#just wanted to make something simple and fun :] art block has been kicking my ass

[starzovermarz]

hell yeah spider pride

(og below)

[ressyfaerie]

Fic suggestion; 2/3 years post canon where they're in their respective colleges/universities. Kai happens to be passing through & finds out that Tyson is struggling to fit in due to relentless bullying. Kai decides to confront the bully(es). Afterwards Tyson wonders what made Kai be so protective & out slips an accidental because I love you? hehehe

This sounds CUTE! And Also reminds me of when I wrote something similar in my long slow burn fic (its a bit of a long story)... but this sounds SUPER FUN. Big fan, here we gooo

“So I hear the world champion still can’t integrate into society?”

“Shut up, Kai.”

The phone connection crackled as Tyson put Kai on speakerphone.

“Where are you right now?”

“Walking in the park to get back to the dojo, how about you?”

“Studying back at my apartment, is it dark? Be careful.”

“I know how to walk, Kai. It’s not that dark, there's lots of streetlamps. So why are you phoning me?”

“I need a reason to phone my best friend?”

“You always have a reason.”

“Alright, you caught me.”

“I knew it, you know you’re not that sneaky, Kai.”

“Whatever. Ray told me you were having troubles at school—”

“I’m fine, Kai.”

“Is it studying? I can help again—”

“No it’s not that, everything’s fine, okay? Can you drop it?”

“It doesn’t sound like everything’s fine.”

He heard Tyson sigh on the other end of the line.

“Bye, Kai.”

*beep*

“Tyson? Tyson!?”

Kai threw the phone down on his open textbook.

That bastard hung up on me!?

Kai had just finished texting Ray about Tyson’s troubles at school. This time it wasn’t the studying, girl or boy problems, friend problems, family problems… The list of Tyson’s issues that Kai was forced to deal with since he started university was overwhelming. Not that he was forced to deal with them… They kept getting shuffled down until Kai was the closest person to deal with it. Tyson didn’t accept help easily, but Kai could tell when he needed it.

Kai found he was worried about Tyson constantly.

And he had every reason to be.

Kai attended a prestigious university, while Tyson decided to enroll in one closer to the dojo. Kai got used to university life fast, Tyson lagged behind. Tyson was hit with a brick wall. University wasn’t highschool, or a tournament, it wasn’t traveling the world. It was a whole other realm that really didn’t suit Tyson at all. Kai watched from afar as Tyson struggled through the everyday, he made friends easily but everything else was ten times harder.

And now, it seemed that Tyson had yet another problem he wasn’t sharing.

The tip of Kai’s mechanical pencil broke.

He decided he’d go to Tyson’s school tomorrow to check up on him.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Kai mimicked Tyson’s anger.

“Checking up on you.”

Kai leaned on the hood of his Mercedes, wearing casual clothes and a hand in his pocket.

“If you show up looking like that talking to me like this, people are going to think you're my boyfriend.”

Kai laughed, “what’s wrong with that?”

Tyson stuttered but didn’t manage to answer.

“What’s wrong?”

Kai’s words cut through the world, forcing it to stop moving and stay stationary for just a moment.

“Nothing is wrong.” Tyson turned on his heel, but Kai was too fast.

He grasped his arm pulling him back.

“Kai, what the hell!?”

Tyson angrily twirled backwards, trying to push him off.

“What’s wrong with your face?” Kai felt his heart rise in his chest when he saw the purple bruise on his cheek.

“Hurt it doing kendo, can you stop? Get off me!”

With force Kai pulled Tyson into him, observing his face.

“Stop looking at me!” Tyson used both his arms to push him away.

Kai had slipped off the curb he was on and fell into his car, leaving a small dent near the hood.

Tyson’s face read pure panic, “I’m sorry! I never meant to push you that hard!”

“Well you did.” Kai rubbed his forehead with his forearm, “clearly something is going on, you wanna share with the class?” A dangerous scowl grew on Kai’s face.

“I’ll tell you, but I don’t want your help okay?”

Kai nodded.

“Some guy has been picking on me—we got in a fight, but it's under control.”

Tyson sent him a broken smile and Kai felt a burning rage in his chest.

“What’s this guy’s name?” Kai wore the same scowl from before.

“You don’t need to know, because I don’t need your help.” Tyson stated matter-of-factly.

“Did you at least beat the shit out of him?”

Tyson bit his lip while looking in the opposite direction.

“Don’t you know a shit ton of martial arts? You’re telling me you didn’t kick his ass?”

Kai kept his voice from rising, but it was shaking. The rage was hard to keep under control the more he imagined someone hurting Tyson.

“There… might have been more than one guy.” Tyson trailed off.

“They ganged up on you?” Kai’s mind was now filled with a murderous rage, “why?”

“Dunno, jealous maybe? World champion, bluh bluh bluh…” Tyson yawned “well, time to get back home, huh?”

Kai locked his eye’s on Tyson’s.

“Call me if they try anything.”

“They won’t. I’m sure it was a one time thing. Plus I was stronger than they thought I’d be…”

“I don’t care.” Kai’s voice was serious. “Call me.”

Days later Tyson wasn’t returning Kai’s calls. He texted him asking why he wasn’t answering, he got simple short messages, busy or sorry can’t talk right now. It pissed Kai off. He hoped their interaction hadn’t damaged their friendship. He valued any relationship with Tyson, any excuse to be close to him really. He really hoped he hadn’t screwed this up.

Almost two weeks later Kai was at his desk studying. His regular nightly routine. His phone buzzed, a phone call.

From Tyson?

He dropped his pencil and reached for his phone so fast he became worried how obsessed he was with this boy.

He dropped the phone.

No doubt it was Tyson missing him, apologizing and begging to talk to Kai again.

Wouldn’t be the first time.

Maybe I should give it a few minutes.

He put the phone on silent. And left it by his side for less than a minute. When he looked back he had a text as well. He rolled his eyes.

1 missed call.

2 texts.

He opened the text box.

Park.

Help.

Before Kai could process what was happening he was in his car speeding down the highway.

He almost sped past the park, slamming on the breaks he just managed to make out a dark group of boys huddled away from the streetlamps by a tree. He had no time to observe, only to assume.

He accelerated, jumping the curb into the grass and tearing up dirt.

He kicked open his car door and slammed it closed.

“Where is Tyson?” He said in the boy's direction.

A member of the group broke away, advancing on Kai, he mumbled something about ‘minding your business’ before launching a fist towards Kai’s face.

He expertly dodged with an instinct he forgot he had.

He grabbed the boy’s fist in midair and landed his elbow in the boy’s forearm sending him crumbling to the ground screaming.

Two more from the group branched off towards Kai.

Kai clenched his teeth. It had been years since he actually fought, he forgot how it felt. One of the boys tried to punch him identical to how the last one tried. Kai bent his knees landing a punch to the boy's gut, knocking the air out of him. Now he could focus on the other one, who was trying to land a kick by his ear.

Kai fell on his back, feeling the air brush past his face, the boy now had the advantage, but kai was fast. Using his knees and all the momentum he had he launched himself off the ground to his feet.

“The fuc!?—”

The boy didn’t have the time to finish his sentence before Kai jabbed the edge of his palm into his throat.

Kai turned around directing his attention to the center of the group, one boy standing over a black mass.

Kai cracked his knuckles, “if that’s Tyson, you understand I will kill you?”

The boy wore a devious smirk. Kai shook his head.

The black mass on the ground managed to mumble, “Kai…”

That was Tyson’s voice.

Kai slowly blinked. His face showed only pure white anger.

“I’ll kill you.”

The boy held his ground as Kai threw his body full force towards him. He was bigger than Kai, he blocked his first hit, throwing Kai back.

This guy is a tank… I have to be careful.

I need to finish this fast. I need to help Tyson.

Kai fixed his stance, grounding himself expertely. The boy grabbed for his shirt, he used both his palms to push him away. The boy kept trying again and again, Kai finally attempted to land a punch, but this guy was strong. He pushed Kai’s fist away and grasped the collar of his shirt, then threw him to the ground.

Kai felt the ground quake under him as he lost the ability to breathe.

The boy punched him, and then again.

He felt no pain, only fear for what had happened to Tyson before this. The world around him flung side to side, then suddenly, the boy stopped.

WACK.

Above him the boy was motionless, and fell to the side near Kai limply.

Tyson took the boy’s place. He was holding a heavy stick. He dropped it on the ground.

They were both covered in blood and bruises.

“I told you I'd be just fine.” Tyson grinned.

Kai tried to laugh but still didn’t have his breath back. He managed to groan, then inhale sharply.

“Why didn’t you call somebody to come help? Is your car okay?”

“Because…” Kai managed to moan weakly.

“Cause?” Tyson asked in a hoarse voice.

“I love you.”

Kai held his side, unaware of the words he whispered to the dark.

Tyson held his hand out to his best friend.

“Come on sourpuss, let's get to a hospital.”

[whirlybirdwhat]

Heyo~ I just wanted to say that your fanfics have inspired me to write my owns, they're so good!!

But my writing isn't nearly as good, do you have any advices for this starting writer? <3

oh my gosh anon !!!!!! im ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ !! im so glad they inspire you, and I wish you all the best on your writing!!! you got this, and please link them if/when you post!!!! 👀👀👀

as for advice - i got a few things!

first off, your writing is yours, and - especially in fic - there isn't necessarily a type of 'good' writing, just different skill sets! for instance, i find that my weak point is dialogue, while im great at worldbuilding + emotions. another writer might be the opposite, but it doesn't mean my writing is 'bad' and theirs is 'good' or the reverse, simply that we have different strengths! as you grow as a writer, you will find your strengths and learn to grow them, and your weak points! there is truly no standard, so don't put yourself down!!

moving on to more advice however - (EDIT: theres a tldr at the bottom because sorry, i rambled a bit!!)

1. write. it doesn't matter where, it doesn't matter when, it doesn't matter how! I have written fics on sticky notes in the middle of class (whiskey peak chapter of esom) on discord in the span of a few hours (make a choice (turncoat hero)) and in my notes apps (the ace/yamato fic i posted)!! if you learn to write anywhere you please, this will keep ideas from leaving your mind, and allow you to get into the zone that there doesn't have to be a set time to write!

2. length never matters for a fic. If 100 words is all it takes to write what you want to write, then 100 words is all it takes! don't let the general adoration for long fics to scare you off from writing, and write what you're comfortable with. I know writers who only write chapter fics, and writers who will only write one shots (then there's me, who tries to do both at once lol.)

3. when i am lost with the plot of a fic, the first thing i do is draft an outline of what i want to happen next. this is just a simple bullet point outline, in the general fashion of, say

- luffy gets a different hat post pirate king

- monkey steals hat

- luffy calls for zoro

- zoro sleeping?? sanji kicks him then fight

- the monkey is revealed as the red haired pirates monkey

- shanks shows up "miss me anchor?" party time

brief, follows a simple set of actions, perhaps one or two lines that i thought of while writing, and gives me a skeleton to follow so that when i lose myself in a fic i know where i can go next. Some people find it useful to do this at the beginning with a super detailed plot, and others never write a outline at all! it depends again on how you grow as a writer, so don't be afraid to try different things out when you approach a fic

4. stuck on a part? writer block? can't focus? get up drink a glass of water, and get back to writing! i find this helps me get refocused on writing when i am stuck, a little body 'wake up' as you will.

5. never EVER delete a scene from a fic. never. NEVER. move that scene to another doc, put it in a 'scrapped writing' folder, idc, but never delete it entirely. it helps you grow as a writer, and you can always put the scene back/reword it, etc. i cannot count on my hands how many times i have reworked a previously scrapped portion of a fic and came out the better for it!

6. having multiple wips is okay!! celebrate it even!! i always have at least five docs for five separate fics up on my computer at all times so i can shuffle between them when writing and write what im inspire for in that moment. its okay if you never make headway on one of them, as long as the ideas keep flowing

7. want to get something out quick? word wars are your friend - set a timer for 15 minutes, and write as many words as you can. this is especially fun if you have someone doing it with you, so you can compare counts at the end and share your story!!

8. writing, like all art, takes time. and, generally, there is a chance you will write faster when you first set out to write then you will later, because later, you will be more conscious of your word choices and be more deliberate and careful in your plot, rather than just churning out works. It's okay if you don't churn out 5k a day - writing is not an obligation!

9. have. fun. im serious! write what you want to write, even if it seems no one will love it or like it or want to read it - write what brings you joy, what makes you smile, even if it's something that's been done a thousand times before!! this is what fic is, for your own personal enjoyment. Additionally, do not be discouraged if there's a low amount of reviews for something you put your heart and soul. it sucks ass, yes, (i have a couple fics i love which have only gotten like, a quarter of attention of some of my other fics) but ultimately, the idea you wrote down is one you want to see in the world!! it doesn't quite matter what anyone else likes.

10. grammarly, word counter, word, etc - anything with a spellcheck is your best friend, and will generally catch things you miss if you cant find someone to proofread for you. additionally, if you want to be more critical of your fic, look for friends tto give constructive critcism, but know that you absolutely do not have to accept it from any stranger online unless you asked specifically for it.

11. fanon is fanon and popular headcanons are popular headcanons and both are absolutely not canon. you do NOT have to follow it if you do not want to.

12. read!!! i read a lot of fic, a lot of published books, and each has something i really enjoy and apply to my own fics.

13. to reiterate again just... write. write and write and write. i have over 300k posted to ao3 rn, and more in my docs. you will not improve your writing to any standard that you set for yourself unless you write!! always practice!! learn from your mistakes!! grow!!! you will improve with time, i promise, just go out and write what makes you happy anon!!

tl;dr have fun, write a lot wherever and whenever, and write for yourself before anyone else. you will improve with time as a writer the more you practice, and it doesn't ever matter how long your work is.

if you want more specific advice on formatting fic/general rules/ your first time posting, feel free to send another ask!! but for now, i wish you the best of luck anon and a very 👀👀👀👀 at your future fics!!!

[proxylynn]

Underfell: File Name not Edgy Enough #26

Chapter 26: Misery

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. ^_^

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[HOTLAND: LEVEL 2 MOMENTS BEFORE GOING LIVE]

Mettaton zooms through the air, the speed makes it hard to try to look for anything I can lock-on as a potential landmark. The worst part, I can't tell if Flowey is able to follow or can reach this far safely. Who am I kidding? Flowey has the best odds of making it around here without a scratch. Unlike my dumbass.

"THIS WILL DO."

He lands faster than expected. The shock shacks my insides uncomfortably. I gag trying to keep my stomach from flying out.

"SORRY, DARLING. I'LL ATTEMPT TO BE GENTLER IN THE FUTURE."

He puts me down, my legs buckle like a baby calf's but I manage to stand.

"N-No worries. Just...Just give me a moment."

He chuckles and gets ready to blast off again.

"SO CUTE. NOW LISTEN UP...HOTLAND IS LEVELED OUT IN THREE PARTS. WE WERE ON LEVEL ONE. THIS IS LEVEL TWO. FROM THIS ROOM, MAKE A RIGHT AND CONTINUE ONWARD. YOU'LL NEED TO REACH THE ELEVATOR TO PROCEED. THINK YOU CAN DO THAT?"

I wave at him.

"Go right. Got it. *heavy sigh* Um...Are there more vents?"

He doesn't say anything.

"Metta?"

"TOODLES!"

He blasts off and I roar our swears. Oh well. No point fussing on that. If I'm lucky Flowey will have heard my shouting and come to help me. But this room...The path leading out is glass. The land isn't connected. Flowey would have to dive deeper to find a joining point, most likely it would be too deep and the heat harmful. I need to leave and not look down. I take a step but fumble, grabbing a random signpost to stop the fall.

"Damn it...Is this what jet-lag is?"

The sign's writing makes me curious.

[Art Club: Meet here! Next meeting: October 10th, 8PM]

Huh? Wait...What is the date and time? Argh! I have no sense for time anymore. Toriel has an out-of-date calendar that she refuses to change which doesn't help and the cellphone had the closest thing to a clock yet there's no telling if it was on time.

"Ahhhh!!! I'm late!!! I'm late!!! I'm so sorry!!!"

From seemingly out of nowhere, a doughy butterscotch colored monster in a black fedora and vest comes rushing towards this spot with papers fluttering away from him. He's in such a damn hurry that he trips and ends up crashing, skidding to a stop inches from my feet.

"*grumble* Son of a..."

He picks himself up and quickly grabs what papers he can. He looks odd. I'm getting weird neck-bread vibes off him. It's probably the fedora. Maybe if he took it off and let his brown hair free...What the fuck, am I thinking like a girl? Ewww! Stupid girl thoughts! That's my once per month. No more.

"So stupid! Why am I so clumsy? I hate being such a klutz!"

Poor guy.

"Need some help?"

He flinches. Did...Did he just realize I was here?

"W-Who are you? This is my spot! Get out!"

"Whoa! Chill. No need to be so harsh, kangaroo-boy."

His eyes widen.

"Kangaroo..."

Ah...shit. I know that look by now. My blue soul comes out.

"I'M A BUTTERDRAGON!!"

[WRONG ENEMY !? begins to play in the background.]

...Fuck my life. Wait...What the fuck is a butterdragon?

[You're blocked in angrily!]

"I come here to find something to draw. And what do I find? Some ignorant bitch that wouldn't know a masterpiece if it smacked her in the face!"

Is he referring to himself?

"It's time someone taught you a lesson! Consider it a gift. Let me look in my vest!"

He spins around and swings at me with his tail. It's coated in light blue magic. Fine. I don't move. It turns orange. I jump over it. It turns blue for two more swipes before turns around.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

"Oh! Whoops! That had to hurt! So sorry, I must have..."

He freezes seeing nothing happened to me.

"You...You're fine?"

I shrug. No point opening my mouth. He talks enough for the both of us.

[The enemy looks nervous.]

"Ummm, I...I couldn't find anything I want to give away. *softer* Not that I wanted to give you anything. *normal* Wait, wait! *laugh* I've got my notebook! I can draw you a picture in it! I'm quite the artist, you know. I'll draw you a GREAT picture!!!"

"It's not your turn."

He flinches.

"Oh...Right."

I look at my options.

[FIGHT]

[ACT]

[̴͝SP͜͞E͡L̵͜L͟͠͏]͘͢

[ITEM]

[MERCY]

What even is that button? Eh...I don't need it. Not with this guy.

[ACT selected.]

[New options available.]

[CHECK]

[SOMETHING]

What's with all the weird shit? Just be simple damn it.

[CHECK selected.]

[SO SORRY (REAL NAME, SAMAEL "SAM" D. BUTTERDRAGON) – HP: 1100  ATK: 9 DEF: -6 – This creature is definitely in the wrong time and space!]

Time and space...How the hell does he have negative defense?! That's a thing?!

"My turn!"

My thoughts are broken. He turns around to draw in his notebook, attacking once more with his tail. Blue swish. Orange swish. Blue swish. Blue swish. Orange swish. Orange swish.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

Again he doesn't understand how I got away with no damage. Dude, I can't help that you're attack is obviously telegraphed.

[The enemy looks anxious.]

"S...sorry...The drawing didn't come out very well. Wait! I know the problem! I just have to find a better piece of paper for it!"

"I'm not sure that's how drawing works. But you do you."

[MERCY selected.]

[SPARE selected.]

"I don't want your pity."

Was worth a shot considering the way this fight's going.

"I'll settle on a draw-ing if that's better."

I emphasize the pun with a teasing wink. He gets a little frazzled.

"Uh...Don't do that again. Like...ever."

Screw it. I want to have some fun.

"Why? Are you gonna pun-ish me?"

His right eye twitches.

"Stop it."

"I have an ink-ling this is getting to you. But trust me...You paint seen nothing yet."

Getting frustrated he yanks at his hair before turning around and chucking crumpled balls of paper at me from over his shoulders. Finally, something I need to dodge that will take effort. Each toss has three balls and he does this ten times. The dude's wasting perfectly fine paper. Shameful.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

I'm starting to think he's getting bothered by his inability to hurt me.

[The enemy looks perturbed.]

Called it.

"N-None of my papers are good enough to use..."

[SPARE selected.]

"It's not the tools. They don't create. They are but aids. It's the artist. Their skill and heart. That is key. Anyone can draw. It's as easy as breathing. But if you stress out and push too hard, if you forget to enjoy yourself...Then even what you'd call your masterpiece will never be good enough."

He looks at me funny.

"My advice, Mr. Butterdragon...Don't try to make something as others expect it to be made. Create something as you want it to be. Only then will you be happy with it. I would know. I'm a dabbler at doodling and there's something so...interesting...in being able to take a pencil and transfer an image that you only saw in your head to paper. Though I can never seem to get hands just right."

I look at my hands.

"Weird flesh sticks. Why are you so hard to draw?!"

He thinks for a moment. But then...

"THAT'S IT!!! I know what I can do!! I'll use my magic pencil! It has to be under some of these papers somewhere!!!!"

I take it he's still bent on attacking to prove he can draw. He goes back to tossing paper and by this point, I found a spot to just stand in where nothing falls near, so I wait till he's done.

"Here! I got it! My magic pencil is amazing! Everything I draw with it looks..."

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

This fight is so boring. I mean, I'm grateful to not have my ass kicked or beaten within moments of death's door, but...Is he really trying? Froggits try harder than this.

"Why aren't you hurt?!"

I cover my mouth in a yawn.

"Dude, can you let me spare you already? I need to get to level three before Mettaton has a fit."

[SPARE selected.]

He didn't like hearing this.

[The enemy taps his fingers together like jackhammers.]

"I'll show you. I'LL SHOW YOU ALL!! I AM A REAL ARTIST!!"

With pencil in hand, he scribbles into the air and much to my understanding of reality he adds two horned demons doodles to fight on his side.

[DOODLEBOG – HP: 100 ATK: 8 DEF: 999 – Art lets your wildest fantasies come to life!]

"Like I was saying...Anything I draw with this pencil becomes COMPLETELY REAL! But in your case, a little too real!"

I can't help the odd smirk that crawls across my lips.

"Finally..."

I stretch and pop some joints.

"I was starting to fall asleep. Show me what you've been holding back. Let the creativity flow!"

Both Doodlebogs launch eight doodle orbs in circle formations at me. The good news, there's room to move and enough spacing to do some fun maneuvering. The bad news...It's still freaking easy! They shoot this move twice before their turn ends. And still...

