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bush-viper-cutie · 4 years ago

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“One Eyed Witch” || YEAR 3 – Ch.19 (HP au)

Chapter List

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Day posted: 9/11/2020

Word count: 3, 010

Relationship: EVENTUAL severus X oc (slow burn)

Rating: E for everyone

Warnings: none

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A/N: This is my first fan fic I’m writing mainly as a way to practice. This is a retelling of the hp books with an inserted character. Although most every character will be written about, this is mostly for the pro snape fandom. Please do not fear, although this is a severus x oc story, it is an incredibly slow burn as I do not intend for them to get together at all until after the final book events. Chapters will be posted twice a week.

This derivative work follows the events of the Harry Potter books by Jk Rowling and is intended as a fun way to practice my writing. Thank you for reading :D

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It took a month, but Harry’s spirits seemed to finally have recovered fully from October’s horrible first game of the season. Heather noticed his mood change from quiet and constantly annoyed to loud and annoying but cheerful. The second Ravenclaw flattened Hufflepuff and Gryffindor was put back in the running, it confirmed for her how very simple Harry’s emotions were sometimes.

“Be quiet!” she hissed at him.

He rolled his eyes at her and leaned away from Ron and went back to stirring his potion.

She shook her head and glanced at Professor Snape who had been eyeing them from behind Neville. If it wasn’t for Neville’s inability to follow safety procedures, they’d have gotten yelled at and sent to detention already for all of Harry and Ron’s snickering.

“But could you imagine the look on Malfoy’s face when you flash a dementor away?” Ron looked over at a glaring Malfoy and back. “Make sure to flash them towards him.”

Harry held in a laugh and nodded. “There might not be any at my next match. Professor Dumbledore’s been keeping them away really well. The sky’s not even dark anymore.”

“Harry,” Heather hissed again. “Can you please focus on one class at a time? Your potion’s about to bubble over!” She took his stirring rod and dispersed the bubbles before they spilled over onto his dried cocoons and turned them to ash. “We still have two weeks before the holidays! And Professor Lupin still needs to feel better.”

Harry seemed to have calmed down and focused for the rest of class. The bells rang in the distance and it was time to turn in their potions. Heather packed her things and rushed to keep up with Harry and Ron who were attempting at bolting out the door to get as far away from Professor Snape as possible.

“Where’s Hermione?” Ron looked around.

Heather and Harry looked around too at all the exiting students and spotted her brown bushy hair already outside. She noticed them searching and waved at them from the corridor over everyone’s bobbing heads.

“How.” Ron frowned.

Heather narrowed her eyes at Hermione, feeling her suspicion growing. They were almost out the door when Draco called her from his seat.

“What’s he want?” Harry frowned.

She shrugged. “Probably Quidditch stuff… I’ll see you guys after lunch.”

They let her stay behind reluctantly and watched her make her way back down to the front of the class from outside the room before walking away.

She walked up to Draco who was leaning against his desk with Crabbe and Goyle right behind him, writing out stuff on long rolls of parchments.

“What were they laughing about, Potter? They kept looking over at me. Are they planning something?”

She almost laughed. “They’re not ‘planning’ anything. Harry’s just happy Hufflepuff’s not going to win the Quidditch Cup this year.”

Draco smirked and looked back at Crabbe and Goyle. “I didn’t know he’d be so excited for Slytherin’s victory.”

Crabbe and Goyle laughed and nodded.

“Focus.” Professor Snape’s voice made them jump and turn back to their rolls of parchment.

Heather looked back at him, absolutely astounded that he’d let students stay behind to finish what looked like extra assignments or to just hang out in Draco’s case.

“We’re playing Ravenclaw next, pretty sure. Flitwick still needs to decide on which team but they always think they have a chance against Slytherin’s for some reason. So I’m sure we’ll be playing them.”

Heather already guessed that by the way Marcus was making them practice the trickiest of plays that he normally saved for Ravenclaw. Her shoulders still ached from yesterday’s early morning practices.

Draco pushed himself onto the table and sat with his feet on a stool. “So, have you and your dumb brother found a way to get permission to go to Hogsmeade?”

Heather shook her head and smiled. “No. Why? Eager to see us there?”

His face turned pink and he scoffed. “As if.”

She heard a deep sigh and turned to see Professor Snape rubbing his temples at a botched potion he was holding up. He shook his head and set it back down among the other jars that had been turned in and sipped from his mug. She noticed four jars set aside and recognized one of them as her own, based on her crooked label. She smiled and turned away. Her potion had been grouped in with the other near perfect potions from class.

Now her sprit’s remained as high as Harry’s knowing that despite Professor Snape’s constant look of disgusts at her potions, she was at least on the same level as Draco and among the top in the class.

“Heather? Earth to Heather?” Hermione waved her hand in front of Heather’s face.

Heather blinked. “Hmm?”

“I SAID, what do you want from Hogsmeade? If I’m going to get you a present today I need to know and preferably before the line leaves.”

Mr. Filch was holding up the line, waiting for precisely twelve o’clock to let them go despite everyone being present and ready to leave a minute early.

She put a finger to her chin and thought. “I’d really like to start growing plants in my dorm. So maybe a nice pot? There are fallen leaves on the ground in the green houses that I’m sure Professor Sprout won’t miss.”

“Take one of the carnivorous ones with the long tongues and grow it next to Pansy.” Ron dodged Hermione’s hand.

“That’s a terrible idea Ron! Please tell me you won’t do that.”

Heather frowned and shook her head at Hermione and winked and nodded at Ron.

“Heather!”

“Oh of course not!” She crossed her arms.

Harry sighed. “Line’s moving. See you guys.”

They waved Ron and Hermione goodbye and watched them leave down the stairs.

“Go on, move away!” Mr. Filch shooed them away after all the other students had left.

Heather kept her eyes on the falling snow outside for a few more seconds before pulling Harry into the eerily quiet castle. They were on their way to the library, per usual during Hogsmeade weekends, when they were pulled behind a corner by Fred and George.

“Follow us young nifflers – ”

“And let your days of treasure hunting be over.”

Fred and George smiled wide and motioned for them to follow. They followed them into a nearby classroom and sat at one of the desks while they secured the door closed.

“What’re you guys doing?” Heather looked at them wearily as they checked all around the classroom.

“We have something to give you.” Fred walked back to them as George finished inspecting the closet.

George joined them. “Early Christmas present from us, to the both of you.”

“To share.” Fred winked and took out something from inside his cloak pocket.

He twirled it in his hand and smacked it down on the desk. Heather recognized it at once and turned to watch Harry’s bewildered reaction.

“Spare parchment? Very old spare parchment?”

Heather smiled. Harry didn’t know what it was.

George looked at Heather and winked. “No Harry, it’s more than that. This is how we do it.”

“Do what?”

Fred smiled wickedly. “Everything.”

“See, Harry,” George stood straight and put a hand to his heart. “Back when we were young little first years, we got in trouble with Filch.”

“He sent us to his office where we noticed a drawer labeled ‘Confiscated and Highly Dangerous’ while he yelled at us about the Dungbomb we let off in the corridor.”

“What’s so dangerous about old parchment?”

Fred chuckled and hit George’s shoulder. “He still doesn’t get it.”

George crossed his arms. “He really doesn’t.”

Heather tilted her head at the map. “Wait… Filch knows it exists?”

Fred shrugged. “Not sure if he ever found out how to work it. Being a squib and all.”

“But he probably guessed at what it was, r’else why would he have confiscated it?”

“But what IS it?” Harry reached for it, but George swatted his hand away.

“Let us finish Harry!” George opened the parchment up.

Fred took out his wand and tapped it.

Together they said, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

The second their mouths closed at the last sound the ink on the map began to spread from the point of Fred’s wand. It spread like a spider’s web and fanned out in every direction until the words began to blossom and turn green.

‘Messrs. Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

Purveyors of Aid to Magical Mischief-Makers

Are Proud to present

The Marauder’s Map’

Heather grinned, remembering how cool she thought it was. She looked over at Harry who looked beyond intrigued. George opened it further and suddenly every detail of Hogwarts was visible to them. They could see the castle, the grounds, the edge of the lake, and tiny ink blots moving around with tiny, scribbled names attached. There weren’t many in the castle, and even fewer out in the grounds.

“It’s a map… to all of Hogwarts?” Harry pointed at a dot labeled Professor Dumbledore, who was pacing back and forth in his office.

Heather pointed at Mrs. Norris, who was stalking around in the second-floor corridor. They spotted Peeves in the trophy room.

“Wait a second,” Harry gasped. “Are those – ?”

Fred grinned. “Secret passages.”

Heather frowned. “They lead to – ”

“Hogsmeade.” Fred and George chorused.

“Seven secret passages in all.” Fred tapped on four of them. “Filch knows about these. But these ones – ” He pointed out the three others. “We’re sure he has no clue ‘bout these.”

“This one’s caved in… And that one’s really dangerous. The Whomping Willow’s planted right over it so don’t even bother. This one though…” George grinned. “Right into Honeydukes’ cellar.”

Heather inspected the secret passageway they were talking about and noticed their little dot selves right next to it.

“The entrance is at that one-eyed humped witch statue outside the room here,” Fred pointed. “But something very important you have to remember.”

“You need to wipe it after you’re done.” George tapped the map with his wand.

“Mischief managed,” they both said and the map cleared.

“Money, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. We owe ‘em everything.” Fred said solemnly.

“Alright well, we’ll see you in Hogsmeade.” George tapped Fred’s shoulder and they both left the room.

Harry reached for the map but Heather snatched it up fast. “Harry. Have you forgotten we’re not supposed to go? It’s not safe?”

Harry took it from her hands. “Except if we had gotten the signatures we’d be there already! So technically… it’s fine.”

Heather huffed angrily.

“Besides. We’ll be going from Hogwarts directly to Honeydukes. So we can’t run into Sirius Black. It’s the safest way, really.”

Heather narrowed her eyes at him. He had a point and she hated it. “You know what the Weasleys say about magical artifacts… Dangerous ones Harry.” She waited for him to look at her. “If it can think for itself, and you can’t see where it keeps it’s brain – ”

“Don’t trust it,” he finished. “But Fred and George are Weasleys and have been using this thing for years. It’s fine, alright?”

She sighed, giving in. “Fine… meet by the witch in five minutes. You can’t go out like that. You’ll catch a cold.”

They snuck out of the room and went their separate ways, meeting back at the witch in their Weasley green sweaters and old hand-me-down knitted black hats. They stood by the witch and while Harry looked around for anyone, Heather opened up the map and traced her finger along the passage. She looked at the old crone and back down at the map and a tiny speech bubble had taken over the label of her name.

“‘Dissendium’,” she said and the witch began to move.

The hump opened wide enough to fit them one at a time.

“Quickly go, go!” Harry pushed her in.

She stepped in and felt a decline. “Lumos… Careful on your way down – AH!” Harry had knocked her over and they both tumbled down the slope onto earthy ground. Heather stood and dusted off. She picked up her wand and map. “Mischief managed,” she tapped it.

“I’ll hold it,” Harry reached for it.

Heather pulled it behind her back. “You have the cloak. I should have the map.”

“No way. If Pansy or Malfoy find it, then it’s good as lost. If Ron or Neville do then it’s still safe.” He reached around her and tore it out of her hands.

She pushed him away and straightened her sweater. She’d bring this topic back up later. It wasn’t fair he got to keep both things, especially since they were supposed to share it and own it together.

“Let’s go.” He led the way down the passage.

The passage curved and bent, twisted left then right until finally, after almost an hour, Harry tripped over stone steps. Heather picked him up and made her way up the steps, feeling something level graze her head as she climbed. She put her hands up and pushed, feeling the flat ceiling come loose.

She shifted the loose stone tile and pushed it back, poking her head up into what looked like a cellar full of barrels, crates, and large sack bags. She looked around and saw they were alone.

“Clear,” she whispered and climbed out.

Harry moved the stone tile back and headed for the wood steps. They heard laughter and voices and a distant high-pitched bell with the sound of a shutting and opening door.

A door opened nearby, and they jumped apart and hid behind boxes. A man came down the stairs and headed for the opposite wall, searching deep inside one of the barrels. She looked over at Harry and he jerked his head up. They both climbed back on the stairs and headed up and out of the cellar through the open door.

They were standing behind the counter and quickly ducked down, creeping out from behind and straightening out as they reached the main floor of the shop with all the candy and other people. There were so many Hogwarts students picking out treats and sweets that no one paid them any attention at all.

There were tall, curved shelves of sugar treats in jars, baskets, boxes, and tubes. There were all variations of cream consistencies, from frosty drinks to chewy nougat. There were squares and circles and swirls of colorful candy. And in a jar to Heather’s left were blue sugary springs that bounced and hit the glass lid, trying their very best to escape – or jump into her mouth. She wasn’t sure.

“Can you imagine how crazy Dudley would go here?” Harry laughed.

“I’d rather not.” Heather nudged him towards the door.

Harry stepped away from the rows of dark chocolate frogs and stopped at a barrel of exploding toffees. Heather remembered a second year in the common room eating one when it exploded in her mouth and got all over her teeth. She was picking it from her teeth for a week.

“You don’t want those.” She pulled him and spotted Ron and Hermione in the very back just as she reached the door. “Oh look!”

They headed to the ‘Unusual Tastes’ section and stayed quiet behind Ron and Hermione as they looked at a tray of blood-flavored lollipops.

“No, I don’t think they’d like those,” Hermione shook her head.

“What about these?” Ron held up a box of Cockroach Clusters. “They might – ”

“No. Well maybe Harry – ”

“Definitely not Harry,” Harry spoke up quickly.

Ron and Hermione jumped and turned around.

“How’re you two here!” Hermione frowned and crossed her arms.

“You two apparated?” Ron’s jaw dropped.

“You can’t apparate from Hog – ”

“Hogwarts, yeah.” Ron rolled his eyes. “How’d you two get here?”

Heather shushed Harry before he opened his mouth. “Too many sixth years here.”

Harry nodded. “What’ve you got so far?”

Ron opened up his bag of Honeyduke sweets. “Just the usual. Every Flavor Beans – ”

“Not every flavor,” Heather murmured.

Ron rolled his eyes. “Some Fizzing Whizbees, levitating sherbet balls – Hermione’s Toothflossing Stringmints – black pepper imps, Ice Mice, exploding bonbons, and sugar quills – also Hermione’s.”

“Restock,” Harry gave him a thumbs up and turned. “What should I buy?”

“You brought your money?” Heather looked at Harry incredulously.

“You buy loads of books with yours and I don’t complain.” He pushed Ron away and together went to look at the Jelly Slugs in their tank.

Heather and Hermione looked at each other and sighed before joining them.

“Oh, don’t try those.” Ron took the Acid Pops from Harry and put them back. “Fred gave me one once and it burned a hole in my tongue. Mum gave him a walloping with her broom after that.” He shivered. “Maybe I will get the Cockroach Clusters for Fred this year. I can put ‘em in a peanut box.”

They spent another hour looking at sweets and tasting as many samples as they could. In the end Harry ended up buying a large bag of sweets that he had to split and stuff into several of his cloak pockets. Heather walked over to Hermione who was standing by the door.

“It’s a blizzard outside,” Hermione said as Heather approached. “You’re lucky. Otherwise it’d be very easy to spot you in here.”

Heather nodded. “You know there was no stopping Harry. I had to go with him.” She dropped her voice, “I know more spells than him,” she smiled.

Hermione sighed. “How did you get here?”

Heather looked over at Harry and Ron who were making their way over to them. “We’ll tell you soon. Just not in here.”

Harry gave Heather a chocolate frog leg – still kicking – and bit into the other leg. “Where should we go?”

Hermione looked around. “Well. If it’s really that secret, we should talk in the Three Broomsticks.”

Ron cheered. “Butterbeer!”

They opened the shop door and stepped out into the blizzard, squinting hard and headed for the tiny inn.

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@lokilover-39

@halcyonrogers

@krazykatkay456

@lady-of-black-roses

@writingmi

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#harry potter #heather potter #pro snape #severus snape x oc #severus x oc #snape x oc #severus snape x reader #severus x reader #snape x reader #snape fanfic #snape fanfiction #snape fan fiction #fanfic #fanfiction #fan fiction

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solomon-rincewind · 5 years ago

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Yolen Part 1:

I lay in my bed, feeling sorry for myself. Today I had been feeling terrible, I liked to kid myself into thinking that I wasn't ill at all but couldn't keep up the visage once I stood. So, I avoided standing and lay in my bed with the curtains of the room closed and music playing in the background.

The music stopped.

"Hello Ross."

I sat up with a start, my head instantly feeling like it was about to burst. "What the..." I started, looking around for the source of the voice that had just called my name.

"Hello." I caught sight of the source, it was my speaker, glowing as it spoke. "I suppose you should brace yourself for what comes next."

"What's going on?" I asked the speaker, getting up from bed, I still felt a little queesy but I was pushing past that. "Is this a joke?" I walked to my door to open it.

"Good luck. Arcanum." Said the speaker.

I opened the door. Normally I would've seen the hallway of my apartment, that is not what I saw right now.

"Jesus." I muttered as I looked out of my room to a field of grass and houses thousands of feet below. "The hell is this?"

Tentatively, I poked my foot out of the threshold, instantly I was thrust from my room by the foot, flung out into the open air. I spun, trying to reach for the door but my room wasn't there, nothing but blue sky as I started to descend. "Aaaaaaaa!" I screamed as I fell, too panicked to register my clothes evaporating, too terrified to see the grand city in the distance, too worried to notice that my illness had gone. I passed out.

I awoke to the smell of straw and urine. "Oh god, that stinks." I opened my eyes and finally noticed that my hands were bound with thick ropes and I was sat in a stone cell with wooden bars separating my from the other prison cells. There was no one else in the other cells something strange floated in front of my face. A green screen like what you would seen in a video game.

NAME - N/A

RACE - N/A

LVL - 1

HP - 100

HP/s - +0.1

MP - 80

MP/s - +0.4

JOB - N/A

INDIVIDUAL SKILL - GENESIS/DESOLATION

STR - 10

AGI - 10

CON - 10

INT - 15

FTH - 2

ABILITY POINTS (15)

'What is this?' I asked myself, I'd seen things like this before, in videogames and manga. It was without a doubt a status screen. If I was someone else I would probably have freaked out or assumed it was all a dream, and yet I didn't, I knew from the bottom of my heart that this was reality.

'I wonder why the name and race are blank?' I reached towards the name section, the word glowing brightly before another window and a keyboard appeared in mid air.

CREATE NAME... ... ...

'I guess this thing wants me to make a name.' I had realised my situation pretty quickly, I had fallen from the sky into a fantasy world and was locked up because they didn't know what I was, I was even dressed in Skyrim esc prison clothes.

YOLEN ARCANUM

CONFIRM NAME? Y/N

I pressed the Y and was brought back to the main stat screen. I felt like something had changed, but my name was still Yolen.

"What the..." Something big had changed. I no longer held any attachment to the name Ross, infact when I thought of myself the name that I had just written popped up in my head.

"I guess it really is real."

I pressed the race button, my finger not actually touching anything but the screen still lit and another window opened.

RACE WILL GIVE EXTRA BONUSES AND SKILLS TO -YOLEN- LIST IS AS FOLLOWS. PLEASE NOTE THE CHOICE WILL CHANGE THE COMPOSITION OF -YOLEN-

HUMAN

ELF

DWARF

HALFLING

GNOME

DRAGONBORN

UNDEAD

DEMON

CELESTIAL

SLIME

GOBLINOID

BEASTKIN

ELEMENTAL

GIANT

ORC

There sure were a lot to choose from. I hovered a finger over celestial and a separate window opened again.

CELESTIAL

A HEAVENLY BEING, DIVINE IN NATURE AND AWE INSPIRING TO THOSE WHO LOOK UPON IT.

+5 TO INTELLIGENCE AND FAITH. +2 TO STRENGTH.

GAIN SKILLS CELESTIAL FORTITUDE AND CALMING PRESENCE.

It hadn't made me instantly choose the race which I was glad about. But the presence of skills jogged my memory on something on the main screen. I directed my attention towards the main screen, the other windows faded a bit and spun to my peripherals. I pressed on the individual skill with genesis/desolation next to it and another window opened up.

GENESIS/DESOLATION - LVL 1

INDIVIDUAL SKILL POSSESSED BY -YOLEN- IT IS THE VERY ESSENCE OF CREATION AND ITS COUNTERPART DESTRUCTION -YOLEN- CAN CREATE MATTER FROM HIS IMAGINATION AND DESTROY MATTER HE TOUCHES AT WILL. CAPABILITIES OF THIS SKILL GO UP WITH THE SKILL LEVEL.

