̀ ̡̀͜S̛T̕͜O̷҉P̸͟!͜"

I hear gasping, both from him and Flowey, as I try to keep myself in control.

"Stop it! I'm not a killer! I don't want to hurt anyone! Stop saying I'm bad! I'm not like that! I'm not! I'm not! I'm not...*whimpering* I'm not a bad girl...Please...Just...Stop..."

My chest hurts.

"h-hey...settle down. look, i shouldn't have said that shit. just...don't go getting all teary-eyed over it."

It feels like there's a vice on my soul. Shit, this is bad.

"Fuck...Getting worse...Flowey! Go get Toriel!"

"What? Why?"

"J̶u̷st ̸d͡o̵ it̷!̕"

Flowey dives into the ground and I slam my head back against the door.

"A̕rg҉h!"

"human? what's going on? hey! talk to me, damn it!"

I grip my chest in one hand and claw the ground in the other. The pain is breaking past my tolerance.

"kid? ya there? what's happening? say something!"

"*roar* M͏҉a̴m̵a̛͞!"

The loud thunder of Toriel's running stampede can be felt before I actually hear it. I'm a wincing mess by the time she comes into view. Her expression is one I was expecting, overprotective concern.

"Child? What is happening?"

I don't think I can talk without making noises of pain, so I opt for a different way of communication. I show to tell. Meaning, I pop my soul out and now we both can see the damage. The small green heart is dulling to faint swirls of black that are creeping in.

"*gasp* Oh no...Not again...Do not fear, my child. I shall help you however I can."

"M̡ak͠e̷ įt͟ s̸t͞o͠p...M͝ake i͞t̶ st͘o̵p͟ ̴be͟f̛ore ͜I ̢d͘o͢ so̴m̴et͜h͠i͢ng͞ ͞b҉àd..͠.I̶ d̶on̕'t ̵w͠a͝n̨t̛ t͘o̡ do ͝a̴nýt̴hi̛ng̶ ͢ba̡d͢.͡.."

She terrified. I can see it in her eyes. She has no clue what to do. But I can tell there's an idea in her head and she scared from it. Now I'm the one that's worried. I'm worried because...I'm wanting her to do the idea she has. I want her to do something, anything if it'll keep this darkness from spreading out and taking over again. Forgive me Toriel...I trust you...But I'm scared too...So don't hate me.

"W̡h͢a̷t͝ ̡arȩ ͜y̶o͡u̡ doinģ? ͡H̴e͢l͝p̶ me̕.̀.̨.Do͡n'̷t͟ just͞ ͟s̡tar͡e at̕ m͟e li̢ke ̡I̛'͟m som̴é ̨s͢ìde͟sh̕ow͏ ̸fre̡àk..͘.Do̕ so̴m͢ęthi̧ng b̷e͟fòre I d͞o!̵"

The darkness is gathering more, removing color from the soul. Knowing what happened last time, when that black soul formed, she reacts in desperation.

"Forgive me, my child!"

Her hands go around my throat and start squeezing. Naturally, instinct has me trying to stop this. My fingers claw for her hands, my legs kick out, my body overall thrashes in its desperate need to breathe so it can live. All this made even harder against the door. Most likely scaring the shit out of Sans. If he's still there that is.

"Shhhhh...Hush child...It will be okay. Do not fight this. I am helping you as you wanted me to. Now settle down and go to sleep. All will be better when you wake up. You will see. I promise. Things will be better. *crying* So just do as I say and sleep!"

I can normally hold my breath for around three and a half minutes underwater, with that only being about two minutes on land. This is minute four and my lungs are burning with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns! Air isn't the only thing cut off in this choke. The blood supply to my brain is also being cut off. I...I can't move...Getting hared to form thoughts...Sight fading...Please stop at making me pass out and not strangle me to death or break my neck...okay mom?

"*weak* T҉hank̡ ̛yo͞u̴.̨...nanny...."

My limbs fall motionless and my head lolls back like a rag doll. The last thing I see before everything disappears when my eyes go looking at the back of my skull is her sad face and all those tears.

Toriel on her end gives it a few more seconds before releasing the human's throat from her grip. There is no life in the body now and the soul flickers faintly as the black ebbs from it before slowly sinking back into its host.

"*whimper* What have I done? How could I..."

"holy shit! did ya just kill the human?!"

Sans's sudden voice startles her.

"Sans?! W-What are you...How long have you...?"

"been here quite a while really. been chatting with your 'daughter'. is she...ya know...dead?"

Good question. Toriel wasn't trying to kill but as a Boss Monster, her strength can be immense even when controlled. Slowly, with trembling fingers, she reached out and felt the human's neck. It took a bit of searching, the small beating was very hard to find, but it was there none the less...a pulse. Toriel heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness...She is still alive."

"geez...well, that's some good news."

"Are you not a sentry that hunts humans?"

"yeah?"

"Would it not please you knowing of her death?"

"and have to do my job? fuck that. it's too much crap and paperwork. not like anyone will believe me if i show up with a human soul. fuckers will think pap did it and i'm just the errand boy making his delivery. believe me, i like it better when no humans fall. that way, i can just nap the day away."

That made her smile. Sans had been a friend of sorts over the years. They met by random timing when she was walking around and he knocked on the door. One thing leads to another and a small bond was made over bad jokes. Sometimes he'd bring her books and read them to her, or play silly word games. But she enjoyed the company that he was, even if it was short lived. He can't be at this door 24/7. He has a home and a brother to tend to. A family...Much like the human had now become to her.

"so...mind if i ask what happened?"

She pulled the unconscious human into her arms.

"Her soul...It does something I have never seen before."

"like what?"

"It changes color."

"...really?"

"And moments ago, it tried to become another color. The bad one I told you of before."

"ya mean the black soul?"

"Correct."

"never heard of a black soul before. i don't even think it's in the official books."

"I have not seen one either till this child. Only in rumors during the war did whispers of black souls reach my ears. Relentless humans of power that were like the berserkers of myth. This child...I have been caring for her a long time now...She is not like those beasts I heard of."

"but her soul turns black, right? that's when she...snaps?"

"I do not understand why or what makes her flip like that. There is so much she does not tell me about her past. So much pain she keeps hidden to herself. I...I think it comes from her suffering."

"...then...what are ya gonna do?"

Her hold on the human tightens.

"I will do my best to quell the demons of her past and keep her soul pure. She is not a violent human by nature. It is not in her to do harm."

"but what if she does? what if one day, ya can't fix her and she goes nuts? do ya really think ya got it in ya to kill another kid? and one ya call family no less?"

She goes quiet.

"tori? you okay?"

"Sans...If the human ever comes through this door...Could you please, please promise me something?"

"...tori, ya know how i feel about making promises."

"Please!"

She trembles, clutching the human in her motherly embrace.

"Please...*sniffling* Please...As long as she remains the good girl that she is...Do not harm her or turn her into the Royal Guard...Show her the mercy that she has shown others."

"you're asking me to keep a very big promise."

"I'm not finished..."

She bites her lip in knowing of the next words to leave her.

"But...But if she changes...If her LV ever increases or she loses herself to the darkness of the Black Soul...I need you to spare her from becoming that which is feared...Please...If she ever stops being my child...Do not let her remain in such misery. Can you do that for me, Sans? Can you be strong for me?"

"tori..."

"I beg of you as a friend and not order you as your Queen. I...I cannot bring myself to do harm to humans anymore. I cannot allow my husband to collect another soul and bring about more pain. I just...I cannot do this for much longer if I know nothing is going to change. This child...She is the first ray of light to come to this hellish world in so long...If her light goes out, then I cannot see myself going any further..."

"hey! don't say shit like that! ya can't throw in the towel over some stupid human!"

"This human is my daughter! My only living child! She is all I have left in this world of the family I have lost! And I will not live with knowing I was still too weak to save even a single life that I hold dear!"

There's silence for some time as she calms down.

"Forgive me...I am not as strong as I once was. I should not have to burden others with my problems."

She stands up and turns away from the door.

"tori..."

She pauses.

"i...*sigh* i promise."

"You...You will?"

"i ain't gonna like it. but i can try to keep a socket on her if she ever does leave the ruins. it is my job, after all, to look out for humans."

She smiles softly.

"Thank you, Sans."