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

I'm disappointed. And so is he.

"What...How...?!"

[The enemy is confused.]

I shake my head. Seems that's all he's got. Though, to his credit, those drawings need to go. But how do I do that? Hmmm...Maybe...

[ACT selected.]

[New options available.]

[CHECK]

[DRAW]

[SOMETHING]

What's this? Oh...Oh hell yeah.

[DRAW selected.]

"W-Wait...You can't..."

I grab my soul, not sure what else I'm to use, and trace out a large cat that glows like my soul.

"Sketch-kitty, pounce the Doodlebog on the left!"

The cat does as commanded, pouncing at the Doodlebog and they tussle off the side to the heat death below. He panics.

"How dare you use art against me! Don't just stand there, kill her!"

The remaining Doodlebog fires the same attack as before but done three times in rapid secession. I harder move yes, but one that still leaves spots open wiggle on through.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

[The enemy is desperate.]

"H-Hey now...There's no need to do anything crazy. I-I shouldn't have attacked you. That was dumb. W-We good?"

Huh...I don't know if he's being truthful. I try to use MERCY but the button doesn't push in. Something is locking it. I wonder if it's because of the doodle? Is it affecting the battle conditions? To be safe, I'll return things to how they were.

[DRAW selected.]

"You're cheating! You have to be! No one can be this good!"

I roll my eyes while tracing out a massive snake.

"Sketch-snake, put the squeeze to the Doodlebog."

It strikes with the speed of a viper and coils the doodle like a constrictor. The doodle fights back, clawing at the sketch. The sketch knows what its mission is. It throws itself and the doodle over the edge, so now it's only the two of us. He is at a loss what to do.

[The enemy uses a hypnotizing 3D-tush-wiggle attack. Smells... furry.]

I think he's freaked out and out of options. His strongest move, an insane trump card, and I not only countered it but bested it.

[The enemy is apologizing to its visions of the Reaper.]

...What?

"I've messed up. I've really messed up. Oh no. I'm so dead! No...No. I won't let you kill me."

"Dude, I'm clearly not trying to kill you."

"I won't let art die!"

"And you're not listening."

"I'll use this regular pencil! I'll use 100% of best! There is no way you'd kill the maker of such a fine piece!"

He turns around and scribbles furiously. His tail swipes quickly and paper balls fly like crazy. This creates difficulty because trying to dodge the balls is made harder when trying to either stand still for light-blue attacks or move for the orange ones. Orange tail, orange tail, blue tail, blue tail, orange tail, and blue tail. This is how he should've been going at me from the start. It's a good attack.

[HP ███████████████████████████ 27/40]

"Are you ready!? I just finished! Here's your picture!"

He's so proud of it that he doesn't even notice that he finally did damage to me. The picture is a heart.

"What do you think!? It's a representation of your deepest essence... It's great, right!?"

I don't say a word. What did he mean by that? How is a heart my deepest essence? Is it a picture of my soul and souls are the essence of life? How the fuck did he being about so much thought with a heart?! My silence has him become uncomfortable.

"... (They think my art is terrible.) Well! I'll leave you with that thought! Goodbye! See you later! Sayonara! Nice knowing ya! Hasta la vista. ... I should leave."

He attempts to leave but he freezes when I quickly grab his tail.

"Um..."

"That image...You poured your heart into and it shows. It made me think. Art does that. It makes you think and feel. You did that to me. ...10 out of 10."

His eyes widen.

"R-Really?"

I nod and let his tail go...only to get a sappy hug from the butterball.

"Thank you!"

I made his day. He was trying to kill me and is now hugging me over a compliment. I think this is over.

[MERCY selected.]

[SPARE selected.]

[YOU WON!]

[You earned 0 XP and 318 gold.]

Holy shit! I'm rich!

The battle music fades out as he lets me go. My soul returns to me.

"Did you...Did you really like it?"

I nod.

"You gave it your all. That makes it special. Keep that spirit and don't be afraid to try other styles. You'll be amazed at what you can do if you try."

"Like your animals?"

"Animals have always been easy for me. It's people that are my weak-link. Um...Can I see that pencil for a sec?"

He hands me his notebook and normal pencil, to which I make two different drawings. One, a traditional European dragon spouting flame. This is my specialty, I can make these almost with my eyes closed. But the second one is my try at an anime version of myself. I use the eraser a lot on the face, hands, and chest. It never looks right to me once I'm okay with another part of the body. Yet I know I can't spend ages on this so I hand it over when I believe it looks okay.

"See what I mean now?"

"What are you talking about? These are great."

"Exactly..."

He's confused.

"Even when it's good, I still think I suck. But it's that negativity that spurs me to try harder. One day, I shall get those parts down and be happy with it without erasing whole bits out of frustration or doubt in ability. So...yeah...Keep those. Let them help you. Inspire you to be better in spite of others and yourself. Refuse to give up. And never surrender."

He gives me a funny look and I rub the back of my head with a nervous laugh.

"Heh...I have no idea where I was going with that. I tend to ramble when trying to be positive."

A small smile comes to him as he takes a few steps past me.

"I think I get what you're saying. If it's all the same to you...I think I want to be alone with my thoughts for a bit. Might see what ideas come."

I smirk.

"Take care, buddy. May the Muses inspire you to greatness."

I leave the butterdragon to his thoughts and not look down at the glass path that must be crossed. Yet it's doing so that alarms my brain. The land is not solid rock. The land is being supported by thick metal pipes and trussed beams that don't look like they're meant to be used here. I'm conflicted, I feel safe and unease at the same time. It also doesn't help I don't have Flowey with me. I need him. I don't like proceeding without my bro. So...

"Flowey! Bro, I'm up over here! Hurry up!"

Not expecting a response, least of all right away, I aim to head out slowly in hopes that he'll catch up to me before I really need him. But the path actually branches like a 4-way intersection and I get confused. Left is probably back to level one but what's the forward path? I shrug and check it out. Not like I have a killer robot to appease because I'm on TV. Thankfully, it's an empty spot of land. Scratch that. An empty spot of land with some trash on it.

[There's an apron lying on the ground.]

Really? That scrap's an apron?

I inspect the ragged thing and find it's in better shape than it looks.

[Will you take it or leave it?]

This option leads me to believe it's a human item. Probably pairs with this frying pan. Yes, I want it.

[You got the Splattered Apron.]

...Do I wanna equip it? Ugh...I tie the apron around my waist but backwards so it covers my ass.

[You equipped the Splattered Apron.]

[You gain 11 Defense.]

[Are the splotches from food, an enemy, or the former wearer? You don't want to know. Heals 1 HP every other turn.]

Wait...Did it say...?!

[HP: 40 ATK: 45 DEF: 38]

Holy shit! Score!

"So...Does that only work in fights?"

[HP ████████████████████████████ 28/40]

Huh. Guess not. Yet it said every other turn so who knows what that counts as.

I leave to continue all while paying half-attention to my HP. 1 point healing is better than nothing, though it's gonna be a while before I'm healed completely.

It's warm on this level. Still hot but not as bad as level one. Digital cords pulsate with energy from deep down to high above me. And in the distance...a massive mechanical structure. It sits in the lava like a slumbering leviathan. Imposing, mysterious, and giving off the vibes of "STAY THE FUCK AWAY". I better not have to go there.

After a short stroll, I come upon an obstacle or, as monsters put it, a puzzle. There are two conveyor belts, one going forward and the other back towards me. The forward one has three of those thick metal pipes near it and each pipe has a switch. At the end, there's what looks to be a Tesla Coil set up to prevent safe passing. Putting the bits together is easy. I step on the belt and keep walking, flipping the switches as I go. The third flip turns the current off and I can progress.

I regret this.

Literally forty feet away I'm met by those fucking vents. However...beside the vents is a large conveyor belt made of three merged ones. That's moving at the same speed as the one I was just on. Idea time. I dash jump across the belts. Leaping just in case someone somewhere decides to mess with the speed. Lucky me, no dick moves were made and I avoided doing my scarier backup plan of climbing on the support trusses. At least the path is clear now, which is good.

The heat begins to climb as I approach pumping stacks of hot gas. It makes the air thick and hard to breathe. The sooner I get past these things the better. Part of me questions why I don't hoof it on a crawl and then I have to remind that part that the land is inclining upward so it's bloody pointless. My throat is drying out, my lungs burn, and my eyes sting even with the tears trying to soothe the pain. Even the sounds of gears grinding in the background is starting to irritate my senses. But all this just makes me strive forward more to get back to some form of normalcy. Augh...What's my HP at now?

[HP ████████████████████████████████ 32/40]

Not bad. Not bad at all.

"Keep moving, slowpoke."

My blurry eyes spy a white speck among all the orange-brown.

"Bro?"

Something wraps around my wrist and pulls me slowly, leading me like a child helps an elder cross the road. Soon the air is clear and wiping my eyes lets me see Flowey. A very welcoming sight indeed.

"Bro!"

"Good to see you too."

"How did you get up here? The land is broken."

"Not all of it. I pretty much climbed up one high point, crossed over to another, and repeat till I got here. Did you forget how nimble I can be?"

I smack my forehead making him snicker.

"Sometimes it scares me to think how you've managed to not die."

He gets a chuckle out of me.

"Same."

We move on...only to be blocked by two heavily armored guards. One is a rabbit or hare and the other is more of a dragon than butterball was. Adorning fierce, brutal, and intimidating black armor bearing the blood-red Deltarune insignia. On their helms, shoulders, and wrists are jagged threatening spikes. But the real danger that has my attention are the very large swords.

"Are you shitting me?"

"They...aren't supposed to be here."

I look at Flowey funny and he flinches.

"I mean...They don't usually..."

"*mumble* Timeline bullshit. *normal* Fuck it...Yo! Can you two move? We need to reach level three...please?"

I'm sure that saved it from all my attitude.

"Human..."

Nothing good has ever happened to me when someone says "human".

"You're late."

Oh. Well, that's different.

"For...?"

They point their swords at me.

"Your funeral."

"Really? Was that the best you could come up with?"

The rabbit shrugs.

"I thought it was pretty tough."

The dragon punches his arm.

"I told you it was weak."

"It's not like we had a lot of time to come up with something better."

"Right. All the direction Mettaton gave us was 'stall her' while he does stupid crap."

"Let's just get this over with before the Captain finds out."

They rush towards me...then stop. But not a normal stop. They're frozen in place. I look at Flowey, he's stuck in mid-sink into the ground. The hell is going on? It's as if...as if time stopped?

"Sans? Sans, is this you? Where are you?"

White noise, like static on a TV. It pierces my ears as if it were stabbing my very brain. Covering my ears does nothing to stop it. I drop to my knees.

"Sa҉ns͏..̕."

A voice barely solidifies in the sounds assaulting my hearing.

"H͞è's n̢ot he̡r͠e,͟ l͡i̡ttl͡e ͜on̴ę.̨ He ͞can'͏t ̸in̵tęr͜f̛ere҉ w̧i̧th o͝úr̨ f́u͟ņ."

I muster the strength to turn my head and am confronted by a grayed-out monster with a blacked-out face holding a smaller face in its hand. The face looks at me with a small creepy smile. My eyes widen. The face spoke. And it speaks in rhyme. What the fuck?!

"What the hell are you?"

"M̛e? I̕'҉m͠ ͡a ̨f̡o͢l͜l͘ow̵er ̡of̶ ͘the g͠rea͝t Royal͏ ͟Sc͞ien͘t͝i͝st͟,̢ D͜ơc̢tor̕ ̵W̛.D. ̵Gast̀e͞r̀.͘ On̵e day͞,̨ h́e ͝va͝n͞i͡sh̀e͜d͘ w̷itḩou̕t̡ a҉ t́r̶ąc̛e.͝ T̛hey͞ ͠s̡a̢y҉ ̷he ҉s̡hat̕te̶r̷ed ͝ac̛ross̡ ti҉m͠e̴ an͘d̢ ҉s̨pac͘e. Ha H̷a͞.͝..̡ho͠w ̧c̸án I͞ s͠ay̢ s̸o͏ wit͟ho̴u͘t ͘f̶e͟a̸r͘?͝ ̸I'm h̸o͜l͘ding͞ a ̴p̵ie͘ce҉ ͜of̡ h͡im ̶r̶iģht͢ ͢her͞e."

This...This shit right here triggers something primal in me...I get genuinely freaked out. Fleeing like a puppy that just met the big noisy vacuum for the first time. And yeah, this was an overreaction. I've dealt with some insane shit at this point, you'd think I'd be hardened like a soulless speck of dirt. But no. That made me too unsettled and any tough wall I had crumbled. I zoom past the few other frozen in time monsters along the way till I reach the elevator. I spam hit the button, praying it will ignore the fact time is dead and let me in something that I can pretend is safer than out here.

*BING*

A sound other than static? There is a god!

The doors shift open and a grayed-out bird monster with terrible posture along with a grayed-out small humanoid monster stop me in my tracks.

There is no god!

"D͏r.̡ G̴as͝t̶e͠ŕ..͝.͡H̛i͞s brìllia͢n͝cé w͡a҉s̸ ͞irr̷e̶p͞l͞ac͢eabl̨e̶.̷"

"҉W͢hat͏ a̡n ̢áct to ̴foll̕o҉w͟! T́h͘e̷y ̨s͠ay̨ ͏h̶ę c͢r̨eat̛e̴ḑ t͜h͜e͜ ͞C̕O͜R̷E̶."

"Hoẁe͘v͢e̕r, h͜i͏s ͞life҉..͝.̸was ͠c͡u͡t s͘hort."

They say ominously together.

"O͡ne̕ ͟d́a͢y̕,͝ h̵i͟ś ҉ex̵pęri͜m̨e̵ntś w̧ent̡ ̸wr̢on͜g̢, ͡an̡ḑ..̀."

"He̴ fe̸l̢l̡ ̕i͞n̴t͜o ̀hi̵s͡ cr̷eat̀i͢ón̢."

"Węll,̴ ͝w̡e҉ needn̨'͡t͠ gos̕s̕i҉p.̧ A̷f͢t͠e͟r al̵l͏,̷ ҉i̸t'ş ̧rude to ̀tal͡k̨ ab͏o̢u͠t̛ s҉o̵me̢o͘n҉è w̛h͢o̕'s l̷i̕s͢te̡n͢ing.̸"

They grab me and pull me in before my body chooses to run.

"*snarls* Let go you creeps!"

"D̵o̵n't ̕st͠r̴ưg̷gle̵,̧ l͡i͞t̕t̛l҉e o͟n͡e.́"

"̸Yo̷u ͝d͞o͠n͏'t̴ w͡an̸t ̴harm to co͢me̛ to̷ ̡t̀h̢e̵ flo͜wer͞.̡"

Oh fuck...I left Flowey with the creepy face-hand thing. I cease my fighting.

"G҉o͡od͞ ̷ģir̡l."

The doors shut with a quickness.

[SNOWDIN: Skeleton House in present time]

They watch as the human and flower are confronted by the two Royal Guards. And of course, they do as they've been trained. Attack the human. But something weird happens. The guards begin to attack and the screen of the TV glitches into static before the picture returns. Only now the guards have stopped their action and the flower, which was retreating from danger, pops back out in confusion along with everyone else. The human is gone. It happened within the blink of an eye. One second she was there and the next she's not. And now the screen cuts to a "We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties" image. What is going on?

[HOTLAND: LAB]

Undyne and Alphys are equally as perplexed as everyone else that's tuned in.

"Alphys, where did the human go?"

Undyne irritatedly asks through her teeth. On her end, Alphys is switching through camera feeds like crazy.

"I'm looking! I'm looking!"

The screen swaps from camera to camera and multiple different angles. But there's nothing. Sure, there are monsters. Some just going about their lives. Some slacking around. Even an embarrassing shot of a Pyrope shoving a sandwich into the top of a Vulkin. But no sign of the human on level two.

"Where are you, damn it?!"

"Stop!"

Undyne's shout makes Alphys jump.

"Go back five clicks."

And so she does. The feed is an odd far shot from the gas stacks. It can just barely view the guards let alone the flower who suddenly ducks away. The guards seem even more confused.

"What are we looking for?"

Undyne points at the screen and Alphys sighs.

"If I can't see it on my end, you pointing from a distance does nothing for me!"

Undyne growls.

"Look up, genius!"

Alphys leers at the fish-woman before leering at the view she has on her monitor. Due to the far away placement of the camera, it can see up to the platform of level three. And there, dangling over the side, is a pale white arm that stands out over the red platform and gold LED lights scheme.

"The hell...?"

She switches to the level three cameras.

"Ha! I knew I saw something."

With the better view, they now see the human face-down just a few feet from the elevator.

"How the hell did she get up there?"

Alphys gets out her phone and sends a quick text. When there's no reply she presses a button and a moment later is sent a reply. A few messages are sent as Mettaton zooms on screen.

"What? Why's the tin can there now?"

Undyne is out of the loop as usual.

"Who else do you know can zip over there as fast?"

Mettaton pulls the human to the center of the path, away from a stupid falling to death, and checks over her seemingly lifeless body. Her eyes are open and empty as if someone replaced her peepers with billiards cue balls that glow. Marks on her arms look like bruising but weren't there before nor gained in her earlier fight. Then...Alphys gets a text.

"Hmmm..."

"What's up?"

"Vital signs are still going but her breathing has stopped."

She texts back to Mettaton.

"So...She's dead?"

"No. Not yet at least. According to Mettaton, her HP is full and not depleting. However, if she doesn't start breathing, her HP should drain and she will die."

"Then wha...?"

"Look at the TV, dear."

Undyne looks back at the screen to see Mettaton performing chest compressions in patterns.

"With her heart still pumping it means all other functions are still working. It's likely something happened in whatever event that caused her to get up there to give her trauma. The trauma probably made her brain fail to send the right signals to her lungs and thus, she's in respiratory arrest. So I've instructed Mettaton to force her body to restart her breathing manually with basic CPR."

They watch the robot press into her chest for a good couple of minutes before the human suddenly bolts up violently. Mettaton restrains the hysterical woman as the life returns to her eyes, sight restored settles her down some but she appears terribly shaken.

"Ask him if he can get her to tell him what happened."

"Already sent and awaiting reply."

Mettaton appears to speak with her but she either says very little or nothing at all. She merely holds her self in an attempt to cease her trembling and looks out at what bit of the CORE is still visible from that point.

"Huh...He says she isn't telling. At most, she said it's nothing and it just happens sometimes."

"Super vague and avoiding the subject? That kind of shit ain't normal."

Alphys agrees but it's not like they have the human in custody to interrogate for answers. She sends the text.

"The hell?"

Mettaton offers some concern and encouragement before blasting off, leaving the human alone.

"Why's he leaving her?!"

"He did what was needed. Now the show can continue as planned."

Undyne glares.

"That's twice now. You could've let her die."

"I still need more data. Something odd happened and I need to figure it out."

Undyne huffs softly.

"Fine. You know...You can only string someone along for so long before that string breaks, Alphys."

The lizard-woman chuckles.

"Worried about the human? That's cute."

"I wasn't talking about the human."

Undyne guzzles her remaining ramen and Alphys isn't sure how to respond.

"For your sake, the human better be worth all this effort."

She lifts her bowl.

"More."

[HOTLAND: LEVEL 3 BEFORE GOING LIVE]

Static. Everything is static. Static is all I see and hear. I can't feel anything. Am I dead? Is this what death is? If it is...It's incredibly boring. At least Hell would have a wicked soundtrack to drone out to while being tortured. Suddenly, I feel something. And it hurts. Like something is bouncing on my chest and pauses a bit before doing it again for longer.

Please...Leave me alone...Let me be...I don't want to go back...Don't make me go back...Please...

"*gasps and coughs*"

My lungs burn in this reawakening but my sight is still static. Purgatory. Pain before Heaven. The sins must be suffered away. This must be what's happening. Hands. I feel hands and panic, stress levels at critical. I take a swing at where I think they are.

"D̕͡oņ͟'̕͝t ̨̀͝to͝͏uch̷́͝ ͘me͘͜!̴̵͝"

There's hesitation before more force is used and I'm pinned to what I assume is a floor. I thrash harshly.

"L̸̀e͢a̡͜v̴͟͢e ͘m̵e͞ ͝al҉̀o̷̴n̴̨e̶̢!̡͞ ̡͡Ḑ͞o͝n̶͝'̨̕t ̢͏̡I ͜s̸̛u͜͜f̵͝f̷͠͝er̛ ̧e͏͜n̢o̵u҉͢͢g̶͡͡ḩ?!͏"

"CALM...I...LYNSIE."

A voice? A normal voice?

"DON'T...ME...RELAX."

The struggling I was doing ends. And as I settle down the static that had blinded me subsides. My location is unknown. But I know the one holding me down.

"M-Metta?"

Seeing I'm normal, Mettaton helps me get back on my feet yet I'm unsettled by...things.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT, DARLING? WHAT HAPPENED?"

Flashes of memory flicker in my head. Those...things...Followers of Gaster...The things they did...

I hold myself and fight the tears trying to come to my eyes. I don't say a thing.

"LYNSIE...HOW DID YOU GET UP HERE? WHY DID I FIND YOU NOT BREATHING?"

I rub my eyes.

"I need my phone. *shaky inhale* I gotta talk to my mom."

"YOU KNOW I DON'T HAVE IT. AND IF I DID, I'M STILL UNSURE YOU WOULDN'T CALL OUT TO YOUR FRIENDS."

He's not wrong. I wasn't going to call Toriel. I was going to give Sans nightmares with the shit done to me.

"NOW COME ON. YOU CAN TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG."

"...N-Nothing's wrong. This...This just happens sometimes."

He's not buying it. I'm doing a piss poor attempt to play off that I'm fine.

"DARLING, YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY NOT FINE AND ABOUT TO CRY. JUST TALK TO ME. WHAT HAPPENED? YOU VANISHED FROM SIGHT AND ENDED UP HERE AT THE START OF LEVEL THREE COMPLETELY UNCONSCIOUS."

I don't say a word.

"DID SOMEONE USE MAGIC ON YOU? IS YOUR SOUL OKAY?"

I flinch at the mentioning of my soul and refuse any further interaction.

"LYNSIE...?"

I refuse to look at him. He sighs.

