#inthedarkofnight

[neitherlightnordark]

flowey is so interested in science and mathematics; chara loves storytelling and experimentation. gaster attempts to foster these interests, in his characteristic detached way.

he learns flowey is afraid of the dark and lights up the void with stars, and gives him a basket with a blanket to sleep in that flowey accepts with very audible distaste and protesting. gaster designs an adaptation to his body that lets him hold a writing utensil. soon gaster finds flowey's stories and drawings everywhere.

one day chara tromps through the void wearing an oversized labcoat over their sweater. they stand off to the side and pretend to look stoic. gaster begins stacking donuts on their head, and it takes a full minute for this to register for them. a food fight ensues.

gaster asks chara to tell a story and they tell a rich fantasy about waiting in the darkness for saviors that left long ago, and two people that loved each other and destroyed each other, and a land who lived on beyond its purpose. gaster asks flowey to tell a story and he tells one about a town that went through the motions of caring, that ignored the decay underneath, that was golden, golden, golden for those on top.

they ask gaster to tell a story and he says he can only tell stories that have already been written. he says that he can help bring theirs to life.

[yoihorrorzine]

The crypt is now closed!

Thank you, fellow ghouls, for your support and patience during the whole cycle of this zine! The lords of the undead value each soul delivered into our hands, and we hope you enjoy the product we put together for many dark and stormy nights to come! To all who sold us their souls: we will be posting about shipping very soon.

Farewell, and see you on the other side!

[khubsooratcollection]

#Repost @alicetcherno (@get_repost) ・・・ You truly have a magical shop, @mani_kohli .... even more so in the dark of night! 😉 #fashion #london #fashionboutique #fashionshop #shop #shopsofinstagram #couture #indiandesign #indianwear #indianfashion #fashionlondon #inthedarkofnight #secretpic #sneakypic #undercover #beauty #beautifulshotss #night #nightlight #instafashion #khubsoorat #khubsooratcollection #manikohli #southwoodford

[videoki77]

"..In the dark of the night Those small hours Uncertain and anxious I need to call you Rooms full of strangers Some call me friend But I wish you were so close to me In the dark of night Those small hours I drift away When I'm with you.." #inxs #kevinsfotografikexperience #bnw #bymyside #potd #lotd #bambini #inthedarkofnight #thoselips #thatsmile #michaelhutchence #musicispoetryinmotion #lyrics #lifeingeneral #love

[zadhkaef]

Best.aunt.ever #anastasia #anastasiamovie #auntlife #babysit #mecanso #inthedarkofnight #rasputin

[romanticwriter]

In the Dark of Night

in the morning

i’m gonna miss everything about you–

the way your eyes glow

when you talk about shakespeare,

how your lips curl up at the edges

when i say something sweet

and i’m struck by the insatiable desire

to kiss them,

when you fold up next to me

until everything i want to hold in my arms

is nestled between my jaw

and my shoulder,

the way your head rests on my chest,

ear pressed against my heartbeat–

i wonder, do you hear my heart

saying your name

in its steady rhythm,

hoping above all

that repetition

can inscribe you into my soul

so i can carry you everywhere i go,

my love.

morning is on its way

but for now, if it’s okay,

i will hold you here

as the night crumbles around us,

i will take your hand

and look into your eyes,

i will whisper to you

in a voice that comes from just behind your pupils,

i will tell you

that i have never known

anything more true

i have never seen such light

as now i see in you.

[fourrestfilms]

We’re excited to release the short film we created for Film Racing’s 100 Hour Film Race. “In the Dark of Night” will be available on our website, Vimeo, and YouTube soon!

[neitherlightnordark]

METTATON: A SINGULAR SPOTLIGHT.

METTATON: THE ROOM IS DIM. THE AIR IS NASCENT. EYES REST ON THE STAGE IN ANTICIPATION- CAN YOU FEEL IT? TASTE IT?

METTATON: THE PINK, THE BLUE, RISING HIGH IN THE AIR?

METTATON: THE HYPE, THE LOVE?

METTATON: IT'S ALL FOR ONE PERSON.

METTATON: ONE WONNNNDERFUL GENIUS LIZARD MONSTER.

METTATON: MONSTERS OF ALL AGES, WITH ALL THE GLEE I HAVE EVER CONTAINED, I PRESENT TO YOU:

METTATON: THE GREAT

METTATON: ILLUSTRIOUS

METTATON: SUPERB

ALPHYS: [snort]

METTATON: ALLLLLLLLPHYS!!!

[Canned applause.]

ALPHYS: T-thank you!

METTATON: REFRESHMENTS ARE PROVIDED IN THE SHAPE OF HER DISTINCTIVE FACE!

ALPHYS: Mettaton, let's-

METTATON: CARDBOARD CUTOUTS OF HER WAVING ARE SCATTERED ABOUT STRATEGICALLY, FOR OPTIMUM PHOTO OPS!

ALPHYS: Mettaton!!

METTATON: HER SAYING MY NAME MAKES ME REALLY, REALLY HAPPY, I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE THAT, BUT-

ALPHYS: Mettaton, heh- oh, geez, I didn't even get to introduce you properly-

ALPHYS: Okay, come on, s-sit down!

ALPHYS: And turn on the lights! I- I can barely see our notes this way.

METTATON: WAS THAT A GOOD INTRO?

ALPHYS: (Shh, shh, we're live!!)