MANA COST - 0

The skill level was only at one but it had a lot of potential. "Alright, let's give it a try." Focusing on the ropes binding my hands I tried to make an exact copy, just not binding me.

Small, dully glowing dots of blue light popped into existence, coming together in clumps, slowly changing colour and texture to make the rope.

"Wow." I muttered to myself in amazement, dropping the rope to the floor, now I focused on the ropes around my hands and tried to destroy them. Black lines spread across the rope like veins, draining the colour from it before it crumbled to dust and disappeared. "That's useful." But I didn't want to rush anything so I picked up the rope I had made, destroying it and making a copy on my wrists, once again binding myself.

Turning my attention back to the race screen I pondered my choices, checking a couple of others.

In the end I narrowed it down to celestial, demon(fallen), elemental(Lightening) or undead(ghost).

"Honestly got no clue, I'll flip a coin, celestial and demon or elemental and undead. Heads or tails." A coin appeared in my hand, I flipped it.

"Heads." So, celestial or demon.

The coin went up again.

"Demon it is." I hovered a finger over the demon and read it's description.

DEMON

SUBRACE - FALLEN

A CELESTIAL, FALLEN FROM GRACE AND CORRUPTED BY SIN.

+5 TO STRENGTH AND CONSTITUTION. +1 TO INTELLIGENCE AND AGILITY.

GAIN SKILLS HELLISH FORTITUDE AND CORRUPTING INFLUENCE.

FALLEN SKILLS - GAIN DEEP TRAVERSAL

'Alright, let's do this.' I confirmed my race choice.

RACE CHOSEN, -YOLEN- ENTERING TRANSMUTION STATE.

'What?' I thought, before passing out.

I awoke, looking over my body for changes, there were several. My skin was almost ashen it was so grey, my previously weak and unnoticeable muscles were now larger and defined, more of an agile build. No wings though. Not sure if I was glad or disappointed at that fact. I reviewed my stats, expanding the skill windows.

NAME - YOLEN ARCANUM

RACE - FALLEN

LVL - 1

HP - 100

HP/s - +25

MP - 100

MP/s - +0.5

JOB - N/A

INDIVIDUAL SKILL - GENESIS/DESOLATION

STR - 15

AGI - 11

CON - 15

INT - 16

FTH - 2

ABILITY POINTS (15)

GENESIS/DESOLATION - LVL 1

DEEP TRAVERSAL - LVL 1

HELLISH FORTITUDE - LVL MAX

CORRUPTING INFLUENCE - LVL 1

My HP regen had gone up greatly, and my stats had improved. Checking the screen I also noticed the unused points. I pressed on them to check.

ABILITY POINTS

MAY BE USED TO INCREASE A STAT BY 1 PER POINT USED.

I had no idea when I would get anymore of these so I thought long and hard on what I would upgrade, in the end I decided to check the jobs first.

JOB

-YOLEN- MUST CHOOSE A JOB TO PERSUE, JOBS GIVE -YOLEN- EXTRA SKILLS AND ABILITIES, SUCH AS SPELL CASTING OR MARTIAL ARTS. THE JOB LIST IS AS FOLLOWS.

NECROMANCER

WIZARD

WITCH

WARLOCK

SORCERER

TRANSMUTER

ELEMENTALIST

ENCHANTER

ILLUSIONIST

ARTIFICER

SMITH

COOK

MERCHANT

APOTHECARY

ALCHEMIST

BUILDER

RANGER

DRUID

SHAMAN

WITCH DOCTOR

TAMER

THIEF

ASSASSIN

ACROBAT

SCOUT

FIGHTER

BARBARIAN

SHIELD KNIGHT

CLERIC

PALADIN

PRIEST

SPIRITUALIST

SHRINE MAIDEN

MONK

WITH THE OPTIONAL CHOICE OF.

MANA WEAVER

#original story #story #isekai #fantasy #in another world #litrpg

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ian-the-anion · 5 years ago

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How does the narrator have so much info on monsters and items? Magic. [Undertale theory]

Slightly more refined version of a theory I had previously posted to Reddit.

Screenshots are a courtesy of @nochocolate, @determinators, u/HylianAngel & Funny756. Some of the screenshots are from version 1.0, so they might be outdated.

Something that might go over the heads of many people when playing the game is the fact that the narrator has info on almost all the monsters and items from the underground, and sometimes even describes what they are thinking or feeling. Most probably wouldn’t pay any mind to this and just dismiss it as the “omniscient narrator” doing its job, however as many of you may know the narrator isn’t omniscient:

They don’t know what a water sausage is, and learn its name at the same time as us.

They don’t recognize much of the equipment in the True Lab.

They incorrectly describe the Monster Candy as having a “non-licorice flavor”.

They incorrectly describe Frisk’s actions when fighting one of the Amalgamates.

The fact that the narrator has info on most of the monsters and items, and even seems to be able to read their minds becomes even more problematic when you consider what is arguably the most prominent Undertale theory, Narrachara, as although we don’t get an exact timeline it’s heavily implied that there is a long gap of time between Chara’s death and the events of Undertale, so they wouldn’t know the details of many of the items and monsters, and they obviously can’t read minds (Unless you believe Undyne’s theory that humans have mind control powers). Some examples of the narrator seemingly reading the monsters’ minds:

Temmie forgot her other attack.

CHILLDRAKE - ATK 12 DEF 7 | Rebels against everything!! Looking for its friend Snowy.

ICE CAP - ATK 11 DEF 4 | This teen wonders why it isn't named 'Ice Hat'.

Ice Cap is thinking about a certain article of clothing.

Glyde is thinking of new slang for the word "cool." Like "freakadacious."

Papyrus is thinking about what to wear for his date.

Papyrus is thinking about what to cook for his date.

Shyren thinks about doing karaoke by herself.

Shyren thinks about her future.

Froggit doesn't seem to know why it's here.

Final Froggit knows exactly why it's here.

Undyne thinks of her friends and pounds the ground with her fists.

And whilst there has been an attempt to justify this* it leaves much to wish, as it relies heavily on conjectures and leaves many questions unanswered. Nonetheless, there is plenty of evidence that, like saving, loading, ATK, LV, determination, etc, this is yet another instance of Toby trying to integrate game mechanics as part of the Undertale universe – it’s not that the narrator already knows this info, but rather often monsters are the ones who provide it, and items are also often embedded with theirs.

I feel like I should say this upfront: I know nochocolate already made a post on this. I did come across it when looking for screenshots while writing this, but I did also reach this conclusion on my own. Despite them having already made a theory on it I figured I should chip in on the matter, since there is a lot of evidence they don’t mention, and they also don’t talk about items.

Names

Let’s start with names. The fact that names are provided by the monsters themselves is made pretty obvious, as one of the Froggits in the Ruins outright tells us that yellow and pink names are actual “things” the monsters own*. Besides this we also have three more clues that make this even clearer:

Temmie misspells her own name during battle.

We don’t get to see Endogeny, Reaper Bird and Memoryhead’s names until after they’ve calmed down. So either they can’t or don’t want to show us their info, possibly because of their fractured minds.

During the fight with Asriel, first his name in the menu is "Asriel Dreemurr", later when the rainbow effects start, the letters of his name start moving around and are also rainbow-colored. Later when he enters his true form the rainbow effects are gone, and his name changes to just "Asriel".

Stats

Stats are also an easy one.

Temmie doesn’t give us her stats, but rather says that she’s “RATED TEM OUTTA TEM”.

Glyde also refuses to give us his stats.

We also don’t get to see the stats of Endogeny, Reaper Bird and Memoryhead, or even get the option to check Lemon Bread.

Check

While the check text is a bit more tricky, once again the clues we have point towards the conclusion that the info we see in them is often provided by the monsters themselves.

Chilldrake’s description tells us that he’s “Looking for its friend Snowy”, so not only does he give us his info, but he outright tells us what he’s doing at that moment.

Sans' check could be a joke he put there himself, as it says he's the "easiest enemy" despite being arguably the hardest.

Undyne’s description also points towards this conclusion, as her description reads “The heroine that NEVER gives up.”:

This emphasis on “never” is one of her mannerisms, as we see her do this multiple times throughout the game:

(When calling her in the room hidden behind the waterfall) - When I feel like relaxing, I always take a break there. That means NEVER!! I HATE RELAXING!!

(When calling her next to the bird) - That bird will carry anyone past the gap. It NEVER says no. When I was younger, it gave me a lift. It took an hour... But this bird NEVER once thought of giving up!!!

(When hanging out) - I mean, look, he was SUPPOSED to capture you... and he ended up being FRIENDS with you instead! I could NEVER send him into battle!

(If you kill Papyrus before fighting her) - Look. Papyrus didn't come to his meeting today. Say what you want about him. He's weird, he's naive, he's self-absorbed... But Papyrus has NEVER missed a meeting.

(Alphys even makes a point to do the same if we ask her to roleplay Undyne during the date) - "Ngahhhh!!! Hey, Alphys! You look cute today! Which I say often! But platonically because I would NEVER like you.”.

Besides, having never met Undyne before, the narrator wouldn’t know of her resolve to never give up, so either the narrator is someone who knows Undyne or this info was quite simply given by Undyne herself.

During our rematch with Undyne her description changes to “This time, don’t hold anything back!”, a message put up there by Undyne herself.

It wouldn’t really make any sense for Frisk or the narrator to incite us to fight in a pacifist route (even using a real attack rather than the “Fake attack” option does f*ck all since Frisk has no intention to fight). Meanwhile Undyne was the one who wanted the rematch herself, and is even letting us make the first move, so she obviously wants to fight. She also uses this exact same phrase moments prior, when inciting us to turn up the heat of the stove:

And once again towards the end when her and Alphys are about to kiss:

Showing us that this is yet another of her mannerisms.

When checking Memoryhead the narrator just outright tells us “No data available.”, meaning Memoryhead didn’t give them any info, and apparently the narrator couldn't come up with a description of their own. Only after we’ve placated the amalgamate do we get a description, and it simply reads “MEMORYHEAD”.

When checking Reaper Bird his description is Whimsalot, Final Froggit and Astigmatism’s checks overlapped, and the same thing happens with its dialogue, which shows us that this isn’t the narrator’s doing (and why would the narrator do that, anyways?).

Items

The info of items also seems to often be embedded in the item itself, as we see several similarities with how the info of monsters is given to us.

We don’t get to see how much HP the Dog Salad recovers, and the same thing happens with the Snail Pie, meaning that just like monsters can refuse to give their info, the info in items can be omitted.

The description of the Monster Candy says that it has a “distinct, non-licorice flavor”, yet when we use it the narrator says that it tastes like licorice, so the info in the item was wrong.

Mind you, even after using it the narrator never updates their description of the Monster Candy, meaning that they aren’t saying what they think of the item, but rather just reading the info they are given.

Differently from every other item, whose names are properly capitalized, that is not the case for the Temmie Armor.

This not only would be weird for the narrator to do since the name of every other item is properly capitalized, but also happens to be what Temmie calls it on her shop, and is also consistent with Temmie misspelling her own name as mentioned previously.

Temmie also often doesn’t capitalize her phrases properly when we’re fighting her, hence everything points towards the conclusion that Temmie was the one who named the “temy armor” like that.

The description of the Snowman Piece also indicates that the info of the items is embedded in them, as it reads:

Which is a message likely put there by the Snowman himself.

Whilst another possibility is that the narrator is the one reiterating the Snowman’s request, this doesn’t seem to be the case. The narrator has no qualms about us eating the Snowman Piece even in the pacifist route, and in the genocide route we still see this same message despite Frisk taking a piece of the Snowman before he can even finish making his request, and when checking the remains of the Snowman the narrator describes it as “(A useless pile of snow.)”, hence they'd have even less reason to care about the Snowman's request.

A question that might arise is whether this could also apply to items that humans made, as seems to be the case with some of the weapons and armor. It's a common theory that some of the items we find were left behind by the humans that fell before Frisk, such as the Burnt Pan, Cowboy Hat, the Torn Notebook, etc, as seems to be indicated by the fact that we see these items during the fight with Flowey when fighting the different souls.

Of course, it’s possible that they didn’t enter the underground with these items, but rather found or bought them and equipped them during their adventure, however I think that the probability that they did in fact already enter the underground with these items is reasonable enough that this is something worth addressing: Could items made by humans really be magical?

And the answer is that yes, we do have an example of this: The Bandage. This is an item that Frisk has from the very beginning of the game, and just like other armor we get in the game it influences our stats. And when we unequip it and use it during battle, we instantly recover HP - just like the items made by the monsters which, as Big Mouth tells us, instantly convert into energy. So although there are items which don't seem to be made of nor infused with magic, such as the stick Frisk has with them or the Worn Dagger, even items made by humans can be made of, or be infused with magic, as is the case with the Bandage - something which is further corroborated by the fact that we see humans using magic at the opening of the game.

How is this possible? Magic. (But seriously, it’s magic)

One of the books in the library tells us that monsters express themselves through magic:

And it seems that this is what Toby meant when adding this line – he was trying to add a justification to the fact that we’re able to see monsters’ names, stats, check text and sometimes even their thoughts. Monsters give the narrator their info through magic, which also explains the erratic behavior when checking the amalgamates, since they are several monsters melted together.

The same thing happens with many items, which are either made out of or infused with magic (We’re told by Big Mouth that monster food doesn’t spoil, and that when eaten it converts perfectly into energy). In the same manner that monsters, who are mostly made out of magic, can give us or omit their info if they wish, the same happens with items, which is why the Snowman can leave a message in his piece, why they can have incorrect information in them such as with the Monster Candy, or just not have any info at all like with the Dog Salad.

This is not to say that the narrator never gives a description of their own, of course. Sometimes the narrator just describes the monster themselves, such as in Endogeny’s case, since they didn’t give us any information initially, even their name:

Or in Glyde’s case, who also doesn’t want to give the narrator any info:

There are also cases where it seems the narrator is given info by the monsters, but they also chip in themselves, such as in Vulkin’s case:

Or in Napstablook’s case, where whatever it is that Napstablook told the narrator it made them reach the conclusion that Napstablook doesn’t have a sense of humor:

In summary, while there are instances where the info and descriptions we get could be justified as the narrator knowing the monsters or simply stating the obvious, there are those which can’t be explained that easily. Nonetheless, it seems that Toby tries to add a justification to these instances by outright telling us that monsters express themselves through magic, and that they are the ones who provide us their names, besides giving us obvious examples where the monsters and items provide us their stats and descriptions.

#undertale #deltarune #undertale theory #narrachara #chara #undyne #napstablook #sans

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hazzabeeforlou · 6 years ago

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11 questions

Yes I did this a bit ago but @helloamhere (thank you, ily, have fun bussing around Europe, did that once, had to follow apple maps to know where to get off ‘cause I speak ZERO German...) tagged me and I’m an anxious mess waiting for medical news today so WHY NOT!

Rules: answer 11 questions then pose 11 of your own.

1. What do you think fanfic does better than published fiction (if anything?)

Okay obvious answer and not very high brow, but SMUT. You will not see me perusing the gay aisles of Barnes and Noble romance novels :) For various reasons :)

2. What do you think it does worse

I think (maybe it’s just this fandom) overall it’s quite a bit more sanitary than novels, both in morality and subject matter. I hate to think what the purity police would say about some of the books I’ve read... especially the old ones? But then I usually come here looking for fluff and happiness too so perhaps that’s just the major draw of fanfic, idk.

3. What’s something another fandom has or does that you wish your fandom had or did?

To be honest I’m not well versed in other fandoms, but I’m going to go with I wish this fandom didn’t have constant infighting. Seriously in all my born days I have never seen a group of people claim such a similar goal and yet devour each other so viciously. Hence I usually avoid anything incredibly explosive or triggering here; I deal with and confront radical people (religious extremists, right wing extremists) in my everyday life and I cannot bring myself to turn my escapism into that same vortex of endless arguing, though I appreciate and support those who fight the fight. I often have very sharp opinions and fall to one side or the other of the fault line, but I draw a personal boundary at a point.

4. Do you consider yourself a “fandom” type of person in general, or committed to only one, and if so, tell me more about what this means to you.

I have been a HUGE fandom person my entire life, though this is the first time I’ve ever been in a community for it. Star Wars and Narnia consumed most of my adolescence, along with Lord of the Rings. I briefly dabbled in Dr. Who and Merlin (as one does) but because I didn't read HP until nearly the end of college, I kindof missed out on that one. Basically anything geeky or fantasy driven I have always loved, and I can’t really explain how I ended up here? But this is the only fandom I’m active in socially. The power of HL I guess...

5. I’m trying to get through writing a first draft right now and it’s a slog. How do you stay motivated for long projects, writing or otherwise?

Ah. A call out question! Like any good Aries, I love starting new things! And then letting them to languish unfinished. I have, however, trained in classical music, and thus I’ve programmed myself to just keep doing the thing because pieces take months and months and months to perfect and if you can’t stick with a project, you go nowhere. I also operate on a reward system, as in writing is the reward for practicing, then when I’m sick of words I go back to music, and so the turn tables. I have learned to ignore (I’m great at ostrich-ing) the crushing self doubt of creativity and just bulldoze ahead and do the thing, which results in very messy first drafts and often bad habits in my musical technique and a tendency to overplay, which wastes energy, but rehearsals wait for no one. I also thrive on last minute deadlines!

6. Tell me about what you read as a kid. Favorite book? Or if you weren’t into reading then, favorite TV show, etc?

I HAVE SO MANY. Narnia was my first love. I also adored George MacDonald (At The Back of the North Wind is a fucking masterpiece). My mom hardly let me read Redwall (see: hints of magic) but when she caved I devoured all of those. Anne of Green Gables. American Girl stuff (lots of it, yes Josefina and Kaya were my faves). I read far too many Star Wars expanded universe novels (New Jedi Order shaped me as a person, esp Traitor). I remember reading all the Eragon series, though these were dubiously approved... and I read various classics, as one is supposed to. In high school I printed out the entire Beowulf in Old English, got a CD of a dude reading it, and proceeded to memorize the first several lines. I can still recite Anglo Saxon but I have no clue what it means (see: I’m a good mimic). Everything non-Christian-magic-related I read during or after college, sigh.

7. Have your tastes changed?

This sounds bad but not really. I rarely read non fiction, oops. Biographies are a slog for me. I dislike historical fiction and I don’t have a good reason for that. I do love a good mystery, but usually not in book form (audio or visual Agatha Christie is my mana). I do adore socio-policial books, though (The Better Angels of our Nature a good example) or books doing a deep dive into a historical topic. These days I enjoy a good satire more than much else, and since I started on Terry Pratchett in 2016 I haven’t looked back.

8. I’ll steal your question above--tell me about a fic that changed you, or became a “touchstone” fic that you go back to!!

I didn’t read fics period when I entered the fandom, and stubbornly maintained that for a while, but the fic that changed my mind was (Take Me Home) Country Roads by @a-writerwrites (Awriterwrites). I read it during a drive through the very parts of the USA it’s set in, and I couldn’t put it down, spotty internet be damned. From there @horsegirlharry birthed me into the gay 1D world, though I can’t for the life of me remember which of hers I first read! (Does it matter? They’re all so beautiful...)

9. Tell me about a WIP, if applicable. How’s it going?? It sounds great.

I’m plodding along on The Garden, it’s going well, but urgency isn’t a priority. It’s going to be one of those things that I finish and then go in and make matter because right now my ideas are half formed and I know I’ll eventually know where I’m going but it’s a case of blind trust in instinct at this point!

10. What’s your favorite place to read and sitting position?

Like a true gay I cannot sit normally in a chair, coupled with my pain issues means I’m usually draped over the back of something with a cushy lumbar support, massive pillow, or propped sideways lying down. I love reading outside, but have a tendency to attract bugs, also I’m very light sensitive so my eyes hate the sun, especially if I’m reading from a screen.

11. Do you feel like fic reading and writing is social for you? E.g. do you share with friends (in or outside of fandom), or are you a lone wolf seeking out your fics in the dead of night??

I LOVE the social aspect of fic reading and writing within fandom! I have shared PITS with only two real life friends though; I am very tight lipped about the fact that I write fic. People are cruel and musicians are judgmental arseholes and if I prefer to spend my days dreaming up love stories for my OTP instead of pouring over scores, that’s my fucking business.