"IF IT MEANS ANYTHING, DUE TO TIME CRUNCHING, THE THIRD ACT WAS CANCELED. BETWEEN YOUR STALLING FROM HEIGHTS, ALL THESE RANDOM FIGHT ENCOUNTERS, AND EVENTS OF THE FIRST AND SECOND ACT...CHANGES IN THE PROGRAM HAVE BEEN MADE. HEH...ORIGINALLY, THE THIRD ACT WAS GOING TO HAVE YOU DEFUSE A SERIES OF BOMBS PLACED AROUND THE AREA WITHIN A TIME LIMIT. YET EVEN I THOUGHT THAT WAS UNFAIR. THAT AND THE SCRIPT FOR IT WAS JUST AWFUL. NO WAY AM I DISGRACING MYSELF WITH SUCH A POORLY DIRECTED SHOW."

I guess that is some good news. It's probably why he had those guards posted there to stall me.

"BUT...I DO HAVE SOME BAD NEWS."

This gets me to look at him.

"FROM HERE, IN THE NEXT ROOM YOU WILL FIND A SEEMINGLY CHARMING SPIDER NAMED MUFFET. SHE'S A CUNT."

Well, that escalated quickly.

"SHE'S THE LEADER OF THE SPIDERS IN THE UNDERGROUND AND RUNS A SUPPOSED BAKERY. IT'S A FRONT. SHE'S AN EXTORSHINISH. SHE'LL SAY AND DO ANYTHING IF IT MEANS SHE'LL GET GOLD. CLAIMS THE MONEY IS NEEDED TO SAVE THE SPIDERS IN THE RUINS OR SOMETHING STUPID LIKE THAT."

"It sounds like you don't like her very much."

"NO, NOT REALLY. I COULD CARE LESS WHAT SHE DOES. THE THING THAT PISSES ME OFF IS THAT SHE PREYS ON MY WORKERS, KILLS THE ONES THAT CAN'T PAY HER OUTRAGEOUS FEES, AND, WORST OF ALL, SHE REFUSED TO DEAL WITH ME!"

I tilt my head.

"I HAVE TRIED TIME AND TIME AGAIN TO GET HER TO SELL FOOD UNDER MY BRAND. BUT SHE SAYS MY NAME WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE HER LOSE GOLD. SERIOUSLY? THE AUDACITY OF THAT BITCH. I PRACTICALLY OWN HOTLAND AND SHE HAS THE NERVE TO UTTER SUCH SHIT!"

His screen flashes for a moment before he calms down.

"YET DESPITE THAT...KNOWING YOU AND HOW YOU HANDLE DIFFICULT MONSTERS, I'M CONFIDENT YOU CAN GET BY HER WITH LITTLE ISSUE."

"...You have that much faith in me?"

He spins on his wheel.

"WOULD YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED IF I SAY I DO?"

My dower expression answers him for me.

"WELL, IT WAS WORTH A TRY."

His wheel retracts to fly.

"WE WILL MEET AGAIN FOR THE FOURTH ACT...PROVIDED YOU SURVIVE THE SPIDERS. YOU'RE NOT AFRAID OF SPIDERS, ARE YOU?"

"I was when I was a kid. I got over it."

"GOOD. YOU SHOULD BE FINE THEN."

He comes over and, to my surprise, gives me a small embrace.

"I BELIEVE IN YOU, LYNSIE."

My throat tightens, I couldn't speak even if I wanted to. He takes off and I wait for when he's out of sight to breakdown.

[SNOWDIN: Skeleton House in present time]

The "We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties" screen cuts away. The human has been located. She appears to be on a different level and is a wreck. Down on her hands and knees, sobbing intangible pleas. Something has happened and it wasn't good.

Toriel gasps softly.

"tori? what's wrong?"

She covers her mouth and points. Sans sees it now. Papyrus even spies it before Grillby. The hands. The harsh imprints darkening the snow colored skin.

"Those marks...They would sometimes appear in her sleep. Why are they there now?"

Grillby shoots a look at Sans and he decides to get his buddy off his back.

"she had those marks while with us too. but if you look closely, these marks are different. there's no hole in the palm. plus...there are two sets."

"HMMM...AN AMBUSH PERHAPS? BUT WHAT KIND OF MAGIC CAN ALLOW FOR SUCH A SNEAK ATTACK AND THEN VANISH ELSEWHERE?"

Grillby continues to leer at Sans.

"what?"

"Sounds like teleporting to me. Anyone you know can do that?"

Sans glares.

"no. only i can teleport."

"Are you sure?"

"yeah. i'm sure. knock it off."

Papyrus cocks his brow. This might require his attention if things escalate.

"I'll knock it off when you come clean."

"i ain't hiding shit."

"Bullshit. You've been holding back so much that even your brother doesn't know just how much you do. If you don't know, then you don't know, but if one thing we've figured about you tonight...It's that you hide what you know all the damn time. So you've got to give us something better if you want us to believe you."

Sans balls his fist.

"us? or you? don't start connecting dots to points that don't exist because you want answers that no one can give to make yourself feel better."

"Then tell me who it was that hurt her before. Maybe they know who did it this time."

That line. That line got heads to turn.

"Sans? You know who has been harming my child?"

It's times like these Sans wished he was able to RESET.

"no, i don't."

"That's not what you told me."

"i only said what i did to get you off my back. ya were all upset about the marks and..."

"Of course I was upset about the marks! What guy wouldn't?!"

Papyrus snarkily lifts a finger, admitting his lack of concern but not wanting to get involved in this.

"maybe instead of pointing fingers, you should question why she didn't tell ya about'em herself. because if she doesn't even tell her mom about shit like this, what makes ya think she tells me?"

Grillby had to pause at that.

"Is it that one of them hurt you?"

"What?"

"You're ignoring them, but that doesn't make them invisible to anyone else. Did they do this? Papyrus I can believe, but I have doubts on Sans. But if they did this to you..."

"They didn't. This is a whole different issue."

"Don't defend your abuser."

"I'm not defending shit. It's my problem, I can deal with it. Don't make this a big deal."

"It is a big deal!"

"*wince* You're hurting me."

"..."

"Like I said...That's a different issue that I will deal with. Not you. Are we clear?"

"Y-Yes."

Maybe Sans had a point. Knowing how others would react keeps one from talking about such things, especially when it's not a reaction that is easily dealt with. Toriel and Grillby have proven to overreact when it comes to the human. She probably thought it best to keep such pain to herself to avoid added damage. But still...Something didn't sit right with Grillby. Sans knew something. What it was he knew not.

"IF YOU'RE DONE WITH YOUR POINTLESS BICKERING, THE HUMAN IS ON THE MOVE NOW."

Attention once more fell back to the television.

[HOTLAND: LEVEL 3]

My body aches. The crying did little to ease me. Sure I vented, that's always good. But I don't feel any better for doing so. My arms stings. My soul throbs in agony. My every nerve demands relief that will never seem to come. I look at the bruises. I can still feel their hold. I don't know how long it happened for or how long after till I was found, yet I can still feel their filthy hands. It's too much. Make it stop!

I take my gloves off and dig my nails across the full stretch of my arms. I don't care about bleeding. I just want to stop feeling their hands. The strange energy begins to crackle around me as it did once before.

[HP ████████████████████ 20/40]

It...It finally went away. That's good. Now if only the memory could be removed. Can't claw my brain unfortunately. Oh well. Perhaps I'll find something to bash my head against. Won't that be fun?

I take my leave. Flesh under my now gloved nails and blood trickling down my arms, making a trail behind me.

A few short steps have me in a more inhabited spot. The monsters here give me strange looks. Maybe it's because of the self-mutilation. Or maybe it was spine chilling wailing. Or both. Or random other shit. Either way, I keep to myself and press onward.

"Oh, yoohoo, human~..."

Ah, fuck my life with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole!

"You look like you can use some healing items. Come, I don't bite...well...maybe ONE little nibble~."

...Why do I attract the kinky weirdos?!

This is the spider-lady Mettaton was talking about. She has periwinkle or lavender skin, five eyes, six arms, and two legs. She wears red rompers with yellow buttons in the front, a red ribbon across her chest, as well as large wild twin pigtails in her black hair tied by red bows. She is also holding two teacups with her top pair of hands and two teapots with her middle pair, her bottom pair of hands hide under her little table.

"Welcome to our parlor, dearie~. Interested in some spider pastries? All proceeds go to real spiders~. Check out the webs to make a purchase~."

I'm so not in the mood for this.

"Ms. Spider..."

"No need for formalities, dearie~. Call me Muffet."

"Muffet...I'm gonna be nice yet blunt. So I apologize in advance if I tick you off at any point because that's not my intent. *shaky inhale* I have been battered, beaten, abducted, blasted, and brought near death more than usual today. And normally, I'd roll with it and let you do this 'thing' it is you're gonna do...But not now."

She opens her mouth to speak and I slam my hands on the tabletop.

"I have just spent an ungodly amount of time trapped in that elevator over there having my soul violated by people that don't even exist anymore on this plane of reality. I have clawed my skin off to stop feeling their hands on me. So, please...Not now."

I can feel that energy get stronger. The odd display bugs her yet she continues.

"My, how dreadful. That's a terrible tale you tell, human. And such a silly one to explain your disappearing act."

My eye twitches. Does she...Does she think I made that up?

"That Mettaton is certainly putting more effort into his effects for this show. It's about time too. That metal moron can't act to save his batteries."

I want to hit her.

"Anyway...Can I interest you in some of my 100% all-natural treats? Food made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!"

...Wait a second?

"Of spiders? So...You're killing your own kind...for pastries?"

She simply smiles innocently.

"...Are they at least dead or dying ones?"

Her giggle is not reassuring.

"Go on, dearie~. Have a nice donut and wash it down with some cider. You'll heal faster than ever before. And all for the low low price of 9999G...each."

My nerves are shot. Were they always called donuts and not doughnuts? What the fuck?!

"Lady, that is the biggest crock of shit I have ever had the misfortune to step in."

All of her eyes glare at me.

"Beg your pardon?"

"This same 'bake sale' is being done by the spiders in the Ruins. Do you wanna know what the prices are there? Donuts are 7G and Ciders are 18G. Where the hell do you get off charging that much for food that works on cannibalism?"

I point at her in judgment.

"You're sick, lady! This is fucked up."

She hisses at me.

"Seems humans are awfully stingy with money. Don't know a good deal when it's in their face."

I look at her cockeyed.

"Stingy with money? Bitch, did you not hear the words coming out of my mouth?!"

She laughs in my face.

"Ahuhuhuhu...You think your taste is too refined for our pastries, don't you, deary?"

"...Sure. Whatever. You're not listening anyway."

"Ahuhuhu...I disagree with that notion. I think your taste...Is exactly what this next batch needs!"

She stares at me creepily and licks her lips.

"Oh hell nah!"

I flip the table on her and run. She's not happy.

"Get back here!"

"Fuck you!"

I look back to see if she's following and crash into a guy.

"Hey, watch where you're going."

"Sorry. I was just..."

My blood runs cold seeing the monster I've bumped. This guy...This guy is a dead ringer for the creepy gray dude with the face in his hand. The only difference being he's in color.

"*scoff* Weirdo."

He walks to where Muffet is but I can't move. My heart begins pounding. Flashes of memory play before my eyes. I can't breathe fast enough. Gaster, for all the shit he does, isn't as bad as the Followers.

MAKE IT STOP! M̴A͝KÉ IT͜ S͢T͡O͜P!!͘ MA̡̛͜K̶͢E͝ ̢I̡͝T̡҉̧ ́͠S̷͡T͝OP̵!!̛͏! M̢̡A̸̧̛͞͝K̢̨҉É̶̡̢͏ ͜͝͡I̸̧̨̕T̴ ̶̕͞S͜͢T̵͡Ǫ͝҉҉҉P̨̛͞!̶!̕͘͟!̷̨͟͝͡!̕͟

[WARNING]

[SOUL destabilization detected]

[HEARTBREAK immanent]

W͏ai̕t̸.̀.̢.̸Wha̧t doe̴s̛ t̨ha͝t ̨meàn̶?͡

[HEARTBREAK is the condition in which the SOUL will damage itself due to instability or loss of HOPE]

[There are three levels of the HEARTBREAK condition]

[Level ONE: the SOUL forms a crack, it starts small which can be healed easily]

[Level TWO: the crack on the SOUL spreads, damage taken is increased and needs intensive care to be repaired]

[Level THREE: the SOUL shatters and death accrues]

...Serious?

[Current status: PENDING HEARTBREAK]

[PENDING HEARTBREAK: the SOUL weakens and its color dulls]

[Most MONSTERS in the UNDERGROUND have this state due to a loss of HOPE which is the main trait in MONSTER SOULS]

So...I can die from my soul hurting itself because of my inability to cope with the shit that happened?

[Correct]

...Fuck. Well...I should make a last will. Because I'm gonna die.

*STATIC* DARLING? ARE YOU OKAY? YOU NEED TO KEEP MOVING.

Mettaton's voice in my ear causes the shackles of trauma to release me...for now.

I slap myself. Gotta focus. Do this and get to go home. Concentrate. Don't fuck up! The energy around me slowly dissipates.

"Human!"

Looking back I see Muffet coming at me.

"Someone's stealing from the register!"

Her concern for money outweighs her need to kill me and I use this to escape. Much to my annoyance, this part of the path ends with more of those damn vents and they of course split off into three ways, one being a big as hell closed door.

"...I fucking hate Hotland."

I sigh. Taking in the vent platforms and noting that the gap between them is the smallest size ever. No need to run, jump, or use them. I merely walk onto the next platform and can do so for all of them. I choose to take the right side first. Why not? Not like it makes a difference. It leads me to a conveyor belt that has three blue lasers. I ride it to the end without harm. I guess Metta's budget for puzzles is running low if this is what I have to deal with. This leads me to a familiar room with, what a surprise, the same shooting puzzle from the last time I had to unlock a big fucking door.

"Now this is just lazy."

I look for the instructions.

(Shoot the opposing ship!)

(You have just one shot.)

Well...Maybe that's something.

This puzzle has the blocks in a four by five state. Eleven blocks are solid and four can be moved around. The four moving blocks move all at once like they're connected. The open spaces are pretty fair if I have to give it some credit. I move to the right, up, right, down twice, right twice, down, left, down, and finally end it by firing through the clear path.

(CONGRATULATIONS!)

"Don't tell me it's the same on the other side."

I head out and take the other conveyor belt back to the vents, passing a random cactus in the process. I swear if this shit keeps up I'm going to lose my mind. No! No...I need to calm down and relax. I don't need the stress. My soul is in rough shape as is. Now it's at risk of damage without my conscious input. I wish I had my music. That would really help. Maybe a little Green Day or Linkin Park. Oh! My Chemical Romance!

*BONK*

It would seem I didn't pay attention and walked into the puzzle room, kicking the machine by accident.

(Shoot the opposing ship!)

(You have just one shot.)

"God dingle damn it bull honkery."

I hate copy & paste design. The board is larger, five by five. Ten solid blocks and six movable ones, everything else is empty space. Right, up, right, down twice, right, right/up, up/right, up twice, right, up, and fire.

(CONGRATULATIONS!)

"...I'm so sick of this crap it ain't even funny."

I shove my hands in my pockets and leave...only to see two diamond-headed monsters just hanging out, one light-purple and the other a super light-green. Did I really walk by them?

"I've been thinking about getting a sick skateboard."

"Really? That's cool I guess. ...So...What's your fave Mettaton Moment(TM)?"

"My fave Mettaton Moment(TM)? Right when everything looks the baddest, he poses dramatically. Like when he's on a cooking show and the eggs don't turn out right. But! Then he says...Even if you suck at cooking, you can always buy an MTT-brand Glamburger! Then he eats one! Everyone loves it!"

"...How does he eat it without a mouth?"

"Uhhh...well...Watch the show!"

"Well, my fave Mettaton Moment(TM) is when he beats up the heel-turning villains! Even if it's during what's supposed to be a quiz show. Oh! And I like when he tries on all kinds of different fashionable outfits! Even if it's during what's supposed to be a newscast."

I wonder if I can get a chuckle out of these two.

"Sounds like you two really know your stuff about Mettaton."

They turn to look at me, they look like teenagers based on their clothes.

"Totally."

"No one's a bigger fan than us."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! He's currently broadcasting live. And with a Human! We can finally get to the surface!"

"On the surface, we'll be able to watch all kinds of TV...But, I bet none of those shows are as good as Mettaton's!"

"You don't say. Then...Could you describe this human? I don't want to miss seeing it."

The green one goes for his phone.

"Let me see if it's back on and we'll show you. Some crazy stuff happened and the feed cut off a bit ago."

I smile and wait for it. I can't read their faces, but it's very clear when the green one goes to his buddy and shows him the screen. Looks are shot at me. I merely give a friendly wave.

"Dude..."

"We're on TV!"

At least someone's happy about it.

"Wait...Then that means..."

"You're the human?"

I shrug.

"What...What happened to you?"

"You're like all messed up and junk."

I shrug again.

"You know...Messed up crud. Being human ain't all that and or fun. But don't worry about it. Just enjoy the show. Metta's doing his best to make it epic as hell."

I walk past them.

"Oh! Before I go...Don't copy any of the stuff aired at home. You'd probably get in trouble if you blast people for getting trivia wrong or use chainsaws while cooking."

I give a thumbs-up as I go. Vaguely hoping to look badass. With the door open it shouldn't be long till all this nonsense is over and I can go home. I wonder though...Can Flowey get up here? The floor is artificial, so I don't know if he can traverse it. I hope he's okay. Poor fella's probably losing his mind wondering where I went. Then again, he's a clever cookie and knows his way around the Underground better than anyone.

[The smell of cobwebs fills the air...]

Huh?

*sniff*

"What smells like freshly baked tarantulas?"

...Oh shit.

The room past the door is littered with webbing and spiders are dangling from the ceiling.

"...Fuck my life."

Smelling a trap I attempt to get through this room as fast as I can. But the webbing on the floor accumulates on my shoes and eventually, I'm unable to take a step. Struggling only made things worse.

"Ahuhuhuhu..."

Damn it! Damn it all to hell!!

"Did you hear what they just said? They said a human in tacky clothes will come through."

"Well, fuck you too."

"I heard that they hate spiders."

"What?!"

"I heard that they love to stomp on them."

"That is a bald-faced lie!"

"I heard that they like to tear their legs off."

"Slander! The levels of bullshit in here are off the charts!"

"I heard..."

Muffet comes down like a Charlotte's Web reject onto a large web. Smaller spiders dangle beside her and block the path ahead as well as behind me.

"...that they're incredibly stingy with their money. Ahuhuhuhu."

My fucks are all gone.

"You're mom was a hoe and ate your dad."

Her face blanks before burning with rage.

"You're fucking dead meat!"

[SPIDER DANCE begins to play in the background.]

My dull yellow soul comes out.

[Muffet traps you!]

"Oh, like this is fair. I can't move and you bring out a freaking gang. I mean, what are the damn rule anymore?!"

"Oh don't look so blue, my deary~."

She spins silk to entangle my soul then bites the end of a strand, her magic venom flows down the strand and coats the heart. Forcibly changing the trait and color.

"...I think purple is a better look on you! Ahuhuhu~."

This feels so wrong.

"Why is everyone messing with my soul today?!"

Her spider underlings draw webbing in strings in horizontal lines. These lines are also infused with the purple magic and attract my soul.

[You're trapped in a strange purple web!]

"Here's the deal, dearie~...A spider will appear to the right between each turn, holding a sign that presents the density and type of attack that will come after your turn. Now while you can't move, your pretty little soul can, and you'll have to move it along or switch between the three strings to avoid attacks. There will only be three strings. No more, no less. How's that for fair~?"

I mull it over.

"...Not bad actually. Who goes first?"

"You. I want to see what you can do."

She's a smart one, I'll give her that. Let's see my options.

[FIGHT]

[ACT]

[̴͝SP͜͞E͡L̵͜L͟͠͏]͘͢

[ITEM]

[MERCY]

That button is giving me weird vibes the more I see it.

[ACT selected.]

[New options available.]

[CHECK]

[STRUGGLE]

[PAY 10G]

Pay? Fuck that! I earned this gold. Mine!

[CHECK selected.]

[MUFFET – HP: 1250 ATK: 38.8 DEF: 18.8 – If she invites you to her parlor, excuse yourself.]

And she's better in the stat department than the butterdragon.

A spider drops down and holds a sign...It's a picture of a spider. The hell does that mean?

"Why so pale? You should be proud~."

"With the amount of blood I've lost today it would make me look like a corpse. But be proud of what?"

"Why...Proud that you're going to make a delicious cake~! Ahuhuhu~!"

Spiders begin crawling across the threads. It's like a weird form of Frogger minus hopping to safety. It's a simple move and I come out of it fine.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

Sweet, my HP is full. I love this nasty apron!

[All the spiders clap along to the music.]

It is a catchy tune, no lie. But I need to get out of this. It's not like all of me is unable to move.

[ACT selected.]

[STRUGGLE selected.]

[You struggle to escape the web. Muffet covers her mouth and giggles at you.]

...Bitch.

A spider drops down and holds a sign...It's a picture of a spider. Okay, I know what that means now.

"Look at you. Trying to break free. It's so cute~."

"Would it help if I asked nicely? Please let me go?"

"Let you go? Don't be silly~. Your SOUL is going to make every spider very happy~~!"

Spiders cross the lines and it oddly seems like there was less this time. Making it easier.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

[Muffet does a synchronized dance with the other spiders.]

"You know...Someone warned us about you...Offered us a LOT of money for your SOUL."

This gets my attention.

"What?"

"Oh yes~. They had such a sweet smile~ and...Ahuhuhu~. It's strange, but I swore I saw them in the shadows...Changing shape...?"

The hell? Wait...She can't mean one of the Followers...Can she? Stop it! Don't think about them! Don't!

"Oh well. It's not like it matters anyway. Your move, dearie~."

[STRUGGLE selected.]

[You struggle to escape the web. Muffet laughs and claps her hands.]

"Still trying, huh? Still thing. Don't you know spider silk is five times stronger than steel?"

I can not get a break today.

A spider drops down and holds a sign...It's a picture of two spiders. What?