"don't thank me, tori. i ain't doing this because ya want to put your hopes and dreams into the kid. i'm doing it because i don't want ya to beat yourself up over some stupid shit and end up dusting yourself. we monsters died enough in the war and die enough now that it's over. don't go hurting yourself over a human or i'm gonna bust in there and beat the crap out of the both of ya! ya got that, old lady?!"

She can't help the giggle that escapes her.

"You are a good friend, Sans. I hope you can be as good a friend to her as you are with me."

"*scoff* whatever. i gotta get going anyway. papyrus will be stopping by my station soon and i don't feel like being yelled at for the next hour or two. so...chat with ya later, tori."

"Take care, Sans."

She listens as he leaves, the crunching of snow fading in the distance.

"Are you still down here, little flower?"

Flowey peeks from the grassy patch.

"Is it safe? Is she okay?"

"For now, she rests. You were with her when this happened, yes?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Tell me, do you know what caused her to shift?"

"I...I couldn't hear everything. I was here and she was at the door, talking to him. It looked like they were having a good time. Then...She...It looked like she was getting sad. Then she was shouting that she wasn't bad and refused to kill. It looked like she was fighting the change but wasn't sure she could. So she had me get you."

"Hmmm..."

She thinks as she begins to head back to the house stairs.

"Come, little flower. We must make sure she is well before she wakes."