Alright, 11 from me (I wanted to include artists too so!!):

1. Are you a start small-work larger type creator, or map everything out then attend to detail?

2. What style of art/writing has most influenced your creative choices? (Genre, time period, muse)

3. How long have you been writing/arting? Is this something you knew you’d do your whole life?

4. What is your favorite thing about creating for your fandom? (reception, excitement, newness, etc.)

5. Have you met any recent creative goals that you’re really proud of?

6. What is your creative baby; what work do you want stamped on your proverbial gravestone as I MADE THIS (or have you made it yet?)

7. Do outside forces (politics, culture, hegemonies) play into your creations? Do you intentionally or subconsciously subvert norms or explore ideas?

8. Your creative mind is a garden. Describe what kind it would be and what it would contain (i.e. rock garden, palace garden, wildflowers, rose... etc.)

9. Do you believe that creative art has power and if so, how do you hope yours impacts others?

10. I’m double stealing this question: what’s a fic or fan art that changed your life or was a touchstone for you?

11. If you could pick any hero of yours to read/look at your creations, who would it be and why?

TOTALLY only if you want to, but @13ways-of-looking @twopoppies @alienfuckeronmain @prettytruthsandlies @pattern-pals @newleafover @disgruntledkittenface @lesbianiconharrystyles @lululawrence

#writing stuff #about me

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sizzleitupwithmaria · 6 years ago

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here you go @baura-bear (i’ve also definitely done these before but i know i’ve changed so)

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

i’m kind of a hoarder so all of them?? but mostly mugs and water bottles

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

CHOCOLATE

3. bubblegum or cotton candy

cotton candy slaps

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

very shy but a good learner

5. do you prefer to drink soda from cans, bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

soda sounds really unappealing right now so none?

6. pastel, boho, tomboys, preppy, goth, grunge, formal, or sportswear?

a combo of boho tomboy and grunge

7. earbuds or headphones?

earbuds

8. movies or tv shows?

i don’t have the patience for either, podcasts are superior

9. favorite smell in the summer?

i walked by this couple yesterday who had ice cream and just... the smell of sugared cream and waffle cones.... delicious

10. game you were best at in pe?

volleyball maybe, but i still wasn’t good at that

11. what do you have for breakfast on an average day?

a granola bar, which sucks bc my first period is choir this year so i won’t be able to eat first period!!

12. name of your favorite playlist?

“oh boy i’m pining for someone”

13. lanyard or keyring?

my keychain is so heavy that wearing a lanyard would slowly break my neck

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

GUMMI BEARS!!!!!!!

15. favorite book you’ve read as a school assignment?

either romeo and juliet, to kill a mockingbird, or and then there were none

16. most comfortable position to sit in

i like legs crossed but i also like just the ideal Leg Bounce position

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

my grey converse high tops

18. ideal weather?

like... 60 degrees and mildly cloudy

19. sleeping position?

on my side or occasionally on my stomach

20. preferred place to write?

in a notebook, writing on my laptop gets old after a while

21. obsession from childhood?

MAGIC TREE HOUSE or dolls in general

22. role model?

eva fucking noblezada

23. strange habits?

i like to shake my foot when i see something i like (is this stimming? probably and i kind of like it)

24. favorite crystal

emerald but just bc it’s my birthstone

25. first song you remember hearing?

probably something off of rumors by fleetwood mac

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

i hate warm weather but i like shopping

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather

go to school?? i kind of feel like my outfits are the coolest in winter and that gets me a lot of compliments

28. five songs that describe you?

just pick five random queen songs and it’ll probably be pretty accurate

29. best way to bond with you?

literally just talk to me. i can ramble for hours about shit you probably don’t care about

30. places that you find sacred?

my bedroom and the two giant woods in my hometown

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

basically just blue jeans a flannel and a black tank top. not very cool but i feel nice in it

32. top five favorite vines

all i can think of rn is i’m gonna munch i’m gonna crunch so there’s that (stream revolution lover)

33. most used phrase in your phone?

fdhslfhdjslkfdk or any other keyspam

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

i have adblock lmao

35. average time you fall asleep

like 12:30 now that it’s summer

36. what is the first meme you remember seeing?

ehrmagerd or however you spell it

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

duffel bag

38. lemonade or tea

both, including when they’re combined (arnold palmers slap)

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

cake

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school

high school: this past year’s senior prank which did give me a mental breakdown but it was kind of hilarious

middle school: The Smell

41. last person you texted?

my dad

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

pants, i always feel like shit will fall out of my jacket pockets

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket, or bomber jacket?

hoodie and cardigan, Maximum Coze

44. favorite soap scent?

i kind of like dessert scents

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy, or superhero?

none of them??

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

my fav flannel which is very soft and underwear

47. favorite type of cheese?

the one that comes on pizza

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

....... a watermelon? i look pretty appealing from the outside but i’m actually 92% water

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

andre deshields’ three rules to longevity from the tonys :,)

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

i can’t remember but i’ve definitely peed myself laughing in like... elementary school

51. current stresses?

“am i waiting too long to snap back my crush” and “OH SHIT I HAVEN’T STARTED ANY OF MY ESSAYS”

52. favorite font?

helvetica or comic sans if i’m in the mood

53. what is the current state of your hands?

i last washed them like 30 mins ago, my left hand’s nails are painted black, and my right pointer finger is bleeding

54. what did you learn from your first job?

i haven’t had one yet lol

55. favorite fairy tale?

i have no idea

56. favorite tradition?

i don’t really have any noteworthy ones

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

That Time In October 2017, The Week Of May 6 2019, and The Week Of Mamma Mia Auditions And The Week After (those are the official titles in my brain lmao)

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

i have a good fashion sense, people tend to like my art?? i’m good in a choir?? and i guess i’m a bit naturally smart

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

something like “i’m gay”

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

some combination of yuri on ice and ouran high school host club

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc?

i particularly like that one dude in hp and the sorcerer’s stone that was described as a toothless walnut

62. seven characters you relate to?

uhh my mind is really drawing a blank rn

63. five songs that would play in your club?

like... a combination of 70′s queen, cousin simple, and memes that’ll make people go buckwild

64. favorite website from your childhoos?

girlsgogames

65. any permanent scars?

(small tw) i have a scar on my left middle finger from when i tried to change razor blades and i just noticed today i have one single self harm scar left on my left leg and nnnnnnnhhhhhhh

66. favorite flowers?

roses and ik ferns don’t count but ferns are v pretty

67. good luck charms?

i have the shittiest luck lmao

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

i’m infamous for never trying new foods

69. a fun fact you don’t know how you learned?

idk, pretty much every fun fact ever?

70. left or right handed?

right

71. least favorite pattern?

like.... stripes of any kind make me look fatter than i am

72. worst subject

physical science, but it’s all bc of my shitty teacher

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

uhhhh fries and a wendy’s frosty?? or sometimes i squeeze a lemon into my coke

74. at what pain level out of ten do you have to be at before you take a pill?

hahahahahahaha i can’t swallow pills so i suffer

75. when did you lose your first tooth

i have no fuckin clue

76. what’s your favorite potato food?

fries!!!!! good!!

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

ferns or cacti

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

neither?

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

my school id but only bc i don’t have a license yet lmao

80. earth or jewel tones?

earth

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

fireflies

82. pc or console?

pc?? although all i play on is my laptop which isn’t technically a pc

83. writing or drawing?

neither rn, i’m feeling uninspired

84. podcasts or talk radio?

P O D C A S T S

85. barbie or polly pocket?

neither, i was a liv doll kid

86. fairy tales or mythology?

mythology but i can also dig some like... brothers grimm shit

87. cookies or cupcakes?

both but it depends on my mood (i could really go for a cookie rn)

88. your greatest fear?

experiencing eternal blackness after death

89. your greatest wish?

move into an apartment with my soulmate and act for a living

90. who would you put before everyone else?

nobody really rn

91. luckiest mistake?

coming out to my parents maybe? although it wasn’t a mistake, i would defo be in a bad place if i was closested at home

92. boxes or bags?

i have no clue

93. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight, or fairy lights?

fairy lights!!

94. nicknames?

none but if any future partners can come up with one for me i will marry them instantly

95. favorite season?

fall or spring

96. favorite app on your phone?

instagram or tik tok (KILL ME)

97. desktop background?

a nice landscape one of my fav artists painted

98. how many phone numbers have you memorized?

just my own lmao

99. favorite historical era?

60′s/70′s (i hate to be that bitch but that’s when music was at its peak)

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cliban · 5 years ago

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Gaming

So uh. These are 3 (or 4) of my online gaming personas. (https://www.deviantart.com/bellae99/art/The-girls-and-Pyre-805308350) I've been writing this for a while, may have a part 2 soon!

So little bit of backstory here, I used to, I guess, it could be classified as RPing by myself, giving these characters personality, instead of being a blank slate for what I do. It’s also with my favourite games to play there too!

Clea slowed as the gates clanged shut and cursed, the world censoring her by itself. The path was gravelly and provided no clues as to what lay in the darkness beside it. This was not a good thing. Clea jumped off of Xena and stood with her. Hands on her hips, she whistled into the darkness. Nobody else was there. She swallowed and then she felt a hand on her shoulder and was too late to stop the bejewelled hammer from swinging into her face. She sprawled onto the ground and Xena stood over her protectively. Then Xena was thrown aside and Clea cried out as she hit the wall, both of them. The beast looked down at them with a leering grin, tied a rope to them, and started to drag them away.

Elliott slapped the zombie in the face so hard it lost too much HP, turned red, and keeled over. It split into two hunks of rotten flesh and three orbs of XP. Elliott picked up the rotten flesh and absorbed the XP, then turned and walked into the castle. “M’lord. Gotcha your items.” She reached into her inventory and pulled out the items of value. “Hey! You gonna open the door?” She grew impatient and kicked the door open. “Right, here you go, and I’ll take my reward and go.” The King chuckled. “No, I don’t think you will.” Elliott reached behind her and shifted her sword onto her belt. This goddamn dress was getting annoying. She pulled up her mask and vines started to creep around her arms. “I’m sorry?” Her voice was hardly muffled. “You see, you have quite a large bounty on your head. Much more that some blaze rods.” Elliott nodded. “I see. So this is the part where you spring your trap?” The King smirked. “Go. Kill her.” Elliott rolled her eyes and whipped her bow around, pointing it into the face of one of her attackers. She released an arrow and then there were hands on her shoulders and everything went black.

Pyre shifted uncomfortably in her suit. She adjusted her hat and flicked her ears once to make sure they still worked. Stalker wasn’t at this playtime. So she took the role. “Hey, Pyro. You ok?” Pyre yelped and spun round. It was Engie. “Oh. Just you,” she said. Although, of course, it didn’t come out like that. It was muffled to almost the point of just being noise. Engie could understand. Scout couldn’t. But Scout was annoying. Engie flipped his chocolate bar in his hands. “Why, did I scare ya?” Pyre snorted. “Of course not. You ready for today?” Engie nodded. “D’ya think we can’t sc- I mean, be nice to a couple o’ BLUs?” Pyre shrugged. “Well. I’m going. Come on, Engie.” Pyre was distracted by a couple of birds flying past, and then there was a choking sound from behind her. She turned back to see someone hugging Engie. But Engie didn’t seem to be too happy about that. She frowned and yanked the other person back. Engie fell to his knees, rubbing his throat. “Engie! Are you ok?” Pyre asked worriedly. He looked up and his eyes flickered behind her and he croaked “Look out,” but it was too late and something cracked across her head.

Clea blinked her eyes open. Everything was… Fuzzy. Then she realised she was in a room that was not one she recognised. It was small, with a table, and a computer. Pure white walls. A vent at the very bottom. A wooden door. She lifted her head and sat up against the wall. Xena was nowhere to be seen. Clea brushed her straw-blond hair out of her eyes and pulled her hood up. It was a forest green with yellow piping, and had a purple helm that went over her eyes, yet she could see through it. The wings on it fluttered weakly. Then she stood up, unfolding her jean-clad legs and pulling her aqua shirt up.

Instructions flashed in front of Clea, and she read quickly. Hack all five computers, and don’t let the beast catch you. Easy enough. She tiptoed to the first computer and began to hack it.

Three minutes later, the computer’s screen turned green and Clea crawled out through the vent onto carpeted floor. It felt like an office, this maze of white walls and blue floor. The door beside her burst open and Clea flattened herself behind it. Xena stepped into the hallway. She was in human form. “Xena,” Clea whispered. “Xena!” The rhino-girl whipped her head around and saw Clea. “I’ve hacked one computer,” she said quietly. “And I think the beast is coming.” She pushed Clea to the other end of the hall and started running as a glow came up from behind them. “Go!” She yelped and darted off in the opposite direction. Clea hid in a locker and watched the beast look around. A chill ran down her spine and the beast moved on.

Clea darted into the next computer room and started to hack it. It was relatively simple. Just open up the code database, and disable security systems from there. Easy! Just took a little breaking into. Clea grinned as the computer’s screen started glowing a bright green, and jumped through a smashed window into the beast. “Oh.”

She started running, hearing pounding footsteps behind her. The beast swung, clipping Clea’s leg. She fell, started dragging her leg behind her, fingers sinking into the carpet while her leg recovered. Her leg twisted the right way and she sprang to her feet, started sprinting. She could hear the beast behind her, and sweat trailed it’s way down her forehead. She was pretty doomed.

And then she got lucky. The beast reached for her, put on a burst of speed, and Clea jumped up, up, and to the side. The beast overshot and Clea swung into a room. She pushed her visor up and flicked her blonde hair to the side, then slid her visor back on. The beast went to the window and she rolled under it until the glow that signified the beast’s gem went away and she crawled out through a vent.

Xena had hacked one computer since she’d split with Clea, and they met up in the bathrooms. “Let’s look for one together, OK?” Clea whispered, and Xena nodded. They peeked out of the door, and saw no beast. Quietly, the two walked towards the centre of the facility. There were several cubicles in the rectangular room, each with a wall of glass and a desk in it. The room’s flooring was metallic, and in the long gap that stretched from door to door, a spiralling staircase led to the second floor. Xena and Clea ran up this staircase now, and spied a computer in the corner.

Xena kept watch while Clea frantically tapped at the buttons, bringing up pages and tabs of coding. She stuck her tongue out in concentration, and while Xena couldn’t see her eyes because of her visor, Xena knew Clea must have them narrowed in concentration. Xena held up a hand to shield her purple eyes, and jumped in alarm as she saw the glow of the beast. “Clea, beast is here.” Clea grunted and pressed enter. The screen turned green and Xena morphed back into her natural form. “Let’s go Xena.”

Xena scrambled down the stairs, and Clea jumped off the balcony, and landed on Xena’s back. They galloped out of the room, beast trailing after them, and headed for the door out. “Hold on!” Xena rammed the door, once, twice, three times, and it burst open. They ran out into the cool night, and Clea jumped off, hands on her knees once she landed. “We’re out! Let’s get back home.”

Clea leaned on Xena, who affectionately nuzzled her. “Not so fast.” Clea jumped, and reached for her gun, which wasn’t there, of course. “Hands in the air.” Glowering, Clea raised her hands slowly as three police emerged out of the darkness. “You’re under arrest for multiple counts of murder.” Clea’s eyes widened in disbelief. “That’s the beast you’re talking about.” The policeman who was talking to her scoffed. “No-one makes it out of there alive. You’re coming with us.”

Someone grabbed her hands and shoved them behind her back, and she snarled. “Xena, don’t you dare gore him,” she warned, and then she felt cold metal across her wrists. Her hackles raised but she forced herself not to attack. “No shoving, Ok? Not comfortable with that.” She was led across to their van, and had just enough time to smile at Xena before the van slammed shut.

Elliott stumbled. “Thanks, Sen.” Sen took his hands off Elliott’s shoulders and stepped back. Elliott slung her bow across her back again and looked around. They were at her base, a three block high cave with seventeen rooms. It was built into the side of a mountain, with her and Sen labouring over a few weeks to carve the place out. They were in the entrance, with a five block wide waterfall covering the open end. Sen looked at the water and growled something. “Yeah yeah Sen. You don’t like water. I don’t think any enderman does.”

Tall and lanky, Sen towered over Elliott, who came up to his shoulder at most. They had met when Sen had been caught out in a rainstorm, and Elliott had taken him to her temporary residence in a village, giving him time to recover and be able to teleport. He looked essentially the same as any other enderman, save the odd purple spirals on his shoulders. Now they were inseparable, and went on many adventures together.

“Right, I’m heading in. I still have the blaze rods, and plus, the mobs need feeding.” Sen nodded, and teleported to the farm, which floated above their mountain. He was off to get whatever crops had grown. Elliott yawned and headed down into the wide corridor, which gradually got higher and higher until it opened into the minecart terminal.

Elliott grabbed a minecart and zoomed down to the mob area, and surveyed the scene. The farm animals were sectioned off, and into their separate species when inside. Currently, however, they were outside, grazing. Elliott had other game on her mind. She hitched up her dress and stepped out of the minecart, and grabbed her fire-resistant diamond armour, complete with shield and her beloved diamond sword, Cleaver. She changed from her dress into that, and rolled her shoulders.

Elliott pulled her mask up and walked purposefully to the over world monsters. This was in a glass dome inside a massive cave. She took a deep breath, and opened the iron door. They currently housed eleven zombies, seven skeletons, four creepers, three phantoms, fourteen silverfish, and nine spiders, plus cave spiders of the same number.

“Everyone! Any sick or injured?” The dome went silent, and two of the phantoms dived down, carrying the third. Most of the mobs were actually able to communicate. Elliott had that gift. “Do you know what happened?” The phantoms growled a negative. “Ok. I’m letting everyone roam the caves, you know the rules.” Elliott picked up the injured phantom and carried it on her back while she exited the dome.

She retracted the glass and the over world monsters started walking, flying, stumbling, or crawling, out of their normal habitat. Elliott whistled and started walking to the minecarts. She felt the phantom flop a little, and sped up. She gently laid the phantom down and jumped into the minecart behind it.

They sped off to the small clinic Elliott had set up, and rolled gently to a stop just outside. Elliott stepped out and lifted the phantom. She transferred it inside, and all of a sudden Sen teleported in, growling rapidly. “Humans. Outside.” Elliott’s eyes widened and she gently set the phantom down, then ran outside, jumped, and Sen teleported her to the control room. “Attention! All mobs, return to your designated areas. I repeat, return to your designated areas!” She yelled through her microphone. There was a sudden flood of animals and monsters stampeding into their areas.

Elliott activated everything, and slammed the doors of the mountains closed. She turned to Sen, and squeezed his hand. “We’ll be alright Sen, don’t you worry. Armour up.” Sen looked at her solemnly, and teleported, returning a moment later in full diamond armour. They left Joey, a blaze, in charge, and teleported to the entrance of the cave.

Elliott took a deep breath, and jumped through the waterfall, letting her elytra carry her safely to the ground. She landed elegantly, and let the vines crawl around her arms to her wrists. There was a party of fifteen, and she raised an eyebrow. “What do you want?” Sen teleported in by her side.

The leader of the group raised a shaking sword. “Look, if you’re here to capture me, don’t bother.” She stuck a dagger into the person trying to creep up behind her without turning around. The group gasped. “Ah now lads, she’s not that dangerous.”

The group parted to reveal a figure in shining diamond armour. “Will. Will Will Will. What do we have here? William.” Elliott deliberately made her voice as mocking as possible. Will strode forward. “We’ve found you. There’s no running from us now.”

Elliott snorted, and as the group ran forward, they attacked. Sen teleported two into the the air and dropped them, then down again to smack some in the face. Elliott slashed with her sword, kicking anyone who came too close to her. Hearts were lost, and finally it was Will and Elliott standing off. Sen was finishing off two of them.

“It’s over, Will. Rory may have given you my location, but Sen and I are always together.” Will gave her a dashing wink. “Fear not, for I have a solution.” He pulled a squirming endermite out of his pocket and threw it at Sen. Elliott frowned, and then the endermite bit down on Sen’s skin and his teleportation particles turned red, along with the spirals on his shoulders and his eyes. “He’ll be a fine addition to the army.”

Will poured a bucket of water on the ground, and whistled. Sen began shambling over to it. Elliott’s eyes widened and she tackled Will. “Kill me, and Sen stands in the water.” Elliott backed off and started to head over to Sen, when Will made his offer. “Come with me and I’ll call off the Endercution.”