Double the spiders come on the strings at the same time. It's somehow a new move yet works too similar to the normal attack to be tricky. I dodge it fairly well.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

[Muffet pours herself a cup of spiders.]

...I didn't need to see that. No one needs to see a large spider drink smaller spiders like they were tea.

"*sip* With the money from you SOUL, the spider clans can finally be reunited~."

I tilt my head.

"What do you mean?"

"You haven't heard? Spiders have been trapped in the RUINS for generations!"

Obvious thing is obvious.

"Can't they, you know, squeeze out through the door?"

"*scoff* Even if they go under the door, Snowdin's fatal cold is impassable alone."

It is pretty cold there. Then they'd have to travel through two zones to get here. Damn, that sucks.

"But with the money from your SOUL, we'll be able to rent them a heated limo~. And with all of the leftovers...? We could have a nice vacation~! Or even build a spider baseball field~!"

What little sympathy I was gaining dies at that.

"Now you're just spending to show off."

"But enough of that...It's time for dinner, isn't it? Ahuhuhu~."

*Growls*

I look around and see nothing. I don't like this.

[STRUGGLE selected.]

[You struggle to escape the web. Nothing happened.]

"Don't struggle too much. You'll make yourself all sweaty. No one wants a sweaty donut."

A spider drops down and holds a sign...It's a picture of a spider and a donut?

The spiders come crawling faster than before even if their numbers aren't as much, then they are followed by random donuts being thrown by the spiders blocking the pathways. This almost had me. Came close, but no cigar.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████ 40/40]

I'm proud of my dodging skills. I've come a long way.

[Muffet tidies up the web around you.]

If you don't like crumbs, don't throw food. It's very simple.

*Growls*

There's that sound again. I really don't like it. Muffet does though.

"You look concerned."

"Are you saying you don't hear the growling?"

She giggles.

"Oh, how rude of me! I almost forgot to introduce you to my pet~."

I'm puzzled. What kind of pet does a spider have?

"Oh, my pet~...Looks like it's time for dessert~."

I can hear rapid heavy skittering. Not good! Not good!

[STRUGGLE selected.]

[You struggle to escape the web. Muffet is so amused by your antics that she gives you a discount!]

"Tell you what...If you survive my pet, I just might consider sparing you."

"R-Really? That might actually be the f...Holy fucking shit!!"

*Roar*

An abomination appears. A hideous cupcake spider thing emerges from the webs.

"What the fuck is that thing?!"

"This is my pet. Have fun, you two~."

A spider drops down and holds a sign...It's a picture of a cupcake. I don't like this at all!

So many spiders speed by in an unchanging pattern of fear and with good reason. The freaky food beast climbs down and begins eating the strings, pulling my soul towards its hungry maw. This causes spiders that were already on their way to fall prey to this creature as I desperately do my best to not get hit or be dragged to what I assume is instant death. But I'm too panicked to be perfect in my dodging.

[HP ████ 4/40]

Six...I took six hits. I'm gonna die.

[Your soul can't take much more of this.]

No? Really?! Like I couldn't fucking tell!

"You're still alive? Ahuhuhu~...That's impressive~."

She calls her pet to her side.

"Got way too worked up...*gag* I think...*gag* I think I'm gonna puke. *hic*"

"...Please don't. Do you know how hard vomit is to clean out of webbing?"

I take a moment to settle down.

"*sigh* Don't lie...Spiders eat their webbing when it gets messed up."

She cringes.

"Yeah...I don't know everything about spiders. But I do know random gross stuff like that."

I shake off the impending dizziness.

"So...Are you going to spare me?"

She thinks for a moment.

"I will..."

Maybe there is a god?

"For the small fee of 500G~."

Nope. God's dead.

"Are you kidding me?! I'm fucking broke! "

I ain't telling her I have money.

"Then I guess we're going to be spending more quality time together, dearie~ I do hope you're feeling comfortable trapped in that web. Ahuhuhuhu~! Because I don't mind keeping you here for as long as it takes~!"

Damn it. I don't have time for this crap. Wait a second...Time? Heh...This gives me an idea.

"Say, Muffet...Who's watching your bake sale stand while you're here?"

She folds her upper arms.

"A loyal family member. Why do you ask?"

I chuckle softly.

"Oh, no reason. Just checking."

Her eyes cock.

"Checking?"

"Well, we've been here a long time. At least, you have because you got here before me. And we're far from your stand too. It would be a real shame if someone took your 'donations' while this fight was happening."

She sneers.

"Dearie, you're not going to fool me again with that trick. No one would dare steal from me."

I smirk.

"That's the thing...It's not YOU they'd stealing from now is it? It's some other weaker spider."

Her expression gains some worry.

"Even if that spider is loyal, can you honestly say it can defend the money if, let's say, a group stormed the table?"

Concern crosses her face and her pet nudges her as it picks up the vibes.

"Then...Then I'll kill you quickly and return before some fool even tries!"

I shake my head at her.

"Yeah, that would be a thing you could do. But...You can't."

"Wha...What do you mean I can't? You have four HP left! One more hit and your SOUL is mine!"

I put my hands in my pockets and rock on my heels.

"True. So very true. Yet...It's not your turn."

Her eyes widen, finally picking up on my little plan.

"Here's the thing...I've been in enough fights to understand how they work. It all functions on a turn-based system. It's a very fair means of doing combat. No one can attack at random, only when it's their turn. Heh...But the kicker is, and I think you know where I'm going with this...There's no time limit on turns. So if I want to...as long as I don't do anything...my turn will never end. And we'll be stuck here, locked like this...forever!"

Now it's her turn to feel panic.

"You're bluffing."

I grin.

"How much are you willing to bet on that? Because I wager your clan won't take losing all their hard-earned gold due to your negligence very well. They may think a new leader is needed if that happens."

I yawn and stretch to get cozy, showing I'm more than willing to stay put. She twitches with nervousness.

"So tell us, Muffet...What's it gonna be?"

Based on my understanding of Muffet, she's a greedy, stingy, intimidating, malicious, and somehow hypocritical monster, although having a courteous and sweet way of speaking. She won't stay. The odds don't favor her.

Her pet looks at her, the spiders turn to her, the pressure is almost visible as it smothers her. She balls her six fists and stomps her foot in a fit.

"Fine! I'll SPARE you!"

"For free?"

She grinds her teeth.

"Yes, for free! Just quit stalling and confirm it!"

[Muffet is sparing you and refuses your money.]

I can be super evil when I have the chance.

[MERCY selected.]

[SPARE selected.]

[YOU WON!]

[You earned 0 XP and 0 gold.]

The webbing around my soul dissolves. As does the stuff around my feet. My soul turns a dull orange and returns to my body.

"There, you're free. Now get lost!"

"I'm glad we could have such a fun time together, dear."

She snarls and hops onto her pet.

"Next time, you won't get away so easily."

"And maybe next time you'll be paying me for my amazing entertainment skills."

I think channeled Mettaton for a moment. She bites back some harsh unladylike remarks and rides off. I look at the spiders that block my way out.

"Move...please."

They're hesitant but do so.

"Thank you."

I take a few steps but stop near them, pulling out a small handful of gold.

"I don't know if what she said was true, but...here."

I put the gold on the ground and take my leave, pulling a bottle of cider from my inventory to heal.

"Consider it an addition to the amount I've already paid in the Ruins."

The spiders are confused but I hear them take the gold. I can be evil, yes. But it's not true to my nature. I drink the whole bottle as I enter a new, hopefully lacking in spiders, area.

[HP ████████████████████████████ 28/40]

Not bad. I'll fully heal up soon. This new area appears to have the same material as the Ruins. I'm getting homesick. I miss Toriel. I miss Flowey. I miss my bed. I want to go home.

My melancholy blinds me to my current surroundings. I only come out of it once a spotlight hits me.

"The hell...?"

Things look funny. No doubt it's a setup by Mettaton. But I'm unsure what this act is. I mean, it looks like a receptionist's waiting room. A desk and some random chairs.

"GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND GENTS...!"

Mettaton zips in wearing a red suit and shoves me in a chair as he takes center stage.

"FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE HERE AT MTTTV WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGIZE FOR THE LACK OF ME OVER THE COURSE OF THE PROGRAM. DUE TO THE LACK PREP WORK WITH MY COSTAR HERE, WE SADLY HAD TO FORGO A THRILLING ACT BACK IN LEVEL TWO INVOLVING HUNDREDS OF EXPLOSIVES!!"

I so freaking called it. I should let him have his moment...Nah!

"I thought you said that act was shit anyway?"

He extends an arm to cover my mouth.

"FORGIVE HER. SHE'S LOST A LOT OF BLOOD AND NOT ALL THERE MENTALLY."

I leer at him flatly.

"BUT...DARLING HERE IS GOING TO MAKE AMENDS WITH US ALL RIGHT NOW. IT'S TIME TO ANSWER SOME BURNING QUESTIONS."

I'm so confused as he lets go and leaps onto the desk, posing dramatically.

"IT'S TIME FOR..."

A large neon sign shaped like him drops from the ceiling.

"BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL WITH A KILLER ROBOT! THE LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOSTED BY YOURS TRULY."

Huh. Not a bad title.

"I thought you were working on a courtroom trial program?"

He scoots to now sit behind the desk.

"UNFORTUNATELY, WHILE I DO HAVE THE FUNDS, I DON'T HAVE AVAILABLE WORKERS TO MAKE SUCH A SET. SO...WE'RE DOING THIS INSTEAD."

"Heh...Must be hard to meet your expectations."

"DARLING, YOU HAVE NO IDEA."

A tense dramatic score plays.

"SO, DARLING...ARE YOU READY TO TELL ME EVERYTHING?"

Ah. I see now. Fine, Metta, have it your way. Just be careful what you wish for. You may not like it. Now don't get me wrong. I know my limits. I'm not about to tell him EVERYTHING. I'm not that stupid. But if he wants truth, he's going to get a version that's missing some characters and other junk.

"As you wish. You wanna know the truth? You want to scar the entire Underground? Sure. Why not. What else do I have to lose at this point since you exposed me? So congratulations! I hope you like the prize you've been longing to get. Because I sure as hell don't."

Let the show commence.

[seenalready13]

Broken bridges part 2

Here we go for part 2. I think this turned out pretty well, you guys can tell me what I could do to make this better, and thanks to Kannra for her suggestions in this chapter. 

During my time here at U.A., I somehow became everyone, go-to training instructor, at first it was Sofia, she wanted to be able to utilize my quirk to the fullest, so I let her in during my training sessions it was when I realized how hard I push myself, after the first set of fifty crunches, Sofia wanted to give up since I built up my stamina and durability when I was six, so I guess it’s become normal for me. I mean when we had our physical, I scored the top spot in almost every test except in the long jump and grip strength test. There was a pretty big margin between me and second place, Jodi. 

One day, Misao asked me to train with me. I'm still feeling bad about what I did so training is the most I can do. I ask to do a little sparring session with him, no quirks, just plain fisticuffs, so I can gauge him and figure out where he stands

Misao is sitting at the bottom of the amateur level, his punches are slow and predictable, he has openings all over the place, pretty typical for most quirkies, (The name of people with quirks my mom came up with) if their quirk isn’t some form of strength enhancement they rarely bother with learning proper CQB and Misao is the same. He never really fights but instead stays on the defensive, blocking and dodging throughout the fight. If I was fighting anyone else I would crush them for attempting this, but since its Misao, I’m holding back a ton. 

Since it’s him, I’m holding back a ton, to be honest, I could beat him very easily when he blocks by crushing his guard, but I don’t and instead have some fun.    

After I had enough fun with Misao, I end the fight for his sake. I faint a punch, he falls for the bait, I spin behind, grab him and the both of us over with a German Suplex. 

I get up and look at my work, the sight of Misao with his ass up in the air is too funny, I have to hold back laughing at his pain. I walk over to make sure he’s ok, he looks up at me through his legs to see me, shaking my head in disappointment, “S-so, how did I?” He asks, his charismatic charm still strong through the pain and the embarrassing position he’s in. 

“You have a very high mountain to climb,” I reply and Misao’s body gives, falling down, that the final straw, I break down laughing. He’s going to be my greatest challenge to date, I’m fine with that, I love a good challenge.

At first, there was a major roadblock, I use Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a grappling style martial art, I could only teach Misao the basics, anything after that was going to be useless to him. So we spent a whole day looking online at martial arts to find something that would be suitable for him, he eventually chose Krav Maga, perfect for him since it’s a jack of all trade with the main focus being on self-defense. He could even apply it when he has a puppet. 

Every weekend afterward, me and Misao have private training sessions together. When it came to training Misao’s body, that was easy, I wasn’t too tough on him since Misao is a long-range fighter, so I started off with light training. Somewhere down the line, we started to go out. (That’s another story I’ll save for later.)

The first few weeks were hell for Misao, it was basically me beating the shit out of him for like 6 hours with him trying his best to learn and live. He ended up being covered in bruises afterward, walking down the hall at school was embarrassing for me since everyone including our classmates mistook the bruises as hickeys and Misao had to correct them, I wanted to die since we weren’t dating at the time, it got worse when we started going out. 

Misao was getting the hang of things, his instincts and reflexes were forming. During a session, me and Misao were sparring. He goes for a grab, I break away and retaliate with a lunging kick expecting him to dodge to the side, nope. He’s a bit too slow and I smash my foot into Misao’s gut, he’s down for the count and I pull away and Misao clutches his stomach and falls to a knee, I knocked the wind out of him like he was one of Chibi’s chew toys.

"I THOUGHT YOU'D DODGE THAT, ARE YOU FOR REAL?!" I yell, being so worried that I really hurt Misao that I’m not controlling the volume of my voice, shouting everything.    

"Mm... how was I suppose to know... '' Misao wheezes. 

"TELL ME ABOUT IT, I DIDN'T WANT IT TO TURN LIKE THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE!" I retort. 

"Um... Cortney?" 

"WHAT?!" I ask, voice still on full blast.

"You're shouting... like a lot," Misao responds making me realize what I’ve been doing.  

"That's because I'm worried, sorry." I calm myself down and help Misao to our dorm then lay him down on the couch and make him some ginger tea to help his stomach.

Sometime later, we could no longer hold our sessions at the gym due to some things that happened and were forced to have them at my place instead. It wasn’t too bad but my sister, Lisa, kept a close eye on us. 

When I told my family I was about Misao, they didn’t have the best impressions of him at the start, due to his woman-charmer vibe, but they quickly saw that he is very much in love with me and would even die to protect me. Except for Lisa, she is the one most opposed to us going out and has personally stated to his face that she doesn't like him, and shouldn’t be anywhere near me.  

She has always been very protective of me, especially since she had to take care of me by herself most of the time, so at times she comes and watches over our training to make sure Misao doesn’t try anything funny. It’s not all bad since she can cover the faults with my training, after going overseas in America for 4 years and winning the UFC women’s championship belt, she’s gotten even better. 

Actually, this brings me back to when I was a little girl, most normal kids beg for candy or toys, not me. I begged my sister and father to let me train with them, so I could become a great hero. I remember what caused me to beg to this day, Deku jumping into a fight to save a woman and her child from a villain on the news, that was when I knew I wanted to be a hero like him. 

He was one of my biggest inspirations, hell, I even went so far as to mimic his wind pressure attacks by rewatching videos of his fights, they’re nowhere near as strong as his but I kept going at it until I had something I could be proud of. But sis will always be first for me since she was there to help me every step of way even when Mom and Dad couldn’t, such as being me food or water when I would push myself to my limit, or patch me up when I got into a fight at school and thanks to her, she helped me become the amazing fighter I am today. 

During a spar, Misao actually manages to dodge my punch, then is able to pin me down on my back and hold me down, “Good job,” I say waiting for Misao to advance, however, he uses his quirk, which is illegal during spars, to bind my arms above my head. 

“Uh?” I’m left a bit confused for a second during which Misao grabs my sides with his free hand, my sides are stupidly ticklish and he knows it. I try to break free but he presses on harder with his tickle attack, I’m left at his mercy due to our positions.  

“Pleee-ease Misao,” I beg him to stop, I’m ridiculously ticklish, “We’re supposed to be training,” I remind him what we were doing, Misao stops his tickle assault allowing me a chance to breathe, unbind my arms and gets off from on top of me, I look away while crossing my arms angry at him for breaking the rules and to also hide my blushing face. 

“Come on Cortney, you know I hate fighting, and I could never hurt such a pretty face.” He replies while stroking my cheek, he knows exactly what to say and do to make me melt like butter.   

“Spoiled bastard,” I tell Misao and he responds by blowing a raspberry on my cheek, washing out any anger I may still have, “Stop that, it tickles.”

I can never be too mad at him since I forget to give myself breaks and he’s there to tell me to go easy.  

Time goes on until one Misao receives a call from Lisa telling him to come to get something for me I left at our house, when he gets there Lisa grabs and drags him to our training spot before throwing  

“What’s going on?” Misao asks from the very sudden invitation.

“Simple, break up with Cortney.” Lisa bluntly replies. 

“Why?” 

“Because Cortney shouldn’t be wasting her time with you, and I’ve watched you two, you constantly charm her and never take her training seriously.” She angrily answers with her evidence. 

Misao gets up and brushes the dirt off himself, but Lisa interrupts him before he can say anything, “No talk, we’ll settle this with our fists,” She retorts raising up her fists and getting into position, Misao does the same seeing as Lisa won’t listen to him. 

Misao waits for Lisa to take the first move, ready to counter, however, Lisa is right in front of him, driving her fist deep into Misao’s stomach and lifting him off the ground, “Even if I had a quirk, I wouldn’t need it to beat your ass.” Lisa whispers in Misao’s ear before flinging him at a nearby tree. He pushes himself back up to his feet where he’s stuck with a brutal kick to the chest, knocking out any wind he may have had left and pushes him to the ground.  

When Misao tries to get up, Lisa shuts him with a swift kick to the side of the ribs also flipping Misao on his side and exposing his vulnerable stomach and kicks as hard as she can. Misao can only take it as the previous attacks left him reeling in pain.

Lisa strikes three times each harder and more brutal, the third strike causes Misao to vomit the contents of his stomach, she rests her arms behind her head and starts walking away seeing as Misao has had enough punishment, “Stay the FUCK away from Cortney.” 

“S-s-selfish,” Misao croaks, Lisa turns around and sees Misao shaky trying to get up, she presses her foot on his back.

“What was that? Say that again?” Lisa viciously asks.

“You’re being selfish, what gives you any right to decide what’s right for Cortney?” Misao repeats, Lisa applies weight to her leg without any response.

“I’m protecting her from people like you, she worked her whole life up to this point, and I’m not letting you ruin this!” Lisa retorts, trying to press Misao into the floor but he’s fighting back. 

“You say that, but have even given a thought about how Cortney would feel?” Misao counters, fighting against Lisa, “NO, you haven’t, you haven’t given her wellbeing the time of day! She’ll be divested if I went through with it, and that’ll cause more damage than I could ever do if I tried!” Misao fights up to his feet and knocks Lisa off balance and socks her in the face with all his might, she falls down and Misao is now the left one standing. 

Lisa stares up at the sky, thinking about what Misao said, then covers her face with her hand, “You’re right!” she says still on the ground, “I was angry that I couldn’t be there to protect Cortney, and just attacked you with that anger for no reason. Sorry about that, it’s a really bad habit of mine.” She points out.

“It’s fine,” Misao says.

“I was blind, and have been a really bad big sister. Listen, you win, just promise me, you’ll make Cortney happy.” She asks.

“I will,” Misao promises, clutching his sides, which are probably broken. 

Lisa gets up and puts an arm over her shoulder, “Sorry, let me patch you up, also don’t tell Cortney about this, ok?” Misao nods.

“Also, let me add, you still have to earn my respect.” 

I eventually found out and was quite pissed off at Lisa for some time, I had her be Misao’s training dummy to make up for it.

[sparda3g]

One Piece Chapter 947 Review

As you may know by now, the anime is heading towards Wano Country Arc, airing on the first week of July. It looks promising, judging by its own art direction and style. Whether the action will deliver or not, though I have good faith, by this point, I seriously hope more that the comedy will deliver. The past couple of chapters have been so hilarious. This one is undoubtedly no exception.

Some fans have reflected Luffy’s save from the last chapter to be similar to Rayleigh’s save back in Sabaody Arc. The chapter confirms to be the case, which is good to know. It’s amazing how Oda can reflect something far back then. Supposedly, he keeps all notes on his world building, and it truly shows its benefit. Luffy recalls the moment, so at least he’s up to speed with how it was possible and how he did it on desperation. The scene energized you greatly for Luffy to finally master the Haki. The hype is getting bigger and bigger with each passing panel. You get the good feeling that he will do it. When Big Mom finally goes for her punch, it’s time for Luffy to shock the world. The reward will be glorious…

It certainly is, but in a hilarious way.

I laughed so much at the fact Luffy killed all the hype for failing to block Big Mom’s punch. This isn’t like how Naruto from Naruto (yeah, I know) failed to use his new technique, where it sort of plays off as a comedy by the end, but it was largely serious. Here, it’s all gag and downright hilarious. Luffy had the momentum and he failed so hard. Epic fail at its finest. Everyone’s reaction is priceless. In a way, this should be considered as a twist, because I honestly thought Luffy would pull it through or at least partially. Instead, yeah, fail.

I love how Hyogoro pretty much go against his old stance of taking a bullet, not a care in a world. Only Luffy would force him to use Ryuo to guard himself. So much for taking it like a true champ. I know he’s old, but he looked like a complete badass and Luffy ruined it. I also love how he plays it off like a typical master’s death scene, where the guy has one final teaching to exploit before death; not to mention the lesson itself is quite interesting.

The reason why the other Haki works really well, let alone removing the collar that shouldn’t be possible, is because it attacks within an object or a person. It elaborates how the first level can protect the user like an invisible armor, but the second level is where the real damage comes in. It affects the inside, hence destroying the collar from inside out. That makes sense how Big Mom basically blocks Luffy’s attack back in Whole Cake Island Arc like equally. If Luffy had the next level, she would have been damaged since it attacks inside. That’s a hell of an advancement.