Flowey nods and sinks into the ground to return to his pot at the base of the stairs. Toriel soon follows, picking up his pot while heading upstairs and bring them to the child bedroom. Here is where the three remain. Toriel and Flowey monitor the human, making sure she's okay until she wakes up. Although for Toriel, the waiting wasn't the hardest part. In fact, waiting made it worst. The more time passed, the more her neck began to show the bruising of her hands. The guilt weighed heavily in her stomach.

~~~~~~

The world is dark again, cast into the shadows of an unending emptiness. I must be about to dream of that voice again, the jerk. How many times have I had this dream already? Eight? Nine? Maybe ten times now? Who the friggidy fraggle knows. But something feels a bit off. The cold isn't so bone-chilling as it normally is. This is different. I can move. I can see my body. I am more than able to experience this place in thought alone. This world isn't just all nothingness. There is a single gray door.

Curiosity compels me to open this door without even thinking. It was like the odd call to go down to Toriel's basement. A strange force pulls me inside, causing the door to shut and disappear as though it never was. There's a sudden flash that blinds me for a moment and when my sight returns, I find myself in a gray room...but not alone.

There's a much taller than me figure at the back of the room facing a wall with its back to me. Its body is shrouded in black with the only color I can see being the bleach white of its head. Vaguely the faintest hint of red around collarbone of its neck, a sweater maybe? I know better than to alert this figure to my presence. I concentrate and try to read its soul, but I can't find it. There's a spot where it should be yet no heart appears in my vision. Is it damaged or something? What the hell is this thing?

Suddenly it perks up, turning its head to look my way. Yep, called it on the red being part of a turtleneck sweater, but that's the only part there is as everything else is coated in blackness. It gives me a twisted smile and its eyes light up red, all of which is even freakier looking due to the cracks on its eye sockets, one going down from his left eye the other going up from his right eye.

Nope! So much nope right now! Fuck this! Fuck this dream! Fuck this guy! Fuck my life! Fuck everything!

I attempt to move, only to discover I can't. The familiar chills of death run down my spine as this thing turns completely to face me.

"💧⚐ 🕈☜ ☞✋☠✌☹☹✡ 💣☜☜❄ ☞✌👍☜ ❄⚐ ☞✌👍☜📪 ☹✋❄❄☹☜ ⚐☠☜📬" (SO WE FINALLY MEET FACE TO FACE, LITTLE ONE.)

Don't show any weakness to this fucker. All he does is mess with you. Send all power reserves to the deflector shields! God, I'm a nerd even when I'm giving myself a pep-talk!

"☟💣💣💣📬📬📬❄☟✌❄ ☜✠🏱☼☜💧💧✋⚐☠📬📬📬❄☟✌❄🕯💧 ❄☟☜ ☞✌👍☜ ⚐☞ 💧⚐💣☜⚐☠☜ ❄☼✡✋☠☝ ☠⚐❄ ❄⚐ 💧☟⚐🕈 ✌☠✡ ☞☜✌☼📬" (HMMM...THAT EXPRESSION...THAT'S THE FACE OF SOMEONE TRYING NOT TO SHOW ANY FEAR.)

God dingus damn it!

"❄⚐ 🏱🕆❄ ✡⚐🕆 ✌❄ ☜✌💧☜📪 ✌☹☹⚐🕈 💣☜ ❄⚐ 👍☹✌☼✋☞✡ ❄☟✌❄📪 ✋☠👎☜☜👎📪 ✡⚐🕆 💧⚐🕆☠👎 👌☜ ✌☞☼✌✋👎📬 👌☜ ✞☜☼✡ ✌☞☼✌✋👎📬" (TO PUT YOU AT EASE, ALLOW ME TO CLARIFY THAT, INDEED, YOU SOUND BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID.)

Don't ask stupid questions! For the love of God, resist the urge to ask...

"Why? And how is that suppose to put me at ease?"

You fucking idiot!

"⚐☟📪 👎✋👎 ✋ 💧✌✡ 🏱🕆❄ ✡⚐🕆 ✌❄ ☜✌💧☜✍ 💧✋☹☹✡ 💣☜📪 ❄⚐ ☟✌✞☜ 💧🕆👍☟ ✌ 💧☹✋🏱 ⚐☞ ❄☟☜ ❄⚐🕆☠☝☜ ☹✋😐☜ ❄☟✌❄📬 ☟☜☟📬📬📬🕈☟✌❄ ✋ 💣☜✌☠❄ ❄⚐ 💧✌✡ 🕈✌💧📬📬📬" (OH, DID I SAY PUT YOU AT EASE? SILLY ME, TO HAVE SUCH A SLIP OF THE TOUNGE LIKE THAT. HEH...WHAT I MEANT TO SAY WAS...)

He rushes at me so fast I'm not even sure I saw actual movement. All I know is now I'm pinned to a wall that he's holding me to.

"✋ ✌💣 ☝⚐✋☠☝ ❄⚐ 🏱🕆☹☹ ✡⚐🕆 ✌🏱✌☼❄ ✋☠❄⚐ ☠⚐❄☟✋☠☝ 💣⚐☼☜ ❄☟✌☠ 🏱✋☜👍☜💧 💧⚐ 👌☼⚐😐☜☠ ❄☟✌❄ ☠⚐ ⚐☠☜ 🕈✋☹☹ ☜✞☜☼ 👌☜ ✌👌☹☜ ❄⚐ 🏱🕆❄ 👌✌👍😐 ❄⚐☝☜❄☟☜☼✏" (I AM GOING TO PULL YOU APART INTO NOTHING MORE THAN PIECES SO BROKEN THAT NO ONE WILL EVER BE ABLE TO PUT BACK TOGETHER!)

HOLY FUCKING ASS CRACKERS!!

"🖂💧❄✋☞☹☜👎 💧☠✋👍😐☜☼✋☠☝🖂" (*STIFLED SNICKERING*)

Wait...Did he just...

"☟☜☟☜☟☜📬📬📬☞⚐☼☝✋✞☜ 💣☜📬 ✋❄ ☟✌💧 👌☜☜☠ 💧🕆👍☟ ✌ ☹⚐☠☝ ❄✋💣☜ 💧✋☠👍☜ ✋ 🕈✌💧 ✌👌☹☜ ❄⚐ ✋☠❄☜☼✌👍❄ 🕈✋❄☟ 💧⚐💣☜⚐☠☜📬 ✋ 👍⚐🕆☹👎☠🕯❄ ☼☜💧✋💧❄ 👌☜✋☠☝ ✌👌☹☜ ❄⚐ 💧👍✌☼☜ ✡⚐🕆 💧☜☠💧☜☹☜💧💧📬" (HEHEHE...FORGIVE ME. IT HAS BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME SINCE I WAS ABLE TO INTERACT WITH SOMEONE. I COULDN'T RESIST BEING ABLE TO SCARE YOU SENSELESS.)

He puts me down and my knees give out much to his interest.

"💧☜☜💣💧 ✋ 💣✌✡ ☟✌✞☜ ⚐✞☜☼ 👎✋👎 💣✡💧☜☹☞📬 🕈✌💧 ❄☟✌❄ ❄⚐⚐ 💣🕆👍☟ ☞⚐☼ ✡⚐🕆✍" (SEEMS I MAY HAVE OVER DID MYSELF. WAS THAT TOO MUCH FOR YOU?)

"I think I just shit out my heart..."

"☟💣💣💣📬📬📬💧🕆👌☺☜👍❄ ✋💧 ☜✠❄☼☜💣☜☹✡ 💧🕆👌👎🕆☜👎 🕈☟☜☠ 🕆☠👎☜☼ ✋☠❄☜☠💧☜ 👎🕆☼☜💧💧📬 ✋🕯☹☹ 💣✌😐☜ ✌ 💣☜☠❄✌☹ ☠⚐❄☜ ⚐☞ ❄☟✌❄ ❄⚐ 🏱☼☜✞☜☠❄ ☞🕆☼❄☟☜☼ ✋☠👍✋👎☜☠❄💧 ✋☠ ⚐🕆☼ ☞🕆❄🕆☼☜ ☜☠👍⚐🕆☠❄☜☼💧📬" (HMMM...SUBJECT IS EXTREMELY SUBDUED WHEN UNDER INTENSE DURESS. I'LL MAKE A MENTAL NOTE OF THAT TO PREVENT FURTHER INCIDENTS IN OUR FUTURE ENCOUNTERS.)

He offers me his hand while I get my breathing back under control. Dear lord, he fucking almost scared me to death. He went from zero to Satan in nothing flat. I better keep my cool around him for the sake of my health and sanity. When I'm able to stop shaking, I cautiously give him my hand and I notice something odd about him. Well, more than usual I guess. The parts of him that are white appear to be like bone yet different. There are also holes in the palms of both hands like something's missing or was taken out. He jerks me off the floor with ease. The guy is strong for looking like a stiff.

"☜✞☜☼ ❄☟☜ ⚐👌💧☜☼✞✌☠❄ ⚐☠☜📪 ✌☼☜☠🕯❄ ✡⚐🕆✍ ☜✡☜💧 ✌☹🕈✌✡💧 ⚐☠ 💧⚐💣☜❄☟✋☠☝📬 ❄☟✌❄🕯💧 ☝⚐⚐��📬 ✋❄ 💣☜✌☠💧 ✡⚐🕆☼ 💣✋☠👎 ✋💧 ✌☹🕈✌✡💧 ✌👍❄✋✞☜📬 ✋❄ 💧🏱☜✌😐💧 ❄⚐ ✡⚐🕆☼ ✋☠❄☜☹☹✋☝☜☠👍☜📬 ✋ ☹✋😐☜ ❄☟✌❄📬 ✋ 👍✌☠🕯❄ 💧❄✌☠👎 ❄✌☹😐���☠☝ 🕈✋❄☟ ❄☟☜ ✋☝☠⚐☼✌☠❄ 🕆☠👎☜☼👎☜✞☜☹⚐🏱☜👎 💧👍🕆💣📬" (EVER THE OBSERVANT ONE, AREN'T YOU? EYES ALWAYS ON SOMETHING. THAT'S GOOD. IT MEANS YOUR MIND IS ALWAYS ACTIVE. IT SPEAKS TO YOUR INTELLIGENCE. I LIKE THAT. I CAN'T STAND TALKING WITH THE IGNORANT UNDERDEVELOPED SCUM.)

"Thanks, I guess? Not really sure what's going on here. But quick question...Are you...?"

"✌ 💧😐☜☹☜❄⚐☠✍ ✡☜💧📬 ✋ 🕈✌💧 👌☜☝✋☠☠✋☠☝ ❄⚐ ❄☟✋☠😐 ✡⚐🕆 🕈☜☼☜☠🕯❄ ☝⚐✋☠☝ ❄⚐ ✌💧😐📬" (A SKELETON? YES. I WAS BEGINNING TO THINK YOU WEREN'T GOING TO ASK.)

"How do you figure that?"

"✋ 👍✌☠ 💧☜☜ ✡⚐🕆 ✌☼☜ ☞✋✠✌❄✋☠☝ ✡⚐🕆☼ ☝✌☪☜ ⚐☠ 🏱✌☼❄💧 ⚐☞ 💣✡ 💧😐🕆☹☹ 🕈☟✋☹☜ ✡⚐🕆☼ ☟✌☠👎📪 🕈☟✋👍☟ ✋💧 💧❄✋☹☹ ✋☠ 💣✋☠☜ 👌✡ ❄☟☜ 🕈✌✡📪 ✋💧 ☞☜☜☹✋☠☝ ✌☼⚐🕆☠👎 ❄☟☜ 👌⚐☠☜ ✈🕆✋❄☜ ✋☠❄☜☠❄☹✡📬" (I CAN SEE YOU ARE FIXATING YOUR GAZE ON PARTS OF MY SKULL WHILE YOUR HAND, WHICH IS STILL IN MINE BY THE WAY, IS FEELING AROUND THE BONE QUITE INTENTLY.)

I blush and yank my hand back, which makes him smirk.

"💧🕆👍☟ ✌ ☠✌🕆☝☟❄✡ ☝✋☼☹ ❄⚐ ☞☜☜☹ 💣☜ ☹✋😐☜ ❄☟✌❄📬 ✌☠👎 ✋🕯💣 ✌ 💧❄☼✌☠☝☜☼ ☠⚐ ☹☜💧💧📬 🕈☟✡📬📬📬🕈☟✌❄ 🕈⚐🕆☹👎 ✡⚐🕆☼ 💣⚐❄☟☜☼ 💧✌✡ ✋☞ 💧☟☜ 😐☠☜🕈✍" (SUCH A NAUGHTY GIRL TO FEEL ME LIKE THAT. AND I'M A STRANGER NO LESS. WHY...WHAT WOULD YOUR MOTHER SAY IF SHE KNEW?)

I'm getting too flustered for this shit.

"Buddy, I am so close to slapping you that it ain't even funny."

"☠⚐ ☠☜☜👎 ☞⚐☼ 💧🕆👍☟ ☼☜❄✌☹✋✌❄✋⚐☠📬 ☠⚐❄ ☹✋😐☜ ✡⚐🕆🕯👎 ☟✌☼💣 💣☜ ☜✞☜☠ ✋☞ ✡⚐🕆 ❄☼✋☜👎📬" (NO NEED FOR SUCH RETALIATION. NOT LIKE YOU'D HARM ME EVEN IF YOU TRIED.)

"Are you implying that I'm weak?"

"☠⚐❄ ☜✞☜☠ 👍☹⚐💧☜📬 ❄☟✋💧 ✋💧 ❄☟☜ ✞⚐✋👎📬 ✌ 🏱☹✌👍☜ 👌☜❄🕈☜☜☠ ❄✋💣☜ ✌☠👎 💧🏱✌👍☜📬 ❄☟✋☠☝💧 ☹✋😐☜ 💧❄☼☜☠☝❄☟ 👎⚐ ☠⚐❄ 💣✌❄❄☜☼ ☟☜☼☜📬 ☠⚐❄☟✋☠☝ 💣✌❄❄☜☼💧 ☟☜☼☜📬" (NOT EVEN CLOSE. THIS IS THE VOID. A PLACE BETWEEN TIME AND SPACE. THINGS LIKE STRENGTH DO NOT MATTER HERE. NOTHING MATTERS HERE.)

Joke detected. Proceed with being a dork.

"You're wrong."

"☟💣💣💣✍" (HMMM?)

"Everything is matter!"

I laugh nervously as he blinks at me a few times. Wow...My lameness has hit new lows. This is around the time Flowey or Chara would mock me for it. I sigh in defeat, only to perk up when I hear him slap a hand over his mouth. He's trying not to chuckle but the hole in his hand doesn't really help.

"❄☟✌❄📬📬📬❄☟✌❄ 🕈✌💧 ✌🕈☞🕆☹📪 ☟🕆💣✌☠📬" (THAT...THAT WAS AWFUL, HUMAN.)