Elliott swallowed, looked at Sen, and raised her hands slowly. Will whistled again and bound her hands behind her back, using a splash potion of slowness, just for good measure. He wrapped an arm around Elliott’s waist despite her protests. Then he grabbed an ender pearl, and ignoring Sen’s horrified warbling, threw it, and they teleported to the city.

Pyre collapsed to its knees and glared at whoever had hit it, confused. “Hey! You ok? Do you need something?” Pyre got up, flicking its tail, and approached the person, cautiously. It had an idea, reached behind it.

And brought out its axe. Engie winced as it approached the terrified assassin menacingly. It held out the axe and tapped the poor man’s shoulder with the flat of the blade, then nodded, satisfied. It lifted the axe and swung.

Pyre handed the lollipop to the guy and he smiled and waved. Pleased, Pyre waved back, and the guy laughed and flew away. Pyre turned back to Engie and helped him up.

Engie winced at the blood splatter and gore in the doorway, and let Pyro help him up. “Who was that?” Mmph. “I don’t know either.” Pyro waved at him and went to go get someone.

Pyre bounced happily through the halls, swinging its arms. Scout stepped out in front of it and it skidded to a stop to avoid collision. “Oh! Hey dere Pyro, uh, watcha doin’ this earlyyy…..” Scout looked Pyre up and down. “Pyro, who did ya help?” Pyre shrugged.

Scout looked Pyro up and down in horror. Its suit was splattered with blood and fragments of bone, and its goggles had bloodstains on them. “Pyro, who did ya kill?” Pyro stood still, then shrugged slightly. “Well, go clean yaself up then!” Scout turned and marched briskly away, muttering under his breath.

Confused by the interaction, Pyre looked down at its suit. Silly Scout, getting all antsy about rainbows. It walked on.

Medic had just finished dissecting a heart, courtesy of Stalker, when Pyro walked into his lab. He clicked his tongue in displeasure and put the heart down. “Yes, Pyro, what iz it?”

Medic had been busy with his odd flower-growing project when Pyre opened the door. He had rainbows all over his hands. “Sorry Medic! I was just coming to tell you that Engie doesn’t look at all well.” Pyre clasped its hands behind its back.

Medic frowned, silently deciphering the mumbles of that creature. “Oh. Vell, I shall be back just now.” He grabbed his medigun and started to follow Pyro through the maze of twisting hallways.

Pleased, Pyre led Medic back to its room. Engie was still there, coughing a little. He smiled a little and Pyre exited the room to go find Sniper. He was on watch today, and Pyre wanted to know why the person had been let in.

Sniper was cosied up in his nest, wrapped up in a blanket to help fight off the chill of the cold morning. A trail of mumbling signified that Pyro had appeared behind him, and he waved it over. It sat down beside him, curling its tail around itself, and passed him a note in Medic’s elegant writing.

Sniper, there was an attacker in the base today. Do your job properly or I will come over there and personally dissect you for organs. -Medic.

“Blunt, ain’t ‘e.” Sniper muttered, and folded the note up. Instead of giving it back to Pyre, he slipped it into his vest pocket. “Well, oi’ll be off then. Thanks for the note, Pyro.” Pyre nodded, and slipped back to the main room.

Suddenly, Pyre’s contract communicator sprang to life. “Heyyyyy Pyro! It’s Miss Pauling here! Can you do something for me? Would you like to do something for Miss Pauling?” Pyre nodded, delighted, and mumbled an affirmitive. “Oh thank God. Can you keep inside for a while? And tell the team to be on defensive mode for a while? The rest of the team’s mics aren't working and I think there’s-” Her voice cut out, accompanied with a lot of crackling.

Alarmed, Pyre dashed to the intercom. It switched on the mic and started announcing Miss Pauling’s message. It could hear Demo audibly frowning, and pinched the bridge of its gas mask. “Need help?” There was a decloaking sound and Spy appeared behind it. “Yes. I do. Miss Pauling said I needed to tell everyone to be on defensive mode.”

Spy relayed the message and Pyre thanked him, then dashed to the armoury. Before it could get there, however, something thunked into its leg. Frowning, it plucked a dart from its leg, and then darkness rushed to cover its vision.

Clea decided she didn’t like cells. “Yo!” She called. “Any chance I get to go now?” The guard shook his head and Clea sighed, leaned back on the small bed. The cell was quite large, with a toilet and a sink and a bed, but no windows except the door. Which was barred. And the barred wall beside the door.

The prison was tall, and Clea was on the third level. She flopped back and yawned, putting her arms behind her head. Xena was somewhere in…. She didn’t know where Xena was.

That’s when the complaints were heard. It started, a female voice grumbling about something, and it steadily grew louder. Clea got up and curiously grasped the bars. “...Listen, I’m not going in prison, what about Sen? He’s gonna waste away Will, mark my words, and then you’ll have killed one of an already endangered species-” A girl was shoved into view.

She wore a green dress with a darker gradient, and a belt was tied above her stomach. It hung down to her knee on one side, then sloped down to just above her ankle on the other. Her hair was long, and looked like it hadn't been washed in a million years. It was of a curious colour, purplish undertones overshadowed by a lightish brown. A flower crown rested nestled in that hair, matching the vines that marched around her arms, coiled like snakes peering out from her wrists. Her eyes were a light blue, and there was a mask pulled up to just below her nose. She wore no shoes, and her eyes were steely. This girl was being shoved along by a flamboyant man in shining diamond armour. From the Minecraft universe, then.

Elliott furiously allowed herself to be pushed next to the door to the cell that had the girl in it. She wore a green hood, rimmed with yellow, and ended into a hooked purple visor that didn’t shine like a see-through material. She wore a teal shirt that rose up at the belly. She had a purple undershirt to cover this. Her legs were long, clad in skinny jeans and sneakers. Two bits of straw-blond hair poked out from under her hood.

Elliott was turned, and the shackles binding her wrists were unclipped. Then she was pushed into the cell. With the girl.

It had been half an hour. Clea sat in one corner of her cell, and the girl in the dress in the opposite. “Do you talk?” Clea broke the silence. “Yes.”

“What’s your name? I’m Clea.”

“Elliott.”

“Isn’t that a traditional guys name?”

“I’m trans.”

“Oh.”

…….

“For the record, you make a wonderful female.”

“Sure.”

“What are you in for?”

“Murder. Stealing.”

“Woah.”

“You?”

“Murder, apparently. I didn’t do it though.”

Elliott raised an eyebrow. “Sure.”

“No seriously. I escaped from the murderer.”

“Tell me about it, then.”

So Clea told Elliott about her escape from the beast.

“You’re from Dead by Daylight?”

“Nah. Roblox. There’s a variation. You’re from Minecraft?”

“Yeah.”

“Who’s Sen?”

Elliott had her knees to her chest already, her arms wrapped around her legs, but she hugged them tighter. “My best friend. An Enderman.”

“Don’t they attack you if you look at them?”

“Sen’s different. He doesn’t mind. Except if you look into his eyes.”

“Ah. Just checking, you aren’t gonna kill me or anything, right?”

“No. I kill people who cheat me, or that I’m hired to kill.”

“Reassuring, aren’t you?”

“I’m not used to talking with people.”

There was another silence as the minutes stretched into hours. Then the cell’s door was opened again and a dark mass was dragged in. Elliott made a dash for the open door, but was shoved back again. “Who is that?” The two made their way cautiously over. Well, Elliott made her way cautiously. Clea darted over and started shaking the person’s arm. Elliott slapped Clea’s hand away and gently rolled the person onto their back.

Both drew back and gasped. The person was wearing a baggy red suit, with ashy, singed edges, that tucked into their black boots. There was a belt, and two straps like suspenders hooking over it. They wore grey gloves, with bands, and finally, had a gas mask. Their hat was old-fashioned, like an old detective movie, but what had gotten both of the girls attention, was the strangers singed green ears and tail.

“What the… Humanoid fox?” Clea whispered, and Elliott shook her head. “Don’t think so.” Then the figure sat up and rubbed its head.

After some restrained screams, difficulty communicating, and finally resorting to sign language, Clea and Elliott became acquainted with ‘Pyro’. The masked nightmare had been darted and had woken up here. It seemed to pine for nine other people, with the exception of possibly one. But even Scout, as it said, would have been a welcome blessing.

“There’s two bunks; who’s sleeping on the floor tonight?” Clea broke the silence again. “Or! Wait, two of us could share a bunk.” Elliott shook her head vehemently. “No way in Nether.” Pyro gave a muffled mmph, and Elliott shrugged. “Sure. You share with Clea.”

“Right, no other awkward silences, let’s talk about our past. Edgy teenager Elliott, you first.” Elliott shot Clea a death glare. “I’m not an edgy teen.” “Edgy adult?” “No.” Pyro mmphed warningly. “Fine.” Elliott took a deep breath. “I was spawned in a village inhabited by ‘players’ like me. I grew up without event, apart from being one of the hardest workers and strongest. And I could talk to mobs. I had the appreciation and friendship of everyone in the village. But my best friends were Rory and Will.”

Elliott sighed. “I always played with them, helped them whenever I could, snapped at them a few times, apologised, and never thought that Will had ambitions. When we were sixteen, Will joined the army. He was always a flamboyant guy, with dreams and a funny accent. Then it was Rory and me. A year later, it was the update that ruined my life. It brought witches. It was decreed that players could turn into witches, and witches could disguise themselves as players with powers.”

“I knew then that I could never reveal my ability. Rory and I made a pact not to tell anyone. An uneasy two years passed, and everything seemed like it was going to be fine. Until Will turned up at my doorstep - he was commander of the army. He had slain the Enderdragon, Withers, and countless mobs. And he’d remembered my ability.”

“I was hidden away by Rory, who told everyone I had died. Will stayed for a while.” Elliott laughed bitterly. “And Rory and Will fell in love. The two married within two years. Rory, obviously thinking Will, her true love, was more important than me, gave me up. Fair enough, I thought, and ran. I hid out in an abandoned village, cast away my normal brown apron, and used iron armour for a while.”

“I lived there for a few weeks before finding Sen. I saved him from a rain storm, and he stuck by my side. And he helped me when I realised I wasn’t happy living as a guy any more. So I changed my gender. I found the material I used for my normal dress, hooded up, and went to some people who didn’t know me. Now, I’m perfectly female.”

“I hollowed out a cave with Sen’s help, and we opened a sanctuary for mobs. We have a blaze in third command taking care of them right now. I started doing Assassin and mercenary jobs, and…. Yeah. Rory figured out my location, and Will nearly killed Sen unless I allowed myself to be captured. And now I’m here.”

Clea’s mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out. “What about you, Pyro?”

Pyro shrugged. “Not much to say, to be honest. I very vaguely remember dancing in these wonderful rainbows, calling for my family to come join me. Then someone came in and told me to come with him. Didn’t know who he was at the time, but he sounded terrified. Not at me though. For me. He took me to the RED base, and gave me this suit to wear.”

“Turns out that was Engie. He signed me up for my job now, where I get to help people! He’s my very best friend. Sometimes, on days that I feel headachy, he turns into a flying dolphin. Just like Miss Pauling turning into a butterfly, or Solly turning into a unicorn. But I don’t know why I’m here. They took my lollipop and my rainbowthrower! It’s no fair.”

Elliott leaned back, deep in thought. “Maybe they thought you were dangerous. Not to other people, but they thought you were working yourself too hard whilst helping people. Which makes them not bad, just misguided.” Pyro scratched its mask. “Makes sense.” The two looked at Clea. “What about you?”

“Well. I don’t really have an interesting backstory, really. You wouldn’t want to know it.” Elliott raised an eyebrow. “Bore me to sleep then.” Clea shook her head. “No, really.” Elliott gave her a look. “Just go on. Lie to me, and I will consider killing you.” Clea gulped and sat back.

“I…. I used to be a spirit. Not a ghost, just a spirit. And an evil one, at that. I used to roam the horror games, the dark games. Kill people. Destroy. Have fun with the other spirits. By killing people. Until I possessed this body to scare a group of children. But somehow, our minds merged. We became one entity. The body I took, her name was Claire. The spirit’s name was Althea.”

“Claire refused to let Althea leave her body. She was perfectly fine with sharing a body. She believed Althea could change, become a good spirit. And eventually, Althea began to change. She would make better choices. She stopped scaring people, she stopped killing.”

“Finally, the day came when Claire deemed it a good thing for Althea to leave. Althea thanked her, and left. Claire continued on her way, and then, someone killed her. Althea felt her pain and rushed to her dying friend. Desperate to save her, she merged with Claire’s body once more.”

“In her haste, she poured too much power into her fusion, and fused her soul with Claire's. She heard only one thing - thank you - before they fused into Clea. That’s me.”

“Technically, I’m they/them, but I like the pronouns she/her. But anyway, our personalities fused, and so I get Althea’s enthusiasm, but also Claire’s shyness. I get Althea’s killing urges, toned by Claire’s logic and reasoning. I get Althea’s interest in reading, boosted by Claire’s love for learning and smarts.”

“In all, I’m technically two different people.”

Elliott nodded her head, impressed. “And where does Xena come into all of this?” Clea’s mouth tightened. “Xena is our soul remnant. She was formed of the split pieces of both our souls.” Elliott was still. “Alright. The lights should go out at any moment, so let’s get to the bunk.”

The other two nodded and Elliott jumped up, grabbing the fifth-to-last-rung of the ladder and hauling herself up. Clea, the smallest, curled up in the bottom bunk, and Pyro lay beside her on its back. Before Clea nodded off, she realised she had neglected to learn about the vines that wrapped around Elliott’s arms.

The lights went out, and Clea and Pyro started to sleep. Elliott lay awake for a while, contemplating how Sen was doing, how she had been captured, and, of course, how to escape.

The lights turned on and Elliott grumbled, turning her head to the side. She had her hands tucked behind her head, and her legs crossed. She stared up at the ceiling for a while, before jumping down. She looked at Pyro and Clea and snickered. The two were curled up, Pyro with an arm wrapped around Clea’s shoulder, and Clea pressed into Pyro’s chest.

Pyro blearily opened its eyes. It was tired. It swivelled its ears to hear Elliott pacing just behind the bars. It nearly rolled, but remembered Clea quickly, and realised its arm was wrapped around Clea’s shoulders. It's tail rested in Clea’s arms and as it tried to take it back, Clea mumbled and tightened her grip. Pyro smiled internally, and gently shook Clea awake.

Clea jumped out of her bed and yawned, then immediately went to the door. Still locked. Pyro slowly got up, and the trio looked across the prison. Soon, their door was unlocked, and they grouped to the courtyard.

“Right, so now that we appear to be a group, how are we escaping?” Elliott wasn’t one to indulge in small talk. “Well, all our weapons should be stocked over there, along with our clothes.” “And how do we get in there?”

Elliott thought for a moment. “Well, we could make our own weapons. We could use-” She was cut off by someone yelling. “Over there! Hands up!” Scowling, Clea raised her hands. “We’re already in prison, how can we get in any deeper trouble?”

Two guards rushed over. “How come you don't have your uniforms on?” Elliott shrugged. “We were just chucked in a cell.” The guards frowned. “All three of you? In one cell?” Pyro nodded. “This is extremely against protocol,” the taller guard muttered. “Sorry. I don’t really know how prison works.” Clea offered.

The guards talked into their walkie-talkies and the shorter one nodded. “Alright, if you would come with us?” Elliott glanced at her comrades, and nodded. “Ok. Where are we going?” The guards started walking, with the trio following. “To get you registered and everything else.”

They had just closed the door when Pyro mmphed something. “Sorry, but could the other guard turn around?” The two translated, and the taller guard turned slowly to see the shorter, choked out in Pyro’s grip.

The guards were tied up, and everyone had retrieved their weapons. Then they darted off to find Sen and Xena.

Sen had finished talking with Xena, and languished in the corner. He had a magic-binding bracelet on, preventing him from teleporting. Xena was stuck as a rhino due to the collar that also bound her magic.

The cell was cold, and damp, and the bars were just close enough for Sen not to be able to fit through. “Xena, give up. Already.” Sen had had just enough of Xena trying to ram the door. Xena did give up, and lay down with a huff.

Sen got up and wandered the cell, which didn’t take very long. He stuck an arm through the bars, retracted it, and then heard running footsteps. He frowned and looked through the bars. To see Elliott and two others running towards the cell.

Elliott saw Sen and put on a burst of speed. “Right. Keys!” Pyro chucked her the keys and she unlocked the door as quickly as possible. “Let’s get out of here!” She opened the door and Xena and Sen tumbled out. “Sen, can you teleport us?” Sen pointed to the band on his wrist.

“Magic binder.” Elliott snarled in fustration and took out her dagger. “Right. Arm.” Sen held out his arm and Elliott cut through the binder. Sen nodded appreciatively and teleported around a little. Elliott did the same for Xena, and counted quickly. “Right, how many can you teleport at once?” Sen frowned. “Three.” Elliott pulled her mask up.

“Sen, we’re gonna need you to cry. Ender pearls.” Sen nodded and looked directly into the sun, which made his eyes water, and allowed himself to cry three ender pearls. “Right! Let’s go!” Sen teleported outside, and waited for the others to catch up. They did, and Sen placed his hands on the two stranger’s shoulders, and Elliott climbed onto Xena. Then they teleported-

-back to base. Except this wasn’t base. Clea looked around and started to shake. “Oh no. Ohhhhhh no.” Pyre shielded its visors. “Where are we?” Clea swallowed. “We’re in a horror speedrun.” At that moment, Pyre became aware of breathing sounds behind it, and turned to see a dragon. Quite cute, if it was being honest. The tall rainbow person shifted, and Clea giggled. “Run!” Pyre clapped its hands. Tag! It loved tag.

Pyro turned and Elliott looked to see a terrifying thing of nightmares. A maniacal grin twisted the creatures torn lips, and needles pierced its eyes. It had no other features, other than being a tall, slender humanoid with no right proportions. Sen shifted uneasily, and Clea whimpered. “Run!”

Somewhere, back at the prison….

The shadow moved slightly at the window. “You lost them, you say. You stupid, stupid, idiot.”

Tired of the arguing, Elliott beckoned to Sen and whispered to him. He shook his head repeatedly, but Elliott kept whispering and soon his face changed. "O….k." He reached for Elliott's shoulder and Clea glanced at him, then snarled. "Oh no you don't." He backhanded his subordinate, who went flying. He grabbed the next one. “Find them, now.”

Meanwhile.

Clea cartwheeled to a stop. “What the hell.” Elliott sat up and held her head. “Sen, do you have some food?” Sen nodded and handed her a piece of steak. She ate ravenously and sighed in relief as energy flooded her. 3 hearts changed to full health. Pyro snuggled its new friend, the monster that had been chasing them.

Sen folded his arms and sat back. “Us have to get to Minecraft. Now.” Elliott stood. “Sen’s right. If we can just, get to my base, we’ll be fine.” Clea shook her head. “No way. We’d be safer at my home.” Pyro mumbled something.

Elliott scowled and folded her arms. "Well! I'm going. I don't know why I even helped you guys. Soft-hearted weaklings," she muttered.

Clea frowned and a weak red glow filtered faintly from under her visor. "Oh no you don't. I saved your life, you ungrateful little-" Pyro frantically mumbled and was ignored.

Elliott put her hands on her hips. "Oh, so now I owe you something? Is that how it goes? You save my life, I save yours? Well listen up, sunshine, cause you would never have gotten out of that prison without me!" Xena snorted threateningly and Sen stood by Elliott's side. "I cannot believe you! You're all 'independent' and angsty, so you can't even accept help? And you've done hardly anything for us!" Elliott's eyes hardened. Well, they went more steely than they already were. "I didn't ask to get locked up with you! I was only there because Sen was threatened! I'm out of here! Fend for yourself, demon-girl." Clea became very still. "What did you just call me?" Elliott sneered. "You heard me! Or is deafness part of being evil?" Pyro whimpered and clutched its pet tighter.

Pyre didn't understand! Why were they being harsh? This was the first time something like that had happened….. it wasn't fair, it WASN'T! Why, why, why? Why were they arguing? It wanted to go home…. It wanted to see Engie and Medic and Sniper and Miss Pauling. Heavy, Solly, Spy, Demo…. Even Scout. What it would give to hear the Announcer’s voice yelling at them again.