The hilarity resume with Hyogoro assuring Luffy that he has done it before, he can do it again. As nice this was, Hyogoro “dies” and Luffy cries out his name. I can’t believe Oda is pulling this cliché scene hilariously. It’s even funnier when Big Mom attacks again and Hyogoro wakes up like nothing, leaving to Luffy to perfect his Haki. This was really funny, but it doesn’t stop there. In fact, it gets better.

Big Mom is causing havoc throughout Udon. I should mention that there’s one particular character that seems like he has some relevancy. You could only see his silhouette, so I suppose more will be revealed later on. It could be the other Yakuza guy that Hyogoro briefly mentioned. Aside from that, Big Mom is on the loose and Luffy’s training is still in process. I didn’t expect this route, but man, is it hilarious. The chapter’s title spoils the return, but Queen does wake up and vow to stop her at all cost. What could go wrong? Oh, the next part is pure gold.

Like the chapter’s title implies, this is when Queen has a plan and it all relies on this one move. It risks having her destroying the gates across Udon, but it is a gamble, hence the title. It’s funny enough with Big Mom going on a wild goose chase with Luffy, it’s even funnier with the setup on this plan to be seen as “do or die” scenario. If the hype can be destroyed like earlier, I can see it happening again. The trap is simple; plant an empty pot of Oshiruko to deceive her and then, head-butt or Brachio Bomber (get it?) the hell out of her. It definitely worked…

…For all the wrong reason…

I’m surprised yet amused that Big Mom recovers his memory from that. I wonder how that would play out after acting really nice to the townspeople. Is there any payoff aside from humor skits? It’s early to say, but the reaction from Queens had me dying. His life has to be flashing before his very eyes. The good news is, O-Lin is gone. The bad news is, Big Mom is back.

The twist this time, Big Mom falls asleep. The immediate reaction from Queen is pure gold. He waste absolutely no time to chain her, cage her, rope her, cuff her, an all kinds of tools. Okay, he only use two things, but in an incredible amount at its 100% seastone quality. Hilariously, he bail out quickly as possible, ship and all; bringing Big Mom and leave the guards to take care of Udon. What could go wrong? Well nothing yet, but it is coming.

The overall scene is pure gold. I couldn’t stop laughing because of its speed and transition of comedy. The way how he bailed out was so quick, I couldn’t cool down for a minute. I take my words back on Queen; he’s hilarious. The chapter ends with Luffy ready to kick ass. I assume all the running from death got him stronger than ever. Funny how the guards were like, “Oh yeah, we have this guy.” I mean Luffy is no pushover, but Big Mom was like a Colossal Titan compare to him.

This chapter was a lot of fun like the previous ones. The twist after twist was hilarious, even if it is a shame that Luffy failed to show his development to his master. Oh well, it got me rolling for a while. Queen is MVP of the chapter with his bold attempt to stop her, only to make it far worse than before. His reactions were the best. It’s what makes him a really fun character. I actually want him to last very long, just for his reactions. With Luffy ready to kick ass and takes name, you can be assured that the next chapter is going to be another course of fun. I’m good from laughing; I’m ready for some action.

[poison-rat]

Tattoo Flowers Snippet 3

This has been a long time coming but I finally wrote more! As the other two parts say, these are in no particular order. I may go back and edit those as well so I may repost those tonight. Hopefully I'll continue to feel inspired to write this!

Snippet 1 & Snippet 2

♡♡♡

Dan sat in his shop at the end of the day, finishing up a design. He was planning a charity day where he would do simple tattoos for $7 and donate the money to a local charity. He did it twice a year but he liked to switch up the designs every time for a new theme. This one was flowers. Not for any reason. And definitely not for his new neighbor. He pushed the thoughts from his head and continued his steady lining.

A customer came in for a touch up and another came in for a simple bee tattoo with her girlfriend. He made sure they were satisfied and handed over the care kit and began to run through the process of healing for her.

He smiled softly as the girlfriend said she knew how this worked and would take good care of her. "Alright. Looks like you're in good hands. Let's get you paid out then."

He brought them to the register. The girl with the bee tipped very well and thanked him and even said she may be back for more. Dan watched the two leave, hands intertwined. He couldn't quite explain why his heart gave a small leap at the sight of two people in love.

He yawned and checked his phone for the time. It was already late and he figured closing up shop ten minutes early wouldn't hurt. He put the charity design papers into a file and stretched on his way to the door.

As the bolt clicked into place, a hand smacked the glass and made Dan jump two feet back. "Shit!!" He moved back to it and looked out.

The hand's owner, Arin, stepped into view, panting and trying to talk. "Sorry! Sorry!" He gestured to the door and made a twisting motion, silently asking Dan to unlock the door.

The artist undid the lock and let him in. "What the hell, man? You could've just come and knocked on my door later if you wanted to talk." He went to his fridge and grabbed a water to give him.

"Yeah, but... uh..." Arin trailed off. Obviously, that had not occurred to him. Dan chuckled at the pure confusion on his face. "Shut up."

"Oh, no, this is gold. You forgot we were neighbors?" Dan moved to lock the door again and started to clean up.

"I'm sorry! I got all confused and lost track of time and flustered!" Arin huffed and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I did come down here to ask you if you wanted to come over but now I take it back!"

Dan's hand froze on the cup of ink he'd been using during a brainstorm session. "Ask me over?" He turned to Arin, who looked a little more flustered and pink in the cheeks than the running from his apartment would account for. "What for?"

The florist shrugged. "I dunno. We've been neighbors a week. I figured we could get to know one another." He smiled lightly towards Dan. "It's not gay. It's just some neighbors making sure that when one of us throws a wild house party, the other won't be as mad as they could be."

"You've obviously put some thought into this." Dan dumped the cup and began rinsing them. He turned and saw Arin picking up some papers and stacking them. "Oh, you don't have to do that."

"It's fine, man. Repaying the favor for you helping me set up shop." He smiled as he tossed the balled up wads into the trash.

Dan nodded with a weird haze in his mind. Arin wanted to have dinner with him, he was helping him clean up, he ran from his apartment just to catch him?

"So? How's about it?"

"Huh?" The man blinked and looked over at the man speaking. Arin was now closer, holding some other dishes Dan had overlooked. "What?"

"Dinner at my place? The whole reason I came down here?" Arin wiggled his eyebrows, making Dan laugh slightly.

He thought for a moment then shrugged. "Yeah. Sure. It sounds better than reheated chicken fingies." He took the dishes, careful to avoid getting Arin's hands wet.

The florist looked confused again before breaking into a grin. "Fingies? Are you serious?"

"Yeah! Chicken fingies!" Dan grinned, "They're my favorite. I've called them fingies for years, man. My mom gets a kick out of it every time I go see her and she gets some for me."

Arin laughed. "It is cute. Just didn't expect that out of you."

Dan nodded. "Yep. I'm a bit of a kid at heart."

"It's cute."

They finished cleaning up in relative silence. Dan made sure the signs were off, locked up, and followed him to his apartment.

The apartment was a bit bigger than Dan's, but looked crowded with assorted art and various video game memorabilia on the walls and plants on tables and shelves and hanging all over. It was definitely much cleaner than Dan's and had that lingering smell of spring instead of weed and coffee. And a bit of lasagna, as he noticed Arin going to check the oven.

"Oh, shoes off please. You can leave them by the door."

Dan nodded and looked to the side and saw a few pegs with jackets and various pairs of shoes tossed haphazardly underneath. He toed off his sneakers and went into the living room. A plush white couch sat in the middle in front of a TV. A grey and white fluffy cat was rolling around on said couch, scratching their back. Dan gently reached down and rubbed the cat's belly. The cat responded with freezing then relaxing because it was being pet.

"That's Mimi. She's lazy." Arin came out of the kitchen and smiled at the kitten, who went from Dan's hand to rub against Arin's leg. "Glad she didn't scratch or something. She has a tendency not to let go."

"Yeah. That would suck." Dan looked to Arin, slightly shy. Arin must have detected it and waved him to sit down. "So lasagna for dinner?"

"Yeah. It's still got a good ten minutes. My oven is kinda shitty and it's still frozen in the middle." He grabbed a remote and hummed. "Do you like Mario?"

"Uh. Yeah. It's been a while since I've played but I could pick it up easy." Dan watched as Arin went to change the game in the system. He'd never seen that system before but then again he hadn't played many games past Game/Cube. "What are we playing?" He looked away as Arin bent at the waist, both out of modesty to not stare at his ass and to just not stare at his ass in general.

"Super Ma/rio Bros. I don't have many two player games." Arin grabbed two controllers and turned to hand one over. "Here."

Dan took the controller gently and let Arin get them into the game. Arin explained the controls and they were quickly on their way. It took Dan a moment to get used to a controller again with his thumbs but after that he was having tons of fun.

They got so into the game and riffing off one another and telling stories that neither remembered dinner until there was a burning smell wafting through the apartment. "Oh, shit-" Arin leapt up, Dan hit pause, and they rushed to the kitchen. Black smoke billowed out as the door was opened and both stared at the charred block of pasta.

"I don't think it's frozen in the middle anymore." Dan slipped the oven mitts on and pulled it out to drop it into the stovetop.

"Damn. I completely forgot. That sucks." Arin poked at it with a butter knife.

"That's okay. We could always order takeout. I know a good place for Thai." Arin nodded, a bit of a disappointed look on his face. Dan patted his back, "It's alright, man. It happens. I can't tell you how many times I forget popcorn or some shit cause I'm busy. Now come on, let's order Thai."

Dan pulled up the website and they searched the menu for a bit before he called the order in. They resumed the game until the food arrived, then they turned it off for the time being and turned on some old monster movie Dan suggested.

Stories continued to pass between the two as well as bits of food as Arin was unaccustomed to it and wanted to try everything. Dan obliged, happy to see Arin enjoyed the food and wasn't still hung up on burning dinner. It wasn't an hour later that Dan was yawning and his eyes began to grow heavy. Arin noticed and patted his arm. "Hey. You should probably get headed home. Get you some sleep."

"Nah. I'm having fun here." Dan yawned again, nullifying his point. Arin poked and prodded him as he wiggled off the couch. "Alright. I'll head out. We should do this again sometime." Dan started for the door, grabbing his shoes. "Weekly thing or something."

Arin smiled and Dan copied it unconsciously from the sheer joy behind it. "I'd like that. Now go home before you fall asleep on your feet." He pushed him gently out the door and watched to make sure he got inside okay.

Dan dropped his shoes to the floor and keys onto the side table. As he collapsed into bed, he was already beginning to dream of a certain florist in a Ma/rio outfit.

[silly-nonny-fics-are-for-fandoms]

Drink Me

BakuKami week day four (Part three) : Argument/Fight @officialbakukamiweek   Summary:  Bakugo didn’t talk through his feelings. He never had. He punched and he kicked and he fought. Why can’t the rest of his stupid friend group understand? Read on Ao3

"Fuck off!" Bakugo yelled his mug in hand with 'have a nice day' written in black characters, though a middle finger was drawn on the bottom of it.

"No, I've got as much right to be in here as you do," Kaminari rolled his eyes, pouring the boiling water from the kettle into the cup.

"You're getting tea for Deku, fuck off."

"So?"

"If you have to fucking get him a drink, get him coffee. Tea's some fucking shit."

"Oh, that again." Kaminari sighed, grabbing a green tea bag. He'd been in a dual studying session with Midoriya--Turns out he needs desperate help in English and Language Arts, and Kaminari needed help in every subject except those--since his boyfriend had been reserved by Kirishima and Ashido for the day and 'he could only deal with tutoring two idiots per day'. So the least he could do was get him a drink.

"It's just leaves and hot water, Denki." Bakugo gave him one of those looks. The look Kaminari knew meant that something as stupid as the preference of drink in his presence would cause the silent treatment for hours.

Was it worth it?

Yeah.

"Tea has been a part of the world's culture for thousands of years, coffee has only been around for the last few hundred. Coffee is literally just beans steeped in water versus leaves."

"Kami," Bakugo glared, "It's. Fucking. Coffee."

"And tea is just as good."

Bakugo left with a middle finger in the air, and Kaminari knew that meant he wouldn't hear from him for the rest of the day.

This wasn't the first time they'd had this little skirmish, nor would it be the last. Tea or Coffee. Tea to help anxiety or coffee to energize.

Kaminari preferred hot chocolate with sprinkles.

One of the many small things in their life they could never agree on.

Hard bed or soft?

Hot or cold room?

Who would win in a fight?

Right, they were sparring tomorrow. That'd be fun. Bakugo had a tendency to pin him down and make him admit he was wrong, but he didn't particularly mind admitting it. He remembered the first big fight they'd had, shortly after they got together.

Kaminari had told him that if he wanted to be a hero, he should start acting like it. Bakugo hadn't taken to the insult well, responding by yelling. Like always.

"If you can ever quit being a pansy, maybe you could fucking be useful! Cause at the fucking moment, you're just a damn battery! If you didn't have your fucking quirk, there's no possible way you could've gotten into UA! You'd be better off going stupid and never coming back; at least then you can't talk!"

Kaminari still wanted to cry thinking about it. He'd confided in Bakugo about his anxieties, that his biggest fear was going into his drained mode without a way out. It hurt. It was scary.

He could barely control his body, everything was fuzzy, and he couldn't think. Could hardly see. The best he could manage was a thumbs up after so much electricity had gone through his head, frying not only his brain but his nerves. He'd run away from his boyfriend, locking himself in his room and crying his eyes out. Jirou had taunted him in the same way, but then he'd known she was joking as best she could.

It was so much worse, coming from someone he loved.

They didn't talk the next day, no matter how much Kirishima and the others tried. Kaminari didn't smile, either. He'd sat there with a blank face, answering in another language he knew Bakugo didn't understand if he had to talk since he had the know-how to do so. A favorite of his was eloquent English.

They'd continued on this way for two days, even to the point that Aizawa pulled him aside and asked if everything was alright. He'd told him what happened with Bakugo, and Aizawa sighed.

"Okay," He'd said with a smile, "We're gonna fix this."

At training on the fourth day of their silence, Aizawa paired the two up together for sparring. They'd been forced to fight out their emotions, no quirks allowed. Kaminari had no hope of winning, his skills paling in comparison to Bakugo's. Time after time he was thrown onto the mat, hands pinned over his head. They'd been sent off to a corner of the room, blocked by concrete dividers courtesy of Cementoss, saying they didn't want anyone to get distracted by other sparring partners.

"Fuck!" Bakugo had exclaimed, rather softly, after a particularly hard throw down.

"Why won't you fight back!?"

From where he lay on the mat, his back, shoulder, hip and head throbbing, Kaminari sighed.

"I just don't see the point. I'm going to lose anyway, what's the point in prolonging my suffering?"

"What the fuck are- Aw, hell," Bakugo sat down next to Kaminari's head, staring down the idiot blonde he was dating. "Is this about that. Fucking thing?"

"You're right, though. I'm just-" His words had been cut off by an explosion, which made him twitch.

"Every fucking time you say something negative about yourself, I'm going to get closer."

"Why? You've gotta be right, all the time. You said I'm only good for charging things, so I am."

The hand currently crackling with explosions got closer to his face.

"What the heck are you doing?" Kaminari glanced at Bakugo's amused face.

"I don't have a fucking dart gun on me, this'll have to fucking do."

"Are you trying to make me feel better by forcefully making me say good things about myself to keep my face from being blown off?"

"It's working, dunce face. You're learning."

Kaminari couldn't help but crack a smile, chuckling which soon turned into a proper laugh.

"Where the heck did you figure out how to do this?"

"Hound Dog will growl at you if you say self-demeaning things," Bakugo didn't move his hand away from Kaminari's face, the heat radiating off of it in low amounts mostly comfortable, "Figured it was worth a damn shot."

"So if I say good things about myself, you'll move your hand away?"

Bakugo's silence was all he needed, smiling as his chest shook slightly in laughter.

"Fine. I'm going to be a great hero, one who's going to help people. I'll get through school just fine."

Bakugo pulled his hand away, the firecrackers stopping and Kaminari sat up with a wince.

"I'm sorry for what I said, babe. I was mad and I know your heart is in the right place, even if your attitude can suck sometimes." He shakily smiled, his boyfriend reaching over and pulling him in for a kiss, rough and fast which left his head reeling.

"That enough of an apology for ya?" He grumbled, Kaminari nodding. They both stood, Bakugo stretching lightly. "Now, let's get back to sparring. I'm looking forward to kicking your ass."

Now, tea in hand, Kaminari couldn't help but chuckle. Bakugo wasn't good at having normal arguments, ever, but they always made up, and made out, in the end. Even if it was something small like having other preferences, or something as big as their first fight. He preferred to throw down, beat the living crap out of it if he could. If he couldn't fight it, he yelled and screamed.

The best way to combat it, as he'd learned, was to ignore him. He never took that well. It's how his mom dealt with temper tantrums when he was a kid.

So, he ignored the insults about the drinks, walking out and heading back up to his dorm room where Midoriya was waiting. No way he could study with all those All Might's staring him down, so everyone studied in rooms other than the green haired boy's.

Toeing the door open, he smiled and set the drinks down on his little table.

"What took so long?" Midoriya asked, glancing at the clock by his laptop.

"Oh, just an argument with Kacchan." Kaminari shrugged, sitting down and reopening the textbook.

"What about this time?"

"Tea or Coffee." He searched through for where they'd left off, vocabulary words Midoriya was having issues reading and pronouncing.

"How do you manage to have small arguments with him, without Kacchan getting really mad at you?" Midoriya had already translated the sentence that Kaminari had given him, a simple paragraph about All Might.

"He's kinda like a little kid on the verge of an angry temper tantrum, think of it like that; You ignore him and he just deflates." Kaminari grinned, "How've you not noticed?"

"I was a bit busy trying not to get bullied." Midoriya chuckled,

"Next time he starts yelling, just don't respond. He'll get mad for a bit, but he'll eventually leave it be. If he wants to talk to you, he can do it calmly."

"That's... Devious?"

"He conditioned me not to say self deprecating things, I'm conditioning him to not get as angry." Ah, there it was. "Here, translate these into English, and write a short paragraph with them."

"Okay, but you have to get your math homework done! Let me know if you need any help!"

Kaminari took a sip of his drink, and grinned. Bakugo could scream and rant all he pleased, they were equally devious to one another.

[lovelyirony]

Up Two Squares

a continuation of the Crminal Au 

Steve Rogers was a simple man. He woke up at six, went for a run, drank coffee, got dressed, and then headed to the office. Sure, there were slight changes to his schedule. Getting a criminal to talk in an empty warehouse, posing as “Captain,” and scaring the shit out of the criminal underworld. There’s also the fact that he’s hunting Iron Man. But still. Steve’s a simple man. 

Simplicity is underrated, he thinks. People think you need to have all these fancy, elaborate plans. You really don’t. You smile at someone, say a different name, wear slightly different jeans. It’s simple. It gets the job done. You stick to your story and don’t get caught up in everything around you. 

Iron Man is flashy. One will know when Iron Man steals, because no one will have seen it. In Steve’s opinion, that’s bound to get you caught. Let one or two people see you, then disappear. So dramatic to disappear first. 

Black Widow--Nat--says that Iron Man has up and left the upper area of New York. 

“You chased him off,” she says. “You’re too simple. You need to think of getting him quietly.” 

“I am,” Steve says. “Lay low, attack later.” Nat rolls her eyes. 

“You have the same strategy, how are you so sure it’ll work?” Steve grins, showing her a text message of Bucky holding a thumbs-up sign. 

“Because I have him.” Natasha just stares. 

“He agreed. That fucker actually agreed to help you?” 

“He owes me,” Steve says easily. “I helped him move into his apartment, get out the odd wire or person. So I asked him to help me catch Iron Man.” 

“And why do you need me, again?” she asks. 

“Because you are stealthy in ways I cannot be,” Steve says. “You know where people go, you know how to get them to talk.” 

“So really, you just need me because I don’t have a temper and kick first, ask questions later,” she suggests. Steve glares at her. “Nice to know I’m right. Again.” He rolls his eyes. She’s difficult, as always. 

There’s a thump on the wall, probably from someone putting a chair down. Or falling. 

“New neighbor?” Natasha says. Steve nods. 

“Tony Carbonell. Just moved here, works in IT. Quiet guy.” 

“Cute guy?” 

“Given as you’re a lesbian and taken, I have a hard time seeing why you’d care,” Steve remarks. She rolls her eyes. 

“You’re so smart Rogers, how do you do it? No, dumbass, for you. You’re lonely. You eat frozen dinners and watch Antiques Roadshow. Sharon has cried because of your lifestyle. You don’t even wear fun socks!” 

“I have fun socks,” Steve defends. “The ones that she gave me. With the, ah, stripes?” Natasha mimes banging her head against a wall. 

“I hate you so much. You should ask him out.” 

“He’s my neighbor. If this ends badly, then I have to schedule out when to go to the elevator, when he leaves for work so we don’t run into each other, and I can’t ask him for sugar.” 

“You can’t cook anything that has taste, what the hell would you need sugar for?” Natasha asks with a grin. 

“Go do your job,” Steve snaps. “I’m not paying you to make fun of me in my own apartment.” Natasha shrugs, gives him a kiss on the cheek, and leaves. Steve almost hates her. 

He goes out for a run. Which is not so much a run as an interrogation, because Bucky says he might have someone. 

Tony’s in the hallway. “Hey,” he says casually. Steve notices that Tony has a nice taste in shirts. The one he’s wearing is dark red, fits well, and Steve Shouldn’t Notice Any of That. 

“Hello,” Steve says. “How are you today?” Tony shrugs. 

“Eh, doing okay. Moving in always takes the energy out of you. Now I’m going shopping.” 

“There’s a nice store up a couple blocks if you go left,” Steve says. “I’m going on a run, haven’t been on one in a while.” 

“Oh yeah, I can tell,” Tony says with a snort. “The way you just...let yourself go like that. Six pack instead of an eight pack.” Steve turns red. 

“Yeah....sure. That’s me.” 

The elevator ride down is awkward. Tony doesn’t speak. Neither does Steve. The latter hates himself a bit more because there are so many things he could talk about, but there are Rules with Neighbors. You don’t ask them more than you want to know, and Steve has to go do something, so he really doesn’t want to talk for fifteen minutes, if that would happen. 

He gets to the main floor, waves bye, and bolts. (He doesn’t notice that Tony doesn’t turn left.) 