ALPHYS: Uh, I mean, yes! Um, that was really good!

ALPHYS: Honestly, I'm- I'm shocked at how easy that looked for you, we barely rehearsed this...

METTATON: STARDOM IS INSTINCTUAL!

[Canned laughter.]

ALPHYS: R-right...

ALPHYS: Hi, audience!

ALPHYS: This is really just a test run, so, so sorry if we do any fumb- fumbling today...

ALPHYS: The first podcast of- of the Human Fanclub!

[Canned applause.]

ALPHYS:

METTATON: I THINK IT ADDS FLAIR.

ALPHYS: Pfhehehe...

ALPHYS: Today we're going to be talking about the one thing we're both really- really knowledgeable about! And that's inventions.

ALPHYS: Humans have built so many ama- amazing things. It's really only by scavenging from what drops down here that we have things like, like WiFi, and ovens and tablets...

ALPHYS: Which!

ALPHYS: Which, isn't really a, a good thing, but...

ALPHYS: Yeah.

METTATON: ONLY BY SAMPLING FROM THE MORALLY GRAY CAN A TRULY DECADENT MEAL BE MADE.

ALPHYS: I don't think that's a saying... I don't think anyone says that...

METTATON: BUT IT IS A GOOD ONE, RIGHT?

ALPHYS: Yeah, actually!

[Podcast music begins playing.]

ALPHYS: Umm, so when we first fell in the Underground we didn't have much technology at all. Lots of our magic did the work for us, like- like fire magic and healing attacks...

ALPHYS: And it wasn't like the R- the old Home was a hotspot for falling human trash!

ALPHYS: One of the first things we began innovating with was, curiously enough, puzzles. We knew how to build, we knew how to do baseline, baseline surviving down there, but... I dunno, it's just really interesting to me how we immediately turned to art like it was one of the key parts of surviving down there.

ALPHYS: Which it was!! We incorporated dangers into our puzzles that a human- a human wouldn't be able to pass through, sometimes. But mostly they were just exercises for children. A way to pass- to pass the time, to stretch out t-the days a little longer...

ALPHYS: Make the walk home a little more, um, eventful...

ALPHYS: Which I can, I can understand. L-like I said, staying stimulated and enriched was really important to keeping us alive.

ALPHYS: What's curious about this is that humanity- humanity mirrored us up top!

ALPHYS: Instead of having only the b-baseline of what they needed, they had literally everything. Perfect food, perfect- perfect medicine, plenty of green spaces to visit, mental health specialists, knights defending their k-kingdoms...

ALPHYS: So they began improving upon the more... the more fr-frivolous parts of life. Their data processors began- began running games. They began sending out stories that someone could listen to, and eventually see on a screen, from all over!

ALPHYS: At- it's funny because their stories became more varied and rich...

ALPHYS: From my research, though, ours just told the- the same ones, over and over.

METTATON: ANOTHER REASON HUMANS ARE SO FASCINATING.

ALPHYS: (Shh-shh!!)

ALPHYS: It's a matter of placement.

ALPHYS: I- I'm sure that if humans were locked under here by monsters, they'd be te-telling the same stories over and over too!!

ALPHYS: ...

METTATON: ...

ALPHYS: Anyway...

ALPHYS: We advance to... current times, when we've explored all the Underground has to offer. Tech- technology has really advanced due to us discovering a few more openings to Mount Ebott's surface- namely, the big cluster of holes in Waterfall!

ALPHYS: If you're a frequenter of the garbage dump,

ALPHYS: which I am,

ALPHYS: you've probably seen things down there that humans would consider priceless! Maybe you've discovered your favorite book down there. Maybe a really pretty sculpture of a frog.

ALPHYS: My personal favorite is- is any human history that falls down! Books, comics, whatever, it's always never what you expect.

ALPHYS: And it's always really... hopeful. Also something you don't really expect...

[Inspiring music slowly gets louder in the background.]

ALPHYS: Comparing our parallel histories from a point of something we have in common, like- like innovations, and how we react to getting better- is really interesting, because it shows that maybe...

ALPHYS: That maybe- Mettaton!

METTATON: WHAT? I'M BEING SO INSPIRED, ALPHYS!

ALPHYS: O-o-oh, it's- it's really nothing!! I'm just- I'm just saying what I think, and

METTATON: YOU SHOULD DO THAT MORE OFTEN!

ALPHYS: Mettaton!!

METTATON: AND THERE YOU HAVE IT, FOLKS!

ALPHYS: Yeah, that's- whew- that's a short one for today! Just- just to see what you guys think.

ALPHYS: If you liked the podcast, uh... stick around for the next one?

ALPHYS: Thank you for everyone who tuned in!

METTATON: THIS IS METTATON AND ALPHYS, HUMAN FANCLUB, SIGNING OFF!

ALPHYS: Oh, gosh, I need some water.

[neitherlightnordark]

ralsei 3?

Ralsei flattened his paws down on his hat to keep it from blowing away in a sudden, quite nonsensical breeze.

It'd take quite a lot of time and walking to go and fetch it... he thought, peeping over the balcony and watching the scarlet-tree-speckled ground spill out all the way below. It's... not as though I have anything better to do now, though.

They'd all felt the fountain resonate when Susie and Kris went back to their world. And it felt wrong, disrespectful, faithless, to tread on sacred ground just to check if they were truly gone, or already back.