Clea could feel her wings beginning to unfurl. “I. Am. Not. Evil. You’re disrespecting Claire by saying that! And all her work with Althea! I - We! We are not evil!” Elliott laughed, irritatingly. “Oh, right, right. Sorry - I just thought, with your history of being a demon, and everything~” Clea’s lip curled. “Alright, you shut up now.” Elliott raised an eyebrow. “Also a side effect? You think you’re above everyone else?” Pyro whimpered again and Clea’s anger surged. “Now look what you’ve done! Pyro’s upset!” Elliott snarled. “You started this!” Clea remained silent for a while.

Elliott sniggered at seeing such a simple rebound silence Clea. The idiotic girl would not leave her alone. It was quite funny, if she was being honest. “Come on Sen, we’re going.” Sen took her hand and they began to vaporize into purple particles. Clea growled and reached for them, Xena rushing forward as well - Pyro joining in and touching Elliott’s shoulder, with its buddy on its back, arms wrapped around its neck. Then they all teleported.

#pyro #tf2 #roblox #but it's actually.... pyre!#dun dun dunnnnn #anyway #minecraft #sen #enderman #elliott #fanfic #crappy fanfic #clea #althea #claire

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disableddisaster · 7 years ago

Note

do em all

200: My crush’s name is: thats classified information

199: I was born in: edmonton!

198: I am really: gay asdfasdf

197: My cellphone company is: bell!

196: My eye color is: blue!

195: My shoe size is: 5W

194: My ring size is: ive literally never worn a ring asdfasdf

193: My height is: 4′11

192: I am allergic to: sooo.... much........ so much

191: My 1st car was: never had a car!

190: My 1st job was: ive cleaned a cottage once a month w my mom since i was like 12

189: Last book you read: hp and the philosophers stone :-)

188: My bed is: comfy and big

187: My pet: i have 5! 4 cats and a dog, flinty is my favourite boy, my son

186: My best friend: U!

185: My favorite shampoo is: the last shampoo i bought i bought cuz it had rainbow letters asdfasdf

184: Xbox or ps3: the last console i owned was a ps2

183: Piggy banks are: useful?

182: In my pockets: i have no pockets im wearing pj shorts adfasd

181: On my calendar: whos organized enough to use a CALENDAR

180: Marriage is: gay and beautiful

179: Spongebob can: die

178: My mom: is the best i love her so much

177: The last three songs I bought were? i use spotify premium :O

176: Last YouTube video watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mAErcv38Go its ukrainian dancing asdfa

175: How many cousins do you have? 6??? im only in contact w 3 tho

174: Do you have any siblings? a sister and a brother

173: Are your parents divorced? my mom isnt w my bio dad anymore but they were never married

172: Are you taller than your mom? NO :(

171: Do you play an instrument? nope

170: What did you do yesterday? skyped my babies @to-andromeda and @irwinglasses for the first time in AGES[ I Believe In ]169: Love at first sight: no

168: Luck: no

167: Fate: no

166: Yourself: NO ADFDSF

165: Aliens:

164: Heaven: idk!!

163: Hell: idk!!

162: God: yea

161: Horoscopes: hmm........ yes

160: Soul mates: yes!!!!!!!

159: Ghosts: YES

158: Gay Marriage: im literally a lesbian

157: War: asdfadsf what

156: Orbs: what.....

155: Magic: i wish :(

[ This or That ]154: Hugs or Kisses: kisses 4 sure

153: Drunk or High: drunk

152: Phone or Online: uhhh online? i think asdf i dont understand

151: Red heads or Black haired: red heads :-)

150: Blondes or Brunettes: brunettes

149: Hot or cold: cold

148: Summer or winter: summer i guess but its way too hot

147: Autumn or Spring:

146: Chocolate or vanilla: vanilla!

145: Night or Day: night!

144: Oranges or Apples: im allergic to both

143: Curly or Straight hair: curly :O

142: McDonalds or Burger King: mcds ew who eats at burger king

141: White Chocolate or Milk Chocolate: white!!

140: Mac or PC: PC!

139: Flip flops or high heals: flip flops asdfasf

138: Ugly and rich OR sweet and poor: i hate this question fuck off

137: Coke or Pepsi: pepsi!!!

136: Hillary or Obama: wheres my canadian politics question

135: Burried or cremated: cremation

134: Singing or Dancing: dancing !

133: Coach or Chanel: what

132: Kat McPhee or Taylor Hicks: ...........whom asdfasdf

131: Small town or Big city: big CITY

130: Wal-Mart or Target: target was cool but they closed down here

129: Ben Stiller or Adam Sandler: whom....

128: Manicure or Pedicure: manicure!! feet are gross adsfadf

127: East Coast or West Coast:

126: Your Birthday or Christmas: my birtjday for sure

125: Chocolate or Flowers: flowers!

124: Disney or Six Flags: disney i think idk ive been to neither adsfad

123: Yankees or Red Sox: a what[ Here’s What I Think About ]122: War: bad

121: George Bush: also bad

120: Gay Marriage: im gay

119: The presidential election: donald trump can kiss my gay ass

118: Abortion:

117: MySpace: i have no strong feelings on this

116: Reality TV: i dont have cable

115: Parents: i love them

114: Back stabbers: uhh bad

113: Ebay: i ordered 5 rubix cubes off ebay for my brother once

112: Facebook: hell site

111: Work: who likes work asdfasd

110: My Neighbors: theyre all old

109: Gas Prices: pretty low rn!

108: Designer Clothes: pointless

107: College: scary !

106: Sports: what is a sport

105: My family: i love my parents and my siblings v much

104: The future: uhh............ scary[ Last time I ]103: Hugged someone: like 2 days ago

102: Last time you ate: i ate a sandwich a few hours ago

101: Saw someone I haven’t seen in awhile: i saw u does that count

100: Cried in front of someone: last tiem i cried was in front of U!!!!!!

99: Went to a movie theater: emoji movie B)

98: Took a vacation: i went to the rockies on thurs!

97: Swam in a pool: i........ have no idea

96: Changed a diaper: its been a while theres no babies in my life :(

95: Got my nails done: i dont think ive ever ??? wait nvm high school graduation

94: Went to a wedding: my parents wedding when i was 5

93: Broke a bone: never!

92: Got a peircing: i got my ears pierced in like 1999

91: Broke the law: i didnt wear my SEATBELT yesterday

90: Texted: i currently am texting

[ MISC ]

89: Who makes you laugh the most:

88: Something I will really miss when I leave home is:

flint......... :(

87: The last movie I saw:

the emoji movie adfasdf

86: The thing that I’m looking forward to the most:

this is gay but my gf coming back from vacation asdfa

85: The thing im not looking forward to:

school AAAAAAAAa

84: People call me:

shy

83: The most difficult thing to do is:

exist

82: I have gotten a speeding ticket:

my driving record is FLAWLESS

81: My zodiac sign is:

LIBRA!

80: The first person i talked to today was:

like actually spoke to?? the cashier at the grocery store

79: First time you had a crush:

78: The one person who i can’t hide things from:

literally everyone

77: Last time someone said something you were thinking:

idk

76: Right now I am talking to:

the cats im cat sitting

75: What are you going to do when you grow up:

fuvck IDK

74: I have/will get a job: i just quit my job lol

73: Tomorrow: i have no plans

72: Today: i went grocery shopping

71: Next Summer: prolly gonna be hot

70: Next Weekend: redacted comes back from vacation :O

69: I have these pets: 4 cats and a dog!

68: The worst sound in the world:

a cat in heat or dry paper towel adfadf

67: The person that makes me cry the most is: fuck idk im an emotional bxtch

66: People that make you happy: redacted, u, emily, my mom,

65: Last time I cried: ln adsfadf

64: My friends are: gay and i love them

63: My computer is: cool it has a touch screen

62: My School: grant macewan

61: My Car: nonexistent

60: I lose all respect for people who: r homophobes

59: The movie I cried at was: noooo fucking clue it was w redacted tho

58: Your hair color is: brown!

57: TV shows you watch: none!

56: Favorite web site: cats.com

55: Your dream vacation: nyc for like2 weeks in a fancy hotel

54: The worst pain I was ever in was: im chronically ill asdfasd i dont know

53: How do you like your steak cooked: in the garbage can

52: My room is: messy

51: My favorite celebrity is: keyboard cat

i dont feel like answering the rest adfasdf

#gaysun

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keelywolfe · 4 years ago

Text

FIC: Welcome to Backwater ch.8 (spicyhoney)

Summary: Turns out that Stretch has a lunch date coming his way, who would've thought? He only had to be a hero and a victim, all in two minutes.

~~*~~

Read CH 8:‘ 3.14159 Day’ on AO3

Read it here!

~~*~~

When Stretch left the theater it was with a new collection of question to add to his mental drop box. He told Doris he’d see her tomorrow, promising her updates to the mystery if he managed to Velma his way to any clues. On his way out, he tossed their popcorn cups into the trash, his empty and hers full, and gave Igor a little wave as he went through the outer door.

Igor didn’t smile, but he did wave back and hey, there was another positive mark to his list, looked like Igor was advancing to the rank of ‘acquaintance’. That was good, he could use a few more friends in his shiny new collection.

The bright sunlight beaming down from overhead made him squint and Stretch headed back towards the store, his mind on starting the book Edge gave him. He was already mentally groaning at digging through some kind of dry history book, but if that’s where the answers were, welp, he better start shoveling.

Loud shouts and a clanking sound jarred him from his thoughts. Coming up the sidewalk was a small dog running flat out and Stretch could only stare in disbelief at what looked like a bunch of tin cans tied to the poor thing’s tail, like it just ran out of one of the old timey movies he’d been watching lately.

Behind it two boys were running after and jeering, clearly terrifying the animal more. Its tongue was lolling out, its mouth foamy with saliva, and its eyes showing whites around dark brown centers.

Yeah, this was getting handled, right fucking now.

A touch of blue magic would’ve made this easier to deal with and it was a damn shame Stretch couldn’t use it. Didn’t mean he couldn’t make do with what he had, and he didn’t even think. He flattened himself against the window of the ‘Secret Seconds Thrift Shop’ to let the dog run past and before the boys could follow, he stuck out his foot. One boy ran right into it and it sent his forward dash into a Nascar spinout right into his friend, sending both of them headfirst into the trash cans set at the corner with a loud crash and spilling out the remnants of a dozen or so greasy lunches from ‘Mama’s’.

Both of them struggled to their feet, slipping in mounds of garbage and their clothes stained in old coffee grounds and a revolting mixture of rotten food gone almost liquid in the summer heat. Even from a distance the stench made Stretch’s nonexistence stomach roll over with an unpleasant lurch.

The taller one swung around towards Stretch, his face twisting in fury, and his shorter friend didn’t look much happier. He didn’t recognize either of them from the store and that was when Stretch realized these guys were a helluva lot bigger and older than he’d previously thought; no kiddos here, they were either adults or close to it, and here they were, out tormenting little dogs on a hot summer day like this was a damned serial killer training day.

Stretch met that furious gaze head on and asked flatly, “what the fuck is wrong with you two?”

That glare only hardened and the guy sneered, showing teeth that were already graying with rot, yeesh, he’d gone out for a old timey movie and a mystery and instead he’d found a walking cliché from an 80’s high school flick, proof positive when he snarled, “You’re dead, city boy.”

“seriously? that’s a little over dramatic don’t you think?” Stretch took a healthy step back, hands held out defensively. Both of these guys looked like they meant it, coming towards him like a couple trash zombies with fists at the ready.

A quick glance around didn’t bring any allies into view. Even this early it was hot enough out that the sidewalks were empty, the actual town kiddos nowhere in sight. He could dodge into the thrift shop, but the proprietor, Magdalen May, was old enough that she probably used to babysit for Granny Collemore on the weekends. No way in hell he was dragging her into it, even if the old lady was pretty swift with a broom when the squirrels came out to investigate her sidewalk displays.

Nah, he was on his own for this, but even if it wasn’t two on one, if these guys were ready to throw down, Stretch wasn’t in any condition to pick it up. Not without his magic.

Stretch was still pretty light on his feet, though, and he took another step back, tensed in preparation to run his ass back down to the store, yowling like a fire engine all the way. Pride wasn’t much good when you were getting swept into a dustpan.

Turned out, he didn’t have to. The garbage pail twins weren’t even close when a voice came from behind.

“That’s enough.” Softly said and Stretch knew that voice, all roughly chopped dark chocolate and never had it sounded so delicious. He spared a second to look away from the approaching menaces to see Edge standing in the doorway to the library. He was leaning against the jamb, both arms crossed over his chest and a dark frown marring his handsome face.

Tall Trash Boy came to a halt, his scowl deepening. “Didn’t know you were in town, Edge.”

“And now you do.” Cold words that even the heat of the day couldn’t melt. Edge hooked a thumb down the sidewalk. “Both of you, get lost. Preferably downwind.”

The expected argument or threats didn’t come. They did as they were told and didn’t that bring up a few more question about Edge, hell yes, it did, the town troublemakers wary of the local library skeleton? The taller guy glared at Stretch as he walked past in a wall of stench, his fingers flexing as if they were itching to test a hypothesis on whether choking a skeleton was possible.

Great, now he had a nemesis, just the gift he’d never wanted. He’d have to add another section to his mental relationship spreadsheet.

It was probably a good thing it was Edge playing the shining knight to Stretch’s impromptu fairy tale act, his reputation had already taken a hit yesterday with the locals, what with the corny rescue. He didn’t know if he could take being saved by anyone else; at least Edge was already unimpressed by him.

Edge watched them go, never looking away until they were around the corner. Only then did he turn back to Stretch, “Are you all right?”

Stretch didn’t bother to answer, not yet. He was already giving those assholes a pass, heading over to where the little dog was cowering in the alley by the thrift shop. Big brown eyes looked up at him fearfully. “hey, boy,” he said softly. He held out a hand and waited patiently for the pup to hesitantly sniff his boney fingers, hopefully without sampling the merchandise. A whip-thin tail started to wag, stirring up dust and sending a jangle through the cans tied to it as a warm, wet tongue laved ticklishly over his hand. Stretch let out a soft laugh, gently scratching behind the floppy ears. “yeah, you’re okay. c’mere, let me help.”

The dog lay patiently while Stretch worked on the rope around its tail, only whining occasionally as Stretch struggled with the knots. They were painfully tight and it took a minute for Stretch to pick them loose, freeing the pup from its tin-can torment.

“There you go, buddy.” The second it was free, the dog scrambled to his feet, shaking vigorously and that furious tail wagging trebled. The pup licked Stretch’s face with sloppy appreciation, but he didn’t hang around. With a last messy lick, he turned and trotted off in the opposite direction as the trash boys, disappearing around a corner and out of Stretch’s life.

“that’s gratitude for you,” Stretch said aloud. He stood up and dusted off his shorts, then carried the string of cans over to the remaining trash cans that were still upright and tossed them in with a rattling clang. Edge watched him the whole time, sockets narrowed, and his expression was one that was coming up blanks in Stretch’s mental filter.

He winced internally. Getting into fights with the locals probably wasn’t gonna endear him to anyone in town.

“sorry about all that, didn’t mean to stir up trouble,” Stretch let out an unsteady laugh, shoes scuffing uncomfortably on the sidewalk. “they’re probably okay guys, right, boys will be boys, all that shit.”

But Edge shook his head. “No,” Edge said curtly, “Joey is a bully and he needs discipline. I’ll be speaking with his father. I’ve seen your HP, that was hardly an idle threat.”

Um, okay, there was a revealing tidbit that Stretch wasn’t the only one with his snooping shoes on. Someone was doing Checks from the sidelines. “then i guess my thank you for the save is canceled out by you being a nosy nancy.”

“I prefer snooping Sarah,” Edge said. He wandered over to toe at the trash cans with an expression of exquisite distaste and left them where they were. Seemed like his heroic tendencies didn’t extend to the municipal sanitation workers. Not that Stretch was volunteering to help with the cleanup either, no thanks, he was much more interested in watching the shift of Edge’s hips as he walked. Here they were with the temperatures climbing high into the red and this guy was walking around in a pair of nut hugger jeans that showcased the sleek line of his bones, a flash of his iliac crests peeking out slyly from under the hem of his black t-shirt.

Stretch didn’t do small talk so much as long, rambling soliloquies of random nonsense, but he could try when the need arose and right now, that need was climbing mountains because the fact of the matter was, he didn’t want Edge to leave yet. He wanted Edge to stay, wanted to hear him talking a little longer about anything, everything, so with all the eloquence Stretch could muster, he fumbled out, “so, uh, what are you doing in town today?”

Aw, yeah, he was Mister Swingle, all right. Next he’d be asking Edge to come over this weekend to play D & D in his mom’s basement.

Good thing that Edge didn’t seem too bothered by the lead up. He only shoved his hands into his pockets, and seriously, finding room for them in those jeans had to defy several laws of physics. “My roommate had a sudden urge for pie and insisted that only Mama’s would do,” Edge said sourly.

Interesting, another mention of the elusive roommate/local scarecrow animator. “okay,” Stretch said slowly, “if they wanted the pie, why didn’t they come with?” Would’ve saved Stretch from trying to narrow down their location for a visit.

“They can only come out at night.” Said without even a trace of irony.

Um, what? Stretch tried not to gape at him, with minimum success. “are you serious?”

“No,” Edge smirked, “But my brother mentioned your predilection for vampires.”

Oh, hil-arious, looked like both bothers had jokes. “woah, i’m not licking anything, prada or otherwise. can’t blame me for hedging my bets around here in the land of the cannibal corn.”

“I can assure you, there are no vampires in town.” He couldn’t help but notice Edge didn’t throw up any kind of defense for the corn’s innocence.

“in town,” Stretch repeated, doubtfully, “yeah, that’s real comforting, thanks.”

Edge only held out a hand. “Come on, you look like you’re about to melt in the heat and it’s Wednesday, Mama’s has a lunch special today.”

His surprise at what was very obviously a lunch invitation was tempered by pure shock that it was Edge offering it.

"really?” Stretch said, warily. He still took Edge’s hand, he wasn’t completely stupid, thanks. Edge was wearing gloves but there wasn’t time to mourn the lack of bone on bone action as his fingers curled around Stretch’s. “you eat at mama’s? red said you don't stay for the dinners you make because of your special diet."

Edge had started towards the diner and he paused, one brow bone arched, "Did he."

"i mean, not judging here,” Stretch added hastily, damn, what was with the self-sabotage, here, sure it was his MO, but at some point, you’d think he’d learn. If Blue were here, he’d be trying for a new world record in eye rolling. “the stuff you bring over is great. you vegan or something?”

"Or something. I’m sure what my brother is charmingly referring to is my preference not to layer cheese and mustard over every meal.” Edge tugged on his hand again and Stretch stumbled after, following him to the diner’s front door. “I find simpler recipes more satisfying so I can actually taste the food, but I believe a piece of pie is within my range. Particularly a slice of mama’s apple.”

Fair enough and Stretch was all about taking chances. May as well take this one.

Wednesdays at Mama’s was always special menu, something to help get a fella over the hump day according to the handwritten whiteboard at the entrance. Today was pie day and there were all sorts on order, from delectably savory to sugary sweet and a few in-between.

This was the first time Stretch actually sat down in the diner to eat. Usually he got takeout and pointedly ignored the fact that the short order cook was smoking a cigarette right at the grill, hey, the ash was dropping away from the fryer, it was fine. He’d get his burger and fries handed over in a grease-spotted paper bag, take it back to eat at the wobbly table in his room. That meal combo was great, crisp lettuce and tomatoes layered over a thick beef patty and the fries were greasy, salty perfection.

Turned out the pie was pretty damned good, too, brought over to their booth by Mama herself and someday he was gonna ask about the colorful mermaid tattoos that scrolled up both her burly forearms. Not today, he’d already gotten his fill of risk-my-life jollies, for now Stretch was sticking with pie.

But next time he got into trouble he was running in here to hide. Mama could probably kick both those guy’s asses without batting an eyelash while she was lighting the Marlboro clenched between her teeth.

Stretch got a piece of chicken biscuit pie, slathered in country gravy and Edge the aforementioned apple, a slice of crumbly cheddar cheese melting over the flaky crust.

Delicious as it was, he was having a hard time giving his pie a fair slice of his attention. They both had long legs and Stretch’s gangly knees kept bumping into Edge’s as they struggled to find a place to be. He tried a few times to move out of the way but even if his magic had been in top form, his ability to bend space/time had been limited to shortcuts, not leg room.

Another painful bump and Stretch squeaked aloud when Edge caught one of his feet firmly between both his own, the leather of his boots smooth and cool against his trapped ankle.