“Hey punk,” Bucky says when Steve walks into the building. He feels a bit weird, because they’re in an office building, and Steve said hello to the secretary, who giggled and said that “Mr. Buchanan is in room 352, the fourth floor,” and now they are Here. 

“Swanky place,” Steve remarks. “Who’s our client?” The client, in question, is a man. Lithe, well-built, but not as strong as Steve. People rarely are. 

“This guy is one of Iron Man’s clients who squealed,” Bucky says. “Great for us, not so great for you, Samuel. Or do you prefer Sam? Sammy? A last name?” The client looks terrified, which isn’t really surprising. Steve takes a seat across from him in an office chair that has excellent lumbar support--totally stealing for his actual office--and stares. 

“I need information on Iron Man, Samuel. And you’re gonna give it to me.” 

“I-I don’t know anything,” the man says. Truth. He’s terrified. “I just wanted the painting back in the museum, away from the private collection of that asshole, Hammer, and so I-I contacted him.” 

“How did you contact him?” Bucky asks. “Email? Chat room? Tinder?” 

“Shut up,” Steve says. “This ain’t a joke, jerk.” 

“Deep web,” Samuel replies. “Word on the street is that he’s a tech wizard. He sees everything, knows everyone. He contacted me on an encrypted message that took me a week to solve. My computer fried after the mission was done.” 

“Brutal,” Steve says. “Any idea where on the deep web to go?” 

“N-no. I just...there’s a forum. For art people, like me. None of that shady shit that they have. I posted a message, waited. He chooses who he works for, you can’t directly ask him.” Bucky curses. 

“Well, this sucks!” He announces. Steve and Bucky step over to the side. 

“Wanna try drawing him out?” Bucky asks. “Could be worth a shot.” 

“No,” Steve says. “I want to find him, not get him to steal something for me that I can’t afford the price of. We need people who know him. We need to find out where the hell he was when he was in Manhattan.” 

They turn towards Samuel. “Thanks so much for your help,” Steve gushes. “Really, a great honor to get to know some things. Unfortunately, you know both our faces now, so we’ll be sending you elsewhere.” 

“I’m gonna die?” Samuel asks. He looks panicked, like a deer in the headlights. All things considered, it’s kind of funny to Steve. 

“Nah,” Bucky says. “But you’re gonna wish you were. We’re sending you on a little exchange program. You’re going to be studying Russian literature for the next five years. Hope you like vodka!” 

They leave. 

“Is that a new shirt?” Steve asks Bucky. “It looks new, mainly because you wouldn’t ever wear it. Looks nice.” 

“What, you’re saying I never pick out nice things?” 

“Clothing-wise? Nah.” Bucky shoves him. 

“You’re such a jerk. Look, I’ll catch you tomorrow, okay? After work? I’d do it tomorrow, but me an’ Sam have a date...I’m gonna kick his ass in pool.” Steve just laughs. 

“Sure thing, Buck. Text me when you lose.” Bucky flips him off, but gets into a taxi. Steve actually starts running. That’s the thing: you need to hold up to your end of the backstory you have given someone. 

By the time he gets home, Tony is unlocking his door. He has some groceries and four things of coffee. 

“Hey,” Tony says. “See you later?” Then he slips into his apartment, and Steve is left to grapple with the fact that he still has no idea who Iron Man is, and ain’t that a kick in the head? 

[dentelle-grise]

Your Latest Trick

Chapter 15 (Loki x Reader) Long after everyone has stopped talking about Loki and his misdemeanors, his failed attempt to take over Midgard and his punishment, you meet him at a party. A tale in which Loki woos the reader despite life imprisonment, mortal wounding and the cumbersome pretense of impersonating his father. Covering the events of ‘The Dark World’ and beyond Original Prompt: Imagine Loki undressing you slowly, entirely by magic, only touching you with his eyes. All chapters to date at AO3 (39K, NC-17) Tagging: @frenchfrostpudding Chapter 15   A session at the training grounds reveals rivalries old and new.

You manage to help the healers later that morning without being distracted, the events of the night dropping beneath the surface of the day.

The kind of injuries you’re seeing these days are from the work sites or training grounds. It’s a comforting evolution. You know you are doing good by the simple tasks you do and by being there for the patients.  It saves the healers’ time that you do the jobs that don’t need special powers and you wonder if what you do is what healers do in realms without magic.  

They never question what you are doing here, a woman with to healing gifts and such means that she doesn’t need a job — they are just happy that you come. The one time you apologized to Madame Eir for not having any magic, she told you there was no problem, that you had something else.

It’s on your break that Loki finds his way back into your thoughts.  Fantasies were distracting enough, but recent memories, vivid, flawless and unbidden are much more powerful. You kept your mind away from them as you worked, but standing alone in the wash room, the midday sun filtering down on you through a skylight, you think of the light on his skin this very morning and it all comes flooding back — the warmth of affection, all the sense memories of his hands on you and the way his voice deepened when you make love….You feel a flush of heat flood through you and try to push the thoughts away before someone else comes in here. But the burning dies away quickly enough all by itself as doubt rises and fills you instead; Loki said nothing about when he’d return.

It’s a warm afternoon and the training grounds are already full of people by the time you get there.  You can’t see Asta anywhere, despite a promise she made to meet you here. All around, people of all ages train to fight in all manner of ways, wrestling, fencing, kick-fighting, swords, spears, staffs… The dust clings to everyone’s clothes until people start to look alike. So you wander around, hoping to find Asta and trying to decide which discipline to work on.  You want to fill the hours before dusk with something other than waiting and wondering.

Martial arts are not really Asta’s style and you wonder if she’s bottled out.   There are plenty of familiar faces here though. Hogun is giving a demonstration of club-swinging and Volstagg is standing in the wrestling area challenging people to try to knock him down, while a trainer is showing them how to fall safely.

There are people with practice swords and spears in pairs and groups everywhere, the weapons glowing, marking the advantage of one or other opponent.  

“Hey.” A familiar voice calls. It’s not Asta, but Fandral. He clearly just got here because he’s dust free. “You’re looking good,” he says. “I mean it’s good to see you looking better.” And then he grins and it’s a relief. “So, have you come to make a killing.”

You don’t know what to say so you laugh.

“I’m meeting a friend.”

“Ah-ha.”

“No not 'Ah-ha’, we’re going to train” He raises an eyebrow.

“Me to. Actually I’m going to try my hand at knife throwing.”

“Oh?”  

“Well you know me, always hungry for new experiences.” And he winks. “Truth be told its something I need to work on it, and we have to give the example.  And what weapon do you chose?” You can tell he still thinks you’ve come here on the pull. “Tempted by the big stick?” And he nods at the quarterstaff area and you blush. “I’ll be giving a sword demonstration later, don’t miss it. Ciao.”

And he’s gone.

At least there wasn’t a trace of the worry he’s shown in recent weeks and thankfully he didn’t mention Loki. You don’t want him prying, not now.

Fandral had never showed interest in knives in the past, that was Loki’s area of expertise. For one as good with a sword as Fandral, it was easy to neglect other disciplines. Throughout their youth, Fandral excelled at sword fighting while Loki was always behind him.

You remember the time Loki charmed a sword to practice with him on its own. That way he could work on his swordsmanship at all hours with no need to find a partner. Why this was so important you never knew.

The trouble with the enchanted sword was that its skills were only equal to Loki’s, and it was just as unpredictable. He received several nasty gashes before he realized that this wasn’t the answer, but by then the sword had learnt how to do more than fight. Loki tried to undo the spell, but the sword got wise to his plan and went into hiding. It had all his cunning too and an insatiable need to play, so when it went feral, it was almost impossible to control.  It roamed the corridors and grounds of the palace by day and night, jumping out and randomly challenging passersby, whether they be guards, chambermaids or the King himself. Though some warriors saw this as a challenge and tried to hunt the sword down, their quests were fruitless. It was only when it took the entire palace kitchen staff hostage that Frigga stepped in once more and canceled the spell.

Goaded by Fandral you do indeed go to train at stick fighting. You’d forgotten how heavy the staffs were, and how jarring the hitting and blocking was.  The coach matches you with someone of the same size and weight, something you’d be lucky to get in a real fight, but this is for practice, for play, for fun almost… if it wasn’t so hard, if you weren’t watching every second for the blow that might land you in the healing rooms for all the wrong reasons. You know so much more about bodies now, which means you could play dirty if you wanted, but that’s not your way. You win squarely by knocking the staff from your opponent’s hands as she’s changing grip. There’s a rest period just long enough to get your breath back and change partners for another bout. This time the pairing is anything but equal: you’re facing Lady Sif.

She greets you enthusiastically, smiling, confident, deadly, beautiful — she should really leave her hair like that — but you’ve no time for such observations nor smalltalk, you have to block her attacks, which are quick and forceful and remind you of all your weaknesses. You are neither as rapid nor as strong.  You cannot truly fight her at all, only defend yourself. Sif is not Asta, and this is not fun. You’re outmatched and Sif knows it.  Why is she facing you at all?  She doesn’t give you any time to ponder such things, her parries multiply and her blows rain down on your staff.  But even so she is not at full strength, she’s going easy on you.  It’s frustrating being shown your powerlessness like this.  You both have your staffs horizontal now and you field blow after blow. Your only possible advantage is your stamina if you can only resist long enough.

Then she throws all her weight behind one strike, so you do too. But she doesn’t rebound, she just keeps pushing. She’s there in your face, smiling still, baring her teeth, forcing her staff against yours, close enough that you smell her sweat.  It reminds you, that despite her performance she is a still a person and not a fighting machine. It’s no crime to lose against the best, but here it’s not a case of losing, more one of surviving and limiting injury.

She lets go with a sudden “Gah.”

You fall forward and almost miss your footing and she’s quick to swing the staff back into a fencing position.  She could have had you, in a real fight your adversary would have moved in quick for a blow to the head, but Sif waits, holding her staff in position, she wants to continue.  She looks you in the eye, her full concentration on you and you alone.  She nods and the fight continues. You’re tired and you can tell she is too. Now it’s a matter of who makes a mistake first and you don’t have long to wait. She is distracted a moment by something over your shoulder, you don’t look around, you push home your advantage, hitting her staff sideways to loosen her grip, but then she turns back to you and goes all out to finish the bout, no longer holding back, but pushing you back with multiple strokes that set you off balance, Then she slams down her staff just where it will trip you. You tumble, dropping your staff and grabbing fruitlessly at hers.  The fight comes to its inevitable conclusion — you in the dirt with her staff your face her smile above it. You look down at yourself, you’re covered in dirt and sweat, your butt aches where you fell on your tailbone. Then you look up at her once more but she’s looking away over your shoulder.  

“I yield.” you say to get her attention

You could grab her staff by the end and continue the fight, but you’ve nothing more to give. Not only are you no match for her, but she’s lost interest. She helps you up, tells you you’re better than she thought, which is kind of arrogant but doubtless honest. She’s distracted though.  You glance over in the direction she’s looking, toward the sword fighting area.

Many others nearby have also stopped to look, a particular fighting pair are the subject of everyone’s interest. Fandral and… Odin!

“What?”

They have practice swords, which is just as well as they are really going for it, the ‘blades’ clashing together this way and that.

Sif rolls her eyes. “He’s going to get his ass handed to him.” She can only mean Fandral.  She wouldn’t talk that way about the King. For you, the outcome isn’t nearly so sure.

Fandral has always been a joy to watch sword fighting. It’s one of the reasons women flock to him. They like a good show.  But Odin…You have never seen him fight with a sword. Could it be he’s doing the same as Fandral earlier and playing his weak suit deliberately?  That’s a tremendous thing to do — for a King to show weakness before the people — and against Fandral of all fighters…

Perhaps Sif is right, and Odin excels at sword fighting as in many other things. But it would surprise you.  It looks on many levels as though Fandral has the advantage, it’s his weapon of choice whereas Odin doesn’t use usually use a sword. He doesn’t need one, he has Gungrir, which could out do any weapon.  Yet there he is.

With only one eye, Odin’s judgement of distance must be lessened and he is an older man, you would expect him to be slower.  But that is where you are wrong. Odin throws his body around like someone much younger, he dodges, he feints and it’s as though he has not just two eyes but perhaps more. It is only the sword itself that seems to be his handicap. The points he scores on Fandral are mostly because he is so unpredictable.

You can tell from Fandral’s face — they have decided not to wear protective masks, the fools — that he is impressed, it can’t be often someone surprises him.

“He’s teaching him a lesson.” Sif breathes. And you feel fear in her voice. They both defied Odin when they helped Thor.  And though it was for the good in the end, she thinks this may be Odin’s way of showing his supremacy.  Or attempting to… Odin loses a volley of points to Fandral as the latter marks a touch to his chestplate.

There are murmurs and cries from the crowd each time one of them scores a point over the other, but the people carefully do not cheer for either of one of them in particular. You find yourself — ridiculously — afraid for Odin. Afraid he will be humiliated because you don’t doubt that Fandral is the stronger of the two.

You’ve moved closer without noticing yourselves doing it.  The crowd is denser and all are focused on the fight.  Behind the fencing ring, you catch sight of Asta, immaculate right down to her spotless shoes and by her, your mother.

Watching Fandral, you can see, without the slightest pinch of pain all that once attracted you to him and you hear, in the intakes of breath and gasps from beside you, how much Sif is with him. You know she’s not be alone in that admiration. But as for you, you are watching and, yes, even rooting for Odin in this match.  Despite his extra years and experience it is he the underdog.  

Why is he doing this?  You don’t believe its to teach a lesson. You think it’s to encourage the people, to show bravery and be ready to lose face, for Odin will surely lose.

The fighters circle one another, watching, ready for the other to move, it’s a respite. The silence is only broken by Odin’s labored breathing.  Their movements accelerate.  You’ve watched Fandral so many times that you know that he is about to move…right…now.

Seemingly at the same second Odin leans in the opposite direction, looses his balance and actually falls, the crowd gasp, a look if terror crosses Fandral’s features, this was obviously not the move he’d been intending.  Moreover, as he hits the ground, Odin loses his grip on his sword which flies up in the air and Fandral, as would be expected in a true fight steps forward to hold him at his mercy with the tip of his sword. But, with the speed of his fall giving him impetus, Odin rolls. He catches the sword in his other hand, jumps to his feet and with a twisting movement pries Fandral’s weapon out of his hand.

The reversal of roles happens so quickly it’s a shock. The crowd stare silence, hardly believing what they just saw or what they’re seeing;  the King, panting in a manner most unbecoming of a monarch, with Fandral disarmed and confused standing before him.  It takes people a second or two to register and then the cheering starts.  Fandral sheepishly raises both hands in front of him, then kneels and salutes Odin.  Your mother runs forward and raises Odin’s arm in the air and there’s even more cheering.

You put a hand to your face “Mother, No.” you hiss to yourself. “Don’t be so embarrassing.” Sif hears you and smiles, her relief at the bloodless outcome tangible on her face.

The evening is comes bringing with it anticipation and doubt but not Loki. You’d effectively blocked him from your thoughts for a few hours, but now he’s back with a vengeance. You are weary and aching, especially your butt where you fell it, but you stay up, waiting.

When it gets late and Loki still isn’t there you decide to wait in bed. Your muscles ache from the fight and behind it is the echo of this morning, last night - and the night before that. You haven’t had so much exercise in a long time.

You are barely aware and far closer to sleep than any other desire when a familiar shape slides under the sheets behind you, already comfortably warm — because he can do that can’t he. You relax into him and without a word sink into sleep.

Chapter 16

[comicteaparty]

May 2nd, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on May 2nd, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Moonlight Apparition by Janaka Davis (Darkhalo4321).

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Moonlight Apparition by Janaka Davis (Darkhalo4321)~! (http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Kabocha

Hello~! Yay Dark! :D Honestly -- my favorite scene is probably the scene where Ker starts teaching Jason a smidge more nicely, rather than just being a jerk about things. I feel like we're starting to get past his gruff exterior a bit... Wonder why he's such a grump? http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2572727/6-4/ Also, his witch eye is super badass, and I am really curious to learn more about it, bleeding and all.

Sarai

I'd have to say near the beginning, when Jason defeats the....thing (i forget what it was called exactly i'm so sorry ) by calmly sending it on its way instead of defeating it with violence

SpazztastiKim

When Robbie jumps on the well. Because it's hysterical. (I am a simple creature)

Darkhalo4321

a shade monster

Sarai

SHADE MONSTER thank you

i need to reread

Darkhalo4321

It likes to throw shade

Kabocha

So, it's a shade monster -- you mean it's just telling Jason all the failings of his friends right there?

Darkhalo4321

probably

SpazztastiKim

nerds...

Darkhalo4321

toby has an expired library boooook

Respheal

Made it o/

Darkhalo4321

yey

SpazztastiKim

Toby no

Sarai

TOBY NOOOOOO

Kabocha

"Yeah, you think it's real good idea to go jumping on well covers... Just you wait, one of you guys is gonna fall through and I'm gonna laugh my ass off."

Sarai

the worst crime of them all

Respheal

Oh yeah I liked the early scene too

RebelVampire

and here i thought toby was the one we could trust

Respheal

Robbie's antics at that point make me laugh

-kick- oh shit

SpazztastiKim

Robbie no

Letter Bee

My favorite scene is when Jason protected Lark.

Sarai

The first scene introduced me into what genre this story was and the monsters these good kiddos would face, but how jason handled it made me realize what kind of story it would be

Kabocha

Discord blocked my doodle....

SpazztastiKim

rude

Respheal

Rude!

Darkhalo4321

nuuu

discord play nice

Kabocha

[image: Shade monster: You guys think you're hot shit, eh? Too bad Sunny-boy isn't here to enlighten you! Jason: stop](edited)

SpazztastiKim

HAHAHAHAHAHA

Darkhalo4321

meanwhile Lark sneezing off screen not wanting to be involved

crimsonangeltears

haha (and hello I made it )

RebelVampire

my favorite scene is the one where antonio fights the spying hunters and is basically like "im cooler than you now gtfo my property"

Darkhalo4321

yay! thank you! ovo/

SpazztastiKim

that is a GREAT scene

Darkhalo4321

that was probably my favorite scene to draw

Sarai

HOW COULD I FORGET THAT ONE

Respheal

Antonio: Get off my lawn!(edited)

SpazztastiKim

basically

Sarai

his SMILE as he makes his weapon appear

SpazztastiKim

all he's missing is a cane to wave around threateningly

Darkhalo4321

he's not THAT old yet-

SpazztastiKim

lol

Sarai

the face of a man who hasn't been in a fight for a long time and is looking FORWARD to it

SpazztastiKim

ya'll f-ed up

Darkhalo4321

>:3c

RebelVampire

hey you dont need to be old for a cane. you can get one for the aesthetic.

also it can be used for blunt force trauma

Sarai

and for beating people!

see Rebel gets me

Darkhalo4321

XD

Sarai

using canes is a Legit martial art form you know

Kabocha

The only thing that hurts worse than getting cut by Antonio would be the emotional wounds he can inflict.

Darkhalo4321

>_O ooof yeah.

Sarai

or the emotional wounds you'd get just from the fact that you forced him to hit you

RebelVampire

wait if the shade monsters throw shade, is this how antonio fought them? he just learned to throw even more intense shade?

Kabocha

Not only can he kick your ass, but he will make you feel bad about making him kick your ass.

Darkhalo4321

I mean ... look at how well Crow does later on

SpazztastiKim

hmm

might not be the BEST example X'D

Darkhalo4321

:0

I love crow

SpazztastiKim

(yes, I'm teasing crow shhhh)

Kabocha

Honestly, looking at this scene, Crow is lucky that Antonio didn't just maim him right there.

http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2290462/4-11/

SpazztastiKim

truth

crimsonangeltears

I really liked when Jason sparred with Toby, it's still one of my favs

Sarai

kabo coming in clutch with those links

Darkhalo4321

I imagine 40 tabs open on kabos computer

Sarai

when Jason rolled with his niece to keep her safe

Darkhalo4321

this was such a fun page to draw :D

Respheal

Later that week, Antonio looks at his socks and has a moment of "like the old days" and "dammit we're out of bleach"

grass staaaaaaaaaains

Darkhalo4321

just make ker do the laundry

SpazztastiKim

HA

RebelVampire

jason sparring with toby was cute but also made me more curious about toby. like jason makes sense for why hes have secret fight knowledge, but why did toby feel compelled to learn.

Sarai

((then he'd get sad because that would be the moment Adelaide would tell him "use vinegar and water))

RebelVampire

i feel if ker did the laundry hed mix bleach with all the chemicals youre not supposed to mix bleach with

fill the house with poison

Sarai

KER NO

KER THAT'S THE ONE THING YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO

crimsonangeltears

I just figured that was an activity toby learned when he was younger. my hubby did taekwon do as a kid (did I spell that right xD)

Darkhalo4321

Probably mixes his red socks with his white shirts...

SpazztastiKim

Piiink

RebelVampire

ker would look dashing in pink probably

SpazztastiKim

Totally

Darkhalo4321

It's really blue'd up, but in the scene after the contact with lark, his shirt is more on the magenta/pink side.

Sarai

a nice pink button-up with a navy blue tie? Very nice

Kabocha

[Image: Antonio saying, "Hey Ker, did you see that chore list I left for ya, eh?"]

Darkhalo4321

just a guy, making dinner... I'm sure...

Sarai

hey my dad makes tacos and cuts fruit with his bowie knife, I'm sure Antonio would do the same

OH NO XD

Darkhalo4321

insert Jason handing Ker some form of cross because- he gon' need it for the grave

better find a saint to save ya

Kabocha

You know, Ker sure mouths off a lot to Antonio... I can't wait to see some form of terror pop up at some point. XD

Sarai

St Jude? XD

(patron of lost causes)

Darkhalo4321

OH NO, that's PERFECT FOR KER

RebelVampire

it turns out we were the shade monsters all along.