They will come back, he promised himself, looking up at the black void that passed for a sky. It is foretold in stars and earth, and that's what matters. Look, you'll have so many things to show them! Like Susie's plethora of cakes, and the scrapbook you'll make of your journey together for SAVEkeeping-

The door behind him creaked open. "Oh, Toothpaste Boy-?" It shut. "I mean, fellow prince!! Hello and greetings!"

Lancer trotted up to Ralsei's side, now wearing a very nice dark blue cape and a crooked crown he kept on adjusting with his little arms.

"Lancer!" Ralsei gave him a smile. "You look different! Um... did you get a haircut?"

"Ha ha ha! Do you like it??" Lancer swished his cape around, making the hearts-clubs-diamonds-spades embroidered on it sparkle. "I got a cape, too! We found it in a closet! Lesser Dad fixed out all the holes and stuff!"

"It... looks very nice, actually." Ralsei offered him a paw. "Here, come on up."

"I thought you'd have gotten home by now." Lancer reached out, and his cape gave two massive butterfly flaps, soaring him up to Ralsei's eyelevel; Ralsei snatched him from the sky in a panic and gently tugged him down to the railing. "Do you need a guard escort for the perils on the way? I can get you a guard escort! Anything for my good friend's good friend!"

"Um... no, that's alright." Ralsei glanced away.

"Hm?" Lancer's tongue poked out a little. "What about your subjects? Won't they be missing you?"

"..." Ralsei reached up and pulled his hat down a little. "Lancer, I'm... not a prince like you are. I don't have people to lead and take care of. It's only me."

"Oh!" Lancer kicked his feet back and forth, sitting back on the railing. "Then, um, how do you know you're a real prince?"

"...Because the prophecy says- says so. And, if I'm part of the prophecy, then I have to be one."

"Oh, okay." Lancer looked over his shoulder at the kingdom below him. "Do you like not having subjects?"

Ralsei felt the breeze whisper at the back of his head again. "Of course I do! It's for Kris, and Susie, and doing it for them makes me happy. No matter how lonely it is."

The two sat in quiet for a bit, watching stars and candles wink in and out of existence below them.

"Do you think you can be a prince and something else at the same time?" Lancer asked.

"What do you mean?"

Lancer pulled off his crown and began twirling it around his arm like a hula hoop. "The puzzle guys and the kings and the coatrack, they said they remembered a time when the court had a bunch of folks in it, and they sometimes yelled at the kings to stop them from doing unpleasant stuff."

"...Oh." Ralsei frowned. "That in itself seems a little unpleasant."

"Right?? The kings said so too!" Lancer re-set his crown on his head. "It sounds like they weren't very good at listening to their court, though. The coatrack said they would give all sorts of advice so I'd be better at making the right choice, no yelling. So I decided to make the coatrack a court member, and my dad, and I was thinking, hmm, who else? And then I thought of you!"

"...M-me?" Ralsei turned pink, waving his paws. "Oh, oh, no, Lancer, I- I've got a, I-"

"You said you didn't want to go back to your kingdom!" Lancer smiled up at him. "It's alright if you don't, but- um, if you agree, you won't be lonely anymore! And I'll stop teasing you!! Much!"

"Hey, you just called me 'Toothpaste Boy'!"

"Does 'Toothpaste Boy' really count as teasing, Toothpaste Boy??"

"...Yes, it does, actually. I've just decided right now."

"Okay, Not-Toothpaste-Boy." Lancer paused. "Wait, what's your name?"

"Ralsei. I'm Ralsei, Lancer."

"Ralsei. Ralsei Ralsei Ralsei, Court Mage." Lancer beamed. "How does that sound, Ralsei? You can learn magic, and defend the kingdom, and protect everyone, and stuff!"

Ralsei took off his hat and looked down into it, adjusting. "Lancer, I..."

"What's wrong?"

"Why... me?" Ralsei looked back up. "I mean, you barely know me, and- is it just because I'm Susie's friend?"

"Welllllll, that's one big factor. I would trust anyone who's Susie's friend!" Lancer stood up, surprisingly nimble on the slippery railing. "But there's more! I saw you when..." He paused. "When you were with my dad. You were ready to fight for me alongside her, weren't you? Even if we weren't friends before...?"

"...Of- of course I was." Ralsei stood a little straighter. "Of course."

"And before that- we were fighting you. We were gonna thrash you, and-" Lancer smiled at the ground. "You said you liked me. You could've fought back against me and Susie, but you didn't."

Ralsei nodded quietly.

"I ran to go get help when you were fighting my dad because I trusted that you'd all do the right thing," Lancer added. "Not just Susie, but you, and the one called Kris."

He perked up. "And it all worked itself out, didn't it?? Now the whole kingdom's trying to fix itself, and, and it's all because of you three! You- oh- oh! What's wrong, Ralsei?"

Ralsei suddenly realized he was crying. "Um, um, I'm not sure. I'm sorry-"

"Here!" Lancer offered a corner of his cape. "It's alright, Ralsei! I've always wanted my dramatic speeches to bring someone to tears someday!"

"R-right." Ralsei sniffled into the cape. "I'm... yeah, Lancer. Thank you..."

"You're welcome," Lancer said proudly, plopping down next to him and patting his back.

