#i have a lack of awaken charas

[fuk1ngb1tch]

Main Humans for my Undertale Mutated Cores AU:

Frisk and Chara! (And Clover from undertale yellow fangame. They are in my au and alive because I can. And I will.)

Anyway, I love this AU I've made, and here is a summary of it below! (+Extra info and closeups) Will be under the cut though.

Mutated Cores is an AU where all the monsters (and not just the monsters really) have been mutated in some form after the core powering the underground blew up after an accident, sending a shockwave which mutated the monsters in the underground. Due to this, there is also a lack of resources and power, so monsters are alot more aggressive. The story takes place from the point of view of Frisk, a 10 year old child whom had fallen into the underground 6 years after the core had exploded and the malfunction occured. Frisk's fall had seemingly awakened the spirit of Chara, who is now seemingly attached to them, and now follows them throw the underground, nearly just as confused. They will encounter various monsters, and will have to figure out the best route for everybody, in a land that wants to hurt everybody.

You can also find Mutated Cores Papyrus here, and (The First design of) Mutated Cores Sans here!

Anyway, Here's a Closeups of our two main humans: Frisk and Chara! I drew both ghost/current, and past Chara because I felt it was important to do so:)

Also sillies react to a freaky froggit (70% Opacity for Chara) I'll probably try again at the froggit to make them more scary but yeah:) anyway below is another froggit and a drawing of the unused human sprite

"Unused Human Sprite" is not an actual character. If their design will ever be used, they will likely only be a background character of sorts. I drew them because I wanted to hehe

Anyway Clover!!!! I love clOVER AAUGGHHHH <3333 they are my baby. I will draw clover next probably. Idk I've been drawing clover (older au) alot so. (Edit: you can find au clover doodles here:))

Anyway humans. Love humans. Fun to draw. Love monsters too though!!

Anyway humans ages

Frisk 10 yrs, Chara 14yrs (Ghost), Chara 12yrs (Fall), Clover 16yrs (Older), Clover 10yrs (Fall)

They're written in the image but ye:3

[alienmiilk]

do elaborate on ness & kurona…..

the '''red''' sidekick (ik ness is purple, but it like, inches towards red, it's a reddish purple)

both play supporting roles and don't try to score for themselves

no eyebrows lol this one's a joke

very devoted to their respective partner (kaiser / isagi) at the expense of making their own goals (and a lot of charas' ego revolves around that n stuff)

starting to be a bit delusional here but i do think its possible their egos awaken at the same time, maybe not Bc of each other but it certainly could mirror (or they do see a reflection of themself in the other since their current role is to be support, they realise u need individualism to be an egoist or something like that

and then u get an interesting contrast where even tho they have similar roles, for a lack of better words, ness is unhinged and kurona is just trying to help

i think ness would hate seeing kurona is like him, even tho he's the same (bc they're the same)

i can also see ness taking his anger out on the person most important to isagi in this arc, the other half of his planet hotline, bc i believe in him getting worse (positive) (not the word im looking for but kaiser is... fair?? to an extent, like he'll acknowledge that his opponent is skilled, but ness? he won't agree no matter how hard u squeeze his headー tl;dr i can see him doing underhanded... things)

i consider any ship with my fav

i like their height difference, even tho we dunno what their heights are we can use my Isagi Yoichi Height Ruler™️ aka kurona's shorter than isagi, so ofc he's gonna be shorter than ness

i like the idea of ness bullying him, bc i like seeing my fav get bullied and also ness is like that, but at the same time i dont think kurona would take that sitting down so i also want to see him bite back, i want them to figuratively bite each other and fist fight

tl;dr i think they (can) mirror each other, if only they'd talk to each other 😔

this got so long i dont even know what i wrote , there might be other stuff i forgor about , it is what it is but i just think they could have an interesting dynamic mostly and i like any ship out of these four like i mentioned in my tags

also warning there's SO many tags on this one oh my god

[yakitsukeru]

I think I've done okay for the year-ish I've been playing (and neglecting this thing since I lurk more than I post). Currently keeping up with this and Tales of the Rays. Gotta farm those balloons and WHIS cards.

[zealofchronos]

PLEASE dilf!childe or dilf!diluc im starving for them <333

poor anon here is starving for dilf content— and honestly, same.

the lack of older men to take care of sweet things like us is almost criminal, and i think i can fix that :) you have NO idea how long i've been waiting for an ask abt dilfs. i hope this is up to your expectations! feel free to drop another request with more detail. ♡

the older, the wiser ;; dilf!childe , dilf!diluc x gn!reader headcanons

content ;- service doms , size kink , breeding kink , morning sex , slight somno , oral ( chara and reader receiving ) , aftercare

nsfw beneath the cut, minors dni.

have you ever thought about a dilf!childe that likes it a little too much when you say his name? he wants it to come off your tongue like a mantra, repeating and endless as he gives you pleasure just like that. he's whipped for you— and he melts when you call out for him like that. so why can't he just want to hear it all the time? don't worry, nobody else will hear it but him.

what about a tired dilf!childe that simply falls asleep the moment his head hits the pillow? he's been doing a lot for you— all so he can keep you here with him. the work, the chores, the cooking even. so, surely, he of all people deserves a nice reward. and the proper reward is a nice wake up call with your lips around his tip. he won't wake up straight away, but with a little effort, he'll be up and pleased by you so easily.

but really, what takes the cake is our family man dilf!childe. one, two, three siblings younger, perhaps some older too? he's been part of a large family his whole life, and the idea of you with his kids is so... enticing. regardless of whether or not you can carry his children, he'll want to spill himself in your deepest parts. he wants to fill you over and over, making sure that nothing spills out. and if it does? then that's another load in you.

or...

let's change it up a little... with dilf!diluc who dotes over you and spoils you rotten. he will see to it that every wish of yours is fulfilled, and he'll keep you fulfilled. he loves to see your face melt as your lips let out breathy noises— all from his own lips pleasing you. the light scruff of his unshaven jaw only adds to the feelings of pleasure that he can't wait to squeeze out of you.

as he comes back from nightly duties into your arms early in the morn, dilf!diluc finds you a beautiful sight to see especially after a night's worth of trouble. oh, how his heart swells to see you there beside him, in his bed, happy and content. but, surely, you miss him, no? his touch, his kisses, his praises. he will make sure that you wake up to his love, his hands between your thighs as he spreads them apart and tries to wake you with his kiss. and yet despite your sweet sounds as you awaken, he apologizes for being hasty, wanting nothing more than you.

it's expected. the ragnvindr clan should have an heir, no? dilf!diluc definitely thinks so. but he won't impose his own ideals into you— his sweet darling. he wants nothing more than you to want it as much as him— even if you may not be able to birth the next heir. what he loves most is the feeling— the feeling of breeding you full. your warmth enveloping him and milking him for all he's worth. he can see it in his mind. you're begging for his cum, wanting him to spill load after load in you as he thrusts in a slow pace. and just how can he refuse when you're asking him so nicely?

[telomeke-bbs]

This seems to be kind of similar to your last ask so I’m sorry but i watched bad buddy recently and I noticed a lack of Pat’s pov in flashbacks. We get a lot from Pran’s side and it establishes that Pran fell in love with Pat a long time ago and it was because he was sweet and kind to him. But there’s nothing from Pat and that frustrates me a bit because he is technically considered a lead but essentially treated for the most part like second lead/love interest. I don’t get when Pat fell for him because as much as I like Pran he was very hostile to him (to protect himself obviously) until they got together. Is it because he is interesting or loyal to his friends or something? Is it because he saved his sister or because Pat found him physically attractive and they had chemistry? I suppose I understand Pat’s love for Pran when they get together because once they’re past Pran’s inability to communicate well they’re very complimentary to each other. The lack of Pat’s pov when it comes to Pran is the weakest part of the series for me I think but I’m wondering if maybe I’ve missed something

Hey Anonymous! Thanks for dropping by the neighborhood. 😊

When we look at Pat and Pran's journey to couplehood, I like that Bad Buddy actually drew us in and allowed us to see and feel what Pat and Pran were seeing and feeling – we all get that Pat is an easy read, which mirrors Pran's experience, and we all find Pran exceedingly tough to understand, which was Pat's struggle too in Ep.6 especially. When BBS kept Pran's motivations and inner life hidden, we also experienced firsthand the frustration and confusion that Pat was going through – a risky move, but they anchored it by having Pat being more relatable so that viewers wouldn't be alienated from the drama. There's so much to empathize with that I don't find Pat was relegated to a secondary, purely love interest role at all – for me his emotional journey and experience was front and center for a lot of BBS, especially when he had his awakening in Ep.5 and when he was trying to get Pran out of his shell in Ep.6.

For example, when Pat realized he had fallen for Pran I think no one was more surprised than he (witness his bewilderment at the music shop in Ep.5).

We can't see why Pat fell for Pran, but I think it's a privilege that we get to share a bit of his confusion here as well. It doesn't make his love any less valid, or to my mind flatten him as a character, because Pat's path to finding stable footing with Pran is still shown to be a complex one and I feel we are shown enough for his emotional journey to have depth and resonance.

I did a quick recap of the flashbacks from Ep.1 to Ep.5 and actually Pat has more flashbacks than Pran (a lot concentrated in Ep.5). But you're right that we see more of what might have compelled Pran to fall for Pat – two of Pran's flashbacks show Pat doing things for him (returning his salvaged watch, and making him a guitar pick) and there are none of Pran doing anything for Pat in return for those acts (except maybe buying him iced milk tea in high school – but Pat never got to see that 😢).

But we don't necessarily fall in love because people have done things for us. I'm not sure human beings actually need a reason to fall in love even. Like I get when we go out with a checklist of traits that we're looking for in a potential partner – I've done this myself, it's the logical thing to do, but then the heart will choose who it will, checklist be damned.

Love isn't transactional, and we don't need reasons, or good deeds done for us, to love someone. And just because someone's harder to love (or harder to know) doesn't mean they're unlovable or not worthy of that love either (Pran is a great example of this). I think that we look for suitable mates with desirable qualities, and sometimes we fall in love after we've identified suitable candidates, but it isn't necessarily because that person has those qualities. Sometimes we fall in love with people whose characteristics don't fit the list in our heads at all. And sometimes we fall in love first, and then maybe think about what our partner has that made us fall in love them (which I think is Pat's experience in Ep.11 after he was asked The Question during beer-time on the beach with Pran).

Pat being Pat, never dwelling much on his inner life, probably never had much of a love checklist in his head. So he doesn't rifle through any list of qualities here, he just goes with the flow and I suppose we're being told we should as well.

I can't actually identify with any confidence the exact moment when Pat fell for Pran (to me his Ep.5 awakening is more discovery rather than birth). I seem to remember (though I may be wrong here) Director Backaof suggesting in a Behind-the-Scenes video that it happened later, and was asking Ohm to dial back his emotions because they were reading too big onscreen for that early a stage in Pat's emotional journey. But Ohm's instincts were different, and I think what we see in the final product is a mix of their different approaches. I actually don't believe it was just in Ep.5 that Pat fell in love with Pran – to me what Ohm is depicting (consciously or not) is that Pat fell much earlier, but only realized it late because he's bad at making sense of his emotional life. There are actually hints of Pat's true feelings pre-dating Ep.5, like his comment "If you hug me this tight, you might as well take me as your boyfriend" during the rugby game of Ep.4 [4/4]), his suggestion that they role-play being lovers at the bus-stop (Ep.3 [3I4] 7.33), squashing into Pran at the LogTech lift (Ep.3 [2/4] 6.04) and asking ("hypothetically") if Pran would like him (at Ep.4 [4/4] 15.30 – with the subtext being that Pat is seeking a response to counterbalance his own subconscious liking for Pran).

It's suggested in Bad Buddy that the bond between Pat and Pran was formed years before, right from the time they were kids. The scene in Ep.12 when PatPran with the tin cans morph into their kid selves in a final flashback (gets me a little weepy and reaching for the Kleenex every time 👌) is BBS telling us that their bond was there even before their teen years, that after a day of bitter rivalry and throwing hate at each other, the two would come back home and then just be themselves across their balconies, away from everybody else's expectations and pressures on them.

And that would have been their time, for them to just ask mundane things like "What are you doing?" (Ep.12 [4/4] 13.44) and really get to know the friend behind the (fake) rival.

Because it's shown to us so late, it's easier to think of Pat and Pran as emotionally detached before they coupled up in Ep.7 (at least that's how I thought of them for a lot of the series), but this is not what BBS ultimately tells us. (It only became clear to me after re-watching Ep.12, really.) The two rascals were always close, after Pran saved Pa from drowning, but they learnt to keep their friendship to themselves (which is why they could pull off hiding their relationship in Ep.12 so well – it was a continuation of what they'd always done).

When they came into contact again after their time apart (after Pran was sent away) I think that they needed to re-establish their relationship and figure out where they stood with each other, which is why their dynamic seemed so strange and choppy a lot of the time – prickly is the word I like to use, but on the re-watch I think we're meant to see that beneath that surface prickliness and hesitation was the bond from long ago, still intact and thriving.

We see that Pat was always persistent even when Pran rebuffed him (e.g., Pran turned him down the first time he asked to bunk over in Ep.4 [3I4], but said yes later out of the kindness of his heart when he saw Pat languishing in the corridor locked out of his apartment; and Pat was of course persistent with Pran too for all of Ep.6).

I think this shows that Pat was always conscious of Pran's innate goodness behind any façade of indifference/animosity and thus would keep prodding until Pran allowed his kindness to show through. Pat probably learnt this during their childhood – the very first act of kindness between them was Pran saving Pa from drowning after all.

The scene of Pat tending to Pran's injured shoulder, which then segues into Pran removing Pat's photoshoot makeup (Ep.4 [3I4]) is another example of this – those two boys are really close, and they really trust each other.

That dynamic is also put on display in one of my favorite parts of the series – the morning after Pat bunks over, at the start of Ep.5. Pran activates his grumpy self (threatening to toss Pat out, telling him to do the dishes, warning him not to touch any of his stuff), but Pat knows him well, and pleads repeatedly to be allowed to stay, and gets his way.

Pat sees right through Pran's Grinch impersonation ("Who on earth told you this was cute?"/"You're telling me right now") and calls him out on it because he knows the real Pran hiding behind the grouchiness. And Pran absolutely trusts Pat – letting him stay on in his apartment alone, knowing full well that Pat will be poking around his stuff anyway despite his warning not to, and is still OK with it ("I haven't laid hands on any of your stuff"/"I can sense a guilty conscience there" – said while Pat hurriedly tries to tidy the table he'd messed up sniffing happily around 🤣). And Pran actually calls back to ask Pat to do him a favor, and tells him his computer password knowing that Pat will be poking around his computer as well – for someone who protects his privacy so much, this is a really big deal. These aren't two individuals at odds with each other or at great distance from each other – they're really close at a fundamental level.

So for me when Pat realized he had fallen in love with Pran it didn't feel inauthentic at all. They'd always had a bond, and it may have even evolved so much that it was already a form of love that Pat was experiencing in high school, but that he hadn't yet known how to identify or define.

It might not have been romantic love that Pat had for Pran then (he was still ostensibly interested in Ink during high school), but if it was love in some form it would totally explain why Pran's exile to boarding school took such a toll on Pat, changing his behavior and outlook on life and turning him into the gruff gangster we see in Ep.1. Possibly it was a deep platonic love that only turned romantic later. Or it could be that Pran was always his predestined, reincarnated soulmate (a favored trope in Thai BL), so it actually is an abiding, time-defying love that we're witnessing, because they already had been in love through many lifetimes before (and Pat was just misreading his emotions vis-à-vis Ink; wouldn't have been a surprise if he was)...

Pran's hostility in the episodes before they became a couple was definitely due in part to him trying to push Pat away (he'd been hurt every time he allowed Pat to get close, so of course that was a natural thing for him to do).

But with Pat knowing Pran so well, he would have been aware that Pran's hostility was only on the surface, and that underneath it their old relationship was unbroken and that they had a soul connection of some sort. And that pushing and prodding at each other is also something that they do even after they become a couple (e.g., in Ep.12 with Pran complaining about Pat's slurping his noodles and Pat bugging Pran about his earphones) – it's not ill-intentioned or malicious, just their way of needling each other affectionately because they really are a longtime odd couple who've learnt to accept their differences and also play with them for amusement.

So what we're reading as Pran's hostility pre-couplehood could also be a manifestation of this bickersome energy, that they must have been deploying for the longest time (since they were kids, really).