"Then why are you laughing, sir?"

"✋❄🕯💧 ✌ 🏱✋❄✡ ☹✌🕆☝☟📬" (IT'S A PITY LAUGH.)

"Heh. If you say so. Figured all skeletons had easily tickled funny bones. At least, that's the impression I got from Sans anyway."

He flinches upon hearing that name.

"Judging by that reaction, I seem to have struck a nerve. Rather interesting considering, as a skeleton, you don't have the guts for such things."

A small amount of red dusts his cheekbones and he groans at my increasingly bad puns.

"❄☟✌❄ 👌⚐☠☜☟☜✌👎📬📬📬✌☹☹ ✋❄ ❄⚐⚐😐 🕈✌💧 ⚐☠☜ ✋☠❄☜☼✌👍❄✋⚐☠ ✌☠👎 ☟☜ 👍⚐☼☼🕆🏱❄☜👎 ✡⚐🕆 🕈✋❄☟ ☟✋💧 ❄☜☼☼✋👌☹☜ 💧☜☠💧☜ ⚐☞ ☟🕆💣⚐☼📬" (THAT BONEHEAD...ALL IT TOOK WAS ONE INTERACTION AND HE CORRUPTED YOU WITH HIS TERRIBLE SENSE OF HUMOR.)

"So you do know him? Cool. Does he randomly get pulled into weird doors in his dreams too?"

"☠⚐📬 ✡⚐🕆 🕈✋☹☹ ☠⚐❄ 👌☜ 💧☜☜✋☠☝ 💧✌☠💧 ☟☜☼☜📬 ❄☟✋💧 ✋💧 ✌ 🏱☹✌👍☜ 🕈☟☜☼☜ ⚐☠☹✡ ✡⚐🕆 ✌☠👎 ✋ 🕈✋☹☹ 👍⚐☠✞☜☼☝☜ ❄⚐ 💣☜☜❄📬" (NO. YOU WILL NOT BE SEEING SANS HERE. THIS IS A PLACE WHERE ONLY YOU AND I WILL CONVERGE TO MEET.)

"So...This is going to be a thing with us then? Me randomly popping in and saying hi?"

"✌ ❄☟⚐🕆💧✌☠👎 🏱✌☼👎⚐☠💧 ✋☞ ✋🕯💣 ☠⚐❄ 💣☜☜❄✋☠☝ ✡⚐🕆☼ ☟✋☝☟ 💧❄✌☠👎✌☼👎💧 ☞⚐☼ 👍⚐💣🏱✌☠✡📬" (A THOUSAND PARDONS IF I'M NOT MEETING YOUR HIGH STANDARDS FOR COMPANY.)

"That's not what I meant. Don't take it the wrong way, I'm just confused by this...whatever this is. I recall each of these moments. Each time we chat. I'm not even sure these are dreams anymore based on I'm able to vividly remember all this. So finally meeting the owner of the voice that comes into my head is throwing me off a little. I'm not very good at making the best first impressions."

"✋ 😐☠⚐🕈📬 ✡⚐🕆 👍✌☹☹☜👎 💣☜ ✌ ☼✌👍✋💧❄ ☞🕆👍😐📪 ☼☜💣☜💣👌☜☼✍" (I KNOW. YOU CALLED ME A RACIST FUCK, REMEMBER?)

"*nervous giggles* Oh yeah...heh...I...I forgot about that. My bad?"

He sneers a little before regaining composure.

"❄⚐ 👌☜ ☞✌✋☼📪 ✋ 🕈✌💧 ☹☜💧💧 ❄☟✌☠ 🏱☹☜✌💧✌☠❄ ✋☠ ❄☟✌❄ ✋☠❄☜☼✌👍❄✋⚐☠ ✌💧 🕈☜☹☹📬 💧⚐ ✋🕯💣 🕈✋☹☹✋☠☝ ❄⚐ ⚐✞☜☼☹⚐⚐😐 ❄☟✌❄ 💣⚐💣☜☠❄ ✌☠👎 👍✌☹☹ 🕆💧 ☜✞☜☠📬 👌🕆❄ 💣✌✡👌☜ ✡⚐🕆 💣✌😐☜ ✌ 🏱⚐✋☠❄ ✌👌⚐🕆❄ ☞✋☼💧❄ ✋💣🏱☼☜💧💧✋⚐☠💧📬 💧👍✌☼✋☠☝ ✡⚐🕆 ☟✌☹☞ ❄⚐ 👎☜✌❄☟📪 🕈☟✋☹☜ ☜☠❄☜☼❄✌✋☠✋☠☝📪 ✋💧☠🕯❄ ❄☟☜ 👌☜💧❄ 🕈✌✡ ⚐☞ ☝☼☜☜❄✋☠☝ ✌ ☠☜🕈 ☞✌👍☜📬" (TO BE FAIR, I WAS LESS THAN PLEASANT IN THAT INTERACTION AS WELL. SO I'M WILLING TO OVERLOOK THAT MOMENT AND CALL US EVEN. BUT MAYBE YOU MAKE A POINT ABOUT FIRST IMPRESSIONS. SCARING YOU HALF TO DEATH, WHILE ENTERTAINING, ISN'T THE BEST WAY OF GREETING A NEW FACE.)

I guess if he's willing to forgive and forget, I can be a big girl about this too.

"Then allow me to introduce myself. Greetings good sir, I am Lynsie. Might I be so bold as to ask who you might be? Since this will be a reoccurring and continuing thing."

"✋ 😐☠⚐🕈 ✞☜☼✡ 🕈☜☹☹ 🕈☟⚐ ✡⚐🕆 ✌☼☜📪 ☟🕆💣✌☠📬 ✋🕯✞☜ 👌☜☜☠ 💣⚐☠✋❄⚐☼✋☠☝ ✡⚐🕆 💧✋☠👍☜ ✡⚐🕆 ☞☜☹☹📬 🕈☟✋👍☟📪 ✈🕆✋❄☜ ☞☼✌☠😐☹✡ ✋ ☟✌✞☜ ❄⚐ 💧✌✡📪 ✋🕯💣 ✌ ☹✋❄❄☹☜ 👎✋💧✌🏱🏱⚐✋☠❄☜👎📬" (I KNOW VERY WELL WHO YOU ARE, HUMAN. I'VE BEEN MONITORING YOU SINCE YOU FELL. WHICH, QUITE FRANKLY I HAVE TO SAY, I'M A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED.)

"You've been watching me? Wait...I'm disappointing? What? How? Why?"

"✡⚐🕆🕯☼☜ 😐✋☠👎 ⚐☞ 👌⚐☼✋☠☝📬" (YOU'RE KIND OF BORING.)

"I'm boring? How the hell am I boring? Did you not see any of the crap I've been through?! Did you not see Toriel need to strangle me?! How the fuck is that boring?!"

A cheeky smirk plays on his face...that cocky son of a bone!

"☟☜☟📬 ✋ ☟✌👎 ✌ ☞☜☜☹✋☠☝ ❄☟✌❄ 🕈⚐🕆☹👎 👎☼✌☝ ✌☠ ✌💣🕆💧✋☠☝ ☼☜✌👍❄✋⚐☠ ⚐🕆❄ ⚐☞ ✡⚐🕆📬" (HEH. I HAD A FEELING THAT WOULD DRAG AN AMUSING REACTION OUT OF YOU.)

My eye twitches.

"I'm just a toy to you, aren't I?"

His expression changes to a more serious one.

"☞✌☼ ☞☼⚐💣 ✋❄📬 ✌☹☹ ☟🕆💣⚐☼ ✌💧✋👎☜📪 ✋ ☞✋☠👎 ✡⚐🕆 ☼✌❄☟☜☼ ✋☠❄☜☼☜💧❄✋☠☝📬 ❄☟✋💧 ☼⚐⚐💣 ✋💧 💧☜🏱✌☼✌❄☜ ☞☼⚐💣 ❄☟☜ 🕈⚐☼☹👎 ✡⚐🕆 😐☠⚐🕈 🕈☟☜☠ ✡⚐🕆 ✌☼☜ 👍⚐☠💧👍✋⚐🕆💧📬 ☠⚐ ⚐☠☜ ✌☠👎 ☠⚐ ❄☟✋☠☝ ☟✌💧 ☜✞☜☼ 👌☜☜☠ ✌👌☹☜ ❄⚐ ☼☜✌👍☟ ☟☜☼☜ ☠✌❄🕆☼✌☹☹✡📬📬📬❄☟✌❄ ✋💧📪 ⚐☞ 👍⚐🕆☼💧☜📪 🕆☠❄✋☹ ✡⚐🕆 ☞☜☹☹📬" (FAR FROM IT. ALL HUMOR ASIDE, I FIND YOU RATHER INTERESTING. THIS ROOM IS SEPARATE FROM THE WORLD YOU KNOW WHEN YOU ARE CONSCIOUS. NO ONE AND NO THING HAS EVER BEEN ABLE TO REACH HERE NATURALLY...THAT IS, OF COURSE, UNTIL YOU FELL.)

"You're suggesting that this place is a dimensional rift or pocket dimension that solely consists of this room and only this room."

The grin he gets is creepy.

"✋ 😐☠☜🕈 ✡⚐🕆 🕈☜☼☜ 👍☹☜✞☜☼📬 ✡⚐🕆☼ 🕆☠👎☜☼💧❄✌☠👎✋☠☝ ⚐☞ 💣🕆☹❄✋✞☜☼💧☜ ❄☟☜⚐☼✡ 🕈✌💧 ✞☜☼✡ ☜☠☹✋☝☟❄☜☠✋☠☝📬" (I KNEW YOU WERE CLEVER. YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF MULTIVERSE THEORY WAS VERY ENLIGHTENING.)

"I have a basic understanding in most scientific studies. It's amazing the kind of stuff I end up looking up when I'm bored. My most recent studies being string theory and multiverse theory."

"❄☟☜☠ ✡⚐🕆 👍✌☠ ☝☼✌💧🏱 ☟⚐🕈 ❄☟✋💧 ✋💧 🏱⚐💧💧✋👌☹☜📬 ❄☟✋💧 ☼⚐⚐💣 💧❄✋☹☹ ☜✠✋💧❄ ⚐☠ ❄☟☜ 💧✌💣☜ 🏱⚐✋☠❄ ✌💧 ❄☟☜ 💣✌✋☠ 👎✋💣☜☠💧✋⚐☠ 🏱☹✌☠☜📪 👌🕆❄ ✋💧 ☠⚐❄ ✈🕆✋☜❄ ⚐☠ ❄☟☜ 💧✌💣☜ ☹☜✞☜☹📬" (THEN YOU CAN GRASP HOW THIS IS POSSIBLE. THIS ROOM STILL EXIST ON THE SAME POINT AS THE MAIN DIMENSION PLANE, BUT IS NOT QUIET ON THE SAME LEVEL.)

"Hmmm...Like a weak rip in the fabric of the blanket of time. This room is still connected by the loose threads but isn't fully patched in, if you mind such phrasing."

"☜✠✌👍❄☹✡📬 ✞☜☼✡ ☠✋👍☜ ✌☠✌☹⚐☝✡ 👌✡ ❄☟☜ 🕈✌✡📬 💧✋💣🏱☹☜ ✌☠👎 ☜☞☞☜👍❄✋✞☜📬" (EXACTLY. VERY NICE ANALOGY BY THE WAY. SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE.)

"I try. But I do believe we are missing a very important part of this equation."

"✌☠👎 🕈☟✌❄ 💣✋☝☟❄ ❄☟✌❄ 👌☜✍" (AND WHAT MIGHT THAT BE?)

"How the heck am I here? I'm just a mere human with the weakest amount of magic you can possibly imagine. How could I possibly be capable of inter-dimensional travel?"

An inquisitive look falls to him, his pinprick eyes close in thought. It's not a bad look on him. Kind of charming actually. Very natural looking. Did I stump you, mystery man?

"✌ 🏱⚐💧💧✋👌☹☜ ☜✠🏱☹✌☠✌❄✋⚐☠ 👍⚐🕆☹👎 👌☜ ✌💧❄☼✌☹ 🏱☼⚐☺☜👍❄✋⚐☠📬 ❄☟☜ ☞✌☹☹ 👍⚐🕆☹👎 ☟✌✞☜ ❄☼✋☝☝☜☼☜👎 ✡⚐🕆☼ 💧⚐🕆☹ ❄⚐ ❄☼✡ 🏱☼⚐❄☜👍❄✋☠☝ ✡⚐🕆📬 ✌❄ ❄☟☜ ☼✋💧😐 ⚐☞ ✡⚐🕆☼ 👌⚐👎✡ ☹✋😐☜☹✡ 👌☜✋☠☝ ☼☜☠👎☜☼☜👎 🕆💧☜☹☜💧💧📪 ✡⚐🕆☼ 💧⚐🕆☹ 💣✋☝☟❄ ☟✌✞☜ ❄☼✋☜👎 ❄⚐ 💧✌✞☜ ✡⚐🕆☼ ☜💧💧☜☠👍☜ ☞⚐☼ ☼☜💧☜❄❄✋☠☝ 🏱🕆☼🏱⚐💧☜💧📬" (A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION COULD BE ASTRAL PROJECTION. THE FALL COULD HAVE TRIGGERED YOUR SOUL TO TRY PROTECTING YOU. AT THE RISK OF YOUR BODY LIKELY BEING RENDERED USELESS, YOUR SOUL MIGHT HAVE TRIED TO SAVE YOUR ESSENCE FOR RESETTING PURPOSES.)

Now I'm the one confused.

"What do you mean by that?"

"✡⚐🕆 🕈✋☹☹ ☞✋☠👎 ❄☟✌❄ ⚐🕆❄ ✋☠ 👎🕆☜ ❄✋💣☜📬 ✋🕯💣 💧🕆☼☜ ✌ 👍🕆☼✋⚐🕆💧 💣✋☠👎📪 💧🕆👍☟ ✌💧 ✡⚐🕆☼💧☜☹☞📪 🕈⚐🕆☹👎 ☜☠☺⚐✡ 👎✋💧👍⚐✞☜☼✋☠☝ 💧🕆👍☟ 🕈⚐☠👎☜☼💧 ⚐☠ ✡⚐🕆☼ ⚐🕈☠📬" (YOU WILL FIND THAT OUT IN DUE TIME. I'M SURE A CURIOUS MIND, SUCH AS YOURSELF, WOULD ENJOY DISCOVERING SUCH WONDERS ON YOUR OWN.)

Wait, what does he mean by this? The why is he speaking in like some vague character in a game?

"I...I'm not sure I follow what you're saying. Can you be a tad more specific?"

"✌💧 ✋ 💧✌✋👎📪 ✡⚐🕆 🕈✋☹☹ ✋☠ ❄✋💣☜📬 👌🕆❄ ☞⚐☼ ☠⚐🕈📪 ⚐🕆☼ ❄✋💣☜ ✋💧 ☠☜✌☼✋☠☝ ✋❄🕯💧 ☜☠👎📬 ⚐🕆☼ 💣☜☜❄✋☠☝💧 ☠☜✞☜☼ 💧☜☜💣 ❄⚐ ☹✌💧❄ ☹⚐☠☝ ☜☠⚐🕆☝☟ ☞⚐☼ 👎☜👍☜☠❄ 👍⚐☠✞☜☼💧✌❄✋⚐☠📬 ✌❄ ☹☜✌💧❄📪 ☞⚐☼ ☠⚐🕈 ✌☠✡🕈✌✡📬" (AS I SAID, YOU WILL IN TIME. BUT FOR NOW, OUR TIME IS NEARING IT'S END. OUR MEETINGS NEVER SEEM TO LAST LONG ENOUGH FOR DECENT CONVERSATION. AT LEAST, FOR NOW ANYWAY.)

I can feel it happening. I'm regaining consciousness.

"Wait! You never told me who you are and why you're here? I have so many questions!"

He gives me a crooked smile and pats my head like an elder sibling would.

"❄☟✌❄📪 ☹✋❄❄☹☜ ⚐☠☜📪 ✋💧 ✌ ❄✌☹☜ ☞⚐☼ ✌☠⚐❄☟☜☼ ❄✋💣☜📬 👌🕆❄ ✋ 🕈✋☹☹ ✌☠💧🕈☜☼ ⚐☠☜ ⚐☞ ✡⚐🕆☼ ✈🕆☜💧❄✋⚐☠💧📬" (THAT, LITTLE ONE, IS A TALE FOR ANOTHER TIME. BUT I WILL ANSWER ONE OF YOUR QUESTIONS.)

He leans down and we lock eyes, my heart stops in mid-beat as I forget how to breathe.

"✡⚐🕆 💣✌✡ 👍✌☹☹ 💣☜📬📬📬☝✌💧❄☜☼📬" (YOU MAY CALL ME...GASTER.)

His eyes flash and I'm consumed in the light.

[blitzandthebarracudabrigade]

Prologue 1.1: Secrets of Takoyarkov