“Hold still,” he commanded and Stretch damn near snapped him a salute. Hold still, yessir, and Edge’s foothold eased…but it didn’t move. He sat there with Stretch’s foot held in gentle captivity between his own and all the holy little angels, if this was a reward from above for the dog rescue, Stretch would take it.

It was also a helluva distraction, making it hard for him to come up with some vaguely entertaining lunchtime chatter. Stretch’s normal attempts at flirtation were about as smooth as a cheese grater. Frankly, it was a wonder he’d ever persuaded anyone to go out with him, but he had a feeling his previous knock knock technique wasn’t gonna work here.

Edge didn’t wait for him to come up with a gambit. He only swallowed his latest bite of pie and said, “That was very brave of you.”

Stretch paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. “what was?”

His thoughts on what might be wrong with the pie, (which certainly tasted delicious, ugh, please don’t let it be a soylent green kind of situation) vaporized when Edge said, “Helping that dog.”

Oh, that. Stretch only shrugged and dug back into the tasty, not-human pie. “anyone who isn’t a sociopath would’ve helped that dog.”

“I’m not so sure. Plenty of locals are wary of Joey and his sidekick. They might have gone to the Sheriff, but that wouldn’t have helped the dog in time.”

“locals, right. so lemme ask you something,” Stretch licked the tines of his fork, savoring the rich, buttery flavor, good thing he didn’t have any veins to clog. “you and red both talk like you’ve been here forever, but we’ve only been in the surface a few years. how long have you been in backwater, anyway?”

Edge took a sip of his coffee, because of course he ordered a hot beverage, geez, if this guy took a vacation to hell, he’d ask Satan to borrow a sweater. “We came almost the moment we arrived on the surface.”

Okay, yeah, he’d figured that out on his own, but it didn’t really clear much up. Stretch had questions, okay, he had a list, and he was looking for some answers. May as well try while Edge was being chatty. “where did you live in the underground? ‘cause my bro and i lived in snowdin, but i got around and i don’t remember even hearing about you two, much less added you to my gyftmas card list.”

He waited as Edge finished up his slice of pie. He ate with disturbing neatness, cutting precise little forkfuls of pie and eating each one, and took the time to wipe his mouth with a napkin before he said, “I’m afraid that’s complicated.”

“complicated,” Stretch repeated, slowly, disbelieving. Everything just had to be an ordeal, didn’t it. “complicated how? locations are not complicated, not like there was a lot of places to hide under the mountain. what, were you living in caves behind the waterfalls? down in the lava pits in hotland?”

“Something like that,” Edge said evasively. “We came to the surface with the Human who fell.”

And that tidbit made literally no sense at all. “wait, what? with chara?” Stretch didn’t really want to get thinking about the kid. He’d been something of a fun uncle for quite a while now and he missed getting to play that part. But there was no way that Edge was there when everything went down with the barrier breaking, that was purely impossible. “look, that was a real confusing time, i’ll admit, but i was there when we popped out of the mountain, with the Queen and everything. pretty sure i’d’ve remembered you hanging out in the backstage crew.” At the very least, he’d remember those hips.

To be fair, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d heard a Monster claiming to be there when it happened; everyone wanted their split-second of fame, hell, Napstaton did an hour special on it, complete with a dance number, he really did rock those heels. But Edge didn’t seem the type to go after a little fake glory.

“I’m sure you would have,” Edge agreed, and that was it, infuriatingly vague, and that made even less sense. If he was glory-hunting, he would’ve at least tried to come up with a backstory. Instead, he pushed his empty plate aside. “It doesn’t matter. The point is we decided not to stay in Ebott. I believe our journey resembles yours in that regard, only in our version, I was driving when we came to Backwater.”

“can’t you give a straight answer about anything?” Stretch asked, exasperated. Seriously, was it asking too much for something to not need pie charts and graphs and ghostly intervention to figure it out? Mama briefly interrupted by plunking a fresh plate down in front of Stretch, this time loaded with a little dessert in the form of blueberry pie, a melting scoop of vanilla ice cream oozing atop. She tore off the bill from her notepad and slapped it down, vanishing before Stretch could even thank her.

“It seems unlikely,” Edge admitted. “As to why we ended up here…” He trailed off, fingers drumming on the tabletop as Stretch took a syrup-soaked bite of pie. “Backwater is…” he hesitated again, so much weight resting on those words, “I believe that towns have a soul.”

Okay, not quite what Stretch was expecting; pie and heresy made for an interesting meal. “souls are for living things.”

“And towns are alive,” Edge countered. “They have a life given to them by the people who live there. Towns have their own dreams to fulfill, they change, they grow. And this town, on top of everything else, it seems to attract broken things.” He lowered his voice, so softly, “And you are broken, aren’t you.”

Stretch went still, his fingers clenching around his fork. Yeah, okay, getting a little personal there, and anyway, he wasn’t the mystery at hand, thanks, he’d like to keep it that way.

“broken? nah,” Stretch made a careless little scoff, “little bent, maybe—”

“Bent and battered,” Edge agreed, “but unbowed.”

“whatever,” Stretch grumbled. He took a large bite of pie, mumbling out through a mouthful of crust and berries, “i’ve been dedicating the past few weeks to repressing those memories, so can we not discuss?”

Only to nearly choke as Edge asked, “How long has your soul been damaged?”

His throat tried to clench around the mash of pie between his teeth, his magic grudgingly incorporating it as Stretch struggled to swallow it down. It was still fizzling at the back of his mouth as he rasped out, “what?”

Edge leaned in closer and sniffed deliberately, drawing in a hard breath through his nasal cavity. “You have soul damage. I can smell it and I know my brother could.” His sockets sank half-closed, hooding the crimson of his eye lights as he sniffed again, “It’s unmistakable, like scorched sugar layered over ammonia.”

What in the name of fuck…? How…? He’d never even heard of such a thing, so how…?

“i…i don’t…” The words clung to his tongue, refusing to be spoken. Stretch looked down, away from that intense gaze and focused on his pie. He squished a blueberry under the tines of his fork and watched dark juice bleed across the white plate, waiting for the panicked static in his mind to clear. A long, shaky breath of his own helped a little, inhaling the lingering heaviness of grease from the grill. Around them, other people were eating their pie, laughing and talking, and not paying a damn bit of attention to the way Stretch was trying not to break down, not here, not here, damn it. “awhile,” Stretch managed to mutter out, “that what you want to hear? anything else you want to know or maybe you can just kick me in the shins? or stab me in the eye socket, see, that’d work for me.”

Edge tilted his head and maybe he didn’t like what he saw, because he reached out and took Stretch’s hand in his own. That singular touch was stabilizing and Stretch latched onto it gratefully, let it steady him. “I know it’s painful,” Edge said, low, his thumb moving over Stretch’s knuckles in a gentle circle, “but I’m not trying to hurt you by discussing this. This place can be good for the soul. My brother knows that better than anyone. When we first arrived here, he was the one hurting and not just physically, his pains ran soul deep, the same as yours.”

Stretch managed a harsh chuckle. It came out raw, like a wound. “like recognizes like, i guess.” In his chest, his soul gave a pained little throb, like it knew they were discussing it. He resisted the urge to rub at his sternum; he already knew it wouldn’t help, the ache wasn’t in the bone, it was deeper, untouchable, and that was just the way he wanted his soul to be. Anyway, it wasn’t as bad as it’d been before, it was healing, just like the doc said it would. He only needed time and due to certain events, he had plenty of that now, in hearts and spades.

“That's why you're here, Stretch,” Edge told him, “It isn't about a breakup, that's incidental. It's about needing to heal. This place can be good for the soul, if you let it,” He offered a faint smile. “I still recommend leaving when you’re sufficiently healed.” Then abruptly, “Have you started on the book yet?”

Stretch latched onto the new topic gratefully, more than ready to stuff the soul crap into the back of his mind for about the next ten years, please and thank you. Better to wallow in a little sheepish guilt as he admitted, “uh, not yet, was kinda tired yesterday.”

He expected a dressing down, and not in the sexy way, but Edge only nodded. “I’m not surprised. Don’t put it off too long.” He let go of Stretch’s hand, barely giving him time to mourn as he stood and plucked the check from the table. “I need to get going, lunch is on me.” He nodded at Stretch’s plate. “Finish your pie.”

“thanks,” Stretch grumbled, but he took a bite. Even half-mangled it was delicious, tartly sweet, and he focused on finishing his pie and nothing else. Even watching Edge leave wasn’t doing it for him right now and maybe he’d regret not taking in the view later, but for right now, he didn’t want to think about anything at all.

He was scraping up the last berry-stained crumbs when a sudden shout made the entire diner jerk, everyone turning towards the door.

“You there!” Stretch blinked at the tall, stocky Human tromping towards him, pointing an accusing finger his way. He was in a uniform, his eyes concealed behind mirrored sunglasses, and there was a star pinned to his chest, shiny gold and emblazoned with the word, ‘Sheriff’. Not to mention the gun belt strapped around his broad middle. He came to a stop right next to Stretch’s table, fists propped up on his hips as he demanded, “You causin’ trouble here in my town?”

Stretch could only look up at him wide-socketed, with the taste of berries still sharp on his suddenly dry tongue.

Well, shit. Where was the rescue when he really needed one?

~~*~~

tbc

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underfell papyrus #underswap papyrus #welcome to backwater

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hotchnerfuckmeup · 8 years ago

Text

Gone - Pt. 3

Part One Part Two

Pairing: Hothner x Reader

Word Count: 1,778

Request: yes! Thank you for the amazing feedback!

@zugzwangcm-comment-account: Omg you should do a third part 😭 this was so good!

@ncis-cm-hp-sherlock-imagines: I’ve loved part one and I love part 2 even more! The way the team and the reader interact was just lovely. I’d really enjoy a third part if there are any plans for one?

@marvelfanlife: Please say that there will be a part 3 to gone?! Like I said before Aaron needs to know! And what happens if Scratch makes an appearance! 😬😊💕

@dkbksbcobk: Hey, I was wondering if you could make a part 3 to “Gone” when you have the time, you’re an amazing writer

@louisespecter: It was beautifully written but yet so sad. My heart can’t handle this. I literally have tears in my eyes as I’m typing this message. Please please pleaaasssee can there be a part 3?

Warnings: none

Summary: Aaron Jack Hotchner was born. The reader has an incredibly close-knit relationship with the team, making it easier to raise her son, but his father has no clue he exists... Or does he? I’m actually so excited that this fic is getting such amazing feedback, it’s makes me happy to know that there are people who want to read something that I’m very proud of creating. Without further ado, here is the third part to ‘Gone’. Enjoy!!

A/N: AJ is Aaron Jack’s nickname for Aaron Jack and Aaron Junior, just in case that confused anyone.

Previously on…

His dad was not here, but Aaron Jack Hotchner was surrounded by the people who love him and will go to the ends of the earth for him, and that was all that mattered.

Aaron was out in the world somewhere with Jack hopefully safe, but wherever he was, he had no knowledge of the baby boy just born with his name. He didn’t know that you thought about him every day, and probably didn’t know that since he left, you spent every night crying yourself to sleep. He didn’t know any of this because he was gone.

“AJ, I’m not going to tell you again,” you scolded your son. He was stubborn as always, trying to play with the toys that weren’t his without permission.

“No, no, he’s fine! He’s so cute. How old is he?” the mother of the child whose toys Aaron Jr. kept playing with asked.

“He’s turned three today,” you replied, looking at the boy who looked too much like his father. His smile resembled that of Aaron’s, and every time you saw it, your heart seemed to skip a beat, not only for the memories of your beloved boyfriend, but for the tiny child that was yours.

The playground was mainly vacated, only a few mothers and their children enjoying the beautiful outdoors that day.

“Mine’s four. Nearly time to start school,” the mother replied with a sigh.

“That’s a scary thought,” you replied. And it was. There was no telling whether or not your son was even safe in any schools. You hadn’t really thought about sending your son to school, yet anyways. Your focus was raising him and keeping him safe. As far as you were concerned, he would be home schooled. Maybe Penelope would be willing to help out.

As if the computer genius could hear your thoughts, your phone began to ring with her name flashing on the screen.

“Hello,” you said after pressing answer.

“Alright, muffin. I picked up AJ’s prescriptions and set up an appointment for a follow up in a month. He’s also set on piano lessons courtesy of a one Spencer Reid. Oh, and birthday party is set up. We’re ready for you,” she said.

“Jeez, Penny, you didn’t have to do all that,” you told her with a smile.

“Oh, stop. I’m happy to. Now get both of your cute butts over here, we’re ready!” she said.

“Alright, thanks, Penelope,” you replied with a smile. You motioned to AJ to come to you.

“No problem! And happy birthday, love,” she finished before hanging up the phone.

“Happy birthday, little man!” the mom next to you said to your son as he approached the bench you were sitting on.

“Mommy’s birthday,” AJ said, pointing up at you.

“Your’s as well?” she asked, smiling.

“Mine was yesterday, but we celebrate them together,” you said, standing up and picking up Aaron. “It was nice to meet you-”

“Shelby,” she said, sticking out her hand to shake.

“Y/N,” you replied. “And this is Aaron Jack.” Your son shyly waved at Shelby.

“Nice to meet you Aaron,” she replied with a smile. “Hope to see you again,” she told you.

“You too. Sorry about the toys,” you said sheepishly.

“Again, don’t worry about it. My son Kale and I come here every Wednesday afternoon if Aaron would ever want to have a buddy to play with.”

“Thank you, that would actually be really nice,” you said honestly. With the life you two had, another little boy in AJ’s life didn’t sound like a bad idea at all. “Say bye, AJ,” you said to your son.

He waved again, letting out a tiny ‘bye’ before you walked away from your new friend. You knew having someone his age to play with would be good for him. JJ’s boys were always happy to play with your son, but Henry was in school and they were busy most of the time. Kale would be a blessing.

You walked to the car with AJ on your hip. Once he was secured in his car seat, you grinned down at him.

“Ready to see everyone?” you asked. You’d told him about his ‘surprise’ party. You were never really any good at keeping secrets. AJ nodded excitedly at you, his smile sending butterflies throughout your body. “Let’s go then.”

“Surprise!” the team shouted as you walked through the door. You playfully gasped and looked down at AJ.

He slapped his hands onto his cheeks, opening his mouth in fake shock. To a room full of profilers, it was obvious you gave up their secret surprise party.

“You told him, didn’t you?” Alvez asked, unable to keep a smile off his face at the sight of your son.

“Sorry, he begged to know if we were surprising him, and how can you say no to that face?” you said in a baby voice, picking AJ up.

“Hey, buddy! Uncle Spence got you a present,” Reid said, taking him from your arms. He walked over to the desk that was full of presents, the team, apart from JJ, in tow.

“He’s starting to look so much more like his father,” she admitted to you.

“I know,” you said, watching AJ’s family show him his new toys. Your heart was soaring at the sight of it. Despite the heartbreak you’d experienced almost four years ago, there was so much happiness that came to you and so much love surrounded you and your son every day, and you were so grateful for it.

“What are you thinking about?” JJ asked you.

“Just about how damn luck AJ and I are,” you replied, leaning into her side. She pulled you in close for a warm hug, admiring the vision of her sons with yours. It was a perfectly cliched moment, but it was all you ever wanted.

Emily stepped away from the group, slowly making her way towards you. A look passed between the two agents, some kind of silent communication. You dated a profiler for well over two years, so you knew a thing or two about reading a look.

“What?” you asked.

“What?” Emily asked back, acting nonchalant.

“There’s something you’re not telling me,” you told her, knowing you were right.

“Tell me about the woman you met today at the park,” she said suddenly, catching you off guard.

“Excuse me?” you asked, not understanding what she meant. “What woman?”

“Y/N, you have a protective detail on you 24/7, and it’s their job to report to me. They told me about the woman you talked to at the park,” Emily replied.

“So? I’m aware you keep an all too watchful eye on me and AJ at all times, but why are you suddenly interrogating me on who I happen to converse with?” you asked, your voice raising a bit.

“I’m just following protocol,” she tried, but you were too annoyed to listen.

“I don’t give a damn about protocol, what is this about?” you asked. Emily looked at JJ, as if she was silently asking for help.

“We just want to know if you’re trying…” JJ started, but she couldn’t find the words.

“Trying to what?” you asked, skepticism clear in your voice.

“Strauss is worried you’re trying to contact Hotch,” Emily said. What, you thought.

“How is me talking to a random mom at the park me trying to contact him?” you asked, vocalizing your confusion.

“Are you?” Emily asked sternly, clearly wanting a straight answer.

“No! Of course not. Why would she think that?” you said, still unable to understand what talking to a woman at the park meant about Aaron. JJ looked at Emily, another strange look passing between them. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“It’s on need-to-know basis, Y/N,” Emily told you, as if that explained everything.

“It’s about Aaron?” you blurted out. Tears began to form in your eyes. “If it’s about him then I need to know.”

“Y/N,” JJ started, but you cut her off.

“Do you know where he is?” you asked, your heart beginning to speed up. The agents at the present table started to quiet down, looking over at you. You were fixing to go into hysterics, it was obvious.

“No, I don’t.” Emily said. Her voice was strong. She wasn’t lying.

“Then what? Does Shelby know where he is?” you asked, recalling the mom from the park’s name.

“We figured that’s why you were talking to her,” Emily finally admitted. You furrowed your brows, even more confused than before.

“What are you talking about?” you asked, knowing Emily was probably not going to be able to keep whatever this secret was from you any longer. She sighed and looked at the other agents, silently telling them all to distract AJ and not listen to what she was about to say.

“Shelby Madison is the woman you talked to today. She has a son named Kale, that’s who AJ was playing with,” she said.

“I know all this,” you replied, wanting her to spill.

“Shelby Madison is a private investigator,” she finished. “Strauss thinks you hired her.”

“I didn’t. I’d only met her today,” you said.

“What did she tell you at the park? Try to remember the conversation you had with her,” Emily said, not as a friend, but as an agent.

“She asked me how old AJ was, she mentioned her son was four and about to start school,” you recited, slowly trying to remember the words she’d told you.

“What else?”

“She introduced herself as Shelby and asked to see AJ and I again. That’s it.”

“When?”

“On Wednesdays. She mentioned her and her son go to the park every Wednesday,” you said, realizing why Emily was asking these questions. “I’ve never seen her before today. AJ and I are at the park every Wednesday, too, she was lying,” you said. “What does that mean?”

“It means someone hired her to find you,” Emily said.

Your heart sped up, your palms became increasingly sweaty.

“Someone like Scratch?” you whispered, the name feeling hot on your tongue. It’d been two years since you said that name, and although he was out of your thoughts most nights, it was a name that still haunted you.

“No,” a voice said behind you. The look on Emily’s face said it all. You knew exactly who that voice belonged to. It was a voice you hadn’t heard in three and a half years. A voice you never thought you’d hear again.

It was the only voice in the world you ever wanted to hear, but knew you never could.

You turned to face Aaron Hotchner

“Someone like me.”

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dietaku · 6 years ago

Text

Amazing Quest 2: Chapter 3

Things get a little Down Under

Chapter 3: Fatal Feathery Fowl Fearsome Four-way Fight!

The camera pans down with Dood and company laying in a smoldering crater. Suddenly, some tiny, yellow birds scurry over to them.

Kiwi: Ah. Hey bru. Ya 'kay bru?

Genki: Oui, missour. We appear to have landed on something soft.

Kylie: And full of organs. Dood: Mrf. Kiwi: You fell from the sky. You wus hoigh az, bru!

Dood: I. Um. Yes. That. What you said.

Kiwi: I saw you fall, and there was a bug explosion! So I had to see what it was, bru. Scared our kuds, right out, it did.

Dood and the party get up.

Dood: Sorry, we didn't mean to scare any cuds. We were thrown by accident.

Kiwi: Well, no harm done, bru. Do ya need anything?

Dood: Maybe just some directions to town.

Kiwi: Oh, that's easy, bru! Follow me!

The Kiwi hurries off-screen and we're allowed to begin exploring the new area. You can still encounter some monsters, as this area is shared to a dungeon area we'll explore later, so just hurry to the side to reach the overworld and not far away is the Kiwi Village. Here, we can get the Kiwi Set of gear for everyone, including the memetic KiwiDrss for the ladies, except Dood won't get any weapons here, oddly enough. The inn holds an amusing timesink card game Dood plays against a kiwi wearing a sun visor, which has very unclear rules, and the town square holds a statue which tells, in laborious detail, the tale of The Great Emu War, where Kiwis and Kangaroos joined together against a vile avian threat. It is worth reading. In the same area, there's a sad-looking kiwi. You can tell she is sad by the fact she has large, watery eyes.