"...I'd really like to become better friends with you, Lancer," Ralsei said after he was done, cracking a little smile. "I'd... like to become your court mage, and,"

"Well, don't worry about becoming friends!!! We have all the time in this world!" Lancer hopped off the railing, tugging Ralsei along by his dress. "Come on, I'll show you to your new room. This balcony is so windy, you can't sleep here!"

"New room-???" Ralsei let out a yelp, flattening his paw down on his hat to keep it from blowing off as they ran into the hallway.

"Of course!! Don't worry, we can repaint the carousel if you want!"

The door slammed shut with a gust of wind, and the balcony was empty once more.

[neitherlightnordark]

Before the story.

“Tell us a story,” little Clover insisted, drawing close enough to hop onto Seam’s lap.

Seam let out a surprised huff, balancing her properly. “Well, what sort?”

“A fun one! Please please please~?” Clover began kneading Seam’s mulberry dress, her claws pricking through the fabric.

“One about BATTLES!!” Clover's middle head sprang up into Seam’s face.

“One that’s thrilling, please,” Clover’s third head added, resting on Seam’s knee. "But... relaxingly thrilling."

“You owe us one, you promised alla the kings! This counts as entertaining me~!!"

“Alright!" Seam let out a purr. “Alright! Battles, fun, thrills... Let’s all take a moment to find our seats, though, I can’t tell one with you clambering all over me.”

“You, um, let Jevil do it,” Clover pointed out quietly. “Clamber, I mean. Over you.”

“...Well, Jevil has special privileges.” Seam leaned in conspiratorially. “See, if I don’t let him do it, he holds all the pillows of Card Castle hostage. He’s done it before. It’s for the good of everyone.”

Clover fluffed up. “Can we PLEASE clamber? Please, Mx. Official Court Mage? Or- or we’ll hold ALL your pillows hostage!! Even the orthopedic ones you really like! ESPECIALLY those!!!”

Seam, after deliberating for a moment, let out a chuckle, gently picked Clover up, and placed her between the mage’s ears. “There. Like the view?”

“You’re so soft~” Clover said in awe, already pummeling Seam’s fur with her claws.

Seam rumbled contentedly and slowly eased back into the rocking chair, making sure she was perfectly balanced for storytime. “Now... would you like The Rain-Softened Statue? It’s a folk tale.”

One of Clover’s heads rose, unexpectedly. “...Um... can you tell us why you have that big scar on your arm? Under your sleeve?”

Seam felt something inside coil up, tensing all the way through;

“Why do you want to know that, child?” the mage said eventually.

Clover’s third head lowered in front of Seam’s face, a surprise due to Seam's tunnel vision. “‘Cause it’s related to you fighting with the Lightners, isn’t it? ISN’T IT?? Whenever we try to ask about the Lightners, my papas just change the subject! But we wanna know! It's a- a legacy."

Seam gazed back at her, face impassive.

Clover’s ears folded back. “I- of course, you don’t have to-”

“You caught a glimpse of a large scar and immediately thought ‘I bet Seam could tell me a lovely story about this’. Right?” The mage gave her another smile. “Well- hahaha, alright! Settle in, it’s story time.”

Clover settled down upon Seam’s head after a moment, curling her tail tightly around her body.

“Long ago, the Darkners lived in harmony with the Lightners.” Seam’s paws were folded together. “They were like gods to us. Our protectors. Our creators. Those who gave us purpose...”

The mage’s button eyes began gently rotating, click-click-click. “But one was less and more than that. A close friend of mine. Most Darkners knew her as the Queen.”

Seam reached up and patted Clover’s heads gently; Clover relaxed a little, nuzzling Seam’s paw pad in return. “She was no larger than you when she first carried me to the Dark World, though! She was no queen yet, hee hee. I was her protector then. I defended her from dangers. She rode on my shoulders through the Field until we found a few friends- a knight, a prince. We made our way through this place together.”

“Slowly, we discovered the Dark World had many, many adventures in store for us.” Seam leaned back. “Many friends, yes! But many deadly enemies as well. Bosses to slay, bullies to reprimand. That's the reason I have most of my scars. We solved riddles, learned about cooperation and friendship, cleaned up afterwards... befriended antagonists that misunderstood us... honed our creativity and our confidence...

"Lightners spread across the entire world. They expanded it- from Card Castle in the north to the primitive, mysterious sculptures in the east to the endless golden lands beyond. And every day they returned, this world grew.

"The Queen and I remained close, even as she aged, surpassed me in strength, experienced things I could never imagine beyond these walls-"

“(What was she like, Seam?)” One of Clover’s paws fell over Seam’s left eye.

Seam thought for a moment, tapping a paw against the rocking chair arm. “Hm... Quick to tell a joke. Quicker to laugh! She stuck up for herself even when the grievance was petty. And she was very stubborn. She thought she knew what people really wanted without ever listening to them... but she meant well, she always meant well.”

“(You sound like you really loved her.)”

“Ha ha, of course I did.” Seam idly plucked at a loose thread. “We were best friends, were we not?”

Seam was quiet for a moment more. The chair rocked back and forth, creaking. The Clover head that spoke in all caps suddenly looked very uncomfortable, frowning as though something didn't add up.

“Sometimes people drift apart,” Seam continued with a resigned smile. “‘S not their fault. Sometimes they find things that're more important to them.”

Clover nodded slowly.

“...You know how it ends.” Seam snapped the thread. “One day we were locked in this realm, and the Lightners never came home."