Aie, it’s been far too long hasn’t it? Sorry for the unannounced hiatus everyone. A lot of life business decided to rear its ugly head and drag me through hell and back but now I’m able to continue my side hobby of story writing! It’s also given me time to come up with a second big story to coincide with the sequel to Splatoon. I hope you can forgive my absence and enjoy this piece of what’s to come!

(2217 hours, 4 miles above sea level...)

“GBR HQ, this is Remora 2 approaching the drop-off.”

“Uh, affirmative Remora 2 we are calculating that it will take approximately 30 minutes until drop-off. Over.”

“Understood GBR HQ, we’ll keep our altitude high and dry and haul ass asap once we deliver the units.”

“Continue radio silence until you are beyond the designated danger zone. HQ, out.”

The radio crackled into silence as the pilots of a Remora 2 helicopter shut off their communications before focusing on their duty. The pilot signaled his wingman to notify their passengers to prepare for landing. He got out of his seat and made her way to the troop compartment, where two other individuals were sitting opposite each other.

The one sitting on the left was Siemo, a rare albino octoling who’s been lucky enough to escape the dictatorial grasps of General Octorus Krillovsk. She donned a standard issue lightweight padded helmet and padded uniform and pants. On her back was a large utility pack and her trusty Octoshot, refitted with inkling tweaks to better improve its combat capabilities. She was idly kicking her legs to and fro in her old pair of boots, signs of wear and tear still present along the bottom sections of the footwear.

The other occupant, Torke, wore heavily padded armor which protected most of his body. The only visible part of him was his face which was masked by a full tinted visor gas mask. He was focused on cleaning his weapon, a modified Bamboozler, with a rag. The barrel length was increased by one segment along with an unusual mechanism located at the tip of the weapon and the handle readjusted to be held in a diagonal fashion. A moment later he looked up to see the co-pilot approaching them.

“Hey, octoling.” He motioned to Siemo with the rag before tossing it aside. She took notice and collected her gear.

“Okay you two, I’ll give you a briefing one more time. Your objective is to investigate the designated zone known as ‘Takoyarkov’ and see if those rumored weapons are stored somewhere within the city. Once we reach the drop zone you’ll have to go into radio silence until you complete your objective, understood?”

“Yessir!” The two replied, strapping their weapons tightly to their packs before grabbing a parachute. They returned to their seats and awaited further instructions.

(Several minutes later...)

“All passengers this is your captain speaking,” a voice spoke throughout the troop compartment. “we are about to reach our destination so please unbuckle your seat belts and proceed to the big ass door located at the rear of the aircraft. Thank you for flying with Inkopolis Military Airlines, where our ass is only a peg more important than yours-”

“Stop fucking around.” the co-pilot interrupted.

“Sorry.”

Siemo and Torke stood up and made their way to the opening. The pair looked outside and saw that they were several thousand feet in the air, barely able to distinguish any landmarks. 

“You ready kid?” Torke made a last minute pat down of his equipment before tightening the parachute over his shoulders.

“Yeah.” Siemo copied his actions and made sure her weapon and pack was secured to her.

“Then I’ll see you on the ground.” Torke took a few steps back before running forward and leaping out of the aircraft. Siemo watched as he spun a few times before positioning himself head long at the ground. Taking in a few deep breaths, the octoling stepped back and followed suit, the noise of the aircraft suddenly replaced by the rush of air racing past her. As she descended, Siemo looked around her and saw something she would never have seen in her dreams.

Stretching as far as she can see, the ground beneath her was dotted with several details almost too numerous to make out specifically. Cities and suburban areas dotted the horizon, more specifically the glimmering metropolis of Inkopolis. She could make out the unmistakable Inkopolis Tower and the Great Zapfish nestled firmly around the structure. For the few minutes she spent free falling she couldn’t avert her gaze from the glowing electric eel, sparks glistening through her visor. 

“Siemo, I’ve reached the drop-off. What’s your status?” a voice crackled through her ear piece. She snapped out of her daze and responded.

“Uh, I’ll reach it in a moment.” She patted herself down quickly and found the release cord. Siemo pulled on it and felt her body jerk before seeing that her parachute had safely deployed. Letting out a sigh of relief she descended towards a faint glow where her comrade was waiting. A few seconds later she landed, quickly collecting the chute and removing the straps to the parachute pack.

“You good?” Torke asked, unholstering his weapon and filling it with ink.

“Yeah, just had to find the cord.” She joked before taking her Octoshot out. “Ready.”

“Alright, we have to find a safe location to set up a temporary hideout.” Torke suggested as he scanned their surroundings. Most of the buildings that once towered around them were now toppled over and overgrown with vegetation with a few exceptions that still remained standing. The paths between them were just as overgrown, the pavement cracked and choked full of grass and weeds.

“You’re right. The sooner we find shelter, the sooner we can begin looking for those human weapons.” Siemo agreed as she stuffed her parachute into her pack. The pair then headed towards what appeared to be the main street and followed it down to the center of the city.

(A few hours later...)

“Nothing,” Siemo sighed as she exited a small building. “no sign of any recent activity.”

“Well that’s good,” Torke replied, standing up and giving the building one last look. “it means that there’s little possibility of anyone getting in the way of our mission in this... codforsaken place.” 

The two have been searching around for a suitable place to hunker down in, but every building they’ve searched through looked as though they would cave in if they so much as sneezed. Worse still, the Geiger devices that were attached to their uniform sleeves began to faintly click indicating they were close to radioactive spots. The octoling looked at hers and saw that the meter read 8% radiation. But this didn’t deter her nor her comrade.

“We should find an elevated spot to camp out for a while.”

“Right,” Torke nodded. “but most of the skyscrapers that are still standing are further down that way, which could also mean higher levels of radiation.”

It was a risk they had to gamble on. They had to inform GBR HQ of their status, so the two ventured deeper into the dead city. After passing several alleys, streets, and empty buildings the pair entered what they could only assume was the inner city sector. The relatively stable skyscrapers surrounded them, giving the impression that they were trapped. 

“I guess this is city central.” Siemo muttered as she checked her geiger device. The needle inched towards 15% radiation. Torke looked at his own device and placed a hand on the octoling’s shoulder.

“We’re still in the safe zones. Now let’s go see if these buildings are safe enough to camp out in.” He patted her a few times reassuringly and took the lead as they approached the closest structure. Torke scanned the seemingly intact doors that stopped them and merely touched the handle when it suddenly crumbled into pieces. He looked back to his comrade and shrugged as he stepped over the pile of dust and entered the vacant building. Once inside Siemo and Torke looked around and saw that the interior of the building was surprisingly roomy. Despite the walls looking severely decayed along with what remained of a tiled floor and ceiling, the space they were in seemed safe enough to hide out in. They pushed piles of debris and rubble aside and managed to space out the center in order to set up their field equipment.