This has been a right royal ramble through the woods and I think I need to do a TLDR here! So: Pat is all about the "what", not the "why", just as Pran is all about the "why" behind the "what". We're not shown exactly why Pat fell for Pran, but that was probably Pat's experience too (he knows Pran better than he knows his own heart, since he's so bad at reading his own emotions – so he can recognize Pran's worthiness of love, just not exactly why his heart has made this choice). Pat doesn't need reasons to fall in love and just accepts it when it does. The Ep.11 reasons that he lists may not necessarily be the reasons why he first fell in love; they're more like the qualities that he values in his beloved.

And I like that in Bad Buddy – when it’s not clear to us exactly what it is in Pran that turned Pat's head, or why he fell in love, we are kind of experiencing what Pat was experiencing too. I like to think that – because of their longtime bond – both Pat and Pran were already in love with each other from way, way back, it's just that Pat needed more time to become aware of it and give it a name. And the prickliness we sensed from Pran was his reluctance to open his heart to more hurts, as well as an extension of their age-old squabbling dynamic.

By the time of Pat's realization, the reasons why he fell in love would no longer be clear, but by then they wouldn't have mattered either. Pran caused himself a whole lot of unnecessary anguish overthinking his love for Pat. Maybe the message is we shouldn’t question so much why we love, that we should just go ahead and send that love out into the world, and when the time is right it will be returned. 💖

[dependable-magnet]

helllo u really sold me on flo/freddie/walter so i humbly come to ask for more headcanons 🥺 any clothing hcs? do any of them share/steal each others clothes? is walter allowed to have a family that actually approves (since flo and freddie’s parents are MIA)? how do flo and walter react to the concussion making our boy a sunglasses feminist king? SO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THEM

Oh I am so very glad to tell you moreeee

-For clothing, Freddie and Florence alone never shared much, not for lack of trying. A lot of Freddie's clothes were too small for Florence and Florence's clothes were often very not Freddies style (they're t4t4t your honour he's picky about what womens clothes he will wear, even as a joke) but when Walter arrives? Gloves are off, Florence and Freddie can both wear his clothes and they will. Walter is initially a little annoyed when there's two whole people wearing his clothes that he himself would like to wear, so he ends up wearing some of Florence's clothes as part of a Bit(tm) but actually. Kinda slays. Even if its a little too short. Anyways at some point once they're all moved in together their closets just merge.

-In terms of Walter's family, he does have a mother he doesn't really talk to often, but certainly he goes to certain holiday family gatherings. The first time around he went alone (tells the others, "you guys would hate this") but the next time one rolled around they insisted they really did want to come. While they weren't completely honest about the situation, the story was that Freddie and Florence were a couple themselves that were also Walter's friends, who didn't have anywhere else to be on (insert holiday here, theres multiple), and Walter's family is very much a "take anyone in and feed them and make them feel welcome" type of family.

-I know the Sunglasses Feminist thing is A Bit(tm) but I will use this as an excuse to explain where I think their relationship stands around the musical. While I'm a big fan of letting them be happy, there is a very sad musical in the way of that.

I imagine Florence hasn't formally broken up with them by the beginning of the musical, but has become very distant. While Freddie sees her leaving them as a huge betrayl, Walter sees it as more of a setback, which is why he puts in more of an effort to lend a hand to her and Anatoly, really for her sake. Of course, he's still oppertunistic and wants to get something out of it on the way. On one level he wants her to be happy, and on another he wants to convince her to come back to them. (Telling Florence that Anatoly is married is very deliberate here.)

Freddie's sunglasses feminist awakening is when he's coming to the point of realizing that he is quickly running out of options where he gets to keep his dignity. He too wants Florence back, and he's done crying about her leaving.

The final scene is actually what put me on to these three together. This version of the Walter and Florence end scene really does read as him trying to convince her to come back, rather than berate her the way Broadway feels. Especially with Freddie bringing her her luggage afterwards. He, too, is over feeling mad. They both just want her back.

And soms bonus hcs you didn't specifically ask for!

-They have a cat. They didn't set out for a cat, but they all seperately started feeding the same stray until it saw them walking all together and insisted on coming home with them.

-Not US Tour compliant, but I would imagine Florence finds out Walter is working in assistance of (not employed by. I don't think Walter is DIRECTLY working for the CIA in the US Tour, just doing the odd favor, and is well connected enough that it pays off) the CIA first. Potentially Freddie never finds out. If he does, it leads of the biggest fight of the relationship, and it takes a while to get over.

-The board game nights. Ooooh the board game nights. It gets intense, it gets competitive. You know that one video where the people are playing monopoly and all in character and being dramatic? Moody lighting and all? Yeah its like that.

[a-snow-decahedron]

Late saturday fics tend to be a bit more impulsive than usual, but I've wantd to write this small idea I had and finally got around to it.

It's set in the same "universe" as "A Flower's Guide" But it can be read without prior context.

Read this oneshot on AO3

Who cares about a name, anyways?

The world around him had changed drastically ever since he awakened. He didn’t notice at first, though. His first instinct was to find someone, and after endless hours of calling out, his father heard his call. He didn’t look a day older than he remembered. And when the flower spoke, the monster’s eyes filled with tears. He said he had never seen a flower cry before. Let alone one that sounded so familiar. The flower told him his name.

“It’s Asriel.”

The man tried to hug his son as best as he could. He fetched a pot for the Prince, and took the boy home. He did his best to make the place better for Asriel. He got the dusty children’s books from the shelves at home to read before bedtime. Asgore carried the flower pot as they gardened together...

But this wasn’t his life. He didn’t love Asgore. In a way, he knew Asgore was his father, but it didn’t feel that way. There was a lack of love within him. He realized that he didn’t care. Nothing in that house felt like himself. Asgore tried hard to make it feel like nothing had changed, when things would never be the same. And he knew he was different when the royal scientist came home one day, and informed the king that he had no soul. Perhaps that was the reason he was like this?

It didn’t make sense to live with Asgore anymore, so he left. There had to be some place for him. An idea crossed his mind. Mom was gone… Or was she still “mom”? Maybe she had changed as much as he did. He knew where to look. He crawled into the soil of the King’s garden and moved, making a tunnel beneath the ground.

Eventually. he found Toriel. She didn’t look a day older than he remembered. But when he told her he was “Asriel” the pain in her face became apparent. She did what she could for Asriel. She showed the boy around the ruins she had made her home again. She took her child to the sunlight. She let the Prince rule over the piles of leaves with a fist of iron, in a metaphorical sense.

And yet, as much as she had become different because of pain. Toriel didn’t mean anything to him. He just couldn’t care.

A world without love is not worth living in. He decided his existence just wasn’t meant to be. And so, the same way a gardener cuts the weeds, he ended his life.

But something primal burning within him made him go back. He was back at the start. He knew where he was this time. He waited, and as the lights around him grew brighter, and left.

He followed this ritual many times. He learnt a lot about this world. Apparently, a lot had changed. He still called himself Asriel. Some people laughed like it was a joke, some of them cried like he was their son. Others praised his existence and he hated every second of it. Soon he realized: it wasn’t his life, and it wasn’t the life he wanted to live.

The name seemed to carry too much history of someone he would never be again. Chara would understand, they always did. They once told him they had chosen their name. That their old one belonged to someone they could never aspire to be. So maybe… he could choose one too? But just like Asgore, he was lousy at them. Nothing stuck.

One day, he met quite an eccentric monster. His name was Papyrus, and he trained every day with Undyne, leader of the Royal Guard. The odd thing about him was how different he was from everyone else. Everywhere the skeleton went, he was beaming with joy and curiosity. He seemed oblivious of the problems of the world. Therefore, his apparent naivety made him the perfect victim.

How would someone like Papyrus react to Asriel Dreemurr, Prince of All Monsters, now in the shape of a flower with a tragic backstory for the cherry on the top? Well, he just had to find out! A smile spread across his face. Perhaps he couldn’t really say Asriel was really him anymore, but he could just turn back time anyways if it turned out to be a bad idea. It was just a matter of wanting to do it.

“Howdy!” He made a rehearsed friendly smile.

“Hello there, little flower!” The cheerful skeleton turned to face the flower, pausing his puzzle calibration. “I’ve never seen a monster like you over here.”

“Well that’s because I’m new in town!” He feigned innocence. Should he mess around first or tell him his name right away?

“Wowie, what do you think of Snowdin so far? Do you like it? I, the Great Papyrus, can make a full tour for you!”

Or perhaps he could let the other guide the conversation, he thought.

Papyrus didn’t wait for his answer, and began talking non-stop about his day, his new puzzles and every small thing that came to the skeleton’s mind. Some of it was absurd, and sounded like he was trying to pull an elaborate prank but the punchline never came in, and the flower started worrying Papyrus really meant everything he said.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” The flower had let him do all the talking, but if he wanted to test his theory he couldn’t keep waiting. It was pointless, even if Papyrus's words had been interesting so far. Well, interestingly stupid, of course.

“Is there anything better than talking to my precious guest?” The plant creature pointed to one of the puzzles that still had its spikes retreated. “Forget about that, my brother can deal with it if he ever decides to get something done for once, nyeh heh heh”

“You don’t even know who you waste your time with!” He feigned indignation.

“What do you mean? You’re the only talking golden flower out there! I would recognize you everywhere!”

“I meant you don’t know my name! Are you an idiot? Braindead?”

“I don’t think that last one applies here.” Papyrus pointed to his skull.

“I don’t care!” The flower shouted harshly. Papyrus raised a brow. In a more stable tone, the flower continued: “Well, aren’t you supposed to know who you talk to? What if I was, say, the king in disguise, and you didn’t know?”

“O-ho! Interesting theory! Why would the king be here?” The flower wanted to bury himself on the snow and just give up already. Still, he had to at least try.

“Don’t be silly! Are you messing with me on purpose?”

“I am not!” Papyrus swore, shaking his head. “But I apologize for any offending act of rudeness from my person. After all, I strive to be as accommodating as possible. Nothing but the best.” He cleared his throat, how he did that without a throat to begin with was a mystery. He leaned down to face the flower eye to eye. “Who are you, flower pal?”

“Hee Hee Hee. None other than Asriel Dreemurr, Prince of the Underground.”

“Are you sure?”

“What do you mean by “are you sure”? Of course I am, I wear my name with pride. Just because I look different doesn’t mean I’m lying!” Papyrus analyzed him carefully, his empty sockets glancing at every inch of his stem and petals.

He looked reflexive for a moment. “I don’t get it.”

“What’s so hard to process? I just told you the truth! I just look different, unless you’re so ignorant you don’t even recognize my name…” The flower figured that could be the only explanation for the skeleton’s attitude. For him, usually just reshaping his face to look like his old one and using the same voice was enough proof for anyone who didn’t believe him right away.

Papyrus interrupted his thoughts. “But of course I do remember your name, my friend Flowey!”

Or maybe he was just dumb.

“Don’t you listen? Flowey is not a name and it sounds stupid!” There was no way Papyrus wasn’t at least pulling his leg... figuratively.

“Well I think you look like a Flowey!” Papyrus gave him his most sincere smile. “Or perhaps… Flowery is a good option? You could also be a Flowell…”

“This isn’t funny, I’m outta here!” He tried moving across the place, only to find himself trapped in a puzzle room surrounded by tall spikes. He growled, as the structure didn’t move despite the bullets he threw at it.

“Oh, how careless of me. Stay there for a moment!” He watched as the skeleton started digging around him, pulling him out of his hole. With utmost care, Papyrus lifted him. His stem shivered as he felt the change in perspective. He was always stuck to the ground. This was the first time he wasn’t.

“What do you think you’re doing to me?”

“Carrying you out of here, as you seem so eager to do.” Papyrus replied, and after a strong step of his boots, his body lifted from the ground.

The flower watched in awe as the skeleton walked in the air, perfectly avoiding the puzzle. Perhaps there was more to this guy? Was it really worth it to find out now? In the end, he figured he would eventually hang out with Papyrus too, whenever other people proved to be predictable. Well, why not keep this path now instead of later? He… enjoyed the view, at least.

Papyrus put him down and sat next to him. He patted the back of his head, behind his petals, like one would pat a child for comfort. “I’m very sorry, my friend. I’ve been rude to you.” The flower motioned for him to continue. ”It is just, you seemed a little conflicted back there. Did something upset you?”

No response.

“Flo— Asriel. I will never call you by a name you don’t want to again. I want you to know I really liked hanging out with you.”

“Whatever, I don’t care. Who are you to me, anyways?”

“Great question! A friend, perhaps. I’d like to be known as The Great Papyrus too! But do I know who Papyrus is, anyways?” Papyrus shrugged. “Perhaps what I should tell you is that despite everything, you’re still you! You will figure yourself out”

The flower narrowed its big black pupils, not quite sure what to make of the advice.

“Ah, already questioning things, I see. My lessons are working!” Papyrus stood up again, shaking the snow off his clothes.

“Well, friend, I hope we see each other again!”

The rest of the day wasn’t as eventful as that conversation. Papyrus words still lingered on his mind as he messed around with some strangers, and got someone to buy food at the town’s restaurant. Apparently, because of his conversation with Papyrus, he missed out on the debut of the fifteenth movie by the Underground’s greatest celebrity. Well, those were things he could look into now after wastingm this day. When he loaded his save, he went to Hotland instead, and talked to a couple of diamond heads about Mettaton’s debut.

One of them asked him for his name, so they could hang out the next day.

Impulsively, he replied: “I’m Flowey! Flowey the flower.”

Eventually, it just stuck with him. If people remembered or not it didn’t matter. It was just a made up name and it did the job better than saying he was Asriel ever did.

He kind of thought it fit who he had become.

Not a Prince, just a nobody.

Not a boss monster, just a flower

Not Asriel, with a whole reputation and history to weigh on his stem, just Flowey.

He chose that name.

And after a few dozen resets the story behind that name didn’t matter enough to be remembered.

[freyayuki]

Final Fantasy Record Keeper Japan: Final Fantasy VII Torment Dungeon

I just tried one of the Final Fantasy VII Torment Dungeon fights in the Japanese version of the Final Fantasy Record Keeper (#ad) (FFRK) mobile game. Actually, I wasn’t planning on doing any of the Torment Dungeon quests anytime soon since they're still too difficult for a new player like me. So why’d I do the one for FFVII then?

Before anything else, let me start by saying that currently, Genesis Rhapsodos (from Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core) is my absolute, most favorite Final Fantasy character. He’s the only reason why I’m playing this game.

Final Fantasy VII Historia Crystal

Since my Magicite deck wasn’t up to par yet, I chose to use the Final Fantasy VII Historia Crystal instead. Genesis gets all the benefits of this Crystal, so it was all the more reason to use it.

It takes forever to level up Historia Crystals unless you use these items called Rat’s Tails. Naturally, these were hard to come by. Most of it is locked behind content that’s still way too hard for me given my lack of relics and leveled characters. As such, it took a while before I managed to get enough Rat’s Tails to increase the FFVII Historia Crystal’s level to 50.

Once you get to 50, you’ll need an item in order to break the Crystal’s level cap from 50 to 65. This item can only be found in the Torment Dungeons. They’re part of the first time rewards so even if you fail to win, you can still get the item in question.

That was definitely a good thing since my party still wasn’t strong enough to handle such a difficult quest. The first battle in the FFVII Torment Dungeon is level 240. Just as I suspected, I lost. I didn’t mind though since I really only did this so I could break my Historia Crystal’s level cap.

Dreams Dungeons

I’ve been tackling the easier quests in the Dreams Dungeons so I could get the Rubies I needed to create 6-star abilities. Completing these quests also gave some Rat’s Tails. Since I’ve been doing a lot of Dreams fights, it wasn’t long before my FFVII Historia Crystal reached level 65. Now, I needed to break its level cap again. Which means back to the FFVII Torment Dungeon.

Torment Dungeons

Torment Dungeons are like Dream Dungeons in that fights become easier if you bring a team of chars that are all from the same realm. For the easier battles, you could get away with bringing a few charas that are off-realm. You could do this in harder quests too, but that would just make them more difficult to tackle. 

Final Fantasy VII Current Relics and Stats

So far, I only have the following relics from Final Fantasy VII:

Genesis

Synchro Arcane Soul Break, Purgatorial Wave

Limit Break Over Flow, Light of Rapture

Flash Tech Soul Break+, Epic of Heroes  

Awakened Arcane Soul Break, Genesis Rhapsody        

Ultra Soul Break, Apocalypse Genesis

Flash, Epic of Destruction

Elena 

Ultra Soul Break, Special Bomb

Angeal Hewley

Ultra Soul Break, Idle Rage 

Genesis is level 99, the max in this game. He has 100 Magia in physical attack. I’ve started increasing his fire attack. 