Clover flattened her ears, curling her paws in further. “You sound... are you okay??”

“Shh, Clover!” Her other head batted herself gently. “Don’t push it. Geez.”

“Maybe we should go to bed...” the last head said nervously. “I’m s-sorry, Mx. Seam, I thought it would be a fun story- for us, but it wasn't for you...”

“It’s alright.” Seam waved a dismissive paw, plucking Clover up. “I chose to tell this story, right? Ha ha!" Seam tucked Clover in the crook of an arm. "Alright, to bed with you lot.”

The mage dropped Clover off in her bed, which was club-shaped for some reason.

Clover scrambled to pile as many blankets as possible on herself before flopping down. “Sweet dreams, Seam. | Good sleep...! | (...I’m still sorry.)”

Seam reached down to pat Clover’s third head, still smiling. “'S not your problem, small one. Just sleep. I’ll be fine in the morning.”

“...Alright.” Clover nudged Seam’s paw. “Good sleep, Seam.”

The stuffed cat backed away and closed the door to Clover’s bedroom, turning the bedroom dark. Clover stared up at the ceiling, frowning, and whispered to herself.

-

“Goodnight, lamp. Goodnight, angel rug. Goodnight, Seam...” The queen clutched Seam close to her chest as darkness covered Hometown. "Goodnight, monsters that can't fall asleep tonight..."

-

Seam sat outside Clover’s door, summoned a thread of magic to light the hallway, and could not sleep.

[neitherlightnordark]

local court mage and court jester crash a party in reverse

“Congratulations are in order, order,” the court jester said to the court magician in a secluded corner. The party was winding down to a close.

Seam, leaning against the wall with a plate of royal confectionaries, let out a hoarse laugh. “Haven’t I suffered through enough already?”

“This will be better, trust me, trust me!” Jevil speared a sweet on his claw and sucked it off. “Not over-sugared at all. You did very, very, well by not-not dying.”

“That’s so sweet of you to say.”

“I know it was! I know it was!” Jevil smiled with candy-rotted teeth.

“And that’s why you aren’t getting any more of these.” Seam impassively waved a humongous paw at the confectionary dish. “You’re going to get sick.”

“I take back my congratulations, as you’ve been revealed to be quite, quite evil.”

“A necessary evil for everyone’s sanity.”

Jevil clambered up to Seam’s head, half-scurrying and half-floating, and flopped down right between the ears, kneading in a way that thrummed right through Seam’s stuffing. “Evil is only considered necessary by the jaded, jaded.”

“Is that not what we are?”

“Don’t say that!” Jevil abruptly swatted Seam’s mouth shut, tearing a little gash in the fabric.

Seam gently pried his claws away. “Ow.”

“We’re not jaded! Not yet-!!” Jevil reached down to pat Seam’s mouth, softer this time. “Torn, torn, torn, torn."

“My cloth is getting more fragile.” Seam let another white thread spool out from the infinite void, let it mend the rend. “It's alright. Pain teaches.”

“Jaded, jaded mage. Don’t say that.” Jevil watched the light snake up and disappear, leaving a stitch. “Hmm. Where does it go, go? Do you wonder, do you wonder?”

“I don’t wonder.”

“You lie!” Jevil resumed kneading Seam’s head, gentler this time. “You wonder. Is that not why you find the chalkboard every-very few nights? You don’t need to worry about this world, not when you’re always in another- you already know this, hee hee hee.”

Seam silently put the dish on the ground. "Quieter, jester. You’ll convince the King of Clubs to retire me early.”

“The King of Clubs, the King of Clubs,” Jevil repeated, a little distantly. He floated up just a bit, still kneading at Seam’s fur. “You told the four, the four, what the chalkdust said?”

“Of course I did. Do you want to know too?”

“You would tell, tell?”

“I don’t suppose you could do much damage with it.”

“Well, well, you know what I’m capable of,” Jevil said with a sudden rush of levity. “Tell me, dear mage, tell me!”

“Welly well well, now I’m not sure I should."

“Oh, come on now.” Jevil’s kneading grew into a sort of pummel, as though Jevil was bouncing on Seam’s head. “At the very least- at the very least, it would be extremely, extremely interesting.”

“It would be interesting,” Seam agreed. “But I won’t.”

“Boring, boring mage,” Jevil said with an anticipatory smile creeping into his voice.

Seam smiled up at him too, gently swatting him off. “Earn it, court jester."

Jevil hopped off Seam’s head and swiveled to face him, bobbing in the air and grinning sharp as any knife. “My mage, my mage, clever as ever! Is that an invitation?”

“Only if you want it to be.” Seam bowed, showing all the grace required in a duelist- a sharp contrast to Jevil’s scatterbrained demeanor. “Only if you know the rules of the game.”

“Of course I do, there’s only one, only one-”

“When your HP reaches zero,” they said simultaneously, “you lose.”

“The courtyard, then,” Seam decided, stretching and yawning and cracking some stitches. “Later, though. I’m tired.”

“That’s unfair, unfair!”

“Not my fault you’ll be sugar-sick in a few hours, fool. Ha ha!” Seam headed towards the exit, leaving the dish on the floor. Jevil threw a glare over his shoulder at the candy and flew after Seam, ignoring the whispers and chortling they left in their wake.