Kiwi: Oh! A-bloo-bloo-boo! I'm sad, bru!

Dood: What's wrong? Is it something I can help with?

Kiwi: My kud, bru! Those dirty ostriches! They kudnapped 'er!

Dood: I'm sorry? Kiwi: They broke into the village a few nights ago! They grabbed 'er right out of 'er bed, bru!

Dood: … I'm struggling to understand.

Deliost: Surprising no one.

Kylie: Dood, she's saying her child was abducted by the ostrich tribe!

Dood: Oh! Why didn't she just say so? Geez.

Kiwi: Oh! They want 50,000 lobsters for 'er and the other kuds!

Dood: Uh. Translation? Kylie: Sorry, even I'm off the menu on this one.

Kiwi: Y'know! A million clams! Dood: I had no idea ostriches were so big on seafood.

Genki: Ah, she means that they are held for a great ransom. Not food, money.

Dood: Oh! Man, I am learning so much about culture today. Money, of course! Kiwi: Whazza matter there, sonny?

Dood: What? I said “money”.

Kiwi: Yes, what's wrong with it?

Dood: … Huh? Kiwi: Ya knee. You keep talkin' 'bout yer knee.

Dood: …

Genki: Err-hem. Let us focus now.

Kylie: Where are the ku-- err-- kids, being held.

Deliost: Did you almost say it too? Kylie: No! … Yes.

Kiwi: The ostriches have a large base sex mulls south of here. They took over a castle there. See, it's an instunct thing for them – ostriches are fated rivals for well-to-do nobles.

Dood: I see. That makes perfect sense! Deliost: It... does?

Genki: Pardon moi, but how far is sex mulls?

Kiwi: Ye don't know mulls, bru? Almost tin kays.

Dood: Tin kays. I fully understand!

Genki: You do? Dood: Yes! Let's go save the cud from the cows! Deliost: Ostriches.

Dood: Poh-tay-toe, pah-taw-toh.

Genki: I 'ave literally never heard anyone call it a “pah-taw-toh”.

So, now we can leave town and head south, which follows a small stream down to a large castle. If you go here, an amusing cutscene plays, as this is actually not the castle we need. At the door, we meet emus.

Emu: G'day, mate. Can I help you? Dood: Are you a cow? Emu: No, 'fraid not.

Dood: Are you a dragon? Deliost: DOOD! Dood: I'm just asking!!!

Genki: That's racist!

Emu: Sorry, cobber?

Deliost: We're looking for the ostriches.

Emu: Oh! Ya must'a come from the kiwis. Silly buggers. The ostrich fort is six miles from here. Ya only come six kays.

Dood: Ooooh!

Emu: Strewth, you guys have no clue, do ya? 'Ere, 'ave a tinny and let an old codger you 'bout the war!

Dood: Cool!

Deliost: Sorry to take up your time, sirs, we really need to get a move-on. Thank you!

Here, we can actually go inside anyway despite what the guards say. Once inside, we can find a set of item shops that don't sell anything the kiwis didn't, but it doubles as a rest stop. If we go to the throne room, we can begin an optional side quest. There's an emu here rushing back and forth frantically. Speak to him.

Emu: Oh? G'day, mates. I'm sorry, I didn't even hear ya come in. What can I do fer ya?

Dood: You look worried about something.

Emu: Oh, too roight. Hm. You don't really care 'bout that, though, do ya? H-how about a tour of our beloved EmuFort?

You can then pick from a Yes/No prompt.

-If you pick Yes-

Emu: Good! Great, even! Follow me!

He then takes you into the, uh, only other available room in EmuFort, the town square.

Emu: Now, see... we have, uh, item shops! They're great. … I like them.

Genki: Is this entire town three item shops that all sell the same items and an inn? And your throne room? Emu: … Tour's over, mates! Please, come and see me again!

-If you pick No-

Emu: No? But I have some great item shops I can show ya...

Deliost: What's the matter, sir?

Emu: Ah, it's a bother, I reckon, but if ya must know... I'm the prince here. Soon to be the King even.

Kylie: That sounds like a good thing, though.

Emu: Ah, it would be. But, uh, I've a small problem on my wingtips and I just don't know how to start with it.

Dood: I can help you! It never hurts to meddle in other peoples' affairs!

Emu: … Alright, I'll tell ya. But this stays between us, mates. See, I have fallen for a fair maiden.

Kylie: A love story?! Oh, how wonderful~!

Emu: Roight, well, turns out that the sheila who stole my 'eart there was the Princess of the Ostriches.

Genki: Oh my.

Emu: So you see how I got a problem now. Can't go near the place without hearing the blighters shouting jokes about me mum, let alone get inside to see 'er. Apples it ain't. She waits for me, though. She's a 'opeless romantic, she is.

Genki: Ah, a forbidden romance. Je suis monte~!

Dood: We're going there anyway. We can just take a letter for you.

Emu: I wish it were that easy, mate, I really do. Problem is the ostriches up and moved 'er into the tower out to the east of 'ere.

Dood: We can still go there. Even if it's guarded, we'll get in there!

Emu: Ya'll take a letter for me?

Dood: I'll do you one better! I'll break her out and bring her here to you!

Emu: That's roight mad, you realize? Dood: No, I'm happy!

Kylie: He was... probably dropped on his head as a child. Please forgive my ward...

Emu: Well, if'n ya can manage it, I'd be eternally grateful. But please, don't put yourselves in unnecessary danger on my account.

Dood: We won't! We'll just bust her out of the tower! Let's go, mates!

So, with quest in hand, we can now move east out of town to cross the bridge there (which would've remained off-limits had we not spoken to the prince) and head towards the tower there. Here, you'll have to force your way in past some Ostrich Knights, which are hearty HP-wise, but only pose a threat to those woefully under-powered for this stretch. Inside, they'll continue as random encounters, which is annoying as the staircase to the room above is long and arduous and the door at the one-third, half, and two-thirds marks are blocked by lazy ostrich guards. They won't fight you, but ask for arbitrary food items, which they explain can be found in the hold in the basement. Well, that's not as easy as it sounds, as you find the basement itself is a maze-like series of hallways, with certain ones ending at different mini-boss fights. The first guard wants a Roach Roast, which you have to battle a giant roach for. The second asks for a Cicada Shake, which mandates a dance-off minigame with the Cicada King, done in the style of a DDR game using the control pad. And the last requests a Grass Wrap (Weed Gyro in PAL regions), which you can get by fighting the Burrito Bison that appears in the deepest hallway. The guards, once bribed, step aside and fall asleep, allowing you access to the princess' chamber. Dood heroically throws the door open.

Ostrich: Oh my! Are you here to kidnap me?! Again? I am overdue...

Dood: Um. I mean, kind of? Is it kidnapping if we kidnap someone from being kidnapped? Maybe THAT'S what “cudnapping” is!!

Deliost: Facepalm

Genki: Mademoiselle, we have come to free you at your beloved Prince's request!

Ostrich: Oh! You're heroes here to liberate me!

Dood: Yeah, that!

Genki: Speaking of, have you any valuables to... liberate?

Ostrich: Well, not really. But the big guard who patrols the stairwell might!

Kylie: Wait, we bribed the guards in the stairwell.

Ostrich: Yes, but did you bribe the big one?

Dood: Which one's the big one?

The area shakes briefly, then stops. Then once again.

Genki: Que?

Deliost: Wait, that's not even--

The wall blows open as a colossal gorilla clad in ornate, the stone armor blows surrounding area down.

Gorilla: HUZZAH!!!

Dood: Oh. THAT one is the big one!

-Boss Fight!-

Gorillian Horse-Powered Gorilla

LP: 5800

MP: 0

Gas Tank (Hidden)

LP: 1200

MP: 0

This massive monkey is all about power and his individual blows are devastatingly strong, none moreso than his “Lance out for Cranbe” attack where he spins in circles, dealing medium physical damage across the party line. If you want to go toe-to-toe with him, by all means, have it. He barely has more HP than the chapter boss from the previous story segment and we're much more powerful now. However, there is a way to cheese him. By using Genki's “Look! An eagle!” technique, Gorillian will become stunned and turn his back to you, revealing the gas tank on his back. If you attack it a few times, it'll ignite and blow Gorillian clear out the opposite wall, immediately defeating him in just a few turns!

-Boss Fight!-

Dood: Yay!

Deliost: That was non-sequitur.

Genki: Oui-oui.

Ostrich: You agree emphatically?

Genki: Non. I need to use the lady's room.

At this point, we can freely leave and the dungeon as a whole ceases being accessible as most of it is now rubble. If we try to leave now, a giant, sentient block will inform you the princess takes priority--

Block: Princess Priority pretty much prompts protagonists to proceed plot-wise plodding platitudes.

Kylie: I zoned out half way through that.

Dood: Peh pehpeh pehpeh pehpehpehpeh.

Genki: Oui, missiour, now you are speaking my language!

Dood: What language is that, Genki? Genki: Sometimes I lay awake at night and stare at the ceiling, wondering that. … What is a language? Is there a God? Dood: … Do you need a hug?

Genki: Badly.

--And force you back to EmuFort. Go to the throne room to run into the Emu Prince.

Emu: Ah! Y'all're back. Yah alroight, mates?

Ostrich: My love~!

The Ostrich Princess rushes the Emu Prince, easily pinning him to the wall.

Emu: BARF!

Kylie: Y'know it dons on me only now just how much bigger she is than him...

Emu: My dear princess! You're safe!

Ostrich: I am! Thanks to our strange, featherless friends! We must reward them, darling, somehow!

Emu: I agree! Unto you, I will bestow the Four Legendary Treasures of the Southwest!

Genki's eyes become a dollar and a yen sign, respectively.

Genki: Oui, your generosity knows no bounds~!

Emu: Here, sport.

The Emu prince approaches Dood and Dood gets the KiwiSwrd, OstrSwrd, KngaSwrd, and EmuSwrd, completely replacing his old set of weapons. These not only bolster his attack and defense but also bumps up his speed. This set became quite popular, to the point where in AQ6: Puddingnomicon, this was the first set of weapons Dood can unlock after his default.

Dood: Thank you sir! I will be sure to use this as responsibly as I possibly can!

Deliost: Which, based on our efforts at the Ostrich Tower, likely mean they'll be shattered within a week.

Emu: Ehh. Whatcha gonna do, I mean, really? G'luck to ya now, mates.

Now we can head south again. Now we can actually get to the Ostrich Fort in the south – presumably tin kays worth. If you go to the grotto on the right, you can get the much-loved Kangaroo, Kangaroo, and Kangaroo genes for Kylie (one for each part of her body) for her Aussie Form, which can learn “BoxJly Psn”, “FnlWeb Slw”, “Taipn Strk”, and “Daytime Drnk”, the most potent status-ailment dealers we can get at this point in the game and for some time after. Afterward, approach the gate of the fort, and you get a mini-cutscene as Dood and co. approach the ostrich guards.

Dood: Hello!

Ostrich: Um. Hi.

Dood: Can we go in? Ostrich: Um. No can do, kid. If we just let you in, we'd be setting a precedent.

Genki: Come now, Herr Ostrich, can you not make the tiniest exception on... our part?

Genki leans over, revealing yet more of her sizable chest.

Ostrich: Um. I'm sure that's supposed to be impressive, but I'm a bird. Genki: Oh. So you are.

Dood: Um, it's just, we want to save the... cows.

Deliost: Kids. Also, are you sure you want to just be saying that to the ones who kidnapped them?

Ostrich: Oh, I wish you hadn't gone and said that.

Dood: Why? Ostrich: 'cuz now we have to kill you.

The ostrich guards rush forward, hurling the party through the air to the map.

Genki: Mein Gott! Such rude little bird-brains!!

Kylie: Yeah, that wasn't super smart, Dood.

Dood: I'll show them! I'll build my own fort! And it'll be cooler than theirs! And they won't be invited to come in either!!

Deliost: Dood, focus! We need to save the children!

Dood: Yeah! That too!

Kylie: Yeah, but how do we do that...?

Now back on the overworld, a robed figure appears off to the side. Speak to him.

Dood: Hi.

Man: You... you have an interesting aura about you.

Dood: Genki says I'm a tent.

Man: Good for you! Say, are you trying to get into Ostrich Fort?

Deliost: We are. How did you know that? Man: As luck should have it, I was just happening by when those muscle-headed guards sent you sailing through the air. More airtime than they ever had, nyuknyuk.

Deliost: Do you... know a way inside? Man: I do, as a matter of fact. See, the race relations around here are a little unstable, due to the Great Emu War. The Kiwis and Kangaroos battled the Ostriches and the Emus... many lives were lost.

Dood: Really?! Man: Well, no. It was a humiliating and crushing defeat. BUT! I have a means by which you can turn this historical failure into your trump card!

Kylie: What's that? Man: See, in a nearby grotto, kangaroos live freely. All you need do is distract a mama kangaroo, and nab her joey. Take it and run for the fort full-speed! In no time, you'll all be inside and victorious!

Dood: That makes sense.

Deliost: It's a scary place in your mind, Dood.

Dood: Says the one who continued calling me “Dudu” well after the first chapter ended.

Deliost: Did... did you just hold a grudge? Dood: I like pie.

Deliost: …

So, we return to the grotto. During this event, we cannot get the Kanga-genes. We'd have to come back after the fact – which there is no point in doing otherwise – and thus these tend to get missed a lot by newcomers. Head inside and you'll need to find a Kangaroo with a joey in her pouch. When you inspect her, you'll get a small battle with a Wild Kanga & Joey monster, which functions as one unit. When you defeat her, you'll get the message “Better move fast!” as you return to control. All the kangaroos, joey or no, will aggro on you and you need to be in motion if you don't want to spend the next 45 minutes of your life fighting your way through them all. Rush back to the overworld and then to Ostrich Fort. When you do, Dood slides in and pitches the joey baseball-style into the fort's open doors.

Dood: HEY! LOOK! THEY CUD-NAPPED YOUR BABY!

Ostrich: Pardon?

The Kangaroos rush onto the map.

Kangaroo: Blimey, mates, the ostriches are taking pages from the Emu's playbook! Time to show them what-for, gents!!

The kangaroos suddenly don green helmets and open fire with their massive, mounted machine guns. The ostriches laugh hysterically and rush inside their fort as the kangaroos continue firing. If you speak to them, they mention how they'll not suffer another loss to flightless birds, or how they'll not continue to maintain a 1000:1 ratio of ammo expended vs. targets eliminated. However, the door is left open and we're allowed to get inside. Inside, we find the internal layout is just a series of hallways, dotted by ostrich soldiers. If you head left, then up, then left again, you'll find an ostrich in a lone bedroom, staring a poster.

Ostrich: I really admire Soggy Teacher's style!

Dood: Kay!

This baffled fans for years, up until the era of the internet, when we learned a bit more about Mrs. Hironbu Sakaki, or as the ostrich says in Japanese, “Sakaki-sensei”. Reports indicate when this blunder was shown to Sakaki herself, she actually had her drink spray from her nose.

Anyways, the remainder of this dungeon is very droll and shares its tileset with the Ostrich Tower, meaning this is going to look awful same-y. If you explore towards the right-hand side in the second stretch, you can find a jail. Go ahead and let the people inside out (this'll pay off later in the game). And for a bit of an Easter Egg – the last one you let out is a tall, buff guy who thanks you quietly and departs. This guy is actually a shout-out to the side manga, Orange Ravine: it's Fellow G. Individual! Though nothing in the game mentions his name, JeffCom+DTK has admitted that it's him. In the GBA re-release, you get a scene with him later in the game, though, which is nice. If you press on past the third area, we'll get to the proper boss: the Ostrich King.

King: I see... since you're here, I have to accept that you're here! Dood: … Wow, that didn't even make sense to me...

King: You're here to avenge those damn marsupials! Well, you shall not do that which you came to accomplish!

Kylie: … Um?

King: Now, let us engage in our fight of battle!!

-Boss Fight!-

Ostrich King

LP: 6000

MP: 3000

Ostrich Vizier

LP: 3000

MP: 6000

The King comes at you with his adviser, the Ostrich Vizier, in tow. The King is a raw physical attacker and has the ability to buff his attack and debuff yours. The Vizier is much more crafty, being a mage, and can inflict mute and red on the party with his all-hitting “Ostrich Feather Storm” technique. Since he can also heal, it's prudent to remove the Vizier as quickly as you can.

-Boss Fight!-

King: Ah... the irony is overwhelmingly ironic. A king meets his death by regicide...

Dood: You talk funny.

The scene dims slightly as the Ostrich King rushes forward, trying to run Dood through with his talons, but as he does so (and his party shouts out his name), Dood vanishes from sight, then reappears on the other side of the King.

King: I... I...

Dood: No, no, no. Wait for it. Waaaaaaaaaait for iiiiiiiiiiit...

The King is suddenly rendered de-feathered as his cartoonishly naked form sheepishly covers his crotch and he hurries out the door.

Dood: And that's the end of my attack!

Genki: Mon cheri, that was incroyable!

Dood: Sometimes I just do in-crawfish-able things. I'm cool like that.

Kylie: I think, strictly speaking, that shouldn't have been something a normal person could do!

Dood: So, where's the cud?

Kylie That's true... we haven't seen them so far, have we?

Dood walks over to the wall and opens a door, as he's buried in an avalanche of tiny, adorable, yellow fluffy chicks.

Dood: MRF!

Chicks: Bru? Bru! Bru... Bru!

Deliost: I guess that answers that...

The scene will resume at Kiwi Town, now with the parents reunited with their children.

Kiwi: Well, look at you, lil' bru! Ya brought our kuds right home! How can we ever thank you?

Dood: Aww, we just wanted to help out!

Kiwi: Well, you brus will always be welcomed az!

Dood: Heh-heh~!

We can now leave, as a new bridge has appeared south of the now-ransacked Ostrich Fort. This will actually take us to the next town: Flounder, and the next coliseum, as we were promised - Southfort Monster Girl Monster Association! When you approach the coliseum at the far north end, Kylie breaks off from the party to admire a poster.

Kylie: “For all Monster Girl Battle Maniacs – are you a bad enough dude to beat the competition and reach the All-Star Special?” But THAT spells out--

???: Ballzy!!

Kylie: Oh, crap!

The camera pans over as we see Balzac and his Cat-oblepas walking towards the door.

Cat-oblepas: Ballzy! I'm tired! Balzac: We're here. Once we rest up, we'll win for sure and--

Balzac gestures wildly.

Balzac: --In this TWO VS. TWO BATTLE, WE SHALL BE UNBEATABLE!

Cat-oblepas: WHAT?! You have another monster girl?! Balzac: I DO! Meet... Dog-maggeddon!

A girl with floppy, dog ears and a tired expression walks up.

Dog-maggeddon: Woof woof, barf barf barf.

Cat-oblepas: FSSSH!!!

Cat-oblepas frizzes up and leaps atop Balzac, causing a cartoonish cloud of smoke and dust as she beats the stuffing out of him, then flees from the scene, allowing Balzac to collapse where he stood. We then regain control. We can even speak to Dog-maggeddon.

Dog-maggeddon: That Cat-monster got scared and ran off. But not before she pummeled our master. That was ruff.

Dog-maggeddon: Dog gone it, how long is that cat going to hide in that tree?

Dog-maggeddon: Gives you paws for thought, doesn't it?

At this point, we're supposed to go over to the tree and speak to Cat-oblepas.

Cat-oblepas: No way! I'm not coming down!

Dood: But why? Cat-oblepas: I don't know if you noticed or not, but that thing is from the dog tribe! Dood: And? Cat-oblepas: I don't exactly get along with dogs, obviously!

Dood: But why? Cat-oblepas: … Am I going to just be stuck here with you asking me dumb questions the entire time? Deliost: Yeah, probably.

Cat-oblepas: Okay, I'm coming down.

The party returns.

Balzac: Hmph! I suppose I owe you a tiny debt of gratitude, but I will not be going easy on you! We shall meet in the ring again! Dood: I like him. He has spirit.

Kylie: That's one way to put it...

Inside, we get to register at the counter, and we'll get to pick one additional party member plus Kylie. This cues up the chapter boss battle.