I’ve completed his Record Spheres and his Legend Sphere. 

I’ve started working on his Record Board though I still have a long way to go before I finish with that.

In contrast to all that, my progress with the rest of the FFVII chars is basically nonexistent. I haven’t even been able to recruit all of them yet. At the moment, these are the only ones I have:

Cloud Strife - level 99. He’s one of the first charas I was able to recruit so he was part of my party back when I was really new to the game. I’ve stopped using him now since I don’t have even a single relic for him

Aeris or Aerith Gainsborough - level 50. I only started leveling her because there were missions in the Books of Trials that required me to level certain chars. Eventually, I do want to get her to level 99. I have some of her relics in my English account, and she’s super special awesome, so I’m hoping I can get her geared here in my Japanese account as well

Tifa Lockhart - level 16. AFAIK, I recruited her alongside Cloud, so, for a while, she was part of my party

Reno - level 25. When I first started playing the Japanese version of FFRK, there was a Turk-themed event. Some of the quests in said event allowed me to recruit Elena, Reno, and Rude 

Rude - level 1

Elena - level 99. Since I got her Ultra, I was more inclined to level her up. She isn’t part of my main team anymore though since I only have one relic for her whereas I have other chars with more than one relic or who have a more useful Soul Break than hers

Red XIII (Nanaki) - level 1

Sephiroth - level 1

Cid - level 1

I just recently got Angeal’s Ultra, which was why I haven’t even been able to recruit him yet.

Final Fantasy VII Torment Dungeon Quest Level 280

Considering all of the above, I fully expected to fail the Final Fantasy VII Torment Dungeon quest level 280. Honestly, I just wanted to get it over with already since I’m only doing this now to break the level cap of my Historia Crystal. 

I chose to bring the following characters:

Genesis Rhapsodos (#ad)

Tyro from Final Fantasy Record Keeper

Elarra from Final Fantasy Record Keeper

Reno

Aerith

I suppose I could have gone with Cloud since he’s level 99 and Elena since I have one of her Soul Breaks and she’s also at max level. However, like I said, I just wanted to get this over with, and I fully expected to lose, so I felt it didn’t matter who I brought. Heck, I just randomly equipped Reno and Aerith with whatever Armor, Weapon, and Accessory they could use. The same could be said for their abilities.  

Both Tyro and Elarra are part of my current main team, so they’re both at level 99. I’ve completed their 3-star and 4-star Record Spheres. I’ve completed Elara’s 5-star Record Spheres and unlocked her Legend Materia, but I have yet to start with Tyro’s due to lack of the required materials. 

Elarra is equipped with her Ultra Soul Break, Magika Album. I gave her the following abilities:

Shellga - 4-star rarity, White Magic-type, rank 1/5, 2 uses, doubles Resistance of the party

Curada - 6-star rarity, White Magic-type, rank 2/5, 6 uses, restores large amount of HP to one ally and automatically heals additional damage taken

Tyro is equipped with Sentinel’s Grimoire, and I gave him the following abilities:

Hastega - 5-star rarity, White Magic-type, rank 1/5, 2 uses, enables the party to move faster

Protectga - 4-star rarity, White Magic-type, rank 1/5, 2 uses, doubles Defense of the party

Genesis is equipped with all the Soul Breaks I have for him, and I gave him the following abilities:

Inferno Assault - 6-star rarity, Spellblade-type, rank 3/5, 6 uses, deal 5 physical fire attacks to one enemy

Blazing Quadstrike - 5-star rarity, Spellblade-type, rank 3/5, 6 uses, deals 4 physical fire attacks to one enemy   

After getting my team ready, I started the fight and set it to auto. Really, I was just waiting to lose. I didn’t even bother watching. Next time I looked at the screen, Aerith, Reno, and Elarra were dead. Tyro was like at half health or thereabouts. Genesis had most of his health left.

Seeing that, I thought, looks like it’s nearly over. I didn’t think it was possible to win in this state. Perhaps if Elarra was still alive, there might have been a chance, however minuscule. But without her and her healing, there was no way to restore anyone’s HP, so everyone will die sooner or later.

In short, I was just watching and waiting for the end I was sure would come soon. But then Genesis started dealing so much damage at once. He kept taking off huge chunks of Jenova’s HP every time he moved. It was freaking amazing. Super special awesome! I couldn’t look away, and I just had to take screenshots. 

For a moment, I actually thought we could win. However, unfortunately, Jenova and her allies didn’t just stand there doing nothing. They weren’t going down without a fight. They kept attacking. It wasn’t long before Tyro joined the fallen. I started losing hope again. But I was so close to victory that I didn’t want to lose anymore. I wanted to win. 

To my surprise and relief, Genesis destroyed Jenova and got me the victory. Hell, yeah! This was really so freaking awesome. That was one intense fight. I love it. I really enjoyed watching this. I’d love to see more fights like this. I’m especially happy to see my fave dealing so much damage and just generally being really freaking awesome.

Looks like Genesis, Elarra, and Tyro have really grown in power, at least way more than when I did the first FFVII Torment quest. I should definitely give that one another try. If I can win the second one, then I should be able to handle the first one now.

My FFVII Historia Crystal is now at level 65/80. It’s definitely gonna be a while before I can get it to level 80. Once I do, I’m gonna have to do the D450 FFVII Torment Dungeon to break its level cap for the last time. Hopefully, when that time comes, I’ll have more Final Fantasy VII relics that can help me win that fight. Until then, I’ll be ignoring it and focusing on other quests.

Genesis Rhapsodos Record Board Progress

No, unfortunately, I still haven’t completed my fave’s Record Board. However, thanks to the currently ongoing Glory Festival 2020 event, I received a lot of 6-star Motes as rewards. These Motes are needed to unlock tiles on a char’s Record Board.

I readily used up all of these Motes to unlock even more tiles on Genesis’s Record Board. This allowed me to increase his stats some more. Too bad the Motes I received weren’t enough to fully complete his Board. I still have a long way to go before that happens. 

Nevertheless, I’m so happy to see his stats and power slowly, but surely, increasing, even if it’s little-by-little. I’m so pleased to see him becoming even more powerful as I keep on progressing in this game.

Back when I was really new to the Japanese version of FFRK, his stats were really low since I’d only just recruited him. He was at level 1, and it was a struggle to obtain the Growth Eggs needed to level him up. 

Then I was able to get him to the max level of 99. Then I was able to get him 100 Magia points in Physical Attack. Then I was able to complete his 3-star Record Spheres, soon followed by his 4-star then 5-star Record Spheres. 

I also bought him a fire Sword Artifact. For a while, it was stuck at level 1. Whenever I acquired the necessary items, I leveled it up. Now it’s at the max level of 50, which made my fave even more powerful. I also got him an Accessory that increased his Attack. 

Last time I took a screenshot, Genesis’s attack was in the 800s. Now, with even more tiles on his Record Board unlocked, his Attack stat has gone up to the 900s, and I couldn’t be more pleased or proud. So freaking happy about this. Totally looking forward to powering him up some more. There’s still a lot of room for him to grow, and I can’t wait until that time comes.

Notes:

pics are from Amazon.com; links shown above

screenshots are from my Final Fantasy Record Keeper Japanese game account

[invertedfate]

Random Ask Dump - Anniversary Edition (50+ REALLY OLD ASKS!)

Going through OLD AND CRUSTY ASKS to try and chip away at the inbox. HERE WE GOOOO...

That’s an interesting idea, and I could run it by Cake, but I think it would honestly be a LOT to track from a programming perspective. Especially ‘cause killing Sans is gonna result in a “bad ending,” so to speak.

An attempt was made by Undyne to have all three hang out at the same time. Papyrus was SUPER EAGER. ...but one thing led to another and there were many messy explosions of chemicals and lots of smoke. Alphys had to step in before things got out of hand. It was all very daunting for her. Pap and Undyne are VERY LOUD, VERY AMBITIOUS PEOPLE.

I actually have some ideas of some side comics I may do at some point! :o It’s just that right now there’s a lot going on.

I need to poke Carni about that at some point. He’s just been very busy with other projects!

Clearly he’s standing on the “out to lunch” sign.

I wanna say that it’s very possible in theory. :o It probably affects them differently since monsters’ emotional state affects their magic and their physical state.

I do like little easter eggs like that, though I’m not sure where I’d fit it in atm just ‘cause I already showed Pap’s room, haha.

I made the chase theme for Mad Dummy as well as Mad Mew Mew’s battle theme. @pinewsun​ made the battle theme for Mad Dummy, and @thomasthepencil​ made the Season Dude battle theme and MD’s overworld theme. :o

That’s a really fascinating conundrum! You’re absolutely right- if IF was a standalone game, then from a writing standpoint, having more subtle implications would make sense! The reason I chose a different approach for IF is because it’s set after Flowey’s already known to be evil and I like to give different POVs rather than stick to just Frisk’s.

That’s an interesting thing, actually- both fights lean heavily on the fourth wall. Both are treated as climaxes for their given routes. It’s funny because Asriel’s fight is a lot more straightforward and less meta by comparison.

I agree! The thing with Papyrus is that he’s extremely powerful- he just doesn’t want to kill. But it’s a deliberate choice not to kill- he’s able to force his attacks to do next to no damage. He’s also pretty darn crafty, as he made the Gauntlet himself. It really is just a case of Undyne’s personal biases and concern for him.

That was a deliberate choice. :O Papyrus is very influential toward Frisk. He is best skeleboi.

Papybot loves you, anon! He just wants to feed you WHOLESOME SPAGHETTI!!!

It is possible to whistle through teeth. ...alternatively, magic. As for the music, Undertale implies that the music is heard! Maybe it’s just... a thing that exists in this world. Or it’s just meant to be a silly meta joke. I try to keep it somewhat ambiguous other than occasional nods to it. Chara’s pants are lighter because I just... felt like it, I guess? Haha. I wanted their feet and pants to stand out more from each other, so they have khaki pants. As for the Undyne fight being animated, well, this ask is old by now, but Sparks was the one who was down for it.

Well, the teaser’s been out for a long time now, but that’s the idea! It’s also why this has been in production for so long. The Determinator has some really over the top attacks (that weren’t even shown in the teaser), and Sparks animated in Photoshop. That’s how hardcore he is.

Shhhhh. Don’t give me ideas. I’m already slacking on Tem Village. :P

Sometimes I do have slumps and burnouts (see Antipode’s lengthy hiatus), but breaks lead to me being refreshed and coming back with even more enthusiasm than before!

Oh, there are a lot of these throughout the comic. For instance...

Flowey appears in a few background shots in the Ruins!

When Sans says “or maybe...” he looks at the empty flower pot. This was one of the earliest bits of foreshadowing about who created Flowey, and nobody noticed it at the time!

The MTT vending machines initially look like this but have helpful items.

And then they look like this, with an angry face and pose- Mad Dummy has possessed them!

As of Part 38, it’s been revealed that he did first meet Asgore as “Santa.” As for whether or not he knows the truth, time will tell. :o

Oh, these are excellent suggestions for calls! I’ll try to keep these in mind.

So, I believe Glyde uses the Mysterious Door motif. Jerry uses the motif in its battle theme- I believe it’s a mix of original motif and Wrong Number song?

Sans is a master of power napping. He probably gets a decent amount of sleep, though.

There are a lot of ways to interpret Pap’s lack of sleep! In IF, he can get by without it, but he also has a lot of reasons to avoid sleeping. Some reasons include productivity but also due to a looooot of heavy baggage. More on that later.

I think sleep can definitely make monsters healthier. Rest = better mental health as well as physical health, and with how important mental and emotional help is for monsters, that’s very important!

They just really like socks. Socks are warm. Socks are slinky. And googly eyes are the best. So they took on the form of a really eccentric sock puppet and sock collector. Scandalous.

It also has Alphys’ motif, as the two are the leaders of the royal guard!

I would say the lack of Asgore as an influence has left Undyne slightly less grounded? Like, she had Toriel and Gerson in her life, but her relationship with Toriel is... definitely not quite as close? Like, Toriel by that point kept people at an arm’s length due to losing multiple children (including one from old age). So, while they were on friendly terms until the aftermath of the DT experiments and the tapes’ release, it was more like mutual respect and a sorta professional relationship with Undyne admiring Toriel and wanting to spare her from more heartache.

That is a really interesting idea. While that didn’t happen, I do need to maybe revisit the grumpy dog at some point or another. He’s still a lil’ salty.

I think in terms of layout it won’t change much, but there will be new/different content for sure. :O

Mad Dummy’s base design is mostly original, but she has a wig + headband from DIO from Jojo Part 3! Fun fact: While MTT has Kamina shades, Papyrus’ goggles are loosely based on Simon from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in terms of color. :O

So basically, when Asriel defeated Frisk, he had the power over the timeline to reset it as he pleased- in theory. However, that power was overwhelming for him, and due his lack of understanding OF said power and one last ditch attempt at resisting from Chara, things went wrong.

There is a track that takes some inspiration from Rage Awakened. It’s not released, and it’s not exact, but it won’t be released for a WHILE. Like until the part comes out.

I think it’s just the fact that tacos are so random. Like, my biggest beef in that regard was that OG Underswap had a lot of arbitrary replacements for things in UT and not all of them made sense. Like, if Sans was to make a foreign food, ramen would’ve made more sense due to Alphys being weeb trash, haha.

Okay, so the rough timeline iiiis... Falling: - Cyan - Green - Orange - Blue - Purple - Yellow Dying: - Cyan - Orange - Blue - Purple - Yellow - Green

You know, it’s funny because this ask is super old, but that’s basically sorta what happened. :O It became a beach-themed resort.

Never forget MTT fangirl Temmie’s pool escapades.

I think Forgespring for me because I had to make the tileset myself (it took a few months, I think?), but Aquarius was definitely in the works for a while. But once I had the tileset from Fours, the rooms were very easy to design!

That woulda been pretty rad! Maybe I can find another spot for it one day, haha.

I think for Dohj, I’d have to check with Fours, but I’m certainly not opposed at some point? Right now, the following chars can take questions: - Frisk - Papyrus - Sans - Undyne - Alphys - Napstablook - Mettaton - Asgore - Chara - Flowey

Cyan appears in Part 45! :O No answer about orange for now, tho.

I do have vague ideas for Tem village. I just haven’t had time to go back and do it.

Stay tuned and you may find out! :O

Hmmmm... I had a lot of fun with MTT SPIRAL and the Determinator, tbh. They were both very time consuming, but I love how they came out! Also, buff Jerry.

Turnabout Storm. :)

It’s a really awesome fan crossover that works way better than it should. :P

None taken! We know that with headcanons, everyone is gonna have their own interpretations. These are just the voices we liked for Fireglobe Production, but everyone has their right to their favored interpretations!

Yeah, Knight Knight is one of the coolest CORE mercs in the original game. It was fun to repurpose them for Inverted Fate as royal guards. :o It made room for unique encounters in the CORE in the form of them robots- as Undyne would rather use machines than other monsters to do her work.

Personally, I see it as an Asriel motif, but I also acknowledge that at one point it WAS gonna be an Asgore motif. Toby has a habit of just using whatever music works for a scene (see sans. at the snail farm.)

I do have a few ideas, though I won’t say for what yet. :o

He’s likely made blueprints for that train. :P

It probably would just have different flavor text/progression!

So basically, I treat the starting motif for BAaTH/Power of NEO is just a “true hero” motif.

MTT is definitely major in IF! As for whether or not he’ll have a hangout, time will tell. There’s definitely more to resolve with him, though.

I’m gonna remake at least a few of the older tracks, including Regret. My goal is just to bring the OST to a similar standard of quality.

So, animated parts coming up: Part 47, Part 49, Part 50. There may be some other parts, but we’re gonna wanna scale things back for a little bit for the sake of all our sanities.

I go with both. ;)

Honestly, probably fairly similar to the bully fight in the Ruins- which is why I ultimately decided not to do one. Both fill similar archetypes, though I think if I did do a battle, I woulda still had Flowey interrupt at the end and scare them off.

It’s a very emotional scene. Far more tragic than her geno death, IMO.

Well, the main goal in that regard is the remasters (Part 9 is in progress). Otherwise, I do think these hiatuses are good for working ahead. I’ve still gotta do more work, though, because my buffer this time around is a lot smaller from the trial-hiatus buffer. Alas!

Honestly, the website is the best thing to happen to IF. It’s allowed us to do so much with the comic’s presentation that would be impossible with imgur. NORIX IS THE BEST...