The halls were empty but for one diamond guard (they were the one who stole all the cookies and gave them to the clover child) who straightened up from their stupor and waved to Jevil and Seam; Jevil cheerfully waved back (Seam did not. The cookies were too fresh of a memory). Seam had never liked the inside of Card Castle; it was too sterile, too confusing to parse, and it was quite a relief when the two of them spilled out into the lush reds of the Forest.

Jevil was still arguing his point, much to Seam’s amusement, while bouncing on the mage’s head- “and I should at least- at LEAST- have a chance to expunge, expunge myself of-”

Seam burst out laughing, free of the castle’s expectant eyes.

“WHAT? You asked, asked!”

“I never asked!” Seam summoned an orb of magic yarn to light their way as they entered the forest. “But you should keep going anyway. This’ll be the last chance you’ll ever get to explain to me what happens to you after a sugar rave in exquisite detail.”

“You’re very disgusting.” Jevil gently thwapped Seam’s ears. “Very. Disgusting.”

“Said the candy hoarder.”

“Said the one who sleeps-sleeps-sleeps in a hole in the wall!”

“It’s a refined hole. I have standards.”

“Low standards.” Jevil gently touched the back of Seam's ear, folding his mitten hand over it. “Case in point.”

For once, Seam fell silent, smile relaxing into a frown- only for a moment, though. “You be quiet."

The two made their way home, and beneath them the void seethed.

[neitherlightnordark]

KRIS - LVL 1 PIROUETTING PRANKMASTER

RALSEI - LVL 1 ENCASTLED STARCASTER

SUSIE - LVL 1 HAIRTOUSLED HAMFISTER

> HANGOUT START?

> HANGOUT START!!!

“It took us a long time for us to get this far,” Ralsei said solemnly, folding his paws in front of his face. The single source of light hanging in the room silhouetted him eerily, Susie thought, making the situation that much more extremely tense and dramatic.

“But unfortunately,” Ralsei continued, sliding his final rook along with a slice of shadow, “I think tonight you must finally admit defeat, hero of Light.” He arched his paws. “For- for I, Ralsei, mage of stars-!”

Kris clapped their hands with delight, breaking the tension. Susie groaned into her palm, hiding her smile.

“Have defeated you.” Ralsei gently tapped Kris’ king, causing it to fall over. “Checkmate, atheist.” (Susie had told him to say that.) “Um, is that how you do it?”

“You’re supposed to wait until Kris gives in and says checkmate themself, then knock their king over.” Susie delicately righted the king. “Because what if there’s some move Kris could do that you missed?”

“But I made sure there wasn’t!” Ralsei hunched his shoulders until only his eyes remained underneath his floppy hat. “I mean- sorry, Kris.”

Kris did an It’s fine sort of shrug. They reached out and flicked their king, toppling it over themself.

“Woo! Game over.” Susie pumped her fists into the air, beaming. “That was a great match! Are you up for a Grade-A THRASHING now, Ralsei?”

“M-maybe later?” Ralsei gently patted his king. “I’m a little chess-fatigued at this point.”

Susie shrugged and reached out to flick the torches on, revealing that the three were in a Card Castle room, emptied out and populated with hangout supplies specifically for this purpose. “’s cool, we can do something else. What DO you wanna do?”

“Just- just chill with you guys?” Ralsei pulled his scarf into his mouth and looked away. “If... that’s okay! But if it’s not-”

“Are you KIDDING?” Susie flung herself into the nearest pile of pillows, disappearing underneath its great might. “There we go!” She popped out and cracked her knuckles individually. “Perfect ‘just chilling’ pose! Right, Kris?”

Kris, with a perfectly monotone expression, gave her a thumbs-down, hopped into the pile as well, and reappeared on top with a pose worthy of Rouxls Kaard.

“Well, that’s just unfair,” said Susie.

“Alright!” Ralsei hopped onto the pile as well, reappearing somewhere above Susie and below Kris. “W-well, we’ve done step one, which is: Place oneself in a soft and comfy place!"

Kris said they didn’t know there were steps and Ralsei sparkled a little. “O-of course there are steps, Kris! I can show you later! Anyway, step two is: Capitalize upon promises made in the past.” He took a deep breath, fluffing up his paws. “Susie?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you like me to braid your hair?”

Susie mentally ascended. “Yeah. Sure. Yeah. I mean, if it’s not an issue. You don’t have to. Yes.”

“Step two worked!” Ralsei quite literally sparkled this time, sliding down the pillow heap to prop himself up against Susie. “I brought- I brought ribbons, and garlands, and bows...”

“It doesn’t hafta be fancy.” Susie reached out to catch Kris as they slid down as well. “Just, like, pretty. You can do that.”

“Alrighty!" Ralsei deployed an assortment of combs and ribbons and scraps of cloth from the group inventory.

“Hmm.” Susie leaned in to whisper something to Kris, who grinned and whispered back. “...Ralsei?”

“Yes?”

“After you’re done, can I braid yours too?”

Ralsei stammered for several seconds. “I- I don’t really- um- I would love- I don’t have hair, Susie! I’m, I’m sorry...”

“Your fur, dude.”

Ralsei flushed pink. “Well- alright, Susie, if you’d like that-" He began puttering about Susie’s hair.

Kris stole Susie’s phone (it was unfortunately impossible for Susie to retaliate at the moment) and asked her what her password was.

“I’m not telling you my password.” Susie huffed, attempting to snatch it back. “Just gimme it.”