“Home sweet home.” Torke joked as he unpacked his gear: a few boxes of MREs, a portable radio, and two ink tanks for his weapon. Siemo followed suit and laid out her own equipment including a map of the city ruins and a compass.

“Where do you think we are approximately?” The octoling asked as she tried to determine the location of where they landed. Torke took his place by her and scanned the chart. He pointed a finger to what appeared to be part of a highway leading into the city, similar to the one they walked on.

“We took the path here,” He then moved his finger along the road towards a cluster of collapsed buildings. “And made our way through this mess.” Torke then tapped on an open space close to the building they’re occupying. “And now we’re here. So we’re not too far from our objective.”

Siemo nodded in agreement and sat back to prepare an MRE. “We should rest here for now. Better to continue on rested and full than tired.” She ripped open the small cardboard box and pulled out the few contents inside: a pack of crackers, a tin can of refried beans, and a container of pickled veggies. Wasting no time the octoling started digging into the can of beans, barely giving time to chew on the individual pieces.

“Geez, slow down there,” Torke chuckled as he had barely gotten his own package opened. “There’s no need to rush your meals.”

Siemo looked down at the can only to find that she had gulped down almost all of its contents. For a moment she felt her mind was back at the Octarian boot camp she started training at. The same training routines with the same schedules for meal breaks and sleep. She tightened her grip on the container before setting it down gently. “S-sorry... I guess my mind was somewhere else.” 

The inkling commando shook his head and looked down to the makeshift map. Making a few last minute calculations he guessed that they were within a mile east of their objective. Leaning back against some debris he peered over to the octoling and watched her picking at the can with her utensil. “So... the Commander decided to let you come along this mission with me?”

Siemo looked up and nodded. “Yeah. He said that I was ready to take on a mission without the need for his supervision.” Grabbing the can she tilted it up and swallowed the last morsels of beans before tossing the empty tin away. “...I’m surprised you didn’t oppose to the decision. Given who I am and-”

“No, I’m alright to working with you. From what I’ve heard around the base camp you helped him contact Inkopolis a year ago at the Battle of Octo Valley with uh... Echo?” Torke reached in and grabbed a biscuit before breaking off a piece and popping it in his mouth.

Siemo recalled the battle, hearing the distant explosions and gunfire as she tried to convince Agents 1 and 2 of what was happening. “Yeah... I remember,” She slid her MRE box aside and turned to face him. “If it weren’t for him and his brigade... I don’t think Inkopolis would have been around today.”

Silence fell upon the two as time passed, the sky growing darker with each passing minute. They managed to finish their meals without another word before setting up positions to take turns overwatching. Torke offered to take up first shift, allowing Siemo to get some shut eye. Slipping into her sleeping bag, the octoling placed her Octo Shot by her head before closing her eyes. 

The inkling looked back to his sleeping comrade before reaching into his combat vest, pulling out a small radio. Flipping the device on he fiddled with the few notches and dials in order to get the right frequency. After a minute of adjusting he succeeded.

“Torke to GBR HQ. Come in.”

Radio static crackled from the device.

“Torke to Great Barrier Reef HQ, do you read me?”

“...e read you troop... Ho... s the mission pro...ding?”

“Just as planned. We have managed to find temporary shelter within a mile of our objective location. Will update you when we are ready to move out, over.”

“Co... that. Make su... you two find out... at the enemy is planning... over.”

“Will do. Commando Torke, over and out.” He scrambled the frequency before flipping the radio off and tucking it back into his vest. Glancing once more over to the slumbering octoling, the commando drew out his weapon and cocked it ready for any potential hostiles. 36 hours... we must find out what the Octarians are doing here...

[dantediscoversfic]

Chapter 16: Rules

One of the reasons I liked Ari so much was that though we differed in opinion about many things (like which are the best comics) and though we had what might seem from the outside as diametrically opposed outlooks on life (his was much darker than mine; in fact he once claimed that brooding was healthy because it was good exercise for his eyebrows) and though he enjoyed yanking my chain about a lot of things, when it came down to it he made me laugh more than just about any other person on the planet. We were like seatbelts: we just clicked. He might not have thought so himself, but he had a big imagination and was very thoughtful and philosophical and funny and sensitive and kind. There was also a sadness in him that he tried to hide from me, but I could see it in his eyes sometimes. We never talked about it, though. He was better at not talking about things than I was.

In truth, I liked it when he argued with me (though argue isn’t really the right word, since we never got angry at each other; debate would be more accurate). And I especially liked when I was able to win him over. I’d been on Debate and Speech teams since middle school so he must have known that he never stood a chance when I got into that point-counterpoint mode but he never got cranky with me. (Or if he did, I knew it was all for show).

One area where he eventually came around to my way of thinking was my thing about liking rules. I have a general respect for rules and discipline and technique. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a pro-fascist or anything like that and I like the idea of chaos and nihilism just as much as the next teenager longing for independence. And I also know that breaking the rules is fun, too, and often a necessity in creating art and living the life you want to live. But I can see why rules are useful, too, especially if they grant you freedom within structure. I think your brain starts working differently if you’re trying to compose a sonnet in iambic pentameter vs if you’re writing a stream of consciousness journal entry. Neither is better or worse, but rules can be part of the fun and the challenge.

My thing with liking to cuss, for example. I liked cussing but knew that I wouldn’t relish it quite as much if my parents allowed me to throw around f-bombs any old effing time I felt like it. Or my thing about not liking to wear shoes. Who was the puritanical jerk who decided that it’s a Western societal norm that everyone has to wear shoes everywhere they go, anyway? If I want to take my shoes off outside or on the bus or in church or in the movie theater and I’m not hurting or offending anyone by letting my toes feel the wind and sun and air, why should I keep my shoes on when they cause me nothing but torture and discomfort? When did taking off your shoes in public become as bad as breaking one of the Ten Commandments? And it’s a good general life rule to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, right? I just choose a literal interpretation of that since he didn’t wear shoes either.