[talesofdivergence]

so we send you a hc and you give us one back? in that case I headcanon that chara is/was baby and actually they only appear evil in genocide bc your actions reaffirm their beliefs about humanity and since they are more or less soulless now they have no problem just destroying everything™️ for power, just as they saw frisk do (Idk if chara knows about the player or just sees it as frisk but I assume the latter). they could've been true neutral or chaotic neutral (when they were alive).

I agree for the most part, and I try to get that across in my interpretation of Underswap, I also like to imagine Chara was super book smart, too, because if the theory about them being the narrator is true, they’re quite eloquent, don’t you think?

But yes!! That’s about how it works! So my headcanon in return is that there are some very odd parallels in the game between characters you wouldn’t likely believe. I’ve touched on it before, but I’ve noticed some parallels between Chara and Asriel and Sans and Papyrus. Things like Asriel and Sans shared interest in astronomy, Papyrus and Chara both having unique vocabularies, as well as their shared ability to make unusual expressions.

Sans and Asriel both seem to have rather weak spirits, if you think about it. Asriel succumbed to his despair as Flowey, as well as not being able to overpower Chara when they shared a body, and Sans seems to be constantly on the verge of giving up and falling, while Chara was literally so determined, their soul persisted after death as a ghost that was awakened by Frisk, matched to Papyrus’s unwavering belief anyone can do better if they try, no matter what.

Chara and Papyrus also stand out as some of the most unusual characters in the game, what with Papyrus’s semi-omnipotence, lack of an asterisk, and downright creepy lines, to Chara’s semi-existence, unless you’ve pushed them to the point of resetting the entire game as they glitch out sporadically. It could also explain Flowey’s soft spot for Papyrus, if he reminds him of Chara.

[argentdandelion]

No Soul Necessary: Flowey’s Happy Ending (Part 1)

Introduction

Warning: This post necessarily covers Flowey’s dark, traumatic, and sad backstory.

In many works, Flowey gets a SOUL in a Post-Pacifist timeline, and is often “restored” back to Asriel with a Boss Monster body. Sometimes, it is implied this is only way for Flowey to be happy: that it is impossible to save him, too, so long as he is a soulless flower.

Yet, as the Flowey and PTSD series shows, having a soul is neither necessary nor sufficient for Flowey’s happiness. For one thing, six human SOULs apparently wasn’t enough for him to regain love nor compassion; he only got that after absorbing six human souls and the souls of almost every monster. More importantly, though gaining a soul might make it easier for him to be happy by letting him feel love and compassion again, it wouldn’t solve all his problems.

And Flowey has a lot of problems.

Well-Supported by Canon

These aspects of Flowey's suffering are well-supported by canon.

Guilt, Regret, and Self-Loathing

After the God of Hyperdeath fight, Asriel understands if Frisk cannot forgive them, and understands if Frisk hates them. He acted “so strange and horrible” and hurt many people; Asriel believe she has no excuse for what he had done.

If the game is started up again after everyone goes free, Flowey (despite presumed soullessness) says he can’t “go through with it again” (do the same actions to achieve that ending) if the world was reset, so whoever he’s talking to must erase his memories, too. He seems guilty or ashamed at his actions: he talks about the power Chara was “fighting to stop, the power that I wanted to use” (presumably the power of SAVE) with an expression that might be shame.

Furthermore, several prompts in for the flowerbed speech, Asriel discloses he’s blamed himself for the decision to not kill the humans attacking him the whole time. Apparently, a sense of guilt and self-loathing at himself for failing Chara and getting himself killed was why he adopted his “kill or be killed” view. Yet, after seeing Frisk (it’s unspecified when; it could be at the flowerbed itself) he doesn’t regret his decision anymore. He said he did the right thing, and he can’t regret hard choices forever.

Lack of Love/Compassion/Empathy; Difficulty Forming Relationships

Flowey cannot feel love nor compassion; it is likely anything approaching empathy eludes him. This is a major impediment to feeling fulfilling relationships. Indeed, the idea he couldn’t feel anything (loving) for anyone made him “despondent”, until he eventually coped by making himself a callous manipulator who didn’t (emotionally) need anyone.

Flowey’s difficulty in forming relationships is a similar problem. Solving others’ problems distracted or amused him for a while, but it didn’t really make him happy. His lack of love and compassion, as well as his ability to rewind time, led him to become estranged from others. People were reduced to sets of numbers, lines and dialogue.

Unable to feel love and compassion, Flowey's life was surely less happy than before. The closest Flowey could get to fulfilling relationships was just amusement at others, and with time he grew tired of it. He himself likes to think “there’s someone out there...someone that I won’t get tired of.” There’s only one person (Chara) he cares about anymore, and yet he says (with a sad expression) that he couldn’t really care about them.

Despair

Given how close they were, Chara’s death alone would have been enough for Asriel to fall into a deep depression. Yet, his suffering is only multiplied by several layers of trauma from the plan and its outcome.

Flowey/Asriel believes that, in refusing to kill the humans attacking him and getting killed himself, he “failed” Chara. He expects Chara to be mad at him for this.

Flowey discloses that, when he woke up as a flower, he “couldn’t feel anything for anyone.”1 He spent weeks with Asgore, trying to vain to feel love. Eventually, Flowey became so distressed at his failure he quit and run away. He went to Toriel, but even she couldn’t make him “feel whole again”. He became despondent: he decided to didn’t “want to live in a world without love anymore—a world without you, Chara”. He spent weeks with Asgore, trying to vain to feel love. Eventually, Flowey became so distressed at his failure he quit and run away. He went to Toriel, but even she couldn’t make him “feel whole again”. He became despondent: he decided to didn’t “want to live in a world without love anymore—a world without you, Chara”. Flowy then tried to “erase himself from existence”.

He discovered his power of SAVE after this, starting ‘Pacifist Routes�� of his own and solving others’ problems flawlessly. Their companionship amused him, for a while. But, as he repeated time, he found them predictable; without compassion, he grew estranged from others and saw them as just lines of dialogue and numbers.

He killed everyone in the Underground, just to add novelty to his boring life. But eventually, he grew tired of that, too. He was surely very lonely and thought his existence pointless, but the very things he had lost (and gained) with his new life as a flower trapped him in despair.

Extrapolations

While recurring elements in works set in a Post-Pacifist timeline, these aspects of Flowey’s suffering aren’t so well-supported in canon.

Body Dissatisfaction

A recurring element in fan works is Flowey’s dissatisfaction or distress at his new flower body, and its limits.

In the Genocide Route, Flowey shows fear and helplessness at realizing he can’t feel his arms and legs and how his whole body had turned into a flower. If he had some choice in form when absorbing six human SOULs, the fact he had two big, clawed arms may very well be a compensation for his long-lost limbs. As soon as he absorbs the equivalent of seven human SOULs, he takes a body identical to his old Boss Monster one, and says: “Finally. I was so tired of being a flower.”

In some cases, it’s hard to tell whether Asriel/Flowey is dissatisfied by what he is or who he has become in that new body; he might conflate the two and separate his existence into two identities.

Flowey is neither human nor monster, but a soulless, nigh-necromantic magic flower whose existence is utterly unprecedented. After attacking Flowey, Toriel calls him a “miserable creature”. Flowey describes himself and who he thinks is a soulless Chara as “creatures” as well. In his flowerbed speech, Asriel calls Flowey not a “he”, but an “it”, and tells Frisk not to think of Flowey as Asriel, saying: “I just want you to remember me like this. Someone that was your friend for a little while.” (It’s unclear whether he means “as a Boss Monster” or “as someone compassionate”)

Parental Separation

Even in works where Flowey gets a soul, "becomes Asriel", and has Frisk as an adoptive sibling as a sort of Dreemurr Family 2.0, things just aren't the same. Chara is still dead, and Asgore and Toriel are still estranged/separated.

It must have been a shock for a newly-awakened Flowey to go back home and find Toriel’s old throne under a sheet, and to search for Toriel for so long only to find she’s as far away as possible from Asgore. Realizing his parents, who used to be such sickening sweethearts, have separated and no longer love each other is bad enough. Knowing that they separated over Asgore’s declaration of war, which only happened because Asriel and Chara died, just makes things worse: Flowey might believe it’s (indirectly) his fault.

While Toriel and Asgore are probably not technically divorced in Undertale, Flowey could have reacted in a comparable way to the kids of divorced parents. After all, kids developing mild depression after their parents’ divorce in a common response. In fact, this “mild depression” can get worse; according to Helpguide.org, some of the symptoms, “frequent violent and angry outbursts”, “withdrawal from loved ones”, and “disinterest in loved activities” sound like things Flowey would do.

Uncertainty He Even Deserves Happiness/A Second Chance with a Boss Monster Body

In several fan works, Flowey/Asriel sometimes believes he doesn’t deserve happiness, and/or a second chance with a Boss Monster body. Regardless of form, he might believe he doesn’t deserve happiness because of all his terrible deeds, and also think he’ll only bring misery to others.

To this end, he might regret going up to the Surface with Frisk, or even seek isolation. Indeed, only Frisk knows Asriel broke the barrier, and Asriel spends the rest of his short existence as “himself” by the flower patch in the Ruins, apparently unnoticed. He doesn’t want his parents to know he was alive again, and won’t go up to see them, because he thinks it would just break their hearts. Furthermore, in some works, Flowey lives an isolated life in the Underground as a sort of prison sentence for his Flowey Run crimes.

While Flowey cannot feel love nor compassion, it’s still possible he could feel guilt and regret. It’s possible he remembers what it was like to feel love and compassion, even for a little while, and wants Frisk and the other monsters to be happy even if he cannot.

He’s certainly capable of feeling irritated at people, so presumably he meant an inability to love anyone and, perhaps, a flattened and incomplete emotional range in general. ↩︎

[laptoparmageddon]

The whole Campunderquest cast! This took me 9 hours 39 minutes and 41 seconds to make. Click for better quality.

In order we have

Pomi

Honey

Flowey

Toriel

Badstablook/possessed dummy

Jerome the froggit

Papyrus and Bob

Sans

Grillby

Amara

The Temmies

Mad ghost

Undyne

Dr.Alphys

Mettaton

Muffet

Asgore

Chara

Frisk

Asriel

Reformed Napstablook

Monster kid

Sans...again... Why did I draw him twice?

Gaster

Pretty much the premise of the AU is that Frisk made the same mistake as Chara and Asriel did except they went with monster kid. All of Frisk's new friends realized what they had done and ran to the barrier to try to stop them. Unfortunately, they died in the garden and the last bits of the soul began to drift away. The monsters tried to catch it but failed, the bits floating through Napstablook before disappearing. The determination from the bits didn't mix well with Napstablook and it corrupted him.

This caused alot of problems. Toriel and Asgore, who were somewhat getting along while taking care of Frisk, completely broke down. Toriel became an alcoholic (but she only drinks wine) and Asgore turned to a more..uh...higher method of coping.

Muffet, not being able to do much to help her spider friends without Asgore's permission, became his royal advisor.

Alphys became the soul therapist of the underground and Undyne had to stop her training to take care of all of the paperwork Asgore started to neglect. Undyne became so busy that she doesn't spend time with her daughter. (Oh, yeah, alph an.d Undyne have a daughter in this AU) also, since Undyne is so stressed and there's so many problems, Mettaton became a security guard with hope of being a star again. He also has to restrain Undyne during her outburst.

With alphys trying to be the therapist for the whole underground, the core was beginning to heat up more due to lack of maintenance. So the temmies began to make a pipeline from snowdin into the core to cool it down. Papyrus got a job as a mechanic. Also, sans became a useless shut in.

Since Napstablook is now Badstablook, The Mad dummy brought it upon himself to try and calm down Badstablook. There can only be one bad spirit in this underground.

Flowey couldn't care less. He just be chilling. But, while everyone was distracted, he decided to finally take the souls. He then realized he can't do much if there isn't 7 so e decided to distribute them to cause a little chaos until another kid falls. Toriel got Integrity and keeps it in a locket, Sans got patience and just absorbed it, Amara got justice and absorbed it as well, Alphys keeps perseverance in a container, flowey kept bravery for himself, and papyrus got kindness.

Pomi and Honey where going to camp on the mountain but wandered off from the campsite to explore. They fell into the underground, awakening the spirits of Chara and Frisk.

[valhala90]

About DMC5

I finished the game a couple of days ago and overall, I really liked it. It was a conclusion? (I think it can have more parts or DLCs, underworld never rests nor does family drama)

I do feel like it was too short cause they tried to cram so many things and feels into a small amount of time...

Spoilers ahead

First of all, I loved the whole V/Vergil thing.

It reminded me of quotes from “Heart of darkness,” and I believe it fits the V/Vergil very well. That’s why I will put a few of them.

I love V and his PoV,  the fighting style, ( he’s charging with reading the fucking poetry out loud I was like what the actual fuck, only later to quote it with him, and I still can't believe that I like him that much, lol) Griffon, Shadow and Nightmare (not to mention V is the only chara I could get Smokin' Sexy Style!), the cane, the sandals and the leather...  I dig it all.

Vergil was... The whole point of this game to me. Not the legacy that is Nero.

I wanted even more, though I got what I wanted, really did. But I'm a greedy bastard when it comes to my favorite game.

What I got (which is satisfying but again, greedy bastard)

V showed some pretty good observation and opinions, not to mention regret, and it's great to see Vergil's humanity and vulnerability.

“Droll thing life is -- that mysterious arrangement of merciless logic for a futile purpose. The most you can hope from it is some knowledge of yourself -- that comes too late -- a crop of inextinguishable regrets.” ― Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

What V, basically came, to a conclusion about his demon side and himself.

I didn’t expect for Vergil to change his ways just like that, since the whole point of the game was for Vergil to see the errors of his way and that he needs his human side... So that's why I'm saying this part was his character development- accepting the human and demonic side. 

Maybe it will be the topic of future games, who knows.

What I wanted more of? (greedy greeeedy)

How about crank it up to SSS style with the character development of a man/half-demon who was thrown to the wolves since he was a child, craving the power to the point he cast his humanity aside and nearly destroyed the world?

“But his soul was mad. Being alone in the wilderness, it had looked within itself and, by heavens I tell you, it had gone mad.” ― Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

I wish Vergil’s sufferings and other shit he went trough got more screentime, and I get it, he’s not the protagonist, but he’s damn important for the story.

Next, poor, poor Nero. He had a lot on his plate already and I feel like they hit him so hard with all the info about Vergil being his dad and all, the kid didn't have time to process things. He had to transfer his emotional distress into an awakening so that he could stop a frigging/years-long/grudge/they are not sure  why is still on/ sibling rivalry DMC level/ I’m stronger than you/say jackpot one more time, I dare you, I double dare you mofo/fight, between his estranged father and his crazy uncle. Come to think of it, it’s funny even though it’s sad, cuz the kid finally found a family. 

Family of lunatics but, don’t we all have a family like that?

 And what? Hey, kid, we're off to the hell cuz now you're here to guard the world, here's a double whammy in the face.

Hah, it's typical DMC, so I'm not complaining. It was hilarious and touching. Just, you know, adding to my "poor, poor Nero" part. And I kinda came to like him after this part. In DMC4 I couldn’t stand him, to be honest.

To get back to the start, it was a little rushed. 

But again, I loved the game, so I'm just expressing things I would like to be more developed.

Which brings me to the biggest exclamation mark in my book.

Lady and Trish... Oh my god. I was disappointed with the lack of their presence and influence since I believe they are important to the story as much as the protagonists are. Lady and Trish are relevant to Dante's character development, and while I enjoyed little moments with them (not talking about the nudity it was for the fanboys anyway) I felt like they were just there for the sake of "everyone being there cause its DMC5"

They did absolutely nothing. Aggravating, since they are my kickass heroines ❤

Nico. I wasn't sure about her when they introduced her, but I fell in love with her sassy and goofy nature.  And I just adore the relationship she has with Nero! So friggin' cute and delightful friendship. 

Kyrie... Not a fan of her, but hey, couldn't she at least make an appearance? (or she did in some secret scene of the game that I did not get to see because I'm a crappy player?) She's someone who's very important to Nero and his motivation... It's a miss.

Welp, that's all for now, I would love to see DLCs appear to make this story more complete. Kudos for making everything aline (I’m talking about incorporating anime as well as manga and making it into a story to get new players up to date, or to refresh the memory of old players)

All in all, I cried like a baby. It's my favorite game series! 

And I only got into games because of the story, that's why I'm such a  nitpicker.