Kabocha

Dark -- serious question though. This... Terraphate massacre mentioned in chapter 4... How many people were killed?! http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2300366/4-14/

Tenor | Shinavar

“1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?” Lark's introduction because he's my baby anD HE'S DOING SO WELL I'M SO PROUD. :DD (Also I just deeply enjoy like, a lot?? of?? he scenes but Lark's intro had me immediatly adopt him so- )

Darkhalo4321

more than 7

SpazztastiKim

Oof

Respheal

Lark is very intriguing

Darkhalo4321

it was more of a serial murder case

Kabocha

Lark's a troubled sunshine child

Respheal

sunshine

Tenor | Shinavar

(Also HI EVERYONE + I will be limited in typing, bound to my left had today )

RebelVampire

ah so one of those massacres where they pulled out a thesaurus to make it sound cooler

Sarai

OH i get the "more than 7" reference now

Kabocha

Wait, more than 7 reference?

Darkhalo4321

more than 7 killed

Kabocha

also, you know... if it's a small number like that... Sounds like ................................... A conspiracy.

Sarai

Boston "massacre" had only 7 people killed

((or was it 5 oh no i'm getting rusty))

crimsonangeltears

But was it random or a set group of people at the same time? hmm

Kabocha

o_o I have no idea

Darkhalo4321

it was across town- but like...yanno.... it happened all on the same night so... suspicious still

Kabocha

MAGICAL MASSACRE!

crimsonangeltears

Ohhh

Darkhalo4321

Culprit was apprehended- or were they? dun dun dun >:#c

Kabocha

Theory: all the people killed were Apparition users

RebelVampire

how big is the town?

Kabocha

And that's how Jason got his magic

Darkhalo4321

Uhm... I'd estimate around the 12-17k range. ish

Kabocha

It is literally murder magic

Darkhalo4321

big enough to have a hospital at.

Sarai

oh

Darkhalo4321

but like Bandon Oregon has a hospital, so like. Eh, if there's a need people will have a hospital.

SpazztastiKim

Cause you know... death is a thing

Darkhalo4321

I did try thinking in terms of "would a city of this size have this or this?" and did some comparisons for research

Kabocha

@Tenor | Shinavar [Image: Lark -- "This boy needs to be happy" Ker -- "This one needs to get over his grudge"](edited)

Darkhalo4321

he's an AXE Murderer

Sarai

oh come on we haven't seen him kill anybody yet

Kabocha

you know, honestly, the first time I saw Ker and Lark interacting, I could have sworn that Lark was like, some trickster asshole. And that he'd done something awful to Ker to make him THAT angry and grumpy.

RebelVampire

ya know i was going to say that is a bigger town than i thought itd be but then i looked up comparable towns near me and have now changes my thoughts that 12k is a tiny town

crimsonangeltears

xD

Kabocha

Maybe he ran into Ker one morning, on the way in to town, and made Ker spill coffee all over his nice, clean shirt.

Respheal

UM

crimsonangeltears

LOOK OUT

Darkhalo4321

It's big- but small. Big enough to have a few draws- but not BIG enough for some stuff.

Respheal

Wow I sure as heck don't remember seeing that lmao

RebelVampire

I thought it was only me who got that impression

Sarai

The town i grew up in is 32k - 12k is TINY XD

Kabocha

30k isn't that small...

Darkhalo4321

See- Roseburg is like 26k population- and I was doing a sized down version of THAT

Kabocha

....I mean, the town I grew up in had that many people, and it was kinda busy but we only had like, 3 blocks... ...of actual city...

Darkhalo4321

you wouldn't believe it but BEND Oregon is now... like 80K

crimsonangeltears

I think in terms of crime it really depends on many factors and the type of crime. Where I come from we have a lot of people technically, but when I was younger certain...crime that happened was not exactly heard of for our location..

We've had three serial killers now and it still isn't something that would have normally happened..

Tenor | Shinavar

12k ain't big but it ain't small. Town next to me is 4k.

Darkhalo4321

lark probably did piss off ker, we just don't know what he did yet

Kabocha

Also worth considering: When we were younger, the news didn't like to cover small towns all that much.(edited)

Sarai

my town was super small up until a few years before I was born, so it really isn't that city-like

Tenor | Shinavar

"Younger"

Kabo: u funny

Kabocha

Ey, remember, only 20 years ago, the internet was thought of as a fad

Tenor | Shinavar

Oh I'm refrencing something else, no worrie slol

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. Of course, our main protagonist Jason is drenched in mysteries. How exactly do you think Jason’s mother was murdered, and why did the event cause so many changes in the world? Why doesn’t Jason’s dad want to explain the event to him? Who exactly sealed Jason’s memories and for what purpose? Additionally, why are the memories now starting to unravel after all this time? Overall, do you think Jason will learn to control his powers? Does he have a contract as Ker suggests might be possible, or will he have to make one to protect himself? Even if Jason gains control of his powers, how will that change his course in life? Lastly, how will Jason’s experiences with Phates in the future affect his choices?

Respheal

“ How exactly do you think Jason’s mother was murdered”

Horribly

Kabocha

She was stabbed.

Tenor | Shinavar

Dibs on eaten

Respheal

omg

RebelVampire

you know whatever you guys suggest im gonna assume its just all of it

Darkhalo4321

sobs

TENOR

RebelVampire

so stabbed, maybe burned, then eaten

Tenor | Shinavar

What? I'd go into a complete amnesiac trauma experience seeing my mom get eaten in front of me

Kabocha

hold on I have an awful idea

Letter Bee

I feel that the Leader of the Hunters slashed Adelaide to death as part of a plan to demoralize Antonio and keep him from fighting the corruption in the Hunters.

Respheal

And if you're very lucky, in that order?

Sarai

It definately involved Jason somehow, but I don't think he was directly responsible

Tenor | Shinavar

If Jason was responsible I'm chalking it up to "Phrophetic" reasons and mom tried to protect him

Respheal

Jason was a witness at the very least, for sure

Letter Bee

And the Leader of the Hunters also cursed Jason as a further hold on Antonio.

Darkhalo4321

:0

Jason has a hard life

Kabocha

[Image: Crossover joke](edited)

Sarai

DON'T CROSS THE STREAMS KABO

Respheal

WHAT

Darkhalo4321

but her hair was LONG

Respheal

LMAO

Okay okay okay geez uh(edited)

crimsonangeltears

I think she was slashed, not exactly just stabbed? Jason witnessed it so his memories were sealed to protect him from that trauma, but I think that if he remembers who it is, it will put him in Danger. (my guess..)

Respheal

Well, we really don't have any clues as to who did it or why

Kabocha

http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2341615/4-23/ I've always wondered if Adalaide is the "she" Lark is talking about.

Is she really dead?

Sarai

i think it was caused by something magic-y he wasn't supposed to see/know about

Kabocha

Is she really? Like, dude, maybe she's not dead, but... Disappeared.

And Lark and Jason share a sort of bond because of it (brothers, maybe???)

Tenor | Shinavar

/Insert Brother Bear Meme for Lark + Adalaide?

crimsonangeltears

If it's disney rules...

Darkhalo4321

Sometimes I can STILL hear his voice

RebelVampire

i support this head canon just so lark and jason can be brothers

Sarai

please don't start another twin theory here

Darkhalo4321

:>

Kabocha

They can't be twins, Lark's older. But maybe Adalaide had a secret child with someone.

crimsonangeltears

I love twins...but I'd have to agree xD

Tenor | Shinavar

Fine I'll up a twin Theory: They're the same person split.

crimsonangeltears

No thank you..

Darkhalo4321

jason just didn't leave for a year. nbd

Respheal

Ooh

Kabocha

Two halves of a whole?

Tenor | Shinavar

Ye

Respheal

Actually, y'know what

Kabocha

Lark is the memories, Jason is the power?

Darkhalo4321

a yin or yang theory

Respheal

I see your twin theory and raise you Lark and Robbie are related(edited)

dat curly hair

Kabocha

omg

Tenor | Shinavar

...

Darkhalo4321

oooo

Tenor | Shinavar

Support

You'd never see it coming their personalities are so different :D

Darkhalo4321

they are the same age too

crimsonangeltears

OR...they are related but time travel or au is involved

Kabocha

!!!!

Darkhalo4321

Robbie is the rogue path

Kabocha

A doppelganger from the phate side of the world?

(Lark, that is)

Darkhalo4321

:0

Kabocha

I mean, Lark is a bird, and Oregon is home to Portland, and if y'all haven't seen Portlandia

crimsonangeltears

OR he's a robot that thinks he's not and he was given fake memories

Kabocha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHmLljk2t8M

Darkhalo4321

Oh nooo

So a doll hm?

Respheal

Oh yeah, regarding the contract part of the question

There was that trippy dream Jason had

Where he looked kinda....corrupted? And someone gave him a cross

I dunno, the timing of that seemed kind of contracty to me

Ah ha, this bit: http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2637351/6-18/(edited)

Kabocha

Who's the other person there?

Respheal

We don't know O:

I think

RebelVampire

in regards to the contract thing, im gonna point out it was suspicious metaphysical contracts were brought up, nobody knows how they work, and it potentially kills ppl

SpazztastiKim

MYSTERY

Darkhalo4321

I mean

Kabocha

Well, people, there's two, but I figure the guy's probably someone like Ker

crimsonangeltears

you'd have to be pretty desperate to agree to it then?

Darkhalo4321

what doesn't kill you makes you stronger?

SpazztastiKim

Halo boo

Darkhalo4321

- adviec from Ker... probably

Kabocha

.........That's how he got those scars.

RebelVampire

that does sound like ker advice

Kabocha

"I'm clearly not dead, so it's okay!"

Darkhalo4321

seems legit

Respheal

Oh derp hi like right in the next page from that it shows Jason dreaming about his mom getting slashed(edited)

Darkhalo4321

his dreams suck

Kabocha

Ker sure isn't the prettiest face you'll see for a motivational spokesperson, but he sure is the one that'll make you say "YIKES"

Darkhalo4321

I did have a lot of fun with that dream sequence. I both loved it and regretted it instantly.

Kabocha

Oh?

SpazztastiKim

The true suffering

Kabocha

It's interesting that Jason sees himself as cursed in the dream, though.

RebelVampire

maybe the dream sequence is how jason made a contract to try and save his mom but between that and her dying it was too overwhelming

Kabocha

Unless the curse just sits on top of any self-representational form of himself in his dreams.

SpazztastiKim

oof

Darkhalo4321

ooof indeedly

It's like it's becoming more and more clearer?

Respheal

Ker observed the curse triggers when Jason's thinking about his mom (or, I guess, what happened to his mom), and he was dreaming about his mom at the time

Darkhalo4321

I believe he does make that inference

(is inference the right word?)

Kabocha

Yeah, I think so

But Dark knows all the answers so clearly can't tell us THE TRUTH

Darkhalo4321

yes it is I feel smart

Respheal

The truth is out there

Kabocha

Okay, more seriously though

Darkhalo4321

I c o u l d

Kabocha

I'm not sure Ker wasn't involved in the murder.

Respheal

Nahh

Kabocha

I dunno.

SpazztastiKim

no... :C

Darkhalo4321

he did skip town

Respheal

Antonio would kill Ker if he was 8V

SpazztastiKim

NOOOO

RebelVampire

yeah i agree with res

ker would not be alive right now

or staying in the house

Darkhalo4321

but antonio needs SOMEONE to clean the bathrooms

SpazztastiKim

pffft

Kabocha

Ker probably can't take antonio, honestly

RebelVampire

ker doesnt need to live in the house for that. get a dog house and make ker sleep outside

Kabocha

http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2455383/2-9-5/ I feel like Antonio might have suspected Ker's involvement, intentional or not, at one point tho

and clearly Ker has no problems killing rogue apparitions

okay yes he does, but only because Lark's a kid

RebelVampire

i got more the impression that antonio called ker cause he thought ker would actually give him straight answers about certain things going on that he wasnt made privy too. versus necessarily think ker was directly involved

Kabocha

Hm, true.

RebelVampire

ker secretly has lark's bday marked on a calendar so the minute lark turns 18 he can kill lerk with no qualms cause lark is an adult

Kabocha

Okay, revision to the theory then. Ker may have known who was sent out that night to deal with the new Moonlight Apparition. Ker may not have known why someone was sent out, or to where they were sent... But had info, somehow. and then... When he realized what happened, he couldn't face Antonio for 5 years.

SpazztastiKim

ouch...

RebelVampire

that sounds more like ker

at the very least i dont buy ker saying "i vaguely remember"

that is a conversation you would remember XD

Kabocha

Ker probably doesn't want to remember.

Darkhalo4321

Maybe he made himself forget?(edited)

Kabocha

Unless Ker was secretly in some sort of love/hate relationship with Adalaide, and then was in a state of shock when he heard she'd died. (Although it really seems more hate/hate)

RebelVampire

ker got himself one of those jason curses

Kabocha

(so, yanno, no unrequited love shenanigans there, but we can dream)

Respheal

Well, there is memory magic

Kabocha

...Is Ker a puppet?

Is that what you're getting at Res

Respheal

I mean, Dark saying Ker may have made himself forget

Kabocha

Was Ker made to forget so he could easily carry out orders, and being near Antonio is bad news bc it jogs his memory

Respheal

I'm just saying there's a way to do that

Kabocha

shhh

don't stop me from making up crazy conspiracy theories!

Respheal

Although here's a question: Why only Adelaide?

Jason was there

Kabocha

Because Antonio.

Darkhalo4321

Why only jason?

Respheal

I mean like, if Jason was there, why wasn't he killed too?

Sarai

Jason's dream/memory of the event cuts off right at the moment he's threatened by him mom's killer(edited)

Respheal

Instead, he just got the curse on him

RebelVampire

im assuming either they didnt get a chance to get at jason cause he did apparition things or because adelaide was super duper special and therefore had to die(edited)

Respheal

.....What if someone's using Jason

Kabocha

I feel like the killer was interrupted before he could finish the job.

Oh no...

Respheal

Someone needed him alive? :3c

RebelVampire

if i had to pick someone to blame for the murders im gonna pick belial cause belial is one suspicious mofo

Respheal

^

Kabocha

Also his magic and eyes are purple.

Darkhalo4321

Puuuurple

A royal color

Kabocha

I know that logic doesn't make much sense when stated out loud like that, but -- I figure an easy visual hint someone would use (or well, a way to distinguish who cast what) is to tie the magic color back to the magic user.

...UNLESS Purple is just a cursed color.

In which case, Belial is toxic.

Respheal

And if you're going to code someone as having "evil magic", you use red or purple

Kabocha

Or green

Respheal

The danger colors

Darkhalo4321

green is my favorite color. It will never be toxic to meeee

SpazztastiKim

totally toxic

Sarai

but purple IS the color of Jason's curse

Darkhalo4321

:0

SpazztastiKim

purple IS cursed because that's my favorite color

Kabocha

...So, I guess we need to find out if Belial also knows how to use a sword.

crimsonangeltears

It is also my favorite color! But cursed...? I never thought about it.

Kabocha

TBH it's weird that the hunters are working with him or his brother at all.

Respheal

He seems like the type

SpazztastiKim

possibly

Kabocha

I dunno, Belial seems more the type to use a magic sword and use it for blood magic.

....wait

Would that be why the murders happened?

Darkhalo4321

His brother now... thats a fun character >:3c

Kabocha

Some sort of horrific ritual involving the town?

We haven't seen other places enough to know if this is an oddly concentrated population of magic shit.

But... I wonder.

Respheal

Real quick before the next question: re: how powers will affect Jason's life: Hope you weren't plannin' on college, kiddo. Super powers and college don't mix well

RebelVampire

http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2637354/6-20/ maybe not jason because i was looking at this page again and the writing that can be read is saying wake up. and while you could argue its a subconscious thing telling jason to wake up from the dream, you could also interpret it as something he heard cause the murderer wanted jason's apparition powers to awaken.

Kabocha

Hmmm...

RebelVampire

super powered jason cant be any worse at college than the thought of robbie at college XD

Respheal

TRUE

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. Besides the characters, there seems to be a lot going on in regards to the world. Who do you think Jason can trust: the Hunters or Lark? For what reason do you pick that side? Why do you think the other side can’t be trusted? Overall, do you agree with the Hunters’ stance that Phates should be kept secret? In contrast, do you sympathize with Lark’s goals? What crime do you think he’s being hunted for, and why is it secret? Also, what do you think happened to the people Lark is looking for? Finally, what do you think is going on with the Behem Realm in regards to the corruption and can it be fixed? What role might Jason have in regards to that?

Sarai

I DON'T KNOW OK

Kabocha

Honestly? I think Lark's the more trustworthy. The more I talk this out with made-up theories, the less I am really trusting the hunters.

Sarai

this whole situation with hidden information and magican shenanagins is stressing me out

crimsonangeltears

I will say Lark because that sweet child would never hurt my beloved Jason.

Kabocha

I'm sorry, Crow, you poor child, I really can't trust you until you get an anger management class.

SpazztastiKim

-snorts-

trust no one

RebelVampire

jason shouldnt trust anyone. that is the answer. dont trust ppl who have secrets

Respheal

I tend to think both sides are right and wrong :V The Hunters probably didn't explain things well and are probably doing some shady stuff, but Lark proooooobably reacted poorly and got himself in too deep

Also yes

Trust no one lol

SpazztastiKim

@RebelVampire gets it

Sarai

I don't think phates should be kept secret from the general population

Kabocha

Wait.

WAIT

If there are no secrets...

Then the only person we can trust is Robbie.

Respheal

Lark seems to have good intentions, but probably doesn't have the full story

.......lol

SpazztastiKim

@Respheal gets it too yes

Kabocha

I'm sorry, it's TRUE though.

SpazztastiKim

DON'T TRUST ROBBIE ARE YOU NUTS!?

Respheal

It is true and it hurts

Darkhalo4321

robbie is NOT the person you should trust

RebelVampire

robbie is the murderer confirmed

Respheal

because he's Lark's brother

Kabocha

Y'all are saying don't trust people with secrets, and where does that leave us? EVERYONE but Robbie has secrets.

Darkhalo4321

Toby

SpazztastiKim

hmmmmmmm

Darkhalo4321

Toby is a good kid- no secrets

Sarai

with a fire cracker? absolutely not but with the TRUTH????

Darkhalo4321

y e t

Sarai

YES

RebelVampire

im gonna trust antonio. antonio is just a great dad, great businessman, and great taker carer of ker

SpazztastiKim

I trust no one. not even myself... ESPECIALLY myself

Darkhalo4321

-robbie

Respheal

But even Antonio's keepin' secrets :(

Kabocha

If we're going to trust Antonio, it's only because if I don't, he'll kill me if I walk in his yard.

Respheal

Presumably for good (or so he thinks) reason, but....

Darkhalo4321

I'm sure he HAS his reasons

SpazztastiKim

just because there are reasons doesn't mean they're GOOD reasons

Kabocha

Antonio's a parent. Jason is a teenager. In most stories, you can't trust the parents because they're keeping grown-up secrets from their kids.

SpazztastiKim

heh

hehehe

Kabocha

Like, the truth about that college you really wanna go to... It's not happening. I'm sorry. MIT doesn't offer a full ride, Jason. ...Or does it now

anyway point is

You can't even trust JASON

Darkhalo4321

jason sucks at math, what makes you thik he'd get into MIT XD

Kabocha

because he's keeping secrets!

Darkhalo4321

He IS! How RUDE

Kabocha

The one secret I wanna know is how he gets his hair to stand up like that

Darkhalo4321

Ghibli effect

SpazztastiKim

pfft

Darkhalo4321

The wind styles it FOR him

SpazztastiKim

antigravity hair gel

Respheal

He hangs upside down for an hour every morning (actually no this is more of a Robbie thing)(edited)

Kabocha

Jason's never at 100% power because he's using 10% of it to do his hair.

Sarai

maybe he showers before bed and just

lets it dry however it wants

Darkhalo4321

he needs to get it cut. chop chop chop

bye bye fluff

Sarai

no!

crimsonangeltears

So birds don't style his hair?

Kabocha

And then he'll look like a tiny Antonio

Darkhalo4321

he's a regular snow white that kid

RebelVampire

no i already weeped when robbie cut his hair

Kabocha

Crim, are you suggesting that Jason's a disney princess?

Darkhalo4321

wait until he cuts it SHORTER

Kabocha

... Let's count the qualifications

RebelVampire

there needs to be like 1000% more floof for everyone's hair

Respheal

You mean he's not?

Kabocha

He has a bird friend He has a dead mom But can he SING?

Sarai

when jason cuts his hair will he do it in a comb-over(edited)

Darkhalo4321

ACTUALLY

he can sing very well

oh no- I made a disney princess

Respheal

Disney princess confirmed

Darkhalo4321

He's like BELLE because... he loves reading though!

he doesh't get trapped in a castle. but. like...

SpazztastiKim

nerd

Kabocha

I want adventure in the great wide somewhere~

Darkhalo4321

but not this apparition haaaair

RebelVampire

idk jason isnt really singing about he wants more than his provincial life

Kabocha

Jason, when Robbie comes by. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INDnS3vIKCU

SpazztastiKim

He's more like... Tiana

Darkhalo4321

Oh because... restaurant, right?

SpazztastiKim

and hard worker... stubborn.... oblivious

Darkhalo4321

robbie probably DID ask Jason to marry him HONESTLY

SpazztastiKim

three times at the very least(edited)

crimsonangeltears

But wait....maybe he's hercules since Ker is training him??

Darkhalo4321

he DID propose to like... 5 nurses

SpazztastiKim

tru

Darkhalo4321

I can GO THE DISTANCE

RebelVampire

i wonder what robbie wouldve done if one of the nurses said yes

Kabocha

I'm into the Hercules version of Jason. If only because it means Cathy and Melodie are probably muses

SpazztastiKim

HA

Darkhalo4321

Heck yeah!

Melodie has the moves for that!

SpazztastiKim

TRUTH

Kabocha

Welp.

Darkhalo4321

So The Behem realm

crimsonangeltears

Will there be a musical chapter?

RebelVampire

its probably fine. corruption always fixes itself O_O

Darkhalo4321

how would I comic that?... a musical chapter? When the anime happens, I'll have one made!

Kabocha

I still can't help but think that Crow's some sort of shapeshifter or werewolf... Behem... Behemoth... Plus Crow's propensity to growl like some sort of very angry dog...

RebelVampire

if crow isnt a werewolf i will be surprised

Respheal

I am 100% on board with that theory

RebelVampire

cause theres been enough refs to imply it is so

Darkhalo4321

I mean... He takes commands rather well when threatened- so-

dog training?