But where things like games were concerned, I liked rules. I thought of rules as being like a container or a cup for water (in this metaphor water=fun and freedom). Without the container, what do you get? Just liquid spilled all over the front of your shirt.

I liked coming up with new games for us, with the caveat that we played by the self-established rules. The first game we made up together was the shoe toss game (or as I named it: Urban Javelshoe). It started out simply because I felt like throwing my shoes around (because shoes are a nuisance and may as well be walloped for all the good they serve). At first he griped at me because I wanted to measure with chalk exactly how far each of us could throw our shoes on the street. He said it took away the fun, which to him was the act of throwing. I argued that the fun was not just the throwing, but the whole system we created together: deciding how many tosses we made per set, using chalk and a tape measure to record each of our throws, deciding how many sets qualified for a win. Just throwing shoes around for no reason? Plebian. This was much more interesting and systematic and fun. He came around, eventually. And though I won the game, he ended up having the longest recorded toss, which I could tell he was secretly pleased about.

Here are some of the other games we made up that summer:

Tap-Out. One of us would tap or punch out the beat to a song on the other person’s arm and the other would try and guess the song just based on the rhythm. We’d decide on the genre (such as Top 40 or The Beatles) and if the person didn’t guess right after three tap-outs then the tapper could hum the rhythm once (with no varied notes, just the rhythm on one straight note). After five rounds, the winner got to choose which music we listened to all afternoon.

Lava Ground. We’d play this in the yard or up in my room. You’d have to leap from place to place and land on furniture, cushions, pillows, clothes, shoes or basically whatever you could maneuver to land on as long as you didn’t touch the ground (because it was made of lava). If your bare skin touched the ground you had to act out a horrific death. The loser also had to clean up everything that we ended up spreading out on the floor or grass.

Passenger Palaver. We’d come up with stories about our fellow passengers during our afternoon bus rides. At first there were no rules but then I decided that one of us should make up a line or phrase for the story and the person telling the story would have to somehow include that phrase. Or sometimes we’d trade off after each line, making up the story together as we went along.

The Superhero Origin Generator. We’d go around my house and each of us would pick out two objects (such as a rolling pin and toothbrush). The other person would then have to make up how those two objects led to the creation of a superhero’s powers. For example: Mikey’s mother is a baker. One day her collection of rolling pins falls on her head and she tragically dies before young Mikey’s very own eyes. He grows up hating anything sweet. He despises cakes and donuts and cookies because they remind him of his dead mom. As a result, he becomes obsessed with brushing his teeth and never has a single cavity. But one day he has a mysterious tooth ache so he goes to a dentist’s check up. He doesn’t know that this dentist is in fact evil and while he’s in the dentist’s chair getting his teeth X-rayed, the evil dentist Dr. X turns up the machine to unprecedented levels. Mikey’s teeth become radioactive blasters. After that, every time he smiles, it unleashes a ray of toxic light more powerful than the sun. From that day forward he becomes: Gamma Tooth Man. If something we came up was particularly good we might make our own comic about it. Ari wasn’t much of an artist, so I’d draw and he’d come up with action, dialogue and concept. We made a good team.

Telenovela Lipread. We’d put a soap opera on silent and make up our own lines of dialogue. The only rule was that each character needed its own distinct voice or accent. Ari was surprisingly good at playing naïve love struck heroines (ironically, of course).

One day, after I’d just finished reading all of The Lord of the Rings books, I got the idea that Ari and I should make up our own language, like Elvish.

When I told Ari about my idea, he snorted and said, “So you’d rather make up an entirely new language than learn Spanish? You really hate Spanish that much?”

“If we had our own language we could write each other notes and letters and be the only ones who understand them. If they’re in Spanish our parents could snoop.”

“If you wanted to write in secret you could just make up a code, not a whole new language. That seems like a lot of work.”

“If Tolkien could do it how hard can it actually be?”

“How the hell do you go about making up a new language anyway?”

“I’m not sure. We might have to do some research.”

“Research? During the summer? For no other reason than you think it would be cool to undertake the massively insane project of inventing a new language?”

“Yeah. We’d be be like C-3PO when R2-D2 beeps and no one else knows what he’s saying.”

“Yes, but they’re talking in droidspeak. It’s probably just randomly generated gobbledygook.”

“Or maybe it’s as poetic as Shakespeare. But we’ll never know. Don’t you want to know what it’s like to speak a language only one other person on the planet understands?”

“It sounds exclusionary. I’m a man of the people.”

“You’re a man of the lazy. Come on, let’s go to the library so I can search the card catalogue about books on linguistics.”

So we went to the library. I love the library. I love the card catalogue. It makes finding the perfect book like going on a treasure hunt. While I was talking to the librarian, Ari wandered away from the desk and told me he was going to look around. No card catalogue for him, he was a browser.

It took awhile but I eventually located some potentially useful book on linguistics and went looking for Ari. I looked in every section I thought he would be, but he had vanished; I even looked in the bathroom and outside on the street. I went up to the 2nd floor and he wasn’t there. I looked on the 1st floor again. Nothing. I was starting to get worried. I went down to the ground floor level and that’s when I finally spotted him. He was sitting at the microfilm reader of all things. I went up to him to see what he was looking at.

“Hey,” I said.

He jumped. I guess I’d startled him.

“What are you looking at?”

“Nothing. Just old newspapers and stuff. I didn’t realize they had all these old articles on microfilm down here. The librarian just told me about it.”

“Anything in particular you’re looking at?”

“No, just browsing.”

“Just browsing El Paso Times articles from ten years ago for fun? And you call me the weird one?”

“Whatever. I thought it might be cool. Like a time machine or something. Are you done? We can leave.”

He pulled the film he was looking at out of the reader and returned it. I also saw that he had a book with him.

“What’s that book? You going to check it out?”

“It’s nothing. Just about the Vietnam War. I was just flipping through it while I waited for you.”

He put the book back on a return cart and we left. On the way home he didn’t talk much and I could tell something was bothering him. But he didn’t tell me what it was and I didn’t press him on it, even though I really wanted to. Like I said, he was better at not talking about things than I was. I thought maybe if we had our own secret language made up already he’d want to talk to me, but I knew that was wishful thinking. We’d only been friends for about a month, but I’d already guessed what most of his rules were.

[metawitches]