[ardenttheories]

How about some ummmmmm Undertale classpects? Like Sans, Frisk, Chara, Asriel, etc

I’m only going to do the four you asked here, because these ended up being a tiny bit longer than I would have liked, but here you go!

Asriel is a Bard of Rage. Bards tend to go from a place of ghosting their aspect, to destruction through their aspect, to mellowing out being able to control their whimsical nature. Through his death, and the subsequent experiments which kept his soul in place, his Bardic Split into Flowey clearly gave way to his Rage. With this new-found Rage, he basically causes all parts of the game to take place, and especially when he becomes Omega Flowey, and the Final Form Asriel, what we really see is him attempting to destroy through Rage; using his own Rage as a means to punish the people around him. He’s like early-comic Sober Gamzee, in that sense. It takes you defeating him - him realising that he can’t beat you, you Sparing him, you giving him Hope - to turn him back into normal Asriel, where his Rage is under control once more. It’s also important to note that it’s Rage which caused him to become Flowey in the first place; the Rage of the anti-Monster humans, and his own Rage at Chara’s death. 

Frisk, in turn, I would say is (at least in a Pacifist run) a Heir of Hope. They inherit Hope and naturally surround themselves with it, to such an extent that they change the view of literally every other character around them; even the human-hating Undyne comes to love Frisk and treat them as a friend, and Asgore - the primary antagonist - crumbles under Frisk’s Kindness. No matter what happens, they retain a sense of Positivity and Joviality - which, I think, we see at the end of the game, when we look into the mirror and it says “it’s still you”; that Frisk, after all of that, goes back to where it all started and sees the exact same person they began as. It’s also pretty important to note that they inherit the Hope of just about every Monster in the Underground; they are Asgore’s Hope to break the barrier, they are Toriel’s Hope to save another child, they are Papyrus’ Hope to befriend Undyne, they are Undyne’s Hope to aid Asgore, they are Alyphs’ Hope to win Undyne, and, finally, they are Asriel’s Hope to find himself again. They might even just be Sans’ Hope to end the loop once and for all. 

Sans is definitely some sort of Doom player. I’m having a harder time of really pinning it down because he’s not able to do everything; he knows when the player has SAVE’d, when they’ve repeated the game a subsequent times, can take “shortcuts” that seem like teleportation or little leaps through time, and actively judges the player for their actions via game mechanics - implying that  a lot of what Sans does isn’t Time-based, but Doom-based. And I’ll admit, I was completely going to assign him with a Time Classpect at first, but upon realising that he can’t access the SAVEs himself, that he’s as affected by the Timelines as everyone else, and that he only knows about what you’ve done because of expressions on your face (he even says at one point that he “wasn’t looking”), he definitely suits a Doom Classpect more. I think he might even be a Knight of Doom, thinking about it; though he doesn’t stop the protagonist on their journey through a No-Mercy run, a lot of what he does in-game is an exploitation of the Rules and the Code without breaking them (hence he can “teleport” but can’t access SAVEs), and that final moment where he attacks the player with only 1HP but an ability to dodge attacks really just emphasises the fact (it’s never stated that they can’t move, but Sans is the only one who actively dodges - he’s not breaking the rule, just playing with the wording for his advantage). He also, to a degree, uses the sacrifices of the other Monsters as a reason to take you down, as in Neutral runs he doesn’t battle with you regardless of how high your EXP is. 

Chara is a Lord of some sort. I’m debating back and forth on it being Rage. I get the feeling that Lords need to have some sort of awakening, some transition, in order to get them that step ahead of anyone else; Chara was filled with Rage prior to dying, but it is after death that their SOUL awakens through Frisk’s No-Mercy actions. Once this awakening happens, they control Frisk - using Frisk’s violence and destruction to do even worse acts. Their power is what increases through the STATS each time we level up - it’s not us, but Chara who gains it, and Chara’s Rage which ends up leading to the destruction of the entire world. That’s not our choice; it’s theirs. This extreme Negativity, lack of Choice and Control on Frisk’s part, the all-encompassing Rage that follows them from Life into Death - it’s all Chara. Furthermore, the Blame of the world ending Chara seems to place on Frisk, not on themself, with the specific mention of seeing Frisk as being “above consequences” - which is something that both Rage players in the comic seem to have in common. You can easily say that a sense of Fear permeates Chara’s existence; most Monsters comment on Frisk seeming inhuman, with Sans asking Frisk to “pretend to be human” and Asgore asking Frisk “what kind of Monster” they are in a No-Mercy run. As a Lord of Rage - a Lord of Fear, Disbelief, Negativity, Unreality - Chara’s ability to recreate and destroy the world also makes sense; if the world is filled with Fear and Hate and, in itself, is Unreal, then it’s something Chara has dominion over; and the destruction of it through Fear and Unreality is equally as plausible. 

I would also argue that in a No-Mercy run, Frisk acts as the Maid that serves the Lord. So Frisk would be a Maid of Rage, relying on Chara to lead and guide them, and show them what true Rage is meant to be.

So in the end you have:

Asriel, the Bard of Rage

(Pacifist) Frisk, the Heir of Hope

Sans, the Knight of Doom

Chara, the Lord of Rage

(No-Mercy) Frisk, the Maid of Rage

[actuallyfallen]

I will be cross-posting my responses to the fictionkind dreamwidth community’s prompts onto this blog, as well~! It’s a very friendly community, highly recommend.

I love daily prompts and blogging my thoughts and the like, so I will try to respond to 1-3 prompts per day to work through the backlog!

-

#1: What was the event that triggered your awakening? How did this process impact your life over the following weeks/months/year?

I began to experience a connection to a piece of fiction that was indescribable around four years ago; with that piece of fiction being Undertale. I felt a sense of familiarity when going through Toriel's home, in particular; able to vividly imagine (or so I thought) the senses associated with each part of the home.

Soon enough, I began to see it all in my dreams. That homey warm glow, white fur, a shared room with a sibling. Hair that I messily cut so it wouldn't grow past my shoulders and a bandaged knee, and a sense of belonging that I had been lacking my entire life.

This unidentified feeling led me to dive deep into my memories to anything that could be similar to this. I do not know how, but I was very vaguely familiar with the concept of otherkinity. It may have been from a blog that I had followed previously having a kinlist in their 'about', but I don't remember if I knew what that meant at the time or not. I looked into it further, and I have a specific memory of telling someone in a comment thread that I was questioning if I was kin, but being unsure. After what I think may have been around a month or two of looking into the community, I officially recognized Chara as my first fictotype around May of 2018.

In the coming months I would begin to interact with the community by joining the Fictionkin Amino around that time. Yeah, I know, 'Ugh, Amino,' but it was my main social media at the time, and the list of terms that the moderators provided and the ability to interact with the wider community did prove vital. I'm not on there anymore, of course; Amino is sort of a cesspool. But, nonetheless, I feel it a very vital part of my awakening journey, as it was the first fictionkin community that I joined. During this early time, I also created a few different sideblogs on tumblr for my different fictotypes (as it was my other main social media at the time), some of which still remain up and active to this day! Even if those are just reblogging images and fanart of my fictotypes.

-

#2: How closely is your identity aligned with canon events from your source?

It depends on which fictotype you're talking about; I'll discuss two examples on opposite ends of the spectrum.

On one end of the spectrum is my Bede canon, which is actually surprisingly canon-compliant. I mean, of course, what you see in the source is only half the story, as it's told from Gloria's point of view, and I sort of just get yoinked by my future grandma halfway through the game and then don't come back until the end. (Thanks, Miss Opal.) But, nonetheless, the times where I am present in canon, I am more or less word-for-word canon-compliant, except for two very small instances of mild changes in my phrasing. I don't conflate my fictotype's canon-compliance with "validity", for lack of a better word (and neither should you!), but it does feel a certain type of satisfying to know that what players are presented with is, more or less, the real me.

(On the other hand, though, this also means that, if players hate me; which a lot do; they also hate said 'real me'... But that's a discussion for another prompt, I'm sure.)

On the other end of the spectrum is Travis Phelps, where a major part of the source material just straight-up didn't happen for me. Either The Devourers of God were located elsewhere, my dad wasn't a part of it, or they kept their activities much more on the down-low. Or a mix of two or more. Who's to say? I'm certainly not, 'cause I never encountered the thing. As such, basically the entire plot of the main game just didn't happen. No supernatural stuff, no prophecy. (I'd like to say 'no death', except Sal's mom still died because of my dad. Major dick move on his part. Also funny that he killed his future sister-in-law before Sal and I even met. You know, in a dark humor sort of way.)

There are a few other noncanon things sprinkled in, too, aside from that. Sal and I both dyed our hair instead of unnatural colors growing naturally. Sal and Larry became adoptive siblings a few years earlier than the source. I have memories of regulars to our church that never appeared in canon. But, yeah, all of that is pretty mundane compared to 'the main plot of the game just straight-up did not happen'. There's not much topping that, in terms of canon deviation.

-

#3: Is there a live-action movie or series based on your source? How do the actors and events match up with your noemata? Is CGI or practical effects necessary to represent the people and creatures from your source?

Yes, Detective Pikachu is a fabulous live-action take on the Pokemon world! Of course, given that the draw of the franchise is the creatures that don’t exist in our world, CGI and such is necessary, but I feel like the movie did an excellent job bringing the creatures from my memories to life.

I’m unable to speak of if the CGI is accurate to how I remember the world, though; all of my memories are remembered in a stylized way. I have no clue if this is common for those with fictotypes from an animated or video game source or not (I would love some community input on this!), but all of my memories are ‘in the style’ of Pokemon Twilight Wings (the animated miniseries based on the Galar region).

[proxylynn]