-Boss Fight!-

Cat-oblepas

LP: 7500

MP: 5000

Dog-maggeddon

LP: 8500

MP: 3500

These two are a formidable battle indeed. Cat retains all her moves from the previous encounter, but now also gains WafleIrn as a follow-up, and a move that inflicts sleep called “Hypnotic Butt Wiggle”. Dog, meanwhile, uses support abilities in addition to pretty strong normal attack. I prefer using Dood and Kylie for this match and try to run them down quickly, but try what works best for you.

-Boss Fight!-

#Adventure #fantasy #fiction #science fantasy #writing #infrequently asked questions #Amazing Quest

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ciathyzareposts · 6 years ago

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Game 27: Mystery Mansion (1978)

The next game on my list is Mystery Mansion, which was programmed by Bill Wolpert for the HP-1000 minicomputer. I’m not exactly sure if this system is comparable to PLATO or the PDP-10 (I’m really not a hardware guy), but the prospect of venturing back into the world of non-commercial adventure games was making me very nervous. I was not prepared for another Acheton, or even another Zork, as much as I loved playing the latter. Games of that size are not what I’m looking for right now, and I was worried that Mystery Mansion would be one of those.

I’m pleased to say that it’s not over-large. More accurately, I don’t think it’s over-large based on what I’ve explored so far. I don’t think size is going to be the problem here. What’s really going to stop me in my tracks is just how little the game does to let you know what the goal is.

I’m getting ahead of myself, though. The first thing to determine when playing Mystery Mansion is what version to use. The original is out of my reach, as I’m not really up to getting a HP-1000 emulator up and running (guess what, I’m not a software guy either). There are a few different ports, which Jason Dyer helpfully outlines here. I chose the version ported by Terry Newton, which claims to be a “practically exact” port of the game as it was in 1981. Not having ever played the original, I can’t tell how close it is, but it runs fine in Dosbox and feels authentic enough to the period. Download it here if you’d like to take a crack.

As you might have guessed from that 1981 date above, this is yet another game that was developed over the course of several years. I’ve often lamented that these games are often not available in their original forms, but recently I’ve come around to the idea that those earlier versions were much like today’s alpha and beta tests. It may not strictly be true, but it helps me sleep easier at night. With this in mind I considered kicking the game back to 1981, but I’ve already set the precedent of playing these games in their first year of development. So Mystery Mansion is stuck in 1978, and I’m stuck playing it.

Lust? Whatever you say, Bill.

First off, let’s really take in that start screen, because it’s setting my expectations of what I’ll experience while playing very high. Frustration? Definitely. Triumph? I sure hope so. Hope and despair? Conceivable. Power, lust and greed? I’ll give you power and greed as possibilities, but lust? Mr. Wolpert, I can tell you right now that it ain’t happening.

When the game begins, you’re standing at the front gate of an old mansion. A taxi has just dropped you off, although the game doesn’t bother to let you know why you’re there. On my first attempt, I noted the highway leading south, and decided to see what would happen if I just kept on walking away from the mansion. Much to my surprise, I could keep walking south for a long time, with signs appearing occasionally to let me know how close I was to the mansion and the “Big City”. After a time, the sun set and I was walking in the dark. A little further down the road and I heard an explosion, which sounded like the passages underneath the mansion had collapsed. (Pretty good hearing on my part, considering I was at least 30 miles away.) Eventually, after what must have been hundreds of moves to the south, I was told that the game was giving up on me. It was a game over, but I’d gleaned some valuable information: there’s a limited time to explore the caves beneath the mansion, and probably a limited time to complete the game.

The death screen indicated that the game has a score, so upon reloading I entered the SCORE command. The game has 999 points that can be earned, and you begin with 45. Commenter Jason Dyer has informed me that I need to type SCORE POINTS every time I hear a woman scream or a wolf howl in order to score 2 points. I’m grateful for the help, but right off the bat this has me expecting some egregious bullshit from this game. Because let’s be real, that right there is some egregious bullshit.

I also tried checking my inventory, another thing I always do at the start of a game. The INVENTORY command didn’t work, but LIST did, as did BOOTY. My inventory was empty however.

To begin the game, I started by exploring the areas surrounding the mansion.

A map of the outdoors

The first thing that should be noted is that although the game does call out items and characters that can be interacted with, you also need to pay attention to the room descriptions. There’s the lantern in the opening area, for instance: it’s only mentioned in the room description, and it’s vital for making any progress.

The area I’ve mapped above represents the road that goes around the mansion walls. The front gate is closed, and the back gate leads into a garden (which I haven’t explored properly yet). There are cliffs to the east and north, which are predictably fatal if you decide to head that way. To the west is a dense wood, which is pretty easy to get lost in. I tried mapping it by dropping items, but I couldn’t make sense of the results. I think the exits might be randomised. Moving around in the woods will eventually lead to a Strange Stream. Heading down from the stream leads to a cave, with “twisty passages, all alike”, which is always a triggering phrase for me. More on that later. Heading up leads to a cottage which contains a map, which can be used to see the destinations of every exit from the room you’re in. Alas, it only works in the outdoor areas, but it’s great for getting you out of the woods.

At this point I should note that Mystery Mansion uses the same irritating navigation style as The Cottage: when you’re outside you can use cardinal directions (N,E,S,W), but when you’re in the forest or the mansion you have to go Forward, Left, Right or Back. It’s very disorienting, and very, very annoying. Thankfully you can find a compass, which allows you to use cardinal directions everywhere.

There’s a note pinned to the mansion’s front gate, which gives you a hint. These notes will appear in various locations, and seem to be scattered at random, but there’s always one on the gate. Most of the time it will tell you that someone will help you open the gate. There are three characters wandering around in the opening area: a Hunter, a Woodsman and a Warrior. They will follow you about once you encounter them, although they won’t enter the mansion. Any one of them will help you open the gate.

It’s easy enough from there to enter the mansion, but you shouldn’t linger on the front porch. If you wait around for too long (and it tracks actual time, not just commands entered) you’ll fall through to some underground tunnels. I’ve fallen in there a couple of times, and been killed by a werewolf.

The mansion has three levels, as shown below:

A map of the mansion

Each level of the mansion is structured in a neat 3×3 pattern. Most of the rooms in the mansion are dark, which is why you’ll need the lantern to proceed (although the candles in the Chapel and the matches in the Kitchen are a short-term alternative; you can’t take the lamp from the Living Room, although you can light it with a match). There are various items scattered about, though I haven’t found a use for most of them. There are also several characters: the Butler, Cook, Maid, Lady and Master, as well as the Vampire in the crypt.

The compass, which I mentioned before, can be found in the Haunted Hallway on the top floor. (I have no idea why it wasn’t already marked on the map.) The scroll in the Library crumbles whenever it’s touched, but the book can be read. It reveals the verbs that the game understands, showing a different verb with every game. I just tried it now, and it says “THE BOOK CONTAINS WORDS I KNOW LIKE THE VERB DIG”. None of these have been too helpful yet, but they were perhaps more useful to people at the time, who may have been less familiar with adventure games.

The telephone in the entrance hall rings occasionally, and if you answer it you’ll receive a hint. It will always ring and tell you to return to the front gate for the lamp if you forgot to take it.

The Secret Passages are the easiest way to navigate up and down between floors, and there are certain areas you can only get to by passing through them. Each room connected to a Secret Passage has a hidden method that opens the way in. Some examples include drinking the wine in the Charming Chapel, sweeping the Haunted Hallway with a broom, or feeding bananas to the monkey in the Butler’s Room.

The Cold Corridor off to the left in the basement is a trap, with a moving wall that will crush you. I haven’t worked out what to do here. The tunnel leading down from the Dark Pit is another entrance to the maze of twisty passages.

The Vampire in the crypt will kill you pretty quickly after you encounter him, unless you are carrying the cross from the Chapel. Otherwise, he follows you around but does no harm. I haven’t killed him yet, but I suspect that if I lead him up to the ground floor and open some curtains it might do the trick.

As for the other characters roaming the house, they will happily follow you as well. After some experimentation I figured out that you can QUESTION them, and they’ll give you clue about a supposed murder. There are three clues: the culprit, the murder weapon, and the location. You can also find out the identity of the murderer by turning on the radio in the Game Room.

There is always a corpse in the murder location. The weapons are scattered around the game, but they aren’t always in the same place. The goal of the game, or one of the goals, is to find the weapon, and lead the murderer to the place where they did the deed. I managed to do this by accident, which was how I was able to figure out what to do in the first place. In later games I found a note that told me about this, but the first time around I had to stumble into it.

It was the Master, in the cellar, with the club. I knew it all along.

After identifying the murderer, I eventually found another note telling me that I should call the police. This game might be mystifying at the start, but it does provide help here and there. If you call the police on the phone, they’ll come and arrest the murderer.

The only other place I’ve properly explored is the maze of twisty passages, which was nowhere near as large as its counterparts from Colossal Cave Adventure and Zork.

A map of twisty passages, all alike

This maze only has six rooms, thankfully, but it can be difficult to navigate if you don’t have the compass. The torch is a light source that eventually burns out, and the battery can be used to extend the life of your lantern. Both of them are placed randomly in the maze, in different areas every game.

I’ve solved one of the larger problems of Mystery Mansion, but that only left me with 332 points. This means I’ve only figured out one-third of the game. I suspect that the rest might involve hunting down some treasures, but I only say that because it’s the goal of every other damn game I’ve played so far. My immediate goals are to properly explore the garden and the tunnels beneath the porch. There’s a werewolf down there, and I’ve got a pistol and silver bullet ready to go. Hopefully I can figure out what to do pretty soon, because I don’t want to spend much more time with this game.

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/game-27-mystery-mansion-1978/

#retro games #dos games #retro #crpg #adventure #amiga #oldcomputers #8bit #16bit #blog #repost

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keelywolfe · 5 years ago

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FIC: Biting Off More Than You Can Chew; part 9

Summary: Rus knew a confrontation was coming. He just didn't expect it like this.

Note: Wow, I am really sorry it took me so long to update this one.

Tags: heatfic, dubious consent, NSFW, frenemies to lovers, mates, first time, more if I think of them

PLEASE READ THE TAGS: This is a Heat story, so there are going to be issues of consent. I don’t do partner rape, nope, but hey, I want to be straight with y’all. I like heatfics personally, but I understand how they can be troubling for some people. So there it is.

Read Chapter 1

Read Chapter 2

Read Chapter 3

Read Chapter 4

Read Chapter 5

Read Chapter 6

Read Chapter 7

Read Chapter 8

Read Chapter 9 on AO3

Read it here!

~~*~~

So it turned out Edge did deserve some credit. Despite being dumped on his own in Underswap where to him all the paths would seem backwards and wrongways, he didn’t do too bad getting back to Snowdin.

Not that Rus let him get too far out of sight. Better to not leave any of the Underfell crowd alone in his ‘verse, right? Edge probably wasn’t going to start any weekend massacres or anything, but it was always good to make sure nothing happened to make Monday morning coffee a little awkward at Muffet’s.

So instead of taking a direct shortcut home, instead he took shorter ones, keeping just ahead of Edge. Besides, even if Edge didn’t know the path, the hints of cigarette smoke that Rus left behind were probably as good as a map, anyway. Not the most conventional puzzle clue, but hey. Rus was a unique guy, gotta love it.

Rus was leaning against the garage, finishing up a last cigarette when Edge finally stalked back into town. He looked irritated, but if the last few hours taught Rus anything, it was that his expression didn’t always jive with what Edge was feeling.

"not bad, edgelord,” Rus called, “you made it back without—" killing anyone, Rus bit off. If they were stuck being bonded together, toning it down on being a complete dick was probably a good starting move, "—getting lost," Rus finished, lamely.

Somehow, he didn't think Edge was completely fooled by the bait and switch. "Thank you, I live for your middling approval. Knowing that I have your respect makes all the effort worthwhile.”

“i’m good for all kinds of middle-ing,” Rus gave him a wink and an upraised middle finger, softening it with a grin. The glare he got in return was no birthday surprise but—

Okay, Edge’s brick wall metaphor worked pretty well for keeping their emotions from butting together, but it was obvious they weren't entirely pros at this whole blocking off the bond thing. A ghostly brush of amusement that wasn’t his own slithered over Rus before vanishing.

Oh.

Edge thought he was funny. In spite of that face of his that always seemed stuck in constipated disapproval, beneath it, Edge actually thought he was funny. It was an uncomfortable realization, made Rus play back a dozen other interactions where he took Edge's remarks as sarcasm and yeah, they were, but not the sarcasm he thought, tainted with dislike and irritation. It was playful sarcasm, the funtimes sarcasm that Sans and Rus both wielded like weapons experts and Red—

Nope, Red was banned from the physical and mental today.

That faint pulse of amusement was turning Rus’s world on its head and Edge was staring at him with narrowed sockets. What was he feeling, Rus wondered, wildly, what emotions was Rus sending his way, because Edge told him the morning after over pancakes that he’d never hated Rus. Somehow, that hadn't gotten around to translating into Rus’s head that maybe Edge liked him, a little, and fuck, fuck, did he know that Rus was trying not to think about kissing him? That he was remembering the heat of Edge’s mouth when he’d fitted his teeth into the healing bite mark on Rus’s collarbone, which suddenly decided now was its chance to start throbbing. The temptation was growing despite Rus trying desperately to plant a mental brick on top of it.

Did he take a step closer or did Edge? Rus wasn't even sure. His cigarette dropped from his hand into the snow and Rus barely heard the hiss as it extinguished.

He was looking at Edge’s mouth and was certainly not thinking at all of the way he’d used it in their shared shower, the unexpected skill of his tongue, he wasn’t, he fucking wasn’t, and Rus didn’t even comprehend the soft ‘ting’ of Edge’s soul turning blue until he was yanked backwards and thrown to the ground. He whipped his head around to see Blue standing with his hand outstretched, his starry eyes blazing with blue-yellow flames. “What the hell did you do to my brother!”

Rus didn’t think. Everything was on automatic as he called on his own magic, flooding with more power than he normally accessed for simple shortcuts as he extended his control hand and pushed. His brother flew back, bouncing off the porch steps with enough force to knock a couple points off his HP.

Snow fell off him in clumps as Blue sat up, his expression twisting between hurt and shock. "Papy?"

Oh, fuck. What had he done, he’d never, never hurt his brother, oh, god, oh, fuck, he--

"okay, that's enough!"

He felt the hard rush of magic enveloping his own soul, the ridiculously cheery chime of it changing blue. It was the only warning he got before Rus was sent sprawling in the snow, cold wetness seeping into his sweatshirt and pants. With an effort, Rus lifted his head from the ground to see Blue and Edge both equally pinned.

To his shock, it was Sans holding them down, one eye socket blazing yellow-blue. His brother stood anxiously next to him, wringing his hands as Sans made his slow way down the stairs, uncaring at the slush dampening his slippers as he walked over to Rus.

"you all right?" Sans asked Rus bluntly.

"me?” Rus sputtered, “of course i’m all right, why the hell--“

Sans interrupted him, his normal laconic speech crisped into sharp syllables. It reminded Rus of…of someone, he wasn’t sure who— “because the three of us just got a hellava treat listening through a locked door while you begged him not to touch you, and when we broke in, you were both gone. no offense, edgelord, but that didn't seem like the world’s friendliest chat going on."

"None taken," Edge said calmly, for all the world like they were having a debate over the dining room table and he wasn't pinned down in the wet snow. "We can explain."

Rus flinched, because they could, but he didn't want to, he didn't, fuck, it was no one else's business. To his relief, he and Sans were in agreement.

"don't need an explanation,” Sans said. The sharpness in his words faded with the strobing light in his socket. “whatever is between you two is on you. just wanted to make sure no one was hurt." He let his hand drop and the pressure on Rus’s soul eased. “now, i wanna watch a movie. you all can come along when you’re ready. c’mon, pap.”

He shuffled his way into the house, Papyrus at his heels and whatever furious, too-loud whispers he was directing at his brother were drowned out by the dull roar in Rus’s head as he looked over to where Blue was laying.

Rus scrambled up and stumbled over to his brother who was slowly sitting up. His baby brother whom he’d never hurt, never, spent years putting band aids on his scraped knees, worked three jobs until he’d been able to get them a house. Those starry eyes always looked at him trustingly, always, and Rus fell to his knees next to him, reaching out and afraid to touch. “blue," Rus started brokenly, "i’m so--"

He broke off when Blue flung himself into his arms, holding him tightly enough to make his breath whoosh out. "Papy! I was so worried!"

"i'm sorry, bro," Rus wheezed, hugged him just as tightly even as his ribs groaned a protest.

He heard the crunch of snow next to them and ducked his head lower, burying his face into Blue’s scarf. Not even a week bonded, and it was already fucking with his head enough that he’d hurt his brother. He needed to get a handle on this, now, and it was pretty obvious that Edge being in his general vicinity wasn’t helping.

A raw little sound escaped from Rus as Blue let go, trying to squirm free and reluctantly, Rus let him. Standing, his brother was barely taller than Rus was kneeling down, but he looked up over Rus’s head with uncommon solemnness.

"I'm sorry, Edge," Blue said quietly.

"No apologies are necessary.” That rough voice, directly behind him, and Rus viciously suppressed a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold snow he was kneeling in. "You were worried for your brother, of course you'd want to protect him.”

Despite his sincere attempts not to think of Red, a pang went through Rus, mostly his, but maybe not all. Protecting his brother, yeah, and Red was a fucker and a half, but—

More snow crunching, moving away and Rus heard the click of the front door, leaving him alone with his brother.

Lifting his head to look at Blue was the hardest thing Rus had ever done. But his eye lights were as starry as ever, filled with that same trust. Not that Rus deserved it, never had, but even less so now. “bro, i’m so sorry.”

Blue only waved it off, unconcerned that his older brother just fucking attacked him like some New Home street thug. “Don’t be silly, Alphys does worse than that when she tells me good morning.”

Too forgiving, by far, always, but damn if Rus wasn’t selfish enough to take it. He nodded, letting out a shaky sigh, “i'm sorry if we worried you.”

Now that he wasn’t all torn up by his feeble attempt at fratricide, what Sans said was starting to come in a little clearer. No wonder Edge let them all off so easy; if Rus had been on the other side of the door listening to Blue begging someone not to touch him, they’d be picking splinters out of the kitchen cupboards for a month.

A gloved hand cupped the side of Rus’s face he leaned into it, shamelessly basking in his brother’s affection. “Papy, what’s going on?”

“i—" Rus hesitated, swallowing hard. How could he explain any part of this to his brother? He’d never hidden his sexual proclivities, neither proud nor ashamed of them, and Blue never judged. The worst he’d ever gotten was exasperated when Rus was late because he’d accidentally slept over. But how could he look into his brother’s trusting, starry eyes and explain this clusterfuck? But he couldn’t say nothing, either.

Okay, then, evasive maneuvers. “can we talk about it later?”

Gentle as his brother was, there was some steel in his spine and right now it was working as a poker in his ass. That expression was pure determination, even as Blue nodded. He was getting a pass, for now, but it wouldn’t last forever, and Rus was going to have to either come clean or work out a new bedtime story that Blue might buy.

Welp, that was a problem for Tomorrow Rus. Today Rus pulled his brother in for another hug, one that Blue happily returned…for a moment.

"Phew!" Blue pushed him away, and his expression was one of almost comical dismay. "You stink, brother, when was the last time you took shower?"

Wow, rude. “i took a shower this morning! i’m clean as a freshly washed bar of soap.” Rus tugged up the front of his sweatshirt and gave it a good sniff. Didn’t smell weird to him, but then, he spent all day stewing in his odors, so he probably wouldn’t notice. "probably my hoodie, must've picked it from the wrong laundry pile."

“Go change,” Blue scolded, giving him a gentle shove even as he waved a hand in front of his face. “Do you want to finish the movie? You can go take a nap if you’d rather, I can tell the others you’re tired.”

“bro, you are a bonafide living angel,” Rus said, and that was nothing but frank honesty.

Blue huffed out a laugh and gave him another playful shove. “Go on, then, I’ll bring you up a plate later.”

“thanks, bro,” Rus scrambled to his feet, dripping snow as he dropped a kiss on top of Blue’s skull and stepped back, shortcutting up to his room. He stripped off his wet clothes and left them in a pile, not bothering to replace them as he collapsed bare bones onto the mattress, already halfway to an exhausted dreamland.

The blanket stayed in a crumpled ball at his feet, unused. Maybe he needed to check on their thermostat, Rus decided, already more asleep than not. Cheap fucking thing might be broken again, because it felt like it was set too high. The house seemed kinda hot.

~~*~~

tbc

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underfell papyrus #underswap papyrus #biting off more than you can chew

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