Over this past Thanksgiving weekend, Mr Metawitches and I took a day trip from Albuquerque down to the White Sands National Monument. The monument is adjacent to Alamogordo, NM and White Sands Missile Range, which will be familiar to history buffs as the location of the Trinity Site, where the first atomic blast in history took place in 1945. Metamaiden stayed home this time, to dye her galaxy hair in a new and exciting pattern.

We got off to an unfortunately late start, so we didn’t make any stops along the way this time. With sunset coming at 5:00 PM, the daylight goes quickly. It was a sunny day, and unseasonably warm, with a high in the mid-70s. We’d been planning to visit White Sands on this day for a couple of months, but many others were lured out by the beautiful weather. It was a crowded day at the park.

Once at the park, the first stop was a quick look around the Visitors Center. This is one of many national parks whose facilities were built by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression of the 1930s. All of these facilities that we’ve visited have been beautiful, and built with access to nature in mind. We’re so lucky to be able to enjoy stunning architecture and art at the same time as we take in nature’s wonders.

We took a fast walk through the complex, without even bothering to take more than a glance at the exhibits, since the place was mobbed and time was short. I was able to sneak in a few photos. The visitors center complex was designed in the Pueblo Revival style, and is designated a National Historic District.

Then it was on to the dunes! If you’ve never been to New Mexico, or the southwest, it’s important to know that most of the region is made up of red rocks, and sometimes tan rocks. But mostly red rocks. And red sand. Everywhere. Sightseeing in the southwest is largely a matter of looking at different shades of rocks in different forms and configurations. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all cool and I love it, but it’s a lot of rocks.

So, as you might have guessed, White Sands National Monument’s claim to fame is not the rocks, but the, ahem, white sand. Or, as Metamaiden put it, the teeny tiny rocks. Sometimes she’s no fun. The sand is very white. And there’s a lot of it.

Dunes Drive, the scenic road that takes visitors throughout the park, was also a WPA project during the Great Depression. It’s 8 miles long with a loop at the far end, making for a 16 mile round trip. The first 3 miles are paved, then it’s unpaved road the rest of the way, driving on hardpacked sand that has to be graded and plowed by park rangers, just as if it were snow.

There are many pull outs, picnic areas, trails, and a boardwalk for visitors to use as they explore the park. Walking around the dunes is encouraged, as it’s impossible for regular trail boundaries to be maintained on blowing, shifting sand dunes! The visitors center rents sleds for sledding down steep dunes.

When we were there, nearly every steep slope, no matter how tall or short, had someone making a go of it with a sled. The more experienced sledders had figured out that the best places were the tall, steep banks, deep into the park, at stops like the Roadrunner and Yucca picnic areas. But everyone seemed to be having fun trying! Mr Metawitches is determined to give it a try himself the next time we’re there.

White Sands National Monument is in the Tularosa Basin, at the foot of the Andres Mountains, at the Northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert. The sand is made up of gypsum left behind by the Permian Sea millions of years ago. This is the largest gypsum dunefield in the world, covering 275 square miles.

Because of their chemistry, the dunes stay wet even during droughts, holding the sand in place. The water becomes saltier in the center of the dunefield, meaning that there is very little life as you reach the Heart of the Sands. The outer parts of the dunefields host grasses, shrubs, small mammals, birds, insects, yucca, and many of the other species that have adapted to the Chihuahuan Desert.

Dunes Drive takes visitors from the edge of the dunefield into the Heart of the Sands. The vegetation starts out as the typical desert scrub, then becomes more like beach or low grassland grasses and plants, grows sparser and sparser, until finally there is no vegetation, just huge white dunes.

At that point it looks for all the world like snow. It’s plowed up against the side of the road, and the piles form like snow piles. When it blows and drifts in light winds, it looks like loose, drifting snow. The sandy roads look like hard packed snow and ice. And there are people sledding in it.

My animal brain is easily disoriented. After spending 49 years in the northeast, with long snowy winters, I couldn’t convince the instinctive part of myself that it wasn’t snow once we got out to the deepest parts, where you can’t see anything else. I was continually tensing up, sure the car was going to wipe out on the ice!!

The real danger is wandering too far from any recognizable landmark, and getting stuck in what’s essentially a white out. When we were surrounded by tall dunes, I did lose my sense of direction a bit as well, since the sun was low in the sky by then. People have died here by getting lost in the dunes during hot weather, without enough water and salty snacks, and having no idea which way is the way back to safety.

But not on this day. When we were there, the picnic areas were filled with beach parties. There were large family groups, and one motorcycle gang, grilling and playing loud music. They were sledding for entertainment instead of swimming or playing frisbee. It was a riot.

We walked part of the first trail, the Dune Life Nature Trail, and the boardwalk, then drove the rest of Dunes Drive, making stops to get out and look around. We stopped at the Yucca Picnic area to have a snack and wait for sunset, then watched the sun go down and the colors change. Experiencing sunset at national parks and monuments with interesting views is one of my favorite things to do.

The Dune Life Nature Trail is fascinating for a first look at the sand, and for marveling at how species adapt to life in deep, loose sand that flows almost like water. There are some great views, both into the middle distance and far off. The photo at the top is from that trail. Watching the colors of the sand change in the Heart of the Sands at sunset was like being on another planet. I still have a hard time convincing my brain that it’s just plain old earthly white sand.

  The drive from home to the park took us about 3.5 hours in each direction. White Sands is tucked in an out of the way valley, so much of the drive is through sparsely populated desert and mountains, plus the occasional small town. The Missile Range is still in active use, though not for radioactive test purposes, and the monument closes down for a few hours occasionally while missiles are tested nearby.

There are a few interesting features along the way to explore if one wanted to make it a longer trip, such as the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (a protected section of the Rio Grande River ecosystem that provides a valuable refuge for migrating waterfowl), the Valley of Fires Recreation Area (adjacent to the Malpais Lava Flow), the Trinity Site (if you happen to be visiting the 1st Saturday in April or October) or Pistachioland, home of The World’s Largest Pistachio, which also has a vineyard and pistachio ranch. Sadly, we saw the pistachio from the road, but did not have time to stop. Next time, I will not be denied my road side kitsch fix!

  The Visitors Center

  The Dune Life Nature Trail

  The Boardwalk

    The Heart of the Sands, Sunset and Exit

Day Trip to White Sands National Monument Over this past Thanksgiving weekend, Mr Metawitches and I took a day trip from Albuquerque down to the…