Kris tossed it back, and after some finagling back and forth, they finally had a WiFi hotspot set up in the Dark World.

“Step three is: Settle into the monotonous activity of being loved.” Ralsei twisted Susie’s hair up into a bun. “I don’t know what that means.”

“Sounds real poetic,” Susie said as Kris opened up some nature documentary for them to watch. “Kris. Kris, we aren’t watching this, what the hell.”

Kris huffed and said that nature documentaries were the only rated G thing available on Susie’s online video platform app. The fact that this was literally the wording they used gave Susie chills.

“Look-” Susie tapped some words onto the screen. “See? See, we can watch- what cartoon do you want, I’ve got a playlist of their episodes.”

Kris stared at the screen for a moment, and then asked if they were pirated.

“What? No- no, dumbass, of course they aren’t pirated, those are official channels!” Susie pointed a claw at Kris. “Are you telling me you’ve never watched cartoons on YouTube before?”

Kris pulled their cape in front of their face.

“Okay, sorry, but how have you never-! Does your mom not allow those or something?"

Kris muttered from behind the cape that their mother had an unplugged TV in their home.

Susie stared for a moment, and then put a talon on their head to comfort them (Kris made an appreciative noise). “Wait- Ralsei?”

“Yes?” Ralsei asked from where he’d been trying to pin a stray lock of hair down for several minutes.

“Ralsei... you don’t know what a TV is, do you?”

“No.”

“A cartoon?”

“No." Ralsei frowned. “Can you just explain it to me, then?”

“Okay-" Susie snatched her phone back. “Yeah. Hang on just a moment."

She had a brief memory of someone else in her class gasping and pulling out her own phone and showing Susie her favorite videos. And then they’d sat there in silence, watching aliens of light dance and vampires play guitar...

“Here."

Kris clambered up above Susie’s shoulder and propped themself next to Ralsei to watch, and the rest of the night was spent gasping at plot twists and laughing quietly and pointing out characters they liked and doing step three.

[neitherlightnordark]

@taliaxlatia for your request! thank you bunches!!

-

You have a sponge that’s shaped like a cake with a slice cut out of it. It’s yellow on top, and it’s green on the bottom, and sometimes when you use it to clean dishes you forget it’s not food.

One time, Sans (who is an absolutely terrible friend) actually served it to you on a dish, disguised as something he’d baked for you! He'd even garnished it with sweet pea flowers he’d gathered from your garden- and he would have fooled you too, if not for the gentle soap bubbles gathering on its edges. Oh, that fiend. It was your fault, though; you hadn’t offered to show him how to bake yet. So you offered that day.

And as you'd planned together, a day after that, he showed up on your doorstep with a grin and a bag of dollar brand semi-sweet chocolate chips, even though you already had plenty- “because the best part of baking is snackin’ on the ingredients,” he explained. and then, “hope i'm not choco-late, old lady.”

You laughed and let him in, reminding him to take off his shoes- well, he was wearing fluffy slippers today, not shoes, but regardless, it was Dreemurr family tradition. You then forced him to wash his hands at the sink where the sponge rested.

“Have you ever tried quality butter?” you asked him at the stovetop, gently tilting the saucepan so the butter hissed and left bubbling trails over the metal. “I mean, truly quality- where you can taste that it’s made from milk and cream.”

“how would i know what quality food is? speaking as someone without a tongue.” Sans was concentrating on separating egg yolks from the whites, quite intensely; it seemed easier to strain them with skeletal hands. “do high-quality foods all have, uh, a special label?”

“Well, you can tell by how they make you feel, not just by how they taste!” You began thumping chunks of brown sugar into the sizzling butter; wafts of sweet and savory boiled from the pan. “Good food is memorable food. It evokes... not just a feeling, but a place. Like music.”

“what place do you think of when you taste my hotdogs?”

“Sans...” You let out a sigh, turning to him. “Sans, I am not exactly a ‘dog connoisseur-”

“toriel-”

“But even long meat ovals, bordering on obscene and smeared with delicious condiments, must be treated with respect. And you-”

“toriel!” Sans was stifling a laugh.

“Every hot dog must be crafted with care.” You lifted up your wooden spoon authoritatively- just for a moment, though, because this pan required constant stirring! “Each lump, each ridge, must serve a purpose towards the greater whole. Surely you understand how important your task is as a chef, Sans...? A ‘hot dog’ is not a joke. It is poetry.”

“...yes. i understand now.” Sans’ voice had become solemn, or as solemn as Sans’ voice could be, as he let another egg yolk plop into the bowl. “toriel... i see now that i have been irresponsible with my power as a ‘dog creator. i’ll do better next time.”

“Excellent. I am proud of you, Sans. See to it that you do.” You turned back to your stirring.

You actually managed to whisk in two cups of cream before Sans snorted, and you let out a “HA”, and the two of you laughed uproariously with each other.

“what do you wanna do while the pie bakes?” Sans asked you, breaking the anticipatory silence that had developed as you two crouched in front of the oven and watched the pie.

“Will we not just stay here?”

“well, watching this pie bake is a very interesting activity. so we could. wanted to see what you thought first, though.”

“If you wanted, I could point out how the baking crust’s crackling ripples across the entire pie, as though it were the land going through an earthquake.”

"sounds super fun. hang on, lemme get some pillows for us."