Underfell: File Name not Edgy Enough #10

Chapter 10: Skeletons 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. ^_^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This feels familiar. Different, but familiar. This same darkness. This same unease. This same soul shivering chill of nothingness. Funny...Where's Gaster's door? Did we just revert to the old way? {Hey...Why are you here?} That voice... "Chara?" {Lynsie? What are you doing here?} "Hell if I know." {You need to leave this place.} "Not like I know how. But why?" {They took you and Asriel. I don't know where you are now, but you shouldn't be asleep while in Snowdin Town...Even if Sans is helping you, Papyrus is not bound by any promise.} That made my spine tremble. "Okay, you have a point there. But how do I leave from...what or wherever this place is?" {You have to wake up.} "I've never made myself wake up before." {Well, how do you normally know you're about to wake up?} "Normally? I become aware that I'm dreaming." {Like right now?} "There's the conundrum. I don't know if this is a dream. I mean, I'm fulling aware when I see Gaster, but I never..." {Wait...You've met Gaster?} "You know the guy?" {Stay away from him!} I feel like I flinched. "Dude, what's wrong?" {Don't go near him! He's dangerous. You can't trust him.} "Can't really do nothing about that. He comes to me. Not the other way around." {Then don't talk to him. Ignore him. Do what you can to keep him away from your soul.} "What? Why? How?" {Just try to...} Chara's voice starts to dampen, almost like he's going mute. I don't get to speak up as I'm forced away. "*gasps and coughs*" That was the weirdest awakening from that dream-thing yet. I can't see yet, I'm sweating and covered in goosebumps. My chest is tight from lack of air and movement. What the fuck is happening to me?! "HUMAN...I SEE YOU'RE FINALLY AWAKE." I shake my head and try to focus as my sight begins to come back. I can barely make him out as a white smudge in black. "Papyrus? What happened? Where is this?" I attempt to rub my eyes but can't. I yank them only to hear the clatter of chains. "NOTICING YOUR NEW ACCESSORIES, I SEE." "The hell? Why am I restrained?" "ONE CAN NEVER BE TOO CAREFUL WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY AND HUMANS." I scoff and rub my eyes into my shoulder, blinking a few times to get things cleared in my vision. Now that I can see, I find Papyrus standing over me, which is normal because he's taller than me, and Sans is off leaning on a wall behind his brother. I seem to be inside a small room of some sorts. There is a bowl of dry pet food with what looks like cut up hotdog mixed in, a squeaky bone chew toy, and a small pet bed. Like at the start of the forest, there is a wall of bars that separates 2/3s of the room, Sans is on the smaller watching side while Papyrus is on the larger captive side with me. The walls and floor are in terrible shape, even the two windows are in need of repair yet less than the rest of the room. I'm stuck in a kind of kneeling position due to the chains connected to the wall and floor. My wrists are connected to the chains on the wall and ankles to the ones connected to the floor. However, this doesn't concern me. What does get my attention is the fact that ALL my stuff is gone. The backpack with Flowey? Gone. My equipped gear? Gone. Even the ribbon? Yep, that's gone too. Frankly, with how thorough they were at disarming me, I'm surprised I'm not chained up in my underwear right now. [HP 36, ATK 18, and DEF 11] "Where is Flowey?" "THAT IS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN." "I won't ask again. *stern* Where is he?" Papyrus growls and Sans taps on the wall. "relax, kiddo. the weed is fine. got'em in the house so he won't shrivel up." "WHILE I DON'T CARE TO HAVE THE PLANT IN OUR HOME. SANS DID BRING UP THE POINT THAT THE FLOWER IS MORE USEFUL ALIVE THAN DEAD." "Oh yeah? How so?" He grins. "YOU'D BE MORE COOPERATIVE IF THE HOSTAGE WAS STILL LIVING." My eyes widen into a glare. "If you hurt him..." "YOU'LL WHAT? AS YOU CAN SEE, YOU AREN'T IN ANY POSITION TO MAKE THREATS." "Oh sure, overreact much? Like I've done anything to actually prove I'd hurt you if I made a threat. Probably would embarrass the crap out of you, but nothing painful." "YES. SPEAKING OF EMBARRASSMENT, YOU HAVE LOWERED MY CREDIBILITY BY NOT KILLING THOSE DOGS." I scoff. "Dude, you captured a human and no one died. How is that not a good thing for you?" "YOU ALMOST MADE IT TO TOWN. YOU HAVE ONLY AN LV OF 1. EVERY MONSTER ON PATROL IS TRAINED TO KILL HUMANS AND IS UNDER MY WATCH. BY BEING NICE AND GETTING SO FAR, IT HAS MADE ME LOOK BAD." I look at him funny. "Dude...You wanted me to go through the puzzles and even agreed to my plan on making the dogs leave us alone. You were with me the whole way for fuck's sake! If you had any problem then you should've said something, ya jackass!" Sans wasn't paying all the much attention until that moment. Papyrus glares and growls deeply. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT THAT MOUTH OF YOURS? KNOW WHEN TO KEEP IT SHUT, HUMAN. THAT'S YOUR LAST WARNING." "Bull crap! You're mad because some random assholes are talking shit about you? God forbid you yourself are happy to have done your fucking job without any issue and not care what some pussies say because they are too much of a bitch to deal with what you do. Oh no. Not the great and terrible Papyrus. You're the guy that chained up a girl that blacked out from intense vertigo. Oooh...You must be so scared." He slaps me hard enough to lock my jaw until it snaps back when I hit the wall. [HP ██████████████████████████ 26/36] "MOCK ME AGAIN! I FUCKING DARE YOU!" I can only think that his hit didn't deal more damage because of lack of space for me to fly, unlike last time. But now I'm not in a good mood. I've had enough. "Again..." "HUH?" "Touch me again. I fucking dare you! I will rip that arm off and shove it up your bony ass!" "YOU MOUTHY LITTLE BITCH..." He swings at me again and I lurch forward in a small lunge. This surprises him and he's almost caught off guard enough for me to chomp down on his hand, yet his reflexes are better than my jaw snapping. "YOU...YOU WERE GOING TO BITE ME? SANS? SHE WAS GOING BITE ME...I SAW THAT CORRECTLY, RIGHT?" Sans is now leaning into the bars with a worried expression. "um...y-yeah." "HUH...A DIRTY MOVE, HUMAN. I'M IMPRESSED YOU'D ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS. BUT..." He summons a sharpened bone and plunges it into my left shoulder, reopening the scar from when it was hurt the first time as I roar in pain. And it's not a clean stab either, only the tip exits out while the rest scraps my own bones. Blood seeps around the entry point slowly and Sans is visibly shaken by it. [HP ████████████████ 16/36] "BUT YOU'RE WRONG TO THINK I'D LET YOU DO THAT WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE." He twists the bone and I choke the yell my voice demands. The satisfied smirk he has grows as I bite my lower lip hard enough to bleed just to distract from this. [HP ████████████ 12/36] "IT HURTS, DOESN'T IT? YOU CAN TRY TO FIGHT IT, BUT YOU CAN'T HOLD OUT FOREVER. I CAN MAKE IT STOP. YOU KNOW THIS. AND I'M WILLING TO BET YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT IN EXCHANGE. SO I'LL ASK YOU, HUMAN, WILL YOU SWALLOW YOUR FOOLISH PRIDE AND SAY IT?" "*strained* I'm..." "YES?" "*strained* Not impressed..." He jerks the bone and I thrash harshly against the chains. More blood begins to come out. [HP ██████ 6/36] "pap...maybe this is a bit much." "SHE HAS TO LEARN, SANS. IF SHE DOES BAD THAN SHE WILL BE PUNISHED. SUCH IS THE CONDITIONING NEEDED IN PROPER PET TRAINING." "*strained* I'm not...a dog...asshole..." He grabs my face in one hand and forces me to look at him. His other hand still holding the bone firm. "YOU ARE IN NEED OF A RUDE AWAKENING, HUMAN. YOU ARE IN OUR CUSTODY NOW. IF YOU WEREN'T, YOU'D BE HAULED OFF TO THE CAPITAL AND KING ASGORE WOULD PERSONALLY RIP THE SOUL FROM YOUR WEAK BODY. IF IT WEREN'T FOR ME, YOU'D BE JUST ANOTHER BODY ADDED TO THE UNTOLD NUMBERS THAT WILL FALL TO US WHEN WE RETAKE THE SURFACE. SO GO AHEAD. BE DISRESPECTFUL. SEE HOW FAR THAT GETS YOU. BECAUSE LIKE ANY OWNER WITH A DISOBEYDANT PET, I HAVE A LIMIT OF HOW MUCH I CAN STAND OF YOU BEFORE I PUT YOU DOWN. AM I CLEAR?" I snarl, shaking my head from his hand and defiantly biting the bone. This gives them both very weird blushing looks, though Papyrus snaps out of this oddness first when I try to pull the bone out. "*SIGH* I WANT TO ADMIRE THIS RESOLVE YOU HAVE, BUT I'M NOT IN THE MOOD." With him being stronger than me, he has no issue pushing the bone in further in. I release it in my whimpers and end up yelping when he presses me to the wall as the bone pins me to it. [HP █ 1/36] "I DO HOPE YOU'RE COMFORTABLE. YOU'LL BE STAYING LIKE THIS FOR QUITE SOME TIME." Tears leak from the corners of my eyes but don't sting as bad as the dirty look I'm giving him. Papyrus shakes his head and moves through the bars with ease. "SANS..." "y-yeah?" "MAKE SURE SHE LEARNS HER PLACE WITHOUT DYING. I'D HATE TO HAVE WASTED MY TIME ON A HOPELESS CAUSE." "sure. no problem, boss." Papyrus heads to the door and opens it, the snowy wind blows inside. Wait...Am I in a shed? "USE YOUR TIME WISELY, HUMAN. THIS CAN EITHER BE PLEASANT OR TORTUROUS. THE CHOICE IS UP TO YOU." Papyrus leaves with a slam of the door and I wince from the vibration shaking the bone. Now alone with Sans, I try to relax. I need to think of how I'm going to deal with this and get Flowey back. "man...you really like to push his buttons." I look at the bone and try again to bite and pull it out. This gets that weird look to come back to Sans. "uh...d-do ya want some help with that?" I look at him and he flinches. The blush getting worse on his face. "n-n-never mind." He looks away but takes small glances when I grunt at each nerve being tugged. "*muffled* Damn it...Why is it so big?" Sans gulp and shudders into biting his own hand. "*quiet* fuck, kiddo...not this again...and why it like that?" I snarl and give up for the moment. I'll try again later. "*annoyed* So...What's this whole 'pet' thing he was talking about?" He blinks a few times and rubs his face to return to normal. "ya don't remember what was said at the bridge?" "Dude, I was so out of my mind I have no clue what you or him were doing. For all I know, you guys were playing checkers while in formal ball gowns." "never say that again." "Whatever." "look...ya got so messed up that pap gave up on the whole 'play with the human with puzzles' idea and was about to off ya. i came up with a quick idea of keeping ya alive as our pet so he can show off that he's so great that he bends a human to his will." "You played to his ego...Smart move, skele-dude." "yeah, but you're not really helping matters much with this whole rage against papyrus thing ya got going on." "He started it. Fucker wants to blame me for stupid shit he had no problem with because of other assholes. I ain't gonna take that! And I sure as hell ain't saying sorry! You hear that?! I'm not apologizing!" "YOU WILL IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU!" Sans jumps and I hop a little at the sudden shout from the window. "I'll apologize when you do for reopening my shoulder, ya smarmy turd!" "YOU WILL APOLOGIZE AND DO SO LIKE A PROPER PET! YOU SHALL ADDRESS ME AS MASTER." "The hell I will!" "enough!" Sans shouts and gets our attention. "i am not putting up with this crap! if we're really doing this, then there's got to be some ground rules!" He points to his brother in the window. "papyrus, meet me at the library. we need to talk." He points at me. "and you...just... *sigh* just don't do anything stupid." Sans leaves the room and now it's just me. All alone and pinned to a wall while also chained. I wait some time to make sure they really left. I don't hear anything outside except the wind. Now it's action time. I clamp my teeth on the bone again and do my darnedest to ignore the pain as I pull on it. It's a slow and very painful process. Pulling it inch by inch. But it gets easier when the wider part of the bone is out and only the thinner pointy part remains. When it gets that far, I just let it fall out on its own from weight and heave a heavy sigh of slight relief. The bleeding isn't so bad, by my standards at least. I can pack some snow into it when I get out. Now for the hard part, getting rid of the shackles. I'm not going to enjoy this, but I am grateful for three things. One, shackles have a set restraint clasp that can't be adjusted to different sizes. Two, I'm double jointed in a few areas, my wrists being one spot. And three, when you're a creative kid with no friends, you do a lot of weird things...like learn how to escape. I move my thumb and pinkie finger to be in my palm so that my right hand is thinned in a curve. "One...Two...Three..." On three, I pull my hand down hard. I hiss at the sting and the bones popping don't help it from sounding worse than it is. But the results are what I wanted. My hand is free. Bent and sore, but free. "Hell...*wince* I'm gonna be a mess by day's end. Mom's going to kill me." Grabbing the bone, I use it before the magic fades. Using the tip to pry out the pin that keeps the clasps together. It isn't long before my limbs are under my full control again. "Alright...Step one, done. Step two, in progress." Now able to move, I tackle the annoying issue of the bars. I exhale and make myself as skinny as possible before trying to squeeze through. These bars are a little bit easier than the forest ones, but still a huge pain in the ass. Both figuratively and literally. This shed is filled with many made up swears by the time I get my body past the bars. I contemplate on whether I should've tried going out one of the windows, but that's when I notice something weird about the shed's door. The doorknob is backward. [It's locked from the inside.] I laugh a bit and walk out like a boss. Though being touched by the cold snow air doesn't make my shoulder or inevitable bruises feel any better. To slow the bleeding in my shoulder, I pack a bunch of snow into the wound. It won't last long due to body heat, but it's a temporary thing until I can fix this better. "Step two, done. On to step three. Now...How do I get inside?" Beside the shed, is a two leveled house that I can surmise belongs to Sans and Papyrus. Spikes outline the structure, it sports a classic pirate flag and is adorned with strings of red ominous lights. To the left of the house is Sans's mailbox, which is full of threatening letters, and Papyrus's mailbox, which is also holding equally bad looking mail. Looking at the "FUCK OFF" mat at the door, I kick it up and scoff at my idea that a key would be there. I check the door nob, to no surprise, it's locked. Checking the window yields more interesting results. The frame wiggles and it loosens the clasp. With a bit of effort, the lock slips off the bracket and I'm able to lift it up. From where the window is, part of a black couch is underneath, which come in handy when pulling myself in. Mental note to self, breaking into a skeleton's house is oddly thrilling. I re-secure the window and look around. Flowey is in here somewhere. I just have to figure out where. "Step three, done. Step four, needs work." The first floor of this house contains a living room and a kitchen. The living room features a large flat-screen television. The living room also hosts a table with what looks like a pet rock sitting on it, which is covered in salt, and one of Sans's dirty socks with a series of sticky notes attached to it, I'd recognize those dingy yellow things anywhere. The sticky notes depict Papyrus nagging Sans to pick it up and they get harsher the with each continuing note. There's also stool by the couch that seats a book titled "How to kick ass and give no fucks" that contains a joke book inside, yet within that is a book on quantum physics book which itself contains another joke book that contains another quantum physics book. I feel like that means something more. But fuck if I have time to think about it. My snow shoulder patch is melting, so off to the kitchen I go. The kitchen is rather simple, containing a stove with a tinfoil covered lasagna in it that has a note on it reminding Sans to warm it up for supper, a trash can, a long countered sink, and a fridge that has containers labeled "pasta perfection" with a number next to it on one side and an half-empty box of doughnuts on the other side. "I'll take this, thank you very much." I grab a strawberry glazed doughnut and munch to bring up my HP before a hand towel into the wound. [HP █████████████ 13/36] "Okay, flower-boy ain't down here. Now if I were a somewhat evil jackass, where would I keep a hostage? Hmmm...*gasp* My bedroom! Of course." So to the stairs I go. The second floor of the house contains a framed painting of a bone in regal attire and four doors, two leading to Papyrus's room and Sans's room, the others are unknown though one is likely a bathroom. "Yo! Flowey! You here, bro?!" "*muffled yell*" "Called it." It sounded like it came from the first door and judging from the all the warning signs on the door, I have to say it's Papyrus's room. This is further proven true by the note on the door. [It's the door to Papyrus's room. It's covered in many labels...] [NO GIRLS ALLOWED!] [NO BOYS ALLOWED!] [NO SANS ALLOWED!] [PAPYRUS ALLOWED.] "Dude just keeps finding ways to come off as a pompous ass and yet cute at the same time. Well...till he stabs you that is." I check the knob, it's locked. "*muffled shout*" "I hear you, give me a second." I lack expect thief skills so I'm not so stealthy with this approach. "Screw the rules, I have boundary issues!" I kick the door near the knob and it busts open with a loud crash. "Knock knock..." Papyrus's room isn't what I was expecting. There's a chest of bones by the door, a desktop computer in the back right corner blocking the only window, a closet between the PC and a large bookshelf. Another pirate flag adorns the wall of the back left corner, an end table with figures resembling monsters of the Royal Guard is near the bed, and the bed itself is a black modified pro stock hot rod decked out with glistening flame decals. In the center of the room is a black rug framed with flames...and a suspicious looking box that looks big enough to hold a potted flower. Opening the box reveals a bound in string Flowey that's also gagged with a sock. I pull it out of his mouth and he spits in disgust. "Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! That was the worst thing I've ever experienced in my entire life!" "At least you're not dead." I snap the string and he stretches. "What happened to you?" I look at the now very wet hand towel. "Take a wild guess." He sighs. "Papyrus?" "Bingo." He groans as I pick him up. "You wouldn't happen to know where my stuff is, would you?" "What?! They took our gear?!" "My gear. Mine. I don't see you walking around with all that on your back." "Semantics. And no. I have no clue." "Damn it...