Kabocha

Crow doesn't listen to Julie real well tho

SpazztastiKim

he tries

RebelVampire

i think how the behem realm is being dealt with is a major reason jason shouldnt trust the hunters. cause while i dont think the hunters are evil persay, i think in their pursuit to do the good they bend ethics waaaaaay too far(edited)

Darkhalo4321

Julie needs to talk louder-

SpazztastiKim

He is basically a puppy

be loud and RIGHT THERE, then he'll pay attention

Darkhalo4321

yeaaaah- wonder why they have a phate trapped in a glass jar in a makeshift lab

SpazztastiKim

spooky

Kabocha

.... Do the stooges know about that

Darkhalo4321

they might

they might not

>:3c

Kabocha

@RebelVampire -- d'ya think the state of Behem might be related to Jason?

what if Jason's unintentionally an avatar of destruction?

SpazztastiKim

why... did that make me giggle so much?!

RebelVampire

i mean id believe it. sorry jason.

Kabocha

This tiny cinnamon roll of a child -- really there because he's a sign of end times.

RebelVampire

you are destined to destroy all that you love

except antonio

Kabocha

With Antonio as his dad, I'd really believe it.

Darkhalo4321

Yeah, I've been forbidden by many to NOT kill antonio

SpazztastiKim

indeed

Darkhalo4321

which means I probably should kill him, right?

Kabocha

Jason can become a razor-sharp weapon of death... But when it comes to his father, they walk side-by-side into the end.

SpazztastiKim

I did threaten to fly over there and shoot you with something. Do I have to again?(edited)

Sarai

it means you should NOT

Darkhalo4321

D:

RebelVampire

no dark this means the opposite. this means antonio needs 10 layers of plot armor

Darkhalo4321

fine fine he's safe... for now

RebelVampire

and when you pretend to kill him it turns out antonio faked his death and it was his plan all along

SpazztastiKim

I have MULTIPLE Nerf guns Halo...(edited)

Kabocha

oh noooo

Darkhalo4321

He'll eat a potato chip and go just as planned

Kabocha

Live footage of Dark, plotting out the story https://tenor.com/6zEs.gif

SpazztastiKim

^^^

Darkhalo4321

you forgot to add in the part where I plot as horrible implications are made known to me

>:3c fu fu fu

Kabocha

. . . So uh.

RebelVampire

i do think jason is tied to the corruption in all seriousness

Kabocha

Anyone got new horrible implications to point out?

I'd agree with you on that, Rebel.... Hold on, I feel like there's visual evidence

Darkhalo4321

oh?

Kabocha

Oh, no nevermind

I was like, "I remember that shot of the blocked off Behem realm being foresty," and linked it to Jason's dream where he got the Rosary... But they don't look similar at all.

But what seems to be a gate(????) to the realm has the same kind of creeping blackness as was surrounding Jason and the corrupted shade

RebelVampire

as far as im concerned the only evidence we need is that jason has amnesia and all the events tie back to the massacre

Kabocha

http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2663394/6-32-chapter-end/ http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2637351/6-18/ But I'm not sure if that's just Dark's visual shorthand for "dark magic"

So file this under "more evidence needed, but I'm choosing to believe they're tied together somehow"

http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2017341/2-10/ Also, apparently the Jason = Apparition user has been hidden from the hunters for a while... So, I wonder if Jason changed that night, corrupted the Behem realm with his awakening (somehow -- maybe it was just some sort of casting in place from the previous apparition user), and then got home after horrific things happened, only to have his mother murdered

The problem with this is, we don't know how casting this sort of stuff works yet, so I don't know if Jason's been in proximity TO the Behem realm if it requires that he physically be there to affect it.

Darkhalo4321

He's a wot? He's an apparition antonio-

Kabocha

So, I think until shown otherwise, if Jason's power is linked to Behem's state... Jason's probably a symptom of the problem, more than the cause??

RebelVampire

to be fair though we cant say for sure the corruption even started in the behem realm can we?

cause it couldve started elsewhere and thats just the first notable place it hit in its spread

Kabocha

true -- it could have been Belial starting shit, and it spread like a wildfire.

RebelVampire

belial please, observe proper fire control procedures at least(edited)

Kabocha

never

Darkhalo4321

a forest fire to burn all the... evidence...

blame it on teens using the beehive burner as a party spot

just as planned

Kabocha

http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2663394/6-32-chapter-end/ Also, I wonder why Julie cares so much about the Behem realm? I know you don't need to have a link to a place to care, but... I feel like she has more than just Crow.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Jason isn’t the only character in the comic with secrets. Do you think there are any significant things that Toby might know from the past that are sealed from Jason? If so, what and how will that affect his and Jason’s relationship? What do you think the story is with Robbie and how Jason ended up his friend? Why won’t Jason tell Toby the circumstances, and why is Robbie’s situation with Jason significant? Also, will the relationship between Jason and Melodie develop, or is it doomed to the status quo? Moving to other characters, how do you think Ker came upon his eye and the ability to use Fae magic? How might this event be influencing his choices and position with the Hunters? Last, what is going on with Belial, and what do you think this means for the story?

Kabocha

To be honest, when we found out that Robbie just kind of appeared in their friend group one day, I half expected that Robbie would be part of Jason? Like, that whole part of Jason that got separated out when he developed amnesia, but then the curse was introduced, and it was like... "nah"

Darkhalo4321

Eh- but you have to think back to Annette and Jason's conversation on the back porch-

Respheal

I've had a theory for a while that Robbie may have attempted suicide.... Mostly fueled by "Are you suicidal?!" "Yes?" and the references to Robbie being in a hospital

And that's probably how they met? 'cuz Jason's sister is a nurse?

Kabocha

Yeah...

RebelVampire

itd make sense cause theres a lot of rumors surrounding robbie and well...rumors lead to bullying >_>

Respheal

And that conversation between Jason and his sister was very......real

"is he okay?"

Kabocha

Robbie's a good egg who decided if he was going to be talked about, he may as well give them something to talk about

RebelVampire

and itd actually explain robbie's sort of cavalier attitude. cause if hes actually depressed than he doesnt care about his safety

thus jumps on well covers

Darkhalo4321

when Inspector Toby says "lets not stand on this-"

Kabocha

http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2222484/1-17/ Toby's pretty cavalier about risking Robbie for Jason's sake tho

Respheal

And why Jason, being the good kid he is, doesn't drop Robbie like a brick when he's consistently crass

Darkhalo4321

if he don't care about his safety, why should he?

Kabocha

http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2222492/1-21/ Because Jason cares

RebelVampire

well yeah, why would toby pick robbie over his best friend? XD

Respheal

I'm still mad at Robbie about the cafeteria scene lol

punk

Darkhalo4321

in the redraw I think I made it worse, but less directed...

if that's possible...even

Kabocha

Toby seemed to join in on it in those pages tho

Toby, why are you so mean to Mel. XD

what did she do to you

Darkhalo4321

Toby-... t o b y

sighs Toby- He's such a complicated nooooodle

RebelVampire

i just assumed robbie acted that way because thats how he handles socially awkward situations he doesnt want to be a part of. and his go to mode is "be a jackass"

Kabocha

.... Mel tried to be friendly, Toby didn't take her being friendly very well because it was a bad day, Mel continued to pester A grudge began

RebelVampire

for the cafeteria scene that is

Kabocha

Well, no, I mean, that could be their history XD

But yes, Robbie being a jackass is default, I think

"I don't know what to do, so go away" only he can't say those words

because then he looks weak

Darkhalo4321

truuue

RebelVampire

toby is a complicated noodle tho. i cant decide if he can be trusted or not. cause he seems honest but then at the same time he feels like he has a secret skeleton closet of secrets

Darkhalo4321

but, Toby Melodie and Jason have been friends for a while now-

his room DOES have a closet Hmmmm

Respheal

When Jason mentioned he had started remembering things, Toby looked like he was ready to whack Jason upside the head if it'd bring on the amnesia again

A definite "nope nope nope bad don't remember" sort of expression

Darkhalo4321

yeah, bad things happen when that... happened...

Kabocha

Maybe Toby has a secret he needs to hide.

Respheal

What are you hiding?

Darkhalo4321

MAYBE

cue law and order theme

Kabocha

Or at least, that was my impression during that first time, but when it was mentioned that Jason gets hospitalized...

It was like, hm, okay. Toby's not suspicious I guess.

Darkhalo4321

f o r n o w

Kabocha

Unless he was that other figure in the bg of that dream

Darkhalo4321

:0

is Toby the contracteee?

Kabocha

Part of the contract, maybe XD

crimsonangeltears

I gotta leave the chat guys, sorry! (gotta make dinner) Thank you for including me!

Sarai

bye! thanks for joining us!!

RebelVampire

thank you for comin @crimsonangeltears ~!

Kabocha

http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2637351/6-18/ <- this page, first panel, 3 figures, just fyi

Darkhalo4321

Thanks for coming Crimson! makes yummy food for your family!

Kabocha

Have a good night Crim~!

RebelVampire

ok so it wasnt just me. i tots thought toby's reaction to jason's memories returning was super suspicious

and like he was ready to flee the country

Kabocha

well, if Jason is linked to the destruction of realms

wouldn't you?

Darkhalo4321

there is a lot about the APPARITIONS the hunters DONT KNOW sooo

Kabocha

that's why they want Lark

to counteract Jason.

Darkhalo4321

>;3c

RebelVampire

why only get one when you can have both tho?

Kabocha

They don't want him dead, but captured if possible. Because even if he dies, that power will reappear, yeah? but Lark's like, "Yeah, nah, I'm fine with the world ending."

Darkhalo4321

I'm surprised no one has brought up the lab... with lark...

Kabocha

Well

It's still new-ish information

Darkhalo4321

True-

Kabocha

We don't know who had the forest lab under their control yet, or am I forgetting something

maybe they had all those kids to test corruption on

Test subjects for Belial's brother~

'cause eventually, you need human subjects.

Darkhalo4321

I mean- they are keeping phates in jars so-

Kabocha

Nari was sacrificed for the sake of the Behem realm!

Darkhalo4321

shes a homuraaaa

or a madoka?

Kabocha

Neither

she's Sayaka

Darkhalo4321

THERE we go

RebelVampire

i dont have enough info to theorize on the lab. cause i got more the impression the kids were at a training facility for the hunters than a lab and that the lab came later.

Kabocha

But uh... There were theories on Dark's server about Mr. Grimr...

RebelVampire

maybe theyre pulling an fma and when lark finds nari shes gonna be fused with a phate

Kabocha

Ahahaha oh no

NO

REBEL NO

Respheal

WHY

Kabocha

Don't give Dark ideas!

Darkhalo4321

... l- lark?

>:3c

Kabocha

Lark-oniichan...

SpazztastiKim

S-stop?(edited)

Sarai

ENOUGH

Kabocha

We have found the limit, and it is Nina jokes.

Sarai

I can't take nina jokes in two servers gosh darn it

SpazztastiKim

that will ALWYAS be the limit

Sarai

^^^

Darkhalo4321

this will be the hill I die on

Kabocha

Okay, but seriously, Mr. Grimr has purple eyes.

Is he Belial's bro

Darkhalo4321

:0

Sarai

he might be

Darkhalo4321

purple, and purple makes a connection-

SpazztastiKim

nothing but pain

Kabocha

I mean

we have yet to see ... What was her name?

Sassypants?

Darkhalo4321

he knows stuff

Kabocha

Sizzlebritches?(edited)

Darkhalo4321

YES

XD

Respheal

"her"(edited)

Kabocha

So, I guess we're going to have a scene of this comic in a strip club.

Respheal

WHO

Darkhalo4321

d... did you not

oh dear

Kabocha

Dark, if you skimp out on the bright colored lights, I'll be sad.

Darkhalo4321

my google search history is going to ask questions kabo

Kabocha

Just look up sterotypical pictures from Vegas

it'll be fine

Or watch Showgirls (don't watch showgirls, it's not really good)

RebelVampire

vegas is basically one big strip club

Darkhalo4321

http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2616663/6-12/

@Respheal

That's WHO

Respheal

Oh

I uh

I actually meant who's the 'her' Grimr is referring to

Darkhalo4321

I felt very clever about the name.

OH

RebelVampire

i assume the her was nari but now that res brings up that page...lark, did you...did you make a metaphysical contract?

Darkhalo4321

o h

Kabocha

"her" -- probably Nari. Or Adalaide. XD

Darkhalo4321

o h n o

Kabocha

If Nari's not fully dead, she will be soon.

A victim of corruption...

Respheal

r i p

Kabocha

I mean, you kind of sealed her fate with the whole friggin blood shots followed by tears

how else do you interpret that

Darkhalo4321

he just... misses her and regrets his bloody murdering ness or... something

Kabocha

http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/comics/2685206/7-5/ Lark is fine if the world ends because Nari isn't in it.

Respheal

The red was actually his hair dye

Darkhalo4321

yes

Kabocha

That's why he wants Jason.

FREE NARI, OR I SET HIM UPON YOU

RebelVampire

lark please. what you do is be the distraction and have jason sneak in. cause they wont be expecting jason and thus jason has the element of surprise to wreck their stuff

Darkhalo4321

Jason can barely transform guys, he'd just go in and start screaming XD

might as well SEND ROBBIOE

actually... That would work.He can seduce the guards see.

RebelVampire

that works too. send robbie and jason.

ultimate tag team

Kabocha

[image: Return Nari... Or suffer his curse...](edited)

Darkhalo4321

Jason would have to remind lark that... he's no idea what he's talking about XD curse? What curse? I'm F I N E

narrators voice He was NOT fine

Kabocha

See, I was imagining it to be more like King Ramses...

Darkhalo4321

oh yah?

Kabocha

RETURN THE SLAB....

OR SUFFER MY CURSE....

Darkhalo4321

OH

Yah Lark would try that, huh?

Kabocha

Yep. only Jason is the curse he shall set upon the world

Darkhalo4321

because his curse is FORBIDDEN MAGICwoooooo

and much scarier for some reason

Kabocha

:3

Well, it'll be okay eventually, I'm sure.

RebelVampire

lark's plans always work out

nothing could go wrong

Darkhalo4321

it'll all work out-

maybe

Kabocha

Nari's not doomed. Jason will be fine. And best of all, Lark will get everything he wanted.

Darkhalo4321

it's fine

Kabocha

And Robbie will live a happy life.

Darkhalo4321

the kids are okay

trust me

RebelVampire

theyre all dead

Kabocha

And you're not going to do anything to Antonio.

Darkhalo4321

e x a c t l y

Kabocha

That's it! That's the story.

Everything is FINE

Darkhalo4321

MCR's I'm not okay plays in the background

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Janaka Davis (Darkhalo4321), as well, for making Moonlight Apparition. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Janaka Davis’ efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: http://moonlightapparition.smackjeeves.com/

Janaka’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Darkhalo4321

Janaka’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A0A1K9D7

Janaka’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Darkhalo4321

[unholyoffspringofcereal]

Less Wordy

So on a less wordy note than before, it has come to my attention that most all of the mistakes I’ve made in my life have been because of thinking I was right too much. If I had just been able to remove myself from that mindset, and actually truly considered I was in the wrong, I could have stopped a whole lot of hurt from beating the only person I care about in the face. Like, I’ve know this before now, my personality reshaped to include this new truth by the hammer of experience and the weight of guilt behind its strikes, but I was just now able to put it into words.

On a different note, it’s amusing that I would say ‘just’ remove myself from a mindset, because there is nothing ‘just’ or ‘only’ about doing that. It’s fucking hard if you don’t know what it means or how to do it, listening to an adult sit there and say the words to you. Know what I mean?

I used to believe that I should make my decisions in the heat of passion, of feeling, so that I would stand by my choices with true conviction, borne of powerful emotion and difficult to sway. Now, some years later and hopefully a bit wiser, I know that passion in your decisions is an excellent thing to have, it gets things done where simple logic fails, but it is secondary to other things, like finding the correct road to travel down. Make sure your head is cool. Look at what is happening from the position of a complete stranger on a warm day, sitting underneath the old oak tree and listening to the words of your story carried on the morning breeze. When you are considering your own reasoning, passion is a hindrance, because it disrupts organization and thus lessens chances of solid logic. You must be methodical, because it will allow you to lay out the facts in such a way your emotions can break free and be just in their understanding. Good logic is imperative.

On the other hand, getting from point A to point B is nigh impossible in the middle of conflict, and so ‘just calming  down’ is heard as a patronizing thing to say to a foolish child instead of the meaningful connotations (I love you, I don’t want to hurt you, please see things from my point of view, please understand this is as hard for me as it is for you). This is the case with much in life, unfortunately, because people so often forget to see the other side of things. It has been a flaw I have carried, even carried knowingly, for years now, and still it is often that I succumb to it.

I would like to be able to say I calm down by doing this or that or imagining a nice tree, but truthfully it isn’t quite that simple, and I’m pretty sure there isn’t exactly one technique to use to get out of any and every situation. They always say do something to get your mind off of things, but it is clinical and detached, much like you aspire to be at that moment. More of a you’ll understand when you manage it type of thing. I think half of my problems with my temper came from my superiority complex, discarding the opinions of all who came before and might have had useful things to say, and half from positive reinforcement to it by a figure I had elevated to something like god-hood in my own mind. But, I digress.

I can offer this advice for dealing with things like this, though its usefulness will undoubtedly not be as applicable for some situations as it is for others. I speak of total sensory deprivation. Have you ever heard of those old sword masters or martial art teachers who were all like “Be the sword” or the water or the dragonfly or whatever? Their purpose was slightly different than mine and yours, but similar. They wanted their students to meditate on what it meant to be that creature. What made up the entirety of its existence, why did it do like it did? What would it feel like to become the object of scrutiny? And so on and so forth. 

The idea I have come up with is to focus on one object or one task, one may be easier than the other, to the exclusion of everything else. People fall into certain groups: auditory, visual, tactile, verbal, etc. The meaning there is that people think in different terms, and so some of you may find it easier to become lost in sound, while others may become hypnotized by the swirl and flicker of lights dancing through the atmosphere, and others may find the simple repetitiveness of a task, the solidity, reliability like an old friend. I cannot tell you what kind of person you are, you must discover that for yourself, but anyone can use anything; certain things will simply be easier for you than others.

To use this, focus completely on this one thing. It doesn’t need to be complicated or simple, or even something you remember really well or even a memory at all. It could be white noise, or a beautiful symphony, or squiggles or a game or any number of things. Whatever it is, try to think deeply about it, think about color or size or feel or how loud or soft or high or low or sad or bright, lose yourself in the sea of questions. Eventually, a stray thought will bring you back to reality and you will, hopefully, be calmer. This will take patience, and it will feel disorienting when you first return to the waking world, so to speak. It will probably be confusing, and your first thought may be to return to your passion of  earlier. Speaking from experience, please do not, and I mean that in the least aggressive way possible. You do not wish to undo all progress.

Also, be cautious about when and where you attempt to implement this. It can be very unhelpful, distracting, even dangerous if you try to remove yourself from the world when there are pressing matters demanding your attention Right This Second, And I Mean NOW, or if you were in the middle of a task or conversation or whatever.

Now, this has little to do with any of the above, mostly in tangent, actually, so you can ignore it if you want. 

I got to thinking earlier, about laws of physics, which is a great class, fun subject in my opinion. Newton was really smart, so were all of these other people. They knew more than they knew (hehe). For instance, Newton’s Third Law. C’mon all you nerds, say it with me, be proud for knowing this. Or not, whatever floats your boat.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Pretty basic stuff when talking physics, in all honesty, but the building blocks are often important at all levels, and you don’t get much more important than this. Anyway, I was thinking about how this is true with people too. For every harsh word you deal to someone, the result is inflicted on you as well as them. I saw this really amazing thought one time on this sight, a post of screencaps and legends, of how the universe is naught but an egg, and the world is nothing but a playground for one person. You. Or me. Or us. 

The idea was that all people were one and the same, Jesus and his followers, Hitler and those killed under his orders. It was kinda sobering, and definitely a bit awe inspiring, and then somewhat self-knowledge-realizing for me, because I hadn’t really thought twice about being a dick before that and it made me feel like a major prick for needing something like that to kick-start my empathy, but I digress.

If every action has an equal and opposite reaction, then my changing of myself must have had a reaction somewhere too, right? Okay, so we all have that one friend that’s way too nice but always thinks their Satan incarnate, or at least we’ve heard of one, right? Okay, so when something bad happens, usually they end up blaming themselves, even though it had nothing to do with them, and trying to change to prevent such a thing from happening again. Sometimes these people are truly innocent, and sometimes I feel like a child before the choice they made to try and believe the way they do, but I digress. Man I say that a lot.

You get my point. Now, imagine if said person were to get into a conflict with an asshole just because the asshole was feeling assholish and mulish? Same reaction still, right? They’d try to change to better accommodate to ensure there would be  at the very least fewer repetitions. Now, in this hypothetical situation, the jackass manages to turn their asshole head from literal to just a head and decided they needed a reality check, fast, and made a change for the better. Well, even so, the changes to the other person have already happened, and the pain and suffering they have gone through now has only had the purpose of shaping an asshole into a more decent human being.

This was the feeling I felt, every day, and it still could never compare to the feeling I have caused. Something I have to remind myself when I get too out of sorts and start to cause trouble: grief cannot be measured on a scale, two negatives don’t cancel each other out because to each person pain is felt differently, and no two pains are exactly the same. That, and to remember that sometimes bad things just happen. There doesn’t have to be a because to the why, or sometimes that because is just somebody being an ass-hat. But you can choose to give something meaning, make it more than a worthless sacrifice. If you remember the things you put others through, and the emotions you yourself felt, you can make that pain perhaps worth more than stupidity.

I believe that you cannot meet hate with hate, or with dispassion, or even with love. You must first greet hate with empathy. You must turn around and ask why could this be, and only when you have understood, when you can know why someone did what they did, you may choose where to go from there. Not all things deserve forgiveness or love, just as very few things deserve unbridled hatred. This is a lesson of  which I forget so so so often it’s barely funny.

Wow. Okay, so less wordy was a bit of a misnomer, but I think I’ll keep it for the irony. I’d like to make multiple posts for this, but I think I’d probably screw it up and honestly, who cares. Thanks for reading, or ignoring as the case may be. Whichever, I wish you a most sincere see you later, because good-byes are not to be bandied around foolishly.