Sans truly acted like some part of doing this made him happy, whether it was the jokes you told to each other or just... you. You weren’t sure how to tell him how nice it felt to be with someone you didn't have to protect, or felt painful about. No expectations. Nothing you might do that might ruin this. Just you and him.

Papyrus and Frisk asked you later on that day why the surprise pie you'd made for everyone in celebration of Frisk's summer starting tasted just a little like bones. You told them just to crust you on this. Papyrus and Frisk retired to Papyrus' room and did not return for two hours.

[neitherlightnordark]

i find it really funny that after chapter 1 of deltarune, the most responsible adult figures in the dark world are malius and topchef

you know what actually? i created this post to dunk on seam and rouxls but i like this! topchef and malius become trusted members of lancer's new court. malius reminds lancer to rest and topchef makes him good food. they become really good friends and guardian figures to their new king, and defend him from anyone who talks poorly about him, reminding them he's just a kid.

this also gives rouxls room to introspect and realize that perhaps he didn't put lancer first while lancer's father was still on the throne, and that he does care about lancer a lot. so he shapes up! he tries genuinely helping out rebuilding the dark world, and although it's gonna take a while for everyone to forgive him, and it's a struggle, he keeps going. he and clover become good pals after a bit!

i know the coat rack and seam are friends, so perhaps after spade king is gone and there's no reason to be afraid anymore, coat rack visits seam and the two get to relax a lot. seam also learns about the doors mr. society, mr. elegance, and puzzle guy built, and is completely fascinated to say the least, so they collaborate on more rip-apart-the-world projects!

[neitherlightnordark]

hmm flower asks? maybe white violets for jevil? 'chance' and all that, hehe

"Don't exhaust yourself," Seam jokes from the eldritch blanket pile as Jevil burrows inside their basket of button-eyes with a great amount of onomatopoeia.

Jevil laughs in return, resurfacing with many shiny selections. "Why are you complaining, complaining? All of this is for you! O great court defender."

"Oh, stop it."

"Wins every game, the magician does!" Jevil examines his chosen buttons and tosses most back in. "And if winning is impossible, cheating isn't!"

"You're just bitter because of how close you came this time."

"And you're putting an awful lot of stock into a sparring session, true, true?" Jevil hops off the shelf and scurries up onto Seam's head, dangling a button eye down. "Try this one."

Seam takes the button, and turns it around and around slowly. It's faded pink and shaped like a heart. "...Y'know, there's no such thing as poor sportsmanship on the battlefield."

"Dear mage, truthfully- what would I have to be bitter about?" Jevil reclines on Seam's head, stretching and yawning in a sharp way reminiscent of a soft cat. "I took your eye and forfeited by choice, did you forget? All's fair in the end, end. You are projecting."

Seam waves the button in Jevil's face. "Do you have any political intentions behind this?"

Jevil pauses for a moment, and then laughs in a way that rattles the stones in the walls. "Seam!"

"Jevil." Seam is perfectly unexpressive (as usual) as Jevil bats the heart button away.

"If it appears political, that's completely unintentional!" Jevil folds a mitten over one of Seam's ears. "It is meant to mean more. Or less."

"That won't mean much to the kings." Seam tosses it back up to Jevil, who snatches it from the air with the automatic reaction of a juggler. "Choose another one."

"Then why keep it in the first place, first place?" Jevil looks to the door, up the steep slope of stairs. "I'll go find a balcony, or a window-"

"No need. Just put it back, jester."

"I first ask why, why! Why keep it if its very presence is shameful?"

"Perhaps I like it too much to throw it away." Seam looks up at Jevil with a click.

Jevil's ears flick back. "And yet you'll never wear it? Hypocrisy, hypocrisy. You do the button a great disservice."

"I doubt it minds very much right now. It's a button."

"It can be more." Jevil begins tossing it back and forth, from hand to hand. "You've never asked it, have you?"

"You presume it can understand and communicate to me."

"That's unfair! Because it can't communicate correctly, it should be ignored?" Jevil flips the button up so it brushes the ceiling. "Even an acknowledgement of its predicament might mean so much to it, to it-"

"Well. It's a button." Seam spears the button through midair with a thread of magic, and drops it back in its basket without looking.

"Still," Jevil says eventually, smile unwavering.

There's a little pause.

"You've been awake for seventy-six hours." Seam reaches up to touch Jevil's side. "No wonder you're talking about buttons hurting to me."

"Hee hee hee. I always talk about buttons hurting." Jevil settles down on Seam's head. "Candles melting, trees losing their leaves. You did not notice...?"

"Perhaps I did, actually." Seam closes the one eye, voice already drowsy, as is befitting a cat... "Perhaps not. Sleep."

"And what of your lack of eye, my companion?" Already, the world is darkening...

"Well, maybe I'll be able to wear that button one day," Seam mutters. "We'll see, won't we...?"

Jevil sleeps.

---

[neitherlightnordark]

because apparently this weekend is loving seam weekend here's a headcanon! seam always burns food no matter what it is. darkburger? charred. banana bread? blackened. apple cider? it's on fire. marshmallows? those are supposed to be on fire anyway, says seam, putting them into the fruit salad, so it's fine, ha ha. food is just better when it's burned beyond recognition!

after the end of chapter 1 everyone in the dark world becomes intimately acquainted with this phenomenon. rouxls forbids lancer from touching seam's food.