*sigh* Guess we're not leaving any time soon." Flowey's eyes widen. "W-What do you mean we aren't leaving?" "I mean, we are not leaving this house. Not till I find my stuff." I head out of the room and put Flowey down so I can fix the door. "Are you nuts?! Look what those crazy boneheads did to us! If we stay here, we are both going to die!" "And what do you think will happen if we can't call mom by curfew?" That makes the next remark die on Flowey's tongue. "...Good point." Yank the door back into its former place and tumble back a bit. "Pap is gonna be so pissed." "How do you plan to lessen this?" I pause for a moment. "I could do a little around the place. Maybe earn some points that way." "Why?" "I can snoop around while looking innocent." "...Sometimes you surprise me with evil ideas." "It's not evil if I'm doing good to get back what's mine." I pick up his pot and head downstairs. Maybe I'll start in the kitchen and work my way up. Heating up that lasagna seems like a good start. Maybe do some cleaning. But first I need to tend to this wound. [In Snowdin Town, Library] "OKAY SANS, EXPLAIN TO ME WHY WE HAD TO COME HERE AGAIN?" "like i told ya on the way...if we're gonna keep her like a pet, we should at least do some research on humans so we know what the fuck we're doing." "*HUFF* SOUNDS MORE LIKE YOU JUST WANTED ME AWAY FROM THE HUMAN." "that's just a bonus so the two of ya would shut the hell up for five minutes." The brothers stroll up the front desk where the librarian lizard looks extremely bored. "Welcome to the library, how can I be of...Oh. It's just you two. What do you want?" Papyrus sneers. "WE ARE HERE ON OFFICIAL BUSINESS, SMARTASS." "Oh yeah? Like what?" "we need any and all book ya got about humans." That made the lizard monster adjust their glasses. "This would be because of what the town is all chattering about, right? You two actually caught the last human?" Papyrus confidently poses. "INDEED, YOU HEARD RIGHT. I, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS, AM IN POSSESSION OF THE FINAL HUMAN." Sans rolls his eyes in annoyance as once again, Papyrus has stolen all the credit. "And why is that? Shouldn't the human be sent to the Capital to have its soul removed?" Papyrus was going to speak but Sans beat him to it. "this is the last human. we need to know what it knows. it's been ages since the last one, so who knows what shit is like on the surface. we need to interrogate the human and report the information before we blindly run up there." Papyrus looks at his brother in surprise. "Yeah, I guess that's a smart move. But just letting you know, my stock on human books isn't as good as you might need it to be. Aside from water damage, Alphys keeps having me send her any new books I find on humans." That made them confused. "WHAT FOR?" The librarian shrugs. "She doesn't tell me. The best answer I got out of her was something along the lines of 'needing info to improve Mettaton's lethality' or something like that. If you ask me, anything she does it that hunk of scrap is an improvement." Sans chuckles. "heh...that quack really thinks she can make the tin-can deadly to humans? hell, she can't even make it be the least bit entertaining. what's it gonna do? bore them to death?" "I know. She's wasting her time. But it's none of my business what she does." The librarian steps away. "I'll check what I have and see how much she's actually returned." The lizard goes to the many shelves and Papyrus snickers, gaining Sans's attention. "what's so funny, bro?" "HEH...YOU SURPRISED ME, SANS. I WOULDN'T HAVE GUESSED YOU WERE CAPABLE OF LYING WITH A STRAIGHT FACE." Sans rolls his shoulders. "never said i couldn't lie. i just can't do it to you." Papyrus smirks. "THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW." After about fifteen minutes or so, the librarian returns with a fairly decent stack of books. "Okay, fellas, this is all I got." Just merely glancing at the spines of these books showed them to be a rather random assortment. "WHAT IS THIS ONE?" "Anatomy & Physiology Workbook For Dummies. I've got a few of these 'Dummies' books and from looking them over, they're pretty much like a crash course rundown on whatever the subject is. This one is about the human body. It's actually pretty weird." "oh yeah? how weird are we talking about?" "Get this...Their bodies are mostly composed of water?" They laugh mockingly. "No, I'm serious. Look it up if you don't believe me. And the amount of water is different depending on gender. Males have about 10% more than females. It's so weird." Sans takes the book and begins flipping through it as Papyrus scoffs. "NONSENSE. SUCH THINGS CAN'T POSSIBLY BE TRUE. WHAT KIND OF CREATURE CAN MAINTAIN LIFE WITHOUT MAGIC?" "Humans apparently. None of these books mention anything on a human's magic abilities. Seems like the rumors were true. Humanity has lost its magic." "THAT'S GOOD. THAT MEANS THEY CAN NEVER TRAP US UNDERGROUND AGAIN." "I wouldn't be so eager if I were you. Remember that one human that came through. The yellow soul with that strange weapon?" "I VAGUELY RECALL SUCH THINGS, BUT GO ON." The librarian flips open another book. This one depicting weapons and battles between humans and other humans. "They've lost the use of magic, true. But they've advanced in physical weaponry. These bombs they have...I couldn't begin to imagine such things ever being real. The damage is incredible. The devastation to their own kind is unbelievable. We'd have to hit them hard and fast or we're goners for sure." Papyrus begins looking over the book when Sans suddenly lets out a slightly shuddering gasp. "HMMM? WHAT IS IT SANS? DID YOU DISCOVER A WEAKNESS WE CAN EXPLOIT?" Sans is sweating bullets and his cheekbones burning. "this is for real, right? this book isn't just making shit up?" This has Papyrus's attention. "Yes. It's a science book. Not science fiction. Why?" "so you're telling me that THIS is a real human fact?" Sans puts the book down on the counter and has it opened to the diagram of a human's skeletal system. "Yes. Humans have skeletons inside their bodies. It's like the core of their shape and everything else covers it. Why is that so...odd...?" Now the librarian is confused by the red tinting both skeletons' faces. "SO THERE'S A SKELETON...INSIDE OF THE HUMAN?" "Yeah?" Papyrus slaps a hand over his face and Sans slams his head into the book to hide his growing blush. "*muffled* fuck my life..." "You two are acting weird. Well, more so than usual. So...Just hand over your card and I'll let you take these so this doesn't get any more uncomfortable." "AGREED." Papyrus hands over his library card and the lizard takes Papyrus's information while also stamping the due dates into each book's time card. "Have fun learning, gentlemen." The librarian teases, making Papyrus huff while taking all the books and Sans pulls his hoodie over his head in shame of the still maddening blush he has even while leaving into the cold. "CAN YOU BELIEVE THE NERVE OF THAT GUY? MUST BE A TRAIT ALL REPTILES HAVE. JUST LIKE ALPHYS." "yep." "...YOU'RE STILL THINKING ABOUT THE BOOK, AREN'T YOU?" "i wish i could stop." "THAT...I CAN AGREE WITH YOU THERE. MOST UNSETTLING." "knowing this now makes everything so awkward!" "WE JUST HAVE TO IGNORE IT. IT'S NOT LIKE SHE CAN TAKE OFF HER SKIN AND WALK AROUND IN JUST BARE BONES. ...RIGHT?" "for the love of asgore, i really fucking hope so." "BE STRONG, BROTHER. DO NOT FALL PREY TO THIS NEW INFORMATION. SHE STILL THE SAME BITCH OF A HUMAN. THIS DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING. SHE IS OUR PET. AND WE WILL NOT BE CORRUPTED BY SUCH..." [RING] The sudden sound actually makes Sans jump in surprise due to being so wound up and Papyrus nearly drops everything from shock. "holy shit...*pant* that freaked me out so bad..." "WAIT...THAT ISN'T YOUR RING TONE." "it's not my phone. i took her's when we 'confiscated' her stuff." [RING] "WHO'D BE CALLING HER ANYWAY?" "probably this ghost she knows. or her mom." "HER MOTHER?" "it's a long story..." Sans pulls the old cellphone from his shorts pocket and checks the name that pops up. "yep. it's her mom. let me just..." Without warning, Papyrus snatches the phone from Sans in one hand while holding the books in the other. "pap, no! don't!" Too late. "GREETINGS. YOU ARE SPEAKING TO THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS, SECOND IN COMMAND OF THE ROYAL GUARD!" Sans's eyes go black and he knows damn well this isn't going to end well. "Papyrus? Oh! You must be Sans's brother. I've heard so much about you." That caught Papyrus off guard. He wasn't expecting to be known. Or to just be known as Sans's brother. "*AHEM* YES. THAT IS INDEED WHO I AM. NOW, WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THIS CALL?" "Well, sir, I do believe I am the one who should be asking the questions. For one, why are you in possession of my daughter's phone?" Papyrus grins evilly. "SIMPLE REALLY. I HAVE HER PHONE BECAUSE SHE IS NOW MY PRISONER." Sans cringes. "You WHAT?!" The shout was loud enough to make the phone receiver crack. "YOU HEARD ME. I HAVE YOUR DAUGHTER NOW. BUT DO NOT FEAR. SHE IS PERFECTLY FINE...IF YOU DON'T COUNT THE WOUND TO HER ARM THAT IS." There's eerie silence on the phone and Sans can't take this anymore. He rips the phone from Papyrus. "SANS! GIVE THAT BACK! I WASN'T DONE GLOATING!" "tori! it's me! don't believe a thing my bro said. h-h-he's just trying to get your goat. *nervous laugh* get it? ya know i'd never let the kid get hurt." "SANS, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" "if ya want, i can give the phone to her right now and she'll tell ya how she's fine. that sound okay, tori?" "SANS..." Sans covers the phone. "you idiot, do ya even know how fucked up you're making this?" Papyrus glares. "DO NOT TAKE THAT TONE WITH ME, SANS." "pap, the human's mom isn't another human. it's asgore's wife, toriel." That name took a moment to click in Papyrus's head, but when it did, his skull only had the look of horror smeared on it. "T-TORIEL? THE TORIEL? THE QUEEN?" "yes! she ran away to the ruins and locked herself in, remember?" "AND HUMAN IS..." "she kinda adopted her." "AND I JUST...OH MY GOD, I JUST GLOATED OVER HURTING THE QUEEN'S DAUGHTER..." "yes, you did. now go get the human so we can save our asses from being cremated!" Papyrus needs no further prompting and rushes to the shed. Sans slowly follows. "sorry about that, tori. i had to tell my bro to go wake the kid. she's at our house taking a nap. poor thing worked herself to the bone trying to get to town, it was the least i could do to let her get some rest." "...This had better not be a lie, Sans. I am in no mood to be played a fool of." "tori, trust me. i hate making promises but never do i break them. the kid is fine. she's..." Sans pauses when Papyrus comes out of the shed with even more panic than he already had. "*SHOUT* SHE'S NOT IN THERE!" Sans almost dropped the phone. The human's gone? But how? She was chained up and pinned to a freaking wall for fuck's sake! How did she...where could she...? Okay, calm down. She couldn't have gotten far. There has to be some sign of her nearby. "Sans? Is everything alright?" Sans begins to sweat profusely and gulps nervously. "y-yeah! everything's fine. the kiddo's just being fussy is all. let me put ya on hold for a sec while i calm her down." Sans hits the button to pause the call. "what do ya mean she's not there?!" "SHE'S NOT IN THERE, SANS!" "are there any clues? ya fucked her shoulder up, maybe there's a blood trail." Taking a moment to settle down, Papyrus lets his training take over. Looking back in the shed, there is a slight trail of blood droplets starting at the wall where they let her, then a big smear of it on the bars, and then leading out of the door. Sans could see the hunter in his brother take hold and calmed down. Once Papyrus had a target in mind there was nothing that escaped his sense until he found it. Papyrus took notice that the blood had stopped outside the shed but footprints took their place. These prints lead him to his own home and even stranger still, the window. "SANS...SHE'S IN OUR HOUSE." Sans comes up to him. "how do you know?" "THE FLOWER IS WATCHING OUR TV." Sans took a look to confirm his brother's words. Yes, Flowey is seated on the floor in his pot and watching television. Though the human is nowhere to be seen, it is very convincing to believe she is indeed within the residence. They waste no time in entering their home and Flowey is tackled before he can scream. "okay, weed, we know she let ya out. now tell us where she is!" To add some more convincing, Papyrus produces many sharpened bones that take aim at his face. Flowey panics but his cries are all muffled, all he can do is point to one of the doors upstairs. "THE BATHROOM!" "got it!" Sans teleports into the bathroom, leaving Papyrus and Flowey alone. There's deafening silence before screaming and swears are heard. "Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!" Sans appears on the outside of the door completely red skulled and panting, his left hand gripping his chest like his soul was about to escape. "SANS? WHAT HAPPENED?" He can't speak. Words fail to form in his mouth. All he can do to let Papyrus know that something at least went okay was give a shaky thumbs up. This wasn't as reassuring to Papyrus as Sans wanted it to be and he leaves the flower to check on his brother. "SANS? WHAT HAPPENED? DID SHE DO SOMETHING TO YOU?" Sans shakes his head. "DID YOU SEE SOMETHING?" He nods. "WELL? WHAT DID YOU SEE?" Sans only has enough cognitive thought to spit out one word. "everything." Papyrus goes to ask what he means by that, but seeing how shaken up Sans is, he decides to let it go till he's calmed down. Seconds later, the sound of water being drained clues Papyrus a bit more into what just transpired and he too shares the stunned look his brother has. "I was trying to warn you..." Snidely remarks the flower. "But I suppose that's the price you pay for just rushing in where fools dare to tread." Papyrus in no mood for smart-mouthed flowers. He carries Sans downstairs and sits him o the couch before leaving back to the shed to recollect the books he left there. "Awww...You don't look so good. What's the matter, Smiley Trashbag? Never seen a girl like that before?" "stop..." "Must've been something to really rattle you up like this." "stop." "Funny. I never thought I'd see the day when something got under your skin." "i said, STOP!" Sans's voice roars and his eyes go dark with only the left flaring a violent intense red. Flowey instantly regrets his choice to be a turd at this moment. "do not mock me! i will fucking end you! i will give you a very bad time! i will..." "You'll what?" My sudden voice breaks his rage and his glowing eye dims a little. "i'll make mulch of him if he doesn't stop being such a huge pain in the ass." "Of course you will..." Now out of the bathroom, I'm stuck wearing my bloody clothes and have my hair wrapped in a towel. "Flowey quit being a little shit." "But I..." "I could hear you through the door. Don't antagonize him." He grumbles as I descend the stairs. Sans doesn't look at me. I don't blame him. He saw way too much. "You okay?" "i'm fine." I don't believe him. "Want to reset this moment too?" Flowey looks at me funny upon hearing that. "i don't think that'll work this time." I plop down on the couch away from him. "Damn...And just when things with us were going cool again. Lady luck is being a real bitch today." That musters a small smile to his face but it's short-lived. Moments pass till Papyrus comes in with books and he isn't pleased to see me. "YOU WERE TOLD TO WAIT IN THE SHED." I want to clash with him on that, but choose not to. If I'm stuck here, for the time being, I might as well make it pleasant. Well...as pleasant as it can possibly get. "You're right. I'm sorry." That has Papyrus dropping the books. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" "I said, you're right. I was told to stay put but did not. I'm sorry." My shift in obedience even takes Sans by surprise, his eyes reverting to their normal white pinpricks. I get up and head to the kitchen. "I will admit to not being the most well-mannered person. Definitely not getting a 'good girl of the year' award for such things. But I had some time to think while you boys were gone." "OH YEAH?" I get quiet and they hear the over squeak open. "THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Papyrus rushes over and sees me pulling the lasagna out. "What's wrong? If I leave it in there it'll burn." He's confused. But when I set it down and lift the foil, all this steam comes wafting off. "YOU...YOU HEATED IT FOR ME?" "Like I said, I had some time to think. After getting inside here..." "HOW DID YOU DO THAT BY THE WAY?" "The window. It'll need to be resized or change the lock because I just had to shake it and it came loose. I recommend a temporary fix by jamming something into the frame." "DAMN IT. MY IMPENETRABLE FORTRESS HAS A FLAW. I MUST FIX THAT." "I got Flowey and let him watch TV while I did a few things. First thing, I fixed your bedroom door." He glares. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BEDROOM DOOR?" "Had to kick it open to get to Flowey. But I repaired what little issues such force caused." "IF YOU TOUCHED ANYTHING IN THERE..." "Please, you insult me with such an idea. All I touched was the box holding Flowey and nothing else. By the way, your room, very badass." He gets a faint smile. "GLAD TO KNOW YOU CAN RECOGNIZE SOMETHING SO OBVIOUS. NOW WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU DONE AROUND HERE?" I begin cutting into the food and plating it. "Well...After patching my shoulder I did some lite dusting and cleaned up any blood I tracked in with me. Then I searched the couch to find about 50G under the cushions and under the couch itself, which the pet rock is now guarding in case you want it. Plus...I picked up that sock. Damn thing was bugging my brain just sitting there. Not sure what room is Sans's so it's sitting in my pocket for now." I feel his hands rest firmly on my shoulders and I freeze. "HUMAN...THANK YOU." "Um...You're welcomed?" Why is this making me so nervous right now? "YOU HEAR THAT SANS?! EVEN THE HUMAN IS CAPABLE OF PICKING UP SOCKS!" "good for her! i don't give a shit!" "*SCOFF* GOD, HOW HE ANNOYS THE PISS OUT OF ME." "Easy now. You're both just on edge. Nanny tends to have the effect when mad." "NANNY?" "It's a nickname I gave mom before I started calling her mom. It's a goat joke." "AH. I SEE YOUR HUMOR IS JUST AS BAD AS HIS." "Either way, Toriel can be very protective. And you telling her I was hurt? Not a smart move. You're lucky Sans talked her down or we'd all be in some serious trouble." "*GRUMBLE* WHATEVER." I hand him a plate. "Here. Go relax and eat. Now is the time for peace." He looks at me funny. "Is something the matter?" "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED IN THAT BATHROOM TO MAKE YOU SO PLEASANT? YOU DIDN'T DRINK THE BODYWASH, DID YOU?" "*giggle* No silly. I'm just in a better more. I'm fine. Could use some healing magic to seal this wound, but otherwise okay." "HMMM...PERHAPS AFTER SUPPER, I MIGHT OBLIGE YOU WITH THAT." "I thank you ahead of time if you do." He smirks and returns to the living room. I gather up three more plates, one in each hand and one clasped hard in my teeth, before heading back to join them. I serve Flowey and move the plate from my mouth to the free hand. I then hand a plate over to Sans and takes it from me without looking at me. I frown at this but know he has to settle down. I sit on the floor and eat with Flowey. Aside from the TV playing, not a sound is made between the four of us. It's really uncomfortable. So...I try to change that. "So...Who's the robot?" Flowey gulps a large bite down. "From what I've gathered, its name is Mettaton. It's actually not that bad." "Huh? Looks familiar." "What do you mean?" "I swear...I've seen that machine before. I just can't place it." "Weird." "Eh. I'll come to me later." "So what did mom say?" "Oh, she was pissed! But I talked her into being okay. If she ever asks, we slept over. The reason I may or may not have gotten hurt was due to slipping on ice and colliding with stalagmites. Got it?" "That...That's believable. You can be a klutz sometimes." "*mock gasp* Sir, you speak ill of me? Have at you!" I nuggie Flowey and he nips at me to make me stop. This childishness plays out in front of the brothers and has them puzzled. "ARE YOU SEEING THIS?" "i am. it's so weird. like she's a different person." "DO YOU THINK THIS IS COVERED IN THE BOOKS?" "don't know. but one of those has to be a psychology book of some kind." "DO YOU THINK...IT'S POSSIBLY A RUSE?" "what? like she's faking it?" "EXACTLY." "i don't know...not sure ya can fake something like that." "DO WE...DO WE STICK WITH THE PLAN?" "the pet idea?" "YEAH?" "maybe. we gotta spin something to keep those assholes in town from narking us to undyne." "SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE DIGGING OURSELVES INTO A PRETTY DEEP HOLE HERE, SANS." "we just have to make a plan. but for now...she doesn't leave this house." "AGREED." "Hey, guys..." That broke up their little huddle. "Could I have my backpack back? I'd like to change into something less torn and blood caked." "YOU'D HAVE TO ASK SANS FOR THAT. HE TOOK YOUR THINGS. I JUST HAD THE FLOWER." I look at Sans and he flinches when he makes eye contact. "If it helps, I'll make a trade." I dig the sock out of my pocket. "Item for an item?" He looks annoyed but puts his plate down. "fine." He teleports away and Papyrus growls. "DAMN IT, SANS! YOU FORGOT TO TAKE THE SOCK!" "i didn't forget...i just didn't want to have it." Suddenly Sans is upstairs and opening a door. I mentally mark that as his room and it won't be hard to remember either. That door was the odd one with multicolored flames seeping out from under it but oddly they didn't burn or have any heat as if it's an illusion. "*SNARL* YOU WILL TAKE THIS DAMN SOCK AND PUT IT IN YOUR ROOM, OR SO HELP ME I WILL..." "you'll what?" A bone is launched and harpoons itself in the wall beside Sans's head, rattling him big time. "TAKE. THE. FUCKING. SOCK. NOW." "uh...okay, i get it. toss it here, kiddo." I ball the sock up and throw it. He catches it with ease and enters his room. Seconds later, Sans appears on the couch again with my bag. "here." He holds out the bag. "Everything in there?" "yeah." "That include my gold and items?" He sneers. "ya don't trust me?" I groan. "Don't start this crap. I have a right to ask since you guys stripped me." I snatch it from him and head back upstairs. "the fuck ya giving me attitude for?!" "Stop now before you say something stupid." "so what? now you're calling me stupid?!" "Oh my god...Grow up! You saw me naked! Get over it!" I slam the door behind me and roar in annoyance. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm not even over. Nothing like coming out of deep thought soaking in a tub and opening your eyes to see a stunned skeleton staring at you like he's seen a dead body. Why? Why did he look at me like that? The first time anyone, let alone a guy, sees me nude and they looked terrified. My self-esteem went down the drain with the bathwater. God, I hate my life. I change into a spare outfit and tie my hair back up in the ribbon. Once I'm done, I look over myself in the mirror. [It's still you, Lynsie.] [HP 36, ATK 26, and DEF 14] "Not quite. But getting there. There's always room for improvement." I exit the bathroom and see Sans is gone. Probably in his room. Papyrus appears to have grabbed another plate. The guy enjoys his own cooking, that's for sure. Flowey's zoned out on watching TV, he's such a kid sometimes. I get down there and join them. I toss the bag under the table with the rock and grab a book Papyrus brought in before sitting beside him on the couch. What a strange assortment these things are. They all had something to do with humans. This one, in particular, is called "Evolution and Selection of Quantitative Traits". So far not a bad read. "WHAT IS THAT ONE ABOUT?" "The synopsis on the back says...Evolution and Selection of Quantitative Traits presents a holistic treatment of the subject, showing the interplay between theory and data with extensive discussions on statistical issues relating to the estimation of the biologically relevant parameters for these models. Quantitative genetics is viewed as the bridge between complex mathematical models of trait evolution and real-world data, and the authors have clearly framed their treatment as such. This is the second volume in a planned trilogy that summarizes the modern field of quantitative genetics, informed by empirical observations from wide-ranging fields (agriculture, evolution, ecology, and human biology) as well as population genetics, statistical theory, mathematical modeling, genetics, and genomics. Whilst volume 1 (1998) dealt with the genetics of such traits, the main focus of volume 2 is on their evolution, with a special emphasis on detecting selection (ranging from the use of genomic and historical data through to ecological field data) and examining its consequences." "IN ENGLISH?" "What makes something work in a species so that THAT creature continues to thrive while similar beings that lack such traits don't. Like for example, there are two types of birds that live in a heavily wooded area. Food starts to get harder to come by because it starts going into the trees. The bird that evolves first to take advantage of this new way of eating, by digging into the trees, is the bird that will get to keep going while the other dies out. Makes sense?" "AH. THAT SEEMS VERY LOGICAL. HOW DOES THAT WORK FOR HUMANS?" "Eh. Humanity hasn't really evolved for a long time. I think noticeably, we stopped when Homosapiens came about and made Neanderthals die out. Though they didn't die out completely. There are still traces of Neanderthal DNA in most of the population, which shows they were able to crossbreed and keep going that way." "SO THESE HOMOSAPIENS...THEY ARE WHAT IS KNOWN AS MODERN HUMANS?" "Correct. Advancements in DNA research has allowed us to trace our line back 85 million years ago when primates diverged from other mammals." That shocks him but then has him confused. "WAIT...WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY PRIMATES?" "Monkeys and Apes. Humans evolved from them." "NO..." "I know. Sounds like complete bull. But the proof is in our blood. Yet that doesn't stop most people from thinking that's crap and we just poofed on the land because religion says so." "BUT HOW DOES A MONKEY OR APE TURN INTO A HUMAN?" "Human evolution from its first separation from the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees is characterized by a number of morphological, developmental, physiological, and behavioral changes. The most significant of these adaptations are bipedalism, increased brain size, lengthened ontogeny otherwise known as gestation and infancy, and decreased sexual dimorphism. The relationship between these changes is the subject of ongoing debate. Other significant morphological changes included the evolution of a power and precision grip, aka, our hands, a change first occurring in Homoerectus." "YOU KNOW AN AWFUL LOT ABOUT SUCH THINGS." "She's a nerd." Flowey interjects and I playfully shrug. "He's not wrong. I like to study random stuff that keeps my interest." "THEN IF YOU DON'T MIND ME ASKING, WHEN DID HUMANS EVOLVE TO HAVE SKELETONS INSIDE THEM?" I tilt my head confused. "I'm not sure I understand the question." "IN ONE OF THE BOOKS WE GOT IT SHOWED THERE IS A SKELETON INSIDE OF HUMAN BODIES. WHEN DID THAT BECOME A THING?" I think hard. "Well...When life began forming in the ocean, ages ago, nothing had bones because gravity is less in water and when all life is just fist, you don't need an internal support system. One-celled animals don't have any support system that holds them in a certain shape. Plants do have a support system, but it's the cellulose in the cell wall of each cell, rather than bones. Ain't that right, bro?" Flowey rolls his eyes and focuses on the show. "Early multi-celled animals like jellyfish, sponges, and worms also didn't have skeletons, but beginning with arthropods, about 550 million years ago, animals began to make specialized structures to support their bodies and give them a definite shape. The earliest skeletons were exoskeletons. They were on the outside of the animal. Modern lobsters, crabs, snails, and insects have exoskeletons. By about 510 million years ago, eels began to have their skeletons on the inside as well as on the outside in the form of their scales. They evolved first notochords and then vertebrae to protect their delicate spinal cords. These early inside skeletons or endoskeletons were made out of cartilage rather than bone. Sharks still have skeletons made out of cartilage to this day. Which makes finding their fossils very annoying. You mostly just find teeth. Big sharp killer teeth." "INTERESTING." "By about 480 million years ago, some fish were beginning to have teeth, so they could eat other fish. To protect their heads, some fish evolved their teeth into skulls. The earliest skulls look like lots of tiny teeth. Fish also evolved two sets of fins, one near their heads, and the other about half-way down to help them swim faster. During the Devonian period, about 400 million years ago, many seas were very shallow, and fish evolved to be able to live in very shallow water. Their fins developed into legs, because crawling worked better than swimming in these puddles, and they developed finger-like appendages to help them balance when they were moving. Gradually these lungfish evolved into amphibians, about 375 million years ago, and lived more and more on land. Their bodies were not supported by the water anymore, and they needed stronger bones to hold them up. And it really just kept going from their the more land dependent life became. All the way up to the bones we have now." "THAT IS INCREDIBLE. TIME AND DETERMINATION TO LIVE REALLY AMAZES ME SOMETIMES." "Wanna see?" He cocks his brow as I put the book down to pull my left arm out of its sleeve and bring it out of my shirt's collar. Now seeing the bandage, I peel it down to show the gaping hole his bone made. "If you look up in middle of it, you can see part of my scapula and humerus. You cut into there pretty deep to move that much muscle to expose the bone. Rather impressive actually." The look he gets is a weird mixture of curiosity and restraint. "Papyrus?" He doesn't respond. He just keeps his eyes locked into the wound. It's beginning to unnerve me. I move to put the bandage back on but he stops me, holding my wrist away. I don't move now. I let him do what he wants. Slowly the hand holding my wrist starts feeling the bone behind the thin layer of skin. Those eyes of his, so intense and yet holding no ill intent like he tends to display. I pay more attention to that hand and fail to notice the other begins to test touch the inside of the hole for bone until a raw nerve makes me hiss. "SENSITIVE?" "*wince* No...Painful..." "DO YOU WANT ME TO STOP?" "*strained* If that's okay, yes." "THEN SAY THE MAGIC WORDS." I glare at him and he smirks. "*weak growl* You jerk..." "I DIDN'T HEAR YOU. CARE TO TRY AGAIN?" He shoves his fingers in deeper and I bite my lip hard. This feels so weird. Why is he blushing? Is he enjoying this? Why am I blushing? The fuck is wrong with me?! Nope! So much nope! This ends now! "*stressed* Please stop, Master!" The room goes silent. Flowey even turns off the TV in shock. Papyrus grins triumphantly and takes the offending hand out to cover the wound instead. "GOOD GIRL. FOR THAT, YOU'VE EARNED THIS." His hand starts resonating with healing magic and I feel nothing but shame. "YOU DON'T LOOK HAPPY." "I feel disgusted with myself." "AND WHY DO YOU FEEL THAT WAY?" "Because you're humiliating me in exchange for aid." "DO YOU WANT ME TO STOP?" I look away. "No." "NO WHAT?" I lower my head. "*mumble*" "WHAT WAS THAT?" "...No, Master." "THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT." Flowey just shakes his head at me and I glare harshly. "AS A SHOW THAT THIS SORT OF BEHAVIOR IS ACCEPTABLE, I WILL PERMIT YOU TO SLEEP ON THE COUCH." "Where would I have slept otherwise?" "THE SHED OF COURSE." "...I'm not even surprised." He pulls his hand away to reveal the healed flesh and stands up. "I TRUST YOU'LL BE A GOOD PET AND MAKE SURE THE FOOD IS PROPERLY STORED AND THE DISHES DONE BEFORE YOU GO TO SLEEP." I sneer and grip the couch. "Yes, Papyrus." He eyes me before turning away. "I'LL EXCEPT THAT FOR NOW. BUT DO GET USED TO CALLING ME MASTER." He heads upstairs to his room and I internally scream bloody murder while putting my arm back in my shirt the right way. "The hell did I miss?" "Not now, bro. Not now." I get up and take his plate to the kitchen. "What are you doing?" "Being a whipped bitch and hating myself for it! What else does it look like?" I kick myself as I do as told. I put the food into a correctly sized container, mark a date and number it, then put it away. Dishes don't take long to do and I set the books up on the table for them later. I even end up making sure the window and door are secured. "Why are you doing this? We have our stuff. We can leave." He's right. I have him, the bag, all my stuff, and the door is right there. So why am I doing this? Why can't I seem to even grip that idea as an option to take? "Lynsie? Hey...Are you okay?" "...I don't know." My hands are shaking and I can't feel it. Is it nerve damage? Or is something going wrong in my head? "Why don't you take a break? You've had a long day." "Yeah...Yeah, that sounds nice..." I pick him off the floor and set him on the table before flopping face first onto the couch with a groan. I want so bad to shut down and forget this happened. But I can't. I have one last thing to do before I can. I pull out my phone and dial up the only other number that isn't Toriel. [RING-RING] "...hello?" "Blook-man, it's me." "Lynsie! hey...you still coming over?" "I'm in Snowdin Town." "wow. you made it halfway. you really are something else." "Listen...I don't think I can make over by, what I'll guess is, nightfall." "how come? is it that bad out there for you?" "I am currently in the house of Royal Guardsmen Sans and Second in Command Papyrus. So...Yeah, I don't think I'm leaving anytime soon." "holy shit! are you alright?!" "So far. Kinda got this weird situation where I'm gonna be made into a pet thing going on, but other than that..." "do you need any help?" "Blooky, as sweet as that is, I ain't gonna risk you getting in trouble over me." "...then what are you going to do?" "I'll find a way. You know me." "if you need anything, just call and I'll come as fast as I can." "I know. You're a good friend, Blooky. I'll try to get over there. I just don't know when." "don't rush. the royal guard isn't to be taken lightly. hell, the captain lives near me." "...You're just telling me this now?" "in my defense...I never really thought you'd leave the ruins." "Yeah, can't fault ya there." "um...can I call you back later?" "Dude, you can call me anytime. Sorry if I bugged ya while you were doing something." "n-no! not at all! I wasn't doing anything! alright, got to go now! bye!" [CLICK] "Huh...That wasn't suspicious at all. Goodnight, Flowey." "Take it easy, human." I put the phone away and get comfortable. At least I'm indoors now and out of the cold. I can't imagine trying to sleep in that shed. A little nap will calm my nerves and bring peace to me weary soul...I hope. [Many hours later] Sans had woken up, as he often does, from non-restful slumber. The tossing and turning due to bad dreams always left him exhausted. This drained feeling is what drove him to always raid the fridge for a quick bite and feel recharged. How often he did this depended on pure randomness, but rest assured, it happens none the less and this night was no exception. Rummaging the fridge after teleporting down there, he scarfed down two or three doughnuts before chugging a large bottle of mustard he kept in the crisper. So far, a very normal replay of past nights for him. Yet in deciding to walk back to his room, something new caught his attention. The human was stretched out on the couch looking both uncomfortable and yet comfortable at the same time. Papyrus must have let her stay inside for some reason. He had to admit, he had no idea how she was managing to sleep on that thing. The couch, when used for sitting, was fine, but laying on it was another matter. It was lumpy and jangly when the springs were pressed on, so not the best bed in his opinion. But there she was. Out cold and dead to the world. He slowly approached her. Oh, how easily she could be taken out right now and no one would know. "heh...really? after everything, you really can just sleep like nothing happened?" Of course, there was no response on her end. "tell me to grow up. where the hell do ya get off telling me that shit? you don't fucking know me. you don't know half the fucked up shit i've been through. tell me to get over it after you've seen some little shit kid kill your brother and slaughter everyone before killing you. try getting over that and then you'll be on my level." He rubs his brow and sighs. "the hell am i even doing? ya can't even hear me. so why? why do ya do this to me? why are you making things so difficult? none of this has ever happened before. this is different. you weren't supposed to be here. it's a mistake. a big middle finger in the shitty comedy that is my life. like the killer kid wasn't tormenting enough, now i gotta deal with this woman that unintentionally sets me off? oh ha ha, real funny. what's next? a random house is gonna fall out of the sky with little people singing about candy and friendship? dear god, i hope not." She stirred a little to roll over. "*incoherent mumbles*" He knew he should stay quiet. He had no reason to speak. But the words left him before he could stop. "what did you say?" That seemed to draw life into her as her head lolled to look at him. Her eyes dull and hard to keep open. "Sans? You okay, buddy?" She really didn't hear any of that? He internally thanked whatever force out there for at least doing that much and got a tad bit closer. "yeah, i'm fine." "You're not mad at me anymore?" The way that came out of her sounded so innocent to him. A big difference between the girl he knows. "i wasn't mad you." "You weren't?" "no." "Oh, good. *yawn* I don't like seeing you sad. Your smile is so cute." That slowly drowned out of her as she began nodding off again and it caught him off guard. What did she mean by that? Was that even real or just the sleep talking? He wanted answers and shook her a bit. "hey, kiddo. wake up." "*whine* Two more hours, Nanny..." "i ain't your mom. now look at me." A tap on the cheek got her eyes open and the speed nearly made him jump. "Sans? What's wrong? *yawn* Is everything okay?" He just stared at her for a moment before chalking what he heard to just be nothing but sleep speech. "nah. everything's fine. just making sure you're not dead." She looked at him oddly yet let it slide due to tiredness. "Thanks." Having nothing further to investigate about her, he turned and headed towards the stairs. "Sans, wait..." He paused in mid-step. "I...I want to say...I'm sorry...For the awkwardness after that whole, you know..." That made him look back at her. This whole time he figured it wasn't bothering her past that initial intrusion, but in reality, it's been eating at her too. She was putting up a tougher front while Papyrus was around than he was. It made him feel just slightly sympathetic about it. "kid, don't mention it. i accept the apology, but let's just let that die from our thoughts. maybe give that reset thing a try." That made her smile and it had him feeling odd about it. "I'd like that." "good. then when we wake up, none of this will have happened. deal?" "Deal." She got nestled back into the couch and he began walking up the stairs. "Goodnight, Sans." Those moments. These little bits where there's no hostility. Where things are relaxed and nice. Where there is no fear and it feels safe. Those were the moments he longed for. And it scared him that she was the reason he felt any of that. "whatever." He continued up to his room and opened the door. He could feel her eyes on him yet he resisted looking back and entered his room. Now free from her gaze, he exhaled deeply and slinked over to the mattress he called a bed. This was the one place she had the weakest effect on him, but still some power none the less. She wasn't supposed to be here. Frisk was supposed to come, not her. Why this change? Why now? Such a random anomaly showing up and doing things that were so out of place made his skull itch with burning questions. Yet despite most of these questions, other thoughts would come to his mind. Like, does it even matter all that much that she's here and not Frisk? Was this really so bad? Would he had really preferred the return of that kid and causing more chaos to the timeline than to deal with this odd woman? It's not like Frisk ever gave a damn about him or Papyrus. In fact, that brat never gave a shit about any of them. So why was this bugging him so much? Maybe it was just the sense of repetitiveness that was making things weird. Expecting things to go the same way as they always had even with a new variable was foolish. Of course, things would change. And while most changes were bad in this world, this human didn't really bring any of that with her. She wasn't mindlessly going from point A to point B just to reach some unknown goal. No, she was staying put and learning. She was getting to know them. Trying to understand them. Frisk never did that. But this human...Lynsie...She was at the very least trying. Trying to do good. Trying to be better than what they thought humans were like. Trying...to be his friend. It made Sans frown at such a thought. "kiddo...don't waste your time on me. i'm not worth it." He drew his ripped sheets over himself and shut his eye sockets. Maybe in sleep, none of this would matter. Maybe when he wakes up, this will all be gone. She'd be gone. And that scared him the most.